A week later, the verdict was finally announced, and the two chief and deputy directors of the arsenal were corrupted, that is, they were escorted to Yanjing Prison of the Criminal Department, and the final verdict was jointly made by the Ministry of Officials and the Criminal Department; The evidence of the three managers of the arsenal who embezzled between 10,000 taels and 30,000 taels was conclusive, and it was to be reported to the Criminal Department for examination and approval, that is, the death penalty was carried out locally, and 17 officials below the rank of six were dismissed, demoted, and retained.

Xiao Yiming was extremely depressed, and she worked hard for two months to investigate and find out a series of conclusive and shocking corruption nest cases, as well as two murder cases caused by this, but the final result was:

A group of heinous murderers do not have to die, as high as more than 1.7 million taels of silver direct embezzlement, into a mere tens of thousands of yuan, the resulting huge losses and workers' righteous indignation not to mention, the so-called escort to Yanjing Prison, reported to the criminal department for review, dismissal and other punishments, are all to deceive the people, it is estimated that these people will leave Sichuan for various high-sounding reasons, and there will be nothing after that, usually go back to their hometown to stay for a year and a half, and then change places to continue to be officials.

Xiao Yiming, who has become one of the spoilers, is completely down-to-earth, although he has justice and conscience in his heart, but in such a world, in such an era, only conscience and justice cannot live long, after putting aside all scruples and guilt, he knows what to do.

When Xiao Yiming appeared in the governor's yamen again, he was already tall and calm, and he waited a little after the report, and was soon summoned by Zhao Erxun.

After Xiao Yiming finished saluting, he respectfully presented two concise reports:

One is to recommend the top 20 students in the comprehensive examination of each subject in the first phase of the Sichuan Army Accelerated School to enter the Yueben Non-commissioned Officer School and the Baoding Army Accelerated School for further study, among which six students from Ya'an, including Wang Qian and He Chengliang, are among them; The second is a proposal for the rectification and production plan of the Sichuan Arsenal.

Zhao Erxun flipped through it with great interest, and after ten minutes, he put down the report:

"The recommended list of the crash school is accurate, the rectification plan of the arsenal is very meticulous and insightful, and after the new general office and the meeting office take office, just copy it, during this time, you can go to the factory to see more, you can't ignore it because of the resumption of work, this factory is the guarantee of the Sichuan army, and it is not sloppy at all. The list of several machines and parts attached to it, the old man does not need to read it, you are directly responsible for contacting foreigners to buy, and you will be allocated funds when you set a contract. ”

"Obedience!" Xiao Yiming replied.

Zhao Erxun pointed to the report:

"In addition, the report on the proposal of commissioned processing of weapon spare parts is good, in the current situation of the arsenal, it is indeed as you said, it is impossible to produce all the parts by itself, which is also an important reason why it has not been able to increase production since its inception, those parts that are not key parts such as bolts and barrels can be handed over to several local factories with good strength for production, and the arsenal only cares about acceptance, and does not want to be unqualified, and various expenses can also be reduced a lot, this idea is good, I agree."

Xiao Yiming said with a smile: "My lord, the lowly Huaxi Company also wants a piece of the pie." ”

"Oh? Isn't the Huaxi Company that you co-founded with foreigners engaged in real estate, civil engineering and trade? When did you start a weapons business? Zhao Erxun asked with his eyes half-closed.

Xiao Yiming smiled:

"My lord, isn't there a hardware factory under Huaxi Company? Next month, a few sets of processing machines will be delivered, and it is estimated that the work will start after the New Year, and the first production of flashlights -- that is, the tin cylinders for lighting that have just become popular in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Tianjin in the past two years, the front is covered with a piece of glass, and a small light bulb is installed in it, and the tin tube is equipped with imported batteries, and there is an electric gate switch, which can shine 50 steps away at night, which is much stronger than lighting torches and lanterns. ”

Zhao Erxun said with a smile: "I have one in my house, the stainless steel shell, or the US ambassador to Beijing sent it to me a year ago, but the battery is difficult to find, and it will be finished when it is used up, and I will let Tiecheng show it to you when I go back." Your idea is good, if you can really make a flashlight, it is undoubtedly a great thing to lift the spirit of the people, and then the old man will reward you in the name of the governor of Sichuan, Yamen! ”

Xiao Yiming struck while the iron was hot:

"Don't underestimate people, adults, this heavy reward and humble position have been decided! Not only flashlights, our Huaxi company also has to make batteries, Dayi, Ya'an and other places have always been rich in sulfur, lowly plan to build a sulfuric acid plant in Dayi or Ya'an in the next step, with sulfuric acid there is nitric acid, with nitric acid there is enough gunpowder to supply the arsenal and so on, and then buy the foreigner's best formula and equipment, and then open mines, open mountains, build roads and even make high-power shells, etc., do not have to go to the Hubei Gun Factory and Jiangnan Machinery Bureau. ”

Zhao Erxun was very happy: "Really? ”

Xiao Yiming nodded heavily: "Seriously! If you are willing, by the end of next year, Huaxi Company will be able to produce smokeless gunpowder! Not only that, as long as the adults have permission, the lowly hardware factory only needs to purchase a few more sets of equipment, and can imitate all the pistols on the market, of course, rifles and artillery can't do it, but the production of all kinds of guns and ammunition is not a problem, at least it is much better than the crooked guns and bullets made in the arsenal at present. ”

Zhao Erxun slowly leaned back in his chair, stroked his long beard, and thought about it for a moment: "This matter is not in a hurry for the time being, although in recent years, the voice of the DPRK and China in entrusting the private sector to produce weapons and ammunition has become louder and louder, but so far the court has not made a decision, so your plan has to be slow."

"As for making gunpowder, I think it's feasible, and it's all good for mining and mining, right? It's better to ask your Huaxi company to sign a contract of entrustment for parts processing with the arsenal for the time being, and then you can consider making gunpowder, and then talk about it first, and take a look at the rest step by step. ”

"Remember." Xiao Yiming replied respectfully.

Zhao Erxun smiled and said: "Okay, tomorrow the accelerated school will hold a graduation ceremony, you can go busily, you can come the night after tomorrow, and the old man will introduce you to someone." ”

"Who?" Xiao Yiming asked curiously.

Zhao Erxun laughed: "You'll know when you meet, get out, bastard, haha!" ”

Xiao Yiming walked to the main hall, said a few words to the oncoming Yuan Jinkai, went out and went straight to the British comptoir, took out the list of four small machine tools and parts to be purchased by the arsenal, discussed with Luo Baiting and Johnson for a long time, and then pulled Johnson to the German consulate on Zhushi Street, and found Sharpler and the commercial official Worrall to discuss together.

Sharper and Worrall excitedly went to ask the consul, Mr. Fu Diegeng, who heard that it was possible to obtain an order for equipment for a medium-sized chemical plant and a supporting power plant, so he left the business at hand and immediately went downstairs to meet Xiao Yiming.

Xiao Yiming gave a detailed account of the history of sulfur mining in Ya'an and Dayi, the current output, the three major sulfur mining areas and the surrounding coal mines, and then said frankly in fluent English:

"Dear Mr. Consul, you are very familiar with China and Sichuan, and you must know that we have no experience in the construction of chemical plants, and we lack sufficient understanding of the advanced technology of Europe and the United States, especially Germany, but we are confident that we will open up this new field.

"After the discussion of the shareholders of the company, after obtaining the support of the Governor of Sichuan, Mr. Zhao Erxun, we first thought of the German friends who had cooperated very happily in the past six months, and sincerely hoped that Mr. Consul, who has always supported us strongly, could promote mutual cooperation and deepen the mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples.

"Here, I am willing to promise to pay in full all the expenses of the relevant German technicians and engineers to visit Sichuan, and after receiving the reply from your Rheinland Company, Mauser Company or other more professional companies, I can immediately deposit 200,000 yuan, that is, 430,000 marks, into the Chengdu branch of the newly opened German Deutsch-Hua Bank to show our sincerity."

Fu Diegeng was very happy to see that he had received a large order:

"Dear Xiao, I am very touched by your sincerity and trust, and my colleagues and I are willing to contribute our modest strength to the industrial construction of Sichuan, and I will transmit your sincerity and plan back to my motherland and to the desks of the heads of several well-known industrial companies within three working days, and I think you will soon receive a satisfactory answer."

Xiao Yiming threw out another news that made Fu Diegeng excited:

"Thank you, Mr. Consul, if we can facilitate this matter, we at Huaxi Industrial Company are willing to carry out more in-depth cooperation with Mauser Company, and our initial plan includes technology purchase, personnel training and production guidance. In addition, in the name of the acting director of the Sichuan Arsenal, I solemnly propose in writing to Mr. Zhao Erxun, the Governor of Sichuan, that a group of German mechanical engineers and technicians be hired to enter the Sichuan Arsenal as technical supervisors, provided that Mr. Consul can agree, of course. ”

"I am very happy, dear friend, and I will send this news back to Germany, and I think that the hardworking and enthusiastic Germans will cherish this friendship immensely."

After Fu Diegeng finished speaking, he stretched out his broad palm, held Xiao Yiming's hand tightly, and issued an invitation:

"Xiao, we haven't had a chance to sit together and talk since last Christmas, I still remember the precious gift you gave us, this year's Christmas is coming, before that, I sincerely hope to have a glass with you again, why don't we have dinner together?"

Xiao Yiming's smile froze, and when he was hesitating, Sharper on the side smiled and said:

"Xiao, you'll stay tonight, won't you? By the way, a few of the documents I helped you translate into English are still in my bedroom, don't you want to read them? ”

"There is a saying in China that it is better to be respectful than to obey one's fate, not to mention that I miss the German pork sausage very much, just as I like the weapons of the Mauser company." Xiao Yiming saw that she couldn't refuse, so she smiled and said a witty thing.

Everyone listened to it interestingly and burst into laughter, and a series of cooperation projects that were about to attract the attention of major European and American companies took shape in the sound of pleasant conversations.

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