As soon as Zhao Xuening said it, Conley and Marek immediately knew what they should do.
So Cornley immediately started his own rainbow fart, praising Zhao Xuening's army as if they were gods descending from the earth. Marek was not to be outdone, and competed with Cornley in a rainbow fart.
Although he felt that it was impossible to open up a second front as a middleman, the elite of Lanfang's army allowed him to see another possibility.
Zhao Xuening is worth further wooing.
The British government and the East India Company need to further increase diplomatic costs and win over Zhao Xuening. They must not let him completely side with the Netherlands. Otherwise, the Eastern trade, which is extremely important to Britain, will be very dangerous.
Zhao Xuening looked very happy as he listened to the two people's rainbow farts. His initial goal of showing his strength was achieved, but the highlight was yet to come.
The whole parade is the most important thing.
Originally, Zhao Xuening planned to follow Chen Qilong and the others back to the Presidential Palace to watch the military parade, but just as he was about to leave, a guard suddenly ran over and told him a piece of news.
After hearing this, Zhao Xuening nodded and asked Chen Qilong to take Cornley and Marek to the third floor of the Presidential Palace to wait for a while. He said that he still had some things to do and asked them to go drink tea and take a rest. He would wait for a while. Arrive at the Presidential Palace and parade with everyone.
After Chen Qilong took the two of them away, Zhao Xuening gave Chu Teng a few words, then mounted his horse and headed towards the large warehouse of the artillery school.
Arriving at the entrance of the large warehouse, Zhao Xuening dismounted. At this time, in the large warehouse, the Scotsman Maurice, the director of the Lanfang Republic's Department of Commerce and Trade, dressed in a gentleman's attire, was standing in front of five strange-style artillery pieces, and a dozen people from the artillery school. The students wiped the barrel of the artillery together.
Hearing the movement outside the door, Morris turned his head and saw Zhao Xuening coming. Then he immediately straightened up, opened his arms, and ran to Zhao Xuening to hug him.
"Mr. President, this time, I have really fulfilled my mission."
When he opened his mouth, he spoke Chinese with a strange accent.
Zhao Xuening laughed loudly, hugged Morris, and patted him hard several times.
"Good job! Maurice, I will give you a salary increase!"
"Hahahaha, you really understand me best in the world!"
A chrysanthemum-like smile immediately bloomed on Morris's face, and the fatigue accumulated from long-term sailing was instantly wiped away.
Then, he pulled Zhao Xuening to the side of the five artillery pieces and stroked the barrel of one of the artillery pieces.
"Caron Company is indeed a well-known local arms company in Scotland. They have many products and the quality is good. However, their style is not very good. To put it nicely, it is tactful. To put it worst, it is not very disciplined. So although their technology Not bad, but has a bad reputation.
So I'm surprised, you've never seen this kind of artillery before, you just heard about it, why are you so interested in this kind of artillery? And you know what? When I arrived in Scotland last year to talk to them, the artillery had not even been approved by the military.
According to the information I have learned, many experts in the military believe that this artillery barrel is too short, too light, and not powerful enough, so they are unwilling to purchase it. Therefore, Caron Company has no choice but to market this artillery to many merchant ship owners. rather than the military.
You also know that Britain was at war in North America, and many merchant ships were harassed by French ships, which was very unsafe. Caron Company thought this was a good business opportunity, so when I made the purchase, the people at Caron Company were very happy and gave me the best price. It’s also a great deal, and I think it’s easier to buy other things.
But what I didn't expect was that just a month after I completed the purchase, when I was about to set off to return, I heard the news that the Chief Admiralty Sandwich was very interested in this kind of artillery, and Sandwich purchased the first batch of The number is also five doors. "
Morris looked at Zhao Xuening with some curiosity.
"So many experts believe that this kind of artillery is definitely not suitable for actual combat, why do you want me to buy it? As of now, only you and the British Lord of the Navy are interested in this, and even some merchant ship owners think this Artillery is not practical, its range is too short."
"The range is short, but the intensity is high enough. In fact, do those artillery pieces with long range really have enough accuracy?"
Zhao Xuening stepped forward and stroked the barrel of a Carrone gun, and said with a smile: "Normally speaking, during naval battles, everyone's requirement is that the gunner should be able to see the shoes of the opponent's gunner. At this distance, how do you think the range is? What's the point of being long? It's just creating some chaos and trying your luck.
However, this kind of artillery is different. Look at its gun body and its weight. It is only one-third of the artillery of the same caliber. Think about it, if the opponent uses artillery of the same caliber, then one of my ships can Equipped with three times the number of artillery pieces he has, my firepower is three times stronger than his!
In this case, as long as we are close enough to each other and use the Caron Cannon to fire grape bullets, what will be the result? One volley, just one volley, and I can paralyze the entire deck of the opponent's ship! But the other party can't do anything to me! "
"This...is true..."
Morris was not a professional military strategist and knew little about naval warfare. He was silent for a while and then asked: "When do you plan to test the cannon?"
"Don't worry, we'll talk about it after the military parade is over."
Zhao Xuening waved his hand and then asked: "Stop talking about this, have you bought the other things I asked you to buy?"
"Didn't I say it? It fulfills its mission."
Morris said this four-character idiom with a look of dismay on his face: "Since you understand me, you should also understand the British. Whether they are English or Scottish, as long as they have enough gold or silver, or they can exchange it for For pounds you can buy everything.”
Morris pulled Zhao Xuening into the warehouse, pointed to several large boxes stacked together, and called on the students from the Artillery School to open these large boxes and show Zhao Xuening the contents.
"This is the horizontal drilling and boring machine you want. Caron's technology is indeed very good. It is at the forefront in the entire UK. British technology is also very advanced in Europe. With Caron's technology, you can It is equivalent to walking side by side with the most advanced technology in Europe.
Your view is correct. Although the Dutch technology currently in the arsenal is good, there is still a gap compared with British technology. It is enough to cope with the war in the East Indies, but if you want to fight with The most powerful armies in Europe faced off, and they obviously had some shortcomings. "
Zhao Xuening looked at the latest model of drilling and boring machine that he had been thinking about day and night, and was very satisfied.
"Okay, good job. With this thing, it will be easier for us to build cannons. That guy Albert has told me many times that our drilling and boring machines are not good enough. Now we have the latest model for him. He I have nothing to say, if he keeps yelling, I will deduct his salary and transfer it to you."
"That would be great!"
Morris laughed loudly: "I have long been unhappy with him. He shouts all day long to give him the best machine and he can imitate it. If he fails to imitate this time, I suggest you directly remove him from his position. Incompetent England No one is qualified to hold important positions in the Republic!”
"Hahahaha, you still hate the English so much."
Zhao Xuening patted Morris on the shoulder: "But you have to admit, Albert's skills are indeed very good, and I am very lucky to get him. Our army can have such sophisticated weapons and equipment now, Albert He deserves the most credit, so at least for now, I think it is very appropriate to hand him the position of Undersecretary of Industry."
"Although I admit this, but..."
Morris whispered: "I also did the other thing you asked me to do for you."
"oh?"
Zhao Xuening was stunned for a moment, and then said in surprise: "You poached the technical experts from Caron Company?"
"Yes, his name is Abel Klimans."
Morris smiled mysteriously: "And you must not have imagined that this guy is a member of the carronade design team. He has participated in every aspect of the carronade from design to production. He is proficient in various professional technologies. He is definitely a super outstanding person. Talents."
"How could Caron, a technical expert like this, let him go?"
Zhao Xuening said in surprise: "You didn't kidnap him, did you? You are the Director-General of the Ministry of Commerce and Trade of the Republic. If you do such a thing, it will cause a diplomatic incident if others find out! We are a civilized country! We are not barbarians. !”
"Oh! My God! Mr. President, how could you speculate on your loyal subordinates like this? How could I do such an outrageous thing?"
Morris looked innocent.
Zhao Xuening heard this and looked at Morris sideways.
"Really? When we first met, you lied to me four times in a row and tried to escape. If I hadn't never believed your lies, a playboy, would you still be here today?"
The past of being a prisoner of war and becoming Zhao Xuening's subordinate was obviously a dark history that Morris did not want to mention. He coughed a few times to hide the embarrassment on his face.
"At that time...I was still very young..."
"Yeah, so I stole your captain's wife, got her pregnant, and then she was discovered. She was almost thrown into the sea to feed the fish. If it hadn't been for my shot that just hit your captain's head, you would still be alive. Until now? You still have..."
Zhao Xuening was about to tell Morris the "glorious history" when he saw the expressions on the faces of the artillery school students around him becoming more and more strange. Morris quickly hugged Zhao Xuening.
"Mr. President! That's all in the past! It's all in the past!"
"So? You still won't tell the truth?"
"I really didn't force him, he took the initiative to find me!"
Morris said depressedly: "One month before I left, the news of Lanfang's founding of the People's Republic of China spread to the UK, and then Abel found me one night and ruined my date with a beautiful girl. I was very angry. I wanted to hit him, but he said he was a technical expert from Caron Company and wanted a job in Lanfang and asked me if it was possible."
"Will he have no chance of working? Are there so many talents in Caron Company?"
Zhao Xuening asked doubtfully: "A talent like this that can make cannons should be a very key figure in any country, right?"
"He was really critical at one time, but then Caron hired some experts from other companies, so he was no longer so critical and his salary was reduced."
Morris said slowly: "He went to the company management to argue, but the company management thought that he had not made enough contributions, so his salary cut was justified. He was very angry about it."
"This isn't enough to make him come to you, right?"
Zhao Xuening looked at Maurice in confusion: "Coming across such a long sea from England to us is very dangerous no matter how you think about it, right?"
"Yes, this is indeed not enough to make him give up Caron Company, but..."
Morris smiled bitterly and said: "This guy likes to speculate in stocks. From last year to this year, Britain's war in North America was unfavorable. Once the news spread to London, the London stock market would fluctuate. That time, by coincidence, all three stocks he bought fell. Years of savings were gone in just three days, and he was bankrupt and owed a lot of money."
"Is this okay?"
Zhao Xuening was stunned, and suddenly felt a chill in his back.
How come there is an illusion of being watched from Big A as if traveling through time and space?
It's an illusion!
It must be an illusion!
"Yes, in fact, the London stock market had a slight shock at that time. As a result, this guy was very unlucky, so he bought three stocks, and those three stocks fell the hardest."
Morris shook his head and said: "So, the bankrupt Abel had nothing left. He asked the company for help, hoping to get a salary advance to tide him over. However, the company not only did not give him an advance salary, but also threatened him with further salary cuts, and He signed a work agreement with more stringent conditions and tried to tie him to the company and become its slave.
If he doesn't agree, he will be fired and other companies in the industry will not accept his job application, making him a homeless man. His wife is very disappointed with him and takes advantage of him to go to work to take away his children and things at home. They were all swept away. When the poor guy came home from work, not only did his wife not prepare bread and soup for him, but even his bed was gone. "
"You didn't even jump off the building?"
Zhao Xuening sighed: "If I couldn't figure this out, I would have climbed to the tallest building and jumped off to become a trapeze artist..."
"A trapeze artist? This... is pretty impressive."
Morris laughed and continued: "So he was facing a desperate situation. Finally, he heard the news about me from somewhere, so he took the initiative to come to me and asked me if I could give him a job. He thought Lanfang, as a The newly established country should be in great need of technicians like him, and he said that if I didn’t give him a job, he would have no choice but to die in front of me.”
"So this is ah……"
Zhao Xuening touched his chin and smiled.
"This is really thanks to the capitalists who are not human beings. Sure enough, they have never lagged behind in terms of being human beings, and they always have extraordinary creativity."
After muttering something, Zhao Xuening looked at Morris with a smile.
"So, you brought him back?"
"Yes, I sent him to my ship and hid him, and brought him back soon. Don't worry, to use your words, he was unnoticed."
Morris smiled proudly and said: "I am also the Minister of Commerce and Trade of the Republic and a senior official. How can I do such an immoral thing as kidnapping people? Although I have no morals, I must do my best in the affairs of the Republic. I will pour all my remaining morality into it!"
"Yes, yes, I am very satisfied with your statement."
Zhao Xuening patted Morris on the shoulder: "But Morris, I don't think this can all be attributed to you."
The smile on Morris' face suddenly solidified.
"ah?"
Zhao Xuening spread his hands.
"Obviously, this success should be mainly attributed to the capitalists in the London Stock Exchange and Caron Company. It was they who succeeded in forcing Abel to a desperate situation. It's just that you happened to be in Scotland at the time, and you happened to be My chief commerce officer."
"Ah this..."
Morris thought for a while, then suddenly looked frustrated: "Mr. President, I think that if my serious and hard work hadn't given Abel a certain degree of confidence, he might not have come to me, right?"
"Well, so you were seriously trying to date a beautiful girl at that time? Is dating a beautiful girl one of your jobs as the chief trader? Is she the daughter of an important person? A date with her can Promote our new business orders?
But why do I remember that we have not yet reached a direct commercial agreement with London, ah! Is this your diplomatic breakthrough? Have you finished your job as Foreign Minister? London has officially recognized the existence of our Lanfang Republic as a legal regime? "
Zhao Xuening looked at Morris with a smile.
Morris swallowed.
He was too familiar with Zhao Xuening's smile.
If you don't look at the guys he killed, he is usually quite kind, but once he shows this smiling expression, it means someone is going to be unlucky.
As an old friend who was very familiar with Zhao Xuening, he never wanted that unlucky guy to be him.
"Mr. President, I was wrong. The other person was just an ordinary beautiful girl. I saw her while drinking tea on the street. She was selling nuts along the street, so I bought all her nuts. Then let her accompany me on a date..."
"What did you do?"
"I……"
"You won't bring her back, will you?"
"this……"
"What number is this?"
"Um……"
"It's a miracle that you've survived until now without being torn to pieces by the women in your family."
Zhao Xuening sighed: "And aren't you a Christian? Didn't your place emphasize monogamy two hundred years ago? Aren't you afraid that your God will deal with you?"
Morris swallowed and made the sign of the cross on his chest.
"Isn't the church in Seoul about to be built? When the church is completed, I will go to the church to confess to God and buy indulgences, and then find a nun to further confess. In this case, God will definitely forgive me. After all, I am a person who cannot live without Man of love, everything I do is for love! And God loves the world!”
"Well, selling indulgences is a good business. Tomorrow I will talk to Zhuang Qiang and let their Ministry of Religious Affairs handle the matter of selling indulgences. There are so many scum like you, this should be considered a good deal. It’s not a small income. If you repent a few more times, you can build a few more cannons.”
Zhao Xuening muttered something loud enough for Morris to hear.
So Morris swallowed again.
"Then, sir, I..."
"Don't tell me this. Go ask your wife. She betrayed her husband for you, but you ended up looking for lovers outside one after another?"
Zhao Xuening looked distressed and said: "You know, I am Chinese, and Chinese people are very moral. Morality is very important to us! What you did has completely touched my moral bottom line! "
Morris rolled his eyes.
"Have you never been back to your hometown... Then, sir, I admit my mistake and accept the punishment. This time I have indeed neglected my work needs, so my salary increase will be postponed?"
"You know, we in Lanfang are a legal country. The country's laws are more important than any other issue. As the president, I mainly have to supervise your behavior from a legal perspective. As for personal moral issues, the main thing is to Rely on your own self-discipline.”
Zhao Xuening patted Morris on the shoulder and said earnestly: "Solve this matter yourself, solve it quietly, I will pretend that I didn't see it, but if your wife comes to my place again to make trouble, it will be known to everyone. I will let you know how thick and heavy Chinese traditional moral culture is!"
Morris was patted on the shoulder by Zhao Xuening and heard his unkind tone. He immediately realized that if he couldn't handle this matter well, he might really have to experience the weight of traditional Chinese moral culture.
Some of his friends have experienced the depth of traditional Chinese moral culture for various reasons, so he never wants to be the next person to experience it.
After explaining these things, Zhao Xuening asked about Abel Klimans' situation, and Morris told him that the guy was sick and was being treated in the hospital.
"Why didn't you tell me from the beginning?"
"You didn't even ask..."
"Deduct your salary!"
"No! Sir! I have several women to support! They all live on my salary!"
"Forget it, I'll go see him."
"Aren't you going to host the military parade?"
"There is still a little time. Anyway, Lanfang Hospital is nearby. I rush over to take a look at him. This will better show that I value him and improve his favorability towards me."
Zhao Xuening wiped the sweat from his forehead: "I have to let him know that the Republic is different from Caron Company, and I am different from those capitalists. Coming to Lanfang is what he has done in his life. The right choice.”
Morris also wiped the sweat from his forehead, showing a little doubt.
"It seems...the difference isn't that big?"
"Deduct your salary!"
"I was wrong! The difference is huge! You are the father of the whole Republic! No... you are the father of the whole East Indies! Here! Your brilliance is comparable to that of God! You are God!"
Ignoring Morris's wails, Zhao Xuening turned around and walked out of the warehouse, mounted his horse, and galloped towards Lanfang Hospital.
