Chapter 131: Maritime Defense

"Okay, get up." Ye Zhao sat on the sofa, closed his eyes slightly, and the passionate music told the story of a life of a golden sword and an iron horse.

Fu Cha wiped his tears, but he didn't know what God was going to do, but at this time he could only get up slowly. Seeing the emperor reaching out and making a gesture slightly, he carefully sat down on Ye Zhao's soft pier, his heart was not in a state of mind.

The music was sonorous, and he secretly glanced at the emperor. This legendary saint %% of the martial arts strategy created a prosperous era in Middle Earth. However, he looked so young, and the drums and horns on the record player were so powerful that even the Fucha family could vaguely understand the killing spirit. Perhaps the internal and external affairs were all wars to conquer the world.

At this moment, the sound of footsteps came from outside. Shang Gong Jinbao hurried in and said anxiously: "Emperor, Concubine Yi is sick. I don't want to bother the emperor, but I am afraid, afraid..."

Ye Zhao had already opened his eyes suddenly and asked, "What disease? Have you hired a doctor?"

Jinbao's tears rolled in his eyes and said, "Concubine Yi coughed up blood since the morning, and the imperial physician could not diagnose the disease."

Ye Zhao was stunned for a moment, hurriedly got up, and hurriedly walked out.

Looking at Ye Zhao's back, Fu Cha, who knelt down to see the emperor, did not get up for a long time and shed tears secretly. When he saw him today, he offended the emperor, but he was afraid that he would never meet again in the future.

Ye Zhao naturally had no time to care about other people's feelings. In the next few days, he stayed in Jingren Palace all day long. Jin Feng was in a coma for several days. His little face was so white that he was terrible, but the imperial doctors were helpless. The day before yesterday, Christina had been summoned from Tianjin to treat Jinfeng.

This is not the first time Christina has entered the palace, but this time Ye Zhao is not in the mood to chat with her. Sitting in front of the Golden Phoenix bed and looking at the pale face in the brocade quilt, Ye Zhao felt what powerlessness is for the first time.

Nowadays, whether in the East or the West, it is not uncommon for members of the wealthy family to die at the age of 20 or 30. But in China, there has been a qualitative leap in the health and medical environment of the people. Therefore, Ye Zhao never thought that he might face the separation of life and death of his relatives in his prime.

Think about it, maybe she was the one who caused Jin Feng to run around for years. Otherwise, although she was the weakest among concubines, she would never have contracted a serious disease at the age of 40. Perhaps, she fell into the root of the disease after giving birth to the princess at an advanced age, but she didn't pay attention at that time.

For several days, Ye Zhao was completely unwilling to the government and accompanied Jin Feng in Jingren Palace every day. One night, he heard Jin Feng muttering to himself, "Long live the emperor...", and Ye Zhao couldn't help but shed tears.

When Rong'er came to visit her, Jinfeng woke up in a daze for a while, and soon fell asleep again. At this time, the female guard of the inner court hurriedly reported to the Imperial Study Office Military Affairs Department and Government Affairs Office, Zhou Jingshan, Li Hongzhang, Zhao Sanbao, and Pei Tianqing asked for a visit to the saint in Wenhua Hall.

Rong'er then said, "Go, my elders, I will take good care of Concubine Yi."

Ye Zhao nodded slightly, then changed his outfit and hurried to Wenhua Palace on the carriage. Without asking, he knew that there must be something urgent today.

When Ye Zhao entered the Wenhua Hall, four men had been waiting for a long time. Among the four, Zhou Jingshan was the Prime Minister of the Government, Li Hongzhang was the most popular auxiliary minister now, Zhao Sanbao was the chief of the military staff, the main person in charge of the military, and Pei Tianqing was the chief of the Navy. These four people gathered together to see each other, which was the first time to create the world.

"The emperor forgives his crime. The emperor is in grief, but I am bothering the emperor and committing death sentence!" As soon as Ye Zhao entered the hall, the four of them bowed to apologize.

Ye Zhao waved his hand, sat on the throne, and said, "Is there another incident in Australia?" In Australia, the Empire did not want to show aggressiveness. In today's civilized world, Australia is somewhat of a serious British territory. If the threat is too much, it is no different from the Emperor's ship running to the English Channel to show off his power.

Therefore, when negotiating with Queensland, although the imperial diplomats insisted on building Chinatown in Jinpi, they still agreed that the ownership of the land belongs to the British businessman. The imperial government cooperated with a British businessman to obtain the ownership of the land in the name of the British businessman, but in Brisbane Chinatown, the imperial government insisted on purchasing or renting land by Chinese businessman.

It has implemented land privatization in the current Western world, and it is very common for British or Chinese merchants to purchase Australian land. It is just that the imperial government hopes to maintain a state of Chinese autonomy in Chinatown, which is something that Queensland government cannot accept.

Zhou Jingshan bowed and said, "The Australians have not agreed to the Chinese autonomy for a long time. Yesterday, I received an urgent telegram from Maputo. The British fleet drove by Maputo Port. The provocative intention was obvious. After receiving the telegram, I discussed it all night and felt that the Navy's duty was imminent."

Ye Zhao twisted the Buddhist beads, looked at Zhao Sanbao, and said, "Maritime defense, land defense, let's talk about it." In the imperial **, there has been huge controversy over whether the army or the navy has been developed. The generals of the army hoped that more new weapons and military expenditure would be allocated to the infantry, and the navy's appeal for coastal defense has not stopped for a moment.

Among the senior military commanders, Zhao Sanbao is the backbone of safeguarding the interests of the army, but since he became the chief of staff, his thoughts seem to have gradually changed.

In fact, the killer weapon of the senior army is India. In the Eurasian continents, almost no country except Britain can threaten the empire's coastal defense. However, if a war broke out with China, India's jewel in the crown of the British Queen may be completely smashed by the Imperial Army's heavy punch. Therefore, the generals of the army have always believed that as long as the army's strong competitiveness is maintained, the strategic advantages of the British Navy can be offset.

Seeing that Zhao Sanbao, the backbone who used to waving the flag for Lu Fang, came together today, Ye Zhao looked at him with interesting interest.

Zhao Sanbao bowed slightly and said, "Your Majesty, I think that if the British are afraid of being attacked, they will be invincible. If you want to take the initiative in strategy, you can only develop coastal defense. Black Africa has many resources. If the emperor lacks ships and cannons, it will be impossible to do anything after all."

"I can't win or defeat?" Ye Zhao twisted the Buddhist beads, thinking about something.

Seeing Ye Zhao's expression, Li Hongzhang took a few steps and bowed and said, "I have discussed with colleagues from the Ministry of Finance. Now the national treasury reserves are abundant and can be used by the navy."

The huge reparations from Tsarist Russia have not only completely paid off foreign debts, but also purchased a large amount of gold reserves. The infrastructure is in full swing. With the victory of the empire, the centripetal force of the people has also been condensed to the highest point. In addition, the continuous imperial policies over the years, merchants' trust in the empire can be said to be at the highest in history. Railways and highways are mostly built by private investment, which also makes the empire finance no longer as stretched as before.

The imperial industry leap forward. Last year, the imperial fiscal revenue exceeded 300 million silver dollars. The total economic output is not easy to count now, but I think it has already leapt to the first place in the world. Of course, in the process of agricultural society moving towards industrial society, the population accounted for a huge proportion of the total economic output, and it was not scientific.

The main investment areas of the imperial government are in the public sector. For example, the "township schools" plan started last year was to build official primary schools or even middle schools in all township-level jurisdictions in the empire. This is a huge expense and a long-term plan. In fact, the development of education in the empire has been extremely rapid today. New official primary schools and middle schools can basically be popularized in every county, of course, mainly referring to the Central Plains.

However, even in poor counties, schools run by private gentry also exist, but the number of enrollment and coverage of students are far less than that of official schools.

To truly change some backward concepts and states in rural areas, it actually starts with education. Now, slogans are called out, but I am afraid they will eventually turn into nonsense.

Building and popularizing rural primary schools is a long-term plan, a ten-year and twenty-year plan. Ye Zhao never thought of doing his best to run education, and the teacher conditions were not met, right? This is not the founding of the People's Republic of China. When the founding of New China, it had already laid the foundation for decades of the Republic of China.

Therefore, although education investment will be a heavy burden on the imperial finances, the national treasury is still abundant at present, with more than 500 million yuan in reserve coins. Moreover, with the increase in expenditures, the annual fiscal revenue is still slightly surplus.

Obviously, the naval generals and the officials of the coastal defense mission have already set their eyes on the money in the treasury.

Today, the Imperial Navy purchases ships at about 20,000 tons per year. If the retired ships are eliminated, the total tonnage of the navy is not high every year. However, with the equipment of new ships, the absolute combat effectiveness is no longer comparable to the early days of the founding of the army and even ten years ago.

Ye Zhao twisted the Buddhist beads, thought for a while, and said, "If this dynasty ruled the shipyard to start construction, how many Penglai can be produced in two years?"

Zhou Jingshan and Li Hongzhang were both stunned. The empire's shipbuilding industry has developed the most rapidly in recent years. If it really supplies the military with all its strength, it would definitely be extremely terrifying productivity, but this is not easy to count.

Ye Zhao nodded slightly and said, "So, don't be too anxious. If these shipyards had not received countless civilian ship orders in recent years, whether it was technology or development, how could they have today's scale?"

Zhou Jingshan and Li Hongzhang both nodded slightly.

Ye Zhao saw the disappointment on Pei Tianqing's face and smiled and said, "But it's time to place some orders. It's not that I'm stingy with the navy. You can think about it. If we used millions of snowflakes to build a ship ten years ago, would it still be useful now?"

Pei Tianqing felt a sudden heart, and then he thought of those warships that have now retired and displayed in the Navy Academy are not even qualified as coach ships.

Ye Zhao collected the Buddhist beads and said, "I was poor a few years ago, and I could only use money on the blade. Now I have barely changed my life, so I have to save some life. Let's discuss it, and go back and get a order. I always have to cruise in Maputo, so I don't have to look too far at the face of foreigners."

Zhou Jingshan and others hurriedly bowed and said yes.

The Navy's orders are actually a pungent agent for domestic heavy industry enterprises. However, the empire's economy is developing rapidly now. Ye Zhao is often worried about the economic overheating problem, and is more cautious in watching the consortiums that are gradually born in the empire. Heavy industry enterprises do not need pungent agents to boost them.
Chapter completed!