Yi was inclined to exchange in his heart, because he knew very well that although the imperial court owned 20% of the shares of the Transvaal gold mine, it was impossible to get dividends, at least for ten or eight years, because the huge loans from the imperial court to Yuanqi were all secured by the gold mine shares.

Listening to Wu Changqing's judgment, he was a little surprised, and hurriedly asked, "Is this really the case?" ”

Wu Changqing smiled before he said: "Twenty percent of the shares of the Transvaal Gold Mine can be said to be given to the imperial court by Yuan Qibai, and the prince never thought about it, why did Yuan Qi give twenty percent of the shares to the imperial court for nothing?" ”

Hearing this, Yi and Su Shun were stunned. Yi Zhishu originally gave the imperial court the shares of the South African gold mine, under the guise of needing the full support of the imperial court, but in fact, South Africa did not need the assistance of the imperial court at all, whether it was a naval battle or land battle Yuan Qi occupied an overwhelming advantage, and the two percent of the shares can indeed be said to be given by Yuan Qi for nothing.

After hesitating, Su Shuncai said: "Is it just for today's exchange that Yi Guocheng gave away 20% of the shares of the South African gold mine for free?" ”

"Isn't it?" Wu Changqing asked rhetorically, and then said slowly: "Twenty percent of the shares of the South African gold mine are easy to give, because in the face of an unpredictable war, no one in Yuanqi dared to object, but the shares of the large-scale factories and mining enterprises invested by Yuanqi are not so easy to give away in vain, and Yi Guocheng has to take into account the reaction of all shareholders of Yuanqi even if he is the big shopkeeper of Yuanqi." ”

Yi said suspiciously: "What is the purpose of Yi Guocheng's deliberate sending thirty percent of the shares of all the large-scale factories and mining enterprises invested by Yuanqi to the imperial court?" ”

"Then I'm going to ask Yi Guocheng." Wu Changqing said, paused, and continued: "This rare catastrophe in the north has just begun, how many large-scale factories and mines have Yuanqi invested in the provinces? This can explain at least two problems, Yuanqi has long had a full and detailed plan for the construction of large-scale factories and mining enterprises in various provinces, and furthermore, Yuanqi has opened the prelude to comprehensively promoting industrialization, and at present, it is just a beginning.

Why do I say that the 30% income of the large-scale factories and mining enterprises that Yuanqi invests in now and in the future will far exceed or even several times the 20% income of the Transvaal gold mine in the future, it is based on these two judgments that the income of the gold mine is limited, but the factories and mining enterprises invested and built by Yuanqi are continuous, and there may be hundreds or hundreds. ”

Yi glanced at Su Shun, silently handed over a cigarette, Yuan Qi almost overnight in Liaoning, Zhili, Shandong, Shanxi, Henan set up dozens of factories and mines, to say that there was no detailed planning and preparation before, it is obviously impossible, the exploration of mineral deposits, the selection of factory sites, transportation and other factors must be considered in advance.

The drought that lasted for four or five years was just the beginning, and there was no doubt that Yuanqi would definitely invest in factories and mining enterprises in the future, otherwise Yuanqi would not have proposed this exchange, which was clearly to support Yuanqi to implement comprehensive industrialization.

After a long time, Yi Cai spoke: "This is not a trivial matter, it is necessary to convene a cabinet meeting to discuss with the ministers of state." ”

Wu Changqing nodded, "This matter is very involved, it is best for the prince to go to Shanghai to talk to Yi Guocheng in detail about ........." ”

After a slight sigh, Yicai said: "Although this matter is big, it is not urgent, and the top priority is to first show the attitude of the court to the government and the opposition..... ”

The next day, Guangxu Ming issued an edict, pointing out that if the Qing Dynasty wanted to enrich the country and strengthen the army, it was necessary to give priority to the development of industry and accelerate the process of industrialization in an all-round way, and that the gentry of all provinces and local governments and counties should not oppose or hinder the development of industry for their own selfish interests, and all those who opposed the development of industry were sinners of the country and the nation!

On the same day, in the name of the prime minister, Yi publicly stated in the newspaper that all prefectures and counties that oppose and obstruct the development of industry will be abolished, and the governors of prefectures and counties will be dismissed from their posts on the spot.

Recently, public opinion in the northern provinces has been accusing and attacking Yuan Qi for taking advantage of the opportunity of disaster relief to recruit workers on a large scale, seriously damaging the agriculture of the northern provinces, and even some newspapers bluntly said that Yuan Qi had ill intentions, no one expected that the situation would take such a sharp turn, Yuan Qi did not speak, and the imperial court actually supported Yuan Qi with a rare tough attitude, and for a time the government and the opposition were in an uproar, and there were many discussions.

The next day, the Beijing Daily published an article on the front page entitled "On the Enclosure Movement in European Countries," which gave a detailed account of the enclosure movement in which the industrial powers of Europe forcibly evicted peasants from the land by national decrees, and fairly and objectively evaluated the positive role and significance of the enclosure movement in the development of industry.

At the same time, the article also clearly pointed out that the enclosure movement was a disaster for the peasants, and countless peasants were bankrupt and displaced, and its essence was to lay the foundation for the development of industry in European countries at the expense of the peasants.

The article concludes by affirming that Yuan Qi's efforts to raise wages and use famine to lure peasants out of the land and into factories to become workers are far more moderate than the land enclosure movements in European countries. The signature of the article is Aixin Jueluo. Abundant.

This article actually affirmed Yuanqi's claim that the enclosure movement was carried out in disguise, but it also released a signal that if it opposed this kind of moderate enclosure, it would inevitably force the Qing Dynasty to follow the example of European countries to take tough and bloody measures to implement the enclosure movement.

On the same day, the front page of the Shanghai Daily also carried an article entitled "Agricultural Revolution", pointing out that with the development of industry, a large number of agricultural machines such as cultivators, seeders, lawn mowers, harvesters, threshers, pumping machines, flour grinders, rice mills, ginning machines, oil presses, and so on.

Endless agricultural machines are becoming more and more widely used in large-scale farms, traditional agriculture is facing a huge revolution in agricultural mechanization, and a large number of farmers are gradually being replaced by agricultural machinery.

At the end of the article, it is also pointed out that Shanghai Agricultural Machinery Factory has a large number of various kinds of agricultural machinery for sale, and Yuanqi is gradually investing in the construction of large-scale agricultural machinery manufacturing plants in various provinces to rapidly promote and popularize agricultural machinery, and also introduced more than ten kinds of agricultural machinery by the way.

Zhennan Wangfu, Changle Book House.

Zhao Liewen put down the newspaper in his hand and said with a smile: "These articles can be said to be a combination of grace and power, on the one hand, they warn the local gentry not to oppose the development of industry, and not to oppose and obstruct the recruitment of workers, and on the other hand, they show them a clear way, and they can use agricultural machinery to make up for the shortage of labor. Once the famine, the sales of agricultural machinery will inevitably usher in a wave of **, which is really a double win! ”

Li Hongzhang hesitated for a moment before he said: "The use and maintenance of these agricultural machinery require specialized technicians?" ”

"That's nature." Yi Zhizhi nodded, "For the gentry who own a lot of land, the income from buying a batch of agricultural machinery and raising a few professional and technical personnel is much higher than renting out the land to collect rent, and it can be said that it can easily increase the income several times."