Yizhou Iron Works, a subsidiary of Huayuan Industrial Company, is located in Luozhuang in the south of the city, and after a year and a half of preparation, a total investment of 1.2 million taels of silver, finally completed preliminarily. The design capacity is 100,000 tons of crude iron and 30,000 tons of stainless steel. The equipment and technology are all from Carnegie Steel Corporation of the United States.

This scale is not worth mentioning for the United States, which has already completed industrialization, but it is a big deal for China, which has not even started industrialization, and it is even more remarkable for Shandong Province. Therefore, Governor Zhou Fu personally came to Linyi Prefecture to cut the ribbon to congratulate the ignition of the blast furnace. Not only for the ribbon cutting, but also for the second phase of the Yizhou Iron Works project. According to the report of Zhou Xuexi, who served as the general manager of Huayuan Industry before the Spring Festival last year, the second phase of the Yizhou Iron Plant, which is the core enterprise of Huayuan Industry, is expected to invest 1.35 million taels, which is about to catch up with the Yixian Railway that will be completed. It was the first self-owned railway in Shandong Province, and thinking of the Jiaoji Railway that was still under construction, Zhou Fu felt a trace of pride in his heart. However, if the goal of the second phase of the project is achieved, the steelmaking capacity will reach 100,000 tons, the ironmaking capacity will reach 150,000 tons, and the related supporting facilities will be further improved. Lunan will become the most important industrial base in Shandong and even in the north.

Zhou Fu arrived in Yizhou yesterday. did not live in Tang Shaoyi's newly renovated guest house, but lived in Long Qian's private house with his son Zhou Xuexi, the earliest Western-style small western-style building in Yizhou, and Long Qian and his wife did not move out. Zhou Fu listened in detail about the construction plan of the Yizhou Iron Works last night and felt very excited. Long Qian is not only going to build the second phase. It is also planned to introduce a steel rolling production line after the completion of the second phase, which will be called the third phase of the project. This will be accompanied by the expansion of the power plant, which is expected to invest 550,000 taels of silver, and will be carried out at the same time as the second phase of the iron works.

Zhou Fu didn't sleep well at night, not because of annoyance, but because of excitement. In just two years, Lunan has really undergone earth-shaking changes. Based in Yizhou, Huayuan Industrial Company, with steel as the core, covers coinage, electric power, clothing, enamel, wood processing, glass mirrors, transportation and other industries, with a total of 367 enterprises and total assets of nearly 7 million taels. Zhongxing Industry, which is centered on Yixian, is centered on coal mines. It has factories in electric power, textile, papermaking, paint, cement, bricks and tiles, agricultural tools and so on. In particular, the successive completion and operation of chemical plants and pharmaceutical factories have made Zhongxing Industry surpass Huayuan Industry and become the largest industrial group in Lunan.

From last autumn to this year, Zhou Fu went to Lunan four times to inspect the two major industrial groups that had been formed in Lunan. It has successively celebrated the building materials of power plants, textile factories and pharmaceutical factories. The first phase of the Yizhou Iron Works project was completed. It was his fourth visit to Lunan in less than a year. Every time he arrived, he was shocked and excited.

The ribbon-cutting scene of the iron factory was the most grand one that Zhou Fu had ever attended, and Huayuan Industry made the most careful preparations and left the most brilliant opportunity to the people of Futai. And the nominal boss Chen Chao's unique speech also made Zhou Fu both novel and comfortable. Chen Chao vigorously praised the people of Futai: all the achievements have been made. All of them were obtained under the wise leadership of Futai adults, without the vision and mind of Futai adults, there would be no today's iron factory, and there would be no today's Huayuan industry!

Zhou Fu, who was sitting on the stage, smiled, these people always made something new to themselves, and the speech was like this, and the ribbon-cutting ceremony was also ingenious, the red carpet, and a set of programs for cutting red silk with scissors made the governor feel novel. Zhou Fu thought that all this was definitely not something that the man who came out of the mountain village could come up with, but the most critical person who contributed to the birth and growth of the two major industrial groups hid behind the scenes and did not show up as always.

The culmination of the ceremony was Zhou Fu's speech. He can't be like Chen Chao, who doesn't talk about the court and only talks about himself. First of all, he sang the praises of the imperial court, and the achievements were of course due to the wise leadership of the princes of the imperial court, and they borrowed the east wind of the new policy. Of course, Zhou Fu also praised the military and political work of Yizhou, and finally stated that the provincial government will, as always, continue to support Yizhou's industrial construction - this is what he said from his heart. When Long Qian gave himself 5% of the shares of Huayuan Industry and gave up the throne of president of Huayuan Industry to his son Zhou Xuexi at the end of last year, there was no reason not to support this thriving industrial group!

After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Zhou Fu met with Tang Shaoyi, Chen Chao, Zhou Xuexi, Chief Engineer Andrew and Director David of the United States. Accompanied by Diwen and others, they watched the process of igniting the blast furnace - only for a short time, the noisy sound and the rushing heat made the governor in thick official uniform very uncomfortable. Fortunately, Chen Chao leaned over and whispered that the envoy of Longzhen was still waiting for the adults to inspect the vehicle factory. Zhou Fu immediately left the scene, got into his eight-lift sedan chair and left the Luozhuang construction site.

Tang Shaoyi and Zhou Xuexi accompanied the governor into the city, and the rest stayed in the factory. Twenty months of hard work is finally about to bear fruit, Tang Shaoyi and Zhou Xuexi were reluctant to leave, wanting to see the first furnace of molten iron come out. But first, it takes time, and secondly, it is limited by etiquette, Tang Shaoyi is Zhou Fu's direct subordinate, and Zhou Xuexi, as a son of man, must accompany him to leave.

At the south gate of Yizhou, Long Qian waited for Zhou Fu's car to drive. Seeing Long Qian from a distance, Zhou Fu opened the sedan curtain and explained to the entourage, and the entourage ran a few steps to Long Qian, who was walking away from the horse, "Lord Long, Futai, please come into the sedan chair to talk." ”

"Come up," Zhou Fu beckoned with a smile.

Long Qian got into the sedan chair and sat opposite Zhou Fu. He is still not used to the sedan chair, and he is not willing to "ride" on people's shoulders, so it is said that Wang Anshi resolutely does not sit in the sedan chair. I feel that this kind of thing that symbolizes status is really uncomfortable, especially in summer, even if I open the curtain, I feel stuffy.

"Thinking back, it was inconvenient to have a lot of people yesterday. The imperial court intends to transfer Tang Shaochuan to the northeast__Do you know that Xu Shichang is ready to take over as the governor of the three eastern provinces. ”

"What position?"

"Governor of Mukden."

"Oh. Shaochuan can also be regarded as a positive result. Long Qian stretched out his head and looked at Tang Shaoyi, who was walking behind on horseback, wondering if he got the news through other channels.

"Although Tang Shaochuan has someone to help, he is also touched by the light of Yizhou." Zhou Fu lowered the sedan curtain. "Thinking about it, the old man is worried that Shaochuan will leave, and the government affairs of Yizhou will be abandoned."

"After all, I have taken a big step, I'm afraid it will be difficult to keep Shaochuan__" Long Qian's eyes flashed, "Yizhou will not be chaotic, as long as the boss is here, Lunan will continue to develop." ”

"The old man was going to go up and keep it. But Tang Shaochuan's heart is so big, he will not succumb to Yizhou. Unless you give him the old man's seat. Ha Lu Ha. The old man asked you, Tang Shaoyi left, who would take over? ”

"This__" Long Qian muttered. The prefects of the two prefectures in Lunan are different from other places. Power has been greatly constrained, roughly divided into three parts, the military has a say, and industrial companies have become an important pillar of finance. It can also influence the political situation. Therefore, the position of prefect is not very important. Since Zhou Fu asked. "My lord, why don't you let my brother take over? He was already a Taoist a few years ago, so he didn't avoid his relatives when he came to the house? ”

The brother Long Qian said was naturally Zhou Xuexi. In terms of qualifications, he is qualified to serve as the prefect of Yizhou. But then we have to give up the position of president of Huayuan Industrial.

"No! In addition, Xuexi is reluctant to enter politics__"

It's the truth. Zhou Xuexi saw the industrial pattern of Lunan's vigorous construction, and even resigned from the post of general office (president) of Shandong University Hall and was willing to work for Huayuan Industry. This incident caused a sensation in Jinan officialdom last year. Moreover, Zhou Fu's position is also hot now, and there are many people staring at it. It is impossible for Zhou Fu to give the court a handle.

"Then, it's better to let Wu Yong come over. How about handing it over to Master Zhang over there? Long Qian suggested.

Originally, Zhang Lianfen concurrently served as the general office of Zhongxing Coal Mine and said nothing, but now it is no longer possible. More and more people stared at that seat. Yi Qian recommended his person to Long Qian, which made Long Qian very embarrassed.

"Very good. However, Yu Yuan's grade is higher, and he is a little wronged by the prefect. "Zhang Lianfen still has Shandong Salt Transport Envoy on her body, which is a third-grade rank. But this proposal is acceptable to Zhou Fu, Zhang Lianfen is in the same class as him, and he has a good relationship.

The candidates for the prefects of the two states were decided in the sedan chair. Zhou Fu didn't talk about it anymore, and Long Qian knew that he was sure that he would let the imperial court accept this suggestion. Long Qian's thoughts swayed with the rhythmic movement of the sedan chair man, and it was a pity that Tang Shaoyi was transferred. The cooperation in the past two years has been quite pleasant, this is a capable person, but there is no reason to give up the high position of governor to stay in the position of prefect__

One of the biggest achievements of the New Deal is the reform of the political system of the three eastern provinces, the addition of governors and governors, but the garrison generals of the three provinces are still there, but the original management pattern has been broken, and the purpose is to achieve the separation of military and government. Yuan Shikai finally secured the position of the first governor of the three eastern provinces for his old friend and staunch ally, Xu Shichang. It seems that Lao Yuan already has a great say in the DPRK and China, and the situation in the northeast is complicated, and Russia's occupation of the three eastern provinces and its reluctance to withdraw its troops have aroused great indignation in Japan. At the beginning, Japan won the First Sino-Japanese War by gambling on the fortunes of the country, and originally wanted to gain a foothold on the mainland, but was forced by the three countries to return to Liao. Who would have thought that the Russians would take advantage of the Boxer Rebellion to send troops to swallow the three eastern provinces, and at a much smaller cost than Japan, they achieved much greater results than Japan. Not surprisingly, the Russo-Japanese War will soon begin! Tang Shaoyi is in charge of Fengtian at the moment, which is not necessarily a good thing for him personally, but it is very beneficial to the planned strategic development of the Mengshan Army__

Long Qian closed his eyes slightly, thinking about his thoughts. Before I knew it, the sedan chair had entered the city. Zhou Fu looked at the street scene of Yizhou through the sedan curtain. From the south entrance onwards, the main road to the north was paved with ash, as if the streets had been widened, and sidewalks were planted, on which willows of ordinary height were planted, and the trunks were painted with white ash, like a row of solemn guards.

Cleanliness and tidiness are the biggest characteristics of Yizhou City, which seems to be incomparable to Jinan. Public toilets have been built at the entrance of each alley, and various pictures are painted on the walls of the houses facing the street, all of which are advertisements promoting Huayuan Industrial's products. The situation of the large-scale renovation of the roads in the city in Yizhou this spring is described in detail in the letter of Xuexixin, focusing on the renovation of the city's sewer pipelines. Last year, when the ribbon was cut for the textile factory, the city of Yizhou was still very dirty, and it was a year's situation, and it became like this__It seems that we must stop paying 500,000 military expenses every year, and save money to renovate the provincial city with reference to Yizhou.

Zhou Fu suddenly shouted, "Get off the sedan chair, get off the sedan chair!" ”

The sedan car stopped, and Long Qian asked, "Do you want to take a walk on the cement street?" ”

"Exactly! It's always surprising to think back. The old man saw the car in your advertising painting, and a new style has been launched! ”

"You can't hide anything from your lords." Long Qian jumped out of the sedan chair first. Stretched out his hand to hold Zhou Fu and carried Zhou Fu out of the sedan chair. Tang Shaoyi and Zhou Xuexi dismounted at the same time and surrounded them.

"The old man is not worried about any accidents! Who doesn't know that the security of Yizhou is the highest in the province? Ha Lu Ha. Zhou Fu stomped his feet on the flat street, "It's good, it's just too extravagant!" As he spoke, he walked onto the sidewalk, where the Governor's Guard had dispersed the pedestrians, and the townspeople stopped from afar to watch the group of big men and point their fingers.

"Ah, think about it, how much does this kind of car cost?" Zhou Fu asked, pointing to a four-wheeled moped drawn on the wall.

"Silver Ocean Sixty." Zhou Xuexi replied on his behalf.

"Oh. So cheap? "That's about forty-two taels of silver. The four-wheeled car I saw before cost sixty taels of silver. Rao is so, the rich people in Jinan are still flocking to it, and they are eager to order.

"It's a little bit smaller than the original regulation. But the double row of seats is also enough for a family to go out, and a horse is enough. "This time it was Tang Shaoyi who answered." The factory made one especially for adults. I am making the most decorating after the darkest. It will be sent to Jinan in the near future. ”

"Oh, thank you very much. Ha Lu Ha. "It is rumored that there has always been a foreign car in the palace that the British gave to the Queen Mother. But the queen mother thought that the position of the groom was inappropriate, so she sat in front of her. Also put an ass at himself, so never use. After the Yizhou Vehicle Factory launched the four-wheeled carriage with excellent shockproof performance, it was immediately sought after by the wealthy and quickly opened up the market. Now not only in Shandong, but also in Zhili, Henan, Shanxi, and Jiangsu, a lot of sales have been sold, which has really made Huayuan Company make a fortune. Moreover, they also made and launched a rickshaw for two people, organized a rickshaw rental company, and a rickshaw driver could earn a silver or two for a day, and only need to pay a low rent, and the rest is their own. At first, it was only implemented in Yizhou and Yanzhou, but business is just as Xuexi said, with incredible magical power, and soon after Yizhou launched this novel way of transportation, the streets of Jinan actually existed! Nowadays, the favorite way for wives and ladies in Jinan to travel is to take a comfortable rickshaw.

Zhou Xuexi saw that his father was full of interest, and couldn't help but think about the changes in the past two years. Who would have thought that in just two years, the once cohesive mountain town would become what it is today? All of this is due to Huayuan Company. Since that David came back, all kinds of factories have been magically established, and almost all of the products at first are for the garrison, such as military uniforms to revitalize the textile factory, the portable tableware used by officers and soldiers to drive the enamel factory, and the original users of the wood factory products are also the army__

The products of these factories have a common feature that they are novel in style and low in price. So it was quickly accepted by the people, and the profits rolled in.

And the subsequent construction of the power plant changed lives, when the electric light first appeared in Yizhou, he happened to be in Yizhou, the sensation of thousands of empty alleys is simply indescribable. Nowadays, the main streets of Yizhou have been hung with public lighting bulbs, and there is no need to turn on lanterns when walking at night__

After further understanding the model of Lunan Industry, I was shocked by its novel mode of operation and deeply felt the shrewdness of foreigners. But what he didn't expect was that whether it was a wood factory, a garment factory, or an enamel factory, most of the product ideas came from Long Qian instead of foreigners! The most ridiculous thing is that the German military actually bought the production license for the single tableware used by Long Qian's department, which is said to have been popularized in the German army. The kind of tableware is very delicate, and the sleeve made of enamel, which is layered inside, can be used as a lunch box, can also be used as a water cup, and can also carry two days of dry food, and it is not in the way at all to carry it on the body. The same is true for military uniforms, the current military uniforms of the right wing of the Wasion Army are divided into two categories: training and regular uniforms, and are divided into two types: summer clothes and winter clothes, with completely different fabrics, colors and styles. It is extremely spiritual to wear on the body. It has become a beautiful scenery in Lunan. He never imagined that military uniforms could look so good! Since the establishment of the Central Military Training Office by the imperial court last year, a large-scale reorganization of armaments has begun. The military uniforms designed and produced by the right wing of the Wasion Army were approved by the imperial court, and the Gyeonggi garrison almost completely adopted the uniforms of the Wasion Army, and a large number of orders were placed to garment factories, so that the newly established garment factories made a lot of money and distributed free of charge for workers in various factories. The workers cherished the work clothes they were distributed, and even wore them as new clothes for the New Year to show off their relatives and friends.

When garment factories are transferred to civilian use, various styles and clothing suitable for all kinds of people have been launched in a steady stream, which has caused a sensation in Shandong Province! Even garment factories in Shanghai and Suzhou have come to learn from or imitate. Its low price (after the textile factory under Yanzhou Zhongxing Industry was put into operation, the cost of Huayuan garment was further reduced), changed the world's habits of wearing, when the cost of their own spun coarse cloth clothes was higher than the garment factory's ready-to-wear garments, the factory's business flourished__

Every enterprise has focused on civilian needs, and every product can move people's hearts. For example, the honeycomb stove launched by Zhongxing Industry quickly occupied the county seat of Fucheng in Lunan, and with the honeycomb coal sold by Zhongxing Coal Mine, it completely changed people's lives, which can not only cook and cook, but also keep warm, and even the cold winter has become spring. When honeycomb coal production points were all over Lunan, this extremely practical gadget immediately won the favor of medium-sized families__

The rapid development of industries in Yizhou and Yanzhou touched a dream in his heart, so he came up with the idea of quitting his errand at Shandong University Hall to run an industry in Lunan. This thought is so strong that it is hard to resist! Although he is quite noble in presiding over Shandong University Hall, he still thinks that he is more suitable for running an industry! The decision has been made, and finally persuaded his father to go to Yizhou to find Long Qian, he already knew that Long Qian was the real boss of ZTE and Huayuan, and Long Qian immediately gave him the position of president of Huayuan Industry. After taking over Huayuan, he knew that most of the internal rules and regulations of this extremely standardized industrial company were actually from Long Qian!

This is simply admirable to him!

Now, Zhou Xuexi has made up his mind to work in Lunan! Long Qian's talent is multifaceted, and it is by no means limited to a corner of the army. Every novel product is designed, and it is inevitable that a batch of dignitaries and nobles will be carefully produced for Beijing and Jinan. It is said that the Queen Mother and the Emperor were very fond of Lunan's new gadgets, and they opened the market in Beijing. Now Huayuan and ZTE have set up marketing departments in Beijing, responsible for product and sales and after-sales maintenance, such as the four-wheeled carriage that is very popular with high-ranking officials, and any problems can be repaired immediately or replaced with parts.

The good relationship with Beijing led to the establishment of the Shandong Silver Dollar Bureau. In this regard, there is not only the role of Prince Qing, but also the approval of the old lady in the palace who controls the court situation to the death. At that time, Beiyang was planning to establish a silver dollar bureau, and people with a little insight realized the huge profits. Several governors in the south are planning this matter, and Shanghai and Guangzhou have taken out samples. Ignoring his father's concerns, Long Qian bought relevant equipment from the United States and sent the first batch of silver dollars with exquisite dragon patterns to the palace, which immediately won the love of the Queen Mother. After comparing the silver dollars made in China with more than a dozen foreign silver dollars in the circulation market, Zhou Xuexi believes that the Dalong silver dollar made by Lunan is not inferior. Today, this kind of big dragon silver dollar containing seven coins of silver has passed through several northern provinces, and the supply exceeds demand.

This is just Huayuan's family, and ZTE's strength is not weaker than Huayuan at all. When the railway from Zaozhuang to Taierzhuang is opened, ZTE's strength will reach a higher level! Moreover, the two major industrial groups have secretly planned to build a railway from Yizhou to Haizhou, Jiangsu! If the cross-provincial and sea-connecting railway is completed, the prospect is really difficult to estimate.

Zhou Xuexi has not thought about the sources of funds for the two major industrial groups. It takes a lot of money to build such a large number of enterprises, and it is estimated that it is not less than 15 million taels. I'm afraid it's not the investment from the United States or the investment of the Jinyuan ticket number as Chen Chao, David and others said. If that were the case, Long Qian would not have the final say among the two major industrial groups. But that's the case, Jia Jiying, David. Di Wen and his father Di Wen are all the only ones who look forward to Long Qian.

What does it matter? The key is that the dream of saving the country through industry is being realized! Zhou Xuexi thought, if he continues to do this, in another three or five years, what will Lunan and even Shandong look like, Zhou Xuexi is looking forward to it. (To be continued......)