Whether it is allowed to open Nanyang Commercial Bank or not, this is still unknown, it depends on Shen Baozhen's intentions.

Because the Harbour Master Yamen was created by Shen Baozhen, his personal reputation is second only to a few Zhongtang, and he is a person who is truly proficient in shipbuilding and coastal defense affairs, and he almost has to make decisions on the big and small affairs of the imperial court, and Prince Gong, the Minister of Military Aircraft, is only responsible for stamping the official seal of the Military Aircraft Department.

Privately, Hu Chuyuan has reached an agreement with Ye Wenlan that of all the shares of Nanyang Commercial Bank, 30% will be owned by the Shipmaster Yamen, 20% by Jiangnan Commercial Bank, 35% by Ye Wenlan, and the other 15% will be controlled by Guotai Fund.

Hu Chuyuan's money is enough, but this money may not be directly used to prepare the fleet, and donating tens of millions of taels of silver in one go will only make people suspect that he has ulterior motives.

Therefore, he prefers to let the Harbour Yamen own 30% of the shares and use the normal profits to run the Harbour Master.

……

Hu Chuyuan is not a very good person who can handle practical things, but he can use people.

Straightening out the personnel of the yamen, Hu Chuyuan was not in a hurry to do any major things, and he was in the yamen every day, calling Wu Zhengbing, Li Zuguang and others from time to time to talk about things.

In this process, Hu Chuyuan continued to understand them, and felt more and more that Shen Baozhen had worked hard for many years and indeed left a lot of talents in the Fuzhou Ship Administration Yamen.

Taking Wu Zhengbing and Li Zuguang as examples, they may not have an advantage in being officials in the DPRK and China, but in the Ship Administration Yamen, they have accumulated experience and professional knowledge that others do not possess in their many years of work.

Gradually, Hu Chuyuan believed that Zhang Baixi, Tu Renshou, Dai Hongci, such promising cronies were worth reusing, and Wu Zhengbing, Li Zuguang, Ye Datong, Yang Jun, and other people who were familiar with the shipbuilding business should also be important.

Talents should be diligent in teaching, as long as the right allocation, the people of this era can also glow with magical brilliance.

That night, Hu Chuyuan invited Zhang Baixi and Wu Zhengbing to Jinghaitang for a banquet, and in addition, he also invited Zhang Cheng, the acting commander of the Fujian Navy Division, Ye Fu, the super-martial ship manager, and Deng Shichang, the Zhenwei ship.

In the previous stage, Zhang Cheng had been transferred to the Beiyang Naval Division, because Peng Chuhan, the new commander of the Fujian Naval Division, was unwilling to take office, and He Jing had to transfer Zhang Cheng back again.

Because Zhang Cheng was more qualified, He Jing wanted to keep him and send Ye Fu to the Nanyang Naval Division, and Deng Shichang to the Beiyang Naval Division, but at this juncture, he returned to Beijing to resign and put the matter on hold for the time being.

Deng Shichang.

This name is so loud that from the day he arrived in Fuzhou, Hu Chuyuan wanted to see him.

Hero.

How much regret and pain are left behind the heroes?

Although he had not yet met Deng Shichang, Hu Chuyuan had already secretly inquired about his news, which surprised him a little, Zhang Cheng and Ye Fu had better reputations than Deng Shichang, and they were deeply praised by the superiors and subordinates of the shipmaster and sailor.

These three people are all Cantonese and do not have a good foothold in the Fujian Navy, which is one of the reasons why they have taken the initiative to go out.

Because the port of the sailor was a little far away from the shipmaster's yamen, the three managers brought the latest, Wu Zhengbing and others waited with Hu Chuyuan for more than ten minutes, and Zhang Cheng and the three of them arrived outside the courtyard.

Hu Chuyuan also wanted to see them for the first time, so he immediately got up in person and walked to the door of the flower hall of Jinghai Hall to greet them.

Ye Fu and Deng Shichang's figures are not tall, but Zhang Cheng is different, walking in the center, he is about one meter eight tall, burly, about thirty years old, Ye Fu and Deng Shichang are roughly the same age.

Ye Fu's characteristics are obvious, he is not tall, he is also lean, his eyebrows are light, and he looks like a very peculiar person.

The one other than these two people is naturally Deng Shichang, who is taller than Ye Fu, and is more robust and sturdy, with a round face and thick eyebrows, and is full of energy.

As soon as they entered the stone arch of the courtyard, the three of them hugged their fists towards Hu Chuyuan and said, "Raise your lords, your lords, I'm too late, and I still hope for your lords Haihan." ”

Hu Chuyuan arched his hand and said, "It's okay, the three adults, please come into the room, the banquet is ready!" ”

"Raise your Excellency, please!" Zhang Cheng also invited Hu Chuyuan to enter the flower hall side by side with Hu Chuyuan.

Zhang Cheng is a guerrilla from Sanpin, the acting commander of the Fujian Navy, and the level of authority is equivalent to Hu Chuyuan, and the two do not govern each other.

Entering the flower hall and sitting down, there were eleven people in the seat, who were already very familiar with each other, and they talked about some gossip with a smile.

Of course, Hu Chuyuan didn't invite them to drink flower wine, after three rounds of drinking, he coughed very cautiously and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I invite you here this time just to talk about the future of the Ship Administration Yamen. I think you already know that the imperial court has decided to allocate an additional 4 million taels of silver for coastal defense every year, but the vast majority of it will be given to the Beiyang Naval Division. The Governor is fighting for us in the Kyoshi, and I'm trying to figure out other ways to do it. ”

Hearing him say this, everyone couldn't help but fall silent, or their faces were grim, or they sighed, or sighed.

Wu Zhengbing said: "The decision of the imperial court is really incredible, the Fujian Navy has been formed, and it has to hold the Taiwan Strait, not to mention four million taels per year, as long as another one million taels of silver is allocated every year, we can also find a way to build a fleet that can compete with the foreigners." ”

"yes!" The crowd chimed in.

Hu Chuyuan looked at Zhang Cheng and the three of them very concernedly, very special, these three people were not in a hurry to express their position.

Zhang Baixi suddenly coughed lightly and said, "The reason why the imperial court made such a decision depends on two points. First, among all the governors in the court, the real most powerful ones are none other than the governor of Zhili and the governor of Liangjiang, and since it is necessary to focus on the establishment of two naval divisions, one in the south and one in the north, it must only be handled by these two governors. Second, the reason why the Beiyang Naval Division is to be built is more complicated, but one thing is the most important, that is, the Beiyang Naval Division can guard the Beijing Division. ”

Zhang Cheng continued: "That's true. If we really want to consider it from the perspective of geography and coastal defense, the imperial court should establish three real Western naval divisions, the North Ocean in the Bohai Bay, the South Ocean in Guangdong, and the East Ocean in Zhejiang. ”

Hu Chuyuan said: "What Zhang Guerrilla said is exactly what I want, in fact, I also think that it is not appropriate for the Nanyang Naval Division to be located in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, isn't this ignoring the two Guangxi and the South China Sea?" ”

"Yes, very inappropriate...... What I said coincides with what I have in mind! Deng Shichang suddenly spoke, and was pulled by Ye Fu halfway through speaking, but he still finished speaking straightforwardly.

Hu Chuyuan continued: "You adults don't have to have any scruples, this is our own people from the Ship Master Yamen to talk together, no one needs to say it to the outside world, everyone can say it to their heart's content!" ”

"Yes!" And they all said yes.

Hu Chuyuan said again: "Then, I'll talk about it first, the right is to throw bricks and lead jade." ”

Saying this, he asked Zhang Baixi to hang a map of the territory of the Qing Dynasty in the flower hall for him, which he had revised again, and it was more accurate than the territory map used by the imperial court.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please see, the importance of our coastal defense is nothing more than two directions, one is the North Sea against Russia, and the other is the South Sea against Britain and France. In these two directions, the Yangtze River water division is said to be rampant, and the Japanese are beginning to rise again, so the Yangtze River Naval Division should be deployed along the Yangtze River, while the Fujian Naval Division should set up a branch camp in Ningbo, leaving a number of fast boats to prepare for the Japanese Invaders. ”

Hu Chuyuan drew four circles on the map and continued: "I don't know much about the coastal defense ship administration, and I agree with the imperial court's decision on the Nanyang and Beiyang, but the Nanyang Naval Division must be in Guangdong, and the Fujian Naval Division and the Yangtze River Naval Division cannot be relaxed. In particular, our Fujian naval division, my idea is to buy and build, through the purchase of new ships to imitate ships, only in this way, China's shipbuilding technology can keep pace with the times and gradually strengthen. ”

Wu Zhengbing and others echoed one after another: "What your lord said is very true, our Fujian sailors should also increase their appropriations and take the opportunity to buy ships to increase their shipbuilding." ”

Zhang Baixi and Tu Renshou didn't speak, and they didn't seem to agree so much.

At this time, Ye Fu suddenly said: "What the Lord said, Ye Mou deeply agreed. However, it is also an indisputable fact that the imperial court is underfunded, especially in the case of huge losses in the war in Xinjiang Province, instead of scattering the funds among three or four naval divisions, it is better to concentrate military funds to build a truly large ironclad division that can be called the largest ironclad division in Asia, only in this way can our Great Qing Kingdom not be humiliated by foreigners again. ”

Hu Chuyuan smiled, he didn't know why, he suddenly felt that Ye Fu was actually very far-sighted.

He smiled: "What Ye Guandao said is very reasonable. I want to say that I can make the Fujian Navy Division the number one fleet in Asia within ten years, and you may not believe it, but if I say that even if the imperial court does not allocate a penny, I can make the Fujian Navy Division have at least three million taels of military spending available every year, you should not have doubts, right? ”

He couldn't have said this more easily, and he seemed even more confident.

Everyone was secretly surprised, thinking of Hu Chuyuan's financial resources and business ability, perhaps, this is really not a lie.

Zhang Baixi said: "Promote the adult, the lower officials definitely don't doubt the ability of the adult, but they are very curious about what tricks the adult wants to use, and what kind of plan he has?" ”

Hu Chuyuan didn't want to keep them anymore, so he told them the plan of the Nanyang Commercial Bank and the Fuzhou Shipyard, and said: "Not only that, but I also plan to issue public bonds through the Jiangnan Commercial Bank to solve the problem of military spending in Xinjiang Province at one time, and the remaining money can be used for the Fujian Navy Division to purchase new warships." In terms of human resources, I will continue to increase the number of overseas students by taking advantage of the relationship between Jiangnan Commercial Bank and other foreign firms, and maintain the number of overseas students at about 30 to 50 every year. ”

Hearing him say it so confidently, everyone couldn't help but sigh in their hearts.

Rich people are powerful, and people who can do business are really powerful.

With Hu Chuyuan's ability, it was indeed possible to maintain the military expenditure of the Fujian Navy Division at three million taels of silver per year without the need for appropriation from the imperial court.

With him, the God of Wealth, all countries have to give him some face, and whenever the shipmaster yamen and the sailor are insufficient, they can also borrow from him, it is said that Zuo Zongtang owes him 10 million taels of silver for military expenses, if the yamen can also borrow 10 million taels of silver from him, then he can still get it?

The more everyone thought about it, the more excited they became, not to mention how tough the waist was.

At this moment, Ye Fu was a little uneasy, feeling that he really shouldn't doubt Hu Chuyuan, this is the richest man in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, although he is young, he can defeat the major business gangs and foreign companies overnight, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is a business wizard who comes out once in a century.

Hu Chuyuan asked Ye Fudao with a smile: "Ye Guandao, in your opinion, should I also transfer these millions of taels of military expenses to the Beiyang Naval Division?" ”

Ye Fu's expression was even more embarrassed, and he hurriedly said: "The Lord of the Dispatch has misunderstood me, I don't mean to despise the Fujian Sailor, I just think that the imperial court should concentrate the funds on one first." Since our Fujian Navy Division has such a good foundation, the imperial court should concentrate all the military expenses on the shipyard yamen. At that time, our shipbuilding capacity will rank first in Asia, and the ships we build can be used in the North and South Seas, and even if the imperial court wants to build three sailors, the cost may not be very much. ”

Deng Shichang also said: "Promote the adult, my brother Ye really does not mean to despise the adult. ”

Hu Chuyuan laughed and said, "Ye Guandao, Deng Guandao, you don't have to mind, I'm just joking." As a matter of fact, for the imperial court's military expenses for coastal defense, I discussed with the Governor and tried my best to get 1 million taels of silver a year. In addition, I will also be more strict in the management of the yamen, and I must use every penny to the truth. If there are still shortcomings, I will also give generously. In fact, I have already talked to Lord Ye Wenlan Ye, I donated 800,000 taels of silver, he donated 400,000 taels, and then tried his best to contact the rich gentry from all over Fujian and Zhejiang to raise 2 million taels of silver for the purchase of warships. If all goes well, I plan to go to Europe at the end of the month to order battleships. Zhang Guerrilla, Ye Guandao, Deng Guanjiao, who of you is willing to go with me, lest I buy the wrong few iron ships that are too much to use! ”

As soon as he heard this, the three generals of the water division were all excited, and Zhang Cheng immediately said: "Lord Tiao, this matter is within my own responsibility, and it is incumbent on me to do it, but I still have to act in the affairs of the water division in the future, and I want to go but can't get out." My lord, you might as well let Ye Guan and Deng Guan accompany you. In addition, although we are familiar with warships, when it comes to buying ships and building ships, the people who are really the most proficient are Wu Zhengbing and Lord Wu, if Lord Wu is busy with government affairs, Wu Dezhang and Li Shoutian, the supervisors of the Shipping Bureau, are also suitable candidates. ”

Deng Shichang said simply: "Promote the lord, the next official is willing to go!" ”

Ye Fu raised his eyes slightly, and said, "The lower officials are also happy!" ”

Hu Chuyuan gradually understood in his heart that at least from today's point of view, if others were to choose the commander of the water division, Zhang Cheng would indeed be the first choice, and Ye Fu would be the second.

Of course, he is more likely to choose Ye Fu.

Ye Fu thinks about a lot of things, far beyond the scope of ordinary generals' comprehension and thinking, and his surname is capable and experienced, and he is calm.

In fact, Ye Fu is not also a naval hero, Deng Shichang died in the First Sino-Japanese Naval Battle, and Ye Fu's life was even more bitter, he actually died in the battle of Zhejiang pirates and Japanese pirates, and the two in-laws died at the hands of Yue, which is really the same fate.

The most regrettable thing is that Ye Fu's death date was in these two years.