Chapter 174 Zhang Zhidong's Investment

Different from the business style of the first few years, today's Hu Chuyuan rarely monopolizes a market alone, and has become a person who is extremely good at cutting and splitting cakes.

Therefore, Ningbo Shangbang, Guangdong Shangbang, Tianjin Shangbang and Nanxun Shangbang all like to do business with him. Even if they have always been alone, self-contained, and even the arrogant Jin merchants are willing to cooperate with him.

Liu Yong has been quietly silent for many years, secretly running the family business, and slowly returning to the level of his heyday.

His current capital is about 50 million yuan. Looking at the real estate, banking, railway and industrial markets getting hotter and hotter, he also wants to make a little big investment recently, but he must ask Hu Chuyuan first.

This morning, Hu Chuyuan also talked with him and suggested that he should not be in a hurry to invest in Tianjin Concession Real Estate for the time being, because the highest profiteering period has passed, allowing him to invest in other projects in the Shanghai Concession.

When it comes to the project, others can't think about it, but Hu Chuyuan has a lot in his hand.

This trip to the United States and Europe, he bought a large number of technical patents on a large scale. The British John Starley's "safe" bicycle project has been invested in Shanghai. He suggested that Liu Yong also invest a large amount of money and engage in tricycle and rickshaw technology at the same time.

Liu Yong has a lot of money in his hand, and he can also invest in a new machine weaving factory.

Shanghai, Hangzhou and Suzhou have formed a huge silk industry, which can also be said to be the center of the global silk industry. Here, especially Hangzhou, has the strongest development momentum. It not only produces silk fabrics, but also produces new products such as silk quilts and silk pillows.

In addition, Shanghai is also the world's largest hemp processing place. Fine imitation hemp fabrics are sold all over the world, and Nanchang, Jiangxi Province is the largest bamboo processing place.

Under the control of Hu Chuyuan, China's agricultural product processing and national industry are developing very rapidly. In Shanghai, cables, electric lights, glass, toothpaste, soap, washing powder bicycles, paints, dyes, pigments, cement, gypsum,... Almost all foreign industrial products, Shanghai has formed its own scale. And the system.

After sending Liu Yong away, Hu Chuyuan returned to Jinxiu Villa to meet Zhang Zhidong.

In Hu Chuyuan's view, Kang Youwei is a political speculator at all. Being smart is smart, but unfortunately it is used in the wrong place. It can also be said that being smart is a typical example of being mistaken.

Zhang Zhidong, this person is a typical example of being really smart.

In the political situation of the late Qing Dynasty, you can no longer find a more powerful wall grass than Zhang Zhidong, but his most powerful thing is that he can always make the wisest choice at the most critical moment.

This is the real politician.

His family has been an official for generations. He was born in Guizhou. At that time, his father was a magistrate in Guizhou. When he was a child, he also grew up in Guizhou. Now he is a fifty-two-year-old Mr.

In the flower hall of Jinxiu Villa, Hu Chuyuan saw Zhang Zhidong, who was quite burly, with a white beard on his face. He looked a little like a general, especially majestic, and looked like a person who dared to do it.

Today, it is different from the past. Today, Hu Chuyuan is a member of the court.

As soon as he saw Hu Chuyuan, Zhang Zhidong, who was chatting with Miao Tsuen Sun in the past, hurriedly got up, folded his body with Hu Chuyuan, arched his hand and said, "Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Shandong, has met Mr. Zizheng!"

Hu Chuyuan also arched his hand slightly, asked Zhang Zhidong to continue to sit down, and asked, "Why are you in such a hurry? I didn't send a telegram in advance, so that I can send someone to pick you up. Count it out, is Mr. Miao next to me still your student?

Zhang Zhidong smiled and said, "The matter came in a hurry. When the order of the court came, the subordinate officer hurried over and wanted to discuss it with you. What should we do about the Qingdao industry? It's up to you to take a perfect plan for this matter.

At this point, he said, "Secondly, the subordinate officer should also come here to thank the senior governor for his recommendation in front of the emperor. I am very grateful. If you have any work in the future, the subordinate official will do his best!"

Hu Chuyuan was a little strange, thinking... Emperor Guangxu was still young and couldn't hold his breath.

Only he and Guangxu Emperor Zai Tian knew about Zhang Zhidong's recommendation. Zhang Zhidong knew how long it was now. It was obvious that Emperor Guangxu Zaitang discussed with Zhang Zhidong's brother Zhang Zhiwan again, so that Zhang Zhiwan got the news, and then secretly sent a telegram to congratulate Zhang Zhidong and let Zhang Zhidong work harder in Shandong. The emperor is looking at him.

Hu Chuyuan didn't say much, but said, "Shandong is a place that can achieve a great cause. The key is whether the local governor has the courage and the courage to be the first in the world!"

Zhang Zhidong immediately said, "The subordinate has this courage. I only ask the senior governor to order everything."

Hu Chuyuan smiled and said, "It's not an order. Let's discuss it together. But before we talk about Shandong, I'll show you another telegram.

With that, he asked Miao Tsuensun to go to the general letter room and bring the telegram sent by Li Hongzhang the day before yesterday.

After the two waited for a moment, Miao Tsuensun took the telegram and gave it to Zhang Zhidong for a look.

Zhang Zhidong looked at it, not only slightly frowning.

It turns out that this telegram is quite private.

Li Hongzhang just complained that Hu Chuyuan was treacherous. He didn't do anything properly at the time. He actually arranged Sun Jiaqi to such a vacant position as the minister of the Ministry of Ceremonies, so that Yan Jingming could control the power of the Ministry of Household.

Yan Jingming and Li Hongzhang also had a little bit of a holiday. At the beginning, Li Hongzhang received a sum of money from the court to handle the flood control dam of the Daqing River and spent a lot of money. Li Hongzhang himself must have been greedy. He reported to the court that it had been done very beautifully and would never break the embankment again.

That's good. As soon as he finished speaking, he broke up on guard.

Yan Jingming was the person in charge of the allocation at that time. In a rage, he played Li Hongzhang's book fiercely, which made Li Hongzhang disgraceful.

In addition, Li Hongzhang also wants to buy an ironclad ship. The problem is that the three major sailors have a penny, and each family has 3 million yuan, which is not enough for Li Hongzhang's Huai army to fill their teeth. The same amount of money is basically enough for Nanyang and Donghai.

The problem here is still to blame Li Hongzhang himself.

But he didn't care about this. He told Hu Chuyuan that Hu Chuyuan only cared about himself and got an official position from the court. He set up a big office in Shanghai, but he didn't give him any benefits. The Beiyang Marine Division's military pay was insufficient, and he asked Hu Chuyuan to find a way quickly.

After reading the telegram, Zhang Zhidong thought that Hu Chuyuan was going to fall out with Li Hongzhang, which forced him to take an example.

He immediately said, "Your Excellency, Zhongtang's statements are really unreasonable. Yan Shangshu is honest and proficient in taxation. He is the first choice to handle the household department. Although Sun Jiaqi is an imperial teacher, he has never handled the affairs of the household department. How can he force him to be the secretary of the household department? As for the Beiyang sailors, it is even more unreasonable. It is also a grant of 3 million yuan a year. Why didn't Nanyang and Donghai sailors say that they didn't have enough money?

Hu Chuyuan just smiled and said, "Zhongtang just lost his temper with me, and he didn't fall out with me for such a small thing. He forced me to find a way to help him, but he was embarrassed to lower his face and talk. Don't worry, Lord Zhang. When it comes to the funding of the Beiyang Marine Division, there is also a reason. 3 million yuan is definitely enough for the annual expenditure of the Beiyang Marine Division. In an extra year, it can also spend some money to buy warships and build more shipyards and military ports. The problem is that Zhongtang not only has the Beiyang sailors, but also the Huai army under the account. Over the years, the middle hall has been supporting part of the Huai army with the money of the water division. Although the reason is wrong, it is also forced to be helpless. According to reason, he should abolish some Huai troops and only raise elite soldiers, but after all, he has been an old army for many years, and he can't bear it.

Zhang Zhizhi felt that he had just said it, and immediately nodded and said, "It is beyond Zhang's reach that Mr. Zizheng can be so wronged and take into account the overall situation. However, after all, the affairs of the country are the most important. As an important minister of the court, how can the middle court abolish the public for personal gain? How can he have been raising some idle soldiers because he is reluctant to part with it? Isn't this a major coastal defense event that will delay the country?

Hu Chuyuan said, "Forget it, every family has a difficult scripture. What's more, these things are not troublesome for me. The reason why I want to show you this telegram before talking about Shandong is that I want to share the problems of Lord Zhongtang through you. If you want to achieve success in Shandong, sometimes Li Zhongtang still needs to come forward and support it.

Only then did Zhang Zhidong understand Hu Chuyuan's meaning and immediately said, "Thank you for your cultivation."

It's a pity that he is very smooth until today. Step by step, he became a governor at the age of 52, but in front of Hu Chuyuan, the speed of improvement seemed too slow.

Hu Chuyuan said, "Lord Zhang, we don't have to be too polite. We really can't talk about cultivation. You and I are not superiors and subordinates. I am the Minister of Senior Affairs. I am in charge of the Military Affairs Office and the Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Office. The following is just to assist the governors and governors in handling industrial and commercial affairs. Whether it's a first grade or a second grade, it's all fake. The emperor also gave me a top of the first grade for my contribution. How can we calculate that we are all equals? As the saying goes, the strong dragon does not suppress the snake. When I arrive in Shandong, I have to call you the governor. Please take care of me.

As soon as he heard this, the slight depression and jealousy in Zhang Zhidong's heart also disappeared. He smiled and said, "How dare you? Your Excellency, even if you are a third-grade member, in Zhang's heart, you are the best court officer in the world. There is no second person in the world who can do what you can do.

Hu Chuyuan just smiled and didn't say anything.

Zhang Zhidong continued to ask, "Your Excellency, how are you going to let me help a group of middle-aged adults?"

"Wait a minute!"

Hu Chuyuan stood up, took a map of Shandong, spread it out to Zhang Zhidong, pointed to Weihai Port and said, "This port is very good, but if we build fields around the sea in Sunjiatong Town, connect Huangdao, Qingdao, Liugong Island and Shidao, and build fields from Gushan Town to the north, forming a stable The ring bay forms an effective protection for the internal harbor, and then builds forts on both sides and on the foundation of the ring-arm island, continue to dig deep into the bay inside Liugong Island, clean up sand and stone, form a deeper harbor, and build a Weihai shipyard and dock repair shop in Huancui Town. In this way, this is not the best military port in the world. However, no matter how many enemy ships come, they can only look at the port and sigh!"

Zhang Zhidong was overjoyed and said, "This strategy is unparalleled. Weihai Port is really far different from Luoyuan Bay Port of Donghai Water Division, but if there is such a transformation, it is really waiting for the same small Luoyuan Bay. It's just... It's too expensive, isn't it?"

Hu Chuyuan said, "I estimated that it will cost more than 10 million yuan... If the shipyard and fort are included, I'm afraid it will cost 20 million yuan. Think about it, there is a feeling that the gains outweigh the losses, but we must do it. Although Lushun Port is good, it cannot play the role of guarding the capital division. The base camp of Beiyang Marine Division can only be located in Weihai. In order to protect the capital and Bohai Bay, this is a must. The money is paid by me, but through the Shandong government. This was originally a major achievement, but if this money is given to Lord Zhongtang to do it himself, I estimate that even if I spend 30 million yuan, things may not be reliable.

Zhang Zhidong nodded silently and said, "Os, since the senior government trusts me so much, let me do it!"

He knew in his heart that there were too many old departments of Li Hongzhang's Huai. When they encountered such a large sum of money, who didn't want to swallow a sum of money? In the end, 20 million yuan was smashed out, and at least half of them could be embezzled by these moles.

After saying this, with this map, Hu Chuyuan drew a circle in several key places with a pencil and said, "At present, the Bianji Railway from Kaifengfu to Jinanfu is ready to start construction. You are in Shandong to build two other railways, one from Jinan to Qingdao, and the other from Haizhou to Weihai, passing through Qing. The island. If something happens to Weihai, all armies can gather in Weihai in the shortest time to protect Weihai. If Weihai is not lost, the capital will be safe and the world will be safe. We should understand this account in our hearts.

Zhang Zhidong said, "Zhang understands, please rest assured."

Hu Chuyuan just smiled and asked Miao Tsuensun to take out all kinds of materials for exploration in Shandong over the years and give them to Zhang Zhidong, so that he can first establish the Qingdao industry and run these mines through Shandong commercial banks.

He has already designed a comprehensive plan for how to build Shandong.

Industry is the main, supplemented by agriculture. A large steel factory and military factory are set up in Laiwu. The work here can be invested by Shandong Commercial Bank and Jiangnan Manufacturing Administration. There is no need to pay another sum of money from Shandong tax. You only need to merge Shandong Machinery Bureau into Jiangnan Manufacturing Administration.

The iron and steel industry and textile industry are definitely the priority industries in Shandong. Around the steel and other metallurgical industries and mining industries, a set of national industrial systems has been developed in Qingdao industry.

If everything can be done quickly, Shandong's economy will change qualitatively within three years, from a large agricultural province to an industrial province.

Shandong has too many people. Now it is proposed to emigrate to the northeast. Maybe the surname is not big, and the people's private intrusion into Kanto can't solve the problem.

Therefore, Shandong must have large-scale infrastructure investment in recent years. At this point, it is not possible to rely on Shandong commercial banks alone.

Hu Chuyuan thought that Jiangnan Commercial Bank would directly annex Shandong Commercial Bank, so that the problems of capital, technology, personnel and management could be solved, but this method is not the best.

Hu Chuyuan made a suggestion with Zhang Zhidong. Zhang Zhidong agreed repeatedly, but Hu Chuyuan couldn't explain what the people in the military aircraft department would think.

Zhang Zhidong is going to observe the Shanghai Concession for a few days. As a model of the Qingdao industry, he will live in the Garden at night.

It was really late at night that Hu Chuyuan made time to entertain the special envoy of the Kingdom of Iran. As expected, King Nasserdin Shah of the Kazar dynasty of Iran wanted to borrow a sum of money from him to secretly build his army.

At this time, Iran is also quite tricky. On the back is the Russian forces, the south is the British forces, and the west is the Ottoman Empire. In the past 20 years, it has been continuously invaded by Britain and Russia.

The last time he went to Iran and the Ottoman Empire, Hu Chuyuan specially selected a Hui shopkeeper named Ma Baoheng to accompany him. Because of the same religious beliefs, he also left a lot of fantasy space and good impression for the other party.

So, when considering borrowing money recently, both Ottoman and Iran are particularly easy to think of Hu Chuyuan.

This is of course a good thing for Hu Chuyuan. At present, he has no energy to control Iran, but he understands that sooner or later he will reach out his hand.

He not only agreed to borrow money, but also asked Ma Baoheng to bring another sum of money to do business in Iran.

(to be continued)