Chen Wenqiang pondered for a long time, and said reluctantly: "Well, this clause can be promised that when the Chinese government builds the railway on its own or the funds raised for road construction do not affect the management of the railway, all countries shall not interfere. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 However, if a large amount of foreign capital is borrowed and management rights are involved, it is necessary to consult with each country and respect traditional interests in order to show friendship. However, I would like to remind Your Excellency that this should be a precondition that all countries that do not recognize the Chinese Government and do not have a new tariff agreement with the Chinese Government will not benefit from this provision. ”

Zhu Erdian gasped, he had to give up ten inches if he had to take one foot, this guy is really a master who doesn't suffer, but whether to admit it or not, or when to admit it, there are different opinions between countries. The revolutionary situation in China was developing rapidly and becoming less and less suspenseful, but there was no consensus among the great powers on the imminent question of recognizing the Republic of China.

On the issue of recognition, Japan has been particularly active in taking the lead in coordinating the actions of various countries and taking the initiative to propose the conditions for recognition. Foreign Minister Yasuya Uchida sent notes to the governments of various countries, setting out the following as conditions for recognition: The new government must explicitly recognize all the rights, privileges, and immunities enjoyed by each country in China under treaties or established cases or customs, and be responsible for the repayment of foreign debts. The memorandum stresses that all countries should work in unison and take joint action so that their rights and interests in China can be fully protected.

Russia, on the other hand, agreed with Japan's proposal, Britain agreed in principle, and France also declared that it was willing to take joint action with Japan, but the attitude of the United States and Germany was slightly different, and they expressed their reservations in favor of Japan's proposal, that is, after the establishment of the new government, they agreed to act in coordination with other countries "without delay."

Of course, Britain also has its own bottom line, which is not entirely consistent with Japan. The British government has decided. In order not to harm its interests in China, Britain does not need to insist that the Chinese Government must issue a formal declaration guaranteeing the fulfillment of its international obligations as a condition for recognition, but advocates that after the National Assembly elects a full president, the president-elect should issue a statement stating that the Chinese Government will strictly respect all its treaty obligations and that foreigners will enjoy all privileges and immunities in China in accordance with established practice.

However. This is still different from the plan of the Provisional Government. The Provisional Government was not prepared to express its willingness to assume all the treaties and obligations signed by the Qing Government through a formal declaration or public statement, but it would not immediately stop implementing them, but would continue to assume the treaty obligations by means of private oral recognition or acquiescence.

Because these issues involve the fundamental interests of the state, if we rush to reach an agreement at that time for the sake of temporary tranquility, it is not easy to change them in the future; If you acquiesce in advance, the situation will continue to create opportunities that can be exploited. And once you have full wings in the future, take the initiative. If you openly admit it, it will be "unreasonable" to want to change it in the future. At least the initiative was lost.

"If the new Government can clearly recognize all the rights, privileges and immunities enjoyed by States in China under treaties or established cases and customs, and be responsible for the payment of foreign debts. Then the recognition of the new government by the countries will not be a problem. Zhu Erdian said solemnly.

"So far, we don't seem to have done anything to harm foreigners, break treaties or customs?" Chen Wenqiang's expression was extremely sincere, and he said: "And the new government clearly admits that this does not seem to be a good time, which will greatly damage the prestige and authority of the new government, and will also be used by some people." It is not impossible to set off a wave of xenophobia. For the sake of stability, the new government does not intend to do so. However, I am authorized to place for the record that the new Government has no intention of changing the treaties or the established conventions and practices that have already been formed. ”

Just talk, do you have a tape recorder? Hey, no! The essence of a politician is to turn his face and not admit it. As long as it is not in writing. What can you do about tearing up or rewriting the treaty in the future? Maybe you think that China does not have the strength to compete with the great powers, but you also can't imagine that the first war is about to break out, as long as there is time, China may not be able to catch up with this opportunity for great development.

……………

Overthrow of Manchu rule. This is only the first step in the long march of 10,000 miles, and social stability and national construction are relatively more complex and arduous, and they cannot be completed in a short period of time.

The provinces have been restored, but there are many parties, competing for power and profit, and there are more and more complicated things to fight each other, and only then can we see the strength and ability of the various revolutionary parties.

In the provinces under the de facto control of the Renaissance, with the backing of force, the work can be carried out in an orderly manner. The society can be quickly stabilized, the construction can be on the right track, the people have no fear, and the policy of benefiting the people can be resolutely and thoroughly implemented.

On the other hand, other parties only seek quantity and do not pay attention to quality, and they themselves are uneven in their own right, and their minds are different. In the face of the complicated post-revolutionary situation, the policies of the Constitution and the Constitution were not uniform, and they lacked sufficient experience and due vigilance in political struggles.

After the success of the restoration, a considerable number of people were carried away by the temporary victory, and they were busy dividing up the interests of the new regime, losing their revolutionary and enterprising spirit, losing their vigilance, and developing a sense of pride. Many soldiers are even more arrogant, with great power in their hands, arrogant and self-serving, and often questioned the whole team. This kind of behavior, such thinking, such an organization, it is strange that it is not a bad thing.

Moreover, there is more than one province in turmoil, Guizhou, Shaanxi, Sichuan and other provinces are in urgent need of stability.

For example, Guizhou, it is necessary to talk about aiding the Hubei and Guizhou armies. According to the situation at that time, there was nothing wrong with aiding Hubei, but Yang Xincheng was forced to leave with his division as the governor of a province, which was rare in the revolutionary independent provinces, which meant a split in the upper echelons of the revolutionary regime. Abandoning the new army and reorganizing the patrol team, the Guizhou military government acted aggressively in the independent southern provinces.

In Chen Wenqiang's words, Guizhou is a chaotic mess, and the Liberal Party, which is currently in charge of the military government, was originally a constitutional group, but although it has been transformed into a revolutionary group, it is not complete.

Although the process of the recovery of the revolution in Guizhou was extremely smooth, after the revolution, the society was initially decided, and the forces of various factions in Guiyang gathered, including the New Army, the League, the Hui Party, the Constitutional Party, the feudal bureaucracy, and the landlords. And these people are desperately pulling the team, just like the people of the time: "The temples and residences in the city are all recruitment sites, and the unemployed vagrants and small traders sign up for recruitment."

When the recruits are lined up to the South Factory, the recruits are still on their shoulders and the baskets are still in their hands. And so chaotic. Only when the struggle between the several factions is resolved and the situation becomes clear will the Provisional Government have a reason to intervene.

Although the Revival Society had a strong army in hand and strong strength, it faced the chaos at the beginning of the revolution and the development and construction after the revolution. We still dare not roll it out in an all-round way, and the key is financial constraints. Despite the help of the joint venture banks and the Bank of China, it is not yet possible to conclude that it is sufficient.

And the power of finance is beyond the imagination of ordinary people, and whoever controls the money supply in any country is the absolute master of all industry and commerce. And a well-managed banknote system not only does not cause any inconvenience, but can even have more advantages in some cases.

The fiat monetary system is completely free from the rigid constraints of gold and silver on the total amount of loans. Making monetary control more flexible, more secretive, and more complex to control requires extremely precise calculations.

Of course, Chen Wenqiang is by no means trying to plunder the huge wealth of the entire country's savers by issuing a sharp increase in currency. Although this is much more "civilized" than the original method of forced auction of other people's property by banks, it has encountered much less resistance from the people. It's hard to even notice.

In addition, it is necessary to implement the gold standard system that is currently in use in the world. It will be difficult to avoid the impact of the international financial crisis, and it is more likely to be maliciously sniped by international financial consortiums. Although no one in China today has the subjective intention or objective ability to maliciously create an economic crisis, prevention is necessary.

The Joint Venture Bank was able to assist the Provisional Government precisely because the Provisional Government had acquiesced in or recognized its right to issue currency, although the Provisional Government had also sent supervisory officers to the Joint Venture Bank. But in essence, similar to those in Europe and the United States, the Provisional Government does not seek full control.

What do you mean? Quite simply, in Europe and the United States, private banks control the power to issue money, and bankers control the behavior of the government. It is clear that the Interim Government is not prepared to change the current situation, or rather is powerless to do so for the time being.

Without the support of the banks and the financial means, the revolution would not have had such a great momentum, and the revolutionary army would not have shown more and more strength, let alone coercive the Beiyang Army represented by Yuan Shikai.

Money, everything is money. Although the ideal is lofty, it will eventually fall on this most cheesy word, and no one is an exception.

Now, the Mr. glasses in front of him is here for money, but Chen Wenqiang is not a good money boy.

Zhang Jingjiang, Beichen's financial adviser, came to find out if Beichen's ambitious 200,000-kilometer railway construction could have a start.

The construction of railways is an important basic industry that relies heavily on financial support, and the development of the huge railway industry in the United States, for example, depends to a large extent on the money of the capital markets of Britain and other European countries.

The new government's railroad construction plans, although also huge, were delayed by negotiations with the foreign powers. Of course, Chen Wenqiang, the chief financial officer of the Renaissance Association, is playing diplomacy without doing his job, and has no intention of taking the money at all.

"It takes a lot of money to build the railway, of course, this is not the main thing, it is to minimize the loss of rights, which is the reason why the railway did not start immediately." Chen Wenqiang explained: "When the state affairs are confirmed, the new government should immediately withdraw funds for railway construction, right? ”

Zhang Jingjiang nodded and tried to ask: "It is not impossible to borrow foreign capital to build roads, if the conditions are suitable." ”

"It's not borrowing, it's investing." Chen Wenqiang said slyly: "It does not involve management rights, only earns the benefits they deserve." ”

"I'm afraid the amount of money we can attract is limited." Zhang Jingjiang said with some doubts: "The issuance of shares, like the Chuanlu Company, has also become a problem for the purchasing power of the people. ”

Chen Wenqiang smiled and nodded, not wanting to explain too thoroughly, but said a little perfunctorily: "Don't worry, you don't have to worry about the money for road repair." Moreover, the issuance of shares will also use a clever and roundabout method. ”

Zhang Jingjiang is also a long-sleeved business master who is good at dancing, and he is very curious about the roundabout and ingenious methods that Chen Wenqiang said, but Chen Wenqiang obviously doesn't want to go into details, so he can't continue to ask.

"Building a railway is a long-term and arduous project, but fortunately, there are many Chinese, so we can start construction more." Chen Wenqiang diverted the topic and asked casually: "There are also some reserves of skilled workers, the rails are supplied by the Hanyang Iron Works first, and the Daye Iron Works can also be used, plus the completion of factories such as Liuzhou and Ma'anshan, which should be able to keep up with the construction speed." ”

"This is all thanks to Mr. Chen's layout many years in advance, and your talent is in short supply now." Zhang Jingjiang said with a smile.

In the period of the New Deal at the end of the Qing Dynasty, national industry and commerce developed to a certain extent, but there was indeed a big gap between them and foreign enterprises in terms of management level and management methods. Chen Wenqiang's industry is different, at the beginning of the adoption of a new advanced management model, and the establishment of vocational schools, in a few years to train a large number of management personnel and specialized personnel.

Today, these talents have become fragrant and sweet, and they must first be prioritized into the national pillar enterprises, and then the rest will be snatched by various departments or businesses. And after being hired with a high salary, the youngest is also a manager or engineer.

"There are indeed fewer mature talents with theory and practice." Chen Wenqiang spread his hands and said with a wry smile: "And they are all free bodies, and when the contract expires, I can't force them to stay." Of course, I can try to connect with me personally, but it's hard to say how effective it will be. ”

"As long as Mr. Chen does his best." Zhang Jingjiang smiled and took out a few documents and handed them to Chen Wenqiang, saying: "This is Mr. Beichen's preliminary plan, first build a total of five railways in Guangdong-Hanzhou, Guangdong-Guizhou, Yunnan-Guizhou, Sichuan-Han, and Ninghan. ”

Chen Wenqiang opened it with a smile and watched, talking on paper, he was not very interested, but he still nodded pretendically, and said: "The construction of the Guangdong-Han, Ninghan, and Kunming-Kunming railways can start in advance, and in addition, the focus of construction should be on the west, which is the need of national defense." The integration of the Lanxi Line with Jinghan involves the mobilization of the northwest garrison and the supply of materials, and the construction should start as soon as possible. Therefore, the Xi'an Railway Bureau, the Guangzhou Railway Bureau, the Kunming Railway Bureau, the Chengdu Railway Bureau, the Nanjing Railway Bureau, and the Wuhan Railway Bureau should send capable personnel to preside over the meeting, and the financial supervision should keep up, and the funds must not be wasted. ”

"National assets, people's blood and sweat, they can't be wasted at will." Zhang Jingjiang nodded in understanding and said: "As long as foreign countries do not interfere, with the Chinese spirit of hard work, simplicity, and hard work, as long as there are sufficient funds, it is estimated that the railway construction will soon see results." ”

"Then it depends on the work of the Ministry of Railways in the future." Chen Wenqiang said with a smile: "In order to speed up the construction of the railway, I think that in the future, the private sector can be allowed to set up engineering companies, and all projects will adopt an open bidding system, and foreigners can also participate." ”

"This will be a shock to the engineering companies under the Ministry of Railways." Zhang Jingjiang frowned and said, "Besides, the construction is undertaken by a private engineering company, and the quality of this project is -" (To be continued.) )