In mid-August, except for Han Ziying's 18 standards stationed in Lianzhou, the main force of the Mengshan Army that went out to western Guangdong has returned to Guangzhou, except for the 17 standards of the Fengguo Pillar that entered the city in the early stage, the guard battalion directly under the city and the headquarters of the fifth town, the rest of the troops were all stationed outside the city, and no civilian houses were requisitioned, and they all lived in their own tents.

In the Liangguang Governor's Palace, Long Qian once again met Zhou Xuexi's father, the former governor of Shandong, the governor of Liangjiang, and Zhou Fu, who had already returned home but was immediately appointed by the imperial court as the governor of Liangguang.

He was seventy years old this year, but he was in good spirits and grew stronger when he was old.

"Don't come unharmed, sir!" Long Qian gave a deep salute and said with a smile, "Seeing that the boss is as healthy as ever, it really makes the lower officials very happy!" ”

"Retreat! Which play are you playing? The people of Guangzhou were terrified. Zhou Fu ignored Long Qian's compliments, and the split was a reproach, he was referring to Long Qian's encirclement and disarming of the second standard of the Guangdong New Army, which caused the panic of the people of Guangzhou.

"Don't worry, boss, and listen to the lower officials, the lower officials have no choice but to do this." Long Qian told Zhao Sheng's rebellion again, "This is terrible, who knows how many chaotic parties are still hidden in the army?" Otherwise, it's not perfect. ”

Originally thinking about how to unify the Guangzhou army, he fell asleep and gave a pillow, and even made a fuss about Zhao Shengce's opposition to the new army, Long Qian forcibly disarmed the remnants of Guo Renzhang's first standard in Lianzhou, and returned to Guangzhou.

Since he was a copywriter for Li Hongzhang, Zhou Fu has been immersed in officialdom for decades. I don't know how much intrigue and trickery I have experienced, combined with what Long Qian did in Shandong, I can see Long Qian's intentions at a glance, "Retreat!" It's good to get rid of hidden dangers, but don't cause new turmoil. What about Guo Renzhang? You didn't do anything to him, did you? ”

"Of course he's in good hands. However, in view of his dereliction of duty, I have removed him from the post of commander, and I am about to report to the boss that the lower officials have appointed Wang Mingyuan to take charge of the Guangdong patrol battalion, and the patrol battalion of the whole province must be put in order! Hey. Even a group of peasants who put down their hoes and touched their knives and guns for the first time could not beat them. It's just a waste of money, and it is a scourge to the township! ”

"Retreat! Guo Renzhang's father is Guo Songlin, you should know the way. Don't look at the face of the monk and look at the face of the Buddha, don't go too far. Zhou Fu's heart was half relieved. Looking at Long Qian's personality. Not murderous and aggressive. All men live. That's a lot easier.

"I'll hand Guo Renzhang back to you, and the boss will use it if he thinks he can use it. But the army, he doesn't want to mix up, he's not that material. The patrol battalion was handed over to Mingyuan. Although you can rest assured, within a year, Guangdong will definitely not leave the road behind and will not close its doors at night. Ha Lu Ha. "Regarding the appointment of the new commander of the patrol battalion, Long Qian did not ask for instructions at all, but just reported.

Zhou Fu acquiesced. Wang Mingyuan is Bai Ruiting's son-in-law, and he is also an insider of the "system", Long Qian, as the governor of Guangdong, already has the right to rectify the patrol battalion, if it was four years ago, Zhou Fu would not care. But today's Long Qian is already ambitious and different from the past. What's worse is that he has seven sons under his knees, and the most outstanding one is the fourth Xuexi, who is now deeply trapped in the "big boat" of Long Qian, and even if he wants to selectively stand in line, he can't help himself.

The old governor stroked Hu and pondered for a moment, "Retreat, you have traveled thousands of miles south this time, following the pacification of the Hunan and Jiangxi Rebellion, and quickly cut through the chaos to quell the rebellion in western Guangdong, which can be regarded as another great achievement, and the court's Zhujie document has arrived, and it is estimated that you are studying the reward." The old man has prepared a celebration ceremony here, when do you think it will be done? Let the people of Guangzhou appreciate the style of my Shandong soldiers. ”

Zhou Fu's ancestral home is Anhui, and he has served in Shandong for more than two years, and he said the words "I am a soldier in Shandong", which made Long Qian smile secretly in his heart, but his face was pious, "Thank you, boss." The lower officials were overjoyed to hear that the old man was in charge of the two Guangxi provinces in western Jiangxi. At that time, it was Liangbi who went to pass the decree and was reappointed as the lower official to govern the army in Guangdong, if it wasn't for the boss sitting in Liangyue, the lower official would have to bargain with Liangbi, but the boss was in charge of the two Guangzhou, how could the lower officials stand idly? Only then did he move south to quell the chaos in western Guangdong. Please rest assured, with your old man in charge, Guangdong must be the second Shandong, with politics and harmony, and all kinds of waste are prosperous! Long Qian Ha Da smiled, "It doesn't matter if Zhu Jie will open or not, but the lower officials are going to make a ceremony to enter the city, and the old man can come to review and take a look at the majestic posture of my Shandong children." ”

"Retreat, what are you going to do as the governor of Guangdong?" Zhou Fu changed the subject.

"Naturally, I am on an errand under the leadership of the boss, and everything is only the boss." Long Qian was polite, and immediately became aggressive, "I think it's nothing more than two things: developing the economy and training and strengthening the army." This economic development, these years in Shandong also have some experience, the brother must have a letter to report, Shandong's experience can be learned, but it can be laid out on the basis of research on the current economic situation of Guangdong. Xia Guan had sent a telegram to Jinan and ordered the Huayuan Economic Research Institute to send capable personnel to Guangdong to conduct a province-wide economic survey. This time, we will not involve Guangxi first, let's do a good job in Guangdong first. The top priority at the moment is to build a number of much-needed munitions factories, and as long as we have guns and soldiers, everything else will be easy to handle. As for military training, please rest assured, the lower officials have decided to suppress the bandits first, to suppress the training on behalf of others, and to carry out a thorough sweep of the party in Guangdong, kill a group of them, lock them up, and return a good fortune to the people of Guangdong. When the matter in Guangdong was over, I went to Guangxi in person, and I heard that the bandits in Guangxi were several times more numerous than in Guangdong, and when my soldiers adapted to the hot climate and terrain of southern Guangdong, Guangxi would definitely get twice the result with half the effort. When General Long Qian said this, he did not mention the general of Guangzhou at all, and seemed to completely ignore that the Manchu general Fu Qi was the supreme military commander of Guangdong.

"Very good," although Zhou Fu deeply suspected that Long Qian's purpose of suppressing bandits and eliminating the Hui Party was not pure, but this made the imperial court unable to say a word, "Thinking about it, Guangdong's finances are not as good as Shandong's, and there is no governor to manage civil affairs, the pressure on this governor is very great, just you are stationed in a fifth town, this governor is a little unbearable." What do you think about this? ”

Long Qian smiled slightly, "Of course, the lower officials have to understand the difficulties of the old man." At present, the fifth town is more than the large establishment of the Beiyang New Army, and the official number of soldiers exceeds 25,000. This point of troops is simply not enough, not to mention that the two Guangdong are adjacent to the frontier, and the situation is very different from Shandong, and the lower officials are also ready to continue to expand the army after the situation is stabilized. As for the military salary, the boss can support me with 200,000 taels of silver every month, and the rest, including the expansion of troops and the purchase of weapons, is all up to the subordinate officials to figure out their own methods. However, the boss has to give the subordinate officials the convenience of the policy. ”

Zhou Fu breathed a sigh of relief, the military expenditure of 200,000 taels per month is really not much. But I don't know what convenience this skillful and ambitious general wants. "What policy do you want to retreat?"

"It's nothing more than a military-run enterprise. Enterprises are invested and operated by the military, so tax revenue cannot be required, at least they can absorb idle personnel, which can be regarded as a contribution to Guangdong's economy. ”

"What kind of factory are you going to build?"

"Of course, arms have to be done. At the very least, you need to be able to make shells and bullets. Civilian factories should also be run. "Long Qian will continue to water Zhou Fu." We are our own people, of course, the lower officials do not hide from the boss, Hainan Island is a good place to plant rubber plantations. The demand for rubber is huge, and Zhongxing Industry has relevant research institutes and industries, and I am ready to move over, so we will start with rubber and make a fortune beautifully. Ha Luha, my lord, the younger generation suggests that you take out the money you have saved, and within five years, you will definitely quadruple your investment! ”

"Do rubber?" Zhou Fu's heart moved, "Is it possible to retreat?" ”

"If the rubber industry is built from beginning to end, I am afraid that it will not work for ten years. But now there is a good opportunity to make a fortune, Jiang Jiying has come to Guangdong, but I haven't seen it yet, and when I see him, I have a specific charter, and the lower officials will report to the boss in detail. ”

"Oh?" Zhou Fu was aroused, he was in charge of Liangjiang, and his knowledge and news were first-class, "Retreat is the idea of playing rubber stocks?" ”

"The boss has insight into thousands of miles, and that's exactly what it is. But this matter needs to be kept secret, completely confidential. At present, everything is entangled in everything, and after seeing Jiang Zijun, the younger generation should pay attention to the boss. ”

"Think back, the old man has a word of persuasion, and I hope you will listen."

"Boss, please speak, and the lower officials will listen to you." Long Qian sat up straight and made a respectful gesture.

"Fu Qi, you go there as soon as possible, and you can't be empty-handed."

Fu Qi was the general of Guangzhou, nominally the supreme commander of the Eight Banners and the Green Battalion in Guangdong. It is Long Qian's rightful boss.

"I want to go, but I will say it in my head, the two Guangxi military, I must hold it in my hand. This is not only related to the safety of the two provinces, but also to the future and destiny of the more than 20,000 Shandong soldiers and our common cause. Long Qian accentuated his tone on the "common cause", "There are many people who are stupid and unscrupulous, although I don't know much about Fu Qi, but I don't have much hope. Look at the rebellion in western Guangdong, you will know the way, if it is interesting, Long Qian should be respectful, otherwise, I hope that the old man will mediate. ”

Long Qian said that there are many people who are stupid, and the people who are stupid are talking about it. In fact, the Manchu "second generation of officials" who have now stepped onto the stage of power have really emerged a large number of talents, such as Duanfang, who succeeded Governor Liangjiang of Zhou Fu, Shangshu Tieliang of the War Department, Lang Liangbi of the War Department, and the two younger brothers of the puppet emperor Guangxu Zaifeng and Zaixun, all of whom were handsome for a while. These people are broad-minded, enthusiastic about reform, and most of them are honest and self-controlled, which is very different from the corrupt and stupid old-school aristocracy represented by Yixuan.

"Fu Qi is a good person, and I mentioned you here the day before yesterday and praised you for being a thousand-mile horse of the imperial court. The sedan chair carries people, you must give him face. Got it? ”

"Xia Guan understands."

"That's good. Thinking back, the old man's duties are limited, and you must know your military deployment, the fifth town is now gathered in Guangzhou, and you can't let the officers and soldiers stay in tents for a long time. What are you going to do? ”

"The matter has been decided, but it has not been discussed with his subordinates. Xiaguan plans to garrison eastern Guangdong with the Ninth Association, and the headquarters is stationed in Shaoguan, which is important in Chaozhou, so at least one bid must be sent. The 10th Association was stationed in western Guangdong, and Lianzhou was stationed at least one main target. My headquarters is based in Guangzhou, and most of the units directly under my command are stationed inside and outside Guangzhou, so they occupy the barracks of the original New Army, which is basically enough. Guangzhou's climate is warm, and the housing conditions are poor. ”

"Well, that's good. You can make it clear when you visit Fu Qi. Also, when are you going to pick up your family? Listening to the fourth child of my family, your two sons are very cute, especially your eldest son, who is known as a prodigy in Jinan, and the old man has long wanted to see him. "Zhou Fu has seen Zhenhua, but at that time he was still a doll who didn't understand anything.

"Thank you, Boss, for your concern." A grateful look appeared on Long Qian's face, "Xiaguan is not going to pick up their mother and son for the time being, let's wait for everything in Guangdong to be on the right track." ”

Coming out of the Governor's Palace, Gu Xiaolin, the commander of the guard battalion, reported that Ouyang Zhong had seen it, and he was waiting at the temporary headquarters.

Long Qian sighed, knowing that Ouyang Zhong had safely escorted Xu Si to Guangzhou, and it was estimated that he had settled down properly, "This matter is not in a hurry." Is Wang Zhifeng back? Where is he now? ”

"It's back, he's at the headquarters too."

"Very well, you immediately notify the officers above the standard command to come to the headquarters for a meeting at four o'clock in the afternoon. Let's go back to the headquarters first, there are many things, and we have to arrange them one by one. Long Qian turned on his horse, and the soldiers of his personal guard platoon mounted one after another, hugging their commander tightly in the middle. (To be continued......)