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Volume 4 Leviathan Chapter 18 Four 3 Collusion

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    "How is it possible?" Gillings laughed: "Great Britain's hegemony was originally based on the control of the ocean. We are an island country and do not need to pay taxes to build a huge army, so we can defeat every maritime enemy.  The enemy gained hegemony and conquered large tracts of the colonies. By controlling trade with the colonies, Great Britain became richer and more powerful, and London became the center of the world. But now things have changed, and steel is the center of the world.  The basis of everything. With steel, there can be more merchant ships and warships, and coal and iron are everywhere. Railways will also reduce the importance of maritime transportation. If the situation does not change, Great Britain will lose its hegemony one day. Then  Of course, London is no longer the center of the world. "Really? That's a bit regretful!" Chen Zaixing replied absently: "By the way, you just said that you have a very interesting project. Now you can talk about it."  "Of course!" Gillings smiled: "But first I want to ask you a question, do you know why the Royal Navy can control the ocean?" "Why?" Chen Zaixing was slightly stunned, and for a moment he didn't know what to do.  To answer, for more than thirty years of his life, the British Empire has always controlled the oceans, and the Royal Navy has always been the master of the oceans. Great Britain is so powerful on the oceans that most people in the world have even forgotten that.  How to challenge it.  "You have more warships and better equipment!" "No, no, not just that!" "Your sailors are better trained?" "Yes, but that's not enough, the French and Russians  The training of their sailors is also very strict!" "Do you have enough bases all over the world?" Chen Zaixing asked tentatively.  "Very true. In the age of sail, a large number of bases allowed the fleet's damaged ships to be repaired, allowing sailors to get fresh food and fresh water. They had a place to take shelter when encountering bad weather, and they could provide shelter when encountering superior enemies.  Hiding in the base to avoid fighting is even more important now. Without coaling stations all over the world, the enemies of the British Empire on the European continent cannot attack the empire's colonies around the world. The reason is simple. Once the war breaks out, except for  There are a few neutral ports where their ocean-going raiding fleet cannot find a place to refuel, which is very fatal to a weak fleet, but this is all changing. "Changing?" Chen Zaixing was stunned and asked immediately.  : "Does this change have something to do with what you want to say?" "Of course, that's the key!" Gillings's face showed a proud light: "A revolution is about to arise in the Royal Navy, and people are about to use fuel instead of  Coal is used to drive warships. Today's warships are equipped with thicker armor and larger guns, which makes them larger and faster, which requires more powerful engines.  On this issue, the advantages brought by liquid fuel are immeasurable. The first is speed. On the same ship, oil gives a much higher speed than coal, and it can greatly increase the acceleration process by 40% compared with the same weight of coal.  It allows the fleet to refuel at sea very conveniently. If necessary, a fuel fleet can line up a position at sea to refuel from tankers in calm weather, without spending a quarter of the force constantly.  The rigors of coaling a warship drain the energy of the sailors on board the ship, and it robs them of their short rest in time of war.  It was extremely uncomfortable. With oil, a few pipes connected to the shore or connected to the tanker, the warship could hardly lift a finger. The number of stokers required to care for and clean the oil-fired furnaces was less than half that of burning coal.  It could be stored in unoccupied areas of the warship, from which it was impossible to obtain coal. As the coal-burning ships continued to consume coal, more and more manpower had to be used, and if necessary, the soldiers in the turrets had to be called in.  Transporting coal from distant coal bunkers to coal bunkers close to the boiler, or feeding coal into the boiler, therefore, perhaps weakened the combat efficiency of the warship at the most critical moment of the battle, for example, there was one on the "Warrior Good".  Close to 100 soldiers were constantly engaged in shoveling coal from one steel hold to another without even the sight of daylight or the light of a fire. The use of oil made it possible to make various types of warships with smaller hulls or smaller costs.  , gaining greater firepower and greater speed would be possible on certain types of warships, all of which would be achieved by simply replacing fuel from under the boiler.  "Obtained by burning coal." Chen Zaixing finally caught a gap in Gillings's eloquent speech and whispered: "Mr. Gillings, do you mean that all warships will switch to fuel in the future?" "Yes, you do.  Don¡¯t you understand yet, in the near future, petroleum fuel will become the blood of the navy, if?With enough fuel, once a war breaks out, even if you have dozens of battleships, they will just stay in the military port and rust.  Don't you understand yet?  Chen, the Ren'anqiang oil field you control is the easiest oil field to exploit in the entire Southeast Asia. As long as you can firmly control it, you can make a fortune!  "    "Thanks for your reminder!  "Chen Zaixing looked at Gillings slyly. The eloquent speech just now made Gillings a little too excited. He straightened his loose tie and said, "This is the purpose of my visit this time.  , Chen, you now have a goose that can lay golden eggs. Protect it well to avoid being stolen.  " "Gillings, I'm curious why you are telling me this?  Why don't you offer to buy part of the oil field first?  This way you can get considerable benefits from it.  " "The reason is very simple, because you are not a person who is easily coaxed. If I make this request, you will definitely guess the value of the oil field.  What I just said is not difficult to find out.  Gillings readily admitted his thoughts: "Chen, but I still suggest that you sell a small amount of shares in the Ren'anqiang Oil Field to Mr. Belfort's family company. Whether it is exploring or refining oil, you need considerable equipment. You can't do without it."  Mr. Belfort's support and, more importantly, his cooperation will be of long-term benefit to you.  " Chen Zaixing thought for a moment and nodded. What could be a more solid alliance than the exchange of benefits? In a sense, even to avoid the British invasion, he should find a powerful friend in the House of Commons  "Compared with these, paying a small share of the oil field is a good deal. "Gillings, you can tell Mr. Balfour that I will be happy to sell him two oil fields near Ren'anqiang for five thousand pounds.  50/50 development rights.  " "Chen, you won't regret your decision!  Gillings said with a meaningful smile: "Soon, you will get rich rewards in a short time."  "    "What do you mean?  "    "you do not know?  A large-scale war is about to break out between the Shun Empire and the Russian Empire. It is only a matter of time. What better opportunity to make money than war?  Every drop of blood shed by the soldiers can turn black iron into gold!  " Chen Zaixing did not speak. Gillings' words touched something deep in his heart. Gillings smiled and took a sip of coffee: "Chen, I have a small proposal. As far as I know, there is a factory in Mumbai.  It has gone bankrupt and is awaiting liquidation. This factory can produce absorbent cotton and gauze. If you can help me open up channels for the Chinese army, I can give you 15% of the shares.  " "Fifteen percent of the shares?  "Chen Zaixing laughed: "This is not possible. I also have a proposal to build a factory in Shanghai to produce skim cotton, gauze and other supplies. The land and factory buildings will be provided by Shunhua Company, and the equipment, technical personnel, and funds will be provided by you.  I own 45% of the shares, what do you think?  " "Forty-five percent?  Isn¡¯t this a bit too much?  " "Well, I can compensate you with one thousand pounds as the cost of transporting the required equipment to Shanghai, and the equity is changed to 40%, how about it?  "    "All right!  Gillings thought for a moment and stretched out his right hand: "It's a deal. Who said we have been good friends for many years?"  ¡± October 1894, Khabarovsk. This city named after the famous Russian adventurer, explorer, and invader Khabarov is located on the east bank of the intersection of the Ussuri River and the Heilongjiang River. The terrain is very important.  Around Fusk, there are a large number of military immigrants, weapons factories, mining areas, warehouses, Amur Cossack cavalry, and Far East garrison teams. It is the central city of the entire Far East region of Russia and the seat of the Governor-General's Palace of the Border Region.  Your Excellency, General, I once again sincerely request you to speed up the construction of fortifications in Vladivostok and strengthen possible surprise attacks on sea and land!  "Major General Kopetov, the commander of the garrison in Vladivostok, tried his best to suppress his excitement and shouted loudly to Yevgeny Ivanovich Alley, the Tsar's Superintendent in the Far East, who was sitting in an armchair.  Admiral Kseyev reported that this middle-aged man with a somewhat bloated figure and a majestic beard was the illegitimate son of Alexander II, who was also the uncle of the current Tsar Nicholas II. He had great influence in the court.  It has great power and has won the trust of the current Tsar Nicholas II. In civil affairs, he has the power of the highest civil administrator, and in the military, he has the power of commander of the military district of the border region, commander of the Pacific Fleet and commander of the port. In a simple sentence  ¡ª¡ªAdmiral Yevgeny Ivanovich Alexeev is the uncrowned king of the Russian Empire¡¯s Far East ¡°Relax, Kopet (Kopetov¡¯s nickname), Tatar.  A disparaging name for Dashun)It won't come overnight!  Alexeyev smiled and pointed to another chair nearby: "Sit down and talk. Tell me, what are you going to do?"  "
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