Speaking of which, no one cared about eating and drinking anymore, Luo Huo forgot the prime minister's order, threw the crab aside, and his eyes lit up, "Fortress plan! Fortress plan?" I seem to understand, but I still feel a little confused...... Can you really do great things without offense, but only on defense?"

Xiao Lotian snapped, and slapped a crab in front of him again, this time it was a hairy crab that was more difficult to peel, "Who made you speak? In order to punish you, you gave me this too!"

"Ah, don't bring such a bully......" Luo Huo picked up the hairy crab aggrievedly, looking at the little guy who was not as big as his own palm, he really didn't know how to peel this thing.

Xiao Lotian took a few deep breaths and lit a cigar for himself, "Before I talk about the fortress plan, I need to tell you about two places, one is Shanghai and the other is Hong Kong!"

"Shanghai and Hong Kong were both colonies occupied by the British with strong ships and guns, and Hong Kong was ceded to the Qing government, and the Qing government completely lost all power over Hong Kong, and even personnel could not circulate freely...... And Shanghai is a little better than the concession, and the Qing government can at least guarantee sovereign independence on face!"

"It is undeniable that Hong Kong and Shanghai are already the most attractive places of wealth in China, relying on the huge profits of the seafaring trade, Hong Kong this small fishing village has gradually become a good deep-water trading port, and Shanghai has also become the most important port city in East Asia, after all, it is also connected to the Yangtze River basin ......"

"But is geographical location really the only reason for the prosperity of these two regions? No, absolutely not, the prosperity of Hong Kong and Shanghai is absolutely inseparable from the war, that is, the Taiping Heavenly War before!"

Xiao Lotian stood up and looked at the rain curtain in the distance, as if talking to himself: "Capital naturally has two instincts, one is to make profits, and the other is to avoid risks!"

"The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom swept through half of China, how many wealthy merchants in the south of the Yangtze River were ruined? In order to survive, they had to choose a relatively safe place to avoid danger with their wealth, and what place was the safest place in the Qing Dynasty at present? Of course, it was the foreigners with strong ships and guns!"

"Countless Jiangnan capital flocked to Shanghai and Hong Kong, and wealth relied on the cannon of foreigners to seek a place, and the massive capital will surely bring commercial prosperity...... Land prices are soaring, the construction industry is booming, and the entertainment services industry is swelling deformity......"

"Of course, there is also industry, there are many people who want to do business, and all they want is a relatively safe environment...... Shanghai and Hong Kong have prospered little by little!"

Speaking of this, Xiao Letian suddenly fell silent, and his thoughts returned to his previous life, and the historical memory of that scene made him shudder.

Since the opening of Hong Kong and Shanghai, every time China fights, a large amount of wealth will be forced to flow to where, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Twist Army Rebellion, the First Sino-Japanese War, and the invasion of China by the Eight-Nation Alliance......

After that, it was even crazier, in the early years of the Republic of China, the warlords were divided, and the frequency of wars even exceeded that of the late Qing Dynasty...... Countless squires and landlords flocked to the local concessions with their property, although they knew where the foreigners' territory was, but at least there was still a minimum of order.

This is how Hong Kong and Shanghai rose, and the war forced capital to hedge against risk, resulting in a deformed prosperity.

In fact, Shanghai has always been the first paradise for capital hedging in the past, because its geographical location is between north and south China, and relying on the Yangtze River water system can affect the inland business district, so at that time Shanghai Tang was the largest metropolis in East Asia in people's minds, and even the cities in Japan at that time were difficult to compare.

It was not until the outbreak of the civil war that Shanghai's status plummeted, but Hong Kong emerged and eventually replaced Shanghai. In fact, the reason is also because a large number of talents and capital from Hong Kong and South China began to pour in frantically, and in the final analysis, it is because of the damn war.

"Hey......" Xiao Letian sighed, "China's suffering has made two prosperous world-class metropolises, which is really infinitely embarrassing!"

Xiao Letian turned around and looked at everyone and said with emotion: "In fact, the examples of Hong Kong and Shanghai can be used in our body, where is our core competitiveness? What is worth following by others? How to break the conflict of ideas encountered in the Tanggu Special Economic Zone now?"

"To put it more practically, how to make those displaced people and even more Qing people willing to accept our 'harsh' conditions, how to make them proud to be one of us......?

"That's right, the fortress plan, or the Great Wall plan, provides Chinese with a safe haven in the civil war, not only for refugees, but also for private capital......

"We must admit that China will be more turbulent in the future, civil wars, foreign wars, famines, plagues and various natural disasters will appear on this land of suffering, and the fortress plan will give the Chinese the last ray of hope when the sky collapses!"

"Now we see that the displaced people in Tanggu West Water Gate are still full of resistance to us, but once the war starts, when the existential crisis is imminent, do they still have a choice?"

"Happiness depends on comparison, when the people inside the willow wall hold their nests and drink gruel, turn their heads to watch the bloody battle outside the willow wall, those villagers of the same culture and the same species are slaughtered, and the shells blow up one house after another, what kind of psychology do they have?"

"Yes, there will be grief and indignation, but at the same time grief and indignation? They will have a sense of security from the bottom of their hearts, they know that in the fortress, human life and property can be protected, and they can at least live with dignity......"

This is really a word that woke up the dreamer, Luo Huo, who was struggling with the crab, forgot the prime minister's order again, and he trembled with excitement, "I understand! I finally understand......"

"Just now the big nose Pierre said right, the people of Tanggu have only accepted our three years of edification, and they have already begun to separate from the Manchu Qing Dynasty, when Molière took the French warship to cooperate with Maile to attack Tanggu, none of the people in the city were traitors, they even boiled water for us to cook, and even directly participated in the war......"

"And now I'm naturalized, I cut my braids, I put my feet down...... These Manchu people seem to be rebellious, but the people around Tanggu only have a few complaints, and then they obey!"

"Three years! Just three years can make such a big difference, but what about ten years...... Hahaha, I finally get it!"

Xiao Lotian smiled bitterly and snapped two hairy crabs for Luo Huo, and specially picked the smallest one, "You are so forgetful, punish you for eating two more ......"

"Don't, don't...... Don't mind! My lord, do you think I still have a good place for these hands? Let the crabs be tied into a colander! You can spare me!"