The Nautilus's visit also caused a great sensation in Shanghai. As a Chinese with a prominent reputation in Europe, it is reasonable for him to receive public attention in the most prosperous city in Asia, not to mention that this guy is still so high-profile.
, wearing a black SS fur coat in the long autumn rain, riding a pumpkin carriage full of fairy tale colors, with heavily armed white bodyguards behind him, a weird yacht that can only be imagined in science fiction novels, all of Yang Feng's days in Shanghai
Newspapers focused on his whereabouts on their front pages almost every day.
However, to everyone's surprise, Boss Yang did not stay much in Shanghai. He only held a dance on his yacht as a thank you to his Shanghai friends for their enthusiasm, and then visited Shanghai Road alone.
Nie Jichu then set off upstream along the Yangtze River and headed straight for Wuhan.
He was here to recruit soldiers, so of course business was more important. Since he was recruiting mercenaries, he had to recruit the most suitable ones for the job.
The target of this guy is Phoenix's Zhengan Army. Although he has never seen the specific combat effectiveness of these guys, the reputation of China's Gurkhas should not be wrong. Now is not the time to suppress the long hair. Originally,
Their main rivals, the Miao people, have also joined in, and most of the Zhengan army has been demoted and killed. Even their leader Tian Xingshu was kicked back to his hometown and was furious. The others are probably just planting them at home now.
If you have a wife, you might even be able to beg for food in a poor place like Xiangxi.
It doesn't take much to give them more. With an annual salary of one hundred taels of silver a year, they will probably have to scream and risk their lives.
The Nautilus, which had a very shallow draft, rushed along the Yangtze River channel at a high speed of 20 knots, and soon arrived at the destination of the trip. The ship docked at Hankou Pier. The British consul in Hankou was already waiting for her. The two of them exchanged a few polite words.
Just as he was about to take the carriage to the consulate, he didn't expect a group of Qing soldiers to suddenly run up behind him. The big man at the head dismounted in a hurry and then raised his hands and said, "Is this your honor, Young Master Yang Feng?"
Yang Feng nodded somewhat unexpectedly.
"I'm Zhang Biao, Mr. Taiwan Maker has invited me," the big man said.
An hour later, at the Wuchang Huguang Governor's Office, Zhang Zhidong looked at the strangely dressed guy in front of him with interest. Although he looked very displeased, he had to admit that this black fur coat looked much better than his own.
The official uniform must be dignified.
And Yang Feng, who was giving a casual salute, was also looking curiously at the dry old man in front of him. He was dressed in a zombie costume, had a long gray beard, and with the bird feather on the back of his head, he looked like a corpse crawling from the grave.
The mummies came out, and it is hard to imagine that it was such a person who started the era of China's heavy industry.
"Cough!" Zhang Zhidong coughed majestically and broke the silence.
"Junior, I'm here to meet Mr. Taiwan Maker. I wonder what mission you have summoned?" Yang Feng hurriedly bowed slightly and said.
"I heard that Yang Tongyi opened a factory in England to promote the reputation of the Qing Dynasty. I have always admired him. Today I heard that he was visiting Jiangcheng, so I took the liberty to invite him. Please don't be offended by Yang Tongyi." Zhang Zhidong said with a smile.
"My lord, you are very polite. It should be the junior who came to visit me. However, due to the difference in status, he did not dare to come and disturb me." Yang Feng sweated for a moment and then said.
The two of them chatted with each other for a few more words. Yang Feng really couldn't bear the feeling of embarrassment, so he hurriedly raised his hands and said: "Sir, this junior is impatient. If you have any errands, you can just tell me. If I can be of use to you, I will do it."
I will definitely not refuse."
Zhang Zhidong was stunned for a moment and then said with a smile: "In this case, I will no longer be polite. You also know that the Hanyang Iron Works is under construction now. Although the progress is relatively smooth, it is not easy to use those foreign technicians after all."
To put people at ease, I heard that you have a steel factory in your hands, and it is also well-known in Europe and the West. Can you help me?"
"Sir, to be honest, I have heard about your steel factory, but with all due respect, the machines you are using now cannot produce qualified steel at all. The iron ore in Daye contains too high phosphorus.
Your current Bessemer acid converter cannot remove phosphorus, so the steel produced will be brittle and cannot be used to make rails.
When using acidic furnaces in Europe, low-phosphorus ores must be used, while high-phosphorus ores must use Thomas alkaline converters. In fact, the transformation is not difficult. The main thing is to replace the refractory bricks lining the blast furnace with dolomite.
, If you are interested, I will call some engineers from Bofors to help you for free. It will not take long to complete the transformation." Yang Feng said with a smile. In fact, the British did not lie to him.
The old man didn't know much about science. He was reminded that he had to test the iron ore first, but he bought the steel-making furnace without testing it.
If he doesn't worry about this kind of thing, the British will definitely have no interest in worrying about it for him.
Zhang Zhidong was a little stunned, and after a while he said carefully: "What Brother Yang said is true."
Now he doesn't hold on to that formality anymore.
"Look, I said I would help you for free. Of course it cannot be false. Moreover, these are basic things. If you don't believe me, just send a telegram to the embassy in London or Berlin and ask them to find a steel engineer in Europe for consultation.
, and if you are not afraid of trouble, you can send some iron ore samples over and let them find someone to test them for you." Yang Feng said with a smile.
"Thank you very much this time, otherwise I would have almost missed something important." Zhang Zhidong said with emotion.
"It's just a piece of cake. In fact, when you enter a new steelmaking furnace in the future, try to use a Martin furnace. The open-hearth furnace is more cost-effective than the converter furnace," Yang Feng said.
"Then when will the engineer you mentioned arrive?" Zhang Zhidong asked impatiently.
"Now send a telegram to Sweden. It will probably take a month at the earliest. You can still build the steel plant how you want it. After they come, you can just modify the steel-making furnace. If you are in a hurry, let the current steel plant be built."
Those foreign engineers can be responsible for the transformation. There is no shortage of dolomite in our country. I remember that it is found in Ye County, Shandong Province. I have forgotten the specific place. You can ask a few engineers to search for it in Ye County. Maybe they can find it." Yang Feng said.
Since the relationship between the two has become much closer, Yang Feng took the opportunity to propose that he would go to Zhenyu to recruit workers, hoping that he could provide some convenience.
"Zhenzhen? Brother Yang, the people in that place are tough and strong, but they are not suitable for workers." Zhang Zhidong reminded him kindly.
"Sir, I'm recruiting workers like this. You probably don't know that one of my most important businesses abroad is to provide security services, or as we call them bodyguards in China, but it's not like dozens of people escorting some goods.
Bodyguard, of course that is also within the scope of business.
I work for the Umbrella Company in the United States, and my business scope includes private security, that is, personal bodyguards, and security for factories and mines in dangerous areas. For example, if I want to open a factory in a Tibetan area, then I will need a small army to protect me, as well as military training.
For example, for your self-improvement army, if you need instructors, you can hire them from our company. They are all retired officers from the armies of European powers. They also include proxy wars. If you want to fight in a certain place, but you don’t have enough troops on hand, then it doesn’t matter.
, as long as you pay, you can have as many people as you want, just like the foreign gun team back then." Yang Feng said.
Zhang Zhidong was almost dumbfounded. He had never thought that there would be a company like this, but according to what Yang Feng said, this job was indeed suitable for people from Zhenjun.
With his help, Yang Feng's journey south to Fenghuang was very simple. Zhang Zhidong directly mobilized a group of Qing soldiers, with an officer with the rank of garrison to lead the group in person. Under the banner of the Huguang Governor's Palace, they took a flat-bottomed boat on the river.
I went upstream along the Yuanjiang River, looking at the scenery of Sanxiang along the way, and stormed into Fenghuang Ancient City in a menacing manner, frightening my colleagues from the Fenghuang Hall to crawl out.
"This Mr. Yang is a distinguished guest of Master Taiwan. He is short of a few bodyguards. I heard that the veterans of the Jin army are quite good at fighting, so I want to recruit a few from here. Please take care of me." The defense is somewhat of a fake and powerful force.
said.
"I will try my best to cooperate with Mr. Yang." said the Phoenix Hall colleague in a servile manner, who is Zhang Zhidong? Crushing a junior colleague like him is like crushing an ant. How dare he neglect such a person's distinguished guest?
of.
"Are there any people who were in the victorious army back then still alive?" Boss Yang took off his sunglasses and looked at the cloudy sky impatiently and asked.
"Yes, there is, but I'm a bit older, in my forties or fifties, and I'm afraid I'm not as good as the young people." The colleague of Phoenix Hall continued to say servilely.
"Gather them together and let me take a look." Yang Feng said casually.
Soon hundreds of middle-aged people in different clothes were summoned to Tongzhi Yamen. The age gap between these people was quite large, some were in their fifties and sixties, and some were in their early forties. Huwei Camp was also an important part of the battle against the Nian Army in the later period.
So not all of them have had hairy hair, but when these people show off their arms, the tattoos on their arms are very majestic, and a piece of such tattoos will have more visual impact.
However, these veterans look like they are not living a good life. Some of them are in rags, which is consistent with Yang Feng's guess. Those who are over fifty must be of no use. However, in order to win people's hearts, Boss Yang is still alone.
After receiving a reward of ten yuan, not to mention these veterans, even the green soldiers who maintained order around them had their eyes shining brightly.
This effect makes Yang Feng very satisfied. As a stranger from outside, if he wants to recruit people here to work hard for him, it is absolutely impossible not to use money to kill them first. Moreover, if the Jin army is easy to use, this place will be an important source of soldiers in the future.
It is still necessary to get a good reputation. Thousands of dollars are not money at all to him, but here it is a huge wealth.