DePretis's mind was not shared with anyone but himself. And he disguised it very well, not giving others a chance to observe at all.

And with the Italian government agreeing, it is preparing at an unprecedented pace. First of all, how to make the fleet go to the South China Sea in the name of justice, and Li Zhongtang's help has to be mentioned here.

This bigwig in charge of the Beiyang personally wrote to the imperial court, declaring that Italy intended to send a fleet to train with the Beiyang, and the Italian side also took the opportunity to announce that it planned to send a fleet to conduct exercises with the Qing fleet.

can let Li Zhongtang come forward to cover, of course, it is not only the friendship with the Italians, 12 Italian fast guns and 1,000 Italian fast guns, which makes Li Zhongtang even more satisfied.

Immediately after gaining the name, the build-up of the Italian navy and army accelerated. First of all, the army's three thousand men were ready in only three days. It drew 2,000 men from the 2nd Division of the Army, and another 1,000 from the Guards (which Carlo strongly demanded), forming a temporary regimental strength of 3,000 men.

Compared to the Army, the Navy is much slower. But this can't be blamed on them, the warship is not just a walk, and the necessary maintenance before leaving is a must. In addition, some parts that may be damaged need to be replaced, and various logistics vessels also need to be prepared for such a long voyage.

And about the choice of commanders this time, it is also a big problem. It's not that the Navy can't choose a commander to lead the team, and there are too many commanders to choose. And such an action full of fame and fortune, as long as you feel that you are qualified, you want to fight for it.

In this regard, Admiral Golek felt that this was more troublesome than other work, and it was also more of a headache for him.

Of course, no matter how much headache he had, there was still something else to do, and countless various supplies were gathered, such as cinchona cream for malaria, and various drugs for tropical diseases. Of course, in addition to medicines, other protective items are also indispensable, in the tropical environment, the most frightening thing is all kinds of sadistic diseases, which is also the first threat to the European colonists, which is much more powerful than any native.

With the efforts of all levels in Italy, the preparation time was ready for a month and a half. In this competition for the commander of the team, Lieutenant General Oliver Hilion won over the other competitors.

So under the leadership of this vice admiral, the mighty Italian fleet began its journey to the Far East.

Compared with the concerted efforts and various preparations in the country, Jia Liwen, the Italian minister to the Qing State, is much weaker.

However, his task was not light at all, and he had just come out of the Governor of Liangguang, and before he had time to catch his breath, he heard the secretary's report. "Minister, Mr. Howard has sent a telegram from Shanghai, the goods you need are ready. However, due to the urgency of the request, the cost is a little higher. ”

Jia Liwen, who was sitting in the back seat, asked. "How tall?"

"It cost four hundred and one thousand lira."

"It's okay, it's still acceptable."

The goods discussed by the two were a batch of guns and ammunition, and they were also guns and ammunition from other countries. This is also the equipment that Jia Liwen is preparing to transport to Lan Fang to support its resistance to the Dutch.

Of course, whether the Lanfang people can get this batch of weapons or not, this needs to be discussed before we know. And he visited Governor Zhang this time to find an intermediary. It stands to reason that this kind of thing should be known as little as possible, but considering the speed and success rate, it is best for the Qing government to intervene.

"Minister, how did the talks go?"

After reporting the information he had just received, the secretary was concerned about the outcome of the minister's visit.

Faced with the secretary's inquiry, Minister Jia Liwen replied with a smug face. "The conversation with Governor Zhang was very good, and he had promised to send someone to Meizhou immediately to find the Qing people who had contact with Lanfang."

After hearing the minister's words, the secretary hesitated for a while and then continued to speak. "The person in charge of contact with the Lanfang people, can you add one?"

The secretary's words made Jia Liwen look up at him. "What, you want to go?"

The secretary nodded vigorously. "I want to contribute to the country, and with the military attache Major Kerra alone, I'm afraid that this person will not be able to deal with the Lanfang people very well."

Facing the secretary's words, Jia Liwen looked at him without speaking.

The secretary, who had been with the minister for several years, knew what the minister meant, so he had to tell the truth. "Well, Your Excellency, I just want to take some credit, I have been with you for several years, and I am still a second secretary."

"Unwilling?"

"Yes."

"Not this time, the first contact with Major Kerra is the right person, you can go next time."

Jia Liwen's words made the secretary put down his careful thoughts and sit quietly in the carriage.

As for Governor Zhang Nanpi, whom he had just visited, he was talking with his staff after Jia Liwen left.

"Zhujun, why do you say that this Italian minister suddenly became interested in the overseas Lanfang people?"

Zhang Zhidong called Zhujun is his new staff member Zhao Fengchang, who was born in Changzhou, and had to go south to Guangzhou because of the fall of the Taiping Heavenly National Road. He served as a staff member of Yao Jinyuan, the commander of the Guangdong Domain, and later Yao Jinyuan was dismissed from his post and became a staff member of Governor Zhang who went south to Guangzhou. Because he was diligent and studious, quick-witted, and skilled, he soon won Zhang Zhidong's appreciation, and was appointed as a copywriter to supervise the office, participate in confidential information, and draft the manuscript of the telegram.

Faced with Governor Zhang's inquiry, Zhao Fengchang naturally had some speculation. "What the Governor thinks, I think the Italian people should want to do false ways to destroy the enemy."

He is worthy of being a talented and agile person, and through the Italian fleet, he wanted to come to the Italian minister to help him, and immediately guessed the Italian people's plans.

"Then Zhujun, do you think the governor should help with this?"

"For both public and private purposes, Lord Governor Xian should help with this. Yu Gong is good to the Italian people, which is beneficial to the imperial court. The people of Guanyi seem to attach great importance to the opinions of the imperial court. From intervening in the war between the court and the legal person, although the intention is to have a bad relationship with the legal person, but he is willing to work so hard, it can be seen that the Italian person seems to want to be more interested in befriending the court with his own unique attitude. For private purposes, Lord Governor sells people well, and when he needs to use people in the future, he must have an expression. ”

Zhao Fengchang talked about all aspects of friendship with Italy, which caused Governor Zhang to nod again and again. "Zhujun's words are better than reading for ten years. Then do what Zhujun said, and send a document to Meizhou to send someone to Guangzhou as soon as possible. ”

With Governor Zhang's decision, the fast horse of the Governor's Mansion immediately sent the official document to the Meizhou Governor. In the face of the governor's urgent order, the prefect of Meizhou naturally did not dare to slack off, and immediately asked people to find people who had contact with Lan Fang.

This is Liu Jingsheng, the cousin of Liu Enguan, the commander of Lanfang, and he is an excellent choice for Chinese.

Soon this Liu Jingsheng was sent to Guangzhou, and after the Italian minister Jia Liwen talked with him, this Liu Jingsheng got on a transport boat and went south to Lanfang with the Italian military attaché, Major Kerra.