Hu Chuyuan didn't really attack the Ningbo Business Gang, but in this financial turmoil, the Ningbo Business Gang's gas was basically lost, and it dragged down the entire Shanghai financial industry, including Hu Chuyuan's CITIC Department.

After reading this letter, Hu Chuyuan can imagine how his wife spends these days, it must be very difficult.

Hu Chuyuan sat in his chair silently and thought for a while.

A run is the scariest thing.

Although his current total assets are huge, it does not mean that he can cash in all the banknotes.

After some consideration, Hu Chuyuan wrote a telegram, asking Pfister-Delano to transfer all the $170 million in working capital held by the Wells Fargo Investment Bank in North America to Shanghai, plus the Bank of America, to jointly guarantee the CITIC Bank through debt mortgage.

After writing the telegram, Hu Chuyuan suddenly realized...... The Battle of Mawei must be won.

If this naval battle is won, the financial turmoil in Shanghai will be temporarily over, and China CITIC Bank will be saved.

However, will this naval battle really be won?

Hu Chuyuan is noncommittal, there is no 100% thing in this world, and he may not be able to afford to gamble, once he loses, the CITIC system, which has been operating hard for six years, will be ruined.

Just when he was hesitating, Yan Shizhang suddenly said: "Owner, in fact, you don't need to spend a penny to solve the run storm of CITIC Bank!" ”

Hu Chuyuan sighed, and asked in some surprise: "What way?" ”

Yan Shizhang thought about it carefully and replied: "As long as you show up in Shanghai and the people know that you are still alive, this turmoil will naturally be resolved." To say, the people in Jiangnan may not be able to trust CITIC Bank, but you are the richest man in the Qing Dynasty, and everyone believes in you. Think about it, if you've been in Shanghai, how could there have been a run? The reason why everyone runs on the bank is, in the final analysis, they still don't know where the future of the Hu family is, and they don't know where the future of CITIC Bank is! ”

"...... this?"

Hu Chuyuan couldn't help but hesitate.

The reality is so helpless, a few hundred taels of silver can turn a person into a killer and a Han annihilation. No matter how he strengthened his defense, he only needed a few thousand taels of silver to complete an assassination.

What could he do?

He is neither a revolutionary who does not hesitate, nor is he a warrior or martyr who regards death as his home, he ...... Greedy for life and afraid of death, but he will not compromise with himself.

He has been lurking like this, not only to avoid the assassination of Yue himself, but also to prepare for the follow-up counterattack, which he has planned...... I want to make myself pay a heavier price.

However, the economic crisis forced him to show up...... At this moment, what choice should he make?

Seeing that Hu Chuyuan had a difficult choice, Yan Shizhang continued to persuade: "Boss, in fact, we can take the opportunity to ask the court for military power. If you have your own army, it will not be easy for you to assassinate us. At the beginning of the shipyard yamen, although he had a surprise attack, but as long as we were a little vigilant about that kind of thing, they would never be able to play a second time. ”

"Soldiers?"

Hu Chuyuan couldn't help but read it.

Of course, he has his own military strength, the question is how to take it out openly and let the court admit it, during this time, he has been thinking about this problem, but he has not been able to find a suitable opportunity.

I dare not say that as long as he has three battalions and seven or eight thousand men in his hands, it will be very difficult for me to assassinate him...... Of course, it is not absolute, otherwise, Zhang Zuolin would not have died.

This night, Hu Chuyuan did not fall asleep, and spent the whole night weighing the pros and cons.

The next day, although he was not sure whether he would show up, he sent a telegram to Wu Shuzhen, first drawing working capital from the United States to get a foothold of Shanghai's real estate economy through Wanqi, Zhongrun and the newly established CITIC Land Company.

After this blow, Shanghai's money industry basically withered, Shanxi people and Ningbo people suffered heavy losses, and 11 Shanxi century-old stores were forced to close their Shanghai branches.

Among the nine oldest British-funded foreign firms, four of the oldest British-funded foreign firms went bankrupt.

Because of the huge debts owed to HSBC, Sassoon and Jardine Matheson, among the four major foreign banks, were forced to resell their 21,490 shares of HSBC shares to Swire & Co., and at the same time sold their real estate holdings to Wanqi and Wanbao at a low price, basically withdrawing from the ranks of the four major foreign banks in Shanghai.

Without the support of foreign banks and money banks, it is impossible for Shanghai's real estate industry to restore its original glory.

For the future of Shanghai, everyone is also confused.

Even as the Hu family began to decline, land prices in Shanghai continued to fall, and with the bankruptcy of foreign firms, money banks, and other merchants, land and other shares were constantly sold off at cheap prices.

At the beginning of August 1884, the economic crisis in Shanghai began to spread to the whole of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and further spread to Tianjin, and the Tianjin CITIC Bank also began to suffer a large-scale run.

In such a torment, not only will the CITIC system collapse, but Hu Chuyuan will be another trump card in his hand...... The rich country system is also about to collapse.

August 7, 1884.

In the tenth year of Guangxu, June 17, the beginning of autumn, the year of Jiashen, the month of Renyin, the ugly said, Jiazi Nayin, thunder and fire, avoid marriage, and avoid breaking ground.

Early in the morning, Hu Chuyuan put on the official uniform of the Minister of Commerce and Commerce of Jiangnan, took the crown flower feather given by the imperial court, took a sedan chair, and went all the way to the camp of the Fujian Navy.

Before he left, the telegram had already conveyed the Declaration, the Guardian and the Prime Minister's Office for State Affairs.

He didn't die.

Now, here he comes.

When passing through Yangyu Bay, Hu Chuyuan deliberately asked the sedan chair to stop on the stone bridge at the mouth of the Qinjiang River, and picked up a monocular telescope to look at Yangyu Bay. It used to be the camp of the Sanjiangkou Naval Division of the Eight Banners Battalion, because the Fujian Naval Division had a tough attitude and did not allow the French army to enter Maweikou, so the French Expeditionary Fleet forcibly occupied the Sanjiangkou Naval Division's camp, and more than a dozen huge ships lined up, shining with the deterrent power of steel ships.

Just as Hu Chuyuan had predicted in advance, the French were very bad, and after the level of warships of the Fujian Navy Division was improved, they actually transferred three newly commissioned first-class ironclad ships of the Saint-Nazaire class from the Atlantic Fleet, plus the Vietnamese fleet and the "Chinese" fleet, to form a huge expeditionary fleet.

The Saint-Nazaire-class ironclad is the latest type of French battleship built by the French Admiralty in imitation of the British Inflecsi-class Central Ironclad battleship, with a massive displacement of 7,350 tons and four 310 mm caliber main guns.

At present, only four are in service in France, and two improved versions of the Saint-Nazaire-class ironclad are being built in the dockyard.

In order to prevent the rival Dingyuan and Zhenyuan ships from rushing back to China, the French not only announced that they would sink two ironclads halfway, but also added one to the numbers, sending three Saint-Nazaire-class ironclads to the Chinese battlefield.

In the French press, the Féjury cabinet declared that the future of Vietnam depended not on the French expeditionary force, but only on Saint-Nazaire, which shows their rampant and the blind superstition of the French about the three ironclads.

The huge three Saint-Nazaire-class battleships docked in Yangyu Bay, but the beautiful lines showed an eerie and terrifying atmosphere, which made everyone feel suffocated.

Of course, there are also people who are pleased, such as Li Hongzhang...... He was convinced that the Battle of Mawei would prove his judgment and foresight, and he had said it ten thousand times that he couldn't fight the French, and Zuo Zongtang and Zeng Guoquan didn't believe ......!

In addition to the three Saint-Nazaire-class ironclads, the French expeditionary fleet had two Baya-class ironclads of the 1st class, two Lagazonia-class ironclads of the 2nd class, one Truan-class ironclad of the 2nd class, four Peruz-class cruisers, a Limel-class cruiser Volda, as well as six gunboats with a displacement of 471 tons, four small torpedo boats, six carrier-based torpedo boats, three troop carriers and two armed cargo ships.

There are 13 main warships, a total of 16 gunboats and torpedo boats, and three auxiliary ships, and the total displacement tonnage of the fleet reaches 75,400 tons, which is only 15% of the total tonnage of the French Navy, but it is the sum of the entire Chinese naval strength.

The disparity in strength between the two sides is terrifying.

Even Hu Chuyuan inevitably had a feeling that the end was coming, and he was depressed in his heart, he had worked hard for so long and invested so much money, but the overall strength of the Fujian Navy Division was only a fraction of the French naval strength.

In recent years, the French army's military spending has increased to the standard of $100 million per year, which is equivalent to 70 percent of the Qing government's annual fiscal revenue and three times the total military expenditure of the Qing army.

The sky was clear, but Hu Chuyuan saw unprecedented rolling dark clouds from his telescope.

After a long time, he silently put away the binoculars and asked the sedan chair drivers to continue to carry the sedan chair to the sailor's yamen.

Ye Zuqi, Ye Fu and others already knew the news.

On the training ground in front of the sailor's yamen, they were ready to greet them in the early hours of the morning, and the four formations were more than hundreds of meters away, waving flags and whistling in the wind.

Hu Chuyuan's sedan chair was slowly carried to the center of the training ground, and it was here that he lifted the curtain and walked out of the sedan chair.

Only ten steps away in front, Ye Zuqi and the others were waiting, although they heard the news, they were still a little incredulous, and when they really saw Hu Chuyuan coming out of the sedan chair, the heart that was hanging was finally released.

"Your Excellency!"

The generals were surprised and stepped forward one after another.

"Everyone!"

Hu Chuyuan smiled a little reluctantly and hugged his fists and said hello to everyone.

"Your Excellency, ......!"

Ye Fu and the others were a little speechless for a while, and a thousand words were in their throats, but they couldn't say a word. At this moment, the French fleet was pressed against Yangyu Bay, thousands of meters away, everyone's hearts were tense and heavy, but seeing Hu Chuyuan seemed to have finally taken a reassuring pill, and all the worries and pressures disappeared.

Hu Chuyuan is here.

So what's there to be afraid of!!

Hu Chuyuan is the backbone of the Fujian Navy, this point, from top to bottom, which is not clear, without Hu Chuyuan, who can establish this Sailor in front of him that is comparable to the powers.

Ye Fu took the lead and rushed up, kneeling down first, and the others also knelt down.

"Your Excellency, ......!"

There was a loud cry in the barracks, all the pressure, worry, and fear...... All kinds of emotions are tangled together, as if they are all released in this moment.

"Your Excellency, ......!"

Ye Fu opened his arms excitedly, raised his head to the sky and roared, his face was already as red as blood, following him, the sailors and soldiers roared again, and on the decks of those ships in the port, the soldiers cheered.

"Master Hu is back!"

…… In the incomparably noisy and lively noise, Hu Chuyuan was invited back by a group of sailor generals to sit down in the position of the commander, and the rest of the people sat down on both sides.

Hu Chuyuan's heart was also very excited, for this water division, he not only contributed money, but also contributed a lot of effort, and tried his best.

Looking around at these people in the Daya, Ye Zuqi, Ye Fu, Lu Han, Deng Shichang, Lin Yongsheng, Sa Zhenbing, Chai Zhuoqun, Ye Chen, Jiang Chaoying, Zheng Puquan, Ye Bojun, Huang Jianxun...... It's full of talent.

Looking at everyone, Hu Chuyuan suddenly thought in his heart, why can't he win?

The Fujian Navy Division has so many brave and good generals, as long as the strategy is right, it can completely win this naval battle.

He took the teacup from Lu Han's hand, tried his best to drink the tea as steady as Mount Tai, and said with a smile after a while: "The bergamot incense of the water master yamen is fragrant enough, good tea, good soup color...... Everyone, drink too! ”

"Alas......!" Ye Fu couldn't help but sigh and said, "My lord, you are stable in your heart, but we can't sit still, the French fleet is all big ships, and our largest tonnage ironclad ships are Weikang and Zhenkang, which are only 4785 tonnage, and there are only two." ”

Ye Zuqi also sighed: "The French are really exciting this time, much more powerful than we expected in advance." We do have a lot of ships, but the total tonnage of OnePlus is less than half of others. The others are all big ships, not to mention anything else, just the three ironclad ships of the Saint-Nazaire class are enough for us. For now, we can only count on batteries and a large number of torpedo boats. ”

Hu Chuyuan put down the teacup and replied with a straight face: "You don't have to worry, I'm here to cheer you up this time." For most of the past six months, I have been secretly spying on the enemy's military situation in Vietnam and checking our deployment on the western and eastern fronts of Vietnam. ”

Everyone was very happy when they heard this, and their mood was much more relaxed, Ye Fu smiled: "I see, if the armies of Xianghuai can have a big victory, the ten ** still rely on the dispatch and supply of adults!" ”

When he said this, everyone laughed out loud.

Hu Chuyuan said: "You can't say that...... However, I can make it clear here, this time, I am going to donate 10 million taels of silver to the imperial court for military salaries, and another 3 million taels of silver for the Fujian Navy Division. When you go back, you can tell the officers and men of each battalion and each ship, but if anyone dies, I will give an additional pension of 1,000 taels of silver, so as to ensure that his family has no worries about food and clothing. In particular, those who braved the death of the torpedo boats and those who died in their lives were to be given an additional 2,000 taels of silver to their pensions. If I can sink a large ship, I will give a reward of 100,000 taels of silver, and three first-class ironclad ships will each reward 300,000 taels of silver. If I win the battle, I will donate another one million taels of silver, which will be divided equally among everyone. I, Hu Chuyuan, will never break my word. Four million taels of silver will be delivered to the school tomorrow. ”

His words were extremely bold and intimidating.

As soon as everyone heard this, they suddenly had a great confidence in their hearts, as long as these words were there, which soldier would not swear to kill the enemy?

With more than 30 torpedo boats in their hands, as long as everyone is not afraid of death, it is enough for the French to rush in one breath.

Ye Fu stood up abruptly, hugged his fists and said: "My lord, Xia Guan is willing to serve as the commander of the torpedo boat and personally charge ahead, if you can't sink an ironclad ship, Xia Guan will come to see you with his own head!" ”

Deng Shichang, Lin Yongsheng, Jiang Chaoying and others stood up one after another, and they all hugged their fists without hesitation and said: "My lord, I am willing to be the commander and swear to kill the enemy." ”

"Good!"

Hu Chuyuan shouted, and his heart was very happy.

He said: "The imperial court is afraid and does not dare to take the initiative to declare war, what about us...... We are guarding the Minjiang River, guarding Fujian, guarding the gateway of China, and guarding the integrity and reputation of the Fujian sailors. ”

Deng Shichang immediately walked to the center of the Daya, knelt down to Hu Chuyuan and Ye Zuqi to ask for his life, and said: "Master Hu, the Fujian Sailor was built by you, without you, where did the Fujian Sailor come from, without your appreciation, there is no place for me here." Lord Hu, Lord Admiral, General Ye Fuye is the deputy general who commands the overall situation, how can he charge into battle, the rest of the generals have their own warships to be commanded, I am the one who trains torpedoes, and the command of the torpedo boat should be borne by the subordinate officials! ”

Jiang Chaoying also stepped forward and said: "Lord Admiral, Lord Hu, Xia Guan is a native of Minhou County, Minjiang, how can he ignore the safety of the villagers and the safety of Fuzhou, Xia Guan is willing to serve as the deputy commander and swear to rush to the front line, if he has no military achievements, he will drown in the river, and he will never dare to live in the world!" ”

"Good!"

Hu Chuyuan shouted again, but asked Ye Zuqi, the acting governor of the Fujian Navy Division, "Admiral Ye, what do you think?" ”

Ye Zuqi cautiously stepped forward to help the two generals and Hu Chuyuan and said: "My lord, with you here, I, Ye Zujue, will always be your left and right deputy, and please judge!" ”

Ye Fu immediately led the other generals and said, "Please also ask your lord to judge!" ”

"Good!"

Hu Chuyuan snorted and said, "Deng Guandai, Jiang Guandai, please serve as the chief and deputy commanders of the torpedo boats, and when the French enter the Luoxingta port, you will flank them from left to right, chaotic formation, and wait for the opportunity to eradicate the three first-class ironclad ships." ”

Deng Shichang and Jiang Chaoying immediately replied: "Thank you, my lord!" ”

Hu Chuyuan is a person who is very good at taking measures, he is not very proficient in naval affairs, and the real major matters must be decided by Ye Fu and Ye Zuqi, and he should not overstep his responsibilities.

Therefore, he did not continue to discuss other matters, but talked with everyone about the Vietnamese side to further stabilize the morale of the army, so that these generals of the Fujian Navy Division should believe in one thing - that is, the Sino-French war will definitely be won.

If the French wanted to expand their gains and force the Qing court to make greater concessions, they would inevitably have to continue northward, so the Battle of Mawei was inevitable, and they had to attack the Fujian naval division stationed in Mawei Port.

If the Fujian naval division can win the Battle of Mawei, the situation of the entire Sino-French war will be rewritten in Fujian first, instead of waiting for the Hunan and Huai armies to turn the tide in the Vietnamese battlefield.

This is an opportunity to change history, this is an opportunity to change China...... Hu Chuyuan earnestly hoped that the Fujian Navy Division and these naval generals would seize the opportunity to change China and history.

(To be continued)