Two days later, Yan Jiakang and Sheng Pingchen appeared in front of the governor's gate. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 The new Governor's Palace, which was completed three years ago, is a typical German royal castle-style building, with three floors, covering an area of more than 4,000 square meters, which took two years to build and is said to have cost 1 million marks. The elegance of its shape, the luxury of its decoration, the beauty of its outline lines and the magnificence of its colors have made it the highest representative of "German architectural art in China", and it is still the first example of architecture, which is breathtaking.

"Lord Ge, this western-style building is so beautiful!" Sheng Pingchen couldn't help but praise. It should be said that the palace is ingenious, beautiful, the exterior wall building is based on yellow, the local granite stone is decorated, the stone surface is rough and simple, the front wall is decorated with light green and light gray granite stone, and the top stone is carved with a beautiful pattern, which is light and light in the rough, highlighting the beauty of natural harmony. The roof paved with beige tube tiles, blue fish scale tiles, and green cowshed tiles makes the whole building more exquisite and chic. Yan Jiakang's comments are unique.

"Lord Ge, the exterior is so unique, and the interior decoration is probably even more luxurious." Yan Jiayasu did not answer but thought about the governor he was about to meet, and after two days of study, he opened the floodgates of memory and combed through the "traces of history" again. From the beginning of 1898, the first governor, Rosendaal, was in office after only 10 months in office. This person was born as a naval officer, and when he was the first governor of Qingdao, because there was no special governor's palace, he had to live in the yamen of the Qing court.

As the first governor, Rosendaal was in the midst of a whirlpool of contradictions. Although there was no large-scale armed confrontation between the colonial rulers and the ruled in Qingdao on the surface, the undercurrent of invisible resistance and cultural conflict was omnipresent. The conflict within the colonists was mainly the land issue, and in order to solve this problem, Rosendaal issued the first land law, which was his political achievement. Because Rosendaal was not good at dealing with complex contradictions, he was dismissed after only 10 months as governor.

The second governor was named Yeshk, who was also a naval officer. After he took office, the official residence in Victoria Bay was completed, and he lived in the governor's residence in dignity. In the face of many contradictions, he lifted the veil of moderation and sent troops to participate in the strangulation of the Boxers and suppress the protesters. Although the crackdown was widely condemned in Chinese and even German academic circles, it was still rewarded by the Kaiser and the Admiralty. However, fate was not good, and just when Yeshik was proud of the spring breeze, he occasionally died of typhoid fever.

The 3rd Governor-General, Truber, served for 10 years, and this majestic Governor's Palace was the masterpiece of his tenure. Previously, he was the commander of the German Navy in Qingdao. After Trubo took office, Qingdao began to get rid of a single militarized management model, and in ten years, it realized the transformation from a military center to a trade center. He is considered to be a figure who laid the foundation for the new order of the city, or a figure who has achieved a breakthrough to a certain extent.

His achievements lie in the transformation of the chaotic state of the first years of the occupation, the gradual completion and functioning of the administrative structure, and the full implementation of the neo-colonial policy. During this period, he was proud to build this magnificent Doge's Palace, and it was also the first colony to live in the Doge's Palace. The reason for Trubo's resignation was in matters related to the University of Dehua, and the specific event that led to his dismissal was the enactment of the Dehua University regulations in 1910.

At that time, the powerful Trubo was a little flustered, and forcefully used the privilege of the Governor's Office to intervene administratively, which led to conflicts among school teachers and led to the boycott of all teachers. This incident aroused the displeasure of the state secretary of the German Admiralty, who was in charge of Qingdao affairs at the time, and then led to the dismissal of Truber. However, the dismissal of Trubo was promoted to the rank of naval colonel, which can be regarded as a compliment by the Kaiser for his ten years of experience as governor.

The fourth governor was Valdike, the last governor and the most tragic governor. Captured by the Japanese as a result of his defeat in World War I, the Doomsday Governor endured a five-year life as a prisoner of war. However, Valdike had no shortage of bright spots, and he led 5,000 German soldiers to hold on to Qingdao for two months without foreign aid or internal response. The core part of Yan Jiayasu's plan was to show strength in World War I, help the German army hold Qingdao, and lure the Japanese army to attack the Shandong Peninsula with all its might.

Yan Jiayasu judged that in view of Germany's huge interests in Qingdao, the Japanese army would spare no effort to engage in the battle. Once the Japanese are on the road, it is not up to the Japanese to control it. The purpose of Yan Jiayasu was to single-handedly awaken the Chinese people to form an anti-Japanese wave, and then form an all-round anti-Japanese alliance, curb the pace of the rise of the Japanese army, and smash Japan's strategic intention to invade China. In order to realize this strategic plan, the premise must be to help the Germans hold Qingdao, and then take advantage of the German defeat in World War I to take over all the interests of the Germans in Qingdao and even Shandong.

None of this had happened yet, so establishing a close relationship with the last German governor was a must. "Lord Ge!" Sheng Pingchen reminded that Yan Jiakang woke up from his "trance" and found a German officer standing in front of him. Walking into the Golden Hall of the Doge's Palace, the "familiar" luxury and elegant vision comes to the face, and the rich palace atmosphere is extraordinary. Ascending the wooden side spiral staircase to the second floor, Yan Jiayasu and Sheng Pingchen were ushered into the reception room.

In the reception room, the tall Valdike stood up to greet him, showing the least respect for his guests. Now Ge Yunfei's name is a dazzling young talent in the eyes of Qingdao Germans. Due to his extensive network and reputation in the German business community, he also has a strong political career in the field of economics and is fluent in German. Valdike's courtesy to Yan Jiayasu is completely his outstanding realization. The guests were seated at the ceremony, accompanied by Markle, the president of the foreign bank, and the secretary of the governor.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries between the two sides, Governor Valdike said bluntly: "Mr. Ge, the current situation in your country is unstable, and considering the issue of commercial security, such a huge loan must be guaranteed by your government, otherwise our government will not agree." "Your Excellency, Honorable Governor, you must know a thing or two about the situation within our government, and if the government guarantees it, our cooperation will only be aborted!" What do you mean by that? "Your Excellency the Governor, the Qing Emperor died, the Empress Dowager Cixi passed away, and now the Qing Dynasty has no leader, and the new distribution of power has entered a white heat."

"In such a situation, commercial activities that try to pass government guarantees will become the focus of power struggle. There is a Chinese philosophical saying that you must be familiar with, which is that there is no excuse for the crime of wanting to add to it, that is, legitimate business activities can be exploited and even charged with trumped-up crimes, so no minister dares to take risks. "What Mr. Ge said makes sense, but we have to consider the risk of borrowing." "Your Excellency, there are risks involved in any business activity, and it can be said that wealth is in danger."

"Your Excellency the Governor, there is a saying in the West that eggs cannot be put in the same basket, and it is true that the Sheng Group is strong, and Your Excellency must know it. At present, Mr. Sheng Xuanhuai has acquired Wuhan Hanyeping Iron Company, and there is a temporary shortage of funds. In fact, Sheng Xuanhuai's credibility can completely borrow from the Americans, the British, and even the Japanese. It was I who persuaded Mr. Sheng Xuanhuai to strongly advocate borrowing from your country, after all, we have always maintained a good cooperative relationship. I don't think the Governor wants other countries to get involved in Qingdao! ”

Yan Jiayasu's words worked, and Valdike said with a serious expression: "Qingdao is our sphere of influence, there can be no intruders, and Mr. Ge's sincerity is praiseworthy." Could you please tell us more about the Sheng Group? "Yan Jiakang is like a few treasures, adding oil and vinegar to describe the scale of the Sheng Group's business empire, anyway, Sheng Pingchen can't understand German." The locomotive factory is on the territory of the Governor, and there are assets of the Sheng Group as collateral, what is there to worry about. Throw away all the unfavorable factors, the factory will not run away on its own long legs! ”

Yan Jiakang finally added: "Your Excellency the Governor, this time the Sheng Group has set up a factory in Qingdao, so it adopts the form of investment promotion, and Dahua Textile Company will use the land as a shareholder, which can play the role of guarantee. Valdike glanced at Markle, saw Markle smiled and nodded: "Mr. Ge is worthy of being a young talent, amazing!" I was convinced by you. However, I have one condition: I am not allowed to negotiate with other countries and organizations about borrowing until I have replied to the loan. "Your Excellency, please believe in my sincerity."

Yan Jiayasu breathed a sigh of relief, and it was basically done. After that, Valdike ordered the wine to be served, and the two sides raised their glasses in celebration. Stimulated by alcohol, Yan Jiakang suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "Your Excellency the Governor, I want to give you a precious gift?" "What gift?" Valdike disagreed, thinking it was jewelry or something. Yan Jiakang walked to the map and pointed: "Your Excellency, on the island of Trinidad in Tobago, in the Caribbean Sea, there is a lake surrounded by primeval forest. Nicknamed Lake Pitsch, it is located about 96 kilometers from Port of Spain. An expedition arrived in 1906 and discovered a natural cornucopia. ”

Wardak's eyes widened at the news. "The lake has an area of 46 hectares, and the strange thing is that there is not a drop of water in Lake Bicchi, it is all natural asphalt. As far as I know, the lake is flat and dry, and you can not only walk but also ride a bike. The depth of the lake is about 100 meters, all natural asphalt, and it has been calculated that at 200 tons per day, it can be mined for 200 years, and the lake is currently undeveloped, which is my precious gift to you. ”

"Are your sources reliable?" "Infallible, I vouch for it." "Mr. Ge, if the investigation is confirmed, I must thank you very much!" "If confirmed, please don't lose your word," Yan Jiayasu raised his glass. A month later, the German government approved the secret loan agreement, and clearly stipulated that the borrowing should be mainly used for the purchase of industrial equipment, raw materials, and the hiring of engineers and technicians.

After the German loan was finalized, Yan Jiakang was guaranteed, and Yang Ruiqing, chairman of Dahua Textile Company, provided land for the construction of the factory and occupied 2% of the shares.