"Tuk Tuk" A soft knock on the door sounded, and then Li Wang, who listened to it, reported outside: "Young Master, the wine and food are here." Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo”

Yi Zhizu stopped talking and ordered, "Come in." ”

Riding the guys to come in to cloth vegetables, Du Changde carefully sorted out his thoughts, because the construction of the railway is related to the survival of the Cao Gang, so the Cao Gang high-level is extremely concerned about the things related to the railway, "Eighteen Articles of Railway Rejuvenation" has caused great controversy in Beijing, and he is clear about this matter.

Opposition to the construction of the railway, mainly Manchu and Mongolian nobles, destruction of feng shui, cut off the livelihood of the people on both sides of the canal or something, are not the most important, the most important thing is the military aspect, once the railway is built, the mobilization of troops, the transportation of baggage will be extremely convenient, this is not a good thing for the Manchu Qing who control more with less, and seize the world with cavalry and shooting, of course, this reason will not be clearly said, can only be understood, not spoken.

After three rounds of drinking, Du Changde put down his wine glass and said: "Lord Yi should be very clear that there is one most important thing to oppose the construction of the railway, that is, 'Build the railway, and the pass will be lost.'" ’”

Yi Zhishu put down his chopsticks, took a sip of tea, and said slowly: "This is purely self-suspicion, mediocrity disturbs themselves, and the railway is not indestructible, so why is it said that the pass is lost?" Besides, as long as the imperial court garrisons the railway transportation hub, it can easily control the railway, and for national defense, there are advantages and disadvantages to building railways. ”

Du Changde glanced at him and pointed out: "The imperial court is to control more with less." ”

This is to the point, this Mr. Du still seems to have some eyesight, Yi Zhixiang smiled and said: "Mr. Du only thinks about the bad, but not the good, you might as well think about it the other way around." After a pause, he continued: "Anyone who knows a little about military affairs should know that soldiers are very fast. The railway is conducive to the rapid mobilization and transportation of troops, and in the opinion of the lower, this is precisely more conducive to the imperial court to control more with less.

In addition, the soldiers are fine, not many. The railway is convenient for the rapid assembly and transportation of troops, and the imperial court does not need to cast a net to station troops in various places, and the concentration of troops stationed in the waterproof and land transportation center can deal with the four directions, so that the troops can be reduced, and the treatment of the Eight Banners Green Battalion can be greatly improved, so as to train elite soldiers with generous salaries. ”

Du Changde smiled when he heard this, "This is in line with the saying - the public says that the public is reasonable, the mother-in-law says that the mother-in-law is reasonable, and in the end, it can only be the emperor's dictatorship." ”

"The emperor will definitely support the construction of the railway." Yi Zhi's content said firmly: "In terms of national defense and military, when it is difficult to weigh the pros and cons between building a railway and not building a railway, economic factors will play a decisive role, and the construction of a railway can greatly improve the financial embarrassment of the imperial court, which is beyond doubt, so the emperor will definitely support the construction of the railway." ”

Saying that, he glanced at Du Changde and said: "The Cao Gang does not need to rush to make a decision at present, whether the imperial court supports the construction of the railway, it should not take long to know, on the day of the opening of the Foguang Railway, I have elaborated on the "Eighteen Articles of Railway Rejuvenation", and sent it to Beijing together with the excerpt of the minister Fu Guogong. ”

Du Changde nodded, for the sake of safety, he would naturally wait for the imperial court to make a decision, and then consider whether to cooperate with Yuan Qi, but at that time, Yuan Qi can be said to be worth a hundred times, and he will inevitably sit on the ground and start the price, and only after a slight groan, he said: "For the construction of railways, it can be said that I don't know anything about it, and I take the liberty to ask, how many railways will we build in the Qing Dynasty?" In other words, how long can the construction of our railways in the Qing Dynasty last? ”

Hearing this, Yi Zhicontent said with a smile: "The territory of the Qing Dynasty is vast, and the railway construction started from scratch, from the trunk line to the branch line, and finally formed a complete railway transportation network, even if it is ten Cao Gangs, it will not be completed in two hundred years." ”

"On such a large scale?" Wu Feiyang said in surprise.

Yi Zhishu nodded and said, "For example, canal and waterway transportation is like the sunset, while railway traffic is the rising sun. ”

After a slight sigh, Du Changde said, "How does Yuan Qi plan to help our Cao Gang?" ”

"Yuanqi is ready to train the children of the Cao Gang from two aspects - short-term technicians and long-term technical talents." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "Short-term mechanics are also workers who build railways, Yuanqi has no shortage of railways to be built, Cao Gang can send a part of the young and strong children to directly participate in the construction of the railway, while learning while accumulating, in addition, Yuan Qi has a new school in Guangzhou, teaching Western physical chemistry, surveying and mapping and other aspects of knowledge, Cao Gang can select six or seven year-old children to enter the new school to study, one should be used, Yuan Qi bears, all aspects can be guaranteed to be the best, so, spend ten or twenty years, The Cao Gang will be able to accumulate enough technicians and technical personnel, and at that time, it will not be impossible to monopolize the construction of railways in the Qing Dynasty. ”

Du Changde said: "What are the conditions for Yuanqi?" ”

Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "Yuanqi's development in Liangjiang is naturally inseparable from the strong support of the Cao Gang. ”

"A cup of toast to Lord Yi." Du Changde raised his wine glass and said, he dried the wine in one gulp, he stood up and arched his hand and said: "I can't beat the wine, take a step back first, and I hope Lord Yi will forgive me." As he spoke, he looked at Wu Feiyang and said, "As a landlord, the young gang master must accompany Master Yi." As he spoke, he shook again, and then slowly left.

Du Changde, who was waiting, came out of the room, and Wu Feiyang hurriedly stretched out his hand and said, "Yida shopkeeper, please take a seat." Saying that, he raised his glass and said: "The shopkeeper of Yi Da will leave tomorrow, and today will be regarded as a feast......" ”

Du Changde got out of the restaurant, then got on a small boat, rushed straight to the dock, entered the Wu house, and went straight to the backyard, seeing that he turned back so quickly, and it was alone, Wu Chaoyang was a little surprised, and asked after giving up his seat: "How?" ”

"In the next sense, this is a very rare opportunity for the Cao Gang." After Du Changde sat down, he said slowly: "The construction of the railway in the Qing Dynasty may be imperative....... As he spoke, he carefully recounted the conversation with Yi Zhicontent.

After being silent for a long time, Wu Chaoyang spoke: "Yuanqi is not small in Guangdong, and he is also famous for being rich, our Cao Gang has more than 100,000 people in Jiangnan and Jiangbei, and the two join forces, will it cause a disaster?" ”

At this point, Du Changde really didn't expect that Yuan Qi was rich, the Cao Gang had people, and the two parties joined forces, how could the court not be afraid? After a slight sigh, he spoke: "In this way, it is only necessary to wait until the imperial court makes a clear statement before considering, if the imperial court vigorously supports the construction of the railway, we will help the livelihood of more than 100,000 people, and the imperial court will not be able to ignore it, and it will be logical to propose it at that time." ”

Wang Chao bowed his head slightly and said: "This is not a trivial matter, we have to find an opportunity to gather all the leaders to blow the wind, and arrange a group of people to go to Guangzhou to investigate in detail and comprehensively what the situation of the railway is in the West?" Yuanqi's factories also have to find out what they are learning. ”

Jiangnan is already an early spring scene, but the Beijing is still cold, the Forbidden City, the Qianqing Palace, the Xinuan Pavilion, Daoguang buried his head in the review of the folds, the chief eunuch tiptoed in, and reported softly: "Your Majesty, there are excerpts from Guangzhou and Jiangning." As he spoke, he respectfully placed a few folds on the table.

After reviewing a fold, Daoguang picked up the folds and looked through them, and after the New Year, he instructed that the excerpts of Guangzhou and Jiangning do not need to be abridged, and they will be sent as they arrive, and several excerpts from Guangzhou are written by the minister of the Qin Mission, Fu Guo Gongxing, the governor of Liangguang, Qi Shan, the governor of Guangzhou, the general of Guangzhou, Deke Jinbu, the governor of Guangdong, Yiliang, the left attendant of the household department, Wu Qijun, the governor of the household department, and Yu Kun, the superintendent of the Guangdong Customs.

Almost all of them are said to be the opening of the Foshan Railway, the public praise the train is fast, the volume of transportation is large, the person who took the train also described in detail the feeling of doing the train, fast as a galloping horse, but not bumpy, taking the train is like sitting in the house, can read the newspaper and drink tea, wash and go to the toilet are readily available, even if it is a long ride, there is no discomfort.

The continuous excerpt is the longest, detailing the carriages towed by a train, the size and carrying capacity of a carriage, the speed of the train, the stops along the way, etc., and it is written at the end that the operating profitability of the train needs to be further assessed.

Train railway, Daoguang is not very concerned at the moment, he is concerned about the transfer of Yuanqi group training, but there is no mention of Yuanqi group training on several excerpts, he hurriedly looked at Lin Zexu's excerpts from Jiangning, and learned that Yuanqi group training had been out of the city in batches as early as a year ago.

Seeing this, he couldn't help but put his mind at ease, and secretly praised, Yuan Qi's group practiced 5,000 people to leave Guangzhou, and they were able to hide from all the big people in Guangzhou City, which is really a bit capable.

Then look down, Lin Zexu suggested in the excerpt to strengthen the defense of Tianjin, if Tianjin hoards heavy troops to defend, and Jiangning has no defensive measures, Yingyi will inevitably avoid reality and attack Jiangning, and elaborate, Yingyi has steamships and is fully capable of attacking Jiangning against the river.

Daoguang was originally worried that the British fleet would directly attack Tianjin, and then the troops would come to the capital city, this suggestion could be said to be in his arms, which was far more clever than letting him tour Jiangning south and use himself as bait to lure the British army to attack Jiangning, but he didn't know, which was also easy to advise.

The last excerpt is that of Yu Qian, the governor of Jiangsu, in the excerpt, Yu Qian reported three things, Yi Zhizhi has taken office, the Shanghai County Government posted a notice, recruiting 2,000 volunteers, the Shanghai branch of Yuanqi Bank was publicly listed and opened, and 32 branches were opened in one fell swoop.

Closing the fold, Daoguang got up and shook his hand, and slowly paced in the room, Yuan Qi's move was obviously to get through the money industry of Shanghai County, Shanghai is just a county seat, he didn't care, but the problem is that Yuan Qi can't only meet the money industry of unifying Shanghai County, and then it must be Susong and Liangfu, then Jiangning, and then Liangjiang.

Wu Qijun, the left servant of the household department, said very clearly in the last excerpt that Yuan Qi was going to expand to Liangjiang, and then set up a stock exchange in Jiangning, so that the imperial court could issue huge treasury bonds in Jiangnan.

After pacing a few laps, he stopped and said, "Someone." ”

A eunuch hurriedly bowed in, and Daoguang ordered: "Xuan Mu Zhang'a, Pan Shien, Wang Ding, and the Manchu Han Shangshu of the Household Department and the Military Department will meet you." ”

The Military Aircraft Department, hearing the eunuch's decree, the chief military aircraft minister Mu Zhang'a couldn't help but sink in his heart, and then presented the excerpts of Guangzhou and Jiangning, Daoguang summoned several military aircraft and the Ministry of Household Military Affairs Manchu Han Shangshu, obviously, this is to discuss Yuanqi's matter, nothing more than railways and national debts, and he secretly pondered in his heart at the moment.

The waiting household military department Manhan Shangshu rushed into the palace, and several people went to the Qianqing Palace to hand over the sign, entered the Xinuan Pavilion, and after seeing the ceremony, they listened to the Daoguang command: "All flat, give sit." ”

As soon as he heard the gift, the ministers immediately understood in their hearts that this was the rhythm of the proceedings, and when everyone sat down, Daoguang said slowly: "A few years ago, Yuan Qi lived up to my expectations and undertook the treasury bonds of 10 million taels of silver issued by the imperial court, and listed all the treasury bonds through the Guangzhou Stock Exchange. ”

As soon as the words fell, Wang Ding took the lead in speaking: "It is not easy to undertake 10 million taels of treasury bonds with the power of Guangdong Province, if the treasury bonds expire before the imperial court wants to issue treasury bonds again, Guangdong is afraid that it will not be able to undertake, Jiangsu and Zhejiang are far richer than Guangdong, if they can issue treasury bonds in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the imperial court can take turns or even continuously issue treasury bonds, this is really the blessing of the imperial court, and Weichen agrees!" ”

The head of the household, Manshang Shulongwen, hesitated before he spoke: "Your Majesty, the issuance of treasury bonds must be repaid on time, and the interest is not low, and the frequent issuance of treasury bonds not only increases the pressure on the imperial court, but also damages the prestige of the imperial court. ”

"The issuance of treasury bonds is a move by the imperial court to alleviate the financial crisis." Hubu Hanshang Shuzhuo Bingtian said slowly: "Wechen secretly thinks that the issuance of treasury bonds in Guangdong is only a trial trial, and Jiangsu and Zhejiang are the key places for issuing treasury bonds, after all, the richest is Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and Weichen agrees to open a stock exchange in Jiangning, only in this way can treasury bonds be issued normally." ”

Yucheng, the secretary of the Ministry of War, knew that he would have to mobilize troops and horses on a large scale at the beginning of the year, and he couldn't do it without money, so he immediately said: "The slave agrees." ”

Wechen agreed. Qi Liaozao, the secretary of the military department, also followed.

Seeing that it was a one-sided situation, Mu Zhang'a didn't dare to hesitate, and said slowly: "The reason why Yuanqi can smoothly implement treasury bonds in Guangdong is because Yuanqi dominates the Guangdong money industry. If this is the case, I am afraid that there will be a big problem. After a slight pause, he continued: "The slave secretly thinks that even if he wants to issue treasury bonds in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, he cannot be undertaken by Yuan Qi. ”

Daoguang is also worried about this, if Yuanqi reunifies the money industry of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the imperial court is afraid that it will be extremely difficult to control, Jiangsu and Zhejiang are rich and wealthy, and they must not be messed up.

"Mu Zhongtang is very worried." Zhuo Bingtian said unhurriedly: "However, in addition to Yuan Qi, which other ticket number Qianzhuang Silver dares to undertake the huge amount of treasury bonds issued by the imperial court?" (To be continued.) )