In March 1861, the Guangzhou Shipyard "Changsha" was completed, with a displacement of 2,100 tons of ironclad ships, rotating heavy batteries, a speed of 17 knots, and a total cost of 370,000 silver dollars. At the same time as the launch of the Changsha, the Southern Dynasties also officially launched the long-shelved 6,000-ton program at the Guangzhou Shipyard, with a total budget of 1.5 million silver dollars. At the same time, the 500-ton steamship being built at the Fuzhou shipyard is also about to be completed, and the production plan for a Jinling-class ironclad ship with a displacement of about 3,000 tons has also been put into the design schedule.

In the same month, the Taipingfu steel mill was put into operation, and then, there was an incident of Miao Peilin's department looting the coal ships of the Southern Dynasties in the Yangtze River, and two merchant ships transporting coal for Taiping Province were intercepted and seized by Miao Peilin's armed fleet.

Miao Peilin even wanted the merchants of the Southern Dynasty to ransom the ship with silver, otherwise the cargo ship would be confiscated and confiscated, thinking that he was not happy to loot the people's wealth, seeing that the sailors of the Southern Dynasty were overstretched and could not be distributed, he began to play the idea of the golden waterway of the Yangtze River. Then his Miao family army is still not raised and walks sideways on the north and south banks of the Yangtze River?

Then, in April 1861, almost at the same time as the outbreak of the American Civil War, the regent of the Southern Dynasty of China officially declared war on the northern kingdom.

At the same time, the Southern Dynasties issued the "Provisional Decree on War" and the "Conscription Decree", and began to recruit a large number of civilians.

In fact, when the Southern Dynasty declared war, the Pingyuan army Su Hongniang crossed the Yangtze River and conquered Tongzhou.

The day after the Southern Dynasties declared war, the message had already reached the Forbidden City.

In the south study, a huge military map was hung, and the six kings paced slowly, but their faces were very relaxed.

"Your Majesty, please cure Zuo Zongtang for the crime of being arbitrary!" Gui Liang knelt on the ground, with an angry face, "The traitor crossed the Yangtze River in a flash, and Zuo Zongtang's crime is unforgivable!" ”

Yes, when there was a dispute between the Southern Dynasty and Miao Peilin, Zuo Zongtang urgently dispatched a new army to northern Anhui and deployed defenses near Miao Peilin's territory to prevent the Pingyuan army from landing in northern Anhui.

In Tongzhou, which looked south of the Yangtze River, the new army did not have much defense, and Zuo Zongtang's new army camp was set up in Huai'an, which was hundreds of miles away.

I didn't want the war to start, but the Southern Dynasties did not attack northern Anhui, but landed from the Soviet Union, attacked Tongzhou, and crossed the Yangtze River in a dangerous way.

The six kings grabbed the teacup and took a sip, and said: "It's good to cross the river, Zuo Zongtang is right, what I am most worried about is that these traitors pick Miao Peilin to attack." ”

Gui Liang looked puzzled and looked at the six kings.

The six kings beckoned and said to the officials on the other side: "Xiao Fusi, you understand it, you can talk about it." ”

The middle-aged official stagnated for a while, knelt down after leaving work, and looked at Gui Liang's face again, he was even more embarrassed, he was just a small general soldier, who returned to Beijing to organize the new battalion of the Hunan Army, but was personally summoned by the emperor, between questions and answers, the emperor obviously liked him very much. coincided with the declaration of war in the Southern Dynasty, and I was fortunate to enter the South Study, and all the ministers present were either princes or princes, or university scholars and military aircraft, how could he speak?

Seeing that the emperor frowned slightly, Xiao Fusi's heart jumped, and he couldn't care about anything else, so he hurriedly said: "Yes, the ministers have no knowledge, speak falsely, and ask for guilt first." He also said: "In the humble opinion of Weichen, the southern rebellion did not land from northern Anhui, and the one who lost one; Declare war in a hurry, and lose two; Blind arrogance, the third loser; In this battle, as long as the superior forces are concentrated to defeat Su Hongniang's troops, it is not difficult to induce the internal and external difficulties of the Southern Dynasty and quell the rebellion in the south. ”

The ministers looked at each other? Defeat Su Hongniang? Not kidding, right? That female bandit has dominated the world for ten years, almost never tasted defeat, and now she is commanding the elite of the Pingyuan army, which can be said to be unstoppable.

But the six kings smiled and said, "Go on." ”

"Yes, yes." Xiao Fusi continued: "If the southern rebellion lands from northern Anhui, then under the rule of Miao Peilin, the people's grievances will boil, and when it cuts off Miao Peilin's front, the people of northern Anhui will definitely rely on the southern rebellion, then it will use northern Anhui as a springboard, and the disaster will be huge." However, he chose the Soviet Union, thinking that he was the murderer of the military advantage, but he did not know that the southern rebellion had been perverse in recent years, and the law was abolished. ”

The Six Kings smiled.

Indeed, in the past two years, there has been a lot of movement in the south, and the north has taken the opportunity to add fuel and vinegar to demonize the new policy of the southern dynasty, but in fact, except for knowledgeable businessmen and ordinary northern people, they have never been to the south, and most of them are very hostile to the south by hearsay, and even legend has it that the people in the south are extremely chaotic, and the women show their heads and are as good as they can do. In the eyes of the ordinary people of the northern country, the southerners are like heretics who have forgotten their ancestors, even if they are stronger than Changmao, I am afraid that they are not much worse.

Xiao Fusi continued: "And my Anqing, Hanyang, Jingmen soldiers, enough to contain Harich, Shenbao, even if it collects ships to cross the river, but it will be the same as the south of the Soviet Union, into the state of a lonely army, as long as its supplies are cut off, then its advance is not successful, and it is impossible to retreat, our army avoids a decisive battle with it, grinding for a period of time, the internal disputes in the Southern Dynasty will arise, I heard that it is building roads and cities, the treasury is dry, its soldiers are partial and the food is abundant, and the ammunition is squandered, and the time is long, where can it be supported?" ”

The six kings smiled and said, "You're right, but you're too old, so Shenbao and Harwich will definitely be able to cross the river?" Tongzhou is reversed in the south, and if he doesn't need to come to the north, can't the Jiangshang supplement be cut off for us? Cai Guoxiang and Li Daolin had already led the fleet to Shanghai. ”

"This ......" Xiao Fusi's lips moved, and he didn't dare to speak. Although the naval divisions of the Southern Dynasties were scattered and had the opportunity to divide and annihilate them, only three gunboats might be able to succeed for a while, and it was just a delusion to say that the naval divisions of the Southern Dynasties in the South Seas would return and cut off the supply of other people's waterways. But when the emperor said so, he naturally didn't dare to talk much.

The sixth king said in a deep voice: "Half a month ago, the Russian fleet has left the port, and it is estimated that it will be time to Weihai in the next few days. ”

Yes? Xiao Fusi's face was happy, and he kowtowed: "Emperor Shengming, so the southern country will be defeated, as long as its waterway supply is cut off, the south of the river will become a fish without water, and there will be no return to discipline it." ”

All the ministers also said in unison: "The emperor is sage! ”

The six kings turned around and sat on the throne of Ming and Huang, and said: "Du Han, you send a telegram to Zuo Zongtang, ask him to fortify layer by layer, and trap Su Hongniang and the others in the south to Su Zhong." He added: "You, discuss with the Russian adviser again, and get a few charters, Canton, you ask when the Russian fleet will arrive, and if you can attack his Canton." ”

"Wow!" Du Han shook his horse's hooves and knelt down to receive the order.

The Six Kings grabbed the teacup and took a sip of tea, the Southern Dynasty had always been like a big stone pressing on his heart, making him restless, and for the first time, he felt the hope of knocking down this behemoth.

Nan Cheng has enough income, but he doesn't use it in serious places, and he heard that his steel, gunpowder and even armaments have to be bought from private people for money. And the merchants in the south haven't turned the sky upside down? Who told you Jingxiang to lift them up? I heard that the merchants in the south are becoming more and more unruly, and there are still lawsuits with the yamen, isn't this a joke?

Besides, he Jingxiang is a chaotic minister and thief, and there are many officials in the south who are dissatisfied with him, but they are just afraid of his Yinwei, and no one dares to attack.

Jingxiang, after tossing for the past few years, the more I toss, the more I go back, I don't know what to toss.

The six kings pondered and shook their heads, but they felt that they had really looked down on him before.

…… The east side of the palace of the Qianwang Mansion is equipped with the palace.

Li Jianchen, Yuan Jiasan, Li Hongzhang, Li Xiaocun, Zhou Jingshan, Zheng Zhen six ministers sat on the soft pier, their hearts were a little dazed, this war, really broke out inexplicably, and, it is not the right time, the south is about to issue banknotes, not to mention, and it coincides with the implementation of the 6,000-ton plan and the five-year transportation plan, the treasury is in high debt, and the main force of the naval division is far away in Nanyang.

The only good news was that the three mediators seemed reluctant to intervene, and when they heard that the United States was in danger of civil war, the American consul Macchason, though he condemned the plundering of merchant ships in the North, had no time to care about the rest. The British, on the other hand, have an ambiguous attitude and are not trying to mediate, perhaps they would prefer to see a lose-lose situation, the south is obviously not ready, but because of a trivial matter, arrogantly announced the start of war, the British, more happy to see the south suffer a big loss.

In the telegram from Shanghai, the Russians clearly expressed their support for the northern country, and even said that they would not hesitate to provide the necessary support to the northern country by force.

The Russian fleet does not know when it will suddenly appear at the mouth of the Yangtze River, and if it controls the waterway, this battle will be lost.

Originally, the Southern Dynasty and the Northern Kingdom went to war, and from the grand strategic point of view, there were many options, such as sending an expeditionary force to land directly near Gyeonggi after sufficient financial resources and pooling naval divisions.

But now, if the Russians control the waterway, even if the Nanyang Naval Division rushes back, I am afraid that it will not be the opponent of the Russian fleet, even if the Russian fleet is defeated, I am afraid that the corps of the Northern Expedition across the river will have long run out of ammunition and food, and will be strangled and killed.

However, the regent has declared war, and he can only rely on a bad card to fight, not to mention, the infantry corps that crossed the river is led by the deputy commander of the princess Niangniang Su.

Ye Zhao tasted the tea and clapped his hands, and then several scribes sent stacks of letters to several politicians.

"Look at the charter I just drafted."

Several ministers of parliament looked through it and were immediately surprised.

However, it was the charter of the Southern Dynasty to prepare to issue 10 million silver dollar banknotes and 30 million silver dollar treasury bonds.

Yuan Jiasan shook his head and said: "Lord Wang, I just issued 30 million treasury bonds at the beginning of this year, and now I am borrowing money from the people, I am afraid that people will say that they are reckless!" ”

Ye Zhao waved his hand and said, "This matter is settled." At this time, he would not tell them anything about Mingzhuo, and said: "The Guangfu Iron and Steel Company and the Guangfu Ordnance Factory have already agreed to use the treasury bonds to pay for the goods, and the three major silver accounts of Guangfu, Tianfeng, and Taihe have also agreed to buy 5 million yuan of treasury bonds, of which the Guangfu silver account has purchased 3 million, and Tianfeng and Taihe have each purchased 1 million. ”

Everyone was stunned, in the southern [***] industrial system, the later Jinling Ordnance Bureau, Fuzhou Military Factory and several shipyards were all state-owned, but the most time-honored Guangzhou Ordnance Factory was privately owned, and the production capacity was equivalent to the Jinling Ordnance Bureau and Fuzhou Military Factory combined, especially the fixed ammunition made in Guangzhou, almost all of which were produced by the Guangzhou Ordnance Factory. The Canton Iron and Steel Company, which supports the steel industry in the south, is even more important, and now that these two companies are willing to use low government bonds, the financial pressure on the south will suddenly lighten.

"This, Lord Wang, does the Guangfu Ordnance Factory know about the war, how much money will it owe it every month?" Yuan Jiasanwu didn't believe it, after all, he heard that it was a British military factory, even if the southern country lost the war, it would have no impact on it, and it was so indebted for ammunition, if the southern country lost, I was afraid that it would have to pay for it and hang it.

Most of these ministers know that Ye Zhao, the silver name of Guangfu, is the major shareholder, but Ye Zhao's influence on the key industries of the Southern Dynasties, they can only take a peek at the leopard.

In fact, Ye Zhao sometimes feels that his assets are too dangerous, although he started to engage in these industries just to take the first step, in order to set an example for the businessmen of the Southern Dynasties, but now, if the economic consortium under his control continues to expand naturally, I really dare not imagine how much it will expand in ten or twenty years, from the national level, this is not a good thing.

But right now, he can really make himself commanding and swaying freely.

"You don't have to pay attention to this, he won't talk back." Ye Zhao picked up the teacup.

"Lord, do you think the Russian fleet will intervene in our war?" Li Hongzhang's question was almost all that several ministers wanted to know.

Ye Zhao smiled coldly: "Let him be, but he can't find the cause to peel off the bones and skin of it!" If he wants to come and die, it's up to him. ”

Listening to Ye Zhao's words, several ministers of parliament were at ease in their hearts, they had almost gotten used to it over the years, trusting the prince to follow the prince, and the regent had never said empty words, and even many times, these ministers had long forgotten that in fact, the prince was a young man in his twenties, and the first feeling of the prince in his mind was that he was both respectful and fearful.

Ye Zhao took a sip of tea and said: "As for the paper money, you all put on snacks, and when it is printed, the first to take the paper money and pay the silver are the officials and officials who eat public food." Send a message and tell them not to panic, this banknote, I don't dare to say it elsewhere, the five major department stores are sure to be able to circulate, I really don't believe it, so I will go to the three major silver numbers to exchange for silver dollars, this matter, we have to get used to it slowly, we can't rush to come. ”

Although the Southern Dynasty can force any store to accept paper money, refuse to accept criminal punishment, etc., but this is not the solution after all, in fact, there must always be a process of people accepting, blindly high pressure, but not conducive to the issuance of paper money, fortunately the most famous department stores accept paper money, this is a good start.

"Yi Xin, he wants to deal with Shi Dakai in Su Zhong to deal with our Pingyuan Army, this drama is kept and told him to sing smashed, you guys, get busy." As he spoke, Ye Zhao waved his hand.

Several councilors hurriedly retired, although they still had doubts in their hearts, but they were much more relieved than when they first came to discuss politics.

(To be continued)