Li Junwei received a letter from his brother, which was considered a private letter, introducing the domestic situation, mainly explaining the people's evaluation of him, King Yu. During this expedition to the West, the domestic evaluation of King Yu was still mixed. People always seized the details to deny King Yu's achievements, but in essence it was not for that little thing.

Some romantic affairs are indispensable, but this time, the press found a point that the royal family could not ignore, that is, the cowardice of King Yu. This is mainly reflected in King Yu's refusal to go to the front line. During the Western Expedition, King Yu liked to be in the rear and at most showed his face in the central army. During the naval battle, King Yu never boarded a warship, or waited for news on the shore or a safe squadron. The reason was that he was allergic to the gas emitted by gunpowder, but Li Junhua knew his younger brother, and he just cherished his life. As a superior, he would be ashamed of cowardice, but the thick-skinned Li Junwei never had this psychological burden.

When the expeditionary fleet was established, Li Junwei decided not to use Zhiyuan as the flagship, but chose Weiyuan as his own ship, publicly saying that he did not understand naval warfare and did not want to interfere in command. This won the recognition of the entire army, but in fact, Li Junwei also made a small move. You should know that the imperial flagship not only hangs the commander's flag, but if it is the royal army, he will also hang the royal heraldic flag. However, Li Junwei asked Weiyuan not to hang any unsuitable flags, and required it to be exactly the same as the warships other than the Zhiyuan flagship, and he also felt wronged for this.

Flagships are different from ordinary warships, even warships of the same level are different. If it is a three-deck battleship, the middle artillery door of the second deck will be cancelled and become a passage for the commander to go up and down. There is another special place for flagships and royal ships, that is, the toilet. The toilet of the sailing battleship is located at the bow and bowsprit, which is the place used by ordinary sailors. Some officers will choose to use potty urine tanks, but the commander and royal family have the privilege to open a small door at the stern and hang it on the side of the ship to make a toilet.

Obviously this was too eye-catching. You could see that there was a special person on it at a glance. Li Junwei didn't want to be taken to the ship if a sudden battle broke out. So he ordered people to cancel the outboard toilet of the Weiyuan, but he was so terrified that he kept the toilet of the flagship Zhiyuan.

Li Junhua has always insisted on developing ironclad ships, and there is a factor in it. He hopes that his younger brother can appear on the warship and fight with naval soldiers thousands of miles away. This is not only the dignity of the royal family and the responsibility of the sect king. However, he did not make any public suggestions, and only Li Junhua knows the reason alone.

The emperor once told his father tactfully about this issue. As a result, the older he was, the more Li Mingxun loved his youngest son. In his opinion, the more brave his youngest son went thousands of miles away and went for the country, he was the greatest courage to go for the country. He should not be demanded of him to show off his courage. Li Mingxun sent the emperor a design sketch, which was a coffin, but it was made of wrought iron. The meaning was very simple. What kind of iron-clad ship should be developed? Put the coffin on the flagship and fight it to let King Yu drill in.

Li Junwei authorized the Expeditionary Fleet to hold a visiting ceremony, but except for the King of Portugal, the visits of the rest of the people were restricted. Only the ship's surface deck, artillery deck and crew cabin were allowed. The power cabin, which is considered the core area of ​​the technology, is not allowed to visit.

The Iron-Block Steam Iron Craft is actually a sail warship equipped with steam power and armor. Its functional compartment is roughly the same as the sail warship. Some nobles and diplomats stationed in Lisbon and have some understanding of naval warships are very suspicious of the Iron-Block combat effectiveness. In their opinion, sail battleships with the same tonnage can have 100 artillery pieces, while the Iron-Block Class has only thirteen, which is really a waste of resources, but this impression is soon broken. People finally understand that the Steam Iron Craft is like a monster in the face of the sail warship.

King Pedro II was very interested in the Iron Wall Class, but after hearing that the cost of this warship exceeded 550,000 taels and reached the level of the Imperial Super Sail Battleship, Pedro II retreated a little. For the nobles, the power cabin filled with coal ash and dirty water and oil stains was not a tourist destination. He just stretched his head and took a look, left, and came to the Iron Wall Commander's cabin.

The Iron Wall Class is a flagship. It occupied some chart room and anchor cabin in the bow cabin. After the main armor belt, it created a room of 12 square meters. As the commander's residence, Su Jing personally led Li Junwei into this cabin and introduced: "Prince, when building the Iron Wall, you considered that you were the commander-in-chief of the Expeditionary Force, so you specially built this cabin as your residence. However, the tonnage on the warship was tight, and it was still a bit narrow here, but the decoration and cost also reached the level of the first class cabin on the Imperial Cruise."

Pedro II even sneered at this cabin. He first doubted the designer's IQ, because in his impression, the most noble cabins of warships should be in the wide and stable stern building, rather than the undulating bows of the ship. But this is the difference between steam warships and sail warships. Although the steam engine is easy to use, it is too noise. Even though he understood this truth, Pedro was still dissatisfied and believed that all the decorations did not conform to Li Junwei's identity. He even proposed to pay for his own money and send the most tasteful designer to redecorate the cabin belonging to King Yu.

But Li Junwei waved his hand. He was not very interested in those extravagant and luxurious. Compared with silk, gems, and gold foil, he still liked real gold coins. And after visiting the nearby cabin, Li Junwei had decided not to live here.

"This is a sailor's cabin, and there is a watertight cabin underneath..."

"Why are the watertight cabins here so dense? Why are these supporting structures all metal structures?" Li Junwei asked casually.

"All this is for the purpose of impacting corners. Impact is the regular combat style of this warship, so there must be corresponding structural cooperation..." Su Jing explained seriously.

Li Junwei smiled awkwardly and did not ask any more. As soon as he closed his eyes, a picture appeared in his head. He was sleeping heavily in the cabin. Su Jing was already commanding the Iron Wall to rush towards the tall sailing battleship, and letting himself live in such a cabin, what is the difference between being tied to a collision corner?

".........Mom, this is not the first class cabin, this is the first seven cabin. Do you think I'm not dying fast enough?" Li Junwei muttered and left the Tiebi.

This can only be said to be a small episode in history. In fact, the emperor actually cared more about his younger brother's reputation, but his expression was wrong.

For Li Junwei, he had no intention of managing his reputation. His actions have always been more for the cause of his father and brother. In his opinion, the empire is a rising country. Such a country itself has the ability to expand, and even without itself, it will not fail in a hundred years. It’s just that he has the teaching of being a time traveler’s father, which can make this expansion more smooth and efficient. To give the simplest example, if he had no self, the helmsman who implemented the expansion plan would aim to be richer Latin America, and only the father and son knew that it would be more strategic to seize North America and directly kill an United States.

Of course, ordinary people would not know the influence of the glorious revolution on the world. At the end of the 17th century, France seemed to be more important than Britain. After all, it was the largest country in the continent, with the number one navy and army, and a population of more than 20 million was unique throughout Europe.

After visiting the ironclad ship, Li Junwei and Pedro II returned to Lisbon together, but the two did not enter the city, but went to a manor outside the city. This was arranged by King Pedro for Li Junwei. Compared with the messy trading city, Li Junwei prefers a quiet manor.

At the door, the gorgeous carriage was blocked. Pedro opened the window and saw that two carriages were blocking the door. He originally wanted the guards to drive them away, but soon found that the leader was Sir Thomas of the United Kingdom. This sir had no official identity in Lisbon. Whether it was representing the United Kingdom or the British East India Company, his title was not high. His commendable identity was a shareholder of the British East India Company, but no one dared to provoke him because Thomas had an enviable identity - a close friend of the Prince of China.

Li Junwei did not like too many social engagements, but Thomas was rarely free to enter and exit his residence. The two had a good relationship. But everyone knows that this was a private relationship. Like many nobles and diplomats, Pedro wanted Thomas to win over, especially after learning that Thomas was abandoned by the East India Company, Pedro hoped that he could serve Portugal.

"It's Thomas, he seems very unhappy." Pedro said to Li Junwei.

Li Junwei sighed softly: "As sooner or later, I will face him. The person who comes, bring the jazz to the study, and I will see him after a short rest."

After obtaining Li Junwei's permission, Thomas, who was somewhat excited, was taken to the manor. Pedro wondered: "Your Highness, what's wrong with him? He seems to be very angry."

"I did something that he couldn't accept." Li Junwei was a little worried.

"What's the matter?" Pedro asked in surprise.

Li Junwei answered immediately, but his tone was so plain that it seemed like some small things such as hunting, but this matter was very important. Li Junwei said: "Just this morning, I signed a declaration of war against Britain."

"Ah!" Pedro opened his mouth wide and looked at Li Junwei in disbelief. He had not received any news in advance. Pedro always thought that everything would be over after the empire and Spain's peace treaty was signed.

"Don't be excited, Your Highness the King. This will not harm your country's interests." Li Junwei said with a smile.

Of course, Pedro would not believe it. You should know that Portugal is different from the past and is already an important trade center in Europe. The trade between Portugal and Britain is very prosperous. Once both sides declare war and attack each other's merchant ships, it means that most of the merchant ships entering and leaving Lisbon will not be safe. For Portugal, which has already relied heavily on maritime trade, it is really a huge disaster. And for such a big thing, Li Junwei did not negotiate with him, which is contrary to the long-term friendly relations between the two countries.

"Your Highness, this is really..." Pedro didn't know what to say for a moment.

Li Junwei reminded: "This is a strategy that the empire has formulated for a long time. From the beginning, Britain was our goal, and even more important than Spain. I say so, do you understand the empire's determination?"

"Does King Louis know about this? Is your country already an alliance with France?" Pedro asked hurriedly. Although everyone now knows that the imperial envoy returned in Versailles, suddenly Li Junwei declared war on Britain, making Pedro unable to help but suspect that everything that happened before was strategic deception.

Li Junwei said: "Louis XIV is a stupid and arrogant guy. He only has land hegemony and the land on the east bank of the Rhine River. This idiot rejected my suggestion and he also rejected my alliance request. But the interests of the empire will not change because of a certain person. I will continue firmly until the interests of the empire are protected."

Pedro is very smart and knows that this is a reminder, but he is very satisfied with the fact that the two countries have not formed an alliance. As long as the two countries have not formed an alliance, Portugal can still maintain neutrality. In today's Europe, neutrality is really popular and both ends can take advantage. Lisbon will only become more and more prosperous because of the war breaking out in Europe.

"Okay, Your Highness Yu, I can only continue to choose to trust you." Pedro said helplessly. He knew that if Li Junwei solicited his advice before declaring war, he would definitely object. He would take action first and report it. He would have no choice but to do it: "But I have two requests, and I hope you can satisfy it."

Li Junwei said: "First, I will not let the war spread to the coast of Portugal, nor will I let Portugal's maritime trade be threatened. Second, the only enemy of the empire is Britain. Whether we form an alliance with France or not, we will not declare war on other countries unless they provoke it on their own initiative."

"So you know everything, so I'll feel relieved." Pedro felt a little relieved. When he went to wash up, his servants came to his side. All the topics he said were about China's declaration of war on Britain. After Li Junwei signed the declaration of war this morning, this has become the biggest news in Lisbon. All the people flocked to the palace, hoping to get more news, because Britain is an important member of the Grand Alliance, which is also related to the interests of all the allied countries, so diplomats came to contact him one after another.
Chapter completed!