In the past, Weser had only heard of the term ore vein, but after returning to this era, Wei Ze had really seen the ore vein. Underground deposits are not a standard regular cube, nor are they a large area of land with uniform mineral content under the surface. Whether it is a coal seam or an iron ore, it is all one by one. So the hole is drilled to the vein, and then dug along the vein, and the hole is supported with wood or something, so that the hole does not collapse. In addition to the cave collapse, there was also gas and water leakage in the crevices of the low. When people are underground, once they are flooded or gas explodes, people under the pit often die. Mining is not only heavy labor, but also a very dangerous job.

The reason why Hongji Coal Mine is famous is that the ore layer of Hongji Coal Mine is very shallow from the ground, and the soil can be excavated directly on the ground and the coal seam can be exposed. Moreover, the coal quality of Hongji Coal Mine is extremely good, and it can be used on steam ships after being crushed in Vietnam. It can be said to be a gift from heaven.

Weeser has seen some photographs of Australian and Brazilian iron ore mines, which are pits excavated in the ground. At the edge of the huge pit there is a circular road for heavy trucks to climb, and the pit is dug down and in all directions, and the heavy trucks enter the bottom of the pit, load the ore into it, and drive it back to the surface.

For the Hongji Coal Mine, Wei Ze's design is also based on this model. Steam engine-driven conveyor belts transport coal directly from the open pit. The railroad tracks and small trains near the pit mine transported the coal dug out of the pit to the port, and then loaded from the port and transported to the places where the coal was needed in various parts of the Liberation Army. In the process of designing, Weeser was a little excited. Even without the grandeur of a large-scale mineral production base in the 21st century, this line of thinking can be regarded as a reflection of the magnificent beauty of large industry.

With the design concept and the corresponding drawings, Weeser quickly transformed from an agitated engineering dog back to a ruthless 19th-century ruler. The Liberation Army did not just want to lease the Hung Kai Coal Mine for five years, but more follow-up actions related to the Nguyen Dynasty in Vietnam needed to be carried out one by one. The policy being pursued was not only related to the Nguyen dynasty in Vietnam, but also to the French invasion in Asia, which was then linked from France to the world hegemon, Britain.

At the beginning of July, Pang Congcong, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Iron and Steel Group, found Wei Ze and asked Wei Ze to help her suppress the opinions below.

"Governor, there are comrades who hope to directly sell our old weapons to the Ruan Dynasty. Personally, I don't think it's appropriate. Pang Congcong said frankly. Foshan in July was extremely humid and hot, and Pang Congcong seemed to be in a hurry when he came, and the sweat on his forehead was not completely wiped off, and then it came out again.

Wei Ze first asked Pang Congcong to sit down, and his secretary Li Yifang brought Pang Congcong a cup of tea mixed with mint. Wei Ze then asked, "Why is it not suitable?" ”

Pang Congcong took a sip first, felt that it tasted good, and took a big sip before he put down the teacup with a sigh of relief, "Of course Ruan Chao knows that we sell weapons to them to make money, and we also know that we sell weapons to them to make money. Since they all know it, what else to pretend. We take out good things and sell them to them, and the good things will naturally be sold for a good price. Take some rags to bluff people, do you really think that Ruan Chao's gang are fools? ”

Weser nodded, "I agree with you, and then what?" ”

Pang Congcong said to Wei Ze: "Everyone also thinks it makes sense. But everyone thinks that the task is so full, we have eliminated the fire cap gun ourselves, and specially produced the cast iron fire cap gun for the Ruan Dynasty, and it has to be specially processed, and the cost is too high. ”

A little girl who looked like she might not be sixteen years old, talking about Yan Sù with a straight face, Wei Ze felt that such a subordinate was too cute. After listening to Pang Congcong's words, Wei Ze said, "Then what are you going to let me do?" ”

Pang Congcong replied: "The article you wrote last time was not detailed enough, but only said that it was sold to Ruan Chao for the fire cap gun. Please make up a copy of the text, stating that it is to make a new fire cap gun and sell it to the Nguyen Dynasty. That way, I can save a lot of trouble. ”

Wei Ze shook his head, "I can't give it to you now, this has to be discussed at the Standing Committee meeting." ”

"Why bother?" Pang Congcong didn't quite understand.

Wei Ze replied, "As the president of the Restoration Society, I have to take the lead in maintaining the system of the Liberation Society. I can't make the decision on such matters alone, and I have to discuss them before I can make a decision. Of course, you can come to the conference and present your opinion at the meeting. I also have my own opinion and will be on the table at the meeting. ”

Pang Congcong understood the process Wei Ze said, but she still complained: "Dudu, this is too troublesome." ”

"It is not unreasonable that you have indeed increased the expenses of our army by doing so, and some comrades oppose this. Moreover, if you can come to me to talk about Xiang, can't other comrades go to other Standing Committee members and say that Xiang is not successful? In the event of a conflict of such different opinions, we are all members of the Standing Committee, and in the end we have to discuss them at the Standing Committee. And now that we are discussing, no one has given an order. Even in terms of face, it's okay. I'm a thick-skinned person, and I'm not afraid of changing my orders. But we can't ask other comrades to be as shameless as I am. At the end, Weser even laughed.

Pang Congcong doesn't have such a sense of humor as Wei Ze, her little face is tense, and she looks very unhappy. However, Li Yifang listened to Wei Ze's words and couldn't help but burst out laughing. Seeing that Pang Congcong still looked a little puzzled, Li Yifang stepped forward and persuaded: "Congcong, men want to save face." You have such a big heart, and you are still angry and ran here to talk to the governor. Won't the men under your command be unconvinced? As long as the Standing Committee can get through, no one can be convinced! Since you're all here, why bother waiting a little longer? ”

Everyone knows the relationship between Li Yifang and Wei Ze, but no one wants to do any boring expansion on this matter in this era of war. Besides, regardless of Li Yifang's status, as far as Li Yifang herself is concerned, she is quite calm and gives people a very light feeling.

Of course, Wei Ze didn't completely agree with the talented Li Yifang's "map cannon" for men, but if he could effectively appease Pang Congcong, Wei Ze didn't care about Li Yifang's comments on men.

The Standing Committee is a regular meeting, and it doesn't take long for the meeting to be convened. Pang Congcong expounded her thoughts in front of the Standing Committee members, and at the end of the exposition, she said: "If we build a new fire, it will indeed have some impact on the current work arrangement, and investment will also increase." ”

When talking about business ethics, the Standing Committee members did not have any objections. At the last mention of money, the faces of the Standing Committee members were not so good-looking. Finance Minister Li Yuchang frowned and said, "Comrade Pang Congcong, do you know how many weapons we are going to sell to the Ruan Dynasty? ”

Pang Congcong shook her head, she just received the order, and she was still waiting for a more specific mission notice.

Li Yuchang continued: "According to our liaison with the Nguyen Dynasty, the Nguyen Dynasty's demand for our weapons is at least three thousand, and in terms of the Nguyen Dynasty's needs, it may eventually reach thirty thousand or even more. If a gun adds up to some costs, how much does it cost to add up to tens of thousands of guns? Have you counted this? ”

As the Liberation Army could produce its own steel barrels, the Fire Cap Gun began to be phased out of the Restoration Army's equipment. Over the years, the Guangfu Army has remodeled a lot of gun barrels, and some of them were even captured in Anqing. The butt can also be recycled, but the barrel is absolutely not good. Based on current experience, the production and processing of cast iron barrels is very convenient. It's just that no matter how convenient it is, there is no way to directly sell the obsolete old guns to Ruan Chaolai. As finance minister, Li Yuchang was already under a lot of pressure when he implemented the budget, and of course he did not want any additional spending.

Hearing Li Yuchangman's negative words, Pang Congcong asked rhetorically: "But I don't know if the weapon we sent to Ruan Chao is a new gun or an old gun?" ”

This question made Li Yuchang speechless, first of all, he didn't know what kind of gun he sent, and secondly, from common sense, the Huo Qiang sent to the court of the Ruan Dynasty must be a good gun, and it was basically impossible to be those rags that the Guangfu Army had completely eliminated.

And Pang Congcong is still young and vigorous, she continued: "Ruan Chao is not a fool, what kind of virtue is the old gun we used, don't we know it ourselves?" Some of the rifling of the guns was long gone because of the lead. What price can such a product be fetched? Although the cost of a good gun is high, a good gun can also be sold at a good price. If you count it here, I'm afraid that a good gun will make more money. I don't know what Minister Li thinks? ”

Li Yuchang wanted to say something several times, but he couldn't find the right words. Pang Congcong's reasoning is very clear, and this reasoning is completely in line with normal people's thinking. can be choked to death here by a little girl's words, Li Yuchang is in a very unhappy mood. And the surrounding Standing Committee members couldn't help but have some mocking looks on their faces, and Li Yuchang was even more unhappy. He couldn't help but scold: "What do you little girl know? ”

"Wait!" Wei Ze interrupted Li Yuchang's words, "Minister Li, we have discipline and can't use gender as a reason. ”

Although this is indeed one of the many meeting principles that Wei Ze has mentioned a long time ago, speaking in front of the Standing Committee and Pang Congcong is quite a blow to Li Yuchang's face. Li Yuchang's face was even more difficult to look at. It's just that Wei Ze didn't mean to pursue, he turned to the other Standing Committee members and said, "Do you think it's appropriate to invest a little more in aspects?" ”

Hong Renji was in charge of diplomacy, and he was in charge of the liaison with the Nguyen Dynasty this time. So Hong Renji took over and introduced: "Ruan Chao's attitude towards us is very positive. Not only are they very satisfied with our firefighters, but they also want us to be able to sell artillery to them. I don't think there's anything wrong with building them some new guns. A new grab can indeed sell for a good price. ”

According to the representatives who went to Hue, the capital of the Nguyen Dynasty, to demonstrate their weapons, the new rifle caused quite a stir in the Nguyen Dynasty's court. It's not that the Nguyen Dynasty has never seen a musket gun, but at this time, the French were invading the Nguyen Dynasty in Vietnam, and the British cooperated with the French to implement an arms embargo on the Nguyen Dynasty, and the Nguyen Dynasty could not obtain advanced weapons from foreign countries. Being able to buy a large number of new rifles from the side of the Liberation Army made the Nguyen Dynasty court, which felt a crisis, very excited.

Li Yuchang was still a little embarrassed, and he asked: "Since everyone is willing to sell, it is priceless and marketable, and I can sell it cheaper at most, and what can I lose." How much trouble can we save by getting rid of the old guns. Producing more other products is also making money from another point of view. ”

Hong Renji shook his head, "This time is different, if Ruan Chao is determined to buy weapons, it is not impossible to get a high price." But we didn't ask them for money this time. ”

Except for Wei Ze, the other Standing Committee members were a little stunned. If you don't want money, will you not be able to give it away for nothing? Or did the Nguyen Dynasty have other valuable gadgets that could be traded?

Hong replied: "We don't want the Nguyen Dynasty to take out real money, but to barter rice for trade. Originally, the court of the Ruan Dynasty was worried that we would knock them out, but when they heard that it was rice for fire, the Ruan Dynasty, who was worried that we would knock on the bamboo poles, was completely relieved. As soon as they opened their mouths, there were three thousand guns. And patted his chest and said that he would only want a lot more in the future. Vietnam was already rich in rice, and the Nguyen court didn't care about overcharging taxes in kind. It is difficult to get back gold and silver after it is sold, and Champa rice is harvested three times a year, which is an inexhaustible resource. ”

I heard that it was actually rice exchange for fire, and the Standing Committee members were silent. The people regard food as their heaven, and the Liberation Army is engaged in granting land and 30% of the grain tax. This is indeed benevolent government, and it also effectively solves the problem of conscription. But the thing in the world has always been that "sugar cane is not sweet at both ends". The people have really benefited, then it means that the interests of other people have been "harmed". The total amount of food received is rigidly limited.

The system of the Restoration Governorate was completely different from the system of the Manchu Dynasty, in which the imperial power was not lower than that of the county, and the Liberation Army now had 300,000 or 400,000 people in the army and the military industrial enterprises, and these people consumed a huge amount of food every day. In addition to the collection of grain, a part of the money had to be used to buy grain in the market.

Even if the Liberation Army eradicated the power of the big landlords, there were still a large number of small and medium-sized landlords and gentry in Guangdong, and these people were the foundation of Guangdong's traditional forces. In the past, they had a lot of struggles with big landlords and big businessmen. At present, the only object of their conflict is the Governor's Mansion. For the Guangfu Governor's Mansion, which forcibly controlled the entire Guangdong, these people dared to be angry and did not dare to speak.

Therefore, the Guangfu Army bought grain in the market, which led to an increase in grain prices. For these people, the increase in food prices is not only economically beneficial, but also psychologically refreshing. And after the people obediently handed over the grain to the Guangfu Governor's Mansion, they felt that the cooperation with the "new court" was also completed. They also want to be able to benefit from high food prices. Therefore, in previous years, food prices would fall sharply during the autumn harvest, but this year, food prices have remained high.

If you can really get a lot of rice from Vietnam, it will not be a general benefit. The import of large quantities of Vietnamese rice into the control area of the Governor's Republic of China can make the people who maintain the price of rice completely desperate.

As finance minister, Li Yuchang certainly knows the meaning of this, and he is about to say something about it. Wei Ze waved his hand first and said, "Then let's discuss whether it is a new fire qiang, or eliminate the guys we don't use as much as possible!" ”

At this time, there was nothing to discuss, and the Standing Committee members were all in favor of building a new fire qiang in order to maintain the big customer of the Nguyen Dynasty in Vietnam. As long as they can have a large amount of rice, not to mention the new fire, it is not a problem to give them the new artillery.

Eventually, things came to a definite conclusion. These old barrels that have been obsolete are all remelted. A new cast iron rifled front-loading fire-cap gun was specially produced and sold to the Nguyen Dynasty. Even the recycled wooden butts were selected for their uncracked, polished and painted. It looks as new and beautiful as possible.

Pang Congcong returned satisfied, and the other Standing Committee members were anxious to discuss the issue of rice, just waiting for Pang Congcong to leave the conference room quickly. It's just that Li Yuchang looked at Pang Congcong's back with a trace of disgust.

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