"How many percent of what Mr. Vittorio Cuniberti said today is true?" Zhang Peilun asked hurriedly as soon as he returned to his temporary residence.

"This Mr. Vittorio is a famous ship designer in the Kingdom of Italy. He is also an experienced negotiator," Langweili said.

"In other words, part of what Mr. Vittorio said is false?" Liu Buchan said with a frown.

"What Mr. Vittorio said is basically true." Lang Weili said with a smile.

"How do you say this? Since it is true, how can the navy of the Kingdom of Italy really be so powerful?" Ding Ruchang was a little confused.

"The Italian Navy is not weak in the first place, ranking fourth in the world in terms of total tonnage. However, considering that the Russian Navy is restricted by geographical conditions, in terms of real strength, the Italian Navy is third in the world." Langweili said pertinently.

"Does this mean that the Italian navy's shipbuilding level surpasses that of Germany?" Ding Ruchang asked.

"The shipbuilding level of the German Navy is not high to begin with. Your country's Dingzhen is also the German's first work in the field of first-class ironclads, which is of an experimental nature. And that Mr. Ludendorff Haacke is not a serious ship designer.

He was originally an architect. (These are facts, Ludendorff was a half-way monk.) The Italians' shipbuilding level may be slightly inferior to that of the British Empire, but it is definitely top-notch. The Germans cannot compare, at least for now.

." Lang Weili said with a smile.

"Then why do I always feel that after listening to Mr. Vittorio's words, the Italian navy is the most technologically advanced?" Zhang Peilun is still a little confused.

"Well, I can only say that the gap between the Qing Dynasty's Beiyang Fleet and the Italian Navy is too big. This battleship is indeed quite good, but it does not mean that the British Empire and France have nothing to compare with, and more importantly

, Britain and France have more warships, and when there is not much difference in technical level, national strength and the overall tonnage of warships will become the key to determining the outcome of the war." For this layman in the maritime field, Langweili seemed quite concerned.

For patience.

"Does Mr. Weili think the price of 280,000 pounds is worth it?" Ding Ruchang asked. Now that we understand the purpose of Vittorio's rhetoric, let's talk directly about the core issue - price.

"Of course it's worth it. If you buy such a good dome-armored cruiser for 280,000 pounds, what's there to complain about? As for the quality of the project, you can rest assured that although the Italians are sometimes not very rigorous, the warships they build are still good. Especially

Now, the Italians are planning to open up the Qing market." Although he is a British man, his professional ethics as a naval officer still allowed him to explain the situation realistically.

"But this 280,000 yuan is really expensive. Even a 25% deposit is probably close to 500,000 taels of silver." Liu Buchan said rather heartbroken.

"If you buy two, it will be a full one million taels. My Beiyang annual expenses will not be much more than this amount." Ding Ruchang was also very depressed.

"Of course Mr. Zhongtang will figure out how to deal with this money. Let's talk about how to lower the price now. Besides, it's best to get more shells and replace repair parts." Zhang Peilun saw that everyone was in a low mood and moved on.

topic.

"In my personal opinion, this price cannot be lower. A ship like this costs a minimum of 320,000 pounds in the UK, and based on the Italian transaction situation, the selling price of this ship is between 330,000 and 350,000 pounds."

In the meantime, Lang Weili said with some helplessness. "From a British point of view, any transaction should have a certain profit as a premise. If we push the price down again, the result is probably that both parties will lose money."

I don't want to see it. This is a good opportunity, just like when the Beiyang Fleet ordered a town." Fearing that he still couldn't convince the other party, Lang Weili emphasized.

"According to Mr. Xue's information, Mr. Xu of the Italian delegation has deep feelings for his motherland. I think we can get some information from him." Zhang Peilun suggested.

"The hope is slim. The negotiation price is determined by Mr. Vittorio. Even if we know the cost, we can't force the other party to lower the price. After all, it is a seller's market now, and Italian shipyards have been very busy recently.

Yeah." Lang Weili said disapprovingly.

"Everyone, take a rest early. You Qiao still needs to report today's negotiations to the master of the central hall, so I'll take my leave first." After all that needed to be said, Zhang Peilun bowed his hands and left.

Half an hour later, Li Hongzhang's study room at the Zhili Governor's Mansion.

"It's not surprising that Italy has such power. But I am so ignorant." After listening to Zhang Peilun's report, Li Hongzhang said to himself while observing the battleship model sent from Italy.

"Sir Lang Weili also thinks that doing business with Italians is a good choice, but Mr. Lang Weili also said that the price cannot be any cheaper," Zhang Peilun said in a low voice.

"Well, cheap goods are not good, and good goods are not cheap." Li Hongzhang said in a rather ungentlemanly manner. "But let alone the deposit of 1 million taels of silver for the purchase of two battleships, which is 500,000 taels. I, Beiyang, still can't get it.

Come out."

"By the way, while the meeting is adjourned, it's best to meet Mr. Xu in private with Liu Zixiang. Mr. Shuyun said that this man is interested in working for me in Beiyang. You should go and test his talents together," Li Hongzhang said. Originally

He didn't want Liu Buchan to go. But Ding Ruchang didn't know as much about maritime affairs as Liu Buchan, and although Lang Weili was talented and learned, he was a foreigner. So after many choices, he had to choose General Liu, who could almost dominate the sky with one hand.

"I'll take care of it now," Zhang Peilun cupped his hands and said. "What's the money problem?" Zhang Peilun then asked again.

"This matter cannot be rushed. We will wait until the south accepts our 100,000 taels of silver." Li Hongzhang said with narrowed eyes.

"Where did I get 100,000 taels of silver from Beiyang?" Zhang Peilun asked curiously.

"Of course I got it from those Lu divisions who were free of charge. In the past, I could turn a blind eye to these guys, but now that the situation in Beiyang has reached a point where life and death are at stake, I naturally have to

They shed some blood." Lao Li said with a chuckle.

"In addition to the mainland division, the Tianjin Manufacturing Bureau is also very serious about pocketing money. Liu Zixiang said that many of the artillery shells of the Tianjin Manufacturing Bureau in the Beiyang Fleet cannot be exploded. Moreover, the size of the shells produced does not meet the requirements.

According to the regulations, before firing the cannon, our Beiyang Navy has to file it with a file before loading it into the cannon." Zhang Peilun said angrily.

"Is there still such a thing? You Qiao, go and find out with Ding Ruchang and the others first. If this is really the case, the people in charge of the Tianjin Manufacturing Bureau should be changed."

Jump. Just when Li Hongzhang was worried about the approaching crisis, the chronic diseases inside Beiyang were also revealed bit by bit. This made this famous minister of Tongguang even more shocked and frightened. He finally realized that the problems in Beiyang were not only
Chapter completed!