Yongle Emperor's grandson: Zhu Yuanzhang with cheats, Zhu Di went crazy

Chapter 287 Nothing Can Be Done Without Benefits

“Isn’t this a bit inappropriate?”

When the Gallic rooster troops were defeated in the south, it was hot in Peking.

A private banquet was being held in Wang Xuance's backyard garden.

There were only two participants in the meeting, one was Wang Xuance and the other was the US envoy Trump.

There was a charcoal stove in front of the two of them, and the red charcoal fire flickered under the fan.

The meat slices are being roasted on the wire rack.

As the flames grew higher, the meat sizzled.

The two of them sat by the fire in the middle of summer, sipping iced white wine and eating barbecue, sweating all over and feeling very uncomfortable.

Halfway through the meal, Wang Xuance suddenly said something, and Lao Te felt that the roasted venison in his mouth was no longer fragrant.

"Two airships, cost price."

Wang Xuance wrapped a piece of venison in lettuce, put it into his mouth, chewed it carefully and swallowed it, then stretched out two fingers and quoted the price given by the Ming Dynasty.

"This is not about the airship. The main thing is that if we do this, we will not be able to survive in the West."

Faced with this offer, Lao Te was not tempted and shook his head to refuse.

"Four."

Lao Te paused for a moment in picking up the venison, but still shook his head.

"No, we in the United States still have some dignity. We can't do such a thing as stabbing someone in the back."

"Six."

Lao Te stopped holding the wine glass, moved his lips a few times and then shook his head.

"No, the risk is too great."

Wang Xuance raised his eyebrows and increased the weight to the maximum.

"Ten airships, half the market price. If you agree, do it. If not, forget it."

"make a deal."

Lao Te smiled and stretched out his hand.

Wang Xuance chuckled and shook hands with the other party, then teased, "Didn't you say it's not authentic?"

Lao Te picked up the iced white wine and took a sip, smacking his lips and laughing: "Haven't you heard the saying, the reason there is no betrayal is because the weight of betrayal is not enough."

"When the benefits offered are so great that even God is tempted, let alone friends, even one's own father can be betrayed."

Wang Xuance laughed and pointed at the other person with his chopsticks: "I just like your shameless look. I really don't want us to be on opposite sides one day in the future."

Lao Te shrugged: "Who knows? Unless you, the Ming Dynasty, give us something that others cannot give us, then it is very likely that we will stand on the opposite side."

"There is a saying that goes, there is no long-lasting friendship between countries, only eternal interests."

Wang Xuance smiled and nodded, raised his glass and said, "Okay, I wish the friendship between our two countries will last forever."

"Friendship forever."

Lao Te also smiled and touched one.

The two raised their glasses and drank. The old man pointedly asked, "After you finish fighting in the south, will you continue to move westward?"

Wang Xuance glanced at him and answered casually, "How would I know that? Only the Lord and his men know the top-level plans. I am just a small diplomat, so I can only follow their arrangements. I will negotiate with whoever they tell me to negotiate with."

Lao Te smiled and didn't ask any more questions. He turned his eyes and said, "Do you need their supply and troop assembly point? The price is very cheap, five airships."

Wang Xuance waved his hand and said, "That's not necessary. I believe that our Ming army can defeat them on the front battlefield."

"Your army is very powerful."

Lao Te responded with emotion, but secretly wondered in his heart which force had betrayed the West and sold the intelligence to the Ming Dynasty in advance.

Damn it, originally the United States and the Ming Dynasty were allied, and now there is one more competitor. He should not ask for too high a price in the future.

Otherwise, given the character of this cunning guy on the other side, he might abandon him and choose the cheaper one.

After the venison banquet, the two men sent a joint telegram.

Over Somalia, ten airships were moving slowly in formation.

Except for the driver and the observer, everyone else was resting with their eyes closed.

"Didi-di-di-di-di..."

Suddenly, a beeping sound was heard. The telegraph operator, who was resting with his eyes closed, immediately opened his eyes, picked up a pen and paper and began to record.

Soon an order appeared on the paper.

After confirming that the information was correct, he stood up and walked to the captain's seat and handed him the order.

After reading it, the other party walked to a small room next door and knocked on it.

"Sir, what happened?"

A blond foreigner walked out puzzledly.

These ten airships were purchased by the United States from the Ming Dynasty and are currently crossing the African continent towards the United States.

The reason for choosing this route instead of directly crossing the Pacific Ocean, in addition to issues with wind direction and climate, is that the main task of this flying unit is to conduct reconnaissance and map confirmation of the West from high altitude.

The United States also knew this, but for the sake of the airship, they chose to turn a deaf ear to it.

The military attaché from the United States who followed him would stand at the window every day to look at the scenery below, or exchange experiences of flying airships with the Ming soldiers around him. No matter how much they talked, such a long voyage would eventually end.

I don’t know when it started, but every day we just say hello to each other, then wash up, find a place to read and sleep.

The captain of boat No. 1, who was also the leader of the airship, handed the telegram in his hand to the other party.

Fortunately, the telegraph operator had received training in advance and knew both Chinese and American languages, otherwise the military attaché would not have been able to understand the content.

After taking the telegram and taking a look at it, the military attaché's pupils shrank instantly.

"What a crazy plan."

The captain of the first submarine replied in unstandard English: "This is an order from above, we must execute it."

The military attaché shrugged and said, "My mission is just to follow the airship and lead you back to the United States. As for what you are going to do, it is up to the higher-ups and you to decide."

"As long as I can safely take the airship to the United States, I won't ask about other things."

Captain No. 1 nodded.

Although this was indeed the case, he had to let the military attaché know about the plan as required by his superiors.

Seeing Captain No. 1 put away the telegram and return to his seat, the military attaché approached with some confusion.

He looked up at the scenery outside and pretended not to care and asked, "We haven't stopped for the past two days. How did you receive the telegram?"

Captain No. 1 glanced at him, took out a pancake and handed it to him.

The military officer was speechless, but still took the pancake, thanked him, and staggered back to his room.

Although he didn't get an answer, he already had a rough guess in his mind.

The Ming army's telegraph technology had definitely surpassed the current world. They had begun using wireless telegraph technology, which only existed in theory, and it was capable of sending and receiving over extremely long distances.

My God, no matter how far away this place is from the Ming Dynasty, the other party can still find the telegram, which shows how powerful this technology is.

Three days passed in a flash, and in the port of Madagascar, steel warships gathered.

At the same time, various equipment transported by ship were also waiting at the dock.

Since it was a large-scale mobilization of materials, the colonies could not provide all of them and they had to be mobilized from the mainland.

After receiving the consul's message, each country had a brief discussion and then delivered the supplies to the area requested by the Gallic Rooster.

The place where the Gallic roosters requested to gather was one of their colonies in Madagascar.

"What a magnificent fleet! It will be invincible in this world."

The officers representing various countries at the port couldn't help but sigh as they looked at the 20 steel warships docked at the dock.

The Gallic rooster commander couldn't suppress a smile on his face.

He could not imagine in his heart how high his status would be in the future and how great his fame and achievements would be if he commanded such a powerful army to defeat the Ming Dynasty.

"Has the Pretty Country not arrived yet?"

After looking around at the warships, he found that two were missing from the report. It seemed that the missing ones were from the United States. The Gallic rooster commander asked the person next to him with some dissatisfaction.

The staff member checked the information in his hand and immediately replied: "General, they just sent a message two days ago. Their fleet just came down from the battlefield and is simply repairing. Let us set off first. They will rush over as quickly as possible."

"Humph, these thieves and hooligans are dragging their feet on getting things done."

A wig-wearing Eagle Country general looked at his deputy with disdain in his eyes when he heard his deputy's answer.

The people around didn't care. Although there were two fewer ships and their momentum was a little weaker, but with twenty steel battleships, they already thought they were the strongest force at the time.

"Okay, everyone, I've prepared a banquet. We'll have the celebration banquet tonight. We'll set out tomorrow to have a good fight with the Ming army."

Upon learning the reason, the Gallic Rooster commander smiled and clapped his hands, inviting everyone to the banquet hall he had prepared.

Dusk arrived as expected. Accompanied by beautiful music, representatives from various countries hugged their dance partners and either danced on the dance floor or sipped champagne on the side and commented on the movements of the dancers on the dance floor. It was a scene of peace and prosperity.

Even at the dock, some people were setting off fireworks brought from the East.

Dozens of miles away in the sky, ten airships were waiting quietly, and all the personnel were in combat positions.

This time they are delivering goods, the ship is not empty.

This guy Lao Te pestered Wang Xuance for a long time and finally made the Ming Dynasty agree to send a batch of bombs, and these bombs were assembled on the spacecraft.

Originally, I thought that these bombs would fall on the heads of those country bumpkins in the south, but I didn't expect that they would fall on the heads of other Westerners before they were halfway through their journey.

The Ming airship is currently equipped with three types of bombs.

They are light, medium and heavy.

The light version weighs 50 kilograms and is mainly used to kill ground houses and infantry.

The medium-sized one weighs 200 pounds and is used to attack the enemy's defense system and offensive.

The heavy-duty version weighs 500 kilograms and is used to bomb important enemy defensive fortresses or important urban buildings.

They are equipped with the latest types of explosives, and their power is no weaker than the bombs during World War II.

Among the ten airships flying this time, three were equipped with heavy bombs, four were equipped with heavy bombs, and the remaining three were equipped with light bombs. It can be said that there are all kinds of offensive forces.

"Captain, I got the signal."

As the afterglow of the setting sun fell onto the sea, an observer's hand suddenly pointed in a distant direction.

Captain No. 1 adjusted the telescope and looked at the fireworks rising from the ground. A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. He put down the telescope and gave a cold order: "Move on!"

(End of this chapter)