Zhao Liewen wanted to find an excuse to leave, and when he saw Yan Shikuan's posture, he knew that he must have something to say, so he immediately stood up, not wanting to give up his hand yet, but Yi Zhishu glanced at him and said: "If Huifu has a way to save money and worry, it's not that he can't open the net." ”

Is this a loose mouth? Zhao Liewen was overjoyed when he heard this, and hurriedly said: "Let the students ponder carefully, and there will definitely be a way to have the best of both worlds." ”

Yi Zhizhi smiled contentedly, "Let's get busy first." Zhao Liewen, who was waiting, bowed and retired, and then he looked at Yan Shikuan, "Xiao Kai graduated last year, not to say that he wants to travel to European countries, wait for Dezai and Xingzai to graduate, and then return to China together." ”

"I don't know what the situation is, so I suddenly returned to China without saying a word, and I didn't say anything when I asked him." Yan Shikuan glanced at him and said, "I guess it should be related to the two princes." ”

Yi Zhizhi has three sons, the eldest son Yi Zhengde, his mother is Bai Zhi, born in the twenty-seventh year of Daoguang, and is twenty-one years old this year, the second Yi Zhengxing is the son-in-law, and his mother is Zaitong, who is twenty years old this year, and the third Yi Zhengchu, whose mother is Lin Xuan, is sixteen years old this year. All three sons studied in England.

Yan Shikuan knows that it is very important to follow people, so he sent Yan Wenkai to England to accompany him since he was a child, because of the relationship between the two families, Yan Wenkai has a very good relationship with Zhengde and Zhengxing, and this sudden return to China must be related to the two sons, especially the second Zhengxing.

Regarding his son's situation, Yi Zhishu was naturally clear, he vaguely guessed that Yan Wenkai returned to China ahead of schedule, possibly to pave the way for the second child, and only after a slight groan, he said: "Wait to find out." ”

Yan Shikuan said tentatively: "The two princes will return to China next year, how do you plan to arrange it?" ”

"Thinking so long?" Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "Children have their own interests and hobbies, and they also have their own goals in life, whether they are engaged in politics, business, academic research, art and ......, no matter what choices they make, I will respect them." ”

So open-minded? Yan Shikuan said in surprise: "Someone will inherit this inheritance?" ”

"Twisted melons are not sweet." Yi Zhizhi said disapprovingly: "I don't want to plan their lives in advance, besides, even if they are interested, they still have this ability, Yuan Qi is not something that everyone can control." ”

Hearing this, Yan Shikuan couldn't help but pause, and then smiled: "The tiger father has no dogs, and several sons have traveled to the West since childhood, how can they not have the ability?" As he spoke, he turned his head and said with a complaint: "After so many years of not being around, this kid is a little angry. At the beginning, I didn't know what the third brother thought, so I had to send the children to Western ....... ”

"Didn't I tell you very clearly?" Yi Zhishu was a little speechless, the reason why he sent his children to the West was not only for safety considerations, but also for the needs of education, with his status and status, if the children stayed around, most of them would become the sons of the gentlemen, and there were not many of the princes and sons of the Jingshi who were not gentlemen, and there were not many of the children of the merchants in Guangzhou.

After a pause, he was relieved: "The child has been absent for a long time, and some births are inevitable, so it will be fine in a few days." ”

Yan Wenkai's arrival made Yan Kexin overjoyed, and kept asking long and short questions, Zaitong and several other concubines also rushed over after hearing the news, and asked him about the situation of several children abroad, Yi Zhizhi was content with three sons and three daughters, only one daughter stayed by his side, and the others were abroad, and finally came to understand the situation, how could they let it go?

Even if he had a good eloquence, Yan Wenkai was also dizzy by several women's questions, and it was not until the beginning of the dinner that he finally got out, and after the banquet, Yi Zhizhi did not go to the study, but asked Yan Shikuan and his son to accompany him to the lotus garden for a walk.

After walking for a while, Yi Zhizhi asked kindly, "What are your plans to return to China?" What career do you want to pursue? ”

"If you learn and excel, you will learn." Yan Wenkai said without hesitation: "The little nephew wants to enter politics. ”

This answer has long been expected by Yi Zhicontent, but listening to this, he still has some emotion, for thousands of years, the ideology of learning and excellence has been deeply rooted in the bone marrow, not to mention the country, many returned students also have a soft spot for entering the office, which he does not want to see, he does not want talents to enter the office, which will cause a huge waste of talents, especially at this stage, this waste is unacceptable to him.

Retracting his thoughts, he said, "Do you know about the situation in China?" The political environment at home and abroad is worlds apart. ”

"Uncle——。" Yan Wen laughed and said: "Although the boys are abroad, they are always paying attention to the situation at home, and our Mr. Guoxue also knows a lot about officialdom .......

"Since you were a child, it is rare that you still have a pure heart and a strong sense of being a scholar." Yi Zhizhi smiled and said: "If you want to join the company, do you have specific ideas?" ”

Yan Wenkai pondered: "The little nephew plans to conduct investigation and research first, and understand the situation of all strata in the country in a comprehensive ......and detailed way. ”

Hearing this, Yi Zhixin couldn't help but look at him with a smile, and said with a smile: "The son is commendable, okay, my uncle supports you, let it go, and if you want people, money, or information, you can come to me." ”

"Uncle Xie." Yan Wenkai said happily: "With my uncle's strong support, we also have the backbone ......." ”

Yan Shikuan hoped that Yan Wenkai could stay by Yi Zhi's side, and said, "How old are they?" Third brother, don't spoil their ....... ”

Yi Zhicontent said with a smile: "When we were like them, we had already founded Yuanqi and monopolized the money industry in Guangdong Province. ”

"How can they compare to you?"

"Haven't you heard that the afterlife is terrifying?" Yi Zhizu smiled and waved his hand, "The world will always belong to young people, we must give them the opportunity to sharpen, otherwise how can they grow up?" ”

"It's still Uncle Shengming!" Yan Wenkai hurriedly flattered.

"The word Shengming can't be used indiscriminately, this is the word to praise the emperor and the queen." Yi Zhicontent said with a smile: "Although China has advocated freedom of speech for many years, after all, it is still an imperial autocratic society, and some aspects are still paid attention to. ”

Yan Wenkai said obediently: "The little nephew remembers his uncle's teachings. ”

Sichuan Road, Xie House, Study.

After Zhao Liewen picked up the teacup, he blew it slowly, took two sips, and praised lightly: "Good tea." ”

"Five-year-old Pu'er is not a good tea." Xie Xiuyuan humbly said, "Brother Huifu has nothing to do but go to the Three Treasures Palace, even if you have anything to say, you will never shirk anything you can do." ”

"It's fine." Zhao Liewen put down the teacup and asked, "Is it profitable to trade with the Japanese?" ”

"Brother Huifu didn't ask knowingly, how could Yuanqi not make money by monopolizing the trade with the Japanese?" Xie Xiuyuan said with a smile: "For Yuanqi, the country is not only a source of raw materials but also a dumping market for industrial products, although the country is small but has a population .....of 30 million, it is a big market, Britain, France, the United States, Russia and other countries have been red for a long time. Speaking of this, he reacted and said vigilantly: "Brother Huifu wants to persuade the big shopkeeper? ”

Zhao Liewen said in a deep voice: "Paper can't hold the fire, if this matter is going to get out, what kind of reputation will the big shopkeeper have?" That's 30 million people! ”

"The character of the big shopkeeper, Brother Huifu doesn't know." Xie Xiuyuan sighed lightly, "Regarding the situation of the Japanese trade, the big shopkeeper is like a mirror in his heart, I believe that the big shopkeeper's determination must have been weighed repeatedly, and when it comes to long-term vision, no one in the world can match the ...... of the big shopkeeper." ”

After a pause, he continued: "Brother Huifu should know that the grain harvest in Europe has been poor year after year, the price of grain has been rising, American grain has been resold to Europe, and Southeast Asia has also dropped sharply in grain production in recent years because of wars. ”

"The world only looks at the results, who asks the causes?" Zhao Liewen said: "The Japanese country has now been due to food shortages and frequent riots, once a full-scale war breaks out, and then cut off the grain sea trade, there will inevitably be a rare famine, it is estimated that tens of millions of people will die of famine, which will definitely shock the world, this matter is impossible to hide...... At that time, both at home and abroad, the big shopkeeper will inevitably become the target of public criticism. ”

Xie Xiuyuan hesitated and said: "The Japanese country is lonely overseas, and it has been locked off for a long time, and the naval blockade is also tight, so there shouldn't be any leakage of news?" ”

Zhao Liewen said coldly: "How can you not leak the news, even if all the Yuanqi officers and soldiers who participated in the war are tight-lipped, but don't forget, there are also the Eight Banners New Army and the Beiyang Naval Division who also participated in the war." ”

After being silent for a while, Xie Xiu Yuancai said: "The big shopkeeper is iron-hearted, what can we do?" ”

"Shaken." Zhao Liewen said slowly: "The big shopkeeper said that there is a way to save money and worry and have the best of both worlds, and you can open up the net." ”

"Save money and worry?" Xie Xiuyuan smacked for a while before saying, "This is not an ordinary difficult ....... ”

Zhao Liewen said slowly: "The mind of the big shopkeeper is not only to permanently incorporate the Japanese State into the territory of the Qing Dynasty, but also to weaken the Japanese State to the greatest extent, so as to prevent the Japanese State from becoming independent in the future and posing a huge threat to our country. ”

After a slight sigh, Xie Xiuyuan said in a muffled voice: "The idea of the big shopkeeper is right, the great famine is the most cost-effective way to save money and worry, and I am pondering, the big shopkeeper is not shaken, but wants Brother Huifu to retreat and understand his hard work." ”

Zhao Liewen listened to it and thought about it, there was really this possibility, but he was still a little unwilling, and said: "Emigrate to Siberia or Alaska, or ..... like African slaves, and besides, I heard that there is an oil ....... Sakhalin Island." ”

"Alaska and Siberia are too far away for mass migration to be expensive." Xie Xiuyuan said without thinking: "Sold into slavery, it is estimated that the big shopkeeper will not agree, the United States and Russia are abolishing slaves, how can we advocate it with great fanfare?" If this is the case, it will inevitably be criticized by Western countries.

If there is oil in Sakhalin, it can be exploited by immigrants, and Yuanqi is planning to vigorously develop the oil industry, but it will not take many people...... It only takes tens of thousands of people to break through the sky. ”

At eight o'clock in the morning of the next day, Yi Zhishu walked into the Changle Book House on time as usual, and as soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw Zhao Liewen and Xie Xiuyuan waiting in the courtyard. ”

Xie Xiuyuan hurriedly said: "The subordinates are not ...... to save the soldiers. ”

"It seems that he is unwilling." Yi Zhizhi said: "Let's go in and talk about it." The three of them entered the house and sat down, and Xie Xiuyuan said directly: "The big shopkeeper, whether it is a raw material market or a commodity dumping market, the Wa State cannot be easily given up, once the Wa State is destroyed, Yuan Qi's direct economic loss will be as high as six or seven million taels of silver a year. ”

Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "For the sake of millions of profits a year, you have to sit back and watch the Japanese country gradually form a tail-to-tail trend?" ”

"That's not what the subordinates meant." Xie Xiuyuan didn't dare to look at him, lowered his head and said: "My subordinates just feel that some of the gains outweigh the losses, and there are tens of thousands of ......people who directly and indirectly participate in the trade with the Japanese. ”

"It seems that you don't know much about the situation in the Wa Kingdom." Yi Zhizhi said: "Now the Wa State is not satisfied with the status quo, to subvert the rule of the shogunate, learn from the West, implement a constitutional monarchy, to enrich the country and strengthen the army, completely get rid of the control of Yuanqi, if we let it go, Yuanqi trade with the Wa will change greatly in a few years." ”

"The big shopkeeper." Zhao Liewen opened his mouth and said: "Why can't we follow the example of Southeast Asian countries and only eliminate the nobility and gentry class of the Japanese Kingdom?" In this way, the market of the Japanese country can be preserved to the greatest extent. ”

"That's a good question." Yi Zhizu said: "Why do you want to treat the Wa Kingdom differently? The reason is very simple, because the Wakoya has a perfect education system, which is even better than that of our country, and the temple house education, that is, primary education, is very popular, so that more than half of the men and 20% of the women in the Wa country have received primary education.

Edo, the land of the best people, has a 90% education rate, and for such a country, can it be treated on an equal footing with the countries of Southeast Asia? ”

Zhao Liewen and Xie Xiuyuan couldn't help but look at each other, the two finally understood why Yi Zhixiang attached so much importance to the Japanese country, why they should treat the Japanese country differently, in the face of a country with such a high education rate, it can basically be said that it is impossible to assimilate and integrate!

"The high proportion of Japanese education in the world can be said to be second to none, which is why I attach so much importance to the Japanese country, once the Japanese follow the example of the West, implement a constitutional monarchy, and vigorously develop industry, it will inevitably rise rapidly and become one of the world's great powers, posing a great threat to our country!"

Speaking of this, Yi Zhixiang deliberately paused, and said in an accentuated tone: "This is not groundless, nor is it alarmist, how can others sleep soundly on the side of the couch, we must nip this threat in the bud!" Even if it ruins this raw material market and commodity dumping market, and loses millions of profits every year, it will not hesitate! ”