The three governors of the Cen family in Xilin, Guangxi are undoubtedly a big outlier in the late Qing Dynasty, Cen Yuying was called the famous minister of Zhongxing in the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, the pillar of the country, his son Cen Chunxuan "Hongyi and strong, master's and talent", won the trust of the imperial court, the power leaned to the southwest, and in the early years of the Republic of China, it even formed a political pattern of the two camps of "South Cen and North Yuan" that confronted Yuan Shikai in the north and south.

And this Cen Yubao followed his eldest brother to fight in the south and the north as soon as he became an adult, and he was definitely the core figure in the core of the Cen family's army, but he lived in the huge shadow of Cen Yuying, a famous minister, for the first half of his life, and the credit was all on the head of the eldest brother.

He was bent on reform, he pondered and his nephew to make a new deal, and finally Guangxu fell, and by the way, he was also implicated, the cup was that he almost became the sinner of the Cen family, and his nephew Cen Chunxuan, who was also engaged in the restoration, became a hegemon and a veteran of the Republic of China, Qin Kai pondered here, and smiled slightly, "It turned out to be Lord Cen, I have admired it for a long time, and I have long heard that it is all your credit to Cen Dashuai's account planning."

The operation of the affairs of the Yunnan army is all handled by Cen Yubao, but how many people know that listening to Qin Kai's praise at this time, Cen Yubao's original official smile immediately became much more vivid, and he was busy with a few polite words, but he recognized this great freshness and sharpness a little more in his heart, and his eyes were much more affectionate when he looked at Qin Kai, so he was still a little well-known outside......

Qin Kai and Cen Yubao entered the big tent with a smile, but it made Cen Yuying in front of the big tent put away the idea of contempt, he knew this brother best, Cen Yubao is his third brother, there are several brothers and sisters in the family, and this third brother has outstanding ability, he is definitely his right-hand man, the so-called brother who fights the tiger, he is deeply touched.

Cen Yubao is not the kind of person who is good at officialdom and entertainment, so he has always only planned for the Dian army behind him, and his younger brother's vision is not low, their Cen family power is noble, even if they are feudal officials, that is, they are just entertaining one or two, such as Tang Jiong, who is quite valued by Qingliu under his account, Cen Yubao does not look down on it at all, and many times this Tang Jiong is a master and a low-level person.

I didn't expect to meet for the first time, and I talked about it very speculatively with Qin Kai, the governor of Guangdong who was more than ten years younger, and this Qin Kai ...... Sure enough, there are some means, thinking of this, I hurriedly took Tang Jiong to meet him.

Qin Kai and Cen Yuying introduced each other to the accompanying officials, and heard that the 50-year-old man with a long beard standing behind Cen Yuying was Tang Jiong recommended by Zhang Peilun on the table, Qin Kai also looked this person up and down, Tang Jiong is now the political envoy of Yunnan, this official title is the same as Qin Kai, they are all members from the second grade, and this time he led 3,000 troops to march with the army.

Speaking of which, this Tang Jiong Tang Esheng is not an unknown person, his most famous military achievement in the first half of his life is the defeat of Changning Wing King Shi Dakai, forcing Shi Dakai's Western Expeditionary Army into a desperate situation, but when it came to the Sino-French War, Tang Esheng, who was quite a famous soldier, was also a little old, with thousands of Dian troops were defeated repeatedly, and finally defeated, and by the way, Zhang Peilun and Chen Baochen who recommended him were dragged into the water......

Thinking of this, Qin Kai pondered, even if he crossed over, this old man Tang is still an old man, although the Qingliu party is not wearing the same pants as himself, but they are also mutual aid, this is the only voice he can win in the court, so it is particularly important, this Tang Jiong is a big leak

After a polite exchange, Qin Kai only took Zhou Ruidong into the big tent, and Cen Jiajun only had Cen Yuying, Cen Yubao, and Tang Jiong entered.

When Cen Yubao saw Qin Kai introduce Zhou Ruidong, Zhou Ruidong regarded himself as a student, and the two sides did not discuss the topic at this time, so he started talking first and arched his hand towards Zhou Ruidong, "General Zhou, I heard that you have fought with the French many times, and I don't know what to say about the French army."

Zhou Ruidong glanced at Qin Kai, and when he saw Qin Kai blinking, he got up and arched his hand and said: "Lord Cen, this French army has strict military discipline, orders and prohibitions, it is really a strong army, the governor once explained the advantages and weaknesses of this Taixi army, which are obvious in the French, they are not afraid of death in wartime, but they often take the black army and the Vietnamese indigenous battalion as the forerunner, firearms and artillery are sharp, but the tactics are not flexible"

Several people in the tent agreed with Zhou Ruidong's comments, and Cen Yuying praised with a smile: "Lord Qin is really well-taught, according to General Zhou's words, then I have more than 60,000 troops in the north of Vietnam, and the French will definitely have nothing to do about it."

Qin Kai smiled slightly, this old Cen began to kick the ball, and he actually came to test me directly, but this was also in the middle of the heart, he smiled slightly, and threw a big bomb, "Lord Cen, the French army is by no means a weak brigade, and as far as I know, the commander of the French army, Lieutenant General Guba, is not an incompetent person, and I think the situation in Shanxi and Hanoi is really a failure."

As soon as these words came out, except for Zhou Ruidong, he still looked unfazed, even Cen Yuying, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, was moved, and he secretly said in his heart, this Qin Kai is really a character who is not shocking and endless, this elite Wu Changqing of the Huai Army is sitting in Hanoi, and there are strong cities in Shanxi and Hanoi to defend, no matter how bad it is, it will not be a failure......

Tang Jiong next to him spoke first, he was an official recommended by the Qingliu party, but in fact he was not familiar with these officials in Qingliu, and Xu Yanxu, another old man who was recommended by the Qingliu faction to serve as the governor of Guangxi, actually had nothing to do with Qingliu, this peculiar recommendation system undoubtedly led to the tragic results in the history of Qingliu's party leaders.

However, relatively speaking, Tang Jiong is fighting a tough battle, and he understands that it is difficult to fight with the French, and if he loses, he will not have good fruit to eat: "Governor Qin, in my opinion, although the garrison in northern Vietnam is somewhat fighting separately, but the soldiers are good enough to eat, even if they defend Shanxi and Hanoi, the French want to use 20,000 people to conquer the fortified city of 40,000 people, and the chances of winning are not high."

Qin Kai looked at Old Man Tang, and scolded secretly in his heart, you will dream, why do you need 20,000 French ** team, if the French are smarter, it is estimated that if you surround Shanxi, you armies belonging to different bosses will immediately flee for their lives, the most important thing in this battle is to fight the same enemy, the main force of the problem Huai Army is making small calculations, and the others are playing with their lives

It's just that how can he put Huai Jun's card counting on the bright side, even if there is conclusive evidence, it is not to say that he is killed, and he is trying to survive in the cracks in this situation now, and he will never expose his face when the time comes......

"Lord Tang, the most important thing in this decisive battle is to fight bravely, dare to ask the soldiers and horses on the eastern front now, which way is willing to fight bravely?"

"Lord Qin, the key point of the attack and defense of the northern part of Vietnam is the triangle area of Shanxi, Hanoi, and Bac Ninh, where our army is stationed, relying on fortified cities and firearms, even if the French attack with all their might, I think they can defend it without hindrance" Tang Jiong was quite dissatisfied with Qin Kai's failure and refuted it with all his might.

This old man Tang is not only old, but also stubborn to death, Qin Kai naturally has no interest in arguing with him about this, he glanced at the Cen family brothers, these two people do have a dignified face, this layout in the north of Vietnam is a mess, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Huai army, plus the border army, is also divided into two fronts, east and west, each army has its own orders, and the two lines have no cooperation.

As for when it will collapse, it depends on the tactics of the French, if it hits the stone, it can be slowed down, for example, this attack on Yong'an Ferry, it is kicked on the hard stone of protecting **, the French have not made any new moves for half a month, and they must be planning.

For Tang Jiong's old stubbornness, he naturally didn't have time to argue with him, looked at the old man's somewhat bald head, and couldn't help but sneer in his heart, you old man is not smart, and you have to learn to be bald, and you despise it

Seeing that the atmosphere was rather embarrassing, Cen Yuying suddenly smiled and said, "Lord Qin, the old man heard that you are good at tea ceremony, why don't we put on the tea set and taste it carefully, and save ourselves from talking about these boring topics?" ”

Qin Kai rolled his eyelids, we are good at tea ceremony, that monkey is definitely the god of wine, but Lao Cen doesn't look like an idiot, this word has a deep meaning, and he hurriedly smiled and said: "Lord Cen invites, it is better to be respectful than to obey your fate"

Tang Jiong, who was on the side, looked stupid at this time, got up and said, "Lord Cen, Lord Qin, I have no interest in the tea ceremony, and there are still some things to deal with, I won't drink this tea, and I will come to visit Lord Qin another day" After that, he arched his hand and left the camp.

Cen Yuying clapped his hands, the two children really brought up a complete set of tea sets and tables, Cen Yuying smiled and put up the kung fu tea, the teapot with a small charcoal stove gurgling, he picked out some tea leaves, and re-filtered them after the hot water was boiled in the copper teapot, he suddenly opened the lid of the copper kettle and looked at the teapot.

Then he looked at Qin Kai again, poured half a cup of new tea for him, and said with a pun: "Lord Qin, my pot is only the amount of two cups of water...... It's only one cup per person."

Lao Cen has said this very bluntly, and this Nanyang minister is also dealing with this Nanyang minister for the first time, it seems that this new talent in the Qing Dynasty officialdom is a shrewd figure, and some words can be said halfway, it is obvious that this battle of Yuebei, if there is a benefit, he, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, naturally cannot be left behind, the meaning of this is very clear, with the benefit, we want half,

Qin Kai looked as usual, raised the teacup and smelled it, thoughtfully, it was really a first-class tea, this tea fragrance was in the heart, making people feel a full sense of enjoyment, but for a guy like him who only drinks the most ordinary strong tea, it is also a feeling, he smiled slightly, and immediately picked up his words.

"Lord Cen's tea is really elegant, I only love to drink bitter tea on weekdays, but today I am fortunate to have a taste of the adult's tea art" We are turnip greens each have their own love, if there is a benefit, each takes what he needs......

The two laughed, and immediately devoted themselves to the cause of tea tasting, and with several times the tea water, the two armies also reached some tacit understanding......

The summer of 1882 was undoubtedly a cold winter for the Imperial Governor in Tokyo, after the fatal blow to the Navy, the amount of reparations that followed also gave the Imperial Governor a headache, and the rapid development of the Meiji Restoration for more than ten years, the small Japanese fiscal revenue has swelled to 53 million yen (equivalent to about 33 million taels of silver) this year.

This is a lot less than the annual tax income of 81 million taels of silver in the vast Qing Dynasty, but considering that the land area of this Qing State is only one-thirtieth of the Qing Dynasty, and the population is less than one-tenth, such a tax revenue is definitely an astonishing figure, and this time the indemnity expenditure is more than 3.5 million taels, and relatively speaking, other conditions are nothing at all

However, after consulting with Ito, Iwakura decided to continue the current administrative and military investment, and to make up for the shortfall, and at the same time to increase the land tax, and in this era, with the large-scale development of industry and commerce, the proportion of Japan's industrial and commercial tax revenue in government revenue gradually increased, and it was gradually approaching the amount of land tax, but the increase in Japan's land tax was no less than that of industrial and commercial tax.

After 14 years of reform, the proportion of land tax in government tax revenue has been reduced to about 50%, but the actual amount of land tax has increased several times, and it is still the first tax in Japan, and a large part of agricultural products comes from silkworm breeding.

The expansion of silkworm breeding industry has greatly promoted the development of Japan's silk reeling industry, but Japan's emerging silk industry has similar problems to its huge neighbors, and its huge production capacity has no corresponding internal demand, so the value and price of this raw silk completely depend on Europe and the Americas, which consume a lot of silk

This year's raw silk price suddenly has a 10 drop in price, which is undoubtedly a worse thing for Japan, which regards the raw silk industry as the empire's largest foreign exchange industry, and more than ten silk reeling factories under the Sumitomo chaebol are still fully processing raw silk, and the businessman's point of view is very simple, how to make more money, just do it, so increasing the production of raw silk is undoubtedly a feasible way.

But this year has encountered a headache for the Sumitomo family, in the domestic fresh cocoon market suddenly more than a huge force, Japan in these years to promote the sericulture is vigorously supported, so the domestic fresh cocoon market competition can be described as very fierce, this reason is easy to understand, after all, the domestic demand for fresh cocoons priority, excess production caused by the extremely low unit price.

In addition, the domestic handmade silk reeling industry in Japan is almost empty, and the quality of raw silk produced is poor, far from the quality of China's handmade raw silk, which makes the machine qì silk reeling factory controlled by the big chaebol become almost the only difference between these fresh cocoons, and the Sumitomo zaibatsu is not a charity, and the price of fresh cocoons is greatly reduced......

In Osaka Castle, in the port area west of the city, the Japanese workers who worked in the foreign company here knew that the Vasi foreign company was opened by a British businessman, and the business was very large, involving almost all industries, and the garment industry and the purchase of raw silk were the regular business of this foreign company.

But few people know that this is actually in Mawei Shipping in Japan has a shadow company, directly under Du Ping's presiding, and the company's boss Smith is part-time business, he can be thinking about the 1000 shares he may have in the future, so he has worked very hard in the past two years, and today in his name he has convened the managers and shopkeepers responsible for the acquisition of fresh cocoons.

The assignment has already begun to be carried out, and it has long been spread among the small Japanese silk traders, and some Western merchants have taken a fancy to the fresh cocoon market, and it is now the peak season, and in just one week, Vaxi & Co. has purchased more than 2,000 quintals of fresh cocoons at a price 30 less than the Chinese market price.

Earlier, the silk reeling industry of Hejuni was in full swing, in addition to the 7 large-scale silk reeling factories directly belonging to Mawei Shipping, there were even local businessmen trying to understand the silk reeling industry, and the key factor that discouraged these merchants was the machine qì. ,

For the huge demand for fresh cocoons, of course, it can also be met from the areas with developed silkworm industry along the coast of the Qing Dynasty, but a Chinese folk handmade silk industry is very developed, and this kind of industry that requires extremely high manual technology is completely non-existent in Japan

And more importantly, the Japanese fresh cocoon industry is generally cheap, so Du Ping opened up many Japanese trading houses that were attached to Vasei, but the core business could only be handled by himself, and Tongguò these branches expanded the scope of acquisition to the larger Japanese market.

This year's purchase volume of fresh cocoons has suddenly doubled compared to last year, and Du Ping has learned from these branch firms that Sumitomo's chaebol groups, which are closely related to raw silk, have begun to respond to their purchases of fresh cocoons, slightly increasing the purchase price, which is also a common means of competing for the market.

However, at this point, they have already taken a countermeasure to continue to purchase fresh cocoons according to their price increase of about 1, and Vacy has built a new medium-sized fresh cocoon processing plant in Osaka to ensure that these fresh cocoons are processed in the first step before being sent to Mawei shipping ships.

The news sent from the Qin instructor in Guangzhou, the new silk reeling factory in Guangzhou has broken through to 20, although the use of 20-wire silk reeling machinery is not a river cypress, but compared with the French machine of Sumitomo in Japan, it is indeed more advanced, and part of this part of the output can be met by the domestic market, but what is more needed is to want to be so overseas predatory procurement and production resources.

The price is the factor that determines a qiē, counting the freight of Mawei shipping and the handling fee of fresh cocoons, it can still be cheaper than the price of fresh cocoons in China by 1 percent, Du Ping did a careful investigation, and at the same time spent money to learn about some of the numbers of Japan's raw silk industry from an official of the Japanese Imperial Governor.

Now the annual output of fresh cocoons in the country is 50,000 to 60,000 quintals, and the production capacity of tens of thousands of them can be digested in the horsetail industrial system, which has prompted Du Ping's determination to fight this price war.

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