This enlarged meeting of the Council basically determined the political and military policies of the Chinese in the second half of 1853.

Looking at the dozens of people in the conference room, Dong Liang felt greatly relieved.

The grass-roots team that I built a year ago has now become somewhat popular.

There were many civil and military officials gathered together. There were many islands in Fujian Province plus the entire East China Sea.

The territory controlled by the Guards is not small either.

From then on, the Chinese officially had the qualifications to compete in this land of China.

The Governor's Yamen of Guangzhou City, Ye Mingchen, was also convening a meeting of civil and military officials.

The Governor-General is 46 years old this year and is in the prime of life.

He was able to become a local governor at such an age, and he was recently appointed ambassador to suppress bandits in the five provinces and minister of imperial envoy.

There is no reason why Ye Mingchen is not complacent.

He is not tall, but he is very strong and not as weak as ordinary scholars.

He has a round face and slightly chubby eyebrows, a smooth and full forehead, and a beard around his mouth that extends to his chin, forming a two-inch long goatee.

Ye Mingchen has been an official in Guangdong for many years, serving as envoy, governor, and governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. He has high prestige among officials in Guangdong and Guangxi.

After receiving the imperial edict from the imperial court, he immediately convened a meeting of the civil and military officials of Guangzhou City.

"My Lord Superintendent, the East China Sea bandits control Fujian and their foothold is not stable. I thought we should organize the army to counterattack as soon as possible. Now that our Lord Supervisor controls the armies of Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces, we can encircle them from all sides."

The speaker was Xiong Benben, the Admiral of Guangdong.

The admiral is the top general of a province. As a military representative, Xiong Benn naturally supports the war.

Only by fighting in wars can generals have the opportunity to be promoted through meritorious service. As usual, before the war begins, the three armies should be rewarded, silver rewards and grain supplies prepared, all of which can make money.

"Admiral Xiong is right. How can we be invincible if our troops from four provinces are against one province in Fujian?"

…

Everyone agreed in unison.

"Of course we have to fight, but where are the soldiers and horses and where is the money?"

At this time, a discordant voice sounded.

Everyone looked at him, but no one dared to cast a look of disdain, because the speaker was Bai Gui, the governor of Guangdong. He was a banner man, and a villain at that.

Bai Gui stayed in Guangdong for a long time. He served as a county magistrate in Guangdong when he first won the election.

"Yutian, we have a lot of talents in Guangdong and Guangxi. We don't have soldiers and horses, but we have tens of millions of athletes. We don't have military pay, but we have Guangzhou righteous businessmen." Ye Mingchen said with a smile. Yutian is the name of Baigui.

When he smiles, his slender eyebrows are curved and his chubby cheeks reveal dimples, making him look very friendly.

The relationship between Ye Mingchen and Bai Gui is actually not good, but now that they are facing a powerful enemy, they can only sing a double act together.

Wu Chongyao, who was sitting at the end, felt his heart skip a beat. Aren't these Guangzhou righteous merchants referring to people like them?

As a businessman, Wu Chongyao should have kept a low profile. But as early as 1834, the Wu family had assets of 26 million taels of silver, and was called "the richest man in the world" by Westerners at the time.

Such a family fortune disqualified him from keeping a low profile.

Since the beginning of the bandit rebellion, the Wu family has donated more than one million taels to the imperial court.

But no one knows how much of this money will ultimately be invested in the frontline battlefield.

In fact, the Wu family had already begun to decline after the First Opium War. With the rise of Shanghai, Guangzhou was no longer the only trading port.

The most profitable business is actually a monopoly. Without a monopoly position, all thirteen industries will be in decline.

However, the Wu family actively goes out and uses the wealth accumulated over the years to invest overseas, and is able to obtain a large amount of wealth every year.

But this summer, the spring of Guangzhou Shisanhang suddenly came back.

The escort army blocked the strait, and foreign merchant ships were unable to trade northward. Some of them went to Ryukyu, while others could only stay in Guangzhou to purchase goods.

Chen Deli raised the price of commodities in Naha, and the news soon spread to Guangzhou.

None of these businessmen were human beings. They took the opportunity to raise the prices. The foreigners were all furious, but there was nothing they could do.

In fact, from a profit perspective, Wu Chongyao should be grateful to the Chinese.

Moreover, Wu Chongyao also heard from the maritime merchants in Fujian Province that the Chinese encouraged industry and commerce and did not belittle merchants.

"Wu Xingshou..."

Wu Chongyao was brought back to reality by a call. He is now the head of the Payroll Bureau.

"Yes, sir, the little one is here."

"I order you to raise five million taels of silver within ten days."

Wu Chongyao suddenly took a breath of air, the shock on his face not concealed at all.

If he keeps calm at this time, wouldn't he tell others that this little money is nothing to him?

"Sir, five million taels? How can I raise such a large amount of money in such a short period of time?" Wu Chongyao said with a troubled look on his face.

"Humph, the country has supported you and other merchants for hundreds of years. Without the business status given to you by the government, your Wu family is just a hawker setting up a street stall. This is when the country needs you, just like parents need the support of their children." Bai

Gui Leng snorted and said.

Seeing that Bai Gui had finished speaking, Ye Mingchen quickly added in a calm tone: "Master Wu, the court will not take money from merchants in vain. This money is borrowed from the Governor's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi, and it can be deducted from your customs taxes in the future."

Wu Chongyao understood as soon as he heard it. One of the two was a bad guy and the other was a good guy. Did they specifically set a trap for him?

If you also deduct tariffs, isn't this just collecting the future 5 million taels of tariffs in advance? Can it still be done like this?

Wu Chongyao's abilities were not outstanding, but he knew that his family's fortune was accumulated through the hard work of several generations of family heads.

It is understandable that the court wants to cut the leeks, but it cannot uproot the leeks.

However, looking at this posture, he must pay for today's blood. Although five million taels is a lot, if it can be divided, it is not impossible to get it.

"Your Majesty the Superintendent has an order. No subordinates dare to disobey it, but please give it a few days of grace. After all, this is cash."

Many businessmen's wealth is only on their books. It is really difficult for them to come up with such a large amount of cash.

"Master Wu, there is no need to worry. I will give you two months to raise the money in five batches."

What an old fox, he actually came up with an installment payment model.

"Yes, my lord is wise." Wu Chongyao completely lost his voice.

Once the money problem was solved, everyone's eyes suddenly brightened.

How should the money be divided? Everyone here looked at Ye Mingchen like a wolf who saw fresh meat.

"Sir, there have been bandits around Guangzhou recently. The Rebels Association has been active frequently. There are three squads of government officials, but the number is insufficient. I asked the lower officials to make up for it. In addition, the city walls of Guangzhou are damaged in many places..." The first person to jump out was the prefect of Guangzhou.

After all, as a civil servant, his mind works very quickly.

"Sir, the pirates from Fujian Province will not be able to reach Guangzhou for a while. Besides, with the strength of our four provinces, can we still let these pirates come?" As a representative of the military, Xiong Benn must have wanted to fight at this time.

Stand up and speak.

"Yes, Master Xiong is right. The top priority is to buy more foreign guns and cannons and reward the trained soldiers." A military general immediately stepped forward and added.

"Master Superintendent, the last time General Ye fought against that group of pirates, he failed because the other party was equipped with foreign guns and cannons. Our soldiers fought bravely to kill the enemy, but our shotguns were too slow to reload and the range was not as good as others.

The bandits' equipment is better than that of our officers and soldiers, doesn't that make sense?" Xiong Benben said while the iron was hot.

Ye Mingchen nodded repeatedly after hearing this. He was able to sit in the position of governor step by step, and he was not a straw bag.

"Sir Wu, if you are familiar with foreigners, see if you can contact foreigners to purchase a batch of weapons. It is best to borrow the money from foreigners." Ye Mingchen has been in Guangzhou for many years, and his vision is completely beyond that of ordinary Manchu officials.
Chapter completed!