1890 King of Southeast Asia

But we can’t not give money. Reporting multiple times is a foregone conclusion. Five million, it is definitely impossible to give all, but one or two million will still be given.

As expected, the old Buddha spoke. She didn’t care about this little money. She cared about power. As long as the power was still there, this little money was nothing.

“Give half to Li Hongzhang, Shiduo, and also give the 100,000 taels from the Navy Office. Give Li Hongzhang 2.6 million. We must win.” The old Buddha didn’t want to win, but she couldn’t say it.

“Report to the old Buddha, Li Hongzhang has another memorial.” Shiduo stood up and said.

The old Buddha felt that this was what she wanted, and thought to herself: “I was wondering why Li Hongzhang didn’t submit a memorial to me, but it turned out to be here?”

“Show it, let me see what Li Hongzhang wrote.” The old Buddha looked very interested.

The memorial was presented, and the old Buddha opened it and looked at it for a while, paused, and then the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

"Good! Li Hongzhang is indeed a loyal minister of the court. He is thoughtful and approved!" The Empress Dowager didn't send the memorial down, and she didn't need to do it.

According to the Qing system, military affairs can be discussed by the Minister of War, the Minister of Military Affairs, and the Emperor. But later, the head Minister of Military Affairs could represent the ministers and discuss with the emperor alone. This matter involves the navy. In theory, it is under the jurisdiction of the Navy Yamen and the Minister of Commerce of Beiyang. To put it bluntly, it is Shiduo, the head Minister of Military Affairs, who is responsible. The Empress Dowager agrees, and that's it.

"Urge Li Hongzhang to set sail as soon as the silver arrives and get rid of this Nanhua as soon as possible." The Empress Dowager was tired again, and she called for the court to be dismissed after she finished speaking.

The two pieces of news, after a long journey, reached Li Hongzhang. Li Hongzhang called Ding Yuting and Liu Zixiang again.

"Yuting, Zixiang, the court has decided to use military force against Nanhua." Li Hongzhang said.

"Ah! Lord Zhongtang, this." Ding Yuting stood up in surprise.

"Lord Zhongtang, what is the purpose of this battle?" Liu Zixiang asked more like a professional soldier.

Li Hongzhang glanced at Liu Zixiang and said, "Don't worry, in this battle, the court means to go south and pacify Nanhua. But this is not just a matter of Nanhua. I won't tell you the details. This battle cannot be won, let alone lost."

"Lord Zhongtang, may I ask, how many soldiers are there for this expedition? How many ships are deployed?" Ding Yuting pulled Liu Zixiang who wanted to speak, and asked.

"The journey is long, so only four ships will be dispatched to Zhijingjing. No other soldiers will be sent except for the accompanying personnel. The above allocated 2.6 million taels of silver. This amount is a real approval. The war is about to start, so he dare not withhold it. Each of the four ships will be given 100,000 taels of silver to set sail, and another 200,000 taels will be added to maintain the hull and replenish guns and bullets. The rest will be used for daily consumption of the navy. I will save it up and maybe I can add another ship." Li Hongzhang saw the two people's excitement about the new ship, and thought of something, and said again.

"Remember, this battle must be fought without victory or defeat, but also to show the prestige of our Beiyang! Whether we win or lose, there will be no new ships." Li Hongzhang warned.

"Hey!"*2 The two patted their sleeves and knelt down with a snap.

"Go down and prepare, and set off as soon as possible." Li Hongzhang served tea to see them off.

"I'll take my leave!"*2 After the two saluted, they left the Beiyang Minister of Commerce and returned to the navy station.

"Master Ding, what does Master Zhongtang mean? Neither win nor lose, how can you neither win nor lose?" Liu Zixiang asked after they were far away.

"Haha, Zixiang, I am not as good as you in naval battles, and you are not as good as me in being an official. I have learned these two days that this war is not inevitable, or rather, this war is what the officials in the court want to see." Ding Yuting said with a smile.

"Oh? There is also this relationship?" Liu Zixiang felt that this was a trap, but he could not find any evidence.

"In the final analysis, now, the Queen Mother is in charge, and Master Zhongtang is a member of the Queen's Party. We are also members of the Queen's Party, but the Die Qing has the Emperor. The Emperor is growing up, and it is almost time for him to rule the country." Ding Yuting seemed to be sighing about something.

"Master Ding means that this time it is the Emperor's Party that advocates the war? No wonder, a group of Qingliu who do not know the dangers of war is also excusable." Liu Zixiang muttered to himself, and Liu Zixiang had a higher liking for Qingliu.

"Zixiang, I have to talk about you." Ding Yuting said to Liu Zixiang, who was in a daze. Thinking of the previous things, he said to Liu Zixiang.

"Oh? Please teach me, Lord Ding." Liu Zixiang said.

"What are we? Navy, Beiyang Navy! Serving the court faithfully." Ding Yuting was not polite, and bowed in the direction of the palace gate, and then said, "But, taking a step back, under the condition that the general direction remains unchanged, we are under the jurisdiction of Beiyang. We must be loyal to the court and even more loyal to Beiyang."

After that, no matter how Liu Zixiang asked, Ding Yuting stopped talking.

"You have to understand this way of being an official yourself, go and see, go and listen, and go and experience it. That is your own!" Ding Yuting shook his head.

The time came to March 12. The British Empire's Embassy in China.

"Sir, the Beiyang Fleet has set off." Chinese clerk Jordan entered the office of the current ambassador to China, Sir Walsh.

"Well! Got it. Let's move the electric board to Sishui as planned!" Walson said nonchalantly.

Britain knew about this long ago, and even officials from the Qing Dynasty had approached him, hoping to get support from Britain.

Are you kidding? Walson could only say that before the war started, he could agree to allow the Beiyang warships to refuel in Hong Kong, but more, it was not possible, Britain needed to remain neutral in the war. He also expressed his disdain for the shameful sneak attack by the Qing Dynasty during the war.

As early as when the Die Qing court discussed this matter, the British knew about it, and even the Japanese did not escape their eyes, but they all tacitly concealed it from Nanhua.

At the same time, under the promotion of those who are interested, immigration encountered problems, but because it was not a direct message from the top, it was just a trumped-up reason, plus the silver bullet offensive, so the transaction was stopped.

And Lin Anmin was even more shocked. Most of the people who came to Lin Anmin came for the sponsorship of enrollment. The spirit of contract? Some people just want to finish school, come back and join the Westernization Movement, and then they will be people of the Celestial Empire. What can Nanhua do to me at that time?

Now, these speculators heard some rumors, and they were impatient to leave Lin Anmin's team with the illusory future. Fortunately, there are still more than 40 people left, and there is another group who are preparing for the exam. This group of people may not believe in Nanhua, but they are more reliable than that group of people. That group of people still think of Die Qing in their hearts, and finally tied up with a huge contract. They are just college students.

Lin Anmin didn't understand why these people suddenly stopped going. He thought it was because of the obstruction of local officials. After all, they had a criminal record. Before the two major wars, the people of the Qing Dynasty were both cowardly and arrogant.

…………

On February 14, Liu Yiming had completed the defense preparations for the three core cities in Java by piecing together various things, and at the same time was judging the intention of the Qing Dynasty's attack this time.

"Charles, can you do me a favor?" Liu Yiming ran to Charles again. No matter how good the friendship is, it will run out, so Liu Yiming was ready to pull Charles into the chariot.

"What favor?" Charles said helplessly. He had tried to learn more before, but the resistance was not small. After weighing the pros and cons, he did not go into it.

"You also know that Nanhua has some antibacterial drugs. I hope someone can help me apply for a patent in Europe and sell it. I can't think of anyone more suitable than you, so I hope you can do me this favor." Liu Yiming said.

"Is it the kind of antibacterial drug used by your army? Oh my God! But has the production problem been solved?" Charles asked. He had asked before, but Liu Yiming evaded the question by saying that production was difficult, the technology was difficult, the raw materials were expensive, and mass production was not possible.

"Yes, the factory has improved the process. Although the raw materials are expensive, the output can be guaranteed. I have two options. The first is to sell it directly to you at a price of 8 pounds per pill. This is already the situation that guarantees my minimum profit. You can sell it in the UK at will." Liu Yiming said.

"What about the second one?" Charles thought this was good, but he still wanted to hear the second one.

"The second one is that we jointly set up a trading company. This trading company will get the right to sell such drugs throughout Europe, and I can give you 10% of the profit." Liu Yiming said.

"No, no, no! It's too little, at least half. You know, the initial channels also need to be invested!" Charles prefers the second one, but he is not satisfied with the share.

"No, you don't want to sell it yourself, do you? I'll give you an idea. Sell the operating rights in a divided area. The cost is almost zero. You have to know that there is only one effective medicine in the world! Do you know what this means? Monopoly! There are more than 100 million people in Europe, one pill per person, how much would that cost?" Liu Yiming tempted.

Gulp!

Charles swallowed his saliva.

"Then..." Charles was interrupted as soon as he spoke.

"15%, I need you to help me promote it directly. You have to know that this is a monopoly. Many people will participate in it later. Otherwise, it will be difficult to enter certain countries. 15% is already very high. 15% can guarantee you an annual income of millions of pounds!" Liu Yiming said.

"Okay!" Charles gritted his teeth and agreed.

"It's like this, my friend, the production of the special medicine No. 001 requires some precious raw materials, and the source of these raw materials is dieqing. Now the source is suddenly cut off. I need to know why." Liu Yiming said.

"Don't worry, I will try my best!" Charles said helplessly.

"Come on, my friend, this is for us, isn't it? Let's have one!" Liu Yiming took Charles' red wine and poured a glass.

"Oh my God! What are you doing? This is the authentic wine of Chateau Latour that has been stored in the cellar for 20 years. Look at you, you are simply wasting it!" Charles snatched the bottle.

"Really? I think it's not as good as grape juice!" Liu Yiming took a sip and said.

Then, Liu Yiming was kicked out...