Chapter 152 Self-interest and righteousness

On May 27, 1902, it was a hot, depressing and suffocating afternoon.

A cruise ship from Japan is moored at Jiangning Ship Terminal. After the routine inspection, a pair of young men and women came out of the ship, with a slightly tired face, showing the joy that could not hide the happiness. The man is about twenty-eight or nine years old and looks sophisticated and easy, and the 20-year-old brunette European girl next to him has a pair of bright big eyes shining stubbornly.

"Is this Jiang Ning?"

The two looked at each other, and their eyes were full of joy.

" Lucy, I have dreamed of coming back here one day since I was 5 years old!"

Li Sihua has a surprise on his face, and Lucy beside him? Lewis just smiled. She was just willing to follow him. It was the same as it is now.

"Belie me, Lucy, we will be happy!"

Holding Lucy's hand tightly, Li Sihua said solemnly that from the United States to Yokohama, from Yokohama to Jiangning, they came all the way hand in hand, and now they are finally about to reach their destination.

"Hmm!"

Lucy nodded. Li Sihua seemed to look at Lucy's big eyes to prove something.

"Believe me, I will definitely find a job in Ma'anshan!"

But this kind of surprise changed a little at the moment they got off the dock. For Li Sihua, China is the place he has been yearning for for many years. Since he was a teenager, his mind has been yearning for the land where his parents were born, but for this land, his parents are rebellious, even to him. Maybe in my lifetime, I can't get involved in this land for the sake of safety.

If it hadn't been for Lucy, Li Sihua would not have been able to return to the land he was dreaming of for the rest of his life.

But now, at the first time they set foot on this land, they are extremely shocked by the poverty here. They have never seen such a situation before. At this time, the men came out of the cabin and walked one by one on the pedals diagonally on the dock. Their bamboo poles carrying heavy goods almost collided with each other. ** The upper body is full of sweat, and the neck, forehead and legs are full of blue veins. The smell of garlic and sweat drifted from them to this side.

At the exit of the dock, beggars gathered around the passengers, crying about the disabled, some with broken arms, some broken legs, children with purulent wounds, some were blind, and some had no hair on their heads of dysentery. As soon as they left the dock, many beggars immediately stretched out a pair of dirty hands to them.

"Ah..."

Lucy was scared by the appearance of one of the beggars and quickly buried her head in Li Sihua's chest. Li Sihua glanced at the beggar, and her heart was also cold. The beggar's eyes seemed to have been dug out, and a pair of black holes on the top of her thin head were like a ghost crawling out of hell. General.

"Don't be afraid...Don't be afraid..."

patted Lucy on the back, Li Sihua whispered, holding her hand and walking out. He didn't even want to see the beggar who seemed to have climbed out of hell. The surprise in his heart had long been gone. The appearance of those beggars made him finally understand why his parents "rebellion" and what was "official forced the people to rebel".

At this time, a driver pulling a two-wheeled car ran in front of them.

"Uncle, do you want a car?"

"How to get to Ma'anshan!"

"Hey! Uncle, you and your wife get on the bus first, and I'll take you to the car station! It's still dozens of miles away from Ma'anshan!"

Coming to Ma'anshan seems to give people a feeling of another world. Tiechang Road, as the main street of the central office area of Ma'anshan Iron and Steel Company, is a very modern street, lined with two-story or three-storey Western-style buildings with a little oriental style. The bustling crowd of people strode forward without looking away, and they can easily distinguish their differences from people's clothes.

Suits and leather shoes are often middle and high-level employees of the company. There are foreigners and Chinese. Of course, there are also some merchants, and those who wear white short-sleeved shirts are often workers in factories. As for those who wear robes, they are either the families of the workers, or the small vendors who come here to do business, and then the customers who come to Ma'anshan to buy steel. Shang, in a word, since he came to Ma'anshan, Li Sihua had an illusion, especially those factories that spit out thick smoke in the distance, which gave him the illusion of returning to the United States.

The headquarters of Jianghuai Road Mining Company is located on the north side of the garden square in the center of the "city". Li Sihua, who was in a suit and leather shoes, took a deep breath before entering the three-high building with a briefcase.

When he entered the hall on the first floor, the leather shoes on his feet stepped on the granite floor. There was a guide sign in the hall. The personnel was on the east side of the second floor and went up the stairs. When he turned east, he accidentally saw two guards standing between the stairs on the second floor and the third floor. The guards stood there, which seemed to be a barrier. Stop others from going upstairs.

"You must be Mr. Li Sihua!"

Just as he was puzzled, a clerk in a suit stretched out his right hand with a smile and walked towards him.

"I'm the director of the Personnel Department of Jianghuai Road Mining Company, Liang Xianqi! If it hadn't been for the company's hotel to inform you of your arrival, I thought it would take a few days for you to arrive at Ma'anshan. It's really a presumptuous to fail to send a car to pick you up at the dock.

Although it was just two simple sentences, it made Li Sihua notice a trace of strangeness.

In the conference room on the third floor, thick curtains block most of the sunlight and the light is dim. Several people were sitting around the conference table, each with a folder in front of them, and Chen Moran, who was sitting at the top, seemed to be in the shadow.

He took another puff of cigarette, and then Chen Moran put out the cigarette butt in the ashtray on the armrest of the chair. He lowered his voice, as if he wanted to relieve some of the fire pressure in his heart.

"Let me tell you that it's simple to kill Duan Fang. We can directly send a few people, one bullet, a few bombs or a few shuttle bullets, can we kill him, so that we can solve the problem?"

"No!"

Chen Moran said in a straightforward affirmation.

"If you kill a Duan, they will send another person from this side to be the governor of Liangjiang. What should we do then? Is it possible to kill one by one?

"And killing officials is like a rebellion!"

Hu Nianzu's voice is very kind, very educated, and has a strong Xiangnan accent.

" Maybe we really have to rebel!"

Fang Jingyuan muttered softly, but made Hu Nianzu swallow with some embarrassment. Now he feels even more uncomfortable. Before today's meeting, he did not expect that one day he would be involved in this kind of right and wrong.

"If... I am still the manager of Jianghuai Road Mine, I will do my own job!"

After a long time, Hu Nianzu seemed to accept his fate and said something, and his expression seemed a little helpless. Listening to his words, Sun Ming looked at Hu Nianzu for a long time and couldn't help sighing that he was forced into the thief's ship. It seemed that he was not the only one.

He smoked a cigarette and stared at the folder in front of him. It was not until now that he understood that the factory he was responsible for hanging the "Jianghuai Road Mining Company Machinery Factory" was what kind of "profit underground arsenal factory" there. It was simply the arsenal prepared by Chen Moran for his rebellion. He prepared the arsenal. So are you ready for the army?

Are those policemen?

Those policemen came to his mind. Shi Si remembered those workers who had to receive 15 days of military training. He couldn't help muttering in his heart that he was afraid that there would be both true or false problems in finding an industry, and Chen Moran's intention to rebel was true.

Think about the word rebellion.

Shi Si's left hand was clenched. He didn't ask what other people's attitude was, but he was very excited. He knew that this might be the only way to ease his relationship with his family.

"China will not return to the unification of the Han Dynasty, and the Shi family will never step on the Central Plains!"

The patriarchal discipline of the historian made his rebellious son an unfilial descendant, not to mention that he wanted to serve the Qing Dynasty. If his father knew that he would go home, he actually "wants" to restore the unification of the Han Dynasty. I don't know what his father would think at that time?

"My son follows the wave, although he follows the wave, he still faces the wave!"

Thinking of his father's open laughter when he received his letter, Shi Si sat up straight and looked at Chen Moran. Now a fantasy appeared in front of his eyes, which was the scene where the heroes in the legend of the Ming Dynasty gathered before planning.

"However, although Duanfang is a Manchu relative, compared with the children of the Eight Banners who don't learn countless cages, Duanfang is almost an alien. His talent is among the royal family of the Qing Dynasty, and he is rumored as the "three talents under his banner". Darong, Xiaona and Duan Laosi belong to the Tide file cultivated by the court."

Sun Mingjiu, who had been resentful for a while, began to persuade him. He didn't want the industry he had invested in to be given by Duanfang, but he didn't want to tie his head to the "rebellion". If it worked, Sun Mingjiu would be the founder of the country, but if he was defeated... The Sun family would be completely finished. It's done!

"What's more valuable is that compared with other emperors, he was open-opened. When Wuxu changed the law, he was involved for a while, but he was lucky. He was protected by Ronglu and Li Lianying and was not implicated. At the time of the Gengzi disaster, because of his meritorious service, he had been promoted all the way to Huguang. Now he temporarily signed the Liangjiang Rivers. In the capital, we all know that he is a member of the reformists. He set up schools, runs newspapers, builds military ships, and controls the army. He seems to be very supportive of innovation. However, if we know the truth with him, maybe..."

Looking at Chen Moran, when Sun Mingjiu said the last sentence, he seemed to have no confidence and paused for a moment.

"There may be room for manoeuvre."

"The roundabout?"

Shi Si sneered and leaned against the back of the chair.

"Is it possible to carry the master to those slaves?"

With a sneer, Shi Si's voice sank again.

"However, if there is really no way out, then... let's do the opposite!"

It's the opposite!

The three words only knocked on everyone's heart trembling, while Chen Moran just took a look at Shi Si. Shi Si didn't say anything from the beginning, but as soon as he spoke, there was only one idea left to rebel.

Thinking of the past, Shi Si mentioned that their ancestors were the bes of the surviving ministers of the Ming Dynasty, and later after the death of the Ming Dynasty, he did not want to be Hu Chen, so he fled to Nanyang. This guy really wanted to make a rebellion in his bones!

"Rebellion! Rebellious is not such a simple thing!"

Guan Mingtang said softly, with a little nervous expression.

"Rebellion requires the army, ordnance, and the right time. It can't be rebellious by words."

He swallowed his saliva and squeezed out a little smile. When he entered the industrial company, he really didn't expect that he would rebel, but if... he had no other choice. Maybe the answer could only be made after the rebellion!

"But... Jiangning has two new armies, and there are more than 100,000 flags, green camps and brave camps in the two rivers alone... If there is a real rebellion, in case of failure, it will be all over!"

Sun Mingjiu, who was scared by the big guy's opinion, whispered beside him. He touched his pocket and wanted to smoke, but he forgot that he didn't smoke at all.

Listening to their opinions, Chen Moran took out a copper-colored cigarette box from his pocket and pulled out a cigarette from it. His head was straight, and his eyes were facing the other end of the conference room. At this time, his eyes were not on anyone. He just lit a cigarette with a gold lighter made by an industrial company, took a deep breath, spit out the smoke, and then spoke again.

"It's really not easy to rebel. Any negligence is possible..."

Chen Moran's words only made Sun Mingjiu's heart suddenly rise to his throat, and he couldn't help closing his eyes. Could it be that... is he really ready to rebel?

And Chen Moran continued to speak.

"As far as I know, no matter how open-ended Duanfang is, one thing is certain. He is a slave of the captives. Maybe he is open-up, but he can never treat our industry as much as Lord Liu and Lord Zhang. I'm telling the truth, right?

Hu Nianzu cleared his throat.

"I don't think it's necessary to rebel, but maybe... I mean maybe, maybe, maybe we should try it, so that we can leave some room."

Chen Moran smoked again and moved his body slightly in the chair, while Sun Mingjiu picked up the cigarette box from the conference table. When he lit the cigarette with the fire, he could not light the cigarette because his hands trembled several times.

"Maybe..."

Chen Moran said thoughtfully.

"Oh, maybe you should try it. Don't you like antiques? Look at..."

He only said half of the words, and he looked up at everyone. The reason for this meeting was that he actually wanted to reach a consensus within the industrial company before the incident. This was to be made, but it was only a matter of time.

"But if we give a gift here, he wants to attack the industry over there. What should we do then?"

"This...this..."

Hu Nianzu squeaked and couldn't speak. Although the room was very cool, his head began to sweat, his heart kept beating, and even his stomach was a little colic.

"Is it possible for us to wash our necks and wait for him to cut off our heads and seize our industry?"

Chen Moran suddenly raised his voice, with obvious coldness in his words.

Sun Mingjiu, who was smoking, was speechless, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly turned down.

"Oh... I don't know, but we..."

Sun Mingjiu's body was trembling slightly. He was not afraid of Chen Moran, but at the thought of rebellion, his body couldn't help trembling there. He silently took a few more cigarettes, and then he looked up at Chen Moran.

"In that case, then it will be the opposite!"

Taking out a cigarette from the cigarette box and lighting it, Guan Mingtang pondered for a while.

"Yes, if there is a real rebellion, we have to prepare now. The day before yesterday, we received the order. It is estimated that we will board the ship in Tianjin in the next two days, ship to Jiangning, meet local officials, and appoint cronies. If he wants to start the industry, it will take half a year at most, and we will have half a year to prepare for everything at most. And..."

Taking a deep cigarette, Guan Mingtang looked up at Chen Moran.

"In the past six months, it will definitely be the eventful autumn of the industry. I think we have to put up with it anyway. The industry is waiting for work with a good salary. It is not difficult to recruit a group of soldiers from the workers. We still have to buy arms..."

"There is no need to buy arms. There are more than 45,000 guns in the factory's warehouse."

Like a thunderous sound in the conference room, Shi Si ignored everyone's surprise and just continued to speak there. In the past, it was said that the guns were ready to be sold, but he was skeptical, but now he recognizes that the reason why the weapons are produced is simply Chen Moran's long-term plan.

"Yes, if we start working with all our strength, in half a year, the factory can still produce at least 20,000 rifles, 1,800 light machine guns, and 400 heavy machine guns. The mountain cannons can make 120 guns. Although there are a little less guns, if we count mortars, six months later, we will have enough guns and troops. The problem is that The team comes from there!"

"With... with wave, you... your factory produces arms?"

Sun Mingjiu stammered and asked, and then he couldn't wait to slap his mouth. Since he said so, he must be a producer of arms. If that's the case... Thinking of what he said before, Sun Mingjiu began to be vaguely happy. Fortunately, fortunately, he agreed with the rebellion, otherwise... luckily!

"In the past, the machinery factory had no choice but to produce weapons. At that time, in order to raise money, the factory only built a rifle for 10 yuan, but it could be sold for 120 yuan. At the beginning, the company's funds were insufficient, so I proposed it and did so."

The unexpected Shi Si said something that put Chen Moran aside.

But Chen Moran was smoking while estimating the possible effect of Shi Si's words in his heart.

"I told everyone the truth and came back from abroad. I didn't want to be the loyal minister of this captive, so I had the idea of rejuvenating the river and mountains for a long time. I have been waiting for the subjugated country until now! If we really rebel, it's not for the industry! It's not for our private wealth, but to correct the nation's rivers and mountains!"

When Chen Moran said this, everyone nodded. Rebellion always needs a great righteousness, and what kind of great righteousness can match the great righteousness of the "reining nation"? There are only a few million people, but there are more than 470 million Han people. If it's true... Thinking about this, Sun Ming has been here for a long time. The body trembled again, not because of the fear of rebellion, but because of the excitement of the founders.

With that, Chen Moran's face squeezed out a smile, looked at the people in front of him, and finally turned his eyes to Xiao Yuren.

"Let's study the next step together! Weiyang, you talk about it..."

(to be continued)