Only now does Liu Hai realize how difficult it is to build warships. This is not just a matter of warships, but a large integrated system. It tests a country's industrial capabilities from all aspects.
Like the Qing Dynasty, they could only make some iron shells, then purchase various spare parts from foreign countries, and then install them. They said they were building warships, but in fact they were not even assembled.
Liu Hai thought for a while, and I am afraid that these problems can only be completely overcome by building a large-scale machinery manufacturing plant after the gun factory is completed. Now it can only be purchased from outside.
However, Liu Hai thought that if he purchased from the great powers such as Britain, France, and Germany, although they did not block the Qing Dynasty now, the price would be expensive, and the manufacturing and transportation time would be too long. Most importantly, the quality would not be guaranteed.
.
Liu Hai knows the quality of current warship boilers. The quality of the warships Liu Hai bought from the UK is pretty good, but the boilers also have problems every three to five.
"Well, if Xuan Hai is like this, you can immediately start laying the keel and building the hull. As for the artillery and boilers, I will think of a way."
After hearing this, Xuan Hai also remembered that the admiral in front of him had sailed across the ocean and had good relations with the British. It should not be a problem to buy some artillery and boilers.
"Then Sir, I will go back first. You should recruit more people carefully, so that when the time comes to install the boiler, I won't be able to see you."
"Okay, you still don't know that I, my lord, will never break my promise. You should quickly build the hulls of your three battleships first, and then I will naturally have boilers for you."
Xuan Hai then left Liu Hai and continued to the shipyard to build the three warships.
Liu Hai naturally has no worries about warships and artillery. It is difficult to buy in the Qing Dynasty, and it depends on the color of the great powers. Let's go to modern times to buy. There are not only good quality, but also many powerful artillery. As for the boilers,
Traveling thousands of miles away from the Qing Dynasty plane, although there is no guarantee that warships can travel faster than modern warships, they can at least be faster than all cruisers in the Qing Dynasty plane.
Just when Liu Hai was about to go to modern times to discuss the issue of artillery and boilers with people there, news suddenly came from Nanjing that Zeng Guoquan was seriously ill.
As the son-in-law of Zeng Guoquan, Liu Hai had to visit Yu since he heard that his father-in-law was seriously ill. So he took his wife Zeng Yuying on a naval transport ship and returned to Nanjing straight up the Yangtze River.
Along the way, Zeng Yuying could be said to be uneasy. She always thought that her father was in good health and would be able to live for another few decades. She never thought that her father would become so ill in just a few years.
By the time Liu Hai arrived at Ma Tou, Nanjing, Zeng Guoquan's grandson Zeng Guanghan had been waiting for them on the dock for a long time.
As soon as Zeng Guanghan saw Zeng Yuying, he walked a few steps forward, knelt down and hugged Zeng Yuying's legs, and burst into tears.
This moment frightened Zeng Yuying. She thought that the old man was gone. Otherwise, how could Zeng Guanghan cry like this?
Immediately afterwards, Zeng Yuying burst into tears and seemed unable to stand.
Liu Hai remembers clearly that Zeng Guoquan will not be here until June next year. It is still some time before the Chinese New Year. Zeng Guoquan cannot be gone early, because at least the sulfonamide he brought back can have some effect.
So he hurried over to support Zeng Yuying, and then scolded Zeng Guangquan, who was kneeling on the ground: "What's going on? Say what you have to say, how unbecoming is it for a grown man to cry."
Zeng Guanghan stopped crying after hearing Liu Hai's scolding. He reluctantly stood up and apologized and bowed to Liu Hai.
It turned out that Zeng Guanghan was not crying because Zeng Guoquan was about to die, but because he thought that his supporter was about to fall, and his life would not be as easy as before, so he felt sad from his heart.
Now after Zeng Guanghan explained it, he realized that although the old man was seriously ill, he had not reached that point yet.
Only then did Zeng Yuying stop crying, and complained to Zeng Guanghe, complaining that even at such an old age, he still didn't know the importance of things, couldn't hold back his anger, and wouldn't be able to achieve great things in the future. But she forgot that just now she herself
When I saw Zeng Guanghan crying like that, I burst into tears.
Everyone said a few words and saw that the dock was not a place to stay for too long, so Liu Hai and others, led by Zeng Guanghan, re-entered the Liangjiang Governor's Mansion.
When Liu Hai and Zeng Yuying entered Zeng Guoquan's bedroom, they immediately smelled a pungent smell of medicine lingering in the bedroom.
When Liu Hai saw Zeng Guoquan in person, he was shocked. The energetic old man was no longer there. Now Zeng Guoquan was languid and his face was flushed. He didn't look normal at first glance.
When Zeng Yuying saw that her father was so ill, she didn't care about anything. She threw herself into her father's arms and started crying.
Zeng Guoquan stroked his old daughter's hair and kept comforting her.
"Why are you crying? It's just a minor illness, is there any need to do this? It won't be too late for you to cry when I die?"
Zeng Yuying heard that her father was dying and living, and felt that it was too unlucky, so she complained for a while.
Seeing that the old girl had stopped crying, Zeng Guoquan stopped saying these depressing words, and instead managed to cheer up and ask about the old girl's life in Shanghai during this time.
Of course, Zeng Yuying said it well and even described her son as a naughty boy, which made Zhen Guoquan smile a few times.
After Zeng Guoquan had a conversation with his daughter, he moved his bangs in front of his face and said, "I'm afraid my health won't be good either. I want to resign and cultivate myself. You have to be prepared."
Liu Hai had already thought about this day in his mind, and he checked the history in modern times and knew that the person who took over as the governor of Liangjiang was his uncle Liu Kunyi.
But now that I have come to this era, the timeline has changed tremendously, and I don’t know if there will be a butterfly effect that wiped out Liu Kunyi’s governorship of Liangjiang.
Zeng Guoquan looked at Liu Hai, then waved the others to leave. Now, only Zeng Guoquan and Liu Haiweng's son-in-law were left in the bedroom.
"If you have any ideas, tell me and I can help you while I'm still in this position."
After Liu Hai heard this, he was moved for a while. Although Zeng Guoquan did not necessarily really want to help him, he probably wanted to leave a favor to the descendants of the Zhen family.
But no matter what, Zeng Guoquan also thinks highly of himself. He is where he is today thanks to Zeng Guoquan's strong support behind him.
So Liu Hai confided that his heart was completely to Tsang Kwok-quan.
"Father-in-law, the world is becoming more and more chaotic. In my opinion, it will lead to a catastrophe sooner or later. In addition, Japan has been working hard over the years. I see that if they want to become rich and powerful, their first goal is our country.
Qing Dynasty, in such a crisis, the ministers and the old queen mother of the imperial court do not have the ability to survive safely."
When Liu Hai said this, Zeng Guoquan couldn't help but nod. He could see that the ministers in the court were all capable ministers in a peaceful era, but when they encountered something unprecedented in 3,000 years,
The situation is undergoing great changes, but their ability is not enough to support the changes in the world.
"You are right. The Queen Mother now only thinks about having fun and fighting for power with the Emperor. She can no longer care about other things."
Zeng Guoquan sighed when he said this, but he added: "But fortunately there is Li Hongzhang. With him in the court, there will be no crisis."
After hearing Zeng Guoquan's assertion, Liu Hai kept nodding his head, thinking that this old man was indeed worthy of having spent his whole life in the officialdom, and his eyesight was indeed bright.
Li Hongzhang is known as the Spleen of the East, and it was he who independently supported the Qing Dynasty in the late Qing Dynasty and prevented the Qing Dynasty from falling apart.
"Father-in-law, although Li Hongzhang is said to have some abilities, he is also old, and although he appears to support Westernization, he is actually very stubborn and may not be able to bring the Chinese nation out of crisis."
"Then what do you mean?"
After listening to Zeng Guoquan's question, Liu Hai immediately cheered up and said: "I look at the world and there is no one who is right for me. The current crisis in the world must be borne by me."
Zeng Guoquan was stunned when he heard this, and then his eyes flashed with excitement. He originally thought that his son-in-law wanted to be a warlord at most, but he did not expect that he would have such ambitions.
"Okay, what a bangs. I underestimated you. In the future, the Qing Dynasty will be the stage for you and Li Hongzhang."
Liu Hai was compared with Li Hongzhang by Zeng Guoquan and felt a little blushing. You must know that Li Hongzhang did not have a golden finger. He only relied on his own ability and knowledge to achieve his fame today.
Zeng Guoquan praised Liu Hai, and then thought: "Originally, Liangjiang is the territory of our Hunan Army. If I don't resign, I will definitely send a big boss of the Hunan Army to take charge. I think it should be your uncle Liu Kunyi."
When Zeng Guoquan said this, he raised his eyes and glanced at Liu Hai, then shook his head and sighed: "But you are now in a high and powerful position, in charge of more than 50,000 elite Hunan Army and the Nanyang Navy. If Liu Kunyi is allowed to serve as the governor of Liangjiang, I am afraid that
Liangjiang is about to become a state within a state, and I don’t think the imperial court will agree."
Liu Hai is also having a headache about this matter. If Liu Kunyi serves as the governor of Liangjiang, as the uncle who raised his predecessor, Liu Kun will regard his predecessor as no different from his own son.
In this way, the bangs are naturally more convenient. After a few years, after the war of Sino-Japanese War, I have full wings, and I can go into the mountains as a tiger and swim in the sea as a dragon.
However, the imperial court is not a fool, and will definitely send someone who can't deal with it to take charge of the important task of governor of Liangjiang.
Zeng Guoquan looked at Liu Hai and frowned. He didn't know what to do, so he smiled softly and said, "If the imperial court sends someone else to be the governor of Liangjiang, what will you do?"
Liu Hai said angrily: "What else can I do? I can only make peace with him and let it wear off slowly."
After hearing this, the smile on Zeng Guoquan's face disappeared. Instead, he cursed: "Idiot, I thought you had some courage just now, but now you are a loser."
When Liu Hai heard Zeng Guoquan's scolding, he immediately understood that the old man had already made up his mind, so he quickly licked his face and asked: "Since my father-in-law has a way, can you teach me how to do it?"