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The wheel of history is rolling forward, and the general trend seems irreversible, but many events, places, people, and so on are changing.

Chen Wenqiang used his hot hand to neatly solve the villain who blocked him from taking over the Guangdong-Hanzhou Railway, and found a reasonable excuse, but it affected the uprising of the Ping (Pingxiang) Liling (Liling) and Liu (Liuyang) Hui Parties, which will be born this year. Due to the attention of the government, the time of his birth was greatly advanced.

But Chen Wenqiang didn't know exactly what trouble he was in, anyway, he didn't have a good impression of the Jianghu Hui Party, and the party members were huge, and there were many incidents of the leaders being arrested and killed by the government. What's more, his current energy is focused on how to start construction as soon as possible, and how to smoothly take over the railway companies in the other two provinces.

Basically, the Hunan Provincial Railway Company was solved, and Chen Wenqiang rushed to Hubei Province, because the railway companies in Hubei and Guangdong provinces did not lease shares, all of them were commercial shares, and it was relatively easy to solve them. There is a shortfall, but Chen Wenqiang is prepared to take it upon himself to appease the directors and shareholders of the companies. Of course, this is a means of soft and hard and incorruptible, and at the same time, it is also a snobbish businessman who focuses on the overall situation and does not care.

Before leaving, Chen Wenqiang convened his subordinates, discussed it, arranged the road repair matters, and analyzed the difficulties that may be encountered in road construction, and formulated corresponding solutions. And Chen Wenqiang believes that as long as the compensation is in place, if there are bad gentry who incite the people to make trouble and obstruct it, they can use the method of framing them to get rid of their brains. As long as it is stained with the word "chaotic party", there will be proof of cooperation from the revival association. The first cut and then the prelude will also be recognized by the government.

Leaving 200 railway patrol officers as the backbone, and setting the task of recruiting 500 amounts, this force guarantee for road construction is sufficient. As for future expansion. Naturally, he will not apply to the government again, but the general office of the Guangdong-Hanzhou Railway Patrol Police that Chen Wenqiang is currently in charge of. The reason is very simple: the new railway company still has to play the brand of commercial office, and it must have special policies given by the government, and the railway patrol police are also private armed forces attached to the railway company and funded and supported by the railway company.

Obviously, Chen Wenqiang is ruthless and sophisticated in Hunan. The deterrent effect is very obvious. With the help and support of Tang Hualong, the head of the Hubei Constitutional faction, Chen Wenqiang's takeover of the Hubei Railway Company was quite smooth.

In fact. The fundamental reason why the provincial railway companies have difficulty in raising funds is that the management is chaotic, controlled by a few senior executives, and the accounts are in shambles. Therefore. Many shareholders are worried about the safety of their funds, and they are not willing to increase their capital and shares, but also insist on withdrawing their shares for preservation, and those who are willing to buy shares everywhere are also waiting and seeing. Therefore, for a shrewd and capable talent like Chen Wenqiang to take over the company, most shareholders still welcome it, hoping to really get benefits from the railway.

And Chen Wenqiang did not disappoint them, after taking over the company, he clarified the finances, and since then the shareholders have accounts to check. There is no fear of excessive use of money, and there is even the dirt of embezzlement and corruption.

At the same time, recruit an army of road builders. The materials used were purchased and the rails and roads were laid...... One by one, practical work was put into practice. The construction of the Guangdong-Hanzhou Railway, which has been "running for many years, has not improved, and has lost great profits, especially hindering traffic" has finally started construction in Hunan and Hubei provinces, and its scale and effectiveness have greatly exceeded people's expectations.

Wu Chang Line. Dozens of miles of long plant line was repaired, in March 1906. Construction began; By April, there were already four road construction teams, and the road construction army had reached more than 3,000, carrying out construction in Wuhan, Yueyang, Changsha and Zhuzhou. With the improvement of the proficiency of road construction workers, the degree of road construction is much faster than last month.

As long as there is money, as long as the management is effective, the overall planning is good, and the construction is scientific, the so-called difficulties in road construction can be completely overcome. And road construction workers are the most scarce in China; The spirit of hardship and hard work has also been revealed after the railway company has introduced many treatments.

"Ascend to the heights and look down to make people admire...... It is the male factory of China's 2o century! Looking at the factory, that is, the Chinese who study Western studies, and the business layout, are not inferior to the Westerners......"

Zhang Zhidong put down the newspaper, smiled and smiled, and expressed satisfaction with the praise of the US consul in Hanyang, which is the pride of Hanyang Iron Works, the pride of Hubei Province, and his pride.

The reconstruction and expansion project of the Hanyang Iron Works is nearing completion, the construction of two 30-ton Martin furnaces has been completed, the tapping standards are in line with the standards, the quality of the rails meets the requirements of the project, and now only one 150-ton mixed iron furnace is still under construction, and the appearance of the Hanyang Iron Works has been completely renewed.

"The China Iron Market will go to all seas, and it will be better than the world's shopping malls with Britain and the United States...... Alack! China wake up! Gu Hongming put down another newspaper and said with a smile: "Such praise, out of the mouth of a beauty, must have the intention of currying favor with Wen Qiang, right?" ”

"Americans also want to take out loans to build roads, but unfortunately Wen Qiang's conditions are not only harsh, but also find faults, and it is rare to borrow so strongly!" Zhang Zhidong stroked his beard, teasing with appreciation, "However, the situation is favorable, he can be vertical and horizontal, and take advantage of it!" ”

After Chen Wenqiang took over the Guangdong-Hankou Railway Company in Hunan and Hubei provinces, the news of his borrowing of German debts also spread. Because the mortgage is not a railway, and it does not involve the loss of the right of way, the domestic people have a mediocre reaction to this, but the Central China Railway Company, a joint venture between Britain and France, cannot sit still. Accompanied by the Hankou consul Faleis, they met with Zhang Zhidong and wanted to take out a loan to participate in the construction of the Guangdong-Hankou Railway.

Zhang Zhidong delayed perfunctory, and finally used the railway company as a business, and the government did not interfere and kicked the ball to Chen Wenqiang.

Chen Wenqiang, however, did not hesitate to deal with the British and French representatives, first rejecting them on the pretext that the "public trial" in Shanghai had not caused a stir in the public public, and then he made public the agreement on loans with the Germans, claiming that he was willing to give positive consideration to those who provided loans on such preferential terms.

At this time, the party to the strike in the market was not only the initial demands and conditions, such as the removal of the chief judge who caused trouble, the removal of the head of the patrol house that beat up the Chinese officials, the public apology to the Chinese government office, and the release of Lai Huang and all the Chinese detainees. Rather, it demanded that the British side compensate the Chinese people for the fact that dozens of people were killed or injured. and the losses caused to merchants and civilians by the resulting strikes. The area of the strike was also clearly reduced, directly targeting the central part of the Public Concession, which was the former British Concession before the merger of the Anglo-American Concession.

Such conditions were of course difficult for the British, who had always been arrogant and arrogant, to accept. The shrinking of the boycott area means that the boycott is deepening. In British-owned foreign hotels, hotels, and restaurants, Chinese employees and miscellaneous servants resigned one after another; The ships flying the British flag docked and there were no coolies to carry them...... The trend of arriving in Britain has become more targeted, and it has even spread to commercial ports such as Hankou and Guangzhou.

The targeted boycott also silenced the United States, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Russia and other countries in the public concession, so as not to provoke fire. Obviously, they also saw that there was the support of big forces behind this movement to arrive at Britain. Not only the capital, but also the amazing movement and influence in Shanghai. If we talk about the latter. The Shanghai Chinese Association on the bright side and the Xingyi Hall on the ground must be among the leaders, and they must also participate in it.

At the beginning of the incident, the British minister to China relied on his power to avoid the fact that many Chinese people were killed and wounded. He even demanded compensation of 80,000 taels of silver from the Qing government. The main reason for the compensation was that the old gate was burned down on that day and several British businesses were attacked. Now, the British Consular Office had no choice but to replace the judge who caused the incident, De Weimen, with someone else acting as a jury, and proposed that the losses of the foreigners should be compensated by the Ministry of Industry and the Chinese should be compensated by the local officials of the Qing government.

But the turmoil continues, and the Chinese side has the strength to not stop until the goal is achieved. Moreover, the conditions continue to increase. For example, the Ministry of Industry and the Bureau are required to agree to the establishment of the Chinese Entrepreneurs Council and elect seven additional directors of the Chinese Entrepreneurs to participate in the governance of the public concession; No opium is allowed in the middle of the country. Closure of the Public Concession Smoke House.

The British are anxious, but they refuse to bow their heads easily; The anger of the Chinese people is growing and spreading. Under such a general situation, Chen Wenqiang not only refused the loans from Britain and France, but also intensified his efforts and used the Hanyang Iron Works as collateral. He then borrowed money from Germany for machinery on credit, and began to build the Great Smelting Iron Works and open the Hunan Changlei Manganese Mine.

German capital entered the Yangtze River basin in a big way. The British were alarmed, but it was clear that Germany was not alone. The American capital, which was hit by the anti-monopoly attack of the "trust blaster" Roosevelt in China, also saw a good opportunity, and Chen Wenqiang, through the hints of Charlie Song and Luo Mai, also came to Wuhan under the banner of a private consortium to invest in this "thoroughfare of nine provinces".

You are in a hurry to take out a loan, and I have to pick and choose and put forward conditions! Chen Wenqiang borrowed the United States to pressure Germany, borrowed Germany to pressure the United States, negotiated here and there, and finally succeeded in lending the second tranche of the railway on preferential terms in the name of repayment by the commercial operator. With the Ma'anshan Coal Mine in Hunan Province as the share capital, it absorbed the investment of the United States and Germany and began to build China's largest coal chemical plant.

In this way, Britain's traditional sphere of influence in the Yangtze River valley will be completely broken, and it will even face the danger of being gradually squeezed out if it does not lower its conditions and put down its body.

Private capital, the door is open, and both Germany and the United States have reasons not to offend Britain head-on, but they have actually invaded the so-called British sphere of influence. In the final analysis, it is Chen Wenqiang who plays a vital role. The British saw this clearly, and also realized that this wave of resistance to Britain was secretly supported by this guy, and even the mastermind of the plan.

"The British are trying to force the court to submit through diplomatic means, so be prepared, my lord!" Gu Hongming reminded without concern.

"Well, since the Ministry of Education has let Wen Qiang do it, he will naturally take care of the pressure for him." Zhang Zhidong pondered for a while, guessed and said: "Yuan Shikai seems to be also supporting Wen Qiang, providing talents from the Shanhaiguan Railway Academy of the Beiyang Military Academy, and the rails and parts of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway are also all purchased from the Hanyang Iron Works. ”

"Yuan Shikai is still very willing to spend money to collect talents." Gu Hongming thought for a while and said: "Wen Qiang has a good relationship with many officials, and he has indeed added luster to many people's faces. ”

"He's a slippery head." Zhang Zhidong laughed and said: "But it is indeed a rare talent, if it comes to foreign affairs, there is no one else in China." If Sheng Xuanhuai compares with him, it is simply a small thing. The means are very powerful, otherwise, it is indeed difficult to spread the fists and feet. ”

"It is well recognized that he is proficient in foreign affairs." Gu Hongming nodded, and said thoughtfully: "You are not afraid of foreigners, if you can play with foreigners in the palm of your hand, I'm afraid no one can match it." ”

Zhang Zhidong thought for a while, smiled for a while, and said: "No matter what, this Guangdong-Hanzhou Railway can be completed within five or six years, it seems that there is great hope, and the headquarters has also fulfilled its wish." It's just that the cost of this railway seems to be a bit high, 18,000 taels per mile, which is two or three thousand taels more than the Luhan Railway. ”

"What Wen Qiang wants is degree." Gu Hongming understands this better, and explained with a smile: "Several engineering teams are working at the same time, and he refuses to treat the workers harshly, so the cost is naturally more. From another point of view, the early completion and early opening of the traffic will make early profits, and the extra money will be earned. Furthermore, have you read the report on the progress of the project? If it is at this level, at most a year and a half (note: it is half a year shorter than in history), the Wuchang Line can be opened, which is more than 360 kilometers! Not to mention that in this year and a half, the long plant line will definitely be repaired. ”

"It's gratifying!" Zhang Zhidong showed a happy smile again, and said slowly: "I can also guess one or two of Wen Qiang's plans, and prove that success is close to the progress to attract investment from all parties." In the final analysis, he didn't want to rely on foreign debts alone, but also wanted to use the profits of road construction to attract more business gentry and reduce the resistance to road construction. ”

"Zhongqiao Bank is behind the support, but we must also see the benefits as soon as possible, Wen Qiang borrowed foreign debts to mortgage his own industry, and the pressure is indeed very great." Gu Hongming said: "The support of adults is also crucial, without the official bank to back, Zhongqiao Bank will not be so happy. ”

In Hunan and Hubei, the implementation of paper money and banknotes is not only for private circulation, but even the money of officials in the two provinces is now half silver and half banknotes, and after half a year, all banknotes will be paid. Zhang Zhidong is not very familiar with financial operations, and for this alone, the credit of the Zhongqiao Bank is guaranteed by the government, and there is a German capital and the official bank to offset it, so there is no need to worry too much about the run. Expansion and income are far beyond Zhang Zhidong's imagination, how can Zhongqiao Bank not fully support Chen Wenqiang?

Taking the opportunity of building roads, Chen Wenqiang not only did good things for the benefit of the country and the people, but also rapidly expanded his power and established a solid foundation in the land of the two lakes. Now with factories and soldiers, and with the support of the constitutional merchant gentry, another revolutionary center has slowly taken shape.

................ (To be continued)