The relocation of the arsenal is a certain fact. The steel required can be supplied by the Hanyang Iron Plant through the railway, and the steel plant can be built in Chenzhou or Xiangtan. ●⌒, Phoenix, please search for it quickly. For this reason, Chen Wenqiang will spend a huge amount of one million yuan.

In name, it was because of Zhang Zhidong's departure, and Chen Wenqiang had to try his best to protect his industry from infringement. In fact, it was too close to the Yangtze River and the Hubei Arsenal was prone to attack, which was the reason Chen Wenqiang was most worried about.

Without naval troops and lack of artillery, this is the current flaw of the Revolutionary Army. The short leg in the first place is difficult to make up for. Unlike artillery, it can be bought or built; how much money does warships require and how long does it take to train sailors?

When moving the arsenal to the hinterland of Hunan, or even Chenzhou, which is very close to Guangdong, Chen Wenqiang's power in Guangdong can provide protection nearby; if the Guangdong-Hankou Railway is connected, it will be surprisingly quick to go from Shaoguan to Chenzhou.

What's more, there are two new troops in Hunan. Through personnel infiltration, food and weapons control, they will always play a certain role and become a bargaining chip for Chen Wenqiang to protect his own interests.

For Zhang Zhidong, his reliance and appreciation for Chen Wenqiang, his cherishment of the business achievements he had been in charge of Huguang for more than ten years, and his care for his old friends and close friends all forced him to make more appropriate arrangements before leaving office.

After counting, Chen Wenqiang may be the most suitable candidate to ensure that Zhang Zhidong leaves safely. He is cunning and sleek, but smart and capable, and the things he explains can always be done in the fastest and best way.

Whether it is reforms that promote profits and eliminate disadvantages, raising funds for long-term and good at dancing, the social resources of constitutionalists, overseas Chinese, or the decisive construction of railways, and the decisive suppression of bandits and quelling rebellion, Chen Wenqiang can all do unexpectedly beautifully.

Therefore, Zhang Zhidong believed that as long as Chen Wenqiang could not fail and continue to play an active role, his efforts and achievements in Hunan for more than ten years could be consolidated and continued to develop. The Hubei New Army he had worked hard to train would not be short of food and wages. If the force could be stable, the stability of Hunan and Hunan provinces would be basically guaranteed.

In other words, Zhang Zhidong hopes to make Chen Wenqiang feel at ease and continue to contribute money and efforts. Whether it is economic construction or training a new army, whether Chen Wenqiang will pay or whether he will exert his influence to attract investment is crucial.

In the final analysis, Chen Wenqiang's disguise was too successful. No one would have thought of slaughtering "anti-Qing righteous men". He worked hard for the economic construction of the Qing Dynasty. Such a guy was actually the revolutionary party or the leader of the revolutionary party. Chen Wenqiang did not directly intervene in the army, which is also a reason why Zhang Zhidong was more at ease.

Speaking of disguise, there is actually another person who is very successful, that is Cai E. He inherited the "soldiers are not party" and has no connection with revolutionary groups, let alone joining. Under the appearance of burying his head in military theory and striving for military training, he is a sympathizer and supporter of the revolution.

Anyway, no matter what arrangement Zhang Zhidong made, Chen Wenqiang had made a decision and made arrangements. According to the principle of safest and safe, he never put all his hopes on others.

It still has the same straightforward style of conduct. The relocation of Hubei Arsenal began quickly, and in Yongxing, Chenzhou, a new Arsenal began to be built, and the railway to Yongxing also began to be built.

Just as Chen Wenqiang was busy with factory relocation and industrial adjustments, and bargaining with Zhang Zhidong, and was so busy that something big happened in Guangdong, he had to pay attention to it and prepare to set off for Guangdong at any time.

Jiuzhou Ocean refers to the sea surface around the Jiuzhou Islands, which is sixteen kilometers southeast of Xiangzhou, Zhuhai City. It starts from Yeli Island in the north, and ends at Dadanjiao, Da'ao Island in the south, and Qingzhou Waterway in the east. It reaches the coast of the mainland in the west, and is named after the Jiuzhou Islands. The ocean is 16 kilometers long from north to south and 14 kilometers wide from east to west. According to historical records, pirates often appeared in the sea area in this area during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and foreign merchant ships often smuggled opium and arms, and invaded the sea surface. It was the waters where the Qing Dynasty navy focused on patrols and guarded the affected areas.

In November 1907, the Qing court found out that Tan Bili, a businessman from Guangheju in Macau, and others commissioned the Japanese merchant ship "Erchenmaru" to smuggle 2,000 rifles and 40,000 bullets from Kobe Tama Trading Company to Macau. He notified the Guangdong government, and the Guangdong Navy sent four military ships to patrol near Macau.

On the morning of the 14th, "Echenmaru" approached Macau, and was moored on the Dashali Sea and the Ocean about two miles east of the roundabout island, preparing to unload the goods here. After the Guangdong navy intercepted it, Guangdong patrol Li Yanshan and others boarded the ship to check it was true, and the owner could not argue. Due to the conclusive evidence, the Japanese ship owner admitted to the illegal crime and obeyed the punishment. So the officer temporarily detained the cargo and took it back to Huangpu to confiscate it according to the rules; and removed the Japanese flag on the ship.

Originally, the matter was over. However, the Japanese government intervened with the Portuguese colonists and the British Hurd, colluded with each other, denied and counterattacked.

On the 16th, Japanese Minister to China Lin Quanzhu sent a protest note to the Qing Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saying that "Echenmaru" had a correct order to carry arms into Macau, so it was not a smuggling ship; the ship did not unload the goods in China's territorial waters. The place belonged to the Portuguese territorial waters of Macau. It falsely accused the Qing government of crossing the border to intercept merchant ships, "showing breach of contract and acting barbaric", and asked the Qing government to "quickly release the ship, return the national flag, severely punish all illegal officials, and thanked the unscrupulous intention of handling the case to serve as a warning to others."

Portuguese Minister Pedro also notified the Qing Dynasty's Foreign Ministry on the 17th, saying that the ship was taken against the coastal rights under Portugal and hindered Portugal's sovereignty.

At first, China advocated that the "Echenmaru case" be tried by both China and Japan in accordance with the customs charter, but the Japanese side flatly refused. Later, the Qing Ministry of Foreign Affairs notified the Japanese Minister, intending to ask the British fleet commander to make a "common judgment" on the case, which was also rejected by the Japanese side.

Faced with diplomatic pressure from Japan and Portugal, the Qing court repeatedly made concessions.

On the 21st, the Qing Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a note to the Japanese minister, apologizing for the fact that the Japanese flag on the "Erchenmaru" was torn off by Chinese soldiers, and promised to "punish the mishandled officers." However, the Japanese side still refused to give up. On the 23rd, Japanese minister Lin Quanju proposed five requirements to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to resolve the case: First, immediately release Erchenmaru; Second, when releasing Erchenmaru, Chinese soldiers fired cannons to apologize; Third, the detained arms were purchased by China, and the goods were priced at 24,000 yen; Fourth, the officials responsible for the detention of Erchenmaru; Five, compensation for the losses caused by this incident. Lin Quanju claimed that only by agreeing to all these five requirements can the Erchenmaru case be peacefully settled.
Chapter completed!