In the initial stage of reform, it is reasonable that the material conditions provided by society cannot meet the needs of each party, but if the resulting mechanism of profit distribution is too distorted, even if the prospects painted by the reformers are good, they will not be able to win the understanding and support of the majority of the people. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

To be sure, the measures of the New Deal at the end of the Qing Dynasty cannot be said to be unimportant, but while the actual burden of implementing the New Deal was transferred to the lower classes, most of the benefits were obtained by the upper classes, and the people at the bottom inevitably vented their anger on the so-called "New Deal" schools, police stations, and autonomous offices.

For example, the repeated incidents of "school destruction" in various places in the late Qing Dynasty were caused by the fact that the villagers saw that the new schools could not give their children the opportunity to get education, and they had to bear the taxes brought about by them, and the fire of their anger was directly directed to the newly built schools.

At the same time, in order to oppose the new tax collection triggered by the establishment of the New Deal, there were repeated cases of smashing government offices and boycotting the market, and these large and small "popular uprising" incidents actually amounted to more than 2,000 times in the last decade of the Qing Dynasty, which is undoubtedly very problematic.

Judging from the fact that hungry people are gathering in Changsha and other towns and the public sentiment is turbulent, there must be incitement and agitation by the anti-Qing Hui Party, but Chen Wenqiang's conclusion that there may be a conspiracy to obstruct the construction of the road is actually quite nervous. Some gentry in Changsha deliberately raised grain prices by taking advantage of the gathering of hungry people, and accumulated public indignation, but they were aimed at Cen Chunbei, and under the secret instruction of the political envoy Zhuang Gengliang, they launched a movement to "support Zhuang and overthrow Cen Cheng."

Hunan Governor Cen Chunbei has a deep political background, his father Cen Yuying has been the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, and his brother Cen Chunxuan has been the governor of Liangguang, but Zhuang Gengliang has no political background. But Zhuang is more sleek and steady, while Cen Chunbei is more domineering and self-serving. Zhuang had a good relationship with the local gentry in Hunan, while Cen had a good relationship with the gentry.

The officialdom struggle between Cen and Zhuang has further aggravated the food shortage in Changsha and the surrounding areas, and grain prices have skyrocketed. On the one hand, the gentry hoarded strange things, and on the other hand, the officials and gentry joined forces to strongly oppose Cen Chunbei's opening of positions and flattening the situation, and obstructed the local government from relieving the victims.

No matter what the reason for the food shortage and turmoil in Changsha this time is. But the intensification of the situation will indeed affect the construction of the railway. After all, in order to build and develop, we need a relatively stable social environment.

Since Chen Wenqiang's operation in Huxiang and Hunan provinces has become bigger and bigger, and there has been a tendency to gradually become a new revolutionary center, the construction of the Guangdong-Hanzhou Railway has played an extremely important political and military role. Quick repair, fast repair, the Beiyang Army has the Luhan Railway in the south, and the revolutionary army must also have a major artery for rapid march from the south to the north. The old and new forces will fight a decisive battle in the heart of China, and they will surely be defeated.

Every time he thinks of this, Chen Wenqiang feels excited. I also feel the urgency of time. In order for this grand idea to succeed, he had to sweep away all the people or things that might hinder him from building the railway.

…………

Road construction chores, two meals a day, rice and soup, male young and strong daily five cents of wages, female young and strong three cents a day, old and weak children a dime; Those who do not want to receive wages can exchange it for rice and grain at official prices......

Chen Wenqiang has not yet arrived in Changsha. Notices from the railway companies have been put up in towns and cities along the railway line. Compared with the regular road construction engineering team, the treatment is naturally incomparable. But according to the official price on the notice. A dime can be exchanged for a cup of rice, and if you boil porridge and drink it, you will not starve to death.

Before Chen Wenqiang arrived in Changsha were more than 300 railway patrol policemen, who were said to be patrol police, but their equipment was no less than that of the new army at that time, and even better than the local patrol battalions. With such a shrewd and powerful armed man, he received a letter from Chen Wenqiang. Cen Chunbei's waist stiffened, and immediately announced that he would open a warehouse from tomorrow, with a limit of one liter of rice grain per person per day.

"Misunderstanding. Misunderstanding! Ye Dehui bowed and explained again and again to Yang Hongming, the director of the Changsha Bureau of the Railway Patrol Police, who suddenly came to the door, "How dare the people prevent Lord Chen from building roads, how dare they!" This, this, we are dissatisfied with Governor Cen and have not offended Lord Chen in the slightest. I hope that the adults will explain to Lord Chen, and they must be clear! ”

Yang Hongming looked at Ye Dehui with suspicious eyes, and Chen Wenqiang had already sent a telegram asking him to visit the four major gentry in Changsha respectively, which was both an explanation and a warning. It's just that looking at Ye Dehui's bear appearance, it doesn't seem to be aimed at road construction!

"That's right, that's right, Xiaomin is also a member of the Constitutional Comrades Association now, and he has the same political ambitions as Lord Chen." Ye Dehui sweated on his forehead, for fear that Chen Wenqiang would use his hot hand again, and the fate of his teacher Wang Xianqian made him frightened, confiscated his family property, exiled his family, and the whole family was ruined.

Yang Hongming nodded in disbelief and said, "Lord Chen said that if you don't block the construction of the road, I won't treat you badly. The rice and grain you have hoarded, Lord Chen is willing to buy it by 30% more than the price of the official cang. ”

Thirty percent? Ye Dehui grinned secretly, now the price of rice has risen sharply from around 2 or 3,000 wen per stone to 4 or 5,000 wen per stone, doubling, while Chen Wenqiang only increased by 30%, although it is also earning, but it is much less.

"Master Chen also said." Yang Hongming continued: "If the hungry people are forced to take risks, let alone make money, even your net worth and life may not be guaranteed. You have to think about this clearly. If anyone is still rich and unkind, without the punishment of Lord Chen, there will be looting and smashing by the victims. When the time comes, it's too late to regret it! ”

Is this going to change tricks? Ye Dehui smiled bitterly and nodded again and again, and said: "Please return to Lord Chen, Lord Chen's charter, Xiaomin fully complies with it, and is willing to sell Lord Chen 3,000 stone of rice grain." ”

"Five thousand stones!" Yang Hongming seemed to be smiling, took out a piece of paper from his arms and shook it, "Your family background, it is clearly written on it." Your rice shops and mills will start selling rice tomorrow, and the number of sales will be reported to Lord Chen, and Lord Chen will make up the 30% price difference for you. ”

"Yes, all the small people will do it, all of them will do it." Ye Dehui nodded and sent Yang Hongming out.

"Master—" The butler kept following, but did not dare to interject, and now he had time, and wanted to open his mouth suspiciously to ask.

"Don't say it, we can't fight the surname Chen." Ye Dehui shook his head in frustration, "If you anger him, even if you don't charge us with 'fornicating with the party', secretly inciting hungry people to loot and destroy, and then let the patrol officer Yading condone and ignore it." It can also make us lose a lot. Don't forget, this surnamed Yang used to be a member of the party, and he is very good at doing this! ”

"Hey!" Ye Dehui stomped his foot angrily and scolded: "It's all to blame Kong Xianjiao and Yang Gong, why are you shouting about stopping the construction of the railway and running the school...... It's okay now, and I've provoked the evil god surnamed Chen. Who doesn't know that the surname Chen is like a child who builds a railway. is ruthless and ruthless, black and white can be opened, and the means are even more extensive. Those people who died before don't they have a long memory, what a fool, a fool......"

"So, then give up halfway?" The housekeeper seemed a little unwilling.

Ye Dehui shook his head and sighed, and said helplessly: "This surnamed Chen has the support of the Governor and is also friendly with the Governor. There are also constitutionalists in Hunan Province, I heard that the imperial court will promote him to the rank of knight. The most important thing is that he has soldiers and guns under him, and it is really unwise to clash with him head-on! ”

After thinking about it, Ye Dehui finally sighed again, knowing that he couldn't compete. Moreover, it is estimated that not only him, but also other gentry will bow their heads and give in. It will not anger Chen Wenqiang.

………….

Western-style people in the system, the backbone of the constitutionalists; Revolutionaries outside the system. Core leadership.

The positioning of Chen Wenqiang may make many people feel confused and puzzled. But from Chen Wenqiang's point of view, it is not a clear line, or an either/or, and cannot be integrated.

In the final analysis, the political views of the constitutionalists and the revolutionary parties are not much different. They all ask Aixinjue Luo to cede power or step down and get out, reform the system, and strengthen the country. Although the constitutionalists are relatively weak, their power in the country is deeply entrenched and reaches deep into the grassroots of the people. Even revolutions, when military action was transformed into political movements, could not have done without the cooperation and support of the constitutionalists.

From the point of view of the purpose of a strong country, the constitutionalists in the system not only have the right to speak allowed by the imperial court, but also make great contributions to the development of industry and commerce to the construction of the country.

This line of thinking is naturally different from the extreme and narrow viewpoint of the League, what is "despicable and shameless, willing to be a slave of others", and what "before the liberation, if the industry is to save the country, what is saved is not my country, and what is intended is the strength of other races".

The railroad has been built, the factory has been built, the personnel have been trained, the steel output has risen, and science and technology have developed, which is a good thing for the country and the nation in the final analysis. When the Manchu Qing Dynasty is overthrown, aren't these real constructions the capital of a powerful country?

Moreover, Chen Wenqiang seems to be working hard to set up foreign affairs for the imperial court and the local government, and do them one by one. But in it, how many corners of the Qing court did he dig up, how many assets of the Qing court were hollowed out, and how many industries were converted into services for the revolution?

This is how to "eat inside and climb outside", but with the prosperity of the Hanyang Iron Works, and other foreign affairs, for the country and the court in front of the foreigners to win honor, Chen Wenqiang still got the court's praise, Cixi also rewarded the royal pen folding fan, Mobao and jade Ruyi, python robe. That's right, that's fine.

For these glory that others dream of and deserve to be passed on from generation to generation, although Chen Wenqiang does not bow down, he also pretends to be a tiger, holding these symbols of authority, and silently declaring to achieve his goal more smoothly.

Of course, Chen Wenqiang once again politely refused the court's summons. Wearing a new flower feather head, wearing a python robe, he began to inspect the construction of the Guangdong-Hanzhou Railway with the title of a waiter of the Ministry of Posts and Communications.

Starting from Wuhan, Chen Wenqiang went south along the railway, watching as he walked. Although the progress of the project was not slow, he was still not satisfied and instructed the road construction team to work around the clock to maximize the speed of road construction. At the same time, following the method of "work for relief" in Hunan, Chen Wenqiang also took mobilizing the people along the line as one of the ways to speed up.

Transporting one side of stone, smashing one side of gravel, leveling and tamping one meter of roadbed...... These simple, non-technical tasks are divided and payment standards are established. Chen Wenqiang also gave full play to the role of the railway company as the "two governments", posted notices in the villages and towns along the line, and called on and encouraged the people to come to work and make money.

Obviously, this method was fresh and original at that time, mobilizing the people and working together, and only appeared in history during the Anti-Japanese War and the Great Leap Forward after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

But in comparison, there is a big difference. For example, during the Anti-Japanese War, more than 200,000 people rushed to repair the Yunnan-Burma Highway, which was ordered by the government and forcibly conscripted, and it was the road construction army mainly composed of the elderly, women and children in the rear, who used their fingers to dig out the land of Yunling in nine months. And Chen Wenqiang relied on money, based on the general poverty of the people. In other words, he was hiring labor in disguise, taking simple work out of the hands of the engineering team. Subcontracting to ordinary laborers who are paid less.

Therefore, it seems that there are more people building roads, but in fact, the investment in road construction has decreased. Division of labor, or division of labor, Chen Wenqiang is becoming more and more familiar with this method. The professional engineering team receives a high salary. Then do professional work; Ordinary laborers are paid according to their amount and do simple work.

Of course, this is not a method that Chen Wenqiang can come up with at a casual glance and set a charter. Rather, it was the insight gained when industries such as the Hanyang Iron Works and the Hubei Gun Factory imitated the German management methods. The large number of people and the low price of labor are perhaps the most advantageous factors in the development of China's industrial and commercial industries, and it is natural that they should be brought into play.

If various measures are arranged, it is not something that Chen Wenqiang can wait to witness if he wants to see the effect. But when he traveled to Xiangyin County in the north of Changsha, Chen Wenqiang finally saw such a hot scene of national road construction.

Thousands of hungry people, huh. They are no longer considered hungry, they should be called disaster victims. Young adults, the elderly, women, and even children have joined the ranks of road construction. This is probably the most peculiar army of road builders in the world, with all sorts of people, dressed in a variety of clothes, toiling for the same purpose - to keep food and rice alive.

"My lord, thousands of hungry people have already come to build roads, and they will continue to do so in a short time." Director Gong Ma Zhancai reported to Chen Wenqiang without worry. "They say that they will give food and money for a day's work, but there are too many of them. I got the slip in the morning and handed it in at night, who knows if he did it or not, and how much he did, it's really hard to supervise. ”

"Most people are still doing their best, but they don't have to be so demanding." Chen Wenqiang paused. "The company's consideration is to let the hungry people take a break and have a process of recovery," he said. After a few days, the remuneration was increased and the salary was changed to a salary according to the amount of work. ”

"According to the statutes of the province of Hubei? Then no problem. After getting Chen Wenqiang's affirmative answer, Ma Zhan breathed a sigh of relief. Paying according to the amount of work is a lot less troublesome, as it is now, don't supervise the work, for fear that people will be lazy and slippery; Overseer, and afraid that the hungry people will rebel in groups, it is necessary to invest a considerable number of patrol officers as a deterrent by force.

"Pull the wires over as soon as possible, so that we can fight at night." Chen Wenqiang walked slowly, stretched out his fingers and pointed, "The working hours of the engineering team are set at ten hours, two shifts, one day off for seven days, and then rotated. Don't think that increasing working hours can speed up the progress, people's physical strength is limited, and there is also fatigue, and if it drags on too long, the efficiency will be low. As for the food, we must ensure the quality and save the ...... from the mouths of the workers."

Ma Zhancai and the accompanying engineers took note of it carefully, and had to sigh that Chen Wenqiang was really rich.

There is money, there is, but it is all borrowed and loaned, and the interest has to be repaid every day. However, the repayment period of at least 20 years is not urgent for Chen Wen, and he is willing to invest, in addition to the financing support of the Chinese Overseas Chinese Bank, because he believes in the famous saying "time is money".

As long as the railway is built quickly and well, it will produce more and more gold-absorbing power and raise more equity funds, thus forming a virtuous circle of road construction, fund-raising, fund-raising, and road construction.

Chen Wenqiang's gaze stopped, it was a woman with a child on her back, her clothes were in tatters, her hair was unkempt, and she was smashing stones with a small iron hammer with a red number that she had received, and there was already a small pile of rubble in front of her. But she was so thin, her exposed arm like a dry branch. The child was crying on her back, and the woman was looking sad and coaxing in a low voice, but her hands were still working.

I have the ability to give free relief to the hungry, just like I once did in Shanghai, but now I am squeezing their poor physical strength with a meager reward.

The child's cry pierced Chen Wenqiang's heart, he turned his gaze away with difficulty, paused for a moment, and said in a deep voice: "Open a porridge shed, and give free porridge to the elderly, children, and patients who are unable to work." Well, the remuneration is also mentioned, the money remains the same, and the number of rice grains is doubled. ”

After a long silence, Ma Zhancai and others spoke up.

"Send a telegram to the Shanghai Chinese Association and the steamship company, asking them to send people to carry out immigration work." Chen Wenqiang turned his head to Du Yuesheng and instructed: "Post a notice to publicize the policies of moving to Qiongzhou." ”

"Yes, sir." Du Yuesheng nodded in response.

After the Opium War, the invasion of foreign powers, the migration status of Hainan Island was manifested in the continued inflow of mainland residents to avoid the war, and on the other hand, the outflow and return of residents from the island to overseas countries in the South Seas.

At this time, many small market towns on the island declined one after another, and large towns emerged in their place, and the population began to shift to the geographical concentration of large towns, and the process of population urbanization in Hainan was rapid and extensive. The most obvious is the county seat of Qiongshan, which has been governed by Qiongzhou in the past dynasties, and the commerce was prosperous in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and after the opening of Haikou, it was gradually replaced by Haikou. Up to now, the population is nearly 40,000, but there are only more than 1,500 Fucheng, at best only 10,000, only one-fifth of Haikou.

With the development of agricultural reclamation and the cultivation of rubber and other tropical crops, the livelihood of immigrants is guaranteed by virtue of the tropical and subtropical climate and natural greenhouse of Hainan Island. As long as the population increases, the declining small market town can be rejuvenated, and the factories and enterprises can continue to expand, turning Qiongzhou into the most reliable supply base for food, weapons and other materials for the revolutionary army.

All that needs to be changed is people's perception of the "poor (Joan)" island! If you just sit and wait to die because of this, then you won't have anything to do.

Perhaps, this is also a reason to find psychological comfort for yourself! (To be continued.) )