Tianjin, Shunjinglou Tianzi private room.

"Mr. Xu, what do you think?" Zhang Peilun handed a letter to Xu Jie and said.

"This sentence: I will do my best. It's apt. Xu Jie sighed and tossed the letter aside.

"King Alcohol has tried his best, but I am still half short of the cost of purchasing ships in Beiyang." Speaking of this, Zhang Peilun glanced at Xu Jie and said.

"What does Lord Zhongtang think?" Xu Jie asked rhetorically.

"Lord Nakado is also worried, but this silver is really not going to come out. Even if part of Lu Shi's salary is embezzled, I am afraid it will not be enough. Sheng Xuanhuai is afraid that he will not be able to make up 3 million taels of silver. Zhang Peilun said a little gloomily.

"The Queen Mother is really powerful, and a few million taels of silver have forced Beiyang to a dead end." Xu Jie said with some admiration.

"What do you mean by that?" Zhang Peilun asked in surprise.

"Still don't understand? Li Zhongtang negotiated directly with the Italians. The center did not formally approve and agreed, and then took so much silver from the center to buy a battleship, if it couldn't buy a ship in the end, this disaster to the country and the people of the Beiyang can be regarded as a real thing. Xu Jie snorted coldly.

"This silver is not enough, what can I do in Beiyang?" Zhang Peilun hurriedly pleaded.

"You say that if the silver given by the court is not enough, it is not enough?" Xu Jie said in a mocking tone. "Some people in the center don't plan to study how much it will cost to buy a new warship to the ground, as long as the Beiyang ship doesn't arrive in the end. And the silver of the imperial court is gone, this is enough, how many people in the entire Qing Dynasty know the market and value of this ship? At that time, as long as a few people in the center work together, I'm afraid that Beiyang will come to an end, right? ”

"Mr. Xu, this is a bit too much." Zhang Peilun said with a cold face.

"Ever? Not too much at all. Zeng Wenzhenggong has been cautious all his life, what is the final result? Xu Jie said with a smile. I'm afraid that someone in the center has already decided to take the opportunity to cut off Beiyang, the first feudal town of the Qing Dynasty, right? ”

"His heart can be punished." Hearing Xu Jie's words just now, Zhang Peilun's face turned pale. And in the next room, the actual controller of Beiyang, Li Zhongtang, was also scared to sweat. Can't say a word.

"Did I say something ugly?" Xu Jie asked with a smile. "Let's admit it, there is no such thing. Beiyang has reached a desperate situation. It's just a matter of dying early and playing dead. Speaking of this, Xu Jie had a somewhat scoundrel tone.

"What do you mean by that?" Zhang Peilun asked.

"If you don't buy a ship, once something happens at sea, Beiyang can be sure to win the war?" Xu Jie asked.

"I'm afraid I can't." Zhang Peilun replied simply.

"So you can only buy a ship, and if you buy a ship, the center has no money." Xu Jie said. "What's more, even if this 6 million taels of silver is available, Beiyang is still far away!!" Xu Jie said coldly.

"What? 6 million taels of silver is not enough? Are you going to buy warships with all the money in Beiyang? Zhang Peilun said angrily.

"As soon as you look at your current watch, you will know that Brother Zhang must not lead the army." Xu Jie said half-seriously, half-jokingly.

"What do you mean?" Zhang Peilun asked.

"Your Excellency, what is war? War itself is a matter of life and death, and the arms race between the two sides before the war begins is a process of increasing the weight. Until one of the parties completely admits defeat, this competition between money and the country will never stop. The gamble between the two countries has begun, the betting has begun, we have no choice!! Xu Jie said with a hint of perseverance on his face. Beiyang wants to save zài to go down, only to continue. There is no other way. ”

"If you attack a country in a corner, you will be defeated!! It's a gamble with no odds. A hint of bright red appeared at the corner of Zhang Peilun's mouth.

"How do you know if you don't try?" Xu Jie said with interest.

"What are you going to do with Mr. Xu?" Zhang Peilun asked.

"Let's integrate Beiyang's family background first, Li Zhongtang has led the Huai Army for decades, and his children are all over the world. There should be a lot of power in this, right? Xu Jie said.

"I'm afraid it won't work now, the old man at the level of the governor has either passed away or has some misunderstanding with Zhongtang." Zhang Peilun sighed and said.

"Li Hanzhang, Lord Li just recently led the governor of Liangguang, right? There is also the Governor of Sichuan (Sichuan, Shaanxi) Liu Bingzhang Liu, and the first governor of Taiwan, Liu Mingchuan Liu. In addition, the land of the three provinces under the jurisdiction of the governor of Zhili. That's seven provinces. Xu Jie said while waving his fingers.

"This Li Hanzhang and Lord Li are naturally of the same heart as me Beiyang, but Liu Mingchuan Liu and Lord Zhongtang are a little different." Zhang Peilun muttered. Zhang Peilun is right, since Zhang Shusheng tried to replace Li Hongzhang and was dealt with by Li Hongzhang by thunderbolt, several bosses of the Huai Department and Li Zhongtang have fallen out. Li Bingzhang is not bad, and the two are courteous. But Liu Mingchuan was very dissatisfied with this boss. Originally originated from the dismantling of the Huai Army, Lao Li decided to reduce the 50 battalions of the Huai Army under Liu Mingchuan to 20 battalions, which was directly equivalent to the dismissal of 60% of Lao Liu's troops. And when Lao Liu went to Taiwan to take office, he planned to take 2 battalions of veterans to Taiwan as a Fu camp. Lao Li did not agree. Lao Liu was very unhappy. What's even worse is that the relationship between the docile Ding Ruchang and Liu Mingchuan is not good. …,

"Lord Liu is both civil and military, although there are some misunderstandings with Li Zhongtang, but I think as long as there is sincerity, it is not difficult, and the more important thing is only the safety of the people of Taiwan, and I Beiyang should also join forces with Lord Liu to resist Japan." Xu Jie thought for a while and said.

"What does Mr. Xu mean by integrating the resources of 7 provinces to fight against the Japanese people? I'm afraid that even if the provinces are willing to help, it will be difficult to contact them, and it will be a drop in the bucket. Zhang Peilun said.

"How it works, we'll talk about it later, and the contact with the old Huai Department is only one of them, and the other is to contact Zhang Zhidong and Liu Kunyi in Nanyang." Xu Jie continued.

"This Nanyang is mutually restrained by our Beiyang, what is the benefit of cooperating with Nanyang?" Zhang Peilun asked with some confusion. In his opinion, Lao Li's cooperation with Nanyang is just to take advantage of the situation.

"May I ask Brother Zhang, where is the largest and most advanced machinery manufacturing bureau in my Daqing Dynasty? Where is the best shipyard in my Daqing? Xu Jie asked.

"This best machinery manufacturing bureau is naturally the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, is this the best shipyard?" Speaking of this, Zhang Peilun's heart couldn't help but tighten. "It should be the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau."

"Mr. Xu wants to use the industry in Nanyang to make guns and cannons for me in Beiyang? But as far as I know, the guns made in South Asia are much more expensive than those that are bought. I'm afraid it's not cost-effective, right? Zhang Peilun said a little depressed.

"It's naturally quite expensive now, but I can't buy guns for the rest of my life, right? Moreover, if it is operated properly, the relationship between our Beiyang and Nanyang can still be eased, and it is still possible for the technicians from Nanyang to come to our Beiyang. Even if the relationship between Lord Liu and Master Zhang and Li Zhongtang is not good, they will do what they have to make money. Xu Jie said earnestly.

"I'll talk about this later, what does Mr. Xu mean is that what we need to do now is to unite the old Huai Department and connect with the South Seas?" Zhang Peilun said.

"That's basically what it means, but this is just the beginning, to solve the problems of money, people, equipment, Beiyang still has a long way to go, but the Japanese will definitely not leave us too long. Time is running out. Xu Jie said.

"By the way, Brother Xu, there is one more thing, Hannagen, a German, has come to Tianjin and wants to meet you." Zhang Peilun suddenly remembered something.

"What is he doing with me as an army captain?" Xu Jie said in his heart. However, in the spirit of not offending people, Xu Jie still agreed to meet Hannagan.