Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

Chapter 20 Development of the economy
After retiring from the imperial court, Guan Xuqing stopped the new Minister of the Household Department, Li Zhen.In the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Guan Xuqing sat on a reclining chair with his eyes closed.Slightly sighed.

"My minister Li Zhen kowtowed to the emperor." Li Zhen knelt on the ground.

"Stay flat, sit and talk." Guan Xuqing said with his eyes closed.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Li Zhen sat opposite Guan Xuqing, with his head bowed.

"The household department's errands are done well, and all the province's errands have been saved." Guan Xuqing has been paying attention to Li Zhen's performance in the household department.

"Thank the emperor for the compliment, but I think it's not enough. Otherwise, the emperor won't have to lay off troops because of lack of money." Li Zhen said guiltily.

"Hehe, I didn't abolish them because I want to save a few coins. It's better to keep them than a bunch of dogs, give them guns, and they use them for silver to drink and go shopping in brothels. When the enemy came, they all hid. What use do I need them for this kind of army?" Guan Xuqing stood up suddenly and shouted.

"Emperor Shengming" Li Zhen also stood up.

Guan Xuqing waved his hand, motioned him to sit down, and continued lying on the chair: "I asked Zuo Zongtang to form an army, and I will inevitably ask for money. I want to build the most powerful army in the world. Now our Qing Dynasty has no The ability to make the best guns by yourself can only rely on buying from foreigners.”

"Your Majesty, these foreign guns and cannons cost a lot of money," Li Zhen quickly replied.

"That's why I called you here. Let's do the math together to see if we can get some more out of it." Guan Xuqing narrowed his eyes and continued.

"Li Hongzhang set up a weaving factory in Shanghai a few days ago, and it sold very well. I feel that the people should be encouraged to set up such factories by themselves. After the Opium War, a large number of foreigner's things poured into our Daqing market. Those things are better than ours. The Qing Dynasty was indeed much better, which resulted in the loss of many merchants in the Qing Dynasty. The country had no tax revenue. Now that there are foreigners, I can also make it in the Qing Dynasty. Encourage the people to engage in business, so we don’t have to compete with the people for profit. The Western powers do not use business to enrich the country, but arm themselves with powerful industries, and our Qing Dynasty should do the same. Only when business is prosperous, can our Qing Dynasty’s money come in." Li Zhen said.

"That's right, the road has to be taken step by step. I'll do as you say. But right now the army is being reorganized, and money is needed soon. Now it's not the 500-man Yulin Army I formed at the beginning. It's a 50-man army." Guan Xuqing slowly Said.

Li Zhen was speechless.I cursed in my heart: Even if you let me be greedy again, I have no place to be greedy for so much money.

"Come on, I'll give you an idea." Guan Xuqing opened his eyes and said suddenly.

"Please make it clear, Your Majesty." Li Zhen was also agitated, this little Emperor had the most tricks.

"Encouraging the private sector to set up factories will be implemented immediately, which will not cost the court much money. We will see results next year. In addition, we will immediately establish our own bank in the Qing Dynasty, so that we can collect idle funds from the private sector. We can also issue some treasury bonds for a period of three years. Here The two-point profit, I borrowed from them. When the business is prosperous and the country is rich, I will return it to them." Guan Xuqing said with a smile.

"National debt? Can the common people lend it to us?" Li Zhen asked doubtfully.

"Nowadays there are many bandits, and it's not safe to keep money around. Besides, there are still a lot of rich people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the Qing Dynasty. If you give a two-point profit, will they not buy it? In this way, I will give you a lead. This year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will spend Reduce it by half, and buy the national debt with the saved money. I will be your first customer. Then send it to the provinces, and let the officials of the imperial court buy it first. I will take the lead in buying it, and if you don’t believe them, they will not buy it.” Guan Xuqing shook his head and replied .

"Your Majesty is truly a strange man! Such a good strategy is really wonderful, beyond words! Dare I ask you, how much national debt will you issue?" Li Zhen asked.

"Well, there are still about 1000 million taels of silver in the treasury now. At least another 3000 million taels will be issued, and all the purchases will be accepted as ordered." Guan Xu said after liquidating.

"Cha!" Li Zhen replied.

"Qi Zou the emperor, Li Hongzhang asks to see you." Wang Shang came in and said.

"Oh? He's here, tell him to come in." Guan Xuqing said.

"Zha..." Wang Shang got up and backed away.

"The minister avoided it first." Li Zhen said.

"No need, let's listen to what he said." Guan Xuqing said.

After a while, Li Hongzhang walked up to Guan Xuqing, and fell on the ground: "I kowtow to the emperor."

"Stay flat." Guan Xuqing said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Li Hongzhang stood up.

"Li Zhongtang, what's the matter with the Military Aircraft Department?" Guan Xuqing asked.

"Returning to the emperor, last year I purchased two ironclad ships from the British Armstrong Shipyard through the British Hurd of the General Taxation Department. Now the two ships have been built and are going to return to China today." Li Hongzhang said.

Guan Xuqing's eyes lit up and said: "It's already built? Is it the Chaoyong and Yang Wei? The maximum speed can reach 16 knots per hour. It is the fastest ironclad ship in the Qing Dynasty. Hurry up and let them come back. Nanyang Navy."

Li Hongzhang showed embarrassment, and said embarrassingly: "But, the emperor. He and the French ministers put pressure on Britain at the same time, saying that they can't treat one more than the other, and want two of the same warships. But they don't want to wait another year, so they actually fought Our two ships so”

Guan Xuqing wanted to scold her, what the hell.Xiao Xiao doesn't take us seriously now? ?
"You are the Minister of Western Affairs, so I will leave it to you to negotiate with foreigners. The British must not disregard their international reputation. Can I take back the things that have been sold to Qing Dynasty? He wants to buy them, and let the British figure out their own way. I order you to bring Chaoyong and Yang Wei back within a month." Guan Xuqing said angrily.

"But Your Majesty, France has a fleet in the English Channel. I am afraid, I am afraid that the two warships will be destroyed by the French as soon as they leave the Armstrong Shipyard." Li Hongzhang worried.

"Okay, the French have decided to be enemies of the Qing Dynasty for the sake of smallness?" Guan Xuqing said angrily.

"Li Hongzhang, you go to negotiate with the UK. The UK will be responsible for transporting two ironclad ships back to our Mawei shipyard. They will provide technical training and help train the officers and soldiers of our Qingshui Division. Then introduce some shipbuilding technology. I will ask Li Zhen to give it to you in two days. Transfer 1000 million taels of silver. Let me tell you, all the money will be used on the edge of the knife. If anyone dares to use this money, I will not kill people." Guan Xuqing gritted his teeth.

While Guan Xuqing was talking, Zhang Yu, the former company commander of the Youth Battalion and now the commander of the Yulin Army, raised his gun at Li Hongzhang in due course.

"Zhang Yu, what are you doing? Put down the gun, this is my important minister." Guan Xuqing said dissatisfied.

"Zha..." Zhang Yu immediately put down his gun and stepped back.

Li Hongzhang had seen the power of these people with his own eyes. At the beginning, 100 people took down nearly [-] Imperial Forest Army in just one stick of incense.The strength of the combat power can be called terror.

"I don't dare, I must use the silver on the blade." Li Hongzhang knelt down and said.

"Go on an errand." Guan Xuqing sat back on the reclining chair and closed his eyes.A beautiful blueprint is planned in my mind.

(End of this chapter)