In the Java Sea in northern Indonesia, a passenger ship is sailing like a wind and waves.

"Mr. Li, we're almost there..."

When Li Liang stood on the deck and looked into the distance, a white young man about his age walked over and whispered.

"Is it almost there..."

"That's right." The young man nodded, then pointed to the city that was faintly visible in front of him. "That's Jakarta..."

Hearing the young man say this, Li Liang took out a gold-rimmed glasses from his pocket and put them on.

Sure enough, it didn't take long to see the city that the youth was referring to, which is also the largest city in Southeast Asia, Jakarta.

"The eyes are really not good..."Taking off his glasses, Li Liang sighed.

In the past few years, he has indeed obtained many things in Wuhu that ordinary people can't get, but at the same time, he has also paid a lot of sweat, and staying up late to work is a common thing, and even his vision has degraded a lot.

In fact, it's not just him, even Yan Shao's body is a little worse than before—————— there are many reasons.

"But I thought Wuhu was hot enough, but I didn't expect it to be hotter than Wuhu." Feeling the hot climate, Li Liang sighed.

Hearing him say this, the white young man nodded in agreement. "It's true, in fact, almost all people from the northern hemisphere take a while to adjust to life in the South Seas..."

After sailing for more than ten minutes, the ship finally arrived at the port of Jakarta.

As the largest city in Southeast Asia, Jakarta is quite prosperous. The harbor was full of ships coming and going. As soon as Li Liang's ship, which belonged to the Yushi Group, entered the port, a freighter passed by.

On the docks, dozens of figures were standing, the vast majority of them white. There are also a small number of ethnic Chinese and locals.

After seeing Li Liang and them get off the boat, a middle-aged white man immediately greeted them. "You're Mr. Li..."

"That's right...", nodding his head, Li Liang asked. Who are you? ”

"I'm Quinn, the chairman of Kyle...", he smiled at Li Liang, and the middle-aged white man introduced Li Liang. This is Antro, the chairman of the Pulo company, and this is..."

Whenever Quinn called on someone, that person would greet Li Liang with a smile on his face, but Li Liang could see it. Except for those few Chinese, the smiles on the faces of the rest of the people were a little reluctant.

Li Liang naturally knew the reason for this, but he didn't explain it thoroughly. Just shook hands with these people one by one.

"The contemptible people have already arranged a dust washing banquet in the house, I wonder if Manager Li is willing to give this face..."When Quinn introduced the last Chinese boss, the Chinese boss asked with a smile on his face.

With Quinn's introduction, Li Liang already knew that the middle-aged man with big braids in front of him was named Pan Nan. is the owner of a company. Because they are all Chinese, Li Liang also nodded. "Since it was Boss Pan who invited him, he was naturally willing to give this face..."

Hearing that Li Liang was willing to go, Pan Nan and Quinn both had a smile on their faces.

Surrounded by such a large group of people, Li Liang and his entourage took a carriage to a villa.

Although the villa in front of him is not as good as Yan Shao's manor in Wuhu, it can be called quite exquisite, so Li Liang also nodded slightly.

After entering the villa, Li Liang saw that many servants were busy there.

Chinese people like to talk about things at the wine table. That Pan Nan seemed to know this very well, so he specially invited Li Liang to his house. Quinn also thinks that they are all Chinese and know each other relatively well. So I agreed to his proposal.

The banquet was Chinese-style, and everyone here had a request for Li Liang, even if he didn't want to, he could only find a way to flatter and please him, so Li Liang was very happy to eat this meal.

After the banquet was over, the servants began to remove the food from the table, and Li Liang's conversation with them began to get to the point.

“…… Now I believe that Manager Li also knows the situation of our people, and I hope that Manager Li can give more preferential treatment..."

"yes...... We still have a large family to support, and I hope that Manager Li will be merciful..."

After the servants all withdrew, Pan Nan and the others surrounded Li Liang in the middle and begged bitterly.

Quinn's group of white people is very 'dignified', only a few people are like Pan Sen and them, but the rest of them also pricked up their ears to hear what Li Liang will say.

Coughing lightly, Li Liang said lightly. "As I am sure you know, the price of rubber in the market has fallen from twelve shillings and five pence per pound to less than five shillings, and I am afraid that the price of rubber will not return to its original level for a long time due to the impact of this stock market crash......... Of course, if it weren't for that, I'm afraid that none of you here would agree to sell us your rubber plantation..."

Many people here laughed bitterly, because, as Li Liang said, if it weren't for this stock market crash, they wouldn't have wanted to sell their rubber plantations at all. After all, not long ago, these rubber plantations were still hens that could lay golden eggs, and if someone came to the door at that time and said that they wanted to buy their rubber plantations, they would only think that the other party was crazy, but now...

After experiencing the stock market crashes in Shanghai and London, even if they begged someone to buy it, I am afraid that few people are willing to buy it.

If it weren't for that, how could Quinn's group of white men go so hard to curry favor with Li Liang.

————————————————————

Rubber plantation, this is the main reason why Yan Shao asked Li Liang to come this time.

Needless to say, there are synthetic rubbers, but they are not yet practical. Therefore, before the Second World War, natural rubber was still the mainstream.

Generally speaking, it takes at least six or seven years for rubber trees to be planted and used. Yan Shao didn't have so much time, at least not so much time to choose a place to plant rubber trees in China, so buying it became the easiest way.

During that time when rubber stocks were soaring. International financial capital has set up rubber companies in the Nanyang region, which is suitable for rubber growth, and the headquarters are located in Shanghai, which is convenient for financing from the largest financial center in the Far East. According to the estimates of the Times at the time. In the months from late 1909 to early 1910, there were 122 new rubber companies in the Nanyang region, at least 40 of which were headquartered in Shanghai. Some of these companies have just bought land, some have already planted rubber saplings, and many are leather bag companies.

The ones who appeared at the banquet this time were the owners who actually owned rubber plantations and rubber trees.

The stock market crashes in London and Shanghai caused them huge losses, and some of them were on the verge of bankruptcy, and they had no choice but to find a way to sell their rubber plantations. But there were only a handful of people willing to buy rubber plantations during this period. If it weren't for that, they wouldn't have talked to Li Liang anymore.

"It's definitely impossible for you to come up with a price, that's what the boss meant, but we are sympathetic to your plight. So..."

After speaking, Li Liang gave a fairly 'reasonable' price.

Hearing this price, both Quinn and Pan Nan's faces changed. "You're just taking advantage of the fire!"

"Yes, there's no way we're going to accept that price!"

With a smile of indifference, Li Liang touched his neck. "Whether you want to accept it or not is your business. However, it should be stated beforehand. I'm only going to be in Jakarta for a week and I'll be taking a boat to Singapore next Monday, so if you decide to come down, please do it as soon as possible..."

"At the same time, I hope you can think clearly, now only we will want your precious rubber trees, if it's too late, you can only play with those precious rubber trees by yourself..."

Li Liang's arrogant appearance made Quinn grit their teeth, and some people even stood up angrily, but in the end, they could only watch him leave.

For the next week, the hard-boned rubber plantation owners were not without them. But among the more than 30 rubber plantations, only three people are unwilling to cooperate with Yushi Group. The rest, after a period of consideration, finally chose to give in.

Because it's just like what Li Liang said. It is almost impossible to restore the price of rubber to normal levels in a short period of time after the stock market crash. And it is unlikely that others will invest their money in an industry that will not make money in five or six years, and at this time, except for Yan Shao, a person who looks at things from another perspective, I am afraid that few people are willing to accept these rubber plantations.

Among these people who are willing to accept rubber plantations, Yan Shao is the only capitalist who has the ability to buy all rubber plantations.

Although three of them were not acquired, Li Liang had no regrets, but just took a boat to Singapore a week later, as he said.

In addition to Indonesia, the Malay Peninsula is also one of the rubber production areas, and with Yan Shao's instructions, Li Liang naturally cannot let go of there.

In three months, Li Liang successively acquired 31 rubber plantations in Indonesia, 72 in the Malay Peninsula, and 14 in the Philippines, totaling 117 rubber plantations, and the cost of the acquisition was less than 10 million yuan...

Li Liang's act of taking advantage of the fire to rob naturally made those plantation owners grit their teeth, but he returned with a full load and returned to Wuhu by boat with the contract of these 117 rubber plantations.

——————————————————————

Despite the unprecedented stock market crash, Shanghai has not become deserted.

This is not only because of the peculiarity of Shanghai, but also because of another reason.

However, Li Liang didn't know this, and after returning to China from Nanyang, he was really a little puzzled when he looked at the colorful lights in Shanghai.

"Forget it, it's none of my business anyway..."Thinking of this, Li Liang did not let the ship dock in Shanghai, but directly asked the captain to drive the boat to Wuhu.

Originally, after returning to Wuhu, he thought that he would see a more normal city, but who would have thought that he had just returned to Wuhu and saw that Wuhu was actually the same as Shanghai.

Forget it, in some places, there are still people and students holding red lights and shouting long live, and there is actually a military band in front of them.

"What the hell is going on..."

Not only Li Liang, but even the other people on the boat were dumbfounded, completely unable to understand how such a big change had occurred after only a few months of leaving.

Inexplicably, Li Liang and the others rushed directly to the company's office building after getting off the ship. I want to find out what happened in Wuhu. As a result, when they arrived at the office building, they found that even the building itself had many red lights...

"This is..."

"You're back!" Li Da, who was directing his subordinates to hang a red light on the building, saw that Li Liang was back, and greeted him while letting his subordinates continue to work. "That's a good job, isn't it? I've heard that it seems to be going well. ”

"Hmm. It was indeed very smooth, although the owners of those plantations were quite reluctant, but in the end, they still sold the rubber plantation to us at a lower price..."After speaking, Li Liang pointed to the office building with colorful lights. "What the hell is going on? Could it be that someone is going to do a happy event? ”

has the ability to make the whole Wuhu shine, in Li Liang's opinion, only Yan Shao can do it. On the way back, Li Liang even wondered if it was Yan Shao's wedding, so he put on such a scene. But considering the kind of chanting long live on the way back, as well as the posture of the military band opening the way, it is obvious that it has nothing to do with Yan Shao. It should be something big happening in Wuhu...

At this time, Li Liang suddenly remembered the scene he encountered when passing through Shanghai. "No, it shouldn't be just Wuhu, it's also Shanghai..."

"Ahh It is indeed a happy event..."After signaling Li Liang to follow him, the two of them walked into the office building. "Let's go and talk..."

"Okay."

After entering an elevator, the two of them went up to the floor where Yan Shao's office was located. "On the way back, you should have seen it, many cities are lit up."

"A lot of cities? I didn't pay attention to this. I've only seen Shanghai seem to be like this..."Just after the stock market crash, it looked like this. To be honest, Li Liang was also a little puzzled, but when he saw him like this, Li Da said with a smile.

"That's right..."

1910 was a terrible year for many, and there was not only a lot of bad news, but also some good news.

"About three months ago, when you were on your way to Nanyang, the 'Congressional Petition Comrades' issued a convocation again.

In August, that is, when the stock market crash was still relatively serious. Members of the LGBT held a meeting in Shanghai, of course. Our boss also had a share of this meeting.

At that time, it was decided at the meeting that the representatives of the provinces must arrive in Beijing before the eighth lunar month, and then write to the Zizheng Yuan in September, asking the Qing court to open the National Assembly. In addition, the Diet petition group sent a telegram to the provincial advisory bureaus suggesting that the new tax would not be recognized before the National Assembly convened, and that the provincial advisory bureaus should only discuss one bill at their annual meeting, that is, to quickly open the National Assembly. ”

"This time it's so big?" Hearing Li Da's narration, Li Liang frowned and said.

The non-recognition of new taxes and the dissolution of the Council are not like the petty fights of the past...

"Big moves?" Hearing Li Liang say this, Li Dahe laughed. "After the convening order of the comrades' meeting was issued, representatives from almost all the provinces went to Beijing, and even Gansu, which had always been closed, sent representatives to Beijing to participate in the petition. What is even more exaggerated is that when the boss said that when the Shanxi deputies arrived in Beijing, all the Shanxi officials who were in Beijing at that time drove in sedan cars to Zhengyangmen Station to greet the provincial deputies.

Not only that, but teams of more than 1,000 people in almost every place went to the provincial governor's palace or the governor's yamen to petition, which can be said to be boiling public opinion. Later, under the leadership of Xiliang, the governor of the three eastern provinces, 18 governors and generals, including Ruicheng, the governor of Huguang, and Yuan Shuxun, the governor of Liangguang, all signed a joint petition to request that a responsible cabinet be immediately organized and a congress be convened next year, so as not to boil people's hearts. ”

"Originally, the Qing court was not ready to agree, but under such a big momentum, they could only agree, of course, it was certainly impossible to agree in full, so the Qing court only announced that the original period of nine years would be advanced by three years, and the fifth year of Xuantong (1913) would be convened, and most of the constitutionalists felt that it was a victory, so they also celebrated..."

"Most of them...," Li Liang asked rhetorically. And what about a small part? ”

"You ask the little part?" Li Da smiled playfully. At that time, the constitutionalists in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other provinces felt that the imperial court had given in and it was not appropriate to pursue it again. But that small part felt that there was no need to wait another three years, so they wanted to petition for the fourth time, but this time they were few people, and the Qing court was not so easy to talk to, not only were all the troublemakers escorted back to their hometowns, but the leader was sent to Xinjiang to fill the army, and then the Qing court ordered the provinces to hold celebrations to show their support for the imperial court's "five-year constitutional" decision, and you also saw what happened after that..."

Because this order of the Qing court was not only in Shanghai and Wuhu, but also in almost all large cities.

By the way, the money needed for these activities in Wuhu was specially begged by the Wuhu magistrate to come to Yan Shao to borrow it—————— but I don't know when it will be repaid.

After the elevator reached the top floor, Li Liang hurriedly walked to Yan Shao's office.

Yan Shao was dealing with official business in the office, and he was also happy to see Li Liang back.

"You're back, things are going well..."

"It's going well..."After explaining the experience of Nanyang's trip this time, Li Liang frowned and said to Yan Shao. Boss, it won't be long before the Qing court announces the cabinet and convenes a parliament, will this be against us..."

Even with little experience in rebellion, Li Liang knew very well that the revolution could only succeed if those in power lost the hearts of the people. If the Qing court had been following the will of the people, then how could they talk about the so-called 'revolution'?

However, hearing Li Liang's words, Yan Shao just crossed his hands on his chin and smiled mysteriously.

"Don't worry, you can just wait for the show to come on..."

It's really a good show, at least Zhang Jian's gang will definitely be pleasantly surprised... (To be continued......)