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In the past, Vézé had only heard of mineral veins. It was only after returning to this era that Vézé actually saw a mineral vein. The mineral deposits in the ground were not a regular cube, nor were the mineral contents of a large area of the ground uniform. Be it the coal or the iron ore, they were all connected. Therefore, the mine was dug into the vein and then dug along the vein. The excavated hole was supported by wood or something to prevent the mine from collapsing. In addition to the collapse of the mine, there was also gas and water leaking from the cracks below. When people were underground, once they were flooded or exploded, the people in the pit would often die. Mining was not only a heavy physical labor, but also a very dangerous job.
The reason why the Hongji Coal Mine was famous was that the Hongji Coal Mine's ore bed was very shallow from the ground. One could excavate directly from the ground to expose the coal bed. Furthermore, the quality of Hongji Coal Mine's coal was excellent. After it was crushed in Vietnam, it could be used on steamships. It could be said to be a gift from the heavens.
Vézé had seen some pictures of iron mines in Australia and Brazil, which were excavated pits in the ground. At the edge of the huge pit, there was a circular road for heavy-duty trucks to climb up the slope. The pit went down and was continuously excavated in all directions. The heavy-duty trucks entered the bottom of the pit, loaded the ore inside, and drove from the bottom of the pit to the surface.
Vézé's design for the Hongji Coal Mine was the same. A conveyor belt driven by a steam engine transported coal directly from the open pit. The railway tracks and small trains near the mine carried the coal dug out of the mine to the port, from which it was loaded onto ships and transported to the places where the Liberation Army needed coal. During the design process, Vézé was a little excited. Even if it didn't have the grandeur of a large-scale mining base in the 21st century, this idea still reflected the magnificent beauty of a large industry.
After presenting the design concept and the corresponding blueprints, Vézé quickly turned from a passionate engineering student back into a cold 19th century ruler. The Liberation Army's goal was not just to rent the Hongji coal mine for five years. More follow-up actions related to the Nguyen Dynasty in Vietnam needed to be carried out step by step. The policies being implemented were not only related to the Nguyen Dynasty in Vietnam, but also involved the invasion of France in Asia, and then from France to the hegemon of the world, England.
At the beginning of July, Pang Congcong, the Party Secretary of the Iron and Steel Group, went to Vézé and asked Vézé to help her suppress the opinions of her subordinates.
"Commander-in-chief, some comrades hope to directly sell our old weapons to the Nguyen Dynasty. I personally don't think it's appropriate, "Pang Congcong said frankly. Buddha Mountain in July was extremely humid and hot. Pang Congcong seemed to have left in a hurry when she arrived. The sweat on her forehead had yet to completely dry before it appeared again.
Vézé had Pang Congcong take a seat first. His secretary, Li Yifang, brought a cup of tea mixed with mint to Pang Congcong. Vézé asked, "Why not?"
Pang Congcong took a sip first and felt that it tasted good. She took a big gulp before letting out a sigh of relief and putting down the teacup. "Of course, Ruan Chao knows that we sell them weapons to make money. We also know that we sell them weapons to make money. Since he was well aware of the situation, there was no point in pretending anymore. We take out good things to sell to them, and good things can naturally be sold at a good price. Do you really think that Ruan Chao and his people are fools to take out some junk to bluff people? "
Vézé nodded. "I agree with you. So what?"
Pang Congcong said to Vézé seriously, "Everyone also thinks that it makes sense. But everyone feels that the task is so full that we have already eliminated our own fire hatguns. We have specially opened the furnace to produce cast iron fire hatguns for the Ruan Chao. We also have to specially process them, and the cost is too high. "
Vézé felt that such a subordinate was really too cute for a girl who looked no older than 16 to talk about a serious topic with a straight face. After listening to Pang Congcong, Vézé said, "Then what do you want me to do?"
Pang Congcong replied, "Commander-in-chief, the document you wrote last time was not detailed enough. It only said to sell fire hatguns to the Ruan Chao. Please add another document stating that it is to make new fire hatguns to sell to the Ruan Chao. This way, I can save a lot of trouble. "
Vézé shook his head. "I can't give it to you now. This has to be discussed at the Standing Committee meeting."
"Why is it so troublesome?" Pang Congcong didn't quite understand.
Vézé replied, "As the president of the Revival Society, I have to take the lead in maintaining the system of the Revival Society. I can't make a decision on this matter alone. It has to be discussed by the Standing Committee before a decision can be made. Of course, you can come to the meeting and put forward your views at the meeting. I also have my own views, and I will express them at the meeting. "
Pang Congcong understood the process Vézé was talking about, but she still complained, "Commander-in-chief, this is too troublesome."
"What you are doing is indeed increasing the expenses of our army. It is not unreasonable for some comrades to oppose this. Besides, if you can come to me to talk about this, can't other comrades go to the other Standing Committee members to talk about this? When there is a conflict of opinions, we are all members of the Standing Committee. In the end, it has to be discussed by the Standing Committee. Moreover, no one has given an order during the discussion. Even in terms of face, it is better. I am a thick-skinned person, and I am not afraid of changing my mind. But we can't expect other comrades to be as shameless as me. "At the end of his speech, Vézé even laughed out loud.
Pang Congcong didn't have a sense of humor like Vézé. Her small face tensed up, and she looked a little unhappy. On the other hand, when Li Yifang heard Vézé's words, she couldn't help but burst into laughter. Seeing that Pang Congcong still didn't understand, Li Yifang stepped forward and advised, "Congcong, all men want face. You are so magnanimous, but you still came here to talk to the Commander-in-chief in anger. Don't the men under you feel indignant about it? As long as the Standing Committee can approve it, no one can be indignant! Since you are already here, why do you care about waiting a little longer? "
Everyone knew about the relationship between Li Yifang and Vézé, but in this era of war, no one was willing to expand on this matter. Putting aside Li Yifang's identity and status, Li Yifang herself was quite calm in dealing with things, giving off a very carefree feeling.
Of course, Vézé didn't completely agree with Li Yifang's "attack on men" just now. As long as it could effectively appease Pang Congcong, Vézé didn't care about Li Yifang's comments on men.
The Standing Committee was a regular meeting, and it didn't take long for the meeting to begin. Pang Congcong explained her thoughts in front of the Standing Committee. At the end of her explanation, she said, "If we build new guns, it will indeed have some impact on the current work arrangements, and the investment will also increase."
When it came to business ethics, the Standing Committee didn't have any objections. At the mention of money, the faces of the Standing Committee didn't look so good. Minister of Finance Li Yuchang frowned and said, "Comrade Pang Congcong, do you know how many weapons we have to sell to the Nguyen Dynasty?"
Pang Congcong shook her head. She had only received orders and was still waiting for more specific instructions.
Li Yuchang continued, "According to our contacts with the Nguyen Dynasty, the Nguyen Dynasty's demand for our weapons is at least 3,000, and based on the Nguyen Dynasty's demand, it may reach 30,000 or more in the end. A gun plus some costs, how much does it cost to add up to tens of thousands of guns? Have you calculated this? "
As the Liberation Army could produce steel gun barrels on their own, the firearm began to be phased out of the Liberation Army's equipment. The Liberation Army had modified a lot of gun barrels over the years, and some of the barrels were even seized during the Anqing War. The stock of the gun could be recycled, but the barrel definitely couldn't. Based on current experience, the production of cast iron gun barrels was very convenient. It was just that no matter how convenient it was, it couldn't compare to the convenience of selling obsolete old guns to the Nguyen Dynasty. As the Minister of Finance, Li Yuchang was already under a lot of pressure when executing the budget. Of course, he didn't want any additional expenses.
Hearing Li Yuchang's negative words, Pang Congcong asked, "I wonder if the weapons we're sending to the Nguyen Dynasty are new guns or old guns?"
This question immediately made Li Yuchang speechless. First of all, he didn't know what kind of guns they were sending. Second, logically speaking, a firearm sent to the Nguyen Dynasty must be a good gun. It was basically impossible for it to be the junk that had been completely eliminated by the Liberation Army.
Pang Congcong was still young and energetic. She continued, "The Nguyen Dynasty is not a fool. Do you think we don't know what kind of old guns we've used? Some of the guns' rifling has long been gone because of lead. How much can this kind of stuff be sold for? Although the cost of a good gun is high, a good gun can also be sold for a good price. Looking at this, I'm afraid that a good gun can earn even more. I wonder what Minister Li thinks? "
Li Yuchang wanted to say something a few times, but he couldn't find the right words. Pang Congcong's reasoning was very clear, and it was completely in line with normal people's thinking. However, Li Yuchang was in a very bad mood after being choked by a little girl's words. The members of the Standing Committee couldn't help but have a look of ridicule on their faces, which made Li Yuchang even more unhappy. He couldn't help but scold, "What does a little girl like you know?"
"Wait!" Vézé interrupted Li Yuchang. "Minister Li, we have discipline. You can't use gender as a reason."
Although this was indeed one of the many meeting principles that Vézé had mentioned a long time ago, saying this in front of the Standing Committee and Pang Congcong was quite a blow to Li Yuchang's face. Li Yuchang's expression became even more ugly. However, Vézé didn't intend to pursue it. He turned to the other Standing Committee members and said, "Everyone, do you think it's appropriate to invest a little more in this area?"
Hong Ren? He was in charge of diplomacy, and he was responsible for contacting the Nguyen Dynasty this time. So Hong Ren? He took over the conversation and introduced, "The Nguyen Dynasty has a very positive attitude towards us. Not only are they very satisfied with our firearms, but they also hope that we can sell them cannons. I don't think it's bad to make some new guns for them. The new guns can indeed sell for a good price. "
According to the representative who went to Hue, the capital of the Nguyen Dynasty, to demonstrate the weapons, the new rifles caused quite a stir in the Nguyen Dynasty. It wasn't that the Nguyen Dynasty's civil and military officials had never seen firearms before, but at this time, France was invading the Nguyen Dynasty, and the British had imposed an arms embargo on the Nguyen Dynasty. The Nguyen Dynasty couldn't get advanced weapons from foreign countries. The Nguyen Dynasty, who felt a sense of crisis, was very excited to be able to buy a large number of new rifles from the Liberation Army.
Li Yuchang still felt a little embarrassed. He asked, "Since everyone is willing to sell, then there's no market for it. At most, I'll sell it at a lower price. What loss will there be? After eliminating the old guns, we can save a lot of trouble. Producing more other products, from another point of view, is also making money. "
Hong Ren? He shook his head. "It's different this time. If the Nguyen Dynasty is determined to buy weapons, it's not impossible to get them at a high price. But we didn't ask them for money this time. "
Other than Vézé, the other Standing Committee members were a little stunned. If they didn't ask for money, were they giving it away for free? Or did the Nguyen Dynasty have other valuable things to trade?
Hong Ren? He answered, "We don't want the Nguyen Dynasty to take out real money. We'll use rice for barter. The Nguyen Dynasty was originally worried that we would extort them, but when they heard that we were exchanging rice for guns, they were completely relieved. They asked for 3,000 guns as soon as they opened their mouth. They even patted their chest and said that they would only ask for more in the future. Vietnam has always been rich in rice, and the Nguyen Dynasty doesn't care about collecting more taxes in kind. Gold and silver are hard to get back after they sell it, but Zhan Cheng rice matures three times a year. It's an inexhaustible resource. "
Hearing that it was exchanging rice for guns, the Standing Committee members didn't say anything. Food was the most important thing to the people. The Liberation Army had given land to the people and imposed a 30% food tax. This was indeed a benevolent policy, and it effectively solved the conscription problem. But things in the world had always been "sweet on both sides." The people had benefited, which meant that the interests of the other group of people had been "hurt." The total amount of food received was strictly limited.
The system of the Restored Commandery was completely different from the system of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, where the imperial power was not limited to a county. The Liberation Army had 300,000 to 400,000 people with military enterprises, and these people consumed a huge amount of food every day. In addition to the food collected, they also had to take out some money to buy food on the market.
Even if the Liberation Army eradicated the power of the big landlords, there were still a large number of small and medium-sized landlords in Guangdong. These people were the foundation of the traditional forces in Guangdong. In the past, they had a lot of conflicts with the big landlords and big businessmen. At the moment, the only object of their conflict was the Restored Commandery. These people were completely angry about the Restored Commandery that forcibly controlled the whole of Guangdong, but they didn't dare to say anything.
So the Liberation Army bought food on the market, causing the price of food to rise. For these people, the increase in the price of food not only had economic benefits, but it also made them feel better psychologically. And after the people obediently handed over the food to the Restored Commandery, they felt that their cooperation with the "new imperial court" was completed. They also hoped that the price of food would be high so that they could benefit from it. So in previous years, the price of food would fall sharply during the autumn harvest, but this year, the price of food continued to stay high.
If they could really obtain a large amount of rice from Vietnam, it would not be an ordinary profit. A large amount of Vietnamese rice entering the area under the control of the Restored Commandery could make the people who maintained the rice price fall into despair.
As the Minister of Finance, Li Yuchang of course knew the meaning of this, and he was about to say something related to it. Vézé rushed to wave his hand and said: "Then let's discuss whether to make new guns or eliminate as much as possible the things we don't use!"
At this time, there was nothing to discuss. The Standing Committee all agreed to make new guns to maintain the Vietnamese Nguyen Dynasty as a big customer. As long as they could have a large amount of rice, not to mention new guns, it would not be a problem to make new guns for them.
In the end, there was a clear conclusion. The old gun barrels that were eliminated were all melted down. New cast iron rifled front loading guns were specially produced and sold to the Nguyen Dynasty. Even the recycled wooden gun stocks were picked out without cracks, polished, and painted. They looked as new and beautiful as possible.
Pang Congcong returned with satisfaction. The other Standing Committee members were anxious to discuss the rice issue, waiting for Pang Congcong to leave the meeting room. But Li Yuchang looked at Pang Congcong's back with a trace of disgust.
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