"Yes, Your Majesty, we are researching."

Lin Wentao bowed down and said, in fact, the research of the Institute of Mechanical Research is not sequential, but parallel.

With the increase in the number of researchers in the Empire, the Institute of Mechanics was divided into many groups, each of which was responsible for different mechanical research, and this forging hydraulic press was one of them.

Lu Tong said: "This is what I want, and now some plastic products in the chemical industry need to be forged." “

"Plastic? What is this? Lin Wentao asked puzzledly, he was seriously biased and had no concept of some things in chemistry.

Song Changping and Chen Qi also listened to each other.

Xiao Ming knows something about Lu Tong's success in manufacturing plastics, and most of the news that has appeared in the newspapers over the years is about the Imperial Machinery Industry.

However, the development of the chemical industry has also been progressing rapidly, silently providing assistance to the machinery industry.

Before you know it, the empire has been able to produce chemical gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, helium, and the fertilizer industry, the paper industry, and pharmaceuticals have also developed considerably.

"This plastic is actually resin, and it can be said that natural resins such as asphalt, rosin, amber, and shellac can be used to make plastics." Xiao Ming explained.

In contemporary times, in the late 19th century, scientists successfully nitrated natural cellulose and used camphor as a plasticizer to make the world's first plastic variety, and then the first synthetic phenolic plastic was born.

Now Lutong is able to synthesize phenolic plastics, which have been used in the electrical and instrument manufacturing industries of the empire.

When everyone heard this, they immediately understood, and through the topic of plastics, they talked about the new things in their respective industries, and an exchange meeting was born.

Xiao Ming didn't bother when he saw that their discussion was intense, and left the Equipment Department with Qian Dafu and went directly to the General Staff.

With the efforts of Lin Wentao and others, the empire's industrial capacity became increasingly strong, which also gave the empire the strength to expand externally.

Now he went to the General Staff to develop a long-term strategy for the empire.

When he came to the General Staff, Cui Shangan immediately greeted him, with a pen in his hand, as if he was writing something.

When he entered the War Department of the General Staff Department, he was saluted by 20 young generals, all of whom were staff officers of the General Staff and were responsible for formulating battle plans on weekdays.

After returning a military salute, Xiao Ming looked at the huge model in the middle of the war department, a three-dimensional version of the model world map.

On this model, the world's seas and countries are clearly presented, and some important cities in some countries also have models erected.

Nowadays, all areas occupied by the empire are planted with the dragon banner of the empire.

"Your Majesty, this is the port that the last general is currently planning." Cui Shangan pointed to the model and said, there are port models along the coastline on the model, which is what Cui Shangan is doing now.

If you want to control the world's trade, the empire needs to control the world's ports, and if you want to deal with Europe and North America more effectively, you need the empire to have its own ports around the world.

So while bringing back oil from the Middle East, the empire was also building its own port strategy step by step.

On the map, Cui Shangan's port plan goes around Africa, which is also something that there is no way to do at present, because the Suez Canal has not been excavated and can only be detoured along Africa.

Xiao Ming couldn't help frowning at this wrongful road, in contemporary history, Napoleon's France dug up the Suez Canal, and then Britain and France jointly operated the Suez Canal, charging fees to merchant ships passing through the Suez Canal, so that they could make a lot of money.

Thinking of this, he said: "The route to Africa is too long, and the empire wants to dig this canal and shorten the route from the empire to Europe." ”

Cui Shangan looked at the place where Xiao Ming pointed at the place, which was within the territory of the Ottoman Empire, that is, the junction of the Middle East and Africa.

After being stunned for a moment, Cui Shangan said: "It's just the emperor, this seems to be the territory of the Ottoman Empire, is the emperor going to start a war against the Ottoman Empire?" “

"Now that Persia is fighting for the Empire, why should the Empire intervene." Xiao Ming had his own ideas, and in his plan, once Persia defeated the Ottomans, he would claim land from the Ottomans.

At that time, the empire will ask Persia to take this land down, and the empire will get it from Persia, so that the empire will get the Suez Canal area without bloodshed.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ming said his thoughts.

Cui Shangan nodded, "This method is feasible, but now the war between Persia and the Ottomans has not yet been decided, and the European countries will definitely not easily give up the plan to disrupt the empire's westward advance, if you want to make the war as soon as possible, the empire may have to intervene directly." ”

Xiao Ming frowned, he refused to compromise with the British on the issue of the war between Persia and the Ottomans.

When Brooke returned, the British would be so angry that they might have encouraged mercenaries to fight against the Ottomans.

According to intelligence, the British now had mastered the technology of rear-loading guns and paper-shelled bullets, and if they intervened forcefully, the war between Persia and the Ottomans would inevitably add more variables, and this was not what he wanted to see.

Although the paper-shell bullet is airtight, has a lot of residue, and is prone to moisture, this rifle changed the way Europeans fought.

Gone are the lines of battle, and there will never again be a whole row of British men lining up to target machine guns in the war.

"Send a batch of machine guns to Persia and train a group of machine gunners for Persia, and at the same time send snipers to help them shoot the Ottoman officers." Xiao Ming said.

Although they were two great powers in Central Asia, the Ottoman Empire was stronger than the Persian Empire in overall strength.

This is also the reason why Persia has the weapons of the empire, and the war is still in a state of anxiety.

Cui Shangan understood that Xiao Ming was gradually losing patience, after all, the later it was, the greater the possibility that Europe would send mercenaries.

"This will be arranged." Choi Shangan made a phone call and ordered a batch of machine guns and ammunition to be transferred from the arsenal and sent machine gunners to Persia.

Hanging up the phone, Cui Shangan said: "Did the emperor give this batch of machine robberies to Persia like this?" ”

"It was lent to Persia and returned to the empire after the war." Xiao Ming said that after this war, Persia's strength will inevitably increase greatly, while the Ottomans will be slumped for a long time.

If Persia still had machine guns, the Ottomans would really be finished, and who would be in control of this huge empire spanning Asia, Africa and Europe? At that time, the oil of the empire may not be so easy to obtain.

Cui Shangan thought so, after all, things like machine guns were commonplace in the empire, but in Persia, the empire was basically equivalent to a direct transition from cold weapons to hot weapons, and the impact would not be a little bit.