Qing Dynasty, Shandong Province, Laizhou Prefecture, Jiaozhou Bay.
Li Jingyuan, the eighteen-year-old magistrate of Laizhou, was inspecting the newly established steel mill with his subordinates.
“Sir, the steel mill is now officially operational. With sufficient raw materials, we can produce ten tons of pig iron and three tons of steel per day. This is just the first phase. We will further expand to the second and even the third phase!
The Jiaozhou Bay docks are complete. We can transport coal and iron ore.
As for security, we don't have to worry. The Beiyang Fleet has been notified. There are warships or gunboats stationed here all year round, so no one dares to harass us!"
Tang Shaoyi was excited.
Li Jingyuan nodded repeatedly. Although this steel mill could only be considered a family workshop in the future,
it was quite remarkable for this era.
Especially for the Qing Dynasty, which was undergoing the Westernization Movement, it was a significant achievement.
The Jiaozhou Steel Mill was not large, but its technology and equipment were advanced. It employed the latest Krupp blast furnace and steelmaking technology, and the steel produced was undoubtedly top-notch in the country.
Of course, this was also the reason why Li Jingyuan had spent a large sum of money.
“Can the steel produced by the steel mill meet the needs of our own armory?” Li Jingyuan asked.
“Of course, sir. From now on, our armory can use our own steel to manufacture guns and cannons. We can produce the German Model 88 Commission Rifle, as well as the Krupp 75mm field gun and 105mm light howitzer.
We spent a fortune to obtain these technologies and production patents!”
Tang Shaoyi felt his heart ache just thinking about it.
Li Jingyuan didn’t think it was a big deal. Wasn’t money meant to be spent?
If they didn’t spend this money to enhance their military strength, would they use it as reparations after suffering a defeat?
“Let our armory manufacture all types of weapons and ammunition at full capacity. Also, continue to reinforce secrecy. The longer we can hide it from the Qing court, the better!” Li Jingyuan ordered.
“Yes, sir!” Tang Shaoyi nodded.
Tang Shaoyi was well aware that his master harbored rebellious intentions.
He couldn’t understand why Li Zhongtang, who had always considered himself a loyal subject of the Qing Dynasty, would have a son with such rebellious thoughts.
However, he had already boarded the pirate ship, and it was too late to get off.
Moreover, over the past two years, Tang Shaoyi had learned more and more about Li Jingyuan, and his confidence in him grew.
Li Jingyuan, the third son of Li Hongzhang, the Governor-General of Zhili and the Minister of Beiyang.
He was exceptionally intelligent as a child.
He was particularly skilled in Western learning and fluent in English.
When Li Jingyuan was sixteen years old, Li Hongzhang arranged for him to become the magistrate of Laizhou.
Within two years, Laizhou had established a steel mill, cement factory, glass factory, armory, and shipyard, among other factories. The entire region had become as secure as a fortress.
Li Jingyuan had even secretly established a new army, which, though not large, numbered over ten thousand men.
Tang Shaoyi was deeply impressed by Li Jingyuan’s abilities.
However, Tang Shaoyi was unaware that while Li Jingyuan’s body belonged to this era, his soul originated from another world, perhaps a parallel universe.
In that world, Li Jingyuan’s name was Li Yuan, and he was a military enthusiast. Aside from his job, he enjoyed studying military history and weapons.
Due to an accident, his soul had traversed to this world.
This world was a hundred years ahead of the other in terms of historical progress.
In other words, it was only 1788 in this world.
But in the other world, it was already 1888.
What concerned Li Jingyuan was that the year of the Jiawu War was only six years away.
For every descendant of Yan and Huang, the year of Jiawu was an unforgettable year.
It was during this battle that the decadent Qing Dynasty suffered a crushing defeat, which sent the country, or rather, the entire nation, plummeting into the abyss and marked the beginning of a half-century of hardship.
If the Opium War was the beginning of Western powers’ invasion of the Qing Dynasty,
leading to numerous Western powers invading China,
the consequences of the Jiawu War were even more severe, triggering a series of calamities.
Furthermore, the Japanese Empire, victorious in the war, received 230 million taels of silver in war reparations from the Qing Dynasty.
This money helped the Japanese Empire take flight and further widened the gap between them and the Qing Dynasty.
Not only did they defeat the Russian Empire ten years later, making them a world power, but they also became the most vicious enemy of the descendants of Yan and Huang.
Having been reborn in this world, Li Jingyuan naturally wanted to use his own strength to change all of this, to prevent the tragedy from happening.
Besides, his identity in this life was even more prominent.
As the son of Li Hongzhang, the founder of Beiyang, wouldn't it be his responsibility to inherit all of Beiyang?
Yuan Shikai, you can stay out of this!