As a native of Hunan, Zeng Guofan can eat spicy food. When Prince Gong invited Zeng Guofan to his mansion for dinner, he specially provided Zeng Guofan with a plate of Chaotian pepper. The chili peppers have a turquoise color and look crisp and delightful. Zeng Guofan is very self-cultivation, especially at the banquet. He eats a little of each dish, but he doesn't eat too much.

Pick up a chili pepper and bite it down, and it will feel crisp in the mouth. Then the spicy, sour, salty and fragrant taste bursts out on the taste buds. Zeng Guofan's expression was slightly shocked, and he regained his calmness in an instant. Continue to finish the whole pepper.

The prince's food is naturally not unpalatable, and it is a great success to be able to move the diners. When Prince Gong saw Zeng Guofan's seemingly inadvertent pick-up of another Chaotian pepper, he was still quite satisfied.

"Disheng, I don't know what to do with this teaching." After three rounds of drinking, Prince Gong asked.

Originally, Prince Gong wanted to let the Eight Banners see the ability of the Hunan Army during the exercise, and then let the thousands of elites of the Hunan Army led by Zeng Guofan to teach the Eight Banners. The results of the exercise were very different from the original good idea, and fierce clashes broke out between the two sides. Under the strong pressure of the Eight Banners, the Hunan army was forced to cut off the heads of several soldiers to apologize. Things have come to such a point that there is no need to think about teaching and learning anymore. The current training of the Eight Banners can be dù, and Prince Gong does not dare to send these troops to the battlefield with confidence.

Zeng Guofan swallowed the food in his mouth first, and then said calmly: "Lord Wang, it is better to let the Eight Banners send officers to observe the drill of the Hunan army." ”

"Good!" Prince Gong was overjoyed when he arrived. He couldn't help but admire Zeng Guofan's ability to do things. The Manchu Qing believed that fighting a war depended entirely on the command of the officers, and if the level of the officers of the Eight Banners could be improved, the level of the army would naturally be improved accordingly. Zeng Guofan undoubtedly grasped this point, which made Prince Gong feel that Empress Dowager Ci'an's evaluation of Zeng Guofan's "loyal ministers" was correct.

If he wasn't a loyal minister, Zeng Guofan had suffered such a big grievance, where would he think about it for the imperial court. After listening to the question, he immediately came up with a solution, this could not be because Zeng Guofan was in a hurry, but Zeng Guofan had already considered this problem and made a decision. Such loyal ministers are indeed touching. Prince Gong thought of those Han officials who fled the capital for their own lives, and the moral level of those people was simply inferior to that of Zeng Guofan.

"Disheng, come and dry this cup." Prince Gong toasted to Zeng Guofan. He saw that after Zeng Guofan drank the wine, he went to pick up a Chaotian pepper, and he hurriedly gave Zeng Guofan a dish.

"There is another thing, the imperial court bought a batch of firecrackers from the foreigners, and they will be delivered in a few days, and they also asked Disheng to send someone to inspect the goods with us." Prince Gong Yixun put forward a new request. The Hunan army had purchased a large number of foreigners' firearms, and Zeng Guofan was an expert in this regard.

Zeng Guofan replied: "Lord Wang, I can personally inspect the goods." ”

Zeng Guofan personally led the team, and Prince Gong Yixun was even more relieved. If it is said that the Hunan army does not hold a grudge against the Eight Banners Army in his heart, Prince Gong will never believe it. Zeng Guofan, a loyal minister, personally led the team, which was more reassuring than anything else.

Before leaving, Prince Gong ordered someone to take out more than 20 glass bottles. Glass in this era is not a completely rare thing in Beijing, at least in the eyes of the prince. The glass bottle is sealed with a waxed cork, and inside is a clear broth soaked in a large amount of chili peppers.

"Disheng, Hunan people love spicy food, and I don't know if the chili peppers here are to your liking." Prince Gong took out the delicacies he had bought from the big ship of foreign devils. "Not only chili peppers, but also some yellow peaches and pineapples. Try Disheng, and I'll send it to you in a few days. ”

It's already September, and peaches, fruits and other things have long been gone, and it is not an ordinary luxury to be able to eat fruits at this time. But according to the housekeeper who bought these goods, which can definitely be called luxury, the foreign devils at sea do not understand the price, and the price of these glass bottled fruits is "very cheap". Not to mention the fruit in the glass bottle, the glass bottle itself is also worth a little money. But these two bottles only sold for one or two pieces of silver, which were cheaper than the snacks that were paid to the royal family.

Zeng Guofan thanked Prince Gong and took his leave. According to the number of etiquette, Prince Gong sent his subordinates to send these things to Zeng Guofan's mansion in the capital.

A few days later, the maritime trading fleet of the Liberation Army welcomed the Manchu "purchasing group". The person in charge originally thought that with the situation of the two sides not dying, the business with the Manchus might not be able to grow. What I didn't expect was that this business was getting bigger and bigger. There are more and more types of buying and selling. Food, weapons, these are easy to say. Goods such as canned fruits, hams, bacon, candies, etc., which can be brought by Wei Ze himself, are sold cleanly. It's gouache, skin care products, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, soap, and these things are also selling very well. Luxury goods such as incense were also vigorously purchased by Manchu purchasers.

The conclusion of the discussion at the meeting of the party committee was that "the essence of the poor and extravagant upper class of the Manchu Qing Dynasty will not change"! However, when everyone says these words, it is inevitable that they are a little weak-hearted, comrades are all from a bitter background, where have they enjoyed life since childhood, they can eat a full stomach, and it is a great good life not to starve. Since following Weser, everyone has developed the habit of taking a bath and brushing their teeth under discipline and compulsion. With the production of daily chemicals and other products on the track, everyone uses these "daily necessities". In fact, not to mention the Manchu aristocracy, the personnel in the new government system are gradually inseparable from these things.

The party committee is responsible for ideological issues, and the secretary of the party committee put forward his views in response to everyone's doubts, "In our place, can't ordinary people afford it?" On the Manchu side, could ordinary people afford these things? ”

As soon as this question was asked, everyone recovered from the state of weakness. Indeed, ordinary people in the city can afford these goods. The people in charge of sales are all from the Ministry of Commerce, and when you visit the factory, you know how these goods are manufactured on a large scale, and the cost is very low. Glass bottles used to be a rare commodity, but with the improvement of the industrial level and the level of prospecting, as well as the recycling of broken glass, glass has become a very cheap commodity. Canned yellow peaches are sold for a maximum of five yuan in the liberated areas, which is 150 Wen. When it is transported to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, it can be sold for 500 wen immediately. If it weren't for the purpose of this time, it would be to extract as much currency as possible from the Manchu Qing side. The price is higher, but I am afraid that it is also acceptable.

In the end, the results of the discussion were very positive, and the standard of living of the people in the liberated areas under the new government had caught up with the daily life of the Manchu princes and nobles. It can be said that the morale of the entire army has been greatly boosted, and everyone is sincerely praising Wei Ze.

Of course, the troops are not just sold, but also sold. One of the most important commodities is wood from the Tohoku region. In the liberated areas, coal was vigorously promoted as fuel, and with the fuel to replace grass and trees, a large number of afforestation began in areas with convenient transportation. China's 500 million people have to eat, and the demand for fuel is huge. The south is densely populated, and the trees are cut down even more. Those trees are long gone.

The keel ribs of warships are now made of steel, but the iron armor needs to be installed on wooden bases, and these wooden bases need large trees to be processed. The earliest afforestation area of the Liberation Army was only seven years ago, and that was only after the supply of high-quality anthracite coal from the Hongji Coal Mine in the Guangzhou area. Ten years of trees, seven years, and the trees that have been planted have not yet grown. Therefore, the Guangfu Army put the goal in the Northeast, which is the land reserved by the Manchus, but the Manchus do not know how to farm, and since the end of the Ming Dynasty after killing all the Han people in the Northeast, this place is basically deserted. Because there are few people, there are many large trees.

There was no shortage of contacts for the Liberation Army, and many Han Chinese officials fled Beijing, many of whom knew officials from the northeast. There is never a shortage of people who want to "make meritorious contributions", and there are former Manchu officials who fight for their families, and the Guangfu Army actually didn't expect that it could really have any effect. But the big-rooted trees in the northeast began to sell the fleet of the Liberation Army by sea route. Sales are increasing.

A shadow of a sail appeared in the binoculars of the lookout on the mast, and soon several steam clippers drove past. As soon as the north wind blows, goods from the north begin to be transported in large quantities to the south. In the same way, the trees in the northeast are cut down and floated down the river to the sea, where they make a raft with sails on top of it, and then sail south.

Half a day later, the steamer that had gone to inspect returned to the fleet, and the personnel in charge of checking reported to the fleet command. "More than 2,000 trees have been brought here. It's a real big tree! ”

More than 2,000 trees? The command was overjoyed. It's beyond everyone's best imagination. People think it's great to have a thousand trees.

This joy did not last long, and the comrade with a beaming face continued: "They say that there are still thousands of books to come!" ”

Seventy or eighty miles away on the sea, the Tayland sat on a wooden raft and touched the trunk of a tree with his hand. I must describe his mood at this time, probably the same as the mood of the old Han farmer when he looked at the wheat that was growing happily. Last summer, the owner of the flag said that someone had collected wood and called on his people to cut down trees. Of course, the flag owner told everyone that the money earned from the sale of the tree was divided into four or six accounts. The flag owner takes six, and the participating flag takers take four.

Last year, I transported the wood to the sea, and sure enough, I made money. The silver made Tylanhai feel like a god. Last year, everyone was skeptical, and they cut down trees that were not so thick. At most, the two of them hugged each other. The foreign devil said that compared with last year's trees, the big trees that three or four people can't hug together can be sold for two to three times the price.

This year, everyone continued to cut down trees, and the flag lord led everyone to pick up the big trees that three or four people couldn't hug for half a year. The trees were lifted out of the water and transported to sea. Fortunately, last year, the foreign devil merchants who led a large number of Han Chinese sailors provided a large number of thick cables to the flag owners, and these big trees could be tied together smoothly.

Tailanhai couldn't close his mouth when he thought about the benefits he was going to get. And the flag owner stood straight in front of the wooden row, staring at it, as if he wanted to find the silver mountain in his dream. Tailanhai looked at the flag owner, and there was also a trace of worry in his heart. Outside the gate is the land of Longxing, and it is necessary to protect the great feng shui, so those giant trees are not allowed to be cut down. But the banner owner didn't think so at all, so he cut down so aggressively. If the big masters of the capital knew, would they blame it? There is no bottom in Tailanhai's heart. It's okay to punish it, if the master of the capital confiscates the money, it will be miserable!

Some smoke appeared in the sky, and the smoke was getting closer and closer, and a ship with no sails appeared in everyone's eyes from south to north. This is the ship of the foreign devil I saw last year, Tailanhai stood up and cheered, and everyone on the boat got up at this time, jumping and jumping excitedly, and cheering hoarsely.

Money! It's finally here!

"That's a lot of savings!" The secretary of the party committee of the fleet stammered a little when he spoke. If the price of the wood received this time was in the south, it was estimated that it would be fifteen to twenty times the price of the fleet's expenditure. And a lot of trees can't be bought at all. He had already sent a clipper ship back to the port in Zhejiang, and asked the navy to send someone as soon as possible. Tens of thousands of huge logs are completely beyond the capacity of the current fleet. R1058