Walking on the secluded path at the foot of Turtle Mountain, Shen Shukai's chest seemed to be stuffed into seven or eight big drums and jumping wildly, especially when he saw the soldiers leading the way plunging into the ramming road, he was even more frightened (). When I stepped into the rammer, I found that this was a hidden arsenal, and the first thing I saw was piles of long wooden boxes, and then the familiar back of the wooden box in the center of the wooden box was holding a Hanyang-made rifle, next to Xiao Anguo and another officer laughed and talked happily, and I don't know if it was intentional or coincidental, when he just stepped into the warehouse, the back suddenly turned the muzzle of the gun and pointed straight at it ().

Seeing that the muzzle of the gun was suddenly aimed at him, Shen Shukai was so frightened that his knees were weak and he almost fell to his knees, and beads of sweat the size of beans fell from his temples. Yang Qiu was already full of anger, if it weren't for the fact that he didn't have any financial talents in his hands now, he would definitely shoot this shot, but now he could only temporarily endure the impulse, pretending to quickly withdraw the gun and laughing: "Brother Shen? Didn't scare you, did you? Hehe, I forgot you were here on a whim. After speaking, he quickly pulled the bolt of the gun and threw it to Zhang Wenjing with a smile: "Don't be afraid, this gun has no bullets." ”

Zhang Wenjing took the gun and put it back in the wooden box and said with a smile: "I have heard the name of Manager Shen for a long time, and it is really a blessing to see him today." By the way, these ruffians didn't scare you, did they? ”

"No, they treated me very well." Shen Shukai was already trembling all over, and he finally understood that the troubled times were really coming when he faced the muzzle of the gun just now, and all the words he had thought of were blocked back by the muzzle.

"I heard from the shopkeeper Dong just now that the ship has arrived downstream of the Chen family?" Yang Qiu glanced at him with his back and asked, "Do you want me to send someone to greet him?" ”

"No, no. I had ordered them to come at once, and they should be there right away. Shen Shukai hurriedly waved his hand, trembling and took out the Citibank deposit receipt that had been kept for a long time from his arms: "I have deposited all the money in your name into the Citibank of the United States in accordance with the instructions of the adults, and I saw that the German ambassador was very satisfied with this transaction, and it happened that they had stock in their hands, so they first purchased 18 Qisheng Wushan cannons, but unfortunately they did not buy shells." ”

Yang Qiu took the passbook and glanced at it and asked deliberately, "Didn't you say that it would be divided into four or six parts?" How. ”

"The success of this business is all the credit of adults, how can Shukai still have the face to share dividends." Shen Shukai lowered his head and trembled, obviously frightened, how dare he mention the matter of dividends. Xiao Anguo heard that he had actually bought 18 cannons in advance, and his face suddenly improved a lot. But Zhang Wenjing secretly glanced at Yang Qiu, whose face was calm, but his fists behind his back were clenched tighter and tighter, this action had actually fixed the fate of this figure who was famous all over the country because of his semicolon to Japan and the South Seas.

This Shen Shukai may be a figure in finance, but unfortunately he is an out-and-out idiot in politics (). He thought that he could escape by buying a cannon in advance, thinking that he could exchange it for a chance to save his life? As everyone knows, the more this happens, the more people think that he has premeditated, even if he just says a few nonsense words, it may be better than at this moment. Just by looking at his appearance, you can know that the Jin Shang era is over! These characters, who originated in Shanxi in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and who were accustomed to the source of left and right, finally came to an end. It's just that the person in front of him has not understood, and it should be said that so far the businessmen of this country have not understood what is about to happen! This is a turbulent era that must not stand on the wrong side, just like the turbulent times before the founding of the country, either you will take a gamble, even if it is a sea of swords and fire, you can't frown, or you simply don't interfere! Even a great fortune will never go untouched. But then again, isn't that the case with these merchants? From Hu Xueyan to Sheng Xuanhuai, they all thought they were up and down, but what was the result?

It's just that this person still needs it at present, after all, he can manage money but can't make money, once he gets a foothold on his side, he needs a huge amount of capital investment, and he needs to have a special person to integrate every copper plate in the control area, and these are all things that he can't do. But it is certain that even if Shen Shukai can build a huge system in finance, as long as he waits for his successor to mature, he will definitely be finished! Because yesterday's Yang Qiu and today are completely two people, don't talk about him at this time, even he can't have a second choice, no matter how difficult this road is, he must go on.

Yang Qiu's fists opened and closed, as if he was repeatedly considering Shen Shukai's fate, and only slowly released after a while, which made Zhang Wenjing breathe a sigh of relief, and immediately said: "Manager Shen is still careful, knowing that our army is in urgent need of artillery, in my opinion, the adults should reward him well." ”

"That's a good point." The cold glint in Yang Qiu's eyes flashed, even Zhang Wenjing didn't pay attention to it, and said with a smile: "We need someone who knows how to manage money now, in my opinion, Brother Shen might as well come and help me." Seeing that Shen Shukai seemed to have a rejection on his face, he continued: "Brother Shen, don't worry, I won't let you resign from the position of manager of Heshengyuan, and secondly, I'll give you a guarantee, before the Manchu Qing Dynasty was overthrown, our relationship was limited to a few people here, how about it?" ”

The words are like this, Shen Shukai knows that if he refuses again, he will turn his face, but he is worried that he will suffer after the imperial army comes, so after thinking about it again, he nodded his head and gritted his teeth and said: "Shen Shukai has one heart with the adult, as long as the adult commands, he will go to the soup and fight the fire again." ”

Seeing a tragic look on his face, Yang Qiu smiled: "Brother Shen, you don't have to live or die, things haven't reached the point of despair, fighting a war is a matter for our soldiers, if we are not sure, we will not die in vain ()." ”

"The adult is really a person who does great things, Shen Shukai admires it." Shen Shukai hugged his fists and said: "My lord, you still call me to cultivate, the eldest brother can't afford it." ”

This guy is clever now! Yang Qiu sneered in his heart, and changed the topic: "Cultivation, there are two things I want you to help with now, the first is to help me stabilize those people in the Jin Chamber of Commerce immediately." Tell them that I will help them recover the money they lost last night, but now there are too many chores to wait for this time! The second is how much do you know about the details of Han Yeping Company? ”

Shen Shukai guessed that Yang Qiu was not so easy to take out the money he had gotten, but as long as he had the intention of paying it back, it was still possible to stabilize those people. But the second thing made him scratch his head, Han Yeping was a chicken with golden eggs on Sheng Xuan's face, but in fact, most of the resources were swallowed by the Japanese, so he hurriedly said: "My lord, with all due respect, I'm afraid you are not qualified to move Han Yeping at this moment." ”

Seeing him speak so directly, Zhang Wenjing and Xiao Anguo were a little admired, and secretly said No wonder Yang Qiu would choose him to cooperate, in fact, Yang Qiu also knew that he couldn't move Han Yeping at the moment, but he had to move this mountain, and the sooner the better.

It's not a little white who just came back, after a period of understanding, he gradually became clear that the reason why the Hanyang Arsenal was under-operating and losing money year after year was actually a lot to do with the strangulation of raw materials! There are two main reasons for this.

First, Zhang Zhidong chose the wrong equipment at that time, so that the steel mill next to it could only produce low-carbon steel, which could not be used in the military industry. Second, because of the existence of Han Yeping, most of the iron sand produced by Huangshi flowed into Japan, and Su Hongsheng had to rely on the purchase of expensive raw materials to maintain, coupled with the desperate suppression of the domestic military industry by foreigners, resulting in the current predicament. Therefore, if we do not solve the problem of raw materials, even if we buy back the best equipment and rebuild the Hanyang Arsenal, it will eventually come to naught because the price is extremely high and the equipment cannot be afforded.

"If you have time, help me go to the U.S. Consulate in Hankou to ask about the market and see if I can contact U.S. Steel, I want to purchase a set of steelmaking equipment."

"Your Excellency wants to re-take care of the gun factory?" Shen Shukai immediately guessed Yang Qiu's intentions, because Hanyang still can't accommodate two steel mills, and the purchase of steelmaking equipment must be used by the gun factory, so that it can get rid of the restrictions of the steel mill, but the question is, what about the raw materials?

"I'll have someone give you the details and model number in a moment, and you can also prepare for opening a bank." Open a bank?! My lord, your mind is beating too fast, isn't it? Shen Shukai smiled bitterly secretly.

"You'll know when the time comes." Yang Qiu didn't explain, and took out a list from his pocket: "How long will it take to raise these things?" "The list is full of raw materials, such as copper, tin and mild steel (spring steel), some of which can be bought domestically, while others have to be purchased from outside. said: "Copper and tin are no problem, but there is basically no domestic inventory of soft steel." ”

"Hankou China Merchants lacks people, so you can work hard to cultivate it, and then purchase it in the name of China Merchants, and ship as much as you can to Hanyang. However, you have to purchase Swedish, as long as the quality is good and the price is expensive, it is fine, but the quantity is at least 5,000 tons. "Spring steel is a necessity for the manufacture of weapons, not to mention that many European and American countries in China have to rely on Sweden for this technology, so I deliberately take care of a few words.

It is already a blessing to be able to save his life, how dare Shen Shukai not agree. But after he left, Yang Qiu's face suddenly turned cold, and with a turn of his fingertips, a bullet immediately appeared in his palm, and after handing it to Zhang Wenjing, he said, "You keep this bullet!" We always have someone to take care of the logistics and financial chores, so you have to take the initiative to take charge of many things now! In addition, Shen Shukai may not be able to return to Shanghai for a long time, so you can send someone to bring his family here. ”

How could Xiao Anguo not hear such an obvious hint, so he was also moved by compassion, but before he could speak, Yang Qiu had already walked out of the warehouse, and he wanted to catch up, but he was pulled by Zhang Wenjing and shook his head: "Lord Xiao, this is already the best result!" ”

The American-flagged arms ship finally landed at the Hanyang wharf, and the biggest haze in Yang Qiu's heart gradually dissipated, 18 Krupp Qisheng Wushan cannons, 20 Makqin machine guns, 100 Madsen light machine guns and 300,000 pointed bullets, with these things, at least he has the confidence to protect himself, of course, weapons alone are not enough, he must also establish the position of this unit in Shouyi as soon as possible.

After the equipment was transported into the barracks, the prisoners were even more frightened by so many ordnance, and they were secretly glad that they did not fight to the death, if they delayed for one more day, they were afraid that they would be beaten into scum, and even Yue Peng hurriedly rushed back from Hankou after hearing about it, but after a while, he made a bitter face: "My lord...... Where do you tell me to find so many machine gunners? There's no way we're going to have a machine gunner and no infantry, right? ”

Yang Qiu also knew that it was difficult, but now he had no choice, and said: "The 20 Makqin machine gun squads must be selected immediately, learn how to use them first, and then talk about it, the light machine guns will first allocate 48 pieces of equipment to each infantry company, and the machine gunners will first use the pointed bullets imitated by Hanyang to train overnight ()." Makqin can use round-headed bullets, and the requirements for bullets are not harsh, but the light machine gun may not fit properly when using the pointed bullets imitated by Hanyang, and it must be screened one by one before it can be used. ”

Yang Qiu was not at ease after taking care of him repeatedly, and then continued to discuss the expansion of the army, even if he was not afraid of the threat of Wuchang, thinking that the army would start to arrive in a steady stream in a few days, he now wished that he could not have a hundred hours a day for himself.

According to the previous decision to establish the regiment, the title of standard commander was naturally inappropriate, so he was immediately promoted to commander by Yue Peng and other officers. Xiao Anguo, who made the first contribution, was supported as the deputy commander and director of the military training department, as for Ma Kui, although he joined the General Staff, he himself asked to continue to be in charge of the baggage battalion, considering that the two regiments are now pure combat troops, and the logistics baggage battalion does need someone who can take responsibility, so Yang Qiu agreed to him. He Xi and Yue Peng served as the commanders of the first and second regiments respectively, Song Ziqing was promoted as chief of staff, and Zhang Wenjing really served as the chief of military logistics.

According to the establishment, each regiment is organized into three infantry battalions, an artillery battalion and a teaching company, and because the troops are still relatively mixed, the mentality of the soldiers has not been completely determined, so the teaching company can only be composed of some more loyal veterans, mainly to build the current two regiments. One of the regiments is dominated by the original first battalion and Su Xiaohu's independent battalion, although the independent battalion was not born in the class, but the young men were originally trained with the 42 standard, and after the intensive training in February, they can still be entrusted with important tasks. Ji Fucheng served as the commander of the third battalion. The second regiment was composed of the second battalion and the third battalion, the battalion commander was promoted from the original team officer, and the third battalion was led by Hang Zhi.

The two default infantry battalions were composed of soldiers who had been mixed into the engineering company and the soldiers who had been in charge of the project, and 100 veterans were drawn from the two regiments to ensure their combat effectiveness.

Each infantry battalion is full of 550 people, all made in Hanyang, each battalion is equipped with 3 Makqin heavy machine gun squads, 6 light machine guns, as for the German-made pointed bullet Yang Qiu did not let it go down for the time being, because the German-made pointed bullet technology is more suitable for light machine gun use, and it must be moved at a critical moment ().

Fan Liangshan was not idle, his baggage company was merged into Ma Kui's baggage battalion, and he himself brought selected soldiers and incorporated 200 river defense battalions to form the two towns independent garrison battalion, responsible for the Guishan Fort and the river defense of Hanyang and Hankou. Among the remaining captives, except for some who smoked a lot or were particularly bad, Yang Qiu basically stayed, and all of them were handed over to Ma Kui to train with the baggage camp, after all, one more person in the upcoming battle would have a better chance of winning.

The Chuyu and Chuqian ships are both of the same type, with a displacement of 780 tons, a maximum speed of 13 knots, and two British-made 120 mm rapid-fire guns, two 75 mm rapid-fire guns, two Haqikis cannons and two Swedish Feld cannons. The Jianghan ship was a little worse, there was only one 120 mm naval gun, two 76 mm rapid-fire guns, and there was a lack of machine guns, so Yang Qiu took out the captured Ha Qi Kaisi, and found a master from the gun factory to install it, after all, the gun was still very effective when the river was blocked, and since the three gunboats were currently the strongest fire support force in his hands, it has always been a problem to find a reliable leader.

Chu Qian's ship management belt Wang Guangxiong is a bearded man in his forties, it seems that it is fashionable for the navy to grow a beard these days, and from the initial contact, he is not a very talented person, but after all, he was the first to spontaneously surrender after Chen Delong was arrested, and there is no one to replace him, so he can only continue to lead, and in order to ensure that Bingwen needs to continue to serve on the ship for a period of time.

In order to master the only mobile firepower, which is also the starting point of his naval dream, the three ships and several armed patrol boats were all organized into naval battalions and were taken into Yang Qiu's arms and directly commanded.

As for the artillery battalion, Yang Qiu and the officers were worried, except for the artillery of the three ships and the Jiangfang battalion, there were only six gunners in the entire army who knew how to operate artillery, and when everyone was most anxious, Song Ziqing sent him a surprise, not only bringing more than 40 young officers and more than 300 more neutral soldiers, but also pulling Jiang Tai and his right team of the 3rd Artillery Battalion over.

Yang Qiu immediately handed over the task of forming an artillery battalion to Jiang Tai, and also selected some veterans to enrich it, and finally built the skeleton of the two main artillery battalions, each battalion has 18 seven sheng five Krupp, and the firepower is already equivalent to the Beiyang, and the remaining five sheng and seven mountain guns are all piled up on Guishan according to Yue Peng's idea, and two temporary batteries are being built with the main fort as the core to strengthen the fire coverage of the Yangtze River and the three towns ().

However, he is still worried about the firepower, you must know that in the Yangxia Battle in history, there were two artillery targets in Beiyang alone, each standard 3 battalions, each battalion is all 18 Krupp or Nissan 75mm field guns, the artillery is skilled and ferocious, not to mention, plus other artillery battalions, the firepower is nearly ten times that of their own!

The same is true for machine guns, compared with the 20 Makqin machine guns in a town in Beiyang, the heavy machine guns on their side are still too few, and the number of Madsen light machine guns is enough, but the light machine guns cover a small area, and the magazines have to be changed frequently, so it is impossible to work against the heavy machine guns. What's more, the machine gun has a natural disadvantage in front of the cannon, and the barrel of this machine gun is very troublesome to replace, and there is almost no way on the battlefield, so he has to rest after every 200 rounds, but he can't solve these problems at present.

Considering the complexity of the situation at the moment, in order to protect Yang Qiu's safety, everyone proposed to change the original law enforcement team 150 elite soldiers to a guard company, Lei Meng, the new Dalian Changxi, almost wanted to kowtow, with the final decision of the guard company, the size of the force has reached 6 infantry battalions, 2 artillery battalions, 1 garrison battalion, 1 baggage battalion and 1 naval battalion, not counting the prisoners who followed the training, the total number has reached 4627 people, reaching the previous 21 mixed association standards, firepower and equipment are also better.

The skeleton has been erected, the number of people has increased, but the combat effectiveness has decreased a lot, this is because each battalion has incorporated a lot of new soldiers, and there is no way to talk about the military spirit and ideology, so we must not stop at this moment, because if we stop, the military spirit will be chaotic, so we must use war and blood to gather the troops into an iron plate!

In addition, Zhang Biao's entrenchment in Liujiamiao has become a big problem, if it can't be solved as soon as possible, then when the army in the north joins him along the railway, it will be even more passive! What's more, this army has not yet been recognized by the people of Hankow and Hanyang, and it is even more urgent to have a proud record. After defeating Zhang Biao and taking the lead in removing the threat from Hankou, the momentum and the cohesion of the troops naturally rose. Therefore, he resolutely ordered that the 2nd Regiment and the 1st Regiment and 2nd Battalion immediately rush to the vicinity of Liujiamiao to set up an ambush, and the rest of the troops immediately underwent high-intensity integration training at the Hanyang base, and the naval battalion would also set off for Hankou tomorrow morning to assemble and prepare for the encirclement and annihilation of Zhang Biao's troops.

It was already four o'clock in the afternoon after these were done, and when the busiest 24 hours were about to reach the end, Yue Peng and the others all looked at him, now it was time to surprise the other side, and it was time to give this army an accurate positioning!