"Brother Chunfu," Li Hongzhang was silent for a moment, and then said to Rong Hong, "Americans will not give you this news for no reason. Well, these Americans are all masters who have gotten into the eyes of money, and this information is not something that the bandit can get by himself, even if all the news is obtained from the newspapers, to collect it so comprehensively, I am afraid it will take a lot of manpower and material resources. Since these Yankees are showing you these things at this time, I'm afraid they already have a solution, right? ”

"Lord Zhongtang, I have talked to Wang Qinian in detail, and he did come to contact me on behalf of the MacDonald consortium." Yung said, "They did come up with a few solutions. ”

"Oh, let's hear it."

"The first one, of course, is that the imperial court will take out the money and order warships from them." "The Americans said that the ships that the British sold to the Japanese, although they could run up to 25 knots, had an improved version of the old reciprocating steam engine, not a steam turbine," Yung said. This is mainly because the British wanted to control the technology of the steam turbine not to spread. Although the ship can run up to 25 knots with the help of an improved reciprocating steam engine, the efficiency of the reciprocating steam engine is still far inferior to that of a steam turbine. So a lot of the tonnage of the ship that the British built for Japan was used on the steam engine. And if we were willing to order from them, they could sell us a fast cruiser with a steam turbine for the same price. The Americans assured that their ship, in terms of speed and armor or firepower and seafaring performance, would surpass the warship that the Japanese had acquired. If you order in large quantities, the price can also be discounted. In addition, the Americans also promised that if we could hand over to them the business of improving the guns of the old warships, they would be willing to transfer certain technology to us and help us build a shipyard in Weihaiwei. ”

"Hehe," Li Hongzhang smiled bitterly twice, "Speaking of which, the things we bought from the Americans at the beginning are also quite conscientious goods, at least compared with the things of the British and French, they are not bad." However, Brother Chunfu, you also know that this purchase of warships is a large amount of money, and the imperial court is afraid that it will not be able to come up with this money. You also know a little bit about the affairs of the court. ”

The things in the court that Li Hongzhang mentioned refer to the "clear stream" of the court, especially the interference and obstruction of the Westernization Movement by Weng Tongyong, the head of the household department. Just last year, Weng demanded that the allocation of funds to the navy be stopped, citing the lack of state financial resources. Until then, he had been working to limit the Navy's military spending. Since the completion of the Beiyang Naval Division, there has been no renewal of ships, and there is not even money to replace the guns, and Weng Tongyi, who served as the head of the household department at that time, played a very key role. And the reason why Weng Tongyi is in trouble with Li Hongzhang and Beiyang everywhere is not only because of the disagreement in concept, but also because of personal grievances.

When the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was suppressed, Weng Tongxiao's elder brother Weng Tongshu was not in a good situation, was impeached by Li Hongzhang, and was almost sentenced to beheading, Weng Tongrong's father died of fear, and his brother was also exiled to Xinjiang. Such a grievance will naturally not be forgotten lightly. According to later records, in 1894, when the First Sino-Japanese War was about to start, Li Hongzhang, who was well aware of the reality of the Beiyang Navy Division and the Huai Army, strongly advocated a peaceful settlement through diplomatic means, because he knew that at this time, there was almost no possibility of victory in the war with Japan. At this time, Weng Tongyi, as the Minister of Military Aircraft, was the main battle, although before, the "Qingliu" represented by him cut the navy's military expenses to death. But they vigorously declared: "Japan is not a small country, and it should be able to make a big move." Even when someone raised the danger of fighting with Weng Tongyi, I was afraid that he would not be able to win the war, Weng said: "Just take this opportunity to let him (Li Hongzhang) try on the battlefield to see how he is?" There will be room for him to be rectified in the future. ”

Rong Hong naturally knew that some people in the court did not deal with Li Hongzhang, and even kept dragging him back. However, this matter is related to the safety of the country, so he still said: "The younger brother also knows that it is not easy at this time, but if this method can be implemented, it will be the most beneficial to the country." Moreover, Lord Nakado, the Americans helped us build factories compared to the British, but it was very convenient. ”

"Oh, what convenience?" Li Hongzhang asked.

"Since the establishment of foreign affairs in China, many factories have also been built. But the technicians have always been foreigners. Although Japan also wants to learn technology from foreigners, it is difficult. But the American shipyard is very different, because the Americans agree that most of the technicians will be Chinese. Yung Hong immediately replied that, in fact, the Americans' proposal was exactly what made him particularly fond of this plan.

"All Chinese?" This made Li Hongzhang quite surprised, but he quickly reacted, "I remember that I was recalling Liumeiyou. When I was a child, many people were left behind by those Americans. You're talking about these people, right? ”

"Exactly. My lord, these people actually stayed in the United States back then, just to finish their studies. They actually still have feelings for me in the Qing Dynasty. If you let these people come back, it is much more convenient than using foreign employees. First, those foreigners do not understand the language with our workers, and they have to rely on interpretation in the middle, and there are many errors and omissions in translation, so it is better to use them directly to make it convenient, and it also saves the cost of hiring interpreters. Second, foreigners are always coerced by tricks. People who don't really want to teach us the technology. Now, if we had them, we would be able to avoid these drawbacks. I heard that Japan has sent a large number of students to study abroad in recent years, so Japan's domestic industry has developed rapidly, and now its income is comparable to ours, and its military spending far exceeds that of China. The original young. If the children's study abroad plan hadn't been abandoned halfway, we might ......" Speaking of this, Rong Hong remembered the things that disappointed him and was depressed.

"Don't talk about that." Li Hongzhang also sighed, "What are the other plans of the Americans?" ”

"The Americans have a workaround." "Chile will order a number of new warships for the Chilean Navy in the next few years. At present, there is a lack of funds. The MacDonald consortium was willing to lend to the Chilean state, on the condition that the Chileans would buy warships from the shipyards designated by the McDonald consortium. In addition, a reliable guarantee is required. If the grown-ups are interested in these ships, the Americans can bring the grown-ups to talk to the Chileans. As you know, many Westerners have a rule that they are not allowed to sell weapons to both sides that are at war. Whether the war will open or not will not be able to be decided by our side, and once the war will begin, even if we come up with money, we will not be able to buy warships. Besides, things like warships should also be aimed at training, and they can't be used well when they get their hands on them. The exception is the State of Chile. This country is accustomed to selling second-hand weapons to countries that are at war. Taking advantage of other people's wars, selling old goods at high prices, and then using the money to buy new goods is a common money-making trick they use. As long as the adults can persuade the Qing Dynasty to provide a guarantee for Chile's purchase of ships, they can sign a contract with Chile at the same time, and once China goes to war with Japan, it can buy these warships ordered by Chile at a suitable price. In this way, if we had not started a war with Japan, we would not have to spend so much money, and in case of war, we would have been able to find a place to buy advanced warships. What do adults think? ”

This idea is somewhat interesting, Li Hongzhang thought about it for a while, and said: "This matter is extremely important, and I have to wait for me to think about it more." ”

Rong Hong also knew that it was impossible to make a decision immediately on such a matter, and Li Hongzhang was willing to think about it, which showed that he was moved. So he chatted with Li Hongzhang a few more words, and Li Hongzhang picked up the teacup.

……

Li Hongzhang asked people to arrange a place for Rong Hong, and Rong Hong stayed there, patiently waiting for news. He knew that Li Hongzhang was not the master of such a thing alone, and no matter what measures were taken, Li Hongzhang would have to fight against the entire bureaucratic system, including the "clear stream" with ill intentions, the Manchurian aristocracy who were suspicious of the Han ministers, and ...... All in all, Rong Hong remembered what the bandit said to him again:

"Li Hongzhang's skills are very strong, but most of his energy is focused on how to deal with pig teammates. If you want me to say, if Li Hongzhang had rebelled instead of assisting the Qing Dynasty back then, he might have done a much better job than he did now. Although these words are still full of malice towards my Qing Dynasty, Rong Hong actually feels a little bit now, maybe what Wang Qinian said is not entirely wrong, for example, Japan, if it weren't for the success of the rebellion of the shogun, would it be possible to have today?

……

Li Hongzhang's new plan was naturally opposed, and the reason, of course, was the most high-sounding.

"What to buy a new warship? Don't you know that the people of the west are still grazing? Do you know that it costs a lot of silver to buy a warship, and a boat is 600,000 taels of silver, and there are 400 million people in the country, and there is a difference of 560,000 taels per person from 10,000 taels! With this money, it would be good for the people of the whole country to share more than one cent each, and the people in the western region would be able to eat grass......"

"What? Guaranteeing a loan to Chile? I, a big country in the Celestial Empire, how can I do such a despicable thing as a businessman? Besides, if there is no war, it will not damage the prestige of our Celestial Empire in vain. Let's talk about fighting a Japan, as for it? Everyone spat and drowned them! ”

Of course, the specific language will not be like this, but the general meaning is definitely the same. From ancient times to the present, the tricks of those who play mouth cannons and those who save the country are actually similar. It doesn't matter if they are called "Clear Stream" or "Big V".