Naturally, it was Yang Shixiang who presided over the meeting, and in addition to several senior officials in Shandong who were already familiar with the heads of the two major industrial groups, there were also two special commissioners sent by the War Department. One is Wang Shizhen, a senior citizen of Beiyang, who is considered to be the old acquaintance of the Mengshan Army. The other is an unfamiliar face, not wearing court clothes, nor being dressed in civilian clothes like Wang Shizhen, but wearing a gray Beiyang military uniform, and the riding boots under his feet are shiny, which can be reflected. He is the envoy sent by Tie Liang, who is scheduled to serve as Meng Enyuan, the commander of the twentieth town of the Fengtian New Army.

“…… The imperial court had a grand plan to organize a new army in 36 towns. Now the eighteen towns of Jilin have been formed, and the twenty towns of Fengtian are about to come out. The rest of the towns will also be formed one after another, but there is a shortage of arms. Fortunately, Shandong Industry can already produce most of the weapons and ammunition. The imperial court planned to supply the War Department with 500 Mauser rifles, 100 machine guns, 20 artillery pieces, 1 million bullets, and 5,000 shells every month from next month. In addition, 500 large boxes of imperial explosives still need to be supplied. This is a fate, and I am just conveying it on my behalf. Let's talk about any difficulties. Yang Shixiang told the imperial court about Shandong's weapons requirements.

"Just kidding, huh? Lord Futai, Huayuan can't produce so much at full power. Zhou Xuexi shouted.

"President Zhou, how did I hear that Huayuan produces more than that? In just one month, you delivered 1,200 rifles to the patrol army? Meng Enyuan smiled.

Without waiting for Zhou Xuexi to answer, Zhang Lianfen, who was sitting in the front row, asked, "Lord Yang, is this a request from the War Department or a request from the imperial court?" ”

"Does it make a difference?" Yang Shixiang asked rhetorically.

"There is no difference. As an industrial company, it is natural to be willing to contribute to the country. But. There are still two problems to be raised, one is that there is a sequence of orders, and there is no problem for ZTE to sell 500 large boxes of explosives every month, but it cannot be before June of the Western calendar, because the orders are full. Yes after June. The second is the payment, at what price does the court give us? If the price of the fifth town is allocated by comparison, it will not work. It was Wang Yan, the director of the chemical plant responsible for the production of explosives, who spoke.

"What money do you want to contribute to the court?" Meng Enyuan scolded.

"Master Meng, if you don't have money, where can you buy raw materials? How are employees paid? Can you make a gun with a breath? "Where can Zhang Lianfen afford Meng Enyuan, who is from a strange background? Speak out immediately.

Wang Shizhen was captured by the Mengshan army in the spring of Gengzi year, and his position in Beiyang was affected. Formation of the Six Towns New Army. Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang, who were also the three heroes of the New Army, each became the commander. However, he has always been a "senior staff officer", and the military and political department is clear and clear, but he does not have much actual power. This time, Tieliang sent him and Meng Enyuan to Shandong to supervise the arms affairs, and Wang Shizhen made up his mind to talk less. He has not been able to express his opinion.

Meng Enyuan is a native of Tianjin. He is fifty-one years old. He was born in a small station. However, when he was a soldier, he was not young, and it was rare to join the army at the age of thirty-nine. He has a nickname called "General Pickle", which is a somewhat comic story. At the beginning, Yuan Shikai had already formed a new army in the small station. Cixi was invited to Tianjin for inspection. Cixi really went back. During the military parade, the golden hairpin on Cixi's head fell off, and no one picked it up. Because it's not easy to deal with. But Meng Enyuan, who was an officer of the cavalry, actually picked it up. When Cixi finished the military parade and was about to leave, Meng Enyuan walked a few steps to Cixi and knelt down, holding the hairpin with both hands, "The wind hairpin falls to the ground and returns to Foshan." Scratched Cixi's itch all of a sudden, put away the hairpin, asked Meng Enyuan's name and position, and happily said to Yuan Shikai, "Your military training is good." An officer is so shrewd. Before leaving, he mentioned this person again, "That person surnamed Meng can do something big." Yuan Shikai immediately promoted Meng Enyuan to the standard, and Meng Enyuan made a fortune.

However, the nickname of "General Pickle" also sounded. Now, Meng Enyuan, who is good at observing words and feelings, sees that Yuan Shikai has signs of bad luck, and has turned into a person of Tie Liang, and is scheduled to be the commander of the twentieth town that is about to be formed, and now, he is sent by Tie Liang to Shandong to supervise the mission.

The Manchurian aristocratic clique represented by Tie Liang was now fighting on two fronts. The main focus was on the acquisition of the four towns of Beiyang, but he did not forget to attack Shandong. The overall situation was very good, Yuan Shikai was very well-behaved, and took the initiative to hand over the third and sixth towns to the War Department, which made Tie Liang much more bold on the surface. Liangbi went north, and there was an eighteenth town with completely Russian equipment. When the Twentieth Town of Fengtian was established, theoretically, the new army under the direct control of the War Department would have five towns and another mixed association. Find another opportunity to incorporate the other two towns in Yuan Shikai's hands, and Beiyang will really change the owner. Tie Liang actually hates the word Beiyang, because since the emergence of Beiyang, it is not really the armed force of the imperial court. was Li Hongzhang before, and later passed the mantle to Yuan Shikai.

There are many ways to solve Yuan Shikai. It is the safest to rise and fall. Tie Liang once secretly played Cixi and suggested that Yuan Shikai be promoted to enter the military machine. Then he would have to obediently hand over the other two towns in his hand. However, Lafayette was afraid that Yuan Shikai would be difficult to control, and believed that the existing military aircraft, including Qu Hongzhen, who was fighting with Yixiao's faction, were not Yuan Shikai's opponents. Therefore, if Yuan Shikai is allowed to enter the military plane, there must be a minister who is enough to suppress him in terms of seniority, ability, and prestige. As a result, Zhang Zhidong, who had been in charge of Huguang for a long time, entered Cixi's eyes, and he was a person that Cixi had always trusted, including the Wuxu Change that shook many ministers, Zhang Zhidong's performance was perfect.

Tie Liang's other goal is also extremely tempting. That's Shandong. Of course, Long Qian can't compare with Yuan Shikai, in the eyes of Tie Liang and others, he is just a military general trusted by Lafayette. Therefore, Tie Liang believed that there was no need to consider depriving Long Qian of his military power for the time being, and the top priority was not the Fifth Town, but the arms raised by Long Qian in Shandong. It is not only a weapon related to the safety of the imperial court, but also a good deal to make money. It is said that the Ninth Town, which was stationed in Jiangsu, bought guns and ammunition from Shandong, and a large amount of silver flowed to Shandong. This cash cow must be grasped by the imperial court.

Taking advantage of the revolutionary party's uprising to transfer Long Qian out of Shandong was only the first step, and of course it was a crucial step. The next step is to take control of Shandong's arms industry. It is necessary not only to prevent the occurrence of the new army, but also to expand the new army. When Yang Shixiang was transferred to Beijing. Tie Liang met with him three times, and he had already made it clear that Shandong's arms could never be controlled by private individuals (Yang Shixiang bluntly said that Huayuan and ZTE were completely private companies). He didn't know that Yang Shixiang was a shareholder of Huayuan, and he didn't know that the gentry in Shandong were all "kidnapped" by Huayuan and Zhongxing, so he directly told Yang Shixiang that the imperial court needed arms, and it was too much of a loss to buy them from foreigners, and Shandong must solve problems for the imperial court. This thing is done. Lianfu, you take another step and wrap it around me.

Yang Shixiang made up his mind to be a Pang Guan and asked Tieliang to send someone to supervise the matter, so Meng Enyuan came to Shandong.

Zhang Lianfen's words annoyed Meng Enyuan, who was proud of his strong backers, "What does Lord Zhang mean by this? Is it possible to resist and disobey the decree? ”

"You don't crush people with big hats. It's Tie Liang who came in person. That's what I mean. It's just ignorance! Contemptible! Zhang Lianfen did not back down.

"Master Zhang!" Yang Shixiang saw that the smell of gunpowder was extremely strong from the beginning. Hurry to stop it. "The new army of the imperial court is in urgent need of munitions, and we, as courtiers, naturally have to think about the court. Lord Wang. Can you tell me? ”

Wang Shizhen coughed lightly, "You have misunderstood, it's not that you are taking the goods empty-handed, it's just that the finances are extremely difficult, and you will pay half of the agreed price for the time being." "This is the base given by the railway.

"What about the other half?" Zhang Lianfen didn't give an inch.

"This, Lord Tieliang did not explain." Wang Shizhen told the truth.

"Lord Yang, we can't do this kind of thing. It is necessary to convene a meeting of the board of directors and shareholders. You know this. Zhou Xuexi was originally ready to resist the big head, but Zhang Lianfen rushed up, so he naturally had to respond.

"What this will do, don't prevaricate with these! Arms are the heavy weapons of the imperial court, how can they be controlled by private individuals? What if you hand it over to the thieves to rebel? ”

Yang Shixiang looked at Meng Enyuan's gaze with pity. With your little ability, do you still want to mess around at a better level? Tie Liang is simply blind! "Mr. Meng's words are wrong. The ordnance made by Shandong Industry is extremely strictly controlled, how much is made and who it is sold to, the governor's yamen is on record, and it will never fall into the hands of thieves. The board of directors of the shareholders' meeting must be discussed, since President Zhou said so, when can we give Benfu a result? ”

Meng Enyuan's own position is the chief soldier of Nanyang Town, so he is called so.

Zhou Xuexi glanced at Zhang Lianfen, "I don't know the situation on ZTE's side. It will take at least a few days on Huayuan's side. Because I don't know how many directors there are in Jinan, and the board of directors cannot be held if the required number of people is not enough. After the board of directors approves it, it will also be reported to the shareholders' meeting...... I think it's going to take at least seven or eight days. ”

"Yurui, what about you?" Yang Shixiang raised his hand to stop Meng Enyuan and asked Zhang Lianfen.

"Most of the shareholders of ZTE are in Lunan, at least ten days."

"Well, it's limited to ten days. Ten days later, still here, Ben listened to the results of the two. ”

The meeting broke up. Chen Chao and the others didn't even say a word.

Sending away a group of "entrepreneurs", Meng Enyuan asked impatiently, "Why does Lord Yang protect them?" Could it be that there are some drawbacks in this? ”

This sentence annoyed Yang Shixiang, and he immediately sank his face, "Mr. Meng, Ben Fu is too lazy to explain to you." If you think that Benfu is cheating, you can be impeached. After saying that, he flicked the sleeves of his robe, and left Meng En away.

The field also needs to be cleaned up by several subordinate officials in Shandong, Bai Ruiting is the second-in-command, and he called the irritable Meng Enyuan with a smile, and told the foundation of Huayuan and ZTE, the so-called gentry participation is just that, Meng Enyuan heard that Huayuan and ZTE have American shares, but he was shocked, foreigners are not easy to mess with, "Then, according to Lord Bai's opinion, what will be the result of this matter?" ”

"The gentry of Shandong can know righteousness, but foreigners are always mercenary, which is difficult." Bai Ruiting's face was sad.

"Tie Liangshangshu once said that Huayuan Group is the foundation of Shandong Machinery Bureau, isn't that the property of the imperial court?"

"Master Meng doesn't know. The total assets of the Machine Bureau are only a few hundred thousand taels, and Huayuan's current total assets are 20 million, which is disproportionate. ”

"How so? Where do they get the money? Meng Enyuan was frightened by this number.

"Where do I know this? However, it is also true that the banks run by Shanxi people have invested a lot, and I know that the Americans have invested a number of machines. If Meng Zongbing wants to find out, he can find Zhou Xuexi, he knows best. Bai Ruiting smiled.

Yang Shixiang now had to make the most critical decision, he left Meng Enyuan behind, and immediately sent Luo Xiao to find Chen Chao. "Mr. Chen, what should I do about this?" Don't prevaricate, I know what you say. ”

"What is Lord Yang's charter?" Chen Chao asked rhetorically.

"What are the statutes of this officer? Isn't a hard top okay? ”

"The court can't rob openly. No need to ask, the board of directors will not be able to pass it. Don't you see the attitude of Zhang Yurui and Zhou Jizhi? Neither of them would have agreed. Don't be embarrassed, just let us know. The imperial court can't just grab it, right? You know that the largest shareholder of Huayuan Zhongxing is the Fifth Town, and if you force the Fifth Town, the court is afraid that the chicken will fly the eggs. ”

Yang Shixiang said in his heart, do you dare to tell Wang Shizhen and Meng Enyuan the fact that Huayuan Zhongxing is the fifth town industry? Forced against the Fifth Town? Isn't this a complete showdown with the imperial court? "Mr. Chen. Let's not say those radical words. I know the results. But he didn't agree to provoke Tie Liang, because Tie Liang represented the imperial court. Why don't you talk to him about the price again? The price is all over the place, and you can pay it back by sitting on the ground. It is a fact that the imperial court is in a hurry to expand the new army, so it is better to let the imperial court produce a little more. The number. Press it again. There are steps on both sides. ”

"It's a fact that arms are lucrative. But the profit is not as high as imagined. You know, I haven't sold much of it over the years, and I've equipped the Fifth Town and the Patrol Army. They are all settled at cost price. Lord Yang wants to go through both sides. Chen understood. Lord Yang's method can also be tried. I can negotiate a charter with the directors of Huayuan, anyway, the imperial court doesn't know Huayuan's production capacity, right? However, since that's all I said, Lord Yang, what will you do if the imperial court doesn't go down this step? ”

What should I do? Can I rob you of your stuff? The people who defend Huayuan Zhongxing are all soldiers of the patrol army! Speaking of which, the patrol army is under the command of me, the governor of Shandong, and I might as well let you fart when I speak! To put it mildly, it's no problem for you to let Ning Shijun send troops to surround the governor's yamen......

"What should I do? I would like to ask Mr. Chen. ”

"Since Lord Yang has made his words clear, if Chen covers it up, he doesn't know how to lift it." Chen Chao sorted out his thoughts, "In recent years, Chen has reread history books and has some new experiences. That is, the state and the dynasty are not the same thing. There is a change of dynasties, but the country is permanent. At the beginning, Zhu Chongba raised troops to resist the Yuan, and in the eyes of the princes of the Great Yuan Dynasty, they were chaotic ministers and thieves, and they were scholars who had served the Great Yuan for a long time, and they scolded Zhu Yuanzhang. When the Ming army settled on the Central Plains, the Zhu family was the benefactor of the sun and the moon. The Qing Dynasty flourished in Liaodong, and Wu Sangui switched to Prince Yingrui to attack Li Chuang, who was an out-and-out traitor in the eyes of the Central Plains scholars. Zheng Chenggong did not follow Zhengshuo, went east to Taiwan, expelled Xiyi, and kept Taiwan within the territory of China. Although his children are not good, they are also favored by the Holy Ancestor. Later, Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang and other Han people were edicted to recruit troops to fight thieves, creating a situation of Tongguang Zhongxing, but the scholars did not scold them as traitors. The monk led the Mongolian cavalry to resist the Anglo-French army in Balizhuang, although he was defeated, he was admired by the world...... In the meantime, Chen thought that those who serve the country will go down in history, and those who have one family name will be inferior. Adults govern Shandong, care about the people's suffering, from the good as the stream, good governance is too numerous to mention, it is the adults of the massive magnanimity, Shandong has the current vigorous and prosperous trend. But everything in Shandong is for the country? For private yes? I guess you have already made up your mind, right? ”

"These words were said by Long Huisi, right?" Yang Shixiang listened expressionlessly, but the shock in his heart was great. The assertion of the so-called national court has already made it clear that Long Qian decided to rebel! The so-called under the banner of the country is just the same thing as the overseas Sun Wen party!

"Long Qian has great respect for adults, and believes that adults are rare people with far-sighted vision today, and if they judge the situation, they will definitely leave a name in history." Of course, Chen Chao is not afraid of Yang Shixiang's informant, at this point, it is not easy to tell the truth, even if the court is clear about Long Qian's objection, it also knows that Yang Shixiang is telling the truth, and before he is fully sure, he has to appease Long Qian. Then, eighty percent of Yang Shixiang will be sacrificed. This is the experience of history, the cruelty of politics. As Yang Shixiang, who ascended the throne of governor and is familiar with history books, how can he not understand the truth?

"Hehe, Long Qian built a high wall, accumulated grain, and cultivated strength, presumably to follow the story of Zhu Chongba, right? When the time comes, your father-in-law will be the country's father-in-law? Sure enough, Yang Shixiang's tone did not show the slightest sign of accusation, but was ridiculing.

"My lord," Chen Chao ignored Yang Shixiang's ridicule and took a deep breath, "Long Qian said that the tide of history is mighty, and if you go with it, you will prosper, and if you go against it, you will die." Today's China is very different from the situation hundreds of thousands of years ago, and it must not be closed from the trend of the world. Observe the general trend of the world, and have its own way of rise and fall. Far from it, the victory or defeat of the Russo-Japanese War is proof of this. Chen looked at the imperial court's edict on constitutionalism in recent years, and sent capable ministers to go abroad to inspect the constitutionalism, which is enough to show that the imperial court from the empress dowager and the ministers to change the law, who dares to go against the grain and do the world's actions again, will be stinking for 10,000 years! Others didn't dare to say that Long Qian would never do such a stupid thing. ”

"Are these words really said by Long Qian?"

"Chen will never dare to deceive adults."

"These words are far away! Now that the imperial court is eyeing Shandong's arms, I know that I will never give in easily. If it's a hard top, aren't you afraid that the imperial court will raise troops to come? Long Qian kept saying that the people's livelihood was the most important, even if the fifth town returned, and the patrol army was loyal to the Long clan and did not rebel, but as soon as the war started, the people's livelihood was ruined, why did Long Qian think that it was a safe chance to win by resisting the whole country with Shandong Province? ”

"My lord is thinking about it! There will never be a war. The fact that the imperial division is unknown is one thing, and the Beiyang Army will not listen to the dispatch of the War Department. Please put a hundred hearts, adults. It's better to sit down for a few days, and then I urge them to come up with a charter, and then say, if they can't satisfy the court, your lordship can push it on us, and you won't embarrass your lordship......"

"Okay. Mr. Chen, Yang is waiting for your good news. (To be continued......)