Shanghai, Huangpu River. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

A large mixed fleet on the river slowly traced the river, and saw the yellow dragon flag fluttering on the boat from a distance, and the passing ships turned to give way, whether it was on the river to seek life or to live on the sea, now this yellow dragon flag is no stranger at all, this is the military flag of the Nanyang Navy.

Such a large-scale fleet of the Nanyang Navy is really rare on the Huangpu River, which attracted many people to stop and watch, and also caused a lot of discussion, because many ships were full of soldiers in dark blue military uniforms, obviously those are troop carriers, such a huge fleet, not to mention 120,000 troops, what are so many troops doing in Shanghai?

On a sail warship at the helm, Yan Yangtian stood on the deck and looked at Shanghai Xincheng, which he could barely recognize, and his heart was full of emotion, he had not been to Shanghai for a few years, and this change was really too big.

"Compared to Shanghai, Manila is simply a small fishing village." Hu Changyong sighed with envy on his face, and said tentatively: "Junmen, how many days will we stay in Shanghai this time?" ”

Yan Yangtian glanced at him and said, "Want to stay in Shanghai for a short time?" ”

"Who wouldn't." Hu Changyong said with a smile: "In Manila, there is no place to spend silver. ”

"There's no need to be too envious." Yan Yangtian said with a smile: "The principal said that in a few years, Manila will be prosperous, and when the rubber plantations in Luzon develop, Manila will become the premier commercial port in the South Seas." ”

"Really?" Hu Changyong couldn't help but be suspicious, there were many rubber plantations in Luzon, and he naturally knew about this, and he also knew that not only Luzon, but even Boroksu and Java Islands were also vigorously developing rubber plantations.

"Why, you dare to question even the headmaster's words?" Yan Yangtian glanced at him, "According to the principal, there are many functions of rubber, and it is widely used, and the two provinces of Nanyang will become the richest provinces in the Qing Dynasty because of rubber in the future." ”

Hu Changyong was greatly excited when he heard this, and then said with a smile: "Junmen, we will stay in Shanghai for three or five days, right?" ”

"I didn't know until I met the principal." Yan Yangtian said casually, the battleship he saw began to change course, and he ordered: "Order, no order is not allowed to land without permission, in addition, the idea is military discipline, this is Shanghai, don't lose our face in the South Seas." ”

The battleship docked, Yan Yangtian boarded the dock and greeted Wu Yundong after a few words of greeting, then boarded the carriage and rushed to the Zhenhai Mansion, entered the mansion and came to the Changle Book House, as soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw Yi Zhizhi standing on the steps to greet him, and the two hurriedly stepped forward to salute, "Students Yan Yangtian and Wu Yundong have seen the principal. ”

"It came at the right time." Yi Zhizhi smiled and said, "Let's talk about it when we enter the house." The three of them entered the house and sat down, and Yi Zhizu gave a brief introduction to the situation of the Twist Army, and then said: "This time I sent troops to northern Anhui and eastern Henan, not to simply encircle and suppress the Twist Army. The purpose is threefold: first, to take advantage of the opportunity of encircling and suppressing the Twisted Army to garrison troops in Anhui, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Shandong, and to support Yuanqi in opening branches in various provinces; second, to take the opportunity to expand the army in order to deal with the possible outbreak of war in the northwest ahead of schedule; and third, to use the war to promote large-scale immigration to the northwest. ”

Hearing this, Yan Yangtian's heart sank, it seemed that this battle was not easy to fight, it was far more complicated than he imagined, but he didn't ask, he knew very well that Yi Zhixiang must have planned it early.

After glancing at the two of them, Yi Zhishu got up and walked to the hanging map, and pointed: "This time it is a total of four brigades, and the troops are stationed in Xuzhou, Yongcheng, Mengcheng, Wuyang, Bozhou, Fuyang, and Suzhou, and the twisted army will be driven to the northwest, and then stationed in Kaifeng, Luoyang, Pingyang, Hanguguan, Tongguan, and Xi'an, and connect with the northwest. ”

After a pause, he stretched out two fingers and gestured, "The time is two years, and the army will be expanded by 50,000!" A military ration will be met with every effort, and what else is required, just mention. ”

Yan Yangtian made any requests for a while, but he was not in a hurry, anyway, it was not too late to think of it in the future, and immediately stood up and saluted: "The student will definitely live up to the high expectations of the principal!" ”

Yi Zhishu nodded and said, "Take the troops to start first and take the train to Jiangning and Xuzhou." Let's scrutinize some details. ”

Countless officials, gentlemen, businessmen, and ordinary people rushed to watch when they heard the news, and diplomats and businessmen from various countries in Shanghai rushed to watch, and then they immediately went around to inquire about the situation of this unit and the destination of its expulsion.

Xu Jishe, the newly appointed governor of Jiangsu, saw this group of recruits, and hurriedly ordered the carriage to pull over, and his staff member Wang Qingzhuang said softly: "Dong Weng, this should be the navy that is going to northern Anhui to encircle and suppress the Twist Army." ”

Xu Jishe stroked her long beard and said, "It seems that he is preparing to transport troops by train, and Yi Guocheng is really generous." ”

Hearing this, Wang Qingzhuang said with a smile: "The Nanyang Navy is indeed arrogant, Dong Weng pays attention to the equipment they carry, and the Eight Banners Green Battalion is like a beggar compared to them." ”

Xu Jishe took a closer look, every soldier was wearing a backpack, a spear, leggings, a belt, and ammunition boxes, water bottles, backpacks and other things, and after a long time, he said softly: "Such a new army, I'm afraid only Yuan Qi can afford it." He was not in a hurry, and waited quietly until the army was over, and then ordered: "Go, go to the Zhenhai Mansion." ”

"Dong Weng." Wang Qingzhuang said softly: "I have paid attention to it, and it is estimated that it should be between one and two thousand, it seems that Grandpa Yi is serious this time." ”

Really? Xu Jishe slowly closed his eyes to recuperate, Xuzhou, Yongcheng and thousands of Yangtze River sailors, here are more than 10,000, encircling and suppressing only 40,000 bandits, and more than 20,000 navies need to be used? It's a bit weird.

The carriage stopped outside the gate of Zhenhai Mansion, Wang Qingzhuang stepped forward to hand over the post, and soon, a porter came out to welcome the two in, Yi Zhishu personally rushed to the gate of the courtyard to greet him, as soon as he met, he smiled and said: "Brother Songyan rushed to Shanghai as soon as he took office, should he come to Xingshi to ask for guilt?" ”

The two have dealt with each other several times, and they are already very familiar with each other, Xu Jishe immediately smiled and said: "Guocheng is roasting the old man on the fire, how can he not come to ask for the crime." ”

"Brother Pine Shrine is in his prime, how can he travel in the mountains?" Yi Zhishu stretched out his hand as he spoke, "I have long wanted to invite Brother Songyan to come to Jiangsu, but I have never had a suitable opportunity to ......." ”

"It's a good opportunity." Xu Jishe said with a smile, he was not humble, he stepped straight into the courtyard, and said with a pun: "Guocheng's handiwork should not be small, right?" ”

"It's not too big." Yi Zhixiang said in a relaxed tone: "Everything has to be done gradually, and if you want to hurry, you can't reach it." ”

Entering the house and sitting down, Xu Jishe said with a smile: "This time the troops are transferred to Anhui, and the movement is not small, but do you want to fight quickly? ”

"Northern Anhui has been plagued by famine for many years, and it is located in the plain, so it is a little difficult to solve it quickly." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "However, Brother Songyan is relaxed, the rich land of the two rivers will never allow bandits to stir up!" As he spoke, he turned his head, "I have been demoted to Beijing, how can I still end up with the result of dismissal?" ”

"It's hard to say anything about this, so don't mention it." Xu Jishe waved his hand and said: "If this is not the case, how can you come to Jiangsu, the old man can be said to be a blessing in disguise." After a pause, he said slowly: "When his majesty left Beijing, the emperor warmly comforted him, and mentioned the matter of official bills and treasures twice, what is the plan of the national city?" ”

"You can compromise anything, but you can't compromise on this matter." Yi Zhizu said without hesitation: "Brother Songyan will store the official bills and treasure banknotes in the treasury, do not put them in the market for circulation, and do not mint large amounts of money, so as not to disturb the financial market." ”

Xu Jishe didn't know much about finance, and said with some doubts: "The imperial court issued official bills and treasure notes, and they were recovered through taxes, which are no different from the money and silver bills issued by the money and silver bills issued by the money bank, and can alleviate the shortage of national use, why does the national city refuse?" ”

"What does it mean that there is no difference? The difference is huge. Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "Brother Song Niche is not good at finance, I said to be simple, the banknotes issued by Yuanqi can be exchanged for cash at any time to all Yuanqi semicolons, that is to say, Yuanqi's banknotes are cash, and the official banknotes issued by the imperial court cannot be exchanged for cash, even if they can be used to pay taxes, they cannot be equivalent to cash."

Brother Songyan has thought about it, what will happen if so many official bills and treasure banknotes are put on the market? Money is cheap, and prices are skyrocketing! What's more serious is that the imperial court is unable to cash in the official bills, which will directly lead to the continuous depreciation of the official bills until they become waste paper, which will lead to the collapse of the financial system of the Qing Dynasty.

Yuan Qi's refusal to accept the official bills and treasures issued by the imperial court was not against the imperial court, but to save the financial market and financial system of the Qing Dynasty. ”

Speaking of this, he changed his words, "Brother Songyan went all the way south from Beijing, he should have noticed that prices are soaring and the official bills and treasures are depreciating, right?" ”

Xu Jishe sighed lightly, "The official banknotes have indeed begun to depreciate, and now in Beijing, one thousand banknotes can only be exchanged for six or seven hundred wen, and one or two official bills can only be exchanged for four hundred wen, all of which are said to be because of Yuan Qi's boycott of official bills." ”

"This is a ridiculous joke!" Yi Zhizu sneered: "Yuan Qi refuses to accept not only the official bills and treasure notes of the imperial court, but also the money and silver bills of some small money banks, Yuan Qi still refuses, why hasn't the value of others?" Because people can exchange money. Brother Song Niche and watch, the official treasure banknote will eventually become waste paper like the Daming treasure banknote! ”

Xu Jishe still knew the ending of the Daming treasure banknote, and when she heard this, she was speechless, at this time, Lin Meilian poked her head at the door and said, "Lord Yu, the shopkeeper Yan is here, saying that there is news from the Jingshi." ”

Yi Zhishu glanced at Xu Jishe and said, "Let him in." ”

Yan Shikuan walked in quickly, and Xu Jishe, who saw Xu Jishe, couldn't help but feel slightly surprised, and Yi Zhishu didn't introduce him to him, and asked: "How is the price and paper money in Beijing?" ”

There were outsiders present, Yan Shikuan didn't dare to be casual, and said respectfully: "Back to the big shopkeeper, the prices of Beijing continue to rise, and the official bills and treasures continue to fall. ”

After a pause, he continued: "The price increase outside the city of Jingshi is not large, but the price in the city is soaring, taking flour as an example, a pound of flour outside the city is still in 167 Wen, and the city has risen to 378 Wen a catty, only in the south city, there have been more than 100 grain shops closed down one after another.

Others, such as sesame oil, hard coal, tea, pork, sheep candles and other daily necessities have risen in different ranges, basically between two or three times, as for paper money, 1,000 treasure notes can only be converted into money 5 or 600 wen, and one or two official bills can only be converted into 1,1200 wen. ”

Yi Zhisuff asked casually: "Why is there such a big difference in the price of food inside and outside the city?" ”

"Go back to the treasurer." Yan Shikuan said: "The big money, official tickets, and treasure banknotes issued by the imperial court are all exchanged for the silver numbers of various large and small coins in Beijing, and they are first circulated in Beijing, and most of the merchants and people outside the city use the old money. ”

The price of goods in Beijing has risen and the depreciation of paper money, Xu Jishe has heard about it, and after listening to this answer, he sighed lightly: "In the end, it is the people who suffer." ”

"It's not just the people who suffer." Yi Zhizu said in a deep voice: "After a long time, the gentry, businessmen, and ordinary people are all among the exploits. ”

Xu Jishe nodded, estimating that they had something to discuss, and immediately got up and arched his hand: "I have long heard that Shanghai is prosperous, and it is still early, so the old man looks around." ”

Yi Zhizhi smiled, "I'll arrange a tour guide for Brother Songniche, and then pick up the wind and wash the dust for Brother Songniche at night." ”

After sending Xu Jishe out of the hospital, Yi Zhizhi stopped at a moment's contentment, and Yan Shikuan guessed: "Is it the newly appointed Xu Zhongcheng?" ”

"Eyesight." Yi Zhifen smiled, turned around and went back to the room, Yan Shikuan pursed his lips, "What kind of eyesight do you need here?" Following into the study, he casually took the cigarette case from the table and lit a cigarette, and then said: "The big shopkeeper, although Yuan Qi refuses to accept the official ticket treasure banknote, but the other money bank accounts can't withstand the pressure of the court and has to accept the official ticket treasure banknote, let's do it?" ”

"There's no hurry." Yi Zhishu shook his head, "One is that we are not ready, and the other is that this range is not enough. ”

Prices have risen two or three times, isn't that enough? Yan Shikuan pondered for a moment before saying, "Big money, official bills and treasure banknotes will definitely gradually spread and circulate..... After the small people were deeply affected by the paper money, they were afraid that it would not be easy to accept Yuan Qi's paper money. ”

"The popularization of paper money do you think it is something that will happen overnight? Printing banknotes do you think it doesn't take time? Yi Zhixiang glanced at him, and said slowly: "I can't eat hot tofu in a hurry, and wait, let the credit of the imperial court completely bankrupt, so that we can break and stand, besides, if Yuanqi wants to open the semicolon in all provinces, the resistance is not small, not only from the imperial court, but also from the local ......." ”

Yan Shikuan's small eyes lit up when he was a thief, "The big shopkeeper wants to wipe out all the money banks in the provinces?" ”

"You may not be able to catch them all." Yi Zhizu chuckled: "However, at least it can make them lose their vitality, we can't waste such a great opportunity in vain because we are in a hurry." After a pause, he continued: "It is imperative to raise a large amount of cash, and once it is spread, it will need a large amount of cash to maintain its credibility. ”