Hu Chuyuan really took a leisurely few days, wandering around the Tyne River with Wu Shuzhen, and also went to see Newcastle's iconic new castle.

He assigned everything to others to deal with, especially for the purchase of ships, almost all of them let Ye Fu take the lead, Hua Yufang, Wu Dezhang, and Rawls were technical consultants, and Deng Shichang, Lu Han, and Gu Jiaxiang also followed to visit around.

It was a good decision to let Ye Fu take the lead, because he was the pipe band of the Fujian Navy Division, plus the guerrilla rank, and as a Qing Dynasty naval general, his identity was more likely to attract the attention of those shipyards.

What about Hu Chuyuan?

I traveled for a few days first, and then went to the jumping market with Miao Quansun to buy some porcelain, which are generally the fine products of the folk kilns that came out of the maritime trade in the Ming and Qing dynasties, a few pounds, or even a few shillings, can buy one, and sell it back to China at a price of dozens of taels of silver.

Anyway, empty ships come and go, and counting the freight, this is still a small profit.

Miao Quansun is indeed a master of appreciating antiques, and he can actually pick out a treasure from an official kiln of the Ming Dynasty in the messy market, because the circulation is disorderly, and I can't tell how it came about.

It may have been robbed from the Old Summer Palace, or it may have been spread at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

According to the plan in Hu Chuyuan's heart, the funds required to invest in the entire tea are very large, and now he has no energy to play with antiques, especially those that he can see.

Therefore, he just had a good time, as a hobby in his spare time, wandering around the thrift market with Miao Quansun, Yan Shizhang, and Wu Shuzhen, buying bargains when he has them, even if he can't see it himself, he also has a special fun of picking up leaks.

This kind of fun is actually very easy in this day and age.

Because there are too many opportunities, even people of Hu Chuyuan's level can easily pick up the leaks, of course, it's fun, learn while playing, anyway, there are two experts Miao Quansun and Yan Shizhang, and they will generally not make mistakes.

It is difficult for other places to have such a special resonance, Hu Chuyuan and they spent two days on those thrift streets, spending 20,000 pounds.

It's not a big deal, it's okay to sell back 200,000 taels of silver slowly.

After playing for a few days, Ye Fu and the others generally had initial contact with several shipyards in Newcastle, and in the evening, Hu Chuyuan held a small party in his room.

Such gatherings related to the technical indicators of the ship were held several times on the Taichang.

Very early, Hu Chuyuan had already given a final conclusion.

The public money he brought out this time was 450,000 pounds, that is, the donation, and the military allocation of the imperial court would not be available until next year, and he himself brought 2 million pounds privately.

Two million pounds is 8 million taels of silver.

Such a large sum of money, of course, was not just used to buy battleships.

Hu Chuyuan meant to buy two ironclad ships with a displacement of 4500-5500 tonnage, four coastal defense ships with a displacement of 1200-1500 tonnage, and two wooden-hulled light cruisers with a displacement of 2000-3000 tonnage.

Through this purchase, he wants to obtain all the production drawings, processes and related equipment of 300-ton gunboats, 1,200-ton frigates, and 2,000-ton cruisers from these shipyards, so that Mawei Shipyard has the ability to produce these ships.

These days, Ye Fu and others are also negotiating with various shipyards on this premise.

There is no pressure on the British to transfer these production processes, the key is the contract for the two second-class ironclad ships, and if they don't give this contract, they will not transfer it.

Correspondingly, others also have great plans to extort a sum, and the prices are very high.

£450,000 was not enough, and the sale price had to be tripled.

That's a little fucking excessive!

Listening to Ye Fu's indignant return to the results of the preliminary negotiations, Miao Quansun and the others were very angry, and even Zheng Xitai was angry, and they all wanted to point at the nose of the British and scold.

However, Hu Chuyuan is still very calm.

He just listened quietly, pondering in his heart.

After a moment, he suddenly asked, "Dear Mr. Rawls, I am very curious about your thoughts at the moment, so would you like to make some comments?" ”

"What?"

Rawls couldn't help but be a little surprised, he didn't expect Hu Chuyuan to ask him directly.

All along, he has been exchanging various ideas with Wu Shuzhen and Hua Yufang, and then they convey them to Hu Chuyuan.

After a little thought, he said: "Dear Sir Hu, according to my understanding of the Fuzhou Ship Administration, the national experts in your bureau are all trained by the French, and these people ...... Mr. Wu Dezhang is also fluent in French, not English. In fact, the shipbuilding technology of Britain and France, especially in the field of warships, is different in terms of design, production and specific configuration, including the most basic leading ideas. Therefore, as an advisor to the technical bureau of Wanqi Foreign Bank, I personally suggest that the Fuzhou shipping authorities cooperate with the French, at least for the time being. ”

Ye Fu and Hua Yufang's English level was very inaccurate, they understood Rawls's words, and they also nodded slightly with Hu Chuyuan, feeling that these words were very reasonable.

Hu Chuyuan will also have mistakes, even major negligence.

Rawls's remark was a reminder of something he hadn't noticed before.

Yes, in the framework designed by Hu Xueyan for the Fuzhou Shipyard, the manufacturing profession was taught by the French, and the driving profession was taught by the British, which could well prevent the entire Fuzhou Shipyard from being controlled by foreigners.

In other words, the technical personnel currently trained by Fuzhou Shipbuilding are all fluent in French, and the framework of the entire shipbuilding industry is also based on France.

At this time, Wu Dezhang said: "Raise your lordship, the lower officials also feel that we should contact the French, buy warships in France, and ask them to send more technical advisers to guide us to improve our technology." ”

After mentioning this, everyone agreed.

Realizing that Rawls played a big role in this kind of meeting, Wu Shuzhen translated for him so that he could better integrate into the meeting.

After listening to everyone's statement, Rawls and Hu Chuyuan continued: "Mr. Hu, in addition, I have an obligation to remind you. Britain still maintains an overall surname advantage in the overall warship manufacturing technology, for example, the mixed steel armor for warships, the three-expansion steam engine, and the steel and artillery technology of the Armstrong Company are famous all over the world. ”

Hu Chuyuan nodded slightly and sighed: "Yes, what's more, we will continue to negotiate with the British Navy this time to increase the number of study abroad internships for some admirals." ”

After a pause, he added: "I suppose the contract should be split in two, so that the British and the French will compete with each other. But we have to have a bottom in private, that is, to learn a more advanced whole set of warship manufacturing and design systems from France, and then absorb some of the superior technologies from Britain. ”

His proposal was immediately agreed by everyone, and after further discussion, it was finally decided to divide the team into two, Ye Fu, Hua Yufang, Lu Han and others continued to be responsible for negotiations in the UK, Wu Dezhang and Li Shoutian went to France to contact Wei Han, Chen Zhaoao, Zheng Qinglian, Lin Yiyou, Chen Ji and others who studied in France in the manufacturing class of the Ship Master School, and had preliminary contact with the French.

As for the specific data and characteristics of the Fujian sailor's purchase of ships, Hu Chuyuan has already discussed them with you on the Taichang.

He believed that no matter how many and powerful the ships of the Fujian Navy Division were, in terms of technology, equipment, and experience, the Fujian Navy Division would not be able to compete with Britain and France and other countries in a short period of time, and it would not be able to completely follow the mainstream thinking of the world's navy guided by Britain and France.

Once the British and French fleets attacked the country again, the Fujian naval division would inevitably have to retreat in Mawei Harbor, relying on a large number of port batteries for defensive warfare, and at the same time to avoid being completely destroyed by the opponent, and even the tactical threat and containment value would be lost.

Unlike Bohai Bay, there are still a lot of pirates in Zhejiang and Fujian, and they are also very rampant, especially those Han pirates who can contact the Han pirates, and their equipment is not bad.

Therefore, the Fujian Navy Division also has to bear the heavy task of fighting pirates, the capital ships do not have to be high-speed, but they must resist blows, the armor must be thick, and the artillery does not have to be heavy, but there must be enough.

The auxiliary cruisers should be fast enough, with more guns, and the tonnage should not be too large, nor should they blindly pursue pure steam power. Backward technology does not mean that it is useless, and it can also play a very special and important role when arranged in the right position.

Although other people have various ideas, Hu Chuyuan's ideas are more important, and they are also supported by water masters like Ye Fu and Lu Han.

With these common understandings, Hu Chuyuan almost didn't have to ask any more questions.

He can just give a set policy and direction on the overall situation, and really have to handle specific things and grasp various technical details, Ye Fu, Wu Dezhang, and Hua Yufang...... These people are more knowledgeable than he is.

After staying in Newcastle for about a week in the United Kingdom, and further analyzing the current food sales market in the United Kingdom, Hu Chuyuan felt more and more that chain management has become an inevitable trend in the United Kingdom.

In the entire history of world commerce, the emergence of chain stores is as important as the Industrial Revolution, which heralded the emergence of a new marketing system, an era in which the real power of the distributor was coming.

Of course, this revolution was eventually pushed to new limits by Wal-Mart in the United States.

This led Hu to believe that investing in the Lipton food chain was a very good business, even if it could be the last straw that crushed Chinese tea.

Before meeting with Tom Lipton, Hu Chuyuan decided to go to the United States first to deal with a few more important things.

The day before he was about to leave, a man who claimed to be very important came to visit him.

After hearing the other party's name, Hu Chuyuan couldn't help but sneer, this person is not important at all, it's just that the person behind him still has a bit of weight.

What kind of person is that person?

It was an Englishman who wanted to be the chief coastal defense department of the Qing Empire, and he proposed to the Qing court to set up a general coastal defense department, with him as the chief coastal defense department, and he would also control China's new navy.

If it weren't for Li Hongzhang and Shen Baozhen's resolute opposition, such an absurd proposal would have almost been passed.

Again, as the old saying goes, it's not that the British were too cunning, but that the Manchus were too incompetent and dirty, and they would rather hand over the fleet to foreigners than to the Han.

The man's name was Robert Hurd, British-Irish, Roberthart.

The man who wanted to meet Hu Chuyuan was Jin Denggan, the head of the Chinese customs office in London, James Duncancampbell, a short, stocky Scotsman known for his hubris and Hurd's cronies.

Although he looked down on such a person, Hu Chuyuan decided to meet him and entertained him in the manor's study.

When the British butler in the manor opened the door, Hu Chuyuan really saw this person, and sure enough, it was just as rumored, short and fat, in his forties, with a bare forehead and a long and dense beard, like a Russian.

Jin Denggan proudly held a gentleman's cane and handed it over to the housekeeper for safekeeping, and he swaggered into the study, raised his eyebrows and asked Hu Chuyuan: "Presumably, you are the general office of Jiangnan Commercial Bank, Your Excellency Hu Chuyuan, the temporary transfer officer of the Fuzhou Ship Administration Yamen of the Qing Empire?" ”

It is strange that this person clearly speaks fluent Chinese and is well aware of Chinese politics, but he has to say "acting" as "temporary", the meaning is indeed the same, it may be his personal idiomatic word.

For Hu Chuyuan, this is very rude!

Hu Chuyuan frowned slightly, let him sit at his desk, and said, "Yes, you are Mr. Jin Denggan, the one-time secretary of my country's customs in London?" ”

Come and don't be rude.

Hu Chuyuan broke the false surname of this "office director", where was the setting of "office director" in Qing Dynasty politics? If there is any similarity, it is pure fiction, and the appointment of Jin Denggan by the imperial court is nothing more than a "secretary", with the same rank as a second-class counselor.

Jin Denggan looked displeased, snorted, and said extremely arrogantly: "Hu Tiao, we don't need to say these false and polite words, let me talk about something practical, I heard that the Fuzhou Ship Administration Yamen also wants to buy warships in our Britain, and wants to arrange a new pipe belt to practice in the British Royal Navy, I think that such a thing is better to continue to be handled by our General Customs Administration." ”

"Oh?" Hu Chuyuan smiled instead, and asked, "Why?" ”

Jin Deng smiled dryly: "Then do you still need to ask?" Young commissioner, before you arrive in England, you should have known the reputation of Mr. Hurd and me in England, where he is a legend, and has a very high reputation in the British political axe and navy, and many special friends whom you will not have access to, who are all men of real power!! ”

Hu Chuyuan also smiled and said, "I've heard of this. However, the imperial court has its own yamen, and the things that each yamen is responsible for governing are not the same, and our Fuzhou shipping administration yamen should be in charge of these things, so why do we need to bother the customs yamen to help? ”

Jin Deng said dryly: "Your statement is a bit too biased, as your scholar Li Hongzhang said, they are all working for the imperial court, and there is no need to subdivide each other." What's more, we are also responsible for the procurement of the warships of the Beiyang Naval Division, and the quality and design of all the ships are the world's first-class, and your imperial court is extremely satisfied. If these things are left to you to handle, if you do not do it well, I think your career in the shipyard will come to an end. ”

After a pause, he suggested very dryly: "You are still young, and you have no experience in dealing with the British Navy, so you can't risk your future!! ”

"Oh?"

Hu Chuyuan showed a sneer of disdain and said, "If I insist that it be handled by the Harbour Yamen himself, what are you going to do?" ”

"Humph!" Jin Denggan was even more disdainful, and directly threatened: "Then forgive me for being rude, young promoter, if you refuse my proposal, even if you suffer a loss in the future, and you want to ask me and Lord Hurd, the chief customs officer, for help, we will not ask." When the time comes, please clean up the mess yourself. ”

Speaking of this, he became more and more presumptuous, and further threatened unscrupulously: "I can also tell you directly that without our participation, the British Royal Navy will not arrange a study abroad officer for you at all, and I can confirm this to you!! ”

(To be continued)