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

…………

December 1, four o'clock in the afternoon.

It was time to get off work soon. Liu Yiming finished his work and sat on the Taishi chair, drinking tea comfortably.

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

"Based on the various recent performances of the Qing Empire, combined with the various intelligence sent back by the people we sent, the time is almost ripe." Liu Yiming lowered his head and explained.

"It won't be so urgent. The original plan will be postponed for one year. Alas~" Xu Hui was a little angry, and then handed the total cost report to Liu Yiming.

"There are so many... strategic materials in the warehouse can be used to store them first, and then continue to be stored after the incident is over." Liu Yiming was taken aback by the dazzling array of additional investments, and he understood why Xu Hui was angry.

It was his fault that he rashly changed the launch time, causing the entire plan to need to be changed, which may affect the normal development of Nanhua.

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

In order to prevent the fruits of victory from being stolen, it is necessary to deploy a large number of manpower and make arrangements in advance.

These are talents carefully cultivated by various departments. They have characteristics such as loyalty, shrewdness and ability, and are the backbone of each department.

"That's all we can do." Xu Hui nodded.

Raising money in a short period of time is not a big problem. The big deal is issuing bonds, but how to prepare materials secretly is a big problem.

Liu Yiming had some regrets. If the launch had been carried out according to the original launch time, these investments would have been completely unnecessary.

But Sun Zaizhi rushed to Nanhua in a hurry, which shows that many people no longer want to wait any longer.

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

Liu Yiming fell into deep thought after hearing this.

Since the Russo-Japanese War, most of the wars have been concentrated in Northeast Asia. The three kingdoms of Japan, Russia and Qing Dynasty were fighting. Of course, the Qing Empire was the one being fought.

In other parts of the world, wars unexpectedly stopped.

"I will find a way." Liu Yiming nodded.

Xu Hui is also afraid that Western countries will intervene directly. In this case, Nanhua is likely to suffer huge losses, and even the investment will be wasted.

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 deal with the material dispatch issue first." Seeing that Liu Yiming understood, Xu Hui nodded and left.

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

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

"I'm sorry..." The afterglow of the setting sun fell from the window. At this time, Liu Yiming looked like a villain.

…………

The last month of 1909 passed so peacefully, and 1910 came.

Originally, this year was supposed to be a peaceful year.

Except for the Mexican Revolutionary War, in which Mexicans fought against Díaz's dictatorship, there are no wars worth recording.

However, this war lasted for seven years, and it is difficult to say what role the Americans played in it. Of course, this Díaz is not a good guy. He can be regarded as the captain of Mexico's transportation brigade.

Let’s get back to the topic.

A butterfly in the Amazon rainforest flapping its wings occasionally can cause a tornado in Texas two weeks later.

Because of Nanhua's direct occupation of the Arab region and Iraq, the Ottoman Empire felt threats from outside Europe.

In order to prevent South China from continuing to expand northward, Britain, France, Russia and Germany provided varying degrees of support to the Ottoman Empire, with Britain contributing the most.

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

This made Britain, France, Germany and Russia very happy, because the Ottomans only deployed hundreds of thousands of new army troops in the Balkans, and the rest were deployed in Africa or the Asian continent.

However, for some people, this is very uncomfortable.

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

"Oh! Yes, Sicily started making wine three thousand years ago. It produces the most wine in Italy.

What a pity... As Napoleon the Great conquered Europe, Italy fell into chaos and disorder, which made French wine even more famous.

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

Lin Anmin asked him to fish today. It must be more than just fishing, but as a qualified fisherman, since he has lowered his pole, he cannot fly.

"Really? It turns out that Italian wine has such a long history." Lin Anmin nodded,

"But you never gave me a bottle."

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

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

"Okay! Okay! I can't help you. Next time, I will bring you a box of wine brewed in my manor. Are you looking for me today about the wine?" Francesco looked forward to it.

asked.

He thought that Lin Anmin came to him to find a source of wine. Since the foreign minister had come to visit him, there would definitely be a lot of orders.

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

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

Various interest disputes and recent major events flashed through his mind, but he could not find anything that Nan Hua might be concerned about.

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

"The Ottoman Empire is old. They oppressed the non-Turks in the country too much. Italy just wants to rescue innocent people from it...just like what South China did in Arabia." Francesco changed his words.

The Baizuo of later generations probably emerged during this period. Although their power was still very weak, it would still be very troublesome to mess with them.

It's like a yordle growing mushrooms, so disgusting.

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

"So, why not take action? If it had been done two years earlier, the Ottoman Empire's provinces near the southern Mediterranean would have been defenseless, and it would not be troublesome to deal with them."

"The king's army is capable of solving all 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 act?" Lin Anmin stared at the float. There was a slight abnormal fluctuation in the float, which proved that the fish was ready to bite the hook.

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

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

"Ahem! You mean, South China wants to support Italy in colonizing? Why? You don't even know what Italy wants. What if there is a conflict with South China?" Francesco asked.

Francesco's first reaction was that South China would start a new round of war to open up colonies. However, due to the opposition of Britain, France and other countries, he was ready to bring Italy together to share the pressure.

As for whether wars are too frequent, this is the case in this era. In the colonial era, no country has really been at peace for several consecutive years. Basically, they are engaged in colonial wars.

"No, Francesco, you got it wrong." 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 South China need from Italy?" The excitement on Francesco's face dissipated a lot.

"Italy has paid for the friendship, hasn't it?" Lin Anmin smiled brightly.

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

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

"In addition, the ports of the Italian colonies should allow South China warships to dock for supply and maintenance, and the South China colony will give Italian warships equal treatment."

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

"This is the reward for Italy's response to the Tianjin Concession handover incident, and it is also the friendship that the Nanhua Empire repays 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 telling a joke.

Doesn’t this mean you don’t want anything? A small move can bring such a big reward?

Don’t underestimate one support. One more supporter will give you more say in the negotiation. Even if the outcome cannot be changed, even if it only takes one more day? How much territory can Italy’s warriors open up?

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

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

What is a friend? After the Messina earthquake, Nanhua donated money and materials and immediately dispatched a professional rescue team. The two sides have very frequent exchanges in the field of warship technology, and now they also support the Kingdom of Italy in acquiring colonies.

This is friends!

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 Westerners’ attention.
Chapter completed!