(1st Update)

In the quiet room, an old man with white hair and beard is sitting on the desk, and the lines of beautiful small characters are slowly stretched out under his pen, and after a while, it is filled with a whole piece of paper, recording what he does every day, which has been his habit for many years, thanks to his perennial dealings with foreigners in Shanghai, he is not unfamiliar with the pen.

This piece of paper is full of many ideas about the establishment of a modern financial system, a unified monetary system, and the establishment of a central bank, which seem to others to be almost fanciful, but they have been embedded in his heart for a long time, however, these ideas are not the highest documents from the power level, but this ordinary blank paper in front of him, as a man of action and industrialist, just use this way to express his inner aspirations, more or less reveal helplessness and resentment, it is not difficult to imagine, Why is the word at the end almost scribbled?

The day is just half over, Sheng Xuanhuai returned to his home in the capital early, after ordering the maid to make a cup of coffee, he went into the study, many times, he lived a regular life of half a man and half idle, since he was transferred back to Beijing, closer to the position of the center of power, and did not let him get the opportunity to put his dream into reality, but was squeezed into an invisible corner, it is unbelievable that his position is not an idle errand, but the right waiter of the Ministry of Posts and Communications, The nominal second-in-command of the richest institution of the empire.

The dry and cold air of Beijing in early spring makes Sheng Xuanhuai, who lives in Shanghai and Hubei all the year round, a little uncomfortable, however, compared to the climate here, the unpredictable political air in Beijing is even more difficult for him to deal with.

Sheng Xuanhuai picked up the cup and took a sip of coffee gently, the bitter taste eased the depressed look on his face slightly, but it could erase it from his heart, for more than three years, all the suggestions and reform measures either sank into the sea or ended up without a problem, helplessly, he could only sigh tiredly at the coffee cup.

"Knock knock" There was a knock at the door, Sheng Xuanhuai didn't raise his head, knowing his master's habits, the housekeeper quietly opened the door, but he leaned into Sheng Xuanhuai's ear and whispered.

"Sir, a guest is coming."

The housekeeper's words made Sheng Xuanhuai a little surprised, there were few people visiting during this time period, and it stands to reason that no one would come, he raised his head and asked, "Who?" ”

"Someone came and said his name was Liangbi."

"Liangbi? Which one is good? Sheng Xuanhuai couldn't remember who this person was for a while, but he vaguely remembered that it seemed that the two had no intersection before.

"He said that he was the military envoy of the Military Advisory Office, sir, this is his name." The housekeeper handed the name card to Sheng Xuanhuai, he glanced at the words on it, and then said with some suspicion: "Where is he now?" ”

"I'm waiting for my lord in the hall."

"Okay, let him wait a moment, I'll be there later." Sheng Xuanhuai nodded and asked the housekeeper to go down.

The door was gently closed, Sheng Xuanhuai sat on the chair, did not move for a long time, and after a while, he muttered with a somewhat suspicious expression: "Military Advisory Office, is it the military advisory office that is in the limelight?" ”

One belongs to the military system, the other is focused on transportation and finance, the Military Advisory Office and the Ministry of Posts and Communications have always been unable to fight, how can there be people from the Military Advisory Office to visit his home at this time, Sheng Xuanhuai couldn't figure it out, shook his head helplessly, put the pen in his hand aside, simply cleaned up, and walked out of the door

At the same time, Ye Kai, who was sitting on the chair in the living room, also quietly imagined in his heart the appearance of the most famous red-roofed businessman in the late Qing Dynasty, leaving countless business miracles behind him, single-handedly founding China's first civilian joint-stock enterprise, the first telegraph bureau general office, and the first inland river shipping company; the first bank; The first main railway line; The first steel conglomerate, and is also the founder of China's first university, the founder of the Red Cross Society of China, 11 firsts in the annals of history, known as the "father of Chinese business" by later generations, to this day, the Shengshi family is still active in China's major arenas.

"Lord Liang, the old man has lost his sights, forgive me."

An old but sturdy voice interrupted Ye Kai's thoughts, and saw a white-haired old man walking in behind him, Ye Kai didn't have to think about it to know that this was the famous Sheng Xuanhuai, Ye Kai stood up and said respectfully: "Master Sheng is welcome, it's the younger generation who is here to visit." ”

"That's a blessing for old age, and Lord Liang sits." Sheng Xuanhuai smiled kindly and made a gesture of please.

"Lord Liang is really young and promising." Seeing Ye Kai sitting down, Sheng Xuanhuai said politely, after decades of crawling in the mall, Sheng Xuanhuai's words are handy.

However, after seeing this one of the top generals in the military advisory office, Sheng Xuanhuai was a little surprised, the former looked like he was only about thirty years old, and he was not an old senior in the entire Qing Dynasty officialdom, but he was entrusted with important tasks at a young age, which shows this person's ability.

For this kind of kind words, Ye Kai's face did not change, and he said: "It's over, the world says that Shanda is an official seal with one hand, an abacus with one hand, an official and a businessman, left and right, and now when I see it, it is indeed conclusive." ”

"Lao Yu is an official of the Qing Dynasty, so he naturally works for the imperial court." Sheng Xuanhuai didn't say anything else.

After three or two polite words that you pushed me to make, Ye Kai finally began to get to the point: "Liangbi flipped through the archives of the national government today, and saw the "Folding of the Construction of the Railway" written by the grand people to Lafayette back then, and couldn't help but sigh greatly. ”

"Liangda has won the award, the railway is the pulse of the country, and foreigners are still building railways in our country, so our country naturally cannot lag behind." Ye Kai's words made Sheng Xuanhuai slowly recall the details of the fold back then, and said with some emotion.

Ye Kai nodded slightly, and then said: "Liangbi was born in the military, once studied in Japan, and knew that if the railway is completed, there is no need for many soldiers and generals, and it can be thousands of miles in a day. Ye Kai paused, and said quietly: "Liangbi remembers that it seems that Master Sheng single-handedly ran the steamship China Merchants Bureau and the Telegraph Bureau, then Liangbi may ask Lord Sheng, can these be used by the army?" ”

Hearing the two companies in Ye Kai's mouth, Sheng Xuanhuai's face suddenly darkened, and after a long time, he replied angrily: "The old man has been away from work for a long time, and I don't know, so I think it should be okay." ”

As Sheng Xuanhuai single-handedly founded and important two super enterprises, it is not an exaggeration to describe it as a day into the gold, just when the two are thriving, the huge profits attracted the attention of Yuan Shikai and Yi-Xuan, and then used the means of rising and falling quietly, quietly snatching it away from Sheng Xuanhuai's hands, but entrusted the latter with a nominal post of the right attendant of the Ministry of Posts, and this matter has always been Sheng Xuanhuai's heart knot.

"That's a pity, it seems that there are things in this world that Shanda is not sure about." Ye Kai's fluttering words made Sheng Xuanhuai, who was sitting on the side, slowly gloomy on his face.

"I'm afraid that Ryōsama is not so simple as visiting." Listening to the words, Sheng Xuanhuai turned his head and said vigilantly to Ye Kai, his voice was obviously much heavier.

In this regard, Ye Kai had no intention of dodging at all, he had been waiting for this moment for a long time, and then said simply and straightforwardly: "Yes, Master Sheng, Liang Mou did have something else to do when he came, 'If you want to do great things, you must be a high-ranking official.'" Do you still remember what Li Zhongtang said to adults before his death? ”

Hearing this, Sheng Xuanhuai almost immediately stood up from his chair, as Li Hongzhang's staff, the latter used such words to warn Sheng Xuanhuai about the way of being an official.

"What do you mean?" Sitting down slowly, Sheng Xuanhuai's palm shook slightly, and then released it again.

"Don't worry, Shanda." Ye Kai made a gesture of pressing his hand, and then said slowly: "Today, Liangbi has promoted Lord Sheng to the regent, and Lord Sheng will soon be a high-ranking official." After Ye Kai finished speaking, he smiled and took a sip of tea, not noticing the expression on Sheng Xuanhuai's face at all.

Such naked words made Sheng Xuanhuai a little confused for a while.