The Nanyang Navy has been continuously expanding its enrollment in recent years. In less than five years, the forces within the Marine Corps have exceeded 50,000, but the Eight Banners children account for more than 30%. A large number of royal family members, Jueluo, the Eight Banners, serve as officers at all levels. It is hard to say how many troops can be mobilized to go to sea for conquest without being ordered.

Hearing Yi Zhizu's words, he seemed to have no clue. Bao Shichen pondered for a while before speaking: "The Navy is a new recruit. Unlike the Eight Banners Green Camp, he does not use civil service to control military power and restrain each other. Generals do not know the soldiers, soldiers do not know the generals, orders go out, and orders vary... and many other disadvantages.

However, many officers in the navy were also the sons of the nobles of the Eight Banners of Jueluo. They actually played the role of decentralization, restraint and supervision. This time, they sent troops to conquer Nanyang without authorization, which can be said to have arbitrarily launched border provocations. There will inevitably be many officers who will oppose it, and the marquis must not force it.

The imperial court has always been most afraid of local generals holding troops and respecting themselves. At this subtle critical moment, it is even more sensitive. If the Marquis orders him to come out like a mountain in the navy, it will be bad..."

"Mr. I reminded me." Yi Zhizu nodded slightly, then scratched a match and lit a cigarette. Bao Shichen said with concern: "The Marquis said that Spain is an old-fashioned marine overlord, with a vast overseas colony, and was once known as the "Empire of the Sun". As the saying goes, a thin camel is bigger than a horse. Although it is declining now, it should not be underestimated. If the navy can only provide half of its strength, is the Marquis sure?"

"Sir, don't worry." Yi Zhizu said in a relaxed tone: "The Spanish Empire is the yellow flower of yesterday. We are just a dog who falls into the water. Although the Spanish Navy is still of a certain scale and is stronger than us, its fleet does not dare to come to the Far East to fight us to the death. Its fleet must protect the security of its local and American colonies."

Bao Shichen then asked, "Where is the Netherlands?"

"The Netherlands is probably a little troublesome." Yi Zhizu said truthfully: "The British may not interfere when fighting Luzon's Spain, but it is hard to say when fighting the Netherlands. I plan to hit Luzon first to see what the British attitude and reaction are."

After taking a sip of tea, Bao Shichen said, "If Britain interferes violently, how will the Marquis plan to deal with it?"

"The British intervened because they were worried that their interests in Southeast Asia would be threatened." Yi Zhizu pondered: "Negotiate with them and temporarily guarantee their interests in Southeast Asia."

"Temporary guarantee?" Bao Shichen's heart was shocked. Could it be that he still planned to expel the British from Southeast Asia?

"The British occupied Malacca." Yi Zhizu said in a deep voice: "That is the key to the throat of Nanyang. If we can manage it together, we can be at peace. Otherwise, we must strive to do so, and we cannot be locked in Nanyang."

Can't be locked in Nanyang? Is it necessary to continue to expand outward? This ambition is really great! Bao Shichen opened the folding fan and suffused the smoke. Then he bowed and said in a teasing tone: "Isn't the marquis not satisfied with swallowing Nanyang?"

"The world is so big, how can we settle down in a corner and be self-satisfied?" Yi Zhizu bounced the ashes and said, "What's more, we still lack the same resources now..."

"Gold?" Bao Shichen said tentatively.

Yi Zhizu smiled and said, "Whether it is gold or black gold, we must break through Malacca." As he said, he changed his mind, "This time, the court will definitely be extremely dissatisfied with sending troops without authorization. If the matter of sending troops to support the consolidation of the northwest, we must formulate a specific and detailed plan as soon as possible. Even if we cannot repay the merits, we can calm the anger of the court a little."

After hearing this, Bao Shichen hurriedly said, "This specific plan will be returned to the Marquis' decision..."

"I don't know much about the Northwest." Yi Zhizu said: "Sir, we have to decide how to implement it and when to implement it. There is no need to worry about the real plan. We have to send someone to the local conditions after we can."

After a pause, he continued: "In addition, I will lead the fleet to fight for the past two years or two or two years. I am afraid I will not have time to stay in Shanghai to manage the Zongli Yamen. I will propose a memorial and ask the court to appoint another or add the Prime Minister to preside over the yamen, and I will help Wu Changqing."

Bao Shichen nodded in a complicated mood. He knew very well that Yi Zhizu led troops to conquer the Nanyang Islands without authorization and embezzled the Nanyang Islands was only one purpose, and the other purpose was to avoid disaster. When the old and old imperial powers were alternating, the situation in the morning was unpredictable. There were many examples of the old emperor and the new emperor turning against each other. Whether it was Yuanqi or Yi Zhizu, the risks were not ordinary. Yi Zhizu led the troops outside, which was the safest.

After pondering for a moment, he asked, "Who does the marquis think the emperor will like?" As he said that, he gestured four and six. Now the only ones who are qualified to compete for the throne are the fourth prince Yizhu and the sixth prince Yixuan. The new emperor must be one of the two.

Yi Zhizu shook his head slightly and said, "The two princes have their own merits, and this matter is really hard to say." Indeed, he was unsure who Daoguang would choose. The two princes and the fourth prince Yizhu had a bad relationship with him, and the sixth prince Yixuan was closer to him. Daoguang should be clear about this. Logically, the sixth prince Yixuan might have a greater chance of winning.

After seeing Bao Shichen off and returning to the signing room, Yi Zhizu looked at the watch and then called Lin Meilian in and asked, "Is there any good Spanish language learning?"

Lin Meilian shook her head slightly and said, "The foreign languages ​​offered by Shanghai Girls' School are only English, French, Russian, Japanese, and there are no Spanish. The Naval Academy also has no Spanish. Moreover, there are almost no Spanish in Shanghai. The Marquis is afraid to look for them from Guangzhou."

"Then let Manager Yan write to Guangzhou and find them to find Spanish and Dutch people." Yi Zhizu said and ordered: "I want to go to Baoshan, change my casual clothes, and notify the guards again."

Lin Meilian hurriedly said, "Where is my subordinate?"

"You go and find Manager Yan." Yi Zhizu said: "I'll go home later,"

Arriving in Baoshan in a squat, Yi Zhizu immediately hired a rubber tire carriage to go straight to the ammunition factory. The newly built ammunition factory chose a remote location, which was naturally considered from a safety perspective. However, although the location was remote, the road was well built - the rough asphalt road, and the carriage did not feel bumpy when it ran on it.

After entering the factory, Yi Zhizu, accompanied by several deputy general managers, inspected for a while and then turned to the experimental and R&D area. The experimental and R&D area covers a wide area, is covered with green trees, is tightly guarded, and is surrounded by walls of more than one person high. Even several deputy general managers stopped consciously at the door.

Yi Zhizu ordered several guards to wait outside, and then walked in with the general manager Liu Shouyi. He was so vigilant because picric acid was being developed here, which was highly confidential. Even Liu Shouyi only knew that improved gunpowder and shells were being developed here.

What is picric acid? It is a dye! It was invented by British chemists as early as the 1970s and has been very popular as a dye for 70 or 80 years. No one knows that this thing is an extremely powerful and easy-to-confidence can be said to be the first person in the world to truly understand the great value of picric acid.

Among the strong, picric acid is second only to nitroglycerin, with good stability and simple preparation method. It is the earliest military use of force. Its explosion power is hundreds of times that of ordinary black gunpowder. If it can be filled with picric acid in the shell, even the iron-clad ship will have nothing to fear.

In order to introduce and produce picric acid in large quantities, and to cover it up, Yuanqi also opened a large dyeing workshop in Shanghai. He then hired four Citi National Chemists who came to Shanghai and Guangzhou to make gold with high salaries and directly asked them to develop picric acid. However, these four chemists were obviously not good at it. They had not made it after two years of fidging out. One of them had an accident and was blown off one of their left hands.

After walking for a quarter of an hour, he arrived outside the small yard where the laboratory was located. Yi Zhizu did not go in, but sent someone to invite Sean and four other chemists out. To be honest, he felt a little distressed, and the chorionic taste was too unstable and easy to explode.

As soon as they met, the four of them complained a lot. They were locked up in a ghost place where they could not see a few people on this day, and they were engaged in extremely dangerous experiments. The four of them were full of complaints. Yi Shi listened quietly. After they all vented, he spoke: "Everyone, I have received news that some people in Europe have invented nitrocellulose and a strong nature called nitroglycerin. Moreover, the situation has changed a little now. The Qing Dynasty is about to declare war on Spain and the Netherlands. I don't have more time to leave you."

As he said that, he raised a finger and said, "One year, one year, smokeless powder, chorionic taste, if you still can't satisfy me, I'll change someone."

What does it mean to them when the replacement of people conducts the development experiment? Sean and the four of them were quite clear. After hearing this, the four of them looked a little ugly. After pondering a little, Sean said: "The development is successful, can you guarantee that we can leave alive?"

"It is naturally impossible to let you go back to your country." Yi Zhizu said sincerely: "Smokeless gunpowder and picric acid are all highly confidential military secrets. If I say let you go back to your country, I am completely deceiving you. However, if the development is successful, I will give you extremely generous rewards, and exchange you for an inland city, so that you can live freely. Once Europe develops similar gunpowder, you will be completely free."

Another asked impatiently: "Aren't you lying to us?"

"I don't think I need to lie to you." Yi Zhizu smiled and said, "Our Qing Dynasty is almost blank in chemistry. I also hope that you can cultivate some chemical talents for our Qing Dynasty. Moreover, in inland cities, no one knows foreign languages, and you cannot disclose the news at all. Besides, Yuan Qi is not short of money, and I don't need to betray him."

Sean and the other two looked at each other and exchanged opinions. Sean said: "We also hope to leave this prison-like place as soon as possible. However, a year is too short and we cannot guarantee that it can be developed. You know, picric acid is dangerous, but we can guarantee that we will do our best. In addition, we also need to obtain relevant European inventions in a timely manner."

After pondering for a moment, Yi Zhizu nodded and said, "Yes, I will cancel the one-year deadline, nitrofiber, nitroglycerin, I will find a way to provide you with it." After a pause, he continued, "What else do you need in life?"

Sean said: "We hope to send the compensation back home..."

"This is OK. Yuanqi has a branch in New York." Yi Zhizu said: "Give me your detailed address and letter. If you have a reply, I will also hand it over to you."

Sean was very satisfied with his easy-to-satisfied attitude and nodded, "Sir, there is one thing I think I should remind you that picric acid can easily react with metals. Even if it is developed successfully, it is unlikely to have practical value."

"You don't need to worry about this." Yi said confidently: "There are some solutions."

It was dark and easy to be content, so he returned to Zhenhai Marquis' Mansion. Although the Marquis' Mansion was large, there were not many people, and it was slightly deserted. As a model of marriage between the flag and the people, his wife Zaitong, who was married to the public, was taken back to the capital by her mother's Rongbeile Mansion and never returned to Shanghai. Yan Kexin gave birth to a daughter, but she was lucky in disguise and stayed with her.

Bai Zhi, who gave birth to a son for him, lived in Shanghai, but with her son and Jin Ying, she lived in the old county town, not in the Hou Mansion. Bai Xue and Chunmei were very busy in Guangzhou. Su Mengdie from the Tiandihui said that she came to Shanghai several times, but she never made it. Instead, she sent her close maid Daiqing to Shanghai. However, Yi Zhizu did not dare to touch him. Now he has no shortage of women around him, so he doesn't want to provoke another woman with obvious background in the Tiandihui.

When he entered the mansion, the general manager Luo Yousheng and Lin Meilian came up with a lantern. After asking a few questions, he sent General Manager Luo away. Then he glanced at Lin Meilian and said, "I rushed to the mansion to greet him. What's the matter to say?"

Lin Meilian took the lantern and walked a little behind half a step behind him. After hearing this, she hesitated for a moment before saying, "Can the Marquis take his subordinates? There is always a woman around her serving him, right?"

Yi Zhizu's pace slowed down, "You have guessed it?"

"It's not difficult to guess." Lin Meilian said softly: "If you can't guess this, you are not worthy of serving the marquis."

After pondering for a moment, Yi Zhizu said: "Don't they all know, right?"

"I don't dare to talk too much." Lin Meilian said hurriedly.

This time, it was not just for fighting Luzon. It might last for a year or two to stay in Nanyang. It was indeed inconvenient to have no woman around him. Moreover, he didn't feel anything about Lin Meilian. He pondered for a little, and then he smiled and said, "You must look good in military uniforms. If you have time to design a set of women's military uniforms for you."
Chapter completed!