"Detain them! These are the heads of state's favorite talents, and they have been mentioned many times!" Lin Zhen was the first to shout out.
"Slow down! Let me think about it..." Xiang Ying stopped Lin Zhen at this moment, holding the wine glass and carefully thinking about this "What excuse did we use to detain this British ship?"
"Smuggling! We are doing a routine inspection. The waters of the Yellow Sea where they are walking are under our control and do not belong to the high seas. We have the right to board the ship for inspection!"
"We have an agreement with the UK. Arms transportation must be registered in advance. However, they are traveling through our waters without notifying us. We can win this lawsuit no matter how hard we fight!"
"Okay! As long as we can win, we have to take advantage of it... Remember to record all the search processes in writing and have the British shipyard sign and fingerprint them. This will be the evidence for the future!"
"But... let's not detain these people!"
Lin Zhen was stunned, "Why? Gordon went to Zai Chun to command the battle, and Deng Shichang and this group of students are going to work for Li Hongzhang to build the Great Qing Navy!"
"They are all talented people. Why should they be released to the Qing Dynasty Tartars? We will detain them first according to the crime of smuggling. In the long run, it is best to let them surrender..."
Xiang Ying shook his head, "How can it be that simple? Can you detain Gordon? What is his identity? The British and Manchus are double nobles, but we have detained him privately. How to explain?"
"Where are those weapons? Haha, even though Gordon and the juniors from the Nanyang Shipping School are on this ship, I am sure that these weapons are definitely not for Zai Chun!"
"The case of no-confidence in the impeachment of the Prime Minister in the UK has reached its critical moment. Gladstone can no longer survive. Does he have the energy to send arms to Zaichun? His self-protection is in question!"
"Benjamin is about to come to power again. This person is not supporting Zai Chun. He is probably betting on Guiziliu!"
"So these weapons are 100% secretly transported to Yixin!"
"Haha, why should I deduct this? If I hadn't been so worried about the money, I would have given the Japanese six o'clock arms!"
Lin Zhen frowned, "Then... what about these Nanyang shipping administration students? They are all good prospects, good talents... The intelligence sent back by our informants in Europe said that these are extremely outstanding talents, and their academic performance is very good. The British devils were all stunned!"
"Giving it to the Tatars for nothing? They are all Han people. We can win over them, but we can't let them go..."
"Nonsense! What if you don't let go? If they are detained, will they surrender? Originally, they had some good impressions of the Chinese, but they haven't reached the point of surrendering yet!"
"Those people were educated in traditional Confucianism, and they still have certain illusions about the feudal dynasty. The last illusion... If we directly arrest people, it will be counterproductive and push people's hearts out!"
"Let them go...let them see the Qing Dynasty fighting each other, let them see what it is like under the civil war when people's livelihood is in ruins and the land is thousands of miles away!"
"Perhaps this civil war has really chilled their hearts..."
After all, Lin Zhen couldn't blame Xiang Ying, so he could only sigh and stop talking. The stormtroopers sent out the latest order. Xiang Ying had too much power in the Chinese Navy. Without the head of state, there was no one to suppress his command.
The navy carried out Xiang Ying's order, and the Cold Wind received Xiang Ying's order four hours later. By this time, the British merchant ship had already docked at a small pier in the Amami Islands.
The British captain, Gordon and the overseas students from the Qing Dynasty frowned as they looked at the busy night patrol of troops in the secret military port.
The Chinese navy still respected them very much, and brought them dishes and drinks. Apart from the fact that they had no freedom, they did not embarrass these people.
Gordon boarded the cargo ship in Hong Kong. Only after boarding the ship did he meet these first batch of overseas students returning to China. After the two parties revealed their identities, they quickly became harmonious.
Along the way, Gordon admired these international students very much. In just a few years, these students' English proficiency was already very good. Some of them even learned a thick London accent. If you don't look at the person and just listen to the voice, , you wouldn’t even guess that this is Asian.
Gordon also admired their naval studies. Along the way, they explored the Qing Navy's plan to build the navy. Their step-by-step strategy was extremely clear, and they also conducted in-depth research on the future mode of armored warship combat.
The Qing Dynasty was based on the Nanyang Shipping School. Over the years, it sent out more than a hundred overseas students in batches. They may not be as famous in Europe as the Chinese, the earliest naval talents... After all, these Chinese students have been there for a long time. Practical experience.
But in terms of academics, their abilities are actually no less than those of Lin Zhen and others, and some of them are even better!
The European naval community is still very concerned about this group of Manchu students studying abroad!
"Deng...what do you think is different about this military port?" Gordon walked up to Deng Shichang on the deck and asked, handing him a glass of whiskey.
Deng Shichang shook his head, "I have to keep my head clear. I can't drink at this moment... There are weird things, there are weird things on this island..."
"If my guess is correct, this should be one of a series of islands on Amami Oshima. This is a mountain peak that pokes out of the sea level from the depths of the ocean..."
"On the surface, all the cruisers or smaller warships docked in this dock area are cruisers of about 3,000 tons or smaller... But why is the cliff and mountain area to the north surrounded by a fence?"
It was already early morning, and the morning sun was shining on the island, allowing Deng Shichang to clearly see the construction site to the north!
"The curtains wrap up the entire cliff, and the distance between them is so small... Why is this? Are the Chinese building cliff carvings?"
"It's impossible... there is only one explanation. The Chinese engineering soldiers are digging out the mountain! Yes, the construction inside this curtain is not outside, but inside the mountain. They are digging out the mountain!"
"What are you hiding? I dare not imagine it. With the head of state's imagination, who among us can guess?"
Gordon was born in the Army, not the Navy, and his original major was the Army Corps of Engineers, and he also studied military engineering. He was stunned when he heard this, and the wine glass in his hand almost fell into the sea.
"God! It's really possible when you say that...the curtains and scaffolding almost protrude from the cliff by only five or six meters. It's impossible to place a construction site in such a narrow space..."
"Then there is a free explanation. The cliff is empty, and the project is inside the mountain... Did the head of state give an order to hollow out a mountain?"
Deng Shichang smiled bitterly and said, "If...I mean if...once this mountain can anchor two or three battleships, how will the British Empire's navy attack?"
"There are coastal defense forts on the top of the mountain and on the mountain. The entrance is curved and hidden, and the civil fortifications prevent the navy from direct fire... then this shipyard is almost impossible to capture!"
"If you try to disguise yourself again, maybe you won't be able to find it at all..."
This is impossible to say. If the British Navy did not have specialized intelligence, these camouflaged hidden docks would be hiding places for troops!
Maybe the British Navy fleet has sailed away in a big way, and the warships inside will sneak out and steal your retreat!
Another scary question is, do you know how many such hidden docks the Chinese have built? Who can get this kind of top-secret information?
