There is a story in Mr. Lu Xun's work, there is a family who gave birth to a child, and when the moon was full, there was a feast, and the friends gave the child all kinds of blessings, and one person told the truth, "This child will die." This can be said to be a truth, an "absolute prophecy" that is destined to come true. And it's absolutely frustrating.

Chen Ke knew that something was going to go wrong, and he just wanted to reap the benefits of failure. Hearing Shang Yuan say this, unlike Qin Tongren's faint frustration, Chen Ke became alert. At this moment, Shang Yuan's sharp gaze swept over Chen Ke's face, Chen Ke only felt that something was wrong, and it could be seen from Shang Yuan's look that Shang Yuan had already understood a lot of things.

Shang Yuan then began to talk about "why it can't be done". He was completely persuading Qin Tongren at this time, and he didn't care about Chen Ke at all.

The focus of Shang Yuan's talk is the "retribution" system. The "retribution" system mainly meant that enterprises were required to provide money to the Manchu government unconditionally. Enterprises that need to provide benefits to the Qing government involve industries such as transportation, mining, telegraphs, textiles, banks, iron and steel, etc., in fact, industries that were slightly effective at that time or that the Qing government considered profitable were all required to provide benefits, and the prescribed amount of benefits was quite large.

Beginning with the Westernization Movement, the Manchu government did set up many modern enterprises. In the absence of a modern commercial system, the initial enterprises were state-run rather than commercial. Before 1895, the Manchu Qing Dynasty was still able to balance its fiscal revenues and expenditures, but after 1895, due to the heavy burden of war reparations, the increasingly difficult financial situation, and the emergence of many new enterprises, private enterprises began to rise. Asking for benefits from enterprises and forming them into a system became one of the ways for the Qing government to reduce its financial burden.

"Tong Ren, do you know how big the effect is? In 1889, when the Mohe Gold Mine was founded, the government provided 200,000 taels of capital, and by this year, the Mohe Gold Mine had provided 600,000 taels in six years. The last time you talked to me about this honeycomb coal plant, I thought you would definitely make a lot of money, but you are in the capital at the foot of the Son of Heaven, and this reward is definitely not something you can afford. ”

Shang Yuan spoke clearly and clearly, and Chen Ke nodded slightly. Since he can have such insight, Shang Yuan is only afraid that he is not an ordinary person.

Qin Tongren didn't care much, "It's just a white wolf with empty gloves, I don't care about money." ”

"The book is angry!" Shang Yuan said angrily, "Even if you don't care about money, you think that empty gloves are white wolves, but with this project, you should be able to imagine how many people are eager to eat your meat." They're going to screw up your factory. Do you think they're just messing with your factory? And will do everything possible to splash you with sewage, so that you will never be able to turn over. ”

"Brother Wangshan, this is alarmist." Qin Tongren was a little puzzled.

"Alarmist? I know a little about this Mr. Chen, he made a new medicine for the treatment of willow disease in Shanghai, and the effect is miraculous, and the medicine can cure the disease. Then he immediately disclosed the formula for the new drug. Why do you think Mr. Chan did this? Could it be that the compassionate heart of hanging the pot to help the world is not successful? Shang Yuan sneered.

"Wen Qing, is there anything else about this?" Qin Tongren was quite surprised.

Chen Ke admitted frankly, "Brother Shang is right, there is indeed such a thing. And I only disclose the new drug formula for self-protection. If I monopolize the formula, I don't know how many people want my life. I don't dare offend those people. ”

Seeing Chen Ke admit it calmly, Qin Tongren felt that something was wrong, but no matter how he looked at the current project, he was not so exaggerated, and he said suspiciously: "Honeycomb coal is not a technical secret." ”

"Not classified? Just because it doesn't look confidential, you can make the most money. Those people will never let you go. "Shang Yuan saw that Qin Tongren hadn't understood yet, and he was even more angry." This Mr. Chen is not an ordinary person, I know Tong Ren, you are dedicated, and you haven't read Mr. Chen's book yet. ”

"Well, that's true." Qin Tongren nodded in response.

"This Mr. Chen is highly knowledgeable and has the world in his mind. If Tong Ren, you nerd, can't understand it, but this Mr. Chen can't see it clearly, I absolutely don't believe it. I don't know what kind of fame he is doing in the capital, but don't follow him around. ”

This was said very seriously, and Qin Tongren couldn't understand it anymore. "What did Wen Qing do? What's in that book? Brother Shang, I don't understand what you say. ”

Hearing this, a complicated look appeared on Shang Yuan's face, he knew that Qin Tongren definitely hadn't had time to read it, because this set of books was in his house now. And if Qin Tongren reads this book, with the deep understanding of industrialization in the book, I am afraid that Qin Tongren will really vote for Chen Ke. However, with Qin Tongren's personality, since he knew that this book was not ordinary, he definitely had to read it carefully, and he was angry for a while, but he said the wrong thing. Thinking of this, Shang Yuan glared at Chen Ke and thought about what to say.

Seeing Shang Yuan's performance like this, Qin Tongren was even more confused. "Brother Wangshan, Wen Qing, what the hell is going on."

Chen Ke felt that he had to explain, "I wrote a book in which the development of industrialization was discussed in detail, and it seems that Brother Shang did not agree with this book. ”

"Don't you agree too much? Ha ha. Shang Yuan sneered, "Mr. Chen is too polite, I don't disagree, I quite agree." After reading that book, I still have a lot of admiration for Mr. Chen. It's just that Mr. Chen is so big-hearted, and he actually came to this factory like this, I think Mr. Chen tolerates evil. ”

Qin Tongren had already seen some clues, Shang Yuan did not persuade himself not to build this factory at all, but simply wanted to tear his face with Chen Ke and keep himself away from Chen Ke completely. It seems that Chen Ke must also have something extraordinary, so much so that Shang Yuan didn't dare to persuade himself in private. Thinking of this, Qin Tongren simply asked, "Brother Wangshan, what's going on?" ”

Shang Yuan saw that things were already like this, and simply said directly: "This Mr. Chen is a revolutionary party. At this point, he did not reflect the seriousness of the problem, and he added in an emphatic tone: "He is not the kind of revolutionary party that advocates some kind of constitutionalism, but a genuine revolutionary party." ”

"Ugh! Wenqing is a revolutionary party? Ha, haha. Hearing this, Qin Tongren actually laughed out loud, "If Wenqing is a revolutionary party, I don't think this revolution is a bad thing." ”

After hearing Shang Yuan reveal his true face, Chen Ke didn't feel much in his heart. In these days, the revolutionary party is a fashionable thing, and today, when the actual control of the Manchu court is deteriorating, as long as you do not rise up to rebel, as long as you do not make excessively drastic statements to overthrow the government, you call yourself a revolutionary party, and there will be no government to arrest you. The Manchus were first defeated by Japan in the First Sino-Japanese War, and then experienced the Gengzi Incident, making too many unforgivable mistakes. The imperial court itself is also very clear that the difference in its reputation has reached an unparalleled level. The successive failures greatly questioned the legitimacy of the Manchus. Under such circumstances, the Manchu government did not dare to use any high-handed means against the intellectuals.

As for Chen Ke's own book, the whole text of hundreds of thousands of words does not mention the revolution at all, even if it is used as evidence, it will not have any effect. Articles that are dozens of times more intense than Chen Ke's book will not be able to pass the world.

What interested Chen Ke was Shang Yuan's attitude, his drastic approach was not right no matter how he looked at it. Now that Shang Yuan has called for battle, Chen Ke feels that he has to fight.

"Brother Shang, I have heard about Brother Qin, fighting with foreigners and guarding the Tianjin Manufacturing Bureau. I have great respect for Brother Qin's character. If I say that I want to trap Brother Qin, it is absolutely impossible. In fact, I mentioned to Brother Qin two days ago that this business is not easy to do. If you don't believe me, you can ask Brother Qin. ”

Qin Tongren still remembered Chen Ke's words, but after listening to Shang Yuan's words, he was also a little confused about Chen Ke. Shang Yuan and Qin Tongren were good friends, he knew that Shang Yuan was not a bluff person, since he had such an evaluation of Chen Ke, Chen Ke must have something amazing. At this point, he was a little confused.

"If you want to deceive a gentleman like Tong Ren, I will never spare you." Shang Yuan didn't appreciate it at all, "Since Mr. Chen said that he has his own plans, I would like to ask why Mr. Chen wants to set up this factory in the capital." ”

"I want to gather some talents in Beijing, and next year I will go to Anhui to do something. If I didn't have this factory, how would I know what level of talent I have gathered? ”

"Anhui?" Shang Yuan and Qin Tongren asked almost at the same time.

"Where is Anhui?" Shang Yuan asked.

"Probably in the Huainan area. It hasn't been determined yet. Chen Ke felt that the attitude of these two was a little strange.

"Humph! It's interesting. Shang Yuan sneered.

Chen Ke looked at Shang Yuan inexplicably, but seeing that Shang Yuan refused to explain, he looked at Qin Tongren again. "Brother Wangshan is about to take up his post in Huainan." Speaking of this, he paused again, "Brother Wangshan actually came to me and wanted me to go to Huainan with him to do something. ”

That's too much of a coincidence, isn't it? Chen Ke thinks that these two people will not sing double reeds, and want to pit themselves, right? But on closer inspection, it doesn't look like it. He had no choice but to laugh and said, "It's really a coincidence." Fate. ”

"Mr. Chen doesn't need to say this, let me ask you, since you are leaving next year, why do you still make this honeycomb coal this year? If you do it, will you leave your business in Beijing? "It's still far from relenting.

"If it can't be done, I'll have to withdraw." Since the other party is an understanding person, Chen Ke simply told the truth, "My original plan was to find some brothers who can do things and cooperate, and I didn't expect to meet talents like Brother Qin." Since Brother Shang is worried that I have cheated Brother Qin, then I might as well say it directly. Brother Qin, I am a revolutionary party. ”

Qin Tongren listened to Chen Ke's words, and saw that Chen Ke did not have the slightest intention of deceiving, so he believed that what Chen Ke said was true. However, Chen Ke's next words surprised Qin Tongren even more.

"Brother Shang, I can see that you are also a revolutionary."

Qin Tongren looked at Chen Ke dumbfounded, and then looked at Shang Yuan. I saw Shang Yuan's gloomy face, but he did not deny Chen Ke's words.

"Ming people don't say dark words, and those who can see from my book that the revolutionaries are all revolutionary parties." Chen Ke summed up in a tone that was not reserved and boastful.

For the citizens of Beijing, the days after winter are quite boring. But in the early winter of 1905, a new type of briquette suddenly appeared on the market, called honeycomb coal. At the beginning, the promotion of honeycomb coal was carried out by some flag men. In the rules of the Zongren Mansion, banner people are not allowed to do business. But the banner man relied on that idea of "hardcore crops", and his life was not good. In addition, the flag people love pomp, even if they have no money, they have to slap their swollen faces and become fat. Anyway, the Eight Banners would not have fought hundreds of years ago, and neither the imperial court nor other armies had any illusions about the children of the Eight Banners, so the bannermen were already a minority in the army. Among most of the Beijing banner people, the lazy ones spend their days in teahouses. It gave birth to a number of boring teahouse cultures.

However, for the flag man who is still more diligent, the so-called policy has countermeasures under the policy, although the flag man cannot do business, the business of driving a car is neither a business, nor a long-term job, and it is the most convenient to hire a flag man. They live in Beijing all day long, they are familiar with each other, and the corners of Beijing are clear. It's convenient to get around and hire a flag man. These hard-working bannermen walk around the capital all day long, and they are more familiar with Beijing, and they are very clear about which people have what spending power.

Some people were willing to pay them to promote honeycomb coal, so that this part of the flag people, who were still diligent, quickly made money.

As Chen Ke expected, the first batch of honeycomb coal buyers were Qiren. The flag people have a little fixed income, and there are many places to spend money, don't look at the small things like burning coal, they still calculate very clearly. Honeycomb coal is cheap and fully combusted, and compared with briquettes, honeycomb coal immediately shows its advantages once tested. So among the low-level bannermen, honeycomb coal spread at a shocking rate.

There was a story in the Tang Dynasty, when Bai Juyi first arrived in Chang'an, some people said, "The capital is expensive rice, and it is not easy for Bai Juyi." "It's not just the Tang Dynasty, but the Beijing officials of any dynasty and generation are not living very well, their income is not high, and in the capital, it is not their turn to make money. But Jingguan has to maintain his own decency and be more careful in his daily use. If it weren't for this, Chen Ke would not have been able to rent a house in the official district of the capital.

Since the flag people are responsible for promoting honeycomb coal, these low-level officials are their key promotion targets, and the implementation effect is quite good. This can be seen from the busy hours of the comrades who are responsible for the external base stove in the honeycomb coal yard every day.

Chen Ke and Qin Tongren personally took the lead, and in the first few days, the comrades were divided into four groups and sent out one group to work every day. Seven or eight days later, one group had stayed in the factory to take charge of production, and the three groups went out to build the stove together. Moreover, this is based on the fact that Qin Tongren mobilized his own forces and invited more than 30 old workers from the No. 30 Machinery Bureau from Tianjin.

At the Beijing Party Group meeting, Qin Tongren felt quite unbelievable about such a situation.

That day, Shang Yuan came to the door, and Chen Ke saw that the matter had been clarified, so he simply stated his "revolutionary road". The central government can effectively manage the people in village-level units, the education system at all levels, the government civil servant selection system that integrates officials, and the state-led economic system. Chen Ke's description of the future China that day left Shang Yuan and Qin Tongren speechless at that time.

Before Shang Yuan said goodbye, he left a message, "I'll come over tomorrow to see what kind of revolutionary Mr. Chen is." "He really came the next day. also brought the book that Qin Tongren entrusted Shang Yuan to bring. Chen Ke also let go, and simply began to form a new Beijing party group. One side of the work, the other side of the lecture.

Qin Tongren had heard of the republican system propagated by Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary party, and his evaluation of this system was to make a lot of nonsense. The reason for opposing the "republican system" is not how loyal Qin Tongren was to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, after the Gengzi Incident, Qin Tongren died on the battlefield and was completely disappointed in the imperial court. The reason why he did not want to overthrow the imperial court now was that he thought that a rebellion would plunge China into complete division. Today, surrounded by foreign enemies, the civil war will give foreigners ample opportunities to meddle in Chinese affairs. In Qin Tongren's view, rejuvenating the country with industry is the only way. And the republican system itself only allowed the local gentry to rise. Qin Tongren was unusually sensitive and correct about Sun Yat-sen's views on the revolutionary party. He firmly believed that once the revolution began according to the "democratic republican" theory put forward by Sun Yat-sen's gang, it would only lead to the rise of warlords and the fragmentation of China.

Shang Yuan's political concept is even more interesting, Shang Yuan himself is from a large landlord family in Shangqiu, and his views on the landlords and gentry are profound, which makes Chen Ke feel a little embarrassed. He made it clear that the gentry of today had no enthusiasm for industrialization itself. The reason why they wanted to implement constitutional government was to seize the power of the imperial court. Then he can rely on the land to make a fortune on the ground. Therefore, whether it is anti-foreign religion or anti-foreign goods, it is the instinctive reaction of the landlords after the industrialization has hit the traditional handicraft industry. If the constitutionalism is really implemented, it will not solve the deep contradiction between industrialization and traditional handicrafts.

In response to this situation, Shang Yuan and Qin Tongren's attitude is completely consistent, and there must be an unprecedentedly strong government to promote industrialization. And now the situation is that the Manchus were at least one of the strongest people who seemed to be the strongest. This is also the reason why the two are extremely uninterested in the "democratic revolution".

The political views of the two men represent the attitudes of a considerable number of people of insight in this era. The reason why these people opposed the republic in history was not all because they had any bitter hatred for the republican system itself, but because they believed that the republican system advocated by Sun Yat-sen's group of birdmen could not achieve the purpose of saving the country and the people in practice.

Shang Yuan and Qin Tongren are political "totalitarians" and hardliners who insist on "comprehensive state dominance" from the perspective of "big industry" and "complete industrial structure". Chen Ke's book theoretically pointed out a feasible path for Shang Yuan and Qin Tongren, who were historically called "die-hard reactionaries".

The size of the party group was expanding day by day, and Shang Yuan and Qin Tongren continued to introduce various people to participate. The group meeting was attended by 13 participants, and the topic was to integrate theory with practice -- to look at the living standards of the people of Beijing on the development of honeycomb coal.

However, the topic is to say that Qin Tongren has always been engaged in the military industry, and he has no experience in people's livelihood. He looked at the data on the report and thought it was completely incredible. After the power of industrialization was demonstrated, the handicraft industry had no chance to confront it. Since honeycomb coal was sold, many people have tried to imitate it. But just punching holes in honeycomb coal is a very "high-tech" job. Honeycomb coal plants use machines, and the efficiency is not comparable to that of an individual at all. The imitators spent so much effort that they couldn't make a few pieces of coal a day. Even if it is built, the labor paid will not recoup the cost. As a result, the expected artisanal competitors did not appear at all, and the sales of honeycomb coal rose again and again.

"Wen Qing, when do you think this peak will appear?" Qin Tongren couldn't help but ask. He wanted the curve that seemed to be going straight up to the sky to go on forever and not stop.

The secretary of this meeting was Su Wuming, and Chen Ke brought him here. He looked up at the report on the blackboard and asked, "Is this going to be drawn in too?" "Su Wuming has never learned the coordinates, and he thinks that this thing is not pleasing to the eye.

Su Wuming also came with a few students from the Jingshi University Hall. It is said that when Pu Yi ascended the throne, such a folk song circulated in the ancient city of Xi'an: "No need to pinch, no need to count, Xuantong is only two and a half years." Two and a half years have passed since Hulala, and the Qing Dynasty has really fallen down, and there is no ambiguity at all. The stalwarts of society in these years, even those who supported the Manchus, were motivated by their own interests, rather than how loyal they were to the Manchus. Even the students of the Jingshi University began to support the revolution, and the fall of the Manchu Qing Dynasty began in everyone's minds. Now it has reached the point of no return.

"Wuming, I've made several copies of that, just put it in the file." Chen Ke replied.