After Wu Haoxuan met with Sa Zhenbing and Cheng Biguang in Lushun, Sa Zhenbing and Cheng Biguang returned to Guannei. They will resign to the Beiyang government as soon as possible, and then gather their colleagues and the old ministry and rush to Lushun. Arthur, which will be the seat of the headquarters of the Northern Navy.

In terms of the navy's talents, Sa Zhenbing and Cheng Biguang are in charge, which Wu Haoxuan still trusts them very much. However, regarding the ordering of battleships, Wu Haoxuan still planned to find the Germans after careful consideration. Although, the warships of the British Navy were not inferior to the German Navy in terms of performance. But the British were allies of Japan, and it is difficult to say whether they would sell warships to the northern government.

In addition, the development of the Northern Navy, which is at the stage of secrecy. If the battleships were purchased from the British, I am afraid that the Japanese would know about it the next day. The Japanese finally managed to possess a navy that threatened East Asia, and they would never allow the Northern Army to develop a navy. I'm afraid that the war broke out before the Navy returned home.

As for the United States, the performance of the American naval warships is really not very good at this stage, and it is simply not comparable with the British and German warships. In addition, Wu Haoxuan also wanted to obtain a series of advanced technologies from the Germans. Ordering a large number of warships from the Germans would undoubtedly serve these purposes.

At the end of April 1907, the Northeast Parade Embassy welcomed several special guests. The carriage, without any markings, drove directly into the Patrol Embassy's mansion. Several Caucasians got down from the carriage, and Wu Haoxuan, who had been waiting there for a long time, immediately greeted him.

"Your Excellency, welcome to Shengjing." Wu Haoxuan's face was full of smiles.

"Your Excellency, you are so polite, thank you very much for the invitation." The person who came was none other than the German Minister to China, Hahausen. Wu Haoxuan sent someone to invite him to come to Shengjing secretly, and he had a big business to talk to him.

The fact that the Americans had given large loans and investments to the government of the North, albeit in secrecy. But. Envoys from various countries in China know a little bit about it. It's just that they don't know how much assistance the Americans have given to the northern government. The Germans also wanted to expand their interests in the Far East, and through last year's war, they were also optimistic about the government in the north. Now, Wu Haoxuan proposed to do a big business with Germany, and Hahausen naturally came to the bumper. Except for Hahausen. There was also Klaus, the head of the Krupp company in China, and the military attache of the legation, Rear Admiral Marcos. If Wu Haoxuan wanted to order warships from the Germans and carry out naval cooperation, he naturally needed the participation of people from the German Navy.

After a little greeting, Wu Haoxuan invited a few people to his office. Minister Hahausen himself knew English, so he didn't even have to translate. Wu Haoxuan also hopes that this meeting between the two sides can be kept secret.

"Your Excellency, Minister. Mr. Krauss, the Northern Army hopes to be able to order a large number of fortress guns from Germany for the refitting of the Arthur fortress. In addition, I hope to hire German experts to upgrade the Fort Arthur to make it more defensible. Make sure that in the future war, you will not fall! Wu Haoxuan said. The strength of the Germans in this regard is still very strong. This can be seen from the fortress they built in Qingdao. After the outbreak of World War I in history. In order to conquer Qingdao, the Japanese paid a lot of price.

Minister Hahausen and Crowston were happy. Klaus, in particular, almost laughed at his old face. Arthur Fortress has dozens of turrets, large and small, which means that hundreds of new fortress guns are needed! Coupled with the upgrading of the fortress, this is undoubtedly a big business.

"Your Excellency, we at Krupp have the best experts in the world in the field of fortress artillery and fortress construction, your choice. Undoubtedly extremely sensible. I guarantee that the upgraded Arthur Fortress will definitely be the strongest fortress in the Far East! Klaus immediately reassured with a chest of his face. He seemed to have seen the big mark beckoning to him again. As long as he succeeds in such a business, he may be able to transfer back to Germany. China is too backward and transferred back to its homeland. It has always been Klaus's greatest wish.

Wu Haoxuan nodded: "Of course, the credibility of Krupp is guaranteed, and our last cooperation was very pleasant." The heavy artillery sold to us by your company played a big role in defeating the Japanese in the war. ”

Although, Wu Haoxuan's own arsenal can produce guns, even 155-mm heavy howitzers and cannons. However, in terms of large-caliber heavy rapid-fire guns, a breakthrough was delayed. This forced him to find a way to cooperate with Krupp in order to be able to obtain the ability to produce large-caliber heavy guns on his own. This is also related to whether the large-caliber naval guns of the Northern Navy can be produced on their own in the future.

"It is our honour that you are able to choose the products of the German Empire, Your Excellency. I assure you that the products of the German Reich must be the best. Minister Hahausen also said.

"Of course, Your Excellency. However, we bought a lot this time. So, I hope that in terms of price, Krupp will give us the best deal. According to preliminary estimates, we plan to install 24 305 mm fortress guns, 36 280 mm fortress guns, 72 210 mm fortress guns, and 155 mm fortress guns in varying numbers in the Arthur fortress! Wu Haoxuan said.

Hearing Wu Haoxuan say this series of needs, Klaus only felt that his breathing was a little short. More than 100 large-caliber fortress guns, plus a number of no less than 155 mm fortress guns, if the entire transaction amount is combined, I am afraid that it will be 100 million marks. This is also a big business for Krupp!

"Your Excellency, Krupp will give you the lowest price. Please rest assured of this. We attach great importance to our cooperation with you. Klaus said hurriedly.

The two parties bargained over the amount of the transaction. Although, Kraus kept saying that he would give preferential treatment to the northern government. However, businessmen are all about chasing maximum profits. He obviously won't give up this opportunity to make money. In the end, the transaction amount was set at DM 100 million. However, Krupp needed to send people free of charge to help the Northern Army upgrade the Arthur Fortress. In this way, Krupp still has a lot of money.

100 million marks, equivalent to 5 million pounds, 50 million oceans. This money, for the northern government, is also a huge amount of money. Of course, it is indispensable to increase the defense of the fortress of Arthur. Otherwise, if Lushun fell again in a war, it would undoubtedly make the Northern Army suffer even heavier losses.

"Mr. Klaus, we would like to work even more closely with Krupp. Krupp's artillery production technology, artillery steel formulations and armor steels are among the most advanced in the world, and we would like your company to transfer these technologies to us. Wu Haoxuan continued.

"What? Transfer of these technologies? Klaus's eyes widened, and he looked at Wu Haoxuan in disbelief. In his opinion, Wu Haoxuan is a little too taken for granted. These technologies are the secret of Krupp and even Germany.

"Your Excellency, the Krupp company can sell these artillery, artillery steel and armor steel to the government of the North, they can all be sold. However, when it comes to technology transfer, this makes us a little difficult. Minister Hahausen also said.

"Your Excellency, we also know that this is difficult for some strong people. However, we will not let you suffer. If the German government can agree to this deal, we will place a military order of more than 200 million marks with Germany in addition to the fortress guns we have purchased. Wu Haoxuan threw out his chips.

The Germans are now competing with the British. In particular, after the launch of the dreadnoughts of the British Navy, the Germans also began to develop in this direction. However, although Germany's industrial output value has surpassed that of Britain, its scientific and technological strength is not much worse than that of Britain. However, the gap between the two sides in terms of navy is still very large. If more than 200 million marks of military orders can be obtained from the northern government, this will allow the Germans to obtain huge profits and also relieve Germany's military spending tension.

After all, Germany's fiscal revenues are now only 1.2 billion marks. And the British have a financial income of more than 150 million pounds, which is more than 3 billion when converted into marks! The disparity in financial resources made it undoubtedly very difficult for Germany to catch up with Britain.

"Your Excellency, are you sure that there will be an order of more than 200 million marks?" Hahausen was also a little excited. Together with the fortress guns purchased by the Northern Army before, the total amount of the order will exceed 300 million marks. Such a big order, Germany can't meet it a few times a year!

"Yes, Your Excellency." Wu Haoxuan nodded. He knew that the Germans would not be able to resist such temptation.

Minister Hahausen looked at Klaus, after all, although he wanted to get a large order. However, these technologies are all from Krupp.

Klaus was also a little entangled, he didn't know how much Krupp would be able to get in the next order. However, with the coverage of the products of the Krupp company, in the military field, there are many things that are produced by the Krupp company. If Germany can get this order, then they will definitely make a lot of profit again.

However, these technologies are also very important for Krupp. If the technology is transferred to the Chinese, it will be very difficult for them to get orders from the Chinese in the future. After all, if the Chinese are able to produce their own, they will naturally not buy the Germans. (To be continued......)

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