I want to ruin the country

Chapter 500 Knocking on the mountain and shaking the tiger

Armstrong doesn't want to leave yet!

Li Hongzhang said,

"Please, Armstrong Shipyard, our prince is tired!"

Armstrong was kicked out!

After returning, he was angry and annoyed, and all his good mood ran away to Java.

Armstrong decided to retreat in order to advance, and leave them alone for a few days to see who would be anxious!

However, three days passed and there was no movement from Prince Gong and his men.

Armstrong lost his patience and hurriedly sent someone to inquire, which made him furious.

Prince Gong and his men had been gone for three days, and Armstrong was getting anxious.

"Gone, where did they go?"

"I heard that he was invited by the French Navy Minister Lucas!"

Armstrong slammed the table hard.

"Damn Gallic chicken!"

When George heard that Prince Gong and his men had gone to France, he was furious and slammed the table.

"Are these French going to intercept again?"

Armstrong said with a gloomy face,

"What should we do? We've deceived the Queen. If we can't sell this warship to the Qing people, I'll really go bankrupt!"

George stood by the window with a dark face and said nothing, his mind working rapidly.

Is it possible that the cooked duck is really going to fly away? But now that things have come to this point, it seems that the Qing people have found our weak spot!

Armstrong muttered to himself blankly,

"You've just shot yourself in the foot!"

George made up his mind and said,

"Don't worry, I'll arrange everything for you, but it'll cost you some money!"

Armstrong said hurriedly,

"As long as this warship can be sold, money is not a problem!"

George said,

"Wait for my news!"

Two days later, Mr. M, Deputy Director of the Intelligence Department of the British Homeland Security Agency, led a secret team of 30 people and quietly boarded the ship.

Prince Gong and his entourage were indeed invited by the French Minister of the Navy, Lucas.

Prince Gong and his entourage's arrival in Europe had become big news. As the Minister of the Navy in charge of the French Shipbuilding Bureau, he was very dedicated.

Now that I have such a big cake in front of me, Lucas has to find a way to swallow this huge cake.

At first, he sent someone to London to contact Li Hongzhang, and Li Hongzhang told the person that they were discussing cooperation with Armstrong Shipyard.

Lucas became anxious and personally visited Prince Gong twice.

He also promised that he would build warships for his friends from the East at the lowest price and with the best quality.

Prince Gong was very willing to accept such an invitation. There are two completely different feelings between coming to buy a ship yourself and being invited by someone else.

Moreover, the French soon showed their sincerity.

As soon as the ships arrived at the French border, seven or eight French ironclad ships were there to greet them.

After getting ashore, the security team followed closely behind, as if facing a powerful enemy.

After arriving, Prince Gong and his entourage received high-level hospitality from France.

At this time, the French Republic had only been established for two years, and the person in power was Louis Napoleon, also known as Napoleon III.

He was 43 years old and was elected President of the Second Republic in December 1848.

He met with Prince Gong and his entourage at the Elysee Palace.

After the meeting, a grand dinner was arranged to welcome Prince Gong.

After only two days in beautiful Paris, Prince Gong could no longer stay there and asked Lucas to take him to visit the shipyard.

"Your Highness, we have arranged a five-day itinerary in Paris for you and your beautiful and noble ladies!

And I haven’t even been to the Louvre or Notre Dame yet!”

Prince Gong's mind was full of ironclad ships. He had no time to think about traveling if he couldn't settle these things. He refused directly.

"Mr. Lucas, I appreciate your kindness. Let's go visit the shipyard first!"

Seeing Prince Gong's firm attitude, Lucas had to change his arrangements.

Lucas took them to visit the Brest No. 1 Naval Factory in Brest.

After the visit, Prince Gong and his entourage were quite satisfied. It was clear that the strength of the country's shipyards was not a problem.

The next step was negotiation. Their shipyard also had three completed warships, one large and two small.

Because the factory was state-owned, when Prince Gong proposed to purchase the three warships, the French agreed without hesitation.

With the 650,000 silver from the Armstrong Shipyard as a reference, the negotiations went relatively smoothly.

The large warship cost 500,000 taels, the two small warships cost 700,000 taels, and the three warships were sold for 1.2 million taels of silver.

Prince Gong decided to order three 9,000-ton ironclad ships here and asked the French if they could build them.

Lucas agreed without hesitation and immediately took out the drawings.

After a detailed introduction by the shipbuilding experts, Prince Gong and Li Hongzhang looked at the warship more and more familiarly. Why did they feel that this warship was highly similar to the one at the Armstrong Shipyard?

Immediately, Li Hongzhang asked this question. Lucas had an ambiguous expression and said that maybe the design experts had similar ideas!

Prince Gong didn't want to get involved too much. After confirming again and again that the French could guarantee the quality, he ordered three 9,000-ton ironclad ships at a price of 650,000 taels each.

Prince Gong bought six French warships, and the news spread quickly.

George slammed his hand on the table.

"Damn it, these damn Qing people!"

On the third day after signing the contract, the bad news came that Lucas was shot and killed.

Prince Gong was very shocked when he heard the news.

"Lucas was assassinated. Why?"

Remi replaced Lucas to contact Prince Gong and his men. He did not say much to Prince Gong, but just asked them to rest assured that the French would definitely protect their safety.

Li Hongzhang asked,

"You mean Mr. Lucas's assassination has something to do with us!"

Remy Road,

"We are investigating. According to the investigation, it may be related to a small group of John Bull agents, but we can't be sure yet!"

Prince Gong asked in confusion,

"why?"

Remi didn't say anything more, but repeatedly said that he would ensure their safety!

Lucas was killed by the M and his men sent by him!

They didn't dare to assassinate Prince Gong, not to mention that he was under strict protection by the French. Even if Prince Gong walked alone on the street, they couldn't kill him.

If Prince Gong is killed, who will buy the warships?

Besides, the French protected the Qing people very well, and they had no chance to attack.

M, who was at his wit's end, had no choice but to kill Lucas when he returned home, in order to scare Prince Gong and tell him, "Don't be so arrogant, we are watching you!"

What needs to be done next is to ask the French to help hire the captain and crew members for key positions locally.

Remi agreed readily.

Dou Zhenbiao immediately selected smart and capable soldiers to come on board to study.

There will always be brave men when there is a big reward, and soon the personnel were fully staffed.

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like