Qiu Fengjia walked on the side of the newly dredged wharf, overlooking the half-built shipyard in the distance, counting the patches of factories behind, and his heart was full of emotion.

Judging from the introduction of the young man who stayed in France just now, although it has not been completely built here, most of the machines and equipment for the purchase of foreigners have been in place, just waiting to be unpacked, installed and debugged. It is the most advanced and largest machine manufacturing bureau in the entire Qing Dynasty!

Although Li Mo said in front of him and Yan Fu that day, "Kou doesn't go, and I don't go." But in front of them, this huge place, which they call Keelung Industrial Zone, really can't make people believe the real surname of that sentence, or that Young Master Li is really a god and a man? Last time, it was calculated that the Association would start a war with the Beiyang Naval Division, and now it is counted that the Qing Congress will be invaded by foreign Hulu again? So prepare here early?

Just looking at this scene in front of you, it is difficult to believe that this is an accidental whim, you must know that in the years when Liu Mingchuan served as the governor of Taiwan, he also built a shipyard and a machine manufacturing bureau in Taipei, but whether it is scale, quality and comparison, it is also a compliment!

Thinking of this, he took a breath again, turned his head to look at Li Mo, and without waiting to speak, the scene in front of him made him take the lead in smashing the corners of his mouth, holding his forehead and crying and laughing.

It turned out that Young Master Li didn't care about the surrounding shipyards and docks at all, but walked around behind Huang Zichen, looked left and right around the big shiny braid, and studied it.

"Zichen, which girl did you cheat with this braid?"

"Flutter!" Behind, Du Dazhuang couldn't help but cover his mouth, for fear that the laughter would frighten the busy craftsmen around, and Huang Zichen was even more full of black lines on his forehead, sighing that he was unladylike!

In the end, I couldn't stand that look anymore, so I had to untie the fake braid at the back of my head, and said with a wry smile: "Young master, let's talk about the things in front of us first, about this braid, if you like it, I will also let you taste the enthusiasm of the Gaoshan girl at night?!" ”

"You said it!"

Young Master Li suddenly smiled, and the corners of his mouth watered. Seeing that Qiu Fengjia next to him almost fell into the sea water, this is the commander of the dove occupying the magpie's nest and robbing Hawaii, sweeping the book, laying down the Ryukyus, and building a large fleet from scratch?

Fortunately, Young Master Li is now famous, and everyone knows that there are only two maids by his side, not to mention that there are many women these days, no one will talk about you, at most, there will be a sentence of jealousy such as "amorous young master is merry and talented, jackals are matched with tigers and leopards".

"Well, that's a lot more pleasing to the eye." Seeing that Huang Zichen pulled off his fake braids and resumed his high-spirited appearance after returning from studying abroad, Li Mo laughed, and then carefully checked the situation in the shipyard.

From the perspective of scale, Huang Zichen obviously still put a lot of thought into it, except for the two dry docks that have been excavated, both the layout and the planning are much simpler than in Hawaii at the beginning.

The only pity is that the construction site is a little deserted at the moment, and the workers are gathered in twos and threes, and there is no trace of the enthusiasm and speed of work like on the Ryukyu Islands.

Judging from the overall layout, with the Ryukyu Shipyard under construction today, even if it cannot be completed on time, it will not have much impact, but it took more than a year to get this result, which still makes him a little frustrated.

Qiu Fengjia, who was so interested that he said that he wanted to accompany Li Mo to Keelung, admired the shipyard, not to mention how much silver was needed for such a large-scale shipyard, just from here, he could get a glimpse of the excitement of Hawaii and Ryukyu today.

Li Mo didn't expect that Qiu Fengjia would really agree to accompany him to Keelung, recruiting the two of them was purely temporary, but he didn't expect that he would really gain something, but it was a pity that Yan Fu left first under the pretext of official business.

Beyond the construction site, there was the rest area of the workers, and the rows of neat dormitory buildings made Qiu Fengjia's eyes light up, but what he saw afterwards made everyone frown.

At this time, it was the afternoon, which should be the busiest time in the dormitory area, but at this moment it was extremely deserted, only a few people ran up to say hello after seeing Huang Zichen, the owner, and more were numb eyes.

"What is this?"

Li Mo was shocked and just turned his head, Huang Zichen had already taken the lead in saying that there was an outbreak of malaria near the factory area, and even many workers were infected, so it scared away a large number of people, and some would rather go to a farther town to find a house to live in than go back to the dormitory.

Malaria!

Hearing this word, Young Master Li's brows furrowed suddenly, looking at the situation in the camp, the scale of the disease this time is not small!

Huang Zichen followed behind, also full of helplessness, even if he had done enough protection for the local climate at the beginning of his entry into Taiwan, according to European methods, digging well water, preparing a large amount of lime for disinfection, and managing people and animals separately, the dormitory area was also said to send people to clean and tidy up, but I didn't expect this to happen!

However, this cannot be blamed on him, at the beginning of his coming to Taiwan, in order to hide people's eyes, most of the craftsmen he used were temporarily recruited from the mainland and the mainland. Now it seems that these workers from the inland, especially from the northern regions, are very unsuitable for the local climate, and those who are in good health can still hold on, and those who are not in good health will lose their breath within a few days of coming here, resulting in a serious loss of workers.

Even in front of me, it took a lot of effort to keep it. Although people were later recruited from the local area to make up for the shortcomings, the vicinity of Keelung was mostly hilly and sparsely populated, and few people were willing to come to the shipyard, so the progress was seriously delayed.

Li Mo didn't expect the situation to be so bad, and compared with the Ryukyus, Taiwan is more southern, with deep forests and dense grass, perennial humidity and heat, many miasma in the mountains, and malaria and jaundice, even the locals are often plagued by malaria and plague, and even the historical army entering Taiwan is not tortured half to death by malaria!

Fortunately, it is Keelung, if Huang Zichen was allowed to go to Tainan in the first place, I am afraid that there will really be no one in ten!

The matter of labor has become a big stone in his heart, not to mention here, even Ryukyu is still at least 300,000 short according to Li Enfu's calculations! Although the weather in the Ryukyus is slightly better than in Taiwan, it is also a place prone to heat and humidity, and if you don't prepare in advance, you will encounter this situation after the arrival of immigrants in a few years.

In fact, he has already felt this problem, after the last time the Pacific Army attacked the Ryukyus, many soldiers felt unwell, although it did not cause malaria and plague in the end, but it reminded him, and there were many hot flashes in the places where the Pacific Army carried out its tasks later, so he had ordered Qiu Zishan and Lin Yongxiang to purchase a large number of cinchona cream in South America, and prepare to hand it over to the pharmaceutical factory to start work overnight.

But after all, it is still short, and South America is far away, so there is medicine to be given priority to the Ryukyus, even if a part can be allocated to Huang Zichen, it is a drop in the bucket and cannot solve the big problem.

Therefore, this matter must also start from the local area, and I don't know if Taiwan produces cinchona. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but walk to Qiu Fengjia, a native of the country, and pointed to the deserted dormitory and asked, "Mr. Qiu, I don't know what you think about these questions raised by Zichen?" ”

Since coming to Keelung, Li Mo has not avoided Qiu Fengjia in doing anything, obviously he has regarded him as a person to rely on, and he dares to put his heart in just a few days, Young Master Li is really extraordinary, which makes him secretly admire at the same time, he can also be regarded as having a general understanding of the current troubles that Huang Zichen is encountering.

At this moment, when I heard Young Master Li ask, I also knew that there was already a secret consideration in it, so I hurriedly arched my hand and said: "I don't dare to take my opinion seriously, but Zhong Yan has seen it for so long, and he has some experience, so I will say it for your reference." ”

Qiu Fengjia sorted out his thoughts, did not delay, and continued: "From now on, although Zichen thinks that there are two problems that need to be solved most urgently, in my opinion, this is actually a problem. ”

"Oh?" Hearing this, Huang Zichen was even more anxious than Li Mo, and hurriedly walked over to ask for advice: "Sir, you might as well say it directly." ”

"Although Zichen wants to run a good industrial zone, he has forgotten the most important thing, integration!" "Blend in?" Huang Zichen was surprised, and Li Mo also frowned.

"He builds a business, the first thing is to integrate, the so-called strong dragon does not suppress the head snake, which is also what he said." Qiu Fengjia didn't seem to see the expressions of the two, and explained: "Taiwan is not Hawaii, nor is it Ryukyu, if you want to build a business, you must first deal with officials and gentry, some of these people are open-minded, some are conservative and stubborn, so money alone is not enough." ”

Huang Zichen nodded, he agreed very much with this, he spent a lot of silver up and down for more than a year, and in the end, the land was still inserted by the Taifu Siqing, it can be seen that silver is not omnipotent, not to mention spending too much money, but it has raised the appetite of those people, and it will only fill more and more.

"Taiwan is lonely overseas, the people are simple, Keelung is also the gateway to Taiwan, more contact with overseas novelties, if there is government support, there are still many people willing to come to work in the factory." Seeing Huang Zichen nodding, Qiu Fengjia smiled slightly: "Zichen obviously didn't do a good job in this regard, since you came to Taiwan, you should completely forget your previous identity, treat yourself as a Taiwanese, don't focus on craftsmen from other provinces, although some people in the court will be careful, but I'm afraid no one here will suspect that you have something to do with the young master, in that case, why be suspicious and stumbling?" ”

Huang Zichen's eyes lit up when he heard this, but it dimmed in an instant, although he was a little suspicious about what he did at the beginning, for fear that people would find out that he had something to do with Li Mo, causing unnecessary speculation and trouble, but it was still very difficult to find the government to support him!

After all, Taiwan is not a young master in charge, there are many officials, it is complicated, and it is a place of concern for the imperial court, it is still very difficult to get support from Zhengda Guangming, and he has no preparation for where to start.

Li Mo also frowned, to be honest, the reason why he has not returned to China for a long time to develop is because of those intertwined relationships. In the past, when I was reading a book, the pig's feet traveled back, and I could build a factory without a foundation, and I could get a 10,000 acres of fertile land or something, but now it seems that it is a fraud at all!

Because you want to build a factory and enclose land, you have to be agreed!

The place is settled, there are county officials, and there are prefects, political envoys, governors, governors, etc., and when you get the land, you have already spent countless money, not to mention building factories, it is estimated that there have been several bankruptcies!

It's like being your own mother-in-law, you can fiddle with it as much as you want! But if it's someone else's, you have to spend time hooking up first, first spending the moon before and after, giving gifts and eating in a circle, and finally it depends on whether people agree or not, even if it is at the door, you must be careful not to be looked at by others, secretly told his old man, and rushed over with a big knife.

It's hard to do things!

Qiu Fengjia seemed to see the doubts of the two, and said with a smile: "Zichen has been in France for many years, and he has been living overseas, and it is not a fault that he is not familiar with the Taoism in the officialdom of the Qing Dynasty, in fact, in my opinion, this matter is not complicated, as long as you can catch the line of the new governor Tang, why worry about not getting support?" ”

Lord Tang? Tang Jingsong? Did he come to Taiwan as governor?

Hearing Qiu Fengjia's words, Li Mo was stunned, although he was an absolute novice in the officialdom at the end of the Qing Dynasty, and only remembered a few well-known governors and officials such as Li Hongzhang and Zhang Zhidong, but he knew something about this Taiwan governor.

This is mainly because this Lord Tang is the first person to engage in "[***]"!

Historically, after Tang Jingsong ceded Taiwan to Yue Ben in the Treaty of Shimonoseki, he angrily led the military and civilians of the whole island to resist together, and finally in order not to be truthful, he did not give himself the opportunity to continue to blackmail the imperial court, and finally resolutely announced that Taiwan Reading Power, drew a clear line with the Qing Dynasty, established the Taiwan Ming Cook Republic, and purchased arms from the French, and embarked on the road of resisting the Yue army alone, even the Qiu Fengjia in front of him also participated in this matter.

As for the telegram he sent to the imperial court at the end, telling him why he read it, it has been circulated to this day, and the helplessness and grief in the telegram cannot help but be sad no matter who sees it.

Although it still failed, it failed to stop the attack of Yue himself, and the non-human used people finally had to evacuate Taiwan, this integrity and determination are very admirable. After returning to China, although he was not in the office, he was dedicated to recuperating in his old age, but he experienced the humiliation of land cutting, he still spared no effort to support the Restoration, and became a good friend with Kang Youwei, the leader of the Restoration, not only generously, but also personally went into battle to support Xinxue, and performed a Guangxi genius who had no background and no background to save the country, but finally left a lot of helpless drama.

Since this Lord Tang is very supportive of the Restoration, can you start from this aspect? Thinking of this, Li Mo immediately looked at Qiu Fengjia, and when he saw that he looked confident, he immediately asked, "Mr. Qiu, could it be that you already have a way?" ”

"Hehe......." Qiu Fengjia smiled and nodded: "There is a way, but it depends on whether the young master is reluctant to do it!" ”

"Willing?" Huang Zichen was stunned for a moment, thinking that Qiu Fengjia was going to let him spend money on it, so he immediately gritted his teeth: "Sir, tell me, how much does it cost!" Unexpectedly, Qiu Fengjia shook his head and said with a smile: "Zichen still doesn't understand!" As an official, some people may be greedy for money, but our Lord Tang, although he doesn't dare to say that he has a clean sleeve, he is by no means such a shameless person! Therefore, it is impossible to impress him with wealth and beauty. ”

Qiu Fengjia shook his head as he spoke, as if he had some regret for what Huang Zichen said just now, Li Mo also felt that it was inappropriate, thinking of his conjecture just now, and suddenly said: "What does Mr. Qiu mean to do what he likes?" ”

"Not bad." Qiu Fengjia immediately nodded: "According to my observation, Lord Tang came to Taiwan this time, in addition to preparing for the book, he also came with preparations for the benefit of one party, and he often talked about his predecessor Liu Mingchuan Lord Liu, and it can be seen that he wants to emulate Lord Liu, and maybe there is more to it!" But now the situation in the imperial court is difficult, and new schools are being built and factories are being opened in various places, so there are also big problems with funds, which makes him full of ambition but not able to do it. ”

"So, we might as well give him a chance to make a big difference!"

Speaking of this, Huang Zichen and Li Mo's eyes lit up, and after thinking for a while, Li Mo asked, "Mr. is going to ask Zichen to report this industrial zone and let him supervise the construction?" ”

"No, the industrial zone is the brainchild of the young master and Zichen, not to mention that even if he has the heart, I'm afraid he won't be able to control such a big industry." Qiu Fengjia hurriedly shook his head and prompted: "I think that if the young master is willing, he might as well let Zichen fund the construction of the railway!" ”

Build a railway?

Hearing these three words, Huang Zichen's eyes completely lit up, Taiwan's original railway was built by Liu Mingchuan when he was the governor, but it was only a section from Keelung to Hsinchu through Taipei, if it can continue to be built and eventually run through the whole island, whether it is for the young master to control here in the future, or the convenient transportation after the construction of the industrial zone, it will be of great help.

More importantly, this is a great thing for the benefit of the country and the people, and for the local officials, is there anything more merit than this?

Thinking that if he could use the power of the government to build a railway, he could justifiably put the existing industry on the table, and he could also use the name of building the railway to recruit more workers from the inland, Huang Zichen seemed to see the picture of the industrial zone rushing to start construction, and immediately shook Qiu Fengjia's hand excitedly and thanked him repeatedly.

Li Mo was also very happy, but while he was happy, he also heard the selfishness in Qiu Fengjia's heart!

Although he only said that he would accompany him to visit Taiwan this time, the intention of taking refuge was already very obvious, but after all, he was not a Chinese from abroad, and he still kept cutting off the Qing Dynasty and Taiwan plot in his heart, so he suggested using the construction of the railway as a vote. Because no matter what his future is, the railway cannot be taken away, so this is equivalent to an investment with a surname, even if in the future, Master Li will be beaten by himself and return to Hawaii and dare not see people, this railway will also leave Taiwan to continue to benefit the people!

But this selfishness is harmless, literati and celebrities, who has a bad reputation? For them, it is a great good to be able to benefit their hometown, and it can be passed down in history.

Hehe, Young Master Li immediately fell in favor, and said with a smile: "I think it's better to have Mr. Qiu and help Zichen build this railway together?" ”

Sure enough, as soon as he heard that Li Mo had decided to let him stay to supervise the road repair and assist Huang Zichen, Qiu Fengjia's face suddenly turned red with excitement, and he hurriedly thanked him, saying that he would be willing to cooperate with Huang Zichen and build the shipyard and industrial zone as soon as possible.

Only Du Dazhuang didn't seem to be happy, he frowned and swept around, remembering the scene of the plague-stricken area described by the old man, he couldn't help but shudder, and suggested: "Young master, what should I do about the plague?" Why don't I have someone set fire to this place?! ”

"Bastard!" Young Master Li kicked and flew away, and he was furious! This guy probably let him kill people and set fire to the Ryukyus last time, and actually came up with a way to set fire to purify, although this was often the case in ancient epidemics, but this is an industrial area! It's been built up with great difficulty, and you actually want to set it on fire! Is this a suggestion? Or mischief?

Seeing Du Dazhuang's grievances, Qiu Fengjia, who was in a good mood, immediately laughed, and asked first: "Zichen treats malaria, has he been looking for foreigners to buy cinchona?" ”

Huang Zichen nodded, he didn't understand why he asked this, could it be that there was a better medicine for malaria jaundice than cinchona cream this year? Qiu Fengjia didn't answer, walked to the grass in the distance and searched carefully, suddenly pulled up a few artemisia grass, walked over and said with a smile: "This is called Artemisia annua, it is recorded in the Compendium of Materia Medica, it can cure malaria jaundice, compared to the foreign priests often say that the effect of cinchona cream is a little worse, but it is better than being prolific, Taiwan and Fujian have it, in the past Taiwan disaster, we Taiwanese locals use this to boil water, Zichen might as well try this." ”

"That's right! Why didn't I think of it? Without waiting for Huang Zichen to be happy, Young Master Li slapped his thigh suddenly, which frightened Du Dazhuang and hurriedly dodged away, thinking that the young master was going to make him angry again.

Artemisinin!

Although Young Master Li was not a chemist in his previous life, he had heard of such a name, and when he saw Qiu Fengjia, he was full of confidence, and he must have guessed correctly. The ancients ate artemisia to treat malaria and recorded it in the book for a long time, but it's just that he, a modern person who is accustomed to Western medicine in later generations and is spoiled, can't think of it! As for Huang Zichen, because he received a Western-style education, the first thing that came to mind after malaria must be cinchona, and he ignored the good things left by his ancestors!

Unlike cinchona cream, which is produced in South America, Artemisia annua is produced in many areas, and if it can be refined in the laboratory as soon as possible, and combined with the cinchona cream that has begun to be produced today, it is definitely a weapon for the treatment of malaria!

Moreover, there is a lot of rain in southern China and Nanyang countries, the weather is hot, malaria plague occurs from time to time, and the common people naturally can't afford to buy expensive cinchona cream, so every year a large number of people die of illness because of untimely treatment, if they develop artemisinin, they can definitely make a lot of money!

The most important thing is that the development of artemisinin can also be used to put the idle chemistry laboratory into operation.

Thinking of this, he had always thought of what to do, and the resolute and straightforward mess Young Master Li was about to arrange for Huang Zichen to buy a large amount of Artemisia annua and transport it back to Hawaii for refining, when he suddenly saw Duan Fei running over with a stern face, and before he could ask for a message, he had already stuffed it into his hand.

"Just received it on board."

"On board?"

Before Qiu Fengjia could understand how the ship could receive the telegram, he saw that Young Master Li, who had taken the telegram and looked at it, suddenly had a cold look in his eyes, and his heart was also shocked.

Something went wrong?!.

(To be continued)