Sean's long and aggressive kiss almost suffocated Audrey.
She wanted to refuse and resist in her heart, but her body went against her will, and she was weak and powerless.
A quick knock on the door rescued her.
Sean opened the box door with a dark face. Nelson peeked at Audrey in the box and said quickly before Sean got angry:
"Viscount, Vichy Town was attacked by fishmen!"
"What?" Sean's expression changed sharply, "Are there any casualties?"
"Only a few fishermen are missing. The fishmen are tracking a cargo ship belonging to the Xia people. The cargo ship was obviously running for their lives and they ran aground. Fortunately, the fishmen did not dare to go ashore. Only a few fishermen from Vichy Town were on the nearby sea.
It's unfortunate that the train is missing, so it's probably more serious than anything else." Nelson replied, and he handed Sean an urgent letter from the town of Vichy, which he received when the train was refueling with water and fuel.
Sean read it hastily. It was a letter written by Villar Perosa, the commander of the Vichy Town branch of the 101st garrison brigade. He served as the brigade commander in Herbert Wells and was stationed in Patna.
After Fort Mburg, he was deputy brigade commander.
After Perosa received the warning, he quickly took the initiative. However, the fishmen obviously knew that they were not suitable for life on land. They instead attacked the unsuspecting Port of Poitou. The ships parked in the port and the people on board were attacked.
They were attacked by the murlocs and their shark legions, resulting in heavy casualties.
Sean looked back and saw that Audrey had returned to her normal mood. She nodded and said, "Sean, go and get down to business."
Sean walked to the car in front. Halfway through the journey, the excitement of the passengers calmed down a lot. A large group of people turned their eyes away from the window and talked loudly around the governor.
Sean slowed down. For some reason, he did not mention the news he had just received, but joined in the lively discussion.
"Mr. Sieyes, your request is not excessive. This is just the first trial operation, and there are still many shortcomings. In fact, we also have new models with more powerful power, which are still being improved. I have
We are confident that within two years, the running speed and load-carrying capacity of trains can be approximately doubled.
Also, this train is a mixed passenger and cargo train. In the future, we will of course run special passenger trains, which will be divided into first-class, second-class and third-class seats. Even poor people can afford tickets. It will even have luxury boxes.
, there are dedicated waiters to provide thoughtful and meticulous services so that the seat level can adapt to the guest's status.
We will also add dedicated restaurants and bars to allow long-distance guests to enjoy a wonderful journey.
It can be imagined that in the future, our long-distance travel will no longer be a financial and physical nightmare. It is far more comfortable and convenient than riding a horse-drawn carriage. It is also safer than the unpredictable sea and the cost is much cheaper. If the railway forms a network
, you can reach any corner of the empire within seven days, whereas before it might have taken you a month or more."
Sieyes laughed: "I look forward to this day coming true soon, and I also believe that many gentlemen are willing to invest in the railway. Viscount, you have put us Genoese at the forefront of the world again!"
"In fact, my railway company is preparing to issue shares, and you are welcome to invest." Sean said, "But this needs the approval of our Governor. After all, this matter is of great importance and it is a new thing. We should give priority to building that railway."
We need your precious advice from your Excellency the Governor."
Governor Byrne has been very pleased to see recently that one event after another representing great political achievements is happening before his eyes, including economic prosperity, stable public security, and more importantly, a doubling of tax revenue. His political achievements have frequently appeared in official cabinet documents.
, go up to heaven and listen.
Even Byrne was worried that he would be transferred because of his outstanding political achievements. Two years ago, he was still worried about his career prospects. As a northerner, he was cautious, and now he has been rewarded.
After a moment of reserve, Byrne said: "My lords and gentlemen, I have also seen everyone's ardent hope. I myself also have a strong interest in building railways, because obviously this kind of steel monster is necessary for a prosperous economy.
.Now that there is a railway from Dockton to Darlington, which is a railway through the north of Genoa, my opinion is that it is necessary to build a railway from Darlington south to the port of Poitou."
This is of course what Bai En likes. Of course, from Bai En's point of view, this is also a necessary measure to strengthen the economic and personnel connections between the north and south of Genoa. In the future, Genoa's economic center will still be on the coastline from Poitou to Vichy Town, but in the north
The mining area is the resource base of this economic center. Even the coal and iron resources in the north can be transported to the Port of Poitou by rail and then exported to other provinces.
Anyone with a little bit of economic savvy will think of this.
"Then I suggest two ways for the Governor-General to organize the construction of the railway." Sean said, "One way is for the Governor-General to set up an investment company in the name of the province, which can not only invest independently with provincial fiscal revenue, but also
External funds can be absorbed by issuing stocks, and the construction will be handed over to Kangshi Railway Company. The investment company will pay the relevant construction costs. Once it is completed, it will have nothing to do with Kangshi Railway Company."
"What about the other one?" Byrne asked with interest.
"The other type is entirely invested and constructed by Kangshi Railway Company. After completion, it will also be operated by Kangshi Railway. Of course, the profits will be exclusively enjoyed by Kangshi." Sean said, "Of course, it can also be operated by the relevant provincial departments.
But the province will pay the relevant fees, which saves the province the trouble of raising funds in the early stage."
The Governor's Office is not short of money now. This year alone, it received tens of millions from the auction of mineral mining rights. Although most of it was handed over to the national treasury, he has the right to withhold part of it, and next year he will start to collect a 1/20 tax, and there will be a large amount of input.
The latter amount was guaranteed by the clear decree of the emperor and the cabinet, not to mention the tea tax levied in 1834, which was a tax worth tens of millions.
If we say which province is the richest among the 30 provinces in the country, Genoa is certainly not as good as Gyeonggi and some provinces, but if we want to say which province's governor has the most money, it must be Byrne.
"If it were me, I would choose the former." Stanley sitting next to him interjected.
Byrne smiled and nodded. This was an obvious thing. The Governor-General didn't even need to provide all the money himself, but there were a lot of people surrounding him who wanted to invest in his investment company that had not yet emerged.
Another group of people surrounded Sean and asked when Kang's Railway would issue shares.
A group of the richest and most powerful people in Genoa were tied to Sean's chariot.
The Genoese train arrived at the Darlington iron ore area at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.
Here Sean received another secret message, which was more detailed information from his secret intelligence network. This was sent by Percy's men, because it changed hands a few times along the way and was delayed a bit on the way.
, this is understandable, these intelligence agents do not know who the secret documents are to be sent to, they can only transfer them according to various intelligence transfer stations.
The railway is currently only built in the mining area of Darlington, and all distinguished passengers got off the train reluctantly.
They didn't have time to visit Sean's smelter, which was still under construction, so they hurriedly transferred to a carriage and arrived at the nearby city of Darlington. There they booked the best hotel to comfort their hungry stomachs.
As for Audrey, she has a manor here. Facing Sean's resentful eyes, she waved her hand and stepped into her carriage easily.
The wealth controlled by this rich woman is spread throughout Genoa. In other words, except for emotions, she does not need to rely on any man.
In Darlington, Byrne finally received the urgent message from Poitou. He was shocked and quickly called for his entourage of officials, Mayor Stanley, Director Sieyes of the Estates-General, some representatives of the Estates-General, and of course
Including nobles such as Sean.
"Fortunately, the fish monsters remained unchanged on the shore. They did not attack people on land. Only the ships parked at the dock suffered disaster. Nearly two hundred people died and thirty cargo ships were burned. It was tragic." Byrne said simply.
After explaining the details, he said sadly, "It is said that fish
They followed a Xia cargo ship to Poitou. The people on the Xia cargo ship have been detained by the garrison. Director Daley is interrogating, but it is not clear why the fish monster is approaching the coast. Viscount, among us
, you are the only one who has fought against the fish demon, what do you think?"
"Everyone, when I went south from the Holy City, I took a wooden sailboat called the Swan. I once encountered a fish demon on the sea. This is a terrifying creature on the sea. They can breathe freely in the water and have a terrifying...
Once the shark army gets close, it is almost impossible to escape.
In the past two years, I have occasionally heard that humans have been attacked by fish demons, but the fish demons also know very well that the clumsy weapons in their hands cannot defeat humans one on one, and their actions on the shore remain unchanged, so they have never dared to approach the coast.
. But now, there is obviously a new situation, and I dare not judge whether this situation will become the norm. Either the Xia cargo ship seriously offended the fish demon and provoked a retaliatory pursuit, or the fish demon finally wanted to test it.
Actively attack humans."
Sieyes said: "If it is the latter, this is a terrible situation. Because it will severely damage the trade of the Port of Poitou and even have a devastating impact on the empire's ocean trade."
In business, as a banker, Sieyes first thought of investing in stocks and bonds related to overseas trade.
Stanley is not too worried about port trade and foreign exports, because this is nothing to his already enlarged appetite. Stanley said:
"The fish demons are monsters in the water. They should be able to drill through the bottom of the water. This is a fatal threat to all wooden sailboats currently. Once the sailboat is drilled through, it can only be slaughtered. It seems that, Viscount, your
The construction of ironclad ships needs to be accelerated."
Sieyes' eyes lit up: "Viscount, you are at the forefront of everyone again. If you need funds from the First Bank of Poitou, I will be happy to help you."
Sean wondered: "My mayor, Mr. Sieyes, everyone, this is not a question of money at all, or even a question of technology. Time, just time, I can't speed up time."
"Yes, the Kangshi Shipyard in East Poitou has just been built and it will take time." Stanley nodded in agreement.
Everyone was talking about the fish monsters, and apart from reaching a consensus on building an iron-clad ship, they had no clue. However, the fish monsters did not come ashore and fled, and the losses they caused in Poitou were still within the tolerance range.
On the way back to Poitou, the visiting group received more news one after another. The fish demon not only attacked Poitou, but also attacked all passing merchant ships along the coastline. There were emergencies everywhere along the empire's coastline.
Especially the large seaports in the north suffered heavy losses.
In short, what used to only remain in legends and occasional reports in newspapers, now this threat from the sea has become a reality.