London, City of Finance, Stock Exchange.

The huge trading hall is crowded with people, and various voices intertwined, making people feel like they are in a huge vegetable market. The signing of the Frankfurt Treaty has caused France Securities to plummet again, but it is a huge benefit for securities related to Germany. People ruthlessly abandon the French securities at hand and compete for German securities.

In a corner, Hu Guangyong was quietly feeling the fanaticism in the trading hall like an outsider. It is human nature to seek profit and avoid harm. This is exactly the same as East and West. After the battle of sex, Germany-related securities began to rebound strongly and rose steadily. Now they have set new highs one after another and have a strong rise. After all, the war reparations of 500,000 francs and the cedents in the Alsace-Lorraine region are an indescribable huge benefit.

Because Yi Jingxiu accurately predicted the outcome of the war, he took advantage of the opportunity of the price of Deutsche Securities to plummet, and now at the time when the war broke out, he had made a lot of money. At this price, he had made a lot of money, and most stocks had made more than three times the price.

In addition to Deutsche Securities making him a big profit, war-related futures also made him a lot of money. The only ones who lost money were France's bonds. The abandoned French bonds were no longer interested, and they have reached a new low, close to 10% of their face value.

He raised his wrist and looked at the watch. It was less than an hour before the closing. He turned around and squeezed out of the hall. As soon as he left the door, he ordered: "Save up all the securities in his hand and eat all the French national debts. In addition, he is ready to go to Paris for a boat ticket."

He had no burden in his heart for purchasing French government bonds. He had made a lot of money during this trip to Europe. Even if French government bonds were worthless in the end, the money he earned was enough to spend the military expenditure of the northwest expansion and the cost of land purchase. He lived up to his trust and completed the task successfully.

Qingdao, Qingdao is beautiful in May, with green plants and flowers blooming. The streets and alleys are even more neat and clean than Shanghai. There are many shops on the street, and carriages and bicycles are shuttled back and forth on the street, which is very lively. Walking on the street, Yi Zhengxing said with emotion: "I really didn't expect Qingdao to be so beautiful and prosperous."

"I was amazed when I first came to Qingdao." Zai Zhao smiled, and then sat down on a bench facing the street. "I heard that the entire Qingdao plan was written by your father, and municipal construction and infrastructure construction were allocated by Yuanqi.

Most of the residents here are retired officers and soldiers from various provinces and their families. They are of high quality, high salary, and free education. Therefore, the residents live a very rich life and can be called a paradise. I am afraid that no city in the Qing Dynasty can compare to this place. There are only two things that are not good. Without the freedom to go out, it is difficult to come in."

Yi Zhengxing sat down and asked softly: "Is anyone complaining?"

"Complaint?" Zai Zhao smiled and said, "For retired officers and soldiers in the army, Qingdao is not as good as the top, but more than the bottom. It is already good to be able to stay in Qingdao."

After hearing this, Yi Zhengxing followed the verbal question and asked: "How do the retirement of the troops and soldiers?"

"Follow the principle of voluntariness." Zaizhao said in a man saying: "If you are willing to return to your hometown, you will pay the retirement fee and resettlement funds to return to your hometown. If you are unwilling to return to your hometown, Yuanqi will be arranged to work in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Qingdao, Manila, Groba, Busan and other places. In recent years, there have been several more places in the Japanese province and Southeast Asian provinces."

Speaking of this, he smiled, "I am afraid it's impossible to imagine that every year the recruitment of soldiers, all provinces and localities will argue endlessly over the recruitment quota. It's really that the treatment of joining the army is too generous, which is enough to change the fate of a lifetime."

After pondering for a moment, Yi Zhengxing said: "My father proposed to integrate military affairs in politics, generals in learning, and soldiers in the people. This integrates military affairs in the people in order to achieve the purpose of hiding strength, saving military expenditures, and enhancing the ability to mobilize wars. Retired officers and soldiers are used to living a comfortable and enjoyable life. Once there is war, they are recruited into the army, and they have no combat power...."

"I've been thinking too much." Zai Zhao smiled and said, "Even if only three years of retired officers and soldiers will be recruited, it will be an extremely large number. These officers and soldiers can take on general combat tasks if they have several months to conduct physical assault training."

The next morning, Yi Zhizu and his party went to Qingdao Shipyard. Accompanied by the factory director Zhang Hongshen, the ironclad ship director Guan Youling and others, they inspected four "Far-class ironclad ships under construction with a total of more than 8,000 tons.

The main bodies of the four warships have been completed, but it will take more than half a year to be launched. The 8,000-ton ironclad ship is a giant, and it seems even more huge when viewing in the dock. The entire dock is filled with the loud roar of steam engines. Yi Zhizu spent most of the day inspecting the construction progress of the four warships before returning to the main factory.

After taking a sip of tea, Yi Zhizu said slowly: "The British 'Warrior' has a displacement of more than 9,000 tons, but it took only a year and a half to be built and completed. It took our four 8,000 tons warships a year and a half. How long will it take?"

Before Zhang Hongshen could speak, Guan Youling, the Iron Crafts Director, spoke first: "Big shopkeeper, we are four warships starting to be built at the same time. It is reasonable to have a slower speed. At present, these four warships will take at least three or four months to be launched."

Although Yi Zhizu was not satisfied with the construction speed, he knew it was not appropriate to urge him. After all, the technology was not very mature. Even if a war broke out in South Africa, it is expected that it will take until next year. He pondered a little, and then said: "Is there enough time to guarantee delivery before May next year?"

After the warship is launched, it will have to test sailing, and after discovering a problem, it will have to be repaired. This deadline is not urgent. Zhang Hongshen immediately said loudly: "Don't worry, the boss, and guarantee it will be delivered on time before May next year."

After looking at him, Yi Zhizu said slowly: "Shanghai, Guangzhou not only has convenient transportation, a strong industrial foundation, and a deep foundation in the shipbuilding industry. Over the years, it has been hiring senior Western engineers to design and build large-tonnage ships with high salaries. I plan to draw some capable and capable technicians to go to the shipyard in Guangzhou and Shanghai for exchanges and learning."

Is there a need to draw elite technicians? Zhang Hongshen couldn't help but be stunned and said quickly: "The shopkeeper thinks twice. The construction period is tight at present. If you draw elite technicians, it may affect the construction progress."

Yi Zhizu said: "You make reasonable arrangements for this yourself."

After hearing this, Guan Youling winked and said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, big shopkeeper, we must make proper arrangements."

Seeing that he agreed with him, Zhang Hongshen couldn't help but feel anxious, but he was not convenient to say more. It was not until after seeing off Yi Zhizu and his party that he grabbed Guan Youling and said, "Why do you still agree with him even though you know that there is not enough staff?"

After Guan Youling closed the door, he whispered: "We Qingdao itself has the ability to build large-tonnage ironclad ships. Why did we send capable technicians to Guangzhou Shanghai Shipyard for exchange and study?"

After hearing this, Zhang Hongshen was stunned, "It's not because our technology to build a 10,000-ton giant ship is not mature enough?"

"Of course not." Guan Youling said confidently: "This is to make the shipyard in Guangzhou and Shanghai have the ability to build ironclad ships. As expected, there should be a big war..."

Back at Canghai Garden, Yi Zhizu ordered to call Zai Zhao and Guo Zhongmu to come. After dinner, he went for a walk on the beach as usual and dispatched elite technicians to go to the Shanghai Shipyard in Guangzhou to exchange and learn. He did have the plan to reform the army. Yuan Qi had a deep foundation in the two major shipyards in Guangzhou and Shanghai, with strong strength and numerous docks. He had the ability to build large and medium-sized ocean-sized cargo ships. With a slight transformation, he could build large and medium-sized ironclad ships.

Transvaal's gold mine reserves are too large to shake the hegemony of the British pound. Once the British confirm this, they will definitely not give up. If the war breaks out in South Africa, it will inevitably be a war that lasts for a long time and he must prepare for it.

When it was dark, Zaizhao and Guo Zhongmu rushed over. After hearing the news, Yi Zhizuo returned to the study. After waiting for the two of them to come in to see him, he took out a piece of information and said: "This is the main ocean-far-powered iron-clad ship launched by the British Navy three years ago - the 'Minault' class. This is the relevant information. You can take a look."

The Minotao class ironclad ship is a rare 5-masted battleship, with a corner bow, a cruiser stern, and a gun along the side of the hull length. It is suitable for combat in a row and formation. It can also be called a battleship, a steam engine and sail hybrid, with a speed of 14 to 15 knots.

There are three "Minault" class ironclad ships served in the British Navy, namely the "Manadou", "Aiqincourt" and "Normumberland". The displacement is all over 10,000 tons, and the armor thickness is 5.5-4.5 inches. The first two ships are equipped with firepower, 4 9-inch front-mounted rifled guns, 24-inch front-mounted rifled guns, and 8 smoothbore guns in 24 pound front-mounted.

The Northumberland is equipped with firepower, 4 9-inch front-mounted rifled guns, 22 8-inch front-mounted rifled guns, and 2 7-inch front-mounted rifled guns. The entire ship is equipped with 800 people.

After reading the information, Zaizhao and Guo Zhongmu couldn't help but look at each other. The Navy had always believed that the main battleships of the British Navy were the "Warrior" and the "Black Prince". Unexpectedly, three more "Minault"-class ironclad ships emerged.

"In addition to these three Minotao-class ironclad ships, there is also an Achilles with a displacement of more than 9,000 tons." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "In addition, last year, the British also built six Campaniles and six Invincible Class ironclad ships. There is no relevant information yet. As of the end of last year, the number of ironclad ships in service in the British Navy has reached fifty."

There are also six "Campalius-class" and six "Invincible" iron-clad ships? Zai Zhao finally understood why Yi Zhizuo tried his best to avoid a war with Britain. The title of "Sea Overlord" in Britain is really not in vain.

"I didn't want you to read these materials, so as not to hurt your self-confidence." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "However, I found that you are a little too confident, and I feel that it is necessary to let you understand the strength of your opponent more clearly. This is what Ren An just sent to you today."
Chapter completed!