This was the first time Liu Shaoqing set foot on China's land. He found that he actually felt an uncontrollable excitement.

Guangzhou was originally a major commercial center of the Qing Empire. After being forced to open the country by the British, trade further developed and became more prosperous.

Looking at the various shops and a wide range of products, Liu Shaoqing felt that it was nothing wrong to be opened to the country, at least it was better than to be closed to the country.

The wheel of history always needs to keep moving forward, Liu Shaoqing smiled mockingly.

Huang Chengyong and others who have never seen a big city only think that their eyes are not enough. In fact, the things placed in these shops are really not as good as those of the French at home, but putting them in the shop like this makes people feel prosperous and beautiful.

Huang Zhanfa, the candidate county who was ordered to receive, saw the expressions of the few people and felt proud in his heart.

The imperial envoy who came to Guangzhou together visited local officials, and Liu Shaoqing and others naturally did not meet such a big shot. Not to mention that it was him, even his father, although he had just obtained a fresh governor, he still had to look at his face when he really arrived in Guangzhou.

Huang Zhanfa is a native of Guangzhou. His father earned some money from a foreign company and donated an official position to his baby son. No matter whether he can take office or not, he is considered a glorious family. Huang Zhanfa is not a business or a businessman, but he is a local tyrant at least. The officials in the serious yamen are all taking the time to make money. Who has the time to take care of a child like Liu Shaoqing, which gives him the opportunity to show off.

As the few people walked and watched, they opened their eyes, but Liu Shaoqing obviously had a higher vision and looked down on these things. He chatted with the local snake beside him.

At this time, a large group of migrant workers walking through him, reminding Liu Shaoqing of something.

"Brother Huang, when we first arrived at the dock two days ago, we saw a large number of coolies unloading goods at the dock. The boxes were big and heavy. Can Brother Huang know what kind of goods it is?"

"Oh, why are you interested in this foreign machine? But if you want to get a kick, you won't have this chance. These machines are straight-line connections between foreigners and the Governor's Office. Even our local foreign companies are useless. The foreigners transported them from the West. They just used local coolies when unloading the goods, but this time the foreigners gave the coolies more money and gave them a lot of money. I guess it was because the war in Tokichi was good, so we Guangdong also benefited from it. Now, the coolies made money and all came here to pull a few feet of cauliflower to buy one or two pieces of jewelry for the wife of the family. The business of these stores suddenly improved."

Huang Zhanfa was very good at chatting and praised Liu Shaoqing and others without any trace. After all, these fathers of generals were all real power figures in Guangnan. In the future, if the Huang family went to Guangnan or even Zhongqi, Nanqi business, there would always be local officials to protect him. Now that he has the opportunity to make a good relationship, why not do it?

Liu Shaoqing didn't care about business, but when he heard the word "machine", he became more and more curious. "I'm sorry, brother Huang knows what kind of machine it is, and he wants foreigners to transport it from China in person?"

Huang Zhanfa waved his hand, "What's the presumption about this? Everyone in Guangzhou knows it. This is the shipbuilding equipment that the British want to expand the shipyard and transport. Not only here, I heard that there are all in Shanghai and Fuzhou, but also not only shipbuilding machines, but also mining and iron smelting, and there are many more."

Liu Shaoqing became more and more curious: "What did the imperial court do to buy these machines with a large handful of silver?"

Huang Zhan laughed more and more proudly, "My dear brother doesn't know that this was not bought by the court, but by foreigners who paid for it themselves."

This time, Liu Shaoqing was not curious, but was surprised, "What are the troubles of the great powers?!"

Liu Shaoqing had just seen many big markets and was even more ignorant of the situation in the court. It was normal that he couldn't figure it out. But even those who experienced it personally did not understand it very well. For example, Sheng Xuanhuai and others were confused and asked Li Hongzhang: "What is the fuss about the emperor who made such a big fuss and let foreigners run their own factories?"

Such "investment promotion" allows the court to build factories that are not inferior to the West without paying or spending less; at the same time, steel and machines are produced nearby and the court purchases them again, which can reduce the purchase cost; thirdly, it can also cultivate local industrial workers and technical workers.

These advantages can be seen clearly by Yi, Li Hongzhang, Sheng Xuanhuai and others, but for most people, if they really want foreigners to enter the mainland to set up factories directly, how can they feel that it is "destroying power and humiliating the country"!

However, even Li Hongzhang and others still thought that these goals could be achieved through other means. Although they may take longer, they will definitely be more secure. At least in the dispute between China and the barbarians, the local government will not be overwhelmed. Moreover, Li Hongzhang always believed that it would be more appropriate to take these factories into his own hands.

Of course, he didn't know that time is precious to Zai Tian now, and it was even more impossible for him to know that the emperor actually wanted to use the development and competition of capital to promote the major changes in the social system.

After all, I have never seen the emperor commit suicide.

For Sheng Xuanhuai, Zheng Guanying, Zhang Jian, Tang Tingshu and others, it is not important whether they can understand the emperor's profound meaning. Since the emperor has already given his responsibilities and valued them so much, they must do their best.

In order to communicate information and to show respect for Li Hongzhang, these newly promoted investment promotion offices come here to gather every month.

"Weaving factories, silk reeling factories, etc. are profitable businesses. The big businessmen in Beijing, Tianjin, Jiangsu and Zhejiang have long wanted to do it, but because the ban was not lifted before, they could not benefit from it. The news was released last month, and telegrams had already arrived, especially the merchants and even the families of officials in Beijing, Tianjin, and have begun to visit. It is estimated that the threshold for students will be changed in a few days."

Zhang Jian was responsible for light industry, and these people's livelihood industries were the most profitable, so naturally everyone flocked to it.

Li Hongzhang nodded and said, "Well, you can grasp these yourself, and block what you should block. The most important thing is to get a charter as soon as possible. This time the court will not participate in business management, but how to set up this factory cannot be left to those merchants to do their own things. Without rules, you have any idea how to determine the taxes of the court? "

"Yes. All those who want to run a factory will be registered with the court to check the origin of the principal so as not to be secretly controlled by foreigners. In addition, in terms of tax rates, it is tentatively necessary to draw taxes according to the amount of transactions, and pick up taxes or 15 taxes."

"Everything is difficult at the beginning, so you can set a 15-tax first. This time, the emperor exchanged five years for all countries on the condition that foreigners can set up machine factories and shipyards in Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangzhou. During these five years, foreigners will not participate in the operation of these people's livelihood industries. So you have to open our own factory to compete with foreigners within five years."

"Don't worry, the Shanghai Shipping Bureau and the Weaving Layout have already had role models in this regard, so students will naturally not mess up."

"Okay. How was it going here during the construction period?"

Tang Tingshu immediately replied: "The money from the Ministry of Revenue has been sown. The student talked with a few foreign merchants the day before yesterday. He initially planned to purchase British equipment. According to the emperor's wishes, he would first replace the equipment for the draw, and then open the coal mines in Jiangxi. Because Jiangxi had to support the iron factory run by the French, the equipment was purchased from France and would be transported with the French machines. As for coal mines in Hebei, Shandong, Henan and other places, the students had not yet visited it on site, and it was estimated that they would be opened one after another in the next five years. If Brother Sheng's progress accelerates, it would need to be shortened to three years."

Sheng Xuanhuai took over the conversation and continued: "Brother Jianshi and I complement each other. Now the French have completed the inspection of iron ore quality and the corresponding steel furnace has been set up and will be loaded and shipped. In addition, the iron plant equipment planned by the British in Shanghai has been issued, and the coal and iron ore of this iron plant will be transported from India. The emperor said that if we build iron plants in the future, we can use our own coal, but iron ore may be used from India or the United States, and they say their ore is good."

The agreement signed between the imperial court and the French could not be concealed, and the Qing Dynasty had no intention of hiding it. When the British heard that France had received the news that they had opened steel plants and shipyards in China, they were willing to let go of this piece of fat and were exclusively enjoyed by France, so they immediately came to Li Hongzhang and Sheng Xuanhuai. They also put pressure on the Qing court through the government, and wanted to get a share of the pie.

Fortunately, Zai Tian was prepared, and Yi, Li Hongzhang, Sheng Xuanhuai and others signed the Yantai Trade Supplement Treaty with Ogner in the following negotiations with the British based on French conditions.

According to the treaty, British merchants can open steel plants, heavy machinery factories, shipyards, etc. in their personal names at three ports in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Tianjin, and obtained preferential tax policies that do not have to pay taxes in the first year and halve the tax in the second year. However, the Qing court also obtained the right to participate in the operation and part of the equity. What is particularly important is that in this negotiation, in order to make a broader future interests in industry and compete with France, the British concessions in the opium trade for the first time, and agreed to the Qing government to impose high punitive tariffs on imported opium.

This has to be said to be an important victory for the Qing government in diplomatic fields and foreign trade negotiations since 1840.

As for the British, since they had won the factory opening rights as they wished, they naturally began to organize themselves in full swing. They had a certain advantage over the French, that is, they did not have to examine the quality of iron ore and coal mines in mainland China before determining the equipment. The British Empire had the most dazzling gem in India in Asia, and all resources could be transported from India, so they were one step ahead of the French.

This is the scene that Liu Shaoqing saw at the Guangzhou Port.

After listening to the report from Sheng Xuanhuai and Tang Tingshu, Li Hongzhang nodded. As for how the emperor could know about the iron ore in the United States, no one would go into it. "How is the progress of the shipyard?"

Zheng Guanying is in charge of the shipyard. "The shipyard has already started. Gu Li Fengzao said that the French have dismantled the submarine factory in Marseille and installed the equipment. Other shipbuilding equipment is also loading ships one after another, all of which are the most advanced machines in China. The British originally had a commercial dock in Guangzhou, but now they plan to add a batch of machines to directly expand into a shipyard. The construction should have started now. In addition, the Americans and Germans also expressed their intention to ask for some policies and how to operate them. Now, they will discuss it again, but overall, they should be opening an iron factory or machine factory. The main difference is how to choose a site."

"Okay. You have to keep an eye on the shipyard. Someone in the court has been building momentum during this period. The emperor wants to vigorously establish a navy. Even Zuo Manzi wrote a letter to suggest the establishment of the Three-Sea Navy. So maybe there will be orders in the next two months. If nothing unexpected happens, it will be directly given to the Huangpu Shipyard or the Fujian Shipyard. In addition, the French submarine, the emperor said that there should be a group of technical workers accompanying us. We should arrange it immediately as soon as we receive the person. Don't forget."

Of course, Zheng Guanying agreed, but then asked: "The students have heard of this submarine, but it is said to be useless. Otherwise, the French would not have used these as a bonus for us. Why is the emperor so concerned?"

Li Hongzhang glared at him, "How do I know!"

Zheng Guanying didn't understand, Li Hongzhang didn't know, and even the French didn't understand why the little emperor who lived in the deep palace suddenly remembered such a thing. Although the submarine had already been put into actual combat, the results and effects were really terrible. It was finally sunk an old wooden cruiser parked in the harbor, which was a suicide attack. They used torpedoes as attack methods, but the combat effectiveness of the speedboat was 100,800 miles away.

This is why the French unleashed the entire production line and technicians in combination without any criticism. It would be better to buy a full-steel armored ship with some money.

One person really guessed or foresaw the value of this weapon, that is, the horsetail water battle experienced by the commander of the French Expeditionary Fleet, Courbet. Courbet, made him realize the role of non-traditional combat methods in small-scale waters. He also wrote a letter to the Navy to explain this idea.

Unfortunately, our lieutenant general died three months ago on his way back to Saigon. This letter lost the general's presentation and was in the sudden Chinese-French honeymoon period, so naturally it was no longer valued.

With the support of China's coal mines, the French fleet can obtain sufficient supplies in the Far East and at the same time make up for the losses of the Lorraine coal mines. Inspired by such good news, the French, who were afraid of being intercepted by the British, completed all the preliminary preparations for the mining, steelmaking and shipbuilding industries at unprecedented high speed.
Chapter completed!