Chapter 260

Whether or not to increase the expeditionary force is a matter of considerable controversy in China. The expeditionary force transferred 20 infantry divisions at once, plus the chariot troops, and the defense of national defense was greatly weakened. The newly replenished troops need a certain amount of time to be formed and trained before they can come in handy.

However, there is still a difference between this recruit and a veteran, and a unit that has not seen blood is not a real army.

Fang Jianxiong actually had a decision in his heart, the increase in troops will definitely be increased, if you don't increase investment, Britain and France are not so kind to help you with this and that. Speaking of which, in fact, the best partner is Germany, but unfortunately Germany is destined to become a loser, and Fang Jianxiong will not do the stupid thing of cooperating with a loser.

Fang Jianxiong stayed in the former Chongqing Provincial Bureau, and Li Weige and a group of local Chongqing businessmen were waiting here for a long time.

Seeing Li Weige, Fang Jianxiong's mood was much better. In the past two years, Li Weige has grasped the technical improvement of the Hanyang Iron and Steel Plant on the one hand, and the construction of the Qijiang Iron and Steel Plant in Chongqing on the other. There was no delay on both sides, and the results were remarkable. The first phase of the project in Chongqing has been completed and put into operation, with an annual output of 150,000 tons of steel, and is currently mainly supplying the rails required by the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway.

The Chengdu-Chongqing Railway was built with funds and technology for the Germans, and with the outbreak of World War I, the Germans were determined to withdraw their investment. Coupled with Victor's mediation, the Republic of China government finally reached a new agreement with the German capital. One of the representatives of the German capital is selected to become a Chinese national, and the shares owned by the German capital are attached to the name of this representative. In this way, the problem is solved. In fact, this approach is now the most widely adopted by German capital in China. In the face of huge economic interests, capital has always been flexible.

Fang Jianxiong was not in a hurry to meet with the military and political dignitaries, and ordered these people to go back first, leaving Hu Jingyi and Zhang Shaozeng, and giving priority to meeting with Li Weige and other representatives of the business community. The government of the Republic of China encourages industry and commerce and raises the low level of the business community. It's a stimulus. In any case, it is unrealistic to expect the state to invest in all aspects of economic development. Only when the private capital is active will the economy have a development trend of a hundred flowers blooming. Industry and commerce flourished, and many things were naturally solved.

Take the surrounding area of Wuhu as an example, now that land income has become a chicken rib, many landlords are difficult to find tenants. Everyone went to work in the factories, and those who remained in the countryside were the old people and children. The policy of rent reduction and interest reduction was also forced by the government from the beginning. Up to now, the landlords have taken the initiative to do it in order to retain the tenants. Some of the more enlightened landlords simply sold their land and threw themselves into industry and commerce. In this best year of industry and commerce, it is not difficult for industry and commerce to make money.

The land was annexed on a large scale by some conservative landlords. It laid the groundwork for mechanized farming. Of course, it is not realistic to talk about this now, the area south of the Yangtze River is not suitable for large agricultural machinery and equipment, and China does not have this industrial strength. All in all, the four years of the European War were four years of drastic changes in the Republic of China. The European and American powers had no time to look eastward for the industrial and commercial development of the Republic of China. Won four years of valuable time. At the same time, with the withdrawal of customs, the ability of the domestic market to protect itself in the future is stronger.

That is, the so-called open door policy is now being implemented. It's not set in stone.

After Li Weige saw Fang Jianxiong, he immediately introduced a young man beside him and said, "Fu Shuai, this is Lu Zuofu, don't look young." Be down-to-earth and willing to do, Chongqing's things. He helped me a lot. Without him watching the situation in Chongqing, I wouldn't have been able to take care of the affairs of the Hanyang Iron Works. ”

Li Weige did not shy away from recommending Lu Zuofu, not worrying at all that Fang Jianxiong would have other thoughts. In the past few years, Li Weige has a lot of power in his hands, but no one has the intention of hindering him, and he can do things according to his own ideas. Fang Jianxiong really did not doubt the use of people, Li Weige is also energetic in his work, and he has the meaning of dying for his confidant.

"Since it's a person that Brother Yiqin is optimistic about, let's let it go." Fang Jianxiong smiled and spoke, glancing at the young man Lu Zuofu. Interestingly, he wasn't nervous at all, he stood there very calmly, without the excitement of ordinary young people when they saw Fang Dashuai, he just stepped forward and stretched out his hand and said, "It's good to help the handsome." Before stretching out his hand, Lu Zuofu had a movement of wiping his palms, which betrayed his mood at the moment.

Lu Zuofu, who was in time and space, returned to Sichuan when Li Weige first arrived in Chongqing. At that time, there was a shortage of people to help, especially locals. After being introduced, Lu Zuofu became a subordinate to Li Weige, and at first he was only responsible for running some local things, and as things progressed, Lu Zuofu's outstanding ability was slowly reflected, and Li Weige became more and more relied on.

Then Li Weige introduced the local gentry in Chongqing one by one, and was able to briefly Fang Jianxiong, the big man of the Republic of China, at the first time, and all the virtuous businessmen present were very happy. Fang Jianxiong didn't have any arrogance, and talked casually with everyone, and the topic was mainly focused on Sichuan's economic development.

The biggest difficulty restricting Sichuan's economic development is the inconvenience of transportation. Shu Dao is difficult, and it is really difficult at this historical stage. Since the Republic of China, the policy of nationalization of railways has been hindered to a certain extent, but with the start of construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway, it has been negative

The voice gradually fell. There is still a big difference between the Republic of China and the Qing government, and the Qing government, due to the despair of the so-called imperial cabinet and the constitutionalists, cannot but be said to have done a stupid thing of digging its own grave.

At present, the government structure in Sichuan, with the participation of the local gentry, naturally the opposition to the nationalization of the railways is not so strong. Since the beginning of the New Deal at the end of the Qing Dynasty, the call for non-governmental participation in politics and discussion has been very high, and it was not until the Republic of China that it was given some political power in the real sense.

In front of a group of Chongqing sages, Fang Jianxiong said: "This time I entered Sichuan, and I knew that the road to Shu was difficult. Jianxiong believes that if Sichuan wants to develop, it should take transportation first. The government of the Republic of China plans to build two railways, one to the east to connect Hubei, and the other to be connected to Hanzhong. Exploration is currently underway and the design is expected to be completed by the end of 17. ”

In the past, Sichuan also called for the construction of railways, but the actual operation was difficult and slow. In the end, there was a road protection movement. When Fang Jianxiong came to the stage, everything was real. The government has credit, plus the abolition of cards and the promotion of compulsory education. These two events have played a huge role in stabilizing the Republic of China government in Sichuan. First of all, the prestige of the government has been established, and secondly, the adjustment of the political system has attracted a large number of former members of the Consultative Bureau to participate in politics, which has accelerated the government's control of Sichuan.

His words caused everyone to applaud, and Fang Jianxiong made a gesture to signal to stop. Then: "Chongqing has an important geographical location and is the gateway to eastern Sichuan. The government of the Republic of China plans to take Chongqing as the leader of the economic development of the southwest and increase government investment to promote the economic development of the southwest provinces. Taking into account the general factors, the cabinet proposed to separate Chongqing and eastern Sichuan from Sichuan and set up a separate administrative region of Chongqing. There is a lot of controversy in the cabinet about this matter, but I would like to hear the opinions of local elites. ”

Fang Jianxiong took the initiative to let go of the wind, and now after the commotion, no one spoke. None of the people present were unmoved by this matter. But then again, it would be very offensive to express one's stance at this time. Even if it is for the sake of local interests, what if the thing does not work out in the end?

Seeing the originally lively atmosphere of the scene, it suddenly became quiet. Fang Jianxiong smiled slightly, got up and said, "Everyone should think about it when you go back, your opinions are of great help to the government's decision-making." ”

When a seed is planted in the ground, it will take root and sprout as long as there is the right soil moisture and climate.

The symposium dispersed in a strange atmosphere, and Hu Jingyi and Zhang Shaozeng, who had been not strict all along, seemed to have heard nothing. Fang Jianxiong invited the two of them into the room to talk, and after the tea came up, he said lightly: "Brother Wenlan, Chongqing is divided into Sichuan, do you have any objections?" ”

Hu Jingyi arched his hand and said with a smile: "The central cabinet controls the overall situation, and the people below just do it, and they dare not have objections." ”

There is still something in this, Fang Jianxiong is really willing to hear something, there is really nothing, then he has to consider taking Hu Jingyi. Since he heard what he was willing to hear, Fang Jianxiong patiently explained to Hu Jingyi: "This matter is also based on the overall situation, the business of eastern Sichuan has always been ahead of Sichuan, and the separation mainly focuses on the development of industry and commerce. Not only Chongqing should be separated, but Xikang should also be separated from Sichuan and returned to the central government. The aim is to ....... As he spoke, Fang Jianxiong raised his hand and pointed to the west.

Hu Jingyi was slightly straightened, straightened up and waited for the following. Fang Jianxiong really said again: "After the division, although Sichuan is smaller, the benefits are also obvious. The affluent Sichuan Central can concentrate local finances to develop the local economy without being dragged down by Xikang. As for Xikang, the central government intends to treat all ethnic groups in the local area equally, and all ethnic groups in the territory of the Republic of China are citizens of the Republic of China and have the rights and obligations that citizens should have. Xikang set up an ethnic autonomous region, and at the same time allowed a certain amount of ethnic autonomy to ban local armed forces. It is garrisoned by the National Defence Force and is responsible for the eradication of banditry and local security. When the local police force grows, law and order can be returned to the locality. Brother Wenlan will stay patiently for three or five years, and after the expiration of his term, he can go to Beijing or stay in the local government, or he can choose a place to serve. Brother Wenlan's efforts to stabilize Sichuan have been seen by the central government. ”

The rumors released by Fang Jianxiong have a huge repercussion in Chongqing. The temptation to leave Chengdu's jurisdiction and call itself a district is huge, and the most direct advantage of the local gentry is that they can choose to send legislators to speak in the National Assembly on behalf of Chongqing in the future.

All in all, the benefits are obvious, there is no need for others to agitate in Chongqing, and people from all walks of life have started to discuss this issue in private, and the core is only one, and strive to settle this matter while Fang Jianxiong is still in Sichuan.

During Fang Jianxiong's stay in Chongqing, the first stop he inspected was naturally the Qijiang Iron and Steel Company. This steel company is a Sino-German joint venture, and the Eurasia Group holds 51 percent. After Claude, a German, became a Chinese citizen, all 49 percent of the shares of the German side were listed in Claude's name.

Due to the timely measures taken by Fang Jianxiong, the situation of German businessmen in China is still relatively stable, although there are still a lot of noises, but on the whole, the German businessmen who have invested a lot will not give up the benefits in hand. In particular, with the example of the Wuhu Diesel Engine Factory, the enthusiasm of the Germans in China has not decreased, but has increased.