Lin Tongwen, the chief executive of Houjiang, returned to his homeland and had something to discuss with him. Coming with Lin Tongwen was Hu Min, commander of the Jinou Naval Base and Ground Alert Force.

"Major Hu, are you applying to be transferred to the mainland?"

Hu Min's tone was firm, "Yes, I can't watch the Tartars invade my hometown. ”

Lin Tongwen said: "The major has applied to me many times, and I said that this is up to you to decide." ”

"Major," said the order, "the Federation is not going to engage in a large-scale ground war with the Tatars right now. ”

Hu Min: "Consul, a friend in China brought me a letter. He donated all his family property and recruited an army to join Zhang Jiayu's command. He entrusted me with the transportation of the family to Jinou. Life in Nanyang is very comfortable and rich, but I can't watch my friends die. ”

Seeing Hu Min's emotions exposed, Shou Xuan poured him a glass of wine to calm down.

"I understand your feelings, but the army and navy can't give you much support right now."

"I understand that I recruit people myself, and a hundred brothers are willing to go with me."

"That's it," Shou Xuan took out a pen and paper and wrote down the order, "Admiral Aleman, the commander of the Taipei Detachment, will be returning soon, and you will set off with him." Taipei may have several actions this year, and you have more opportunities when you get there. ”

Hu Min may have been suffocated in Jinou farming, and he was a little happy when he heard the war, and he said happily: "I will definitely fight a few beautiful battles, and I will never mess up." ”

Shou Xuan nodded and said, "Major, have you settled down in your family?" It's going to be a long war, don't rush it. ”

"Don't worry, Archon, I left the little half-old brother to look after the house."

Shou Order's full glass with him, "That's good." If Houjiang's territory is well managed, you will have no worries. ”

Hu Min drank it all, he couldn't wait, saluted and left with the order. Hu Min had to go to the Ministry of National Defense to report first, and go to Taiwan with Allemand in the name of escorting the transport fleet.

Shou Xuan put down the wine glass and asked Lin Tongwen, "Are there many examples like Hu Min over there?" ”

Lin Tongwen showed a wry smile, "Yes, we have accepted a lot of military immigrants from Liangguang and Fujian in the past few years, and some of them now want to return to China to participate in the war. ”

"It's also human nature to cherish the homeland," Shou Xian thought about it, "It's better to be blocked." You organize them, and I might be useful in the second half of the year. ”

"Okay."

How to solve the changing mentality of the migrant military households in Houjiang Province in the world Ding Revolution is only one of the purposes of Lin Tongwen's coming, and he should discuss with him the food problem of aiding Taipei.

Southerly winds have dominated the seas of East Asia.

The Taiwanese detachment led by Alemang and the Taiwanese transport ships were about to depart, and they loaded 150,000 stone of grain, mainly autumn grain that Lin Tongwen had hoarded in Houjiang Mansion. Half of the grain purchased last year came from Chenla and half from Siam, which was 1 yuan more than the normal market price of 1 stone and 2 silver. Alemand has more than 200 transport ships, and after a few months of preparation, the ships are now in decent condition, and 150,000 stone of grain is almost enough to fully load his fleet.

This only solves the needs of a small half of Taipei, and Maiden will be reinforced after the summer grain is marketed this year. The route between Taiwan and the mainland is east-west, and there is suitable weather for navigation all year round. This means that Taiwan does not have to obey the iron law of the monsoon once a year for a large number of southbound and northbound movements, as is the case with the mainland. It is foreseeable that Taiwan's immigration will grow faster than that of Taiwan, and the food problem will always exist.

Lin Tongwen poured bitter water a little, "You asked me to purchase 600,000 stone of grain in your letter last year, and this figure is really difficult to achieve. ”

Shou Xuan smiled, "It's not difficult to do, Maiden won't ask you, if there is someone in the Federation who can solve this problem, only our Governor Lin." ”

"Don't compliment me anymore, the remaining 450,000 stones will crush me to death. No, you'll have to work with me to solve this problem. ”

"Okay, okay." Orderly, put on a look of washing your clothes and listening to your ears.

"First of all, the money, you didn't have enough money last year."

"Isn't there a money order from Nanyang Bank?"

"The purchase volume is too large, and we need cash."

Shou Xiang nodded, this batch of purchases is too large, and there are difficulties in Taipei and the mainland.

"What do you think?"

Lin Tongwen also poured himself a glass of wine, "I can only borrow it." In my personal name, I borrowed money from Chinese businessmen and Indians in the South Seas. ”

In this era, borrowing and credit were the common methods of trade. Without the complicated due diligence methods of later generations, whether to borrow money or not mainly depends on the person. Nanyang Chinese businessmen usually lend money to others, but they also owe a lot of debts, and they rely on liquidity. Yang Kun, a former top Chinese businessman in Batavia, contracted a large project for the construction of the city wall, but he himself died suddenly, and the family went bankrupt as soon as the capital chain was broken.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Give me collateral."

"What do you need?"

"Taipei's mines, bank equity, and even deforestation rights."

“…… All right. Mines and equity can only be mortgaged to the part that belongs to our private individuals, but the right to deforestation is allowed. ”

"Give me all the information you have that Taipei can make public, and I will send someone to Siam and Aceh to promote it."

Is this a roadshow? It's a pity that there is no PPT.

Shou Xuan smiled, "Okay, do it your way." ”

"Hainan Island can't stay out of the matter, I heard that the new Governor Lei Lianqiong is familiar with you."

Shou Xuan sighed, "What do you say?" ”

"More than 80,000 silver grains are paid in Qiongzhou every year, and more than 20,000 in each of the two prefectures of Lianzhou and Leizhou. Counting the additional miscellaneous taxes, these three governments can collect more than 20 million silver grains. ”

Shou Order: "If you count the sugar industry in Leizhou, there should be more." ”

Lin Tongwen: "Try to get the Qiongzhou Mansion to give us a part, what do you think they lack most now?" ”

Shou Order: "Zeng Ying, the governor of western Guangdong, told me in Keelung that he was going to Qiongzhou to expand the army, and I think what he lacks most now must be arms." ”

"Arms, it's your business."

Shou Order: "Okay, Qiongzhou, I'll find a way." I'll settle 100,000 stones, and you'll be responsible for the rest. ”

Lin Tongwen's wish was fulfilled, and he finally smiled, "You help me tell Maiden, I can help him solve it for 300,000 stones, but there needs to be some exchange between Taipei and Houjiang, and he has to exchange people for my food." ”

Because of the iron law of the north and south monsoons, Taipei is a good transit point for immigrants. It is not surprising that Lin Tongwen has this thought.

"How do you want to make an offer?"

"300,000 stone of grain, one person for every 10 stone, that is to say, he has to bring me 30,000 immigrants during the north wind period this year."

"Your offer is a bit dark."

"Black or not, you let Taipei judge ......"

"No, I'll promise you for him. The condition is that you will have to do the same at this price next year. ”

An additional 30,000 immigrants would have cost a lot of money in the past. In today's situation, there is the possibility of spending less cash, as long as the two county towns are opened, people and money will be available.

Lin Tongwen then took out a few ores and handed them to Shouxu, "Calamine, galena, shellac and lead, all from Laos. ”

Calamine is siderite, an important Chinese medicinal material.

Lin Tongwen: "Do you want calamine to treat diseases?"

"No, I'm going to use calamine to smelt lead."

Calamine has a more important use than being a medicinal herb. In the Ming Dynasty, there was a complete process of smelting calamine to obtain zinc, "ten catties of calamine were loaded into a mud jar,... Then layer by layer with coal cake mat, the bottom of which is spread with salary, and the fire is calcined,... Cold, destroy the tank and take it out,..., that is, the lead also. ”

The alloy of zinc and copper is brass. Brass has important applications in the military industry, especially in the navy. In addition to Chinese mainland, only Laos has zinc mines around the federation.

Laos is known as the land of shellac and benzoin. There are many uses for shellac, and what Shou Xiang wants to make is still in the top secret stage, so he will only make reserves for the time being.

Lead is the raw material for artillery shells and bullets, the most important strategic material. It is a pity to say that the land that has been silted up for thousands of years is very fertile, which is conducive to agricultural reclamation, but there are relatively few metal mines, and there is only a tin mine in the mainland, and there is nothing but peat in Houjiang.

In general, valuable minerals are mostly located in mountainous areas. In addition to Chinese mainland, there are not many lead mines in Asia. Orderly requires finding a stable source of lead for the army. In previous years, most of them were imported from China and India, and the quantity could only cope with the low-intensity war, which was not enough. Of the surrounding countries, only Laos, which is located in the mountains and has a smaller population, is relatively rich in minerals.

Since the signing of the secret treaty with the Nanzhang Kingdom of Laos, Lin Tongwen of Houjiang Prefecture sent people to open a merchant house in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Houjiang exchanged shellac and other minerals with Laos on re-exported cotton cloth, saltpeter and iron tools from China. Nanzhang is very backward in prospecting, and the location of some mines is known to the king of Laos, Sulia Wangsa, but there is no power and no need to mine.

Lin Tongwen helped Vientiane in mining operations.

"The master I sent assessed that the mine in Nanzhang is not big, but it is enough for us to use. In order to save on freight, I plan to teach the Laotians to smelt lead and Japanese lead. ”

"You can do this well, and good relations with Laos will be of great benefit to our future development.

Shellac and galena do not need to be processed, and the order is just to tell Lin Tongwen to make reserves. If lead and zinc can be made into metal ingots, it can save a lot of effort when climbing over the hole waterfall. The smelting of lead and zinc is not a secret, and you can understand it if you buy a copy of "Heavenly Creations".

Because of the twists and turns, it is not cheaper to buy metal raw materials from Laos than from India and China. But for the Federation, trade with Laos can be bartered, and supplies are more secure than India. Even if the cost is higher, there is a need to maintain this trade route.

ended the meeting with Lin Tongwen and held a base camp meeting in an orderly manner.

Most of the federal central tax revenue is spent domestically, with precious metals and gemstones seized in Kedah to offset military expenditures and weapons to arm West Coast militias and other civilian military groups.

In an orderly manner, he applied to the base camp for the allocation of this year's arms production quota and increased the purchase of saltpeter and lead.

Marmont: "According to your request, the Navy will start construction of eight brigs this year, and our finances are under some pressure to meet such procurement amounts. ”

This is indeed an orderly plan. The Navy urgently needs to be expanded, and the Federation can't build three-masted cruisers now, and there is no need to be tough. It is also very practical to build a few more two-masted frigates of more than 200 tons and expand the cruising range. Among them, the decommissioning of the Western Reef and the Luofu was bought out by Taipei, and this money was enough for the Navy to start two better ships.

Orderly: "Everyone hurry up and free up some money to come out." I will go north again this year, and I will definitely bring back more than 2 times the income after half a year. ”

Everyone laughed, and the net income from the several expeditions was more than 100%, and this kind of business was very good.

Orderly waved his hand and asked everyone to stop.

"In the past few years, the mainland has been chaotic, and we have more opportunities. It may not be easy to make money in the future, so it's best to make your business bigger. Orderly looked at the Admiral, "Lynn, how is our cruiser doing now?" ”

Sterling shook his head, "Not great. The Changyi class is too old, and last year two ships were decommissioned, freeing up personnel to drive the newly launched frigates. ”

Marmont said: "The keels of the Changbo and Changshan have been damaged, and instead of rotting in the harbor, it is better to dismantle them and use the weapons and usable materials on the newly built frigates." ”

Shou Zhi knew the current situation of the navy, "Can other ships be dispatched?" ”

Sterling: "Your old Changshui and Changhe can only operate in this bathtub in the Gulf of Siam, and when they go to the South China Sea, I am worried about whether they will be able to withstand the big waves. ”

The South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the East China Sea are in poor sea conditions, and the consumption of sailing cable anchors is also heavier than in Europe.

Shou Order's light tap on the table, "I may have to use a warship during the north wind." ”

"God, I advise you not to requisition the two old Changzi-class ships, let them take care of the house."

Whether in China or in Europe, the north wind and waves are the things that make the navy smell and change. The British Navy is also one of the most powerful forces in Europe, and their current habit is still to stay in the harbor in the winter and not go out in the winter. Warships in this era are generally small ships carrying large cannons, and the firepower is okay, but the seaworthiness and other performance are too poor.

Several old ships of the Federal Navy also had this problem, the gun doors on the gun deck were difficult to open in high sea conditions, the firepower was not as good as that of a frigate, and the handling was even worse. The only advantage left was the thickness of the skin, and it was difficult for light artillery to inflict substantial damage.

Orderly: "How many warships can the Navy produce?" ”

Raheem Sterling: "Leave the warship to guard the house." We were able to dispatch two large ships, the Nanhai and the Lima, four frigates and four notification ships. ”

"Prepare according to this number."

Stirling mentioned that the ships that can be dispatched include five ships that will be launched this year, and the reason why so many ships were able to start construction last year is partly due to the demolition of two old ships.

Excluding the Marine Corps, 11 ships would require more than 1,000 officers and men, and the Navy would need to expand by 300 sailors in the next few months to reach full strength.

After the meeting was dismissed, he went to the naval base with Sterling.

The Nanhai and the Lima were both in the harbor, and the two ships were the Great Galen with a displacement of more than 1,000 tons, and in order to adapt to the sea conditions of the China Sea, the heaviest guns on board were now 16 pounds, and the heavier 18 and 24 pounds were removed for the fortress.

Two batches of copper were shipped from Taipei the year before and last year, and the gun factory tried to cast 12-pound guns, and despite the high scrap rate, the gun copper can be recycled. At present, the cost of siege mortars, 12-pounder ground guns, and naval guns is still high, but the problem of self-production of cannons has finally been solved, and the long guns with longer diameters are still in the experimental stage.

Both the Nanhai and the Lima are now equipped with four 16-pounder guns, 14 12-pounder bronze guns, eight 6-pounder guns on the open deck, and two 6-pounder guns on the stern, for a total of 28 guns that are a few less than before.

Some of the ship's unnecessary decorations and furnishings have been removed, and in Collingwood's words, there is now no trace of beauty, and the dust is almost as bad as Chinese bricks. Shou Xuan said that as long as you can shoot a dead person, you don't care what she looks like.

The original towering stern of Galen in Spain has been demolished by one floor, and most of the rear deck cabins have been demolished, and other structures have also been reduced. As with the experimental modifications of the sailsuit, the aim is to reduce the load and improve sailing performance.