On June 19, 1912 in the Western calendar, on the fourth day of the fifth lunar month, the Anqingnan camp was very lively, and the door was crowded with young people from all over the country. After measuring your height and weight, you can go to the inner room to take a cultural lesson.

Three notices were posted at the entrance of the Yuan, one was that the first phase of the Anqing Army Noncommissioned Officer School was recruiting 500 cadets, the other was that the Shanghai Guanghua Corporation was recruiting 10,000 workers, and the other was that the Shanghai Commercial Police Corps was recruiting 3,000 soldiers.

A month ago, a notice for recruiting trainees was published in newspapers distributed throughout the country, such as "Declaration" and "Zilinxi Bao", while commercial police and workers were recruited locally in Anhui. The principal of the Anqing Army Non-commissioned Officer School is concurrently served by Chai Dongliang, Gu Weijun, a foreign doctor recruited from Shanghai, is the director of the Political Department, the Englishman Barnes is the chief instructor, the commercial police corps is headed by He Tianshou, and the Englishman Bruce is the chief instructor. Barnes and Bruce accepted Chai Dongliang's offer, took the British cruise ship Prince Edward, walked at sea for more than a month to reach Shanghai, and then arrived in Anqing on the small steamer of Mingyuan Steamship Company. Yu Qiaqing also sent several managers and managers from Shanghai to recruit 3,000 construction workers and 7,000 production line workers for the Shanghai Guanghua Corporation. Guanghua's business is really good, orders from various countries are flying like snowflakes, and the workers are already out of use, and it happens that there are many displaced people in Anhui who have no jobs and land, so Chai Dongliang asked that workers must be recruited from here to alleviate the pressure of public security and relief in Anqing because of too many displaced people.

With a critical eye, the officers examined those who applied for the military academy and the commercial police.

"Stand up, don't stand on your toes, don't ???? if it's less than 170 centimeters Alright, go home, you can't be tall enough to point your feet! ”

"How old are you? Eighteen? By whom? The fetal hair has not faded yet, so go home and study for another two years, and then apply for the exam in a few years. ”

"I'm tall enough, why don't you want me?"

"The bust is less than thirty-five inches, the thin dry hangs the tendons, can you carry a foreign gun?"

A group of officers, company managers, and managers were so busy that they couldn't even drink saliva, and there were too many people who came from all over the country to apply for the exam. Since the New Deal at the end of the Qing Dynasty, more than 50,000 new-style schools have been built across the country, more than 20,000 students have studied in the country, and more than 6,000 have studied in Europe and the United States.

After entering the Anqing Army Non-commissioned Officer Academy, the clothing and food are all free, and three yuan of pocket money per month will be issued, and after graduating after one year, you can choose to enter the Anhui Army Higher Education School under construction for further study, or directly enter the army as a non-commissioned officer, and the salary will not be less than ten yuan. This temptation is too great, and graduates of new-style middle schools from all over the world have come to Anqing to try their luck.

Soldiers recruited by the Shanghai Commercial Police Corps are given a three-year contract period, and during the half-year training period, they are paid five yuan a month for food and clothing, and after passing the examination, they go to work in Shanghai and are paid another eight yuan a month for food and clothing. Externally, he became a commercial policeman, in fact, he was also trained in the way of junior officers, and the equipment was exactly the same as that of the training battalion of the Anhui Revolutionary Army, not only with rifles, but also with machine guns, artillery, and grenadiers two per squad.

Shanghai Guanghua Corporation recruits 3,000 construction workers, the contract period is one year, the technician is ten yuan per month, and the small worker is three and a half yuan, including food and clothing, the contract can be renewed if necessary when the contract expires, and the company provides free return tickets if you want to go home. Seven thousand production line workers earn seven yuan a month for a three-year contract, work ten hours a day, have one day off per month, and receive subsidies for overtime and night shifts.

These conditions are the best in the country, and they are not much better than the income from going to South Africa and the United States to pan for gold. Students from all over the country, local unemployed youths in Anhui and displaced people who have lost their land, heard the news of the conscription, and they poured into Anqing one after another, which was much more lively than the township test in the former Qing Dynasty.

A burly young man in his twenties squeezed out of the crowd dejectedly, and was about to leave, when he was stopped by a foreign officer in a blue-black tweed military dress.

"You weren't hired?" The foreign instructor asked in fluent Chinese.

The young man nodded, his head hanging and about to leave.

"Why? I've seen your physical fitness and cultural test results, and they're still pretty good. Wouldn't you like to apply for the non-commissioned officer school? The foreign instructor was surprised.

The young man sighed and said: "It's not that we don't want to, it's that people don't want us, or not, there is no place for the master here, and there is a place for the master!" ”

The foreign instructor couldn't help but drag him over: "You come with me!" ”

This person is none other than Major Barnes, who was hired as the chief instructor of the Anhui Army Non-commissioned Officer Academy.

Barnes pulled him to the long table where the recruits were recruited, and yelled at Gu Mazi, who was foaming at the mouth, "Why don't you want him? I've seen his results, and everything is excellent! ”

Gu Mazi glanced at the young man and said disdainfully: "The governor has explained that this kind of camp bastard will not be accepted." My Chief Instructor, do you know what a bastard is? ”

Young people are not ashamed or annoyed, and seem to be mentally prepared for rejection. Since the beginning of the fight against the Zeng State Domain and the construction of the Hunan Army, only the peasants in the countryside who are safe and self-defending, and those veterans who eat in the barracks in various places are not accepted, and later Li Hongzhang Jianhuai Army and Yuan Shikai trained in small stations, including the new army in various places at the end of the Qing Dynasty, Chai Dongliang is no exception, only young students and honest farmers and craftsmen, who is not afraid of a mouse poop spoiling a pot of soup? In order to ensure the purity of the soldiers, Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang and others specially sent their officers back to their hometowns to recruit relatives and children of the township party to join the army.

Barnes glared at the blue bull's-eye and said, "I'm the chief instructor, and I'll take this student!" ”

Gu Mazi glanced at him and said, "Are you the chief instructor or our governor?" The governor has been [***] on his behalf, and he will not accept the bastards, and he will not accept the party and bandits" Then he looked at the young man and waved his hand and said: "Where are you going, this is where you stay?" ”

The Anhui Revolutionary Army is extremely disdainful of the ruffians from the green battalion, and when it really fights, not to mention that the new army in various places is the Huaishang Army, a rabble made up of bandits and green forests, and the green battalion is all in hand! I heard that the women's Northern Expedition teams in Shanghai and Guangdong, those girls all defeated the local green camp. Can this kind of goods also be accepted? Isn't that a sign for smashing yourself!

When this kind of person goes to the army, what else can he do except be in chaos?

Barnes slapped the table and said sharply, "Lord Governor has given me full authority to recruit students, and I said that if I accept him, I must accept him!" ”

Gu Mazipi said with a smile: "You don't have to ask me, I am acting in accordance with the military orders of the Governor, otherwise you ask the Governor for a warrant, and say that you must accept this kid, and I will immediately register him!" ”

Barnes's face was flushed with acne, and he looked at Gu Mazi's inappropriate appearance, and he didn't know what to say if he wanted to get angry.

As soon as I saw that the foreign instructor and the [***] official choked on fire, everyone gathered around to watch the excitement, and many people started to coax the seedlings, just to see who could win each other.

???? Dividing line ????

Chai Dongliang, in the small office of the Anqing Military Advisory, was pacing with a telegram translation, and after a while, he made up his mind, slammed his fist on the table and said, "Send a telegram to Yu Qiaqing, we will take this contract!" Let him convince the shareholders that it is of great significance to build a 10,000-ton ship, and that he will definitely be able to make money next time he loses money and sums up his experience. ”

Wu Jintang nodded and said: "I'm going to generate electricity, if the shareholders can't make sense, I and the two of them will compensate for the loss, so that the shareholders will have no opinion, right?" ”

Chai Dongliang said with a smile: "If you want to lose, first of all, I will lose money, and I am the largest shareholder??? That's it, if the board of directors doesn't agree, let's pay the three of us. ”

Wu Jintang nodded again and again: "Then how much should we offer?" How about 1,450,000? ”

Yu Qiaqing sent a telegram from Shanghai, and an American company asked major shipyards around the world for ordering four 10,000-ton transport ships. Shanghai Guanghua Shipyard also received a telegram of inquiry, Yu Qiaqing did not dare to slack off, and immediately sent a telegram to Chai Dongliang for instructions.

Building a 10,000-ton steamship is not only a symbol of industrial strength, but also a prerequisite for the future development of the navy, and it is certainly not possible to develop the navy by buying warships, and only by owning the technology of building warships can we continue to develop, and we will not be like before the First Sino-Japanese Naval War, knowing that we are going to fight, but we are suffering from the fact that we cannot make our own warships and can only wait to buy them from foreigners. Western countries, on the other hand, have always imposed arms embargoes on the warring parties, and if their own countries do not have the ability to build ships, they will be extremely passive.

Chai Dongliang and several experts who are familiar with the shipbuilding industry have analyzed that according to the convention, the Germans should offer about 1.9 million taels of silver per ship, and the Americans are about 1.7 million, and they themselves will not exceed 1.55 million??? China has never built a 10,000-ton merchant ship, and the price of more than 1.45 million will definitely not be able to grab the order.

Chai Dongliang stomped his feet and said fiercely: "One million and three million, you must win this contract!" ”

Shanghai Guanghua Shipyard, formerly known as Jiangnan Shipyard under the jurisdiction of Shanghai Manufacturing Bureau, has built a cargo ship of only 3,000 tons at the largest.

The first is that the size of the shipyard must be expanded, and it will be a large-scale expansion. The original dock could only accommodate ships of 4,500 tons, but now it is necessary to build four new large slipways, each pile base is more than 500 feet long, at least 60 feet wide, and the pile depth is 20 feet, so that the large slipway can accommodate a 500-foot-long ship of 10,000 tons; Ten new tree lifting frames are needed on both sides of the slipway, each weighing 10 tons; It is also necessary to purchase more than 500 acres of land, and also to purchase a new type of electric pumping machine??? The scale of supporting power plants must also be expanded, and it will definitely not work without sufficient power supply!

All these renovation projects require an investment of at least four million taels of silver, which is equivalent to six million eight thousand silver dollars!

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the annual tax revenue of Anhui Province was only 20 million yuan, but now because of the abolition of centijin and various harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes, the monthly tax revenue in 1912 was less than 1 million.

Expansion of the army, construction of military academies, land reform??? Every locality needs money, and the legal reform that has been brewing for a long time cannot be put on the agenda for the time being because of the problem of funds, and all localities continue to use the barbaric "Great Qing Law." In the former Qing Dynasty, they were ready to abolish the old law and implement the new Western law, but as soon as Zaifeng and others settled the accounts, the whole country needed to invest more than 30 million yuan in this alone, so they had no choice but to do it.

The Qing Dynasty court's ten-year new policy, through the increase of taxes and other means, in ten years the annual income from 80 million taels to 300 million taels, is still a Yin to eat grain, no matter how much money can not stop the city fox society rats digging into the wall.

The Wuhu Industrial Park should also be developed, and Guanghua Bank should not be able to issue banknotes indiscriminately and ruin its credit.

Chai Dongliang gritted his teeth: "Issue public bonds and borrow money from the people of the province." ”

Wu Jintang pondered for a moment and said, "Are the people willing?" Why don't I gather the Taipan of the foreign bank and the wealthy merchants of Shanghai and borrow money from them? ”

Chai Dongliang shook his head and said: "The interest on the foreigner's money is now about to catch up with the money of Yinzi, and the conditions of the big loan that Yuan Shikai is preparing for the aftermath are said to be harsher than the Gengzi indemnity??? China's industry, especially the core industries of steel and shipbuilding, must not be controlled by foreigners???? If the dock is to be built, it must be able to accommodate a huge ship of 30,000 tons, since it costs money, it will be enough to spend at one time, don't dismantle and rebuild it every once in a while! ”

Foreign money can't be borrowed at all, it's a bottomless pit!

Yu Qiaqing and others heard from the consuls of various countries in Shanghai that the banking group of the five countries had drawn up a regulation on large-scale borrowing for the aftermath, and was ready to lend Yuan Shikai 25 million pounds with an annual interest rate of 5%, which did not seem to be high, but in fact, when making the payment, he would first give a 90% discount, and then deduct 6 percent of the commission, which was equivalent to only 21 million pounds, and then deduct the advances and loans that the bank group had previously given to Yanjing Zhengaxe, plus the expenses paid to the demobilized troops in various provinces in the early stage, Yuan Shikai's money would not exceed 10 million pounds. However, the principal and interest due were to be repaid in £68.7 million. Moreover, it is necessary to use salt administration and customs as collateral. The reason why Yuan Shikai sent Yang Shiqi and Chai Dongliang to negotiate the return of the two Huai Salt Politics to the central government was to use the salt administration as collateral for borrowing.

Once this condition is made public, Yuan Shikai's reputation as a traitor may not be clean, but if he doesn't borrow, he, the Yanjing political axe, will have to be shut down in three days and two noons!

The conditions of ordinary commercial loans are much harsher than Gengzi's compensation, and Chai Dongliang has no courage to borrow money from a foreigner's bank!

"Bell bell bell"

The phone rang in the big office outside, and Gu Weijun, who was in a suit and leather shoes, walked in, and said with a heavy face: "Governor, Chief Instructor Barnes called to find you, and he looked very unhappy in his tone. ”

(To be continued)