The horse's hooves rise and fall, knocking on the bluestone pavement, making a crisp sound. ※※※※※ I ※ I ※ ※

Suddenly, a four-wheeled car passed by the carriage, and Prime Minister Salisbury turned his head to look at it, but his brow furrowed again, it was a car made in the Far East.

This kind of car was also available in Salisbury, because that Limer gave a hundred cars to the British government and Parliament at one time, which was undoubtedly a successful political donation and sales pitch.

MPs' favour of him has skyrocketed, and their car-type cars have fueled the enthusiasm for buying such things.

Alternators, airships and automobiles have become the three major trades imported from the newly established China, among which there are many automobiles, and last year alone, as many as 6,000 cars were imported into Europe, and it is hard to imagine that a few years ago it was still a barren place, and even a place that could not produce daily necessities could sell Europe's top industrial products.

Although the United States also produces automobiles, because the price and quality are inferior to the other party, the businessmen love Li Mo, but they do not notice that they are handing over a steady stream of wealth to the other party, giving him the opportunity to arm the army and build warships!

According to some sources, in the five years since the Hawaiian shipyard, Li Mo has successively invested as much as 100 million pounds into industry, and nearly one million workers have been trained and are being trained, which is second only to the United States, France and Germany, which is more than the British Empire.

It is also said that he invented a production method that can greatly increase the efficiency and increase the production capacity several times, and the requirements for skilled workers have also been reduced a lot, but unfortunately only a few British businessmen have seen it so far, and they have not seen the whole picture clearly, and they cannot get too much accurate information.

What is surprising is that he obviously still has some unique technology, such as the four blockbuster Jinghai-class light cruisers just announced by the Chinese Navy, although Britain has obtained some general information such as ship name and tonnage, and has also obtained follow-up construction plans, etc., but it is still confused about the details, which makes the Admiralty, which urgently needs triple naval guns and increased rate of fire, very anxious, and even suggested grabbing one back to study.

Robbing a warship? Salisbury's head was big, and he held his forehead and admired the Admiralty officer who made this suggestion, at least he had enough courage.

The carriage arrived at the Prime Minister's residence, and the day's work was about to start again, Salisbury walked out of the carriage and looked at the sky habitually, and the attendant next to him hurriedly reminded: "Your Majesty, the airship factory has been put into production yesterday." ”

"Damn, I'm just looking at the weather." Salisbury glared at this ignorant guy fiercely, but he was also glad to have obtained airship technology, otherwise he would not have been able to get rid of this problem in this life.

He was just about to enter the mansion when the door was pulled open from the inside. "Your Majesty, I was about to go to you when a telegram came from Shanghai stating that General Filletman was in a confrontation with the Chinese Navy in the waters north of Shanghai."

"Confrontation?!"

"Yes." Kimberley's face was grim: "A confrontation involving eight battleships!" ”

"What!" The Salisburyers, who thought it was the same as before, jumped up. "This damn Li Mo, does he want to go to war with the British Empire?

"Provocation?"

"At war?"

"Warning?"

"Or something else——。"

Phili Zhiman stood on the battleship Asterisk Old Man, holding a telescope and frowning, opposite the four Duke-class battleships of the Pacific Fleet of the Chinese Navy were a cut above the two Old Man Stars and the two Centurion-class on his side in terms of displacement, firepower and strength, and the only thing that could take advantage was that he had four more cruisers in his hands.

However, if the other side does go to war, the only option is probably to entangle the other side with cruisers, protect the four battleships and withdraw to the Taiwan Strait, and wait until the remaining eight capital ships arrive from Hong Kong and Gapo.

If all the twelve capital ships arrive, even if only five of them are Old Man Star and two Centurion Rui, he is sure to win, but the problem is that there is still a fleet in the right hand, if you enter the South China Sea to harass and fight this side with all your might, I am afraid that the whole army will be wiped out before the division is met!

Philettman's brain was spinning, and suddenly he found that no matter how he calculated, he found that there was one thing that could not be bypassed, that is, the naval strength of this established Hua was almost equal to that of the British Empire's Far East Fleet, and the quality of the capital ships even had an advantage, and the only thing that could be restrained was that he had thirteen large armored cruisers in his hands, but the other party only had eight.

However, this situation is also changing rapidly, in the plan they announced, the last four Jinghai-class cruisers will be commissioned in a year, the only thing that can guarantee the advantage is that the British Empire's battleship construction technology has matured and can be continuously launched to the Far East, and Li Mo wants to break through the battleship technology, I am afraid it will take two years.

So, is it based on attrition to fight this war? Strangled Li Mo in infancy? It is believed that as long as three or four of his main battleships are sunk, the Chinese Navy will have to go on the defensive in an all-out manner, and will even abandon the Micronesia and Marshall Islands, which they have merged and have been renamed as MS. 【 I want: super fast update 】

"The Great Xia Islands?"

"It's not a nice name!" Philitman's fingers swept over Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, which were like a sparkling pearl on the charts, and he shook his head at the thought of the name changed by the Chinese government.

The order and rules of the Pacific Ocean are being tarnished by a bunch of yellow-skinned monkeys who have no chivalry! "Do they have an answer?" Philettman looked up, his eyes sparkling.

"Again." The communications officer shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands and said helplessly: "We are north of the Yangtze River. "North of the Yangtze River!" Philitman chewed on the words, his fists clenched tighter and tighter, and gradually even sweat seeped out.

In the bridge of the Duke opposite, Lin Taizeng's face was full of smiles, "Confronting the British Navy, and not weakly defeating him, God!" I'm afraid he didn't dare to think about it before this.

"Xiang, do you think Philip Zhiman will be impatient with us, really fighting?" Lin Tai once asked Liu Buchan beside him.

"I don't know." The corners of Liu Buyun's mouth crooked: "But Felitman is a steady admiral, I'm afraid he will wait until the main force of Hong Kong arrives to make a choice." ”

"Hey, that's a pity, if he was impulsive, it would be nice to call now." Lin Tai once touched his fist, "It's itchy all over."

"You just want to die." Liu Buyun glanced at him: "It's not difficult to defeat the Far Eastern Fleet, but don't forget, kill one thousand self-damage and eight hundred, less..., the emperor doesn't want to play consumption." ”

"Damn, it's not fun, you look at the back." Lin Tai once pointed to a huge black spot on the horizon that seemed to be a coal carrier, and said in a low voice: "I bet that those guys under the water are more enthusiastic than us, and I can't wait to fight immediately, Liu Buyun nodded."

In the past year, the Navy has sold four Determination-class, eliminated all third-line small gunboats, destroyers have also been dismantled torpedoes and other weapons for escort and coastal defense, and even four Surveyor-class light cruisers are in a semi-retired state "The number of warships began to shrink, and it seems to be shrinking in the eyes of the outside world, but in fact, only a few people know that a major adjustment is already quietly changing, such as the four Gray Ridge Shark submarines that have just been formed under water in the distance, and as many as eight subsequent improvements."

Few people know that an underwater seawolf force of up to sixteen ships, hiding in the shadow of the cannons of giant ships, is quietly sharpening its teeth.

So if he really wants to fight, on this open sea, as long as it drags on until the evening, he believes that the British will not be able to bite those guys under the water if they have a few more capital ships, not how powerful they are, but that in addition to their own side, none of them have loaded the ships with anti-these guys weapons these years!

"Report, the first two battalions of the Fifth Division have arrived at Dengzhou Bay, and the General Staff said that our mission has been completed and we can leave."

"yes, got it." Lin Taizeng nodded and said with a smile: "If Philitman finds out, will he go crazy if he confronts us here and misses a good opportunity to prevent the Fifth Division from landing in Jiangsu?" ”

"I don't know, but I won't be able to sleep tonight!" Liu Buchan laughed coldly, and walked out after saluting Lin Taizeng, and at the same time, Lin Taizeng's voice sounded behind him: "Send a signal to the British, we are going home!" ”

"The two battalions of the Fifth Division have landed and initially established a defensive line, and it is expected that the Fifth Division will be able to enter Jiangsu in half a month." Zhang Zuoshuang introduced the current battle situation.

"Call to Delete"

In the command room of the General Staff, Chen Ping and Yan Fu glanced at each other, and they both sighed, but Li Enfu didn't seem to understand, and asked: "Yuanshou, you are engaging in a confrontation with the British with great fanfare, just to let the Fifth Division land?" Could it be that Philettman will block our access to the North? ”

Chen Ping smiled slightly, took out a few newspapers and handed them to Li Enfu: "My Prime Minister, look at this." ”

Li Enfu glanced at him in surprise, flew over the newspaper, and found that it was all printed in Shanghai more than ten days ago, and couldn't help but be surprised, and asked, "What does this have to do with you letting Lin Taizeng go to Shanghai?" ”

"Mr. Li" You take a closer look, where your fingernails have scratched. ”

"Nails?"

Li Enfu hurriedly looked down, only to see that there were indeed some faint nail marks on the newspaper, and all the places that were scratched were related to Jiangsu!

"This is the newspaper that the Ministry of Intelligence got that Philettman reads, and judging from the impressions, as we guessed, Philip Zhiman at least has the intention of protecting Jiangsu, so he will pay so much attention to our actions in Shandong." Yan Fu, Minister of National Defense, introduced.

Li Enfu gradually understood: "So you sent Lin Tai to the past, just to attract the British to Shanghai and seize Laizhou Bay.

Chen Ping nodded: "Yes, although the British are not very good at declaring war on us, but if Philettman is given enough opportunities, he will definitely send warships to patrol the waters off Jiangsu, at that time, unless we declare war, otherwise we can find any excuse to prevent us from landing, at that time we have empty troops, and we can only fight step by step from land." ”

"It's winter now, in that case, the time is too slow, and the army will be given enough time to prepare, only to land from the coast first, so that when Shandong is over, the troops can free up their hands to immediately go south, and the two fronts can be flanked, and the northern war can be resolved as soon as possible!" Yan Fu continued.

Chen Ping smiled, since the vanguard of the Fifth Division landed in Laizhou, the British couldn't stop it, so they immediately turned their heads and continued to ask: "The third regiment of the Marine Corps and the first division and one regiment, and the third regiment of the fourth division advanced there?" ”

"I reported an hour ago that the Marine Corps had arrived in Qingzhou." Zhang Zuolin took the putter and pointed to the route of the landing team and said: "Now it is snowing all over Shandong, and the road is difficult to walk, and we expect to reach Jihui City in three days." ”

"The first division and one regiment passed through Dezhou, and the fourth division and three regiments also arrived in Linshi, and they did not encounter any resistance along the way, and they will arrive in Jinan one day earlier than the marines."

"Great, as long as Jinan is taken, Shandong will be done, and it will be able to support the Fifth Division to fight Jiangsu as soon as possible!" Minister of National Defense Yan Fuxing* waved his hand excitedly.

"Hehe, it's all to blame for this weather, otherwise Jinan would have been beaten earlier, and there would have been so much to wait!" Chen Ping smiled and looked at the snowflakes falling outside: "It's not difficult for us to take Shandong, but it's bitter for the Prime Minister!" ”

Li Enfu smiled bitterly: "I'm a bitter fart, it's hard to be and less, wrong, and tell the emperor, you let the army slow down, I don't have time to wipe my ass here?" ”

"Huh." After Li Enfu finished speaking, Yan Fu and Chen Ping both laughed, and even Zhang Zuoshuang smiled, defeated Shanhaiguan, controlled Beijing, and took out Yuan Shikai's 50,000 troops, which was equivalent to eating nearly 100,000 troops of the Qing army at once.

Although Shandong, Henan and Shanxi all have a town of soldiers and horses stationed, but most of them are dissatisfied with the establishment, and in the eyes of empty salaries, plus the soldiers in the three places have been sparse for a long time, they can't become a climate at all, if it is not for the weather obstruction, they can recover these three places even before the Chinese New Year!

Therefore, what we need to consider at this moment is not how to fight a war, but how to bring the places that have been fought into the effective management of the government, and we must build up the skeleton as much as possible.

"By the way" I haven't seen the emperor for a few days, what about others? Li Enfu was very busy during this time, and it was rare for him to see that Young Master Li did not come to the staff at this moment, but as soon as he opened his mouth to ask, he found that Chen Ping and Yan Fu suddenly had strange expressions, and even Zhang Zuoshuang twisted his neck?

"You're not going to the front again, are you?!" Li Enfu trembled, Chen Ping hurriedly said: "It's not true, but the emperor regrets it, he said that the war in the north is not complicated, let us deal with it ourselves, he is going to take a vacation." ”

"Repentance?!"

"He's the emperor! Also have a holiday? "Li Enfu jumped more than three feet high, I really don't know what Young Master Li is doing when he becomes the emperor, is there anything more important than how to add stability to the north?

At this moment, there are really not many things that can solve the Northern War and prevent interference from outside forces, but on Chogetsu Island, which is located in the Ogasawara Islands, there is one thing that has actually happened.

The wide cement open space in front of the flight test room was crowded with people, and almost all the people in the laboratory on the island stopped their work and crowded here, and Master Li also put on a casual suit and crowded in front of the crowd, facing the big wooden frame in front of him.

It's exciting, but it's a pity.

Happily, through the efforts of the power laboratory, the first aluminum light horsepower light engine has finally been successfully developed, which also means that the wood frame that has been made for a long time can finally go to the sky!

Compared with the Wright Brothers' Flyer 1 in history, the Zhonghua 1 aircraft in front of it is much more perfect, at least it has a wooden open cockpit like a bathtub, and there is no need to sit in the air in fear.

In addition to this cockpit, the others are similar, the fuselage is wooden, and the skeleton of the wing is also wooden, covered with a layer of canvas, in order to ensure that the strength does not disintegrate after flying into the sky, it is reinforced with steel wire links, and the elevator and tail rudder are reduced from the airship and transplanted.

Although from Li Mo's point of view, it is simple and scary, and he will never go up to the seat anyway, but he has to admit that this is a necessary process from scratch, just like a dreadnought, he can know the future development, but the more he can't go over, he will directly build super dreadnought.

Zhang Baoyi's face turned red, and while doing the post-inspection with the engineers, he tried to calm his breathing, and touched the wooden fuselage, he knew that there were only two roads in front of him today.

Heavens, success!

Fall, fail! I ............ myself.

Very, the engineers checked the whole plane, in fact, to put it bluntly, there are really not many places to check, only to see if the steel wire is loose, whether the wood deconstruction is cracked, and whether the canvas is firm.

Because everyone is inexperienced, no one knows if this guy can really fly!

"Boss, don't worry, I guarantee that it can fly......" The chief designer of the flight test laboratory, Adel stood beside Li Mo, looking at the plane, his face was excited: "Because I dreamed of ......"

"I dreamed ......" Young Master Li's brain is black, I really don't know why scientists are a little nervous, just like Tesla, always have headaches and strange dreams, they are all superb!

"I also hope that your dream will come true......" Master Li, smiling and sending a high hat: "If it flies, you will become a great scientist in this world......"

"Great ......" Adel seemed to be very attracted by this word, and hurriedly shook Li Mo's hand: "Boss, this is all your credit, if it weren't for you to gather us, if it weren't for your persistence, I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to get a plane in our lifetime!" "Wow Ka Ka, I've been in China for a long time, and I've learned to pat myself on the back......" Young Master Li was as good as a stream, and just wanted to praise a few words, Zhang Baoyi from the center of the venue had already begun to hug several other partners.

"It's about to start...... Li Mo's heart pounded.

"Report to the emperor, Zhang Baoyi is ready to ......test fly at any time after he is ready" After saying goodbye to his comrades, Zhang Baoyi trotted to Li Mo's side, saluted and shouted.

Li Mo slowly raised his right arm, compared with the scientists who designed the aircraft, he admired these test pilots who dared to gamble their lives, they were selected from tens of millions of people, they had to go through strict training, and they memorized a lot of awkward professional knowledge for this momentary glory!

"Baoyi, that's a good name!" "Go, go and give the Chinese a pair of wings that laugh proudly in the blue sky!" "Yes! Zhang Baoyi shouted, put on a helmet, put on a simple windbreaker, and strode towards the plane not far away without hesitation, Fang Xianqi, who came with him, hugged Li Mo's arm violently, Adel and other designers also held their breath, and everyone around them clenched their fists and waited quietly.

"Suddenly" suddenly repented. The ground crew turned the propeller of the nose engine hard, and suddenly billowing black smoke came out from under the nose, and the propeller turned into a whirlwind curtain in the blink of an eye, moving the plane a few feet.

The soldiers involved behind him were so frightened that they hurriedly pulled in the rope to prevent the plane from deflecting and movingZhang Baoyi walked to the cockpit, took a deep breath, and suddenly shouted as if encouraged, and sat in the cabin.

As a large hand reached out and clenched into a fist, the soldier behind him immediately untied the rope, and the plane began to glide little by little under the gaze of everyone.

Five, ten, twenty, thirty .......

Some people didn't even dare to look at it anymore, and covered their eyes with their hands, "Fang Xianqi was so frightened that she hid in Li Mo's arms, and when she leaned on her chest, she found that Li Mo, who seemed to be calm, was also heartbeating.

The taxiing became more and more flattering, and when the 60-meter line was reached, the front wheel suddenly lifted slightly, and then everyone saw that the nose of the plane seemed to be lifted by something, and it swayed and slowly raised, and the canvas covering the wings was almost blown up by the wind.

In this instant!

Zhang Baoyi in the cockpit also sensed the fluttering feeling of the plane, gritted his teeth and pulled the rudder back sharply, and suddenly the plane seemed to be thrown into the white clouds and flew up.

"Flying......"

"It's flying!" "The plane, it's flying!" At that moment, everyone jumped up and shouted, especially the soldiers, scientists and engineers who participated in the development of the aircraft, all of them burst into tears, and even Adel lost his usual demeanor, jumping and screaming excitedly.

The plane had to be not very high, only circling back and forth at an altitude of about fifty meters overhead, but even so, Li Mo knew very well that he had changed history again!

Because I got the plane almost five years earlier than the Wright brothers!

Yes, he doesn't understand airplanes, he doesn't understand aero engines, he doesn't understand technology, but he knows concepts! This is the advantage, like many projects, he points out a path, and then concentrates his strength and money to make great strides, because the vision brought by later generations can make everyone ignore the confusion and branch power on the road, and focus on a little bit!

This is the golden finger of Master Li!

"Mr. Adel, please accept my compliment, you are great......" Li Mo hugged Adel and pointed to the hovering plane with a smile: "Look at it, it flies too smoothly, have you blown it many times in the wind tunnel?" "Thank you, boss, it's ......" Adel's face turned red when he was praised, but suddenly he stopped his mouth, stared at his eyes, and opened his mouth wide: "Boss, what is the wind tunnel......"

"No, it won't! Isn't it all about blowing in the wind tunnel when you get airplanes? Suddenly, a cold sweat crawled on the back of the half-hanging concept master, and he remembered that he didn't seem to have proposed the concept of a wind tunnel!

"Can it land......

Young Master Li smashed his mouth, and his heart beat again.