The winter of the second year of Xuantong came very quickly. The worried Zhao Erxun held four consecutive military and political meetings to discuss issues such as the government, deceiving subordinates and concealing superiors during the inspection, intercepting salt taxes, and soaring grain prices.

These four issues are all major issues related to whether Sichuan is stable. Recalling the rice riots in Hunan for several months, the people in western Hubei were overwhelmed by the incident of rebellion and killing officials and burning yamen, and the flood of refugees that flooded into northern Sichuan and Chengdu due to the famine in Gansu and Shaanxi, none of the officials present sat at peace. In contrast, the children of officials from all over Sichuan bully men and women, and local tyrants and powerful snakes and rats bully the people in a nest are all trivial matters.

Senior officials held meetings every day to discuss countermeasures. Xiao Yiming, who is the Military Preparation Office, was not idle either. Because Cai Qi, the General Officer of the Arsenal, and Xu Jiabao, was helpless in the face of the aging machinery and equipment, and the collapse of the factory in the Gunpowder Bureau located in the southern suburbs, both wrote to the Governor Zhao Erxun to resign, Zhao Erxun could only appoint Xiao Yiming to investigate and make a rectification report again.

Cai Qi and Xu Jiabao were very polite to the generous and righteous Xiao Yiming. They were old acquaintances. Over the past year, West China Group Corporation shared huge pressure for the arsenal in the production of weapons and parts, which made the arsenal complete the annual gun production plan one month ahead of schedule. The 3,500 Hanyang-style rifles handed over to the new army were of excellent quality and were praised by the new army officers and soldiers. Governor Zhao Erxun and Chengdu General Fengshan specially rewarded Cai Qi and Xu Jiabao for this.

Cai Qi and Xu Jiabao led Xiao Yiming to walk around inside and out, and then returned to the office room and then took out the relevant account book to compare.

Xiao Yiming looked through the output and inventory statistics books and said to the two with great understanding:

"It's great that you can persist until today... You won't blame you for not completing the artillery imitation mission. The best existing equipment is also the old thing from twelve years ago. Even if you can only build a few cannons, you may have to fall into bed if you can't hit a few times. The production of gunfire was affected by the collapse of the gunpowder station. These are irresistible things and have nothing to do with your ability."

Cai Qi bowed gratitude:

"That is, only if Xiao Huiban is proficient in machinery and operations, he can understand our difficulties! Speaking of which, the whole factory has to thank Xiao Huiban and your West China Group... Over the past year, as long as our machines have problems, we ask for help from West China Group, West China Group sent German engineers and translators without saying a word, and never talked about money... In the last two months, several old milling machines and boring machines all had problems. West China Group quietly helped to process the bolts and strikers, otherwise our lives would be even more difficult. In other words, we still have to thank Xiao Huiban for you."

Xu Jiabao echoed, and held a cup of tea in both hands and handed it to Xiao Yiming.

Xiao Yiming quickly stood up to thank him, took the tea and returned to his seat: "I will report the situation to the Governor, and I will not make it difficult for you. It is best for you to give me a report on how you applied for the purchase of the machine before, and hand it over to my report together. I believe the Governor will understand... You should not mention any resignation anymore. Looking at the whole Sichuan, who else can support such a large arsenal except you two?"

Cai Qi was so moved that she burst into tears, and Xu Jiabao turned over and wiped his eyes quietly.

Xiao Yiming sighed, took a sip of tea and put down the cup:

"I have a suggestion here, the irreparable machines stored in the factory warehouse, the discarded parts that have been replaced over the years, thousands of incomplete old muskets and irreparable damaged guns, and the scraps of the open-air yard, are estimated to be more than 100 tons. You can entrust the steel mills under the West China Group to rebuild the billets, and just pay a little processing fee, or sell them at an estimated price. You can save the gunpowder bureau in the south suburbs first after getting the money.

"I have no selfish intentions in my suggestion, so don't think too much. It's all because only West China Group in Sichuan has two electric furnaces that smelted alloy steel. Although it can't be said to turn waste into treasure, it's a little bit better than keeping it in the sun and rain all the time."

Cai Qi and Xu Jiabao were very happy. They had already made this plan, but they were worried that they would be sued and never dared to mention it. Now Xiao Yiming told them in person, why don’t they be happy and relieved?

So the two of them just looked at each other and said in unison that they were sold as scrap iron. The reason was that even if the scrap steel was processed into steel billets and sent back, the arsenal did not have the advanced steel rolling technology and forging technology of West China Group. It would be easier to exchange money directly, and it was also considered to be the place where it should be used.

It was already evening when Xiao Yiming returned to the yamen. When he learned that Zhao Erxun had just finished his meeting and was resting in the backyard, he simply went in and had a meal. Anyway, he had done a lot of free meals.

After the son and daughter-in-law took their grandson back to their hometown for the New Year in advance, Zhao Erxun always had dinner alone, so he was willing to eat and talk with Xiao Yiming, so that he would not be too lonely.

Putting down his bowl, Xiao Yiming helped Zhao Erxun to the study to rest, took the tea set and a small charcoal stove brought by the maid and started making tea: "Master, do you really plan to invest huge sums of money in the arsenal?"

"Then there is still a fake? The tax revenue in the province this year is good. It exceeded 40 million at the end of last month. The most conservative estimate is that it will reach 46 million for the whole year. This is something that has never happened in ten years. So I took out 18 million for building bridges and paving roads to benefit the people, and by the way, I should support the arsenal.

"I chose the name of Sichuan Arsenal. The signboard hanging outside the gate was also written by me. It was previously called the Machinery Bureau, and it was one of the three earliest Machinery Bureaus in the country. If it collapsed on my post, where would I put my old face? The old guys in the court heard about it and wouldn't they have to secretly enjoy it?"

Zhao Erxun was in a good mood and even made a self-deprecating joke.

Xiao Yiming nodded: "It's good that this is good. It's better to build yourself than to buy. You can also cultivate your own talents and support more than a thousand workers and dozens of officials."

Zhao Erxun agreed deeply: "It's this... I think, all the machines are still entrusted to you West China Company. First, there are few people in the arsenal who understand machines, and they don't know which one is the most advanced machine. If they are asked to buy them directly, they might be deceived by those cunning foreigners. Second, you and your West China Company have helped the arsenal a lot over the past year, and they have worked hard without any credit. Moreover, before the new army and the border army purchased several batches of weapons and equipment. They are cheap and have excellent quality. Everyone says they are easy to use, so it's better to entrust you to make people feel at ease."

"Ah!? Master, this is not a small business, but a big order of two million! It will probably take at least a year from negotiations to signing a contract and then to the machine being shipped back." Xiao Yiming explained the situation objectively.

Zhao Erxun didn't care at all, and gently twisted his beard and said:

"One year is already fast. Do you know how long it takes to wait for Zhang Zhidong to start a Hubei gun factory? Three years! It's not enough to pay the deposit, and the machines have to be shipped to it one after another. The Yunnan Machinery Bureau has been even longer, investing 2.5 million yuan, and it took three and a half years to arrive. After that, the installation and commissioning lasted for half a year. It started to be officially produced at the beginning of last year. It's fast for you to only take one year."

Xiao Yiming didn't know how happy he was.

This transaction can earn more than 100,000 yuan with just a normal commission. I don’t know how much I will earn in cooperation with the arsenal in the future. It is a great thing for West China and the arsenal. It is a completely win-win situation. You can also get several gun production technologies from the Germans for free through this large order.
Chapter completed!