The sun never sets.

Chapter 556: Sang Yu

After the spy hunt came to an end, Wang Hu's main job was to promote trade with the United States. However, the Americans were determined to raise tariffs, and he had little way to stop it. Even with Mr. Hoover and a large number of old friends, he still couldn't change the direction of American policy.

Like other countries, there are many factions within the United States. There are groups that support tax increases, and there are also classes and groups that strongly oppose raising tariffs. For example, farmers and raw material suppliers in the West, their interests are not consistent with those of manufacturers in the East.

Francis Newlands, a Republican from Nevada, favored a "fair" tariff adjustment: "I do not believe that the tariff should be adjusted in such a way as to favor the Eastern manufacturers at the expense of the Western manufacturers. If protective tariffs must be imposed, I would try to give the West its fair share of protection."

But the power in the East was too strong, and those in the West were no match. The U.S. Treasury Committee initially planned to cut tariffs, but after the news got out, lobbyists representing production quickly visited Aldridge and the Treasury Committee, who were drafting the tariff bill in a closed-door meeting. The Treasury Committee then proposed 847 amendments to the Payne Tariff Act, raising the rates of 600 tariffs, resulting in many tariffs that the House of Representatives proposed to cut rising instead of falling.

This led to more intense contradictions within the United States. Aldrich tried to cover up the contradictions by passing the bill through the Senate without debate. But it turned out to be impossible. Aldrich's wish failed. A fierce struggle broke out in Congress between the Republican Party in the East and the opposition in the Midwest.

The rebels attacked the tariff bill as a "wild card" that had many tricks written into the bill, such as domestic manufacturers designing vague and obscure product classifications for special products they produced. For example, even if there was only one colored thread in the cotton cloth, it would be considered a "colored" product and therefore subject to a higher tariff. Although tariffs on some categories of products were reduced, the United States no longer imported such products, so that when tariffs on other products were increased, it gave people the feeling that the overall tariff level had not changed. The opposition fiercely attacked the "tariff" as a "reactionary tool wielded by the trusts and eastern companies."

Although these opponents protested against tariff inequality and special interest politics, they also stated that they were not against trade protection. The tariff adjustment they envisioned would be to reduce tariffs on industrial products (such as iron, machinery, cotton and wool textiles) and increase tariffs on agricultural products and raw materials (such as barley, hides, wool, paper, coal, and iron ore).

The reason why the United States is fighting so hard is that it is all about interests. The failure of the United States to expand abroad has led to numerous domestic conflicts and public grievances. In this case, it can either learn from Germany and Japan in history, develop its military with all its strength, and then fight abroad; or learn from the immortals and cut domestic production capacity. Without such high production capacity, there will naturally be fewer problems; or it can completely turn left, but this road is probably not feasible unless there is only one country left in the world. But whether it is left or right, the economic laws will not change.

The United States cannot turn left with all its strength, nor can it drastically cut its own production capacity. Although it has cut some, it is because it failed in competition and the share is not large. The Americans chose the first path. Instead of cutting their own production capacity and causing large-scale

Instead of causing social unrest due to a wave of unemployment, it would be better to stuff all the young men into the arsenal to produce a few more battleships and a large number of guns. This would not only solve the problem of overproduction but also enhance the US military power, killing two birds with one stone!

By the end of 1909, the US military had regained a powerful naval fleet and was preparing to continue building nearly twenty battleships. The vigorous expansion of armaments temporarily eased social contradictions, unemployment decreased, people had jobs and could afford bread. Factories and enterprises were able to continue production, the interests of business owners and capitalists were protected, and everything seemed good.

But there is no such thing as all good things in the world. The method of developing armaments to ease social conflicts cannot be used forever. When this method fails, what should we do? There are so many weapons and war machines that have been produced, and they will depreciate as time goes by.

As neighbors of the United States, Canada and Mexico are very nervous. Canada is protected by Britain, so the pressure is less, but the Mexicans are really afraid. The Americans are not pacifists. They have already taken away Texas and a lot of land. Who knows if they will take over the whole of Mexico?

China and Japan have only just felt the threat from the United States, but Mexico is already fully preparing for war. War requires a large amount of weapons and ammunition, as well as a well-trained army, which Mexico lacks. But as long as you are willing to pay, all problems will be solved.

Mexico does not need to develop a strong navy. It is useless to develop one. In front of the US Navy, the Mexican fleet can only hide in the port. So they simply gave up developing the navy and spent money on the army. The Mexican government imported a large number of light weapons from Germany and China, and also found German and Chinese officers to help them train the army.

At first, Mexicans preferred to buy German weapons, after all, the German Mauser rifles were genuine, but Chinese weapons were cheaper. With similar performance, the price of Chinese light weapons was only two-thirds of that of German ones. German arms dealers provided rebates, while Chinese arms dealers provided even more rebates, almost pushing the price down to near the cost line.

The Germans were very angry. This is not how business is done. Selling arms is to earn excess profits. Now the Chinese have made weapons very cheap. How can this be possible? If it were not for the purpose of winning over the German government, Mexico would have kicked out all the German arms dealers.

Wang Hu lost a lot of markets in the United States, but he opened up the arms market in Mexico and South America, which was a good thing. He not only sold light weapons to Mexico and other countries, but also mines, mortars, rapid-fire guns and heavy artillery. As long as the money was in place, submarines, torpedo boats and destroyers, even cruisers and battleships could be sold.

However, South American countries do not seem to have the intention to build a large navy, which is understandable. The money to buy a battleship is enough to equip a division. If you want to guard against the invasion of the Americans, it is more reliable to have more land forces.

Chapter 557 That's All

Britain was the world hegemon of the era. If Mexico and South American countries wanted to curry favor with the British Empire, it would be more effective. Germany was only the second best choice. But the British government's asking price was too high, and it was far less honest than Germany.

Germany didn't have much interest in America, so it could treat the countries in America with a relatively equal attitude, unlike the British who looked down on others. As for China, it was purely doing business and had no intention of opening a branch base in America. At least on the surface.

For a behemoth like the United States, it is difficult for foreign enemies to kill it in one go, and they may even fall into the quagmire of war. Only when the United States itself is divided and fights each other can it be killed completely.

The United States is the world's largest consumer market, and other American countries can only be regarded as a supplement. After the United States announced an increase in tariffs, China and ASEAN also increased tariffs accordingly. In addition, due to the "Shanghai Coordinating Committee", the trade volume between the alliance and the United States has shrunk sharply. Although the arms trade project with the Americas has been opened up, the profits of arms trade are not as high as those of ordinary business.

The most important thing is that America is the sphere of influence of the United States. If Chinese merchants go there to buy goods, they may even lose their lives. The capitalists in the United States can use bombs to send their competitors to the sky. They dare to do this in the United States, and they are even more unscrupulous in South America.

Although the United States has not yet completely driven the influence of European powers from South America, the Americans are still very brutal.

It was fine to sell some arms occasionally, but if they interfered with the local sugar, grain, oil and fruit businesses, they would have to wait for war every day. Wang Hu was not afraid of war, and he was eager to have a good fight with the Americans in South America, but the central government was not willing to deploy military forces to America. With a distance of more than 10,000 troops, no matter how good the People's Army was at fighting, it could not exert much combat effectiveness.

Without the protection of armed forces, there is no way to do business. This has been a rule for hundreds of years. But Wang Hu thought he could give it a try. Since he couldn't send regular troops to fight thousands of miles away, he could use the gang's tactics. Wang Hu had attended military school and took correspondence courses at the Army University after the war. He knew a lot of very advanced war concepts. He only needed to spend a little bit of resources and manpower to cause great trouble to the Americans.

As the person in charge of trade with the Americas, Wang Hu has a complete plan.

Drugs and counterfeit money, these are all learned from Lin Yongchang and Master Wang, and then Wang Hu also learned. In addition to those projects, Wang Hu has now discovered a very profitable business - making movies.

My mentor once said, "Of all the arts, film is the most special."

Wang Hu is not an art film director, nor is he good at making commercial films, nor is he a great actor like Chaplin, but his films transcend race, language and culture. Although the cast is small, the scene changes are rare, and there are few long clothes, they are very popular all over the world.

At first, he had people shoot movies in Japan, and then sold copies to the world. Although Japan had gone through the Taisho Restoration, various feudal forces had not been completely eliminated, and many such films were shot. But soon, Wang Hu received a warning from the Japanese government that it was okay to shoot secretly, but it was not okay to show it publicly.

Europeans and Americans don't like to watch Asian monsters fighting, nor do they like to watch plots, but prefer direct and fierce. So Wang Hu had the machine shipped to America, and the actors were found locally. They didn't need professionals, just amateurs, because their movies didn't need plots anyway.

In order to get himself out of this kind of business, Wang Hu cooperated with Japan's Yamaguchi-gumi. The Yamaguchi-gumi took care of all the overt matters, and he was only responsible for providing technical support.

After the emergence of film as an art form, it was initially a toy for the upper class, but Wang Hu turned this art form into a popular commodity. Short films soon became popular in Europe and the United States. Gentlemen watched them alone at home, while spitting on those naked shadow puppets. They loudly called for resisting the temptation of evil in newspapers, which received support from many people at once.

But unfortunately, it has reached the point where a comprehensive boycott is needed, which shows that the problem is very serious. In public, everyone wants to boycott, but in private, it is hard to say. Love, hate, and sex are the most attractive things, and they cannot be suppressed by public opinion.

Those gangsters don't care about public opinion or boycotts. As long as they can make money, they will do it. Killing and arson are no problem, let alone showing porn movies? The way capitalists eat is a little better than gangsters, but only a little better. Real capitalists are bloodless and tearless monsters, and there is no such thing as morality.

The capitalists in the United States are the best among the capitalists. They maintain a regular army and kill whole families at will. There have been several strikes in mines and railways, which were suppressed by the paramilitary organizations maintained by the capitalists, resulting in tens of thousands of casualties. It is a joke that the ruling class in the United States cares about morality.

Small movies were flooding North America, and no one could stop this mighty trend. But half a year later, Wang Hu's new business suffered a heavy blow. The Americans themselves were in trouble. Their movies were not exquisite, but they were good at producing large quantities and soon defeated the small movies smuggled in.

Wang Hu hated the shamelessness of the Americans, but there was no good solution. He could only ask for more US dollars from China and then put them into the American market. When Lin Yongchang first started to recruit the team, he had no money. At that time, he really had no money and couldn't even eat. In order to make money, Lin Yongchang came up with many good ideas, including printing pounds. The British Empire was the world hegemon, so the first thing to be fleeced was the British.

Later, the People's Party was established, which was a relief, but the old skills were not abandoned. Lin Yongchang set up a secret department to print currencies such as pounds, francs, dollars and marks. He also printed Japanese yen. Later, China and Japan became allies, and he stopped doing this.

As China's power grows, the currencies printed by various countries are becoming more and more exquisite, and can even be said to be no different from the real thing. Wang Hu got a large amount of US dollars and bought a lot of supplies from America. Why can he sell arms at a very low price? There are reasons behind it.

Although Wang Hu was very successful in his work with the United States, he was not very successful overall. He failed to change the U.S. attitude toward China, failed to get the United States and the Alliance to reach a "Treaty of Amity and Commerce". He only gained some economic benefits, and that was all.

Chapter 558 Spring Festival Travel

1909 passed quickly, and nothing major happened that year. The earthquake in Italy killed hundreds of thousands of people, but for the world, hundreds of thousands of deaths were not a big deal. People's sorrows and joys are not shared. Italians wailed in pain, but people in other countries could not empathize.

Britain and Germany are engaged in a naval arms race, and Russia is busy supporting its Slavic brothers in the Balkans. The Americans attacked the Mexican border post on Christmas Day. Some say that the Mexican border guards took the initiative, but who knows. This incident has not yet evolved into a war, and the United States and Mexico are blaming each other.

Compared with the peace and tranquility in the world, the situation in China can only be described as in full swing. After four years of construction, most of the projects in the "First Five-Year Plan" have been completed. The newspapers summarized the achievements of the year in an enthusiastic tone. Grain production has increased, steel production has increased, more than 3,000 miles of railways and more than 20,000 miles of kilometers have been built... In short, the situation is very good, not just good, but great.

The people don't think the situation is good. There are still so many fucked-up things in life. It's a little better than before. They can eat more meat, eggs and dairy products.

Now, the supply of vegetables in the city has increased, and people can buy more new clothes. It is better than before, but people still feel short of money.

There are too many new things, such as bicycles, washing machines, refrigerators, etc., all of which are not cheap. When young people get married now, the "three big items" are popular, that is, watches, bicycles and sewing machines, which together cost more than 6,000 to 7,000 yuan, which is not a small amount.

But everyone has it, so newlyweds must have it, right?

Moreover, these things are considered as production tools. You may not need watches and bicycles when working in the countryside, but you definitely need them when working in the city or in the factory. Watches can determine the time, and bicycles can reduce commuting time on the road. These are indispensable things in industrialized society. As for sewing machines, they are needed in both rural and urban areas. Whether a woman can use a sewing machine and how well she uses it can affect society's evaluation of a woman.

Clothes will always be torn, and sometimes a few buttons will fall off, but you can't throw away the clothes because of this, and you can't wear leaky clothes on the street, so it is necessary to be able to do needlework. In many places, having a sewing machine can not only mend clothes for the family, but also do some needlework to supplement the family income.

In addition to the three major items, every household also needs to buy thermoses and radios. Even if they cannot be bought all at once, they will be bought slowly. There are too many things to spend money on, such as new clothes, new shoes, and new movies. If you want to enjoy a good life, you have to spend a lot of money. The average income of residents has increased a lot, but there are always more things to spend money on.

Many people may wonder why their income has increased but they feel they are becoming more and more short of money?

No matter what, when the Chinese New Year comes, everyone will tidy up in advance and prepare for a good New Year. Starting from the Little Year, the family will do a thorough cleaning, buy New Year goods, and post Spring Festival couplets. The adults in the family are busy all the time, while the children will call their friends to set off firecrackers and eat delicious food together.

Those who work away from home also have to go home during the Spring Festival, and the railway system has ushered in a real test. Since a few years ago, the Spring Festival travel has become a term unique to China. Around the Spring Festival, a large number of people travel by rail. The carriages of the green trains are packed with people, and the security issues at the railway stations have suddenly become prominent.

Because of the lack of manpower and the difficulty in management, there are always some people who want to take advantage of the situation at the train stations in major cities during the period before and after the Chinese New Year. Among them are many skilled thieves who steal other people's property at train stations and trains and quickly move away after they succeed.

Those criminal gangs were very bold and committed crimes almost recklessly. At the South Railway Station, a leader named Lao Hu gathered a number of gangs and held a theft competition to divide the territory.

In order to crack down on the arrogance of criminals, the People's Government instructed the Ministry of Public Security to launch a new round of "anti-gang and anti-evil" operations at the beginning of the Spring Festival travel rush, and mobilized many armed police and troops to carry out special cleaning of criminal gangs entrenched around train stations.

After a round of violent cleanup, thefts and other crimes at various stations decreased significantly. Those well-known leaders were sent to the Western Regions to build railways. Comrade Li Dayan needed a railway similar to Mashhad, otherwise he would not be able to compete with the Russian and British armies. However, the construction of a railway to the Western Regions was too difficult and could not bring immediate economic benefits. The government did not have this idea in a short period of time.

Now, we have caught those petty thieves and sent them to build the railway. It is impossible to build a railway to the Western Regions or even Mashhad with these criminals, but it is good to build one mile. The People's Government has no plan to build a railway to the Western Regions now, but it does not mean that there will be no plan in the future. For the long-term stability of the Western Regions, railways and roads must be built in the future. The same is true for the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Yunnan-Guizhou. If the railway is not built there, the local area will not be able to develop and cannot be truly incorporated into the economic circle of the alliance.

Most of those who steal and cheat in the station are not worthy of being shot or exiled, so it is a good choice to let them contribute a little to national construction.

However, this is not the main purpose. It is not possible to rely on criminals to build the country. They can only be regarded as a tiny supplement. If you want to build railways and roads, you still need to rely on specialized workers. The people's government is not trying to learn from the United States to develop a prison economy. The main purpose is to create a safe travel environment for the people.

People who go home before the Chinese New Year often bring with them money they have saved from working for a whole year. Some of the money is for their children's schooling, and some is for their relatives' medical treatment. If the money is stolen, the whole family will fall into hardship.

Some liberals say that criminals should be given human rights. The target of their empathy is strange. Why do they sympathize with criminals but not with victims? Is it because they themselves want to commit crimes?

Well, this is very likely. Just like some officials and lawyers proposed to abolish the death penalty at the National People's Congress. These people are probably already guilty of the death penalty, or are about to commit crimes that are punishable by execution.

Otherwise, there is no way to explain why those people empathize with the criminals instead of standing on the side of the people.

Chapter 559 DDT

The Spring Festival is the most important festival in China. After the Little New Year, all government departments at all levels have holidays, but the military, police, hospitals and other departments continue to work.

Some companies, such as steel mills, have no way to give workers holidays and can only take turns to rest, and pay triple salary to workers and managers who insist on working.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, leaders have visited frontline workers every New Year, and this year is no exception. Lin Yongchang visited farmers and workers near Chang'an, and leaders from various provinces and cities also went to the grassroots with grain, oil and other supplies. Some newspapers called this behavior "through", and it is undeniable that there is a show element, but the top leaders of various places went directly to the grassroots and were able to clearly understand the real situation below, ensuring that the subsidies could be distributed to those who really needed them.

Besides, can political matters be called a show?

Soon after the Little New Year, the Big New Year arrived. On the night of the Big New Year's Eve, the Central Radio Station broadcast a gala live through the radio systems throughout the country, playing a lot of crosstalk and songs. Although it was called a live broadcast and there was a host, in fact, the programs were pre-recorded. Most of the programs were warmly welcomed, but there were also some programs, such as Kunqu Opera and Xintianyou from northern Shaanxi, which only a small number of people could understand.

But no matter whether they can understand it or not, everyone is happy. It's Chinese New Year, and the purpose is to have a lively and festive time. It doesn't matter what's playing on the loudspeaker or radio, as long as it's lively enough.

The party started at 7pm and ended at 9pm. The New Year celebrations should be lively and exciting, but they should not take the spotlight. The people are the main body of the country, and the rest of the time should be left to the people to use as they please.

For children, the Chinese New Year is always a happy time, as they can wear new clothes, have delicious food, and play with their friends. Adults also have more smiles on their faces, and even if there are any conflicts, everyone always behaves in a friendly manner during the Chinese New Year. In the traditional Chinese perception, quarrels during the Spring Festival will bring bad luck for the whole year.

Lin Yongchang rarely looked at documents or dealt with work for three days in a row. Instead, he stayed at home to eat and drink, and had a happy three days. On the fourth day of the New Year, when most people were still celebrating the Spring Festival, he had already started working.

When he first started working, Lin Yongchang saw a piece of news that surprised him. "American pilot Eugene Eli successfully took off from a light cruiser." This was the first time that humans took off from the deck of a ship. After seeing this news, Lin Yongchang was very moved. There are so many smart people in the world. He is not the only one who can see the role of airplanes in war.

China has started the aircraft manufacturing industry, but it will take a long time before it can put aircraft on the deck of a ship. In fact, China does not even have many cruisers, and they are all old models. According to the plan of the Navy Department, it will not start building cruisers until next year.

It was under such circumstances that the US Navy had already achieved the feat of taking off an aircraft from the deck of a ship. The world's first industrial power is indeed very strong, their army is very poor, and their technological level is not as good as that of Britain and Germany, but in terms of the integration and application of existing technologies, they are no worse than other countries.

The US Navy was developing very fast, but the aircraft were not ready for combat and could only be used for reconnaissance. At that time, the aircraft were just large toys made of wood and leather, and there were few means of attack. In addition to throwing grenades below, the only thing the pilots could do was to take out their pistols and shoot at each other.

Even if machine guns are put on planes in the future, their combat efficiency will be very low. Lin Yongchang knows that the "machine gun firing coordinator" can turn the plane into a real fighting machine, but he is not ready to use this technology for the time being.

After "Americans moved planes onto the ship's deck", Lin Yongchang read the news that France had a flood and Paris was flooded. Alas, the French are known as a European power, but their water conservancy projects are not as good as those of the Germans. Perhaps the water in this year's night attack group: ⑥九四九, ３６一３⑤ was particularly heavy?

The French performed somewhat poorly, but they were an old power after all, and they still had some foundation. After the flood receded, the French tested the first seaplane. In this era of technological explosion, the French gave up the great navy, but they did not fall behind in other aspects.

However, these have little to do with China. 1910 was the last year of the "First Five-Year Plan", and the domestic construction achievements were obviously more attractive than the Americans and French tinkering with airplanes. Not only China was paying attention to the results of the first five-year plan, but the whole of Asia was paying attention to this matter.

In the first month of 1910, China produced 50 tons of steel and 45 tons of iron. In the fourth month, the Baotou Iron and Steel Plant was successfully put into production, and the monthly steel production reached 130 million tons. When the running-in period is over, the output can be further increased. Unless there are special circumstances, the annual production of 1050 million tons of steel can be completed one or two months ahead of schedule.

The remaining key projects were also put into production smoothly. According to the evaluation of the comrades of the Planning Commission, all plans were successfully completed and even exceeded. For example, the output of fertilizers far exceeded the plan. China is a large agricultural country, with the rural population accounting for more than 80% of the total population, and the demand for fertilizers and pesticides is almost endless.

Even though we can produce nearly 1.5 million tons of fertilizer every year, it still cannot meet the needs of the vast rural areas. In addition, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Siberia and the Annan Protectorate all need more fertilizer.

Fertilizer quota. The Western Regions Protectorate also needs pesticides and fertilizers, but the railway has not been built there yet, so it is difficult to transport products from the mainland to the Western Regions. It is also difficult to invest and build factories there. Therefore, roads must be built. Before the railway is completed, the central government cannot do anything to the Western Regions and Qinghai-Tibet.

It has been proven that the use of fertilizers and pesticides can significantly increase food production. Pesticides are toxic and will leave some residues after use, but compared to starvation, that little bit of residue is nothing.

And there are ways to reduce pesticide residues. For example, using new pesticides that are easily degradable, using as little pesticide as possible or not using pesticides a few days before harvesting and picking can effectively reduce drug residues in agricultural products.

The rapid development of the chemical industry has provided more and more chemical products, not only in quantity but also in variety. Lin Yongchang studied chemistry, and sometimes he was very confused. For example, the insecticide DDT is very effective in killing insects, and it is also easy to manufacture, which means it is cheap. The problem is that this thing is not easy to decompose in nature, and it is easy to accumulate through the food chain, which will pose a major threat to human health.

The relevant government departments have repeatedly emphasized that DDT should not be used to control crop pests, but there are always people who violate the ban because they want to save money. Because DDT is very effective in killing mosquitoes and can effectively prevent and treat infectious diseases such as malaria and dysentery, it has not been completely banned.

After several years of wrangling with farmers, Lin Yongchang had to announce a ban on the public sale of DDT. From then on, this pesticide was only used in government health departments, and each use had to be recorded.

Chapter 560: Rupture

In April, Halley's Comet reached its perigee, and many astronomers and astronomy enthusiasts around the world observed this "jinx" through telescopes. On a clear, cloudless night, the light reflected from it can be seen with the naked eye.

The "jinx" brought bad luck, and the world economy continued to be sluggish. The Americans' behavior of raising tariffs has led to the emergence of "tariff barriers" all over the world, and all major economies are not doing well. Except for China, other major powers have experienced a large backlog of products, production setbacks, and workers' unemployment. China actually has this situation as well, but to a lesser extent. The prosperity period is over, and a new round of depression and recession has arrived.

This economic crisis was not that severe. Compared with the last economic crisis, the situation was better. Because the great powers were engaged in a naval arms race, thousands of workers were needed to work, which greatly alleviated the impact of the economic crisis. But it was not to say that there was no impact. Several large steel mills in the United States went bankrupt, Britain, France and other countries stepped up their plunder of colonies, Russia took on several more loans, and Germany exported a 10,000-ton hydraulic press to China and Japan respectively to ease domestic pressure.

Large hydraulic presses and oil presses are indispensable equipment for manufacturing large-caliber naval guns. Oil presses are more efficient than hydraulic presses. After obtaining 10,000-ton oil presses, China and Japan were able to build all the parts of battleships on their own.

Japan's first super dreadnought "Yamato" is under construction, and the Japanese government has been eager to ask China to build a super dreadnought of the same level, but was rejected by the people's government. The Chinese Navy has its own steps and will not make changes easily.

The reason why Japan is so impatient is closely related to the current world situation. In the process of militarization, the United States has more and more contradictions and conflicts with Britain, so, naturally, the United States is getting closer and closer to Germany. In this case, China must start to consider another possibility.

Lin Yongchang did not want to help the Allies fight against the United States + the Central Powers, nor did he intend to join the Central Powers to divide up the British colonies. The direction of this world has deviated greatly from that of another world, and Lin Yongchang could not see clearly what would happen next, but he knew that once the war in Europe began, it would be a world war that would consume the vitality of the participating countries.

The price of a heavy artillery shell is about the same as that of a tractor, and may even be comparable to that of a car. It takes about 400 to 500 heavy artillery shells to capture a fortress, which is equivalent to blowing up 400 to 500 cars. If it is a meat grinder like the Verdun fortress, the shells are calculated in units of "hundreds of thousands". War is a very, very expensive thing. After the British fought the Boer War, they exclaimed that the British Empire was about to go bankrupt, forcing the British government to change its national policy from "expansion" to "protection".

If a world war breaks out, the money will be burned at a rate more than ten times that of the Boer War. Rather than letting so much money burn in the flames of war, it is better to use it for construction.

Lin Yongchang believed that China only needed the power to protect itself for the time being, and he was not willing to invest his power in the struggle for hegemony. Every penny spent on investment now can get a tenfold return in the future. If possible, he is willing to give up building battleships and cut the number of the army in half. But it is not possible. China is too big and needs a large number of troops in the four directions of southeast, northwest, and northeast. Among the 1.5 million active troops, more than 300,000 are engineering troops, and there are 400,000 garrison troops. Excluding the border defense troops in various places, there are only 200,000 field troops that can be mobilized.

For China, 1910 was a fruitful year, with exciting news appearing in newspapers every month.

While the domestic situation was very good, the international situation was becoming increasingly tense. Both the United States and Germany had conflicts with Britain, and the two sides were getting closer and closer. Then there was the incident of Germany transferring military technology to the United States, which made it impossible for China to remain aloof.

The transfer of military technology from Germany to the United States was a secret transaction, but it was exposed by British newspapers. After the Chinese ambassador to Germany learned of the news, he immediately reported it to China and asked the German government. The "Shanghai Coordinating Committee" clearly stipulated that the transfer of advanced military technology to the United States was prohibited, and when trading with Germany, it was also specifically noted that it could not be transferred to third countries.

The German government naturally denied that such a thing had happened, and German diplomatic officials claimed that the news was a rumor spread by the British government. However, the British disclosed the details of the secret transaction in the newspaper, including the people and locations involved. As long as you follow the intelligence given in the newspaper, you can always find out something.

"The Germans deceived us!"

“…This is blatant betrayal!”