Chen Chao, who stayed in Yizhou, had already learned that the Mengshan Army had been reorganized into the fifth town of the Beiyang Army, which was in charge of the defense of Shandong Province. This news made all walks of life in Yizhou very excited. This indicates that the two major industrial groups of Huayuan and ZTE will go to the whole province, rather than being limited to Lunan.

After the main force of the Mengshan Army went north to fight the flood, Chen Chao was so busy in Lunan that he couldn't take care of the Mengshan Army's flood fighting in Caozhou and Wuding. It was only through the remaining agencies of the Intelligence Service that I learned about some of the troops.

Huayuan Company is currently negotiating seven cooperation projects with foreign companies in Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom, including two in the military industry, namely the introduction of bullet production lines and primer production lines. The remaining five are civilian. For the two military-industrial projects, the Germans and the British fought fiercely. ZTE is said to have similar projects under negotiation, including the expansion of the explosives production line that Long Qian is extremely concerned about, and has signed a letter of intent with the United States, but the formal contract has not yet been signed. The British were eager to take a stake in the Zhongxing Coal Mine, probably the sweetness they had tasted in the Kaiping Coal Mine in the north. The Germans were not limited to cooperation with Huayuan, they also extended their tentacles to Yanzhou, and were very interested in the grenades produced by ZTE. Hope to get the full set of blueprints for the grenade. Long Qian wrote that he could give the process of making grenades to the Germans, because that thing was not very complicated for the Germans, and it could be copied soon after getting a few samples. Long Qian instructed ZTE to negotiate with the Germans on this issue, hoping to purchase the Germans' artillery shell production equipment and technology, and first solve the problem of small calibers, such as 37mm and 57mm calibers, but the introduction of this significant technology was interfered with by the British. It's still a matter of rage.

Chen Chao, who is immersed in the business world, has understood the true meaning of the market and resources that Long Qian has repeatedly emphasized. Although Huayuan and ZTE have launched their own commercial outlets in other places, such as Jinan, Taiyuan, Tianjin, Hankou, Nanjing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, they all have the branch of Jinyuan ticket number and the sales points of Huayuan and ZTE. But the limitations of resources have been tasted by Chen Chao. In addition, the cost, although the Taiwan-Zaozhuang Railway presided over by Mr. Zhan Tianyou, a classmate introduced by Tang Shaoyi, was completed and opened to traffic in September, which communicated the connection between Yanzhou and the Grand Canal, and more than doubled the transportation cost of coal and coke products in Zaozhuang Coal Mine. The highway from Yizhou to Zaozhuang is also under intense construction, the investment of up to one million taels of silver, with the most advanced building materials ash high-grade highway is expected to be completed next summer, but for the high mountains and deep ravines, the traffic is inconvenient for Lunan. The traffic problem is far from being completely solved.

Mr. Zhan Tianyou, who was excited to preside over the construction of the first self-made railway in China, urgently proposed to put on the railway from Yizhou to Haizhou (now Lianyungang) as soon as possible. This suggestion was first made by Long Qian. At that time, the Taizao Railway had just been launched, and Zhan Tianyou immediately fully agreed with this more ambitious proposal. In the process of construction, Huayuan and ZTE have tasted the pain of heavy equipment imported from the United States, especially the transshipment of steelmaking equipment, not to mention whether the Germans are willing or not. The problem is that the construction of the Jiaoji Railway, which they presided over, is still under slow construction. It will not be completed and opened to traffic until 1904 at the earliest. After the Germans initially failed to intervene in the Taiwan-Zao Railway. After hearing that Lunan intended to take on the railway from Mayizhou to Haizhou, he proposed many joint ventures and cooperation plans. In particular, the idea of cooperation in the arms industry competed with the Americans, hoping that Lunan would give up the construction of a new railroad to the sea in order to ensure the effectiveness of the Jiaoji line they were building. And the most powerful country of England also intervened and supported Lunan to build the Yihai Railway, and the British naturally had their own calculations. The Americans, who tasted the sweetness in the construction of the Taizao Railway, were not to be left behind, and proposed to use Huayuan and Zhongxing shares as collateral to lend Lunan $3 million to start construction of the Yihai Railway, of course, the relevant materials must be imported from the United States.

Zhan Tianyou has already calculated the construction cost of the Yihai Railway. The actual silver consumption of the Taizao Railway is 1.54 million taels, which is equivalent to about 2.2 million yuan in silver dollars. It saved 230,000 yuan compared with the budget. The mileage of the Yihai Railway is more than three times that of the Taizao Railway, but due to the skill and terrain of the technology, the actual construction cost will not be three times that of the Taizao, and it can be won with about six million silver dollars. If you get a $3 million loan from the United States, it will be exactly the amount of the construction budget. There's no need to worry about money.

However, the major matter of using the company's mortgage required Long Qian's approval, and the report was sent to Wuding Mansion, and Long Qian, who was in charge of the complete army expansion, took Ning Shijun and Jiang Yun to Beijing, which is said to be like the formation of the fifth town in the imperial court.

Chen Chao had long thought that Long Qian should go to Beijing. The imperial court expanded the right wing of the Weisheng Army into the fifth town of Beiyang, which shows the court's trust in Long Qian. The Beiyang New Army formed a total of six towns, and the Mengshan Army occupied one, what a proud thing to be? But since Long Qian led the army back to Zhengjiazhuang in the spring of the Xin Chou year, Long Qian has never been on the gate of Jingshi. Where does this work? Although Chen Chao has the character of a traditional knowledge person, he also knows that if the affairs of the imperial court are not followed, things will never be done. Chen Chao basically knows the operation method of the county government, even if you go through the procedures for transferring the ownership of the house, you can't do it without taking care of the relevant officials. From small to large, the court is also virtuous.

The other is the issue of military spending. Chen Chao doesn't understand military affairs, but he knows that the army is a money-burning machine, and in the past two years, he has bought guns and guns from the Germans, and how much silver has been drained from the Jinyuan ticket number? Hundreds of boxes of bullets were brought back, and they were all shot out of the training ground with a bang. It wasn't a bullet, it was a silver dollar. Not to mention the fixed monthly salary.

The formation of the fifth town, the military equipment must have expanded, the imperial court can't allocate the money, can only rely on Shandong Province to raise troops, even if Governor Zhou Fu and Long Qian have a good personal relationship, sixty percent of the burden will fall on Lu Nan. For what? Because of the strong rise of Huayuan and ZTE, it has brought several times the tax revenue to Yi and Yanzhou. But there are too many places to spend money in Lunan, and the construction plan formulated by Long Qian is a headache just for transportation. He not only had to thoroughly communicate the connection between Yizhou and Yanzhou, but also to build high-grade highways from Yanzhou to Tai'an and from Yizhou to Qingzhou. A Taizao railway and a highway from Yizhou to Yixian made Chen Chao understand the huge investment in transportation construction. How much will it cost to build two more high-grade roads?

And. Almost all factories are planning to expand their production capacity, which one does not need to be supported by silver?

Fortunately, Long Qian not only knows the soldiers, but also understands the economy. If he goes to Beijing, he will definitely reach out to the imperial court, and if the military expenses of the fifth town are taken care of by the household department, it will greatly reduce the pressure on Lunan and even Shandong.

The news of the formation of the fifth town, Long Qian as the commander, and Ye Yanbing as the deputy commander of the tenth association and the twentieth standard standard, excited Chen Chao. The first few days when I got the news were overwhelming. Of course, the Yizhou government and the senior management of Huayuan Industry solemnly congratulated Chen Chao, and for this reason, Chen Chao also booked a banquet in Yizhou for two consecutive days to invite the government dignitaries and colleagues of Huayuan Industry. But some heartfelt words can only be said to family members. For example, You Shi and Chen Shu. In those days, because Long Qian led the army north, You lived in Chen Shu's house to help take care of the children, Chen Chao basically didn't know his own home, and went to Chen Shu to rest every day after work. I talked to my wife and niece about the great changes in the past three years. Think about the scene when Long Qian led hundreds of people to open Zhengjiazhuang three and a half years ago. Who would have thought that it would only be three years. How did he get this far? He had nearly 20,000 elite soldiers. And have your own iron-clad territory? Throughout history, how many people have been able to do this in such a short period of time? Now the fifth town has taken over the defense of Shandong Province, with the full support of Zhou Fu. Who would dare to oppose the Mengshan Army in those patrol battalions in various places? Look, in another three years at most, Long Qian will definitely control the whole province of Shandong and become a veritable prince along the way!

In this regard, Chen Chao has absolute confidence. Long Qian's ability to take advantage of the general trend is unmatched, think about it, once he went north to King Qin, he actually leaned on the big tree of the Queen Mother of the West, and had the deepest support in the imperial court; One Huayuan, one Zhongxing, tied the Shandong officialdom tightly to themselves, the Yamen of the Yanzhou Prefect of Yizhou, and even the Yamen of the Governor, including the Shandong Domain, why did Lu support Huayuan and Zhongxing so much? That's because Long Qian gave them shares! Supporting Huayuan and ZTE is entirely for themselves! used a David to tie the Americans to Lunan's chariot, and used Situ Jun to tie the line with the German army occupying Qingdao; Now, the British are also roaring forward, if it weren't for Long Qian growing up in the United States, who would be able to deal with foreigners so easily and without suffering? I'd love to see how far he can go.

You is worried about the marriage of her daughter Chen Xian. It was originally scheduled to hold a happy event for Ye Yanbing and Chen Xian on the ninth day of November, but after the date was determined, Ye Yanbing's widowed mother from the countryside was brought to Yizhou in advance. The new house has also been found, it is a two-entry courtyard in the east of the Yihe River, not far from the Suiying Military Academy. But Ye Yanbing only agreed to rent and not to buy. I didn't understand it before, it seems that Long Qian had blown the wind on Ye Yanbing, and he was already preparing to recall his brother-in-law back to the field troops. Now that I have received reliable news, I have also received a letter from Ye Yanbing, his twentieth bid will be stationed in Dongchang Mansion, and there is no need to buy a house in Yizhou, because Chen Xian will definitely follow him to Dongchang. It's Chen Shu, I'm afraid I'm going to live in Jinan, right?

Talking about this, Chen Shu, who was holding Zhenhua, said, I have long known that there is really no need to buy a house or land, that is, Jinan, who knows how many years I can live? His heart is too big, and my family is afraid that we will have to drift with him for the rest of our lives.

You Shi smiled happily, people go to high places, who would have thought that Shu'er would go to Jinan Mansion in such an identity? It's just a pity for this house.

Chen Shu said, auntie, he will definitely ask his uncle to go to Jinan to help him, maybe this year, maybe next year, our family will be reunited in Jinan. It's Xiaoxian, who can only wander with Ye Yanbing. The army is always transferred back and forth, and there is no fixed number.

You Shi is worried that Chen Xian's day of happy events will be postponed, this is late October, Ye Yanbing is still in Dongchang, the army has just taken over the defense, and they have to recruit troops, and they have to receive equipment for training, so they have no time to go back to Yizhou Zhang Luo's own marriage. Seeing that the wedding date is approaching, many of the things that the man has done have not yet been found. The in-laws are an uninformed country woman, and everything has to wait for the son who has come out of her life to come back to Zhang Luo. Chen Shu proposed to postpone the marriage, but You was unwilling. These days are mainly thinking about this important event.

You Shi and Chen Shu were talking about housework, but Chen Chao was thinking, how did Long Qian know that the Mengshan Army would be expanded into the fifth town by the imperial court and take over the defense of the whole province? If he is not sure, how can Ye Yanbing stop buying a house and would rather rent a house to get married? Thinking of many things that had happened in the past, Chen Chao couldn't help but be afraid of Long Qian's extraordinary gaze.

"That matter, I'm afraid it has to be done according to Shu'er's opinion. Shu'er, you send a letter to Yan Bing and ask for his opinion. In addition," Chen Chao said to his wife, "It's inconvenient for me to come forward, you go to meet your in-laws' wife and see what they mean." If you're okay, choose a new date. Yan Bing has a heavy responsibility, and he can't be disturbed to lead the troops. Chen Chao listened to his wife and niece chatting about Xiaoxian, and made the last decision.

Another business that happened soon had to postpone Ye Yanbing's marriage. One day at the end of October, Chen Chao received a message from Wang Zhifeng, the chief of the Intelligence Department, saying that Long Qian had asked Chen Chao to leave for Jinan immediately, and that he had arranged for an escort and that Wang Zhifeng would personally escort Chen Chao.

"Has your commander returned from Beijing?" Chen Chao asked Wang Zhifeng.

"I don't know. Since Director Jiang has sent news, the commander must have arrived in Jinan Mansion, right? When will we leave, please show Mr. Chen. Wang Zhifeng was respectful in front of Chen Chao. (To be continued......)