"Jishi, the imperial court really loves me Beiyang." Looking at the approval document from the imperial court, Zhang Peilun couldn't help but sneer.

"Rong Lu controlled the Chu army to train troops in Shaanxi and Gansu, and Yiketanga trained troops in the northeast. Although we in Beiyang have allowed to expand our army, we still have to raise money and food ourselves, and Ronglu and Yiketanga are given money by the imperial court. There is also this one, let you be responsible for the procurement of ordnance from Italy and Germany in Beiyang, give you the position of deputy general, and supervise the construction of ships, which I am afraid that I will not be able to come back for three or four years. Seeing that Li Hongzhang and Xu Jie did not react, Zhang Peilun said angrily. I thought, will you two master and apprentice admit it?

"Jishi, the emperor's grace is vast, and at a young age, I went to Europe to take charge of the ordnance procurement of my Beiyang Second Naval and Land Division, you have to show yourself well, don't lose the face of the court and the division." Half a ring, Li Hongzhang said with a smile.

"The minister must live up to his mission and fight for the lord in the middle hall of the court." Xu Jie said jokingly.

"What's wrong with the two of them? Can you laugh when you encounter this kind of thing? Zhang Peilun said in his heart, and his face became pale.

"Okay, Jishi, tell Youqiao what you think." Li Hongzhang glanced at Zhang Youqiao and then said.

"This Rong Lu and Iktanga are training in the northwest, and the other is training in the northeast. It does contain my Beiyang, but let's talk about Iktanga first, this Iktanga still has some ability, if he can really achieve something, it will not be a bad thing for my Beiyang, once the war starts in Qingri. Iktanga's troops and our troops in Beiyang will pose a threat to the Japanese from two directions. (Historically, Iketanga, Shoushan and others did fight with the book a few times in Liaodong and Liaonan, although the result was not good.) At that time, the Japanese army will have to divide its forces, and the stronger the Iktanga they are, the less pressure there will be on our Beiyang. Xu Jie said with a smile.

"Jishi thinks that Iktanga can resist the Japanese army after years of preparation?" Zhang Peilun asked.

"Of course not, you can only hold on. As a kind of containment. Xu Jie replied.

"Then how should my Beiyang Land Division operate?" Li Hongzhang asked.

"In the early stage, Lushun was the core and the Beiyang Fleet base was held. Later depends on the situation. Xu Jie replied.

"This tactic is too negative, isn't it?" Zhang Peilun said with some dissatisfaction.

"I have calculated the strength of the Japanese army, its maximum troop mobilization capacity will be more than 200,000 troops, even if our Beiyang naval division wins the naval battle, in a short period of time, the Japanese army will still have strong combat effectiveness, perfect logistics system and battlefield capture is enough to support a period of time, and our Beiyang troops are less than 50,000 in total, plus the expanded troops are about 70,000, and the maximum that can be concentrated in Lushun is 50,000, even if half of the Japanese army comes to attack our Lushun, that is, 100,000 people. And once the northeast training army of Iketanga cannot hold on, the Japanese army will inevitably increase its troops in Lushun, so that the pressure on our Beiyang Land Division will be great. What else can you do without being passive and defensive? Xu Jie asked rhetorically.

"And what about North Korea? Don't want it? Zhang Peilun listened for a long time and didn't hear Xu Jie mention North Korea, so he couldn't help asking.

"North Korea will definitely not be able to stand it, and I have too few Beiyang land divisions. It is expected to be consumed in North Korea, and it is better to retract to the Lushun defense. As long as the naval division could win, the Japanese army's logistical supply was cut off. When the time comes, when the Japanese army is exhausted, we will just counterattack, in short, once the war starts, our highest goal in the Beiyang is to ensure victory at sea and ensure the safety of naval bases. Xu Jie said.

"Jishi, if the Japanese army that defeated Iktanga does not reinforce Lushun, but attacks Shanhaiguan, then Jingshi and Jinmen will not be in danger?" Li Hongzhang asked suddenly.

"Then it depends on whether the supply of the Japanese army can be sustained. If I can guarantee the sea control in Beiyang, plus the Ronglu Department returning from the northwest, at least it is possible to delay the Japanese army's movements. Time is on our side, as long as it drags on, there will be victory. If it really doesn't work, in the case of the safety of the Lushun base. Part of the army can be transferred to Zhili. And don't forget, Lord Nakado, we still have a few trump cards that are useless. Xu Jie said with a slight smile. …,

"You mean Lord Liu and Lord Li, the Governor of Liangguang, right?" Zhang Peilun asked.

"Exactly, this time to the south, the two lords have agreed to prepare for the formation of a new army, if I need it in Beiyang, as long as the imperial court has a will. They can support by sea, and as for the transportation problem, they don't bother with Beiyang, and the transport fleet of Chinese merchants in Nanyang is sufficient. Xu Jie said.

"That's very good. But the key is that the sailor must win. And it must be a big victory, otherwise it will not be able to cut off the supply of the Japanese army, and I am afraid that this plan will be difficult to implement. Li Hongzhang praised.

"Therefore, my Beiyang Navy Division will also buy new ships." Xu Jie took the opportunity to put forward his own ship purchase plan.

"Still want to buy a boat? I have just purchased 3 new 5,000-ton cruisers in Beiyang! Zhang Peilun said hurriedly.

"Brother Zhang, don't worry, you see, once my new ship starts, it will only be half a year at most, and the new ship of the Japanese will definitely start, and maybe it will be bigger and stronger." Xu Jie said confidently.

"What kind of warship do you see?" Li Hongzhang ignored Zhang Peilun's shock, but asked directly.

In addition to the **-class cruiser in Italy, the students also designed an armored cruiser with a displacement of about 9,000 tons, equipped with 4 10-inch guns, 10 6-inch guns, and 6 4.7-inch guns, and the armor used new hardened armor, up to 8 inches thick, and the speed was around 21 knots. The ** class is only an avant-garde and reconnaissance role, and this armored cruiser is the real main combat force. Its performance is in no way inferior to that of the first-rate capital ships of European countries. Xu Jie replied.

"How much?" Li Hongzhang asked, Li Hongzhang is very confident in Xu Jie's ability, since Xu Jie said that the performance is superior, even if the actual situation is deviated, it is definitely not the same. But good goods are certainly not cheap, money is a problem!!

"About £650,000." Xu Jie said with a somewhat embarrassed face.

"Si." Zhang Peilun couldn't help but gasp, "This is almost the price of 2 new warships." ”

"Good goods are not cheap, cheap goods are not good." Xu Jie replied.

"Where does the money come from? Even if the tax collected from the newly built factories is included, we in Beiyang will not be able to support it. Li Hongzhang asked quietly.

"Borrowing." Xu Jie replied. "We can follow the example of Japan and issue bonds in the UK, Italy, etc."

"The issuance of bonds requires collateral." Zhang Peilun said with a flushed face.

"The shares of the Kailuan Coal Mine and the shares of the newly built Shanghai Yarn Factory can be used as collateral, but it really can't be used, isn't there still the Tianjin Machinery Bureau?" Xu Jie replied.

"This is the lifeblood of my Beiyang, how can I mortgage it lightly?" Zhang Peilun asked.

"Housheng, if Japan really buys new ships as you said, then I will really fight with it in Beiyang, Kailuan Coal Mine, Shanghai Yarn Factory, and Tianjin Machinery Bureau, whatever you want, as long as I have in Beiyang, you can take it." Li Hongzhang said with a little hideousness.

"In fact, there is another way, that is, I Beiyang came forward to set up a Western-style bank, one can finance funds, and on the other hand, we can support various industries in Beiyang, and if necessary, we can ......." Xu Jie didn't say the second half of the sentence, but Lao Li and Zhang Peilun could still easily guess that it was okay to directly embezzle it when necessary? It's a risk, but if you can win, it's worth the risk.