A steam freighter heads west along the Yangtze River, the contrast between rumbling machinery and thick black smoke. Sheng Huaixuan, who was wearing an official mansion on the bow of the boat, and Deng Zixuan stood side by side. Deng Zixuan's beard is thick, and he can no longer see immaturity and youthfulness on his face, but on the contrary, he looks old and capable, especially with a pair of bright eyes. "Brother Zixuan, let me tell you one thing, Zuo Zongtang led his troops into Xinjiang, and Agubai rebelled."

Deng Zixuan asked knowingly: "There is really no peace, the west is poor and the region is vast, and it is not easy to quell the rebellion!" "Yes! Lord Zuo is going to have a difficult time, and quelling the rebellion is not a day's work. "Damn, it's really beyond my power for Xiao Xiao like Agubai to dare to rebel, I believe that Lord Zuo will definitely return triumphantly." "It's not a big problem for Master Zuo to return to the court, but it will take time. Now the hidden danger of my Qing Dynasty is not the land but the sea, and I still remember how the foreigners invaded from the sea back then. ”

"I know it's Lord Li's heart disease!" "Master Li is exhausted, worrying about coastal defense day and night. Last year, a small Japanese warship was dispatched to harass Taiwan, which was simply a disgrace to our Celestial Empire. Lord Li decided to set up the Beiyang Naval Division, and the next step is to produce battleships, and they are ironclad battleships! "It's really gratifying, I know that this time we went to Wuhan to prepare for the construction of a steel mill, which is to produce steel for ironclad ships!"

"Brother Zixuan is right, Master Li and Master Zhang discussed using Daye Iron Mine to build a steel mill in Wuhan. Mr. Zhang has hired a foreigner technician, and the site of the steel mill has also been selected. Now our machine factory and weaving factory are making good profits, so we need to provide silver taels to build a steel mill, and this inspection depends on my brother. No one can understand the drawings of foreigners, and they need to be checked by their younger brothers. "Brother Sheng, don't worry! I'm going to give you a nice job. ”

"I heard that Hu Xueyan is preparing to build a steel mill in Dongguan, Guangdong!" "I know this! It's a small steel mill! "Hu Xueyan is very discerning, and he is ahead of us, I am so anxious!" "Brother Sheng! I have always wondered, why do you keep staring at Hu Xueyan? You must know that internal friction is to hurt the muscles and bones. "Hu Xueyan is Zuo Zongtang's person, you won't be unaware of the contradiction between Master Li and Zuo Zongtang."

Deng Zixuan said with a smile: "Brother Sheng, first of all, you are a businessman, whether you are an official or a businessman!" The purpose of doing business is to obtain the highest profit. If the internal friction loses both, it is possible to make the hidden fisherman profitable! This is the most stupid. "Who are you referring to as a fisherman?" "Foreigners!" "Foreigners?" "Yes, it's a foreigner! Brother Sheng, foreigners are always staring at the fat thief of the Qing Dynasty, they will not really hope that we will get better, and the current French presence in Vietnam is proof of this! ”

"I know the thoughts of foreigners, but we are now using foreigners for our use, so we can't go against foreigners." "I don't mean to go against foreigners, but I have to be on guard at all times. Now the British, the French, the Germans, the Americans, and the Dutch have their own eyes, and it is very terrible if they form a joint force, and once we ourselves are defeated, the foreigners will take advantage of the weakness. I mean that you can compete, but you can't fight to the death, and a win-win situation is the safest. ”

"Win-win?" Sheng Huaixuan was thoughtful. Deng Zixuan continued: "Brother Sheng! Your main business is manufacturing, Hu Xueyan's main business is money, there is no contradiction between you, if you complement each other, you will produce the greatest profits. The rapid development of the manufacturing industry will promote the prosperity of the money bank, on the contrary, the money village will be stronger and will strongly support the development of the manufacturing industry, which is called a win-win situation, in fact, you are a relationship of lips and teeth, especially if you are engaged in joint-stock enterprises, it is inseparable from the money village. The purpose of doing business is to make money, and that does not affect you from being your own master. "Brother Zixuan, the head of your analysis is Dao, what you mean is consistent with the outside world, and the stakes are very high, let me consider it!"

Deng Zixuan looked at Sheng Huaixuan's contemplative face, knowing that his words had moved Sheng Huaixuan. In fact, Sheng Huaixuan didn't take the initiative to find fault, and used his mind elsewhere, Deng Zixuan's goal was achieved. When the day comes to the rebellion, all problems will be solved. According to historical records, Zhang Zhidong, one of the four Ming ministers of the late Qing Dynasty, should be in the post of governor of Sichuan at this time, how can he be in the post of governor of Hubei now?

What Deng Zixuan didn't know was that history changed at this moment. Due to Deng Zixuan's ghost hand, Shanghai, as a new industrial city, began to show its huge profits. In particular, commercial tax revenues have increased by a factor of 30, not counting the profits of industrial factories such as the machine factories run by Sheng Huaixuan. In this way, Li Hongzhang was even more convinced that the Westernization movement was the only way out for a strong country.

The effect of the Westernization Movement doubled Li Hongzhang's value. In particular, the benign development of the machine factory prompted Li Hongzhang to get rid of the shackles of foreigners. That is, to build ironclad ships and strive to produce steel by himself, so he lobbied the imperial court to advocate that Zhidong be transferred to the governor of Hubei to run the Daye Steel Plant. Due to Cixi's young and unstable position, Emperor Tongzhi died and Guangxu succeeded to the throne. Guangxu's age was too young, prompting women in the history of the Qing Dynasty to listen to politics. Therefore, at this stage, Cixi is particularly important to Li Hongzhang and other Hanchens.

This year is 1876, the 2nd year of Guangxu. That is to say, Zhang Zhidong ran Daye Steel Plant 13 years in advance, and the heavy industry of the Qing Dynasty was more than ten years ahead of schedule. The mystery in this is self-evident, and all this is completely the result of Deng Zixuan's butterfly effect. Deng Zixuan knew in his heart that according to historical records, Zhang Zhidong's operation of Daye Iron Works was difficult, and because of his unclear understanding of modern industry, he once made poignant jokes.

Zhang Zhidong telegraphed to the British minister that he wanted to buy a steelmaking machine furnace. At that time, the owner of the engine furnace sold in Britain informed: "If you want to set up a steel mill, you must first test the iron, stone, coal and coke to find out the characteristics of coal and iron, what kind of steel can be smelted, and then choose what kind of furnace." Otherwise, the difference is a thousand miles, and you can't do it riskily. "The scientific rigor of the British factory owners is considered pedantic and funny.

Zhang Zhidong said unashamedly: "With the size of China, how can there be no reason to buy a machine furnace after the prophet coal and iron." Buy the stove used in the UK, and there is no need to make noise. The British factory owner had no choice but to obey. As a result, the machine furnace was located in Hanyang, the iron ore was used by Daye, and the coal was used in Maanshan. Ma'anshan's coal and ash ore are equally heavy and cannot be coking. I had no choice but to buy thousands of tons of coke from Germany, and sadly, in 22 years, 5.6 million taels of silver were spent, and it was not made into steel.

Later, it was changed to coal from Pingxiang, Jiangxi, and finally made steel, but the steel made was too brittle and easy to crack. Zhang Zhidong knew that the furnace he bought used an acidic device, which could not remove phosphorus, and the phosphorus contained in the steel was easy to brittle. So Zhang Zhidong borrowed 3 million yuan from Japan to replace the furnace with an alkaline furnace, which smelted high-quality Martin steel. Zhang Zhidong's conceit does not mean that he is stupid, it is completely caused by this declining dynasty, and if it is replaced by someone else, I am afraid that there will be more jokes.

"Brother Zixuan, what do you want to be so addicted!" Sheng Huaxuan couldn't help but ask when he saw him frowning. "Brother Sheng! Preparing to build a large steel plant is not an easy thing, and the slightest carelessness will be wasted, I am worried that I am not strong enough! "Brother Zixuan, you don't have to worry about this. This time, the construction of the steel plant in Wuhan was supervised by Mr. Li, and Mr. Zhang needed me to provide silver taels, and he would adopt my suggestion. ”

"Brother Sheng! I'll do my best. "That's right, take out your housekeeping skills, and make sure that Master Zhang is familiar with how to make steel, and the purpose of our trip will be achieved." The freighter smoothly docked at the Wuchang wharf, and the Wuchang wharf was very busy as far as the eye could see, and it was obvious that the radiation effect of Shanghai City had formed a momentum here.

The two boarded the dock and were greeted by a subordinate sent by Zhang Zhidong. Successfully arrived at the governor's yamen, Zhang Zhidong personally stood outside the door to greet him. Zhang Zhidong is a few years older than Sheng Huaixuan, and the year he faces is the heyday of his ambitions. Deng Zixuan observed Zhang Zhidong, who was of medium stature and moderately fat. The thick beard, slightly sunken cheeks, and large, somewhat sunken eyes showed that the man was shrewd and intelligent.

“haha！ Brother Huaixuan, finally looked forward to the God of Wealth. If you don't come, I'll visit you in Shanghai! "It is obvious that Zhang Zhidong is a person with an urgent temperament." Brother Zhang has been looking up for a long time, how dare the brother let Brother Zhang bend down. Now that my brother has a heavy responsibility on my shoulders, how dare I slack off my brother. "How is Nakado-sama?" "Lord Zhongtang is very good, I have repeatedly asked you to do my best to assist you, and in the future, our ironclad battleships will all depend on you!" "Shame! I'm blinded right now, and I don't have a clue at all. Zhang Zhidong told the truth.

"Brother Zhang, I know that you are in trouble, and it just so happens that I brought you a person who understands!" "This is my cousin Deng Zixuan, don't look at him as a rare talent when he is young." "My lord, please bow to the grass people!" Deng Zixuan knelt on one leg to salute. "Let my cousin be extraordinary, get up!" Zhang Zhidong looked a little indifferent. "Brother Zhang, my brother is proficient in foreign languages, and he knows the situation of the British Empire very well. "You know foreign languages?" "The grass people are not talented, but they are proficient in foreign languages!" Deng Zixuan bowed.

"Great, I'm short of an interpreter here!" "Brother Zhang, my brother is not here to be your interpreter, but to prepare for the construction of the steel factory. Shedi knew everything about the steel production of the British Empire, and he had come to participate in the construction of the steel mill! Sheng Huaixuan said with a smile. Zhang Zhidong was puzzled: "Could it be that my cousin has been to the British Empire?" "My lord, the grass people have not been to the British Empire, but Hu Xueyan is preparing to build the Dongguan Iron Works, I have seen it?" Deng Zixuan had to lie. "Yes! My brother just came back from Guangzhou some time ago! ”

Zhang Zhidong heard the emotion and said: "Go!" Let's go into the living room and talk! ”