1890 King of Southeast Asia

At the end of June, Nanhua controlled the grain market on the grounds of national security.

This control was only in the general policy, and did not involve the retail market, let alone the ration market. Except that the meat became more expensive, there was no difference.

"Mr. Yuan, why did your country suddenly reduce the grain order unilaterally? The automobile industry is just a misunderstanding. We are trying to find a solution. Dialogue is the best solution, isn't it?" Sam found Liu Yiming helplessly.

"No, no, no, Sam, this is just a misunderstanding. You know, in the war last year, many of our citizens did not even have enough basic food. In order to solve this phenomenon, Nanhua must protect local agriculture!

Don't worry, this trend will not last too long, and there are still orders for millions of tons of corn, right?" Liu Yiming sincerely comforted Sam, using similar reasons.

Sam sighed, and entangled with Liu Yiming for a long time, and finally Liu Yiming asked him to meet tomorrow.

He knew that this was Liu Yiming's revenge, and he knew that this matter could not be resolved. In the United States, more and more capital began to enter the automobile market, but the early market had long been taken by Nanhua, and they could not compete in the new market.

Even if they imitated Nanhua's engine through traditional craftsmanship - reverse engineering, there were frequent problems and the performance was not up to standard, and it was expensive! Not much could be made in a year.

A car with a total cost of nearly a thousand US dollars should be sold for more than two thousand, right? But Nanhua is too abominable! Models with better performance but simpler interiors only cost one thousand two hundred US dollars.

Two thousand US dollars can already buy the cheapest commercial vehicle, the interior is better than that of American products, the performance is also better, and the service is also better. How can he compare?

The market of tens of millions of dollars, capital does not want to give up, and capital has already invested money in it. Now leaving the market is a loss.

So, they used an off-the-board trick, which is very insidious. They sit behind the scenes, and the government and the people are in the front.

If they win, they will join forces to enjoy the policy dividends, and no one will compete, so naturally they are unwilling to spend money on research and development.

If they lose, it's the government's business. They can buy off a few people, curse them, and use the name of patriotism to get bonuses and maybe subsidies.

Liu Yiming's approach is that if you use tricks, I will overturn the table. At present, American agricultural capital is no worse than industrial capital, and a large number of votes are in the hands of farmers. Liu Yiming cut half of the orders at once, but not all of them.

How will the one million tons of orders be distributed at that time, who will be responsible for the one million tons that have been cut, who will make money, and how much will they make? There is something to say.

The United States has always been in a state of agricultural overproduction. In recent years, it has had a good relationship with Nanhua, and orders have been increasing. A large number of products have been sent to Nanhua, but now most of them are stuck.

"Please send this telegram to the embassy in the United States and let him send it to Governor Roosevelt." Liu Yiming wrote a letter. It was not a particularly confidential content. It was a friend's view on bilateral trade cooperation.

The new Nanhua also faces the same problem as the Americans, a narrow market.

The two sides are each other's second largest trading country. There is no benefit in such confrontation, but Liu Yiming cannot give in. Capital is something that bullies the weak and fears the strong to the extreme. If you retreat, he will advance.

I forgot to say that Theodore returned to New York after the war and later successfully ran for governor.

………

Early the next morning, Sam came to Zhangtai Palace again. He knew that there was little hope, but he couldn't let people think that he did nothing, even if this matter was meaningless.

"You came by chance. There is a special ceremony today, and you are the most special person." Liu Yiming smiled at Sam.

Sam looked at Liu Yiming in white military uniform in confusion, "It's really an honor."

Sam got on the car under Liu Yiming's guidance. It was still the same car, but the shock absorption system was better, and he could hardly feel the bumps.

"Mr. Yuan, if you want to solve the tariff problem, confrontation is unnecessary. The best way is,

You submit a letter of credence to President McKinley to express your dissatisfaction, let the media report it, and let the southern states know why they suffered heavy losses..." Sam said quietly to Liu Yiming after making sure the carriage was soundproof.

After that, Sam sat there calmly without saying a word.

Liu Yiming nodded: "Raising normal commercial competition to the level of policy, is your country's policy too stupid?"

Sam shook his head and said nothing. He wanted to say that he didn't know why there were so many idiots, but he couldn't say who issued the order.

"Within your rules, solving it in your way is undoubtedly the lowest cost and most convenient way. I also believe that this way can solve the problems we are facing now..." Liu Yiming opened the car window and looked at the streets speeding by.

There are all kinds of buildings on the street, traditional wooden houses; brick and tile houses built with blue bricks, which are quite beautiful; buildings built with reinforced concrete, three or five stories high, mainly office buildings.

"But! We can't always solve the problem in this way. I will submit the credentials, but not now. The two South American countries are equal exchanges and exchange what they have!" Liu Yiming emphasized.

Using this method can indeed solve the problem, but what about later? This time it can be a car, and next time it can be something else. Is it always like this? Then what has Liu Yiming become? A beggar on his knees?

Sam sighed and remained silent.

The carriage drove to the dock, and then Sam noticed that there were no people outside the window, even though there were so many people and cars just now.

"We're here, let's get off." The car stopped, and Liu Yiming took Sam out of the car.

Sishui Naval Port, the nominal home port of the South China Navy, but in fact the main force of the South China Navy rarely comes back.

At this time, the naval port was under martial law. Sam just got off the car and was invited to get into another car, a convertible sedan.

After another journey, he saw a shadow.

"This is..." Sam looked at Liu Yiming.

"Xianyang, the first battleship of South China." Liu Yiming said without looking back.

Sam thought Liu Yiming was proud, but in fact Liu Yiming was heartbroken.

Xianyang made several improvements in the dock. The first time was when the keel was just laid. The Navy Department increased the 203mm secondary main gun from four single-mounted to four twin-mounted. For this reason, some cabin designs were changed. Fortunately, the ship has a large margin and the impact is not great.

The second time was after the 40-caliber 305mm gun was built, but the turret structure changed a lot, which conflicted with the secondary main gun. The secondary main gun had to be moved to the middle, and the number of 152 secondary guns was reduced.

Anyway, after all these efforts, 6 million construction funds were spent, and maybe the gun factory and shipyard can make up for it...

This ship, which has been built for more than two years, finally completed its outfitting today. The next step is sea trials, adjustments for a period of time, and recording parameters, and then it can be put into service.

Under normal circumstances, this also takes half a year, but this does not affect Liu Yiming pulling him out and pretending to be in service.

"The displacement is 15,000 tons, equipped with two twin-mounted 40-caliber 305mm turrets, four twin-mounted 203mm turrets, eight single-mounted 152mm guns, and a speed of 20 knots. It has strong armor and is a nearly perfect warship." Liu Yiming muttered.

Except for the invisible speed, everything else is true. After the modification, the standard displacement reaches 15,000 tons! The largest battleship at present.

If it is a one-on-one fight, the Xianyang will crush any current warship with its absolute firepower and speed advantage.

"Twenty knots?" Sam's eyes widened. You gave the speed of a cruiser to a battleship?

"Yes, we believe that speed is a huge factor that can influence the battle situation. For this, we can even sacrifice some firepower, which is also in line with the needs of South China's national defense and security." The car was getting closer and closer to the Xianyang and finally stopped next to the dock.

The navy was standing majestically next to the ship, and Liu Yiming signaled Sam to get out of the car.

Lin Anmin came over and took Sam away, and Liu Yiming walked straight to a small podium.

At this time, Sam understood why Liu Yiming wore a white military uniform.

"Hello, workers and soldiers!" Liu Yiming stood on the small podium and began to feel.

"I am very proud that our Chinese battleship will be launched today. Once it is launched, it will be the most advanced and powerful battleship in the world..." Liu Yiming was reading the manuscript.

There were cameras and phonographs recording the scene. The scene was full of high-ranking officials from Nanhua. Sam was the only foreigner. This made Sam feel uncomfortable, especially when he saw the camera filming him...

What he didn't know was that on a mountain not far from here, a professional photography team was filming the Xianyang, and at the same time "accidentally" filmed several docks with keels laid in the distance.

It was so strange that the Xianyang was filmed clearly, but the docks were blurry.

Crackling...

The sound of firecrackers made Sam feel even more uncomfortable.

"It's really... a different launching ceremony!" Sam smiled embarrassedly, Lin Anmin smiled slightly, and then looked at the battleship.

Woo~~

The ship was towed out of the dock. Because the final test had not been completed, there were still many instruments on it. Liu Yiming didn't invite Sam to go up, otherwise it would be exposed.

Sam looked at the huge warship with a complicated expression.

…………

"Sir, we have received some new intelligence, I think you need to see it." The military attaché handed a stack of photos to Cyril.

Cyril felt that the military attaché's face looked a little strange, and took it curiously.

Soon, he had the same expression as the military attaché: "Has the intelligence been confirmed?"

The military attaché shook his head: "We can't get in, but from the news we got at the dock, many people have seen the big ship from afar.

In addition, the news about this battleship sent from the United States is that it has a displacement of 15,000 tons, fierce firepower, and a very fast speed." The military attaché handed the relevant information to Cyril.

Cyril's face after reading it was as if he had eaten ten kilograms of shit.

"No!" Cyril immediately thought of something, took out the photos again, and observed them carefully in the sun.

"Look, are there ships over 100 meters long being built in their docks?" Cyril asked the military attaché to come and see.

Several people confirmed again and again, and finally had to conclude that in several docks next to the South China battleship, there were ships over 100 meters long being built.

"I need to know whether these shipyards are used to build merchant ships or warships! This concerns the safety of the British Empire!" Cyril looked at the military attaché solemnly.

The military attaché nodded heavily and turned to leave...

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