The quarrel between the two sides became more and more intense, and the other bigwigs couldn't sit still and spoke out to dissuade them, only the old god of the earl was enjoying the scenery outside the window, like a white lotus out of the mud and not stained, and not a single leaf in the rolling red world.

With this detached mind, it is impressive.

A moment later

The chief of staff, Conrad Adenauer, and Kestner, the manager of Huitong Bank, were tired of arguing, so they sat down angrily and drank tea to suppress their shock.

Konrad Adenauer is not angry, as a Junker military aristocrat who has entered the military life since childhood, his character is tough and stubborn, but his mouth is not on the same level as Kestner, and he really suffered a big loss in the quarrel.

God testifies that the expansion of the army is indeed the first plan proposed by the military, but the Earl is often more radical, especially because the military is too small, and this black pot cannot be carried back.

"Your Excellency the Earl, the perspective of our military is to start from the long-term development strategy and open up more living space for immigrants, and our military's actions are ......."

"Ahem......"

Li Fushou coughed lightly, turned his head indifferently and stared at Chief of Staff Conrad Adenauer, blocking all the words in his throat and unable to speak.

This old thing doesn't know anything about current affairs.

Letting you carry the black pot is to look up to you, what's wrong...... Underbanged?

Conrad Adenauer obviously understood the deep meaning in the eyes of the Earl, wisely shrunk his neck and did not squeak, he was really thirsty after arguing for a long time, picked up the teacup "ton, ton, ton" and drank it all violently, and then sat down with a frown and waited for the training.

"Humph! Both of you are high-ranking people, and you have won my trust on a daily basis, so what is the point of making such a public noise? ”

Li Fushou's tone became stern, his eyes glanced at everyone majestically, and finally landed on Kestner's face, this old man who was like a fighting was decisively cowardly at this moment, and a shameful and flattering smile was squeezed out on his face.

Okay, just take it when you see it.

Li Fushou criticized vaguely, and his tone immediately changed to softening and said; "I know that you are all loyal, but as a powerful minister, you must always check whether your behavior is appropriate and whether it hurts your body.

If arguing can solve the problem, it will be easier for everyone to quarrel in the future.

The soldiers in front are willing to brave the arrows and stones to fight bloodily, with their lives and loyalty to deduce a heroic epic chapter, their heroic souls will be introduced into the Martyrs' Shrine to enjoy the incense worship forever, thousands of people admire, the meritorious minister Lord Ben Earl is not stingy with high-ranking officials.

At all times

The military must always keep in mind its mission and must not be pampered.

After returning home, the chief of staff will immediately arrange an all-army ideological loyalty education, pour a little cold water on your group of arrogant soldiers, eliminate bad signs, and make everyone sober, including yourself. ”

Conrad Adenauer, the chief of staff who said this, broke down in a cold sweat, stood up with a frightened expression, bowed his hand, and said in stiff Chinese; "The lowly ghost has lost his mind, and his sin deserves death, please punish the earl."

"Sit down, reflect on it when you go back, and you ......" Before Li Fushou finished speaking, Kestner stood up with trembling legs, and his head was full of cold sweat.

"Okay, okay, sit down, where is all the energy of the quarrel?" Li Fushou waved his hand impatiently and continued; "The soldiers at the front fought bloodily, and all departments in the rear, including your Huitong Bank, must support the front line even if they tighten their belts, and will never allow the phenomenon of prevarication to occur, the soldiers at the front are not well fed, clothed, and have no bullets in their rifles, and all officials who delay the war are engaged in military law and will not be treated leniently.

Of course, war is not the mainstream of social life.

In peacetime, all departments should also be considerate of the financial difficulties, and the banks are also difficult to cook without rice, so they should not ask for money one by one as if they were creditors, but should find their own solutions.

Some non-important industries can solicit social funds to participate, and the military should also carry forward the spirit of hardship and simplicity.

I have already criticized him in chief of the Combined Fleet, and in just a few minutes he fired more than 4,000 rounds of artillery shells at me and blew up a troop carrier. He must be put on a tight spell, verbally criticized and fined for three months, and the next time he does something, the commander-in-chief will not do it, and a pig will be better than him.

Wealth is not easy to gather, and squandering is simple.

In the near future, Huitong Bank will organize auditing departments to be stationed in various military units to conduct detailed audits of various expenditures.

All unreasonable expenditures will be cut, those who dare to embezzle and enrich their own pockets will be killed, those who conceal and fail to report will be demoted, the files will be recorded as major demerits, and I will be completely cleaned up from top to bottom.

It's just two small battles, and don't raise your tail to the sky. ”

Li Fushou slapped 50 boards on each side, and a stormy rebuke was deafening and awe-inspiring, making everyone awe-inspired.

After a small talk, he waved them all away.

The bigwigs were much more honest after being beaten, especially the chief of staff, Conrad Adenauer, who felt the breath before the thunder came, and hurriedly summoned the staff to discuss specific matters after leaving.

First, it is necessary to carry out extensive re-education in loyalty throughout the army, with the participation of all officers from the General Staff Headquarters to all divisions and regiments, to unify their understanding from a high degree of ideology, and not to be hot-headed as soon as they have a little achievement, which will kill people.

Second, in order to deal with the financial audit led by the Huitong Bank, the logistics system of the whole army must first conduct a comprehensive self-examination and severely deal with any corrupt acts that are discovered.

Third, of course, the war in Borneo, which is currently in full swing, should be the first priority in the corresponding preparations, and there should be no slackening in the slightest.

Obedient and listening

Today, this matter could not hit the military, but the earl gave the military a hard lecture, and the meaning could not be clearer, that is, he was very dissatisfied with the profligacy of the military, and began to beat the military high-level.

The victory of the Lucky Bay interception battle was rewarded by the combined fleet, but the commander-in-chief of the fleet, He Fang, was reprimanded and fined for three months, which was already a very obvious signal.

In the Battle of Erdaoliang, the Second Regiment of the Shangri-La Division was highly praised, and the promotion and salary increase were generously rewarded, and the First Regiment and the Second Regiment also benefited, but the division commander Franz only lightly nodded in the briefing ~ The command is correct.

And then...... There is no then.

Obviously, the commander-in-chief was very dissatisfied with the squandering of artillery shells by the Shangri-La Division, and the bombardment was indiscriminate for three hours, and the artillery fire plowed the mountains over and over again.

Some people will say that these shells were captured by the Dutch, but did the Dutch shells come to the door on their own initiative...... Or did it fall from the sky?

Some people will say that it was captured by the navy, but the navy was not conjured out of thin air, but a fleet built by the Earl at a cost of more than a million pounds.

Both the navy and the army are the private army of Lord Earl, there is a combat allowance for fighting, a training allowance for training, a heavy reward for winning battles, and a military salary in peacetime, but as an officer, only loyalty is not qualified.

When the war is fought, Huo Huo spends money like flowing water, and the earl who is rich and rivals the country can't bear it!

The Earl's lesson is right, they are all like Fritz Commander who bombards Hoho indiscriminately, and this battle can be fought by a pig.

Chief of Staff Conrad Adenauer quickly figured out what he meant, and solemnly added the article of hardship and simplicity to the content of the ideological loyalty education to be carried out by all officers and men, and as a priority propaganda item, the order of ranking is only under loyalty, which is an excellent quality that officers and men must abide by.

The train's terminus is Beilun Town, with a speed of about 30 kilometers per hour, and it takes three days and three nights to travel from the Red River Valley, during which it needs to stop in Songjiang Town to refuel coal and water.

Li Fushou did not get off the train in Songjiang Town, but summoned the responsible persons of several relevant departments in Songjiang Town to listen to brief reports on the operation of the reservoir, agricultural development, and industrial construction, and gave instructions one by one.

At the railway station in Songjiang Town

All the passengers in the ordinary carriages of the special train got off the train, and hundreds of guards with loaded guns came up, and the locomotive continued to drive south after replenishing the coal water, and did not stop at any other stations along the way.

It's approaching dusk

The train runs across the plains, over hills and rivers, to the south, and the rhythmic sound of "clang, clang" seems to be never-ending, and large flocks of white sheep can be seen from time to time along the way, dotted among the lush green fields.

In the train study

Li Fushou sat on a large and comfortable court-style chair, his eyes looked at the large flock of sheep in the wilderness outside the window, his face showed a comfortable look, the room was filled with the strong and mellow smell of cigar smoke, and he was leisurely tasting French Bordeaux red wine.

The vast flocks of sheep in the green fields are one of the riches of the Earl of Queensland, the world's largest rancher.

The third shearing season of the year has begun, and as strong demand in Europe and the United States pushes up the price of finished wool, the purchase price of wool has soared again by more than 30% to the best level in history for 1.1 pounds of wool purchased for a penny.

What does this mean?

After seven years of development

The number of sheep in the pastures of the Red River Valley has grown to more than 4,600,000, and the density is about 60 merino sheep per square kilometer (minus the area of the continuous mountainous areas, Gobi lakes and other areas that are not suitable for grazing in the pastures), and there is still a lot of room for growth.

The high price of a penny for 1.1 pounds of wool means that running a ranch becomes a lucrative bait and will spur more investors into the industry, and the northern Queensland pastoral region will grow rapidly.

High-quality and high-yielding Merino sheep are sheared 4 times a year, and the total wool production is about 80~110 pounds, which is about 7~9 shillings according to the current high value.

Excluding all labor costs, the annual revenue is as high as tens of millions of pounds.

At first glance, it seems that a lot of money is being made, but in fact, this is only the third shearing season, and there are 4 shearing seasons a year, and the annual income has to be calculated comprehensively.

Calculate it carefully

Of these, hundreds of thousands of pounds were earned in the first quarter of 1882, and more than £1.6 million in the second quarter of the season as a result of a retaliatory rebound in wool prices due to the abandonment of the strategy of artificially suppressing wool prices.

The third quarter ~ that is, the current shearing season price rose again by more than 3 percent, and the net income of this season will not be less than 2.5 million pounds, which can be seen on about 2.7 million pounds.

If the current high prices are maintained in the fourth quarter, the income from the pastures in 1882 will be around £6.8 million to £7 million.

Thanks to the world-class high-quality pasture conditions, Australia produces wool at the lowest cost and of excellent quality, and the purchase of 2.5 pounds of wool for a penny is the break-even point for small and medium-sized farms, below which most farms will lose money and make ends meet.

Above this break-even point, almost all of them are pure earnings, which is nothing more than the difference between earning more and earning less.