Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

A reward of one hundred thousand US dollars is quite generous. For Hua Ruohan, only a fool would not want to accept it. As long as there is enough collateral, he will risk his life to make this happen. Naturally, he agreed to it.

"The third thing," Liu Ye continued, "is that I need talent. Talent in all fields, the more the better. If possible, I hope your country can send some teachers to Shandong to teach in China. I will open one or two schools in Shandong to teach Western science. Salary is not a problem, as long as they are willing to come. I also want technicians, all kinds of engineering technicians, the more the better!"

Hua Ruohan smiled bitterly and replied, "My Lord Governor, you are trying to squeeze me dry. You still want a large number of engineering technicians? Do you know that such talents are in short supply even in the United States? The last time she tried to reach a consensus with Colt, she regretted it. Where can she find so many technicians? It's not easy to train a mature technician..."

Liu Ye said in a deep voice, "Mr. Hua Ruohan, you can't hide it from me. Your country has a large population, and most of them are well educated. They were reluctant to leave America before, but now it's different. Your country is experiencing a large-scale civil war. The flames of war are prolonged, the political situation is unstable, and people are restless. I think as long as the price is right, they will definitely consider leaving America, at least temporarily. I am inviting them to teach in China. If they feel dissatisfied or want to return to their country, they can leave at any time. Moreover, I know you all want to preach in China, but the court has always disagreed, and the local government has always been hostile. However, I can't guarantee other places. In school, you can preach freely. As long as someone wants to believe, there will be absolutely no one to force them not to believe. Do you think this is an opportunity for those missionaries?"

Hua Ruohan looked helpless and replied, "I knew I could not hide anything from you. Let me do my best and hope I can convince them."

Zhang Chunping, standing aside, smiled and said, "Sir, there's no need to go to such lengths. I've heard that America has numerous so-called universities and technical schools. We could definitely cooperate with them and establish branch campuses. If that were to happen, these universities would be profitable and would naturally send a certain number of teachers to China. The only problem is that we don't have enough translators. Even if these teachers came, how would they understand without someone to translate?"

Liu Ye smiled and said, "However, Dingguo, your suggestion is very good. As for the translation problem, it is not difficult. We can start by training translators. Moreover, Prince Gong has already established the Tongwenguan in Beijing. We can ask Prince Gong to support us with some of the interpretation work. In this way, wouldn't the problem be solved?"

Hua Ruohan smiled bitterly and said, "I've accepted it, but I can't guarantee its effectiveness. After all, China is so backward right now and lacks all kinds of facilities. For example, if someone wants to conduct scientific research, how can they do it if you can't provide anything? The difference between America and China is that American scholars are willing to give up everything for their ideals, but the Chinese are more concerned with immediate interests and stay away from illusory ideals. Lord Liu, am I right?"

Liu Ye was shocked and fell silent. Not only did he keep his distance from it, but the imperial examination system for more than a thousand years had already eroded people's hearts. These people only knew how to get promoted and make money through the imperial examination system. Who would be willing to engage in menial work?

Liu Ye said solemnly, "Mr. Hua Ruohan, you'll see. In China, it's what you said, but in Shandong, it will be an exception. In the place where I govern, it will be an exception. As long as someone is willing to come to Shandong, as long as they have real talent, I will provide them with everything they need for research. If China can't make it, then I will buy it! Only reading can bring success. Humph, it's time to change the meaning of the word reading!"

Change? How?

Traditional Chinese people naturally believe that books can bring beauty and wealth, and that reading brings honor to the family. However, in the future, reading will not only mean studying the Confucian classics, the Four Books and the Five Classics. I want to change people's mindsets! What's the point of just reading those dead books? They won't solve any problems. The nation is at a critical juncture of life and death, so how can we afford so many idle people? I only want math, physics, and chemistry! I only need engineering and technical talents. It was only with the May Fourth Movement that China raised the twin banners of science and democracy. In this era, I want to achieve this goal fifty years ahead of schedule!

Liu Ye was furious when he heard Hua Ruohan's words. The foreigners had seen through the Chinese. They only knew how to live with benevolence, righteousness, morality, and esoteric theories. They only knew how to sit back and talk nonsense. They were completely a bunch of the laziest, most frivolous waste! If this concept was not shattered, the Chinese nation would never have a chance to rise!

Hua Ruohan saw that everything was almost discussed, and then said, "By the way, let's not talk about these troubles. Let's talk about something happy. Where has Colt made any progress..."

Liu Ye was stunned and asked, "Progress?"

Hua Ruohan smiled and said, "This Colt is impatient. After getting the blueprint, he returned to America and began to organize technicians to carry out production and debugging. He quickly determined the various parameters and performance of your work and entered the mass production stage. This rifle is really too powerful, and its performance is far superior to that of equal pay. Our country is now in the midst of a war, and we continue to use advanced weapons. The US government's Department of Defense signed a super contract with Colt for 200,000 rifles in one go. 200,000 rifles, with a profit of between $5 and $10 per rifle, that is, this contract will bring us nearly $2 million in profit. The profit from the onboard ammunition will be an astronomical figure. Haha, what do you think? Is this super good news?"

Even Liu Ye was shocked by this astronomical figure. Two million dollars—that was just the profit. Wouldn't the total value of this contract be even greater? Colt was moving so fast! Although it would probably take two or three years to fulfill this contract, the profits were truly staggering. No wonder people say that arms are the most lucrative business, even more so than opium!

"Good! That's good news indeed, haha!"

Liu Ye was overjoyed and stood up excitedly!