It's been a very hot year, and the weather has been weird. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info large black clouds, blocking the sun, in the daytime, the room has to be lit up to see clearly. The heavy rain is coming, and it has become extremely viscous like never before, and even if you stay still, you will sweat endlessly. For people who work outdoors, although they are not exposed to the sun, this stuffiness makes their hearts even more uncomfortable.

This is a mountain construction site, and the men are shirtless, wielding shovels and hammers, all the time. Bean-sized beads of sweat condensed and swam on the body, winding forward. Draw an irregular arc, and finally fall to the ground, sweating on the beach, not to mention ten thousand pits.

Despite the harsh environment, no one complained or was lazy. First, the wages and food given are sufficient, and secondly, Meng Siyuan, the dignified chief of transportation and an important role in the cabinet, is also shirtless, wielding a shovel and fighting on the front line.

The chief of the hall does the same work and eats the same food as the workers, and if there is a problem in the project, he has to deal with it. Even the chief has to work in person, and he also brings in a film company to make movies for everyone, who else is embarrassed to complain about his suffering, saying that he is tired? On the contrary, I feel that following such a person, no matter how difficult the environment is, there is always inexhaustible strength in the body.

"Chief Meng, you better take a break and be careful of heat stroke!"

The attaché held a glass of Dutch water and sent it over, but Meng Siyuan shook his head and pointed to the workers behind him, "Give them Dutch water to drink, these people work harder than me." After all, my work is not as good as these workers, and my strength and craftsmanship are far behind. But you don't know, when I set up a factory in Shandong, I also moved goods with workers, and when there was a shortage of people, I also went to the workshop to operate the machine, which was not so delicate. Although the environment is more difficult, it is still much stronger than at the time of the Eight-Nation Alliance. Time waits for no one, and every day we delay is an expense. All that money is the precious money raised by businessmen to buy public bonds, and a little bit can be saved. Besides, if you look at this day, you can't tell when it will rain heavily, and you can't stop working at that time. Take advantage of the present, do as much as you can. ”

Because of too much sweating, the gold wire glasses can no longer be worn, Meng Siyuan, whose eyesight is not very good, has a little difficulty seeing, plus sweat, his eyes are already blurry, he rubbed his eyes with his hands, asked for a horn from the attaché, and shouted loudly:

"Brothers workers, the most important part of this Jifeng railway is the section from the capital to Mukden. This section of the road has been built since the pre-Jin era, and it has not been repaired until now. What is the reason? It was the Jin court that was too mediocre and too weak. Either the Tiele people intervened, or the clan came out to make trouble, otherwise, the funds were embezzled, resulting in the road being unable to be repaired. Now that we are united, neither the Tiele nor the Oriental have the strength to interfere with our road construction. The funds are purchased by a large number of patriotic businessmen, who raise funds by themselves and prepare materials by themselves, which belong to us Chinese and our own railways! We must build roads in the shortest possible time and let foreigners see that we Chinese have the ability to build railways by ourselves, to open our own mines, and to run this country well. After the road is completed, I will personally ask all the road construction workers to take the first train and walk on this road once. Let the Tiele people and Oriental people who do business in Mukden take a look at the demeanor of our Chinese workers! The movie shot for us should also be shown to Taixi, so that the demeanor of our Chinese workers can be shown in front of the world, everyone work hard, for our country, for our children and grandchildren, come on! ”

The workers let out a cry, they didn't necessarily care about the treatment, in fact, the Dutch water from the rear, distributed to one person's head, only moistened the throat. But since they have been doing hard labor, they have never encountered a general who values the workers so much, and is willing to mingle with these poor bones of their own. Just for this attitude, they are willing to fight hard.

In the sound of clanging excavations and the waving of hammers and shovels, a subordinate of the Ministry of Communications trotted over and muttered a few words in Meng Siyuan's ear, Meng Siyuan nodded, put down the shovel in his hand, took his shirt and put it on, and put on his glasses.

The workers knew that whenever Mr. Meng dressed up like this, it was not for laziness, but for something more important to deal with. Either someone tried to obstruct the progress of the project, or there was a problem in the planning route, and in the end it was up to General Meng to solve it. In short, this chief has great powers, there is nothing he can't solve, and everyone has confidence in him.

"Chief, don't worry, we'll do this job in a while. Take care of yourself! ”

Meng Siyuan smiled and stretched out his hand to the worker, but when he turned around, he had to hold the arm of the assistant next to him. His face was pale and bloodless. The assistant asked nervously, "Chief ......?"

"Don't shout, don't scare the workers. I don't have anything, after all, I have been a chief in the past few years, I haven't worked much, and my body is not as good as before. It's nothing, it's just a little dizzy, go back to the lounge, take a few sips of water, and it will be fine. It's okay. ”

The so-called lounge is just a small tent set up temporarily, and the environment is very simple. In this kind of weather, the tent is as hot as a steamer, and a gas lamp is weak, and it fights the darkness with a pale ghost fire.

In the tent, a capable man of thirty miles was waiting there, although he was sitting on a chair, he was not honest, his head was turned around, looking left and right, and he was very nervous. Seeing Meng Siyuan come in, he bounced up from the chair as if he had installed a spring, bowed and said, "Hello, chief." Do you still know the lowly position? Lu Pingshan of the Ministry of Finance, we met last time you came to attend the annual meeting of the Ministry of Finance. ”

Meng Siyuan remembered a vague information, Lu Pingshan should be a small cadre in the Ministry of Finance, and he also holds a position in the Zhongka Industrial Bank. Since the two banks were controlled by Chen and Dai and could not be controlled by Duan Zhiquan, he vigorously supported the Zhongka Industrial Bank, hoping to establish a large bank controlled by himself to check and balance the two banks. The Ministry of Finance has a deep connection with the Zhongka Industrial Bank, and there are many cross-posts, and this person is very shrewd, and it is said that he is a confidant of Wang Shulu.

The Industrial Bank and the Ministry of Communications did not have close contacts, and the two had no personal relationship. Seeing him come to the door in such an embarrassment, Meng Siyuan was even more suspicious, and he was a little suspicious of his intentions. But after a long career in business, he will naturally not be slow or overwhelmed by this, he nodded and smiled:

"Hello, Mr. Lu. I'm here at the construction site, the environment is not good, and I can't compare with the ministry and the industrial bank, so please accommodate it. I heard that you came to me from Beijing, I don't know, what can I help you? ”

"Chief Meng, I know that I came to you a little presumptuous. But...... But I really don't know who to turn to. In the main mansion, they are all people who tend to be inflammatory, or they are Duan thief henchmen, and members of parliament are all bought by the Anfu Club and become pawns of money and beauty, and no one is willing to come out to uphold justice. I thought about telling the newspaper what I knew, but I was worried that they would buy the newspaper...... I'm not afraid of death, but I don't want to die in vain. At least before I die, I hope that what I know can be made public and that China will recover its losses. The only thing I can believe is President Meng. You...... Are you safe here? ”

He spoke quickly and urgently, sweat the size of a bean, dripping down his forehead. Meng Siyuan pointed to the Dutch water on the table, "You drink two sips of drinks first, don't worry, I'm safe here." If you have any questions, you can tell me and I will do my best to help you. ”

"I'm sorry Mr. Meng...... It's not that I don't believe you, it's that it's too big...... I don't dare to drink outside drinks casually, and I advise you to be careful. ”

Lu Pingshan pushed his briefcase in front of Meng Siyuan's eyes, and carefully took out a few documents from it, as well as a record book.

"You know, I was in the Industrial Bank, working as a stall for Wang Laosan, and I knew a lot about him. To tell the truth, since you have to eat this mouthful, many times your conscience can't scruple about it, and it's not like you haven't done bad things. But I am also a Chinese and have my own conscience, and I can't watch them betray the country like this and be indifferent! Chief Meng, please see, these documents are the contracts secretly signed between Wang Shulu and the Capetians. ”

With the dim gas lamp, Meng Siyuan read the document, and after reading it a few times, his face became heavy, "Wang Shulu is too bold!" This is an open traitor, and according to the contents of these documents, we will lose tens of millions of silver. Every tael of silver is a common wealth and the anointment of the people, how can it be given to foreigners for nothing? Have you ever shown these things to Vice Chief Chen? ”

Vice Chan ...... Because of the weather, she went to Shandong with Manager Dai for a vacation, and I didn't dare to go to Shandong. You also know that Mr. Duan and Zhao Guanshuai are both in the same vein as Beiyang, and this Golden Buddha Lang incident is another means to quench thirst by drinking water to solve the arrears of military salaries in various provinces. I was worried that if I went to Shandong to expose this matter, the whole incident would eventually be over, and the information I stole with my life would be lost in the sea. In the entire Zhengfu, I only believe in President Meng's personality and integrity, and I also believe that you will uphold justice. If even you are afraid of the power of Mr. Duan, there will be no one in the whole world who is willing to come out and uphold justice! ”

These documents are all from the negotiations between China Card Industrial Bank and Capet. The bank, which had been on the verge of bankruptcy because of its poor management. Relying on the aid of the Kyohe government, he barely survived by blood transfusion. In the past two years, he has handled several public bonds, and has always raised military salaries for Duan Zhiquan to the provinces, but there has never been any particularly profitable projects.

From Meng Siyuan's point of view, this bank should have collapsed a long time ago, but instead of taking the debt, it is getting bigger and bigger, and Wang Shulu himself is also very pompous, which is a bit strange. It is only when you look at these documents that you can see how this bank is maintained.

Since the rebellion, in the compensation agreed with other countries, Capet, the Netherlands and other countries have used francs to settle. Subsequently, the value of the franc appreciated, the price of silver was low, and the gold country paid tens of millions of taels more than when the treaty was signed, which was also impossible.

However, less than ten years after the indemnity was paid, Tessie made a big fight. The franc was seriously depreciated, although it was not as exaggerated as Prussia, and Zhao Guanhou could pay off Shandong's old debts with a few bags of flour, but if he still insisted on the original amount, the Gonghe Zhengfu could also pay tens of millions of taels of silver less.

Cape's side withheld the salt tax balance under his control, and used this as a threat to negotiate with the Kyohe government, and the settlement method was changed from franc to gold franc. At the time of the conclusion of the treaty, the total amount of indemnity was converted into gold, and the foreign debt was paid annually in gold.

Although the franc went all the way down, the price of gold went up, and according to this regulation, the Gonghe Zhengfu had to pay nearly 40 million taels of silver more inside and outside the palace to pay off the indemnity.

Of course, Duan Zhiquan knew that agreeing to this condition would attract criticism from domestic public opinion. However, if they did not agree to this condition, tens of millions of dollars were withheld in the hands of the Capetians, and they could not get it back. Telegrams urging the soldiers to pay their troops were piled up all over the War Department, and a cadre of soldiers gathered outside the War Department every day, waiting to ask for their troops' salaries.

The Anfu Club also needs a large amount of money to stay afloat. was able to buy a large number of parliamentarians for his own use, and he was embarrassed by Feng Yuzhang, relying on real money behind it. These problems cannot be solved by public opinion.

Wang Shulu's job is to dredge up Duan Zhiquan and the Capet, and at the same time, he cooperates with Finance Minister Li Zanhou. Lu Pingshan is also a specific clerk inside, and he secretly obtained more than 20 million balance from the Capet people.

It was with this money that the government was able to pay the provinces for basic military maintenance, and it was also possible for the overseers to not have too much opinion on the War Department. As for the price, it was the Capetian people's request to settle in gold francs, which was finally approved.

According to the documents, Duan Zhiquan played a Tai Chi technique in this matter. They did not directly agree to the proposal of the Golden Franc, but took a step back, using the Yankee Yuan as the equivalent, and first converted the Franc into the Yankee Green Back at that time, and used this as the standard to calculate the amount of compensation.

But at this time, Yang Ji enjoyed a large amount of war dividends in the Taixi War, which led to a large appreciation of the national currency, which was basically the same as the price of gold, and this plan was not much different from the Golden Franc. The benefits that China has just won at the Capetian Peace Conference will be exported again in the blink of an eye.

Lu Pingshan said again: "This agreement, I don't know what means the little fan used, it has been determined that it can be approved by the president." It is said that even the Great Seal was stamped and handed over to Capet without even going through Congress. In this matter, they not only concealed it from the people, but also from the Congress, and they used a spear with everyone! In addition to this matter, there is also a loan from Fuso! ”

He pointed to the notebook, "Wang Shulu negotiated with the Fusang people, and I was present throughout the whole process. They agreed that the burial goods of Tangling would be the first batch of collateral, and as long as the government agreed to the conditions proposed by the Fusang people, they would receive a large amount of assistance. This loan was led by Fuso dignitary Xiyuan Temple Gongwang and jointly raised from several major chaebols, and the amount was very large. ”

"What about the conditions?"

Lu Pingshan's fists clenched unconsciously, "The conditions are the twenty-one conditions that Yuan Rong'an refused to agree to at the beginning!" In order to claim the title of emperor, Yuan Rong'an did not dare to agree to such a humiliating treaty. Duan Zhiquan claims to be reinvented, but he is willing to agree to such a document! Although I have been working at the Bank of China Cards, I could not sit idly by and watch the cabinet betray the country, so I could only steal a few original copies of the content of the negotiations, hoping to ask General Secretary Meng to uphold justice. The specific details of China's Fuso loan and the original memorandum are in the mezzanine of the briefcase...... I, I can only think of looking for the chief, but I can't think of what to do next. ”

Meng Siyuan's breathing also became a little short, because of excessive sweating, his body was almost collapsed, and at this time, it was even more extreme. The headache seemed to be slammed with a hammer, and the stomach kept churning, and I almost wanted to vomit. He took two deep breaths, trying to keep his voice calm

"Don't panic, you are doing very well, worthy of your identity as a Chinese." I'll figure it out. ”

"Chief Meng, we must move quickly, if it's late, I'm afraid it's too late. You probably don't know that the money they raised for tomb robbery loans was used to pay for the expenses of the border guards, buy ordnance, and expand their strength. The next step may be to attack the southwest and fight a civil war. We all need peace, and the North and the South should be brothers, so how can we fight for our own selfish interests? We have to do something. ”

"Good...... I understand. Meng Siyuan only felt that his heart was churning more and more, and after thinking hard for a while, he said, "I'll change my clothes and prepare for the car, and you can go back to Beijing with me." Let's go to President Feng, who is the supreme head of the country, and ask him to come and uphold justice for the world. ”

Thunder rolling, torrential rain like a note, thunderstorms, Meng Siyuan's carriage braved the rain, and from a distance he could already see the towering city wall and the five-color flag that was beaten by the rain.

The capital is close at hand.