In the 26th year of Guangxu, there was no shortage of topics in Guangdong, first of all, Li Hongzhang, the pillar of the Qing Dynasty and the leader of the Huai Army, Li Zhongtang, arrived as the governor of Liangguang, and made a big effort to fight the underworld and eliminate evil; Then there was bad news from the Beijing Division, the Boxers made a big fuss in Beijing, Cixi Lafayette ordered a war with all nations, and then the Eight-Nation Coalition broke through Dagukou and Tianjinwei, and finally entered the capital, the elite of the Qing Dynasty could not resist, and the Manchu Dynasty civil and military forces could not come up with a way, forcing Lafayette to flee the capital in embarrassment, and the last bit of face of the Qing Dynasty was also ruthlessly torn off. People with lofty ideals can't help but lament, I have survived the long-haired rebellion in the Qing Dynasty, and this time I am afraid that there will be no power to return to the sky, and the Qing Dynasty has come to an end!

Of course, the common people don't care about that, at most as a resource for idle talk, and it's not bad to have time to go to the teahouse and listen to a few sentences. What they are concerned about is whether the price of rice, grain, oil and salt will rise? Is cotton a little cheaper? My neighbor Wang's whereabouts are strange, and he is always snooping at my door, is there any intention? Among the common people, the biggest news of this year is the rise of Huizhou in the east, Huizhou has always been rich This knows, I didn't expect that cheap cotton cloth appeared on the market first, the quality is not bad, but the quantity is small, only sold in a few stores such as the Wu family, if you don't pay attention to it, it will be robbed. Later, more and more cheap cotton cloth was sold on the market, and they were all marked with the words Ziqiang Cotton Yarn Factory, and the usually hot-selling foreign cloth became unpopular! After the news of the recruitment of Huizhou Ziqiang Factory spread, everyone knew that the cheap and affordable Ziqiang cotton cloth was actually produced locally. Later, there were more and more news circulating, and people who had been to Huizhou said that the factories there could not be seen at a glance, and there were smoking chimneys and rumbling machines everywhere, and the wages of workers were several times more than that of laborers. Mother, that old man Lu is so bold and capable of going to heaven, how can he buy such a big industry in the blink of an eye?

Ordinary people know little, but the big businessmen and gentry in Guangdong are very sensitive, and there are many sources. How much does it cost to set up a factory? Not everyone can do it! Mr. Lu is so big because he has a foreigner from the United States as the backstage, and he can do it so big by encircling the local squire, otherwise he would have been swallowed by others a long time ago! They are also greedy, but still calm down, and so on the market after the emergence of a large number of self-improvement cotton cloth these people began to fidget, all know that the profit of cotton cloth is amazing, this silver can not be made by Huizhou people, and so on a large number of self-improvement matches, flour appeared on the market, these people immediately decided to take action.

"Mr. Lu, you know the meaning of the old man's visit this time, I don't dare to advocate for such a big thing." Wu Shimin said that he and the Huizhou squires came this time because the Guangzhou squires and businessmen found him and wanted to get involved.

Lu Liang was a little strange and asked: "Old man, those people want to get involved in our business, and when the time comes, they will share everyone's profits, how can you talk to those people?" ”

"Mr. Lu doesn't know, the people who come to find the old decay are the big families that have been inherited in Guangdong for hundreds of years, and their power and heritage are not something I can compete with, if they have the intention to hinder it, our goods in Guangdong will not want to be sold, and it is more likely to be interfered with by the government, businessmen, hooligans and so on. In Huizhou, we old men can still have the final say, and if we go out, we can't be the masters, and I know that they have the intention of taking advantage of the fire to rob, but they really can't shirk it. Wu Shimin was a little helpless, he could still see it, and most of the other squires frowned and didn't speak because they were angry, and a few of them who were a little anxious simply scolded.

"Elders, if I say that their involvement is not only not a bad thing, but a good thing, can you believe it?" Lu Liang's words made everyone scratch their heads, the more people there are, the more cents, isn't this the truth? But they all knew that Lu Liang still had something to say, so he looked at Lu Liang and waited for his next step.

"You are all scholarly heirlooms, countless fertile fields, shops are just as a subsidiary industry of the family, even if you are a shareholder of the Ziqiang Group, the main focus is still on the land, I don't know if what I said is right?" Everyone nodded one after another, there is nothing that cannot be admitted, the roots of the family are in the land, this is a tradition inherited for thousands of years, and it must not be broken, and the land for the replacement of shares only accounts for a small part of the family industry, which has made the family feel pain.

"I mean your family is not good at business, and Guangdong has been open for a long time, there are not many businessmen who specialize in shops, and there are more than a dozen very powerful merchants, shops all over the country, as well as the chambers of commerce of Jin merchants, Hui merchants, and Zhejiang merchants, their power is even more amazing. Now our goods have not occupied the Guangdong market, more foreign competition, if they let them participate, our goods will be more quickly transported to all over the country, into thousands of households, when the time to earn the silver is not now comparable. And those big squire families have been inherited for a hundred years, and their influence is all over Guangdong, and their joining will become our protective umbrella. Whether it is the government, the people or the foreigners, they dare not touch us in the slightest! ”

"Mr. Lu, foreigners are not easy to mess with, I heard that they have now hit the capital and driven Lafayette out, what if they are angry because of the unsalable products and send troops to attack? I have seen the foreign warships in Guangzhou, and no one can take that responsibility when the cannons are set up and a few cannons are placed on the Pearl River. Wu Shimin asked.

"Don't forget, behind me stands the Ambrera Company of the Americans, and if they want to use guns and guns, first ask the Americans if they will agree. Besides, I bought cannons from the United States, and when the time comes, I will tell the government to send our own people to build a fort near Guangzhou, so that those warships will not return! ”

Everyone dispersed, and Lu Min stood behind Lu Liang and said: "These people are short-sighted, that is, Wu Shimin has some insight and courage, and others are probably not so easily persuaded." ”

"Hehe, I've made it all clear, whether I can agree or not is a matter of the past two days, if I can't do it, I will push those people away, and it is imperative to cooperate with the squires and businessmen in the whole of Guangdong, the general trend is the general trend, and they can't stop it."

The sky gradually darkened, and all the squires gathered at Wu Shimin's house and did not leave, and no one dared to leave without negotiating a charter. Everyone is thinking about it repeatedly, thinking about every possibility, this is indeed not a joke, if you don't agree, it's hard to guarantee that Lu Liang will make a move like a strong man breaking his wrist, if he agrees? Is it really as beautiful as Lu Liang said?

The head of the Dong family said: "I see that Mr. Lu has made up his mind, I don't know what you think, why don't you say it and discuss it together?" ”

"I see, what Mr. Lu did was not only to make money and buy land, I don't know if you have noticed, the security team members who accompanied the recruitment team, dressed and behaved in the same way, each with long guns and short guns, and high spirits, I am afraid that it is not much worse than the elite of the imperial court. This is the posture of the army, I'm worried that what he is trying to do is not small, are we on the thief ship? ”

"If you want me to say, Mr. Lu wants people, money, and money, and the way to the sky, you see how long it has been, our Huizhou has changed a lot, just talk about those gray roads, who would have thought before? This court is no longer what it was when it first entered the customs hundreds of years ago, and if it weren't for the Han loyal ministers such as Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang, the long-haired rebellion would have changed long ago! Since you can't get on the thief ship, you can't come down halfway, and if you gamble, if you become it, it will be a great wealth for generations. ”

"If there is a rebellion, what should the court do if it sends a large army to encircle and suppress it?"

"You just put a hundred hearts, these years of the Qing Dynasty everywhere, in fact, it has rotted to the bones, even if it is encircled and suppressed, in my opinion, there is only the power of one blow, and if one blow fails, there is absolutely no ability to fight back again. Look at the green battalion and the sailor, how can there be soldiers! Even the Huai army and the Hunan army are now unusable. As long as the money comes, no one wants to fight hard! ”

The more everyone talked, the more energetic they became, but only Wu Shimin sat on the table and was silent. Among everyone, he can see it most clearly, and he is also the most determined to follow Lu Liang, or he will not send his favorite youngest daughter Wu Yue over, which is to show loyalty.

"Master Wu, you can say something too!" Some people couldn't help it, among the squires, the Wu family and Lu Liang were the closest, and they had the highest prestige among the squires, and everyone had already discussed it, and they all looked at Wu Shimin.

Knowing that he needed to make a final decision, Wu Shimin said unhurriedly: "This person has great ambitions, good ability, and the support of foreigners behind him, and the possibility of success is very great." It's better to be a minister of the dragon at this time, and to seek wealth for your children and grandchildren in the future, my Wu family is willing to support Mr. Lu's plan. ”

Wu Shimin's words can be regarded as helping everyone to eat a reassuring pill, everyone is prosperous and lossy, in case there is a good and bad person in the future, it is not only himself, so let's do it!

"Everyone, don't rush to leave, there is one more important matter that needs to be resolved. Since everyone believes that Mr. Lu is a person who does great things, and he is also willing to take refuge in his subordinates, then we have to do one thing to reassure Mr. Lu, which can be regarded as a vote. ”

"What votes? Are we willing to give up our profits? ”

"We have to do something to let Mr. Lu see our loyalty, and we don't have to say anything superfluous, you should understand. What I mean is that each of our families has a large number of firearms and strong men, so it is better to give most of them to Mr. Lu, and only leave a few dozen people to take care of the family. Does this mean that our safety is entrusted to Mr. Lu for protection, and our net worth and life have been handed over, which is not loyal enough? The Wu family is willing to do this, if you don't want to, don't force it, just take it as a suggestion from me. ”

Everyone was shocked by Wu Shimin's courage, such a thing has been done, it seems that Wu Shimin, the old fox, has made up his mind to hug people's thighs. It didn't take long for this proposal to be accepted by everyone, and not only that, but everyone also thought that most of the young children in the family should be sent to Lu Liang's command.

Lu Liang expected the ending, but what he didn't expect was that they were so completely attached. Firearms are not uncommon, they are all firearms of the last century, the most advanced is only breech rifles, not even Mini guns, collected and disposed of as scrap in the warehouse. More than a dozen families sent a total of more than 5,000 strong men, so that Lu Liang had to sigh at the strength of the landlord's armed forces, after being incorporated into the security regiment, the training began from the basics, and the training content was exactly the same as before. More than 300 family members are distributed according to their wishes, and they also start from the grassroots level, Lu Liang is not afraid that the old ideas of these people will interfere with their careers, and the genetic people will brainwash them, they are all young people, and they are indispensable for blood and passion, they are the most easily assimilated group of people, and they are not afraid that they will not return to their hearts after receiving new culture, history, and values education. Later it turned out that they were even more radical than the genetic people, completely leaving their families behind, and together with the students who came out of the school, they became the vanguard of Lu Liang's career. As for those strong men, they were all from poor backgrounds, and in the end, more than 4,000 people passed the examination and became members of the security corps.

After the number of the security regiment reached 8,000 after Zhuang Ding joined and recruited new soldiers, Lü Liang organized it into a brigade and three regiments, equipped with the most advanced light weapons of this era, and set aside a remote and vast land as a military camp. After reaching an agreement with the squire, many things can be freed, such as the artillery training has finally begun, and there is no longer any fear of being found out and informed. Each regiment has an artillery company armed with 7 Type 92 infantry guns, and each company has an artillery platoon armed with 5 M2-60 mm mortars. Artillery requires a certain level of knowledge, and what awaits them will be even more strenuous training.