Although he said that he promised to go to the meeting, Cheng Nuo actually hesitated a little in his heart.

From an objective point of view, it cannot be said that the Beiyang government has done nothing in promoting industrialization, after all, Yuan Datou directly issued an order to order the local government to take advantage of the European war to develop China's industry at a rapid pace.

The 1 million yuan borrowed from Crédit Agricole CIB was also approved by the Yuan Datou government.

However, the so-called isolated evidence does not stand, and generally speaking, the support given by the Beiyang government to the machinery industry is quite weak, and the industries it focuses on supporting are mainly light industry and handicraft industry.

In addition, China was an agricultural country at the beginning of the century, and its comparative advantages in early industrialization existed in traditional industries such as silk and tea, as well as mass consumption-oriented light industries such as cotton textiles, which made it difficult for heavy industry to develop in accordance with the traditional "natural order".

Although the Beiyang government mainly represents the interests of the big landlords and warlords, it does not reject the economic policy of industrialization, especially some business people can also participate in the political power, at least it can do not exclude me. And always rely on borrowing to get by, and there is always some pressure on the finances.

Moreover, steel is an important material for the production of weapons, and from the perspective of rectifying armaments, the Beijing government also needs to develop the steel industry, coupled with the impact of World War I, the price of steel as war preparation materials has soared, and I believe that the Beiyang government is also in the eyes and anxious. ”

After carefully weighing the "weight" in his hand, Cheng Nuo simply packed his bags and went to Beijing with Chen Zhaoqiang.

"Zhiyuan, I heard that you are from Beijing? I haven't been back after wandering for so long, so I guess I'm quite homesick, right? On the deck of the ship, Chen Zhaoqiang put down the book in his hand and took the initiative to talk.

"General Chen, you misunderstood, I'm not from Beijing, I just happen to have been working in Beijing since I returned to China." Cheng Nuo wore sunglasses and looked at the sea and sky in the distance and said politely.

Chen Zhaoqiang's face was slightly surprised: "Oh? It seems that I am a little self-righteous, but listening to your accent, it really smells of Beijing. ”

Cheng Nuo smiled: "Haha, then I will automatically default to General Chen's praise for my language talent." ”

At this time, both of them were preoccupied, and after saying this, the scene fell into an embarrassing silence.

Listening to the sound of the waves crashing, Cheng Nuo suddenly looked back and said: "I heard that the president is now held by Xu Shising, and Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang have been ousted from power?" ”

Chen Zhaoqiang was stunned for a moment, and then said: "Yes, it is said that one said that he would be a full-time supervisor of the war and would no longer care about the civil war; The other is to return to Linquan and return to his hometown in Hejian to recuperate. ”

"Also, I went to Tianjin to stay after going to the wilderness before, waiting for the comeback, this time it seems that there is really a taste of retreat, and in a sense, it can be regarded as an interesting progress." Cheng Nuo's tone was mixed with mockery.

Although Chen Zhaoqiang was also indifferent to the Beiyang government because of a series of events in the Jiangnan Shipyard before, he was still puzzled at this time: "But listening to the meaning of your words, it seems that there is more to blame!" Why is that? ”

Cheng Nuo snorted lightly: "The surname Duan is not a good thing, he said that he stepped down, but in fact, in the name of the country, he just borrowed 20 million yen in the name of the country through Zhang Zongxiang, the minister in Japan, and the Bank of Korea of the Japanese Empire, for his training and participation in the army. ”

Hearing this, Chen Zhaoqiang's face also became not very good-looking, the fist in his hand loosened and loosened, pinched and pinched, and finally sighed:

"Alas, even the British Minister to China, Zhu Erdian, knows that our Chinese government has repeatedly borrowed foreign debts, and all those who can be mortgaged in the country have been mortgaged, and this money has been used for military spending, and it has not been collected at all, which is not a long-term solution, but now I have found the Japanese......"

Just as Chen Zhaoqiang was about to sigh for a long time, two young men suddenly walked from not far away, with inexplicable smiles on their faces: "I don't know what happened to us Japanese?" If there are Japanese compatriots who have offended you before, I am here to apologize to the gentlemen on behalf of my compatriots."

As he spoke, he bowed in public.

After Cheng Nuo took off his sunglasses and glanced at the two of them, he put them on again, and said with a salty and indifferent mouth: "If your country has bowed and is happy, I don't mind helping others here, right, Hidero Iwasaki and Mr. Hiroshi Iwasaki?" ”

Yes, these two are the two Iwasaki brothers, but to Cheng Nuo's surprise, they can still meet them here.

I think it can only be described in one sentence, that is, "it is a blessing or a curse, and it is a disaster that cannot be avoided".

But now that he is here, Cheng Nuo still wants to take the words of the two brothers and see if he can get some valuable information.

"I heard that Uchidawai has made some adjustments to the China policy of the Hara Cabinet, and has decided not to adopt a policy based solely on Japan's interests? I wonder if there is such a thing? ”

Hidero Iwasaki didn't expect the topic to be this, and he didn't know how to answer without the slightest preparation.

Or his younger brother Hiroshi Iwasaki was more concerned about politics, and replied directly: "That is only a temporary policy, and what is really implemented is to temporarily stop borrowing from China, and even directly recover the money if it is detrimental to the reunification of the North and the South......."

Speaking of this, Iwasaki Hiroshi deliberately paused, with a strong sense of provocation in his tone: "Professor Cheng, do you know what this means? ”

Cheng Nuo's eyes narrowed slightly: "It means that you are going to be unfavorable to our country according to the terms of the cabinet?" ”

"No, no, no, how can we, China and Japan, as a strip of water, behave in a trap of water, which is not in line with the demeanor of our Great Japanese Empire." Iwasaki Hiroshi's expression was very exaggerated, and he said slowly: "In terms of China strategy, our empire and other countries will act in unison, and if necessary, our eight countries will join forces again......"

At this time, although Chen Zhaoqiang was already old, he grabbed Iwasaki Hiroshi's collar in anger: "Oriental devils have something to say quickly, and if they have a fart, you should be glad that there are more witnesses on the deck now, otherwise you will feed the sharks in the next moment!" ”

Iwasaki Hiroshi originally wanted to continue to be arrogant, but when he met Chen Zhaoqiang's eyes that were almost spewing fire, his body couldn't help but tremble, and his Adam's apple surged: "No...... Do not forget that the warships of our empire are loaming nearby. ”

"You!" Chen Zhaoqiang immediately had the idea of throwing Iwasaki Hiroshi off the deck.

Cheng Nuo stood up, grabbed Chen Zhaoqiang's arm and said softly: "Just throw him down like this, it's really cheap for him, General Chen will spare his life for the time being, let's hear what kind of medicine he sells in his gourd." ”

Iwasaki Hidero on the side also hurriedly persuaded him: "This gentleman, I'm sorry to disturb, I am sorry to say to you on behalf of my younger brother, and please keep your mouth and hands, don't be like my unsuccessful brother." ”

Chen Zhaoqiang looked at Cheng Nuo, then at Hidero Iwasaki, and finally picked up Iwasaki Hiroshi and threw it directly to the ground, his eyes were cold: "Count your fate, I will spare you for the time being today, and you may not have such good luck next time." ”

Chen Zhaoqiang was originally born in the army, and he was tall and big, but he didn't use much strength just now, but in fact, he almost killed Hiroshi Iwasaki.

After being thrown on the ground, he blushed and breathed desperately, as if he had turned around in a ghost gate.

Knowing that he was not the opponent of Cheng and Chen for the time being, Iwasaki Hiroshi no longer dared to let go of his cruel words, and let his brother Iwasaki Hidero help him turn around and leave.

It's just that the moment he turned around, that kind of resentful gaze still made Cheng Nuo feel uncomfortable, and directly stopped him:

"Stop! It's not over yet! ”

One tightened, one loosened, and now one tightened.

Although Iwasaki Hiroshi is not as exaggerated as directly scaring urine, he is basically trembling like chaff in fright now, if it weren't for his brother Iwasaki Hidero supporting him, it is estimated that he would have collapsed on the ground like mud at this time.

"Also...... Anything else? ”

Chen Zhaoqiang's eyes were full of disgust: "What did you do with the two of us just now, but you haven't said it yet." ”

Iwasaki Hidero saw that his younger brother was really unsuccessful at this time, so he had to stand up and say: "Actually, there is nothing else, that is, if you want to continue financing the new machine factory, you can go to a Japanese-funded bank, provided that you agree to Mitsubishi to inject capital......"

Without waiting for the other party to finish speaking, Cheng Nuo directly waved his hand and said: "Then you can rest assured, there is no hope in this life, hurry up and take your brother to roll, the farther you go, the better!" ”

Hearing this, the two of them no longer dared to have extra expressions on their faces, and hurriedly left.

Looking at this embarrassed appearance, Chen Zhaoqiang suddenly sighed: "That is, on our Chinese ship, the two of us dare to do this, if we change to another ship, I feel that each other's roles will be reversed." ”

Cheng Nuo had an indescribably complicated expression on his face: "So, this is the reason why we develop the steel industry, shipbuilding industry and even the national industry." ”

"It's just my observation, I'm afraid that those Oriental devils will not give up, and they will definitely retaliate against us later, when they are in the dark, we are in the light, and it is not so easy to deal with it." Chen Zhaoqiang thought about it, but still said: "Whether it will put pressure on the Beiyang government, it's hard to say. ”

Cheng Nuo shook his head, not very worried: "You still have to understand that the public family is not monolithic, otherwise it will not let Duan Qirui step down, it is his turn to sing, since we can be invited over, there must be someone who is willing to stand on our side, and it is not realistic to directly ask for money to support it."

But if we shout two slogans for our platform, I think it is quite enough for the development of the new machine factory and for us comrades who do industry, such as reforming the mining management agency and investigating the national iron ore resources, etc., there is still a lot that can be done."

At present, steel makes money, but in essence, it is still based on the scarcity of various combat readiness resources during the First World War.

In fact, it will not take half a year, or even a few months, the war will end, and the entire steel price will be an avalanche.

(End of chapter)