Hu Chuyuan secretly supported Liu Yongfu for five years, spending as much as more than 3 million taels of silver, before the French attacked the Red River Delta, Hu Chuyuan even concentrated on transporting millions of taels of silver worth of arms into Vietnam, hiding in this Heye village.

He had a large amount of grain, grass and ammunition in Nanning, and many of them were for Liu Yongfu.

These things, Liu Yongfu is an account in his heart.

Without Hu Chuyuan, where did he come from today.

With Hu Chuyuan, not to mention today's 30,000 horses, if the time comes, the 100,000 army will also be recruited, the equipment used is even better, and there will be no shortage of military salaries, grain and grass.

At least one thing, Liu Yongfu understands, Zhang Lingpu's previous Red Flag Army is not as good as him, then he can stand on his own in Sarawak, why can't his Black Flag Army stand on its own in Vietnam.

He discussed with Hu Chuyuan all night, that is, he was planning the affairs of China and France, and the affairs of the world.

The two had already made up their minds that they must preserve the north of Vietnam, and that they could neither let the Qing army occupy it nor the French, leaving it to the Black Flag Army as a stronghold and foundation.

After that, he continued to recruit immigrants from Guangxi, became the master of Yuebei, and successively occupied Yuebei, making it a large rear of the anti-Qing Dynasty.

As for Liu Yongfu, Hu Chuyuan basically saw it clearly, this person is really a talent with vision and foresight, a hero in troubled times, but unfortunately he is so bad that he can't achieve a real hegemony.

Other hopes are a bit redundant, especially considering Liu Yongfu's age, but at least he can occupy the north of Vietnam.

A few days later, as Hu Chuyuan expected, the Huai army was defeated, and the green battalion soldiers and regimental training drawn from Guangxi and Guangdong, as well as several battalions of the Hunan army, did not escape the catastrophe and were all defeated.

In mid-April 1884, in just one month, more than 40 battalions of Qing Zhengaxe stationed in Bac Ninh, Taiyuan, and Xinghua were all defeated, most of them were damaged, and they fled into Lang Son in embarrassment.

The Qing court was forced to completely change the ruling ministers, dismiss Prince Gong Yi, replace Prince Shiduo with Shangli Prince Shiduo as the military aircraft foreman, replace Prince Su Longqin to take charge of the prime minister's national affairs yamen, and continue to appoint Li Hongzhang to negotiate with the French.

At this moment, the Qing court, which shouted fiercely, had no intention of fighting again, and only wanted to seek peace.

However, within the imperial court, the feudal officials in various places still continued to ask for war, and the conditions put forward by the French were too harsh, so the Qing court could only call Mei Qizhao, who took the initiative to ask for war, to Nanning to serve as the governor of Liangguang.

The Hunan army asked for battle, Zuo Zongtang asked for battle, Liu Jintang asked for battle, and Wang Debang asked for war .......

At the critical moment, he had to continue to invite Zuo Zongtang to come out, but Li Hongzhang put forward a condition, if the imperial court still counted on him to negotiate, Zuo Zongtang could not be allowed to go to Liangguang, and the Huai army could not be transferred over on a large scale, otherwise, it would ...... It will only add chaos to the peace talks and cause even greater trouble.

At present, it is impossible to summon the tried-and-true Minister of Jiangnan Trade, so Cixi can only appoint Zuo Zongtang as the minister of the Qincha, with full authority over the military affairs of the southeast, and sit in Fuzhou. After Mei Qizhao went to Nanning, Zhejiang Fubiao followed, and Liu Jintang was stuffed to Zhejiang instead, serving as the governor of Zhejiang, supervising the war in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

It is impossible for Cixi to fully trust Li Hongzhang, and if an agreement is negotiated that is fundamentally unacceptable, wouldn't it be a mistake in the country's major affairs and let Li Hongzhang and the French slaughter him?

She still sent the Hunan army south, but it was not Liu Jintang, who was the most capable under Zuo Zongtang's account, but Wang Debang, who was the most senior, and let Wang Debang serve as the governor of Guangxi, and went south with six Hunan military camps, plus three battalions and nine battalions to guard Nanning, and at the same time, they could be urgently requisitioned from Hunan.

The battalions of the Qing army can be large or small, a few hundred people in peacetime, sometimes more than a thousand, and when they are expanded in wartime, they are thousands of people, or even tens of thousands.

Hu Chuyuan had already taken root in Heye at this time, and telegrams from all over the country were encrypted through Yan Shizhang and then transmitted to Heye.

Through the telegraph network, although he did not show up, he was able to contact Zuo Zongtang and Mei Qizhao, and suddenly contacted the minister of Jiangnan trade who could not be summoned, and Zuo Zongtang and Mei Qizhao were also very surprised.

There are some things that Zuo Zongtang doesn't know, but Mei Qizhao knows.

Mei Qizhao's confidence was very full, because he knew that Hu Chuyuan had left him 30 million taels of silver worth of grain, grass and ammunition in Nanning, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong, which was absolutely enough.

When Mei Qizhao was on his way to Nanning, Hu Chuyuan was also going to Nanning.

His road is much more difficult to walk, it is all deep mountains and old forests, and without Liu Yongfu sending local soldiers to escort him all the way, he can get lost.

Hu Chuyuan arrived in Jiangzhou County, Taiping Prefecture, and communicated with each other by telegraph in advance, and Mei Qizhao also set Jiangzhou County as the temporary governor's yamen garrison early, and led the five battalions of the urgently expanded Jiangxi army to be stationed here.

In Jiangnan Street in Jiangzhou County, Hu Chuyuan assumed the alias Zheng Shaoyuan and lived in the local shop where the Guangxinyuan ticket number was located. He lived in the backyard of Qianzhuang and didn't say a word, Ye Tongguang arrived early and secretly took over the Guangxinyuan ticket number here.

As early as last year, the Guangxinyuan ticket number secretly accumulated 40 million silver yuan of the Qing Dynasty here, and the machinery and equipment were all ready in Nanning, and new paper baht could be printed at any time to pay for the expenses in the war.

What is a real businessman, Hu Chuyuan is a real businessman.

He didn't simply bring in some munitions, and when he fought, the most lost was not artillery shells, but silver.

He had just settled down in the backyard of Guangxinyuan Qianzhuang on Jiangnan Street, and that night, Mei Qizhao, who had received the news from Ye Tongguang, brought his eldest son Mei Qian to visit secretly.

Mei Qizhao's father and son's sedan chair went directly into the side door and stopped in the courtyard, Mei Qian took a step down, wearing the clothes of a third-grade military attaché, he was already a staff general, temporarily leading a battalion of troops.

Niu Yugeng and Chen Shanyuan have dealt with them, and they can get to know each other as soon as they meet, and the two of them are guarding in the yard, and as soon as they see the two, they will be invited into the backyard flower hall.

Hearing the sound, Hu Chuyuan also got up to greet him, but he didn't go out of the flower hall, lest idlers find out about him.

When Chen Shanyuan opened the door, Mei Qizhao, who was wearing a second-grade official uniform, looked up and saw Hu Chuyuan, and was greatly surprised, and immediately said: "Chu Yuan, you are really a divine dragon who has seen the beginning and not the end, and finally met me." ”

Mei Qian hugged his fists and said: "Brother Hu Xian, we finally met again, we can escape several times and three times, and the blessings of brothers are really not simple." As the saying goes, if you don't die in a great disaster, you will have a blessing, which can be regarded as gratifying. ”

Hu Chuyuan smiled and asked them to go first, leaving Niu Yugeng to accompany him, and Chen Shanyuan was guarding outside to prevent idlers from coming in.

When the door was closed, Hu Chuyuan sat down and said to Mei Qizhao, who was sitting next to him: "This time, I am here to give a hand to the governor, the money, silver, army, food and grass are ready, don't worry, just sit firmly on this governor's throne!" ”

Mei Qizhao sighed silently and said: "I don't have a turbulent life, and I can have it today, all thanks to my nephew." As the governor of Zhejiang, he can't protect the Hu family's mansion compound, and now as the governor of Liangguang, he can't protect the safety of his nephew, I'm really ashamed! ”

Hu Chuyuan said: "I have been repeatedly assassinated and attacked by myself, why didn't I spend a lot of money on defense, but I am in the light, they are in the dark, they can kill me for only a few hundred thousand taels of silver, but I spent millions of taels of silver and can't protect myself." This kind of thing, let's not talk about it, I have another way to deal with it. ”

Mei Qizhao nodded slightly, and said with a smile: "I heard that Shuzhen has a happy July, and you will be a father in a few months, but it's a pity that you can only accompany me here for my sake, I'm ...... I'm even more ashamed. ”

Hu Chuyuan also smiled and said, "Shuzhen is a good woman, she knows very well what I am doing and what I want to do, and she won't blame me." When my big things are done, I and my children will be able to give an explanation, which can be regarded as an example for them. ”

Mei Qizhao nodded silently and said, "Chu Yuan, you are worthy of being the head of the world's heroes." Okay, then let's talk about the current big thing, you asked people to lend me the 1 million taels of military salary first, which really saved me from fire and water. The imperial court is in a hurry to find someone to borrow money at the moment, Lord Zhongtang and Li Hongzhang mean to borrow from your family, how much do you estimate you can borrow? ”

Hu Chuyuan said: "Mr. Yan has already told me about this matter, and I also asked him to set conditions." This debt will definitely not be less than 40 million yuan, and I estimate that it will be at least 100 million yuan, so I can only let the Bank of America lend it, and my CITIC Bank will be responsible for guaranteeing it, and the interest on the debt will be temporarily set at 12%. ”

Mei Qizhao pondered for a moment and said, "The imperial court transferred me to be the governor of Liangguang this time, in fact, because it values my deep relationship with your family and the convenience of borrowing money. What does the court mean, the interest is easy to say, 14 percent, 15 percent doesn't matter, the court can afford it. What I am afraid of is borrowing from foreigners, and then I will be blackmailed by the Americans, in case I want to rent land again, it is really inappropriate! ”

Hu Chuyuan said: "This can be assured, you can return to the imperial court, if you can have an interest of 14%, the Bank of America guarantees that there will be no more complications." Actually, I borrowed this money from me, just looking for a guarantee through the Americans. The Manchurians are now bent on embezzling my family property to fill the treasury, and without the guarantee of the Americans, my life will not be very good. ”

Mei Qizhao said: "Okay, I'll take the risk of finalizing this matter first, or borrow a loan of 40 million yuan from the Bank of America first, with an interest rate of 14%. ”

Hu Chuyuan nodded slightly and said, "Yes." As long as this amount is transferred to the account, the ammunition, grain and grass that I have accumulated in Guangzhou, Nanning, and Hong Kong will be transported to Taiping Mansion one after another, where they will be collected to support front-line expenses. ”

Mei Qizhao said: "As long as this money is finalized, it seems to be much easier to do now." It's been a month since I came to Liangguang, and I've been visiting various places recently, and I'm still uneasy. The 26th battalion of the Huai Army has a military strength of more than 34,000 people, and the regimental training and local green battalion strength add up to more than 17,000 people, plus Wang Debang's Hunan army of more than 13,000 people, and the Jiangxi army of more than 10,000 people in my hands. However, the problem is that I can't adjust, not to mention that the Hunan army and the Huai army can't be adjusted, and even the green battalion regimental training can't be adjusted. ”

The more he talked, the more angry and indignant he became.

Hu Chuyuan said: "This matter should be considered in the long run, and you must not count on the Huai army, you have to go to the imperial court, divide the Huai army into two, and the main force will be deployed in Langshan to resist the portal, and the rest will be divided into two parts, one part will be stationed in Guangzhou to defend Haifeng, and the other part will be transferred to Liuzhou and Guilin." ”

Mei Qizhao was secretly shocked and asked, "Then who does it really depend on to fight?" ”

Hu Chuyuan said: "The imperial court has appeased Liu Yongfu, I just came from him, the soldiers are strong, there are about 20,000 people, and they have been fighting with the French all year round, and they can be regarded as elite soldiers who have experienced a hundred battles." In addition, you have to re-employ the old general Feng Zicai, let him organize local regimental training, and defend Guangxi, of course, you have to use local soldiers, and the foreign soldiers have no will to fight in their hearts, but they are just ordered to defend the south. Third, the Gan army continued to expand. Fourth, I will contact Wang Debang for you, and I will definitely let Wang Debang listen to your scheduling. ”

Mei Qizhao couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and said, "Then it's easy to say, then it's easy to say." Chu Yuan, although I have been reading military books hard all these years, I have also carefully read the Western military books you recommended one by one and kept them in mind. But after all, I am a scholar in the world, and I am indeed not completely sure if I have not been in the army. ”

Hu Chuyuan soothed: "The use of soldiers is not as good as people, how can the use of people be inferior to people?" I have asked people to prepare 6 million clear yuan, which you have in your hands, and it is specially used to reward the generals of various armies, from the commander to the commander-in-chief, down to the thousand-year-old general, and reward them one by one. 600,000 yuan a month, and I will continue to supplement it after it is finished. Isn't it convenient for you to use money to stabilize the hearts of these people? As for Feng Zicai, Wang Debang, and Liu Yongfu, they have to give money, and even more so to arms, food, and salaries, and they want arms. ”

Mei Qizhao was overjoyed, and knew in his heart that his position as the governor of Liangguang was as stable as Mount Tai.

He immediately said, "Okay, then it's all up to your plan." ”

Hu Chuyuan said: "There is another thing, if you really use all silver, it is also cumbersome. You quickly played the imperial court, started the construction of the Guangzhou Bank Bureau, minted Qingyuan in Guangzhou, issued paper baht in the bank of your choice, raised military expenses, and issued military salaries. As for what needs to be done, I have already done it, and the machinery and equipment and personnel are ready. As long as you are willing to fold it, I will start casting. ”

Mei Qizhao hesitated for a moment and asked, "Which money bank do you want to use?" ”

Hu Chuyuan said: "You can let Liangguang Commercial Bank, Nanyang Commercial Bank and Guangxinyuan Ticket Number jointly set up a Nanyang Bank, and Nanyang Bank is responsible for printing banknotes, and Liangguang Commercial Bank and Guangxinyuan Ticket Number are responsible for issuing and exchanging." ”

Mei Qizhao snorted.

He knew in his heart that Hu Chuyuan would not buy and sell at a loss, the relationship between Xu Run and Hu Chuyuan was not simple, and the so-called Guangxinyuan ticket number was also a branch of the CITIC ticket number.

But he doesn't care, he opens one eye, closes one eye, and just doesn't know anything.

Mei Qizhao also hopes that Hu Chuyuan's family business will become bigger and bigger, anyway, it will be beneficial to him and no harm, the richer Hu Chuyuan is, the more stable the power in his hands, and the more stable he is, the safer Hu Chuyuan's property will be, and the bigger the business can be.

They are the Hu Mei League, Hu Mei and his party, even if the court knows it, they don't dare to attack them.

With such mutual guarantees, even if they are politically mistaken and calculated, they can continue to be invincible, just like Li Hongzhang, who has repeatedly made mistakes, he is still a middle hall, and he is still a governor of Zhili.

The two quickly finalized the matter.

In Jingshi, Hu Chuyuan's network of connections is still valid, especially the relationship between Prince Su and Longqin.

Although Prince Su Longqin didn't know that Hu Chuyuan was still alive, Zhu Yannian and Shen Furong were the managers responsible for bribing Longqin.

At that time, Nanyang Bank's banknotes will also be able to flood into the market on a large scale.

Hu Chuyuan's hoarding of ammunition, grain and grass is to follow the market price increase, will not be too high, but not low, and then through the issuance of money to revitalize the funds, before and after, although he has invested a lot of money, but it is definitely not a loss.

After all, Hu Chuyuan is still the first person in China, the king of business and finance in the world.

Compared with Hu Xueyan, he is really surpassed, although he is "dead" now, there is really no one who dares to go against the Hu family in the business field, relying on Hu Chuyuan's residual prestige, especially the business empire he left behind, Wu Shuzhen can breathe the merchants and foreigners in Shanghai.

It happened to encounter the Sino-French war, and the Manchu court did not dare to act rashly now.

(To be continued)