"Xu, you have to remember that we are all the way now, although I understand your patriotism very well, but I hope you don't say too much about business." Looking at Xu Jie, who was gradually walking out of the door, Vittorio told again and again.

"Do you belong to Tang Seng?" Xu Jie thought in his heart, turned around and said, "The price is set by you, no matter how much I say, it's useless." Don't worry, I won't betray my friends. ”

Tianjin, Shunjing Building.

"This Chinese talking about things at the dinner table is really a historical inheritance." As soon as Xu Jie arrived, he looked at the plaque hanging on the door and said with a wry smile.

"Under Zhang Peilun, the word Youqiao. This Mr. Xu should know that it is my Lord Liu Buchan, the chief soldier of the right wing of the Beiyang Naval Division of the Qing Dynasty. "Although we have already met at the negotiation table, we still need to make a polite introduction.

"Under Liu Buchan, the word is fragrant." Liu Buyun arched his hand and said.

"Chinese-American, Xu Jie, the word is the world." Xu Jie replied simply.

"Master Xue often mentions Mr. in telegrams, saying that Mr. has a clear heart, and the price of this new type of fast ship is still provided by Mr. Xu." Zhang Peilun arched his hand.

"Just do a little bit. However, the price has been pushed to a minimum. There is no room left. Xu Jie knew that the price of 280,000 pounds was already the bottom line of the Italian side, so in order to prevent Zhang Peilun and others from entanglement in the price, he explained it straightforwardly.

"Mr. Xu has lived overseas for a long time and knows a lot about Western maritime affairs, and I hope Mr. Xu can give some advice." Zhang Peilun then changed the topic.

"If I can buy 2 new Italian clippers in Beiyang, should I be able to keep my Beiyang safe for a few years?" Zhang Peilun asked.

"Presumably, Lord Xue has already sent me to Beiyang as those books to introduce the Wa Kingdom, right?" Xu Jie avoided answering and asked directly.

"I've read it all over Beiyang." Liu Buyun said.

"Who does Lord Liu think that these two new ships can guarantee the advantages of Beiyang for several years?" Xu Jie asked rhetorically.

"According to Mr. Xu's book, I am afraid that it will be a maximum of 3 years. Once the three warships of the Japanese people and the newly added dome cruisers are all put into service, even if there are two new dome armored clippers in our Beiyang, it will be useless. Liu Buyun pondered.

"If you only look at the number of jù, after the two warships join the Beiyang, it can indeed guarantee that the Japanese will not be able to start a war within three years. But we're going to actually analyze it. "Xu Jie is actually not very satisfied with Liu Buyun's answer, if the 2 **-class dome cruisers can really be served, if Japan's lineup remains unchanged in the Battle of the Yellow Sea, there is indeed a chance to a draw, but if the Japanese pour out of the nest, even if there are 2 new ships, it will not help." It seems that Lord Liu still doesn't trust me as a Chinese. Xu Jie thought to himself.

"I want to hear about it." Liu Buyun's facial muscles twitched unnaturally.

"I don't know if the shells of my Beiyang Naval Division are purchased with the ship or are they homemade?" Xu Jie asked.

"The shells bought with the ship have basically been sold out in daily training, and now they are mainly produced by the Tianjin Manufacturing Bureau." Liu Buyun replied truthfully.

"What's the good quality?" Xu Jie asked again.

"Well, barely." Liu Buyun's face changed slightly.

"That's Xu Mou is too worried, it seems that what Lord Xue said is not all the details." Xu Jie's face was full of sarcasm.

"It's ......." Liu Buyun never expected that Xue Fucheng would actually tell Xu Jie all these things. Momentarily speechless.

"What the specific situation is, Lord Liu knows it, I will never say much, since Lord Liu is completely sure about the cannonball, then let's move on to something else." Xu Jie was a little embarrassed when he saw the scene, and he expected to deal with this Beiyang general soldier in the future, so it was inconvenient to make too much trouble, and it was worth changing the topic.

"The design speed of my Beiyang Dingyuan is fourteen and a half knots, and the Zhenyuan is fifteen and four knots, right?" Xu Jie asked.

"That's right. Adults really know me Beiyang," Liu Buyun said.

"Then I wonder how fast the two ships can run now?" Xu Jie asked.

"This has slowed down a bit." Liu Buyun was inconvenient to say the specific number, so he had to answer vaguely.

"If Dingzhen is like this, how about the older super brave Yang Wei of the Beiyang Fleet? I'm afraid that not only the speed, but also the artillery and other things have been aged, right? Xu Jie continued to ask.

"Every year, more than one million taels of silver are used to support this Beiyang Fleet, and if you discard the daily wear and tear of the officers and soldiers, how much silver can actually be used for the maintenance of the battleship, I am afraid that General Liu should be very clear, right?" Xu Jie still decided to make an awl to stimulate the two Beiyang dignitaries present. …,

"After talking about the loss of warships and logistics, let's talk about the shipbuilding gap between the two countries. I can tell you both that even at a price of £280,000, our design bureau can still make an objective profit from it. The shipyards in Italy will still be highly profitable. Xu Jie smiled and said. This clearly means that I am blackmailing you, what can you do?! Although there are some suspicions of fraud, it is still very shocking to say it on such occasions

"The ships built by the Fuzhou Shipyard Bureau are more expensive than the ones they bought from European countries." Zhang Peilun can finally interject.

"That's natural, the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau said that shipbuilding is better than assembling ships, power, and artillery need to be purchased, but they are finally assembled in Fuzhou Shipyard." Xu Jie naturally knows why it is expensive. "There is a saying that food is wasted because of choking. We should not stop developing our own shipbuilding industry just because it is cheaper to buy at a lower price. If a war breaks out, European countries strictly maintain neutrality and do not sell warships to Beiyang, how should Beiyang deal with it? ? Xu Jie asked.

"If I'm not mistaken, Beiyang should accept a new ship from the Fuzhou Shipping Bureau this year, right? It should be called Pingyuan. Xu Jie asked.

"Yes, the ship is a 2,100-ton ironclad clipper. SPEED 14 KNOTS, EQUIPPED WITH ONE 260MM KRUPP MAIN GUN AND TWO 150MM KRUPP GUNS. Liu Buyun said.

"Do you know about the Japanese's own warships?" Xu Jie asked.

"Last year, the Japanese started construction of a 4,000-ton coastal defense ship, which started at the Yokosuka shipyard, equipped with a 320mm Ghanaian main gun and 11 4.7-inch Armstrong rapid-fire guns. The speed is 16 and a half knots. Liu Buyun said.

"The combat power of these two warships is high, I think Liu Zongbing should be very clear, right? The Japanese can build their own, even if they can't buy it, they can also guarantee a certain combat effectiveness, and once the Beiyang can't buy it, where will the new warships come from? If that's the case, I'm afraid that the victory and defeat have already been divided before the war starts, right? Xu Jie said coldly.

"This is only part of the problem, I heard that many pipe bands in the Beiyang Naval Division have complained about the management of Vice Admiral Lang Weili, I don't know if it's true?" Xu Jie thought about it for a long time, and finally decided to say everything. Historically, although he was British, Luang Weili was conscientious to the Beiyang sailors. According to the history books, he "took care of the ship all day long, and never had time to relax", and even "waved the flag and gave orders" when he went to the toilet. Because of his strict attitude towards governing the army, there is a saying among the Beiyang Naval Division, "If you are not afraid of Ding Junmen, you are afraid of Deputy General Lang". And it is precisely because of the strict way of governing the army that the contradiction between Lang Weili and the Beiyang pipe belt has become more and more intensified. The flag withdrawal incident in 1890 was by no means accidental, it was the product of the intensification of the contradiction between the Beiyang Min Party and Lang Weili, and Li Hongzhang chose to favor Liu Buyun because he was afraid that the British would use Lang Weili as a tool to control the Beiyang sailors, and the director Zhan Lang Weili was angry and resigned. For this, the Beiyang Navy Division paid a heavy price. Not only did they lose their best naval officers, but their training became increasingly sluggish. According to historical records, "in the defense exercise, but the story is false", and "on weekdays, the artillery target and the mine target are exercised, but the ship moves and the target does not move", and even "pre-measure the yardage, set up the buoy, and follow the standard." The number of yards is known, and it is easy to put it in the middle", in vain it is "neatly performed, and the practice is still fur, and it is useless". From this point of view, although Liu Buyun and others were heroes in the entire First Sino-Japanese Naval Battle. However, the problems caused by their lax training should never be ignored.

"The lieutenant general Luang Weili is too arrogant, and the name of the lieutenant general is actually taking the place of the governor." Liu Buyun said angrily.

"Vice Admiral Luang Weili himself is the number two person in the Beiyang Naval Division, and it is normal to manage daily armaments and training." Xu Jie frowned dissatisfiedly.

"We also studied at the English Naval Academy, no worse than him." Liu Buyun rarely dared to contradict in Beiyang, and when he met an irrelevant Chinese today, he naturally would not give face.

"Since Your Excellency has studied in the UK, you should know the truth of being strict with the army!!" Xu Jie couldn't help but raise his voice. He really didn't expect this Min party leader to be so stubborn.

"This is my internal affairs of Beiyang, I don't think Your Excellency needs to interfere, right?" Liu Buyun's face turned a little blue.

"I don't need to say it as an outsider, but this is related to the life and death of the officers and men of the Beiyang Navy, and I hope that the adults can treat it correctly. So as not to regret it for the rest of your life. Xu Jie still refused to give up.

"Which Liu appreciates." Liu Buyun snorted coldly. "If you have official business, you will not be accompanied." After saying that, he brushed his sleeves away. left a stunned Zhang Peilun and an indignant Xu Jie.

"There is such a person in Beiyang who regards military affairs as child's play, it is really unreasonable to be undefeated!!" Xu Jie also ignored Zhang Peilun, who was sitting on the side, and vented.

"Mr. Xu, please forgive me. What Liu Zongbing said today is indeed a bit excessive....... Zhang Peilun, who reacted, immediately persuaded.

"I'll forgive me? What does Beiyang honor and disgrace have to do with me? I took the money and walked away after I finished this business. Xu Jie said angrily. After speaking, Xu Jie poured a glass of wine and continued: "The management of the navy of our country is not as good as that of a foreigner, which is really a miracle in the history of the navies of various countries." The Japanese hired Bai Laoyi and gave him the status of chief designer, and the salary was 10 times higher than that of ordinary designers, and Beiyang complained again and again just because of the strict management of Vice Admiral Luang Weili, in comparison, I really can't find a reason why Beiyang can win!! Farewell, Mr. Youqiao. After speaking, he got up and left, leaving Zhang Peilun to stay where he was.