Chapter 225 Appreciation and Reality

Nanjing, to some extent, the Guangfu Avenue outside the Zhonghua Gate to Xiaguan is a commercial street of companies. After entering the Zhonghua Gate, there are European-style buildings on both sides of the Guangfu Avenue in the east. It is undoubtedly an official street. From the Zhonghua Gate to the city, the Guangfu Avenue is the central axis. The Imperial Army Department and the Empire are the most The High Court, the Imperial Ministry of Justice to the Imperial Advisory Council, but on this road, anyone knows that the real heart of the empire is the palace also located on the Avenue of Restoration.

For the Chinese Empire, which lives in the world's three major [***] empires, the imperial palace is the brain of this country. Every day, a "decree" will be issued from the government building of the palace to appoint and remove an official. In China, the emperor combines executive power and legislative power. This power may belong to the same [** *] The Tsar of the Russian Empire or the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire cannot be compared with it, but on the other hand, it is known all over the world that among the three [[***] empires, Russia, which had long been in decline, and Russia, which lost the war five years ago, is in decline, while the Chinese Empire has just opened his eyes. , is striving to become a world power.

Two years ago, no strong parliament listened to the voice of Nanjing, but now, no country will ignore this country. At least to this extent, China is becoming a powerful country, of course, a "backward" and "strong" country, backward industry and a strong army, precisely this The root of the country's power, and everyone knows that all this was created by the first emperor in Chinese history who showed his military uniform every day. That's why the emperor enjoyed the power that could not be compared with the two [[***] empires.

"From Solon to Washington, there is a spirit, and the spirit of cooking is the same. There is an ideal, the ideal of the people's republic, which has lasted for thousands of years and will shine forever! From the "small country and few people" Greek city-state Ming cooking, you can see the figure of "Xiaokang", and from the vast land cooked by the Republic of America, you can see the dawn of "Datong". The territory of the Republic of America is comparable to that of Europa. Europa is divided by religion, while the territory is united by federalism as a republic..."

"Fool!"

sarcasm, Chen Moran casually threw away the newspaper, and then couldn't help rubbing his temples.

"These people...should be..."

As long as I think of the articles about "constitutional" in the newspaper in the past year, Chen Moran has a big hit.

Since the end of the war and the country has turned to the stage of comprehensive construction, the public opinion community has been surging and calm. Those people always try to seize the commanding heights of public opinion. They use the freedom of the press they have promoted to talk about the "harms of [***]" and "the advantages of the establishment of the constitution" in the newspapers. If there is any problem inside, there will always be someone who associates [***] with the constitution.

"Zheqin! Have you read the newspaper?

After Guan Mingtang came to the back garden of the palace, Chen Moran, who was sitting in the stone square, asked rhetorically.

"Your Majesty, I don't know what your majesty is talking about!"

Guan Mingtang is really confused about this. He, who has just finished negotiations with Morgan Bank, has really not read much of the newspaper recently. His answer made Chen Moran look up at him slightly, and then shook his head and sighed.

"How about the negotiations with Morgan Bank?"

"Your Majesty, Morgan Bank is willing to issue 1.5 billion Chinese dollars of bonds in the United States on behalf of China, and the conditions have not crossed the bottom line."

Guan Mingtang quickly replied, and then added.

"However, the representative of Morgan Bank is not optimistic that we will invest 500 million yuan in railway construction next year. I hope we will consider it carefully..."

1.5 billion yuan bonds, which is the focus of the Ministry of Finance this year. Although it is only in October, the plan for next year has long been completed, and the task of the Ministry of Finance is to prepare the required funds.

After the signing of the treaty last year, although Japan provided a compensation of 1.8 billion gold yuan, according to the provisions of the treaty, 600 million of them were returned to the Japanese political axe in the situation of loans, and 1.8 billion gold dollars, which seems to be a huge amount of money, can be used in the whole country, but it is just a "royal tribute" The education expenditure was deducted 400 million yuan, the remaining 1.4 billion yuan was spent on education expenses of 200 million yuan, 1.2 billion yuan left, another 400 million yuan was used for naval construction, and the army asked for 200 million yuan, which was really used for industrial construction, but only 600 million gold yuan, that is, 600 million yuan, of which 100 million yuan is the foundation. This transportation construction expenditure.

In the end, the domestic industrial construction, in addition to relying on political axe to provide funds, social retail funds, and bank loans, can only rely on the issuance of bonds, which mainly rely on the issuance of bonds to foreign countries.

"Considering carefully?"

He snorted coldly, and the corners of Chen Moran's lips rose slightly.

"The United States has 30,000 kilometers of railway lines in 1860, 85,169 kilometers in 1870, 269,000 kilometers in 1890, and 320,000 kilometers in 1900, accounting for half of the world's railway lines. During the American railway frenzy, why didn't the people of Morgan Bank mention any careful consideration?

After asking rhetorically, Chen Moran said sarcastically.

"The railway construction in the United States needed a large amount of money, and most of them came from stocks and bonds sold by American bankers to investors in France, the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands. In 1890, about one-third of railway securities holders were foreigners. From 1865 to 1900, Europeans bought about 2.5 billion US dollars of American securities. In fact, they are all railway stocks and bonds, and there are no other types of securities traded on the New York Stock Exchange. It can be said that it is the development of railways that has helped New York achieve its status as the financial center of the United States today.

In addition to sarcasm, Chen Moran continued to say.

"Today we are just copying the success of Americans. Of course, for us, the financial center is secondary. We don't have that foundation yet. However, the most important thing is that the railway will be one of our important industrial policies. Every railway must use Chinese-made rails. All railways must use Chinese-made locomotives and carriages. It can be said that in the construction of the railway, a large amount of coal, wood, iron and steel will be consumed. It also drives the development of these industries and creates great wealth. Rising demand encourages enterprises to continue to innovate and invest, thus making small-scale enterprises become large-profits.

Speaking of this, Chen Moran stretched out a finger.

"What's more important is the wealth gathered by railway construction suppliers, which is far larger and longer than that of railway companies or their users, while railway suppliers, using the wealth earned by railways, can enable them to develop rapidly, thus developing into large enterprises, we Chinese, business minds, and It's no worse than the Jews. What's worse is just a good environment. Now, we not only provide the environment, but also create conditions for them. Only when these enterprises become bigger and stronger can the country invest back from industrial investment, Zheqin..."

At the end of the words, he looked up at Guan Mingtang, and Chen Moran couldn't regret it.

"Why do we promise the United States that we will not start the construction of any warships above 10,000 tons in the next five years, just to get credit with the United States?"

Your Majesty's rhetorical question made Guan Mingtang's whole body fall into a thought. After the Sino-Japanese war, China, as the winner, further expanded its influence in the Far East and the Pacific, but did not show an aggressive attitude in this region at all. Finally, it even accepted the mediation of the United States, with Borneo Lanfang. The implementation of autonomy is still controlled by the Netherlands, but it is also a vassal of China. China enjoys the right to immigrate as a condition and normalizes its relations with the Netherlands.

At the same time, in the face of the main force of the U.S. Navy gathered in the Atlantic Ocean, the fleet deployed in Asia is very weak, and it is impossible to compete with China. It should have been the current situation of the United States's concession policy, but in order to avoid confrontation with the United States, which led to the confrontation between the two countries in the Pacific Ocean, and the hostility between the two countries became more and more hostile. In a serious situation, China offered to stop the construction of warships of more than 10,000 tons within five years.

In return, under Roosevelt's personal lobbying, the U.S. Congress passed a bill at the beginning of the year to abolish all Chinese exclusion laws. As a result, the relationship between China and the United States tends to be normal. In the eyes of many foreign diplomats and observers, China's active concessions is regarded as "Oriental diplomatic wisdom", and the United States relaxed on China. The strong China is not regarded as a threat by the United States, but as a "rational" country that can be talked about.

But in fact, Guan Mingtang, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, knows very well that it is not that China is willing to make concessions, but that the reality forces China to make concessions. Relying on the weak national strength and building a modern and powerful army is the foundation to ensure national security, but if we maintain the weak national strength, we can The army against the powerful country is unwise, and it is easy to drag down its economy. Especially for China, which is in the process of transformation from an agricultural country to an industrial country, the establishment of a huge army, especially the navy that needs to exhaust the crossbow, will seriously affect China's industrialization process.

It is for this reason that China will take the initiative to show weakness, and even give up some ambitions in exchange for the understanding of the United States. While avoiding the vigilance of the United States, it will maximize the use of the remaining capital of the United States to develop its own industry. Only when the industry is strong can it become a truly powerful country.

"Because there are not enough funds!"

"That's right!"

Nodding his head, Chen Moran's expression seemed quite helpless. Two years ago, he still had a huge amount of cash, but now, the money he sold to the oil field has been spent a long time ago. It has either become a bond or a factory. The only thing that can bring huge wealth is the "Yingbo Petroleum Company" under the name of Jili. But the problem is that a drop of oil has not been extracted there until now.

The emperor who was "rich as rich as a country" in those years has no food at home now!

"Ke Zheqin, our fiscal revenue exceeds that of the United Kingdom!"

When he said this sentence, Chen Muran blushed slightly, because China's tax on the people is far heavier than that of the United States. Unlike the "Ming Increase" of the former Qing Dynasty, the tax increase of the New Deal Axe is a tax increase in the link. The feeling of the people is nothing more than "slightly higher prices", and the tax increase was implemented during the war. It fundamentally avoids the public's disgust caused by the tax increase directly on the people.

"But why can't we take out 200 million yuan for naval military spending like Britain?"

"Because half of the empire's financial expenditure is used for industrial investment, and it is difficult for these costly industrial investments to achieve results in the short term. Therefore, the current empire's poverty is inexplicable and cannot be invested in naval construction!"

Guan Mingtang replied bluntly that this is the short foot of a backward country. In order to develop heavy industrial projects with huge costs and a long return cycle, he can only rely on political axe for investment, which in turn occupies a lot of capital, so that the political axe cannot put all his strength into other more needed places.

Arms!

When it comes to these two words, Chen Moran sighed helplessly. Since last year, Britain and Germany have begun a vigorous naval arms race. The platforms of the two countries are crowded with "Zhiyuan ships". Zhiyuan ships have opened the history of the navy, but it has also triggered this maritime competition.

The British, Germans, Americans, French and Italians are all building their own Zhiyuan ships, but in China, the origin of Zhiyuan ships, the Chinese navy is silent and concentrates on manufacturing all kinds of light and heavy cruisers, but this brings an unexpected benefit. The platform of European powers is far away. After the ship was full, shipping companies of various countries had to issue merchant ship orders to other countries in order to meet their own needs. In the past two years, China's shipbuilding industry received orders for merchant ships with a total tonnage of more than one million tons.

The orders of merchant ships from foreign countries finally gave themselves some comfort. At least, the sacrifices still have some rewards, especially the British. Out of fear of China's involvement in the competition, the British political axe did not hesitate to encourage British companies to book ships with China, and even took the initiative to introduce customers to Chinese shipyards. Their eyes Obviously, it is to occupy China's shipbuilding capacity, thus pushing China out of the British and German naval competition.

"Your Majesty, I heard that the Germans are very dissatisfied with our unwillingness to cooperate with them in an arms race!"

Guan Mingtang tried in time. Because of the Sino-German alliance, Germany has always hoped that China can continue to build Zhiyuan ships, so as to outperform Britain in naval power through the alliance of the two countries, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has always used the Sino-US Naval Agreement as a shield.

"If the Germans are dissatisfied, just be dissatisfied. At least now we can't take the initiative to break the agreement with the Americans, let alone..."

When it comes to the dissatisfaction of the Germans, Chen Moran smiled.

"What's more, now everyone is only building Zhiyuan ships, which is nothing more than 13.5-inch naval guns. Believe me, the era of 13.5-inch naval guns has long been over. In the future, it will be the era of 15-inch and 18-inch naval guns. There is no need for us to waste money on such a meaningless competition now! "

Excuse, this is not an excuse, but a fact, but no one can understand it except yourself. This is also a reason for persuading the navy, but in any case, this is a fact after all. Isn't there a fearless and fearless in history? The dreadnought that created the era of dreadnought, there was no eye-catching performance in World War I. The only thing that attracted people's attention was probably the era of dreadnought he created.

What's more, what China needs now is a complete industrial system. Although Zhiyuan ships have succeeded, they are "moving ships" of products from various countries. In the real world war, this kind of "moving" is undoubtedly fatal to the Chinese navy. Now they are building light and heavy cruisers. The purpose, on the one hand, fixing is the needs of the navy, and the most important reason is to realize the localization of various equipment, and of course, the need to improve the level of its own shipbuilding.

"Your Majesty!"

In the face of this answer, Guan Mingtang spit out a golden answer. No matter what the reason is, at least one thing is certain. Your Majesty will not violate the agreement reached with the United States. As long as he gets this guarantee, he has been in the United States for more than ten years. He knows better than anyone that the United States is young. The power stored by the state.

"Okay, Zheqin, don't flatter me!"

When he spoke, Chen Moran stared at Guan Mingtang. On the one hand, the reason why he admired him was because of his talent, but more importantly, the reason was that he appreciated his courage to speak. He never hid anything from himself.

"Zheqin, you... If nothing happens recently, read more newspapers!"

"Your Majesty?"

"It seems that many people are very dissatisfied with me now!"

Although His Majesty did not explicitly indicate who he was, Guan Mingtang more or less guessed the meaning revealed in His Majesty's words, which can make His Majesty unhappy. I'm afraid they are those who advocate constitutionalism. Those people are like flies. Although they know that they can't affect the overall situation, they still do not prevent them from buzzing in front of people's eyes every day. Flying and dancing.

"Your Majesty, they are nothing more than saying it verbally! Let's take the overall situation. In addition, isn't it the country that your majesty hoped to create in those years that the people can speak freely?

Facing Guan Mingtang's comfort, Chen Moran just sighed helplessly.

"Zheqin, you don't understand! Do you know what kind of person I hate the most?

"What I hate most is those who talk about inciting others. They incite others, and they retreat behind the scenes when they achieve their goal. It seems that there is nothing wrong with them!"

"Your Majesty..."

"If they dare to walk on the street and shout to let me establish a constitution, or even let me abdicate, I will appreciate them, at least they understand a little..."

The tone was slightly raised.

"Power is won, not given by others!"

"Your Majesty, if there is such a day, how will you choose? Should we accept their petition, or..."

How will I choose? Guan Mingtang's rhetorical question stunned Chen Moran. Yes, if it really came to that day, how would he choose?

(to be continued)