On the pillars of Chai Dongliang's study, there are four black lacquered wooden plaques, on which are written in white paint with eight big characters: tariff, land reform, suppression of bandits, and cutting of feudal domains.

He carved these four priorities into wooden plaques to remind himself that he must not forget them. Tariff negotiations are mainly aimed at the British, and as long as the UK is done, other countries can only follow this. At present, the implementation of land reform is not very smooth, at least not as smooth as in Anhui, Jiangxi, Mongolia, and Fengtian. The main resistance to land reform came from the several provinces in power in the Beiyang system, and the other provinces controlled by the warlords in the southwest were also in disobedience.

Unlike the Jianghuai Army-controlled areas, these provinces had large assets of former Qing government-run enterprises that could be auctioned, and landlords could exchange land for industrial stocks. Without the lure of high returns, the landlords were of course reluctant to exchange their land for fifteen years of creditor's rights, and the local warlords and officials, most of whom were themselves landlords, refused to carry out land reform, and the others had no incentive to do so.

The suppression of bandits was also not carried out smoothly, which was also closely related to the work of cutting the feudal domain.

In the early years of the Republic of China, Huang Xing abolished the people's army in Nanjing's left-behind mansion, and half of China was plagued by bandits. Chai Dongliang spent a lot of effort in Anhui and Jiangxi to suppress the bandits, but the results were not good, as long as the Jianghuai army made a big move, the bandits immediately ran to Hubei. After Tang Hualong served as the governor of Hubei, Anhui, Hubei, and Jiangxi provinces sent troops to suppress them at the same time, and the bandits escaped across the Yellow River and ran to Henan.

Since the Republic of China, bandits have arisen in various places, and the governors of all provinces have beggar-thy-neighbor neighbors, and they all want to expel bandits to neighboring provinces. In order to completely eliminate the banditry that ravaged China, in addition to vigorously promoting land reform and cutting off good people from being forced into bandits, it is also extremely important to eliminate the remnants of the feudal forces in the country.

But this matter is not easy to do, Hunan Governor Feng Guozhang and Guangdong Governor Lei Zhenchun had a secret agreement with Chai Dongliang at the beginning, and now let them hand over power, not to mention some unspeakable, even if Chai Dongliang turns his face and refuses to admit it, the consequences are not optimistic, if these people are forced to be urgent, they may become bandits, then the trouble will be big. Maybe before the bandits are suppressed, a civil war will break out. In the second year of the Republic of China, the white wolf crisscrossed the five provinces and eroded half of China, in fact, because of the evil consequences caused by the division of feudal towns in various places.

Chai Dongliang now controls the richest provinces in the country, but the border provinces are still beyond the reach of the whip, the Jianghuai army is only 150,000 people, in order to deal with Yue himself, and urgently requisitioned 600,000 troops, although most of these soldiers recruited from the Jianghuai region come from shooting, equestrian clubs, can shoot guns, horseback riding, but the training work is still impossible to complete without half a year to a year. After all, the Jianghuai Army is different from the traditional army, and one person and one rifle are even soldiers, and the Jianghuai Army is equipped with a large number of new weapons, and it takes a lot of time just to become familiar with the use of weapons and master new tactics.

Moreover, the 600,000-strong army is not a small expense to eat without a single shot, and it takes a lot of money to support the armament and training. Since Chai Dongliang became the provisional president, the provinces were intimidated by the military might of the Jianghuai Army and had to hand over their finances to the central government, but the legal system, economic reform, the dismissal of miscellaneous armies, and the land reform in the provinces all required a large amount of funds to maintain, and the problems left over from the Qing Dynasty were so selective that they had to spend money on each and every one of them, and often the taxes they paid were not as much as the central government had returned.

At present, the four provinces of Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, and Jiangsu are still supported by the tax revenues of the central government, and Shandong and Guangdong can also help a little, while the other provinces hardly help the central government's finances. Xinjiang Province and the southwestern provinces have even become a huge financial burden for the central government.

This is the case in China, where the country is too large and the development of various regions is extremely uneven, the rich are in the clouds, and the poor have no place to stand. Shanghai is no less prosperous than New York, Wuhan is also known as the Chicago of the East, and in the Daliangshan District of the southwest, families often don't even have a pair of pants, and teenage girls work in the fields with bare buttocks.

Chai Dongliang felt that this president was really not easy to do, and he was much sadder than when he was a Jianghuai patrol envoy. At that time, the areas under his control were relatively wealthy in the country, and the local people had a tradition of doing business. Now that I have control over the whole of China, it is more than ten times more difficult.

As long as the three provinces are rich and strong, China's national strength will surpass that of the capital, and if the five provinces are developed, the national strength will be close to that of France. But China has 35 provinces and 5 special administrative regions, which add up to 40 provincial-level units, with less than 10 rich provinces and one poorer than the other.

Chai Dongliang frowned every time, and he didn't even have the mind to be intimate with his wife, thinking all day long about how to make the people's words stronger day by day. Chai Dongliang gradually doubted his ability, governing a province is undoubtedly competent, but governing such a large and complex country is too difficult!

Just as he was frowning and dazed, Gu Weijun walked in from outside, his expression seemed a little unhappy.

"Shaochuan, what's the matter?" Chai Dongliang asked.

Gu Weijun smiled bitterly: "What else can I do?" It's unpleasant to talk to the British! ”

Chai Dongliang asked: "They don't agree to revise the tariffs?" ”

Gu Weijun nodded and said, "The British are willing to hand over the British concessions in Hankou, Jiujiang, and Tianjin???"

Chai Dongliang was furious: "I want the tariff to be independent, and he will return it to the concession to manage it?" ”

Gu Weijun smiled bitterly: "What the president said is yes! The British said that they were willing to return six of the seven concessions in China to China, to retain only the public concession in Shanghai, and at the same time to abolish extraterritoriality, hoping that we would sign a contract for the export of military supplies and equipment as soon as possible. ”

Chai Dongliang slapped the table and said, "He is dreaming!" I'm not Emperor Qianlong, others will give away a lot of silver when they kowtow, I don't do this kind of thing to save face and not to have a lining! If I want to take back the concession, it will be easy for Lao Tzu to build the city beautifully, and the buses, telephones, and running water will not enter the concession, turning the concession into a slum, and if I am annoyed, I will ask Yu Qiaqing and them to launch a strike of all the Chinese in the concession, let the garbage pile up in the concession, cut off the water supply to the concession, I see whether they will pay it or not??? If the concession is not paid, we will not have any actual losses, and the existence of the concession will have certain benefits for the newspaper and public opinion to supervise the political axe, which is equivalent to helping Lao Tzu against [***]! If tariffs are not autonomous, economic development will be difficult??? You tell the British that if they don't say yes, then we won't talk to them anymore! I waited for them for three days, and if they were still so hypocritical after three days, I would give the drawings of tanks, planes, and aluminum alloy formulas to the Germans! I don't believe how much blood the British can shed, I don't believe that they are not afraid of the Germans flying planes to bomb London??? Prevaricate me with false tricks, but there is no door! ”

The cutting of the feudal domain and the obstruction of land reform have already made Chai Dongliang crazy, and he can't even do tariff autonomy, so he must be mad.

Gu Weijun said with a smile: "Okay, as long as the president has this determination, I can't do it, and the British dare not accept it?" Also, the German Minister would like to see you! ”

Chai Dongliang sneered: "Do you want to pull us into the Allied Countries?" Am I crazy? I did everything possible to take advantage of the war in Europe to sell a large number of military supplies to make war money and form an alliance with the Germans? If they have the ability to bring back Chinese-made weapons, ammunition and other supplies, I will form an alliance with them??? I'm afraid that the captives in Qingdao won't be able to return to China, right? ”

Chai Dongliang's current policy is to "carry out cash on its own", and if you buy weapons and supplies made in China, the warring parties must pay the full amount and be responsible for the transportation themselves, so as to prevent defaults and maintain the name of a neutral country.

Gu Weijun couldn't help nodding: "This is true!" Britain's superiority at sea was so obvious that even if the Germans could make it to Paris, it would be difficult for them to trap Britain at sea, and as long as Britain's maritime supremacy could be maintained, they would be able to hold on to the war. In the final analysis, the current world is still the supremacy of sea power??? However, what the Germans said also seems to have some truth, China is oil-poor, and oil-rich Southeast Asian countries are controlled by the British, even if China stands on the side of Britain and France to defeat Germany, when the spoils are divided after the war, as long as Southeast Asia is still under British control, China's economic development will be seriously restricted, but if China helps the Germans defeat Britain and France, the Germans promise that they will not get involved in Southeast Asia, and this large oil-producing area will become a Chinese colony??? Doesn't the president also hope that Southeast Asia can be used as China's backyard? ”

Chai Dongliang smiled: "Itchy, right? Who said there is no oil in China? ”

Gu Weijun smiled bitterly: "That little oil in Yumen is not worth mentioning!" ”

Chai Dongliang smiled slyly: "Let me tell you, in the Northeast, Xinjiang Province, and Henan, there are big oil fields!" It's just that I haven't sent people to develop it, so I'm just waiting for Europe to mess up and the powers have no time to look eastward before mining! Now the time has come! ”

Gu Weijun's eyes lit up: "Oh? It's true? ”

Chai Dongliang smiled: "Of course it's true! ”

By the standards of the 21st century, China is an out-and-out oil-poor country, but now it is the beginning of the 20th century, and there are only a few cars in the country! Daqing, Shengli, Dagang, Karamay??? These big oil fields are enough!

Although the vast majority of the oil produced in China is heavy crude oil, and the quality is not as good as the high-quality light crude oil in Southeast Asia, the equipment imported by Chai Dongliang from the Standard Oil Company of the United States was originally the equipment for cracking heavy crude oil, and heavy crude oil is also the most important source of raw materials for petrochemical industry.

Chai Dongliang's mind suddenly flashed a thought, Xinjiang Province not only has large oil fields, but also one of the most important coal producing areas in China, if these resources are fully developed, and at the same time let the local people enjoy the benefits of resources, this will soon solve the problem of poverty in Xinjiang Province! At the same time, a large number of technical personnel have entered Xinjiang Province, which also plays a vital role in the stability of the border areas, and by the way, it has also solved the problem of Xinjiang Province's isolated border areas.

"Shaochuan, you send a telegram to Yang Zengxin, the governor of Xinjiang Province, and ask him to rush to Beijing to discuss the development of oil and coal resources in Xinjiang Province!"

Gu Weijun frowned and said: "Yang Zengxin is honest and self-proclaimed, he doesn't like luxury, and the Governor's Mansion of Xinjiang Province is dilapidated!" However, he was extremely jealous of the central government, and when the Ministry of Education sent an official to inspect him, he did not agree, and when Yuan Shikai was in power, he wanted to resettle some homeless people from Shanxi Province in Xinjiang Province, but he did not agree! This person regards Xinjiang Province as a forbidden province, and he is afraid that he will not give in easily! ”

Chai Dongliang sneered: "Then I'll make an example!" Use him, the head of a clean official, to warn the whole country! ”

"But Yang Zengxin is not guilty?"

"Is it a small sin to split the country and resist the central government's political axe?" Chai Dongliang said angrily.

"Qing official? Yang Zengxin's old man is a clean official? If the governor's mansion is broken, it will be considered a clean official? President, do you believe this, the silver (man) who pretends to be a god is not a thing, and he can't hide it from others! Yang Bangzi's thick Tianjin accent came from the door.

Gu Weijun smiled: "Minister Yang is here?" ”

Yang Bangzi had just served as the deputy minister of the patrol department, and when he was complacent, when he heard Gu Weijun call him Minister Yang, his smiling eyes were invisible, and he said before he sat down in the chair: "Yang Zengxin pretends to be honest in Xinjiang Province, and his governor's mansion is more broken than the mountain temple, in fact, this guy's money is gone!" ”

Chai Dongliang was puzzled: "Oh, how did you know?" ”

Yang Bangzi said with a smile: "Tianjin Wei's matter, you don't plan to hide it from me!" The western-style houses built by Yang Zengxin in the Tianjin Weifa Concession are obedient, more magnificent than the French Consulate, and they can't take down each of the five or six hundred thousand yuan, and I heard that he also bought land in Dalian to build a western-style house. I don't know about Dalian, but Tianjin Wei's flies are male and female, and they can't hide from my old Yang's eyes! ”

Chai Dongliang had an idea, to deal with a hypocrite like Yang Zengxin, the "Civil Servant Property Declaration System" is not correct, and the right medicine can be prescribed! With Yang Zengxin's character, it is impossible for him to declare all his property in a real way, and he will definitely conceal the real estate in Dalian and Tianjin, otherwise, won't the image of a Qing official that he has pretended to be for many years be destroyed immediately?

It is just the right opportunity to take this opportunity to overthrow Yang Zengxin, the king of Xinjiang Province, to crack down on the separatist forces in the frontier, to strengthen the centralization of power, and at the same time, to implement the "Civil Servant Property Declaration" system!

China, a big country with extremely uneven development in various places, whether it is [***] or under the open cooking system, centralization is an indispensable means, otherwise the provinces are beggar-thy-neighbor, the rich provinces are full of high-rise buildings, and the poor provinces do not even have a decent school, there will definitely be a big mess, and there must be a strong central political axe to coordinate to solve the problem.

Chai Dongliang was worried about the matter of cutting the domain, and someone sent him a pillow when he was sleeping, and Yang Zengxin, a hypocrite, actually hit the muzzle of the gun!

(To be continued)