Shanghai, Zhennan Wangfu, Changle Bookstore.

Putting down the telegram sent by Feng Zicai from Transvar, Yi Zuo lit a cigarette leisurely. The Maxim heavy machine gun has an unparalleled deterrence to Transvar, who is proud of his cavalry. This is beyond doubt. This is also the main purpose of his request for Feng Zicai to hold live-fire drills, shocking Transvar and allowing Transvar to stand firmly on the side of the Qing Dynasty.

Of course, doing this can lead to the risk of leaking the Maxim machine gun in advance. After all, they don’t know much about Transvaal’s situation, but in order to stabilize Transvaal, they don’t care about so much. Moreover, even if the British knew about the Maxim machine gun, they could not imagine the unparalleled lethality of the Maxim machine gun.

You should know that in later generations, the Maxim machine gun was called a super weapon and one of the most killing weapons. He has always kept it in hiding it, not only to make the Maxim machine gun famous in Transvaal, but also to cause a heavy blow to the British army.

For Yuanqi, the Maxim machine gun was a real ten-year sharpening sword. After the rear-mounted rifle gun was finalized, he ordered the development of the Maxim heavy machine gun. This machine gun with complex structure and numerous parts has condensed the efforts of many military technicians and promoted the development of the Qing Dynasty's machinery manufacturing industry. It took two years to go from pure manual manufacturing to machine manufacturing.

"Big shopkeeper." Zhao Liewen walked in slowly and said, "Shopkeeper Huo is here."

"It's just right." Yi Zhizu smiled and said, "Please come in."

After Huo Qizheng came in to salute, he said with a frown: "The big shopkeeper has been falling for half a month. If it continues, it may cause panic..."

"Don't worry." Yi Zhizu smiled and said, "I have asked Yuanqi Headquarters to print 200 million more paper money. You go to the headquarter to find Kong Jian'an and Hu Guangyong, and all of them are proposed to support the market..."

After hearing this, Huo Qizheng couldn't help but smile happily, but Zhao Liewen was shocked and hurriedly said: "The big shopkeeper, suddenly issued an additional 200 million banknotes..."

"Don't worry." Yi said confidently: "These 200 million are locked in the stock market, and there will be no trouble in the short term. The war in South Africa will definitely be inevitable, and the stock market will rebound, and then pull it out."

After a pause, he continued: "If the stock market plummets and causes panic, it will be trouble. In the face of panic, a large amount of selling is sold, and the banknotes cashed in the stock market are turned over to increase the pressure of the run. Wouldn't it be the intention of European capital? Stabilize the stock market first and see how much gold they have filled in! Let's collect as much as we come!"

As he said that, he looked at Huo Qizheng and said, "It is expected that in half a month, the news of our involvement in the South Africa war will spread. At that time, there will inevitably be a big drop, and we must withstand it."

"Don't worry, big shopkeeper." Huo Qizheng smiled and said, "With such abundant funds, you can definitely stabilize the stock market!"

Yi Zhizu nodded, looked at Zhao Liewen, and said, "Why didn't you see it today?"

"Xingzhi has gone to the stock trading hall." Zhao Liewen said slowly: "I said I want to experience it myself."

Yi Zhizu smiled, "It's better to let him experience it yourself."

In the stock market trading hall, although the stock market is in a downturn and continuous decline, the trading hall is still crowded. No one knows what changes will happen in the stock market, but it is certain that this period is particularly sensitive, and it may rebound strongly or plummet one after another. What exactly depends entirely on whether Yuanqi will start a war with England in South Africa.

The huge trading hall was like a vegetable market, and everyone who knew each other was talking about the current situation and the direction of the stock market. Yi Zhengxing, who was wearing a suit, a top hat and a pair of flat-glass and a pair of beards, was attracted by the discussion of the discussions of a group of people at the door.

"It's nothing to be scary about English. Yuanqi and English also fought two battles, but when did they lose?"

"We occupied the right time, place, and people in those two battles. The British Navy basically failed to exert its due combat power. The first time, the British fleet entered the Yangtze River by itself, and the second time, the British army still entered the Bohai Bay by itself. But it would be different if it was in South Africa..."

"What I mean is that South Africa is the territory of the British. This time, we don't have the right time, place and people. Moreover, the British navy has dominated the sea for two hundred years, and its naval strength is recognized as the world's number one..."

"Isn't France also recognized as the hegemon of Western Europe and Central Europe before? What's the result? The French-Prussian War was beaten by the unknown Germans without any power to fight back! How could I know that England and Geely were not the second France?"

"France has always been a defeated player of England. How can the two be compared?"

"Our Qing Dynasty is not Germany either! When did Yuanqi lose countless battles? "

"That's hard to say. After all, they are all small vassal states that are not worth mentioning in the surrounding areas. How can they be compared with Britain, France and other countries?"

"We have never fought with Britain and France. Didn't the four-nation coalition forces still be fought by Yuan Qi when they invaded? When the northwest expanded, didn't Tsarist Russia retreat? There was also the Persian Gulf, which was different from the British sphere of influence. Didn't our Qing naval fleet go directly to the door?"

"When the Franco-Prussian Gulf was dispatched, the French-Prussian War broke out, and Britain had no time to take care of Asia. It cannot be said that the British were afraid of us."

"It's been a long way to go, it's a long way to go. What we are concerned about now is the stock market..."

"Isn't it just about the stock market? You are just worried that the Qing Dynasty will go to war with England in South Africa and are worried about defeat. If we can win this battle, what does that mean? It means that we can obtain South Africa's gold mine! Maybe there will be diamond mines, which is definitely a huge benefit!"

"What if you are defeated? How much is France's compensation in the Franco-Prussian War? 700 million taels of silver!"

"You all know the consequences of defeat. Can the King of Zhennan know? In my opinion, don't worry at all. It should be good if you really want to send troops to South Africa!"

"I think it's hard to say whether I will send troops to South Africa. The newspapers defended the troops to South Africa because the King of Zhennan gave the imperial court 20% of the shares of the South African gold mine for free, but there is no sign of sending troops at the moment."

"The war in South Africa is mainly about naval warfare. What signs can we see? Besides, the main force of the South China Fleet has been in Java?"

Hearing this, Yi Zhengxing couldn't help but smile. It's interesting. There is indeed no shortage of insight in the stock market, but it is obvious that not many such insightful people would have fallen continuously. They squeezed into the hall and all the way into the hall, and all the followers could hear various comments. However, most of them were worried about sending troops to South Africa. England's unshakable maritime overlord status for 200 years was like a mountain pressing against the hearts of investors, and almost no one was optimistic about the Qing navy.

However, although most people have pessimistic views, they are still reluctant to sell the stocks in their hands and wait and see. After all, the current situation is not clear. The most important thing is that the Qing Dynasty stock market has experienced too many wars since its establishment. Each war will cause considerable shocks and will eventually usher in a climax.

It can be said that every war is a rare opportunity for speculation for the Qing Dynasty stock market. The investors who have experienced too many ups and downs have become as scared as the sparrows on Dongting Lake and are reluctant to give up their losses.

Yi Zhengxing leisurely wandered around the trading hall. Seeing that it was almost lunch break, he squeezed out and planned to go back. Before he could reach the door, he noticed that the atmosphere in the hall was different. The originally noisy hall like a vegetable market suddenly became quiet. He turned around and glanced at the trading sign hanging in the hall, which was still a green downward-marked arrow.

Qian Kun, who has been following him and is familiar with the stock market situation, whispered: "Some people are eating a lot, not just one stock, but almost all stocks are like this, and the stock market is about to change."

What's the situation? Yi Zhengxing frowned. Could it be that Yuanqi took action? Otherwise, who would have made such a big move? The trading hall was quiet and then noisy. With such a big move, the stock market will definitely stabilize and rebound. And you can tell at a glance that Yuanqi took action to protect the market!

They were so quick that they squeezed towards the trading counter. At this time, as long as they could buy it, they would definitely make a profit without losing money!

As soon as the market opened in the afternoon, the stock market quickly stopped falling and stabilized, but it started to rebound strongly for a quarter of an hour. When the market was closed in the afternoon, the whole line was red, and all stocks rose sharply, and the Shanghai Composite Index rebounded more than 100 points.

In the second floor and office of the British Consulate in Shanghai, James Northcott, who was in his early forties, said angrily: "This is cheating! It is malicious manipulation!"

"I have reminded you a long time ago." Consul Mai Huatuo shrugged his shoulders, looking as if I had expected. "The stock market in the Qing Dynasty is not a completely free investment market, it is a stock market completely manipulated by Yuanqi. I hope you can stop when you see the better and don't have any unrealistic ideas.

Yuanqi's hugeness is beyond your imagination. It is no exaggeration to say that Yuanqi is not something that any financial family can compete with, and even the Rothschild family, known as the Sixth Empire, cannot do it, unless you can unite all the financial forces in Europe."

"Thank you for your kind reminder." James said impatiently: "But I need to report the situation here to London right now."

Mai Huatuo glanced at him and said, "Yuan Qi is trying every means to reserve gold to promote the gold standard. I hope you will stop exchanging silver as soon as possible."

"You know, this is not something I can decide." James stood up, "I think they are more concerned about making money, how much money they can make."

Zhennan Wangfu, Changle Bookstore.

Yi Zheng was walking in the room and said straight: "Yuan Qi's big-handed protective plate is too obvious. Will he alert the snake?"

"Going." Yi Zhizu smiled and praised, pointing to the chair, then said: "Even if you know how to alert the enemy, it is impossible. If the stock market does not protect the market, once the news of the war in South Africa comes out, it will inevitably cause great panic. The stock market panic will inevitably increase the run-off trend, and overseas capital will fuel the fire again. What will happen?"

After a pause, he said slowly: "It is important to absorb gold and increase gold reserves, but it is more important to stabilize the financial market. You cannot put the cart before the horse. In addition, large amounts of capital flows require sufficient profits. As long as there is a chance to make money, they will not easily withdraw."

South Africa, in Transvaal, British troops camp.

At dusk on the South African plateau, the scenery was very beautiful and the climate was very cool. Napier, the commander of the British Transvaal Expeditionary Force, sat on the grass outside the tent with his pipe in his arms. Not far away, the orderly soldiers were grilling a hare. The fragrance blew in the wind, and he couldn't help but sniff.

This place is less than 200 kilometers away from Witwaters, where the Qing people discovered gold mines. Along the way, they did not encounter decent resistance, only scattered Boer cavalry harassment, and the Qing people never appeared.

After countless battles, they have figured out a way to deal with the Boer cavalry - mortars. This kind of artillery invented by the Qing Dynasty can carry with them is the most suitable for the Boer cavalry. After equiping the mortars, the casualties of the Boer are gradually increasing, and fewer and fewer have appeared. The scope of their whistle detectives has expanded to a hundred miles, which has made him feel much more at ease.

He believed that as long as we adopt a steady advancement method, in such an open area, whether it is the Boer cavalry or the six thousand Qing troops, they will have the advantage of crushing!

The only thing that worried him was that the logistics supply line was getting longer and longer, and he had been continuously discovered that the Boer cavalry was harassed by the logistics supply line. However, the 15,000 reinforcements from Australia were quickly moving closer to his troops, enough to ensure logistics supply.

A fast horse galloped towards his tent, and the rider in front of the tent jumped off the horse and rushed to him to salute and report: "General, General White sent a fast horse to return, the Qing people have given up the Witwaters gold mine."

Napier said in a deep voice: "White's troops have arrived in Witwaters?"

"No." The contact officer replied quickly: "It was sent to investigate. General White is still fifty kilometers away from Witwaters."

Napier breathed a sigh of relief. What he was most worried about was that White's troops were moving too fast and were too far away from the main force. Once surrounded by the Qing army and the Boers, he would not even have time to rescue him. He knocked his pipe and reinstalled a pot of tobacco. The Qing people even gave up the mine. What does this mean? Do you want to intervene in this war? If you want to intervene in this war, you can declare neutrality. It seems that the Qing army is ready to start a war!

Taking off the pipe from his mouth, he ordered in a deep voice: "Tell White, after arriving in Witwaters, he will station on the spot and spread the thunder probe out, focusing on investigating the situation in Pretoria, especially the movements of the Qing army must be clearly investigated, and the east and west directions must be carefully investigated!"

The most urgent thing at the moment is to investigate the movements of the Qing army. If the Qing army evacuated eastward, he would not ignore it and conquer Pretoria first. If the Qing army still stayed in Pretoria and did not move, it would be a bit abnormal!
Chapter completed!