The world was shocked.

The great rout at Cam Ranh Bay not only made the French feel endless shame, but also made them completely angry.

Just because China, a second-class nation state in Asia, dares to attack France?

Does this world still need heavenly justice?

Is God still there?

The French insulted the political axe and the army, ridiculed the incompetence of the French generals and soldiers, the leader of the opposition radical party, Clement Farier, frantically clamed to raze the whole of China to the ground, and French President Emile-Loubet quickly sent the French navy and the Russian navy to join forces in preparing to enter the Benhai Sea from the South Pacific, and at the same time sent the army to fight in Central Asia and Northeast China with Russia through the Trans-Siberian Far Eastern Railway.

A large-scale plan for a three-million-strong army offensive is taking shape!

The Entente were outraged, and even the mainstream media and people in the three countries were clamoring for a three-million-strong army offensive to raze China.

…… After the Battle of Cam Ranh Bay, while the French were shouting frantically, Hu Chuyuan had successively sent nearly 200,000 army troops into Vietnam to carry out a final attack on the French forces in Vietnam and Cambodia.

After the 19th Division captured Phnom Penh, Hu Chuyuan finally breathed a sigh of relief and began to shift his energy to another big thing he really wanted to do beautifully-the Shanxi Plan.

On this day, Hu Chuyuan sat down in the office of the Information Administration Garden, opened the "International Herald" on the table, and the first thing that caught his eye was the huge words "3 million army."

Seeing this slogan, Hu Chuyuan couldn't help but sneer coldly.

He did not deny that it was not difficult for France and Russia to gather three million army forces, or even six million army troops, but the problem was that such a large-scale supply depended only on a Far Eastern railway...... He was afraid that the French would come and not go.

In the newspapers, reporters are lamenting that the Chinese have gone crazy and attacked France at such a time, and although they take advantage of it now, they will definitely have to pay a huge price in the future.

Some French journalists are already calculating that the total amount of compensation that China will eventually pay will not be less than 700 million pounds, and France will receive half of that.

After reading several of the most important newspapers, Hu Chuyuan folded up the newspapers and threw them aside, raised his hand to pick up the phone, but Li Cunyi, who was in charge of guarding the door, suddenly shouted respectfully, "Madame, morning."

Hu Chuyuan was slightly surprised, thinking that Wu Shuzhen was coming, but when he looked up, he saw Pan Limei.

Time is always so ruthless, Pan Limei's youth has long passed, and she is no longer as lively and lovely as when she was young, she has slowly changed, and in this prime minister's mansion, she has become a cold and fragrant woman.

She likes to accompany Hu Chuyuan to participate in some public activities, but she is always so cold, occasionally secretly floating with an inscrutable chuckle, which seems a little sluggish and cold.

But no matter how she changes, Hu Chuyuan is still the same Hu Chuyuan who loves her.

Seeing her walk in, Hu Chuyuan put down the telephone he picked up, and asked with a smile: "Why did you remember to come to the study to see me today?" ”

Pan Limei smiled faintly, walked into the room to find a place to sit down, and said, "Master, you can find something to do for me, I am bored at home all day long, so unhappy." The children are all older, and the eldest sister is in charge, so I have nothing to do! ”

"Oh?"

Hu Chuyuan thought to himself, it is also true, Wu Shuzhen manages a lot of things, and even the account books are handed over to her for safekeeping and verification, Pan Limei is a lot bored, her surname is becoming more and more obscure, almost not interacting with other officials and wives, and she is bored at home every day.

After marrying him, Pan Limei didn't gain much, but lost too much.

Alas.

Thinking of this, Hu Chuyuan sighed a little distressed.

After a little thought, Hu Chuyuan and Pan Limei asked, "Then what do you want to do?" ”

Pan Limei smiled slightly and said, "What else can I do?" The eldest sister is helping you in big things, and the eldest sister is also in charge of the family, so you might as well give me some capital to let me go out and run some business. Since my father returned to Fuzhou, he has not run any decent belongings, and he has always been sitting on empty food, always relying on you for relief. There are two younger brothers at home, and I think that if my business here is good, they will definitely not care about the restoration, and they will leave it to my two younger brothers in the future. ”

Hu Chuyuan nodded, thinking that this was okay, but he felt that what Pan Limei said was a little rusty, and the distance between the two seemed to have become a little far.

He turned to Pan Limei and asked, "What business do you want to do?" ”

Pan Limei couldn't help but smile a little wryly, and said: "What other business can I do, that is, to run a textile factory, I haven't been in charge of things for all these years, and I don't know if it's someone else's opponent!" ”

Hu Chuyuan smiled and said, "If you really want to run a textile factory, there are not many people in Yanjing City who are your opponents." I'm still very confident in that. However, even I don't run the business myself, and if you go out to do business again, it will affect the problem somewhat. As for your father and my two brothers-in-law, you don't have to worry, I'll take care of it. In this way, I set up a charitable foundation with a sum of money, which is dedicated to helping women's surnames, establishing women's education, and emancipating women's surnames. Do you want to do it? ”

"So?"

Pan Limei is obviously a little unhappy, she wants to do business, she, like Hu Chuyuan, is born to do business.

Seeing that she was not very interested, Hu Chuyuan said: "Then let you do business, but there is one condition, you have to do the affairs of the foundation together." All the money earned from doing business goes to the women's movement. As for the affairs of your family, I will arrange them separately. ”

Pan Limei finally showed a smile of slight joy and said, "That's okay, I'll promise you." ”

Seeing her happy, Hu Chuyuan was also happy.

Fate is not completely in everyone's control, he once hoped that Pan Limei would run a business with him, but who let him get mixed up with this.

Hu Chuyuan remembered another thing, and said to Pan Limei: "It's just right, I'm going to Shanxi, you can go with me, and then see if there are any good businesses for you to handle." ”

Pan Limei said: "Okay, I'll go back and prepare!" ”

With that, she got up to leave, but what was in her mind, she seemed to have something to say.

After a pause, she still couldn't hold back after all, and turned back to Hu Chuyuan and asked, "Master, do you know why I've been unhappy all these years?" ”

Hu Chuyuan asked puzzledly, "Why?" ”

Pan Limei really sighed: "Because I know that you have never been happy, since you became the first minister and sat on the throne of the prime minister, you have never been happy." I know, because I know you, I'm not happy either. ”

Listening to the sincere sigh, Hu Chuyuan felt pain and love in his heart.

He couldn't help but let out a long sigh and said, "There is no other choice at the moment, wait, I will think of a way." ”

After saying this, he got up to see Pan Limei away, and by the way, the two of them took a walk in the garden and found a gazebo to drink a cup of morning tea.

He has always felt that he is the happiest man in the world, and he cherishes this happiness and protects it at all times.

Pan Limei went back to the back garden, and he continued to sit in the gazebo and think about the answer.

Everyone has what they really want to do, and what he wants to do most is to run a huge business empire, just like the era when he personally controlled Jiangnan Commercial Bank, that was the most proud time of his life.

A few days later, Tsarist Russia finally launched a wave of offensives in the northwest and northeast at the same time, with the ability of Li Kaiye and Yang Zongli, this was not a big deal, and Li Kaiye took the opportunity to fight a small-scale counterattack.

Hu Chuyuan's trip to Shanxi was soon confirmed, and in mid-May, Hu Chuyuan took Pan Limei to Shanxi by special train, and along the way, he watched the Yangfang New District in Yanjing City, the Beiping New District in the center of Hebei's hinterland, and the emerging Shijiazhuang.

In Jinyang New Town, Hu Chuyuan's special train stopped, and he will inspect here for two days.

Jinyang is the original Yangquan County, under the jurisdiction of Meng County, Xiyang County, Pingding County and the new Jinyang County, Jinyang New Town is only 75 kilometers away from Taiyuan, and 75 kilometers away from Luquan County...... Of course, at this time, Luquan County, like Jinyang New Town, was in the initial stage of construction.

The planning of this country is Hu Chuyuan is doing, so many places seem very special, in the construction of the Taihang Mountain Railway, connecting Xinxiang, Jiaozuo, Xingtai, Handan, Jingjing and other mineral areas, Hu Chuyuan did not deliberately pass through the place called Shijiazhuang.

The Jinjin Railway from Taiyuan to Tianjin, and the Yujing Railway from Jiaozuo to Yanjing are at the junction of Luquan County New District, forming a new industrial and commercial city.

However, Hu Chuyuan's real focus on the industrial area is still Jinyang New Town.

Jinyang New Town is located in the intersection of two branch mountain ranges of the Taihang Mountains, shaped like a basin, where there are a large number of high-quality coal and iron ore, as well as bauxite.

Jinyang's iron ore is high-quality pyrite with large reserves, and with iron ore from Shanxi and Hebei as supplements, a new world-class steel plant can be established here.

Prior to Hu Chuyuan's arrival, Asia's rich countries had already set up a new branch here, and the current plan is for four companies, Sinosteel, China Metallurgical, Fu Quoc and Great Wall, to take the lead in joint big investment.

These are the main holding companies of rich Asian countries, and the power to mobilize capital in the Shanghai stock market is very considerable, and with the support of China CITIC Bank and China International Commercial Bank, the project will definitely go smoothly.

Money is not an issue.

Moreover, a larger range of investments is still to come, provided that the problem of market demand is addressed.

Leaving Jinyang New District, Hu Chuyuan's prime minister's special train drove into Shanxi Province, and many times, Hu Chuyuan also has a very ironclad hatred and hatred for Shanxi Province.

At least more than 6 million people died of starvation in Shanxi Province due to the fact that the opium cultivation area was too large, and the grain production in Shanxi Province was too low, and it completely relied on other provinces for transportation.

Beginning in 1896, Hu Chuyuan had intensified his efforts to ban opium cultivation, in an attempt to restore the grain cultivation area in Shanxi Province, and to bring the CITIC into the transformation of Shanxi's leading agricultural economy.

The effect was very poor, the strength of the Jin merchants and the Shanxi landlords was too strong, they controlled nearly 50% of the land in Shanxi Province, and also controlled the gentry forces in Shanxi Province, and tried their best to squeeze out the entry of the CITIC Society, and the Shanxi Rural Credit Cooperatives they organized themselves were also lackluster and of no practical use at all.

The only use was to reduce the land from large to small on the books, avoiding the centralized land tax of the political axe.

Sitting on the train, Hu Chuyuan has been looking at the wild scenery through the window and looking at the fields.

In this vast yellow earth, what year will opium be planted?

The anti-smoking campaign is being carried out all over the country, but as soon as it enters Shanxi, it becomes quiet, for the simple reason that Shanxi is the largest opium cultivation area in the country.

Capital is profit-seeking.

The opium tax is already staggeringly high, but as long as there are still people smoking, there must be people who are willing to pay for it, and there will be people who will plant.

In the rolling hills and fields, where he saw some poppy fields without interruption, Hu Chuyuan could only say in his heart that it was no longer enough to rely on the adjustment of taxes, and that a comprehensive anti-drug policy had to be enforced.

He didn't believe it, as long as he was really serious, Jin Shang would still dare to fight him?

When I arrived at Taiyuan Mansion, it was already evening, and Yang Shipai, the governor of Shanxi, was waiting at the train station with people very early.

After getting out of the special car, Hu Chuyuan took the Shanghai Shenbao car that was transferred with the special train in a low-key manner, and let Yang Shipai also sit in and go to the governor's yamen together.

Yang Shipai is a very good person, very talented, heroic, and has always left a good impression on Hu Chuyuan that he dares to do things. This person rarely uses a big knife to deal with things, but once he decides to do it, he will definitely not be soft.

Among the newly promoted governors, Hu Chuyuan is really the most optimistic about Yang Shipai, Ding Bingqian, and Wang Qingmu.

Pan Limei came with Hu Chuyuan, but she was in another car, and in Hu Chuyuan's car, in addition to the driver and Hu Chuyuan, Yang Shipai was the only one left.

Hu Chuyuan deliberately let the car drive slower, and asked Yang Shipai: "Are all Qiao Jingyan and those people here?" ”

Yang Shipai nodded cautiously and said, "It's all here, I heard that you went to Taiyuan Mansion in Shanxi in person at this time, they are a little frightened!"

Hu Chuyuan sneered and said, "It's okay to be scared, so that they don't know that the sky is high and the earth is thick, and they think that they are not afraid of the sky and the earth if they have millions of taels of silver buried in their yard." ”

"What's more......!"

Yang Shijian frowned slightly, hiding half a sentence without saying it explicitly.

(To be continued)