The Shandong Merchants Association held in Jinan in the summer of 1904 was not even a little wave in terms of the situation in the whole country, but only promoted the commercial ties between Shandong and Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The attention of the Manchu court was focused on the increasingly unstable domestic situation, and even the war between Japan and Russia, which was already raging outside the Guanguan. The proliferation of newspapers since the introduction of the New Deal has fueled calls for a constitution, and the mainstream Manchu intellectuals seem to have favored it in particular. It seems that as long as constitutionalism is practiced, all problems will be solved. The imperial court's attitude towards constitutionalism is relatively ambiguous, and there has never been a clear attitude. This situation also fueled calls for constitutionalism, and after the South, the media in the big cities of the North enthusiastically joined the debate on constitutionalism. Only Jinan is relatively calm, at least the government-run newspapers do not mention the matter of constitutionalism, which seems more unusual in the noisy call for constitutionalism.

Constitutionalism was a peaceful reform, and it was Han Chinese intellectuals and elites who sought to reach out to the Manchu aristocracy by peaceful means. In the south, two anti-Qing groups were formally formed. One is the Guangfu Society, which was born in Shanghai, and its members are mainly intellectuals from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. The president's name is Cai Yuanpei, an intellectual from Hanlin who is keen to promote new education to open up people's wisdom. However, the real person in charge of the Liberation Association was Tao Chengzhang, a native of Zhejiang, who strongly advocated armed opposition to the Qing Dynasty. The other was in Hunan, called the Huaxing Society, and the president was named Huang Xing, a man with a firm personality who was determined to overthrow the Manchu regime by violent means. There was also an intellectual named Song Jiaoren who served as vice president. They relied mainly on the Hui Party (Elders' Association), which was dissatisfied with the current regime. After the establishment of the Huaxing Society during the Spring Festival in 1904, it immediately planned to do a big thing. Because the 10th day of October of the following year was the 17th birthday of the Empress Dowager Cixi, the officials in Hunan would definitely gather to celebrate, they would plant bombs in Changsha, kill the officials in Hunan, and then seize Changsha and occupy Hunan, realizing "the first liberation of a province". But unfortunately, during the preparation of the uprising, the news leaked. Huang Xing escaped from Changsha with the help of friends from the Christian Church, and the uprising died. The Qing court attached great importance to it, and they roughly found out the old background of the Huaxing Society. Fear it. Originally, it was mainly Sun Wen's party that made trouble. The location is mainly in Sun Wen's hometown of Guangdong. And now Hunan is also involved. Someone told Cixi that two provinces today are the most noteworthy, one is Guangdong, where the people are deeply affected by foreign trends. Radical thinking. most susceptible to heresy; The second is Hunan. Hunan people, known as "Hunan mules", have a stubborn personality and are full of hardship. If the two provinces are combined, it will be a big deal. Now there are signs of anti-Qing movement in both provinces. I can't help but give the Qing court a headache.

For Shandong Province, 1904 was a calm and serene year.

The Yellow River was in the whole territory of Shandong, and there was no more trouble; On the whole, the wind and rain were smooth, and the grain output increased by 10 percent compared with last year. Although the officials of the Qing Dynasty have not yet established scientific statistical channels, there is no doubt that the harvest is a fact. Food is the most critical "stabilizer", and it is easier for the people to discipline when they have food in their hands, not to mention that there is still a thriving strength that is not supported?

In the second half of the year, Shandong was even more eventful. On September 11, under the guidance of Huamei Machinery, Pfizer and Zhongxing Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. established a new joint venture in Yanzhou, doubling the scale of assets.

On September 19, Zebra, a Swiss company, opened a pharmaceutical laboratory in Bern. However, no one paid attention to this news, and very few people knew the Tao;

On September 24, the Huamei rubber shoe factory in Laizhou was put into operation;

On October 1, DuPont invested in a chemical plant in Qingzhou.

On October 9, the rolling mill of Huayuan Iron and Steel Company was successfully commissioned and officially put into operation;

On October 10, a daily newspaper named "Lu Bao" invested by Jinyuan Bank was officially launched in Jinan, and the main writer was Zhang Shizhao, the former chief writer of "Su Bao";

On October 13, Shandong Wubei School was established in Yizhou, and the governor of Shandong and the governor of Shandong came to the scene to give lectures and encouragement to the students. The gate of the Shandong Military Academy built on the site of the Mengshan Army Camp School is newly built, and a large stone moved from nowhere is engraved with the bright red school motto: I am born and the country is dead, and I die and the country survives! The blood-drenched eight characters made the guests who visited the founding ceremony feel a kind of determination that they had never felt before;

On October 17, Huamei Machinery of the United States set up a joint venture with Huayuan Industrial in Jinan Huayuan Tool Factory;

On October 20, Shandong Normal School and Shandong Industrial Technology School were established in Jinan in the early autumn season. Among them, the general office of the Normal School is called Cai Yuanpei, a native of Shaoxing, Zhejiang, who is Chinese New Year's Eve six years old and was instigated by Zhang Shizhao to Shandong to preside over the teaching affairs of the Normal School;

At the end of October, the construction and expansion of the "high-grade" highways from Yizhou to Jinan and from Jinan to Yanzhou began to be built and expanded after the autumn grain was put into storage, and a large number of peasants who had entered the winter fallow period joined the road construction army, and they saw for the first time a machine called a tractor bought from the United States. In addition to the peasants who received wages, there were also a large number of soldiers who participated in the construction of the road, including the officers and men of the patrol battalion and the troops of the fifth town, especially the sappers of the fifth town, who undertook the construction of the most dangerous and difficult sections. The rumbling sound of artillery told the construction army that it was the sappers who were blowing up the mountain to open the way;

On the first day of November, after a long and secret plan, a secret organization called the Young Military Federation was formally established, referred to as the Youth Military Federation. There are nine initiators, namely Fang Shengyuan, Lan Xinzhi, Jiang Yun, Hu Zongyu, Du Sanli, Wu Nian, Lian Shupeng, Zheng Shuangqing, and Cheng Jianguo. These nine people also formed the Standing Committee of the Youth Army Federation. The Youth Army Federation elected Fang Shengyuan as the chairman, and Wu Nian and Lan Xinzhi as the vice chairmen. The study established the constitution, goals, conditions for membership, working methods and discipline of the Youth Army Federation. The leader of the Youth Army Federation is determined to be Long Qian, and the members of the Youth Army Federation must be official soldiers who are willing and support Long Qian as their leader and have the military status of the Mengshan Army. The goal of the Youth Army League was to overthrow the Manchu government under the leadership of Commander Long Qian and establish a new state with Long Qian as the head of state. Members of the Youth Army Federation must be introduced in writing by two official members, and they can only become full members of the Youth Army Federation after reading the oath of allegiance to the leader, fighting for the cause of Mengshan Army for life, and never betraying the Association.

The reason why it has been brewing for half a year is mainly because Long Qian has been weighing the advantages and disadvantages of establishing this organization. After weighing the pros and cons. It was finally approved to establish a youth army alliance headed by Fang Shengyuan within the Mengshan Army (including the Shandong patrol battalion with Ning Shijun as the commander). The original name was planned as the Young Military Revolutionary Party, and finally changed to the name of the Youth Army Federation by Long Qian. Moreover, it is stipulated that officers above the standard level shall not be included in the council.

The first batch of members of the Youth Army Federation totaled 209 members. In order to ensure the authority and representativeness of the Council of the Youth Army Federation, Long Qian appointed Jiang Yun, Lan Xinzhi, Du Sanli and other senior officers to enter the Council. However, Ye Yanbing, Feng Guozhu and other commanders were circled, and generals such as Ning Shijun, Wang Mingyuan, and Zhou Yi were not allowed to enter the council. It is worth mentioning that the Fifth Town's Chief of Staff Situ Jun refused to join, which became a discordant note in the establishment of the secret organization.

On the ninth day of November, the Invalids Farm in Fei County built two novel glass houses, which are said to be expensive to grow green vegetables in winter, despite the countless novelties of the past few years. The peasants who had seen the glass house did not believe it;

Since September. Shandong's plan for middle and lower education began to be implemented, and the first batch of 15 intermediate schools and 45 primary schools began to be built and reconstructed. The funds are raised by "three families", and the province takes out 60%. The state and county where it is located will take 25%. The remaining 15% is open to the public. The first phase invested about 350,000 taels. It includes funds for the recruitment of teachers from other provinces. Due to the early start of the propaganda work and the favorable treatment of teachers, a large number of intellectuals from other provinces poured into Shandong......

The third day of December. In Jinan, Wang Mingyuan, the assistant commander of the fifth town of the new army, officially married Miss Bai Ling, the youngest daughter of the political envoy Bai, and the Shandong Xuezheng Hu Zenglu officiated the marriage, and the governor, the admiral and other high-ranking officials were present, and the luxury and foreign atmosphere of the wedding became a beautiful talk in Jinan City. At Wang Xietong's wedding, the officials of Shandong Province saw the legendary Futai sitting at the same table with the Admiral, and smiled with a smile. As a result, those rumors suddenly disappeared without a trace.

On the ninth day of December, Long Qian invited Yang Shixiang to visit Mount Tai together. Yang Shixiang readily agreed. Winter mountaineering is both an elegant and a hard one. However, the supreme military and political leaders of Shandong, accompanied by a large number of retinues, walked from the Tianmen Gate to the top of the Jade Emperor on foot, which is enough to prove that the governor is in good health.

In order to watch the wonders of the sunrise over Mount Tai, Yang Shixiang and Long Qian lived on the mountain. There is a large building complex on the top of the Jade Emperor, although it is dilapidated, but it can still accommodate this group of distinguished guests.

After receiving Cixi's secret message, Yang Shixiang temporarily dispelled the idea of expelling Long Qian from Shandong through the hands of the imperial court. On the one hand, Cixi's secret edict rebuked Yang Shixiang's insolence, believing that Long Qian had made great contributions to the rectification of Shandong's armaments and the establishment of industry, transportation, and education, and that the imperial court could depose the meritorious heroes. On the other hand, he praised Yang Shixiang's attitude of worrying about the king's affairs. Yang Shixiang understood the meaning that the imperial court would not move Long Qian for the time being, and instead cooperated with Long Qian. All matters related to road construction and school operation basically adopted Long Qian's suggestion. It is a strong support for the rapid expansion of Huayuan and ZTE. The close cooperation between Shandong's military and political leaders has promoted the vigorous development of various undertakings in Shandong. Therefore, Yang Shixiang was invited to climb Dongyue to watch the sunrise in winter, and he was in a very happy mood.

After stepping on more than 7,000 steps, Yang Shixiang was no better than the young and strong Long Qian after all, and when he arrived at the top of the mountain, he rested after using vegetarian food. When the entourage woke him up from his dream, Yang Shixiang remembered that he was going to watch the sunrise today. So he hurriedly dressed and got up, put a hot towel on his face, rinsed his mouth with warm water, and went out of the Taoist temple accompanied by several personal standard camps, and walked to the east viewing platform surrounded by the retinue with lanterns in front and behind.

Through the hazy dawn, Yang Shixiang saw that the tall Long Qian was already waiting there.

The two bowed their heads and walked forward without saying a word, waiting for the sunrise in the East China Sea.

The weather was still face-saving, and about ten minutes later, the sky was lit up, and a round of winter jumped out of the sea of clouds.

"With such a beautiful view, did the adults leave a poem to commemorate it?" Long Qian smiled.

"Ha Luha," Yang Shixiang wrapped the fur on his body tightly, "When Li Bai first climbed the Yellow Crane Tower, he saw Cui Hao's inscription, and immediately dispelled the poetry. There is Du Gongbu's "Wangyue", where do I dare to laugh and be generous? ”

"Ha Luha, my lord is humble." Long Qian smiled on his back, and read out Du Fu's famous chapter of Wangyue aloud, "How about Dai Zongfu, Qi Lu Qingwei is over...... Adults, only by being there can you understand the true meaning of the poem. Mount Tai ranks the first of the five mountains, and is the place where the emperors of the past dynasties sealed the Zen. Adults have read history books, can they count how many emperors have enshrined Mount Tai? ”

"Well, think about it." Yang Shixiang lowered his head and thought.

"Actually, in my opinion, Mount Tai has not been graced by the arrival of the emperor, but it is not as good as Lao Du's Wangyue, which can be passed down through the ages."

"What do you want to talk about?" Yang Shixiang knew that Long Qian had a jewel in his chest.

"I always thought that Feng Chan could show off his merits, but in my opinion, it was not as smart as Wu Zetian to set up a wordless monument. Take responsibility for the things before and after. Thousands of merits, future generations have their own comments. ”

"Take responsibility for the things before and after. Good, good sentence. Hearing that there is a talent in retreat, Yang wants to appreciate the good sentence of retreating to Mount Tai. ”

Long Qian believes that history is fair, and as long as there is merit for the country and the people, it will always be recorded by history. My lord, now that Shandong is thriving, in a few years, it will be the first class of wealthy provinces in the sea, and history will definitely record the merits of my lord's governance. ”

"Ha Luha, Yang is self-aware, Shandong can have the current situation, and thinking back should be the first credit."

"Long Qian has lived overseas for a long time, and he has always been puzzled, and only after returning to China will he find out the mystery ......"

"Oh? I would like to hear about it. ”

"I think that the United States of America has only been established for 200 years, and it can be so rich! China has stood in the East for thousands of years, and its culture has a long history, whether it is military science, history, literature, poetry, architecture, agriculture, traditional Chinese medicine, water conservancy, and all aspects, there are classics that are enough to pass on to the world. Even the Americans also recognize that the Chinese are industrious and intelligent, and they are a great nation. Why has it been repeatedly bullied by foreign powers in modern times? Why is people's livelihood withering, ignorant and backward being ridiculed? ”

"This is also what Yang is puzzled about, and I am willing to retreat and teach me."

In Long Qian's view, there are two problems. One is to sit in the well and watch the sky, not knowing how to be flexible. Second, the infighting continues, which consumes national strength in vain. In Shandong, since Yuan Weiting has been in power, it has only been five or six years of work, and the decadent scene of the past has been changed, and various undertakings have flourished day by day. Why? As long as the politicians put an end to internal friction and give the people a space for relaxed development, it is enough! ”

Of course, Yang Shixiang heard the meaning of Long Qian's words. I thought to myself, only the superior wisdom and the lower foolishness are unswerving. Without the above plan, what can the people do? You're just saying that I, the governor, don't get in your way!" Sitting in a well and watching the sky, I don't know how to be flexible, and the serious point is to slander the court! But I still agree with this sentence in my heart. As for the infighting, it is a waste of national strength, and it is a child's words. What does it mean to be the same party? Want to be monolithic? Even Emperor Qin and Han Wu, can't do it, right?

Long Qian didn't wait for Yang Shixiang to answer, and said sincerely, "My lord, Long Qian swears to this rising sunrise that he will fight for the rejuvenation of China, the well-being of the people, and the reappearance of the glory of my strong Han and Tang Dynasty in his lifetime." If this oath is violated, heaven and earth will be destroyed! ”

"Okay, I would like to encourage you with your thoughts!" Yang Shixiang was a little moved. (To be continued......)