Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 200 Daying: This boy is not worth discussing with!
Building 220 kilometers of railway in two years is not a fast speed, and is even a bit slow.

Let’s take the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway as an example.

It took the Qing Dynasty four years to build the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway.

However, that was because there were many steep mountains along the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway at that time, so the construction progress was relatively slow.

However, the railway that Li Yi is going to build now is mainly located in the Pearl River Delta impact plain, and most of the land along the way is flat.

Even though the terrain is undulating, it is not as full of mountains and hills as the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway.

Therefore, the construction progress will definitely be much faster, and it should be completed in about two years.

As Li Yi finished speaking, Bulblom stood up and spoke.

"Your Majesty, I believe that the French railway companies will be able to meet your requirements in terms of both experience and technology."

Mashali also said.

"Your Majesty, our American railway company can not only give you a satisfactory quotation, but is also willing to transfer the relevant technology to the Tang Dynasty..."

Upon seeing this, the others also spoke up and expressed their willingness to participate.

And this is exactly the reason why Li Yi called everyone together to discuss this matter.

If Li Yi just asked for the price from a foreign country, then the foreigners would probably ask for an exorbitant price and rip the Tang Dynasty off severely.

However, if Li Yi called people together to bid in this unprepared situation and did not give them time to discuss privately and jointly raise the price.

Instead, it can allow them to bid against each other and drive the price down.

After listening to everyone's opinions, Li Yi did not make a decision in public.

Instead, he immediately ordered his attendants to prepare a quiet room for each country's envoys, consuls, and commercial representatives.

Let them negotiate the quote with the railway company representatives they brought with them!

And Li Yi was waiting for their results.

Just as Li Yi was sitting in his study, Zhang Tai came in to report.

"Your Majesty, the American envoy, Marsali, is outside with a railway businessman seeking an audience."

Hearing this, Li Yi narrowed his eyes and thought to himself, here it comes.

He spoke immediately.

"Bring the people in!"

Soon, Mashali came in from outside with a young man.

After coming in front of Li Yi, Mashali and the young man bowed together.

"Meet His Majesty the King!"

Li Yi waved his hand to signal them to excuse themselves, then asked.

"Your Excellency, why are you here if you are not preparing a quotation for the railway project?"

"Or has the Minister already made his offer?"

Upon hearing this, Mashali just shook his head.

"Your Majesty, I have a piece of news that I think will be of interest to you."

Li Yi showed an interested expression on his face and asked.

"Tell me."

Mashali spoke up.

"The British Empire has received news that His Majesty the King has recaptured Hong Kong and executed the British envoy."

"This news caused a great uproar in the UK. The British Empire has already made a decision to organize a coalition to launch an expedition against the Tang Dynasty."

"So far, most European countries have expressed their willingness to participate. It is estimated that it will not be long before the expeditionary force sets off for the Far East."

"Your Majesty, I think you will be very interested in this news, right?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yi showed an expression of realization on his face.

"So, this is why your ministers, consuls, and commercial representatives are preparing to leave Guangzhou at almost the same time."

Seeing Li Yi's indifferent reaction, Mashali asked with some surprise.

"Isn't your Majesty surprised by this?"

Li Yi nodded and said.

“It’s a bit surprising indeed.”

"Although I was prepared for the British to send troops to the Far East and wage war against the Tang Dynasty, I never expected that the British would organize a coalition this time."

Li Yi was a little shocked now.

My goodness! I was just thinking not long ago that the Tang Dynasty was updating its military equipment to prepare for the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance, but now the Eight-Nation Alliance is really coming.

I really have a bad mouth!
Slowly exhaling a breath, Li Yi asked.

"So are you Americans involved in this?"

Mashali replied with an embarrassed expression.

"do not know."

In Li Yi's yes or no multiple-choice question, he decisively chose "or".

But it was not perfunctory, Marsali really didn't know.

There is no accurate information coming from the United States yet, and he heard the news from ministers and consuls of other countries.

I guess the British side could not have imagined that they had originally planned to make a fortune by robbing with their eldest son, but before the robbery even started, their eldest son sold himself out.

If Daying knew about this, he would probably scold me and say that this boy is not worthy of being a consultant!
Seeing this, Li Yi didn't ask any more questions.

After thinking for a while, he spoke.

"Tell me, what does Minister Marsali want in return for telling me this news?"

Mashali spoke up.

"Your Majesty is wise."

"My purpose is actually very simple. We Americans hope to win the bidding for the railway construction project in the Tang Dynasty." Li Yi thought for a while and knew that this should be the reward that Marsali wanted for betraying Britain.

Immediately, he nodded and said.

"can!"

"In return for the news from the Minister to our Tang Dynasty, I can make a promise that, under the premise that the conditions of all countries are the same, your country will always be the first choice."

Marsali opened his mouth, hesitant to speak.

"Your Majesty, can't we decide on this in advance?"

Li Yi shook his head and said.

"Of course, but the little information that the Minister has given us now is not worth the price."

"This is just a little information. Even if the Minister doesn't tell me, I can get it quickly."

"You know, this is the first railway in the Tang Dynasty. The investment is estimated to be at least more than 10 million yuan, or nearly 20 million Tang Dynasty silver dollars. This is not a small amount."

Although the price quoted by Datang itself for railway construction was more than 7,000 silver dollars per kilometer.

But this is Datang’s own offer.

If you want to invite external bids, you must give the other party a certain profit margin.

After all, foreigners travel across the ocean and spend a lot of time and effort to build railways for you. They must be trying to make money. It is impossible for them to spend money on charity, right?
The main reason why Li Yi said this was not only to reject Marsali, but more to make conditions.

To put it bluntly, it is easy for you, America, to get this order of 20 million silver dollars, but you have to pay more.

As for which aspects more?
Haha, of course it is to provide more intelligence about the allied forces to our Tang Dynasty.

Li Yi doesn't care much about economic benefits now.

If a small loss in the railway bidding could help the Tang Dynasty to sow discord in the expeditionary coalition organized by the United Kingdom, then in Li Yi's opinion, it would be a perfect profit.

Money is a bastard. Once you spend it, you can earn it back quickly.

However, the opportunity to plant a sap within the enemy's ranks is not always available.

Upon hearing this, Marsali undoubtedly understood the implication in Li Yi's words and spoke immediately.

"Your Majesty, I need to think about this matter again."

Li Yi nodded and said with a smile.

"No rush, take your time."

"There are several other countries' consuls and business representatives waiting to see me."

His attitude is very clear: we in the Tang Dynasty don't necessarily need you.

As long as the benefits are sufficient, not only the United States can be a traitor, but other countries can do the same.

Upon hearing this, Mashali took a deep breath and finally spoke.

"Your Majesty, I don't think anyone can offer better conditions than mine."

"I can provide Datang with more comprehensive intelligence on the allied forces."

The expression on Li Yi's face was obviously satisfied, and he nodded slightly.

"Very good, congratulations, Your Excellency. I think you have made the right choice."

"Then let's discuss the railway bidding."

Mashali let out a long breath, then pointed at the young man following him and said to Li Yi.

"Your Majesty, this is Paul Vanderbilt, the fourth heir to our largest railroad contracting company in America."

"The Vanderbilt family has the largest and most capable construction team in the United States, as well as the most advanced railway construction technology and the richest railway construction experience."

"I think the construction team owned by the Vanderbilt family must be able to meet all of the Tang Dynasty's requirements for railway construction."

"..."

……

After finishing a day's study, Yang Fuqing led his horse and left the Military Academy.

He took several of his personal soldiers with him and headed towards the Ninth Division’s base outside Guangzhou city.

Well, the Ninth Division was the name given to Yang Fuqing’s troops after they were reorganized and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.

When Yang Fuqing returned to the military camp, the Ninth Division was training intensively.

On the parade ground, a group of soldiers stood in neat rows, holding muskets with fixed bayonets, and charged forward with their guns raised as the instructor shouted loudly.

Some people were practicing marching, and everyone was marching in unison, creating a spectacular scene.

In addition, there are physical training such as weighted running and shooting training.

What's worse, a group of people gathered together and scratched their heads in front of a blackboard.

It is obvious that this is a literacy class organized by the military to teach the soldiers how to read and write.

Yang Fuqing rode his horse into the military camp and watched the soldiers training on the parade ground with his eyes full of satisfaction.

Although the troops under his command had good combat effectiveness in the past, they still lacked some organization.

Now, after joining the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty's systematic training for new recruits has helped him make up for this shortcoming.

Now the troops under my command are becoming more and more organized with more training!
Yang Fuqing walked towards his barracks.

But at this moment, a fast horse came galloping, intercepted Yang Fuqing, and spoke.

"Report, Commander, the military order from the General Staff!"

As he spoke, the communications soldier on horseback handed a military order in his arms to Yang Fuqing, and then said.

"Commander, the General Staff has ordered you to immediately send someone to the armaments warehouse to collect guns and ammunition, as well as new uniforms and new shoes, in preparation for the expedition."

"Three days later, the army will set out and march westward to Guangxi!"

……

PS: I will update two chapters first. The third chapter is already being coded and will be posted as soon as I finish coding.

(End of this chapter)