1890 King of Southeast Asia

After staying in Xinchang'an for half a month, Sun Zaizhi returned to Qing Empire by airship with a command system of more than 30 people.

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December 1, 4 pm.

It was about to get off work. Liu Yiming finished his work and sat on the armchair drinking tea comfortably.

"Your Majesty, why did you suddenly change the plan?" Xu Hui asked Liu Yiming with a bitter face, holding a pile of reports.

"According to the recent performance of Qing Empire and the various intelligence sent back by the people we sent, the time is almost ripe." Liu Yiming explained with his head down.

"It's not so urgent. The original plan was to delay the launch for one year. Alas~" Xu Hui was a little angry, and then handed the total cost report to Liu Yiming.

"So many... In the warehouse, strategic materials can be used first, and then stored after the matter is over." Liu Yiming was shocked by the dazzling array of additional investments, and he also understood why Xu Hui was angry.

This matter was his fault. He rashly changed the launch time, which led to the need to change the entire plan, which may affect the normal development of Nanhua.

Because the launch time has been changed, the plan for the Qing Empire's industrial construction also needs to be changed, and investment in the military industry needs to be stepped up, which involves a lot of money and a large amount of materials.

In order to prevent the fruits of victory from being stolen, a large number of people need to be transferred and laid out in advance.

These are talents carefully cultivated by various departments, with qualities such as loyalty, shrewdness and ability, and are the backbone of various departments.

"It can only be like this." Xu Hui nodded.

Raising money in a short period of time is not a big problem. At most, bonds can be issued, but how to prepare materials secretly is a big problem.

Liu Yiming regretted it a little. If it were done according to the original launch time, these would be completely unnecessary investments.

But Sun Zaizhi hurried to Nanhua, indicating that many people no longer wanted to wait.

"Since the Russo-Japanese War, has the world been too peaceful..." Xu Hui suddenly said.

Liu Yiming fell into deep thought after hearing this.

Since the Russo-Japanese War, most of the wars have been concentrated in Northeast Asia, with Japan, Russia and Qing fighting each other. Of course, the Qing Empire was the one being fought.

In other parts of the world, the war unexpectedly stopped.

"I'll find a way." Liu Yiming nodded.

Xu Hui was also afraid that Western countries would intervene directly. If so, Nanhua would probably suffer huge losses, or even lose its investment.

This was a burden that Nanhua could not bear, so Xu Hui hoped that Liu Yiming would find something for them to do.

"Then I'll go deal with the material dispatch problem first." Seeing that Liu Yiming understood, Xu Hui nodded and left.

Liu Yiming sat alone in the office, fiddling with the globe.

The globe turned and turned, and at a certain moment, Liu Yiming pressed the globe and pointed his finger at the location of Italy.

"I'm sorry..." The afterglow of the sunset fell from the window, and Liu Yiming looked like a villain at this time.

…………

The last month of 1909 passed peacefully, ushering in 1910.

Originally, this year should have been a peaceful year.

Except for the Mexican Revolutionary War in which Mexicans opposed Diaz's dictatorship, there was no war worth recording.

However, the war lasted for seven years, and it is difficult to say what role the Americans played in it. Of course, Diaz was not a good guy either, so he could be regarded as the transport captain of Mexico.

Let's get back to the point.

A butterfly in the Amazon rainforest occasionally flaps its wings, which can cause a tornado in Texas, USA two weeks later.

Because of South China's direct occupation of the Arab region and Iraq, the Ottoman Empire felt the threat from outside Europe.

In order to stop South China from continuing to expand northward, Britain, France, Russia and Germany supported the Ottoman Empire to varying degrees, among which Britain contributed the most.

In just a few years, the Ottoman Empire's standing new army expanded from 100,000 light infantry to 600,000 standard European troops equipped with machine guns and cannons.

This made Britain, France, Germany and Russia very pleased, because the Ottomans only deployed more than 100,000 new army in the Balkans, and the rest were deployed in Africa or Asia.

However, for some people, this makes people feel very uncomfortable.

"Francesco, I heard that Sicily's wine is the most famous in Europe?" Lin Anmin put the fishing rod on the rack and looked at the float.

"Oh! Yes, three thousand years ago, Sicily began to make wine, and it produced the most Italian wine.

What a pity... With the pace of Napoleon the Great's conquest of Europe, Italy fell into chaos and disorder, resulting in a greater reputation for French wine.

But no matter how good it is, it can't compare to Italian wine." Italian Ambassador Francesco stared at the float.

Today Lin Anmin asked him to go fishing, it must be more than just fishing, but as a qualified fisherman, since he has put down the rod, he can't be empty-handed.

"Really? It turns out that the history of Italian wine is so long." Lin Anmin nodded,

"But you never gave me a bottle."

"Oh! I thought you didn't like wine, I drank your white wine... You know, this is a cultural difference." Francesco didn't even care about the float, and turned to Lin Anmin and said.

"Okay! Actually, Chinese people also drink wine. There are records of wine in our Han Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, the emperor and dignitaries also drank wine." Lin Anmin said with a smile.

"Okay! Okay! I can't argue with you. Next time, I will bring you a box of wine brewed in my estate. Are you looking for me today for wine?" Francesco asked expectantly.

He thought that Lin Anmin was looking for him to find a source of wine. Since the Minister of Foreign Affairs came to him, there must be a lot of orders.

"This is just a small matter. Today, I asked you out for the friendship between the Kingdom of Italy and the South China Empire." Lin Anmin shook his head gently.

"Of course, the Kingdom of Italy and the South China Empire will always be friends." Francesco cheered up and his mind was running fast.

Various disputes of interest and recent major events flashed through his mind, but he couldn't find anything that South China might care about.

"Forever friends... I heard that the Kingdom of Italy is seeking to obtain a colony from the Ottoman Empire?" Lin Anmin repeated.

"The Ottoman Empire is old and they have oppressed non-Turks too much. Italy just wants to rescue innocent people from it... just like what Nanhua did in Arabia." Francesco changed his words.

The white left in later generations probably rose during this period. Although they are still weak, it is still troublesome to mess with them.

Just like the Yodel people who grow mushrooms, disgusting.

"I understand, I understand." Lin Anmin smiled,

"Then why not take action? If it were two years in advance, the defense of the Ottoman Empire's provinces near the southern Mediterranean would be empty, and it would not be difficult to deal with them."

"The king's army is capable of solving all the stumbling blocks that hinder the Kingdom of Italy." Francesco shrugged and did not answer directly.

"If, I say that Nanhua will support the Kingdom of Italy and obtain the benefits it deserves, will you take action?" Lin Anmin stared at the float, which had a slight abnormal fluctuation, proving that the fish was ready to bite the hook.

"Really?" Francesco turned his head sharply, and his cervical vertebrae made a crisp sound.

"Your neck..." Lin Anmin looked at Francesco in surprise.

"Hey! Are you saying that Nanhua will support Italy in developing colonies? Why? You don't even know where Italy wants to go. What if there is a conflict with Nanhua?" Francesco asked.

Francesco's first reaction was that Nanhua would start a new round of wars to develop colonies, but due to opposition from Britain, France and other countries, it was ready to pull Italy to act together and share the pressure.

As for whether the wars were too frequent, this era was like this. In the colonial era, no country really had peace for several consecutive years. Basically, they were all engaged in colonial wars.

"No, Francesco, you misunderstood." Lin Anmin shook his head and grabbed the fishing rod. The float had sunk and the fish was hooked!

"Our country has no desire to continue to develop in the Ottoman region. If Nanhua continues to develop, some people will be uneasy."

"Then, what does Nanhua need Italy to pay?" The excitement on Francesco's face dissipated a lot.

"Italy has already paid the reward, friendship, isn't it?" Lin Anmin smiled brightly.

Francesco was a little afraid to speak for a while, and looked at Lin Anmin hesitantly.

"Nanhua will support Italy in its just cause, on the condition that Nanhua can trade in Italian colonies. Of course, the trade categories are limited to goods that Italy does not have or produces very low."

"In addition, the ports of Italian colonies should allow Nanhua warships to dock for supplies and maintenance, and Nanhua colonies will give Italian warships equal treatment."

Lin Anmin scooped up the fish with a net bag and looked at Francesco.

"This is the reward for all the things Italy did in the return of the Tianjin Concession, and it is also the friendship of the Nanhua Empire to her friend, the Kingdom of Italy."

Francesco looked at Lin Anmin's serious eyes, and realized after a long time that Lin Anmin was not joking.

Doesn't this mean that he doesn't want anything? A small move, in exchange for such a big reward?

Don't underestimate a supporter. When negotiating, one more person's support means one more voice. Even if it can't change the result, what if it's just one more day? How much territory can the Italian warriors open up?

You can't let me withdraw, right? That's against the rules!

"I will report Nanhua's attitude to our king. May the friendship between our two countries last forever." Francesco said sincerely.

What is a friend? When the Messina earthquake occurred, Nanhua donated money and materials and sent a professional rescue team as soon as possible. The two sides have frequent exchanges in the field of warship technology, and now they support the Kingdom of Italy to acquire colonies.

This is a friend!

Of course, I don't know what their expressions will be when they know that this support is just Liu Yiming's move to divert the attention of Westerners.

"Francesco, I suggest you take a look at your neck."

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