Chapter 789 Endless Sense of Superiority

"This is the gap between a handicraft workshop and an industrial system!"

If Chen Ming knew what Selim was feeling at this moment, Emperor Chen would definitely say it proudly.

Whether it is the manufacture of guns, sabers, or warships, this is a system. As long as all aspects are properly organized, it will inevitably greatly reduce the cost of military industry, and vice versa, it will inevitably appear that it is better to buy than to make. For example, the Ottoman Empire at present, and the late Qing Dynasty in the original time and space plane.

The British need 65,000 pounds to build a third-level battleship, which is not a small amount of water. Now is the peak period of political corruption in Britain. How can there be no corruption? The corrupt officials in Great Britain are no different from corrupt officials in other places. No matter what money it is, there are people who dare to take it. What about the funds for building battleships?

As long as the quality of the battleship is guaranteed, it's fine.

Now the British have made a price list themselves, from the fifth and sixth-level cruise ships to the first-level battleships, the cost is clear at a glance. But it is also a circle for corruption, so that those worms will not push the cost of warships to the sky.

China is a different story. The third-class battleship priced at 2 million yuan per ship actually costs less than half of that. 800,000 is high. The high and huge profits are very good.

The Ottoman Empire, where the cost of a single third-class battleship can reach 90,000 pounds, has a lot of water hidden in it, which is even more amazing.

They don’t have the tradition of using oak to build warships. Europeans like to use oak to build warships because oak is corrosion-resistant and impact-resistant, and has the characteristics of less wood chips flying after being bombarded, which can avoid secondary casualties. So the oak trees in Britain and France were cut down by themselves, but there were no large oak forests in the Ottoman Empire, and oak did not attract the Ottomans; they would not use mahogany and teak, let alone precious sandalwood. The Ottomans used pine and fir. Although many of them are produced in the north and need to be transported to the south, they are also domestic, right? The cost is too high.

In Selim's plan, he will buy four third-level battleships and four fourth-level sailing warships, which are the basis for forming a fleet. Then there are about ten fifth-level and sixth-level sailing cruisers, plus a few transport ships. Finally, depending on the amount of remaining funds, one or two third-level battleships will be purchased.

The cost of the British fourth-level sailing warship is only one-fourth of that of the first-level battleship, about 25,000 pounds per ship. The price in China is cheaper than 25,000 pounds, only 720,000 yuan; the cost of the fifth-level and sixth-level sailing cruisers is at most 10,000 pounds, and the price in China is also 300,000 yuan.

Selim brought a full one million pounds of funds this time, half of which will be spent on the purchase of warships, plus guns, breastplates, sabers, and ammunition. In the end, if there is a little money left, it will be regarded as their operating funds in China.

Liu Dezhao, the current Prime Minister of the Chinese Cabinet, is only in his early fifties. After finishing this term, he can definitely serve another term. By the end of his term, it will be time for his beloved grandson to "come on stage".

Therefore, it is necessary to make friends with Liu Dezhao. And how to make friends with Liu Dezhao? China cannot give money openly now, so we need to change to a clever way. But no matter what the method is, it requires money.

The carriage soon stopped at the location of the Cabinet Office.

First of all, there was a big iron gate with a huge national emblem hanging on the top. Selim and others underwent a more stringent security check by the guards before being allowed to enter.

A first-class secretary of the office came over to make a handover, and then took Selim and others to wait in the No. 3 meeting room.

The meeting room was covered with floor, but there was no carpet. Selim didn't know what the floor was made of, but it didn't look like teak. There was a huge long table in the center of the meeting room, and many armchairs were scattered around the table. There were a few decorations hanging on the surrounding walls, mostly some Chinese paintings, small sculptures and pendants, etc. There were huge chandeliers and candlesticks hanging on the ceiling and in the corners of the room. At this moment, the candles were lit, illuminating the entire room.

This was the highest conference room of the Chen Han government center. It was really too simple. Such decorations were not even as good as the conference halls and offices that some small Ottoman local bureaucrats arranged for themselves. It was really too shabby.

Selim muttered to himself. The last time he came to China, the negotiation location was mostly in the state guesthouse, and he came to the Cabinet Office just to meet with the Chinese Cabinet Prime Minister in his office. The latter's office was not luxurious, and there was no blanket, but the utensils looked very grand and heavy. And this was the first time he had seen such a simple conference hall for a big country.

After seeing China's "power" and economic prosperity, he really didn't expect that the Chinese people would still maintain such a simple side in the highest institution of the Chinese government. No matter how stupid Selim was, he knew that the Chinese cabinet did not have no money to decorate this meeting room, nor did they look down on the Ottoman Empire and deliberately humiliate them. It should be a rule that forced them to be simple.

There was a sound of footsteps outside the door. Selim turned around and saw a group of Chinese people walking in. The leader was a tall middle-aged man. He walked towards Selim with a smile on his face, and stretched out his hands and saluted.

There is no Western handshake ceremony in China. Although you can find the origin of the "handshake ceremony" by looking through ancient Chinese books, the handshake ceremony is still familiar to more people.

"Your Excellency Murad, you are rude and rude for not being able to greet us from afar."

The visitor is no longer Huang Song, but Gao Yanming.

Wearing a black official robe, his back is straight, giving people a sense of majesty. Selim knew that Gao Yanming was the cousin of the current Chinese emperor and China's most prestigious diplomat in Europe.

Although the style of Chinese official robes is very simple, with no complicated patterns and ornaments except for the belt and accessories, it is still very beautiful and can give people a solemn and majestic look when worn.

After Gao Yanming and Selim joked for a while, he invited them to sit down and then formally said to everyone: "I, Gao Yanming, am now the Director of the Cabinet Office, meeting friends from the Ottoman Empire for the first time. I hope you all have a pleasant time in the coming days.”

After the translator converted Gao Mo's words into Tianfang language, Selim immediately asked: "Your Majesty said this, does it mean that your country's Metropolitan Government has officially approved our country's purchase agreement for naval warships?" Otherwise? , Selim and his party couldn’t be happy even if they wanted to.

Selim is well aware of China's power structure. The power of arms trade lies more with the Governor's Office rather than the cabinet. But it was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the cabinet that came out to contact them. It was as if China's metropolitan government had no right to communicate with foreign envoys and had to go through a formality with the cabinet.

"Why don't you do business if it comes to you?" Gao Yanming said with a hearty smile.

"Not to mention the friendship between Austria and China. The two countries are close military allies. We completely agree with your country's arms procurement case." This is an arms deal worth a small million pounds. After the Ottomans got this batch of arms, We can rearm a navy and land army of 100,000 people. And Chen Han can also make a lot of money.

Both the cabinet and the governor-general are happy to hear about this big order.

The main concern of the Ottomans is warships. The so-called "foreign sale" warships by the Chinese are actually warships in active service. Depending on the length of time they have been launched, there will be certain discounts. Selim wanted to take away a small fleet from China. In fact, he wanted to take away a small fleet from China's tense naval queue. You know, since the outbreak of the Central and Western American War, China has closed its door to foreign warships. In recent years, only the British have spent a lot of money to buy a batch of them, but everyone must take into account the social background at that time.

Since the end of the Sino-Spanish War, since the end of the American War, all participating countries such as Britain, France, and Spain have been reducing their troops and cutting off soldiers. Only Chen Han has been expanding the size of his navy.

During the war, the Chinese Navy, which seemed to have a strong force, was always in a dangerous situation of insufficient strength. After the war, of course, this alarm was eliminated, but China's finances are growing by leaps and bounds, and the Chinese military seems to be richer than ever. Moreover, the leak of rockets greatly reduced the power of scissor-bow battleships. The world naval battle broke away from the shadow of the standard configuration of scissor-bows + rockets, and returned to the battleship mode.

This has caused the status of the large number of clipper-bow warships owned by the Chinese Navy to decline rapidly, so much so that China has been spending high amounts of money to build new warships for two consecutive years. Under such circumstances, the Ottomans did not dare to guarantee that they would get what they wanted, and the scale of their demands was not small.

Four level three battleships, four level four sailing battleships, and ten level five and six cruise ships, this force is not small. The huge British navy now only has about 80 main warships, and when the war started, there were only 60.

China's Nanyang Navy, Southeast Navy, and Beiyang Navy, as well as the newly established North Pacific Navy, seem to be very powerful. The number of battleships in the three-tier battleships upwards does not exceed fifty. .

The Ottomans will now cut off one-tenth of Chen Han's navy.

Selim was not sure yet, but he was not afraid of China's complete disapproval, but he was afraid that too many Chinese battleships would be cut off, which would arouse opposition within the Chinese Navy. But now Gao Yanming said to him with a smile: "The military and political ministers of our DPRK agreed after group discussions that once the war with Russia breaks out, sea control in the Black Sea is a top priority and must not be lost. And in view of you and me We can fully agree to the alliance between the two countries and your military procurement plan. But we still need to negotiate and confirm some details. That is, the two sides still need to discuss the price.

Chen Han never denied his "greed for money" during his reign, but the main premise should be stated in a more high-sounding way. ——For the Ottoman Empire’s control of the Black Sea.

The Ottomans still underestimated China's 'greed'. Let alone four third-level battleships as a base, as long as they have enough money and a high enough price, for example, 2 million for a ship without counter-offering, and a cross in front of the four, Not a problem either.

Arms has always been a market that Chen Han wanted to open up, but in this era, the small countries around Chen Han do not have the power to purchase large quantities of arms, otherwise China will be suspicious again.

With the exception of India, countries that have the power to purchase large quantities of arms have their own sound military-industrial systems, including the Ottomans. Just compared with the guns and warships they produce, the price offered by China is too tempting. Even so, the Ottomans only came over to buy cheap goods waving their banknotes when the war was about to start.

"Price is not a problem." Selim smiled happily. When the Chinese said this, he understood what the other party was seeking. One word is money. Although the Ottoman Empire's finances are not abundant, it definitely has money to buy warships.

As long as it is a matter of money, it is easy to solve. As long as both parties have the intention to cooperate, the specific details can be sat down and slowly discussed.

Selim's face was full of joy. He felt that his mission had been completed.

He knew the "interests" that China was seeking in the upcoming war, and this "interest" was in great conflict with the interests of the Russians, and it was an irreconcilable contradiction.

In this way, one of his two major tasks was completed. As for the second task - arms procurement, China's top power also agreed to the plan, and now the only entanglement is the price.

The Ottomans' demand for arms is quite urgent, so the price is not a problem for the Ottoman Empire. The "foundation" on both sides has been laid.

The Ottoman Empire and its entourage walked out of the Cabinet Office happily, and everyone had a smile on their face.

Gao Yanming also looked at the Ottomans' backs with a smile on his face. The smile on his face changed from a ceremonial one to a more sincere one.

These Ottomans did not realize the reason why Chen Han dared to sell warships abroad, otherwise they would not be happy.

The reason why the Chinese navy dared to sell warships abroad on a large scale was not because China's shipbuilding industry was developing rapidly and the gap could be made up soon; but because China now had no foreign enemies on the sea, and China did not need to be so "precious" of its warships.

It is now selling old goods, but the navy has money in its hands. If the navy has money, it can continue to build new ships. Why not?

However, the Chinese side also put forward another opinion. They do not need gold and silver equivalent to one million pounds. If the Ottomans are willing, they can exchange them in kind. The specific list is: horses, cotton, wool, fur, coffee, olive oil, spices, etc. Including slaves!

There are many white slaves in the Ottoman Empire, and the price of white female slaves in China is not cheap, especially beautiful ones.

China is willing to exchange half of the transaction amount for physical goods.

From a certain perspective, Chen Han also helped the Ottomans. Although the Ottomans did not beg for alms before the war started, the amount of money in their pockets was indeed not sufficient.

After five days of bilateral negotiations, Chen Han's delegation was a joint team, including personnel from the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Grand Governor's Office - the Logistics Department, and the newly upgraded Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

The two sides first reached an agreement on arms, stipulating the prices of flintlocks, rifled guns, and various specifications of artillery, the price of gunpowder, and the price of a single warship. Then the two sides determined the payment method, half of all expenses were paid in gold, and the other half were deducted by materials and population, and detailed regulations were made on the quantity and unit price of each deductible material.

At this point, the Ottomans' arms procurement matters were considered to have been initially negotiated, and the next thing to discuss in detail was strategic cooperation. To be honest, Chen Han was not interested in this strategic agreement, they preferred to make money. But everyone also understood why the Ottomans were so nervous and concerned.

But when Selim and his men showed greater joy than before when the strategic agreement was finally finalized, an inexplicable sense of pride and pride also arose in people's hearts.

This is a sense of superiority, a sense of superiority from the country, a sense of superiority from the nation, and it is endless...