After the Batavia Treaty was signed, and after receiving the compensation they deserved, the Beiyang Fleet left the Dutch East Indies after a brief correction. However, Xu Jie and Zhang Peilun did not return to Guangzhou with the fleet, but boarded the

Peng Haifeng's ship went to Singapore to visit Mr. Zhang Zhenxun, a leader among Nanyang Chinese businessmen.

Standing at the door of Zhang Zhenxun's villa, Xu Jie had mixed feelings. He could finally meet with the leaders of the Nanyang Chinese businessmen. After more than half a year of hard work, whether it was providing arms to the Nanyang Chinese or personally operating the Beiyang fleet this time. Beiyang and himself

Everything you did finally paid off. And

The alliance between Nanyang Chinese and Beiyang will be Xu Jie's biggest reliance in winning the Sino-Japanese War! Without the support of the Chinese and overseas Chinese, relying solely on Beiyang's own money and resources, it is simply a fool's errand to think of one place against one country.

At this time, Peng Haifeng secretly poked Xu Jie, signaling that the real owner was here.

To Xu Jie's expectation, in addition to Zhang Zhenxun, the man named Li who had come to visit him with Peng Haifeng also came out together.

"My surname is Chen. I am a distant relative of Mr. Zhang. I am in charge of shipping." Seeing Xu Jie's puzzled expression, Chen Ming said apologetically.

"Nice to meet you." Xu Jie responded by cupping his hands.

"Mr. Xu's righteous speech on behalf of our Nanyang Chinese people led to the Beiyang Navy's inspection of Nanyang. Here, Zhang thanked Mr. Xu on behalf of our Nanyang compatriots." After speaking, Zhang Zhenxun leaned over and bowed.

"Mr. Zhang, thank you. Xu is just a middleman. If it weren't for Li Zhongtang's approval, the inspection of Nanyang would still not be possible," Xu Jie said quickly.

Then Xu Jie, Zhang Peilun, and Peng Haifeng followed Zhang Zhenxun and Chen Ming into the villa. After rejecting the outsiders, the five of them began to discuss business.

"I heard from Mr. Peng that Mr. Xu will leave Beiyang in the near future to supervise the construction of warships in Italy. I wonder if this is the case?" Zheng Zhenxun said with some worry.

"That's true. The newly ordered warships in Beiyang were designed by me, so it's only appropriate for me to supervise their construction." Xu Jie replied.

"Once Mr. Xu leaves the Qing Dynasty, how will we, the overseas Chinese in Nanyang, contact the Beiyang side? It is very difficult for these officials of the Qing Dynasty to talk," Zhang Zhenxun said.

"In terms of business, Mr. Zhang can contact Mr. Sheng Xuanhuai. In official circles, Mr. Zhang can contact you, who has the same surname." At this point, Xu Jie looked at Zhang Peilun and said. "Brother Youqiao can definitely connect Mr. Zhang and Mr. Zhang.

The demands of the Chinese businessmen in Zhili were conveyed to Li Zhongtang."

"Zhang Youqiao is willing to help." Zhang Peilun said with a smile.

"Since Mr. Xu has made arrangements, I'm relieved." Zhang Zhenxun let out a sigh of relief.

"In addition to Zhili, Nanyang Chinese businessmen can also open mines and set up factories in Guangdong, Guangxi and Taiwan. The governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Mr. Li Hanzhang, is Li Zhongtang's brother, and the governor of Taiwan, Mr. Liu Mingchuan, is Li Zhongtang's general. Naturally, he can take care of the Nanyang Chinese businessmen.

." Xu Jie never forgets Guangdong, Guangxi and Taiwan when he has good deeds.

, after all, the Zhili area is limited, and there are some things that cannot be done under the nose of the central government of the Qing Dynasty. However, in Guangdong, Guangxi and Taiwan, which are high in the mountains and far away from the emperor, you can do it freely. "If you have financial difficulties, I, Beiyang General

Establishing a bank, I hope it can solve your urgent needs."

"Mr. Xu is so considerate, Zhang is ashamed. I wonder if Mr. Xu has any other requests?" Since Xu Jie has given policy and financial support to the Nanyang Chinese, it is naturally not in vain. Zhang Zhenxun knows very well.

, now it’s time for Beiyang to make an offer!

"First, Beiyang hopes that Nanyang Chinese can invest funds and manpower in shipping, chemicals, steel, food, textile and other industries. Needless to say the first three points, they are naturally related to our Beiyang armaments, food industry, such as canned food

, will also indirectly support our future wars in Beiyang. As for textiles? I hope that the Nanyang Chinese can completely crush Japanese textiles." Xu Jie said fiercely.

"Mr. Xu, is he going to fight an economic war?" Zhang Zhenxun couldn't help but feel shocked. You must know that 90% of Japan's foreign exchange is earned from the textile industry. If the textile industry is hit hard, Japan's military expansion plan will definitely slow down.

.

"The outcome of the war does not only depend on the fighting on the battlefield. Regarding chemicals and steel, as long as the quality is good, Beiyang will naturally give everyone a fair price. In addition to supplying food for military use, it also has great development prospects among the people.

"On the one hand, the textile industry is beneficial to people's livelihood, but on the other hand, it is an economic war." Xu Jie said seriously.

"This is acceptable. However, the steel, chemical and other industries need technical support. I wonder if Mr. Xu has another good idea?" Chen Ming interjected.

"In this regard, I will recruit some foreign technicians in Europe and purchase some technical equipment for the Chinese businessmen. There will be no technical problems." Xu Jie said confidently.

"In addition, Xu has an unkind request." Xu Jie thought about it again and again, and finally decided to say it.

"Mr. Xu said, as long as I, the Nanyang Chinese, can do it, I will naturally do it." Zhang Zhenxun frowned and said.

"I wonder if the Nanyang Chinese can organize a strong force to help me in Beiyang when the Qing Dynasty goes to war?" Saying this, Xu Jie himself wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl in. After all, this is different from borrowing money from others. This is to let others

People are working hard. If Beiyang

His own army is more numerous and of higher quality than Xu Jie. But judging from the performance of the army in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894, those Huai soldiers who aimed at making ends meet, lacked basic knowledge, and had a fighting will sometimes not as good as those of the militia.

The army is really unreliable.

"This is a big problem." Zhang Zhenxun said noncommittally. Although he was a leader of overseas Chinese in Nanyang, he really couldn't agree to this easily. After all, war is not a child's play! Once they join the war, I don't know how many Chinese will die on the battlefield.

"My Peng family is not talented, but if there is a war with the Japanese in Beiyang, my Peng family is willing to organize a rebel army to help." When both parties in the meeting were silent, Peng Haifeng broke the calm with one sentence.

"Then I would like to thank Mr. Peng on behalf of Beiyang." Xu Jie and Zhang Peilun stood up and saluted.

"We are all connected by blood, and we should help each other." Peng Haifeng replied with a smile. During the subsequent meeting, Zheng Zhenxun still did not nod, but his attitude towards this opinion was somewhat relaxed. After Xu Jie, Zhang Peilun and others left, Zhang Zhenxun was alone

Peng Haifeng was left behind.

"Boss Peng is going to work hard." Zhang Zhenxun said expressionlessly.

"Fighting is a desperate battle. In essence, it is no different from how we deal with the natives and the Dutch." Peng Haifeng said with a smile.

"But this is a war for Beiyang, which sheds the blood of our Nanyang Chinese. This is not included in our cooperation with them. We can provide funds and talents. But we cannot afford human lives." Zhang Zhenxun said a little impatiently.

"If cooperation is only in the economic field, is the Beiyang Fleet going south considered something other than cooperation?" Peng Haifeng asked, still smiling.

"We paid." Chen Ming interjected.

"How much does it cost for a life? Or how much money can you pay to find another fleet to protect the interests of the Nanyang Chinese?" Peng Haifeng's face showed a sarcastic smile. "Guns are different from other commodities. I'm afraid you have

Money can't buy it either

!!When Mr. Peng was fooling around with a parang knife, he couldn't even buy a single-shot breech-loading gun with 100 Spanish silver dollars! No matter how rich you are and if you are unarmed, you are still nothing but meat on the chopping board. What do people think?

Whenever I want to kill you, I will kill you at any time?"

"But are you sure that Beiyang can always support the Nanyang Chinese after this crisis?" Chen Ming continued to ask.

"Of course, Beiyang's enemy is not just Japan. If Japan is defeated, the behemoth in the north of the Qing Dynasty that has occupied more than 1.5 million square kilometers of Qing Dynasty's land will come on stage." Peng Haifeng said. "If Beiyang is defeated, or Beiyang

If those who sympathize with and support us in China step down, what will be the solution? We will still return to the past state, and even face the local Dutch government

and the revenge of the indigenous people. By then, without foreign aid, the unarmed Chinese will shed more blood. It is also a bloodshed and sacrifice, why don't we strive for a better outcome?" In fact, Peng Haifeng has another meaning that he did not mention,

If this Chinese armed force can be retained after the war, it will have a great impact on the political situation of Beiyang and even the Qing Dynasty. After all, there are two precedents, the Hunan Clan and the Huai Clan.

"Boss Peng said it politely. But I still need to think about this matter." Zhang Zhenxun said. As an overseas Chinese leader, his appeal is enough to persuade a large number of Chinese to join the army. However, it is precisely because of his strong appeal that Zhang Zhenxun has to act cautiously.

"Mr. Zhang, think about it slowly. Since I, Peng Haifeng, have already promised, I must certainly fulfill my promise." Peng Haifeng said with an arched hand. Then he turned around and left the room.

"Why does Boss Peng support Beiyang so much?" After Peng Haifeng left, Chen Ming still couldn't figure out why Peng Haifeng helped Beiyang at all costs.

"Why is Boss Peng Boss Peng? Have you ever thought about this question?" Zhang Zhenxun asked with a smile.

"This? This junior doesn't know." Chen Ming didn't want to get too involved in this kind of high-level Chinese matter.

"Boss Peng has become the real boss of the Chinese society in the past six months, and the fundamental reason is that he has obtained a large number of cheap and high-quality weapons. He is right. Without guns and an army, we Nanyang Chinese will always live in the shadow of the butcher's knife.
Chapter completed!