Master Yuan, start!

The young soldier looked embarrassed when he heard this and stammered:

"Brother Liu, you know me. I've already spent all my salary this month on prostitutes. I haven't even had a good meal."

"Stop, don't even think about borrowing money from me. I'm a very honest person. I have a wife and son back home in Shandong who are eagerly waiting for me to send them money. I don't have any extra money.

Besides, you should stop thinking about those messy things. The Qing Dynasty seemed to be on the verge of collapse since the Taiping Rebellion, but who would have thought that it could still survive for another half century.

You only get paid for your service for a day, that's all!"

"Hey, Brother Liu, look at what you said. I know your situation. You're short of money recently, so you're complaining." Seeing that Brother Liu was not going to lend him money, Wang San could only rub his cold hands awkwardly and said.

The two chatted casually along the way, completely ignoring the hustle and bustle of merchants pushing wheelbarrows on the street.

It is winter now. Although there is still some time before the Chinese New Year, as the year draws to a close, the demand for warm materials such as mink fur, otter fur, and mouse fur has increased in major cities across the country.

"Ouch! You hit me! Are you blind? Why didn't you look at the road?" Wang Sanzheng felt embarrassed that he failed to borrow money, so he was hit by a wooden car, and the cargo on the car splashed mud all over him.

So he was enraged and stabbed the laborers pushing the cart with his musket, forcing the laborers to retreat repeatedly, mumbling in incomprehensible Korean.

"Calm down, calm down." The steward nearby apologized quickly. "Sir, calm down. I recruited this man from the countryside. He doesn't understand Mandarin, he only speaks Hangul. He doesn't understand what you are saying."

"Just because you don't understand what I'm saying, you can't just ignore the road? I was ordered to patrol this road to maintain public order. But I ended up in a bad way and got hit by someone." Wang San was still unforgiving.

"Forget it, Wang San, don't make things difficult for them. It's not easy for them to transport some goods." The man called Brother Liu by Wang San spoke.

As he spoke, he took the initiative to pick up the goods scattered on the ground one by one and stuffed them into the cloth bags on the car.

Only then did Wang San see clearly what was scattered.

Wild ginseng!

Some wild ginseng are as long as a finger, and some are as long as a palm!

王三眼2神顿时变得热络起来4，这一根野零山参少说也4要十几两，眼3前这满满一车呢。6*4

The manager nearby saw Wang San's eyes and thought to himself, "Oh no!" The car was apparently carrying ginseng, but in fact, there were more than a dozen smuggled guns inside.

If Wang San turns it over again, the truth will be revealed!

In just a few breaths, the manager was already sweating profusely, and the two laborers pushing the cart looked at each other, wondering whether to take advantage of the opportunity to attack.

"San'er, don't take what you shouldn't take. This isn't something we can get involved in. Forget it."

Upon hearing this, Wang San could only put away his desire to get rich and honestly put the wild ginseng back into the bag.

Seeing that a dispute had been resolved without a trace, the manager quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead and expressed his gratitude repeatedly.

"I know you're not the owner. This much ginseng must belong to some big shot in Seoul. My two brothers won't make things difficult for you today." Brother Liu pondered for a moment and then said,

"Well, my brother Wang San is short of money today, can you help me?"

The manager was only thinking about getting this matter over with as soon as possible to avoid any more complications. He also quickly took out a handful of silver from his pocket.

Brother Liu took it, shook it in his hand, and found it weighed about ten taels, so he waved his hand and let it go.

The manager and the laborers thanked him profusely and left, leaving only Brother Liu and Wang San behind.

"Here you go, San'er. Stop spending your money on women. Even if you do, it's better to go home and marry a wife than to spend it on these flowers and plants." Brother Liu stuffed the silver directly into Wang San's hand, then turned around and left without patrolling the streets.

"Let's go back to camp. It's getting late. Let's go back and have a bowl of hot soup."

"Brother Liu, Brother Liu, please wait for me!" After putting away the ten taels of silver, Wang San looked in the direction where the manager and the laborers were going, and followed Brother Liu back to the camp.

...Transfer "U: Yi Ling Liu Jiu Yi4 San Liu

...

More than a month later, the weather became even colder.

The north wind made people shiver, and there were already many pedestrians on the streets of Seoul. Everyone stayed at home to spend this cold and long winter.

At this time, Yuan Shikai was lighting a small stove and discussing mining matters with an American named Brad Hoover.

"General Yuan, please forgive me, I really cannot agree to your request." Hoover held a big pipe in his right hand and spoke in broken Chinese.

"Why, Mr. Hoover, I told you about the large coal mines near Pyongyang, but you didn't discover it?" Yuan Xiangcheng was puzzled.

"General Yuan, the coal mine you told us about is indeed very large after exploration.

However, although the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between North Korea and the United States stipulated that my country had the right to do business in North Korea, it did not mention the establishment of factories and mines.

The board of directors was very happy to discover the Pyongyang coal mine with Mr. Yuan's information.

However, due to concerns that hasty mining would cause unnecessary diplomatic disputes, it has to be shelved for the time being."

Blowing out a puff of smoke, Hoover replied helplessly.

"But don't worry, General Yuan, the agreed-upon reward of 1 taels will still be paid.

Yuan Xiangcheng had been thinking about making iron and steel since he first traveled through time, but when he was really ready to do it, he found that he had neither the talent nor the equipment, so it was completely impossible.

North Korea is rich in local products, including coal, iron, gold, tungsten, and even rare earths, which are strategic resources for future generations.

It's just that in this era, it has not been explored yet.

Yuan Shikai was like begging with a golden bowl in his hand. It was not until he opened a trading company and established connections with the Americans that he gained some opportunities.

Brad Hoover now worked for the Carnegie Steel Company, a new company founded in 1881 that needed to expand production.

This was the peak of the Second Industrial Revolution. The American steel industry had already entered a stage of fierce competition, and domestic competition was fierce.

7 So Brad Hoover took the initiative to propose to his boss Carnegie to go overseas to develop markets, and came to the Far East by ship.

Lu originally wanted to visit Japan, but found that Japan's well-known iron and coal mines had long been under government control, and the remaining private mineral resources had no development value.

He had no choice but to travel to Korea to try his luck, and that's when he met Yuan Shikai.

"You don't have to worry about that. I will handle the issues related to the North Korean government. You just need to tell the board that you can open a mine in North Korea."

The usurper patted his chest and assured Hoover.

Third, after all, in this Gapsin Coup, he intended to make Korea surrender completely, rather than just being a vassal state.

When the time comes, no matter what the treaty is, we can force the King of Korea to sign it by pressing his neck.

If you don't want to, just say that the king was hacked to death by rebel soldiers and replace him with another one.

"In return, I sincerely invite Mr. Hoover to serve as the supervisor of the Pyongyang coal mine. How about that?"

It's a matter of returning a favor, and Americans don't have any blood feud with China.

Yuan Xiangcheng didn't mind using a position in a coal mine to make a friend.

"This...I'm afraid it's not appropriate."

Hoover's eyes changed, and then he frowned slightly. He was obviously moved, but worried about how to explain it to the board of directors after returning home.

“Of course, there’s an old Chinese saying: No reward without merit.

Mr. Hoover should also use his connections in the United States to expand sales for the coal mines."

8-95973-Find familiar county

"Well... okay." Hoover hesitated for a moment and nodded.

Would the famous Carnegie Steel Company need coal from across the Pacific Ocean?

California has more coal than it can use up, so why bother going to the nearest place?

However, this is a reason after all.

After hearing Yuan Xiangcheng's high-sounding explanation, the expression on Hoover's face finally relaxed.

"I can definitely do it, but...Mr. Yuan, how did you know there was a large coal mine near Pyongyang?"

"Well, the secret cannot be revealed.

Oh, I forgot you Westerners probably don't understand this sentence." Yuan Xiangcheng simply switched to English.

"God has his own plans."

What a funny Chinese guy.

Hoover made a judgment about Yuan Xiangcheng in his heart.

It is likely that the nearby residents went up the mountain to cut wood and discovered the local large coal mine?

Hoover muttered this to himself but did not speak it out loud.

After all, it's not that important.

…Yes

After a conversation, Yuan Xiangcheng politely saw Hoover out, holding the silver note given by Hoover in his hand.

Before Hoover had gone far, his personal soldier Ming Ye hurriedly ran in from outside the door.

"Sir, something bad has happened! The Koreans have rebelled!"

"Koreans, rebelling?"

Yuan Xiangcheng, who was well-versed in history, knew that this day was coming, so he was mentally prepared.

However, when he heard Ming Ye shout this, he still felt a sense of incongruity.

A North Korean reported the North Korean rebellion to the Chinese.

Ming Ye, a young Korean man, probably believes in his heart that he is a descendant of Ming Yuzhen and a pure Chinese.

That's why he speaks so fluently.

"Oh, it's finally here?"

Ming Ye looked at Yuan Xiangcheng's calm face with a puzzled look.

"Sir, aren't you surprised?"

"Bold Mingye!"

Yuan Xiangcheng suddenly turned around and shouted at Ming Ye, "Are you planning a rebellion?"

"me?"

Hearing this, Mingye widened his eyes and was stunned.