The sudden huge explosion that was beyond imagination not only caused heavy casualties from the British troops landing, but also frightened them. No one knew what was going on. They rushed towards the coast one by one, just wanted to escape from this place as soon as possible and return to the warship. At least the sea was safe, and no one knew whether such a terrifying explosion would appear again.

Seeing the desperation soldiers scrambling to grab the ships of the troops, Hebu's mind was blank. He never expected that the development of the situation would turn so sharply. Seeing that the seaside was in chaos, he asked in a deep voice: "Where is General Polit? Why is there no one to restrain the desperation soldiers?"

The communications manager, who was stunned, replied in a panic: "Your Excellency, General Polit has already arrived......"

He Bu shook his head speechlessly. If it weren't for the fleet, I was afraid that the Qing army would have been hiding over there. The officers and soldiers drawn from Australia and India would be useless. After pondering for a moment, he ordered: "Send the ship to pick up General Polit as soon as possible."

On the shore, at the temporary command of the Army, Lieutenant General William Pollet stood outside the military tent and watched a group of chaotic defeated soldiers running towards him. Everyone looked panicked on their faces. They ignored him, the general with the rank of lieutenant general on their shoulders, and ran past them as if they were running away.

Polit was speechless about this group of mobs drawn from Australia and India and pieced together. He did not stop it, and knew that it could not be stopped at all. This group of soldiers, even some low-level officers, would not listen to him at this time. Fortunately, there was a fleet on the surface, so he didn't have to worry about the Qing army's pursuit, so he simply let it go.

He was also deeply frightened by the unparalleled explosion just now. He guessed that the Qing army should have detonated a huge underground ammunition depot. But such a powerful explosion would require how big an ammunition depot!

"Report——." A naval communications officer quickly came up and saluted: "General He Bu asked you to get on the ship."

Poly nodded, returned to the command center to explain, then rushed to the beach and boarded the 'Sultan'. As soon as he saw Hebu, he said bluntly: "They are already scared. The best way is to let them return to the warship."

He Bu also asked directly: "What should I do if Maputo? Will I still beating?"

"It can be fired, but the naval gun must be onshore." Polit said: "We can directly capture the port of Maputo and then build positions like the Qing army... but it is best to wait until tomorrow to organize an attack."

"I think the navy can attack the port first." He said: "We need a victory to inspire morale and stabilize the morale of the army."

"Good idea, the Qing army should not have large caliber shore defense artillery." Polit agrees with this proposal. Indeed, they urgently need a victory to boost morale, otherwise this battle would not be fought. It is undoubtedly the wisest to use ironclad ships to attack Maputo port. The Qing army's land war artillery is not enough to threaten the ironclad ships.

Soon, a fleet of twelve small and medium-sized ironclad ships broke out of the formation and quickly sailed towards the mouth of the Mabudo River in black smoke.

In the city, the command center heard the report, Tang Zaosheng smiled and said, "The British army is smart this time, let's retreat."

"No more sniping?" Jiang Baxiang looked at him with some surprise. "The 150-caliber land war artillery fires special bombs, which can also cause great damage to the ironclad ship..."

"Let's joke." Tang Zaosheng waved his hand, "The iron armored ships move in the river, and we don't set up artillery observation points along the river. Various shooting numbers cannot be determined, and the hit rate is too low. Besides, the British iron armored ships are not easy to bully. The range of land war artillery is not as good as that of naval guns, and the risk of casualties is too great. Now we can only take more than a dozen 150-caliber land war artillery, and we dare not take risks easily."

As he said that, he ignored the other party, stood up and ordered to the outside world, "Don't forget to take away both the phone and telegram lines when retreating..."

The British fleet went up the river without any resistance. They occupied Maputo Port without a single shot and bullet. The Marines arrived carefully and found that it was an empty city.

After receiving the news of occupying Maputo, Hebu and Polit were not happy at all. If Maputo was captured directly from the river, there would not be such a large casualties. Obviously, the Qing army had calculated that they would land directly from the coastal defense position and deliberately dug a big hole waiting for them.

"The Qing army is cunning and vicious." Hebu said in a deep voice: "After entering Maputo, we must build a defensive position as soon as possible. I think it is necessary to solemnly remind you that the Qing army is good at night wars, and they are good at lighting with fireworks at night."

Still good at night battles? Polit's face suddenly looked a little ugly, "This is a headache and very difficult opponent. It's really a very bad decision to capture Maputo."

He Buxin glanced at him and said, "The Qing Dynasty has risen very quickly in recent years, and its hands are stretching longer and longer. Sooner or later we have a big battle with the Qing Dynasty. It is better to fight early than to fight late. Capture Maputo means forcing the Qing Navy to come to South Africa to fight us in a decisive battle. As long as we win the naval battle, these troops will have nothing to worry about. They have cut off ammunition supplies and they can only surrender."

Speaking of this, he asked with concern: "Is the casualties counted?"

When he asked about the casualties, Polit's expression was disheartened, "The casualties were more than 6,000..."

More than 6,000 casualties? Hebu was silent. Although he had expected that there were quite a few casualties, it was as high as 6,000, which was far beyond his expectations. He was also a little heavy for a while. He didn't know what kind of reaction this result would cause when it came to China. The only thing worth comforting is that it would be smaller than the casualties in Pretoria.

Tang Zaosheng naturally did not know the casualties of the British army, and he did not dare to overestimate them, for fear of being accused of falsely reporting military achievements. Therefore, in the telegram to Yi Zhizu, the casualties of the British army were very conservative, and only four thousand were reported. As for the explosives used, he did not dare to conceal it. After all, it was used to mine gold and must be replenished in time.

Shanghai, Zhennan Prince's Mansion, Zhangle Bookstore.

Yi Zhizu read the telegram, put it on the coffee table casually, and said with a smile: "This soup stove is really a brave man. A big firecracker wastes more than 80 tons of explosives. Without these more than 4,000 casualties, I don't know how to excuse him."

Zhao Liewen said, "Why does Maputo have so much explosives? It is used to mine gold?"

"Yes." Yi Zhizuji said first: "The Transvaal Gold Mine has set a task to mine 100 tons of gold this year. They asked for sufficient explosives to mine ore, so all the explosives in Guangzhou were transported in one go. In addition, the railway from Maputo to Transvaal also required explosives to open the way, but unexpectedly, the Tangzhaosheng took it to set up a big firecracker."

Speaking of this, he chuckled and said, "If it were more than 4,000 casualties in the British army, this big firecracker would be worth it. I think even if the British army occupied Maputo, they would be worried all day long."

Zhao Liewen smiled and said, "If it were me, I would also be worried about whether a large amount of explosives had been buried under Maputo City."

"That won't be." Yi Zhizu smiled and paused, then he said slowly: "Selection orders to reward the entire army, inform the whole army, and reiterate the merits after the war, call Tang Zaosheng back, adopt flexible and maneuverable harassment tactics without having to defend the defense line."

It was the Spring Festival in a blink of an eye. In nearly half a month, there was no news of Britain declaring war on the Qing Dynasty, and there was no news of war in South Africa. There was no sign of worrying banknote depreciation. When the stock market closed, it was full of red. The government and the country were very calm. The atmosphere of the New Year was as usual, very festive and lively.

The only thing I can feel nervous is that almost all factories have not stopped working and rested, and military-related factories work overtime day and night, and even schools do not have winter vacations as usual. Because there are no adults at home, almost every household is busy working overtime and has no intention of celebrating the New Year.

Although I was so busy that I couldn't even take care of it for many years, all the workers not only did not have any complaints, but were full of energy. There have been news that after fighting this battle, Qingdao will no longer be closed to the outside world. Except for some special technicians in military factories, they are allowed to move freely, and outsiders can't help but flow in. Compared with this news, three times the salary for overtime during the Chinese New Year is insignificant.

The salary and welfare benefits in Qingdao are slightly higher than those in Guangzhou, Shanghai and other places, and the degree of urbanization in Qingdao is also very high. Although it is not as good as Shanghai, there are few places in the Qing Dynasty that can compare with Qingdao. It is not a special situation and no one is willing to leave. What makes them most happy is that outsiders can't help but flow into this, which means that relatives can be brought to Qingdao.

On the ninth day of the first lunar month, Yuanqi Bank opened its doors in various provinces, large and small semicolons. As the saying goes, the Chinese New Year is considered to be the end of the Lantern Festival. Many shops only opened their doors after the Lantern Festival. However, Yuanqi Bank sets to open their doors on the ninth day of the first lunar month. This rule was naturally decided by the shopkeeper Yizhizu, because many factories in Guangzhou and Shanghai also started construction nearby on this day, so there is no reason for the bank to be later than the factory.

Given the run at the end of last year, as soon as the New Year opened, many shopkeepers were worried. It was not that there was no money, but that there was a run at the beginning of the year. This sign was too bad. Who in business doesn’t want to have a good sign.

Yi Jingzu doesn't pay attention to any signs, but he is also worried about a run. From the end of the year to the eighth day of the lunar month, it took about a month for South Africa to blockade news, and this matter cannot stand up to contemplation and contemplation. After all, the British are not like the Qing Dynasty, who do businessmen, students, and some officials returning to China who spend the New Year, know this. In the Battle of Pretoria, the Qing and Britain had already started a war. There is no reason why the British will wait until the Qing Dynasty celebrates the New Year before the war begins.

Fortunately, there was no run on the ninth day of the lunar month, even Guangzhou and Shanghai. On the eleventh day of the lunar month, Hu Guangyong rushed to the Zhennan Prince's Mansion and entered the study. He greeted New Year first according to the etiquette, and then changed his mind. "Yesterday, other provinces were still calm, but there were large withdrawals in both Guangzhou and Shanghai..." After hesitating, he tentatively said: "When will the Iron Craft Fleet in Qingdao set off?"

"The Lantern Festival arrives in Shanghai." Yi Zhizu said: "It's okay. Most of the things that need to be cashed are exchanged before the New Year. Even if there is a run after the New Year, the scale will not be large."

Hu Guangyong smiled wryly and said, "The problem is that there is not much bank deposit. After the run at the end of the year, the bank deposits in various provinces are already at risk..."

After lit a cigarette, Yi Zhizu said slowly: "The ironclad fleet may not be able to eliminate the run when it arrives in Shanghai, and it may also play the opposite role. This is a matter of opinion."

Hu Guangyong was stunned when he heard this. After careful consideration, he found that it was indeed the case. Once the Iron Armored Fleet appeared in Shanghai, those with a little bit of eyes could see that the Qing Dynasty was determined to go to war with England and England in South Africa. Originally, the government and the people had different opinions on the war between Qing and England. The emergence of the Iron Armored Fleet may trigger new panic.

After pondering for a moment, he tentatively said: "Is the shopkeeper planning to implement the gold standard in advance?"

"You can't watch Yuanqi be broken?" Yi Zhizu said quietly: "The gold reserves and pounds on hand are enough to deal with the circulating paper banknotes. The current gold-silver exchange ratio is used to determine the gold content of paper banknotes. Once a large-scale run occurs, it is announced to use gold exchange and clearly stipulate that it will be adjusted according to the actual time of the market gold-silver exchange ratio."

Hu Guangyong hesitated and said, "If this is the case, it will cause a bigger run."

Yi Zhizu nodded. This problem does exist. Once Yuanqi exchanges gold for banknotes, the court and the country will inevitably think that Yuanqi is helpless and exchanges it with gold. One is out of concern that banknotes will collapse and become waste paper, and the other is that the Qing Dynasty gold is originally asking for greater supply, and it is difficult to see gold in the market. Panic and demand will lead to a larger run.

After pondering for a while, he said, "This is nothing we can do. We have done everything we can." After a pause, he continued, "Let the provinces calculate how much gold they need and allocate it as soon as possible."

When Hu Guangyong was about to leave, Yi Zhizuo stood up and walked slowly to the window, opened the window, and at this time, the gold standard was implemented. Yuanqi actually did not suffer any losses. The people were the people. As the world's largest silver circulation market, once the gold standard was implemented, it would inevitably lead to a sharp and rapid depreciation of silver in the international market. At that time, it would not be paper money, but silver!

Yuanqi is not short of money and does not need to use such means to plunder the wealth of the people. If there is no such run that is enough to threaten Yuanqi's reputation, he plans to delay the amount of Transvaal gold mine for another two years or one year, and then step by step to implement the gold standard.

Zhao Liewen walked in slowly, glanced at his back, and whispered: "Big shopkeeper--."

"Huifu is here." Yi Zhizu turned around and took out an article from the trunk and said, "Take this article to the newspaper office, and the publication time is to be determined."

Zhao Liewen took it and saw the title "On the Gold Standard". He was shocked. It is always public opinion to act first. Is it necessary to prepare to implement the gold standard in advance? Is there another run at the beginning of the year?
Chapter completed!