It seemed that he was very dissatisfied with Jeffrey. When talking about him, Julian pushed up the glasses on his face.
"But because of his significant contributions to Zhao Xuening and Lan Fang, he became the second-largest figure in the navy after the war. He served as deputy chief of the navy, and his status was second only to General Li Chuang. I have to say that a traitor can become an emerging country. It’s really ironic that he is the number two man in the Navy.”
"What seems ironic to us may not be so to them."
Cornley whispered: "According to your statement, Jeffrey and Zhao Xuening should have been friends for many years. During this period, he was likely to be strongly influenced by Zhao Xuening. betraying the company should not be a big deal to him. Difficult things.”
"maybe."
Julian nodded and looked at another young man in military uniform who was talking to another middle-aged man in black clothing.
"That young soldier is Zhao Chang'an, the deputy commander of the Lanfang Army. He is very young, but very good at commanding battles. He once had an excellent record of defeating three thousand indigenous troops with three hundred musketeers. He ranks second in the Lanfang Army. Yu Chuteng, not only that, his status is also very special."
"special?"
"His surname is Zhao, the same as Zhao Xuening."
"Didn't you say that Zhao Xuening was an orphan before?"
"They are not brothers."
Julian shook his head: "But it is said that Zhao Changan once saved Zhao Xuening's life. At the same time, his surname was Zhao, so he was recognized by Zhao Xuening as his brother. Because of this relationship, he could talk to the man in black. Sir, didn’t you notice that there was no one else around the man in black?”
Cornley took a look and saw that was indeed the case.
Zhao Changan and the man in black seemed to be independent from the entire living room. The other people's circles were more or less close, but the circles of these two people were obviously far away from the mainstream of the crowd, as if there was an indescribable gap. .
"Is...that man in black clothes special?"
"It's very special. His name is Shimada Shinbei. He is a Japanese. He is the chief of Lanfang's security and the person in charge of Zhao Xuening's security."
Julian whispered: "I heard a Spaniard say that this Shimada Shinbei was originally the leader of a group of Japanese pirates. His fleet often robbed Spanish and British merchant ships, and occasionally attacked Bada. Later, Petrus ordered Zhao Xuening to deal with this group of Japanese pirates.
So his fleet was defeated by Zhao Xuening. According to the rules at the time, all the survivors would be killed and thrown into the sea. However, Zhao Xuening took a fancy to his ability and the combat effectiveness of his gang, so he made an agreement with him to conduct a If he wins the duel, he will be freed. If he loses, he will recognize Zhao Xuening as his master and serve Zhao Xuening. "
"Zhao Xuening won?"
"Of course Zhao Xuening won. Isn't the reason why he rose up because he could fight?"
Julian said slowly: "The version I heard is that Zhao Xuening used a bayonet and Shimada used a traditional Japanese samurai sword. The two dueled. In the end, Zhao Xuening defeated Shimada. Shimada admitted defeat and swore to serve Zhao Xuening with the soul of a samurai. , respecting Zhao Xuening as his master.
So his fleet was annexed by Zhao Xuening, and his subordinates were integrated into the Lanfang Navy. However, the first hundred or so Japanese who went to sea with him were left with him by Zhao Xuening and organized into guards. team, specifically responsible for protecting his safety. "
"Zhao Xuening is too ambitious to let a conquered pirate protect his own safety."
Cornley rolled his eyes: "I don't dare anyway. Who dares to believe this guy who kills people just like eating and drinking? In this sea area, I think trust is a rarer thing than gold."
"Zhao Xuening believes it."
Julian smiled bitterly and said: "And this Japanese really lived up to his trust. He protected Zhao Xuening in every battle. Although he had no command record, the entire Lanfang senior management respected and trusted him because of his desperate efforts to protect Zhao Xuening. he."
"Then why do they exclude him? Why don't they make friends with him?"
"Because he is Zhao Xuening's security chief."
Julian looked at the young Cornley and smiled: "Will you go out of your way to get to know the head of the Supreme Consul's personal guard? Will he accept your friendly message? How will other people view your behavior? And the Supreme Consul will How to view your behavior.”
Cornley blinked.
"Dirty politics."
“Politics has always been like that.”
Julian smiled helplessly: "So I don't recommend that you contact this Japanese, otherwise it may cause a diplomatic accident, or he may pull out his knife and put it on your neck. Interrogate whether you want to murder Zhao Xuening."
Cornley rolled his eyes.
Julian laughed out loud, and then looked at a very lively young man who was talking to a European.
"That is Luo Yingrui, the director of Lanfang's Ministry of Industry. It is said that he was once an iron smelter, but he is very smart, self-taught, and has mastered many good technologies. The firearms and artillery currently used by Lanfang's army were developed by him, and they are called Lanfang. One type, the performance is not bad.”
"I don't doubt that."
Cornley thought of the elite troops he saw at Lanfang Artillery School before, and said slowly: "Not only is the performance not bad, but the quality is also very good. I even think that ordinary European armies will be ruthless when encountering Lanfang's army. Take the pain.”
"It should be about the same. Anyway, there are not many people who have suffered. They fought against the Spaniards in the Philippines. Anyway, the Spaniards lost miserably and lost several copper mines."
Julian said: "The European next to him, Albert Theresa, Lanfang's deputy director of industry, an Englishman, is a mechanical engineer. Before he was captured by Zhao Xuening and surrendered, all of Lanfang's industries were Luo Yingrui was in charge.
I heard some old sailors say that the earliest weapons used by Zhao Xuening's men were a mixture of hot and cold, and even old-fashioned shotguns from previous centuries. They also had to carry match ropes on their backs on the battlefield. Later, Zhao Xuening's power gradually grew. Only then could they be equipped with new weapons and use better flintlock guns.
After he became the son-in-law of Mr. Governor, I heard that he began to prepare weapons for himself. To this end, he made friends with the British and bought a lot of weapons from the British. But how did he establish his own arms factory? I don’t know the process clearly, and I’m afraid no one can explain it clearly, but among them, Luo Yingrui must have made great achievements. "
"I think so. No matter how much Petrus trusted him, he couldn't directly hand over the military factory and important technology to him."
Cornley said slowly: "This Luo Yingrui is indeed not simple. He doesn't seem to be anything special. I didn't expect him to be a genius."
"There are always so many geniuses in this world, but they are not easy to discover."
Julian said: "And I have to remind you that according to the company's understanding, although Lanfang's Ministry of Industry also conducts research in the civilian field, the current mainstream is still research and development in the military field, and the main funds and resources are used in into the military field.
The establishment and management of all steel, gun factories, and mineral resources factories are under the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry, including technical cooperation, introduction of technology, and all matters related to production technology, which are within the scope of Luo Yingrui's management.
So if you want to cooperate with Lanfang in the field of military arms, if you want to open up Lanfang's internal market in this regard, if you want to do it without going through the review of the Ministry of Industry, don't even think about it. I don't know if this is available in Amsterdam. demand, but I think the British will. "
"Do you think the British will choose to contact Luo Yingrui?"
"Not only Luo Yingrui, but more importantly, Albert is also British."
Julian whispered: "Although he is now Lanfang's deputy director of industry, I don't think he has any feelings for his hometown. If the British open an opening from here, they can easily interfere with Lanfang's industry." Departments achieve cooperation, which in turn generates more economic cooperation.”
Cornley looked at Julian and nodded.
"Julian, I understand now why Petrus asked you to be my deputy."
"This is what I should do."
Julian smiled and said: "I am just giving you some suggestions. As for how to use them and how to make decisions, that is still your business. I have no power to intervene. Whether diplomacy can be successful depends on you."
"Don't say that. The information you learned will be of great help to me."
Cornley looked at the people in the living room and whispered: "Go on, Julian, there are many things I want to know. Look, that bastard Marek has already started to make predictions with you. It’s exactly the same, absolutely correct.”
As Julian expected, the first person Marek chose to communicate with was indeed the Undersecretary of Industry, Albert Theresa. Obviously because they were both English, Marek thought Albert was A good breakthrough in Lanfang's political arena.
So Cornley has some sense of urgency.
He needed to know more.
And Julian did know better.
In addition to the military field, in the political field, Lanfang is also full of talented people.
For example, Foreign Affairs Minister Chen Qilong.
He is the only high-ranking figure in Lanfang that Conley knows. He is a burly man with a height of almost 1.9 meters. He is strong, powerful and can use a sword. His ancestral home is Guangdong and he was born in Borneo. He is a martial artist. He joined From then on, the fleet under Zhao Xuening's command fought bravely and quickly stood out.
However, in Zhao Xuening's actions to promote the cultural literacy of his subordinates, Chen Qilong showed strong learning talent and learned French and Spanish. Zhao Xuening positioned him as a cultural talent and gave him special attention.
So he successfully transformed into a diplomat in the Department of Physics and handled many diplomatic affairs for Zhao Xuening. With outstanding achievements, he was appointed by Zhao Xuening as the Director-General of Foreign Affairs.
Because of his fierce diplomatic style from the Department of Physics, he is considered to be an excellent diplomat who will not let down the bloody battles of the soldiers and can consolidate the results of the battle, giving him a good reputation within the military.
And because he made many friends in his early days in the army, and many of these friends hold high positions in the Lanfang army today and maintain good personal relationships, so his influence is absolutely It is not limited to the diplomatic field.
How can one get to know such a person without investing diplomatic costs?
But because he is a diplomatic figure himself, it is his job to deal with people. It is hard to say whether he can gain any benefits from his interactions.
So Julian began to introduce Finance Chief Tang Wenshan to Conley.
It was a little old man with an ordinary appearance, but Cornley could see something different in his bright and sharp eyes.
