He Linshu, Yang Jiannian, Chen Binshi, and Wang Jinyong are all descendants of Nanyang Chinese.

Among them, Chen Binshi's father, Chen Jinzhong, and grandfather, Chen Dusheng, were famous wealthy Chinese businessmen in their early years in Nanyang Xingjiapo. In 1873, Chen Jinzhong immigrated to Han at the invitation of Li Mingyuan and served as the vice minister of commerce of Han State.

In 1880, affected by the storm of administrative rectification in the Han Kingdom, Chen Jinzhong, together with Zhang Fanglin and hundreds of other officials from Nanyang Chinese merchants, took the initiative to donate more than 50% of their assets to the central government to show their support for the country's internal rectification actions.

In 1881, the second son of Chen Jinzhong donated 700,000 taels of silver in his personal name to build several large hospitals in Songjiang Province and Xinjing Province, and was immediately praised and advocated by the central government.

Since 1880, the Chen family has donated a total of about 4 million taels of silver free of charge, and the descendants of the Chen family members have also withdrawn from the fields of ocean transportation, grain and rice, cloth sales, etc., and turned to the army, navy and political fields.

After ten years of subtle development, the label of the richest Chinese in Singapore attached to the Chen family in the early years no longer exists, and when it comes to the Chen family again, the first impression of ordinary people is that Conglong meritorious family, father and son are political and military elites and pillars.

The Chen family's achievements and glory today depend on Chen Jinzhong's control and control, but as the New Year of 1889 approached, Chen Jinzhong, who had just passed 60 years old, was in poor health, and he felt that his time was short, so Chen Jinzhongyu resigned from the post of chief of the Ministry of Commerce in July 1888 to concentrate on recuperating at home.

"It's the New Year soon, when will Ding'an, Ziyi, and Xiufen come back?"

Chen Jinzhong sat on the chair with the help of the servant, and after taking a few breaths, he asked.

"The fourth brother, sixth sister, and seventh sister sent a telegram, saying that they would leave the day after tomorrow and would be able to arrive in Chang'an City in about a week."

Chen Binshi stood behind his father and said softly while gently beating Chen Jinzhong's back.

"A week has passed in the blink of an eye, and Dr. Zhou said after his diagnosis yesterday that my body and bones will be maintained and rested, and I can last for two or three years."

Sitting on the recliner and resting for a while, the expression on Chen Jinzhong's face gradually returned to normal, and his tone of voice was much calmer than just now.

"The three generations of the Chen family have a total of four sons and three daughters, your eldest brother, third brother, and fourth sister, two died in their infancy, one in Nanyang Xingjiapo, died of a serious illness, leaving you four brothers and sisters, the sixth and seventh are women, and have married outsiders as wives, so they can't help the family much, your fourth brother Ding'an grew up in the local area since he was a child, and he has always wanted to be a teacher in the school, and he has no intention of developing his career. After a hundred years as a father, the burden of developing the Chen family falls on your shoulders alone,"

Chen Jinzhong pressed his right hand on his son and admonished: "Binshi,

You are the second son of the Chen family and the heir to the title of Viscount Yifeng, you must fight for opportunities in the navy, and you can't let the glory of Viscount Yifeng, which you have worked hard for your father to obtain, decline in your hands! ”

"The child remembers his father's teachings and does not dare to slack off!"

Chen Binshi hurriedly hugged his emotional father and responded seriously.

"Your temperament has always been calm, and you are not as alert as the three juniors of Linshu, Jiannian, and Jinyong, so if you want to go further in the navy, you must put down the shelves of the sons and daughters of the nobles, pay more attention to understanding the situation of the officers and men on the ship, take the initiative to communicate with them, and help them solve problems in the army and in life, so that even if you do not have outstanding performance in combat command ability, you can still rely on the support and trust of your subordinates to achieve good results."

"It is the duty of the Navy's Political Propaganda Department to understand the family situation of the officers and men at the grassroots level of the ship, and as a captain of a light cruiser, will it be suspected of exceeding his authority to meddle in the private affairs of the officers and men at the bottom level?"

Chen Binshi couldn't bear to refute his father's teachings, but he still said a puzzled question in his heart.

At the beginning of the establishment of the local navy, most of the generals and soldiers at all levels were born in middle- and lower-class families, and in the families of Western powers, naval officers were mainly children of nobles, and the phenomenon of officers and ordinary naval soldiers having clear hierarchies and not contacting each other was completely different."

Chen Jinzhong sighed and patiently taught: "The navy and the army are both created by His Majesty's own hands, and the two armies have been established for more than 20 years, and Your Majesty will go to the Navy Military Academy and the Army Military Academy every year to participate in the graduation ceremony of military cadets, and personally issue swords and graduation certificates to outstanding graduates.

In terms of origin and busyness of affairs, you can compare with Your Majesty as the captain of a light cruiser?

Among the more than 100,000 officers and men of the army and navy, not only officers at or above the rank of general are familiar to His Majesty, but even many outstanding officers at the rank of colonel, His Majesty can also tell their names and backgrounds.

The members of the German Officers' Training Corps all said that the local army and navy were united, the training was interesting, and the morale was high, but in fact, the local army and navy were able to achieve today's victory, in addition to the superficial factors of timely upgrading of weapons and equipment and abundant logistical support, the most important thing is that His Majesty has always attached great importance to and paid attention to the army and navy. ”

"The child was dull, and only after listening to what his father said today did he come to his senses."

Chen Binshi recalled Li Mingyuan's previous inspections of the military and schools, and the scenes in which he clearly distinguished many grassroots officers at the naval base and the naval officer academy and called out their names.

"Although the father did not serve in the army, his experience in the army and politics is the same, and a general and a commander do not necessarily have superb command ability in battle, but he must have the ability to unite middle- and lower-level officers and soldiers and reasonably arrange different positions according to the characteristics of each subordinate."

Chen Jinzhong wants to try his best to pass on his political and life experience to his son in the last two years of his life, so many topics that were taboo before were also tactfully said to his son.

"Your Majesty is in the heyday of the Spring and Autumn Period, and according to Your Majesty's current physical condition, you can continue to govern for thirty years at the shortest, and within thirty years, even if a constitutional monarchy is implemented, with Your Majesty's prestige, military and political affairs will still be decided by Your Majesty alone.

In terms of naval affairs, Chen Sen and Li Han are more humble in seniority than army generals such as Luo Linshan, Zhao Yongzeng, Wang Dashan, and Wang Xiaoshan, and the reason why His Majesty selected them as candidates for the two commanders of the Navy Department is because of the scarcity of senior naval generals, and only Chen Sen and Li Han meet the selection criteria for the Minister of the Navy and the Chief of the Naval Staff.

According to his father's experience in business and politics for more than 30 years, although Chen Sen and Li Han are the two commanders of the navy, the final decision-making power is still in the hands of His Majesty. ”

Chen Jinzhong took the ginseng tea handed over by his son, and after taking a sip, he continued: "Under Chen Sen and Li Han, the former naval counselor, the new commander of the Atlantic Fleet, Rear Admiral Hou Taiyuan, and the former commander of the Marine Corps, and now trust Rear Admiral Feng Guoan of the Pacific Fleet, are all transitional figures.

At present, there is a phenomenon of fault line among some officers in the local navy, and this phenomenon has a certain negative impact on the comprehensive combat strength of the navy, but for the naval officers of your generation who have stayed abroad, it is a rare opportunity to take the position, as long as they show their due ability in the joint military exercises of the army and navy in the next few years and in the next few years of service, and are promoted to rear admirals, and even become the commanders of the two fleets and the two commanders of the navy, there is no hope! ”

Speaking of the core, Chen Jinzhong stared at his son seriously, and once again exhorted: "The opportunity for the joint military exercises of the army and navy and the election of candidates for the main warship can be said to determine to a large extent your final future in the development of the navy in the next few decades!"

Running for the captain of a capital ship and a joint military exercise between the army and navy are equally important, and you must not miss out on this precious opportunity because of negligence! ”

"The father's teachings are taken to heart, and the child must strive for it so as not to disappoint the father!" …………