"Brother, our navy also wants to get some airships. But we can only produce so much in a year. Please tell us how to get a few for our navy. This is what the ship brought back from the south. What is it called pineapple? It tastes good.

Very good. You try it, and if you like it, I will ask the bastards to bring more from the south." Li Xiu helped Li Xiao cut the pineapple with a smile. Judging from his proficiency in knife skills, it was obviously not his first time.

"The navy is very rich! You do this today and that tomorrow. Where does the money come from? Wait, you didn't build the airship just to transport fruits from the south to the north." Li Xiao was thinking just now, for Mao Li

Xio suddenly became rich. After eating a piece of pineapple, he immediately understood what this guy was planning.

"I can't hide anything from my brother. When this boatload of pineapples arrived at Tianjin Wei Pier, half the boatload was immediately snapped up. If I hadn't been holding on, the entire boatload would have been sold out. When we arrived in the capital, they were all sold out in just half a day.

These pineapples are relatively durable and not a few were damaged when transported from Annan to Tianjin. We live in the north and don’t see many fruits in the winter. The big families are going crazy and begging my housekeeper to get off the boat.

When the time comes, be sure to keep some.

I wonder if we can use airships to transport fresher fruits from the south. Airships are fast. It only takes a day and a night to go from south to north. If we go directly to the capital to unload the goods, we will make more money that way.

.I have a lot of money at hand, so I can buy two more boats." Li Xiu looked at Li Xiao with a charming smile on his face.

"Nowadays, ships don't have to worry about the monsoon. Starting from Guangzhou Port, it takes about half a month to reach Tianjin Wei Wharf. It's not impossible to transport some seasonal fruits and so on, but the airship you mentioned is really unrealistic.

I know there is money to be made in this way, but it’s a pity that airships require oil. Steam engines that use coal cannot be miniaturized, and it will kill you just to carry so much coal. Do you know how short of oil our Ming Dynasty is, produced in Sichuan?

A little bit can barely meet the needs of the airship. If I hadn't been extremely ill this time, I wouldn't have let anyone call the airship at all.

Not to mention what kind of fruits are shipped to you, don’t even think about it.”

"Brother, just get two ships. Two ships. I will build ships next year without any regard for the Department of Revenue." Li Xiu began to bargain.

"Don't even think about one ship, why not two ships? Also, it is forbidden to do business in the military. How about you use the navy's official ship to sell fruit and destroy your brother's platform?"

"Brother...! Isn't there money?" Li Xiu's eyes widened. The incident with Ao Canghai had just happened not long ago, and now the entire army is not allowed to do business anymore. It was indeed inappropriate for him to go against the wind at this time.

"Hand over the transport ships in your hands...ten of them will be given to Ai Husheng. You don't have to worry about the rest."

"Brother, I only have a total of forty transport ships. Now I have to go to Annan, Malay, and Java. Singapore is simply not enough. When my fleet is dispatched, twenty more transport ships will follow. You also said that we will go to the sea off Singapore next year.

, But this... How do you ask me to go to Singapore, let alone the outer sea, even if I run in the Daming Sea, I don't dare to stray too far from my post." Li Xiao's words were like a bolt from the blue to Li Xiu, the airship

They didn't catch anything, but ten transport ships were taken away. How could Li Xiu, who had tasted the benefits of doing business, withstand such shocking news?

"Leave it to Ai Husheng to set up a transportation company under the name of the Ministry of Household Affairs. Forty percent of this company's annual income will go to the Ministry of Household Affairs, and 60% will go to your navy. You have to rely on Ai Husheng to make money. You can play with it.

If you don't do it, I can't do it either. Believe it or not, if Ai Husheng is allowed to run these things, 60% of the income will be more than what you are doing now.

Using this method, there are explanations to both the superiors and the subordinates. These ten ships are regarded as the shares of the navy. But there is one thing we have agreed on. We will never allow any soldiers of the navy to participate in this business.

Business is business, and being a soldier is fighting. If they get mixed up together, it will be very harmful to the army over time. If you don't understand the things here, just do as I say, and you won't suffer any loss." Li Xiao

I took a toothpick and pricked a piece of pineapple. It tasted good, sour and sweet, and had enough moisture. It was really rare to be able to eat this in the middle of winter.

After playing with the old fox for many years, Li Xiao felt that he also had some of the temperament of a fox. He had to be flexible when encountering problems, and Li Xiu was too much like him. He had a military mentality, and it was okay to fight, but far from playing politics.

After listening to Li Xiao's words, Li Xiu's eyes lit up. He quickly wanted to cut another pineapple!

"Okay! You just need to eat a little of this food, but if you eat too much, your teeth will bleed. But it is good to make it into cans, and it is more durable. There will be no problem in storing it for a year and a half. You can try it!"

"Brother has the foresight. I will go back and set up a canning factory." Li Xiu just got excited for a moment when he saw Li Xiao glance over.

"Uh...! Let Ai Husheng do it. Not only pineapples, but also bayberry, mango, coconut and other things can be made into cans. Our navy will take the ship as a stake!" Rarely, this second master Li was also smart.

.

"Didn't you just say that you only have forty transport ships, and it will be a problem to go to the sea off Singapore after the Chinese New Year?"

"Haha! Of course we don't have steam engines, but wooden sailing ships are fine. I have a lot of wooden sailing ships waiting to be retired! Wooden sailing ships have a high demand for monsoons, and if the wind direction is wrong, they can't keep up with the fleet. So, we have been decommissioning wooden sailing ships in the past two years.

sailboat.

To be honest, the five-masted battleships of the past few years are slowly being decommissioned!"

"You kid, come to me to complain when you have nothing to do. It seems that the navy has already grown to a certain size. That's good. Your navy has to do more things. I just said that our country is short of oil, don't you remember?"

"Yeah!" Li Xiu nodded quickly.

"From Singapore to the sea, after passing through India, you will reach the Middle East. That is the territory of the Arabs. There are many deserts there, but there is also a lot of oil under the desert. If our Ming Dynasty wants to continue to develop, oil is a big obstacle.

Next year when your fleet leaves Singapore, you must first find a way to occupy Sri Lanka, and then Bombay in India. We don’t have to fight with the British in the whole of India, but we must control Bombay. The city of Bombay must be like a wedge, nailed to the Indian continent.

.Use this big nail to continue to consume the strength of the British. This will prevent these bastards from thinking about going against us all day long.

If possible, it would be better to capture or kill the traitor Wu Sangui." Li Xiao sat up straight and explained to Li Xiu the focus of this expedition.

To put it bluntly, this was Li Xiao's version of the leap-frog tactic, using Mumbai, India, to attract the attention of the British. In fact, Sri Lanka was used to build a port there as an overseas military base for the Ming Dynasty.

As Ming Dynasty continues to develop in the future, it will definitely need oil from the Middle East. With such an advanced base, the logistical pressure of future Middle East campaigns will be less.

"No! Brother told me that I will try my best to kill that bastard Wu Sangui."

"Don't be too obsessed with Wu Sangui, but Sri Lanka and Mumbai must be won. All you can use are two divisions of the Marine Corps. I will also equip you with three to four garrison divisions to take care of logistics. In addition, I will also

It will persuade the Japanese country to continue sending troops. It is estimated that I can also win you 20,000 soldiers.

Although the Japanese people are ruthless and cunning, they are really desperate in fighting. Some strong strongholds can be entrusted to them to guard. In addition, the Japanese people are cruel by nature and will not show mercy in killing people. Some social security matters can also be entrusted to them.

They will do it. In the future, people in these places will hate them and will not hate us Chinese descendants.

In the final analysis, the hatred forged by blood must be washed away with blood. It is very meaningful to make the local people hate us less. Do you understand?"

"promise!"

"Sun Yuanhua, the governor of Gansu, is a useful talent. Let him follow you this time. His son Sun Xing is also a talent. When he was guarding Gansu, he was also a fierce general. This time when you go to Xinjiapo City, the first thing you do is to capture the special personnel sent by Hong Chengchou.

Send him to the capital. Then let Sun Yuanhua take his place, and Sun Xing will follow you. After conquering Sri Lanka, he will be the governor of Sri Lanka."

"Brother, Hong Chengchou...!" Li Xiu looked at Li Xiao in confusion. Li Xiao had not broken his promise in these years. It can be said that he took good care of the generals who were demoted, and even talented people among the generals were reused.

Shi Kefa led his family to build railways everywhere, and Shi Dewei is now in charge of Shanhaiguan. In addition to continuing to run boats, the latest task of the Zheng family is to find a place to build a dam. I heard that there is an idea to build a reservoir near the Ming Tombs on the outskirts of Beijing.

, the water in the reservoir is used to supply the capital, and the reservoir can also be used to generate electricity.

What good thing did Hong Chengchou, that bastard, actually make Li Xiao want to capture him? Judging from Li Xiao's expression, he probably would have shed his skin even if he died in the Ming Dynasty.

"Eating everything inside and out!" Li Xiao only said four words, and Li Xiu understood immediately.

The place of Singapore is isolated overseas, and the governor has great power. It is understandable to enrich his own pockets, but it would be too dangerous if he takes advantage of the situation.

"It's a stupid thing, brother, don't worry."

"The Marine Division is the main force of your expedition. It has just been expanded. You must train properly. Things on the battlefield must not be adulterated. The more you sweat in peacetime, the less blood will be shed in war. The Mongols are making a lot of noise in the northwest. The Third Division

The Fourth Division is under great pressure and cannot give you more troops.

I originally counted on Yuan Chonghuan, but his troops have not yet finished changing their equipment. Even if they arrive at Xinjiapo, it is of no use. According to intelligence, the British army's equipment is already very good. It is no worse than the guys you have.

Especially rocket launchers, if you don't get it right it will kill you.

During offensive operations or defensive operations, try not to gather troops. This can effectively avoid the lethality of rocket launchers. This thing takes a long time to reload once it is fired, and it is not easy to move. If possible, I will get you two airships.

It's not for you to transport fruit, but for reconnaissance and bombing. After this thing is launched, the smoke and dust that rises are very conspicuous. This is an effective way to eliminate them!"

"I know, brother! You're tired today, rest first. I'm going to find Ai Husheng right now!" Seeing that the nurse on the glass door had already visited several times, Li Xiu hurriedly left. This visit has exceeded the visiting hours.

Sun Chengzong issued a strict order not to allow anyone to disturb Li Xiao's rest.

If anyone violates the rules, the old fox will know about it. Li Xiu doesn't want to touch that old guy's brow!

"Yeah!" Li Xiao took a bite of the pineapple and put the plate aside. He walked to the huge map and stopped.

This map is a world map drawn by Li Xiao based on his memory.

The planet under our feet is actually very big, and China only occupies a corner of the east. If we want Ming Dynasty to go global and become the world's hegemon, it is very important to control all resources in our own hands!

Iron ore in Australia, oil in the Middle East, and copper mines in the Western Regions. These are all strategic resources, and occupying Singapore is just the first step forward. Compared to these places, Li Xiao has little interest in Europe.

The European continent is a mess, with many small countries on it. If you can't hold your fist tightly, you can never expect to be powerful when fighting. What's more, there are all kinds of conflicts between those small countries. They will fight each other without anyone else's intervention.

Like a kiln.

As for the American continent, compared with the Eurasian continent, it is still an uncultivated and wild land.

What is currently preventing the Ming Empire from taking off, apart from the Mongols in the northwest, is the British entrenched in India. In fact, the Mongols are also supported by the British. As long as Li Xiu went to sea this time, he eliminated the British foreign aid.

The problem of northwest Mongolia will be solved soon!

Moreover, the railway from Beijing to Yinchuan via Baotou will be fully opened to traffic next year. By then, the time for ammunition and grain to travel from Beijing to the northwest will only take three to five days.

After so many years, the Khalkha Mongolians of Geritu have become honest shepherds. They devoted themselves to providing cattle, sheep and wool to the Ming Dynasty, and used the money earned to exchange for the Ming Dynasty's salt, cloth and grain.

The next step is to find a way to get them to settle down. The more people who settle down, the easier it will be to manage.

When the entire grassland was settled, the problem of nomads on the Mongolian plateau that had plagued China for thousands of years was officially over.

As for the Jungar Mongols in the northwest...! Emperor Qianlong’s method was genocide! This was also the last successful genocide in human history. The once powerful Jungar Mongolian tribes only had one name left in the end. Theirs

Descendants never appeared in this world again.

What should I do? Follow Aisin Gioro's method? It seems a bit inhumane.

Let's leave the problem to Geritu in Khalkha. Anyway, there is great hatred between the Mongolian tribes. It is better for them to bear the charge of genocide.

Thinking of this, Li Xiao told Shunzi at the door: "Send someone to invite Geritu to come to Beijing. I have something to discuss with him."

"No!" Shunzi agreed. When he went out to report the news, he turned around and went to the next room.
Chapter completed!