"According to the latest information, the British troops landed from Cape Town and Port Elizabeth in two routes, but the targets were Kimberley." Yi Zhizu pointed to the map and said slowly: "The British fleet is not stationed in the port of Durban, which is the closest to Maputo, and it should be that it is still fantasizing that we will take the initiative to evacuate from the Transvaal, or that we will be given a chance to evacuate with dignity." ”

Xiao Mingliang pondered and said, "The headmaster means that the British will gather heavy troops from the Kimberley to attack Pretoria, the capital city of the Transvaal?" What is the specific strength of troops? ”

"I don't know." Yi Zhishu shook his head slowly, "The British have fought with us twice, and they should know very well that our army combat strength does not have the possibility of underestimating the enemy, and it is estimated that the number of troops is at least more than 40,000, judging from the intelligence, the British have also mobilized a large number of troops from Australia and India to reinforce South Africa, and this number may be higher." ”

At least 40,000 or more! Xiao Mingliang was shocked in his heart, and said with a worried face: "The strength of the Marine Corps in the Transvaal is less than 15,000, and in the face of a three-fold enemy, I am afraid it will be difficult to hold the ....... for a long time." ”

Yi Zhizu said slowly: "If you can defend it, if you can't defend it, you will withdraw, this battle is aimed at destroying the living force of the British army, there is no need to care about the gains and losses of one city and one place, and there is no need to care about the victory or defeat for a while." ”

After hesitating, Xiao Mingliang said: "If the gold mine falls into the hands of the British...... ”

"The gold mine can't be moved, what are you afraid of?" Yi Zhishu smiled: "Don't have a burden, if you lose it, you will take it back later." ”

In this way, this battle is much easier to fight, there is a strategic depth of hundreds of kilometers, and it is no problem to maneuver for a few months, Xiao Mingliang breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and said: "The principal is wise." ”

"In this war, we must achieve three goals." Yi Zhishu said slowly: "First, to use this war to merge and unify the two republics established by the Boers, and secondly, to mobilize the Boers, although the Transvaal does not have a standing army, but every adult Boer is born a warrior, let them fight guerrillas, harass the logistics supply lines of the British, must intensify the hatred of the Boers against the British, and must also weaken the strength of the Boers."

Finally, it is necessary to use this war to arm the local black indigenous regime and prepare for the subsequent war between the Boers and the blacks. ”

"Students understand." Xiao said brightly.

After a pause, Yi Zhizhi continued: "This war is of great significance to our country, and we must establish our status as a world military power through this war, so that people dare not provoke easily, and in addition, I also hope that through this war, the British will completely withdraw from the Persian Gulf."

So, this battle must hurt the British! Whether it is a naval battle or a land battle, the British army must be inflicted heavy losses! Germany has risen strongly by defeating France, and our country can also rise strongly by defeating England! This is a battle of national fortunes, only victory, not defeat! ”

Hearing this, Xiao Mingliang hurriedly stood up and said loudly: "The student will definitely live up to the principal's high expectations!" ”

"It's rare for you to come to Shanghai, and then go to Qingdao after a few days." Yi Zhizu stood up and said, "In addition, some details still need to be scrutinized. ”

The official announcement of the constitution of the hypocrisy monarch, the capital is also full of celebrations, however, the atmosphere in the Forbidden City is very depressing and dull, all the eunuchs and palace maids are cautious, walking on thin ice, for fear of accidentally incurring a disaster, hand over all the power, the queen mother and the emperor can be in a good mood is a strange thing.

On the east side of the royal road in Tiananmen Square, Taimiao, enjoy the hall.

The Empress Dowager Ci'an knelt in front of the throne in front of the ancestors and ancestors of the golden lacquer carved dragon and phoenix, and whispered, the hypothetical monarch constitution handed over the imperial power, and let the emperor become a puppet, she can be said to be full of sadness, but the situation is stronger than people, and if it is not false, the monarch will raise troops to rebel and destroy the Qing Dynasty, weigh the pros and cons, and declare that the constitution can at least temporarily extend the Qing Dynasty to ensure that the Qing royal family is safe.

has come to this point, she does not regret her decision, the constitution of the hypocritical monarch is not only the most helpless choice but also the most correct and best choice, to say small, to protect the Qing Dynasty, the Manmeng nobles and millions of Manchurians, to the largest, to avoid the suffering of the people of the world to suffer from war, she has nothing to regret, now she just hopes that the ancestors and ancestors will bless, and the Qing Dynasty can continue for a long time like England.

The sixteen-year-old young son of heaven Qixiang knelt quietly behind the Empress Dowager Ci'an, as the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, he had not had time to be pro-government and had not really tasted the taste of power before he became a hypocrite and became a puppet, in the face of the ancestors and ancestors, he did not have much guilt, and some were just regrets.

When he used the seal on the edict announcing the constitution, the Manchu prince Wenwu wailed, and at that moment, he vaguely realized what he had lost, but all this was irretrievable.

Coming out of the Taimiao and boarding the chariot, Ci'an ordered: "Move the Old Summer Palace." She didn't want to stay for a moment in this city full of celebrations, out of sight was pure!

Kan got up and drove up, and a eunuch trotted up to meet him, knelt down in front of the chariot and said: "The Queen Mother, Shen Guifen, Minister of Military Aircraft, handed over a sign and asked to see." ”

Although Shen Guifen is a minister of the Han Dynasty, he is a royalist faction and has always been loyal, Ci'an has relied on him a lot in recent years, and he came to see him at this time, obviously there is something important, and she said with a slight mutter: "Let him go to the Heart Cultivation Hall and wait." After speaking, she commanded again: "Go to the Heart Cultivation Hall first." ”

Back at the Palace of Nourishing the Heart, Ci'an changed into a dress and then announced that Shen Guifen had come to see her, and when she entered the Dongnuan Pavilion, Shen Guifen got up and knelt down in front of the bead curtain after knocking on Sheng'an——。 As he spoke, he handed over a telegram.

Listening to Yi Zhi's call, Ci'an couldn't help frowning, he had already announced the constitution, what else did he call? After receiving the telegram, she frowned, and Yi Zhizhi praised her in the telegram for her deep understanding of righteousness, promoting the peaceful constitution of the Qing Dynasty, and making great contributions, and gave 10,000 shares of the Rand Gold Mine to supplement the needs of the royal family's expenses.

10,000 shares? She was a little stingy, Ci'an didn't take this stake to heart at all, and forwarded the telegram to Qixiang, and she asked casually: "Is it the Transvaal Gold Mine?" ”

Shen Guifen specially inquired about the detailed situation with Wu Changqing before coming, and immediately said respectfully: "The Empress Dowager Mingjian, the Rand Gold Mine is a joint-stock company established by Yuan Qi to mine all the gold mines in the Transvaal, and Yuan Qi also gave 200,000 shares to the Du Branch, and it is said that the total share capital is only one million shares. ”

The degree branch is the household department, which is equivalent to giving 20% of the shares of the household department, and 1% to the royal family, after all, this is given for free, even if Ci'an does not take it to heart, he feels some comfort in his heart, this is not a matter of money, it is rare to be content with this attitude.

"How much silver is 10,000 shares worth of this Rand Gold Mine?" Qi Xiang, who had been silent, suddenly asked, he felt that Yi Zhizhi was a little stingy, and he actually only gave one percent to the royal family, which was to send beggars.

How does Shen Guifen know how much silver this share can be worth? But the emperor couldn't help but answer when he asked, so he had to say vaguely: "Now that the gold mine has not been officially mined, the specific value is not known, and the wechen don't know, but with the microchen's speculation, it is easy to know that the rich are rival the country, and the hand should not be small." ”

Ci'an groaned and said, "Yuan Qi plans to start a war with England in South Africa? ”

"Back to the Queen Mother." Shen Guifen hurriedly said: "Weichen heard that Yuan Qi wants to implement the gold standard, which is bound to be obtained for the South African gold mine. ”

"Kneel down." Ci'an said softly.

Shen Guifen, who was waiting, bowed and withdrew, and Qi Xiang underestimated softly, "10,000 shares wants us to support Yuanqi to start a war with Yingli, and it's cheap." ”

Ci'an glanced at him and said softly: "The emperor is wrong, Yuan Qi doesn't need the support of the imperial court at all, this is just a generous gift to the royal family and the imperial court." ”

"Generous gifts?" Qi Xiang said softly: "How thick can it be?" ”

I don't know if it's because of Yi Zhi's generous gift or because it was determined that Yuan Qi would go to war with England in South Africa, Ci'an felt a lot more comfortable and said, "Isn't there a phone installed?" The emperor personally went to ask Yi Zhicontent, wouldn't he know? ”

The Forbidden City has already installed a phone, and Qi Xiang has not used it less, but if he wants him to call Yi Zhicontent, he is a little timid, in his heart, Yi Zhicontent is the traitor of Wu Sangui and others who stole the Qing Dynasty! After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Erchen doesn't want to hear his voice." ”

"Tick Ring" The crisp phone rang, and a maid picked up the phone and asked, quickly put down the phone, and ran to Yi Zhifen, who was rubbing mahjong, and reported softly: "Lord Wang, King Gong's phone ......." ”

"You can't live a day off." Yi Zhizu complained, and said to Lin Meilian, who was standing beside him watching the battle: "Fight for me." As he spoke, he got up and paced over, picked up the microphone and said, "Today, the sixth master still has time to call me?" ”

Yi Yi's hearty voice came from the microphone, "There's nothing to be busy with, but it's more leisurely than usual." After a pause, he asked directly: "How much income can I earn in a year for 20% of the shares of Rand Gold Mine?" ”

Yi Zhicontent smiled: "That's what Baba is for?" Twenty or thirty tons. ”

Twenty or thirty tons? Yi Yi on the other end of the phone was obviously stunned for a moment, and then said in disbelief: "Gold? ”

Yi Zhi said angrily: "Can it still be silver dug up in the gold mine?" ”

Twenty or thirty tons of gold, Yi Yi was not calm at all, using tons to calculate gold, it was the first time for him, and he immediately converted it quickly in his mind, and soon, he came up with an unbelievable number, "Eight or nine hundred thousand taels of gold?" More than 20 million taels of silver? ”

Yi Zhishu joked: "If the sixth master is too much, I can give less, how about one percent?" ”

"Don't mind, don't mind." Yi Yi hurriedly said: "How can there be any suspicion of silver, no, suspicion of gold." After a pause, he still said with some unease: "Brother Guocheng is not deceiving me?" ”

Yi Zhisuff smiled and said, "The sixth master gave me a reason to lie to you." After a pause, he continued: "The goal I set is to produce 100 tons per year in one or two years, and then steadily increase the output. ”

"Such a generous gift, I will personally go to Shanghai to thank you!" Yi Yi was so excited that he even raised his voice a few degrees, "Brother Guocheng has any requirements, just mention it!" ”

"It's simple." Yi Zhixiang said in a light tone: "The battle of South Africa, the battle of the whole country!" ”

"Brother Guocheng, don't worry!" Yi Yi said loudly: "The battle of South Africa, the government and the opposition, support it with all their might!" ”

Putting down the phone, Yi Zhishu lit a cigarette casually, the battle of South Africa, there is no battle for the country at all, if it really comes to the point of fighting for the country, he will decisively withdraw from South Africa, the reason why he gave the shares of the Transvaal gold mine to the imperial court is out of need, such as a huge amount of wealth, Yuan Qi cannot swallow it alone, and secondly, he also wants to spread the news by taking advantage of it.

Once the British learned that the Transvaal gold reserves were so large, and that Yuan Qi had given shares to the imperial court in order to win the support of the imperial court to fight for the country, they would inevitably increase their troops in South Africa, and they were full of confidence in the battle in South Africa.

Of course, it doesn't matter if Yi Yi and other cabinet ministers strictly keep their tone out of their own interests, it's a big deal to find another way, but, in his opinion, even if Yi Yi wants to keep his tone strictly, it is estimated that it will be difficult to do it.

The news that Yuan Qi gave the Du branch a 20% stake in the Transvaal Gold Mine to celebrate the opportunity of the imperial court to announce the constitution soon spread among the officials, and the news of giving a share of a share to the royal family also spread immediately, causing a lot of discussion, and for a time the news that Yuan Qi was preparing to send troops to South Africa spread rapidly.

The British minister, Wittoma, had been closely following the movements of the Jingshi, and soon learned of this situation, what was the purpose of Yuanqi taking the initiative to give 20% of the shares of the Transvaal gold mine to the imperial court? It is nothing more than to win the full support of the imperial court, and the previous judgment is indeed correct, Yuan Qi is indeed unwilling to give up South Africa! He immediately reported the news to China.

The news of the official announcement of the constitution by the imperial court was originally the focus of the newspapers of all sizes in the Qing Dynasty, but soon this hot spot was replaced by Yuan Qi's gift of shares in the Transvaal gold mine to the imperial court.

The stock market, which had fallen because of the sudden increase in lending rates by Yuanqi Bank, fell sharply again because of this news, and the run on the bank also raised its head again.

"The big shopkeeper can really be said to turn his hands into clouds and cover his hands into rain." Zhao Liewen walked into the study with a few newspapers in his hand and said, "It's the first month of the Western calendar, isn't it early?" ”

Yi Zhengxing, who followed behind, said: "Giving the imperial court twenty percent of the shares, this price is inevitably too great."

Yi Zhizu put down the newspaper in his hand and said, "I hope that the British will start fighting in South Africa earlier." As he spoke, he stretched out his hand to give up his seat, "The sooner you fight, the greater the casualties, and once the ironclad ships arrive in South Africa, the end of the war will not be far away." ”

Zhao Liewen said puzzledly: "The big shopkeeper hopes that South Africa will open as soon as possible, and directly declare war on England, why not follow?" Why go around in such a big circle? ”