Chen Chao visited Xu Jianyin and had a very happy conversation. Long Qian had a good conversation with the sixty-six-year-old feudal official in Zhou Fu's signing room.

Long Qian came to the governor's yamen, and the disciple already knew Long Qian's current identity, and quickly reported to Zhou Fu, and the old governor personally greeted him and said, thinking that you should also come back. Zhou Fu stopped Long Qian's salute, took Long Qian's hand and came to his office, instructed his subordinates to make tea, and waited for Long Qian's report.

Long Qian first reported to Zhou Fu about the situation in Beijing, which was what Zhou Fu was most concerned about. Especially in the answer with Cixi, Zhou Fu asked very carefully, figuring out the meaning is the basic skill of being an official, and Zhou Fu certainly did not let go of this opportunity. Although what Cixi summoned Long Qian to talk about, it had little to do with Zhou Fu.

Next, Long Qian reported on Shandong's military problems. The first is the reorganization of the fifth town and the development of the troops, and the second is the reorganization of the defense battalions in all parts of the province.

Zhou Fu had no opinion on the reorganization and military development of Long Qian's fifth town, but only reminded Long Qian to strictly follow the approval of the Ministry of War and not to exceed the number. In particular, the troops of the Fifth Town to Qingzhou, Laizhou, and Dengzhou were especially careful not to clash with the Germans. The Jiaoji railway is under intense construction, because it involves the relocation of ancestral tombs, the overall relocation of the village and other issues, repeatedly because of the road construction and local people conflicts, repeatedly obstructed the construction of the road, the progress of the German side is very dissatisfied, the German governor in Qingdao several times and personally went to Jinan to negotiate with Zhou Fu, and was very dissatisfied with the administrative efficiency of the government along the way. If the troops of the Fifth Town intervened again, Zhou Fu was deeply afraid that the conflict would intensify in case of an armed conflict. The situation will be out of control, and I'm afraid that he, the governor, will come to an end.

Since the Gengzi Incident, the magistrates in various places have been afraid of the ocean, and it is not Zhou Fu's problem alone. Long Qian couldn't help but think of an excerpt from a satirical novel that was included in middle school textbooks in later generations, and he groveled like a dog in front of foreigners. This is the true portrayal of the officialdom of the late Qing Dynasty.

"My lord, the construction of the Jiaoji Railway will benefit us in the long run, and the completion of the railway will surely enhance the economic strength of our province. Moreover, the Germans were bound to win this way. There can be no interruption. So. The lowly officials believe that they should order all localities to do a good job of the work of the people along the road, not to make excessive demands, let alone gather crowds to make trouble. Hindering the construction of railways. On the other hand. The German side should be fully consulted. Strive to strive for the greatest interests of the people along the road. In the past two years, our unit has cooperated with the German army stationed in Qingdao in the purchase of arms, and the relationship is quite good. The Germans also have the advantage of doing things, everything that is agreed. The other side has always fulfilled conscientiously and never delayed or regretted. Why don't you leave the matter of negotiations with the German side to the lower officials? Long Qian took the opportunity to ask for help.

Zhou Fu was aware of the close cooperation between Long Qian's unit and the Germans in the purchase of weapons, and it can be said that half of the equipment in the Fifth Town was purchased from the Germans on its own. Even now, there were at least a few dozen German instructors in Long Qian's army.

"Well, that's fine. However, we can't make more concessions, otherwise it will be bad for you and me. ”

It is better to talk about public opinion than to talk about it. The pressure of the imperial court is not as good as the newspapers that have sprung up like mushrooms after the rain, "Your Excellency, please rest assured." Of course, Long Qian will not harm the interests of the people. ”

"Okay, then do it. Tomorrow, I'll send an order to several state capitals in the east. ”

"Thank you for your trust."

Zhou Fu was very concerned about the reorganization of the defense battalions in various places, "Well, thinking about it, you are now the commander of a province, is there a good strategy for the rectification of the defense battalions in various places?" Now Long Qian is officially appointed by the imperial court as the governor of Shandong, and his grade even surpasses Zhou Fu. But Long Qian, as always, showed enough respect for Zhou Fu, which was not only the attitude of the subordinates to the superiors, but also the respect of the juniors to the elders. This made Zhou Fu deeply satisfied.

In the Qing Dynasty, the officialdom grade was divided into nine levels, and each level was divided into positive and vice, which was actually eighteen levels. The admiral is already a member of the first rank, but Zhou Fu, the governor, is only from the second rank. Influenced by the traditional ideology of valuing civilians over military force, the rank of military generals is not as valuable as that of civilian officials. Just like the relationship between Long Qian and Zhou Fu now, he, the admiral from the first rank, is subject to the jurisdiction of the governor from the second rank.

If Long Qian did not have this position of commander, he would not be able to give orders to the Shandong Defense Battalion as the commander of the fifth town. Because the two units are subordinate to different ones. But now that Long Qian has the rank of commander, he is the supreme commander of the Shandong Provincial Garrison, and has direct leadership over the patrol battalion reorganized from the Green Battalion.

"My lord, I can't talk about good policies. It's just a matter of rectifying and weeding out the old, weak, and inferior people. This matter is my responsibility, please rest assured. The lower officials thought about this matter for a long time, and thought that the existence of the patrol battalion was still necessary, and that the fifth town was full of thousands of people, and it was difficult to assume the responsibility of maintaining local peace. Therefore, the lower officials believed that the Shandong garrison should be divided into two types: field troops and local troops, and that the field troops should naturally be the fifth town, and their duties would be to deal with emergencies, especially to defend the territory and deal with the armed aggression of foreign powers. The local troops, on the other hand, were reorganized from patrol battalions, which assumed the responsibility of suppressing bandits in peacetime and served as a supplement and backup to the Fifth Town in wartime. However, at present, the patrol battalions in the province are uneven, and they need to survive the fittest and train diligently. The lower officials were going to set up an organization under the Fifth Town to inspect the patrol battalions in various places one by one, and the lower officials were worried that most of the officers and men of the patrol battalions were unwilling to be disarmed and return to the fields, so they were divided into four categories through the inspection. The first category is suitable for the requirements of the Fifth Town, and all are absorbed into the regular new army; Those who are not suitable for the fifth town but are suitable for the local army will be reorganized into local troops. However, it is no longer subordinate to the local state capitals, but is directly under the jurisdiction of the provincial governments; The third category can follow the practice of Zhili, set up a police station, turn soldiers into police, and assume the responsibility of arresting brothers and assassinating adultery and maintaining local peace; The fourth category needs to be ordered to retire, and severance pay can be paid to return to their hometowns. In order to ensure the peaceful completion of the reorganization, Lunan Industrial is ready to recruit a group of retired officers and soldiers of the patrol battalion to ensure the smooth completion of the reorganization. Xia Guan predicts that after the reorganization, the burden on various localities will be further reduced, and the overall military expenditure will be reduced by more than 30 percent. ”

"Well, that sounds good. However, the stakes are high, and it is necessary to take a long-term view. Zhou Fu did not agree, nor did he refuse, but played a Tai Chi pusher, ready to hang things up first. He realized that the purpose of Long Qian's reorganization of the patrol battalion was to change from the current dual command to the direct command of him, the governor of Shandong, to the reserve army of the fifth town. This is beyond Long Qian's duties. He had to be cautious.

However, Long Qian was determined to win this power in his hands, and if he did not seize the right to reorganize the patrol battalion and take the armed forces of the whole province into his own hands, it would be impossible to truly control Shandong.

"My lord, Lord Yuan, the governor of Zhili, has already started to rectify the patrol camp. The practice of the lower officials is generally in accordance with the regulations of Lord Yuan. Throughout Western countries, it has become a common practice to set up police stations to maintain law and order. The imperial court was in favor of Lord Yuan's reforms. Moreover, before the lower official left Beijing, the Queen Mother and her old man taught me earnestly, and I had great expectations for Shandong. Xia Guan thought. The heart of the New Deal. It's just about increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. To increase tax revenue and strengthen national strength, this is to increase income and eliminate redundant personnel. It's a matter of saving. Follow these two lines. Infallible. Why should adults worry? It is necessary to know that it is a great thing. If it is not broken or standed, why are adults hesitating? Don't you trust the lower officials? ”

"Why do you say this? The queen mother retired, how could the old man not know? The old man just felt that the matter was very important. It is just a matter of prudence. Zhou Fu suddenly thought of a rumor, "Retreat, when you go to Beijing this time, have you ever heard of rumors about officialdom?" ”

"The lower officials are not deeply involved in the world, and they only know how to do things wholeheartedly to repay the queen mother's kindness. There is really not much handover with the officialdom of the Beijing Division. In addition to King Qing...... By the way, my lord, Xia Guan once heard King Qing say that Liangjiang Li Du was seriously ill and was afraid that he would die soon. It is impossible to say that Liangjiang is going to have a new governor again. ”

Zhou Fu was shocked. The importance of the two rivers, no less than the head of the Xinjiang Governor of Zhili, since the year before the death of Liu Kunyi, the general of the Hunan army, the imperial court in order to stabilize the Liangjiang region, the governor of Huguang Zhang Zhidong temporarily replaced the governor of Liangjiang for a period of time, and immediately returned to his own post, replaced by Wei Guangtao, within a few months, because of offending the Manchurian nobleman Tie Liang, was replaced by Li Xingrui. But Li Xingrui is said to be sick and can't serve anymore......

The governor is already a feudal territory, but after all, he is not as good as the governor. Zhou Fu has long been thinking about Liangjiang, if he is the governor of Yungui or Shaanxi and Gansu, he will not go, but if he is the governor of Liangjiang, it will really be in vain. Zhou Fu took stock of the current Xinjiang ministers, and there are really not many who can compare with himself.

When Xia Guan heard the news, he was in a deep dilemma. With the talent of adults, Governor Liangjiang is the choice of the moment, but Shandong is inseparable from adults. It's really embarrassing. At that time, he talked to King Qing about the reorganization of the fifth town, King Qing was in a very good mood, and the lower officials thought that the opportunity was rare, so he categorically mentioned the Lord in front of King Qing, thinking that the Governor Liangjiang was the best choice......

Zhou Fu stood up, pointed at Long Qian and said, "Retreat!" You! "He was going to say something so important, why didn't you sue me earlier? When the words came to his mouth, they became like this, "Retreat! The heavy weapons of the imperial court, how can we covet them casually? Reckless, reckless! ”

"It's okay," Long Qian smiled, "Since the Queen Mother and King Qing, everyone knows that he is a subordinate official, but he is just a martial artist, what do you say." King Qing listened to the recommendation of the lower officials, smiled, and said that Zhou Yushan was really a candidate......"

"Did King Qing really say that?"

"How dare the lower officials deceive? To be honest, Shandong is really inseparable from adults. After saying this, Xia Guan regretted it......"

"That's it. Thinking about it, about the reorganization of the patrol battalion, you should come up with a charter. Zhou Fu returned to his seat, "The old man heard that there was a recent incident in the retreat army, and there were several senior officers who were dissatisfied with the appointment and defected, but is there such a thing?" ”

"I'm about to report it. This is indeed the case. If the subordinate officer is in the army, there will never be such a shameful thing. It's just a few people who have left, and they don't even bring weapons. Don't worry, adults. Since Jiang Yun let out the news, Zhou Fu was destined to hear about it, Long Qian knew that he had this question, and he blocked it lightly.

Zhou Fu didn't want to delve into it, if he talked about the face on King Qing's side, he might not be as good as the young minister in front of him, thinking of Li Xingrui, and then thinking that he was already a seventy person, and Long Qian was not yet thirty years old......

"That's good. The imperial court is going to send important personnel to inspect the fifth town, and at this juncture, it is better to focus on the army, and there must be no more accidents. After saying this, Zhou Fu changed his tone, "Thinking about it, except for the founding era, it is really unusual for you to be in charge of the military affairs of a province at the age of less than thirty. I'm old, but you have a bright future, and you need to be more careful in the future, and you must not destroy your future. ”

"Thank you for your teachings. The grace of the adults to the subordinates for their support and teaching, I dare not forget ......"

"It's serious, it's serious. Although the dog is older than you, he will want you to help him in the future. You can speak well for the old man in front of King Qing, and the old man wants to thank you. ”

"If the lord needs it, the lower officials will do their best to help the lord of Qingwang...... It's just that Liangjiang is the fundamental land of the dynasty's wealth, and it has to be guarded by an important minister like an old man who seeks the country. The lower officials are worried that the situation of Shandong's new policy is good, but they are afraid that the imperial court will send a Futai who does not know anything, and the good situation in Shandong ......" Long Qian shook his head, his face solemn.

Long Qian believed that Zhou Fu would definitely leave Shandong, and with his poor historical knowledge, he actually remembered Yuan Shikai's important pair of Yang brothers, whose brother Yang Shixiang had been the governor of Shandong. As for when he will take office, Long Qian believes that it is now! Yuan Shikai worked hard to run Shandong, but fell into his own hands, he must not be reconciled, and it is only natural to take advantage of Zhou Fu's promotion to send his henchmen to serve as the governor of Shandong.

"Why worry about it? I haven't written a word yet. ”

"My lord, the matter of reorganizing the army is naturally handled by the subordinate officers with all their might. But there are two things that need to be reported to the adults. ”

"Retreat, you and I have forgotten the New Year's friend, why be polite? Go ahead. ”

Long Qian then told the establishment of Huayuan Bank and the relocation of Huayuan out of Yizhou to Jinan and the comprehensive cooperation with the Shandong Machinery Bureau. (To be continued......)