Chapter 24 Marriage

"Young master, we have placed an order for five 10,000-ton freighters with the Portsmouth shipyard in England, and we have handed over the order for another ten 5,000-ton freighters to France!

After listening to Fauber's words, Huo Shan frowned, lowered his head and thought about it, and asked, "Fauber, why didn't you choose to build a ship in Germany?" He remembered that the shipbuilding industry in France didn't seem to be very good. The German High Seas Fleet was the only superfleet capable of challenging the British Empire's maritime supremacy at that time. Moreover, Germany's strength in building ships even surpassed that of Britain in the later stages of World War I.

Although the young master's question was a little strange, Fauber still said quickly: "Young master, now in all Western countries, the best shipbuilding is England and France! Our previous orders for passenger and cargo ships were basically ordered in these two countries, although Germany is also a Western power, but their shipbuilding industry does not seem to be very good!"

In fact, this is still Huo Shan's memory is wrong, and at this time, the new school of thought of the French Navy has not yet become the mainstream! Aube, who strongly advocated the theory of 'mobile defense' and built torpedo boats, only became France's Minister of the Navy in 1886, and only then did he fully promote the French Navy, which degenerated from a powerful blue-water fleet capable of threatening Britain's maritime hegemony into a green-water navy dominated by cruisers and torpedo boats.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the French navy fell at an astonishing rate.

However, none of this has happened yet, and the current French naval fleet is still a proud Gallic rooster, defending France's colonial interests around the globe.

After a pause, Huo Shan continued: "In addition, the shipbuilding equipment we ordered from Europe has also arrived in Taiwan, and the workers invited from Jiangnan and Mawei shipyards have also been arranged, but there is still a big gap between our shipbuilding level and that of Westerners, so we take this opportunity to send all the trainees trained in several of our technical schools to these shipyards where we have ordered ships. I believe that after a year of training, they will become the backbone of our shipyard! In addition, it takes too long to order new ships, and we can't wait, so we still use the old way we ordered machinery and equipment, and go to Europe to buy those old ships!"

"Understood, young master! I just ordered fifteen big ships, and I also had to buy old ships to expand the fleet! plus personnel training, I'm afraid it will cost another five million taels of silver!"

Seeing that Fu Bo was a little sad, Huo Shan was surprised: "Fu Bo, didn't Huo Hu and Liang Wendong send back more than 10 million taels of silver, why did they spend it so quickly?"

"Young master, you don't know how expensive firewood and rice are now! Not to mention anything else, just that the troops in the back mountains have already reached 100,000, plus the procurement of equipment and the salaries of soldiers, this expenditure is almost close to one million taels of silver every month! Moreover, those guys under the young master, especially Huo Hu's boy, have been vigorously expanding the army in Fujian, and now the establishment of one regiment of his regiment is almost 20,000 people! Moreover, the factories of the young master are also big money-eaters, and the monthly wages of workers and the procurement of raw materials are all money! In addition, the schools that the young master opened in Taiwan have also spent a lot of money! Now, the navy run by Huo Long and the others has also begun to ask for money! If it weren't for the fact that our Huo family still had some family backgrounds before, and the factory run by the young master has also earned a lot of silver in the past few months, our Huo family really has no money!"

Seeing Fu Bo blowing his beard and glaring at him, looking distressed, Huo Shan couldn't help but touch his nose in embarrassment, he always felt that the Huo family's family was extremely rich in the past, so he didn't ask much about spending money, he always approved it, and then Fu Bo took the money!

However, now all this money must be spent, and at this time, every extra silver invested will be exchanged for several times or even more than ten times the return in the future!

"Are those treasures that are moved?" As soon as this idea arose, it was quickly extinguished by Huo Shan, and this world will be the era of the gold standard in the future, and the amount of gold possessed is directly related to the strength of the country! Moreover, this gold is the deposit he has prepared for the future issuance of paper money! Now it cannot be moved at all!

"It seems that his US money-making operation is going to be accelerated!" Huo Shan thought secretly in his heart.

"Fu Bo, I know that we spend a lot of money, but we also make a lot of money! You see, this month, our army alone has captured 30 million taels worth of gold, silver, antique calligraphy and paintings, and real estate! In addition, the output and tax revenue of our base areas are all a lot of wealth! Moreover, our Huo family's money bank in Taiwan can also continue to expand behind the army! Therefore, if we spend a lot of money, we must think about how to open up the source!" Huo Shan comforted his meritorious minister.

Thinking about the gold and silver that had been put into the warehouse this month, Fu Bo couldn't help but smile and nodded, feeling that the young master's words made sense!

"Fu Bo, how do you see our work on building a railway in Taiwan?" After seeing his old housekeeper's face get better, Young Master Huo hurriedly took the opportunity to ask.

"The construction of the railway is too big, originally He Jing, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, did not agree, but later after the lady came out, this matter was resolved!" Fu Bo seemed to think of something funny, his eyes narrowed, touched his gray beard, and said to Huo Shan with a smile.

"Oh my mother, what can she do?"

"It seems that Madame didn't tell the young master! Hehehe, in fact, last month, Madame set a family affair for the young master!"

"What, why didn't my mother discuss it with me?" Hearing the old man's words, Huo Shan couldn't help but scream, and suddenly stood up and asked in a dumbfounded voice.

The young master Huo from later generations still kept in his mind the set of zìyóu love, and he still wanted to wait for himself to grow up, and then plan for his own life!

"What are you discussing? We Han people have been the order of our parents since ancient times, and the words of the matchmaker are not right?" At this moment, the woman pushed the door and walked in.

"Madame!"

"Mother, why are you here?" Young Master Huo said in surprise, since Huo Shan was in charge of the Huo family, his mother rarely came to his study, and in the past, he just asked Xiaoxiao to inform him!

"Why, your place is not a Longtan Tiger's Den, why can't my mother come!" the woman looked at the guy who was licking her face and said angrily.

"Hehehe, how could it be!Ping'er, go make tea for my mother!" Huo Shan glared fiercely at the little girl who was covering her mouth and secretly snickering, and said viciously.

"No need! Today, my mother came to tell you that my mother has already set up a boy for you and He Wenyi, the youngest granddaughter of He Jing, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang!"

"Mother, I'm still young, what kind of boy to order! Moreover, I haven't seen this person, and I don't even know about Choujun! Besides, why don't you discuss it with me!" Huo Shan smiled bitterly.

"What to discuss, you are my son! I am your mother! Besides, you are the only seedling in such a big family business of our Huo family! I also have to think more about the incense of our Huo family! This matter is so decided!" the woman scolded softly.

"Okay, okay, okay, I'll listen to you, can't you!" Huo Shan said with a wry smile.

"For the sake of the master's railway, sacrifice the sè phase to sacrifice the sè phase!" said the young master Huo comforted himself in his heart.

"Okay, my mother came over to tell you about this today, you guys are busy! I have to go back and prepare a few more family affairs for your little rabbit cub!" Looking at the back of his mother who was full of excitement and hurriedly left, Huo Shan couldn't help but smile bitterly and shook his head, and said secretly in his heart: "Yes! It seems that you don't have to worry about finding a wife!"

"If you want to laugh, just laugh, don't hold back!" said Young Master Huo angrily.

"Hehehe, young master, in fact, Miss He has also been talented and intelligent since she was a child, and she is already a master of piano, chess, calligraphy and painting at the same age, and there are many people who want to be engaged to him in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces!

"Forget it, it's all a matter that has already been decided anyway, don't talk about it!" Huo Shan waved his hand and said.

"Young master, although Taiwan's railways have been approved now, we do not have the ability to build them ourselves, and we do not have the talents in this area in China! Therefore, this railway must be built by foreigners! However, there are many countries in Europe that can build railways, and the construction technology is even more uneven! But in general, the construction technology of England, France, and Germany is the best, so it is up to the young master to decide which one we want to use!"

"Well, our country has a large population and a vast area, and the future economic development will definitely have higher requirements for the volume of trains, so this time our own railway adopts a broad gauge of 1524 mm! The railways are all laid with steel rails! In this case, Germany and Britain are more interested in us! France will forget it!" Huo Shan said after thinking about it.

"Got it, young master, do you have any other requirements?"

"Also, this time the railway has to repair the line, and it will be in place at one time, and it will save you trouble in the future!"

"In this case, I'm afraid that the 10 million taels of silver we have prepared this time to repair the railway will not be enough!" said Fauber with some concern.

"Hehehe, don't worry! The construction of the railway is not a trivial matter, and the preliminary route survey will not take half a year, and it will not be completed at all! During this time, I believe that Huo Shi's army will definitely provide you with a large amount of gold and silver, and when the time comes, your old warehouse must be built a little bigger, otherwise it will not be able to be put down at that time!" Huo Shan said with a smile. China, which has been leading the world for hundreds of years, has accumulated wealth in the private sector is unimaginable, although there are not many gold and silver mines in China, but most of the tens of millions of tons of silver mined in the Americas have flowed into China.