Chapter 214-245 The Prime Minister's First Assistant Minister and the New Empire

(temporary revision, two chapters in one) As the chief and auxiliary minister of the prime minister's cabinet of the Qing Dynasty, Hu Chuyuan did not feel particularly excited. On the contrary, all he felt was pressure.

Even he can't find a suitable way out for China.

With the development of China's economy and military power, the contradiction between China and Britain has been greater than cooperation. It is only because China does not want Britain to form a formal alliance between the two countries, and Britain does not want China and Germany to form a formal alliance, the two sides are still maintaining the necessary cooperative relationship.

France and Russia said that the Triple Alliance has been secretly concluded again, but it has not been announced.

Britain and France are also quickly coordinating their relations and trying to unite to suppress Germany. The relationship between Britain, France and the United States is even more complicated, but in terms of overall interests, the two sides are also consistent. It is impossible for Britain and the United States to allow Germany to unify the whole European continent.

The situation in the world is so complicated, where will China go and where will the future be?

Hu Chuyuan can't explain it clearly.

At this time, all he can do is to do his best to strengthen China.

As the only silver standard country among the world's five major economies, China's biggest advantage is its abundant capital. At the same time, it has mastered the world's raw silk, tea industry, hemp industry and other monopoly export materials. The porcelain industry has gradually recovered to a very high level, and the share of the world's sugar industry, cotton textile industry and paper industry is increasing. Big.

At this point, the current situation of the late Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the founding of New China are completely different.

There has been no major war in China, and the electrical industrial revolution is progressing rapidly, even surpassing the United States and Germany in many aspects. By the beginning of 1896, the total installed capacity of China's electricity was already the sum of Germany, Britain and France.

Of course, this is not an amazing achievement, because there were only 72 known industrial customers for electricity consumption in Britain in 1896, while in the same period, Germany had thousands, and in the United States and China, the number will expand to tens of thousands.

In the whole electrical industry, the United States and China are developing very fast. Germany is also growing rapidly, and Britain, France, Russia and other countries are really left behind.

In Shanghai, more than half of the factories have adopted the new three-phase motors of Shanghai Westinghouse Electric Company, and a unified 220V and 55Hz power frequency current have been formulated in China.

Both Siemens and Westinghouse Electric have established new companies in Shanghai. They are developed in Germany and the United States, but their products are mainly produced in Shanghai. Shanghai Yinghua Electric Company also has a similar product line, and it is also the largest thermal power generation company in the world.

Also in Shanghai, Hu Chuyuan has invested in a Shenbao machinery manufacturing factory in advance and began to enter the automobile manufacturing industry, and introduced patented technology from the German Daimler-Benz Automobile and the United States General Motors under his name, and set up a new Shanghai General Motors Company in Shanghai to hold the Shenbao Machinery Manufacturing Factory. Shares, investing in the production of China's first self-produced car with a gasoline engine, the brand is designated as Shenbao.

There is no shortage of funds, and the benefits of this advantage are endless.

Hu Chuyuan knows that if he wants to make China stronger, he has only a few things to do. First, invest in infrastructure and improve the domestic market environment and hardware. Second, increase market capacity and try to improve the national consumption capacity of Zhili, Shandong, Liangguang and Huguang in addition to the six provinces in the south of the Yangtze River. These two points first determine China's investment. Capital should still be concentrated in agriculture, expand the advantages of the agricultural industry, promote chemical fertilizers, promote the area of mechanical farming and animal farming, increase grain output, increase the deep processing rate of grain, increase grain prices, promote the chain of new agriculture, promote animal husbandry and animal husbandry processing industries, and promote the output of cash crops.

The second investment focus is still on transportation. The construction of railways, roads, seaports and rivers and ports should be increased, and the advantages of concentrated funds will be carried out in the new transportation construction in North China, Central Plains, Liangguang and Huguang.

On this basis, Hu Chuyuan knew that he must centralize the banking industry, and his personal losses were secondary.

In addition, he will also establish a perfect industrial system in North China, Shandong, Huguang and Guangdong, and Guangzhou, and make full use of the advantages of China's vast land and materials. In the six provinces of Jiangnan, he will further encourage businessmen to invest on their own.

Nationwide, the distribution of credit should be strengthened.

This means that the average loan interest rate of the national banking industry must be reduced, and the Qing Bank must also be established to carry out strong supervision of the banking industry in China, and gradually reduce the permission of banknote issuing banks, centralize the currency issuance power of several large banks, and finally the central bank will completely control the amount of banknotes.

These things are familiar to Hu Chuyuan. Daqing Banking Bureau and local banking bureaus also quickly merged into Daqing Bank, responsible for monitoring various commercial banks.

At the urging of Hu Chuyuan, the Prime Minister's Office quickly launched a development outline for the next ten years, which was uniformly announced in Tianjin Daily, Guardian, Dagong Daily, Jiangnan Daily and Declaration. It will focus on the construction of North China, Shandong, Huguang and Liangguang. The Prime Minister's Office will improve infrastructure and increase investment. Businessmen invest in industry and commerce by themselves, and Daqing Bank will provide additional loan guarantees and subsidies for some special plans.

Funds can only produce unprecedented effects. Therefore, the main flow of political axe funds is still North China and Shandong, and vigorously promote the electrical industry to set up the largest thermal power plants in Tianjin, Tangshan, Laiwu and Zibo.

In the field of education, the Prime Minister's Office proposed to focus on the construction of six universities, namely Yanjing University, Tianjin University, Jiangnan University (Shanghai), Southeast University (Fuzhou), Nanyang University (Guangzhou) and Zhendan University (Shanghai), and to set up foreign language schools, engineering schools and technical public schools in various provinces, under the conditions. In the six provinces of the Yangtze River, the six provinces of the Yangtze River have established engineering colleges. Generally speaking, higher education is still mainly private. The Prime Minister's Office does not get involved much, but only gives more support policies.

At the same time, Hu Chuyuan abolished the tax-free system. Everyone has to pay personal taxes in accordance with the system, but donations in education, medical care, scientific research, road and canal construction, reservoir construction and other undertakings can offset taxes, and investments in these areas can offset part of taxes.

This clause is also very important to Hu Chuyuan personally, because his annual investment and donations to these undertakings in China exceed 100 million yuan, especially in the six provinces of Jiangnan. Thousands of schools and schools are almost supported by his funds.

As a capitalist and businessman, Hu Chuyuan also plays an extremely key role. He alone has invested 140 million yuan in infrastructure investment in Zhili area, focusing on railways, ports and electric power. The total investment scale in Shandong and Liaodong Peninsula has also exceeded 100 million yuan.

In the whole industry, his investment scale is larger.

Governing the country and doing business may not be in conflict. He himself received a lot of political axe subsidies and support policies, and his personal income tax would exceed 144 million yuan in 1896, but his actual donation to education exceeded 170 million yuan, and he also set up a large-scale school in Zhili and Shandong.

Through CITIC Bank and other holding banks, he also provided a large number of loans to provinces for the construction of highways, canals and reservoirs. Combined with Westinghouse Electric's pilot project in Buffalo, various reservoirs have also begun to build small and medium-sized hydropower stations to make up for the reservoirs through power generation. Repair funds.

As of December 30, 1896, in just half a year, the total investment in new basic projects in various places has increased to 1.292 billion yuan, the highest peak in history, and this trend is still growing further.

A large number of projects mean a large amount of employment and debts. In just half a year, the public and treasury bonds borrowed by the Prime Minister's Office reached 1.45 billion yuan. The figures were reported to Emperor Guangxu one by one. For the emperor, it was indeed very confusing and puzzled, but out of trust, he still took Take the policy of support.

Hu Chuyuan's answer is very simple. With the further development of China's economy and the further prosperity of the financial market, the sale of 30% of official stocks is enough to solve these debts.

After the abolition of the Prime Minister's government office, the official stocks held by Qingzheng Axe entered the separate General Administration of China Merchants, under the jurisdiction of the new Minister of China Merchants Supervision, and a reading China Merchants Bank.

Of course, Hu Chuyuan does not trust the quality of officials everywhere. The rules are very simple. The big project is the beginning of big corruption. He also set up the General Administration of Integrity Supervision, which is responsible for supervising the big project nationwide.

His method is still very flexible. It is safe to set up separate subsidies for large projects and give those officials a living allowance within this range. If the limit is exceeded, someone will be sent to check immediately.

It's very simple to say, but there must be all kinds of details behind everything.

After becoming the chief and assistant minister of the Prime Minister's cabinet, Hu Chuyuan was busy non-stop, and there was almost no day to take a quiet break. Liu Hongxi, Luo Dayou and other officials who had made achievements in the local government were all transferred back to the Prime Minister's Office.

In order to implement more detailed political axe management, all regions are also constantly recruiting officials to supplement the existing bureaucratic system. During this period, there are too many maladjustment and a wide variety of new problems.

Hu Chuyuan is basically unable to solve those problems. He is a great businessman and a first-class politician, but when it comes to the governance of the country and the control of the whole bureaucracy, he has no longer the same scenery as before, and is no longer an omnipotent person.

The good news is that although there are many problems, the general direction is always moving forward rapidly. The constitutional system itself is meaningless, and the gradual reform of the whole political axe system is finally effective.

The large-scale construction and investment controlled by Hu Chuyuan are also very effective.

After the most difficult years, at the end of 1898, Mei Qizhao, Zhang Zhiwan and Yan Jingming died one after another. Ding Ruchang, Liu Mingchuan, Liu Kunyi, Liu Jintang, Liu Shengxiu, Xu Zhanxu, Wang Debang... all those who could die died.

In addition to the old demon Li Hongzhang, who is still surviving, there are almost no people with higher prestige than Hu Chuyuan in the political situation in the late Qing Dynasty.

This has completely become the era of Hu Chuyuan. He controlled the whole situation and promoted Zhang Zhidong, Zhang Baixi, Huo Hongji, Lu Chuanlin and Tu Renshou to the capable generation between the ages of 55 to the Prime Minister's Office and serve as cabinet ministers.

Behind this group of people, especially the 12th year of Guangxu (1886), Xie Yuanqi, Wu Hongjia, Ding Bingqian, Yang Shiqi, Sun Xidi, Song Bolu, Luo Guanglie, Xu Shichang, Sun Zongyuan, Li Xiling, Jiang Xizeng, Ye Dachen, Ye Dahan, Zheng Baochen, Li Yihuang, Mei Ruding, Qin Shusheng, Chen Kuilong and Song Yuren are all promising officials.

It's not for other reasons...

After the Sino-French War in 1885, it became popular for Xinke Jinshi to defect to Hu Chuyuan. This time, the proportion of defecting to Hu Chuyuan was extremely large, especially in addition to Wang Yirong's increased influence. Most of these Jinshi were introduced to the six provinces of Jiangnan as officials and became the grassroots forces of the practical school.

Under the care of Hu Chuyuan, with their own efforts, these people have been promoted to the officials of Zheng Sanpin for more than ten years. Xie Yuanqi, Ding Bingqian, Yang Shiqian, Sun Xidi, Xu Shichang, Sun Zongyuan, Li Xiling and Chen Kuilong have been officials from the second grade. Half of them are governors outside, and the other half are in the general. The government is in an important position.

If Yuan Shikai relies on investing in Xu Shichang to change the presidency, then Hu Chuyuan's political investment scale can be said to be a thousand times that of Yuan Shikai.

Under this wave of people, there are also a lot of people who have defected to the Hu Party in the 15th year of Guangxu and 16 years of Guangxu. In recent years, they have spread all over the world. Some of them are magistrates. Wang Qingmu, a scholar from Chongming County, Jiangsu Province, who is the most concerned by Hu Chuyuan, has mentioned the governor of Shandong to replace Zhang Zhidong.

At first, Hu Chuyuan was specially promoted and appointed only because Wang Qingmu was studying in Jiangnan National Academy when he was a teenager. Later, he found that this person was honest, shrewd and steady, and had a long-term vision, proficient in foreign languages, and familiar with Chinese and Western books.

Since then, he has made special arrangements to transfer to the Prime Minister's Office. While withdrawing Zhang Zhidong back to the Prime Minister's Office as the Prime Minister's Home Affairs, he was also sent to Shandong as the governor of Shandong.

For a person who is only 38 years old, it is really amazing to be a provincial governor so quickly.

There are no real bosses in the political situation in the late Qing Dynasty. Li Hongzhang is in Sichuan, Ronglu is in the northeast, and Tan Zhonglin, even the last half, the rest are Hu.

In addition to the constitutional Hu Party, another group of heavy people is the Fuxing Society, but the Fuxing Society is mainly concentrated in the navy, the army's new army, customs, education and media.

This is a very important reason why Hu Chuyuan can sit firmly in the position of the Prime Minister's First Assistant Minister.

Now the whole world is full of pragmatism. Except for Li Hongzhang, Tan Zhonglin and Ronglu, the old demons of the pragmatism are basically dead, and the rest are the constitutionalists led by Hu Chuyuan.

Reform.

What I'm most afraid of is that others hold you back, and what I'm most afraid of is the conservatives.

But now this is the situation. As long as you want to be an official and achieve something, you have to follow Hu Chuyuan's method. Only when you make achievements in the place according to this method can you be promoted.

The whole dynasty was full of Hu.

Now, even the Jinshi examination is not important. The amount of Jinshi selected every three years is only half of the previous one, and the other half is under the control of the doctoral college directly under the control of the Prime Minister's Office. It is directly selected from the college students who are born in the same class. If they pass the examination, they will be given to the same Jinshi, make up for political courses in the doctoral college, and then send them one by one. Put it in each county and start from the grassroots level.

Even if you are a serious scholar, you have to continue to join the Hu Party.

From this perspective, Hu Chuyuan began to compile the "New Political Science Edition" in the early years, and the subsequent release of "Political Reference" all play a very important role. Now they are also the basic subjects of the political courses of the doctoral college.

(to be continued)