Hu Xueyan said with a smile: "The first time Lord Zuo said it, it was me, I donated food and medicine when Lord Zuo was in Hangzhou.I don't just want to congratulate Xiximeng for making a quasi-forehead, I also want to congratulate Xiximeng for getting 7.7 million taels of silver, the whole Beijing knows about it, I just hate that I didn't go to see a good show in the morning, Yuemeng, do it beautifully, you are making money at both ends, the most important thing, foreigners actually obediently send you money. ”Xuan Yuemeng smiled: "My matter today is not worth mentioning, this is just a relatively fair transaction, I didn't make a big profit, on the contrary, I also offended Prince Gong." ”Zuo Zongtang pulled Xuan Yuemeng's little chubby paws, hugged Xuan Yuemeng to his lap and sat down, "It's nothing to offend, I am willing to lose the bet, who let Zaicheng and them find you to gamble Yuemeng, who can do business with foreigners fairly, in the Qing Kingdom, you are still the first one." ”Xuan Yuemeng said with a smile: "I still want to learn from Mr.
Hu, Lord Zuo and Mr.
Hu are people I admire, for the country and the people, the matter of Lord Zuo going to use soldiers in the northwest, do you have eyebrows" Zuo Zongtang sighed, nodded and said: "There are eyebrows, the court is reluctant to pay, Mr.
Hu has borrowed foreign debts, and he should be able to use soldiers next year." ”Xuan Yue Meng was surprised, "It's good that the imperial court agreed to borrow foreign debts." ”Hu Xueyan also smiled bitterly, "Yes, I used the mortgage made by Fukang Qianzhuang to borrow foreign debts for the imperial court in my own name, if the imperial court delays repayment, I have to advance the silver myself This time, I borrowed more than 7 million taels and I staked my net worth and my life, I believe that Dashuai will definitely be able to win." ”Young Master Meng did this to Hu Xueyan and was in awe, "Mr.
Hu is for the country and the people, Yue Meng admires it very much, Yue Meng also hopes that Lord Zuo can win Mr.
Hu, you have borrowed so many foreign debts, you have to prevent someone from running on it" Zuo Zongtang said: "Yue Meng is worried that the court will not repay" Xuan Yuemeng nodded.Zuo Zongtang said in a deep voice: "They don't dare, as long as I have a breath, I won't let Xueyan's silver go down the drain." ”"It's not just that they are afraid that the court will not repay the loan, after all, it is the money borrowed from foreigners, and they dare not pay it back.But if Mr.
Hu fights a business war with foreigners, as long as the person in charge of repayment deliberately delays it, Mr.
Hu will not be able to stand what Qian Zhuang is most afraid of is a run on Mr.
Hu. ”Young Master Meng said sincerely, "You have to guard against being attacked from both sides."
In a business war, time determines the outcome of the battle, and you help the state borrow money in your private name, which is too risky. ”Young Master Meng knew that in history, Hu Xueyan was played to death by Sheng Xuanhuai and foreigners, which was equivalent to copying the scene of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom being played to death by the officials and foreigners, and it was just in the mall.Ten years later, Hu Xueyan will be destitute, which is something that Young Master Meng does not want to see.Hu Xueyan used more than 30 million taels of silver to fight with foreigners, which is a classic of Chinese business wars and the pinnacle of the tragedy of China's business wars.Hu Xueyan nodded and said: "How could I misunderstand that Yue Meng is worthy of being the most talented businessman in the Great Qing Kingdom, you can see so far, this is rare, you know everything at a young age, yes, it's really good, I'll be careful." ”, Young Master Meng said secretly, I'm afraid that with people like Zuo Zongtang and Hu Xueyan, it's useless to be careful, people who do practical things are always being done nothing, thinking about sabotage all day long, and the villain who demolishes the platform is played to death.Today, after Young Master Meng comprehended Li Hongzhang's insidiousness, he became more and more worried about Zuo Zongtang and Hu Xueyan, Zuo Zongtang is not as insidious as Li Hongzhang, and Hu Xueyan is not as insidious as Sheng Xuanhuai.
If Zuo Zongtang's army and the foreigners are in big trouble at that time, Young Master Meng will give it away, but now he doesn't want to say it early, for fear that Zuo Zongtang will rely on him, and he is also afraid that he will change his mind at that time, if he can't do it, he will slap himself in the face.The three of them talked about it, so it was not easy, this was the first time that Young Master Meng had spoken to someone so happily in the Qing Dynasty, Hu Xueyan was quick in thinking, Zuo Zongtang was very thoughtful and philosophical, all of which made Young Master Meng's thinking suddenly unblocked, but it was a pity that they were not crossing the crowd, otherwise, Young Master Meng should be happier with them, Young Master Meng guessed that if Zuo Zongtang and Hu Xueyan were also crossing the crowd, with the intelligence of the two of them, they must be better than themselves.Young Master Meng's favorite is the story of starting from scratch, Hu Xueyan has a business soul of the poor to get rich.Zuo Zongtang has a military soul that resists foreign aggression and does not hesitate to honor and disgrace."
Lord Zuo, why do the great powers go to all over the world to develop colonies and we have to be beaten passively to say something unpleasant, the Qing Dynasty, most of the places have become semi-colonies of the great powers" Xuan Yuemeng said cautiously, wanting to talk to Zuo Zongtang a little bit about his military ideas, "I want to take out some money to fund a small country, and develop a few colonies outside.
Your idea is too advanced, I have never thought of such an investment, you don't want to raise tigers. ”Young Master Meng smiled: "No, your own army is in your own hands, even if it is a tiger, it is also a tiger that recognizes the master After the arrival of the era of the Industrial Revolution, the traditional colonial trade based on sugar, tobacco and slaves is no longer of great significance."
The demand for consumer goods has been replaced by demand for industrial raw materials such as cotton, wool, fuel, iron, copper, tin, coal and so on, and there is an urgent need for these countries to open up markets outside their own countries to absorb their own manufactured goods.Since the market in the European region is saturated, it can only look to the Americas and Asia for development.After the independence of the thirteen North American states, Britain's colonial cause was greatly hit, so the focus of colonial strategy shifted from North America to India, which had more abundant resources and a larger market.In addition, the British occupied Australia, New Zealand, Burma, the Cape Colony, Hong Kong, and other places.Due to the influence of the concept of natural human rights promoted by the French Revolution, as well as religious, humanitarian and economic reasons, Britain outlawed the slave trade at the beginning of this century, and later the Netherlands, France, Sweden, Denmark and other countries also declared a ban on the slave trade.As a result of this measure, the country's foothold on the African coast shrank rapidly, and Denmark and the Netherlands both sold their trading posts off the coast of West Africa in the mid-19th century.At the same time, due to the impact of the Napoleonic Wars, the Spanish and Portuguese colonies in the Americas declared their independence, and the demand for slaves plummeted, and the colonial power of these two countries in Africa also weakened rapidly. ”Hu Xueyan also nodded: "In North Africa, France took advantage of the decline of the Ottoman Empire, a feudal theocratic empire that spanned Europe, Asia and Africa, to infiltrate Algeria and these nominal vassal states of the Ottoman Empire with the opportunity of eliminating North African pirates, and Algeria, where pirates were most active, was hit the hardest, after which the US Navy defeated the Algerian Navy, the Anglo-Dutch combined fleet bombarded Algiers, and France also had many conflicts with Algeria, and ten years later, occupied Algeria.Colonial expansion is indeed a shortcut to economic development, but, Yue Meng, do you have this kind of strength" Young Master Meng smiled: "Mr.
Hu is also very familiar with the situation of various countries, admire, I don't have this strength, but I want to try, I have to try." ”Zuo Zongtang frowned, silent, this idea that Young Master Meng said, Zuo Zongtang also felt very novel, "Yue Meng, fund a small country, develop a colony If this colony is dependent on the Qing Dynasty, it is indeed conducive to fair trading of businessmen and help the country's economic revitalization, have you told others about this" Young Master Meng smiled: "I haven't told anyone, including my grandfather and my father." ”Zuo Zongtang nodded, "This matter must not be known to anyone, it is very difficult, the risk is also very great, it's okay to get up, if you don't get up, most of you will die halfway, if you let the court know, it will be tantamount to rebellion." ”Young Master Meng smiled: "I don't come forward myself, and I put all my hands outside, not in the Great Qing Kingdom, even if I know, why should I be the one who wants to move me, I have to weigh it myself, if I die, my tiger will not agree."
I was also anxious for the country, I didn't think about success and failure, and if I failed, I became a hero. ”Zuo Zongtang glanced at Hu Xueyan, Hu Xueyan smiled and shook his head, "No wonder people say that Yue Meng is a prodigy of the Qing Dynasty, today I have seen it, Yue Meng dares to think about anything, however, I think from a business point of view, this is not a bad way, otherwise, my Qing Dynasty will always be in the position of being oppressed by foreigners, and I will never be able to turn over" Zuo Zongtang nodded and said: "This matter, let me think about it, I may be able to help Yue Meng, since our Chu army finished fighting, many brothers have been laid off without food and clothing, I heard that Yue Meng's business is doing well, Having a place to eat is also a big concern for me. ”Young Master Meng is overjoyed, this is exactly what he wants Zuo Zongtang to help him, the army of this era is all recognized by the master, to train an army that has fought a war, a unit with combat experience, it is not just a matter of spending money, "This is what it should be, I can't let the heroes who shed blood for the country and sacrifice their lives for the country fall down, I have to raise them, and I can come to my factory to do things." ”Hu Xueyan also said happily: "This is the best."
My business is mainly based on pharmacies and money villages, and I don't need so many people, and there are at least 30,000 or 40,000 young and strong people who are living in various parts of Suzhou and Hangzhou as coolies, and their lives are miserable. ”Zuo Zongtang listened to Hu Xueyan's words, and he was also embarrassed, those warriors were all people who followed him to life and death, the battle was over, but life was not settled, how could he not make him sad Zuo Zongtang nodded and said: "Then, Xueyan, you go and help contact you, recruit all the people to Yuemeng, and then try to make up the travel expenses for them, Jiangnan to Tianjin, the road is long." ”Hu Xueyan agreed, and Young Master Meng was even more overjoyed, gave it away, and helped with a ticket.The Huai Army was an army recruited by Li Hongzhang and trained by Huai Yong in the late Qing Dynasty under the command of Zeng Guofan.The Huai army came out of the Hunan army.In 1861, in the 11th year of Xianfeng, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom marched to Shanghai, but the Qing army in Shanghai could not fight, and the British invading army did not increase its troops.At that time, Zeng Guofan was the governor of Liangjiang and was stationed in Anqing, and the local officials of Shanghai sent representatives to ask him for help.Zeng Guofan had already used the Hunan army system to train two Huaiyong soldiers, that is, he ordered his right-hand man Li Hongzhang to recruit Huaiyong, and in March 1862, in February of the first year of Tongzhi, he formed an army in Anqing, called "Huaiyong", also known as "Huai Army".Subsequently, the Huai army took a British steamship through the territory of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and went to Shanghai to cooperate with the British invading army against the Taiping army.The Huai army numbered 6,500 when it was founded.After arriving in Shanghai in April and May 1862, he used the support of foreign invaders and Shanghai customs tax to purchase foreign guns and cannons to expand the army.By 1864, the Huai army first colluded with the British and French invading armies and the Changsheng army to fight against the Taiping army near Shanghai, and then cooperated with the Hunan army to attack the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other places.After the fall of Tianjing, the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, in the autumn and winter of 1864, the Huai army was dismantled, and there were still 1004 battalions and more than 50,000 people.From 1865 to 1868, under the leadership of Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang, he fought against the Twist Army as the main force of the Qing army in Anhui, Hubei, Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhili and Hebei.After the Twist Army was suppressed, the Huai Army undertook the defense of thousands of miles of rivers and seas from Tianjin and Baoding in the north to Shanghai and Wusong in the south.Based on the power of the Huai Army, Li Hongzhang grasped the country's diplomatic, military, and economic powers, and became an important figure in the political situation of the late Qing Dynasty.The main generals of the Huai Army, such as Zhang Shusheng, Liu Mingchuan, Zhou Shengbo, Pan Dingxin, Wu Changqing, Ding Ruchang, Ye Zhichao, Wei Rugui, and Nie Shicheng, formed the Huai warlords and were an important armed political group in the ruling class.The Huai military camp system came from the Hunan army.Each battalion had 500 men, and more than 120 guns and small guns were used.In 1863, each battalion served as a "teacher" outside the battalion and sentry officer, trained foreign drills, and changed the team of carrying guns and small guns to the foreign gun team; Its mountain-splitting artillery team was also changed to the flowering artillery team.Due to the large number of men required to use new weapons, the number of people in each battalion increased to seven or eight hundred, including company commanders.The Huai army was a branch of the Hunan army of Zeng Guofan, and was now the main military force of the late Qing Dynasty.The only thing that can be compared to Zuo Zongtang's Young Master Chu Junmeng is not satisfied with the growth rate of the small army under his command t1706231537: