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Chapter 1453 Li Jinde's new mission

On the third day after Li Jinde returned, he was summoned by Chu Yun.As Chu Yun's agent in Europe for a time, even if the incident in the Mediterranean Sea did not happen, Chu Yun would ask him for information.What's more, there was such a major event as the Fourth Fleet's open war with the Ottoman Empire in the Mediterranean, which made Chu Yun want to know the details of what happened in the Mediterranean.

Chu Yun never thought that the Fourth Fleet would challenge the Ottoman Empire, and almost wiped out the main strongholds of the Barbary pirates, Algiers, Tunisia, and Tripoli.What is even more exaggerated is that the Fourth Fleet and the Far West Expeditionary Force also joined forces with some countries in the Mediterranean to go on an expedition to Egypt.

This is simply far beyond his imagination!
Even if Chu Yun now has a lot of new technologies and a lot of troops, he would never think of intervening in the Mediterranean Sea at this time.

Although he provoked the great empire of the Ottoman Empire, the actions of the Fourth Fleet made him quite satisfied.First of all, the actions of the Fourth Fleet basically figured out the details of the countries around the Mediterranean Sea, especially exposing the external strength of the Ottoman Navy.Secondly, Chu Yun was very satisfied with the trophies of the Fourth Fleet, who would have trouble with money!

"It turned out that the son of Pasha of Algiers was executed in public by our officials for smuggling in Batavia, which caused his resentment towards us Chinese people..." Chu Yun couldn't help being surprised when he learned of the twists and turns of the incident. wonderful.

A butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil can cause a tornado in Texas a month later.

Just like the butterfly effect, as Chinese merchants expand their trade scope and become more and more active in opening up markets around the world, it will completely change the normal track of history and lead the world to a completely different future.

Chu Yun could not have foreseen that Li Jinde would be arrested and the Fourth Fleet united with other forces in the Mediterranean to deal with the Ottoman Empire.

"The Fourth Fleet also went to war with the Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean Sea to save me, which aroused the hatred of the Ottoman Empire. Please don't blame them, Lord Master." Li Jinde was afraid that Chu Yun would be dissatisfied with the Fourth Fleet's combat behavior. Pleading for the Fourth Fleet.

"I will only punish those who are defeated. The Fourth Fleet is considered a victory for the time being, and the loss is not large. Moreover, the war in the Mediterranean has little impact on our layout in the West. I will not blame them." Chu Yun said calmly. .

Just kidding, this operation of the Fourth Fleet brought back several million taels of silver from the Ottoman Empire and Barbary pirates. If such a result of the battle must be punished, who will go to get a few million taels of silver back in the future?

Of course, there is still a bit of superficial blame, but that is not important...

Chu Yun believed that no one could do better than the Fourth Fleet under the circumstances at that time. If the Fourth Fleet waited for the instructions from the capital before acting, it would probably have died long ago.

"When I was in the Mediterranean, I found that the location of the island of Malta is extremely important. If we can use the local area as our commercial station in the Mediterranean, then our company can conduct extensive Mediterranean trade. Most of the Barbary pirates have signed contracts with us. After signing the treaty, they promised not to rob our merchant ships, then we only need to make the Ottoman Empire surrender, and we may have a hand in most of the Mediterranean market." Li Jinde suggested to Chu Yun to take the island of Malta.

Chu Yun listened and nodded. In the ten-year armament plan of the Ministry of the Navy, the three important naval bases in the Atlantic Ocean are Portsmouth, Malta Island, and Cuba Island. Among them, Malta Island, known as the "heart of the Mediterranean Sea", is the Navy. one of the department's goals.

"I heard that you tricked the sister of the Grand Master of the Hospital Knights to the capital..."

"My lord, you misunderstood. This is not a lie. It's just that she admires our culture and prosperity, so she followed the villain to the capital for a tour."

"This is almost like cheating. In short, you have to entertain her well and try to make her feel good about us. It is best to make the head of the Knights of the Hospital willingly open the island of Malta and become our commercial station and fleet base in the Mediterranean Sea. .You should also know that it is easy to defeat an army in a place, but it is difficult to conquer a place."

"When the Fourth Fleet attacked Algiers to rescue me, the Knights Hospitaller also participated in it... As an important figure of the Knights Hospitaller, I naturally will not treat her badly."

"Very well, for the sake of our China's future hundred-year plan, sometimes even the sacrifice of hue is necessary..."

puff!The tea in Li Jinde's mouth almost spewed out. In order to obtain the fleet base and port in the Mediterranean, Chu Yun made it clear that he was going to capture Hannah.

"Master Jun doesn't know. My wife has been waiting for me with her daughter for three or four years. Such behavior would be unbearable betrayal for her." Li Jinde quickly evaded.

"Haha, I'm just joking. We don't need to use marriage methods for petty gains. That kind of relationship doesn't last long. When the interests of the two parties conflict, the fragile relationship will directly break down. We prefer to use the benefits Exchange to obtain long-term cooperation." Chu Yun waved his hand to let Li Jinde not to panic.

As early as a long time ago, Chu Yun rejected Charles I's request for marriage, because he didn't want to be restrained when doing things, and he didn't want Charles I to be his brother-in-law.

"When I left the city of London, the factories built on the land of the royal family were able to operate normally, and more than a dozen shops such as teahouses and porcelain shops opened in the city of London. Presumably our products will soon gain a firm foothold in Britain. Next There are still at least five undeveloped markets, including continental Europe, northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the West Indies, and North America. That is a market with hundreds of millions of people. I don’t think we can enter such a huge market with the strength of our company alone, so we should organize more Many merchant ships go to the west to open up markets in various places." Li Jinde suggested at the end.

"Your judgment is right. Our technology and products are invincible in these places. As long as someone is willing to go to the West, they can start a business. But the premise is that we need a fleet across the four seas to ensure the safety of our merchant ships." Safety. At present, just to maintain the sailing of the Western company fleet, the Fourth Fleet needs to send warships to escort, which means that our layout has not been completed. In my understanding, it is difficult for our merchant ships to sail in any sea area. You can be protected by our warships at any time," Chu Yun said.

Li Jinde nodded, pirates and privateers active all over the world are a problem, and the fleet of the Kyushu Army is not strong enough to haunt any part of the world.

"By the way, I have a new task for you. After a while, you need to go to Tanggu in the east of Tianjin Wei and help me inspect the preparations for a new factory." Chu Yun said.

"What factory?" Li Jinde asked in surprise.

"A factory that produces sodium carbonate...that is, soda ash and soda. Do you understand what I'm talking about?"

(End of this chapter)