1855 United States Tycoon

"Brother Chunfu," Li Hongzhang was silent for a while, and then said to Rong Hong like this, "United States people will not give you this news for no reason. Well, they, these United States people have got in one by one. The lord in the eyes of the money, this information is not something that the sender can get by himself, even if all the news is obtained from the newspaper, it will take a lot of manpower and material resources to collect it so comprehensively. These United States Since I am showing you these things at this time, I am afraid they already have a solution, right?"

"Master Zhongtang, I talked to Wang Qinian in detail, and he really came to contact me on behalf of the Macdonald Consortium." Rong Hong said, "They actually proposed a few methods."

"Oh, let's talk about it."

"The first one, of course, is that the imperial court used money to order warships from them." Rong Hong said, "The United States people said that the British sold the Japanese ships, although they can run up to 25 knots, they are practical. The engine is an improved model of the old reciprocating steam engine, not a steam turbine. This is mainly because the British want to control the technology of the steam turbine not to spread. Although relying on the improved reciprocating steam engine, the ship can reach 25 knots. But the efficiency of the reciprocating steam engine is still far inferior to that of the steam turbine. So a lot of the tonnage of the ship that the British built for Japan was used on the steam engine. And if we are willing to order from them, they can use the same price , Sell us a fast cruiser equipped with a steam turbine. The United States people guarantee that their ship, whether it is speed, armor, firepower, or navigation performance, can exceed the warship that the Japanese bought. If you order in large quantities, the price is not bad. There are discounts. In addition, the United States people also promised that if we can give them the business of improving the artillery of the old warships, they will be willing to transfer certain technology to us to help us build a ship repair yard in Weihaiwei."

"Haha," Li Hongzhang smiled bitterly, "Speaking of which, the things we bought from the United States were also considered conscientious goods, at least compared with the British and French things. However, Chunfu Brother Xian, you also know that the purchase of warships is a lot of money, and the court is afraid that it won’t be able to spend this money. You also know a little bit about the DPRK.”

What Li Hongzhang said about the imperial court refers to a group of "clear streams" in the imperial court, especially Hubu Shangshu Weng Tonghe's interference and obstruction of the Westernization Movement. Just last year, Weng Tonghe also demanded to stop funding the navy on the grounds of insufficient national financial resources. Prior to this, he had also been working to limit the military expenditures of the Navy. Since the Beiyang Navy was built, it has not renewed its ships, and even has no money to replace its guns. At that time, Weng Tonghe, who served as the official book of the household department, played a key role. In addition to the disagreement of ideas, the reason why Weng Tonghe is always embarrassed with Li Hongzhang and Beiyang is because of personal grievances.

When the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was suppressed, Weng Tonghe’s Big Brother Weng Tongshu did a bad job. He was impeached by Li Hongzhang and was almost sentenced to behead. Weng Tonghe’s father died of fear and his Big Brother was also exiled in Xinjiang. Such grievances will naturally not be easily forgotten. According to later records, when the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 was about to be fought in 1894, Li Hongzhang, who knew that the Beiyang Navy and the Huai Army were fictitious, advocated a peaceful settlement through diplomatic means, because he knew that there was almost no war with Japan at this time. The possibility of winning. At this time, Weng Tonghe, the Minister of Military Aircraft, was fighting with all his strength, although before that, the "Qingliu" General, represented by him, had been stubbornly embarrassed by the Navy's military expenses. However, they vigorously declared: "The Japanese elementary school is not well-balanced, so we should be able to smash it." Even when someone told Weng Tonghe that the war was fierce and might not win, Weng said: "It's just this opportunity to let him (Li Hongzhang) Try it out on the battlefield to see how he is? There will be room for him to be rectified in the future."

Naturally, Rong Hong knew that some people in the DPRK had not dealt with Li Hongzhang, and had even been holding him back. However, this matter is related to the national safety, so he still said: "The younger brother also knows that it is not easy at this time, but if this method can be implemented, it will be most beneficial to the country. Moreover, the Lord Zhongtang, the United States people help us build the factory compared to The British have another great convenience."

"Oh, what's the convenience?" Li Hongzhang asked.

"Since the establishment of the Westernization Movement in our country, many factories have been built. However, the technology personnel have always been foreigners. Although our country also wants to learn technology from foreigners, it has many difficulties. However, this shipyard in United States has It is very different, because the United States people agree that most of the technology personnel in it will be Chinese.” Rong Hong immediately replied, in fact, the United States’s suggestion is also the reason why he particularly likes this plan. .

"All Chinese?" This made Li Hongzhang quite surprised, but he quickly reacted, "I remember when I recalled the children from the United States, many people were left behind by those from the United States. Are you talking about these people?"

"Exactly. My lord, these people actually stayed in the United States that year, and they just wanted to finish their studies. They actually still have feelings for me. If you let these people come back, it would be more convenient than using foreign employees. Less. First, those foreigners do not understand the language of our workers, and they have to rely on interpreters. There are many errors and omissions in the translation. It is better to use them directly for convenience and save the cost of hiring interpreters. Secondly, foreigners often use skills and threats. Ken really imparts technology to our people. Now if we have them, we can naturally avoid these drawbacks. I heard that Japan has sent a large number of students to study abroad over the years, so Japan’s domestic industry has developed rapidly. We are quite the same, and the military expenditure is far more than that of our country. If the original plan to study abroad for children and children were not abandoned halfway, we might..." At this point, Rong Hong recalled the things that disappointed and depressed himself.

"Leave aside these." Li Hongzhang also sighed, "What are the other plans for the United States people?"

"The United States people still have a workaround." Rong Hong said, "The Chilean state will order a batch of new warships for the Chilean navy in the next few years. It is currently suffering from lack of funds. The Macdonald Consortium is willing to provide the Chilean state with The loan, of course, is that the Chileans must buy warships from the shipyard designated by the Macdonald Consortium. In addition, reliable guarantees are required. If adults are interested in these ships, United States people can get the adults to talk to the Chileans. My lord knows that most Westerners have a rule not to sell weapons to the two sides in war. The end of the war cannot be opened, and it is not our side can decide, and once the end of the war is opened, even if we spend the money, we cannot buy warships. Besides, warships and the like must also be targeted for training, which is not something that can be used at hand. However, Chile is an exception. This country is accustomed to selling second-hand weapons to countries at war. Taking advantage of people's wars, Selling used goods at high prices and then using the money to buy new goods is their usual money-making trick. As long as the adults can persuade Qing to provide guarantees for the purchase of ships in Chile, they can sign a contract with Chile at the same time. Once China starts war with Japan, These warships ordered by Chile can be bought at a reasonable price. In this way, if we did not go to war with Japan, then we would not have to spend so much money. If war starts, we can find a place to buy advanced warships. What do you think? "

This idea is rather interesting. Li Hongzhang thought for a while and said: "This matter is extremely important. I have to wait for me to think about it."

Rong Hong also knew that it was impossible to make a decision right away in such a matter. Li Hongzhang was willing to think about it, which meant that he was moved. So he and Li Hongzhang talked a few more words, and Li Hongzhang picked up the teacup.

...

Li Hongzhang asked Rong Hong to arrange a place to live, and Rong Hong stayed there, waiting patiently for news. He knew that such things were not the responsibility of Li Hongzhang alone. No matter which measures he took, Li Hongzhang would have to fight the entire bureaucracy. There were unpredictable "clear streams", Manchu nobles who were suspicious of Han ministers, and... …In short, Rong Wing remembered what the gangster said to him:

"Li Hongzhang Master Li is very capable, but most of his energy is on how to deal with the pig teammates. Let me say, if Li Hongzhang did not assist the Qing Dynasty, but rebelled, it might be better than now. Much better.” Although these words still carry a lot of malice towards me, Rong Hong now feels a little bit that maybe what Wang Qinian said is not all wrong, such as Japan, if not. The shogun’s counter was successful, can there be today?

...

Naturally speaking, Li Hongzhang's new plan met with opposition. Of course, the reason is the most high-sounding.

"Why do you want to buy a new warship? Don’t you know that the people in the west are still eating grass? Do you know that it costs a lot of money to buy a warship. A ship is six hundred thousand taels of silver. There are 400 million people in the country, each person? Ten thousand taels are still a difference of 560,000 taels! With this money, the people all over the country will be able to eat the grass if they share one point per person..."

"What? Give Chile a loan guarantee? How can I be a big country in the celestial dynasty do such a lowly merchant's business? Besides, if there is no war, it will not harm the prestige of my celestial power in vain. Let's talk about Japan, as for it. Everyone spit and drowned them!"

Of course, the specific language will not be like this, but the general meaning is absolutely the same. From ancient times to the present, the tricks of those who play with mouth-cannons and those who save the country with mouth-cannons are actually the same. It doesn't matter if they are called "Qingliu" or "Big V".

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