Anti-customer-oriented, grasp the initiative, and do the opposite? He Shutai was greatly moved when he heard this, but he didn't rush to ask, turned around and saw that the entourage had already moved the chair to the courtyard, and immediately stretched out his hand and politely said, "Xun Zhi sat down and said." Then he commanded, "Serve tea." ”

The two of them sat down, and he said: "What Xun Zhi said is not unreasonable, I also think that the other party may have a backhand, and behind this should be Yuanqi Bank and the Tea Office teaming up to manipulate the price of tea, the current situation, we are completely passive, I don't know how to grasp the initiative?" And how to do the opposite? ”

Wang Chaoyi smiled and said, "How many tea leaves are there in Xiguan Tea Market?" ”

"A conservative estimate should be 500,000 quintals." After He Shutai finished speaking, he had already vaguely guessed his intentions, and couldn't help but sigh secretly that this guy was bold.

Sure enough, Wang Chaoyi said slowly: "If you want to be anti-customer-oriented, grasp the initiative, we have to manipulate the price of tea, now in the tea market, in addition to our Shunde silk merchants, there are many businessmen who have the same speculative psychology as us, as long as we control more than half of the tea, that is to say, at most 300,000 quintals, we can manipulate the price of tea."

The so-called opposite, that is, we take the initiative to buy tea, pull up the price of tea, now the price of tea has fallen sharply, no one is willing to buy tea, we collect it at a low price, and then slowly raise the price of tea, the speculators who are waiting and watching do not know the truth, will inevitably follow up in a big way, in this way, we can not only quickly solve the difficulty, but also make a lot of money, what does Zi'an think? ”

After being silent for a long time, He Shutai said: "Now that Guangdong Customs has rectified the foreign businessmen, it is impossible to resell tea to foreign businessmen in private, and 300,000 quintals of tea are pressed in their hands, if the thirteen lines do not take it, what should we do?" ”

"Can the Thirteen Lines not do tea trade for a year? We are not greedy for profits, the price of tea is twenty-seven, is this price unacceptable to the thirteen lines? Wang Chaoyi said in a sincere tone: "Right now, our silk merchants in Longshan and Longjiang are four or five million pressed on the tea, if we don't try to save ourselves, can we still count on Yuanqi and the Tea Industry Office to save us?"

Zi'an forgot that last year, the Tea Industry Office united all the tea merchants to force the Thirteen Lines to raise prices, but in the end, it didn't succeed? As long as we don't go too far, the Thirteen Lines will not be able to give up a year of tea trade. ”

He Shutai nodded and said, "Gather everyone to discuss, we need to raise at least three million or more silver, and this silver cannot be exchanged through Qianzhuang, and the cash silver can be transported to Guangzhou by ship, and Yuan Qi cannot be aware of it in advance." ”

"Buying tea with cash? That's a lot of trouble. Wang Chao smiled and said: "Yuan Qi has not reached the point of covering the sky with one hand in Guangzhou, so many pawnshops and printing bureaus are closed, and the silver in their hands is finding a way, and it is not difficult to borrow three million with the reputation of our Shunde silk merchants." ”

He Shutai shook his head and said: "Raising money in Guangzhou, I'm afraid it's difficult to hide from Yuan Qi, it's better to be cautious." ”

"It doesn't matter." Wang Chaoyi said: "I have found out clearly, there is a printing bureau that is raising money to lend money to Jiangxi and Fujian provinces, let's contact them, Yuan Qi can't find out." ”

Liangguang Governor's Palace, Second Hall, Announcement Hall.

Two men of the thirteenth line who were proficient in Yi language knelt on the ground and trembled and reported in detail the situation about the train and railway, the train and railway are not a new thing, but all foreigners who come to Guangzhou can say that there is nothing they don't know, this matter sounds extremely easy.

Deng Tingzhen listened very seriously, and interrupted the conversation from time to time to ask, although the two guys stammered, but what they said was basically no different from what Yi Zhixiang said, the only difference was the speed of the train, Yi Zhizhi said that an hour was sixty miles, and they said that it was eighty miles.

After casually asking a few more questions, Deng Tingzhen waved his hand away from the two guys, and then looked at Hu Zhengtong, a staff member beside him, and said, "What does Zhengda think?" ”

Hu Zhengtong is proficient in ancient Chinese and has quick thinking, and the deep Deng Tingzhen is heavy, and he groaned slightly, and he said: "I don't dare to imagine that the train can have such great power, but judging from the expressions of the two, it should not deceive Zhongcheng." ”

A long-term entourage reported at the door: "My lord, easy contentment is here." ”

"Just in time, invite him in." Deng Tingzhen said with a smile, "I think the railway construction has been sparsely written." ”

Yi Zhishu glanced at the door, and saw that there were still outsiders present, so he hurriedly saluted respectfully, Deng Tingzhen waved his hand and smiled: "Contentment does not need to be formal, sit." ”

Yi Zhizu presented the "Eighteen Articles of Railway Rejuvenation" written by himself with both hands, and said with a smile: "This is written in a hurry by the younger generation, for the reference of the Duke of Yuyun." ”

After the beginning of the "Eighteen Articles of Railway Rejuvenation" introduces the carrying capacity and speed of the railway, it then lists the various benefits of the country's construction of railways, quickly mobilizes soldiers and horses, and raises wages, speeds up the upload and issuance of government decrees, strengthens the control of the imperial court over the local area, facilitates the transportation of bulk goods, is conducive to promoting the local economy along the railway, and is conducive to increasing the financial revenue of the imperial court... Finally, it was pointed out that the construction of railways is a feat that will benefit the present generation and the future generations, and that the whole country should devote its strength to vigorously build railways.

Deng Tingzhen read it carefully, handed it to Hu Zhengtong casually, and said with a smile: "Contentment has a broad vision, thoughtfulness, and a list of the benefits of building a railway.

However, although the railroad is good, the treasury is empty, and you should be prepared for contentment, and the imperial court may adopt your last suggestion and issue treasury bonds. ”

Yi Zhizhi smiled, and then said: "Railway construction is a long-term and huge project, not an overnight thing, if the imperial court is determined to vigorously build the railway, it must first vigorously develop the iron and steel industry, at least more than five years of preparation time."

As for the emptiness of the national treasury, the younger generation suggested that the construction of railways should be run by the government and the private sector, the main line was built by the imperial court, the branch line was built by the private fund, and the Western railways were mostly built by the merchants themselves. ”

Deng Tingzhen nodded and said, "It seems that in addition to strange skills and tricks, there are many things in the West that are worth learning from. ”

"The Gongming of the Mountains." Yi Zhizu complimented him casually.

Deng Tingzhen smiled and changed the subject: "How many people in the Thirteen Lines are proficient in Yi language?" ”

"The juniors don't know." Yi Zhishu said truthfully: "However, most of them only know some daily spoken language, and are not proficient in Yi language, and the younger generation is ready to build a Yixue in Henan Island, in addition to offering Western engineering courses, they are also preparing to open foreign language courses to cultivate foreign language translation talents." ”

The last time Yi Zhishu mentioned to him the matter of Jianyixue, considering that the opening of Western subjects should hire Yiren to teach, Deng Tingzhen did not make a clear statement, seeing that he mentioned it again, and pointed out that Yixue is on Henan Island, he said happily: "The construction of the railway has many benefits, once the imperial court agrees, a large number of foreign language translators and technical talents are needed, however, it is strictly forbidden for missionaries to preach in Yixue." ”

Seeing his clear statement, Yi Zhixiang said happily: "The younger generation understands that they must put an end to preaching in righteousness." ”