It is very meaningful to secretly hold a 42% stake in Wanqi Foreign Company.

At present, the main business of Wanqi Foreign Bank is Sino-US trade, Pacific shipping, and silk factories, which are all projects that Hu Chuyuan actively wants to expand, and also make up for some of his shortcomings in the distribution of the entire industry.

On the night of the completion of the acquisition, Hu Chuyuan couldn't sleep at night, and what he was thinking about was not only the future development of Qichang Foreign Bank, but also Zuo Zongtang's words.

Zuo Zongtang is a good idea, and wants to gradually transfer the important task of saving the country to Hu Chuyuan, and use the little time he has left to support Hu Chuyuan to rise to the top in the officialdom.

However, Hu Chuyuan didn't plan to go out, at least not in a hurry.

To be precise, Hu Chuyuan does not have a complete big plan in his heart, he is also a person who takes one step at a time, and now he has kept his family business and restored the prestige of the Hu family.

When it comes to asset transfer, he's already thought about it...... For the time being, we will concentrate on moving to the United States, and then look for a more suitable place in the future.

In any case, if he keeps himself, he should also be able to keep the economic situation and development space of the five provinces south of the Yangtze River, and now, he has to consider a more long-term plan.

What will he have to do in the future?

It is a good thing to train a revolutionary army...... But what if the revolutionary army is not as obedient as the Hunan army?

Personally threw himself into the revolutionary army?

Take care of one or the other.

They want to maintain the economy of the five provinces in the south of the Yangtze River, stabilize the silk and tea industries, ensure the continuous flow of silver into the five provinces in the south of the Yangtze River, ensure the economic stability of the nearly 100 million people in the south of the Yangtze River, cultivate the market, expand the domestic demand market, establish a financial center in Shanghai, continue to issue loans to agriculture, support the businessmen of Shanghai and Hangzhou to develop light industry, and rely on strong capital to develop heavy industry ...... under the banner of government and businessmen.

Hu Chuyuan knew that this was what he was going to do.

Except for him, no one else can do it by and large.

However, Zuo Zongtang is always going to pass away, and from then on, who will he rely on to protect his interests?

Control of military power!!

This is a problem that cannot be avoided at all.

Hu Chuyuan, who has temporarily kept his net worth, must consider this issue now.

Realistic, more realistic.

The most realistic way is to continue to win over the Hunan army, stabilize the Hunan army, and control a military force that can really be seized...... And it is a force that the Manchurians cannot meddle at all, and even in the future, they will be able to completely get rid of the shackles of the Manchurian checks and balances...... The answer is simple, the Navy.

Fujian Water Division!

Hu Chuyuan made a pot of tea for himself, and sat silently at the desk thinking about it.

He pondered in his heart, what to do to really control the Fujian Sailor, of course this matter can't be rushed, it will take a long time to arrange it little by little, and it will be difficult for the Manchurians to find out...... At least by the time they understand, it's already too late.

The current Manchus are quite terrible to say, but in fact they are not terrible, the key is that the Manchus do not have their own military strength, and they all rely on the balance between a few feudal officials to maintain their authority.

Hu Chuyuan knew very well that even if Zuo Zongtang left, as long as the Hunan army and the Fujian Navy Division of the left faction were still under his control, and he did not expose his anti-Qing intentions, the Manchurians would not dare to disadvantage him.

He knows better that it is necessary to go out, but he can't be in a hurry, he thinks very clearly about every move, and looks at five moves later.

The desk in front of him is made of high-quality black red hardwood, and the craftsmanship is first-class and exquisite, although it cannot be compared with the one in Baishi Tower, the cost is about two thousand taels of silver.

Hu Chuyuan is indeed very rich, every detail of life can be reflected, even the basins that are often washed are made of white copper, commonly known as Yunnan silver and German silver.

He was not satisfied with this.

Man's ** is endless, he wants to control an invincible iron-blooded army, he wants to control the most powerful fleet in the Far East...... In other words, the reason why he is not satisfied is precisely because he is not yet able to control everything, control everything, control everything.

It is not difficult to deal with France, but it is not difficult to deal with Ben.

The real difficulty is to deal with Britain, the most powerful country in the world, whose hegemony in China cannot be dissolved, and the whole of Asia is still under its influence.

Hu Chuyuan thought to himself, if he became a new Zuo Zongtang, would he be able to deal with the British?

Apparently not.

So what does he have to do, how to develop to really control everything?

This question coiled around Hu Chuyuan's heart, entangled him, and made it difficult for him to choose.

Just thinking about it, with a creak, the door of the study was slowly pushed open, and Yan Shizhang, who was wearing a summer shirt, walked in with a lantern, followed by Zhang Lingpu.

The two went into the study.

Yan Shizhang's slightly vicissitudes of life had a scheming smile floating on his cheeks, and he asked meaningfully: "The owner, the road ahead is worrying, and it is difficult to sleep peacefully?" ”

Hu Chuyuan nodded slightly and asked him, "Why can't you sleep?" ”

Yan Shizhang said: "People are old, they can't sleep well, and when they see that the lights in the study are still on, they come to take a look, and they also want to arrange a row of worries for the owner and solve problems!" ”

Hu Chuyuan smiled, and asked Zhang Lingpu again, "You can't sleep either?" ”

Zhang Lingpu said: "People are young, they sleep well, and they wake up when they hear the sound!" ”

Hu Chuyuan still chuckled and asked them to sit down and talk slowly.

Yan Shizhang asked, "Boss, what are you worried about?" ”

Hu Chuyuan didn't hide it, and said: "Lord Zhongtang wants me to hide my family property and sell it, and bury tens of millions of taels of silver in the ground so that I can be an official, and be an official with a good official residence!" ”

Yan Shizhang coughed lightly, looked cautious, and said, "It's not appropriate." The owner, can the official residence achieve your ambition? I don't think so. Now you are a strange commodity to live in, everyone wants to come to you, Zuo Zongtang and He Jing also have to rely on you, Zeng Guoquan has to save you some face, some benefits, you say...... Why is all this? ”

Hu Chuyuan replied without thinking: "What I have is money!" ”

Yan Shizhang clapped his hands slightly and said, "Yes, being rich is your biggest advantage, and it is very rich." Now it is a troubled era that everyone dare not say, the so-called Tongzhi Zhongxing is yesterday's yellow flower, but it is the return of the imperial court ......! ”

Speaking of this, he looked at Zhang Lingpu and said with a smile: "Lingpu, don't you think our lord has a chance to win the world?" ”

"Huh?" Zhang Lingpu was taken aback, and his face changed immediately.

Hu Chuyuan also frowned and said, "Mr. Yan, what you said is a bit too much. ”

Yan Shizhang smiled and said, "Dongjia, Lingpu, you misunderstood what I meant." Lao Yu is talking about emulating the European constitutional monarchy, the owner is in charge of the government and military affairs for the prime minister, and the Manchurian and powerful people have to concede three points. If they continue to be in charge of China, China's fate will be unpredictable, and I am afraid that it will only lag further and further behind the European powers. ”

Even with these words, Zhang Lingpu was extremely cautious, and after a long time, he had to sigh: "Even the widow ...... It's all about a constitutional monarchy. ”

Yan Shizhang smiled and said to Hu Chuyuan: "Owner, since you are rich and powerful, you might as well use money to open roads, use money to pave roads, and build bridges with power, how many people in the world are not under control?" If you want a person to soar, he must be promoted and make a fortune, and if you want a person to lose his soul, he must resign and go bankrupt. Therefore, even if we want to be a leader, it must be when the court is forced to let you go out of office! ”

After listening to this persuasion, Hu Chuyuan had an epiphany, and his heart was also bright, as if pushing away the haze of thousands of miles, the smoke was billowing and all dispersed at this moment.

He smiled and was about to speak.

Zhang Lingpu said: "My lord, what Mr. Yan said is not wrong, everyone begs you, that is because you have money, you have to hide the money and bury it in the ground, others can't see whether you have money or not, although it is conducive to being a leader, but it is not conducive to you to do great things." ”

Hu Chuyuan smiled: "Yes, the two of you are really my right-hand men, and they have opened a layer of doubts in my heart for me!" ”

Yan Shizhang said: "Boss, let me tell you the truth, just taking the Wusong Railway as an example, it was originally a good thing, but the foreigners were too perverse, and it became a bad thing to go against the Manchurians." Looking at the book again, people are building railways with the power of a country. China's affairs can be seen from this: if China wants to be strong, the Manchurians must decline first, and the Manchurians will decline first, so that China can become stronger. Lingpu, I don't know what you think about this? ”

Zhang Lingpu pondered for a moment and said, "After the three feudatories were pacified, the imperial court has always been afraid of Hanchen using local power to plot strength, so they are extremely wary of anything that will help improve Hanchen's strength. ”

After a pause, he sighed again: "It's a pity that I want to join the army and serve the country, but now I know that it is not easy to serve the country." ”

Hu Chuyuan thought to himself, it's good that you can know this.

Yan Shizhang saw that the timing was right, so he persuaded Hu Chuyuan and said: "The world's major events, who can say that the Tao is clear, all are in the operation of the time, if the time comes, the owner may have the opportunity to achieve hegemony and revitalize China?" ”

Hu Chuyuan smiled and said, "The key is how to save the country most quickly and effectively?" ”

Yan Shizhang immediately said: "Recruit talents with lofty ideals, people of insight, seek small things for others, and seek great things for the world, this is what the owner should do!" ”

Hu Chuyuan immediately said: "Yes, what Mr. Yan said is exactly what I want to do in my heart." ”

He knocked on the desk again, and asked the two of them, "Do you know how much this desk is worth?" ”

Zhang Lingpu said: "I heard that it is worth two thousand taels of silver." ”

Yan Shizhang said: "In a few years, three thousand taels will not be enough!" ”

The hardwood is getting stronger and the more expensive it is, and neither of them is wrong.

Hu Chuyuan said: "Yes, this desk is worth two hundred foreign guns." Our province is a province, gritting its teeth, 20,000 foreign guns are still out, if these guns are sent to certain places, I am afraid it will be a big thing. ”

What he said was very weird, and Yan Shizhang and Zhang Lingpu didn't fully understand.

Yan Shizhang thought that he was thinking about rebellion now, and asked, "I don't know what the owner wants to use it for?" ”

Hu Chuyuan said to Zhang Lingpu: "Lingpu, I sent you to do a very special thing, you go to Vietnam for me, find a way to find Mr. Liu Yongfu, talk to him, and say that I am willing to support him to fight with the legal person in Vietnam." ”

Zhang Lingpu's mood soared, and he hugged his fists and said: "My lord, I will definitely handle this matter properly, if I can't see Liu Yongfu, I will come back to see you with my head." ”

Hu Chuyuan nodded, and asked Yan Shizhang to write a letter for him, which contained a Hong Kong exchange draft of 5,000 taels of silver to show his sincerity, and then sealed it with vermilion lacquer.

He handed the letter to Zhang Lingpu, and secretly told Zhang Lingpu to leave for the south tomorrow.

Of course, these are just a small beginning, Hu Chuyuan has already made up his mind to increase his efforts to recruit all kinds of people with lofty ideals in the world. Zeng Guofan said that the way of employing people lies in extensive collection, prudent use, diligent teaching, and strict rope, and these four words also have a deep impact on Hu Chuyuan.

For Zhang Lingpu, Hu Chuyuan also did not have complete trust, and asked Zhang Lingpu to go to Vietnam to fight the French, instead of directly making a revolution, this is a temptation.

There are two conditions that are needed to do anything, and that is talent and money.

There is no shortage of money, Hu Chuyuan.

What he lacks is talent.

To run the military, we need even more qualified personnel, especially those who can certainly be trusted.

In fact, Hu Chuyuan is not in a hurry to do anything now, he is waiting, waiting for the appearance of talents, there is no way to appear naturally, then he will cultivate himself.

That's why he pays special attention to training new officials, ensuring the success of young children in the United States, and even interfering with those young children to choose majors that are more in line with China's needs.

Before the talents he needs appear on a large scale, all he has to do is to continue to hide under Zuo Zongtang's wings, make money, and find a way to cultivate the Hunan army, Fujian sailors, and officials that he can control.

He wants to invest in agriculture and support the great development of agriculture in the five provinces south of the Yangtze River, and he wants to carry out education and vigorously set up schools in the five provinces south of the Yangtze River...... It doesn't matter whether you teach Western studies or not, what matters is that millions of people are at least able to learn Western studies on their own.

Hu Chuyuan's goal was magnificent, he wanted to build a huge new world for the whole of China within the sight of the Manchus, a new Jiangnan, to seize the army for self-protection with one hand, and to soften the armor of the Manchu court with new civilization and ideas with the other.

In the marginal area, find a small site overseas to develop...... That's not his style.

If he wants to occupy the territory, he has to occupy the best, at least as big as the five provinces in the south of the Yangtze River.

Because...... With only five provinces south of the Yangtze River, he can surpass France and Russia in China's economic and industrial strength, ranking behind the United States, Germany and Britain.

Of course, if one day a civil war must be fought, he also hopes that there will be no war within the five provinces south of the Yangtze River, and that he will not repeat the old mistakes of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.