Chapter 141 Railway Certificate

Taipei.

In the governor's office, Tang Jingsong put down the message from Yanjing in his hand, breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at Liu Yongfu next to him, and said with a smile, "Hehe, Yuanting, now it's finally a good face. After mediation between Britain and France, I have promised that I will not cross the Yalu River and change the political situation in North Korea. In addition, all their sailors have been annihilated by Hawaiian sailors. It seems that our previous preparations will turn into spring mud.

Liu Yongfu nodded. He was the leader of the Black Flag Army. Last year, when the Korean war broke out, Tang Jingsong was appointed as the governor of Taiwan in the face of danger. He was afraid that he would invade Taiwan, so he called him to lead two battalions of soldiers to assist.

He and Tang Jingsong went to Annan (now Vietnam) to fight against France for many years and established a deep personal friendship. Therefore, after hearing the call, he immediately took a part of the Black Flag Army to Taiwan to help. He thought there was still a fierce battle to fight. He was nervous and worried for a long time, but he didn't expect that he was busy in vain. Because when he took the two battalions of the Black Flag Army into Taiwan, it was said that the navy had been completely destroyed by the born Pacific Army, and he had to pay an amazing amount of compensation. Finally, he calmed down under the reconversion of Britain, France and other countries.

What surprised him more was that after the Hawaiian army finished fighting the Japanese version, it actually re-supported the Ryukyu king who had been imprisoned for many years. He withdrew most of the sailors not long ago, which made many people who said that Master Li was greedy for the land of the Qing vassal state and wanted to be the king!

So after listening to Tang Jingsong's words, Liu Yongfu also smiled and said, "Yes, the humble waiter will give the soldiers a holiday, and it's time for everyone to rest!"

"Yes." Tang Jingsong put the message in his hand, picked up the teacup and said, "The noise has finally subsided for more than half a year. You will immediately order someone to prepare the Clippers and send those Guangyong back as soon as possible. In addition, send a telegram to Lord Zhang Zhidong to express his gratitude that he sent troops to cooperate with the platform to assist us."

"Yes, my lord, please rest assured." After saying that, Liu Yongfu was about to leave when he suddenly came to report that the young master of Keelung came to meet the governor and frowned.

Although he has only been in Taiwan for a short time, he has heard many times that this foreign bank has been said that the main reason is that unlike others, this foreign bank is actually focused on building a shipyard. Moreover, not long ago, when I led the troops to Keelung for defense, I also got help from others. In the end, the foreign bank took the initiative to pay someone to help repair the fort, so I was quite impressed.

Tang Jingsong also frowned. Like Liu Yongfu, he had a good impression of the foreign bank of the family, which was rooted in Keelung. It is said that the owner was a young man who came back from studying in France and was committed to building a shipyard to repair the machine manufacturing bureau. According to the housekeeper, he came to call at the beginning of his arrival, but he had been busy preparing for the day, but he forgot about it. At this moment, he heard that he came to the door and quickly took Liu Yongfu to receive him.

Not long after the two sat down, they saw the two shadows walking into the living room under the leadership of the servant, but before they got up to meet each other, the man behind the young man stunned both of them for a moment.

Qiu Fengjia!

How could he get together with the young master of Dadongyangxing?

You should know that this Qiu Fengjia is not an ordinary person. At the age of seven, he can recite poems. At the age of 14, he won the first place in the exam. Since then, he has become famous in Taiwan. Guangxu was a scholar in the 14th year. He was a scholar in the 15th year and was appointed as the head of the Ministry of Industry. However, he had no intention of being an official in Beijing. He was single-minded in studying and returned to Taiwan to serve as the lecturer of the Chongshu Academy. Now he is teaching new studies everywhere. He is quite famous in Taiwan. How can such a person go with the big Dongyang who has only been in Taiwan for a few years?

Before the two people could figure it out, Qiu Fengjia had arrived in front of them. After seeing them, he immediately saluted, "Student Zhong Yu (Qiu Fengjia) has seen two adults."

"Zi Chen has also met the governor and Lord Liu." Although Huang Zichen has been in Taiwan for almost a year, he is not very used to the etiquette of the officialdom of the Qing Dynasty. He can't help but be a little restrained. Fortunately, more than half of Tang Jingsong and Liu Yongfu's attention was attracted by Qiu Fengjia, which did not make him too embarrassed.

After a few words of greetings, Liu Yongfu was a little curious about the relationship between the two and couldn't help asking, "Brother Zhong Wei, where are you and the young master singing?"

Qiu Fengjia smiled, took out the already typed abdominal manuscript, and said to Tang Jingsong, "To be honest with you two adults, Zhong Qian had promised Zichen to become a big shopkeeper not long ago."

"Big shopkeeper?"

As soon as he said this, not to mention Tang Jingsong, even Liu Yongfu, who had fought for half his life, was incredibly grateful. He thought that Qiu Fengjia didn't even want to be an official, so how could he suddenly become someone else's shopkeeper? Is it possible that he has been living a bad life recently?

Seeing the two people stunned, Qiu Fengjia smiled and gave Huang Zichen a look. The latter immediately took out a drawing. In their puzzled eyes, he pointed to the drawing and said, "Zhong Hao is going to be this big shopkeeper."

Spreading out the map, Tang Jingsong and Liu Yongfu's eyes suddenly woke up from confusion. As the map was completely spread out, they felt that their eyes were suddenly pricked by the thin line specially marked red on the map of the whole island!

A long red line not only wraps in the railway from Keelung via Taipei to Hsinchu built when Liu Ming was the governor, but also continues to extend to the south, finally reaching Tainan and extending all the way to Fengshan County (now Kaohsiung), running through the whole Taiwan island from north and south!

Tang Jingsong suddenly felt a little itchy in his throat and almost wanted to shout. Even Liu Yongfu's eyes are starry, a railway artery connecting Keelung and Fengshan running through the whole island! My mother, if it is built well, what a great achievement it will be!

Fortunately, Tang Jingsong is a person who has seen a big scene after all. He knows that Taiwan is rugged, with high mountains and dense forests, and miasma. If you want to build such a railway, you don't need a lot of manpower. The amount of silver needed alone is an astronomical figure, so after a moment of meditation, he sighed: "Zhong, I look at you. I'm afraid the big shopkeeper is going to fail.

"Oh? Why do adults say that? Don't you believe that we are young masters? Qiu Fengjia knew Tang Jingsong's thoughts, but he still pretended to be surprised and asked.

Tang Jingsong quickly waved his hand and pointed to the map and said, "How can I look down on the young owner? But do you know how much it costs to build such a railway? Moreover, Taiwan's mountains are high and forests are dense, the mountain roads are rugged, and the amount of silver needed is doubled. Now the imperial court says that it is difficult, and I'm afraid I can't afford such a railway!"

"Sure enough, the old guy is moved." Seeing that Tang Jingsong only said silver, but did not mention the craftsman, Huang Zichen knew that in the face of such a big gift, even the Lord Tang, who went to Annan and led the Black Flag Army and the French army with Liu Yongfu, was moved, so he quickly took over the words: "Lord Tang, Lord Liu, when he stayed with his family in France when he was young. I heard the French talk about the deeds of the two adults in Annan. In this battle, the two adults led the army to fight in a series of bloody battles, which greatly increased our Chinese people's anger, which is still unforgettable to me!

Today, I didn't expect that I would have the opportunity to run a factory under the rule of two adults, so I also want to use this railway to express my gratitude to the two adults, so now I have contacted some overseas Chinese businessmen. After hearing about the two adults, they also expressed their willingness to work together. With the investment in the construction of this railway, a total of 7 million taels of money have been raised, just waiting for the two adults to nod!"

"What! Seven million taels!" Hearing that Huang Zichen had quietly raised money for the construction of the railway for a long time, and it was still such an amazing number, Tang Jingsong's eyes widened in shock. After half a while, he suddenly nodded to Qiu Fengjia and said with a wry smile, "I finally know why you have become this big shopkeeper. It's not easy to be a young master!"

"Eight million taels of silver is a lot, but compared with the 30 million pounds that Master Li just bought from me, it doesn't even count a hair!" Qiu Fengjia rarely said a rude word in his heart and looked at Huang Zichen with a smile.

Huang Zichen, who was hinted, quickly stood up and arched his hand and said, "Your Excellency is flattered. Although Zichen is already a French identity now, his heart is still in the Qing Dynasty. What's more, building a railway is a good thing to strengthen the country and benefit the people! Besides, if the adults hadn't defeated the French and raised the prestige of our Chinese, I'm afraid we Chinese living in France can't afford to raise our heads so far. How can we talk about raising money to build railways? Therefore, I hope that the two adults will agree that our Dadongyang Bank will be responsible for the construction of this railway. The required funds will be borne by the next force. After completion, I will only account for 60% of the operation, and the rest will be owned by the court, but.

"What is it just?" Tang Jingsong, who had already been dizzy by the railway, suddenly looked embarrassed when he saw Huang Zichen, and quickly asked if he had encountered a problem.

Qiu Fengjia, who had been discussed for a long time, quickly replied, "The governor doesn't know anything. Zichen has indeed collected all the money, and he has also contacted American engineers and can enter Taiwan at any time, but the person who builds the railway is not what we can find! And the land that was originally intended to be used as a railway supervision base is now favored by Lord Lin Weiyuanlin, the minister of Taifu Temple, to grow sugar cane. You see, this is not.

Before Qiu Fengjia finished his words, Tang Jingsong understood that the two of them came today because they fell in favor of the land, but if such a railway could really be built, what was the land? So he immediately promised: "If the young master is really willing to build a railway for the benefit of the people of Taiwan, the old man in Taifu Siqing can talk about it. As for the manpower craftsmen you are worried about, there is no problem. If necessary, I can send a telegram to Lord Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and Lord Tan Zhonglin Tan, governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, please We help recruit people like Taiwan. In addition, Taiwan can also recruit some, which should be able to meet the needs.

"What about management? Once so many people enter Taiwan, it will be difficult to do something in case something happens. Qiu Fengjia hurriedly asked.

"Haha, why did Zhong Yu forget me? The two battalions of Black Flag soldiers under me are not vegetarian, and I can manage those folk craftsmen well." After working with Tang Jingsong for many years, Liu Yongfu didn't know what he was thinking. Until he entered Taiwan, he had always wanted to do a lot of things. If the railway was really built in his hands, it would be a great achievement, so he carried the Black Flag Army to escort the railway.

Hearing what the two said, Huang Zichen was relieved. Knowing that this had been done, he immediately looked at Qiu Fengjia. Seeing that he was already full of joy, he immediately got up and promised, "Since both adults have said so, I also forgive Zichen for saying a big word, and the court agreed to build this iron. The road is the time when Zichen starts to work!"

"Good!" Tang Jingsong praised: "Although Zichen is young, he is bold and bold. It's really good! Young master, you can rest assured. I will order someone to send a telegram to the court, and there will be a reply within half a month.

Seeing what Tang Jingsong said so decisively, Huang Zichen finally put down his last trace of worry. As long as the court agreed to build a railway, he could take the opportunity to recruit workers to speed up the construction of the shipyard and supporting industrial zones. In addition, the young master promised that he would let the Hawaii laboratory come up with a new anti-malaria medicine as soon as possible. If it is true If everything goes well, then it only takes one year at most, and the goals set at the beginning can be achieved!

Qiu Fengjia is also full of joy. No matter what the road is in the future, at least he has won a big railway for Taiwan. What if he can have such a harvest, even if he sells himself to Master Li? So he immediately said, "That's great. With the words of an adult, Zhong Kuang, the big shopkeeper, has finally opened. He can sit with foreigners and drink and have a good time with businessmen."

"Oh? Haha. ——

"Son of a bitch, is this your guarantee in case you lose it? I've lost all my face!"

Looking at the fleet that was entering the port, almost all of them were injured, and even the hulls were smoked black. Tan Xiao was so angry that he raised his hand and was about to slap Tan Wang. He was so scared that he quickly dodged a few steps. Fortunately, Long Guozhang quickly grabbed the furious chief of staff of the fleet and advised, "Lao Tan, calm down. You can't blame him."

"I don't blame him! Don't blame him for anyone?" Although he was pulled, Tan Xiaozeng was still unwilling. He still pointed to Tan Wang's nose and scolded, "I have reminded you for a long time that the forces on the other side of Nanyang are complex. Now that our Pacific Army is bigger, there will definitely be people who are jealous!" I've been telling you to be careful. Are you right for me?

"For you, I also went to the young master and the chief of staff. Finally, with the consent of the young master, I pulled the machine gun from the army warehouse and equipped you with two for each ship! But you're fine. You not only lost two of them for me, but also got on the gunboat sent. How can you ask me to see the young master? Where to put my face!" The more Tan Xiaozeng said, the more excited he became. He couldn't wait to kick Tan Wang directly into the sea.

Looking at his old man spitting with his hand in his waist, Tan Wang was also full of grievances. No one expected that the pirates would have a gunboat? If I had known, even if I had risked my face, I would have asked the old man to send a cruiser to escort me!

Up to now, it's too late to say anything, so he can only swallow thousands of tons of rubber tobacco leaves from a freighter and get on a gunboat. Thinking of the last pirate gunboat and the British [***] ship that appeared, he was even more angry. He couldn't wait to immediately advise his father to send a warship to sweep. You can go to Nanyang!

Long Guozhang stood on the side and frowned. The main force of the fleet has all returned to Honolulu. Now there are only Long Xiao and four destroyers left in Ryukyu. If he and Tan Xiaozeng didn't happen to come to Ryukyu, they might not be able to know about it as soon as possible.

If you send troops from Ryukyu to escort the bandits now, there will be too few troops. At least you have to transfer the Sky Survey and the Sea Survey, but the problem is that the young master does not want the fleet to enter the Southern Ocean so early.

He also knows the hardships of the young master that today's Honolulu is eye-catching enough. If it is sending troops into the South Sea controlled by Britain, France and other countries, I'm afraid it will really cause an uproar. But if the fleet is not sent into the escort, these pirates will become more and more rampant. Today is one. Who can guarantee that tomorrow will not be two ships and three? What about the ship?!

And in addition to Nanyang, there are now seven or eight routes that Honolulu focuses on in the Pacific Ocean. From the earliest Canada, to the later Chile and South America, to the nearest Taiwan, Australia, Nanyang and Liaodong, with the size of the existing fleet, if you have to patrol and escort, you can't arrange it at all!

In fact, everyone didn't expect this problem. After Lin Yongxiang raised it, the young master specially asked everyone to discuss it with everyone, so he promised Tan Xiaozeng to equip the fleet on the Nanyang route with security teams and some machine guns. However, from the perspective of Tan Wang's encounter with pirate gunboats this time, some people have targeted themselves. The side!

Is it me? Or other forces?

Long Guozhang is no longer the impulsive Beiyang beard a few years ago. As the top commander of the navy at this moment, he not only has to consider the navy, but also has to face some overall problems.

The forces of Nanyang are complex, and they are the throat of entering and leaving the Pacific Ocean. Britain, France and other countries are keeping a close eye on it. It can be seen from the British [***] ship that they don't care about the fleet. Some people don't want to continue to expand on their side! In addition, after the Pacific Army took Ryukyu, it was already famous. If it suddenly entered the Southern Ocean at this time, I'm afraid it would really set off a big storm!

Although I'm really not afraid to fight myself, now that all the start-ups, the army still can't stand the consumption. The last expedition to Japan and Ryukyu consumed more than half of the material reserves for a few years, so Honolulu has no strength to play again!

It is not possible not to send troops to escort. Relying on the security team on the ship alone, in the face of pirates equipped with machine guns and cannons, it must be eggs and stones, so how to send troops and how much scale to send need to be carefully considered.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that the fleet currently has too few small and medium-sized ships suitable for escorting. After all, driving 10,000 tons of battleships and heavy patrols in the past are easy to provoke some people's nerves, but it is not so difficult to drive through some small ships.

It seems that it is necessary to suggest to the young master to add some small warships.

Thinking of this, Long Guozhang was ready to discuss with Tan Xiaozeng whether to use the captured Japanese gunboats and destroyers to set up an escort to come out for emergency. Suddenly, a rapid footsteps interrupted his thoughts.

"Report, a telegram just sent by the General Staff."

"The telegram of the staff?" As soon as he heard the report, Tan Xiaozeng didn't have time to scold his son and immediately walked to Long Guozhang.

Long Guozhang took the telegram. After looking at it twice, his face suddenly changed. He handed the message to Tan Xiaozeng and said, "The young master has decided to send the night eagle to Nanyang to explore the way."

"This is a good thing!" As soon as he heard that the young master was ready to take action, Tan Xiaozeng couldn't help but be overjoyed. With the Night Eagle, if several more warships could be transferred to form an escort team, the problem of pirates could be solved temporarily!

But before I could read the content of the whole telegram, the voice of Long Guozhang came to my ear: "But there is news from France, and the Russian hair is also coming to stir up the muddy water of the Far East!".

(to be continued)