Next, the third and last major event to be discussed on this day is the establishment of a bank. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

Li Hongzhang gave an explanation of the statement prepared by Ke Millon: The household department will allocate 5 million taels of silver as capital, and if there is no such huge amount of money for the time being, it may as well borrow from HSBC.

Then he listed many advantages of the bank, and Yan Jingming, who is good at financial management, leaned over and listened attentively, deeply interested.

"Foreign banks, and our Chinese silver number, money bank, look no different, are the proverbial saying, in the eyes of 'copper money turn over the heels', in fact, very different, collection and payment, there is no law. Therefore, whether the principal wins souls or not is related to success or failure. ”

When Li Hongzhang said this, he paused for a moment, and then waved his hand to accentuate his tone: "If our bank doesn't do it, it's enough, and if you want to do it, you have to use foreigners."

Ke Miron, the general manager of Shanghai HSBC, has been in charge of Tongzhi for 12 years. HSBC, which had lost money, had been reorganized and its business was booming, and now it has become the leader of the Shanghai Foreign Bank, and its popularity has spread far and wide in the countries of the East and the West.

If we can get his help, I can guarantee that our bank will be prosperous. ”

After Li Hongzhang finished speaking, Prince Alcohol expressed his opinion. He looked at Yan Jingming and asked, "Danchu, what do you think?" ”

"I'm in favor. However, first, the bank is a foreigner's name, and we don't have to force it to be the same, and it is still appropriate to call it 'official bank number'. ”

"Yes!" Li Hongzhang hurriedly interfaced, "If the household department has an 'official money number', you might as well set up an 'official silver number'." The name has been changed well and is in line with the system. ”

"Second, if we want to do it ourselves, why use foreigners?"

"You don't need foreigners, but people don't believe in you." This blurted out an answer, which is really the so-called "shocking four".

Yan Jingming changed color violently, his big and small eyes blinked together, describing him as ugly. Li Hongzhang knew that he had lost his words, so he hurriedly explained again.

"This is by no means that people look down on our household department, because in business, the most important thing is the credit of the principal.

For example, now we have to pay a sum of money in London, and we need to use it very urgently, according to the rules of the banks of various countries, and we will pay the full amount when a telegram goes.

If the manager of our official silver account is not known to foreigners, how can people rest assured? To use Cmiron is to use his prestige and credibility. ”

This explanation can finally justify itself, Yan Jingming bowed slightly, indicating that he understood.

Prince Alcohol was originally afraid that Yan Li would disagree and overturn this good thing, but now that he sees this situation, he can be relieved.

"The matter is so big that I can't talk about it in detail for a while, since Danchu is also in favor, then this matter will be handed over to the household department for discussion. Look, what is it like this? ”

"It's the right thing to do!" Shidor replied.

So in the twilight, they scattered back to their homes. Li Hongzhang had seven dinners that day, and because he knew that the meeting would be very long, he would have thanked them a long time ago.

On this day, when I entered the palace, I learned that the internal recital office had passed the decree: Li Hongzhang and Prince Alcohol were summoned together. The two met in a hurry, and without a few words, they had already "called".

Entering the hall first to see the face of the Empress Dowager Cixi, under the cover of the yellow gauze screen, it is not very clear, only to hear the Empress Dowager Cixi coughing slightly, her voice is hoarse and low, Li Hongzhang listened quietly, and even dared not breathe, there was really a sense of trembling.

"Running a navy is a big deal." The Empress Dowager Cixi made a leisurely start: "The 'building ship' mentioned in the history books, can it be compared with the current ironclad ship?" In the future, when the ship arrives from the ocean, you should all go up and have a look. ”

"Yes!" Prince Alcohol replied: "As soon as the ship arrives, the minister will go to see it with Li Hongzhang." ”

"You don't have to be busy for a while, you always have to be proficient in acting before you have something to watch.

Who will take care of these three ironclad ships? “

Now Li Hongzhang replied: "The original deputy general Liu Buyun and more than 20 of them were sent to Germany to take care of shipbuilding projects while learning to drive and repair.

This time, I helped the German soldiers to drive back to China, and when they arrived at the mouth of Dagu, the minister wanted to examine it in detail, and then inform the prince of alcohol, and ask for a fixed pipe belt. ”

"The Germans sailed their ships to China, and naturally they had to return home. Our own people, can we take it, but can't we take it? ”

"I can't take it for a while. The minister and Prince Alcohol have already discussed, and they should stay with the German soldiers for three or two years, learn their skills, and then send them back to China. ”

"Yes." The Empress Dowager Cixi picked up a letter on the imperial case and raised it: "Some people say that the materials in Zhenyuan are not as good as Dingyuan, and the cost is expensive. What does this say? ”

"Zhenyuan's iron armor is thick and thin, and all the arrangements are the same as Dingyuan's, the difference is that under the Dingyuan waterline, they are all steel-faced iron armor, and under the Zhenyuan's waterline, iron armor is used. This was because the price of foreign steel at that time suddenly rose sharply, and it could not be handled without change. At that time, it was clear that there was a case. ”

"Where's Jiyuan?" The Empress Dowager Cixi moved the letter outward.

"Jiyuan can't return to China with Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, it seems to be an exaggeration, and now Jiyuan has come east with Dingyuan and Zhenyuan."

Li Hongzhang replied: "Jiyuan is a fast boat, which was built in imitation of the new British appearance at that time, because it was the first time, some places were not very suitable, and the minister had already written to Zeng Jize, asking him to discuss with Xu Jingcheng that the two newly ordered boats would try their best to modify the pattern. In short, the good places must be kept, and the bad places must be changed. ”

"That's how it should be. However, there are so many problems nowadays, and I am afraid that it will not be able to change them even if they are not corrected. Seventh Master, look, do you send a telegram to them, and the two new ships will slow down for a while, and then talk about it when things are settled? ”

"This," Prince Alcohol turned his face and asked in a low voice, "What do you see, Shaoquan?" ”

Li Hongzhang wanted to say: "The two new ships have already signed construction contracts with others and have paid Dingyang. If the construction is delayed, it is too uneconomical to compensate for the losses of others. These words were already in his mouth, and when he found that it was inappropriate, he refused to speak.

"The Queen Mother Shengming should be handled in accordance with the instructions."

The navy yamen has also been established, and the expansion and repair of the three seas can be carried out in a big way.

In this big project, there are three people who are most important, one is Li Lianying, one is Lishan, and the other is Lei Tingchang.

Of course, Li Lianying understood what the Empress Dowager Cixi meant, and even expected that it would be handled like this. The project of expanding Sanhai is about to be carried out on a large scale, and it is not appropriate to talk about rebuilding Qingyi Garden at this time, just to give Prince Alcohol an excuse to discourage.

However, there are many things that can't be done to hide from Prince Alcohol, because he is now a "military plane", even if he doesn't grasp big and small affairs, he has nothing to ask about.

Li Lianying thought in her heart, this mission is very difficult to do, to be able to pass the test calmly, it really takes a lot of effort, and it must not be publicized at present, and even Fu Kun is not yet negotiable.

At this time, there was only one person who could be discussed: Tateyama. (To be continued.) )