Tang Tingshu, Zhang Jian and Qiao Zhiyong knew that the emperor had something to say to others, so he quickly received the order and went down to discuss it. After the three left, Zai Tian said to Weng Tonghe, Yan Jingming, Sun Yuwen and Zhan Tianyou: "I think that the railway is the lifeline of the country and cannot be used by others. Therefore, the construction of the railway is not in the form of stock raising for the time being, and it is all run by the government. The construction of the first railway is connected to Kaiping and Tianjin, mainly to transport coal. The money is organized by the Ministry of Revenue. Zhan Tianyou, you can do an inspection first, and then write a note to make a budget to see how much it costs."

Zhan Tianyou received the order and immediately left the office.

Zai Tian also told Weng Tonghe and others: "Although you are important officials of the court, you can't do it by doing it with more years of official careers or reading more classics, history, and collections of classics, history, and collections. It requires a lot of scientific arguments. You should urge you to complete the several tasks assigned by me today as soon as possible, but remember not to intervene too much. You must report them to me for details. Do you know?"

"I understand."

"Okay, Master Weng and Lord Sun will kneel down first."

After the two left, only Yihuan, Erle and Bu, Yan Jingming and Sheng Xuanhuai, and Zheng Guanying were left in the room. Zai Tian looked at Sheng Xuanhuai who had been kneeling on the ground. Zheng Guanying said, "Don't kneel all the time, get up."

Sheng and Zheng knelt for most of the day, but they really couldn't stand it. However, it was a big ritual to meet the emperor and his ministers. They were not first-rank or second-rank officials of the court, so naturally they did not have the principle of standing up to meet the saint. Now that the emperor finally got his grace, he could get up and slowly.

"Xuan Huai, you are the name "Yuansun", right?"

Suddenly hearing the emperor's name, Sheng Xuanhuai immediately felt a few pounds lighter, and felt flattered. He immediately took two steps forward and was about to kneel down. He just knelt for a long time before getting up, and his legs were a little unstraight. He couldn't kneel down but almost fell to his horse.

Zai Tian chuckled a few times, showed some children, then calmed down, and said, "Forget it, it's troublesome to kneel down, just stand and talk for a while."

"Zhe." Sheng Xuanhuai gently wiped the sweat on his head - Jun Qian was charged with losing his etiquette, and stood aside.

"Yuansun, you have been in charge of Westernization for many years, including shipping, mining, and telegram. Then I ask you, what do you think is the most important thing in developing industry?"

Sheng Xuanhuai did not dare to answer immediately. After thinking for a while, he said: "Return to the emperor, as I see, the industrial development of various countries starts with textiles first. Because textiles are close to people's livelihood, they take the fastest results. But if the country is strong, its foundation should be steel. With steel, only ships can be built, railways can be built, and guns cannons can be built."

The emperor was obviously satisfied with this answer. "Yes, it seems that you do have some understanding of the Westernization Affairs Bureau. I did not choose the wrong person, and Li Hongzhang did not recommend you wrong."

Although the emperor said he didn't have to kneel down, Sheng Xuanhuai still bowed and said, "I dare not."

Zai Tian naturally turned a blind eye to this false humility. "Although light industries such as textiles can enrich the country, they cannot strengthen the country. Fifty years ago, our Qing Dynasty could be called the richest country in the world, but wasn't they also held hostage by the strong ships and guns of the small country in Thailand? It can be seen that just enriching the country is not possible, and a strong country must be strengthened. Therefore, the steel industry must pay attention to it."

Speaking of this, Zai Tian dipped Sheng Xuanhuai, "You have two things to do now."

Sheng Xuanhuai hurriedly bowed and said, "Please tell me."

"I heard you ever wanted to open an iron factory in Huangshi Port?"

"yes."

"Well, the first thing is to prepare our own steel plant. The ore produced by Daye Iron Mine is not of the best quality, but it can still be used, but the phosphorus content is high. You should pay attention to choosing a suitable steelmaking method. This should be evaluated by professional engineers from Western countries. I heard that there is a Martin furnace that is more suitable. You can study it carefully after you go back. In addition, when choosing the factory address, you should also consider coal mines and transportation issues. Do you have any choice about using coal?"

Sheng Xuanhuai did not expect that the emperor was so familiar with Daye Iron Mine, and even considered the situation of the ore and what kind of steelmaking method to use. At this time, he finally realized why the Lord Zhongtang used the four words "unfathomable" to describe it when he talked to him about the emperor in private.

However, Sheng Xuanhuai came prepared after all. When asked by Guangxu, he immediately replied: "Return to the emperor, I and Li Zhongtang discovered this problem during their early inspections. However, since no coal mines have been found in Hubei Province, the coal demand for iron plants may have to be transported from Henan or Shandong."

Guangxu waved his hand and said, "No, I read ancient books a few days ago and found that Pingxiang, Jiangxi may be rich in coal mines and should be enough to apply."

Unexpectedly, the emperor even considered this, so what else could Sheng Xuanhuai say, so he could only bow to accept the order.

"But this is just one of the tasks," Zai Tian continued: "What is more important is how we use foreign funds and technology to start and develop our steel industry."

Zai Tian looked at Sheng Xuanhuai and said, "You know what the negotiations with the French are, right?"

Sheng Xuanhuai felt sweat flowing along his neck.

This is what it means to be with the king as if he is with a tiger. No one knows how much information is contained in the words the emperor asked you. Li Hongzhang did tell Sheng Xuanhuai about several treaties that the court and the French had secretly discussed. But should he know this? Will the emperor want to know it? If the emperor does not want it and Li Hongzhang talks to him, not only is he unlucky, but Li Hongzhang will fall down. So Sheng Xuanhuai could only stammer: "This, I have heard from Lord Li Zhongtang mentioned it."

Zai Tian looked at Sheng Xuanhuai who was nervous and smiled. "Don't worry, I asked him to tell you."

Since he planned to let Sheng Xuanhuai take charge, some inside information naturally needed to be known, not to mention that as Li Hongzhang's absolute confidant, such a thing could not be hidden from him.

Sheng Xuanhuai quietly breathed a sigh of relief. No matter how much Li Hongzhang valued him and trusted him, he was just a minister after all. What the emperor wanted you to know and what he had found out was essentially different. One reflected the emperor's trust, you might get promoted and become rich; the other would attract suspicion, and you might lose your head because of it.

"Our country is seriously lacking in funds and technical strength. Needless to say, you know this. You have given the Beiyang steward for so many years. You should also understand the two financial masters here. If the imperial court had money, I would not have borrowed money from the people of Shanxi."

The so-called 'the master was humiliated and the ministers died'. When the emperor said this, Yihuan and the two ministers of the Ministry of Revenue could not sit still, and they knelt down and apologized. Zai Tian waved his hand, "Forget it, you can't blame you. After all, we started late, and have been controlled by others in tariffs over the years, and have lost a lot of silver because of opium. But you must keep the financial custody for me in the future. Yan Jingming, I am not worried, he is good at managing finances. But you are in charge of my family business for me. You must remember in the future. If you live within your means, you can avoid it. If you can save it, you will save it."

Zai Tian took advantage of the situation and knocked on several important officials of the court. Sheng Xuanhuai and Zheng Guanying knelt aside, which was particularly embarrassing.

"So we lack people, money, and technology. If we want to solve these problems quickly, we can only temporarily rely on foreigners. But we must grasp the principles." As he said that, he stood up and walked towards Sheng Xuanhuai.

"That is, sovereignty lies with me, and initiative lies with me. We need to know what we want, how we want it, and why we want it, so that we can truly achieve our goal of 'borrowing power'. Do you understand?" As he said that, he patted Sheng Xuanhuai on the shoulder.

With the emperor's pace, Sheng Xuanhuai had already bent down to avoid appearing taller than the emperor. At this time, he was lightly patted by the emperor's hands, and his bones immediately became much softer. His knees became soft and naturally he could no longer stand, so he knelt down. Zheng Guanying, who was beside him, could no longer stand, and then he fell to the ground.

"I understand."

"Well, just understand. You are in Tianjin and Shanghai. After you have been in contact with foreigners for a long time, you should know the greedy nature of foreigners. Although we have the initiative to cooperate with the French, if we still have the mentality of a master, we will inevitably take advantage of loopholes and turn good things into bad things. Therefore, before this, we must make plans and participate in all aspects of foreign affairs, law, finance, and business. Moreover, during this period, we must do everything in detail and do everything personally to avoid sovereignty and learn more."

"Yes! Please rest assured, the emperor, and I will definitely devote myself to it."

Sheng Xuanhuai expressed his loyalty in time, hesitated for a moment, and then asked: "Prince, is that the iron factory that cooperates with the French, determined to be in Huangshi?"

"Well. My opinion is set in Huangshi. Huangshi is close to the Yangtze River and is convenient for transportation; next to it is Daye Iron Mine, which can be mined and smelted nearby, and is not far from the Pingxiang Coal Mine in Jiangxi. It is a suitable factory site. I originally planned to open our own steel plant here, but considering all reasons, I should just slow down first." Guangxu also knew that he should cheer up and comfort his ministers in time, "I know that you have invested a lot of effort in Daye Iron Mine, but there is no way. In this situation, we can only keep a low profile for the time being. If you learn quickly and can quickly master the production technology of the steel plant, the court is also planning to build a steel plant near Kaiping, which is not worse than the Huangshi Iron Mine."

While speaking, Guangxu helped up the two people who were still kneeling.

"The cooperation with the French will likely attract suspicion from the British and other Western countries. The British may also make such demands. If this is true, they can agree to build factories in Shanghai, and the coal they need can be transported from home, but the ore is recommended to be purchased from Australia."

Guangxu's words were not just an explanation to Sheng Xuanhuai, but a message to Yihuai and others to prepare them.

"In terms of shipyards, since the French have blown up the Mawei Shipyard, we have to build another one for us. However, considering that the previous battle in Fujian was not good for the French to enter Fujian, the location of the new shipyard is recommended to be located in Guangzhou. The new shipyard must be able to independently build mainstream warships in the world below 5,000 tons, or build cargo ships above 5,000 tons. In addition, I have heard that a new ship called submarines in Europe will be introduced together this time. Although Li Zhongtang is responsible for the negotiations on this matter, Zheng Guan will be responsible for the specific handling."

Zheng Guanying immediately stepped forward to receive the order.

"It's still the same. If there are Britain, the United States and other countries, they also want to set up shipyards, and they will also be placed in Shanghai or Guangzhou."

After talking for a long time, Zai Tian finally explained the two incidents of steel and shipbuilding in general. As for the remaining details, the specific responsible ministers will naturally improve and implement them.
Chapter completed!