said Cao Cao, Cao Cao arrived, as soon as the two mentioned Wei Sanwei, the little guy reported outside the door: "Young Master, Mr. Wei Sanwei is out asking to see you." ”

Yi Zhishu came here today mainly to find Wei Sanwei, and immediately said, "Please let him in." As he spoke, he got up and went out.

In order to allow American Christian missionaries to teach in a school with thousands of people run by Yi Zhicontent, he made a special trip back to China, reported his application to the US Ministry, and brought back a large number of printing machinery and equipment and related technicians with the strong support of the US Ministry.

Since the Kangxi Dynasty broke with the Holy See, the ban on religion in the Qing Dynasty has become stricter and stricter, all missionaries in the Qing Dynasty and those who believe in foreign religions will be executed, and the missionaries who come to Guangzhou dare not disclose their true identities, and they will be content to allow missionaries to teach in schools with thousands of people, which is undoubtedly an open door for the American Christian Church, and they will naturally not let go of this opportunity.

Greeted Wei Sanwei at the door, the three of them greeted each other and entered the office, and as soon as they sat down, Wei Sanwei said: "Mr. Yi, this time back to China, I not only brought a large number of printing machinery and equipment and coinage machines, but also invited 24 technicians and technicians from the Meijing Banknote Printing Factory, including steel engravers, hand engraving technicians, machine engraving technicians, and pattern machine engraving technicians, I don't know, Mr. Yi's school can be built?" ”

"Mr. Wei, don't worry." Yi Zhishu said with a smile: "Yuan Qiyi School has been recruiting students one after another since this spring, and now it is expanding its enrollment plan within this year. The number of students in school will exceed 1,000 or even 2,000. And the school is still expanding. In the next year, the number of students in the school will be at least five or six thousand, and as the principal of Yuan Qiyi, I always welcome you to come to Yixue to teach students. ”

Hearing this, Wei Sanwei was very happy, and hurriedly asked, "Is there a limit to the number of people who can go to teach at the Yixue?" ”

"There are definitely limitations." Yi Zhicontent said with a smile: "However, depending on the specific situation, I plan to open a series of Western studies courses in the school. For example, astronomy and geography, physical chemistry, zoology and zoology, etc., the missionaries who want to teach have a certain degree. ”

"Mr. Yi, don't worry." Wei San said with a fear: "The missionaries who are arranged to teach in the school all have a certain degree, and they will not disappoint Mr. Yi, if there is no limit on the number of people, the United States Department will send a large number of missionaries to Guangzhou next year." ”

Yi Zhizu didn't rush to answer his question, but asked: "How long does it take for Yuanqi banknotes to be finalized and mass-produced?" ”

"The steel plate engraving gravure technology is very complicated." Wei San weighed and said: "Also, the paper used to print banknotes also has extremely high requirements, and the paper currently produced by Mr. Yi's papermaking workshop does not meet the requirements, preliminary estimates." It will take three or five years, of course. If a steady stream of relevant technicians can be introduced, the time can be greatly shortened. ”

"Deal." Yi Zhixin said cheerfully: "However, you have to help me train an apprentice." ”

Wei San smiled timidly: "Of course, banknotes need to be constantly updated, and those technicians don't want to stay in Guangzhou forever." After a pause, he continued: "We have a lot of people now, can you arrange a separate courtyard for us?" ”

"No problem." Yi Zhishu said and looked at Pan Shiming, and said: "Brother Cheng, who is still tired of this matter, let's see if I can buy a quiet courtyard near the printing house, and I will come out with the silver." ”

Pan Shiming nodded and said, "I'll send someone to look for it tomorrow." ”

"Thank you." Wei Sanwei thanked him repeatedly.

The two sent Wei Sanwei away and turned back to the office, Pan Shiming frowned and said: "Without restrictions, I'm afraid that there will be a large number of missionaries who will enter Yuanqi Yixue to teach, Mr. not only teaches students in words, but also teaches by example, and the influence is subtle, isn't the big shopkeeper worried that the students of Yixue will tend to Christianity in the future?" ”

"Brother Cheng, rest assured, we won't do a loss-making business." Yi Zhixiang smiled, but he didn't explain much, he wasn't worried about the missionaries teaching in Yuanqiyixue, in the past few years, Yuanqiyixue was basically a paramilitary management, and in the case of not allowing public preaching, the impact on students could not be too great. After the defeat of the war, the Qing court could no longer strictly prohibit missionaries from preaching, and at that time, the American Ministry would not have focused on the study of Yuanqiyi.

Thirteen Lines, Merchant District, American Mercancon Building.

Weetmo hurriedly entered the door, went directly to the second floor, and knocked lightly at the door of the consular office, "Please come in." A deep voice rang out.

Seeing Wertmo come in, Peter Snow, the U.S. consul in Guangzhou, stretched out his hand and said, "Please be seated." Then he asked, "Have all the guns been delivered?" ”

Weetmo nodded and said, "It's all delivered." Saying that, he sat down opposite him and said, "Jardine has a strong smuggling and transshipment capacity, and a thousand guns can be transferred to Guangzhou at one time." ”

Snow threw a cigar over, then lit it skillfully, and let out a puff of smoke before he said, "Jardine is the largest trading house in the Thirteen Lines, and it is not surprising that it has this ability. After a pause, he continued: "Wei Sanwei came to tell me yesterday that it seems that a big anti-smoking campaign is brewing in the Qing Kingdom. ”

"Non-smoking?" Wittmore sneered: "Hasn't Qingguo been smoking all the time? ”

"This time may be different." Snow said, "Also, the shopkeeper seems to be suspicious of the smugglers. He is not interested, he is now our most important trading partner, and the construction of the Foshan-Guangzhou Railway is the most important thing at the moment, because of this, the Governor's Palace's restrictions on American merchants have been greatly relaxed.

This is a good start, and I believe that in a few years, the United States will replace England as the largest foreign trade partner of the Qing Dynasty. It's better to be a little more restrained in piece smuggling, there is a saying in China, pick up sesame seeds and lose watermelons, I don't want to be because of crows. Smuggling has ruined the current situation. ”

Hearing this, Wittmore said dissatisfiedly: "Raven. The slice business can be easier and more profitable than the legitimate trade. ”

"Of course I do." Snow smiled, "That's why I asked you to relent, not to stop." ”

Werthmo muttered, "Okay, convergence. ”

After a slight hesitation, Snow said, "Don't you think, isn't it strange that Yuan Qi and Thirteen Elements ordered three thousand muskets in one go?" Four battleships with a maximum of a thousand muskets were enough. ”

What the hell are you doing? Wetermo glanced at him and said, "Maybe it's another use." (To be continued.) )