Today Frederick was going to talk about a big deal. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

A number of high-standard diplomatic missions came to the Far East to make a special trip to Wiener to buy arms.

This business was introduced by Walter, an old friend of Watertown. His cover letter reads as follows:

"We've extended our colonial reach into the Far East, and you would never imagine what an exaggerated and legendary land it is. The East is full of labor, minerals, and huge profits, and the wealth conveyed by the colonies is likely to change the situation of the war! Thanks to industrialization, the steam ironclad ships of the water city have been launched and put into service, and they can barely compete with Spain for a piece of the pie. Unlike the British and French colonial officials, who were scheming and predatory, I tried to maintain friendly relations with the great powers of the East. Now they envy our strong ships and artillery, and I recommend them to come to you for arms trade and technical extradition. It's big business! It's going to make your economy run wild for years. As a grasshopper on a line, you don't have to thank me, you didn't die in the stinky gutter, I thank you. ”

Frederick took Chi to meet the diplomatic corps.

"Your Excellency President, Li Zhongtang has been waiting for a long time. The adjutant led Frederick to the drawing room. Xiao Qian obediently followed, pouring tea and serving water when the two sides were greeting.

Xiao Qian can be called a national color, which makes the reception room shine, and Li Zhongtang glanced at her no less than three times when shaking hands.

"It's been hard work from afar. Frederick invited the guests to sit down.

Li Zhongtang has a withered face, sparse white hair, and looks like a dying person, but he is old and calm when dealing with people, like an old bureaucrat who is obscure. His withered body was like a hanger, craggy to support the shape of an official uniform, the python robe was so black that it was reflective, and the top was so red that it was dazzling.

Li Zhongtang squeezed out a reserved smile, then leaned into his chair and muttered to the translator.

The interpreter listened for a long time, looked at Frederick in pain, and said, "The meaning of the middle hall is probably ...... Boats, engines, drawings, engineers, all of them, please offer a price. ”

Frederick was taken aback, and thought to himself that this was a wealthy man, and he should serve him quickly.

As a result, the maid with a stiff face suddenly put down the cup and plate, and interjected unruly: "Lord Li's original words are 'Britain, France and Portugal, the cannon is not good, and the German craftsmanship alone can be called first-class. In the future war, there will be a slight advantage and a blunt disparity. He meant to visit the Krupp Arsenal and compare the cannon parameters. Didn't say buy a boat. ”

The old translator's face turned red, his eyes widened, and he said, "Your Excellency, can even a maid participate in diplomatic affairs?

Frederick was even more surprised by Xiao Qian's erudition, and when he was dumbfounded, Xiao Qian unceremoniously corrected the translator's German pronunciation, and then boasted on his own: "Li Zhongtang can tell me, and I will convey it to the president word for word." ”

Li Zhongtang looked at Xiao Qian for a while, lazily raised his hand to dismiss the translator, and fired the man without looking back. Then he smiled and bowed his hand to Xiao Qian: "So tired." Recently, the East China Sea has not been peaceful, and Britain and France have taken advantage of strong ships and guns to occupy our concessions. Internal and external troubles, spears and crossbows cannot defeat the enemy, and they must master the skills of Yi to control them. Therefore, he traveled to the ocean to seek world-class artillery and long-term stable development. ”

Xiao Qian nodded and told Frederick seriously.

Frederick stared at Xiao Qian as if he were on the verge of a great enemy, frowning and stroking the ring, his eyes narrowed: "Do you speak Chinese?"

Xiao Qian was proud, not knowing that his identity was exposed: "The master praise me." ”

Frederick quietly stretched his brows, touched her blonde hair, and said, "Julia is amazing, it's good to have you with you." When the maid was overjoyed, he told Li Zhongtang in a heartfelt manner: "It's not enough for you to buy field artillery. Since you want to defend the sea frontier, you must have artillery experts to design coastal defense artillery for you, and you need professionals for operation, maintenance, and maintenance. How long is the coastline of your country?"

In order to sell the business, Frederick did his homework in advance, and he was eager to sell all the excess inventory to the big guy.

Xiao Qian translated the past. Li Zhongtang said categorically: "I am facing the coastal defense line for 30,000 kilometers. ”

Frederick nearly slipped out of his chair. He was stunned by the vastness of the empire's borders.

Wiping his sweat, he continued: "So what you have to deal with is maritime aggression. The coastal defense line is 30,000 kilometers wide...... You'll need to use the deterrent power of the ironclad to defend yourself. You need to assemble a world-class fleet. ”

Li Zhongtang lowered his head and thought, as if he was calculating the budget.

Frederick felt that there was nothing to hesitate about, and couldn't help but interject: "Portugal is an old colonial country, Spain is behind, Britain and France are catching up, these countries are seeking colonial interests to break the deadlock, and the strength of the navy cannot be underestimated." The formation of an ironclad fleet is the only means of defense, and it is urgent. ”

"Fleet...... How much is it worth?" Li Zhongtang's pride disappeared, and he asked the cost a little hesitantly.

"Here is the gunboat data and quotation provided by Venez. Frederick had managed to sell a few more ships, and he felt a large amount of money approaching.

Li Zhongtang flipped through the quotation, pondered for a while, and politely refused: "This trip is for cannons." The ship's ...... When the two countries are deeply affectionate, they will discuss again. ”

Frederick was dumbfounded. Of course, he wanted to do more business, but what he was even more puzzled about was that Li Zhongtang didn't want the technology and battleships that he gave away for nothing, and he didn't know what he was hesitating about.

Germany and the Far East, thousands of kilometers apart, no matter how much they expand their armaments, will not threaten the existence of the other side, which constitutes the perfect prerequisite for an alliance. It was for this reason that Frederick Lisso readily agreed to sell the arms. The alliance between the two countries can be said to be a match made in heaven.

He didn't understand why Li Zhongtang was hesitant.

"No offense. Germany is suffering from the enemy on its belly and back, and the situation of your country is not much different, so I feel sorry for each other, and I can't help but ask a few more words: At the moment of the great enemy, the country should focus on national defense and industry, and it is urgent to form a navy, why are you indecided??" Frederick motioned to Xiaoqian to translate.

Before rushing to Germany, Li Zhongtang had traveled to Britain and France, repeatedly comparing the parameters of the cannon. However, Britain and France were arrogant, and they were laughing at his long braids and big black robe everywhere, and only here was Frederick that Li Zhongtang got normal courtesy, and he couldn't help but feel related, so he told him the truth from the bottom of his heart: "It's not a secret, Lafayette appreciates a famous character, and in order to be able to support him often, he simply renovated the palace, called the Summer Palace." All of a sudden, the agarwood from Lingnan and the solid wood from Changbai Mountain were all transported to the capital, and Lafayette had face, but money was tight, so he couldn't buy an ironclad ship for a while. I don't even have the money to buy cannons. ”

"And what do you pay for?" asked Frederick quickly.

"The agreement has been drafted by Shuicheng, and we will pay the account with the tungsten mineral rights in South China. Li Zhongtang saw Frederick's face change, and hurriedly replied.

Frederick was a little anxious and a little angry, he stood up, bowed his back and asked, "Then you won't buy the production line of cannons?"

Frederick wanted his allies in the Far East to become stronger, and he was anxious to see them neglecting national defense.

"Promote long-term exchanges. Li Zhongtang actually admitted it euphemistically. He was a little ashamed and began to wipe his sweat.

"Isn't there a national defense university? Don't we need to provide teachers? What if the artillery fails? What about the artillery specialists? What about the professionals?" Frederick thought ridiculous.

"Talent ...... Talent problem, this," Li Zhongtang lowered his head in pain and wiped his sweat, racking his brains and muttering: "Wait for next year, I will pick some clever children to come to your country for further study, and let them repair the artillery if it fails." ”

Frederick wanted to curse, but he restrained himself, after all, he could not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. He could only ask repeatedly in vain: "I can transfer the production line to your country, and I can also recruit professors for your country, although it requires some money, but ...... Is it really okay if you can't send talent to your own society?"

Li Hongzhang hurriedly said: "There are a lot of talents. Liyuan has recently had some new clever little dans, and in time, it will definitely become a corner. ”

"What do you mean by horning?" said Frederick, a little confused.

Xiao Qian combined with the translator and explained to him vividly: "Cheng Jiao'er is to become a celebrity on the stage, there are eight sedan chairs when you go out, there is a sandwich road to welcome you when you enter the venue, and you can receive a hundred taels of silver when you appear, and many poor children sharpen their heads to apprentice, so that they can enter the Summer Palace in the future, please Lafayette, and enjoy endless glory and wealth in the future." ”

Frederick knew the price of the city of Water, one hundred taels of silver, and could buy a twin thirty-millimeter ironclad cannon.

"You can make so much money from the show, then you are quite rich, how can you not afford to buy a warship?" Frederick was angry about selling the ship, he felt that it was a shame to fail in the sales pitch, so he never forgot to sell the ship to Li Zhongtang.

"I can't hide it," Li Zhongtang was cornered by his enthusiastic allies, and rebuked his cronies bitterly, and whispered: "Only the drama makes more money." Everyone else drinks soup. ”

"Why?" a wave of anger rushed up Frederick's chest.

"Our company is in charge of the military industry, and we know that it is wonderful. Running a factory and working hard, I can't make a profit all year round and sing a play. Who's still in business? That's how our manufacturing industry is finished. Li Zhongtang felt that he had found a soulmate, and he vomited bitterness, "It's useless for you to transfer the production line to me." The industry is not profitable, and no one does it at all. The rich all revolve around the troupe. ”

Manufacturing and industry are creative economies that can produce more products, experiences, and technologies. Private income, on the other hand, is an interest-bearing economy that only bubbles up in numbers.

"That, that," Frederick was a little embarrassed, realizing that he had poked someone else's sore spot, so he had to hang up and laugh with his hands: "Then, Lafayette loves to watch plays, what is the way, it's good to watch plays, interesting, I want to see them when I have the chance." ”

Xiao Qian was particularly uninteresting, she rolled her eyes and said beside her, "I see the Daqing pill." ”

Li Zhongtang was furious, clenched his fists to the sky, and glared angrily at the maid: "I have my own national conditions in the Qing Dynasty, and Lafayette repairs a garden, and it is also the turn of others to make irresponsible remarks......?"

Xiao Qian sometimes didn't even buy Frederick's account, where would he be afraid of foreigners, so he puffed up his head and didn't squeak. She had the illusion that Frederick would dot on her, so she was a little fluttering, pampered and arrogant.

Frederick asked Xiaoqian in German: "I estimate that the construction of that theater garden embezzled a huge amount of naval funds." ”

"Don't ask him, even if you ask him, he won't dare to say. Xiao Qian saw that the male owner had no intention of accountability, as if he was fighting side by side, and suddenly a warmth came to his heart. She deliberately didn't laugh, and while expressing her opinion in a positive color, she stole beauty in her heart.

"Is that theater a misappropriation of naval funds?" asked Frederick, unscrupulously.

Li Zhongtang was stunned for a moment, and continued to clench his fists to the sky with loyalty, and shouted: "I have my own national conditions in the Qing Dynasty, and I ...... here."

"Okay, okay," Frederick heard him cry dumb, feeling sorry for Li Zhongtang's vocal cords, "Anyway, you just buy and don't learn, right? No problem, I'll accompany you to the arsenal in the afternoon to see the goods." ”

Li Zhongtang was pardoned, coughing and sitting down to drink tea.

Frederick knew very well that Li Zhongtang must have worked very hard to be a great minister, he had to cater to the selfish desires of his superiors and protect the maritime affairs of the Yamen, so he had to sing carols on the surface, and it was impossible to slander Lafayette with outsiders. So he waved his hand and asked the old man to stop yelling, drink tea and greet him for a while, and then go to the arsenal to see the goods.

After all, the tungsten ore promised by Li Zhongtang is a precious alloy mineral, something that the defense industry urgently needs.