After exiting from Deng Tingzhen's detention room, Wu Bingjian and Yi Zhizhi walked out of the courtyard and walked on the empty and silent road, Wu Bingjian spoke: "If you are content, you don't want to ask the Lord Dingwang of the Hubu Shangshu who appreciates you a lot?" ”

Yi Zhicontent said nonchalantly: "The kid has no intention of becoming an official, ask him what he does?" ”

"Why don't you want to be an official?"

Yi Zhizhi smiled and said: "Yuan Qi can't let go now, this is the truth, and besides, he is dying of old age today, not a young man...... Officialdom has always paid attention to seniority, the kid is only nineteen this year, even if he is supported by Lord Wang, it is difficult to get ahead without ten years, and in these ten years, Yuan Qi has grown up. ”

"You still expect to get away with it for ten years?" Wu Bingjian shook his head and said: "The cone is in the bag, and the end is immediately seen, a Yuanqi, a railway, the name of contentment, has long been famous in Beijing, Jane is in the emperor's heart, the old man estimates that in three years at most, you will go to Beijing." ”

Three years? Easy to listen to the secret smile, three years later this time crow. The war has broken out, and by that time, the attention of the government and the opposition is on the war, and the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty are all anxious about the war, who still has the leisure to pay attention to him?

Seeing that he was silent, Wu Bingjian changed his words and said, "Yuan Qi is now capable of contracting five million national bonds?" ”

"It's just the lesser of two evils." Yi Zhishu said frankly: "If you don't say so, it's not enough to make the court tempted, the national debt is a new thing for the imperial court, and the imperial court will also be cautious, I estimate that the first issuance of national bonds, but a million scale, of course, if you really want to issue five million national bonds, Yuan Qi can only do it reluctantly, it is better than being suppressed by the imperial court." ”

As he spoke, he let out a long sigh and said, "Now is the most difficult stage for Yuanqi, and if you get through it, it will be the sea and the sky." As he spoke, he turned his head and said, "In two days, I am going to go to Shunde." ”

Wu Bingjian paused and said, "You don't want to plan another silk crash, right?" ”

"Quite the opposite." Yi Zhizhi said: "The funds of Shunde silk merchants have been trapped in the tea market, and I am going to the market, otherwise the price of raw silk will inevitably plummet." ”

"That's fine." Wu Bingjian said slowly: "Otherwise, the old man is really worried that Yuan Qi will have a bad reputation." ”

Talking all the way, unconsciously out of the Governor's Palace, seeing the two of them coming out, Wu Changqing, who was anxiously waiting outside, hurriedly greeted him, seeing that the two of them looked peaceful, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and sent Wu Bingjian to leave in a sedan chair, and then he asked: "What is the matter with Lord Deng's urgent summons?" ”

"Yuan Qi has caused great controversy in Jingshi." Yi Zhizhi said: "I still have to worry about Changqing to go to Yuexiu Mountain Xuehaitang to invite Brother Junhu here, and I will write a "Theory of National Debts" and submit it before noon tomorrow." ”

Needless to ask, Wu Changqing also knew that this "Theory of National Debts" was very important, so he immediately nodded and said, "Then you go back to Rongyuan first, and I will go to invite Brother Junhu." ”

Yi Zhixiang is most afraid of the thing now is to make a fuss, the ancient text is still secondary, mainly because his words are unseemly, the previous article "Eighteen Articles of Railway Rejuvenation" He invited Ma Yinglong to catch the knife, this time of course is no exception.

Back at the bank mansion, Yi Zhizhi got out of the sedan chair, and the guy trotted up to catch up, and said with a smile: "The big shopkeeper is back, Pan Gongzi is here, waiting in Rongyuan, and he has been here for half an hour." ”

Yi Zhifen nodded, and walked quickly into Rong Yuan, seeing him come in, Pan Shiming slowly greeted him, and arched his hand: "Contentment can be regarded as coming back, I am worried about running for nothing today." ”

Yi Zhicontent returned the salute and said, "The first issue has eyebrows?" ”

"I tried to design one." Pan Shiming said with a smile: "However, Wei Sanwei said that the content is not rich enough. ”

The two talked and entered the house, Pan Shiming spread out the designed newspaper on the table, and said: "The first page is the Di newspaper, the second page is business, the third page is Western news, and the fourth page is after tea and dinner." ”

"Not bad." Yi Zhizu praised a sentence and said: "This is the first issue, don't be too demanding, however, the first edition is not enough to publish the Di Bao, but also to add major news and news reviews on current affairs, the second edition of commerce, in addition to the price of bulk trade commodities, will also be concerned about the grain, oil, salt, meat, medicine, etc., in addition, but also to leave space for the goods or merchants to advertise, for the time being, gradually add or revise the version in the future." ”

After a slight pause, he continued: "In addition to the first edition, the second, third, and fourth editions are best written in the vernacular, which should be easy to understand, and the newspaper is not only for the gentry, but also for the merchants and the common people. ”

"In the vernacular?" Pan Shiming frowned and said, "I'm afraid that the vernacular gentry don't want to read it, and then we have to consider whether there are scholars who are willing to write." ”

"Newspapers are not sage books, nor are they scholars, so why do they have to write Chinese?" Yi Zhizhi said: "As for the writing, hire special commentators and writers, the salary is preferential, and the price is recorded by the article. "On Western Treasury Bonds". ”

"On Western Treasury Bonds?" Pan Shiming said: "Contented writing? ”

Yi Zhixiang smiled: "Brother Junhu will come in a while, let him write the manuscript." ”

Ma Yinglong didn't come, Huang Zichang came first, heard the report, Yi Zhixin knew that there must be a movement in the tea market, and immediately greeted him, as soon as he met, Huang Zichang smiled and said: "Yi Da shopkeeper is clever, the other party really raised the price directly from twenty-four or five dollars to twenty-five two and five dollars, enough to raise one or two, and the entire tea market is boiling." ”

"The whole tea market is boiling?" Yi Zhizu frowned, led Huang Zichang to the stone table under the big banyan tree, sat down on the stone bench, and said: "This is not a good thing, once the price of tea continues to rise, there will definitely be many people who will follow up, no one believes that Yuan Qi will suppress the price ......of tea again." ”

Huang Zichang nodded and said: "Yes, there are rumors in the tea market, saying that the Thirteen Lines and Yuan Qi are manipulating the price of tea, maliciously and repeatedly suppressing and raising, in order to make huge profits. ”

"It's a thief shouting to catch a thief." Yi Zhishu said with a smile: "This rumor must have been deliberately released by Shunde silk merchants, so that they could raise the price of tea." After a slight sigh, he said in a deep voice: "I can't wait any longer, I have to prevent them from selling tea while raising the price of tea, repeatedly shaking the price of tea, and trapping a lot of speculators." ”

"So- sell it at this price?" Huang Zichang said tentatively.

Yi Zhizu nodded and said: "Sell, but don't sell too quickly, lest the other party become suspicious, sell forty or fifty thousand quintals one after another and then sell a large number of them, give you a day, and release the news around noon tomorrow, saying that the silk merchants in Shunde are disrupting the tea market, saying that the Guangdong Customs is rectifying the foreign businessmen, just to prevent the silk merchants from making money from the tea market, and if no one follows the trend, their tea will be smashed in their hands." ”