Ding Yuntong sat in the Heart Nourishing Palace, not to mention how beautiful it was.

The speculation on the London Stock Exchange has repaid the principal and interest of foreign debts, returned the money to the account, and there are still more than 11 million pounds of deposits in Huaxia Bank, and Ding Yuntong ordered that they should not be exchanged for silver, even if they are foreign exchange reserves, they can increase in value by keeping the pound.

The original Jihua was going to speculate again, but the previous movement was too big, and the account arranged by Xu Run and others once held 20% of Russia's treasury bonds, and it was thrown at the same time at the highest price, which will definitely attract the attention of the British government, as long as you go to investigate, you will always find out the source of funds, which is not in line with Ding Yuntong's low-key principle. Therefore, he stopped at the right time and returned the funds to avoid uncertainties

But even so, the profit is already very huge, Huaxia Bank already has a capital equivalent to 40 million taels of silver, Ding Yuntong sighed: This is simply a legal robbery! It is similar to the so-called stock market of the Celestial Empire in the previous life. Master the inside story, operate in the dark, and then rob the people openly, fairly and justly.

Those foreigners who follow the trend and rush to buy have become the biggest fools, and the garbage national debt is smashed in their hands, Ding Yuntong is funny when he thinks about it.

With this money, things can be let go.

Originally, with the abolition and reorganization of the Green Battalion, it was hoped that some silver taels would be saved, but the fact is that in order to settle the people who were repatriated home, they had to pay the silver upside down. The lack of funds has delayed the construction of the army, and now it can finally be put on the agenda.

First of all, the navy, the Beiyang Naval Division, the Nanyang Naval Division and the Fujian Naval Division in the previous life were all working separately. Now, through the instructions of various feudal officials and the restructuring of the military department, Ding Yuntong has raised the construction of the navy to the national level, and the whole country has made unified arrangements, and the famous Beiyang Naval Division in the history of the previous life will no longer exist.

As for warships, it is time to make a new trade-off.

Among them, the two ironclad ships Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, which were bought from Germany, were a necessary choice, because in order to sell themselves to the market, Germany had carefully built these two warships, which were better than Germany's own "Saxony" class, and the price was also lowered. Facts have also proved this point, and during the First Sino-Japanese War, the two ships, which were already far behind, were still inseparable from the killing of Japan's new warships. It's like a computer ten years ago, and the performance of the latest configuration is not bad!

Chao Yong and Yang Wei, both ramming cruisers without armor protection. This was considered advanced at the time of purchase, or Japan would not have followed suit and bought the same type of Tsukushi, but by the time of the actual battle, it was already outdated, and in the face of the rain of rapid-fire guns, it was found that it was too fragile without armor protection. And there will already be no chance to ram enemy ships in naval battles. So these two battleships do not have to be bought at all.

Jiyuan was the first German-built dome armor protection cruiser with a flawed design. In addition to gun emplacement, the ship also has 4-inch dome armor, but it is located below the waterline, and the protection effect is greatly reduced. Except for an armored conning tower with a thickness of 1.5 inches, there is no armor protection and it is not satisfactory.

The armored cruisers "Jingyuan" and "Laiyuan", which were the first attempts of the Germans to design and build armored cruisers, were products of a shiyan nature. Although the craftsmanship is excellent, the design flaws are also obvious, such as the width of the armor belt is too narrow, the joints are fragile and fragile, and there are hidden dangers in the way the conning tower is protected. So you can also give up, it is worth mentioning that Xie Baozhang, the first mate (deputy captain) on the far ship, is the father of the female writer Bingxin.

The coastal defense ship Pingyuan is a domestically produced ship made of imported steel plates, which is of great significance to China's shipbuilding industry, but it cannot be expected to be used in actual combat. The snail-like speed can only lag behind Ding Yuntong's expected maneuverable and flexible navy.

Zhiyuan and Jingyuan, this was the most elite warship on Shijie at that time, the speed, protection, and firepower were all first-class, and later the Japanese Yoshino cruiser was the same in design, but with more ear mounts and secondary guns.

As for other small ships such as Guangjia, Guangyi, Guangc, and Fulong, they can only be used for vigilance and patrol at best.

In Ding Yuntong's mind, the general idea of naval construction is to use several Dingyuan-class German ironclad ships with strong firepower and thick armor as the core of the attack, and at the same time deploy a large number of Zhiyuan-class, British-built fast dome cruisers.

In this way, the system is unified, which is more convenient for command, and at the same time, the repair and maintenance of the ship is easier, and it is more conducive to the replacement of parts and components. The officers and men of the navy are more familiar with the ships, which is also beneficial to improving the combat effectiveness.

In fact, judging from the experience of later generations, the data of Italian and French warships at that time were also quite good, especially the Italian shipbuilding jishu was quite high, and Britain stole the Italians' creativity in many aspects, which also made Ding Yuntong a little excited.

But Ding Yuntong thinks about history, the backward countries at that time, whether it was the Qing Dynasty, Japan or Turkey, or a bunch of countries in South America, such as Chile, Argentina, Brazil, etc., the final choice was mainly Britain or Germany, presumably they were also shopping around, quite cautious. It shows that the construction of a ship to zuihou also depends on the comprehensive industrial strength of the country, including the level of the casting process of a screw, not just the design drawings. In this case, you don't have to be half-hearted.

In the decades of the nineteenth century, warships were improved with each passing day, various inventions and ideas really blossomed, and the Russians also built round warships. Therefore, warships are replaced extremely quickly, and often new warships that have just been launched will fall behind after just a few years.

Considering one point, Ding Yuntong made up his mind that as soon as the ideal naval configuration in his mind was completed, he would immediately start a war against Japan, otherwise there would be changes in a few years.

Of course, this jihua is still a little far away, and it can't catch up with the Sino-French war. The immediate goal was to repel the French invasion in Vietnam in a few years' time.

Under this premise, Ding Yuntong believed that a navy with strong combat effectiveness but a small scale should be established as soon as possible. In the future, it can also be used as an auxiliary to the main navy in the war against Japan.

At the same time, the formation of a new army will begin immediately.

Ding Yuntong has been thinking about how to ensure that this new army has strong combat effectiveness?

Weaponry, strict training, and logistical support are all very important and indispensable. However, what is particularly important is to give the new army the will to see death as if it were home, and to have the desire to fight bloodthirstily.

This cannot be done by patriotic education alone, it must be driven by intrinsic interests, and the only interest that can make the poor peasants forget their lives is land, eternal land. Thousands of years of dynastic changes and peasant uprisings are all about the land. In the previous life, the Celestial Empire used the temptation of joining the army to share the land with meritorious service, so that thousands of soldiers from poor backgrounds could move forward with a sword and a sea of fire.

This experience cannot be left unlearned. The land of the Qing Dynasty was divided into three types, Mintian, Zhuangtian and Tuntian, the latter two were owned by the state, accounting for 30% of the total land. Ding Yuntong was determined to take out these lands as a reward for the bloody battles of the soldiers of the New Army in the future. However, most of these lands were occupied by the Manchus when they entered the customs, and they were not necessarily willing to redeem the silver at that time. But the new army that gets the land, in order to protect its own land, will also firmly support itself and become its own guard. The interests of both parties will be tied together. In this way, he will not worry about the opposition of the royal family, nobles, and princes and ministers. However, there is no hurry to issue the corresponding decree now, so as not to startle the snake and provoke public anger.

Thinking of this, he decided that the new army should be named the Guards.

Although he is a Manchu emperor, the soul of this crossing has no distinction between national nobility and inferiority. Thinking about the interests of the entire Chinese nation, sooner or later we will have to cut off the pig's tail at the back of our heads.

On February 11, 1878, the more than 11 million pounds sterling from the Hua Xia Bank in the East Nuan Pavilion filled the morning party with a festive atmosphere, and the financial constraints of the central government, which had been troubling the ministers of various ministries, should have been relieved somewhat.

The Empress Dowager Ci'an did not come for the past few days, the reason being that she was not in good health. In fact, it is the same whether she comes or not, for more than a year, many things discussed at the court meeting have exceeded her understanding, and she is indeed really just "listening to politics". Moreover, the little emperor's ability made the ministers extremely admired, which Ci'an saw in his eyes. Perhaps, it's time for the shutters to return to power.

At today's court meeting, Ding Yuntong met with Zhang Yinheng and Xu Jingcheng, who had just returned from their mission. Two months ago, Zeng Jize, who had sent an envoy to Central Asia, also returned and succeeded Shen Baozhen, who was seriously ill, as minister of foreign affairs.

Ding Yuntong asked Zhang Yinheng: "Aiqing's envoy to Vietnam, how is the situation?" ”

"Returning to the emperor, the minister has met with the Vietnamese king Nguyen Phuc several times. It has been talked about many times that the French are relying on force and advancing step by step. At this time, the six provinces of southern Vietnam had been occupied by France. Moreover, France forced Vietnam to sign the so-called "Treaty of Saigon", with the intention of completely annexing the entire territory of Vietnam. The minister has made it clear that Nguyen Phuc Thi will never recognize this treaty. ”

"Well, the ambition of a legal person is not a day, and it is inevitable that there will be a war."

"The minister has also been ordered to go to the Black Flag Army garrison in Baosheng City and meet Liu Yongfu. Liu Yongfu's heart to serve the country, his fists can be expressed, he called himself the 3,000 Black Flag Army, and vowed to fight the French army to the end. ”

"Loyalty, I have ordered Liu Kunyi, the governor of Liangguang, to deliver a batch of arms and food to the Black Flag Army. When something happens in the future, you will be able to help me. ”

Turning his face, he asked Xu Jingcheng next to him: "How was the trip to Myanmar?" ”

"Back to the emperor, the situation in Myanmar is already in danger. The British shili is pervasive, but the Gongbang Dynasty is drunk and dreamy, does not want to make progress, and is arrogant, stubbornly conservative, and even very hostile to our country, which is simply unreasonable. During Weichen's trip, the Gongbang Dynasty treated his ministers very coldly, and his words and deeds did not have the respect of a vassal country. ”

Ding Yuntong nodded: "This country is already terminally ill, and when my internal affairs improve, I must immediately free up my hands to deal with it." When it was too late, it was all swallowed by the British. ”

"Emperor Mingjian!"

After the court meeting, Li Hongzhang was left alone to see the driver, and Ding Yuntong transferred him to the Ministry of Industry, dismissed the governor of Zhili, and also abolished the post of minister of Beiyang. In fact, he lifted his control over the Huai army and allowed him to concentrate on engineering construction.

Ding Yuntong is about to form the Guards Army, and at the same time, the reorganization of the Huai Army must also be carried out at the same time, which requires Li Hongzhang, the founder of the Huai Army, to fully cooperate from the overall situation.

The same question will also be placed in front of Zuo Zongtang, who returned from the Western Expedition. At this time, the Hunan army was about 30,000 and the Huai army was about 50,000. After the attrition of the war, it was only reorganized and no longer replenished, until it was completely replaced by the Guards.

A few days later, the imperial court issued an edict to award Li Hongzhang as a scholar of Wenhuadian University and a second-class Marquis of Su Yi; Zuo Zongtang was awarded the title of Scholar of Dongge University and the Marquis of Kejing of the Second Class.

Ding Yuntong's long-awaited new army is finally about to be established.