There is a lot of information contained in these words, and the things involved, when you think about it, are enough to make people chill. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info Zhao Guanhou did not answer, but focused on eliminating a duck in front of him, nodding yes while eating.

Zhou Xuezhao said at this time: "Guanshuai, in the past two years, you have repaired river workers, railways, and mining shafts, and Shandong, I'm afraid it will not be easy." In the newspapers of the Fuso people, I have published a lot of articles, such as the suffering of the people in Jiangbei, the ten-day journey to hell, and the bones of thousands of miles, and I have read a lot of articles like this. At the beginning of the joint establishment, all industries withered, or should we recuperate and recuperate, and we must be sympathetic to the people's strength. At present, Taixi's economy is weak, China's commodities are difficult to export, and the financial reports of the provinces are insufficient, and the finances are becoming increasingly difficult. The life in your local area is better, but it will be difficult in Beijing, and the interest that should be paid on foreign debts cannot be delayed. At this time, you have to tighten your belt to live a life, and you can't be extravagant. For example, if I do it again, I really won't be able to pay for a big project like the dredging of the Huai River. At this time, we should still focus on industry. ”

"Today's China can no longer engage in the policy of keeping the countryside in peace, emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business. The purely small-scale peasant economic model will inevitably lead to the backwardness of the country and the stagnation of social development. If our country wants to develop, we have to break this shackle and give way to agriculture and industry. We have limited funds on hand, and if we fill in agriculture, industry will not invest in it. Now is the time to concentrate on the development of industry. Tessie's economy is weak, and that's our chance. Taking advantage of the weakening of the foreigners, we should raise funds to redeem the mines occupied by the foreigners, open factories, and develop our own industry and commerce. Ten or twenty years from now, when we have enough funds, we will be able to do water conservancy projects. ”

After he finished speaking, he laughed and punished himself with a glass first, to show that it was just gossip and not a correct opinion. Even if Zhao Guanhou heard it, Zhou Xuezhao's words could not be completely wrong. In his capacity as Chancellor of the Exchequer, he has established a conservative fiscal system in line with his status.

In Zhou Xuezhao's view, even if the Zhou family's fields are abandoned, regardless of the loss, from the perspective of the common finance, the dredging project of the Huai River will be a loss of money for the people and will not benefit the country. From the expenditure level, tens of millions of yuan of funds were taken out at once, which led to the displacement of a large number of people and artificially created refugees.

The number of people who lost their ancestral graves and resisted, and then they were beaten to death, died of exhaustion on the construction site, and died because of the Huai River water conservancy project. Whether it is financially or in terms of public opinion, this time the management of Huai has left a lot of messes. Although the overall project can be called a success, the benefits brought by it are, in Zhou Xuezhao's view, very limited.

The agricultural tax is no longer the main item of fiscal revenue. It's not that the land rent is low, but that the provinces have withheld this part of the income and used it as military salaries. Shandong's grain harvest is bumper and there is no flood, which is of little significance to Zhong Yang. It is nothing more than that under Zhao Guanhou's own rule, there will be more grain, and the people will not make trouble because of the lack of food, and this interest belongs to Shandong, not to the government.

Shandong's taxes are not in the government, but Zhongyang wants to allocate funds to help Shandong solve the problem, no matter how you look at it, it is a loss-making business. If you want to repair it, it should be the provinces that raise funds to repair it themselves, and it has nothing to do with the Ministry of Finance.

As for the issue of relief after the flood if water conservancy is not repaired...... In fact, the Kyohai government has basically abandoned the option of providing relief to the victims. Whichever province the victims went to, the problems of which province were solved, and they were sent to the capital...... You can think about what Lei Zhendong is doing now, and you can understand.

Zhou Xuezhao is the Minister of Finance and an industrialist, who has a set of management methods for opening factories and mines. If you can be the chancellor of the exchequer, you also have your own views on the economy.

In his opinion, refugees are not necessarily a bad thing, and it can even be said that more is better. The development of industry is inseparable from manpower. In order to survive, these people can do heavy work with a mouthful of food, which is a ready-made cheap labor force, and it is also China's advantage.

If you don't drive these people into the factories, what will you rely on to develop industrialization? In his view, the finite natural disasters are actually as many as possible, and natural persons may suffer from them, but from the perspective of the state, they are actually beneficial. At least for industrialization, these cheap consumables, like ore or cotton, have no need to be merciful. What is needed is for them to dedicate their values, and in order to achieve the take-off of the country, there will always be a generation to sacrifice.

Zhao Guanhou wiped out most of the duck before replying: "Mr. Zhi'an (Zhou Xuezhao's number), what you said is right, at least from the perspective of the country, I also support it." But I have to ask rhetorically, what about specific people? I am a parent official, and as soon as the flood comes, there will be more refugees under my rule. I have to find food for them and clothes to wear, and if I can't do it, it's my dereliction of duty. Therefore, you are looking at the world, I am looking at the one acre and three points of land in front of me, in my opinion, the Huai River dredging project is much more important than the factory mine. It costs money to redeem the mine from the hands of foreigners, and if you have no money to borrow in the future, you have to take it out, and sooner or later you can't keep it, so it is better to use this money to exchange it for food and eat it yourself, which is the benefit. It's like let's chat, when you said so much, I was already half a duck in my belly. To be reasonable, I can't talk about you, but the benefits of this duck, I myself fell first. ”

Yuan Weiting shook his head with a smile, "Guanhou, you have become a handsome person, your temper has not changed, and you are still so narrow." Zhian is a righteous gentleman, not like you like to joke so much, you can also say it. The economy has been bad in the past two years, and everyone's life is sad. I'm here, relying on Zhi'an's planning, barely maintaining the situation from collapsing, and his credit is great. Shandong is where I started, and I know very well that the economy depends on trade with foreigners. Now that foreigners' money is hard to make, where can you maintain it? ”

Hearing Yuan Weiting's question, Zhao Guanhou said with a straight face: "I don't lie in front of the president, the life in Shandong in the past two years has been very difficult, and I have to live by borrowing." Huabi Bank and Zhengyuan, if they don't lend money to Shandong, I don't know how to maintain it. In the future, I can't think about how to repay these debts, and in the end, I can't sell the land. However, the more this is the case, the more we must pay attention to agriculture. When you have money, it's easy to do, but when you run out of money, how to find food for the people is an extremely important matter, and if things are not done well, the people will change. I took advantage of the money to dredge the river and minimize the danger of flooding, just in case the world is bad in the future, and when there is another flood, I am afraid that I will not even be able to take out the disaster relief funds. As for things like the development of industry, it is a good thing, but the premise of doing good things is that there is as little bloodshed as possible, and it is better not to shed blood. There were dead people on the river, but most of them were prisoners of war, and if they died, they died. It is better to kill them than to die for the good people, and I have a saying in Shandong, I want sheep not wolves. If you are a sheep, I will try to find a way for them to live, and if you are a wolf, you have to be prepared, and I will pull out my teeth and claws, and then go to be a cow and a horse. So they are all dead, but who is dead makes a big difference. ”

"Oh, so this year's grain harvest in Shandong is good?"

Zhao Guanhou nodded, "Entrusted to President Hongfu, Shandong is a bumper harvest this year." The government collected a large amount of grain, which was enough to cope with a famine. If it goes on like this, there will be a few more harvests, and you will not be afraid. ”

Yuan Weiting nodded and said, "I have food in my hands, so I don't panic." Among the three armies, food is the foundation. Of course, military salaries are important, but if there is no food, grass, and ammunition, the war cannot be fought. When you are a soldier, you can't owe three meals a day. ”

He looked at Zhou Xuezhao again, "Zhi'an, it is good to engage in industry, but agriculture cannot be taken lightly." When you are hungry, what do you do to work, and how do you have the strength to hold a gun? In the past two years, our investment in agriculture has been insufficient, and you must also change our policy. I'll come back to a plan and I'll let the consultants take a look. ”

The meal was eaten until half past nine in the evening, Zhou and Lu said goodbye, and Zhao Guanhou was left behind. Tang Tianxi brought tea, and then withdrew, leaving only Yuan and Zhao in the room. Yuan Weiting pointed to the tea in front of him

"This is Hangzhou's new tea this year, in Qianjin, even the emperor can't drink it. This is the palace rule that Xiao Dezhang told me, the emperor can't drink the new tea, otherwise he will be addicted to drinking it, and he will not know moderation, and the people who purchase it below will be unlucky. Now that the company is cooperating, the people below don't dare to play this trick anymore, and I finally have new tea to drink here. This is a bit of the enjoyment of the Son of Heaven raised by the world, if you don't even have this, the position of the president is not a blessing, it is purely a crime. ”

Zhao Guanhou said with a smile: "Foreigners have kings who call themselves the first public servants, which is probably what they mean. It is not a pleasure to think that your position is a sin. ”

"That's his own stupidity, a lifetime, a lifetime, grass and trees, if you don't enjoy this position, then live this life, what's the picture?" Yuan Weiting shook his head disdainfully, "So I said, Taixi people are stupid, and their brains often can't turn, I don't admire them." We don't mention him, we mention you, only the two of them are here, and some things are hard to say. Do you think the Prussians can do the business they talked to us? ”

The main purpose of Zhao Guanhou's visit to Beijing to celebrate his birthday this time was actually to negotiate the deal between the Gonghe Mansion or Shandong and Prussia.

Since the Shaanxi War, there has been a tacit understanding between Zhao Guanhou and Prussia. In the past two years, the Shandong Daxing project is also inseparable from the help provided by Prussia. This kind of help includes a lot of money, equipment, and expert guidance. It is precisely with a group of foreign experts and foreign equipment that the project can be established in this way.

Of course, this assistance will not be free. In Shandong, Zhao Guanhou recruited migrant workers, and countless military ports, fortresses, and fortifications were built for the Prussians. The iron works and mines jointly established with Prussia include almost all known ownerless mineral deposits in Shandong. In terms of specific contracts, Prussia also unilaterally obtained benefits. If the specific terms of these contracts are all exposed, I am afraid that the increase in sales of the joint newspaper will be more than a few hundred copies.

The Prussian government's appetite is getting bigger and bigger, and it is ready to carry out greater cooperation with Shandong, but because the numbers involved and the stakes are too great, it is no longer something that Zhao Guanhou can decide. In other words, even if it is his signature that really works, he must find Yuan Weiting to take the blame.

Before entering Beijing, he also considered whether Yuan Weiting would carry this black pot, and even whether he would directly veto this cooperation. It wasn't until after chatting with Sai Jinhua that he firmly believed that his gamble, no matter what the outcome was, the gamble would inevitably be successful, and Yuan Weiting would inevitably come to help him share the responsibility.

Prussia's appetite grew, and as the situation in Tessie developed, Prussia was no longer satisfied with only the present benefits in Shantung, and set its sights on the part of the concession and the mineral deposits controlled by Albion.

In this cooperation, the entire Shandong mineral deposits and sovereignty will be obtained, and in return, the Prussian government will provide Shandong with state loans totaling about 160 trillion Prussian marks. The main body of its lending was not a bank, but the Prussian government.

This loan amount is huge, especially in the context of this monetary strain, which can be called a relief in the snow. But correspondingly, the conditions are also extremely harsh.

First of all, the loan is not in the form of funds, but a fictitious credit line for Shandong. This quota allows the purchase of specified goods only at the enterprises and within the scope designated by the Prussian government. Among them, munitions and military equipment are the main body, and some industrial equipment is secondary.

In terms of price, bargaining is not accepted, and Shandong can only accept the quotation of enterprises. The interest on the loan is as high as 3/10, and the repayment method is Shandong's agricultural and sideline products, as well as strategic materials including minerals and pig bristles.

In order to ensure that Shandong can repay its loans on time, Prussia will send a group of economic experts to Shandong to guide development, and at the same time supervise Shandong's capital flow to avoid bad debts and other phenomena.

In addition, Shandong must sign a strategic mutual assistance treaty with Prussia. According to the treaty, Prussia would provide Shandong with a full range of military assistance, send military advisers, direct the training of troops, and supervise the Shandong Army to maintain an appropriate size and armament.

In the event of war, Prussia would protect Shandong from falling into a state of war, and in turn, Shandong would need to provide camps, supplies, and other related benefits for Prussian soldiers.

Compared to the Fuso, the Prussians were slightly inferior in terms of intrigue and intrigues, or rather, they did not bother to use any intrigues in the face of China. The content of this treaty was, in fact, to take full control of Shandong's integrity, economy, and military until it had repaid this huge loan. Turning the whole of Shandong, from the territory of China, into a colony of Prussia.

According to the consistent style of the great powers, they will definitely not leave after the debts are paid off, and it will be a situation where it is easy to invite God and difficult to send God. In this case, it is a kind of drinking water to quench his thirst, and he sells his sovereignty with a loan that seems very considerable in the short term.

This is also the reason why Shandong's acquisition of agricultural products was so smooth before. In addition to Zhao Guanhou's own good credibility among the people, another important factor was the influence of the power of the Prussians, which reduced the destruction of other foreign banks. In the eyes of the Prussians, most of these agricultural products will be their own property in the future, and naturally they cannot be touched by outsiders.

Unlike Albion, Prussia had little commercial interests in China, and most of the foreign companies were engaged in the arms business, and the civilian field was not very involved. The purchase of these materials by oneself will definitely not be able to compete with the people of Albion, and the efficiency is low, and the results are not obvious. If you can remotely control a puppet overseer to serve yourself, referring to Shandong's economic base and rich mineral deposits, this business will obviously be extremely beneficial to Prussia.

The Prussian minister Rex regarded this loan as a godsend, and it was a gift from heaven to the Prussian Empire of a bright pearl in the East. Therefore, he actively ran for this matter, and finally made a shuttle back and forth. In front of Zhao Guanhou, his tone was very firm, saying that he would definitely be able to convince the president. Looking at Yuan Weiting's expression now, it also proves that Rex's words are not bragging.

"It's a big deal, and if it gets out, there will be an uproar in Congress. Even Shandong's legislators may not agree. Yuan Weiting said bluntly, "Now, I want to hear you tell the truth, has the situation reached the point where it has to be so?" Is Prussia a partner to work with? (To be continued.) )