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The exchange of rice for rifles quickly entered the stage of exchange. Ruan Chao obviously did not want to offend the Liberation Army. While they were carefully checking every rifle provided by the Liberation Army, the representatives of the Liberation Army were also checking the rice provided by Vietnam.
Yin Xiaofeng had been in the rice business before, so his usefulness on this trip was evident. Of course, there were also logisticians among the officers. Yin Xiaofeng and these logisticians were checking the famous Zhancheng rice together.
Zhan Cheng rice originated from Zhan Cheng rice, which took 100 days to ripen after transplanting. By the 15th century, there were varieties that only took 60 days to ripen.
Shu from Southern Song Dynasty? He pointed out that Zhancheng rice had good characteristics, "There are big grains and small grains. The big grains are called japonica rice, the grains are big and have awn, it cannot be grown on fertile fields. The small grains are called Zhancheng rice, also called mountain rice, the grains are small and have no awn, it can be grown regardless of the fertility. The so-called Japonica Grains have less rice, so the price is high. Apart from officials, only the upper families can eat it. The so-called Small Grains have more rice, so the price is low. Everyone below the middle class can eat it. "
Vietnam's Mekong River Plain was located in a region that was hotter than Guangdong, so the fertility of the land was slightly lacking. But the water and heat in this area is better than that in Guangdong, so Zhancheng rice is the main food in this area. No one was willing to comment too much on the taste of the fast-growing rice.
Shen Xin recalled Luo Dagang's words. "I didn't expect the troops to eat rice every day!"
In this era where China's population growth had almost reached the upper limit, even in Guangdong, which was rich in rice, families that could eat rice for half of the year were truly wealthy. Before the arms trade was fully launched, the Liberation Army had already exchanged white-iron sickles for a large amount of Zhan Cheng rice in Vietnam. The pavilion closest to the water enjoys moonlight first, and a considerable portion of the rice flowed into Jingzhou. Currently, the troops in Jingzhou also had mixed grains in their daily meals. However, when rice made up more than 70% of their daily meals, everyone temporarily believed the Military Governor Vaize's explanation that eating rice every day would harm their health.
Regarding the rice business with Vietnam, Luo Dagang could be said to be in favor with both hands and feet. His comment on this was, "I also hope that the troops can eat rice every day. Everyone has worked hard for so many years, and it's not easy to get to where we are today. No matter how hard it is to train the troops and open the iron mines, we can't let the troops suffer anymore when it comes to food! "
Thinking about Luo Dagang's words, Shen Xin felt a little sad. Shen Xin's family could not be considered poor, but it was only after he joined Vézé's army that he was able to eat rice every day. He could even evaluate the taste of Zhancheng rice and the japonica rice from the Pearl River Delta. This was a realm that only real rich families could have.
"Wine and meat stink in the luxurious door, bones of the frozen dead lie on the road." Shen Xin finally understood what was going on. Being part of the Liberation Army, they had powerful industrial and military capabilities. If there was not enough food in the country, they could buy food from Vietnam. From the map, it could be seen that there were even more vast lands and more countries in this world. As long as the Liberation Army's Navy and Army could reach there, Shen Xin believed that they could get more food to transport back to China. And those outside the Liberation Army's sphere of influence could only guard their own land and be oppressed by the landlords, recovery, clans, and religions. That kind of precarious life could really starve people to death.
Therefore, the delegation worked together to carefully inspect the rice day and night. After confirming that the rice was not old rice, they immediately shipped it away. Rice was not something that could be stored for a long time. If it wasn't for the huge demand in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Jingzhou occupied by the Liberation Army, so much rice would easily spoil after being shipped back.
The Nguyen Dynasty was also satisfied with this batch of weapons. The newly produced rifle barrels, the newly polished and painted wooden gun stocks, and the shiny steel bayonets. The speed of fire, range, accuracy, and comfort of the guns were incomparable to the wrought iron matchlock guns produced by Vietnam. With the addition of the bayonets, the rifles also had the function of hand-to-hand combat. The Vietnamese were short, and the rifles produced by the Liberation Army, with the addition of the bayonets, were 1.5 meters long. Their soldiers could use these rifles as short spears.
The Liberation Army provided instructors for ten days of short-term training, mainly to teach the Vietnamese officers how to shoot, how to line up, and how to operate the weapons in hand-to-hand combat. The first to change were the Royal Guards of Hue in the capital. After the training, the Vietnamese officials immediately came to ask if they could continue to purchase these rifles from the Liberation Army.
Of course, this request was met. Shen Xin said righteously: "Since we want to be friendly neighbors, if the Vietnamese want to exchange these weapons, of course we will give priority to them. Besides, our army has fought with the French, so there is enmity. We will not stand on the side of the French. "
The Vietnamese side happily accepted the position of the Liberation Army, while Shen Xin left Yin Xiaofeng in Vietnam to handle the liaison work. He himself happily boarded the rice boat and returned.
On the 15th of October, the fleet arrived at their destination, Foshan. Vézé personally received Shen Xin, and listened with great interest to Shen Xin's serious introduction of the situation in Vietnam. Vézé laughed: "It seems that the final stages of a dynasty are all like this."
Shen Xin did not expect Vézé to raise the issue to this point. He asked with some surprise: "Why do you say so?"
Vézé replied: "Whether it is the Manchu Qing or the Nguyen Dynasty, they are all unable to see the situation clearly. They do not know that the world has undergone fundamental changes. Shen Xin, you have seen our steel factories, do you not know how much the world has changed? "
"Iron and blood?" Shen Xin replied.
Vézé was very satisfied with Shen Xin's answer. He said seriously: "That's right, iron and blood! With a large amount of iron and steel production, even a power like ours that has not been in power for long can bury our head in development. Without steam engines, without ships, how far can we develop by relying on the previous methods? England had steel, France had steel, so they were able to defeat the Manchus and Vietnam. But when they fight with us, their front teeth are broken. Therefore, the development of productivity is the fundamental driving force for social progress. "
Hearing Vézé talk about political issues, Shen Xin had an idea. He brought up the issue of the relationship between the emperor and the dragon and the other mystical things that the delegation had discussed in Hue. Shen Xin could imagine Vézé laughing, but he did not expect that Vézé would quickly say with excitement: "This is a good discussion! This is political enlightenment! "
"Political enlightenment?" This term surprised Shen Xin.
Vézé picked up a pen and wrote down these four words. After showing them to Shen Xin, Vézé continued excitedly: "The people do not understand politics, they do not understand how the world works. They associate the emperor with the gods because their knowledge can only find such reasons to explain politics. The so-called political enlightenment is to explain politics clearly to everyone, so that everyone understands that politics is something that everyone cannot avoid. "
At this point, Vézé actually stood up and paced back and forth a few times with his hands behind his back. His expression was one of joy, another of contemplation. Finally, Vézé stopped and said: "Your report is very good. I did not expect to be able to cut into it from this angle! Good, very good! "
Shen Xin really didn't know what was so good about her information. But seeing Vézé so happy, Shen Xin also felt very happy. To his surprise, Vézé ordered: "Write a detailed report on the process of this discussion and the content of the discussion for me. Make sure to write clearly about the situation at that time. Involve the people with whom you are discussing it. Don't write anything brilliant, just write down the content of the conversation at that time. "
"I still have the matter of rice …" Shen Xin answered.
"Let the logistics staff be in charge of that. Before you finish writing this, you don't have to worry about that matter! "Vézé gave a strict order.
Shen Xin immediately agreed. Two days later, a very complete draft of the notes was taken out. A month later, in mid-November 1859, a troupe from Guangdong to Qiongzhou performed a new play called "Skinning a Dragon".
It did not take long for Shen Xin to feel like laughing. He did not expect "Skinning a Dragon" to be based on the experience of the delegation in Vietnam.
Military Governor Wei is so fast! Shen Xin praised in his heart.
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