"Zijun, how is the situation of those merchants from Jiangsu and Zhejiang?" Yang Shixiang asked his chief staff member, Luo Xiaocai.

"My lord, Zhang Jizhi was fascinated by them. Since Lu Nan came back, he has been drilling at the Huayuan headquarters all day long, discussing with Zhou Jizhi, Zhang Yuhui and others about acting as an agent for Huayuan Zhongxing goods. It is said that quite a few agreements have been reached. Moreover, Jiangsu and Zhejiang are interested in investing in the two major industrial groups......"

"When did Zhang Jizhi return to Jinan?"

"The night before yesterday."

"Well," Yang Shixiang thought for a moment, "What about Zhang Shizhao in Su Bao?" What's he doing? Yang Shixiang had heard of the "Su Report Case" that happened last summer. But not impressed. The key is that Zhang Shizhao was not the protagonist in that case, he was only the chief writer of "Su Bao", and he was not punished by the imperial court. But Yang Shixiang was deeply impressed by an article on rural autonomy published yesterday in the Quancheng News. In that article, Zhang Shizhao spared no effort to praise Lunan's practice of promoting rural self-government, believing that this is the most effective governance of the countryside since three generations.

"He is still in Fei County and has not returned."

"This Zhao Muying ......," Yang Shixiang muttered. Regarding Zhang Shizhao's presence in Fei County, the county magistrate Zhao Muying has not reported to the governor's yamen so far.

"He's Long Qian's man." Luo Xiaocai said bluntly.

"What kind of feed does their Invalids Farm make? Have you read this article? Yang Shixiang grabbed a newspaper on the bookcase and shook it.

Regarding the news that Mengshan Jun stayed in Fei County's Invalids Farm to raise pigs, Yang Shixiang also read Zhang Shizhao's article before he learned about it. Zhang's article actually said. Pigs raised in captivity at Les Invalides can be slaughtered in just nine months.

"It's pure nonsense. I'm afraid that this surname Zhang has some origins, and I suspect that he is in the same group as Sun Wen overseas...... Adults should not be on guard. ”

Yang Shixiang stroked his forehead with his hand, "You go to Huayuan and send a post to Zhang Jizhi." Just say I'll treat him to a meal. This champion ......."

Zhang Jian is an old friend of Yuan Shikai, and he has a good relationship with Zhang Zhidong, and he is also valued by the Queen Mother. That day, Yang Shixiang invited a banquet for the Jiangsu and Zhejiang business groups, but he did not have the opportunity to talk to them alone.

"It's good. I'll go. ”

That night, at the governor's yamen, Yang Shixiang hosted a banquet for Zhang Jian alone. The food was delivered by the restaurant, in order to avoid people's eyes.

"Brother Ji. The investment promotion will be over soon, right? "Three rounds of drinking. Yang Shixiang asked.

"It's been postponed, and the twenty-fifth is going to be toppled down."

"Why postpone?"

"It's mostly a joint venture. Everyone is very interested in Huayuan Zhongxing building factories in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and some details to talk about, the original time is not enough. ”

"Oh? So to say this investment. The results are not small? ”

"Not small. Eliminate the arms industry in your province. Almost all of them have business deals. Especially in textiles, glass and furniture...... According to yesterday's statistics. Jiangsu and Zhejiang have signed a total of 33 agreements on agent commodities, reached nine joint venture intentions, and 11 are being negotiated. Zhang Jian said excitedly.

"So much? How much is the amount? ”

"I'm afraid the adults won't believe it. The final amount will not be less than seven million taels! Zhang Jian's face was full of red light, "This is the first issue." It is estimated that there will be merchants who will hear the news, maybe more than 10 million! ”

"Ten million taels of silver?" Yang Shixiang was taken aback.

Luo Xiaocai, who was in the seat, sank straight down. Since the opening of the China Merchants Association, he has been paying attention to the progress, which is also the task assigned to him by Yang Shixiang. On the first day of the commodity exhibition, he went to the commodity exhibition, and the reaction of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang business groups was in his eyes, but he really did not expect that there would be such a big result.

"The lord has a good way of governing Lu and can be called a model for Xinjiang ministers. What a gratifying congratulations! Zhang Jian arched his hand.

This sentence sounded a little ironic to Yang Shixiang. Shandong's booming industry really has little to do with him, the governor. 10 million silver flows into Huayuan and ZTE, how much can be done? Yang Shixiang really couldn't think of it.

"Jiangsu and Zhejiang are really rich in the world! I didn't expect to be able to come up with 10 million silver! ”

"Not all of this money is invested in Huayuan and ZTE," Zhang Jian explained, "and most of it is spent in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and Jiangsu accounts for about 70 percent." In Shandong, Huayuan accounts for the majority, and Zhongxing Industry is more of a heavy industry, oh, this is a word invented by Longjunmen, which is very appropriate. Jiangsu and Zhejiang are afraid that they will not be able to do it, there is a lack of iron and coal there, and the conditions are not available. However, this time, the goods of your province are afraid to enter Jiangsu and Zhejiang in a big way. In terms of the overall situation, it is beneficial to boycott foreign goods. ”

Yang Shixiang was a little confused, "Brother Ji, I have admired your Dasheng Yarn Factory for a long time." Do you have to buy cotton yarn from Shandong? ”

"I'm ashamed! At first, Zhang looked at the price of the exhibition, and thought it was a loss-making business, but after seeing Huayuan's factory and talking to the people in the textile factory, he knew where the gap was. There is no way, things in Shandong are cheap. It's probably more than 10% cheaper than me. According to the price he gave me, it was profitable to ship it to Suzhou, Nanjing and even Shanghai. Zhang Jian admitted that his factory could not compete with Huayuan.

"How so?" Luo Xiaocai interjected.

"There are secrets to managing a factory. Huayuan Textile Company is much more efficient than me, and the equipment is new, and more importantly, they have a set of methods that can greatly reduce waste. This results in a significant reduction in costs. I thought that Huayuan's salary for employees was low, but who knew that it was wrong! Zhang Jian raised his glass, "My lord, what surprised me the most was that their method was actually designed by Admiral Long, this person has great talents, and it is a pity that he is limited to managing the army." ”

"What's so hard about that? Can't you learn it? Luo Xiaocai disagreed.

"It's not that simple! Although Huayuan Industry has not been established for a long time, its system planning is far better than mine! For example, the technical level system they engaged in was extremely clever, so that the workers competed to learn the technical skills. Everyone who has an invention in the technology will give shares to everyone, even ordinary workers, and after this measure is implemented, everyone's efforts will be certain. Their technical training is also very good, and all workers must receive technical training, and the higher the level of training. The higher the salary, the more motivated the workers to learn cultural skills. In addition, Huayuan and Zhongxing Industrial actually implemented a pension system, which really surprised Zhang. With this guarantee, how can workers not work hard? What I admire the most is their research institute, where a lot of engineers are concentrated to ponder new products, and even the foreigners who work in them are amazed. There are at least 100 clothing styles every month! It's worth it! Zhang Jian smiled, "So congratulations, my lord, there are these two major industrial companies." The prospects for Shandong Province are truly limitless. ”

Luo Xiaocai was worried. Huayuan and ZTE are expanding day by day. It has become a huge force that affects the political situation in Shandong. The salary is high enough to buy people's hearts, and the implementation of the pension system has completely tied the employees of the two industrial groups to the enterprise! There is no one who does not rely on the enterprise as their own! Just imagine, relying on his son for thousands of years to provide for the elderly, and suddenly there is a way to ensure his old age. Who hasn't been eager to get there? No wonder even some lower-level staff of the government have gone to Huayuan to do things! And Long Qian is the behind-the-scenes helmsman of the two major industrial groups. This time, we will engage in investment promotion. The Senator of the Fifth Town, Fang Shengyuan, participated in it from beginning to end, pointing fingers and pointing fingers. Looking at the attitude of Zhou Xuexi and Xu Jianyin. Take it for granted. If he plots to expel Long Qian, not to mention his army, even the two major industrial groups will also obstruct it! What should I do?

Yang Shixiang's mind is similar to Luo Xiaocai's. Huayuan and Zhongxing are big taxpayers in the province, and if they make more money, the province should be happy, at least the tax revenue will increase year by year. But Yang Shixiang's heart was clouded, no matter how happy he was, he wanted to say something but didn't know where to speak, but Zhang Jian changed the topic and changed the topic from economics to politics, "Lord Yang, what do you think about the constitution?" ”

"Benfu has no research on this." This topic is relatively sensitive, and Yang Shixiang does not want to express his position easily.

"Last year, Zhang went to Japan and stayed for more than two months, and saw with his own eyes the scene of the other country's government and ambition and striving for progress, and he felt a lot of emotion. Fang Zhi was defeated by him ten years ago, and he was not wronged. "Zhang Jian came to Jinan this time, and the main purpose of lobbying Yang Shixiang to pull him into the constitutional camp is secondary, and business matters are secondary," the imperial court is difficult to come in Gengziguo, and he is determined to cheer up. The purpose of the New Deal is nothing more than to enrich the country and strengthen the army. But with the ancestral system of the imperial court, it is difficult to achieve this goal. Let's talk about the center, a group of greedy and stupid people hold power, how can they help great things? Constitutionalism is the trend of the world, and if you look at the war situation in Manchuria, the Japanese obviously have the upper hand, which shows that constitutionalism is the road to a strong country. It was the right time for us to follow the trend and prompt the imperial court to change course and quickly implement the constitution. Previously, I had written to Xiang Shuai and Lord Wei Ting, and both of them had this intention. Lianfu is the pillar of the imperial court, Shandong is thriving, all provinces admire, that is, Yuan Weiting is also appreciative of the adult, if the adult comes forward, contact several important Xinjiang ministers to promote this matter, rich country and strong army, just around the corner. Zhang Jian pointed out that the Manchurian nobles were incompetent, which made Luo Xiaocai very surprised, and hurriedly went to see Yang Shixiang, and saw that he was staring at the window, as if he was thinking.

Recently, Yuan Shikai replied to Yang Shixiang, in which, in addition to talking about the expansion of the Fifth Town's power in Shandong, he also talked at length about the issue of constitutionalism, and showed Yuan Shikai's basic attitude on the issue of constitutionalism, that is, to wait and see what happens, and neither oppose nor openly approve of it. Listening to Zhang Jian talk about this matter, he actually wanted to come out on his own. Yang Shixiang pondered for a moment, "This matter is big, it involves the fundamental politics of the imperial court, and I am afraid that it will be difficult for Yang to make a decision for a while." ”

"Sun Wen's advocacy of revolution overseas is quite confusing. Those revolutionary parties are just tossing and turning, and they can't get things done. But the constitution is a good way to save the country, looking at the world's strong countries, all of them are constitutional, conservative and defeated! The politics of our dynasty have reached the point where they must be changed! Even Liang Qichao, who is hiding in Japan, is strongly in favor of taking the road of constitutional monarchy! Adults' eyes are like torches, and they won't be unable to see the stakes clearly, right? ”

"Ji Zhi, being in it, I can't help but think twice. To be honest, I think it is the safest to take the road of industrial salvation in a down-to-earth manner. What's more, Yang is soft-spoken, where can he order the provinces? It's Lord Yuan, don't you also prescribe three times? Brother Ji, you have been in Jinan for almost ten days, what do you think of Long Qianlong's retreat? Can he praise the constitution? ”

Zhang Jian put down his chopsticks, "Don't hide it from you in Lianfu, I really can't understand this person." He was said to have been born overseas and lived in the United States for more than 20 years, and he has a lot of connections there. It is the capital technology that Huayuan and ZTE rely on to grow, and most of them come from the United States. Looking at its style, it is completely in the same vein of foreign affairs. His understanding of constitutionalism should be above Zhang. But Zhang talked about the constitution. He actually said that this was not to seize power from the Queen Mother? Never. ”

Yang Shixiang was shocked! I didn't expect Long Qian to see it so thoroughly. What is Constitutionalism? It's really asking the Queen Mother for power! I heard that the emperor of Japan has no real power to govern the country, and the authority is completely in the cabinet, who is the queen mother, Yang Shixiang is clear, no wonder Long Qian is deeply trusted by the queen mother, it is really a big deal. In case he makes a mistake, let Long Qian catch the handle and play the queen mother on a piece of paper, and it will be himself who will be driven out of Shandong! "Ji Zhi. Yang thought. Long retreated and thought about this, which was very reasonable. At this time, the Queen Mother has to be at the helm. ”

Zhang Jian was very disappointed. He wanted to say that the Queen Mother was in her last years, and her body was not as good as a year. Once the Queen Mother died. Is it still in power for the emperor? It is said that he is enlightened. It is not certain that it is in favor of the constitution. But it is said that Imakami's health is also very bad, and he doesn't even have an heir. Moreover, since Wuxu. The Queen Mother and the Emperor are on the same page, will the Queen Mother return her authority to the present? The more Yang Shixiang thought about it, the more afraid he became, this Zhang Jizhi really embarrassed himself. In today's situation, one wrong step is a catastrophe! Thinking of this, Yang Shixiang already had an idea, "Brother Ji, Yang has only been in charge of Shandong for three months, and he really doesn't dare to say anything about the major affairs of the imperial court. It's a policy for governing Lu, and I hope Brother Ji will give him advice! ”

Zhang Jian saw that Yang Shixiang was silent about the constitution, and he had no interest in talking, "In my opinion, if you continue like this, Shandong will definitely be the richest man in China." ”

At this time, Zhang Shizhao, who returned to Jinan from Lunan, had a secret conversation with Long Qian at Long Qian's house.

Zhang Shizhao followed the Jiangsu and Zhejiang business groups to visit Yizhou and Yanzhou, and did not come back with the business group, but went to Fei County and stayed near Zhengjiazhuang for three days. The reason why we want to see the old base of the Mengshan Army is completely accidental. When he visited Huayuan Steel Mill in Yizhou, he "interviewed" several workers out of the instinct of a newspaper person, and it happened that two of them were recruited from Fei County, and one of them was already a squad leader. Zhang Shizhao was surprised at why Huayuan Steel Mill went to Fei County to recruit workers, and the workers explained the reason, which aroused Zhang Shizhao's interest and proposed to go to the "base area" to have a look. So Fang Shengyuan sent someone to accompany him to Zhengjiazhuang for a field trip. The manuscript sent back praised the village self-government. When he came back, he ran to find Long Qian as soon as possible, but Long Qian went to the Qingzhou military camp. When Long Qian came back the next day, he sent someone to invite the Zhang family to his home.

Zhang Jian is lobbying for the constitution, and Zhang Shizhao bluntly said that the queue is full! Of course, after complimenting the great achievements of the Mengshan Army in governing the countryside.

"China's affairs have always been talked about more and done less. Zhang was lonely and unheard, and he didn't know that General Lu Dao had done so much good governance in a down-to-earth manner! exterminate the bandits, so that there are no more bandits in the province, so that Shandong Xiangma has become history; Stop opium, bless your descendants, and benefit future generations! The implementation of rural self-government, the suppression of the powerful, the vigorous implementation of rent and interest reduction, the organization of compulsory literacy classes to eradicate illiteracy in the next generation, the construction of water conservancy and the promotion of improved varieties to increase food production, the establishment of invalids farms to accommodate disabled soldiers, and the implementation of the staff pension system in factories are even more supreme acts of kindness! All kinds of good governance made Zhang admire! Zhang Shizhao sighed and said, "I grew up reading Confucian and Mencian classics, and I am determined to do saints and make immortal contributions." During the trip to Qilu, I knew that the saint had come out. Mencius said to King Qi Xuan: 'Those who have no permanent property have no perseverance' He also said, 'The old and the old, and the old of people, the young and the young', the world can be carried in the palm of your hand. But how many have done it? The dragon general Zhilu is close to a saint. Looking at the politics of Shandong, the world must be surnamed Long. ”

is worthy of being a chapter madman, and he dares to say such things.

"Mr. Xingyan has won the award, and Long doesn't dare to take credit. Eradicating bandits is Long's duty. Not worthy of praise from Mr. The ban on opium is still a big talk, and there are still opium growers in Shandong Province, and there are even more people who sell and smoke them. The word 'forbidden' lives up to its name, and I'm afraid it will be a few years later. The rest is the work of everyone, especially the former governor Zhou Fu Zhou. Moreover, Mr. Zhang only sees the good side of things, and there are many disadvantages of rural autonomy, and Long really knows it! In a word, Mr. Zhang has won the award! And what Mr. said about the world's surname Dragon, it is a drunken word, be cautious, be cautious! Long Qian shook his head, very disapproving.

"Zhang is just telling the truth. The world is the world of the people of the world, and only the virtuous live in it. The Manchu Qing Qi is exhausted, can't the general see it? ”

Long Qian knew that this madman was a rebel, but he was not the hardcore of the Alliance. As for the current situation, the Xingzhong Association and the Huaxing Association have been established, and the Alliance Association is not a merger of the above two. No one can say clearly. Wu Luzhen was the first to openly advocate anti-Qing in front of him, but there has been no news since the military parade. Now there is another Zhang Shizhao, this person is not ordinary, at least much more famous than Wu Luzhen. Long Qian thought about it for a while, and decided to try to recruit this famous figure in cultural history, "Mr. Xingyan may not know the origin of Long. Long's ancestors were businessmen, who went to Nanyang early and then moved to the Americas. I'm fed up with the bullying of foreigners. Although there is little money to spare. But in a foreign country. The pain of being bullied by white people everywhere can only be truly understood by those involved. So my family ordered me to come back to serve the motherland. The strength of a person is very limited, only everyone knows the true meaning of the country and the nation, and everyone works hard. There is hope for the country. Serendipity. Long has developed from a horse leader in Mengshan to the present. I never dare to forget the teachings of my ancestors to serve the country, if there are some achievements, it depends on the imperial court. Especially the virtue of the queen mother. It is the result of the joint efforts of a group of like-minded comrades. Drinking water and thinking about the source, if there is no queen mother, there will be no Long Qian today. Therefore, as long as the Queen Mother is alive, Long Qian will fulfill his duties and serve the court. ”

Without waiting for Zhang Shizhao to refute, Long Qian continued, "Today's world is a great change that has not been encountered in 3,000 years. What is the future, they are disturbed, and there is no consensus. There are those who advocate constitutionalism, there are those who advocate revolutionaries, and there are even those who advocate anarchism. But in Long's view, whether it is a constitution or a revolution, it is a means rather than an end. If we fail to truly understand the real state of society and do research in a down-to-earth manner to find out the way to enrich the country and strengthen the army, even if we promote the establishment of a constitution or overthrow the Manchu Qing Dynasty in order to achieve a republic, the country will still be like this. More than ninety percent of the people are illiterate, eighty percent of the people are struggling to make ends meet, and everything with a little technical content depends on imports. Armaments are lax, and national defense is in name only. The innumerable traitorous treaties that have been carried out for decades have exhausted the country's vitality. Now even tariffs, railways, and minerals are in the hands of foreigners, and Russia, Japan, Britain, France, the United States, and Germany are all treating China as a meal. The coastal land along the river has been divided into concessions and become a country within a country. Taiwan, Penghu, Ryukyu and even large areas of land in the northeast are no longer owned by China. Not only that, Tibet, Xinjiang, Outer Mongolia, and even Manchuria have already been struck by separatism. Mr. Xingyan, do you think that if the revolution succeeds and the Manchus abdicate, these problems can be easily solved? ”

"The general said it so well! That's the reason for the revolution. If the Manchus continued to govern, the situation would undoubtedly continue to deteriorate! Now the general has a strong army, and Shandong's industry is so prosperous, it can be said that there are soldiers and soldiers, and money is rich, which is the time for men to make contributions. Zhang Shizhao didn't expect Long Qian to have such a clear understanding of the current situation, and he was overjoyed.

"According to what Mr. said, even if Long succeeds in raising troops against the Qing Dynasty, what he establishes is just another authoritarian regime. What about the Han Chinese? Why did the Ming Dynasty lose to the Manchus? Mr. learns to be rich and has five cars, don't you understand it thoroughly? Oh, sir, or think so, wouldn't it be nice to overthrow the monarchy, establish a republic, and establish a real democratic government, as Washington did back then? But how many of the people understand the true meaning of a republic? A history of China is about the fact that there are no two days in the sky, there are no two masters for the people, and those who follow me prosper and those who oppose me perish. It is said that Mr. Sun Wen formed a revolutionary party, and he also asked his party members to swear allegiance to the leader in public until death. There's such a thing, right? If the leader betrays his ideals and establishes a dictatorship, will he still keep his oath? Besides, a group of generals under Long have followed me so far, relying on victory after victory, promotion and promotion, and fortune and fortune. If they were asked to hand over power after the revolution, do you think they would still listen to Long? The first person to aim at the muzzle of the gun is himself. ”

Zhang Shizhao was stunned, what Long Qian said was reasonable, but he never thought about it, "In the general's opinion, where should I start for today's plan?" ”

"Nothing. The only way to awaken the people and open up their wisdom is to open up the people's wisdom. What Long did in Shandong was to let the people live a good life, first solve the problem of food and clothing, and then establish modern industry and agriculture. Long Mou has always believed that the people of China are the best people, as long as the government is good to the people, the people will never rebel against the government! Mr. Xingyan, instead of sitting and talking, it is better to do something. Now I sincerely invite Mr. to come to Lu, whether it is running a school or running a newspaper, and do some basic work to broaden the wisdom of the people, what do you think? ”

"This ......" Zhang Shizhao really didn't expect Long Qian to recruit him, but Long Qian's words really moved him, "Let me think about it." ”

"There's no rush to this. The door of Shandong is always open to Mr. ”

No one knows about Long Qian and Zhang Shizhao's secret conversation. But the investment promotion finally ended on July 25. The harvest is quite abundant, a total of 49 agreements of various types were signed, including 26 agency commodity contracts, the performance of these contracts will enable Shandong commodities to further open up the sales channels of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. There are 23 contracts for joint ventures and cooperation, including 9 contracts for building factories in major cities in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and 14 contracts for investment in Huayuan and ZTE. To this end, Huayuan and ZTE will receive 4.5 million taels of funds within six months.

The purpose of the China Merchants Association has basically been achieved.

During the investment promotion period, merchants from all over Shandong came to Jinan one after another, bringing another problem. Therefore, after sending away the Jiangsu and Zhejiang business groups, at the suggestion of Long Qianzhi, the Shandong General Chamber of Commerce was established, and Zhou Xuexi was elected as the president, aiming to concentrate Shandong's financial resources more extensively, communicate with each other, and develop together. Under the Chamber of Commerce, various guilds should be established one after another to regulate the behavior of the business community in order to achieve greater development. (To be continued......)