The room was silent. After a long time, Cao Hui's heavy breathing sound slowly calmed down.

"What do the emperor and the court mean now?" he asked slowly.

"The mainstream opinion in the court is to start war with the Ming Kingdom as soon as possible, otherwise if the time continues, we may lose to the other party. There is reliable news that the Ming people have used steam engine technology on warships, and their warships no longer need manpower and wind to push, but use steam power." Let's say.

Cao Hui closed his eyes in despair and stopped using manpower, which means that the Ming people could be equipped with more combat soldiers on the warships, and steam power would make them ignore the influence of wind. The endless steam power would make the Qi warship, which was still powered by manpower, have no place to use it.

In other words, over the years, Qi State has tried its best and abandoned a lot of things to exchange for the fleet. On the sea, it will still not be a match for the Ming people.

"What does your majesty mean?"

"Your Majesty is still a little hesitant. According to Shoufu Tian, ​​Your Majesty is also in a dilemma. From the standpoint of a military general, the sooner the war, the better. However, from the perspective of the emperor, it is not the best time. Although the domestic economy is improving overall, there have been repeated and unstable in some places, and the remnants of the Eight Great Masters have not been completely calmed down. At that time, those who escaped into the mountains and rivers never stopped their rebellion and rebellion. It also took time to destroy them. More importantly, Your Majesty seems to be waiting for something. Therefore, the final conclusion has not yet been drawn from the court."

What Your Majesty is waiting for? Cao Huishen naturally knew that he was waiting for news from Qin Li, waiting for countless warships from the extreme west to pounce from the sea, so that he could restrain the maritime power that the Ming army had an absolute advantage. I am afraid that at that time, it would be the opportunity that His Majesty would hope for.

But can Qin Li complete the mission? Can he bring a fleet like a wolf or a tiger in the extreme west?

Everything is unknown.

"Go back and tell the Prime Minister that Your Majesty will not start a war now." Cao Hui said: "Now is not the best time to start a war. Once the war begins, our thousand-mile seaside will immediately become a battlefield for the Ming army to attack wantonly. We cannot set up defenses everywhere. The consequences of setting up defenses everywhere can only be defeated everywhere. Can you imagine the scene of fires everywhere in the backyard when our army is fighting against the Ming army? When we cannot even stabilize the rear, how can the soldiers on the front line fight with peace of mind? Would they have to worry about their parents, wives and children in their hometown while fighting to the death?"

"Yes, I understand." The visitor nodded and said, "The chief minister also asked me to tell you that you should be careful in everything. Even if you seem to have an absolute advantage, you should be careful if you step into the trap next. The Battle of Panlong Mountain is an example."

Cao Hui said with a gloomy face: "Rest assured by the Prime Minister, I am not Jia Fangzhou."

“Yes, commander.”

"Have the activities of the Ming Army Navy been investigated clearly?"

"After the beginning of winter, the frequency of the Ming Navy fleet's activity has been greatly reduced, and it is difficult to see the operation of the establishment of the sea. Now the Second Fleet is stationed in Huludao, the First Fleet is stationed in Baoqing, and the Fourth Fleet is stationed in Quanzhou. These three fleets have entered the renovation stage. But what is strange is that the Third Fleet, which had been on our seashore, suddenly disappeared during this period. Later, it was found that they had arrived in Baoqing, and the First Fleet has set sail to Huludao." A smile appeared on the face of the visitor: "Although the specific reason is not known yet, they did leave. Commander, this is God's help. Our navy has no obstacles to leaving the port."

"Follow the movements of the Ming army's navy and be careful that the incident in Panlong Mountain will repeat itself." Cao Hui reminded.

"Don't worry, the commander-in-chief, we have dedicated people to watch the Ming army naval forces docking in several ports. As soon as they leave the port, we will know that although Huludao cannot be monitored, we also have some clutches hidden in the nearby waters. Once they find their traces, they can send the news back as quickly as possible."

"Okay, then you go back and tell the Prime Minister and Your Majesty that I will return successfully." Cao Hui said.

"Yes, commander, I will say goodbye!"

The visitor left quietly, and only Cao Hui and the old servant were left in the room.

"It doesn't matter, right?" The old servant looked at Cao Hui with concern.

"I was in a state of excitement, and a mouthful of blood was spurted out, and the depression also went away, it was not in the way." Cao Hui shook his head and looked at a middle-aged man on the other side, "How is the matter done?"

"Everything went well. Three steam engines are now heading down the river. The latest news is that they have arrived at the mouth of Lianghe River in Xiangzhou. It is expected that they will arrive in Wuzhou in three days." The middle-aged man said.

"Will something go wrong in the middle?" Even Cao Hui is a little worried about gains and losses now.

"No." The middle-aged man said affirmatively: "The owner of these three steam engines is from the Xie family, the most wealthy family in Chu. Xie's son-in-law is Murong Yuan, the county magistrate of Wuzhou, and Murong Yuan's father is Murong Hai, the commander of Qin Feng's past personal barracks. They are all well-known figures in the Ming Dynasty. Along the way, checkpoints in various places are easily released."

"That's good, that's good!" Cao Hui let out a long breath. In order to get a steam engine, Cao Hui took great pains. The middle-aged man in front of him who was instigated back then, Xu Fu, was finally in great use now. Xu Fu's silk workshop is not big. With his family background, he obviously has no strength to buy a steam engine. Moreover, the steam engine is the hottest thing now, and those who want to buy it need to wait in line. Even if he has enough money, he really has to buy it. If he really wants to buy it, he is afraid that he will have to wait until the Year of the Monkey and Horse Month.

At this time, Cao Hui appeared at the right time. His planning was flawless. Murong Yuan went to Wuzhou to serve as the county magistrate, and Xie naturally would not miss such an opportunity to get the moon first. Xie Cheng must have wanted to enter the silk industry in Wuzhou, but the silk industry is also a very xenophobic industry. Although Xie's business is a lot, he used to be the capital as a base and did not involve silk. Xu Fu's invitation gave Xie Cheng an opportunity.

With Xie's financial resources, as long as you open the gap and enter this industry, you will most likely become a big shot that stirs up the market. Things were discussed smoothly. Xu Fu and Xie established a joint workshop. Although Xu Fu's name is still on the verdict, the largest shareholder became Xie's.

After the two parties reached a contract, Xie immediately started buying a steam engine. Xie's energy was amazing. The three steam engines were bought purely by jumping into the back door, but the one who told them was the queen of the Ming Dynasty, Min Ruoxi.

As for Xie's daughter, Min Ruoxi felt that she owed Xie, and such a small matter was just a matter of silence. Since she had been asking for it in front of her, Min Ruoxi also did it casually. The steam engine factory in Tiangong Bureau received the order from the queen, so of course there would be no delay and immediately shipped the goods to Xie as quickly as possible. As for the merchants who should have obtained these steam engines, I was embarrassed, so I could only wait a little longer.

Now, the steam engine is on the way to Wuzhou. This plan has become 90% of the 100% of the plan. Of course, the remaining 10% is the most critical point.

Can you take these three soup steamers away from Wuzhou? This is not an easy task. The steamer is a big guy. If you want to get him away, the only possibility is to go to the sea. For this reason, Cao Hui had to use the power of the navy.

This was originally a very difficult thing. In front of the Ming army naval army, the Qi State naval army was like a child who had not yet grown up, and could not help but fight. How to get the naval army to arrive in Wuzhou smoothly was a headache for Cao Hui.

However, what I never expected was that God seemed to be helping him. At this critical point, the navy of the Ming Dynasty, who was on the sea, suddenly shrank back. This was equivalent to opening the door of convenience for the navy of Qi.

At this time, Cao Hui naturally didn't know that the Ming navy suddenly returned to the port because Qin Feng's eyes were on King Danxi of the Tiger Dynasty, the Tiger Dynasty, which was possible to arrive. The first fleet was modified and needed to go to the Huludao Naval Base. In this way, Baoqing became an airport, and the third fleet retreated to strengthen Baoqing's defense. As the most important business port of the Ming Dynasty, Daming did not want something to happen to Baoqing. Although the main battleships of the Qi Fleet were sealed in the port and would not risk leaving the port easily, the Qi people's fast ships and semi-submersible ships often went to sea. The Qi people have been using these small ships to train their own sailors. These small ships are not easy to guard against. Sometimes they are in groups, sometimes they are lonely. The Ming does not want these small ships of the Qi army to inexplicably penetrate into an important port like Baoqing.

If such a thing really happens, the Qi army only needs a ship and a fire, which will be enough to cause great losses to the Ming Dynasty.

"But the commander, there is one thing that is still very troublesome." Xu Fu said: "Xie attaches great importance to these three steam engines. Those who escort these three machines with the ship are all experts from the martial arts world whom Xie is favored. After entering Wuzhou, as Xie's son-in-law, Murong Yuan may also send troops to guard it. It is not easy to control the cargo ship and drive to the destination."

"You don't need to worry about this." Cao Hui said: "You only need to prepare a good ship boss and sailor. We will solve those people and soldiers. What you have to do now is to communicate with Xie Cheng well and ensure that the ship arrives in Wuzhou smoothly."

"Yes." Xu Fu nodded.

"You don't have to worry about your future. After this matter is completed, you and your family will go to Qi State with us this time. We at Daqi will not treat those who have given us great help." Cao Hui promised.
Chapter completed!