Li Zhen's brows gradually furrowed into a frown. He put his right hand on the desk, tapping it lightly, and narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking about ways to make money.
For now, the most profitable thing is undoubtedly arms.
It's just that the bullets with metal cartridges have not been manufactured yet. The guns produced at the moment are not suitable for sale, otherwise they will have an impact on themselves after they are sold. Once the bullets with metal cartridges are produced, the weapons of Li Zhen's soldiers will have An essential leap, and the combat effectiveness immediately reaches a higher level.
At that time, Li Zhen will be able to sell the original weapons on a large scale for profit.
Liu Taiping saw that Li Zhen was silent and said, "Sir, I have a suggestion."
Li Zhen immediately asked: "What suggestions?"
Liu Taiping pinched his beard and said seriously: "When the commander-in-chief got married, the big guys in Guangzhou's business community all gave him a surprise. Seeing the situation, they wanted to have a good relationship with the commander-in-chief. I thought that the commander-in-chief could ask him They raised funds, and with the family assets of Fan Kai, Mu Zhongyuan and others, once they agreed to support the Marshal, at least one million taels or more would be able to solve the current predicament. Moreover, the Marshal's official career was prosperous and he rose to great heights. The bigger it is, the more benefits they get.”
Li Zhen frowned and said: "Sir, the method of raising funds can only provide temporary relief, but cannot solve the problem in the long term."
Liu Taiping chuckled and shook his head and said: "Currently, the commander-in-chief is still developing in Guangdong, and is vigorously supporting the construction of hospitals, planning for the people, and large-scale expansion of arsenals, and even establishing a navy, and at the same time expanding the number of troops. "
"These things are extremely expensive."
"Everything costs money, especially the military, which consumes countless amounts of money. With Guangzhou's current economy, it is impossible to stabilize the situation with taxation. Under the leadership of the Marshal, it is estimated that it will have to wait until next year. The only way to reverse the situation is to raise funds. After the economy improves, Guangzhou's tax revenue will increase, which will be enough to support the development of the army."
Liu Taiping said seriously: "Commander, this is the most appropriate method at present."
Li Zhen frowned, still unwilling to give in.
After all, finding someone to raise funds is not a long-term solution. Instead of doing this, it is better to find a businessman who is affiliated with him, or someone who specializes in managing money.
Li Zhen had this idea in his mind and immediately thought of Fan Kai.
Fan Kai runs a bank and is a wealthy man in Guangzhou.
With Fan Kai's method of running a bank, he is very familiar with using money to make profits. As long as Fan Kai has enough start-up capital, he will definitely be able to solve Li Zhen's predicament. Moreover, compared to Mu Zhongyuan traveling between the UK and Guangzhou to do business, Fan Kai's bank operation requires more thinking. If you can convince Fan Kai to work for him, it would be a good idea.
Li Zhen said: "Sir, borrowing money is not the answer. I have a new idea."
Liu Taiping's eyes lit up and he asked, "What's the idea?"
Li Zhen said: "My plan is..." As soon as he said the words, a figure ran in from outside the study room. This figure was very fast and had arrived in the study room in a flash. After he stopped, he hunched over and put his hands on his knees. , lowered his head and panted heavily, the person who came was none other than Lu Shaochuan, the general of the army.
At this moment, Lu Shaochuan's face turned red from holding back. He wanted to open his mouth several times to speak, but because he was breathing too fast, he stopped to gasp as soon as the words reached his mouth.
Li Zhen frowned and said, "Don't be in a hurry. Speak slowly."
However, Li Zhen looked at Lu Shaochuan's anxious look and the pain he showed, and he had a bad feeling in his heart. From Lu Shaochuan's surrender to him to now, Lu Shaochuan has been anxious and painful. But it was not to the point where I was speechless in a hurry. It was obvious that the matter in front of me was already extremely serious.
Liu Taiping said: "Commander Lu, take a breath and talk again."
Lu Shaochuan paused for about a minute, and his breathing calmed down a little, then he walked to his seat and sat down. With a sad look on his face, he said in a deep voice: "Sir, I just received news that there is news from Turi Island in the sea of Guangzhou. All the people on the island were detained by Japanese pirates, and some of them have been massacred by Japanese pirates."
"Snapped,."
Li Zhen slapped his hand on the desk and stood up with a stern look on his face.
The look in his eyes conveyed a chill to his heart.
At this moment, the killing intent in Li Zhen's heart emitted uncontrollably. The stern expression on his face was like an eternal glacier, and the killing intent in his eyes had a hint of madness. Liu Taiping frowned slightly when he saw this. At first, he didn't understand why Li Zhen was so angry. It was hard to understand.
The Japanese pirates slaughtered the people and should be eradicated.
But what Li Zhen showed puzzled Liu Taiping, because the look on his face was as if the hatred had penetrated deep into his bones, to the point where he wanted to eat his flesh and sleep on his skin.
Li Zhen said in a deep voice: "Lu Shaochuan, what is the specific situation? Why did the little devils kill Turi Island? Last time we led troops to wipe out thousands of Japanese pirates including Onizuka Shichiro, and in Guangzhou The city punished Tanaka Chicken with death by a thousand cuts, doesn’t the little devil know that?”
Lu Shaochuan said: "The specific situation is unclear, but according to the news returned, the people who landed on Turi Island are not samurai like Onizuka. They have enough firearms and are well-trained, like an army."
"army."
Li Zhen squinted his eyes slightly, a cold light flashing in his eyes.
If it is the army, it means that the Japanese military has already taken action. It involves the armies of the two countries. It is not a simple issue, but Li Zhen still doesn't understand, because according to Japan's development, the Japanese shogunate and those who are preparing to launch the reform The reformists are already in power, and both sides are focusing on domestic affairs. How could there be an army?
The situation is very complicated.
Li Zhen looked at Lu Shaochuan and said seriously: "Mobilize the soldiers in the army, prepare battleships, prepare cannons, and then send troops to forcefully land on Turi Island. This time, the little devil must learn a painful lesson." When he thought of the island. The people were massacred, and Li Zhen felt a faint pain in his heart, and he was full of hatred.
This damn nation actually slaughtered its people and was simply seeking death.
Lu Shaochuan received the order and immediately went to prepare.
Li Zhen looked at Liu Taiping and said: "Sir, a big accident happened on the island. I have to deal with it personally. The money matter will be put aside for the time being. I will solve this problem after I deal with the little devil."
Liu Taiping nodded in agreement, knowing that this was the only way to do it.
Li Zhen left the Admiral's Mansion and went straight to Jiuzhou Daily and found Wei Yuan.
At this time, Wei Yuan was still writing articles, but they were all foreign articles. Seeing Li Zhen's serious expression, Wei Yuan asked with a smile: "Hongyi, what happened."
Li Zhen said in a deep voice: "I just got the news that the Japanese pirates captured Turi Island on the sea and massacred the people. I am going to send troops to destroy the Japanese pirates. I would like to ask Mr. Wei to encourage me."
When Mr. Wei heard this, he was so angry that he blew his beard and stared.
He stamped his feet repeatedly and said in a deep voice: "These crazy Japanese pirates really deserve to be killed. Even if Hongyi sends troops, I will write an article to support you and let the people know about this."
Li Zhen nodded and left Jiuzhou Daily. He returned to the Admiral's Mansion, changed into a military uniform, comforted Zhi Lan, a newly married woman, in the backyard, and then ran towards the military camp.
ps: It’s the third update today. Let’s take a short rest. Japan’s thread is gradually pulling out and it will become more and more violent. Please support me.