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Volume 4 Leviathan 105 Admiralty

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    "Palmer, I think the existing Royal Navy officer training system must be completely reformed. Times have changed. The new warships are sophisticated machines. The officers commanding the fleet must know how to bring out its advantages.  , avoid its shortcomings, and properly train and command your sailors - "In the office, William Palmer, the First Lord of the Admiralty of the British Empire, the second Earl of Selborne, is also the current British Prime Minister Thor  The son-in-law of the Marquis of Oldsbury, he was still a relative of Balfour.  While chatting with a short, gray-haired officer, Belfort's sudden intrusion interrupted their conversation. The naval officer turned his head in astonishment and looked at Belfort with a look that was half astonished and half angry.  "Dear Belfort, you are still so healthy, which really makes me envious!" William Palmer stood up from behind his desk and walked up with a smile on his face: "What wind brought you here to me?  "At this point, William Palmer turned around and introduced to the naval officer: "General Fisher, this is Arthur Balfour, the chairman of the two committees in the House of Commons and the nephew of the Prime Minister.  And this is Admiral John Fisher, Commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, the most talented and capable general of the Royal Navy! ""It is an honor to meet you, Mr. Congressman!" John Fisher hurriedly said to the other party.  He gave a standard military salute. He had heard of this young MP's reputation for a long time. Not only did he have considerable influence on the Prime Minister, the Marquess of Salisbury, he was also well-respected in the House of Commons. Many people in the political circles  They all believed that he would be the prime minister's political successor.  For such a powerful figure, whether it is for personal career or to realize his ambitions, it is very necessary to show corresponding respect.  "Nice to meet you, Your Excellency!" Balfour suppressed the anxiety in his heart and nodded to John Fisher: "I have a very urgent matter and want to talk to the Minister alone for a few minutes. If possible -  "Of course, of course!" John Fisher smiled quickly: "I just have something to go to the Second Lord of the Navy, so I'll take my leave!" "Thank you so much!" Balfour said with a smile.  A charming smile, but when the heavy wooden door was closed and the sound in the corridor was isolated, Belfort's expression immediately turned gloomy.  "Palmer, do you know who the naval officer who commanded the fleet in the Far East to suddenly attack the Chinese port was?" "Are you talking about the Keelung Port in Taiwan? Let me think about it, it seems to be called Jefferson. Yes, it is called Jefferson.  Colonel Andre Jefferson. Damn it, I thought he was a Russian?" William Palmer made a face to Balfour and said with a smile: "What's wrong, did this lucky colonel get through?  Your Excellency, you want to take advantage of this battle to get to the next level? Damn it! The Prime Minister is furious because of this stupid colonel. How can you get so angry?  After William Palmer confirmed from the solemn look on Belfort's face that the other party was not joking, he showed a look of disbelief: "Why? Is it because of the 'Nelson' class armored cruiser that sank overseas? But  Old Jefferson sank and captured almost a dozen Chinese warships, and now the Chinese have no choice but to accept the reality? "Why should that armored cruiser go to hell?"  Foo threw aside his politeness, and now he realized how foolish he had been to forget to take off his hat.  "The order is to blockade the ocean near Ryukyu and make it a demilitarized zone to prevent the Chinese from launching an attack and retaking the island. But it is not to actively attack the Chinese ports and destroy their fleet. This is war. It is war.  Are we just favoring and using the Japanese, but we are not forming an alliance with the Japanese, let alone going into battle personally. In order to ensure that the situation in East Asia is under the control of the British Empire, the British Empire needs to be a neutral party in the subsequent negotiations.  To reconcile these two enemies, and this fool has messed everything up. "What should be done now?" William Palmer asked in a low voice after a few minutes of silence.  The son of the 1st Earl of Albourne, a British military officer, seemed to have not inherited his father's talents in politics and diplomacy, and seemed a little at a loss at this juncture.  "Every effort should be made to reverse the bad effects of all this. The British Empire wants to maintain the strategic balance in the Far East, prevent possible regional hegemony, and ensure sufficient influence, but it does not want to be directly involved." Balfour sighed and shook his head.  He shook his head and whispered: "I don't know what to do now, but let Andre Jefferson retire first. After all, he is a winner. We can't send him to a military court." "There is no problem with this!"  William Palmer quickly replied: "I will do it immediately."?You can have someone send a telegram to Singapore.  " "Well, then I'll go back first!  "Belfort stood up: "Palmer, please forgive my rude wording. This is a difficult era. We are simply clowns standing on a big rolling wooden ball, throwing four or five torches in our hands.  If you don't pay attention, it will roll to the ground!  " "Belfort, I understand your difficulty!  William Palmer reached out and took the hand that the other person extended: "What can we do? Although the British Empire is powerful, the problems it faces are more difficult."  By the way, the issue of increasing funding for the Royal Navy that I mentioned to you last time, can you do some clarification work in your committee?  " "Oh God!  Palmer, you really don't want to waste any opportunity!  Balfour shook his head exaggeratedly: "I'm afraid this is very difficult. The situation in South Africa and the Boers is very tense. The empire's attention is over there. The voice of the War Department demanding an increase in military expenditures is getting louder and louder in the Parliament."  Well, at this juncture -" At this point, Belfort spread his hands and made a helpless gesture. "Army?  William Palmer showed an annoyed expression: "It is the Royal Navy that protects the lifeblood of the British Empire, not the Marines!"  It was the sea, not the railways, that linked the empire's homeland to its colonies!  " "What you said makes sense, but let's wait for some time!  "Belfort turned and walked out the door. When he reached the door, he stopped and turned around and said: "When this storm passes, I will do my best to speak for you in the House of Commons!  " "No, not for me, but for the Royal Navy!  "William Palmer corrected forcefully. "Myanmar, Yangon. September 10, 1891, the fifteenth day after the Battle of Keelung Port. Chen Zaixing walked down the gangway from the "Simpson" clipper, and two men dressed in  The Sikh guard who looked like a servant was carrying his luggage. Chen Zaixing used his hands to block the scorching sunlight shining down from above. After returning to Shanghai for a while, he was already a little unaccustomed to the tropical exposure here. ¡°Odo,  You go hire a speedboat right away, we need to get back to Mandalay as soon as possible!  "Chen Zaixing ordered in a low voice to the Sikh guard on the side. At this time, he was wearing a neat white suit and a light yellow high-top hat. He seemed to be a local Chinese businessman who was more westernized. "Yes, sir.  !  "Odo bowed respectfully and walked quickly to the pier. There were many ships there. For the sake of safety, Chen Zaixing planned to take the regular passenger ship between Yangon and Mandalay. After all, now  He still didn't know the actual relationship between Britain and Burma. If he went up rashly, he might get into trouble. Chen Zaixing walked out of the pass and found a clean hotel. He drank a few sips of herbal tea and went out to hire a boat.  The guard Odo came back, bringing with him a short, stocky Burmese man. He said that he had hired a boat to send the three of them to Mandalay for a total of forty eagles. Chen Zaixing paid half of the money first.  He thought it was okay, so he asked Otto to pay and agreed to set off after dinner. After the discussion was settled, Chen Zaixing had lunch and was about to take a nap to prepare for the evening trip, when there were several knocks on the door.  He thought the waiter in the hotel had something to do, and was about to go to bed and let the guards outside take care of things. But as soon as Chen Zaixing's back touched the sheets, he heard a fierce quarrel outside, mixed with pulling.  With the sound of the gun bolt and the sword being unsheathed, he immediately jumped out of bed, with a pistol in his hand. "Relax, please relax!"  I don't mean any harm. I'm your master's friend. Please pass the message on for me, okay?  " A familiar Chinese voice came from outside. Chen Zaixing frowned, inserted the pistol with the safety on into his belt, walked out, and said in a deep voice: "It's not just an old friend who came to visit. I didn't welcome him from afar. Please forgive me.  !  " "It's me, your business partner and loyal friend!  " Chen Zaixing walked to the door and saw a British man in a black dress, but it was Gillings. Next to him stood a white man about 1.9 meters tall, and behind him there were four or five men with fierce faces and holding weapons.  One of the Burmese men with daggers and pistols was the man whose ship he had just hired in the morning. Gillings saw Chen Zaixing's surprised look, stretched out his right hand and said with a smile: "Mr. Chen, you don't have to be surprised, these are all mine.  little bird.  I'm an Englishman, and if you want to run this city well, you always need some eyes and ears.  " Chen Zaixing showed a wry smile: "Gillings, I didn't expect that you are so powerful now. Anyone you find in Yangon can be your eyes and ears.  " "That's not because I have great powers!  Gillings patted him with a smile: "Many of my little birds escaped from Mandalay and Bagan. Your reputation is very popular with them!"  "Having said this, Gillings paused for a moment, turned sideways and let out the tall man behind him.The white man: "Mr. Chen, please allow me to introduce you to Mr. O'Neil. Mr. Bunge! He is one of the board members of Bunge."  Second-level users have recommendation votes. You can check your user level. If you have recommendation votes, please consider this book. Thank you.
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