Zhang Zhenxun nodded, he is deeply aware of this, after the East China government sent troops to Java to protect overseas Chinese, Zhang Zhenxun supported the East China government with 2 million taels of silver to supplement military spending, but was politely declined by the East China government, and finally converted into the construction of a port in Yantai, now the port has been completed and put into operation, the income is quite rich, it is expected that all the investment can be recovered in 4-5 years, and then it will enter the profit stage, but the East China government does not want Zhang Zhenxun's 2 million taels of silver.

And this incident also shocked Zhang Zhenxun, if the Qing court was changed, the 2 million taels of silver would be too little, the East China government not only did not want, but also let Zhang Zhenxun make money, which Zhang Zhenxun had never seen in his life for more than 60 years, and according to the East China government, this is called "double beetle" , the East China government used the money to build a port, which can promote the urban development of Yantai, and Zhang Zhenxun through an investment income, each takes what he needs, each has his own income, which is also a common proposition of the East China government, but also makes Zhang Zhenxun admire the five bodies to the ground, since then he has followed the East China government with all his heart, after all, he is an overseas Chinese who returned from Nanyang, and his loyalty to the Qing court is much lower than that of domestic businessmen, and he returned to China for more than 10 years, and spent a lot of money on the top and bottom, but the Qing court did not look down on him, and it was indeed not as important as the East China government to him。

At this time, I heard Zhao Weizhong say that the East China government is the most notarized, and he also had some feelings: "Yes, overseas Chinese behave honestly, do things fairly, and abide by the rules, which is really commendable." He glanced at Sheng Xuanhuai and said, "It's much stronger than the imperial court." ”

Sheng Xuanhuai's face was normal, and he said: "What Brother Shibi said is very true, Lord Zhongtang once said when he was alive that if the imperial court can achieve half of the overseas Chinese, even if it is only thirty percent, the national situation will not be corrupted to such a point." ”

At this time, some people from the adjacent table also gathered more than a dozen people, and after listening to the words of the two, they also caused everyone to nod frequently, and a "yes, yes" and "exactly" response.

The merchants were well aware of the disadvantages of the Qing Dynasty, and the atmosphere of Shanghai was civilized, and the merchants often came into contact with foreigners, so they were not very afraid of the imperial power.

A businessman said: "It would be good if the imperial court could let overseas Chinese govern, and I can't help but hope for Zhongxing, and I am not afraid of being angry with foreigners anymore." ”

Zheng Guanying sneered and said, "The imperial court will allow overseas Chinese to be in charge?" I have heard from a few friends in Beijing that the term "overseas Chinese" in the DPRK and China is still taboo, and whoever dares to mention it will lose his official position and abandon his post, or at worst his head will fall to the ground. The imperial court guarded more overseas Chinese than foreigners. ”

Zhao Weizhong said: "When it comes to the imperial court, when I set off from Tianjin, I heard that the Russian minister had sent a letter to the Yamen of the Prime Minister's Office, wishing to return the land of Liaodong to the imperial court, and asking the imperial court to send troops to receive it. ”

Zhang Jian sneered and said: "This is obviously uneasy and kind, if you don't pay it back sooner or later, you want to pay it back at this time, it is obvious that you want to provoke the imperial court and overseas Chinese." ”

Zhao Weizhong said: "However, it is said that someone in the DPRK has already made a break and asked the imperial court to agree to Russia's request and immediately send troops to receive the land of Liaodong." There are also several people who want to invite the main Yingying and lead the troops into the customs. ”

Sheng Xuanhuai couldn't help but say: "Confused, extremely confused, Liaodong is in troubled waters, how can the imperial court go?"

Zhang Zhenxun said: "When the overseas Chinese fought bloodily in Liaodong, they did not see a word of praise from the imperial court, and now that the overseas Chinese have defeated the Japanese and Russian armies, the imperial court wants to pick up ready-made fruits, isn't it chilling." ”

The businessman present was not a shrewd person, and he knew what was going on as soon as he heard it, and this Russian proposal was simply uneasy and kind, hoping to provoke a struggle between the Qing court and the East China government, and if the Qing court really sent troops to Liaodong, the East China government would never give up the land of Liaodong, so the Qing court would inevitably intensify the conflict with the East China government.

Although legally speaking, Liaodong was indeed the territory of the Qing court, but at this time, almost everyone was on the side of the East China government, after all, the Qing Dynasty's actions were indeed too disappointing. If it is said that before the East China government sent troops, the Qing Dynasty could only remain neutral and let the two countries fight in the eastern Liaodong region, it is understandable, after all, Japan and Russia are both powerful countries, and the Qing court cannot stop it even if it wants to, but after the East China government entered the war and achieved brilliant victories, the Qing court still ignored it, as if it was not about itself, which is unacceptable, after all, almost all Chinese have now identified with the crosser, and now the Qing court has listened to the instigation of Russia and wants to fight for Liaodong, and these businessmen are naturally quite indignant in their hearts。 After hearing Zhang Zhenxun's words, they all echoed it and sympathized with the East China government.

Zhao Weizhong said with a smile: "The court does not do one or two chilling things, and there are not many of them, but this matter has not yet been decided by the court, not to mention that there may not be a knowledgeable giant in the court, and he may not be able to advise the court not to do this." ”

Zheng Guanying sighed lightly and said: "Meat-eaters are despised, now the corpses of the officials in the court and the central government are full of vegetarian eaters, the Queen Mother's kindness is unpredictable, even if there are one or two sober people, I am afraid it will be difficult to turn the tide, Sheng Gong's words are extremely true, this trip is muddy waters, how can the court go? If the court is more peaceful, it can survive for a few more years, and the Queen Mother may also get a good death, if she is still restless, she must come out hard, but I am afraid that the good times will not last long." ”

Zhao Weizhong glanced at Zheng Guanying and said: "Gong Zheng, if you are angry with me and say something rebellious, if the imperial court dies by itself, it may not be a good thing to let overseas Chinese sit in the world early." I am afraid that it will affect the war in Liaodong and give up the great land to outsiders, and if I want to take it back in the future, it will be a lot of trouble. ”

While everyone was talking, they saw Li Songchen and several entourages also walking into the restaurant, and there was actually Yang Yuxin among them. Although Yang Yuxin was removed from his post and banned from participating in public activities, he still has a base in the Shanghai New District. And after all, he has been in Shanghai for a long time, has good personal relations with most businessmen, and has established a wide range of contacts, at this time Shanghai New Area also needs his help, Yang Yuxin is of course willing to help with this, so Li Songchen applied to Qingdao and was soon approved.

Although Li Songchen has been in office for less than two months, he has held several exchanges and talks with Shanghai businessmen, but the scale is not as large as today, so the vast majority of people know him and greet him one after another.

After a round of cold noise, everyone is also seated in their seats, today invited a total of 128 businessmen, all of whom are well-known businessmen in Shanghai, and the least net worth is more than 100,000 taels of silver, it can be said that the influence of these people can add up to cover the entire Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, and even northern Jiangsu, Huguang, Lingnan, and even most of China.

There were a total of 16 seats in the restaurant, each table had 8 businessmen, and 2 travelers were accompanied, and after counting the number of people, a total of 125 people came, only 3 people did not arrive, and the time for the table had come, so Li Songchen decided not to wait for them and start today's agenda.

Li Songchen came to the rostrum and said, "You are all busy people, I am really sorry to bring you all here on this hot day and delay your time." ”

Sheng Xuanhuai said: "District Chief Li is too polite, everyone is an old friend, so there is no need to say these polite words." ”

Li Songchen smiled and said: "First of all, I want to thank you for your support to us during this time, the bonds we issued in Shanghai can be sold smoothly, so that we have enough funds to support the war in Liaodong, so you have made a lot of efforts, and you have also made contributions to the recovery of Liaodong. ”

Zhang Zhenxun said: "Ashamed, ashamed, District Mayor Li is putting gold on our faces, although we have spent some money to buy bonds, but this money will eventually have to be returned to us, and the government will pay interest, let us make money, what kind of contribution is this." ”

Li Songchen said: "You can't say that, you are all investing in Shanghai New Area to build factories, some are still operating in Qingdao and Jinan, everywhere you go not only to pay taxes to us, but also to increase local employment, promote local economic development, this is a great contribution to the East China government, and you make money from these businesses, it is also a matter of course, as the saying goes, 'the emperor is not bad hungry soldiers', as long as you abide by our laws and regulations, you can just rest assured that you can make money boldly, and the more you earn, the better, without any worries." ”

On the one hand, businessmen naturally like to hear such words, and on the other hand, the East China government has indeed done so, so many businessmen are also very appreciative in their hearts.

Li Songchen waited for the applause to stop for a while, and said, "Okay, but this time I invite everyone to come, there is one more thing I want to ask you to help." ”

Zhang Zhenxun said: "If there is anything, even if District Chief Li speaks, as long as we can do it, we will never postpone it." ”

Li Songchen nodded and said, "Now we are fighting fiercely in Liaodong with Japan and Russia, but the soldiers and horses have not yet arrived, and the grain and grass go first, and now we need more than just food to fight the war." Our government's funds are not bad, but the silver itself cannot be eaten or used, nor can it be used for war, but it can only be used for food, medicinal herbs, cloth, steel, and so on. Some time ago, thanks to your help, the soldiers in front of us did not lack food and drink, and went all out to fight, so we won a big victory in the previous period, and you are indeed indispensable. ”

Zhang Jian said: "This is how it should be, this is how it should be, we are all old men, we can't go into battle to kill the enemy, we can only make such a little effort, and we have made a lot of money from it, it's really ashamed to say." If you are short of supplies, even if you ask, we will do our best to ensure the supply of the soldiers at the front. ”