"Yixuan, this is the Fleet Commander, my good friend, Colonel Aspen of the British Royal Navy." Li Taitai enthusiastically introduced Guan Zhuofan and Asben, "Xie Nade, this is what I told you, the Qing Emperor's bodyguard, the administrator of Jiangsu Province, Mr. Guan Yixuan. He was the commander of the fleet, and he was fluent in English. ”

Asben politely shook hands with Guan Zhuofan and greeted each other, but there was still a trace of arrogance in his expression that could not be concealed.

Regarding Aspen's attitude, Guan Zhuofan does not think of it at all - in fact, Guan Zhuofan does not care about this person at all, because he is just an insignificant episode, and he will soon be lost in the long river of history.

According to the terms agreed between the imperial court and Li Tai, Chonghou was the "Han president" of this fleet, Asben was the "gang president" of this fleet, and Li Taitai was the "manager of everything" in the middle. As for the imperial court's appointment of Guan Zhuofan as the commander, and to hand over two of the warships to the Xuan army in Shanghai, Li Taitai only learned about it after the fleet arrived in Hong Kong.

This news was very sudden, but after thinking about it, Li Taitai decided not to object - after all, Guan Zhuofan is just a "sub-commander", if necessary, he, who has the right to "manage everything", can still gather the entire fleet, not to mention that the current fleet of more than 600 officers and men, all of whom are sailors recruited by him from Britain. Therefore, he was confident that he still had enough money to bargain with the imperial court.

At the same time, he also hopes that these two warships can be put into the battle against Jiangning, so as to prove the power of the fleet and increase the bargaining chips for the next negotiation, not to mention that these two ships will not be handed over to others. Instead, he had to hand it over to Guan Zhuofan - this person had given him five thousand taels of silver!

"Nelson." Kwan Zhuofan called Li Taitai by his nickname in English. "And this Colonel Asben, I have come to pick you up in my house for a light meal. The affairs of the fleet can be talked about while eating. ”

"Yay, thank you very much. However......" Li Tai was a little distracted, "Colonel Aspen still has some things to attend to on the ship, and the three of us will have dinner together tomorrow." Just find a place in the concession. Today, I would like to invite you to visit the ship, and then I will visit you in your yamen in the name of a private person. ”

It's better that way. Guan Zhuofan smiled and nodded in agreement - he had roughly guessed that Li Tai wanted to talk to him about something in private first. He turned his gaze to the eight gunboats moored to the dock and took a deep breath.

It's beautiful.

People's eyes always change with different circumstances, the so-called "three years as a soldier, looking at the old sow is double eyelids". These eight ships. If compared with the ships of later generations, which often cost 100,000 tons and 100,000 tons, they are just delicate toys. However, now in Guan Zhuofan's eyes, it can be called a behemoth, and the eyes of those soldiers behind him are also full of awe.

The visit was led and explained by Aspen himself, and the first thing to see was the flagship "Zhenwu", and then the two ships that were ready to be allocated to Shanghai, the Jintai and the Baiyue. The largest is naturally the 1,300-ton Zhenwu, but Guan Zhuofan's spirit is all on his two ships - everything is good, and the one in his hand is the best.

The Jintai, which is more than 600 tons, is a medium-class warship, with a hull made of teak and oak and a copper bottom, while the Baiyue is an iron-hulled ship, although it also has more than 500 tons, but it is classified as a small-class warship. Both ships, both sail ships, are powered by steam paddle wheels, and of course, the reverse is not impossible - steam power, supplemented by sails. In addition to the three-masted sail, there is also a huge chimney on the ship, and the huge pulp blades on both sides of the hull remind Guan Zhuofan of the first steamship built by Fulton, the maiden voyage on the Hudson River in New York.

After thousands of miles, I remembered my holding company again. Lucas and Song Zhikuan of the European Division have successfully signed a contract with Nobel, I wonder if Sandoz of the American Division has found Rockefeller now?

The leader of the tour was Aspen, who talked about the data of each ship, and talked endlessly, which shows that he is a dedicated and excellent naval officer. However, these things, listening to Guan Zhuofan's ears, unfortunately became a big burden - what speed and how many knots? What is the draft and how many feet? What full load displacement? What lasts how many miles? As a liberal arts student, he has tried very hard to memorize and understand these data, and he keeps nodding his head and making a look of "I understand, I understand", but his left ear goes in, his right ear goes out, and after hearing it, his mind is still a mess.

It was only when he boarded the bow of the Jintai and saw the huge 110-pounder cannon that his eyes brightened, and he stroked the formidable barrel of the gun, making no secret of his admiration.

Finally there's something I can understand, he thought.

It's big, it's thick, it's long.

*

*

In the city of Shanghai, there are only two eight-lift sedan chairs, one is for Governor Li Hongzhang, and the other is for Guan Zhuofan, who has the title of Governor. He took this magnificent official sedan chair and ceremoniously took Li Taitai to the yamen of the feudal department.

The dinner is still in charge of Hu Qingqing, and Li Taitai is still full of praise, and once again praised the chef who Guan Zhuofan said last time, "five big and three thick, black mouth and black noodles".

"Yixuan, there's only one thing bad on the boat - you'll never be able to eat such delicious food." Li Taitai wiped his mouth with a hot hand towel and said with envy, "This chef, can you cut your love?" I'm willing to hire him on my ship at a high salary. ”

Fuck your mother's foreign devil, my sister also dares to make up her mind. Guan Zhuofan shook his head and said with a smile: "I won't tell you, I can't live a day without him." ”

It was originally a joke, so I naturally laughed it off. When the maid served tea, the two began to talk about business.

"Nils, you always have to go to Beijing to see the prince," Guan Zhuofan asked, "When are you going to go to Tianjin?" ”

"When I unload these two ships with you, I'll leave immediately." Li Taitai said, "I want to talk to the Prime Minister's Affairs Yamen about money." ”

"Hasn't the money already been paid?" Guan Zhuofan asked knowingly.

"The cost of the ship and the voyage to China have indeed been paid by the household, and the total amount is 1.7 million taels of silver. However, the cost of maintaining the fleet every year, the salaries of officers and soldiers, and the subsequent purchase of coal and artillery shells still require a lot of money. After Li Taitai finished speaking seriously, he specially emphasized: "A lot of money." ”

Coming, coming, he's about to say 10 million. Guan Zhuofan knew very well that this insatiable Englishman was planning to bypass the imperial court step by step.

"So, how much does it cost?"

Li Taitai hesitated for a moment, leaned his head closer to Guan Zhuofan, lowered his voice and said, "According to the three-year calculation, 10 million taels of silver must be allocated first, and I will use it with full authority." ”

"Ten million!" Guan Zhuofan's face was full of confusion and surprise, "Why do you want so much?" ”

"That's exactly what you need." Li Taitai defended, counted them to Guan Zhuofan one by one, and finally said: "I know that your Chinese army has never been able to pay military salaries on time, nor can they be paid in full, so I must hold this money in my hands first...... At least half of it must be obtained before the fleet can be guaranteed! ”

"I don't know how much money is needed, but where does the imperial court have so much money?"

"The imperial court doesn't have it, but the customs does." Li Taitai smiled slyly, "With the customs silver of Jiang Customs and Guangdong Customs, it is enough to pay." ”

Guan Zhuofan shook his head: "Guan Yin doesn't have so much. I heard Wu Daotai say that the monthly customs silver of Jianghaiguan is only more than 200,000 yuan. ”

"This Wu Xi under yours is an old fox, you were deceived by him." "But he couldn't hide it from me—don't forget, I just stepped down from my position as the chief tax officer." I know the details of his details, and Jiang Customs has at least 500,000 yuan of input every month. ”

Guan Zhuofan was speechless for a while, and said in his heart that I had forgotten about this ballast.

"Yixuan, I haven't seen you for half a year, and you have been promoted from the magistrate to the domain, which is really promising." Li Taitai changed his tone again, "The two queen mothers and the prince must attach great importance to your opinions." You have to help me talk about this matter, as long as I am in charge of the Empire's navy, I will be your most reliable ally in the future! ”

Guan Zhuofan smiled secretly, this foreign devil will actually come to this set.

"Also, I am grateful that you once gave me a sum of silver. This time, if the imperial court meets my requirements, then after getting this 10 million, I will take out ...... from it" Speaking of this, he stopped, gritted his teeth, and stretched out a slap, "I will also take out 5,000 taels and give it to you personally!" ”

It's really the way it is. Guan Zhuofan scolded in his heart: Bullying Lao Tzu and not knowing how to count? I gave you 5,000, and you also gave me 5,000, and I didn't get a tael of benefits inside and out!

No, it can't be said that it is not good, there are two boats. Thinking of this, he turned his anger into joy, and followed Li Taitai's words, and laughed.

"Nils, I think your offer is fair." Guan Zhuofan arched his hand and expressed his gratitude, "In this way, since the two ships of Jintai and Baiyue have been allocated to me for promotion, then their envoy fees, as well as the salaries of the officers and soldiers on the ship, will be paid from me first." As for the entire fleet, as long as the imperial court consults, I will definitely report according to what you said, and make every effort to complete this matter! ”

Saying that, it is just that with Li Taitai's great appetite and ambition, he is already close to using the fleet to blackmail the imperial court, so it is impossible to talk about this matter successfully. The imperial court and this Aspen fleet can only be separated in two like the ending in history.

Except for these two boats in Shanghai!

Guan Zhuo Fanxin said, since it is in the hands of Lao Tzu, if you want to bring it back to the UK, it is a dream.

*

(xiexiewhitecollar helm master~)

*(To be continued......)