"Speaker Qin, there's a notice from Chairman Xia's office, asking you to go over to the emergency meeting immediately. ”

Qin Zheng nodded and said, "You reply to the chairman's office first, and say that I will go over immediately." "I wondered what was going on? Although overtime was a common occurrence in the East China government, emergency meetings were rare.

Qin Zheng thought about it as he cleaned up the documents on his desk, and then hung up a phone call to Zhou Ping, telling her that he would not go home for dinner, before leaving his office, walking out of the Senate Building, crossing the square, and walking in the direction of the Administration Building.

When he came to Xia Bohai's office, someone brought him to Xia Bohai's office, and at this time, Xia Bohai, Xiao Jianjun, Wang Yunpeng, Xu Jichao, and Ye Yanfu, a commercial commissioner, had already arrived, waiting for him alone.

After Qin Zheng took his seat, he was still thinking in his heart, since Ye Yanfu was present, was this emergency meeting related to the Commerce Committee? Could it be that something was wrong with the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce and Industry?

At this time, Xia Bohai said: "Old Qin, do you know Zhang Zhenxun?"

Qin Zheng was stunned for a moment before he said, "I know." ”

Xiao Jianjun obviously had just arrived, and said, "Zhang Zhenxun? Haven't you heard of it? What is the origin of this person?"

Qin Zheng thought for a while, and then said: "This person's background is not small, he is considered an overseas Chinese in Nanyang, let's just talk about his two titles, one is the richest man in Nanyang, it is said that his assets reached more than 8,000 taels of silver at the peak." ”

When the others heard this, they not only took a breath of cold air, what is the concept of 80 million taels of silver, the government income of the East China government in 1902 was converted into less than 40 million taels of silver, and the financial income of the Qing court this year was only more than 9,300 taels, and in terms of personal assets, the personal assets of Hu Xueyan, the red-topped businessman of that year, were only about 50 million taels of silver at most, and the personal assets of Sheng Xuanhuai now are only about 30 million taels. Therefore, it is indeed not too much to say that Zhang Zhenxun is a rich country.

Qin Zheng added: "And his second title was in 1915 [The New York Times] framed a photo of him, calling him 'China's Rockefeller'." ”

The name Rockefeller, even in the era of the time-traveler, is also well-known, and in this era, it is basically synonymous with wealth like Bi Gates and Warren Buffett in the era of the time-traveler, and Zhang Zhenxun is called "China's Rockefeller", which is enough to explain everything, because a person's name can be called wrong, but the nickname can never be wrong.

Xiao Jianjun said: "Such a good person, why haven't we ever said anything?"

Qin Zheng said with a smile: "There is a name that everyone should have heard, it is 'Changyu Wine', and this Zhang Zhenxun is the founder of 'Changyu Wine'." ”

Wang Yunpeng laughed and said, "That's a bit interesting." ”

Qin Zheng said: "Zhang Zhenxun, who has been talking for so long, is there anything related to Zhang Zhenxun?"

Xia Bohai nodded and said, "There is something to do with it, Commissioner Ye, you can talk about it." ”

Ye Yanfu said: "Here's the thing, this afternoon, Sheng Xuanhuai and Zhang Jian brought Zhang Zhenxun to me, Zhang Zhenxun told me that there was an anti-Chinese incident in Java, and Zhang Zhenxun hoped that we could intervene." After a pause, Ye Yanfu said again: "Zhang Zhenxun promised that if we can intervene, he is willing to support us with 1 million taels of silver." ”

Xiao Jianjun said: "1 million taels of silver, it's really a rich man." ”

Qin Zheng said: "What kind of interference does Zhang Zhenxun mean by interference, is it just to protest to the Netherlands and put pressure on the Dutch government through other countries, or do you want us to send the navy to Java to protect overseas Chinese?"

Ye Yanfu said: "He didn't say anything about this. ”

At this time, Xia Bohai said: "Of course, the navy is dispatched to protect overseas Chinese, what is the use of protesting? And if it is just a protest, it is not worth Zhang Zhenxun's 1 million taels." ”

Qin Zheng's face also became serious, and he said, "Is this matter true or false?"

Xia Bohai said: "We have asked Beijing and Shanghai to try to inquire and verify, but after listening to your introduction to Zhang Zhenxun, I think it is not very likely to be fake, and with Zhang Zhenxun's identity, it is unlikely that he will lie about this kind of thing, and there is no reason to lie to us." ”

Qin Zheng also thinks that what Xia Bohai said is reasonable, Zhang Zhenxun is an overseas Chinese in Nanyang, even if he is in China, he must have contact with Nanyang, coupled with his identity and status, the possibility of lying is indeed not very large, and in Southeast Asia, it is not uncommon for an anti-Chinese incident to occur in Java. Even in the time of the traverser, it could not be completely eradicated.

So Qin Zheng said: "Then what should we do?

Xia Bohai said: " Let me talk about my opinion, I think we should send troops to intervene in the protection of overseas Chinese, I will not talk about the great principle of Wei Guangzheng, just talk about the interests of protecting overseas Chinese for us, first, this is a good time for us to establish an image and reputation, because it is in the Nanyang region, there are at least tens of millions of overseas Chinese, and in this era, overseas Chinese still recognize themselves as Chinese, so our action to protect overseas Chinese will push our influence to the Nanyang region and gain the recognition of the overseas Chinese in Nanyang; second, we can also take this opportunity to lay out in Nanyang, Nanyang is rich in resources, and the strategic location is extremely important, we will definitely develop Nanyang in the futureAlthough we do not have the ability to compete with other countries in Nanyang now, it is still possible to lay a foundation for intervening in Nanyang affairs in the future; the third is to sell Zhang Zhenxun a favor, this Zhang Zhenxun has a lot of influence in Nanyang, and we can use Zhang Zhenxun's relationship to first strengthen business contacts with Nanyang, which can develop our economy and expand our influence in Nanyang. With so many interests, I see no reason why we should not send troops to protect overseas Chinese. ”

Qin Zheng nodded and said, "I agree with Lao Xia's opinion. ”

Wang Yunpeng said: "I don't disagree with Commander Xia's opinion, but are we sure of it militarily?"

Xia Bohai said: "I have also thought about this, the Netherlands is a small country, and the current colonies are just the belongings saved back then, which is not enough, but now the Netherlands is completely dependent on the British, so we mainly have to prevent British interference in our military affairs." ”

Qin Zheng said: "I don't think it's very likely that Britain will interfere, first of all, we are going to protect overseas Chinese, which Britain can't blame, and secondly, Britain's primary goal now is to contain Russia, and we also need our strength, and our asking price is not high, Britain has no reason to turn against us, so I think the most likely behavior of Britain is to mediate from the middle." ”

Xia Bohai said: "I do not deny that it is not very likely that Britain will turn against us, but we must be prepared for the worst, the more fully prepared for war, the lower the possibility of war." ”

Qin Zheng nodded and said, "This is also the case." ”

Xia Bohai said: "How about the British forces near Java?"

Xiao Jianjun said: "According to the information we have, the headquarters base of the British Far East Fleet is in Singapore, about 1,200 kilometers away from the island of Java, and the main force of the Far East Fleet is 6 old man-class battleships and 2 Centurion-class battleships. The old man star battleship is a type of battleship specially set up by the British for the Far East Fleet, the biggest feature is the first type of battleship that uses a water-tube boiler, this boiler can provide higher power and greater economy, displacement of 12,900 tons, the main gun is two twin 305 mm naval guns, but the armor is thinner, only 152 mm, and the armor belt is not long, strictly speaking, the defense power of this type of warship is only equivalent to a large armored cruiser, but the overall combat effectiveness is above our current two foreign battleships; the Centurion-class battleship is a second-class battleship in the British Navy, and the British Navy will be equipped with 12 inches (305 mmBattleships with guns are classified as the first class, battleships equipped with 10-inch (254 mm) guns are classified as the second class, and the main target of the Centurion-class battleships is to fight the armored cruisers of the Russian Navy, so the displacement of this type of battleship is not large, only 10,500 tons, and the overall combat effectiveness is not as good as our foreign battleships. Moreover, Britain has many colonies in Asia, and it is impossible for all of these 8 battleships to stay at the Singapore base, it is estimated that there will be 4 at most, and there may only be 2 or 3 of them. ”

Xia Bohai shook his head and said: "The British will not fight an uncertain battle, and if we protect the overseas Chinese by force, it will not be a matter of a day or two, and the British have time to transfer the warships from other bases back for centralized use, so from the perspective of anticipating the enemy's leniency, it is necessary to take all these eight battleships into account." ”

Qin Zheng said: "If this is the case, then only the passing warships can be dispatched, and two passing warships can be dispatched, plus some local warships, to form a mixed fleet." ”

Xiao Jianjun said: "There is another question, that is, from Qingdao to Java is about 6,500 kilometers, the average speed of the local warship cannot exceed 12 knots, so it will take at least 15 days or so. ”

Qin Zheng said: "Generally, the time of the anti-Chinese incident is about a month, and it will not be too late, but we should rush as soon as possible, I suggest that 1-2 warships rush to it first, without the drag of local warships, the warships can travel at an average speed of more than 20 knots, and it will take only 7-8 days to arrive, so that the situation can be controlled in advance." ”

Xiao Jianjun said: "Either send all 5 passing warships, or only 3 or 4 ships." ”

Xia Bohai shook his head and said, " If it is a warship, only one Kunming ship is enough to kill the British Far East Fleet, but such a deterrent is not enough, only by hitting them can they know the strength of the Kunming ship, and the British are likely to see that we have few warships, and take tough measures, so that both Britain and us will be passive, so it is best to organize a mixed fleet to form a strong deterrent, and it is better not to turn the face with the British, it is better not to turn the face, in addition, this is a rare opportunity for our navy to train in the ocean, just let the fleet go out to the ocean, it is much better than training at home。 ”