Chen Mu came to Guangzhou this time, in addition to those boxes of drawings, he only brought a chief engineer, named Benjamin, who was born tall and big, with yellow curly hair, blue eyes, and an unpleasant body odor.

Song Zhengzhun saw these boxes, so he opened them, just glanced at them, closed them, and asked Benjamin.

"Your Excellency is American?"

Song Zhengzhun used English and was pure and authentic, and Benjamin was also overjoyed: "Yes, sir!" ”

Song Zhengzhun stretched out his hand and greeted him: "Hello." ”

As if he had returned to the civilized world, Benjamin shook hands with Song Zhengzhun in surprise and said, "Hello, sir! ”

Song Zhengzhun pointed to the chair: "Please sit." ”

Only when Benjamin sat down did he ask, "Why did Mr. Benjamin come here?" ”

Benjamin seemed to have seen a savior, and said for a long time, although Chen Mu's English was acceptable, but his speed of speech was too fast, Chen Mu only listened to a rough idea, and the meaning was not much different, and occasionally thanked Chen Mu and had great expectations for Chen Mu.

Song Zhengzhun listened quietly, asking a few questions from time to time, and a conversation lasted for about half an hour, but Song Zhengzhun didn't ask a word about the battleship, but asked Ban Jieming.

"Sulfur, vinegar, water, eto, and wine, wilt?"

Benjamin was also taken aback, and asked Song Zhengzhun, "Sir, want to make smokeless*?" ”

Song Zhengzhun didn't answer, just blindly asked, "You just need to tell me, will you?" ”

Benjamin hesitated for a moment, then looked at Chen Mu again, and then spoke: "I am the chief engineer of the team, and the engineers under my command are also responsible for the production and assembly of weapons on the battleship, of course I understand this......"

Song Zhengzhun raised his eyebrows, leaned forward, and continued to ask: "So, what about machines, boilers, sand turning, copper and iron?" ”

Benjamin nodded as well.

"The billet of the gun carriage and the gun weapon are refined, and the shell shell and the primer are no problem?"

Benjamin thought about it carefully before he replied: "There are more than 20 people in my team, all of whom are senior engineers, and if we have enough materials and manpower, there is no problem." ”

Song Zhengzhun finally sat down, as if he had put down a thousand catties of heavy burden, and squeezed Benjamin's shoulder vigorously and said, "Do you want to get rich?" ”

Benjamin smiled bitterly: "If you didn't want to get rich, you wouldn't have crossed the ocean, let alone become what you are now......"

Song Zhengzhun nodded, just said three good words in a row, then glanced at Chen Mu, and the two walked outside.

Chen Mu looked at Song Zhengzhun again at this time, and he couldn't see through him anymore.

Chen Mu knew that the Song family's business was very large, and they were involved in all walks of life, but at this moment, he had to get acquainted with it again.

Song Zhengzhun can often accompany Zhang Zhidong around, and the questions are all related to firearms, which is enough to explain the problem, the Song family's business is all a cover on the surface, what really makes his Song family have such prestige and wealth, I am afraid that it will be inseparable from Zhang Zhidong!

"After the Beiyang Fleet was wiped out, the imperial court had no intention, and it was even more unable to build another fleet, and those boxes were cheaper than waste paper."

Chen Mu has actually realized this problem, these boxes of drawings are just stepping stones, what he really wants to sell to Zhang Zhidong is actually the same as Song Zhengzhun thought, these ten or twenty engineers.

But originally he was just thinking about equipment, but he didn't expect Song Zhengzhun to be more ambitious, and to Chen Mu's surprise, Song Zhengzhun's vision was really vicious, and he actually asked Benjamin's family background!

"But...... These ghosts, but now they are treasures! ”

Song Zhengzhun has set the tone in the end, and he will visit Zhang Zhidong tomorrow, which is clear!

As soon as these words came out, Song Zhengzhun didn't plan to sell Guanzi, and explained in detail to Chen Mu.

"I think you should also know that Xiang Shuai once served as the governor of Liangguang, that is, in the post of governor of Liangguang, he mobilized the gentry and wealthy and salt merchants to raise 800,000 taels, planning to establish a gun factory in Shimen, Guangzhou......"

"At that time, everything was ready, but Xiangshuai was reappointed as the governor of Huguang, this toss, Xiangshuai had to reconsider, Hubei has convenient water and land, coal and iron, so the factory was built in Hanyang Mountain, Hubei."

"The gun factory produces almost most of the guns of the imperial court, but the imperial court's silver is stretched, and the support for Xiang Shuai and the gun factory is not very large, which is also one of the main reasons why Xiang Shuai does business with us......

"I'll tell you the truth, if it weren't for Xiangshuai supporting him with his own strength, the imperial court would have already hit the streets in terms of guns."

Speaking of this, Song Zhengzhun was also quite emotional, his eyes were full of reverence, and he sincerely admired: "Xiangshuai is not only the first person to open his eyes to see the world, but also the first person to change the Qing Dynasty......

Of course, Chen Mu also knew, so he chimed in: "If it weren't for that, how could I, a fugitive, dare to come to the door?" ”

Song Zhengzhun also nodded in affirmation: "Although your move is dangerous and dangerous, it is indeed the right move." ”

was recognized by Song Zhengzhun, and Chen Mu was also happy in his heart, but Song Zhengzhun's words changed again.

"But you're just playing crookedly, or rather, it's fate, and you can be regarded as having noble people to help."

Chen Mu inevitably wondered: "Why did Shibo say this?" ”

Song Zhengzhun didn't answer, but asked, "Do you know why Xiang Shuai came to Guangzhou?" And why did you find Bao Zhilin? ”

Chen Mu knew that there must be something strange behind it, but he still replied: "Xiang Shuai used to be the governor of Liangguang, he is familiar with Liangguang, and Huguang is approaching, so he is the best person to put out the fire and deal with the case of foreigners intruding and the battleship being bombed." ”

Song Zhengzhun nodded and shook his head again.

"You have a bit of eyesight, but your political consciousness is still not enough, those immortals in the court are fighting, you haven't reached that level, you can't see it."

Song Zhengzhun hesitated for a moment, and finally continued to speak.

"The gun factory is the face of the army, but those old guards reject firearms, and the gun factory has long been strong and strong, and it is difficult to move an inch in daily production...... Because the imperial court doesn't give money at all......"

Chen Mu was even more confused: "Shibo, I also saw it earlier, Xiang Shuai has a unique vision, and he is willing to spend a lot of money, and the output of the gun factory is the latest weapons, that is, foreigners, and they all use these styles, which are huge, why should the imperial court question it?" ”

Song Zhengzhun smiled and said, "So you're still young......"

"How could the court not know the power of these weapons? But no matter how powerful a weapon is, it's just a weapon, what does the court need? ”

Chen Mu was a little confused, and Song Zhengzhun was not ambiguous: "What the imperial court needs is to win the battle!" ”

"No matter how good the weapon is, no one will use it, no one will learn it, no one will use it, how can you win the war? If you don't win a battle, what's the use of a weapon, no matter how powerful it is? The Beiyang Naval Division claims to be invincible in the world, but as a result, the whole army is wiped out, so what's the use of engaging in these Western things? ”

"At this juncture, the old school is also doing its best, making a lot of nonsense in the court, attacking the Westerners, and saying that they don't want to win any battles, it is better to send those foreigners with the military expenses of tinkering with guns, and the foreigners do not come to fight, and there is no need to win and lose the war, instead of spending money to get these guns and provoke foreigners to fight, it is better to send money to foreigners, and there is no need to fight at all!"

"It's just stupid!" Chen Mu has dealt with foreigners, and knows that foreigners are jackals that can't be fed, and how can they be easily dismissed!

Chen Mu can already imagine how Zhang Zhidong has been in internal and external difficulties over the years, and he has been lonely but isolated.

This old man in his twilight is using all his strength and ability to support this great empire that is about to fall ill!

"Xiang Shuai didn't go south to clean up the mess at all, because some time ago, the Hanyang factory caught fire, all the equipment and machines were blown up, and production tended to stagnate.

When Song Zheng said this, he was also a little heartbroken and full of indignation.

Chen Mu didn't expect it to be like this, he wanted to hug Zhang Zhidong's thick legs, but he didn't expect Zhang Zhidong to be difficult to protect himself.

However, Chen Mu was not depressed because of this, because he was also here and saw an opportunity!

The light of his eyes also surprised Song Zhengzhun and made him feel even more appreciative!

"It's good that you have that idea." Song Zhengzhun directly affirmed Chen Mu's bold ambitions.

"It's not impossible to rebuild Hubei's arsenal now, but it will take time, and you need Xiangshuai to fight for it in the court, which will be a very long process......"

"In the affairs of the court, we businessmen are not very willing to get involved, and we are not qualified to get involved, the gods fight, if we get closer, we will suffer......"

"But...... I guess we can do it here! As soon as Song Zhengzhun said this, Chen Mu finally felt that it was right!

"Benjamin, this ghost, is our chance, do you understand?" When Song Zhengzhun said this, Chen Mu also smiled mischievously and said, "Shibo, why did you become us?" ”

Song Zhengzhun also smiled: "This cake is too big, you can't eat it alone." ”

"I know, you called the people of Long Ji, but you have to understand that half of Long Ji is always unsightly, and their money is not clean!"

Song Zhengzhun is worthy of being a veteran, and he really hit the nail on the head.

"But if Long Ji's money passes through the hands of my Song family, it will be clean, so you not only want me to let me half of this business, but also ask me to preside over it, are you willing?"

Chen Mu's original expectations were not as high as he imagined, and he was happy at this time, and said to Song Zheng: "Shibo is willing to help, how can the little nephew be unwilling." ”

Song Zhengzhun laughed at this time: "Don't worry, Shibo won't let you suffer, we have money and people, this business is done!" ”

Hearing this, Chen Mu was also relieved, but Song Zhengzhun's words changed again.

"But...... There's something hard going on......"

"This is Guangdong, Xiangshuai is the governor of Huguang, his hands are not long enough, if you want to build a factory in Guangdong, you need the nod of the governor of Liangguang......"

Chen Mu finally understood, no wonder Zhang Zhidong would appreciate Fu Qingyin!

He will never be untargeted, and take Fu Qingyin with him, but he is afraid that Xiang Zhuang's sword dance is intended for Pei Gong, and he wants to get the approval of the governor of Liangguang through Fu Qingyin!

Although there are some difficulties, if the factory can be successfully established, Zhang Zhidong's chips in the court will be more abundant, and the comeback is just around the corner, whether it is for the country, or for Chen Mu and Song Zhengzhun, it is a great thing!