What was the most precious thing in the industrial age? Undoubtedly, it is the skilled workforce, which is the basis of a country's industrial production, even more important than resources.

Japan, for example, has few resources, but it is still able to build a well-developed industrial system. Especially in World War II, it was almost blown into rubble by the Americans, but after the war, it was able to recover quickly, and the economy was even more developed than before World War II, relying on a strong labor force.

Zhang Tinglan is very aware of this, if Fengtian wants to develop industry, it is inseparable from all kinds of skilled workers, and without the support of talents, nothing can be played. But China is still full of illiteracy, heavy industry is almost blank, and there is a lack of available talent and a training base.

As the so-called clever woman is difficult to cook without rice, Zhang Tinglan is extremely worried about this, so when he heard Fred talk about Russian technicians, Zhang Tinglan suddenly came to the spirit, although the Russian industrial level is low, it does not mean that skilled workers must be poor, and even if they are very poor, they are better than China.

"Old friend, what is happening in Russia, tell me!"

"It's not a good thing for some people to do!" Fred glanced at Zhang Tinglan, and then said: "After the Grand Duke of Nicholas was placed under house arrest, the empress wanted to use this as an excuse to clean up the forces that opposed her, and the Far East became a hard-hit area, as a result, a large number of Russian officials and generals were arrested, and the Far East was almost paralyzed. ”

Listening to Fred's introduction, Zhang Tinglan was also a little dumbfounded, Russia was still desperate with the Germans on the Western Front, and what the country needed most was stability, but the queen, a stupid person, blindly did it, and replaced a large number of confidant officials in the Far East, and the first thing these people did when they took office was to recruit soldiers and food.

On the one hand, it is to thank the queen for her promotion, and on the other hand, it is also to satisfy his greed and let these people mess around. The Far East's economy, which was on the verge of collapse, was on a precipice, young workers were sent to Europe to fight in the war, and the factories that were already underrun almost came to a standstill.

However, this turmoil was not over, and the empress's perverse behavior completely angered the nobles of Tsarist Russia, and the Russian nobles led by Prince Yusupov decided to take decisive action to stop the empress's stupid actions.

Of course, they attacked the queen directly, but these people didn't dare, so the general pointed the finger at the demon monk Rasputin. Blaming Rasputin for the crime, saying that he bewitched the empress, Prince Yusupov and others also played the banner of Qingjun's side and successfully assassinated Rasputin.

Because of the reason why Zhang Tinglan's butterfly instigated its wings, Rasputin compared to history. It was a year before it fell. However, the death of this demon monk did not bring good luck to Russia. On the contrary, it greatly provoked the struggle for power between the Russian aristocracy and the bureaucracy.

Petrograd fell into chaos. This is even more true for the Far East, where many factories have been shut down, and a large number of workers have lost their jobs.

Zhang Tinglan didn't expect that his helpless actions would cause so much harm to Russia, if it continued to ferment. Maybe Russia will lose the war ahead of schedule, and even the pattern of the entire First World War will change, which is what Zhang Tinglan is most unwilling to see.

"Is the state of affairs in Tsarist Russia bad? Can it be sustained? ”

"It's terrible indeed." Fred said: "But Britain has provided Russia with a batch of emergency aid to help the Tsar stabilize the morale of the army. In a short period of time, Russia will not collapse, and if it continues to fight, I can't guarantee it! ”

Zhang Tinglan nodded: "I can't control the life and death of Tsarist Russia, hurry up, when we take advantage of the chaos in Russia, we have to get more benefits." For the sake of secrecy, I will let them live in Tieling for the time being, and I will also arrange a special residence. In addition, old friends can take the opportunity to dismantle some second-hand machines and come back, it would be great if they could get some rifle and artillery production lines, steel mills, power plants, chemical factories are also possible, what can be done! ”

"Zhang, I know that you have a huge appetite and always make trouble for me, Russia is in the war stage, these factories are strictly controlled, and if you want to get factories to China, you have to take too many risks!"

"Old friend, if you say that, it means you still have a way, doesn't it?" Zhang Tinglan said: "These things are not mine alone, but ours, you still have shares in Xingye Company, don't you want to watch our business flourish?" ”

Some things are like drugs, as long as they are touched, they will be addicted, the reason why Fred, the Jew, willingly helped Zhang Tinglan, was attracted by the appalling benefits, in just a few months, he has made millions of profits, and the wealth at his disposal is ten times that, almost he is the uncrowned king of the Russian Far East.

Don't look at the reshuffle of officials in the Far East, but it did not affect Fred's power at all, on the contrary, the new officials who came to power are more greedy, more unscrupulous, and desperate to make huge profits by smuggling.

It's not that these people don't know about the bad situation in Russia, but they can't resist the temptation to benefit Russia, and these guys are also smart people, and they are ready to transfer their assets to China so that they can avoid being liquidated.

"I want workers, I want machines, I want funds. Old friend, I will ask Mr. Wang Yongjiang to work with you to formulate a concrete plan of action, and our goal is to empty the Far East! ”

As soon as Fred heard this, he began to pray for Tsarist Russia in his heart, this unfortunate country, not to mention internal and external troubles, was also targeted by a bad star, it was really difficult not to die.

But what does Russia's life and death have to do with him, what he needs is enough profits, the old guy has set himself a huge goal, within a year, he will increase his assets to 100 million, and become the world's top richest man.

Fred went to arrange, Zhang Tinglan was suddenly full of ambition, although industrial construction can not be opportunistic, but he can rely on foresight, grasp every opportunity, and maximize benefits, and also grasp in a short period of time, make Fengtian strong.

After arranging this matter, Zhang Tinglan participated in the intense training of the new army, and he is now the acting commander of the second regiment of the independent brigade, with more than 1,000 recruits under his command. In the past, the Armed Police Corps could only be regarded as training, and most of those soldiers were veterans of the 27th Division, selling dog meat on sheep's heads.

This recruit is Zhang Tinglan's team. Not only Zhang Tinglan attaches great importance to it, but even Zhang Zuoxiang is extremely attentive, he arranged the best sources of soldiers, and specially found the best instructors to help Zhang Tinglan train soldiers.

However, after the real training began, Zhang Tinglan's head was bigger, and the vast majority of people not only couldn't read big characters, but they couldn't even tell the difference between left and right. When they first arrived, some even wore big braids, unaware that the Manchus had fallen. When their braids were cut off, the gang wept bitterly.

The instructors also had a good idea of tying a hemp rope around each soldier's right wrist to help them distinguish between left and right, as long as they turned wrong. No mercy, it's a stick to go up. Zhang Tinglan couldn't do it at first. But he soon changed his mind. Not only did they beat people, but they also hit harder, and only the pain could make these people wake up from their numbness.

"Remember, the more you sweat in training, the less blood you shed in battle. Not long ago, the Japanese were clamoring for an army against Mukden. They want to turn the three eastern provinces into their colonies. Do you know the colonies? Your land, your wives and sisters, and your lives will belong to the Japanese, and they will give birth to you. Let you die and die. At that time, we will all be slaves of the country, just like cattle and horses, animals! ”

Zhang Tinglan spoke loudly to these rookies between trainings, and he didn't expect them to fully understand what he said, but at least to give them an impression. Then they are instilled again and again, whether it is brainwashing or ideological education, in short, they must instill a concept and plant a seed of hatred for the sun, and slowly this will become a belief.

"So you're not training for money, or for a place to eat, and you can't buy a life for a dollar or two a month. You are for your family, for your relatives and neighbors, for being able to live in the world with your heart straight like a human being! ”

The soldiers all seemed to understand and listened, they were both afraid and grateful to Zhang Tinglan, the young commander. I was afraid that Zhang Tinglan's punishment was absolutely harsh, and as long as there was a little problem, he would inevitably be beaten. Moreover, Zhang Tinglan formulated a large number of regulations, from eating to sleeping, from internal affairs to military appearance, each of which has detailed norms and clear rules, and those who violate it will be severely punished.

These people are usually used to being casual, where are they willing to be bound by the rules, but the army is the place where the rules are the greatest, either honestly abide by the rules and disciplines, and accept punishment for fouling, or they will get out.

Speaking of which, these recruits are really reluctant to leave, although the salary of the independent brigade is much higher than that of the 27th Division, but there is absolutely no other treatment. Everyone's underwear and outerwear, shoes and socks, hats and belts, everything is not lacking, and they are all well-made, beautiful and wear-resistant, cut and fitted, wearing military uniforms, and the whole body is full of spirit, and the state is immediately different.

In addition to wearing, eating and drinking are also first-class, most of the soldiers may have eaten meat in the first ten years, adding up to not more than these days, breakfast steamed buns are enough, each person is given an egg, chicken, duck and fish at noon and evening, especially the braised pork is fat and oily, which makes people look drooling.

Even the landlord's family does not have this condition, so no matter how difficult the training is, as long as they smell the aroma of the food, they have the spirit, this year, where to find such oily food.

There is also a reason why Zhang Tinglan spends a lot of money on food, these soldiers are all seventeen or eighteen years old, and they are at the critical moment of growing their bodies, and if they have sufficient nutrition, their physical fitness can be greatly improved. And the training these days is really too hard, endless queue training, two five-kilometer cross-country runs a day, and a lot of physical training, if the nutrition can't keep up, these recruits decide not to stand up.

However, this kind of training is also effective, these young men quickly became stronger, all the muscles of the body bulged, and they were full of energy, like little tigers.

Of course, Zhang Tinglan did this, and there was another great convenience, that is, the canning factory was becoming more and more prosperous, and a large amount of meat was purchased every day. To make canned food for the British and Russians, it is enough to use a little garbage in the corners, and every day the fattest and good meat is picked out and sent to the barracks.

Not only the independent brigade, but even the food level of the 27th Division is also improving in a straight line, although the matter is not big, but the Feng army must remember Zhang Tinglan's benefits. In the past, even if you had money, you couldn't buy so much good meat, after all, Fengtian's consumption power was limited. However, after the cannery was built, the surrounding area was delivered to the cannery, and even in the Rehe area, there were people who trafficked cattle and sheep.

After Zhang Tinglan's lecture ended, he immediately commanded these recruits to run with weights, and Zhang Tinglan also followed closely behind, at this time Zhang Xueliang suddenly came and caught up with Zhang Tinglan.

"Brother Tinglan, my father's letter of appointment has come down, and the Governor of Fengtian has arrived!"

"Han Qing, this is a great thing, the Seventh Master has finally come to this point!"

"Brother Tinglan, it's not that simple, Yuan Datou also arranged a emperor for my father."