Zhao Erxun, who had been an official for many years and had deep experience, did not reveal to the public the will of the imperial court to increase the endowment, but ordered his student and confidant Yuan Jinkai, who was an alternate for the third grade, to quietly bring the cash check of 3 million yuan from the German Deutschwarf Bank that had been urgently exchanged, and took the German freighter that brought steel and machinery for the Huaxi Company to Shanghai, and then rushed from Shanghai to Yanjing to carry out mediation, so there was no fluctuation in the whole of Sichuan.

The Sichuan Army Accelerated School and the Army Primary School opened one after another, and Xiao Yiming, the head of the Quartermaster Section of the Accelerated School, who was in charge of military training and education, began to get busy.

Because Jiang Dengxuan, deputy chief of staff of the Sichuan Army and general office of the army primary school, also chose several new textbooks compiled by Xiao Yiming, and through the governor-in-chief's request for Xiao Yiming to help guide theoretical teaching, Xiao Yiming's weekly lecture tasks were doubled.

Despite this, Xiao Yiming's workload has increased several times, and in addition to the work that must be completed, his plan to renovate the old city has been unanimously approved by the Governor's Yamen and the Chengdu Governor's Government, and the first phase of the project, which only needs 50,000 yuan of investment and can be recovered in half a year, is enough to renovate the crowded and dirty family area of the southeast of the city.

In addition to the more than 3,000 family members of the arsenal who originally lived, thousands of poor and white people have poured in one after another in the past few years, and the low and simple thatched huts and earthen walls abound, which are more dirty and chaotic than other slums, and have become the source of fire and epidemic that the officialdom and the people of Chengdu are extremely worried about, so Xiao Yiming and Zhou Shanpei, the general office of Quanye Road, jointly formulated a perfect and reasonable transformation plan, which was unanimously recognized by the yamen at all levels, and only took three days to meet and discuss, The first plan was listed as the first "Huimin Project" to start construction immediately.

There is another important reason for the strong support of the Governor's Yamen, the Chengdu Mansion and Quanyedao:

In the name of the army, Zhong Ying thoroughly investigated the legal land use of Wenshu Monastery and found that the surrounding 400 acres of land occupied by Wenshu Monastery over the past hundred years had no legal basis, so they reported to the Governor Yamen for approval, confiscated all of them in the name of the army, and then divided them into nearly 100 homesteads for public auction, "to make up for the arrears of military funds for the new army and the border army for many years."

In just half a month, all the land was sold out, and the "army" made a profit of more than 70,000 yuan through auctions, and no one knew whether it would "make up for military funds," but people in the officialdom knew in their hearts that the total income of the "army" was far more than this public figure.

This incident has a huge attraction for any yamen, thinking of the more than 100 large and small temples and Taoist temples in the city, it is difficult to come up with legal land deeds, where can officials at all levels still sit still? Now with the opportunity of the magnificent "Huimin Project", who is willing to let go of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to accumulate wealth?

With Zhong Ying's "first evil" shield, not many people pay attention to the Huaxi Company's acquisition of 90 acres of land adjacent to Xindao in the west of Wenshu Monastery through normal auctions, and few people know that these 90 acres of land did not cost Xiao Yiming a penny at all, but Huaxi Company has widely publicized after obtaining the land: 80 acres of 90 acres of land will be used for the construction of "Huaxi Middle School", and after the completion of the project, it will enroll poor children in school with the lowest tuition fee in the city or even exempt all fees, and make contributions to the education of Bashu!

The remaining 10 acres of land at the intersection of the best area became the location of the newly established "Huaxi Times", and the "Chengdu Business Daily", which was on the verge of bankruptcy due to poor management, reached a cooperation with Huaxi Industrial Company, and the cooperative newspaper was renamed "Huaxi Times".

This incident caused quite a stir in the cultural, military, and political circles of Chengdu and even the entire Sichuan region, and almost everyone could easily foresee that it would be a matter of time before the "Huaxi Newspaper," which received sufficient financial support from the Huaxi Company, would become one of the top newspapers in Sichuan Province.

From the recruitment notices continuously published by the major newspapers in the province, we can see the ambition of the "West China Times" -- the new newspaper solemnly promises: the number of professionals will be increased by 100, the salaries of senior editors and reporters will be increased by five times on the original basis, and people of insight from all walks of life will be encouraged to participate in the great reform movement of revitalizing all industries in Sichuan and improving the quality of education for all with generous remuneration!

It is rumored that the frustrated but talented cultural celebrities in Yucheng and Luzhou have rushed to Chengdu and quietly found the newly appointed president of the "West China Times" and the old leader of the Bashu literary circle, Zou Wenhan, who has been in the position of the former deputy political envoy of Sichuan, to contact him, and such jokes are still circulating in the literati circle:

"Don't let Lao Tzu be an official, right? Lao Tzu is not rare, go to the "West China Times", take the silver higher than being an official, and write two articles to expose your ** when you are in a bad mood, so that the people of Sichuan will spit on your ancestors! ”

On 1 March, a delegation of 42 German industrialists and businessmen arrived in Chengdu and were ceremoniously welcomed by the "Chengdu General Chamber of Commerce," the newly established "Sichuan Federation of Industry and Commerce," and more than 1,000 representatives from all walks of life.

After the Germans stayed in the Huaxi Hotel on the east side of the new German Consulate on Hanjiang Road, they were even more surprised, how did they not expect that in the poor and backward inland areas of Chinese mainland, there is such a beautiful street that is not inferior to the European metropolis, there is such a beautiful hotel covering an area of more than ten acres and up to six floors, and the bathing and sanitary facilities in each spacious room are extremely exquisite, beautiful, and perfectly combine Chinese ceramic craftsmanship and the latest European architectural design, and belong to the first-class level throughout Europe. The construction of the "First Hotel in Bashu" cost Xiao Yiming more than 70,000 yuan, and all the brothers, including Sister Yi, are still saddened by this kind of "swollen face and fat man" behavior.

The German delegation did not disappoint Xiao Yiming, and representatives and engineers from seven well-known enterprises, including the world-famous Rheinmetal Products and Machinery Company, Krupp Company, Mauser Company, and Hope Chemical Industries, the third largest manufacturer of smokeless gunpowder in Germany, as well as the heads of the two major German traders in China, Lihe Foreign Company and Xinyi Foreign Company, all arrived.

After settling down, these high-ranking elites in various fields immediately presented Xiao Yiming with precious gifts: two sets of advanced surveying and mapping equipment, 12 Zeiss six-fold telescopes, and more than 100 sets of technical books and academic journals that record the latest technology and development directions in Europe.

Immediately after the dinner, Xiao Yiming held a symposium with the German delegation to introduce the political situation and economic situation of Sichuan in detail, and provided the delegation with five brief introductions to the history of Sichuan and the current situation of industry and commerce translated into English.

In the end, Xiao Yiming regretfully told the seven mechanical engineers and senior weapons manufacturing technicians from Mauser and Rheinland:

"Due to the central government's increase in taxes in Sichuan, Sichuan's financial situation has been deeply affected, and the Sichuan Arsenal, which was originally scheduled to hire you, will have to stop the expansion and equipment purchase plan after you overhaul and debug the existing equipment. However, I would like to ask you to accept the employment of Huaxi Industrial Company, the largest private company in Sichuan, as the technical and production supervisor of Huaxi Company's subordinate metal products company, and help Huaxi Metal Products Company to carry out and finally complete the work of enterprise development evaluation, plant design and construction, introduction and installation of machinery and equipment, product development and design, and weapons and equipment production, so that Huaxi Metal and Gold Products Company will become a first-class military enterprise in China within five years. ”

Dozens of Germans looked at each other, exchanged ideas for a moment, and after fully understanding what Xiao Yiming meant, they were very surprised, not because of the sudden change in the Sichuan Arsenal, but because they were surprised by the majestic goal proposed by Xiao Yiming.

Mr. Bauer, Mauser's Permanent Representative in China, asked:

"Dear Xiao, first of all, please allow me to express my gratitude to you and your Huaxi Metal Products Company, and congratulate each other on the successful completion of the cooperation in the purchase and sale of equipment and materials! Forgive me for being frank, we all want to know, how much investment can you give to your Huaxi Metal Products Company? What is the plan for the investment? If we don't understand these important facts, I'm afraid it's difficult to work with you further. ”

Xiao Yiming replied solemnly: "As of seven days ago, in order to express our deeper sincerity to your arrival, we have deposited 350,000 silver dollars in the Chengdu branch of Deutsch-Hua Bank in your country, which is equivalent to about 720,000 Deutsche Marks, and this money will be used as funds for the construction of chemical plants and bullet production plants, and will be earmarked; In addition, within 20 days from today, we will deposit 1 million marks into the Chengdu branch of Deutsche Hua Bank as a special fund for the purchase of advanced mechanical processing equipment of your company and Rheinland Company. ”

Everyone nodded slightly, and found that although it was not the largest investment in the Chinese [***] project, it was basically feasible for this fund to establish a medium-sized light weapons production enterprise and supporting workshops in China, and the originally lost confidence began to be established little by little.

Xiao Yiming glanced around and continued:

"Since then, we have invested no less than 500,000 marks per year in personnel training, product development, equipment maintenance and technical upgrades. This is what we have been doing and are working towards, and we hope to have your support and understanding.

"In addition, in order to show my sincerity, I have to tell you something that I do not want to disclose - as of mid-February, we have purchased three batches of 9-mm C96 military pistols from the Mauser Company, totaling 2,300 units and 350,000 rounds of ammunition, all of which have been sold out at present, with a total profit of 126,000 marks; 3,000 American Colt M1903 pistols and 250,000 rounds of 7.65mm ammunition were purchased through the British Jardine Matheson, and the profits totaled about 90,000 marks.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the last two batches of pistols and ammunition that we have signed with your Lihe Company and the British Jardine Company are coming, and within three months, they will bring us Huaxi Company about 250,000 marks in profit again, and this is only a small harvest to initially open up the arms market in Sichuan and the surrounding provinces, and we will do better in the future."

The hall was full of exclamations, no one expected that just two inconspicuous small arms would make Xiao Yiming get such a huge profit, many people quietly looked at the military attache Xia Pule, and when they saw Xia Pule nodding frequently, they immediately turned to Xiao Yiming, their eyes were full of admiration and eagerness.

Bauer of the Mauser company was so excited that he almost jumped up, in the past three years, he has sold more than 5,000 Mauser C96 pistols and more than 400,000 rounds of bullets, and the profits that can be obtained are almost the same as Xiao Yiming's profits, what kind of concept is this? This meant that China's vast inland region had a huge market, and he and his two German distributors had not been able to capture this large market.

"Dear Xiao, I greatly admire the great achievements made by you and your company, and I am very willing to carry out further lasting cooperation with your company."

Mr. Zieger, the representative of the Rheinland Company, said with a smile.

Xiao Yiming responded enthusiastically: "Dear Mr. Zigger, two batches of seven types of steel have been shipped to our warehouse, and our technicians are very satisfied with the quality of your company's products and are willing to carry out long-term and close cooperation with your company." In addition, I would like to tell Mr. Ziger that the plan is a plan that is being discussed by the Sichuan Provincial Political Axe Department, although the implementation of this plan will take two to three years, but perhaps it has some reference role for Mr. Zige, the plan is a ten-year plan for the construction of highways in Sichuan, and the goal is to complete the construction of highways between about 150 counties in the province, and it is initially estimated that more than 500 large and small bridges need to be erected, among which the highway from Yucheng to the southern county of Qi (Jiang) County is a priority construction project. Because Qi (Jiang) County has the fourth largest high-quality iron ore area in China. ”

Ziggy stood up with a smile and solemnly saluted Xiao Yiming to express his gratitude.

Xiao Yiming also stood up in response, and then asked very gracefully, "Are you interested in visiting the Governor of Sichuan?" If I wish, I will be honored to serve as the second person in charge of the Sichuan Provincial Army Training and Education Department, and I will also welcome you to the top military and political chief of Sichuan Province and the person in charge of the Chengdu political axe. ”

Many people immediately reacted that this young and dashing Chinese who spoke fluent English in front of them really meant that the Germans present showed his great ability and strong confidence through meeting and exchanging views with the governor and the top military and political officials of Sichuan Province.

;