With a sharp whistle, the almost pale gray smoke emitted by the burning of fine Citi white coal gushed out of the chimney, and was blown by the river wind, and quickly drifted backwards.

Looking far away, there are dozens of smoke columns like this on the riverside!

The tax customs personnel at the Tianhou Temple Wharf in the north of Jiangning City stared blankly at the huge fleet in front of them. Dozens of large and small steamers released water from Shanghai to Jiangning. In addition to the cargo ship space that China Merchants can mobilize, there are more than a dozen steamers flying the convenient flags of different countries, some of which are so large that they are afraid that they cannot directly dock at the wharf without a tonnage of seven or eight thousand, and can only be attached to the trestle.

Jiangning is also a big wharf, and every day from south to north, I don't know how many ships pass by to dock and load and load goods. But this kind of fleet composed of pure fire steamers, and there are dozens of them, and the rising pillars of smoke seem to cut the river and the sky into one after another, this kind of scene is really rare!

Not only did the master of the tax customs card come out, but the small workers at the wharf also gathered around to watch. Jiangning City is so lively, but the big wharf of Jiangning Tianhou Temple is still operating as usual, you have to eat if you don't die for a day, you have to wear clothes if you don't die for two days, and you still have to work when you have to work. But no one expected that so many steamers would come at once. The dark and heavy steel hull leaned against the pier, a long slip, and more often only anchored in the waterside of the river, waiting for the berth to vacate. Standing in front of such a huge fleet, it was said that the dock workers who seemed densely packed in the past made people feel extraordinarily small!

On the wharf, some grain ships from Wuhu Grain Gang transporting goods from the north and south and carrying rice were busy untying the cable and raising the hard sails. It's not like you've never seen a steamer, and now the grain gang still uses a steamer to tow a long wooden boat. But so much, that's an eye-opener. Dozens of steamers rushed to berth, and the pilots and dock directors were all sweating profusely. Sandwiched between these iron guys, bumping and bumping is not fun.

Not only them, but also the clerks of the British Swire Steamship Company on the wharf also came out, foreigners wearing top hats, compradors wearing horse coats, and tea houses holding water signs all staring blankly. Such an open river seems to be filled with the first steamer to come this time, this kind of spectacular scene unique to the era of modern industrialization is so rare in the country of the Qing Dynasty!

A foreigner took off his hat and muttered to himself: "My God, it seems that the ships of the entire Qing Kingdom, the steel and steam engines of the entire Qing Kingdom, have arrived in Jiangning?" ”

On the bow of each steamer, the Canglong Festival flag representing Xu Yifan was fluttering. When the river wind passed, the dragon slapped the flagpole with a snap.

Li Daxiong stood at the bow of the first boat, surrounded by seven or eight people behind him, facing the mighty wind on the Yangtze River, just looking at this piece of land where they were about to enter in a big way, and would follow Xu Yifan to create a big scene here. At this time, Li Daxiong didn't know what it was like. Someone behind him whispered: "Our family has been in the country for a hundred years, and now we are finally back............ In this way! ”

Li Daxiong just smiled faintly, he had already changed into the gray silk cotton robe that the Qing merchants and gentry were accustomed to wearing, and the shoulders were covered with fox skin. Rao is dressed so much, and the river wind in Jiangning in winter is still blowing cold.

But the heart is hot.

He turned back to the representatives of the major Nanyang families who came with their Li family this time and smiled: "Everyone, cheer up!" Let's go to the country for a hundred years, and now we will let the land of the two rivers take a look at how much capital we have brought back with us children who have been wandering outside for so long, and how much ability we have come back! Let the people of the country take a good look! It also lets them know how many resources and how much power Lord Xu has! ”

Everyone laughed loudly, that Zheng Shoushan was also standing behind him, this kind of weather, such a river breeze, he still wore a coat outside his dress, and his nose was clear, but looking at him, he was even more high-spirited than Li Daxiong: "Let these people see what era it is!" If they weren't stupid, would they have the opportunity to make such a high-profile appearance? ”

Li Daxiong glanced at the representative of the Zheng family, the four families of Java, and the two Huang and Chen families, who have the deepest relationship with the Li family, have all taken out the greatest resources and strength, and the heirs of the family have already arrived. The relationship between the Zheng family and the Li family is not so deep, and there are other big families in Nanyang, that is, they have sent some forces over, and they still have the meaning of waiting and seeing.

The mother country has so many resources, so many manpower, and a figure like Xu Yifan to escort their capital. If you miss a step, you may only be able to watch and watch in the future............ They really can't see where the opportunity lies!

Not far from Li Daxiong and them, stood two senior officers in the uniforms of the Praetorian Guards, one tall and one short and fat, and the taller one was none other than Nie Shicheng. Li Yunzong and Chu Wanli have their own uses, and Nie Shicheng stayed in Shanghai, receiving the Praetorian Guards one after another, and preparing to escort this operation. On top of so many ships this time, there were several battalions of officers and soldiers from the second town of the Praetorian Guard.

The short and fat one was Yuan Shikai, and he pressed the Western-style command knife on his waist. The severed part of the little finger of the right hand is very conspicuous. It was in order to catch up with the bigger scene and jump into the center of such a big stage that he left North Korea and rushed to Shanghai with only a few dozen personal soldiers, and he also caught up with this fleet. Now standing at the bow of the boat, he just stared blankly at everything in front of him, silent for a long time.

Nie Shicheng and Li Yun are respectful but not close, and they also have some respect for Yuan Shikai, after all, Yuan Shikai betrayed in North Korea, and it was not until Anzhou that he achieved positive results under Xu Yifan. So Nie Shicheng spoke to Yuan Shikai very casually: "Xiang Cheng, what do you want?" Thinking about the matter of leaving North Korea, will the marshal be to blame? Don't worry, in such a big situation in Liangjiang, what Dashuai lacks is talent, if you come over, Dashuai will not blame him again. The poor mountains and bad waters in North Korea, there are horse teams and those Korean soldiers in the south who can look at it, and now here is the foundation of the handsome! ”

Yuan Shikai shook his head: "That's not what I'm thinking. ”

Nie Shicheng looked left and right, and lowered his voice a little: "Only now do I understand what is the source of such a great power of the handsome?" It didn't take long for me to understand! These guys in Nanyang are rich and rival the country, and the handsome man started by them! In the past, Nanyang also had a lot of salary committee members in the past, why didn't they borrow this power? How else to say that Dashuai is a celestial? ”

Yuan Shikai had a complicated look on his face, and shook his head lightly: "...... It's not, Gongting, no matter how rich Nanyang is, there are still fewer rich people in the Qing Dynasty? Why can this force be mobilized so effectively, when the Qing Dynasty just can't mobilize it? The reason seems to be understood, but he doesn't understand it very well............ he sighed deeply: "Only Dashuai is so heavenly that he knows where this power lies, and only with these resources of Nanyang can he become such a big thing!" Yuan has nothing to say, he came this time, that is, to serve the handsome man and die. ”

The two talked in a low voice here, and Li Daxiong turned around and greeted Nie Shicheng: "Lord Nie, please give an order, and we will do everything by the adults............ Can you get off the boat? ”

Li Daxiong They are not under Xu Yifan's command after all, this fleet, all the orders have been obeyed, and the viscount has been rewarded for this Sino-Japanese War, and the rank of the military attache has been promoted to Nie Shicheng, who can no longer be promoted. Nie Shicheng didn't dare to slack off Xu Yifan's prospective father-in-law - although Li Xuan and Xu Yifan hadn't officially held a ceremony yet, Li Xuan had already lived in Xu Yifan's house! People have to say that girls from foreign places are open and unruly.

Nie Shicheng smiled at Li Daxiong and waved his hand behind him. Someone has already sounded the whistle again, three long and one short, the sound is high and sharp, straight into the sky!

At the sound of the whistle, the officers and men of the Praetorian Guard, who had been waiting on the deck for a long time, lowered the gangplank, and the whole team poured out of the bow of the ship. It's not surprising that all kinds of people on the dock are staring blankly. In the past few days since Xu Yifan arrived, the people of Jiangning have long been accustomed to the scene of the yellow-skinned soldiers moving neatly with their backpacks on their backs. These Janissaries were on the dock, and with the sound of the password, the big scalp boots knocked on the dock with a bang, and everyone was not frightened, but continued to look at the Western scenery with interest.

It would be too wasteful to transport only a few thousand Praetorian Guards to such a large fleet, right?

The answer is in the back, the Praetorian Guard is finished, and then more people, more things, are unloaded from these ships! Groups of people, dressed in brand-new padded jackets, poured down in droves. They were not as orderly as the Praetorian Guards, and the commotion was even greater. Many people don't have braids and have a dark complexion. At first glance, you can tell that it is not a local. Among these people, there are also foreigners! These foreigners, with leather bags and top hats, mingled with these people, and began to direct the work at once. Bulk carriers with booms on the deck of the ship carried down large bags of goods, and more small workers pushed small carts down from the gangplank, as if the dozens of steamers were living creatures, with countless things in their bellies, and they were spitting out one after another, trying to fill this dock!

The unbroiled guys who got off the ship in advance shouted loudly and commanded a team of small workers, waiting to load and unload the goods. When the worker saw it, it was the people recruited nearby, and they were all given new cotton clothes, and there were trumpets on the cotton clothes. Listening to the shouting and commanding, he was sweating profusely loading and unloading things. It is said that these are grabbing jobs at the dock. Different docks, with different gangs, can fight for this kind of thing. But looking at the characters like the dock, and the thousands of Praetorian Guard officers and soldiers who have completed the whole team, who dares to squeak!

Such a large Jiangning wharf has become a noisy construction site. An indescribably large number of things were constantly unloaded and loaded, and when they were loaded, they headed out and assembled in a more spacious place. Bags of grain, some of the loading and unloading accidentally broke off, and the white rice poured out, and no one went to clean up, just busy unloading more goods down. Rice, foreign noodles, foreign oil, pickles, coal bags, wax sticks, foreign fire, raw silk, silk, fabrics, Western goods, pots and pans............ As long as you can think of anything that has passed the day, you have it all! The number is so big, according to the estimation of the people on the dock, it is more than enough to feed the people of Jiangning for a month!

The things unloaded from the back are getting more and more strange, oilcloth, hemp felt, wood, iron buckles, four-legged nails, and ash...... It was as if someone was going to build a shed in Jiangning City and live by himself. To tell the truth, the things brought in by these dozens of ships are enough for them to build a new city! Amazing: Burn some bricks yourself.

The goods are pouring down like a river bursting its banks, and it is far from the time when it is finished, and the impact of so many goods concentrated in one place is amazing. It's like moving a city to another place entirely!

No matter how many small workers come down from the ship, it can only load a small part of the goods, and the loading is completed. The Praetorian Guards were in front, and they were behind, like a long dragon, marching towards Jiangning City. The people on the dock looked at each other, and immediately buzzed with the past to see the excitement, and some people also wore the first to run ahead, ready to enter the city, this kind of lively Atlantic mirror, you have to talk to your relatives and friends!

These people under the banner of Canglong are naturally the people of Xu Yifan, the new governor of Liangjiang, and Xu Dashuai sent people to move a city to Jiangning with dozens of steamers!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Qing Dynasty, Tianjin Customs Road Yamen.

The Tianjin Customs Road is special among several customs yamen in the Qing Dynasty. In addition to the customs road is a person from the Qing Dynasty, there is also a customs superintendent who actually holds power, and this customs superintendent is Hurd's brother-in-law, the Englishman Pei Shikai. In addition to the general secretary of the General Administration of Customs, he also served as this messenger. Tianjin is an important town for foreign affairs, and the Yamen of the General Administration of Customs is also here, and HD has a very tight grasp of Tianjin Customs.

In addition to Pei Shikai, the main staff of Tianjin Customs are all foreigners from Britain, France and the United States. went back to socialize, and foreign literature flew around. Although the Jinhaiguan Road is in the Chinese realm, this yamen is like a foreign place. The architecture of the yamen is laid out, and it is also purely Western.

At this time, in the small flower hall in the garden of Customs Road, more than a dozen people were sitting in danger, and the master of this place was none other than He Bo, the minister of the British Empire in China. He was already in China during the Tongzhi period, and he was a person who dealt with Chen Yucheng, the British king of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. This war mediation between China and China is also the old man who has already done diplomacy in East Asia, He Bo, who has led the ministers and representatives of various countries.

In the flower hall, there are also French and American ministers. The mediation of the four powers, Britain, France, and the United States is considered to be one family, and Russia has its special interests and ambitions in the Far East. Today there is no Russian minister.

In addition to these foreigners, there is also the emaciated and haggard Hirofumi Ito. Today, he was completely gone, his eyes were blazing, and he sat with his hands on his knees. The attachés behind him were all dressed in Japanese-style dresses and stood respectfully. Inside and outside the flower hall, only Pei Shikai was running alone, coming in to accompany Uncle He to say a few words for a while, and looking forward to the door for a while.

Today's scene was initiated by Ho Bo's proposal and the two countries privately discussed preparatory peace talks. When the diplomatic agreement was formally written, there was already so much reciprocal reciprocal back and forth. At the end of the day, it's just a matter of signing. Shi Duo and they had already been instructed by the imperial court to hurry up this peace situation and concentrate on the south. Shiduo Tan Si and them slightly expressed their meaning to He Bo, and the minister arranged this private meeting. Moreover, he pat his chest and assure that without the Russian minister, everyone can say whatever they want, express their own positions, and express them as much as they want, which is not a diplomatic occasion and will not be formally written, and the countries promise to give mediation opinions in a sympathetic and neutral enough manner.

This place is just right, and it is a place for foreigners, and it is not in the concession. The customs are tightly guarded, but it is not a formal diplomatic occasion, so it is better to probe the rumors and listen to the attitudes of the foreign powers.

Hirobumi Ito, arrived here early. Except for the occasional socializing with Uncle He, at other times, he has been sitting upright.

"The Great Qing Emperor [***] is the foreman of the Wang, the minister of the peace talks, and the lord of the world. The squire of the Ministry of Rites of the Qing Empire, said that Tan Si, the deputy envoy of the peace talks, and Lord Tan, and his attachés arrived! ”

Pei Shikai served as the porter who personally passed on, a string of official titles, and reported decently. All the people waiting in the flower hall, led by Uncle He, all stood up and greeted them. When I went out, I saw Shi Duo dressed in a suit, and he didn't wear a crown and pearls, and he came in with a smile, and several people behind him, who were Tan Si, did not wear formal official uniforms. Shi Duo also smiled and smiled at Pei Shikai, who was leading the way: "Old Pei, old Pei, let's meet and talk this time, it can be regarded as a friend talking, you pass on the official rank, what is this!" ”

Pei Shikai smiled with a mouthful of British big teeth: "My lord, if you serve in the empire, you naturally have to obey the upper and lower systems. ”

Before the two finished greetings, He Bo and his entourage had already come up to say hello to Shiduo Tan Sitong. These ministers have dealt with Shi Duo a lot in the Prime Minister's National Affairs Yamen, and they are happy to meet each other. Shiduo was also calm, but he didn't greet Ito Hirobumi and his party, who seemed to be standing respectfully behind the ministers of various countries.

Only Tan Sitong and He Bo and the others silently held hands, exchanged a few words of greeting, and just looked at Ito Hirofumi quietly. Finding Tan Sitong's gaze at him, Ito Hirofumi raised his head and glanced at him and smiled faintly.

He Bo raised his hand to recommend: "This is the prime minister of the Empire, the representative of the Empire, Mr. Ito Hirobumi, the Lord of the World, this meeting, but the two of them chat, to see what the intentions of the two sides are, China said that peace between the two countries is welcomed by the civilized world, this war, it is really unfortunate, if the two can see each other at first sight, it is indeed a great blessing for peace in East Asia!" "This old man, a mouthful of Beijing films, is extremely beautiful.

Shi Duo smiled and clenched his fists: "I'm not Minister Wang today, but I meet as a friend............ Lord Ito, this battle is really fought for no reason, so it's better for everyone to sit down, and I'm glad to have it! ”

Tan Sitong said coldly behind him: "This war was not provoked by us, and it was not us who sued for peace!" ”

Ito Hirofumi was not excited, and said lightly: "This battle is not the ............ you fight. ”

Shi Duo and Tan Sitong's faces were stiff, and Uncle He was busy playing the round: "Please come in, please come in!" Now that we've met, what else is there to say? Anyway, it's a friend chatting, and whatever you say is straightforward, who can be surprised? ”

Ito Hirobumi smiled and raised his hand sideways, making a gesture of welcome, Shiduo snorted, and entered first, everyone followed, and the guests and hosts sat down. As soon as he sat down, there was tea served, and Shiduo didn't answer, and said to Ito Hirobumi: "Brother is really busy, the system is closed, and I can't always meet with Mr. Ito, next time we meet, the two sides should put pen to paper, and the goods will die on the ground. The Qing Dynasty has always maintained peace in East Asia, and it has never been for itself............ What are your plans, sir? ”

"The empire is in Weihai, Shandong, and it is taking the initiative to withdraw its troops. Moreover, in this war, the empire has always retained sea supremacy, from which point of view, is the empire losing? Ito Hirobumi opened his mouth, and he didn't back down!

Shi Duo froze, he was in the military plane, he has always been known for his good temper and poor words, Ito's attitude made him speechless for a while! I wanted to drop the tea bowl and leave, but the will of the imperial court to make peace quickly was there, and there were ministers of the great powers here, so I had to blush and not speak.

“………… With the corpses of tens of thousands of officials in the Northern Dynasties, in Anzhou, and in southern Liaoning, and with the great marshal of your country who surrendered in Lushun, Dashanyan, 8,000 soldiers, your country will lose in this place! There is no common understanding of this foundation, so what else can we talk about? ”

Shi Duo was dumbfounded, Tan Sitong picked up coldly, his words were sharp, and he was not pressed by Ito Hirofumi!

The ministers of several countries just listened silently.

Listening to Tan Sitong's anger at him, Shiduo happily put down the tea bowl and looked at Ito Hirofumi, who was smiling and silent: "Mr. Ito, let's have some fun, my brother also likes to be happy, this war, how is it peaceful, what is your country's opinion?" We can discuss it, but in a word, the decency of the Qing Dynasty will never be smashed in the hands of brothers! What kind of wishful thinking, Mr. Ito is still in the baggage, why bother to take it out to please yourself? ”

Ito Hirobumi just smiled, he slowly stood up, and glanced around: "The empire and your country are caught in this unfortunate war, and the purpose of the empire has always been very clear - for the overall situation of peace and stability in East Asia for the next hundred years!" On this realization, there was a misunderstanding between the two sides, which led to the war, and the empire expressed great regret............ What is the goal of the Empire? It is to prevent the Russian imperial power from entering Manchuria and Korea, and obtaining an ice-free outlet to the sea, so as to change the balance of power in the entire civilized world! For this reason, the empire did not hesitate to fight, and your country could not understand it, which is really sighing............"

"Joke! What robber logic! Our Northeast Manchuria, let's maintain it ourselves! Korea is also a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty, so we will naturally protect it! What do you want to do to help? The wolf's ambition is nothing more! Tan Sitong stood up and replied loudly, and Shi Duo also patted his thigh: "Ah! You can't get along with Lao Maozi, go by yourself, what's the reason for coming to our house first? ”

Britain and Russia are at odds, and a big gamble is being waged in the Far East, and Tan Sitong has communicated with Shi Duo in detail. Shi Duo is also like listening to the book of heaven, only then did he realize that there are so many dirty things between Western devils! At today's high-level meeting, only the ministers of the three countries came, and the Russian ministers were excluded, and it is self-evident that the importance of Britain's strategy toward Russia is related to the Chinese saying that peace is related to Britain's strategy toward Russia. There is no official in the Qing Dynasty who does not hate the old Russian Maozi, for no other reason, the appearance is too ugly and rude. When the Dongqing Railway was negotiating, Shi Duo didn't know how much old Mao Zi was angry!

Knowing this, Ito Hirofumi first picked up this layer of window paper, and Shiduo patted his thigh and said that he was not polite to Lao Maozi.

Ito Hirobumi looked at the excited Tan Sitong, and smiled at all: "I am very happy, your country and the empire have the same understanding of Russia............ Your two countries, whatever their actions, have the same ambitions to deal with Russia, and so do the civilized world and our perceptions! ”

Tan Sitong was startled, turned his head and quickly glanced at the ministers of the countries who were silently listening, and these ministers also looked unmoved.

Could it be that Ben and the great powers have reached a tacit understanding in this regard?

Tan Sitong suppressed the churning in his heart, and asked coldly: "It's useless to say this, you are the one who provoked the war, and you are the one who defeated!" Since it is for the sake of peace in East Asia, your country should sign a peace treaty with the Qing Dynasty as soon as possible and admit defeat, which is the best contribution to peace in East Asia! ”

Speaking of which, Tan Sitong slightly disregarded the system, and this sentence was said in front of Shi Duo, but at this time, Shi Duo did not mean to blame Tan Sitong at all, but clapped his hands next to him: "Ah, that's the truth, since we are all tired of Lao Maozi, don't hurry up and pull it down!" What the hell is your idea, tell me? ”

Today's Ito Hirofumi seems to have overdrawn all the energy he has left, and there is no longer a trace of sickness on his face, as if he is still the strongman who led Yuben to the present!

“………… Peace! Peace, of course! The aim of the empire is to maintain the ability of your two countries to resist the coveting of Russia in the Far East, no matter what! This is also fully explained by the statement issued by the contemptible people when they arrived in Tianjin............ This is exactly what the Empire is guiding for this peace. In order to secure such a position, the Empire's demand for peace is that the Empire acquires Korea, your countries maintain the integrity of Manchuria, do not pay reparations to each other, and work together to establish a Far East of great standing and ensure eternal peace in East Asia! This is the last limit of the Empire, and the contemptible can be assured here that the Empire will not take a step back from this bottom line! ”

As soon as these words came out, Tan Sitong and Shi Duo were speechless. The little devils are so rampant when they lose, if they win, what will happen?

Tan Sitong looked at He Bo and the others coldly: "Mr. Minister, do you also support such absurd claims of the mediators?" ”

He Bo shook his head and smiled: "The civilized world has no prejudices about this, and I also hope that the status of the Qing Kingdom and the Qing Dynasty will not be damaged, that's all, and the civilized world will not stand by anyone who destroys the status of the Qing and the two countries in the Far East." The maintenance of one or two powerful forces in Manchuria and Korea is also something that the civilized world is very willing to see, and this mediation is precisely for this purpose. ”

"We are capable of resisting possible Russian aggression!"

"But your country has driven the most combat-ready army to the south!"

Tan Sitong and Ito Hirobumi's voices came to mind, and then the two looked at each other without flinching.

"In Manchuria, we have the same strength!"

"What power? Not enough power to withstand the blow of one of our Second Army? The Third Army of the Empire has not yet been disbanded, and the contemptible people can call the shots, and the Third Army can be completely naturalized as your country's frontier defense force in Manchuria. As long as the Lord nods, the contemptible person can arrange this matter immediately! No lie! ”

Shi Duo was listening to the fierce confrontation between Tan Sitong and Ito Hirobumi in a daze, when he suddenly heard this sentence, and immediately shook his hands: "Don't!" No! What are you kidding, this is also nonsense? ”

Tan Sitong slowly calmed down, slowly sat down and picked up the teacup and touched it on his lips: "Then there is nothing to talk about, this request, Daqing will never accept it, you want to continue to fight, whatever you want............ Leave. ”

As he spoke, he got up, dusted off his sleeves, and was about to go out on his own. Shi Duo was also busy serving tea and saying goodbye: "Brother Ito, you can make a big joke!" Brother and brother meet this time, here to say a word, or to dispel this wishful thinking! The Qing Dynasty still needs to be decent! ”

The two ignored it, leaving only the ministers of various countries and Ito Hirobumi sitting opposite each other. Ito's face was slightly pale, with only a faint smile on the corner of his mouth. He Bo looked at him coldly: "Your Excellency Ito, if peace cannot be reached as soon as possible, our country will abandon its neutral attitude and adopt a sympathetic position towards the Qing country, I think Your Excellency understands this very well............ When the time comes, Your Excellency will have to accept the harshest conditions of peace! ”

Ito just smiled lightly: "Your Excellency understands very well that the Qing Kingdom does not have the strength to fight against Russia............ Rest assured, you will soon see the peace you need to come to the lands of East Asia! ”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jiangning City has already made a sensation, and the entire city is almost stunned to see everything that is happening in front of them!

The tide that arose yesterday, under the deliberate restraint of the Praetorian Guard, has been regarded as a super-level performance, sweeping the entire Jiangning City. The indulgers behind the scenes also complacently believe that through the means of boycotting the market and petitioning, the people of Jiangning have been forced to roll up a trend. Xu Yifan will either kill people, or he can only find steps to step down and accept their conditions. No one thought that Xu Yifan would use this way to show the resources he has and the power he has!

From noon, the supplies of the brigade poured into Jiangning City under the escort of the Praetorian Guard, like an endless long dragon. In all parts of the city, small workers set up sheds in a clang, and then food and all kinds of daily necessities were piled up in the sheds that were available everywhere. Even in front of the Liangjiang Governor's Office, there is a buying and selling street!

The sheds were erected, and the apprentice shopkeepers, with their strange accents, changed into clean clothes and began to sell. Everything is good, and some are still rare foreign goods. The selling price is not high, buy ten and get three free. All kinds of signboards have been hung up, and this hall and that hall are all names that have never been heard of. But it's scary to do business!

The big guy was dumbfounded and watched as the tense atmosphere yesterday turned into a coppery smell all over the city.

Jiangning City immediately turned into an unprecedentedly lively temple fair, how can the people care about you Xu Yifan is a chaotic minister and thief, it is important to buy food, it is important to buy cheap things! The Divine Pavilion brought by the Xiucai students was squeezed aside, the incense and candles were trampled on the ground, and people were surging everywhere, bargaining. Bai Siwen Bai Daprefect also swaggered out of the supervision office, and convened the third class of officials, who were very dedicated to maintaining order. Even if others are not afraid of them, they are still afraid of the Praetorian Guards scattered all over the city!

Not only that, but there are countless small workers surrounding the Temple of Literature and Pangong, and they began to erect wooden walls and erect clips. Not a single soldier threatened the sacred place of the Temple of Literature, but only pulled a huge wooden wall to surround it. In this case, where do the people of the Temple of Literature dare to come out! There are still people in the city who go to this construction site and ask if there is any work to do, and it is a good thing to earn a few pennies.

Whether this Xu Dashuai is Wu Quxing or Zhao Gongming, the God of Wealth, the people of Jiangning who are rushing to buy it are already a little unclear. The various businesses also secretly got out of the banmen, and watched with a sad face that the business was bizarrely robbed. All of them were relatively silent.

Where did Xu Yifan mobilize so many resources, and how did he spread them all over Jiangning City all at once!

This power of resource mobilization is where the power of modern industrialized countries lies. The most industrialized and modern part of the Qing Dynasty, led by the Beiyang Foreign Affairs Group, is in the hands of Xu Yifan. Plus the capital and manpower of Nanyang. Don't look at the Qing Dynasty in all directions, and he is just the governor of Liangjiang, and he is trapped in the governor's office, but compared to the mobilization ability, the comparison of forces between the two sides is really not enough!

This power is innumerable plantations, farmlands, resource producing areas, factories, fleets, mines, banks, modern commercial papers, import and export trading firms, modern means of communication, literate and modern knowledge............ The power formed by being connected together under the flow of capital. Fast operation and easy mobilization.

And the Qing Dynasty may have a lot of wealthy households, and there are also a lot of productions, and the total amount of capital owned by Xu Yifan far exceeds that of Xu Yifan. But their capital, both dispersed and not liquid. There is neither the way nor the will to mobilize. Everything that the Qing Dynasty has relied on for more than two hundred years to survive, everything that the gentry are familiar with. In the face of the power of modern capital, there is no power to resist.

It's scum............ No one thought that Xu Yifan would only use this way, without firing a single shot, and all of them would turn over!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Dashuai, those guys are all sleepy!" Jiangning is calm now, there is nothing to do, everyone is busy rushing to the market! Bai Dazhifu is really hardworking, I saw him in the east for a while, and I rushed to the Confucius Temple after a while! What a hard worker! ”

The Goshkhas who had been sent out to inspect and investigate came back one after another, and the last one to come back was Pu Yang. When he entered the court of the Governor's Office, he opened his voice and shouted before he finished a salute.

The people in the public hall were all full of spring breeze, laughing and whispering to each other. Xu Yifan looked indifferent, talking to Yuan Shikai there.

Sheng Xuanhuai is also here, he has been very low-key under Xu Yifan, but he has used his resources behind the scenes to help Xu Yifan do a lot of things. This time he also made a great contribution, the tonnage of transportation, his China Merchants Bureau accounted for more than half, a lot of materials in Shanghai, in Tianjin to buy and transport, and then difficult things, he sent a telegram to the past to solve all the problems. That's why so many materials have been concentrated in a short period of time!

Hearing Pu Yang's return, he smiled and clapped his hands: "The people of Nanyang, now you can count in, is there a better way to start than this?" I'm afraid that the whole Liangjiang knows that the big guy in Nanyang is back and wants to follow the big man to do a big business! ”

Xu Yifan turned his head to look at him and said with a smile: "Xingsun, Nanyang Beiyang, I can't do without one, don't be humble." There's something to do for you! You Beiyang are engaged in foreign affairs, and the limelight is too strong, so it's not a bad thing to go out a little. ”

Sheng Xuanhuai just smiled: "The subordinates naturally know that there is no handsome, and no one can use the power of the South and North Seas so vividly!" ”

When the sycophant came, Xu Yifan naturally smiled. It's just that the opponent's weight is too light, which makes him a little lazy and doesn't care.

Alas............ I hope it will be a little more interesting to clean up Ronglu............ He looked at Pu Yang, this kid was sweating with excitement: "Is the team assembled?" ”

Pu Yang saluted again: "Dashuai, after the pro-military camp and Goshha come back, they have already been assembled, just wait for Dashuai's order, let's follow Dashuai!" ”

Xu Yifan pointed at Chu Wanli: "You kid come with me." Chu Wanli shrugged his shoulders, with a posture that was even more indifferent than Xu Yifan.

He looked at Tang Shaoyi again: "Shaochuan, about the deployment of government affairs and personnel in Liangjiang, I will talk about it when I come back from Suzhou, or in four or five days, I will help you clean up, and you will be able to work!" ”

Tang Shaoyi sat there and just smiled and arched his hand, indicating that he received his order.

Xu Yifan finally looked at Yuan Shikai: "Xiang Cheng, I'm very happy that you're back, there's something for you to do here............ Do you want to come with me to Suzhou to have a look? ”

"Under the mark, only the handsome horse is the first to look forward!" Yuan Shikai expressed his determination categorically, and then hesitated a little: "Marshal, only take a battalion of soldiers to Suzhou?" ”

"Bring too much, Rong Lu won't let me in! Can I still coerce the governor of the court with soldiers? All in all, I'm a peace-loving and upright person............"

Xu Yifan defined himself with a righteous face, and Chu Wanli covered his eyes unbearably beside him. Even Pu Yang knelt there and quietly raised his head, slandering in his heart.

"The handsome man is peace-loving and upright? It's me, but I don't have the face to say it............ Ronglu, Ronglu, you ask for more blessings! ”

(To be continued)