In a private room at an inn. A middle-aged Englishman in a top hat and trench coat handed Xu Jie an envelope. Xu Jie didn't say much, and opened the envelope. After watching it for less than half a minute, Xu Jie was shocked by the content. This letter is the transcript of a conversation Vittorio had with Shuzo Aoki that night.

"What is this?" Xu Jie asked knowingly.

"Quite simply, your friend betrayed you, and he promised to build ships for the Japanese behind your back. As for the so-called technology that does not draw on the best level? I want to be a connoisseur. You won't believe this nonsense, will you? The other party said with some pride.

"Where did it come from?" There was already anger hidden in Xu Jie's words.

"I swear in God's name that what you see is true. As for the way, I think it's not that important, the most important thing now is how to deal with the aftermath, not to investigate the source. ”

"And what about your purpose?" Xu Jie asked.

"Quite simply, since the foundation of your partnership with Mr. Vittorio has broken down, why not look elsewhere? To be honest, I don't think that the weak Italian Navy can provide you with enough space. The middle-aged man said.

"How can you guarantee that you can fully comply with my bottom line?" Xu Jie sneered and said. If the Italians really see this bottom line as a plaything. What more powerful British imperialist, than Italy, would not comply. The binding force of the contract often depends on the strength of both parties, without strength, no matter how strict the contract is, it is just a dead letter.

"Your Excellency can design more profitable large ships, such as battleships, armored cruisers. And with Japan's current financial resources, it is impossible to buy these things. The middle-aged man thought for a while and said.

"In other words, at this stage, because the Japanese don't have money, you can keep the contract. And once the Japanese have money, is the contract a dead letter? Xu Jie couldn't help but sneer.

"At least for now, the contract can be kept. There is no eternal contract in the world, and I think the British Imperial Navy can cooperate with you for a certain period of time, in contrast to the betrayal of the Italians. The middle-aged man said without blushing.

"Since Your Excellency is a Chinese, at the right time. We can pave the way for your official contact with the Qing Kingdom. I think with the recommendation of the British Royal Navy, your Excellency will be very useful even if you return to Beiyang, right? Colonel Luang Weili of the British Empire is currently the core commander of your country's Beiyang Naval Division. ”

Luang Weili? It's only 1 year at most, won't he still be squeezed away by Liu Buchan? Xu Jie was quite unimpressed with the other party's assurance, it was possible to help him get in touch with Beiyang at the right time, but how much face would Lao Li give to the Chinese introduced by the British? That's pretty uncertain. After all, Lao Li didn't want the Beiyang Navy Division to be accused by the British, although Lang Weili did his duty and didn't do anything cheating, but just this possibility made Lao Li favor Liu Buyun in the flag removal incident.

"Can I think about it? And the matter itself still needs to be verified. Although Vittorio's betrayal made Xu Jie very angry, it was not a wise choice to defect to the British. After all, there is still a Brin who values himself in Italy now, and who in England will help him? After a period of business, with the help of nobles, the Italians could not cooperate with themselves, and in London, where they were not familiar with their lives, England was even stronger. Xu Jie can be sure that as long as he has no use value, the British will abandon himself more simply than Vittorio.

"Okay, we look forward to a reply from the sir." The middle-aged man said with a smile.

"Will Xu accept our invitation? The Honourable Lord Hamilton, Shortly after Xu Jie left, Fisher walked in from the back room and asked.

"If the Italian top management does not interfere, Xu Jie will definitely leave the ** design bureau." Sir Hamilton was pleased with the outcome of today's talks.

"The British Empire could not abide by the so-called contractual bottom line." Fisher said.

"That's right, even if it's observed, it's only for a while." Hamilton said with a smile.

At this time, Xu Jie's carriage back was also experiencing his first test after crossing. To be honest, Vittorio's possible betrayal of Xu Jie is not quite. Xu Jie has also formulated several sets of response plans, for now, what Xu Jie is most unclear about is the attitude of the Italian military, if the military supports Vittorio's behavior, then Xu Jie can only break up with Vittorio. And if the military comes forward and rejects the Japanese, which Vittorio is of value for Xu Jie to cooperate? Although Xu Jie can come up with a sufficiently advanced concept to design a warship, how to put the idea into practice. He still needs a group of designers who have received systematic learning to complete. And currently among the Italian designers. Vittorio is the best candidate. And just when Xu Jie fell into deep thought, Xu Jie had already returned to the hotel where he was. …,

As soon as he got out of the carriage, Xu Jie felt that the atmosphere was quite weird. Around his private room, the bodyguards brought in were constantly patrolling. Tycho, Giulia, and Vittorio don't show up. And just after he walked into his room. I saw Tycho and Julia, who pretended to be calm, and Vittorio, who wanted to pretend to be calm but couldn't. In just an instant, Xu Jie felt that things were far from being as bad as he thought.

"Xu, I did something wrong." It took Vittorio nearly 1 minute to get those eight words out of the way.

"Really? Tell me about it? Xu Jie asked as if he didn't know anything.

"The Japanese asked me to help them design a dome cruiser, and I drank a little too much yesterday, so I agreed, but don't worry, Xu, I'll push it off." Looking at Xu Jie, Vittorio whispered.

"And then?" At this time, Xu was very calm, because he couldn't tell whether this was Vittorio's sincere apology or forced by the military. Now that the British already know, it's normal for the bodyguards to know which guards and surveillances do.

"Do many people know about this?" Xu Jie asked a word that he didn't want to close.

"The three of us." Tycho took a deep breath and continued, "And Minister Brin. ”

"I didn't expect such a trivial matter to bother Mr. Brynn." Xu Jie said with some self-deprecation.

"No, Mr. Vittorio has recognized the mistake, it was just a misunderstanding." Tycho heard a lot of dissatisfaction from Xu Jie's tone, but at this time, he obviously couldn't satisfy Xu Jie by saying that this incident was a misunderstanding.

"Vittorio." As if a voice came from a distant place, Xu Jie said a little weakly. "You saved my life."

"That was all in the past, and I really couldn't have achieved such great success without you."

"Together, we designed the **-class dome armor to find a home, together we opened a ship design bureau, and together we created a small arms design bureau. Then they fled the chase together," as if he hadn't heard Vittorio's words, Xu Jie continued.

"I thought we were friends." Xu Jie's tone was quite sad.

"Xu, we were friends in the first place, and if it weren't for you, we probably wouldn't have escaped that murder. No amount of money can buy back our lives. Vittorio choked up.

"I've always wanted us to be true friends, although there is a proverb that loyalty is simply because the price of betrayal is too high." Speaking of this, Xu Jie's eyes were full of tears. "But I don't quite think so, our friendship is only £30,000!!"

The three of them were silent, and in this environment, any excuses and excuses were so powerless.

"I'd like to ask a few questions." After a moment, Xu Jie asked.

"Okay." Vittorio said.

"First, what is Mr. Brin's attitude on this matter? Second, how do you plan to reply to the Japanese? Third, who do you think else will know about this besides the person concerned? Xu Jie asked.

"Mr. Brin was furious about it." Tycho's reply was full of sweat, although it was very likely that Xu Jie would think that it was the result of the Admiralty's strong pressure, but at this time, honesty is better than lies.

"I'll say no to this." Vittorio swore by it.

"If I'm not mistaken, the British should already know. And just this morning, they sued you. After a moment's hesitation, Julia replied.

"Well, that's good, Tycho, Julia, you're telling the truth, and I'm satisfied." Xu Jie glanced at the two of them meaningfully. If Tycho had said that Brin hadn't instructed him yet, he really didn't believe that Vittorio would admit his mistake like that.

"But Vittorio, I am very dissatisfied with your reply." Xu Jie suddenly had a very evil idea at this time. So much so that his face was a little hideous.

"Since it's money, it's naturally going to be earned, do you say?" Vittorio glanced at Vittorio meaningfully.