Chapter 403 Zuo Zongtang was transferred to the northwest

"What? You're going to build three more railways this year? In the future, the railway from Beijing to here will be built. ”

Lan Meng and Wei Tuma felt that their brains were not enough, and since they came to China this time, they have received too much, too much and too complicated information.

Yang Dongfang had not yet fully understood the matter of flying to Shanghai with them, and now they heard that this backward empire was going to build a railway, and there was such a 160-kilometer railway that was about to be opened to traffic, which was really beyond what they had learned.

Trying to absorb this information, calculating in his heart, Yang Dongfang had already walked to the front to complete the ribbon cutting, waved his hand to the people, and made a speech: "When the five major capitals ascended the throne, I said that from now on our Chinese Empire, the Chinese have stood up, and today we have built a railway to Hangzhou, and it is the first railway in our Empire.

I want to say, from today onwards, our Chinese empire has flown up, we will usher in a new era that has never been seen before, gentlemen, please follow me to feel the convenience brought by this new atmosphere, we will go to Hangzhou together, here I announce an order, within a month, all the people who pass through the two places, can ride twice for free. ”

"Hooray! Long live Your Majesty! Long live the Chinese Empire! ”

Yang Dongfang's speech aroused the joy of the whole people, the whining train sounded the whistle, and the roaring train started, like a giant dragon out of the Shanghai Railway Station.

Although the speed of the train was not very fast, it was very stable to sit on, much more comfortable than riding a horse in a sedan chair and carriage, and the generals, government officials and wealthy businessmen were amazed one by one, nodded their heads and praised, and had a new understanding of the train.

They all stuck their heads out of the car window to feel the baptism of the wind, and some of them waved excitedly to the people of the two rules, showing surprise on their faces, this was the first time in the Chinese Empire, and it was destined to be recorded in history.

"Alright, go and bring Lan Meng and Wei Tuoma over, I think they will have something to say to me."

Sure enough, after Lan Meng and Wei Tuma brought it over, they sincerely praised Yang Dongfang: "Your Majesty the Great Emperor, you are so wise, you can build a railway in just a few months, and you are extraordinarily courageous, and you want to build three railways at the same time, and you want to build from the north to the south, your empire is very different from the Qing Dynasty."

I think we should not be enemies of you, I will report all what I have seen and heard in the East to our esteemed emperor, I believe that we will have a deep friendship between France and China, and I can now represent Your Majesty, on behalf of France, to renounce the enemy of the Chinese Empire, establish diplomatic relations peacefully, and recognize the legitimacy of the Chinese Empire. ”

Lan Meng was the first to jump out, and Yang Dongfang nodded and said, "Of course!" We don't want to be enemies of anyone, and we are not afraid to be enemies of anyone, congratulations to Sir Lanmeng, you have gained my favor.

According to the basic framework I mentioned, I would also like to be friends with France, but Vietnam is our traditional domain of China, and we still have the right to take back Saigon and other places, there is no doubt about that. Specifically, you can talk to my foreign minister in detail. ”

Seeing that Lan Meng did not reap any benefits, Wei Tuma asked, "Your Majesty the Great Emperor, I don't know if the railway you built will allow us to participate in the shares?"

I think we in the British Empire are very interested in getting involved, knowing that our railway technology is the best in the world, and we have countless excellent engineers, all of whom have bachelor's degrees from the British Empire. ”

"Oh! You want to take a stake in our country's railways. Yang Dongzhu had already guessed the thoughts of the two, and when he saw the two nodding, he rubbed his scalp and said:

"But I'm not short of money now! I have ready-made rails and sleepers for the construction of the railway, which is enough for me to build more than 2,000 kilometers, and I have heard that you need railway rights to build a railway.

It is the right to mine along the route, which is not feasible in our Chinese Empire, because these minerals are owned by the state, and they must be allowed by our government agencies, and they must be taxed to open mines. ”

"What, Your Majesty, you have purchased enough rails and sleepers to lay more than 2,000 kilometers of rails. This.. This.. ”

As soon as the two of them heard that Yang Dongfang had the materials to lay more than 2,000 kilometers of railways, their eyes dimmed, the railway is a piece of fat, and it is something that controls the lifeblood of a country, of course they want to participate.

Yang Dongfang Feng saw that it was almost over, so he said: "In fact, more than 2,000 kilometers is far from meeting the needs of our Chinese Empire, you must know that just a trunk line from Beijing to Shanghai is almost 2,000 kilometers, and my country is vast, even ten times more is not enough, if you really want to invest in our country's railway, it is not without opportunities." ”

"Really! Your Majesty, you want to build such a long railway. This time, Wittoma said excitedly.

I heard that ten times two thousand kilometers, the two felt that it was a fantasy, and at the same time conquered the courage of this new emperor, this is really not the short-sighted emperor of the Qing Dynasty, this is an emperor with Western knowledge, and will not reject the emperor of Western culture.

"Of course! However, if you invest, you can't follow your Western approach, what mineral mining rights are not allowed, you can only participate in the dividends of railway profits, and China must account for more than 55 shares, and the right to operate is controlled in our hands. ”

"It's just dividends!" The eyebrows of the two were furrowed, just dividends, which was not too attractive, and it could not affect the Chinese Empire.

"Of course it's a dividend, do you think it's very little? I will do the math for you, my Chinese Empire has 40,000 people, that is, 400 million people, what a huge base, if everyone travels by rail, the profit is very huge, of course, if you don't want to, I will build it myself, or find businessmen from other countries. Yang Dongfang's dispensable expression made the two entangled.

This piece of meat is delicious and not delicious! However, the temptation is still great, and there are always people who will be tempted when the news reaches Europe.

Half a day later, the train arrived in Hangzhou, and Feng Yuniang was wearing a blue cloak and a smart military uniform to greet him.

"Auntie! How did you come in person! ”

"Our Emperor His Majesty has personally boarded the train, do I dare not come as a little division commander?" Feng Yuniang gave him a blank look, even if there are a lot of people now, she didn't give him too much face, now she is nominally speaking, but the imperial aunt has an extraordinary status, who said that this was given by Yang Dongfang personally.

So someone could only touch his nose and admit that he was unlucky, and then led Feng Yuniang to taste dozens of famous dishes in Hangzhou in the city. The next day, he sent the two devils back to Nanjing, and when he accompanied Feng Yuniang in Hangzhou for a week, he finished talking about two martial arts.

Just as he was about to leave, Zuo Zongtang crossed the sea from Taiwan to Hangzhou by warship.

"Your Majesty! I heard that new negotiations have begun, how is it going? Zuo Zongtang asked, Yang Dongfang said with a smile: "The progress is very slow, and now there is only one thing that has been reached, that is, both sides will not compensate each other for the loss, and they can set up embassies to each other to send ambassadors to trade and trade." ”

"What about the Northeast? Did they give up support and stop meddling? ”

Yang Dongfang shook his head: "They want to use the Shanhai Pass as a line, continue to recognize the Manchu regime in the northeast, continue to support them, and also want us to give up Jinzhou and open the Bohai Strait, the British side also directly wants to release the prisoners unconditionally, and the French agree to pay the ransom, but want us to give up supporting Vietnam to retake the six provinces of Saigon." ”

"What does Your Majesty mean!"

"First of all, the six provinces of Saigon must be taken back, because they belong to Vietnam, and they will be ours in the future, and this must not be recognized, otherwise the Dharma will not make sense, and it will leave you with big trouble.

The second captives must pay a ransom, and we must always get some money to comfort the soldiers who died in battle, and the ordinary soldiers must have to pay more than three hundred taels of silver, and the other officers must also pay a premium.

As for the Manchus, it is impossible for us to admit it, and of course I am not sorry for the support of the British and French, and the more they support me, the happier I am, and it would be better if we kept sending cannons and muskets, as long as no warships came in through the Bohai Strait. ”

"It seems that His Majesty has planned it a long time ago, and Ji Gao will rest assured." What a person Zuo Zongtang is, he immediately guessed Yang Dongfang's small plan, there is an internal response in the northeast, and he can kill Britain and France in the future.

Yang Dongfang didn't explain too much, but said: "It's not a big problem for Taiwan to hand over to Hanyu!" ”

Zuo Zongtang said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, with Hanyu's talent, he will never go on a business trip." ”

Yang Dongfang said reassuringly: "That's good!" I also believe in his ability, otherwise I wouldn't have transferred you to the northwest, but I just have to work hard for Ji Gao, you first become the deputy commander of the Lanzhou Military Region, learn about the situation in the northwest, and then start to march into the Western Regions in April, I am announcing that you will become the deputy commander of the Northwest Military Region, at that time, we will fight the bandits together, fight against Tsarist Russia, and kill Lao Maozi quickly. ”

"The minister is waiting to gallop with His Majesty to the Western Regions and break through the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains." Zuo Zongtang was excited, he didn't expect Yang Dongfang to transfer him to the Western Theater, and he was ready to command the battle in the Western Regions, and he would have to compete with Tsarist Russia.

The next day, Zuo Zongtang rode to Nanjing, flew directly from Nanjing to Lanzhou, and began to meet with the generals in the west, establish tacit understanding and prestige, understand their respective situations, and plan to advance into the Western Regions.

Yang Dongfang flew to Nanning, took people directly to Annam City, and then went all the way south to Hue to surrender one coordinate point after another, preparing to settle the six provinces of Saigon first, so as to promote peace, end the negotiations with the French, and divide Britain and France.