London, City of the City, Stock Exchange.

The signing of the Frankfurt Peace Treaty certainly made French securities plummet again, but it was a huge positive for German-related securities, and people ruthlessly abandoned their French securities in favor of German securities.

In a corner, Hu Guangyong quietly felt the frenzy in the trading floor like an outsider, it is human nature to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, which is the same in the East and the West, after the battle of Sedang, German-related securities began to rebound strongly, and now it has hit new highs one after another, and the rise is strong, after all, the war reparations of 500,000 francs and the cession of Alsace-Lorraine is an indescribable huge benefit.

Because Yi Zhishu accurately predicted the outcome of the war, as early as the outbreak of the war, he took advantage of the collapse in the price of German securities to eat a large amount, and now at this price, he has made a lot of money, most of the stocks have made more than three times the profit.

In addition to Deutsche Securities, war-related futures also made him a lot of money, to say that the only one who lost money was the French bonds, and the abandoned French bonds were ignored, and they have hit a new low, close to one percent of the par value.

Raising his wrist and looking at his watch, he saw that it was less than an hour before the closing, he turned and squeezed out of the hall, and as soon as he walked out of the door, he ordered: "Throw away all the securities in your hand and eat all the French national debt." Also, get ready for a ferry ticket to Paris. ”

For the purchase of French national debt, he did not have the slightest burden in his heart, this trip to Europe, he has made a lot of money, even if the French national debt is worthless in the end, the money he earned is enough to spend the military expenses of Yuanqi's northwest expansion and the cost of land purchase, which can be regarded as living up to the trust of the public and successfully completing the task.

Qingdao, Qingdao in May is beautiful, the grass and trees are verdant, the flowers are vibrant, the streets and alleys are neat and clean than Shanghai, the shops on the street are lined up, the carriages and bicycles on the street shuttle back and forth, lively and extraordinary, strolling on the street, Yi Zhengxing said with emotion: "I really didn't expect Qingdao to be so beautiful and prosperous." ”

"The first time I came to Qingdao, I was amazed." Zai Zhao said with a smile, and then sat down on a bench facing the street, "I heard that the planning of the entire Qingdao is from your father's hand, and the municipal construction and infrastructure construction are all allocated by Yuanqi."

The vast majority of the residents here are retired officers and soldiers from various provinces and their families, with high quality, high salaries, and free education, so the residents live a very rich life, which can be called a paradise, and there is no city in the Qing Dynasty that can compare with this. There are only two bad points, there is no freedom to go out, and it is difficult to get in. ”

Yi Zhengxing sat down and asked softly, "Has anyone complained?" ”

"Complaining?" Zai Zhao said with a smile: "For the retired officers and soldiers of the army, Qingdao is not enough compared to the top, but it is more than enough to be able to stay in Qingdao." ”

Hearing this, Yi Zhengxing followed the conversation and asked: "How are the officers and soldiers of the army arranged for retirement?" ”

"It's voluntary." Zaizhao said in a rambling voice: "Those who are willing to return to their hometowns will be given military discharge pay and resettlement money to return to their hometowns, and those who are unwilling to return to their hometowns will be arranged by Yuanqi to work in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Qingdao, Manila, Gropa, Pusan and other places. ”

Speaking of this, he smiled, "I'm afraid it's unimaginable, every year in the conscription, all provinces and localities will quarrel over the conscription quota, it's really that the treatment of this soldier is too generous, enough to change the fate of a lifetime." ”

After a slight sigh, Yi Zhengxing said: "My father proposed to educate the army in politics, the general in learning, and the soldiers in the people, and this is to achieve the purpose ......of hiding strength, saving military spending, and enhancing the ability to mobilize for war. ”

"It's too much to do." Zai Zhao said with a smile: "Even if only the retired officers and soldiers within three years are recruited, it will be an extremely large number, and these officers and soldiers will be able to undertake general combat tasks after a few months of physical assault training." ”

Early the next morning, Yi Zhizu and his entourage went to the Qingdao Shipyard, and accompanied by Zhang Hongshen, director of the plant, Guan Youling, director of the ironclad ship, and others inspected four 'Yuan' class ironclad ships of more than 8,000 tons under construction.

The main body of the four battleships has been completed, but it will take more than half a year before the launch, the 8,000-ton ironclad ship is a behemoth, and it looks even bigger in the dock, the entire dock is filled with the huge roar of steam engines, Yi Zhicontent spent most of the day inspecting the construction progress of the four warships before returning to the main factory.

After taking a sip of tea, Yi Zhizhi said slowly: "The British 'Warrior' has a displacement of more than 9,000 tons, but it only took a year and a half to complete the construction, and our four 8,000-ton warships have taken a year and a half, how long will it take?" ”

Without waiting for Zhang Hongshen to speak, Guan Youling, the director of the ironclad ship, spoke first: "Big treasurer, we are four warships under construction at the same time, and it is reasonable to be slower, and at present, it will take at least three or four months for these four warships to be launched." ”

Although Yi Zhishu was not satisfied with the speed of construction, he also knew that it was not appropriate to urge, after all, the technology was not very mature, even if a war broke out in South Africa, it was expected to be next year, and he groaned slightly, he said: "Guaranteed delivery before May next year, can there be enough time?" ”

After the battleship is launched, it will be trialed, and it will be repaired after the fault is found, this deadline is not urgent, Zhang Hongshen immediately said loudly: "The big shopkeeper can rest assured, I guarantee that it will be delivered on time before May next year." ”

Glancing at him, Yi Zhishu said slowly: "Shanghai and Guangzhou not only have convenient transportation, a strong industrial foundation, and a deep foundation in the shipbuilding industry. ”

Do you also need to send in capable technicians? Zhang Hongshen couldn't help but be stunned, and hurriedly said: "Think twice, the current construction period is tight, and then transfer capable technicians, I'm afraid it will affect the construction progress." ”

Yi Zhizhi said: "You can arrange this reasonably. ”

Hearing this, Guan Youling gave a look and said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, the big shopkeeper, we will make proper arrangements." ”

Seeing that he was full of promises, Zhang Hongshen couldn't help but be secretly anxious, but it was inconvenient to say more, until he saw off Yi Zhisuff and his party, he pulled Guan Youling and said: "I know that there is a shortage of manpower, why are you still full of promises?" ”

Guan Youling closed the door before he said softly: "Our Qingdao itself has the ability to build large-tonnage ironclad ships, why do you still let us send capable technicians to Guangzhou and Shanghai Shipyards for exchange and study?" ”

Hearing this, Zhang Hongshen couldn't help but be stunned, "Isn't it because the technology we built a 10,000-ton giant ship is not mature enough?" ”

"Of course not." Guan Youling said firmly: "This is to give the shipyards in Guangzhou and Shanghai the ability to build ironclad ships, as expected, there should be a big war ........" ”

Back to Canghai Park, Yi Zhixiang ordered to call Zaizhao and Guo Zhongmu to come, after dinner he went to the beach for a walk as usual, and dispatched capable technicians to Guangzhou and Shanghai Shipyard to exchange and study, he did have the intention of reforming the army, Yuan Qi in Guangzhou and Shanghai's two major shipyards have a deep heritage, strong strength, many docks, itself has the ability to build large and medium-sized ocean-going freighters, and a little transformation can build large and medium-sized ironclad ships.

The Transvaal's gold reserves were too large to shake the hegemony of the pound, and once the British confirmed this, they would not rest on their laurels, and if a war broke out between the two countries in South Africa, it would be a war that would last a long time, and he would have to prepare for it.

When it was dark, Zaizhao and Guo Zhongmu hurriedly came, and after hearing the report, Yi Zhizhi returned to the study, and after the two came in to greet him, he took out a document and said: "This is the main ocean-going ironclad ship launched by the British Navy three years ago - 'Minotaur' class, this is the relevant information, you can take a look." ”

The 'Minotaur' class ironclad is a rare 5-masted battleship, with a ramming bow, cruiser stern, and guns arranged along the side of the hull length, suitable for fighting in columns, and can also be called battleships, with a steam engine and sail hybrid, and a speed of 14 to 15 knots.

There are three 'Minotaur' class ironclad ships in service in the British Navy, namely 'Manadoo', 'Ekencot', and 'Northumberland', with a displacement of more than 10,000 tons, armor thickness of 5.5 inches-4.5 inches, and the first two are equipped with firepower, 4 9-inch front-loading rifled guns, 24 7-inch front-loading rifled guns, and 8 24-pound front-loading smoothbore guns.

The Northumberland was equipped with firepower, 4 9-inch front-loading rifled guns, 22 8-inch front-loading rifled guns, and 2 7-inch front-loading rifled guns. The whole ship has a strength of 800 people.

After reading the information, Zai Zhao and Guo Zhongmu couldn't help but look at each other, the navy had always thought that the main warships of the British Navy were the 'Warrior' and the 'Black Prince', and they didn't want to have three more 'Minotaur' class ironclad ships.

"In addition to these three 'Minotaur'-class ironclad ships, there is also a 'Achilles' with a displacement of more than 9,000 tons." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "In addition, last year, the British also built six Camparlius-class and six Invincible-class ironclad ships, and there is no relevant information yet, as of the end of last year, the British Navy has as many as fifty ironclad ships in service." ”

And six 'Camparyus-class' and six 'Invincible-class' ironclads? Zaizhao finally understood why Yi Zhixiang said that he could avoid a war with Britain, and the title of Britain's 'sea hegemon' was really not called in vain.

"I didn't want you to see this information, so as not to hit your self-confidence." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "However, I found that you are a little overconfident, and I think it is still necessary for you to have a clearer understanding of the opponent's strength, which Ren An only sent today." ”