In December, the weather was not cold, and Tang Shaoyi had already relayed Zhang Shusheng's request to visit Wèn to Wang Yi. However, because he had a lot of things to deal with some time ago, he didn't arrange a time for the time being. It happened that a supply ship in Beiyang was about to be launched recently, and Wang Yi also took this opportunity to send an invitation to Zhang Shusheng, and at the same time invited Zuo Zongtang, the governor of Liangjiang, because the first armored cruiser in Nanyang was also going to be launched. However, the silver of Nanyang has not yet been paid, so the ship is temporarily under the control of the big merchants, but the Nanyang fleet has already sent people to prepare for sea trials on board. Among the officials who came with Zhang Shusheng was Liu Buyun, who was classmates with Yan Fu and Sa Zhenbing, who was still studying in the Maritime Academy, and the three of them were naturally very enthusiastic when they met.

This is the old street inside the Dashang Shipyard, which is now planted with two rows of plane trees. The business of the street restaurant is very good, the steam is bubbling in the winter, the aroma is overflowing, and there is an endless stream of boatmen coming in to eat, both Chinese and foreign, and foreigners are used to it here. However, occasionally I see a person wearing a Qing official uniform and having braids, which looks quite unusual. It's just that Yan Fu is wearing the civilian clothes of an officer of the Dashang Navy, while Sa Zhenbing is wearing the civilian clothes of a senior commander and cadet, and at first glance they are not small, so there is no shipwharf to provoke them.

Of the three, Liu Buyun is the oldest, Chinese New Year's Eve. followed by Yan Fu, twenty-eighth. Finally, there is Sa Zhenbing, who is only twenty-three this year. But at this time, Liu Buyun looked at Yan Fu, it was really envious and hateful, he shook his head and smiled bitterly: "A few words, you are the first person to become famous among our classmates." Now that he has his own car and has become the captain of the ship, the main thing is to go to Nagasaki and swagger around. ”

"Also sank the cruiser Reconnaissance, as well as a patrol boat and a torpedo boat." Sa Zhen Ice Table Xiàn is even more envious.

Yan Fu laughed, always making people feel deliberately coquettish.

"Kaishi, Tonghou, and Yitang are all now, in the past two years, it is not very convenient to contact them."

Kaishi is the word of Lin Taizeng, Tonghou is the word of Ye Zuqi, and Yitang is the word of Fang Boqian, these people are either alumni or classmates with Yan Fu and Sa Zhenbing.

"They were all very nice. But when it comes to you, to be honest, there are a lot of criticisms. ”

"Oh? Brother Zixiang, what does this mean? Yan Fu laughed, and so did Sa Zhenbing on the side. Of course, they understood what was going on, and now they were able to get cheap and sell obediently.

Liu Buyun didn't care about the appearance of the two, and said with a smile: "They all said that you climbed the high branches, so they forgot about our classmates." ”

"Ding Ming, they have lost their conscience!" Yan Fu to Sa Zhen Ice Road.

Sa Zhenbing nodded hurriedly and said, "What's more, they really think that we are blessed all day long." ”

Liu Buyun was puzzled, with the background of the two graduating from the Greenwich Naval Academy, could it be that they went to the Dashang Naval Academy and had to re-study?

Sa Zhenbing said at this time: "Brother Zixiang, have you seen it, the skin on my younger brother is the school uniform in the school, which is the civilian clothes of the senior command class of my Dashang Naval Officer Academy." ”

"Are you still in school?" Liu Buyun was shocked.

After Yan Fu filled Liu Buyun with a cup of tea, he said: "I have only graduated not long ago, and it has been less than three months. Deputy Commander Shang Yi appointed me as the captain of the Yishi, but in fact, we are still undergoing sea trials, and we are forced to participate in the war. It's not what you think. ”

Liu Buyun is very smart, and he knows a lot of information from these few words.

"What do you learn in your senior command class?"

Yan Fu shook his head at this time and said, "I'm sorry, Brother Zixiang, our school has confidentiality regulations, which can't be talked about. What can probably be said is the application of modern equipment for ships and the inculcation of modern combat concepts that accompany them. ”

"Is your class open to admission?"

"Unlike other majors, this class does not recruit students. Selected only from the outstanding students of the Maritime Academy or the outstanding operational commanders of the large merchant fleet, as soon as they graduated, they were basically appointed as deputy captains. However, now there are fewer people and more ships, so they are generally appointed captains. Of course, the premise is that you have completed the previous six months to a year of internship at sea. ”

The three of them chatted about what happened after the separation, and then the topic turned to Nanyang. At this time, the guy put the wine and food on the table, four dishes and one soup, two meat and two vegetables, and the three of them chatted while eating.

"France will not let Annan go. The Nanyang side will not be peaceful for the next few years. It was Yan Fu who spoke.

Liu Buyun obviously knew the situation, and said: "I also know, but the Prime Minister's National Affairs Yamen hopes that Britain can come forward to mediate." ”

"Mediation?" Sa Zhen sneered. "The great powers are all on the same hill, what is the mediation? Behind the scenes, there is a bunch of collusion of interests, conspiracy and calculation. If France really wants to work hard, can Britain still go to war with him for us? I really don't know what the people in your yamen think. ”

"Dingming, it's over!" Yan Fu scolded. "How do you drink a little wine, and you'll become a cannon."

Liu Buyun smiled bitterly and shook his head, how could he not know these things. But although he is appreciated by Li Hongzhang, what can he do? He can't help himself, why not Li Hongzhang? The court has no silver, Lafayette repairs the garden, and the officials fill their pockets, and it is good that they have not become foreign chickens in this big dye vat.

The three of them ate and drank, and the atmosphere became a little dull, and even the food was no longer tasteful. It was easy to finish the meal, and after sending Liu Buyun back to the station, the three of them said a few kind words and broke up.

In winter, the big merchants have changed back to their usual appearance.

Li Yuzhen and Tang Shaoyi negotiated a deal with the Qing court, spending 500,000 taels of silver as intermediary fees to recruit young and strong laborers from the Central Plains and southern provinces. This matter was somewhat persecutive, but under the deterrence of the airship, the Qing court had to obediently comply.

There is a family surnamed Wang in Huang County, Shandong, and the fourth son Wang Yunzhao is only 17 years old this year, and there are three younger brothers and three younger sisters. Nowadays, there are many people in the family, and they are always hungry and full. My father and his three older brothers worked in the mines, and the income was not very good.

Not long after the New Year, the magistrate began to help some outsiders publicize things, and I heard that they came from Mukden, and the recruiter claimed to be a big businessman. Wang Yunzhao knows more or less two words, but it doesn't matter if he doesn't know it, someone in the recruitment office is holding a strange loudspeaker and shouting about the recruitment policy of big businessmen.

When Wang Yunzhao heard this, he really gave a lot, so he asked lively.

"How long does it take to get out and work?"

"Look at the contract and go."

The answer to him was a well-mannered scholar, but the Dashang gang was dressed very strangely, no one wore a robe or a horse coat, and they looked more like foreign devils. Although most of them have braids, they look fake.

"Most of these big businessmen are a group of fake foreign devils." Wang Yunzhao, who was wearing a torn cotton jacket and holding his arms, was about to shrink into a ball, thinking in his heart, a little disdainful.

"How much do you guys give?" This is one of the most important concerns of everyone.

"It depends on the type of work and the length of time to sign the contract. Generally speaking, a year's railway construction work is about twelve silver dollars a month. In addition, for food and lodging, meals are three meals a day, one meal of meat, and one rest for seven days. ”

This made a group of people interested and discussed, and many people's attitudes immediately became enthusiastic.

Wang Yun Zhaoxin said: "Liar ghosts! Also eat meat...... Our family can eat some fat meat residues after frying oil during the New Year, and we also have a meal of meat a day, and big families don't have that much! ”

"Rest assured, these things are clearly written in the contract, if you are illiterate, you can ask your literate people to come and read them. Besides, there is a painting visa for the Prime Minister's Affairs Yamen on it, and we have always been honest with our big businessmen. If you think we don't have the financial resources, we might as well sue you. A few months ago we went to war with the French and the Japanese, and we won a great victory. The Japanese lost 75 million taels of silver to us, how about it, with this silver at the bottom, everyone should believe in the financial resources of my big merchants. ”

Many ordinary people did not know about the battle between the Great Merchants and the Franco-Japanese coalition. On the one hand, it was because they did not care about foreign affairs at all, and on the other hand, it was also deliberately suppressed within the Qing court. Otherwise, the Qing Dynasty fought two opium wars, and both of them were lost. Now that a local force has won a victory, it is easy to say that it is difficult to say.

There was a lot of talk among the people, but many people felt that the big merchants were bragging. Later, two locals who often went to Yingkou to do business came forward to explain, and everyone believed that what the big merchants said was true.

"Damn, seventy-five million taels of silver! Dude, I've never seen anything like a pile of ten taels of silver in my life, so I'll sign up for this money! A kid who is very good with Wang Yunzhao on weekdays roared.

"What's your name?"

"Han Dahu."

"Can't you read?"

"Acquaintance!"

When Wang Yunzhao heard this, he almost spurted out a mouthful of blood.

"Say those two words!"

"Foot of the house."

"Damn, it's dirty!" Wang Yunzhao scolded angrily.

"Okay, we know you're literate, go and wait for a while, and when your name is called, you come over and sign the contract with us." Dashang's scholar had a good temper, and he didn't tell the lie that Han Dahu was illiterate, but just ticked a box on labor.

"It's done!" Han Dahu went to the side and waited. When the people around heard this, they all began to be enthusiastic and wanted to sign up.

The scholar of Dashang looked at Wang Yunzhao at this time and said, "Little brother, what do you mean, have you studied?" ”

Wang Yunzhao saw that people were polite, and he didn't want to raise the bar too much, nodded, and said, "My father and brother have taught me some, but I can't recognize them all." ”

"Do you know these two words?"

"Coveted."

"What about these four?"

"Snatch, sheath."

The reader deliberately took a few difficult exams, but Wang Yunzhao answered very smoothly. The scholar smiled at this time and asked, "Little brother, would you like to come to our big business to work?" If you are literate, you can earn twenty silver dollars a month, and if you work harder and get a license in the future, your income can be doubled. ”

"Do you still give meat every day?" Wang Yunzhao didn't understand what the reader said about the certificate, and he only knew that giving meat was a good thing.

"Yes! As long as it is in my big business business, this is the most basic. Later, though, you may prefer to eat vegetables and fruits. The reader smiled kindly.

However, Wang Yunzhao did not rush to agree, and said for a long time: "Let me go home and think about it." “

"Yes!"

At home, my mother and sister were doing some sewing work, and my mother was less than 50 years old, but she looked about the same as someone in her 60s. The youngest brother, Wang Yunqing, who is only four years old this year, sits on the kang and watches his sister sew things.

"Brother, are you back?" The second and third sisters greeted him. The eldest sister is now married and is only thirteen years old this year. should not have been married, but the eldest brother wants to marry a wife, and the family does not have enough money, so the two sides are equivalent to swapping. The other party's sister married, and his own sister married.

As soon as Wang Yunzhao's mother saw this son, she scolded: "Your brother is going to work in the mine, so you can't save some snacks for the family." The big man can be set to the sky, how can people still live more and more roundabout. ”

Wang Yunzhao didn't speak, and his mother nagged him for a day or two. But for some reason, it sounds harsher and harsher today.

But Wang Yunzhao didn't refute, packed up a few torn clothes, and didn't bring anything. After kowtowing to his mother three times, he said, "Mother, I went to work in Yingkou in Fengtian, I don't know when I will come back, I will send money to my family on time." ”

After speaking, he wiped away his tears, carried a rag roll on his back, and ran directly out of his courtyard gate. His mother actually didn't care, Wang Yunzhao had done this kind of thing before, this son was different from other sons, in the words of the neighbors, it was not qualitative.

Probably no one in the family thought that this son would run away to the Northeast by himself so inexplicably. The person didn't lose it, but because he signed the contract, and Wang Yunzhao himself didn't want to come back, his family couldn't help it. Besides, there are not many people recruiting to go to big businessmen this time, but they are not small. If a group of people go together, they will not suffer when they get to the Northeast.

Wang Yi did not give this opportunity at all, and as soon as all the laborers arrived at Yingkou, they began to disperse directly on the wharf, and the people of the provinces were mixed together, and there was no chance at all for the local groups that were too concentrated.

Anyway, Wang Yi believes that local groups will eventually become closed and conservative when they evolve, and what the Northeast wants is communication and integration. Wang Yi didn't want to be in the scene of his own house, and there were gangsters hanging with the names of local provinces and counties.

Wang Yi is a bandit, but the most intolerable thing for him is for new bandits to pop up under his nose.

However, this kind of thing is always unavoidable, and it is easy to talk about it in Yingkou and other places. Now in Shengjing City, it is completely a miasma. This gang, that door, do any business. Smuggling, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and even collusion with foreigners.

Shengjing's general Chongqi also turned a blind eye to this, especially if he had something to do with big businessmen, he didn't dare to offend at all. Now the big business is a big tree, the branches are luxuriant, and a group of ghosts and ghosts are hidden in it, and from time to time a few big ghosts and small ghosts can pop out, scourge the place, and really cause a lot of infamy to the big businessmen.