Selling Ma Street, the Governor's Palace, Signing Houses.

Deng Tingzhen threw a fold on the coffee table in front of Yiliang, and said expressionlessly: "Yueting, take a look, this is sent by Dou Zhenbiao, the chief soldier of Qiongzhou." ”

Pick up the excerpt and browse it quickly, Yi conscience can't help sinking, Qiongzhou General Dou Zhenbiao reported in the excerpt that there are 1,000 regimental training in Yayushan (Shilu) in Changhua County, and there are more than 1,000 people in the eight institutes, and they are also equipped with 100 war horses, practicing day and night, and occasionally hearing the sound of gunfire, and the eight merchant fleets come and go frequently, and occasionally there are Western military ships.

Yiliang appointed Yi Zhizu to train the horse gang in Changhua in the name of group training, but he didn't expect Yi Zhifen's movements in Changhua to make such a big fuss, 2,000 regimental training, and Western warships, what kind of fame is Yi Zhishu doing?

After being silent for a long time, he slowly put down the fold and said thoughtfully: "Lord Ministry, are you worried about Yuan Qi's bad intentions? ”

"What do you think of Yueting?"

"Two thousand group training, what can it do?" Yi Liang said in a slow tone as much as possible: "Although Yuanqi is big, but the Qianzhuang Treasury is all in Guangzhou and various prefectures and counties, and it can be seized at any time under an order. ”

Deng Tingzhen also didn't believe that Yi Zhifen would make trouble, in the past two years, Yuan Qi donated a large amount of silver to increase the defense of Humen, funded the government to recruit 15,000 volunteers, and demolished a huge amount of money to build the Fozhou-Guangzhou Railway. After a little muttering, he said, "I have come with a messenger of contentment, and I will hear what he has to say." ”

Hearing this, Yiliang knew that the other party didn't believe that Yi Zhishu would make trouble, otherwise where would he be summoned to interrogate? However, he was a little worried in his heart, worried that Yi Zhizhi would shake out the matter of training the horse gang, and that thing could not be said. Once poked out, it's a big trouble.

Yi Zhixin entered the signing room, and Deng Tingzhen and Yiliang both looked solemn, and they felt that the atmosphere was a little wrong, and they couldn't help but be secretly vigilant in their hearts, and after seeing the ceremony. Seeing that Deng Tingzhen didn't give up his seat as usual, he felt even more wrong, and immediately smiled reluctantly: "I don't know if the two adults are calling each other, what's the matter?" ”

When he stared at him, Deng Tingzhen said, "Contentment does a great thing." ”

Yi Zhishu didn't understand what he was referring to, what he did was not a trivial matter, and he said cautiously at the moment: "I am stupid, and I ask the master of the ministry to make it clear." ”

Yiliang said in a deep voice: "What's going on in Changhua? ”

The matter of Changhua has been stabbed to Guangzhou? Yi Zhi's heart jumped, and he vigorously encircled the officials of Changhua County and the local gentry. The shareholding of the shareholder, the dispatch of the dispatch, are all tied to Yuanqi, who will denounce it? Yi Liang's words were vague, and he couldn't figure out how much the two of them knew for a while?

After thinking about it, he calmed down, Changhua is now only more than 2,000 people, which is nothing, the problem is to conceal it and not report it. He immediately said with a calm expression: "The Lord of the Ministry can refer to the Changhua group training?" The Changhua regiment is divided into two parts, one is in the Shilu mine. There were a thousand, one in eight, two thousand, three hundred.

Shilu iron ore reserves are large, the area is wide, the mine group training is mainly to protect the mine, the local Li people steal the situation is serious. The folk customs are also very strong, and they have to set up a group to train to deter, more than 1,000 people in eight institutes, 500 of which are Yuanqi Guardian Business Groups, and hundreds of regimental exercises are for the town to guard the eight. Because the eight institutes not only had to build ports, but also built railways, and the number of migrant workers recruited was not only numerous and miscellaneous, but also Annam and Luzon laborers, and it was impossible to defend the town without regimental training. ”

Hearing that he didn't have any involvement in horse gang training, Yiliang secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately asked: "It's normal for the eight merchant fleets to come and go frequently, how can there be Western warships?" ”

The battleship was also exposed? Yi Zhixiang scolded in his heart, but the expression on his face was very relaxed: "The Western warships belong to Citigroup, because the two fleets often go back and forth between Annam and Luzon to purchase and transport a large amount of materials, and they are worried about encountering pirates, so they hire Citi warships to escort them with money." ”

Deng Tingzhen said: "How is the Yuanqi Protector Merchant Group in the Eight Institutes? ”

"The following is to consider that the merchant group is conducting musket training, and the movement is too big, and it is not suitable to train near Guangzhou, so as not to cause panic, so the merchant group is allowed to go to the eight institutes for training."

Yiliang then asked: "This is the construction of a port and a railway, how large is the Changhua iron mine?" ”

"Preliminary estimates are that there are at least three to five million tons." Yi Zhizhi said: "More than one million tons of iron can be smelted, and at the current market iron price, Changhua iron ore is worth hundreds of millions of taels of silver." ”

Worth hundreds of millions of silver! So big! Deng Tingzhen and Yiliang glanced at each other, they were all shocked, no wonder Yuan Qi attached so much importance to Changhua Iron Mine! No wonder Yi Zhizhi has been running to Changhua again and again, no wonder Changhua will have 2,000 group exercises!

When they came back to their senses, both of them were hot in their hearts, the mining of iron ore is worth 500,000 per hundred, and 500,000 can be drawn from 10 million! 100 million is 5 million! Yiliang hurriedly asked, "How much labor is needed on such a large scale?" How much can be mined in a year? ”

"It depends on the volume of rail traffic and the capacity of the steel plant." Yi Zhicontent said with a smile: "According to the conservative estimate of Citi craftsmen, a large steel plant can easily smelt 50,000 or 60,000 tons of iron a year, and at this scale, it is estimated that at least tens of thousands of miners are needed. ”

Only 50,000 or 60,000 tons a year? Yi conscience was disappointed for a while, and tacitly calculated, it is worth five out of 100, and the tax silver for a year is 25 to 300,000 taels, which is a lot, how much is the tax paid in a province in Guangdong in a year? Deng Tingzhen seemed to have just seen Yi Zhizhi still standing, and hurriedly greeted: "Contentment does not need to be formal, sit." ”

Seeing that he finally gave up his seat, Yi Zhishu secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, the steel plant has not yet been built, God knows how many tons of iron can be produced in a year, he is just talking nonsense, anyway, waiting for the steel plant to be completed will be the year after tomorrow, and the situation has completely changed by then, the two people who coaxed the first are happy and then say, otherwise, he is really not good at explaining the two thousand regiments in Changhua.

After sitting down, he said slowly: "The two adults know that there has been a run on Yuanqi recently, and now Yuanqi wants to build the Foshan-Guangzhou railway, but also the railway from Shilu to Basho, as well as the port of Basho, and the Changzhou shipyard is also under construction, and the silver is required everywhere, and the capital turnover is a little difficult. Yuan Qi is afraid that he will suffer a new round of run, and Yuan Qi is now greatly injured and can't stand the toss. ”

"Be content and rest assured." Yiliang said with a smile: "Yuanqi's current one-year tax is worth the province's taxes, how can we be in danger of Yuanqi?" ”

Yiliang's words are a slight exaggeration, before Yuanqi paid taxes, Guangdong's annual tax - land miscellaneous taxes and silver amounted to more than 1.5 million taels. Yuanqi Bank, Donghuang Silk Industry, Changle Machinery Factory and the upcoming Changhua Iron Mine add up, Yuanqi's annual tax and silver will exceed one million, which is comparable to the tax of a province, which is not excessive.

Yi Zhizhi smiled, no word, Yuanqi will start to promote the machine sugar mill this year and next year, and the year after tomorrow, Yuanqi's tax silver for a year will inevitably surpass the tax of Guangdong Province.

Calm down. Deng Tingzhen opened his mouth and asked, "There are still laborers from Annam and Luzon in the Eight Institutes?" ”

"Yes." Yi Zhisan bowed slightly and said: "The construction of eight ports and railways, the construction of Changhua New City, and the construction of roads in Shilu Mine require a large number of people, and for a while, we can't recruit enough young people at all, so we can only recruit from Annam and Luzon. ”

He groaned for a moment with his beard twisted. Deng Tingzhen said: "Can the Citi Soldier Ship hired by Satisfaction be used by the sailor?" ”

Yi Zhishu hurriedly shook his head and said, "If the Citi warship intervenes in our war between the Qing Dynasty and England." That is tantamount to Citigroup directly declaring war on England, and when it hired Citi ships, it had already stated that it would only be used for escort and pirate operations, and would not confront any country's navy and sailors. ”

This matter is just a whim of Deng Tingzhen, and it is not feasible. He also put aside his hand, changed his words and said, "I heard Lord Lin mention that Yuan Qi only plans to form two thousand regiments to practice?" ”

"Now the silver root is tight, and Yuanqi is not rich." Yi Zhisuff said with a wry smile: "Besides, I think that the team training is not very useful.

If the adults allow, can Yuanqi expand the merchant group and expand the size of the merchant group to 1,000? There are many soldiers, and a thousand merchant groups can be worth two thousand regiments. ”

Hearing this, Yiliang smiled: "Contentment is confused." ”

"Please give me some advice."

"Isn't the Merchant Protector Group also a group practice?" Yiliang said with a smile: "It's just that the name is different, the formation of a group practice is high-sounding, but the name of the merchant group is not right, don't mention the merchant group in the future, directly call it Yuanqi group training." ”

"That's right." Deng Tingzhen said: "The Merchant Protector Regiment was originally hung in the name of Yiyong, and now it is taking this opportunity to correct its name, called Yuanqi Tuanyong, if it has made meritorious contributions to the battle with the British army, not only can it be rewarded by the imperial court, and even awarded a real position, but Yuanqi Tuanyong can also be selected and retained in the name of assisting law and order after the end of the war." ”

Hearing this, Yi Zhi couldn't help but be overjoyed, and immediately arched his hand and said, "Thank you, two adults." ”

"You're welcome." Deng Tingzhen said with a smile: "Yuan Qi is a leader in the business world, and the formation of a group training should also be an example, there are very few gentry in the suburbs to form a group training, Yuan Qi set up two thousand group training, how can he protect the territory and the people?" Xiguan, Henan, Huadi, Changzhou, Luoxi, each built a thousand people to train in the regiment, the world has been peaceful for a long time, there are few people who know the soldiers, and the Yuanqi regimental training is very important. ”

Where is this group training? This is completely to ask Yuan Qi to give money to help the superintendent and the sailor raise 5,000 volunteers! Yi Zhixiang secretly slandered himself in his heart, but he said without hesitation: "Since the Lord of the Ministry has opened his mouth, how dare he shirk the blame, no matter how tight Yuanqi's funds are, the silver of the five thousand regiments can still be squeezed out." ”

"It's hard to know enough to understand the righteousness so deeply." Deng Tingzhen picked up the teacup and said with a smile: "If Yuanqi Group can make meritorious contributions, contentment should be the first merit." ”

"Master Xie." Yi Zhishu hurriedly got up and said, "Retire below." ”

Glancing at Yi Zhi's contented back, Yi Liang turned around and said with a puzzled expression: "Lord Ministry, is this to prevent Yuanqi?" ”

"The five thousand regiments are in the hands of Yuan Qi, and they are close at hand, how can they not be guarded?"

After a slight sigh, Yi Liangcai said: "With all due respect, all the group exercises, what can really be counted on is the Yuanqi group practice, so that Yi Zhi is content and willing to work hard?" ”

Deng Tingzhen smiled and said: "Yueting is confused, isn't it, Yuanqi is in Xiguan, Changle Machinery Factory is in Henan, and the shipyard is in Changzhou. ”

Coming out of the Governor's Palace, Yi Zhizhi got into the sedan chair and ordered a sentence to return to Rongyuan, so he wrinkled his brows and pondered, is the situation in Changhua reported by someone? Or did Deng Tingzhen send someone to investigate? If it is the latter, it means that Deng Tingzhen is suspicious of Yuan Qi, and he has to ask Yiliang about this matter, and he is really relieved if he doesn't figure it out.

Dusk, Tongde Street, Xiren Restaurant.

Yi Zhifen, Wu Changqing, Pan Shiming, Yan Shikuan, Ma Yinglong, Wu Yundong, Xie Anzhou, Rong Kunyi and a group of children of the thirteen elements who are familiar with each other on weekdays gathered together to wash the dust for Yan Shikuan.

After three rounds of drinking, Yan Shikuan said with emotion: "I haven't been so lively for a long time." ”

Xie Anzhou said with a smile: "The fifth brother is less emotional, the third brother is a busy man now, and we haven't been together for a long time." ”

"That's right." Rong Kunyi continued: "The third brother went to Qiongzhou for half a year, and he was busy all day long. ”

"Third brother." Wu Yundong got up and poured a glass of wine for everyone diligently, and then said: "Now that the local gentry are forming a group to practice, why doesn't Yuan Qi see any movement?" ”

Yi Zhicontent said with a smile: "Yun Dong is interested in group training? ”

"Don't hide it from the third brother." Wu Yundong said loudly: "I heard that during the Great Rebellion of the White Lotus Sect, many of the gentry who formed regiments in Sichuan, Chu and Shaanxi provinces were rewarded by the imperial court and were awarded real positions. ”

Hearing this, the wine table suddenly fell silent, can you still give a real job for group training? This is the first time he heard about it, Yi Zhishu glanced at everyone and said: "If you want to be awarded a real position, then you have to make meritorious contributions, and you have to lead the troops to the battlefield to fight with real swords and guns, Yun Dong has to think carefully." ”

Wu Yundong said with a smile: "Although we have never been on the battlefield, we have never fought on the street since we were children, so we have never been afraid." ”

"Okay." Yi Zhizu said: "Yuan Qi is going to build a team training of 1,000 people in Xiguan, Henan, Huadi, Changzhou, and Luoxi, and the group training in Huadi will be handed over to you." ”

"Third Brother Xie." Wu Yundong hurriedly got up with a cup excitedly and said, "Little brother, I salute the third brother with a cup." ”

"Don't rush to thank you." Yi Zhizu stretched out his hand and motioned for him to sit down, and then said with a smile: "Yuan Qi's five thousand regiment training, the Governor is very concerned, and specially selected a group of experienced officers and soldiers from the Governor and the Sailor to be responsible for the training, Yun Dong is still willing to go?" ”

Hearing this, Wu Changqing frowned, officers and soldiers are responsible for training, how can it be called regimental training? Seeing Yi Zhi's contented look with a smile on his face, he didn't seem to care, he calmed down a little, Wu Yundong was sensitive, no matter whether it works or not, he should come down first, it's easier to quit than to enter, and he said immediately: "I'm willing to go." ”

"Okay, finally someone has to share the worries." Yi Zhishu raised his glass as he said and said, "Dry." (To be continued.) )