In March of the third year of Guanghua, Wang Chenhao, the emperor of the Chinese Empire, convened a pre-imperial meeting to summarize the results of the first five-year plan and formulate the goals of the second five-year plan.

Prime Minister Zhang Feng submitted a summary report on the first five-year plan, saying in the report that the first five-year plan has been overfulfilled.

In January of the third year of Guanghua, the National Bureau of Statistics of the Chinese Empire released economic data showing that by the great stimulation of the Sino-Russian War, the imperial political axe invested 600 million dragon coins in the war, and the imperial industrial machinery operated at high speed, stimulating and driving the rapid development of all walks of life in the country, and actually stimulated the added value of the industrial chain at all levels in the country to 2.2 billion dragon coins, and the national economy grew strongly, and the empire's GDP in Guanghua was 4.8 billion dragon coins in two years, an increase of 112.3% over the previous year, achieving triple-digit growth for the first time.

Agricultural production has increased by a large margin, and grain production has increased for five consecutive years by comprehensively popularizing high-quality grain planting technology and using scientific methods throughout the country. The total annual grain output exceeded 100 million tons, reaching 102.5 million tons, an increase of 18 percent over the previous year, and the growth rate fell by 1 percent compared with last year, mainly because a large number of peasants turned into workers, although the yield per mu increased, but the number of cultivators decreased, after the two offsets, the growth rate of grain output slowed down, but the overall grain output is still increasing, and even stimulated by the war between the United States and the Philippines, there are still small-scale grain exports in the south.

Spurred by the war, oil production increased by 10.7 percent and sugar by 19 percent. Meat production achieved triple-digit growth, and the annual output of pigs, cattle, mutton and poultry was 8.8 million tons, an increase of 159%. Among them, the output of pork was 5.6 million tons, an increase of 113.7%. Among them, the growth of meat in the Central Plains benefited from a large amount of grain surplus among the people, which could be used to raise meat and poultry, and at the same time, the demand for canned meat by the Chinese Emperor [***] team soared, leading to the ultra-high-speed development of meat processing in light industry, with only five canneries before the war and 112 after the war.

The greatest stimulus of the war was industry, and the industrial production of the Chinese Empire achieved super-high growth, also with triple-digit growth. The efficiency of enterprises was further enhanced, and the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 265.7 percent over the previous year during the war. In terms of light and heavy industries, heavy industry increased by 386.5 percent, and light industry increased by 203.6 percent.

This is mainly due to the fact that five of the six major industrial bases have been completed, except for the Mongolian industrial base, which has been suspended due to fear of war, the construction of the other five industrial bases has been completed, which has increased the country's industrial production value several times. The original Beijing-Tianjin-Tang industrial base maintained steady growth, reaching 59%, and the other four industrial bases that had just been built all had triple-digit growth, of which the industrial base in central and southern Liaoning increased by 233%, and the National Anshan Iron and Steel Company and the National Fushun Coal Company were established. The Yangtze River Delta region, which grew by 148.4%, is still dominated by light industry, but the establishment of the National Shanghai Iron and Steel Company, stimulated by Shanghai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry, has also played a role. Stimulated by the war between the United States and the Philippines, the Pearl River Delta region continued to be driven by exports, with an increase of 145.5 percent, and after the integration of the industrial base in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, former industries such as the Hanyang Iron Works achieved profitability, driving the growth of the industrial base by 133.2 percent.

The greatest driving force for industrial growth came from the huge war investment and various domestic industrial constructions.

In terms of railways, the first five-year plan from 1899 to 1903 included 30,000 kilometers of trunk railways and 80,000 kilometers of branch railways in the private sector. Under the auspices of Zhan Tianyou, the Chinese Empire has completed 35,000 kilometers of trunk railways, and the private capital is more abundant, and the construction target of 90,000 kilometers has been completed, and 70,000 kilometers of railways have been put into commercial operation ahead of schedule.

In 1903, the total steel output of the Chinese Empire reached 10.8 million tons, rising from the third in the world to the second in the world, surpassing Germany (9.65 million tons), and the first in the United States was 15.35 million tons, a big gap.

Receiving a huge procurement contract of 600 million dragon coins from the military, the industrial production and marketing of the Chinese Empire are in a very good situation. More than 80,000 enterprises have benefited from the addition of 10,000 enterprises across the country, and the annual production and sales rate of industrial enterprises above designated size has reached 98.9%.

The total volume of imports and exports grew rapidly, and the trade surplus was achieved for the first time. The total import and export volume was 3.87 billion US dollars, an increase of 54.7% over the previous year. Among them, exports were 2.05 billion US dollars, imports were 1.82 billion US dollars, and imports and exports were offset, with a surplus of 230 million US dollars. This surplus was mainly due to the fact that the Chinese Empire made a lot of war money in the war between the United States and the Philippines, with arms and medicine exports being the main force.

Imperial Chinese Customs continued to erect trade barriers to protect domestic national enterprises. Continue to crack down on opium smuggling and control opium imports. Because the Chinese Empire achieved a high trade surplus, for this reason, from the first year of Guanghua, the Chinese Empire successively broke out trade wars with Britain, the United States, Germany, France, Italy and Austria and other European and American countries, large and small, more than 1,000 times, trade frictions continued to increase, trade disputes came and went, and the scale of trade wars continued to expand. Among them, the Sino-British trade war intensified, and after the Chinese Empire cut off the opium income of the British Empire, China exported tea, cloth, ceramics, medicine, cheap steel, ore, etc. to the United Kingdom, resulting in a British trade deficit with China of 17 million pounds, and the number of ambassadorial-level trade negotiations between the two sides increased by six times, and the trade friction intensified.

The ratio of workers and peasants in the Chinese Empire has changed dramatically, due to the successive construction of five major industrial bases and the large-scale construction of railways, highways, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure throughout the country, so that the number of Chinese workers has increased from 14 million in the first year of Guanghua to 20 million industrial workers in the third year of Guanghua, an increase of 42.8%. The urban population increased to 90 million, and the ratio of workers and peasants further shrank, and it entered the ranks of primary industrial countries.

However, the quality of the workers in the Chinese Empire was not high, and most of them were engaged in primary industrial production, and this situation could only be improved with the improvement of education.

In terms of education, the Chinese Empire has universalized 12 years of compulsory primary and secondary education, and 30 universities, 6,000 middle schools and 80,000 primary schools have been established across the country. The Imperial Ministry of Education stipulates that citizens who are legally taxed in the Reich can attend classes with their students in the State Compulsory Schools, and that all industrial workers are required to attend compulsory school every Sunday or to make up for it in the evening schools run by compulsory schools.

Because of the abundant funds of the Imperial Ministry of Education, Cai Yuanpei ambitiously set the goal of achieving a literacy rate of 90% of the people, 40% of the people to achieve primary school education, 2 million people to achieve secondary school education, and 500,000 people to achieve university culture by 1905, and to train 50,000 doctoral and graduate students from all walks of life for the country.

The medical system has been further improved, and Western medicine has been greatly promoted in cities and towns.

In order to solve the problem of difficulty in seeing a doctor and medical expenses among the people, Wang Chenhao, the emperor of the Chinese Empire, decreed that the price of medicines throughout the country should not be affected by the price difference, and that the political axe should formulate them in a unified manner, and the drugs should be uniformly purchased by the political axe and distributed throughout the country. This move immediately won praise from the people, and people from all walks of life spoke highly of it.

The income of urban residents grew steadily, and the per capita income of urban households increased rapidly to 115 million yuan, an increase of 21.5 percent over the previous year. In the per capita total income of urban households, the income from wages increased by 31.7 percent, the income from transfer by 12.8 percent, the net operating income by 15.1 percent, and the income from property by 10.5 percent.

The per capita net income of rural residents was 39 million yuan, an increase of 12.9 percent, or 11.9 percent in real terms after deducting price factors. Among them, the income of wages and surnames increased by 12.9%, the net income of household operations increased by 11.1%, the income of property surnames increased by 44.0%, and the income of transfer surnames increased by 13.8%.

From the perspective of the comparison of workers' and peasants' incomes, workers' wages increased the fastest, which was caused by the profitability of factories and enterprises. The income of farmers' property surnames remains high, and in fact, farmers take real estate as the investment direction, and buying houses and land is still the favorite of farmers.

The money supply is growing steadily, and Dragon Coins have stood the test of war and are still strong.

The increment of deposits and loans accelerated. The balance of broad money (M2) was 2.76 billion dragon dollars, an increase of 55.3% from the end of the previous year; narrow money (M1) was 1.25 billion dragon dollars, an increase of 31.2%; The currency in circulation (M0) was 650 million dragon coins, an increase of 36.7%, an increase of 30 percentage points. The balance of loans of financial institutions was 1.3 billion dragon coins, an increase of 300 million dragon dollars over last year. The balance of deposits reached a record high of 6.9 billion dragon coins. Among them, the largest deposit is still the Chinese Emperor Wang Chenhao, personal deposits reached 3.1 billion dragon coins, and total personal assets reached 7.2 billion dragon coins, of which Zhili Iron and Steel Company accounted for 4 billion.

Finally, Zhang Feng reported that Guanghua's fiscal revenue for the second year was 340 million dragon coins, and the fiscal expenditure excluding the war appropriation was 360 million dragon coins, and the deficit was 20 million dragon coins, a decrease of 20 million dragon coins from last year's deficit.

"Your Majesty, this year's budget is 390 million dragon dollars, and due to the adjustment of the budget for military spending by the Congress, military spending this year has dropped to 62 million dragon dollars."

Wang Chenhao calculated that military spending had dropped from 52 percent to 15 percent, and the decline seemed to be too great. So he asked: "With such a big drop, doesn't the military complain?" ”

Zhang Feng said: "There are complaints that are certain, but the war has ended, Russia will not be able to threaten the empire for ten years, and the huge military spending must be reduced, otherwise it will drag down the development of the national economy." ”

Wang Chenhao nodded and asked, "Also!" The only big enemy of the empire now is the one next to him, what is their military spending this year? ”

Zhang Feng replied: "This year's budget is 1.23 billion yuan, or about 42 million dragon dollars, and the military expenditure is 13 million dragon dollars. ”

Wang Chenhao calculated, and Yueben's military expenditure remained at 30%, and he couldn't help frowning: "Yueben seems to be recovering quickly, and the military expenditure has increased by two million dragon coins compared to last year, and it seems that he still wants to take revenge." ”

Zhang Feng replied, "Your Majesty may have been too worried. The new cabinet still attaches great importance to economic development, and the increase in military spending may be due to the fact that the imperial power is too strong. However, the 13 million military expenditure is only one-fifth of the emperor's expenditure, and it can't set off any storms. ”

Wang Chenhao nodded and said, "I hope what you said is right!" ”

Then Wang Chenhao asked again: "By the way, is the United States still supporting the economy?" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhang Feng nodded and said: "This year, the United States has lent another 50 million US dollars, and I heard that the interest on the loan from five years ago will be waived. ”

"Damn Yankees!" Wang Chenhao couldn't help but scold.

Obviously, the United States is deliberately propping up the Chinese empire to contain it.

Zhang Feng also realized this and asked: "Your Majesty, this is inevitable, the empire now borders the United States, and it is in a huge contradiction on the issue of the Panama Canal, and the imperial navy dominates the Pacific Ocean, it is inevitable that the United States will make some defensive postures." ”

Wang Chenhao thought about it, and when he heard Zhang Feng mention the Panama Canal, he suddenly asked: "The Panama Canal is almost finished, right?" ”

Zhang Feng replied: "Back to Your Majesty, the Panama Canal has been dug through, and is currently doing an ultimatum test and an anti-subsidence inspection of the canal, and it is expected to be open for navigation by the end of the year." Recently, however, Colombia's domestic political environment seems to be unstable, with signs that the United States is backing a group of Panamanians who are trying to prevent the Panama Canal from navigating. ”

"Yes, it's a cheap trick!"

Wang Chenhao snorted coldly and said: "The Panama Canal is of great significance to the empire, not only has huge economic benefits, but also has immeasurable military value, and it must not be lost. ”

"Wechen understands!" Zhang Feng nodded and said: "Wechen will pay close attention to the development of the situation, and if necessary, we will send troops in the name of protecting the expatriates to directly seize Panama City and protect the safety of the canal." ”

Wang Chenhao nodded and said, "How many immigrants have from Panama?" ”

Zhang Feng replied: "More than 300,000 immigrants have been immigrants, all of them workers and their families, and another 10,000 emperors [***] troops have been stationed along the canal in the name of sappers. ”

"It's still less!" Wang Chenhao thought for a while and said: "Order the Ministry of Defense to station 20,000 troops to Puerto Rico, and if necessary, directly send troops from Puerto Rico to Panama." ”

"Wechen obeys!" Zhang Feng received the order, and then said: "Speaking of immigration, the empire has already emigrated 500,000 people to the north and west of Australia, and the British side seems to be very unhappy, and has sent many notes to the imperial foreign ministry to talk about immigration. At present, the Australian political axe is also under pressure from the British side to restrict imperial immigration. ”

Wang Chenhao said with a wry smile: "The empire is now strong, many countries are not pleasing to the eye, the contradictions between the British and the Russians are decreasing, but the contradictions with us are constantly surging. ”

Zhang Feng nodded and said, "Russia lost the Far East after defeat, and Britain lost its opponents in the Far East, and the empire bore the brunt of it. Besides, the issue between the Empire and Britain and Hong Kong Island needs to be resolved urgently, and the British will not let go, and the people will be angry, and conflicts will inevitably arise over time. There was a huge trade imbalance between the empire and the United Kingdom, and the trade war also forced the conflict between the empire and the United Kingdom to rise. The British seemed to be aware of the Empire's intentions against Australia, and as a result, they became more and more assertive. In addition, the total tonnage of the Imperial Navy was already close to the level of Britain, and Britain feared that its maritime supremacy would be shaken by the Empire, and it was afraid that it would also regard the Empire as an enemy. ”

Wang Chenhao naturally understood this, and thought that the two-year alliance between China and Britain was about to expire, so he asked: "Is there any news on the British side about the alliance again?" ”

Zhang Feng shook his head and said, "The British political axe has not replied, but there is a general indication that Britain will not sign an alliance agreement with us again. ”

Suddenly, Zhang Feng remembered something, and suddenly said: "Your Majesty, I recently heard that Britain is negotiating with Russia on the issue of the colonial interests of the two countries in Afghanistan and Persia, and I heard that it seems to involve the issue of the imperial Tibetan province. ”

Wang Chenhao nodded, he had already learned about it from the CIA.

In March 1903, Britain and Russia negotiated in London the division of their colonial power in Persia and Afghanistan, including in the eastern part of Tibetan province.

Yadong County is located in the southern part of Tibet, the southern foot of the middle of the Himalayas, and is one of the border counties of Tibet Province. It covers an area of 4,276 square kilometers. The cultivated area is 12,000 mu and the forest area is 240,000 mu. It is 390 kilometers away from Kaze and 580 kilometers away from Lhasa, the provincial capital. On the whole, Yadong County has beautiful mountains and clear waters, mild climate, abundant water sources and abundant products, and is known as the "small Jiangnan of Tibet Province".

Since the middle of the last century, Russia has infiltrated Tibet from Afghanistan and Britain has penetrated from India to Tibet, and the two countries have been evenly matched in the Tibetan province, so that the peace in Tibet has been maintained for half a century.

With the end of the Sino-Russian War, Russia was hit hard, the balance between Britain and Russia was broken, and the British Indian colonial governorate began to encroach on Tibetan provinces, of which the eastern part of Asia was the first to bear the brunt.

Because Tibet Province is located at a high altitude, the life of the garrison troops of the Chinese Empire in Tibet Province is relatively difficult, and the frequent occurrence of altitude sickness has greatly reduced the combat effectiveness of the troops stationed in Tibet, and most of the soldiers in the Central Plains must be replaced after holding out for less than three months. However, it takes a long time to train troops who can adapt to high-altitude garrisons, so there is a shortage of patrol troops in most parts of Tibetan province.

The Indian British army opposite Tibet Province has a certain advantage, so the British want to take advantage of the fact that the Chinese Emperor [***] can not fully control Tibet Province, and occupy many places step by step, and the Yadong region is a rich place in Tibetan Province, and the British army naturally covets it.

The Chinese Empire lodged a solemn protest against Britain and Russia regarding the Tibetan issue of the Chinese Empire, but the British denied it on the surface, but secretly did not stop moving, and the British army continued to harass the local Tibetans in Yadong.

"I have ordered the Lanzhou Military Region to step up the training of plateau soldiers, and to station in Tibet as soon as possible to defend the frontier and protect the Tibetan people."

Zhang Feng said: "It can be seen that the current enemy of the empire does not seem to be the United States, but the United Kingdom. ”

Wang Chenhao nodded, and said with a deep gaze: "Not only in Tibetan Province, but also in the border areas of Yunnan, the British will not stop. I am afraid that a war with Britain will have to break out in order to settle the territorial dispute and completely dispel the nuisance of Britain's vain attempt to invade the northwest and southwest frontiers of the empire. ”

Zhang Feng couldn't help asking: "Your Majesty, but you have thought about it, Britain is the world's number one power after all." ”

Wang Chenhao nodded and said: "The first power is true, but militarily, he is only the first power on the sea, and we are not afraid of the army." If a conflict breaks out, it should be a maritime conflict, so in the coming period, before the territorial issue is completely resolved, the Imperial Navy will have to build it vigorously. ”

Zhang Feng asked: "However, the Congress believes that a large number of Russian warships have been captured, and there is no need to build new warships, so it has cut the navy budget!" ”

Wang Chenhao smiled and said, "So you have to find a way to get the congressmen to change their opinions!" ”

Zhang Feng suddenly cried and laughed, he thought that Wang Chenhao would come forward, but Wang Chenhao pushed the matter to him.

(To be continued)