C3733 (1/2)
Er Mao smiled. ”Actually, I want to leave. I didn't need to return with you when I was in Nan Yang. I can live a good life if I stay in any city in Nan Yang …”
”Since His Majesty gave you your freedom, don't call me a servant or something, I doesn't like it either!”
”Ah …” Since the empress dowager is so kind, then this one will speak his name too! ”
”The favor of godfather has been repaid, but the friendship of ten thousand years has not been repaid …” I am returning to the capital to accompany His Majesty for another two years. It would be nice if I could do my best to help out a little! ”
”As for today's arms proposal from General Cai, my meaning is that the empress dowager should still consider it!”
”We can't reject it, but of course, we can't agree to it immediately either!”
”I can't agree to that because this kind of arms trade is too expensive. It's unimaginably expensive. I didn't say a lot of things just now. Actually, this kind of arms business has a professional name within the Chinese clan!”
”It is called military modernization … ”Listen, this is not a simple transaction at all. The purpose of this system is to completely rejuvenate the entire army!”
”If the nine airships are just playing around, then it's easy. But the purpose of this airship is to fight, then theoretically we have to prepare in advance against the enemy!”
”A single base?” How crafty is this guy? Even a rabbit would know how to find three nests, let alone a killing weapon like this! ”
”Also, the navy, three battleships are simply not enough. An entire fleet needs dozens of warships to coordinate with each other, if Great Qing does not prepare to pay 40 or 50 million silver taels, it would not be enough!”
”How much would it cost to build a naval base? Along the coastline of the Great Qing, the imperial government has to build dozens of deep water ports, and also have to build a naval base! ”
”All the officers and soldiers from the naval battle have to be sent to Europa to train. Zuo Zongtang's Mawei Shipyard has already sent away a batch of their students, but the quantity is far from enough …”
”It will take decades of effort to build a navy. The empress dowager doesn't need to answer to such a big business immediately!”
Upon hearing how much money there was, Ci An's face turned white, ”I can't, I absolutely can't …” 40 to 50 million silver taels? If the government can guarantee a surplus, how can they have the money to fill this bottomless pit? ”
Ci An's heart ached for the 5 million silver airship contract, to say nothing of the 50 million silver navy!
Hairy # 2 had already guessed that the empress dowager would have such a reaction. He let out a long sigh and said, ”That's right, it was indeed too expensive!” So, I have to stop His Majesty, and do not let him be so reckless! ”
”But …” ”But sometimes, military expenditures are not something that we can spend without thinking about!”
”The empress dowager understands … That year, when Long Hair was in chaos, no matter how much conflict the imperial court had against the Gun, in the end, they still had to rely on the Gun's cannon to defeat the enemy, and even the walls of Nanjing were blasted apart by the ocean gunpowder! ”
”Although the His Majesty is impatient, after all, he has already stepped out of the country and seen this world. He knows that in this era, there is no country that can live by themselves, closed doors!”
”I can't bully other countries, but I can't stop others from bullying us!”
”The arms business is just like this. Since we are unwilling to part with the money, there must be countries that are willing to part with their money …” If we enter a country where the army is modernized, in the end, we will definitely use a knife to cut off our flesh! ”
”Ah, empress dowager … You have to think about it, sometimes the money you have left over can only be taken away by the enemy using the Gun cannon! ”
”This is the only thing that His Majesty is afraid of. From this, I can see that His Majesty did not do anything wrong!”
Ci An looked at Hairy # 2 with a complicated expression on his face, ”Are you trying to advance by retreating? I has finally understood that in your heart, you actually still want the imperial government to spend money for you, and you still want that Xiao Letian to earn money! ”