Chonghou was obviously moved by his affection for this Chinese-built steamer, and on the one hand he gave himself knives, silk and other items to reward Pei Jinquan and other officials with the pipe, and on the other hand, he asked them to record what they saw and heard at sea in a book when they returned to the sea, and published and distributed them to various places in the North and South Seas for study. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

The "Wannian Qing", which was greatly appreciated and affirmed by the imperial court, left Tianjin on November 12, 1869 and arrived in Mawei on December 8, 1869.

On the day of the return of the "Wannian Qing", Shen Baozhen came to the dock early.

At this time, the banks of the Majiang River are crowded with thousands of heads, and the crowd fluctuates. Everywhere there are people who come to see the demeanor of "China's first ship".

Shen Baozhen raised the telescope, and in the telescope, the place between the sea of clouds slowly trembled, and as a wisp of green smoke rose, a beam of sunset reflected the long flag on the top of the mast, fluttering like a small dragon, rising from the horizon in the soaring water vapor - that is "Wannian Qing".

At this time, the "Wannian Qing" was dressed in a beautiful sky blue French painting, the golden dragon pattern on the bow of the ship was shining in the sun, and under the blowing of the sea breeze, the red background gold dragon tooth flag on the back mast was fluttering.

Shen Baozhen put down the binoculars in his hand and wet his clothes with tears. The shipyard staff saw the "Wannian Qing" from afar, and they all cheered. Soon, the banks of the Majiang River thundered with joy and resounded throughout the sky.

The "Wannian Qing" slowly approached, and the bronzed-skinned sturdy sailor with his hair braided and his bare arms skillfully carried out various operations. Lin Yizhe looked at these first-generation sailors of the Chinese Navy, thinking back to the days and nights since he traveled to this era, and his heart fluctuated.

Today's victorious return of the "Wannian Qing" means that the Chinese nation has finally been able to turn around and take an incomparably solid step towards the blue sea after turning its back to the ocean for so long!

The "Wannian Qing" docked and lowered the trestle bridge, and Wu Dating, Lin Yizhe and others got off the boat and came to the shore to meet Shen Baozhen and others, talking about the hardships and turmoil they had experienced in the past few days, Wu Dating and others were embarrassed.

Shen Baozhen saw that Lin Yizhe had become a little darker and thinner, but he looked stronger than before, a little bookish, and he looked more resolute and calm, and he couldn't help but feel relieved.

And when Lin Yizhe saw Shen Baozhen, whose face looked very haggard, his heart was full of mixed feelings for a while, he had a lot of things to say to Shen Baozhen, but somehow, his throat choked.

Shen Baozhen seemed to know his intentions and smiled. Lin Yizhe noticed that Shen Baozhen's eyes had a trace of heaviness and anxiety that could not be concealed, and he couldn't help but feel worried in his heart.

Could it be that during the return voyage of the "Wannian Qing", what kind of turmoil arose between the DPRK and China?

The group returned to the Harbour Master's Office, and while they were not busy, Shen Baozhen called Lin Yizhe to his side.

"Kunyu, come here, I have something to say to you."

Shen Baozhen walked silently, Lin Yizhe followed him, and the two came to the corridor, Shen Baozhen turned around, took out a letter from his sleeve, and handed it to him.

"Look at it!" Shen Baozhen sighed, "I just sent it here early this morning." ”

Lin Yizhe took the letter and did not open it immediately, but looked at the envelope first. As soon as he saw that it was written by Zuo Zongtang, he somewhat understood why Shen Baozhen seemed so worried.

It is a very letter, which may well mean the beginning of Zuo Zongtang's second round of suppression of the shipyard!

Lin Yizhe opened the envelope, took out the stationery, and looked at it carefully.

“…… Since you took charge of the ship, you were able to respect my will at the beginning, but now you actually listen to the words of Xiaoxiao, rebuke the virtuous, and change your course, abandon the dual-purpose ship of the military and business, and do not build the warship, you need to know that now the sea and the border are peaceful, what is the use of the warship? …… I thought that I looked at you three times and spoke freely, but now I am attacking like an enemy, and I can win the pain! …… The shipmaster is neither the shipmaster of the past, nor the young Danqi of the past, and I can't do anything about cutting meat and feeding tigers. Thou hast abandoned the construction of dual-use ships and did not build them, and instead built warships, thinking that there was already a way to raise ships. Now the western expedition needs to be paid very urgently, and the tax and silver of the Fujian Pass have been reported to the imperial court to change the army of the western expedition. Thou shalt do thyself! ……”

"Drawing wages from the bottom of the kettle, what a vicious method!" After reading the letter, Lin Yizhe's heart was full of anger for a while.

This time Zuo Zongtang's attack on the ship administration did not work, Lin Yizhe knew that he would definitely make waves, but what he didn't expect was that Zuo Zongtang's revenge would come so quickly!

And this time Zuo Zongtang's methods can be said to be much more vicious than the last attack!

At the beginning of the establishment of the shipyard, the funds for the construction of the factory were 400,000 taels of silver from the 40% foreign tax of Fujian Customs, and 50,000 taels of silver per month from the 60% foreign tax as operating expenses. And Zuo Zongtang this time actually stopped the running expenses of the shipmaster in the name of the western levy and salary, which is equivalent to choking the throat of the shipmaster!

"In the future, I'm afraid our life will be sad." Shen Baozhen sighed, "I didn't expect him to be so decisive in doing things, I really misjudged him......"

"If you lose your horse, you don't know if it's a blessing, and my uncle can know that the shipmaster can't always rely on his snort and be at his mercy, and today's break is inevitable, just sooner or later." Lin Yizhe said, "It is not a good thing to break free from its shackles as soon as possible." ”

"Having said that, but now that the source of income has been cut off, and there is no cost to maintain a boat, it will be difficult to live at this level!" Shen Baozhen said with a worried face.

"Uncle knows, even according to Zuo Jigao's thoughts, there is no way to build a ship for both military and commercial purposes." Lin Yizhe said, "At the beginning, Zuo Jigao envisioned that the ships built by the shipmaster did not need special maintenance funds, and the maintenance of the ship and the salary of the crew had to rely on loading commercial goods to make money and maintain. His idea seems reasonable, but in fact it is impossible to operate, and it is impossible for the shipmaster to organize special manpower to attract investment, and to use such a ship that is not a donkey or a horse to participate in the competition of commercial transportation, compared with those foreign shipping companies that have already become large-scale, it seems to be weak. Even if it can make a profit, it is a drop in the bucket to maintain a warship. What's more, the expenses of the shipmaster have been limited as early as when Zuo Jigao was in office, and even if there is no such thing, the cost of maintaining the ship needs to be raised separately. ”

"You have a point." Shen Baozhen nodded, "I can only think of another way to do this." ”

"Don't worry, uncle, there will always be a way." Lin Yizhe said his thoughts in the future, "At present, the No. 2 and No. 3 steamships are already under construction, and the warships have a temporary scale, so it is better to build a few special transport ships, imitate the Western system, and set up a shipping company specializing in commercial cargo transportation. ”

"Although the method is good, but at present, there is no funding for raising ships, and it is not easy to build a transport ship!" Shen Baozhen sighed, "I don't know that Zuo Ji's high energy is narrow-minded and intolerant. I didn't want to offend him before, but I also guarded against today's events, but who knows, this day is still coming......"

"This break with Zuo's has a great impact on the shipyard in the short term, but in the long run, it can be unbound by its fingers and strokes and embark on the right path." Lin Yizhe saw that Shen Baozhen's eyebrows were very depressed, and knew that he was still uncomfortable about breaking up with Zuo Zongtang, so he comforted him and said, "My nephew has now been appointed by the imperial court to transform the 'Wannian Qing' ship. It shows that the center is still optimistic about the shipyard, although there is a temporary setback, it will always pass. ”

"Hmm. What you're saying is. Shen Baozhen looked at Lin Yizhe with a look of expectation, "I also learned from the Di newspaper that I told your aunt that she said the same thing." This renovation project is a very important matter, you do a good job, and in the future, you young people will have to rely on you young people to support you. ”

Shen Baozhen looked at Lin Yizhe, as if he saw himself when he was young, and his heart was slightly relaxed, he temporarily let go of the unhappiness caused by Zuo Zongtang's salary draw, and asked Lin Yizhe about Zeng Guofan.

For Zeng Guofan's help to tide over the crisis this time, Shen Baozhen's heart is very grateful. Lin Yizhe's family went to Jiangning to visit Zeng Guofan and his wife, and Shen Baozhen also knew. But what he didn't expect was that Lin Yizhe's energy would be so great.

"I heard that you asked Zeng Dishuai to help you bring clips? How did you say that Zeng Gong moved? ”

"The method of transforming the 'Wannian Qing' ship, as well as the disadvantages of the dual-use of soldiers and merchants, I told Zeng Gong that he knew it, and Zeng Gong listened to what I said, so he asked me to write a clip, and he played the court on his behalf." Lin Yizhe replied, "The Empress Dowager and the Emperor Shengming, after watching Zeng Gong's recital and clipping, only then did he refute Zuo Zongtang's excerpt and agree to go north to read the 'Wannian Qing'. ”

"How did you come up with this method of transformation?"

"The method of 'Wannian Qing' transformation, my nephew thought about it for a long time, and only then did he get some results, for the sake of prudence, he discussed it with Mr. Dashbo, and some details were corrected with the help of Mr. Dashbo, which is a practical method."

"That's very good." Shen Baozhen nodded and said, "The renovation project of the 'Wannian Qing', the special committee of the imperial court and you, it can be said that it is an exceptional appointment, and you are allowed to deploy artificial raw materials independently, it can be seen that the trust is heavy, you must be careful and cautious, there can be no half-point difference, all materials and labor, must be implemented, so that it is well documented, in the future, someone will harm you, and you will not fall here." ”

"Nephew understands."

"The transformation of the 'Wannian Qing' is successful, and I may be able to play the imperial court and then open the source of salary." Shen Baozhen smiled bitterly, "Now the hope of the shipmaster is all on you." ”

"My nephew will live up to the high expectations of the court, and my uncle expects it."

At this time, it was close to evening in the afternoon, and the sun was slanting outside the window, through the thick clouds, sprinkling ten thousand rays of glow, shrouding the old and young in a golden glow.

On the shore of green mountains and clear water, the shadow of the "Wannianqing" moored at the riverside wharf looks particularly majestic and magnificent under the sun.

The golden sunset shone obliquely through the gaps in the lead-gray clouds, and the lead clouds inlaid with gold instantly had the illusion of Nantianmen. The touch of blue in the cracks in the clouds seems to bring hope brought by Lin Yizhe.

――――Dividing Line――――

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