I want to ruin the country

The Yoshino was the most advanced in 1894. Think about it, it was 1851.

It was 1894 years before 43 that Friedrich Krupp, the father of Alfred Krupp, the founder of the Krupp cannon, founded the Krupp family business in 1811.

At this time, Friedrich Krupp was still racking his brains to develop special steel, and all the rapid-fire guns in the world had not yet been released.

It would be strange if Prime Minister Adam was not shocked when Prince Gong suddenly mentioned such a warship and artillery!

If we had such a fleet now, we could sweep the world.

No matter who it is, they will drool over this warship and artillery!

Adam couldn't help but said,

"Okay, we'll hold a meeting to study this matter as soon as possible and give you an answer as soon as possible!"

Adam was quite efficient, and their council finally came to a conclusion after arguing for a day.

Adam met with Prince Gong, and they basically agreed to buy the warship blueprints and production license for 10 million taels, but asked Prince Gong to lower the price.

At first, Prince Gong was unsure whether Denmark would be willing to spend 10 million taels of silver to buy the blueprints.

But now that he heard Prime Minister Adam coming to bargain, he knew what to do.

"No, no, not even a penny less!"

Prince Gong is now “selling sesame cakes by the handful”!

Just like fishing, you have the final say before the fish bites the hook, but once it bites the hook, it is no longer up to you to decide!

Prime Minister Adam was like a fish that had swallowed a hook, unable to swallow it or spit it out.

He could only force a smile and say,

"Your Highness, a state-of-the-art ironclad battleship only costs a mere one million silver coins. If we spend ten million on a blueprint and authorization, wouldn't that be a joke?"

Prince Gong was secretly happy in his heart. It became a joke. If you didn't, the joke would be even bigger.

He said with a grin,

"Since the Prime Minister has said so, we have nothing more to discuss. Please get out!"

As he said that, Prince Gong picked up the teacup!

Prime Minister Adam panicked when he heard this. He knew the rules of Daqing. If the host felt that he had nothing to say to you, he would bring up Beijing.

"Tea please!"

If you really pick it up and drink it, it will be fun, because people are trying to kick you out, not really letting you drink tea!

This rule is known to everyone in the Daqing officialdom!

Prime Minister Adam doesn't want to leave because his mission is not yet completed!

However, since Prince Gong had already served tea and sent the guests away, it would seem ignorant if he did not leave, so he had no choice but to say,

"Prince Gong, please don't serve tea and send me away. We haven't finished our business yet, and I don't want to leave yet!"

"Haha, I have no intention of driving the Prime Minister away. Besides, this is your territory. You are the only one driving me away, not me driving you away!"

Prince Gong thought to himself, this Adam is such an old-fashioned guy. If he doesn't want to leave, then don't leave. Serving him tea and seeing him off is a way of expressing my feelings. If you don't want to leave, we can continue talking!

Besides, I'm just retreating to advance. How can I really not want to talk to you?

If I don’t talk to you, I’ll have to find someone else, which is so troublesome!

The emperor said that it would be appropriate to sell this warship to you, a fool!

If we really want to sell it to the Americans, we are not willing to do so. The effect will be much worse!

After hearing this, Prime Minister Adam said directly,

"Your Highness, the price isn't particularly unacceptable. You haven't even shown us the artillery design drawings yet!"

Prince Gong waved his hand and said,

"No, no, no, it's just a warship. Artillery technology is not included!"

Adam got anxious when he heard this.

"What? A warship without guns is like a lion without teeth. What's the point of having one?"

Prince Gong said,

"Artillery technology is too crucial, we can't give it to you!"

Adam was dumbfounded. The reason why the gentlemen in the parliament agreed to spend 10 million to buy warships was largely because of the advanced artillery!

Would they still be willing to do that without artillery?

"Your Highness, do you want us to produce warships without guns?"

"Yes, let's go back and load the artillery ourselves!"

After getting the exact answer, Prime Minister Adam was dumbfounded. What a big deal!

Adam still did not give up, and after a moment's hesitation, he said,

"Your Excellency, we don't want a cruise ship. We're not interested in an empty warship, no matter how good it is!"

Prince Gong said,

"Without advanced warships, even the most powerful artillery can't reach foreign countries!"

"What's the point of keeping a lion without teeth?"

"You can give it teeth!"

Looking at Prime Minister Adam who was in a dilemma, Prince Gong said with a smile.

"What do you mean?"

Prince Gong said,

"Our emperor said we can sell you artillery!"

"What difference does that make?"

"You're wrong. Cannons are made of special steel. You don't have that kind of technology!"

Adam still understood the material requirements for manufacturing artillery. Yes, if the materials are not up to standard, what’s the use of having the technology!

The key is the cannon. As long as we have the cannon, we can fight. Even if we are controlled by others, it is better than having nothing at all!"

"Your Excellency, will you sell your cannons to others?"

"No, no, no, you're the only ones!"

"Where are the shells?"

"In two years, I can give you the technology so you can produce it yourself!"

Adam thought about it and realized that it would be useless to have artillery since we didn't have any warships yet.

Once we have warships, it would be a good idea to buy artillery. Then we can produce our own shells and not have to worry about being strangled by China.

With the reverse engineering of the cannon, I believe we will be able to manufacture it ourselves soon.

Adam said,

"Okay, I'll go back and have a meeting to study it!"

Prince Gong thought to himself that the emperor was right again and they had to accept it even if they had to hold their noses.

After several rounds of negotiations, the Danish government finally agreed to purchase the warship blueprints for 10 million taels of silver.

However, they had one condition: they could sell the blueprints to Swedish and Norwegian shipyards.

Prince Gong agreed, but he also put forward a condition, that is, the three countries must deliver thirty such warships to China within three years.

Otherwise, they will have to pay ten times the penalty!

The Danish side also agreed.

Because there were no cannons, the final price of each warship was 350,000 taels of silver.

The two sides held a grand signing ceremony.

The Danish side deducted a deposit of 3.15 million taels of silver for 30 warships and paid China 6.85 million taels of silver.

Prince Gong was overjoyed. It was like exchanging a blueprint for thirty warships. Haha, Your Majesty, you are so awesome!

Li Hongzhang handed over the warship drawings to Denmark.

After receiving the blueprints, Danish experts were delighted when they saw them. They thought the design of this warship was so advanced.

However, manufacturing warships and engines is also a big challenge for them.

First of all, there is the problem of special steel. They are afraid that they cannot solve it in the short term, so they have to buy it from China!

Of course, they believe that with the concerted efforts of the entire country, these problems can eventually be solved.