The fleet formed a column and meandered along the Yangtze River, like a black-and-gray dragon. The red iron-blooded eighteen-star flag hunted and fluttered in the river breeze. At the end of the fleet was a transport ship, a group of merchants wearing melon skin hats and robes and horse coats, blowing a cold wind on the deck with sad faces.

Today is December 31, 1911, and tomorrow is the day when the Provisional Political Axe will hold the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China. This is the first time that China has opened the world, and Chai Dongliang has to put down any major things and rush to Nanjing to attend in person. In addition to attending the founding ceremony, I also had to elect the president and vice president when I went to Nanjing this time.

The affairs of Yangzhou, Chai Dongliang handed over to Gao Ming to deal with, and left him with 300 sailors and a company of cavalry to suppress the place. Chai Dongliang instructed Gao Ming to wait until the aftermath was dealt with, and then hand over Yangzhou to Nanjing's temporary political axe.

Anyway, this place is close to Nanjing, even if Chai Dongliang occupies it with a cheeky face, it will be difficult to get rid of the constraints of Nanjing's temporary political axe, so it is better to be generous with the surname Suo.

For the salt merchants, Chai Dongliang left them two ways, one was to be tried in front of the elders in Yangzhou, and the other was to move to Wuhu with his whole family and invest in industry according to Chai Dongliang's requirements.

The salt merchant was very cooperative in choosing the second way, and took his family to the sailor's transport ship. They really have no choice, the people of Yangzhou don't know that Xu Baoshan and these bandits are hooked up by the Chamber of Commerce, once the public trial is revealed, Yangzhou fathers and elders are afraid that they will not be able to understand their hatred, and they will have to bite the salt merchants to death one bite at a time!

The salt merchants also felt a little wronged, they never dreamed that the salt lord who got along with them very happily in Pingyue would be so vicious in Yangzhou. Later, they also figured out that in the past, the salt barons did not dare to easily land on the shore to harm the people, that was because the Qing court was still there, and once there were bandits who poisoned the people, the patrol battalion and the new army would have to enter and suppress them. And now that there is no imperial court, no one dares to care about the salt lord under the banner of the revolutionary party, openly pulling the flag and setting off cannons to rebel. If it weren't for the Anhui Revolutionary Army, when Xu Baoshan and these bandits turned their faces and didn't recognize people, they would definitely scrape Yangzhou, a place where the world's wealth gathers, three feet high!

The wealthy family of the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce left Wuhu with all their wealth, and the eight million taels of silver in the Yamen were transported back to Anqing by him along with the soil on the ground, and re-minted into silver dollars. What was left for the temporary political axe in Nanjing was just an empty shell!

Even so, Chai Dongliang was still heartbroken, and the silver was re-cast, and the light and fire were consumed a lot!

Chai Dongliang was also a little depressed, providing technology by himself and letting salt merchants invest in industry to make money, it was originally a win-win thing, and the benefits to businessmen were greater, but this kind of pie-in-the-sky good thing had to be forced to do it with guns. In this era, after merchants had money, they either bought land in the countryside to collect rent, or went to Shanghai, Tianjin, Wuhu and other treaty ports to buy houses and eat tiles, and almost no one was willing to invest in industry. Like Wu Xingzhou, Wu Jintang and his son, those who are willing to devote themselves to industry to save the country are simply rare.

However, industry is the foundation of a strong country, and without a developed industry as the foundation, even if a strong army is trained, it is a tree without roots.

The construction of Wuhu Industrial Park is being carried out in an orderly manner, the relocation of the Anqing repair institute has been completed, and the commissioning and installation of the machine is nearing completion. The renovation of the vertical kiln cement plant is also going according to plan, and the machines ordered from foreign companies have been loaded and transported in the United Kingdom and Germany, and will soon arrive in Wuhu, waiting to be installed after arriving at the shore. The production of three-core sockets is somewhat unsatisfactory, although a simple assembly line has been established, but because the spare parts can not keep up with the demand, only about 1,000 sets can be made every day, and the backlog of orders on the desk has made Wu Jintang anxious. The construction speed of those supporting factories is as slow as a snail, and any small parts in this era need to be imported, and there is no perfect industrial system as the foundation, so it is really difficult to engage in industry.

This old China, when is the time for your sleeping lion to wake up violently and roar the world!

・・・・・ Dividing Line・・・・・

January 1, 1912

The city of Nanjing is decorated with red and colorful decorations, and the cheering crowds on the streets are shaking the sky, and the military band changes its formation and plays cheerful drum music. Representatives of the provinces and leaders of various groups gathered to celebrate the establishment of the Republic. After a day of discussion and voting, a total of 17 votes Sun Wen won 16 votes, and was elected as the provisional president by a high vote, and the only vote lost was that Tan Renfeng, a representative of Hunan, voted for his fellow villager Huang Xing. In the vice presidential election, Li Yuanhong was also elected with a high vote.

At ten o'clock in the evening, amid a round of applause, Sun Wen wore a gray suit and walked onto the rostrum under the guidance of Song Jiaoren, the host of the meeting.

Sun Wen is forty-seven years old, his beard and sideburns are slightly gray, and he has spent twenty-six years of his time in writing to Li Hongzhang in the first four years without success, and feeling the incorrigible ignorance of the Manchu court.

In the past 26 years, starting from the four great Kou, traveling to Nanyang, Yueben, and Honolulu, how many good men have thrown their heads lightly? Twenty-seven-year-old Lu Haodong had no fear on the execution ground, the first to sacrifice for the revolution, seventy-two heroes on the Huanghuagang were strewn on the streets, awakening the people with blood, Jianhu heroine Qiu Jin "autumn wind and autumn rain are sad", Xu Xilin, who was born in Anqing City, assassinated the governor Enming, who had the grace of knowing him, and splashed the armory with the blood of the baby soldiers・・・・・

Scenes of tragic and tragic scenes flashed quickly in front of Sun Wen's eyes, and everything in front of him was like a world away, as if it was as unreal as a dream!

The republican dream is finally flourishing, and the dead comrades can finally turn a blind eye!

"Overthrow the Manchuria [***] political axe, consolidate the Republic of China for the well-being of all the people, the public welfare of the people of this country, the text must be followed, in order to be loyal to the country!" There is no turmoil in the country, the Republic of China stands in the world, and is recognized by foreign countries. ”

Sun Wen swore an oath in a choked voice, and history will remember this moment forever. China's 3,000-year-old [***] history seems to have come to an abrupt end here, and it has come to a big end!

Watching his idol give a speech energetically, Chai Dongliang was also a little moved, these ancestors were willing to throw their heads and spill their blood in order to overthrow the Manchu Qing Dynasty and establish a republic, and the uprising of more than a dozen people with seven or eight guns each time seemed foolish, but the deep and tragic atmosphere was even more emotional. It was precisely with this kind of courage and belief that the weak revolutionary party really knocked down the 260-year-old tree of the Manchu Qing Dynasty!

Forget the warlord melee that will happen in the future, forget the farce of Yuan Shikai being the emperor and Zhang Xun being restored, immerse yourself in this victorious scene, shed tears for the thousands of martyrs who sacrificed, and cheer for the Zhaoxing Republic!

Chai Dongliang was infected by this scene, and his eyes couldn't help but moisten.

"Governor, something happened!" Fang Qingyu hurriedly squeezed to Chai Dongliang's side.

Chai Dongliang was also shocked when he saw that his face was abnormal, pale and terrifying: "What's the matter?" ”

"Huan Gong was assassinated!"

Chai Dongliang was stunned: "Who do you say was assassinated?" Could it be my third brother? ”

Fang Qingyu nodded and handed Chai Dongliang a piece of rough-edged paper "Declaration".

Chai Dongliang hurriedly opened the newspaper, and the headline on the front page was: Tao Chengzhang, the leader of the Revolutionary Party, was assassinated in the hospital!

Chai Dongliang couldn't believe it, he had read it from the information that Tao Chengzhang was assassinated on January 14, 1912, and today is January 1!

History has changed a little here!

"How is the third brother?" Chai Dongliang hurriedly asked.

"I have already telegraphed Yu Qiaqing in Shanghai, and he called back that Huan Gong had a serious bullet wound in the temple, and I am afraid it will be difficult to survive three days!"

Chai Dongliang has a hard time saying how much affection he has for this sworn third brother, but he has seven points of respect!

Tao Chengzhang's kind of heroism, although tens of millions of people are alone, Chai Dongliang is not a little bit worse, but he is very respectful!

Although I have long known from the information that Tao Chengzhang will be assassinated, I always feel that there is still time, Chai Dongliang has been planning to wait for the founding ceremony to take Tao Chengzhang to Wuhu, but I didn't expect that history has changed, and the assassination is advanced!

Chai Dongliang gritted his teeth and clenched his fists and said: "Third brother, I will definitely avenge this revenge for you, and I can't let it go!" ”

At this moment, Chai Dongliang's eyes swept over Sun Wen who was talking eloquently on the rostrum, intentionally or unintentionally!