The soldiers and horses went first before the grain and grass were moved, and Prince Gong Yixun at least knew this truth. He forced the head of the household department to find a way to get food. The Shogun of the Household Department is the highest-ranking prefect of the Household Department among the six ministries, equivalent to the Minister of Finance. Getting food is naturally the job of the head of the household.

Bao Jun was a clan, and the Manchu dynasty was very different from other dynasties in that they were able to hold high positions and hold great power in the imperial court. Listening to Prince Gong's request, Bao Jun first scolded Luo Xuanyan. Luo Xuanyan is a native of Shunde, Guangdong, and after seeing the "Letter to Manchu Qing Officials" posted by the Guangfu Army in Beijing, he secretly ran away with his family. Of course, Luo Xuanyan was not the first to run away, and he also left an official seal when he ran away.

Listening to Bao Jun scolding Luo Xuanyan, Prince Gong could only wait first. There are six central departments in the Qing Dynasty, one of which has one full and one Han and two Shangshu. Although nominally there is no distinction between superior and inferior, it is limited to when two people have the same opinion. In fact, Manshangshu was the main minister, and Han Shangshu was the deputy minister, and the real power of each ministry was completely in the hands of Manchu officials. Generally speaking, the Manchu rulers would trust and support the Manchu Shangshu more in their hearts, but in practice, they would be more supportive of the Han Shangshu. This is also something that cannot be helped, after all, in terms of official duties, the Manchu Qing Dynasty's century work ability is indeed not as good as that of the Han people. The reason why Bao Jun scolded Luo Xuanyan so much is also because Bao Jun, who monopolizes the power of the household department, can't stand it under heavy pressure.

But just scolding Luo Xuanyan, the escaped Han Hubu Shangshu, could not solve any practical problems at all, and Bao Jun stopped a little exhausted after scolding for more than ten minutes. In this big summer, after scolding for more than ten minutes, his head was also full of sweat.

Prince Gong Yixun didn't feel any empathetic anger when he listened, there were too many Beijing officials who fled, and if he was really angry, it would not be enough to be angry. He asked, "When will you get this food?" ”

Bao Jun shook his head bitterly, "Prince Gong, this matter is not easy to handle. Now the roads have been cut off by the bandits. Not to mention whether you can receive food, if you can receive it, you can't transport it. ”

"What about the grain in Huangzhuang?" Prince Gong asked.

"Huangzhuang?" Bao Jun was stunned, he never expected Prince Gong to be so bold, or Prince Gong didn't care about anything when the dog jumped over the wall in a hurry. The Huangzhuang can theoretically provide a large amount of grain, but it is all the princes' own land, and the harvest of the Huangzhuang can be used, and the resistance that can be encountered can be imagined.

Bao Jun did not immediately object, but instead talked about the Eight Banners.

The Manchu Qing Dynasty once hoped that the Eight Banners could become professional soldiers who supported the country, however, it backfired, after entering the customs, the battle of the Eight Banners declined sharply, during the Kangxi period, the three feudal clans, and the Taiwan was basically served by the Green Battalion, and the Eight Banners troops were not good in several battles with the Dzungar Mongols, taking the Battle of Ulan Butong as an example, the Eight Banners had a strength of 100,000 people, but the organization was chaotic, the command was not effective, and the main general was cowardly, not only failed to eliminate the enemy army of only 20,000 or 30,000 people, but he suffered heavy casualties, Minister of the Interior Tong Guogang (Kangxi's uncle) was killed.

In some important wars during the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods, such as the Battle of Qaidam, the Battle of Pingding and the Battle of Jinchuan, only a small number of officers and soldiers of the Eight Banners participated in the battle, and some of the Eight Banners troops who were known as the elite of the Eight Banners were inferior to the Green Battalion soldiers.

From Jiaqing to the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Eighth Banner Army gradually evolved into a social relief organization that relied exclusively on state support, and it could not be called an army at all. In 1799, when the Qing army suppressed the White Lotus Uprising, it once sent the most elite Jianrui battalion and firearms battalion of the Eight Banners of the Beijing camp to the front line, but due to the corruption of military discipline, they did not listen to the restraints, and were forced to withdraw their troops back to Beijing before they could enter the battle.

Prince Gong is ready to send the Eight Banners into battle, which is an understandable attitude, but the combat effectiveness of the Eight Banners Army is indeed completely untrustworthy. Bao Jun is reminding Prince Gong very implicitly.

After listening to the reminder of Hubu Shangshu Baojun, Prince Gong Yixun did not have any intention of compromise. He replied: "It is because of the dependence on the Han people that the Manchus have reached such a point. The more the Eight Banners don't fight, the less they will fight. At this time, it's just for them to fight the bandits, if they can't even beat the bandits, let them fight the Cantonese bandits, let them fight Wei Ze, can they beat them? ”

Bao Jun listened to Prince Gong's angry answer, and he also agreed a little in his heart. As the capital, the days are getting more and more bitter day by day, which really makes the Manchu high-ranking officials very unhappy. Where is this what the capital should look like? Now that the price of rice and noodles is skyrocketing, the basic life is no longer good. If they can let the Eight Banners go out to fight, they can always loot something in the local area, and they can always solve the material pressure inside the capital.

Thinking of this, Bao Jun said: "Prince Gong, there is no way to get food. ”

Prince Gong Yixun originally believed that Bao Jun would probably be able to come up with a solution, so he motioned for Bao Jun to continue.

Bao Jun replied: "Now the foreigners' sea ships go to Tianjin and other places to do business, and those ships carry grain. The price is okay. ”

"Then why not buy it?" Prince Gong hurriedly asked.

"No money!" Hubu Shangshu Baojun replied in embarrassment.

When it comes to foreigners, Prince Gong is full of anger. Prince Gong Yixun is nicknamed Devil Six, because he ranks sixth, because in the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Prince Gong Yixun is the one who understands foreign devils best. Of course, this understanding is only relative, and Prince Gong's diplomatic level is not at all comparable to that of the foreign minister in the new government established by Wei Ze. can be compared with the upper echelons of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Prince Gong can still understand foreign devils. He knows very well the attitude of foreign devils who wholeheartedly seek profit.

In order to make a profit, the foreign devils could start a war, and Emperor Xianfeng fled from the city of Beijing. But seeing that the Manchus couldn't stand it, the foreign devils ran away, and they didn't even have the heart to fight the Manchus. In the Beijing Treaty. The foreign devils forced the establishment of an embassy in Beijing, and the fear of the Manchu upper echelons at that time was that the country's important affairs were known to the foreign devils in Beijing.

Now, in order to be able to get in touch with foreign devils, Prince Gong very much hopes that foreign devils can establish an embassy in Beijing. But at this time, not only did the foreign devil not have an embassy, but even the consulate in Tianjin was gone. Thinking of this, Prince Gong said angrily: "You are unkind, I am unjust." In that case, let's get the food first, and don't give them money! ”

Bao Jun smiled bitterly: "Prince Gong, it would be nice if this was really the case." The foreign devils are fine, and their grain ships have not docked at all! ”

Hearing what Bao Jun said, Prince Gong was probably sure that Bao Jun had also made a plan not to give money. But it is clear that this line of thinking has not been able to become a reality.

While the Manchu leadership was discussing the issue of grain, a fleet was anchored beyond the Bohai Sea. The core of this fleet are three merchant ships of more than 6,000 tons, and four ironclad ships are used as escorts. The thickness of the iron hull of each ironclad ship is probably between 80 and 100 mm. This is the latest achievement of the Liberation Army.

Initially limited to shipbuilding capabilities, the ironclad was only 15-20 mm. After a lot of sea trials, it withstood wind and waves. The Navy gradually increased the thickness of the ironclad, and according to intelligence, the thickness of the ironclad of foreign iron-framed ships was about 200 mm, and it was impossible to penetrate such armor even if it was bombarded by heavy artillery. Although the navy of the Guangfu Army has not yet had time to fight a few battles with foreign devils, it is enough to deal with the Manchu Qing naval army. 100 mm iron armor can't withstand heavy naval guns, but 100 mm iron armor can definitely withstand the artillery of the Manchu Shimizu Division. With such escort by the main ships of the navy, the navy can rest assured that merchant ships of more than 6,000 tons can do business outside the Bohai Sea.

At this time, the discussion on the warship was a very theoretical issue, and Weeser wrote the first draft of "The Theory of Sea Power", in which Weeser raised the issue of shipping rights, and raised a worldwide issue of sea power. In the 20 years since the outbreak of the Southeast Asian financial turmoil in 1996, China has bloodlessly reaped the dividends of the victorious countries in World War I.

The markets of all countries in the world have opened their doors to China, and the markets of all countries in the world have seen a large number of industry failures in the competition with China. The first to fall was Southeast Asia, followed by many industries in Europe.

But beneath these surfaces is the basis for the freedom of navigation of a global shipping network. This was decided by the Yankees after World War II. Before World War II, the various maritime powers were drawn into prisons, and in order to run their powerful navies, these people really had to collect a lot of money to buy roads.

Wei Ze has not read Mahan's "Theory of Sea Power", but according to his own cognition, he finally came up with Wei Ze's design for the future, and this future Chinese naval design is Wei Ze's "Theory of Sea Power". In this, what Weeser determined was the establishment of a strong navy and absolute dominance over the shipping lanes. The absolute dominance is not only the rejection of foreign navies, but also the idea of eliminating pirates and establishing shipping services. Of course, China, which has opened up such a shipping route, naturally needs to charge a certain fee.

China may be able to get the dividends of the victorious countries of the First World War in the 21st century because of the world situation, while Weeser can only use military force to get his own benefits in the second half of the 19th century. Counting on peace is a complete fantasy.

Conscientiously studying and seriously discussing the "Theory of Sea Power" is the basic arrangement of the officers and men of the Navy. However, this action to pass the time was not the main purpose of the trip, the main purpose of the trip was to come to the north to do business.

The Liberation Army did not participate in the war against the Manchus with military operations, but this does not mean that the Liberation Army is ready to sit back and watch the Manchus fall so silently. The fall of any dynasty will be preceded by a final stage of dying struggle, and the Manchus should have thought of it. The price of grain in the capital skyrocketed, and after the Guangfu Army got the news, they sent a fleet to sell grain to the north.

In the past, grain went through the canal, and now Miao Peilin, who occupies Jining, calls himself the king of Qi, which has the meaning of independent statehood. Of course, Miao Peilin didn't dare to do anything to the Guangfu Army, but the Guangfu Army didn't want to gamble, and the steamship was also a very important material, and if there was a loss, everyone would be heartbroken. More importantly, the efficiency of taking the canal is too low, and ships of more than 6,000 tons can fill up grain and other materials in Hunan and other places at one time, and go down the river and go straight to the Bohai Sea, which is actually very easy.

Soon, other ships appeared on the periphery, and the Liberation Army was not only on this trip, but also a number of small boats. The boats formed a defensive front on the perimeter, and the two sides soon began to make contact. The two sides first talked about the price, and then inspected the goods. Loading and unloading at sea is then carried out. This is all technical work, and many people have died in order to be proficient in these techniques.

After loading and unloading, the boats left to transport food or other household goods to the north. The fleet of the Liberation Army is waiting for the next round of people to come to do business.

On the fifth day of the trade, a fleet finally arrived. The flotilla was unusual, with something lugging behind their boat, and it was only when you got close that you could see that it was a huge tree trunk. There are huge wooden rows behind these ships, each of which looks like a tree that is more than a hundred years old, and the personnel of the Restoration Army and Navy are excited, and the gold and silver earned are actually nothing special. The navy can't actually share these things, and it has to spend effort to surround the security of the transaction.

But these trees are completely different, and they are very much needed by the Restoration Navy. Importing fine oak from the United States is good, but it's too expensive. Emperor Wei Ze once told that in the future, the naval warships of the Guangfu Army will be made of steel, with a tonnage of 15,000 tons. But that's just the narrative of the future, and the warships made now with iron-boned wooden hulls covered with ironclad require a lot of high-quality wood. It is not cost-effective to cross the Pacific Ocean to get wood, so the use of wood from the north is a very important means.

"Where did you get all this wood from?" This is one of the things that the army cares about the most, and when the whole country is liberated in the future, everyone will also go to those places to cut wood.

"I guess it was cut from a place called Manchu Longxing." A Navy officer who had been briefed replied.

"The Land of Dragons? What the hell is that? "The fighters did not understand this.

The person who spoke didn't understand very well that the Liberation Army was not capable of sticking its hand into the north of the cup now. And the wood sellers didn't have any explanation for this, they just said that they were from the north. All the information was occasionally mentioned by Tianjin merchants in the middle of the transaction. The Liberation Army did not dare to take this seriously at all.

At this time, the people sent by Prince Gong also took a ship to the periphery to do business with the "foreign devils". The Guangfu Army was not stupid enough to not hide it at all, at least they put two or three hired foreign devils on each boat as nurseries. Anyway, foreign devils don't know how to speak Chinese, and the interpreters of the Liberation Army say whatever they say. The guy doing business on the other side doesn't understand either.

And Weeser used this flag as the flag of the European Union in a spoof, and on the blue flag, the white stars formed a circle. When the Chinese asked, the Restoration Army Navy said that this was the flag of the "Europa Union". The Manchus didn't even know what Europa was, and even if they did, they didn't know what this Europa Alliance was. In short, they were all scared.

Therefore, the people sent by Prince Gong listened to the foreign devils on the ship muttering in a foreign language for a while, and they even broke out into laughter between them and the interpreter, which made Prince Gong's subordinates sure that this was indeed the fleet of foreign devils. It's just that the foreign devils hired a bunch of Chinese sailors. Looking up at the strange flag, Prince Gong's subordinates could only feel strange.

Everyone discussed the price of grain, and the Guangfu Army was quite kind, and the price of grain was about the same as the price of Caoyun. Of course, this is already an extremely lucrative business for the Liberation Army. Grain shipped from Hunan was already subject to grain tax, and shipping was even cheaper. Navy sorties are also counted as combat training subjects, so this business as a whole still makes a lot of money. In addition to making money, there are many other things to do.

Prince Gong's men were relieved to see that the price of food was about the same as they had heard. But he didn't expect it at all, this was a price specially designed by the Liberation Army. Due to the trade of the Liberation Army, foreign merchants were reluctant to do business with the Manchus. The bulk of China's foreign trade is the purchase of metal currency from all over the world. Silver from Mexico and silver from the United States are sold in China. Without trade, there would be no such silver import.

"These masters, can it be cheaper?" Prince Gong's subordinates said with the characteristic humility of the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

The negotiator of the Guangfu Army was an official from the Ministry of Commerce, and he sneered in Shandong Mandarin: "You can earn several times as much money by transporting grain to the shore, and now you ask me if I can make it cheaper." Isn't that a joke? If it could be cheap, we would have been cheap. ”

"Your food is really not expensive, but now you really don't have any silver!" Prince Gong's subordinates said half-truthfully.

Of course, the Ministry of Commerce of the Liberation Army knew that the Manchus had no silver, and the purpose of the Liberation Army traveling thousands of miles to transport the grain needed by the Manchus to the north was to create a money shortage. After the Manchu central government lost the ability to suck blood from the whole country, it fell into a full-blown depression. The reason why the Guangfu Army kept the price of grain sold to the Manchus very low was to be able to trade with the Manchus.

Every tael of silver and every copper coin, once it fell into the hands of the Liberation Army, it was completely out of the pool of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. The shortage of money will cause a market without a price or a price, but the result is a ruthless destruction of the market trade in the north.

destroyed the market trade in the north, and it was not only the Manchus who were unlucky, including the Twist Army and the Taiping Army operating in the north, and it would not be easy to live this day. In this regard, Wei Ze's attitude has always been very firm, and his methods are vicious enough.

"These masters, are you interested in antiques?" Prince Gong's men asked.

Although his mind moved, the staff of the Ministry of Commerce smiled: "I said this master, do you think foreign devils know our antiques?" They're just a rarity. Running so far, people still want to make some money. If you want to buy it, buy it, and don't delay our business if you don't buy it! ”

Although Prince Gong is polite, how can he accept such a white snatch in his heart. It's just that he looked at the ironclad ship in the distance, and immediately suppressed the unhappiness in his heart, and he replied, "I'll go back and talk to my master again." I hope these masters can wait for me a little longer. ”R1058