Back to Ming Dynasty with Industrial Revolution System

Chapter 1252 Forbearance
Among the commercial halls owned by Chinese merchants in the city of London, directors of six Western companies and five captains of the Fourth Fleet gathered here.There is an important issue for them to decide.They, the main people in charge of the City of London, need to decide how to deal with Li Jinde's matter.

They have no way to ask the local people for instructions as soon as possible in the Western Ocean. They can only adapt to the situation and make decisions as soon as possible.

The commander of the Fourth Fleet, Colonel Sun Xu of the Admiralty, is regarded by everyone as the temporary person in charge here, and the undecided directors turned to him who is in charge of the Fourth Fleet for help.

After Sun Xu found out about this, he took a carriage from Portsmouth Harbor and arrived in London City together with the other four captains.

"I already know what you said. It means that Li Jinde disappeared in a small town called Halep in the Ottoman Empire, and our goal is to find a way to find Li Jinde." Sun Xu said.

"Yes, the key point now is that the place where Li Jinde disappeared is the city of the Ottoman Empire. We do not have the power and ability to find Li Jinde. Sir Henry of the Levant Company has asked the local governor of Halep for assistance, but there is still no Audio. Even if we take the initiative to make a request to the Ottoman Empire, they will not necessarily work harder than Sir Henry asked them for help. And it is very likely that we are making a fuss and deliberately provoking troubles. After all, in their view, it is an ordinary businessman missing That's all, it is said that the Barbary pirates capture hundreds of businessmen every year." A director said.

"The Ottoman Empire... We have never had a problem with them before, and there is no reason to embarrass us. But you are right, the disappearance of Li Jinde is a big event for us, but it may be a trivial matter for the Ottoman Empire It is very likely that they only agreed on the surface, and they will not send soldiers to help us find news about Li Jinde." Sun Xu nodded.

It is estimated that in the eyes of the emperor of the Ottoman Empire, it is undoubtedly a stupid thing to mobilize a large number of troops in order to find a businessman, so their request will be ignored at all.

"If we were in our homeland, we would only need to inform the government, and the government would send patrols and hounds to track down Li Jinde's trail, but in the West, no one would pay attention to us. After all, they have nothing to do with them missing one of us."

"If we can't find Li Jinde after he disappears, will we businessmen disappear inexplicably in the future? How will the Western countries treat us?"

The remaining six directors were concerned about their personal safety as well as their employees.A Chinese businessman can disappear in Western Ocean out of thin air, which shows that this place is too unsafe.

Ruan Youjin, the captain of the sailing battleship Soochow, proposed: "Our fleet can enter the Mediterranean Sea, investigate the city where Li Jinde disappeared, and put pressure on the local governor to make them realize that we are not easy to mess with. Although we did not The Ottoman Empire established diplomatic relations, but our citizens disappeared in the cities under their protection, then they should be held accountable.”

Sun Xu shook his head: "I'm afraid that our fleet's entry into the Mediterranean Sea will be regarded by them as a provocation to their imperial emperor, and may provoke a war. We are not familiar with the topography and hydrology of the Mediterranean Sea. The coastline of their coastal areas is tortuous and complicated. Have you ever thought about it?" Our threats to them didn't work?"

Another captain raised his hand: "I agree with the commander. In the calmer waters of the Mediterranean, our sailing warships are not as flexible as their galleys. Although our warships have an advantage in the power of artillery, their There are a large number of galleys, and the number of large and small warships that can fight can reach more than two hundred. They can adopt wolf pack tactics, use fire attack, and close combat to destroy our large ships. Without the huge winds on the ocean, it is difficult for our large sailing ships leading."

"In addition, if the other party is indifferent to our blockade and we can't do anything to them, then we will waste our military power in vain, be hated by the Ottoman Empire, and be despised by Western countries. Either we don't take action, or You have to be fully prepared before you can make a move," Sun Xu said.

The directors of the six Western companies saw that the Fourth Fleet had discussed going to war with the Ottoman Navy because of this matter. The Fourth Fleet was not sure that it could make the other party make concessions.

"In short, before we have confirmed where Li Jinde is, we can't act rashly, so as not to destroy our hard-working layout here."

The Fourth Fleet probably knew something about the Ottoman Empire, and had studied the terrain of the Mediterranean in private. tough measures.

"If we have evidence to prove that Li Jinde is still in the territory of the Ottoman Empire, and our fleet is strong enough, we can enter the Mediterranean Sea." Sun Xu finalized his decision and planned to side with the forbearance faction.

Although Li Jinde disappeared in a city of the Ottoman Empire, there is no evidence that the people of the Ottoman Empire did it. As long as the Ottoman Empire denies it, what can the Fourth Fleet do?
Blocking the port is in danger of being surrounded by the Ottoman Navy.

"Could it be that we just give up on Li shopkeeper?" A Huaxia businessman asked dissatisfied.

Now that the Fourth Fleet can abandon Li Jinde, what about other businessmen who will die in the future?Will they also be abandoned by the Fourth Fleet?

"Everyone, please be patient. Our Fourth Fleet is by no means greedy for life and afraid of death. Otherwise, we would not join the army and go through life and death. We are waiting for a good time. It has been quite a long time since Li Jinde disappeared and the news came back to London. For a period of time, to put it harshly, if he is still alive, we will wait for a while and he will still be alive, if he is killed, then there is no use for us to worry." Sun Xu was afraid that many businessmen would think that the Fourth Fleet had voluntarily given up on Li Jinde , So quickly clarified to them.

"What Officer Sun said is that we will find a way to find Li Jinde, even if we don't rely on the British or the Ottomans..." said a person from the military department stationed in the Western Company.

He was originally not conspicuous among the crowd, and he only listened to the discussion between the businessman and the navy on how to deal with the case of Li Jinde's disappearance.

When everyone talked about the core of the problem, this person finally spoke.

The Intelligence Department sent a group of spies to infiltrate the Western region with the fleet of Western companies, and he commanded this group of people.If they want to inquire about news, their intelligence department is one of the best characters, even in the unfamiliar West.

"Without relying on the British or the Ottomans, how can we find the shopkeeper Li?" The directors of the Western company were puzzled.

"Rely on this." The person from the Intelligence Department took out a Spanish silver dollar.

(End of this chapter)