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Although there are only two 'Shark-class' cruisers in the establishment of the Xinhua Navy, there is no force capable of stopping the Xinhua Navy in the remote area of Mindanao. At the very least, the Bohol Sea in northern Mindanao has become completely within the reach of the Xinhua Navy. The power of Xinhua even gradually began to infiltrate the Visayas Islands across the Bohol Sea. From time to time, soldiers of the Xinhua Army would land in the Visayas under the cover of the navy, attack the natives on the islands, rob them of their treasures, and take them back as slaves.

The follow-up warships of the Xinhua Navy are also under construction. When the next ten 'Shark-class' cruisers were commissioned, the Xinhua Navy had the power to protect itself. Although in terms of strength, it may not be able to compare with the Western naval powers, but in the South Seas, there is no one who can beat it. At that time, the Xinhua army will move south and attack the two sultanates in southern Mindanao by sea. After that, they will develop to the Luzon Islands in the north, drive the declining Spaniards from here, and completely occupy the Greater Luzon Islands!

With the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Xinhua and the Chinese family in Zamboanga, many Chinese who could not survive in Luzon, Borneo and other places dragged their families to Xinhua City on the merchant ships provided by the Chinese family in Zamboanga. At this moment, south of Xinhua City, in the fertile Agusang River Basin, the indigenous people have been cleared and will no longer pose a threat to the lives of the Chinese, which allows the Chinese to survive and reproduce in these areas.

Thanks to everyone's efforts, thousands of Chinese come to Xinhua every month, and this number continues to rise. This effectively solved the problem of shortage of human resources in Xinhua, and also brought sufficient resources to the army and navy of Xinhua.

On December 25, 1836, the day of Christmas in the West, Antonio, an old friend and loyal partner of the Flying Fish Company, a Spanish businessman, came to Xinhua City. This time, he came to deliver a set of large-scale steel smelting equipment and mining equipment ordered from the Flying Fish Company, as well as thousands of tons of saltpeter and lead ingots, which are important strategic materials urgently needed by Xinhuaguo. After Zamboanga joined the Xinhua Kingdom, the Xinhua Army needed a lot of military supplies that could be purchased through the local Chinese family, but many materials, such as machinery and equipment, could only be purchased through Antonio. Therefore, the cooperation between Flying Fish, or Xinhuaguo and Antonio, is still very pleasant. Xinhuaguo received much-needed machinery and equipment from Antonio, and Antonio also earned enough benefits!

In the process of exterminating the indigenous people, the Xinhua army obtained a large amount of gold and other wealth, and the gold mines in Mang'abong Mountain began to be mined, which gave Xinhua a stable source of income. In addition, when selling natives to the Chinese families of Zamboanga, they were able to obtain a lot of money, which made the financial crisis of the new Chinese kingdom have been fundamentally resolved. However, in essence, the current Xinhua is still a completely agricultural country, and all industrial facilities are for the military service of Xinhua from keeping up, and if this status quo cannot be changed, the development of Xinhua will be greatly restricted. Long Yufei has asked the Government Council to come up with specific measures to develop Xinhuaguo's light industry. It's just that the Government Council doesn't have much experience in this area and needs to ask others for advice, and Antonio, who is familiar with the industrial conditions of Western countries, is undoubtedly a very good candidate.

In the past, when the Flying Fish Company traded with Antonio, it was done in the Sulu Sea. At that time, the Exocet Company was still very weak and needed to be kept secret, especially after the British Navy's cruiser "Coventry", it needed to strengthen secrecy. Otherwise, the Western powers at that time could easily destroy the Flying Fish Company. Fortunately, the pirates of Flying Fish Island quickly evacuated Flying Fish Island and moved to Mindanao, so they were not exposed.

Although the current Xinhua State has a very strong navy, its army strength is enough to confront the troops sent to the Nanyang region by any Western country. Therefore, Long Yufei and others are no longer worried about Xinhua coming into the sight of Western powers. As long as they snatched the cruiser Coventry and killed the officers and men of the Ying Navy without leaking out, there would be no problem. In another two years, when the strength of Xinhua's navy was further improved, they would not have to be afraid of the British. Even if the British Royal Navy knew that the disappearance of the cruiser 'Coventry' had something to do with Xinhua, it would not be able to help them!

"Oh God! It's unbelievable! It's only been a little over a year, and you've built a country! After arriving in Xinhua City, Antonio exclaimed exaggeratedly, although the city in front of him was not as good as Manila, but considering that it had only been more than a year, it really shocked him. In addition, the thick chimneys of the steel mills and other industrial areas outside the city are emitting thick smoke, which will have a very bad impact on the environment, but in their eyes, how wonderful it is.

"Mr. Antonio! All of this is indispensable to your help, without you to send us so many machinery and equipment, we would not be where we are today! Long Yufei said with a smile. Although he and Antonio have a relationship of mutual use, he still has to thank Antonio, otherwise, the industry of the Flying Fish Company would not have developed.

"Your Majesty, don't say that, we have normal business dealings, and I've made enough profit from you!" Antonio said modestly. If more than a year ago, he still looked down on this group of pirates, and it was a last resort to cooperate with them. But now? It's not the same anymore. This group of pirates actually established a country, built an army with tens of thousands of people, and occupied such a large territory, which he did not dare to underestimate.

"Mr. Antonio! Our country has just been created, and there are still a lot of imperfections, and in this regard, we need your help! Long Yu said straight to the point.

"Your Majesty, I am glad to serve!" Antonio did not postpone.

After that, Premier Li Decheng, Minister of Industry and Commerce Chen Bolin, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Zihao and others held talks with Antonio for several days. Antonio pointed out that what the Western world needed was Eastern tea, spices, porcelain, silk and bristles. For industrial goods, not much is needed. In the end, after consulting Long Yufei, the Government Council decided to vigorously develop the textile and ceramic industries, on the one hand, to compete with the West for the market, and on the other hand, to export goods to the West in order to earn more profits.

Antonio spent a week in Xinhua City, where he planned to return to Manila after establishing relations with the nascent country. However, after seeing the strength of the new country, especially the military strength, Antonio had a new idea.

"Your Majesty, as early as when I was on Flying Fish Island, I could see that your ambitions were not small. But I didn't expect it, I still underestimated you! I think that with the current development speed of Xinhuaguo, it won't be long before the entire Nanyang region will be Xinhuaguo's territory, right? Antonio said.

"Mr. Antonio has won the prize! Now the goal of the new Chinese state is to eliminate the two southern sultanates as soon as possible and unify Mindanao. As for the next step, we need to see the specific situation when the time comes! Long Yufei said humbly.

"Your Majesty, I'm sure that after the unification of Mindanao, your next target will probably be Manila, right?" Antonio asked.

Long Yufei smiled and did not answer.

"Your Majesty the King, please rest assured, my interests and those of Xinhua are the same, and I will never tell the truth. Besides, don't I still have the handle in your hands? Antonio said.

"That's right! After the unification of Mindanao, Xinhua will begin to expand outward, and Borneo to the west and Luzon to the north are the direction of our expansion! Long Yufei admitted!

Antonio nodded, and then said: "Your Majesty, I sincerely hope that the new Chinese kingdom can become stronger and stronger, in this way, with my relationship with the new Chinese kingdom, I will definitely be able to gain a lot of benefits!" ”

"Of course, Mr. Antonio, we are friends! In the future, Xinhuaguo will never treat its friends badly! It's just that it will take a lot of time and a lot of opportunities for Xinhua to develop and grow! Long Yufei said. Now is a troubled time, although there are many opportunities, but to grasp it, it is not so easy.

Antonio deeply believes that now the Western powers have stepped up their invasion of the South Seas, especially the United Kingdom, which has established maritime supremacy, is even more impatient and has become a vanguard. If Xinhua wants to develop into a big country, this is definitely not what Western powers want to see. It can be predicted that Xinhua will definitely face the strangulation of Western powers, and it will be very difficult to survive and develop and grow!

"Your Majesty, I have a message for you to tell you for free! If you can grasp this opportunity, it will play a great role in the development of Xinhuaguo! Antonio said.

"Oh? What's the news? Long Yufei raised his eyebrows?

"A month later, the gold shipped to Spain by Anthony Pedro, the Spanish governor in Luzon, will leave Manila! It is reported that the total amount of these gold has reached about one ton! Antonio said.