Chen Jingyun didn't know anything about this Bethlehem contract, and he didn't expect that the Manchu Dynasty at the end of the Qing Dynasty still had a plan to cooperate with the United States in the navy, and this was not a lip service, but a secret agreement with the actual surname.

With doubt and shock in his heart, Chen Jingyun opened the contract in his hand, and as he read the contract entries line by line, Chen Jingyun was more and more shocked.

First of all, Chen Jingyun was shocked by the unsecured loan of 50 million yuan, and then the United States promised to provide the most advanced warships, and the purchase price was comparable to that of the US military, and the US military could also provide the latest naval patents and technologies, and also provide relevant information from secret channels, and then there was an extremely important one, that is, the United States approved the US naval officers to help China train naval officers on US or Chinese warships, and allowed Chinese students and officers to enter US naval academies and schools. And give the same training, guidance and treatment as American officials and students.

Although this contract is ostensibly a commercial contract between Bethlehem and China, it is clear from the words of these treaties that it is undoubtedly a strategic cooperation between the two navies.

In other words, the United States gives China a loan, and then gives all-round support in the manufacture of warships and personnel training. The ultimate goal is to support a Chinese navy on the coast of the western Pacific that can contain the Chinese navy.

Although the initial amount of this contract is only 50 million yuan, which can only be regarded as a drop in the bucket for the reconstruction of the Chinese navy, it can be expected that if China has a stable political axe, after the two navies successfully carry out this cooperation, there will definitely be a larger-scale support plan in the future. Eventually, the Chinese and US navies will form a containment of the Chinese navy in the Pacific region, and reduce the tremendous pressure on the United States brought by the Chinese navy and the British alliance.

It can be said that this plan is just an introduction, just like Feihong is an introduction, the contract itself does not play a big role, and the real role is to take the lead. The U.S. construction of the Phenom has promoted Sino-US naval cooperation programs, and if the Bethlehem contract is successfully implemented, it will also greatly promote Sino-US relations, and may even reach a limited military alliance in the Pacific region in the future.

Chen Jingyun also saw the value of the contract itself and the value behind it. It's just that he still has some contradictions, how can the Americans find themselves in this kind of strategic cooperation at the national level?

In fact, the Americans themselves were quite depressed, and they had already reached a naval cooperation plan with the Qing court, but because of the arrival of the Xinhai Revolution, and later Yuan Shikai's obvious preference for Britain and his indifference to the Bethlehem contract, the Bethlehem contract that the United States once had high hopes for was about to come to naught.

At this time, Chen Jingyun appeared in front of the Americans, especially the strength of the Nationalist Army in the battle in Hangzhou, so Jia Leheng believed that Chen Jingyun would be likely to dominate China, and another very important reason was that Chen Jingyun occupied all coastal areas, and they were all areas with more developed industry and commerce for China. The purpose of the United States is to help China develop a navy to contain the navy, and in such a situation, the United States can only choose to cooperate with Chen Jingyun.

In Jia Leheng's view, Chen Jingyun is very likely to unify China in the future, in addition to the many advantages such as the national army under Chen Jingyun and the rich province in the southeast region he occupies, there is also an extremely important advantage, that is, Chen Jingyun's age.

Yuan Shikai is nearly sixty years old, and it is rumored that his physical condition is not good, and it is rumored that there is no one in Yuan Shikai's family who has lived past sixty. As for Chen Jingyun, he is only twenty-four years old. Even if Chen Jingyun is dragged slowly, he can drag it until Yuan Shikai dies. And when Yuan Shikai dies, can anyone in Beiyang continue to maintain the huge interest group of Beiyang?

The answer is no! Based on the current way Yuan Shikai treats his subordinates and Beiyang's unique power distribution system, Yuan Shikai has not focused on the cultivation of heirs, so after Yuan Shikai dies, Beiyang will have a situation where Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang will compete for hegemony, and other second-echelon generals such as Cao Kun will also have all kinds of things to fight for power and profit.

In Jia Leheng's view, it will be impossible for Beiyang, which is still in the period of division and power struggle, to confront Chen Jingyun and Cai Ye in the south.

Therefore, Jia Leheng has great hopes for Chen Jingyun, and is even too optimistic. In a telegram to Secretary of State Knox, he said: Perhaps in the next 10 years, China will be led by the Yuan Shikai group, but in 10 years, Chen Jingyun's new generation of military groups will replace the old Beiyang group and rule China.

However, Jia Leheng's optimistic attitude towards Chen Jingyun has a direct impact on the US Far East policy, which is why Secretary of State Knox instructed diplomats in China to re-examine foreign policy toward China and adopt a flexible diplomatic approach. That is, while maintaining relations with Yuan Shikai's authorities, he also established a close relationship with Chen Jingyun.

In addition, the Americans also learned that Yue himself also had a close relationship with Chen Jingyun, and that he had also provided Chen Jingyun with a loan. The Americans don't want Yuan Shikai to be pro-British now, and then Chen Jingyun will come to another pro-', which will cause great harm to US interests in the Far East.

"General, this contract is not public, but a secret contract, and it is a secret contract that has been broken!" Colonel Gillis did not speak quickly, but slowly and clearly: "I hope that this contract will be carried out!" ”

Having said that, Gillis has almost made it clear that the American political axe wants to continue to implement this plan with Chen Jingyun.

In the face of the sudden big cake, Chen Jingyun was not stunned, but he analyzed all the possible surnames more calmly, and said after pondering for a while: "I don't know how your country's political axe views the current situation and future of our country?" ”

Before coming to Gillis, he had received relevant authorization and instructions from Jia Leheng, and knew that there were some things that could be said, some things that must be said, and some things that could not be said, and Chen Jingyun's question was obviously within the scope of authorization, so he immediately said: "China has always pursued a policy of neutrality and has no intention of interfering in your country's internal affairs. However, the current split situation in China has caused certain troubles to the trade and cooperation between China and the United States, so the US political axe hopes that China will achieve real reunification as soon as possible and establish an open and free open and open country. ”

After the diplomatic cliché, Gillis added: "Personally, I think China needs a young and strong leader to lead China out of its predicament." ”

This sentence is almost naked, saying that the American political axe hopes that Chen Jingyun will unify China and lead China, and getting such affirmation makes Chen Jingyun not very competitive, and he took a deep breath to calm down the impulse in his heart.

Sa Zhenbing on the side was also horrified when he heard it!

He is aware of the naval cooperation plans between China and the United States, and he has even single-handedly organized them, and he understands all the more that the deep-seated purpose of the United States in supporting the Chinese Navy is to contain the Chinese Navy. Originally, he thought that the previous liquidation was over, and Yuan Shikai did not have a clear statement on the rebuilding of the navy, which once made him think that the Bethlehem contract would not be continued. But he thought that the Americans would find Chen Jingyun after running into a wall on Yuan Shikai's side, and he didn't expect that the Americans would be so optimistic about Chen Jingyun.

"Could it be that this Chen Jingyun really has the strength to compete with Yuan Xiangcheng?" Sa Zhenbing had such a question in his heart, and at the same time, he couldn't help but speculate: "If this young man really has such ambition and strength, then if he comes to lead China, where will the Chinese Navy go?" If this young man really plans to rebuild the navy, then shouldn't he do something about it?

At this time, Chen Jingyun did not speak directly, this contract was very important, and he didn't even plan to let Sa Zhenbing continue to listen, and immediately said: "Mr. Gillis, please follow me to the study to talk about it!" ”

Although Sa Zhenbing was a little unhappy when he heard it, he knew that the two of them were going to talk about some important matters, and as an outsider, he was obviously not suitable to continue listening, but he didn't plan to leave, but ran to the side hall to continue waiting, he Sa Zhenbing was a guest that Chen Jingyun personally met, and the people in the secretariat naturally didn't dare to drive Sa Zhenbing out, so they directly continued to serve good tea.

After Chen Jingyun brought Gillis into the study, the two sides sat down again, this time there was not even a secretary who poured tea, but Chen Jingyun personally poured a cup of tea before he spoke: "Colonel Gillis, you said earlier that I am personally optimistic about me, I want to know if your country's political axe also means this!" ”

Colonel Gillis smiled and said, "This needs to look at the general!" ”

"Oh?" Chen Jingyun said.

Gillis said: "As far as I know, there are currently a large number of instructors in the National Army and the Fuzhou Military Academy? ”

Chen Jingyun nodded: "That's true!" "Chen Jingyun is not a stupid person, as soon as he heard about Gillisti, he was sure that this American should be unhappy that there are too many instructors in his territory.

Gillis said: "We hope that there will not be too many instructors in the general's territory!" ”

Chen Jingyun shook his head: "This is very difficult, the instructors are all based on the original loan agreement, and they cannot be dismissed for the time being!" ”

After hearing this, Gillis was silent and said, "Since this is the case, then we hope that the general's military school can accept instructors from my US Army!" ”

Chen Jingyun knew that the Americans did not want Yue to expand his influence in Fujian and Zhejiang, and still less did he want him to influence the Nationalist Army, so it was normal for him to make such a request. However, Chen Jingyun didn't care, the relationship between China and the two countries is very complicated, so many Chinese young people chose to study in Yueben in the afternoon, but the vast majority of the students who returned from studying in Yueben hated Yueben even more, on the contrary, the students who went to study in Europe and the United States were basically pro-European and American, which is also the fundamental reason why Chen Jingyun accepted so many instructors and was not too worried.

So to a certain extent, in terms of military education and other aspects, the European and American systems are more penetrating and more harmful.

After thinking about it, he said: "There is no problem with this, the Fuzhou Military Academy is still continuing to expand its scale, and there is an extreme shortage of teachers, if you can provide senior instructors, we are very welcome!" ”

When Chen Jingyun said this, he had almost denied his pro-' tendency, so Gillis was obviously relieved when he heard this.

As long as Chen Jingyun is not close personally, then the next thing will be much easier.