Chen Chao noticed that Long Qian did not take the initiative to ask about his wife and children during a long conversation with him.

In Chen Chao's view, Chen Shu's temperament has changed a lot since she got married, and the original kind of problem that everything is not taboo can basically be found, and she has become stable and virtuous, and she is almost a good wife in the traditional sense.

Is Long Qian bad for Shu'er? Chen Chao has no evidence, let alone heard Shu'er say it. After having Zhenhua, it seems that Shu'er is very happy. But Chen Chao always felt that Long Qian was indifferent to his niece and lacked the passion he should have. It is said that it is normal for their young husband and wife to not see each other for a day as if they were every three autumns, but Long Qian has been gone for half a year since he led the army north at the end of May and early June, and when he saw his old father-in-law, the first sentence asked about his wife and children was a matter of course. But the two talked about Jingshi from Shandong, and the sister-in-law's marriage also thought of it, but they didn't specifically mention their wives and children, but they mentioned Chen Shu by the way when they talked about moving.

This is the heroic feeling? Or did he have a woman outside Shu'er? For the latter article, Chen Chao immediately denied it in his heart. In the years that I have known Long Qian, I have never seen or heard that he has a lustful problem, on the contrary, he has always advocated an ascetic life and demanded some harshness from his subordinates. Prostitution, for example, is not a morally corrupt and intolerable thing these days. In Shilin, prostitution and consumption of flower wine were even regarded as a form of elegance. But in the Mengshan army, there is no market for this view at all. At least on the surface, the officers did not dare to engage in prostitution, this Chen Chao was completely clear.

During the Zhengjiazhuang period, there were no open brothels in the countryside, and at most there were a few secret doors. The Mengshan army was stationed in the area of Zhengjiazhuang and Chenjiaya for a long time. I have never heard of any scandals in the Mengshan Army.

Chen Chao believes that the so-called upward and downward effects, Long Qian is walking right, a group of senior officers are doing the same, and the following naturally dare not come nonsense. After the troops were stationed in Yizhou, there were two small brothels in the city, and the well-paid officers had the capital to prostitute themselves, but because Long Qian attached great importance to the entry of troops into the city, he specially instructed the staff office to issue a special code for troops entering the city, which included a clause strictly prohibiting officers and soldiers from soliciting prostitution.

The mimeographed copy was issued to the whole army's entry rules, and Chen Chao has also collected a copy to this day. He once said to his wife. Long Qian is not simple. It's really big things. Ordinary people who move from the countryside to the city are already dizzy with joy, where can they think of all kinds of drawbacks? To be able to be in good times and maintain a sense of awe must be very human. Despite such strict military discipline, it seems difficult to stick to it.

The rules for entering the city were issued. But it does not mean that all officers and soldiers will abide by it. The Mengshan army is strictly disciplined. But there are still holidays. It is not considered a violation of discipline for officers and soldiers on leave to drink in a liquor shop in the city. And it was only natural that drunken officers and soldiers would go to the brothel to vent.

If someone commits a foul, someone will be investigated and punished by the Judge Advocate General. In the two years that Mengshan Army was stationed in Yizhou, a total of 11 prostitutes were arrested. Without exception. The offender was punished according to military law, and the officer was dismissed from his post and became a chief soldier, but he was also required to pay a fine and be beaten with a stick, while the soldier was punished with twenty sticks. According to Ning Shijun, people who smoke big cigarettes and prostitutes are not qualified to be soldiers in the Mengshan Army at all, let alone officers.

Chen Chao privately thought that the military regulations of the Mengshan Army were too strict, and there was a bit of an ascetic. This one is not allowed, and that one is not good, it is too much. Sure enough, a platoon commander who was dismissed for soliciting prostitutes chose to commit suicide. It was a veteran who had participated in the Battle of Xigu, the most proud of the Mengshan Army, and joined the army in the base area. This incident caused a shock within the troops, and a voice said that Commander Long was good at everything, but the military regulations were too harsh, and they were so harsh that they were not close to human feelings. Since it is allowed to open a yard, what is the matter of spending money to find a girl?

To this end, Long Qian convened a meeting of officers above the company commander level of the Yizhou garrison, and Tang Shaoyi, Chen Chao, Zhou Xuexi and others were also invited to participate. At this meeting, Long Qian started with the incident of the platoon commander surnamed Guo who committed suicide in anger, analyzed the cause and disposal of the incident, and believed that the soldier who had made meritorious contributions on the battlefield chose to commit suicide completely because he was isolated from the Mengshan Army, disgraced the troops, smeared ashes, and was the scum of the Mengshan Army! Not at all worthy of sympathy! Those who complain about him either have ulterior motives or are completely confused! Long Qian asked, all of you here are officers, and the lowest position is also at the company level, our Mengshan Army has been formulating military regulations since the reorganization of the army in Mengshan, and after several revisions, there are more and more rules, this is a fact. However, I think the vast majority of people here are clear about why so many military regulations should be formulated and from what starting point to formulate military regulations to restrain everyone's behavior! I, Long Qian, govern the army, not only to build an army that dares to fight and can fight, but also to cultivate a large number of the best talents in this era! Not only in skills, but also in the cultivation of morality! I don't believe it, do anyone really think that prostitution is a chic thing to be proud of? If your father was such a person, would you also be heartily proud of it?

Chen Chao's heart was extremely shaken. I was shocked by Long Qian's sentence to cultivate a large number of the most outstanding and outstanding talents of this era.

Long Qian went on to talk about the concept of honor for officers. Long Qian pointed out that while the officers of the Mengshan Army possess superb military skills and strict discipline, they must also possess lofty moral sentiments. Everyone is an adult, and the youngest is over twenty years old. What's right and what's wrong, in fact, everyone knows it in their hearts. The reason why I make a mistake is that I can't resist the temptation. Drinking and prostituting are small temptations, but what about big temptations? What if our enemies bribed you with high officials? Give you 1,200,000 taels or even 100,000 taels of white money to betray our group? Why do you want my commander's head? Isn't it tempting too? I think that's the case with most people, and you can only resist big temptations if you can resist small temptations. There is a greater temptation waiting for you than women. That platoon commander who committed suicide does not deserve sympathy at all! If he can violate the military discipline of prostitution today, he may betray our group tomorrow! Some of you here are upset for him, why do you want to fight for him? What's wrong with the Judge Advocate Advocate General's Office in this matter? Although I, Long Qian, am the master of an army, the military discipline is exactly the same as you for me! What you are asked to do, I will do it like Long Qian! Suppose you catch me and go to prostitution. I married a company and carried a gun as a soldier!

This is a heavy statement. Therefore, Chen Chao did not believe that Long Qian had a problem with women.

Starting from the relationship between Chen Shu and Long Qian, Chen Chao once seriously thought about Long Qian's character.

During the Zhengjiazhuang period, Chen Chao often saw Long Qian going out for training with the troops, and the food never had a small stove, most of the time he ate with the headquarters organs, and a few of them went to the troops to eat. Except for the special point of living, Chen Chao couldn't find a special place for Long Qian, the lord of the army. It wasn't until the headquarters was set up in Yizhou that Long Qian officially married his niece that he had his own home. At first, it was just a rented yard. Later, the small western-style building was built. It was the construction and decoration of that small building that made Chen Chao see another side of Long Qian, that is, he actually knew how to enjoy it, whether it was food or room layout. All have extremely refined taste. Plainly displayed in front of everyone. It's just a careful cover-up by him.

Only ambitious people can be so forbearing, so "abuse" themselves. Chen Chao even thought of a figure in the long history - Wang Mang who buried the Western Han Dynasty.

Will Long Qian be Wang Mang? Will he bury the Qing Dynasty with his own hands? Will Long Qian establish his own Long dynasty? This cruel question, which cannot be said to anyone, cruelly tortured Chen Chao. What frightened him the most was that he faintly hoped that there would be an unbearable scene. I hope to witness the birth of a new dynasty, but that new dynasty must not be Wang Mang's new dynasty.

Does Long Qian have what it takes to get to that point? Chen Chao asked himself countless times. When Long Qian occupied the two prefectures of Lunan and magically cultivated two industrial groups that shocked the whole country, Chen Chao had his own answer to that question. When the Mengshan Army was expanded into the fifth town of the Beiyang New Army, Chen Chao firmly believed that Long Qian would achieve that goal. How many people were there in the Mengshan Army at the beginning? Yuan Shikai, who was in charge of Shandong's military administration, had no way to take Long Qian, but Chen Chao was a person who had seen the Mengshan Army win successive battles. At the beginning, Long Qian could fight against Yuan Shikai with a little strength in his hand. Now Long Qian's military strength is at least dozens of times stronger than before! It's even more striking in terms of territory. What if Yuan Shikai takes over Zhili? What if all the new armies except for the Fifth Town were loyal to the Yuan clan? Long Qian can use two years to build Lunan into the current situation, if he is given another two years, will Long Qian not build Shandong Province into an iron bucket like Lunan? If Long Qian had four or five Lu Nan, his strength would expand several times! Even if Yuan Shikai had sixty or seventy thousand well-equipped and well-trained new troops, he was not Long Qian's opponent!

Since his family moved to Yizhou, Chen Chao, who personally participated in the establishment of Huayuan Industry and witnessed the rise of Lunan industrialization, has learned to observe and study society from a completely different perspective. This perspective is the economic perspective.

From the formation of Lunan Industry to its gradual growth, Chen Chao was not only shocked, but also a new understanding. The rise of Lunan Industry brought Chen Chao the biggest shock was the irresistible power of capital. Several share expansions have completely tied Lunan officialdom to the chariot of Huayuan and Zhongxing, and in Lunan, no level of government will make things difficult for Huayuan and Zhongxing. Because to make things difficult for Huayuan and ZTE is to make things difficult for themselves. Who will have trouble with money? In Lunan, Huayuan and ZTE are involved in government affairs, such as land acquisition, such as recruiting employees, such as litigation disputes, and the company does not need to deal with any level of government to seek justice. And Chen Chao once believed that the Qing Dynasty had become a joint society that could achieve nothing without dotting joints. And this judgment was an accident in Lunan.

Why is this happening? Long Qian revealed the secret in one sentence, "When they think that the development of the industrial group is more beneficial to themselves and goes beyond the proceeds of bribery, they will spare no effort to support the industrial group without asking for bribes." After all, soliciting and accepting bribes was risky, and even in the incorrigible corruption of the Manchu regime, many of the solicitations were not on the table and would be attacked by political opponents. And the stake in the industrial group is that they see the brilliant future of the industrial group. Legally seeking dividends that exceed the bribes will naturally become their choice. ”

"So that bribery can be eliminated?" Chen Chao wondered.

"No, it won't. You're thinking too simply. There is still a long way to go to build a clean society and a clean government. However, economic means are always more effective than political ones. ”

When he said this, Long Qian's expression was solemn.

The power of capital is not only in Lunan, since Zhou Fu and below, many people in Shandong officialdom have become shareholders of Huayuan and ZTE. The price paid by Huayuan and ZTE was the dilution of their shares, in exchange for a large amount of cash and the support of Lunan and even Shandong officialdom. In order to obtain the new shares issued by the two major industrial groups, the officials still have to pay real money, but the strong development momentum of Huayuan and Zhongxing and the dividends in the first year moved the officials, and after judging that the dividends of the two major industrial groups were much higher than the deposit of silver in the ticket number bank, they naturally chose to buy the new shares of the two major industrial groups in Lunan as a means of seeking money.

I don't know the situation of ZTE, but Huayuan raised 1.2 million taels of silver by issuing new shares during the Midyear Festival last year alone! Of those, 80 percent came from official purchases, and only 20 percent were for Huayuan employees.

The investment of the two major industrial groups in Lunan is already very amazing, and Chen Chao, who is in it, does not feel that it is so remarkable. When he met Xu Jianyin, the general office of Shandong Machinery Bureau, the next day and had a long talk all night, he realized the strength of Huayuan and ZTE. (To be continued......)