When Song Zhewu put on his clothes and came out, Yan Xishan, with his adjutant and director Lu Huande, and a few guards, were already standing inside the gate, quietly waiting for Song Zhewu in the cold wind.

Song Zhewu knew that Yan Xishan still couldn't stand it in the end, and his visit overnight must be to ask him to make a clear statement against Chiang.

Song Zhewu looked angry, and reprimanded Li Dayong loudly, "Bastard, the commander-in-chief has arrived, why don't you invite him to the living room and let the commander-in-chief stand in the cold wind." ”

Yan Xishan smiled and waved his hand and said, "Wen Ge, Meng came suddenly, no wonder they. We are all soldiers, and soldiers should be forbidden, only recognize military orders and not people, you are a good guard captain! ”

Song Zhewu confessed again and again, and hurriedly invited Yan Xishan to the living room to sit down. After Liang Bi instructed the guards to pour tea, he withdrew with the guards, and Yan Xishan also waved his hand to drive Lu Huan out when he saw this.

Looking at Yan Xishan's calm expression, Song Zhewu pondered and said: "In the middle of the night, the commander-in-chief also came to visit Zhewu, which made Zhewu inexplicably grateful!" The commander-in-chief is old, but you must pay attention to your body! ”

Song Zhewu's humble demeanor made Yan Xishan very satisfied, and now among the various forces in Taiyuan, only Song Zhewu is the most valued by Yan Xishan, in Yan Xishan's view, as long as Song Zhewu fully supports him, he can protect himself, and Chiang Kai-shek has nothing to do with him. If Feng Yuxiang has the help of Feng Yuxiang again, then he can let go of Chiang Kai-shek and oust Chiang Kai-shek from the throne he has longed for. You must know that the Jin Sui Army, the Fourth Route Army, and Feng Yuxiang's Northwest Army together have nearly one million troops, and they have an absolute advantage in the number of troops.

Yan Xishan took a sip of hot tea from the teacup, and said with a smile: "Meng has been in the army for nearly 30 years since he was admitted to the Shanxi Military Academy in 1902. Meng Ke can't compare to Wen Ge You are idle, and you still have time to check business, Meng Ke is busy all day long, and he didn't have time to visit his brother until this time, don't be surprised. ”

"The commander-in-chief is busy with official business, and Tetsumu should visit the commander."

Song Zhewu said while thinking about whether to take the initiative to tell Yan Xishan about meeting Chen Gongbo and going to visit Shang Zhen.

Yan Xishan frowned slightly, and said helplessly: "Meng is indeed very busy, and many things have to be handled by Meng himself." ”

Before Song Zhewu could make up his mind, Yan Xishan asked with concern, "How is it?" Wen Ge, are you still satisfied with the location of several factories of your Xinghua Company and other related matters? ”

"Satisfied! Very satisfied! Zhewu Zhewu sincerely thanks the commander-in-chief for his love! Song Zhewu hurriedly thanked Yan Xishan.

Song Zhewu is really grateful to Yan Xishan, although after he enters Shanxi, he can also choose a better site for his Xinghua to provide some convenience, but because he wants to run Shanxi for a long time, he must pay attention to the reputation, he will never dare to move the merchants in Xiguan in a tough way and vacate land for Xinghua to build a factory. Now that Yan Xishan has come forward, the merchants and people of Taiyuan can't blame him Song Zhewu.

Yan Xishan smiled with satisfaction and motioned for Song Zhewu to sit down and said, "Wen Ge, you have a lot of vision in choosing Shanxi as the foundation of your company!" ”

Yan Xishan said very proudly: "Shanxi has been a barren land since ancient times, although the Jin merchants are very famous in the country, but that is because of the poor natural conditions in Shanxi, agriculture is not enough to support the family, let alone to get rich, Shanxi talents have to pay attention to business, just like the once prominent Hui merchants." From the end of the Qing Dynasty to the early years of the Republic of China, there were constant wars, the country was ruined, the people were struggling to make a living, and Shanxi was also dilapidated. Since he took charge of Shanxi, although he has not done anything earth-shattering, he has indeed done some good things for the people of Shanxi. ”

"Over the years, first of all, Mongolia has vigorously advocated the construction of roads, and the roads in Shanxi now extend in all directions, not only all counties have wide road connections, but also every village and town has a road connection that can run cars; Second, Mongolia has actively developed agriculture and water conservancy, implemented six policies and three affairs, reclaimed more than 1 million mu of wasteland and barren mountains, and planted tens of millions of trees. Although there have been natural disasters in recent years, there is not a single victim in Shanxi. Meng can proudly say that more than 10 million people in Shanxi now have clothes to wear and food for every household; In addition, at the end of the Qing Dynasty in Shanxi, there was hardly any decent modern industry, and Mongolia not only used the tax surplus of the provincial government to create modern industry, but also advocated the establishment of private and commercial enterprises, and now there are tens of thousands of workers in Shanxi alone, accounting for 30% of the country's industrial workers. ”

"Especially the Taiyuan Arsenal. The world only knows that there are Hanyang Arsenal, Jinling Arsenal, Shenyang Arsenal, as well as arsenals in Shanghai, Jinan, Dezhou, Gongxian, Huayin and other places, but everyone does not know that at present, Taiyuan Arsenal and Taiyuan Gunpowder Factory have a total of 3,500 machines and more than 15,000 workers. The main products are 65 rifles, 65 machine guns, 79 machine guns, submachine guns, self-pistols, 17 pistols, 16 105 mountain guns, 88 mm field guns, as well as bullets, shells, grenades, mines of various calibers, artillery shells, grenades, mines, etc. It produces 35 light and heavy artillery, 100 mortars, 3,000 rifles, 15 machine guns, 900 submachine guns, 15,000 shells, 9,000 mortar shells, and 4.2 million rounds of ammunition. Compared with the Hanyang Arsenal and the Shenyang Arsenal, which are the largest in the country, the Taiyuan Arsenal is not inferior, and the degree of modernization in Taiyuan is even higher than theirs. ”

As soon as he mentioned the Taiyuan Arsenal, Yan Xishan was very excited, this Taiyuan Arsenal condensed his Yan Xishan's hard work, and it was also his pride, with this arsenal, he had the strength base to compete with various factions in the country, and he no longer had to look at other people's faces.

Although Yan Xishan was a little ostentatious, he did not forget the purpose of his visit today, and said with a long sigh: "There is just one thing that Meng has always wanted to do but has not done. ”

For Yan Xishan's boasting, Song Zhewu was very touched. Among all the local warlords, it can be said that Yan Xishan is the only one who can actively, dedicately and systematically build his own territory and benefit the people.

The reason why the agriculture and industry in the northeast have developed very well is that the land is vast and sparsely populated, the land is fertile, the natural resources are abundant, the private funds are abundant, and the proximity to the coast and many other favorable conditions, and even the capital and technical support brought by the enterprises of Tsarist Russia and the people themselves. Even so, most of the development of modern industry in Northeast China is spontaneous among the people, and Zhang Zuolin and Zhang Xueliang and his son are not very active in this regard.

The development of Guangxi under Li Zongren's control in all aspects is also very good, but it is far worse than Yan Xishan. Whether in terms of planning or effectiveness, Shanxi is far ahead.

Song Zhewu even thought about whether he would really help Yan Xishan seize power, and he once thought that if Yan Xishan put what he did in Shanxi into the management of the country, it would definitely be feasible, then China's economic, scientific, and educational development might be a completely new situation.

But Song Zhewu's thought was forcibly extinguished by him just for a flash. Yan Xishan has always pursued the philosophy of the so-called "China," and has always "ridden the wall" in handling major political issues, swaying from side to side, and wandering indecisively, without Chiang Kai-shek's resolute spirit of daring to act and insisting on going his own way. In today's situation where there are many [***] valves, Yan Xishan not only cannot convince the public, but his and the mud will exacerbate this chaotic situation. And the most important thing is that Chiang Kai-shek's national integrity is much higher than that of Yan Xishan, after all, Yan Xishan had six contacts with Yue himself during the Anti-Japanese War, and even made a detailed cooperation plan with Yue himself.

Song Zhewu believes that Yan Xishan is like a thrifty and capable landlord, who will do his best to govern his own home, but his enthusiasm for other people's affairs outside the courtyard will be reduced. Song Zhewu couldn't believe that Yan Xishan would be the same as governing Shanxi outside his home, this bet was too big, once he was wrong, he Song Zhewu would be a sinner of the Chinese nation through the ages.

Song Zhewu pretended to be surprised and asked, "Oh? Commander-in-chief, don't say that in Shanxi, even in the north, you are also full of words, is there anything else that cannot be done? ”

Yan Xishan said with a wry smile: "Wen Ge, as the old saying goes, governing a big country is like cooking a small fresh, to be honest, Meng takes the governance of Shanxi as governing the country, Shanxi's achievements are obvious to all, and Meng believes that if the country is handed over to Meng Lai, it will definitely be much better than now." ”

Yan Xishan glanced at Song Zhewu, observed Song Zhewu's reaction, and continued: "However, there are big benefits, and small difficulties! At present, although Shanxi has a well-developed highway network connecting all parts of the province, the highway capacity is limited, and the benefits are far less than that of the railway. At present, Shanxi only has two export channels, the Zhengtai Railway and the Pingsui Railway, the Pingsui Railway only leads to Datong, and the Zhengtai Railway only leads to Taiyuan, which is of little benefit to the transportation of the whole province. Moreover, the Zhengtai Railway is a narrow gauge built by borrowing in 1904, with a small transportation capacity, and it cannot be connected to the rails in Shijiazhuang and Pinghan Road, so it is all up to the workers there in Shijiazhuang to transport it to Pinghan Road, which is close at hand. At that time, the loan of 40 million francs was co-organized by the Sino-Russian Daosheng Bank and the French banking company, and now the specific operation is managed by the French, and we have to be subject to considerable restrictions. ”

"That's it, fortunately, there is finally a railway passage in Shanxi. However, in Shanxi, except for the section from Niangziguan to Taiyuan, there is no section of the railway that has formed benefits, which makes Shanxi's industrial and commercial development very restricted. Meng has always wanted to build the Tongpu Railway from Datong to Puzhou Town. ”

Yan Xishan took a sip of tea, leaned back in his chair and continued: "Speaking of which, Shanxi people have wanted this Tongpu railway for nearly 30 years. In 1903, when the French invested in the construction of the Zhengtai Railway, it gave a great stimulus to the people of Shanxi. Enlightened officials and gentry such as Xie Yingge, the secretary of the Hanlin Academy in Beijing, Li Tingyang, the director of the Ministry of Officials, and Liu Dujing, the alternate governor of Hunan, suggested to Zhang Zengyi, the governor of Shanxi, that the gentry and businessmen of the province should raise shares to build the Tongpu Railway. The line starts from Datong in the north, passes through Taiyuan to the Yellow River ferry in the south of Puzhou, Fenglingdu, crosses the Yellow River and communicates with the Tongguan Station of the Longhai Railway under construction at that time, Zhang Zengyi adopted the suggestion, asked Guangxu for approval, and established the "Shanxi Tongpu Railway Co., Ltd." in February 1907, and raised shares. According to the topography, the Yuci-Taigu section is repaired first. After three years, only 36 km of roadbed was built, and 7.5 km of track was laid between Yuci and Beiyao Village. Eventually, due to the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution and the difficulty of raising funds, the repaired two sections have not been operated until now because of the short transportation distance. In the third year of the Republic of China, the Tongpu Railway was changed from "commercial" to "state-run", and was merged into Tongcheng, namely Datong, Taiyuan, Tongguan, Xi'an, and Chengdu Railways, and also borrowed money from the French to build it. Later, Yuan Shikai used the loan for the civil war, and after 10 years, only the road was measured, and no track was laid. At that time, when the Qing court wanted to extend the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway to Baotou, Zhan Tianyou was still the chief engineer. Zhan Tianyou turned the line southwest from Zhangjiakou to Datong to Datong, which can be connected with the Tongcheng Railway, and turned the line to the southwest. In the sixteenth year of the Republic of China, in the twenty-seventh year, Mongolia put forward a plan to build the Tongpu Railway by Shanxi itself, and first hired the German engineer Moulan. Ren Nano continued to be the leader of the surveying team, and it took him three years to measure the entire line. ”

Speaking of this, Yan Xishan sighed deeply again and said: "But now that Shanxi's construction in all aspects is in full swing, Mongolia really can't come up with such a large amount of money, and originally wanted to ask Nanjing to fund part of the money, or Nanjing to borrow money to build and use the right of way as collateral, but Meng Nameng didn't allow it." It's okay to build a railway......

(To be continued)