Back to the Republic of China as a commander

The old man who lamented was none other than Paul Easton, the greatest prime minister in the history of the Principality of Luxembourg, the distant relative of the little man with the sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, Phillips.This bald old man with a gray face and beard has been the Prime Minister of the Principality of Luxembourg for 25 years, but he is facing the most dangerous moment in the history of the Principality of Luxembourg.

The world in 1913 was really not peaceful. The two major military blocs with the Anglo-French Allied Powers and the German-Austrian Allies as the main body started the craziest arms competition. In 1913, Germany's standing army was expanded from 42 to 87, France's was expanded from 50 to 80, and Russia was also planning to increase it from 80 to 230 million. The champion of Europe, but its quality is very low, can not be compared with the armies of Germany and France; The quality of the army is not as good as that of Germany and France. In the end, the United States also responded to the tense situation in Europe by expanding the number of troops from 140 to 27.

In fact, this is nothing more than a normal thing. Veteran colonial powers like Britain and France have mastered too many colonies, but their national strength does not match.On the contrary, Germany has surpassed Britain and France economically and militarily, but because it was too late to unify, it has too few colonies, and the lack of raw materials and markets has affected the further development of Germany.When the sustaining force of the original world order begins to weaken, there will inevitably be emerging forces that will jump out to challenge the old order, and Germany has played such a challenger role.Later historians attributed Germany's WWI to Wilhelm II's personal recklessness and stupidity, but they didn't want to imagine why the whole of Germany would support his recklessness and stupidity. Many accidents were actually inevitable.

Now even the most ignorant of politics knows that Europe has become a huge powder keg, but they don't know where the fuse is and when will it be lit?

Paul Easton, as the prime minister of a small country like the Principality of Luxembourg, has absolutely no control over the situation in Europe, and he can't even control the fate of his own country. Luxembourg is at the crossroads of the entire European continent, and is surrounded by Germany and France. caught in the middle.No matter who fights who, Luxembourg must pass through. Although Luxembourg was recognized as a neutral country in 1886, it does not have the unique geographical conditions of Switzerland. Standing in the center of the battlefield, you are neutral. Show me.

But if they really participated in the war, Luxembourg, with its poor population of 30, would not even be able to piece together an army for one battle.In Paul Easton's own words, we have produced enough steel to conquer the world, but not enough soldiers to use it.

Peace cannot be made, and war cannot stand. What is the future of Luxembourg?

Paul Easton thought of his idle nephew Phillips Easton. This guy was already in his early thirties, and he hadn't done anything for so many years except to find himself an unpaid consul in the East. What's the matter, his wife is really good at life, and his wife also likes her very much.Let’s not talk about it, this guy who had achieved nothing for many years suddenly came to him a year ago, saying that he had hooked up with an Eastern warlord, and then the Albeid company that served him got a batch of orders, mainly some machine tools and tower cranes Well, there is also a contract for supporting facilities required for an annual production of 100 million tons of steel.However, it was later heard that the production capacity there was insufficient, and in the end only 20 tons were taken.By the way, at that time he also persuaded himself to transfer some of his citizens to the East to temporarily avoid the approaching danger of the European War. Unfortunately, he never waited to see this distant nephew, and the situation at that time was not as severe as it is now, so he didn't take his words too seriously. thing.Thinking about it now, it is indeed necessary to do this. After all, the most reliable thing in Luxembourg is the steel industry. If it is moved to the United States or to other countries, iron ore resources and coal resources have long been owned, but the east is said to be still undeveloped. In a barren land, I just don't know what the situation of this warlord is.

With a trace of doubts and expectations, the Prime Minister, who has been weakened recently, immediately asked his secretary to invite this idle nephew. For the past six months, he has been eating at home in Luxembourg waiting to die. . .

Our Phillips Easton, who was looked down upon by his distant uncle, was indeed living at home and waiting to die. After seven or eight years in the Far East, the big deal that was finally negotiated was Wang Zhenyu's deal, the tower crane at the pier, There is also the equipment of An Giang Iron and Steel Works.What is even more tragic is that due to the shortage of industrial workers and the shortage of coal and iron ore resources, the production capacity of Anjiang Iron and Steel Works has been reduced from the initial million tons to 20 tons, and the commission has naturally shrunk accordingly.

Due to its own lack of resources, the construction of Anjiang Model City was taken away by the Germans, and the railway project also belonged to the damn Belgians, but our poor Phillips had to honestly return to Luxembourg with a commission of less than [-] pounds. After all, the family also needs money, so let's send back the most money I have earned over the years.

This time, the Albeid company fired itself, and only Phillips, who was the Consul of the Principality of Luxembourg in Hankou, could only hang around at home. Uncle Paul summoned. . .

"No problem, dear Uncle Paul, please believe your nephew, the middle-class tyrant king and I are as good as brothers, he said at that time that as long as we Luxembourgers are interested in taking refuge there, he is willing to draw a piece of land Let us live and develop until the end of the war. Dear Uncle Paul, can you imagine? The whole of Europe is smashed into a pot of porridge, while our subjects of the Principality of Luxembourg can continue our happy and peaceful life in the calm Asia, Then continue to produce our steel, and then ship these products back to Europe to make a fortune, it's just perfect." Phillips' bragging skills are really first-rate.

But it also depends on the target, bragging in front of his uncle Prime Minister Paul Easton is tantamount to playing a big ax in front of Luban: "Okay, Phillips, I am your uncle, I know how much you are capable of than anyone else , It’s not me hitting you. These things are not what you can think of, tell me, is this what the cockroach said?”

"Ahem, dear Uncle Paul, how can you say that about your nephew? It was indeed said by that damned Chinese tyrant king. He seems to be very familiar with and understands our European situation. It is likely that the Qing Empire A government-sponsored overseas student, where I met a railway engineer from Belgium who returned from studying abroad. That..."

"Okay, okay, dear Phillips, stop, you're going too far, I'm just worried about my country, if our people pass by, is there any guarantee of safety? Can you guarantee that this guy will not be greedy? And the place you mentioned is far away from the sphere of influence of the British, can the British control it?" Paul Easton really thought about different issues, and poor Phillips was dumb on the spot.

Paul Easton could only sigh, he was getting old, otherwise it would be better to go this trip by himself, there was no other way, he rang the bell on the table, and the secretary immediately bowed in: "Arrange the carriage, I want Go meet our lovely Grand Duchess."

The current Grand Duke of Luxembourg is Mary Adelaide. She is the first female Grand Duke of Luxembourg and the eldest daughter of the former Grand Duke William IV.After the death of William IV, because there were no male heirs (William IV and his wife, Princess Mary Anna of Portugal, had a total of six daughters), the royal family of Luxembourg was forced to revise the rule that female heirs could not inherit the grand line. Dredd succeeded.

This child is only 19 years old this year, but he has to face an unprecedented and complicated situation. What Paul Easton can do is to find a way as soon as possible to help this child lead the country out of the crisis.

"Grandpa Paul, do we really want to move?" The young and beautiful Grand Duchess raised her own doubts. In fact, she is only 19 years old and she doesn't even have a specific idea about this country.It was a very bad thing that her father went to God before he could teach her how to deal with the affairs of state.

Paul Easton sighed. He knew better than anyone else that anyone in Luxembourg could leave. Only he, the prime minister and the symbol of the country, Her Royal Highness, the Grand Duchess, could not leave. The Allied Powers headed by Britain and France would not allow the same front The comrades-in-arms fled, and the two allies headed by Germany and Austria also needed the ruler of Luxembourg to stay in Luxembourg.The fate of this poor child is destined to be a tragedy. Once the war breaks out, she will watch the enemy's army march into Luxembourg City and see her country fall. . .

"His Royal Highness, I, Paul Easton, have served the Principality all my life. Please believe in my judgment as an old man. War in Europe is inevitable. All we can do is to find a new place to stay, so as to prevent us from being caught in the war." What’s more important is that our industry continues to grow and develop during the war. As for this homeland, when the war is decided, we can come back and shake hands with the victor.”

Grand Duke Mary felt that what Prime Minister Paul said seemed to make sense: "Then Grandpa Paul will take full responsibility. Dad also explained so before his death."

Only then did Paul Easton let out a long breath of relief. . .

Chapter 163 Iron Kingdom ([-])

"How did this happen? What has your education department been doing for more than a year, and what are your human resources departments that are responsible for recruiting technical personnel?" Wang Zhenyu had a very difficult time getting it done on the third floor of the administrative building, and the result was that His roar was heard throughout the building. All the staff in the department were silent, basically daring not to speak out, for fear of getting into trouble.

It's no wonder Wang Zhenyu is so angry. Recently, he himself feels that he is going well. Whether it is political or military, both the National Socialist Party and the SS have determined the direction of development.The financial problem is about to be alleviated, but at this time, the economic problem that Wang Zhenyu placed high hopes on has gone wrong.

Specifically, there was a problem with industrial construction. Now Wang Zhenyu finally understood what it means that things are independent of human will.

A large number of industrial projects planned in the second half of the first year of the Republic of China, after a lapse of one year, the results were not satisfactory to the point where Wang Zhenyu wanted to shoot all the relevant persons in charge.Now these unlucky ones are all in the conference room on the third floor of the administrative building, praying to the gods and Buddhas all over the sky to bless them through the catastrophe.

Looking at the report materials in front of me, it is really terrible.

The entire industrial construction plan, in addition to the smooth progress of the two million-ton cement plants, completed the construction target half a year ahead of schedule, and the Anjiang yarn factory of the Rong brothers also completed the overall construction. With the help of Xiangxi Development Company, the raw material problem was also solved. In order to effectively solve the problem, it is estimated that by 1914, the cement factory and the yarn factory can provide Wang Zhenyu with an annual return of up to 2000 million silver dollars and 2 million Chinese dollars. Under normal circumstances, it will automatically double, and if you take back the customs in the future, this number will reach 5000 million oceans, but if you really get to that point, it is estimated that you will not rely on this income.

The good news ends here. The next step is the steel plant project that Wang Zhenyu placed high hopes on. It is really sad. The original plan was to produce one million tons of steel per year, making China's steel output surpass that of Japan.But only when I got to the field did I realize how easy it is to scold the Qing government for its incompetence in later generations.Industrial development is a matter of supporting the construction of a system. Building an industry is like playing football. It must abide by the basic laws of the development of things themselves. Many problems cannot be solved with funds.Otherwise, with the fourth largest GDP in the world, why couldn't the Qing Dynasty become a world industrial power through the Westernization Movement?

The most important thing to do in industry is to rely on people, engineers and industrial workers with qualified skills and experience.And these people need time to educate and cultivate, they are not automatically generated after playing with a lot of money for a big reward.

But the officials of the Qing Dynasty are the same as the officials of the Football Association of the future, oh sorry, I said it backwards.

Anyway, they just don't know how to do things, such as youth training, education, such things that don't work, they won't put their minds and effort into doing them, and focus on pursuing the finished product and the result.Well, they built the house, and got promoted and made a fortune, but the house was uninhabitable, why, the foundation was not dug.

Wang Zhenyu's Anjiang Iron and Steel Plant project and other slightly technical projects, such as automobile manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals, have all stagnated.The iron and steel project is okay. A large number of technical backbones have been dug from the Hanyang Iron Works, but sorry, the annual output there was originally only 20 tons, so with the help of the Luxembourgers, 20 tons will be 20 tons.Wang Zhenyu has allocated such a large piece of land and invested so much money, but the production capacity has not reached even one-fifth of the original plan. It is nonsense to say that he has no intention of killing people.But thinking about the [-] tons in front of us, it is not bad. There is a lack of technical personnel, and the supply of coal and iron cannot keep up.In the second revolution this year, Jiangxi was completely destroyed. The coal in Pingxiang could not be transported, and it was useless to transport more pig iron from Hanyang. Besides, the problem of technical personnel is actually a problem left over from history. Although I have set up a specialized vocational technical school in Anjiang, but because of the lack of teachers, it is not effective at all. The current factory technicians are still following the old way of masters leading new apprentices.And it's not just a technical school. One of the main factors why my nine-year compulsory education has repeatedly shrunk and turned into the final four-year compulsory education is the lack of teachers.Wang Zhenyu took a look at the managers standing in front of him, and knew that he was wrong to blame them, after all, they tried their best.

"I was a little angry just now, and I apologize to you, I know you all tried your best." Wang Zhenyu's apology made everyone look at him in astonishment.

"What are you looking at, I said you like to be scolded by others." Wang Zhenyu was in a hurry again.

"Commander, there is a Luxembourger outside the door. He claims to be the Consul of the Principality of Luxembourg in Hankou. His name is Paul Phillips. He said he needs to see you on an urgent matter. He seems to be in a hurry." Wang Chenhao knocked on the door and came in to report.

"Phillips, I have a little impression, how many people did they come?" Wang Zhenyu asked.

Wang Chenhao immediately replied: "Only one, and a translator."

Wang Zhenyu looked at these people in the industry department and the education department, and waved: "I want to meet a foreign devil here. I will talk to you later. If the problem of industrial development is not solved, I will go to drink next year." The northwest wind is blowing, think about it for yourself..."

"Dear General, our country needs your help." Phillips is indeed a consul on a temporary post, which is quite unprofessional, and the first sentence unconsciously betrayed his motherland. . .

"So your dear uncle agrees to move the citizens of your country and various industries into my territory?" Wang Zhenyu's mood is very complicated now. After hearing the words of Phillips, a guy who has not been seen for more than half a year, he is skeptical. The authenticity of this matter, the second is to think about how to arrange it, and where to place it?

Phillips' next words dispelled his doubts: "I am also here with my country's minister in Luxembourg and the Principality's Minister of Finance, Foreign Minister, Defense Minister, Health and Education Minister and Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte. She is the sister of our Grand Duchess. According to my dear Uncle Paul, he hopes that you can set aside a piece of land, preferably a city big enough for our subjects who moved to China to live in. He is willing to provide 500 million pounds for free Interest loan as a guarantee. If this matter goes wrong, the 500 million will belong to you and there is no need to repay it. If it does, my uncle hopes that you will use the money to build the infrastructure first. As for the relocation plan and cooperation, it is not up to me Talk, Her Royal Highness and the ministers of the principality will talk to you in detail."

In fact, Phillips was also very surprised along the way. He never thought that Wang Zhenyu, a middle-class lord, would expand so quickly. Even after more than a month of climbing in Vietnam, they learned that there was no need to go to Shanghai to take the Yangtze River. Instead, you can go upstream directly from Guangzhou to Laibin along the beautiful Youjiang River.The reason is that the damn warlord that Phillips said just launched a Guangxi war, and won the war in mid-October, and obtained this province by the sea.Due to the short time for victory, Phillips and the others found that the road was a bit difficult when they arrived in Guangxi.According to the words of Mr. Huang Xuchu, the secretary-general of the provincial government in charge of the reception in Guangxi, if it is really necessary to ride a carriage all the way to the channel to get on the train, it will take at least four or five days. Post road results.Phillips could only choose to ride first on his own and stand in front of the honorable princess and ministers of the principality. God knows whether the grown-up Chinese leader will still need the friendship of the Principality of Luxembourg after a year.

Obviously, Wang Zhenyu still needs it. Leaving aside the issue of the 500 million pounds as a deposit, if half of the 30 Luxembourgers can eventually move over, it will be of great help to Wang Zhenyu, who has suffered from talent and labor.

We must know that Luxembourg has a large number of skilled workers in the iron and steel industry and a large number of educated talents in various industries. More importantly, the shortage of talents in many basic industries of people's livelihood will also be solved.As for whether this will allow Luxembourgers to control their own economic lifelines, it doesn’t matter. Wang Zhenyu’s calculations are very loud. The European War will last for at least four years. He will attract Luxembourgers to work in various industries in China by means of employment. Chinese apprentices followed suit, and by the end of the war, a large number of Chinese craftsmen may have been trained, and the number may be three to four times that of Luxembourgers.Even its own government can hire Luxembourg employees to improve various systems, especially the law. This damn Qin Zhen has not been able to establish and implement the judicial system until now. According to Zhou Lan’s report, the judicial personnel sent in the early stage, It was basically corroded by the local tyrants with sugar-coated shells.

What attracted Wang Zhenyu the most was the relocation of the entire Luxembourg steel industry and military industry led by the Albert company.The current Anjiang military factory is in charge of his elder brother, and the production volume is almost at the top of the country, but unfortunately, the products are limited to copying, and there is no innovation at all.In this way, in the future battle of national unification, the SS that I just founded is estimated to have only a quantitative advantage in terms of weapons and equipment, but no qualitative advantage.

The more he thought about the benefits, the more Wang Zhenyu could not suppress his inner excitement, but a more realistic problem was in front of him. He should not go to the United States and Japan, which are far away and more powerful, but choose the current turmoil. Where are the restless Chinese settlers Luxembourgers?

As soon as Phillips opened his mouth, Wang Zhenyu understood the calculation of the Luxembourgers. It was nothing more than hoping to reduce immigration costs and obtain sufficient coal and iron resources to continue to make money. After all, the kingdom’s 30 subjects depended on the steel industry for their survival.

Wang Zhenyu stood up and walked to the wall under Phillips' surprised eyes. The alert deputy chief Wang Chenhao immediately opened the curtain covering the wall, and then handed the wooden pole to Wang Zhenyu in reverse.

Wang Zhenyu took the wooden pole and tapped lightly on the center of the jurisdiction map displayed in front of him: "My dear friend, this is here, Liuzhou..."

Chapter 164 Steel Kingdom ([-])

Before coming to China, the nearly 17-year-old Princess Charlotte and her party had the impression that China was a barbaric and backward land.And when they came to China, well, it was still a barbaric and backward desolate land.

While walking through the mountains on the border between Guangxi and Hunan, Mr. Juncker, the Deputy Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, even complained that Paul must have been fooled by his monkey-like distant nephew.Does he want us to run into this lofty mountain to be monkeys?

But after the group arrived at the passage, they entered the constant surprise mode just like the patriotic intellectual youths who went to Anjiang from various places to seek a way out.

However, the surprises of the two are different in essence. The team from Luxembourg who appeared in the name of an investigation team was surprised because they felt that they had returned to Europe; while the patriotic intellectual youths from all over the country were surprised because there were So many unheard and unseen things.

Or let’s talk about the Luxembourg Mission, a diplomatic group that has left a strong mark in the history of the Federation of China (this group with a diplomatic mission occupies the same space in the history textbook as Du Yuesheng, a gangster tycoon in Shanghai), Princess Charlotte asked Deputy Prime Minister Juncker in surprise: "Uncle Juncker, why did I see a train in this wild country?"

Junker was also extremely shocked in his heart. In fact, he knew more than this underage Princess Charlotte. The train in this valley was actually an electric locomotive developed by the German Siemens company. It's not widely spread yet.But he still pretended to be calm: "Dear Your Royal Highness, don't be surprised. In the era of Lafayette that the Chinese said, they had already started to build railways. According to Phillips' report, this railway should be Belgian Belgian Bank. Leading the construction of Antong Railway, the end of the railway is the end of our trip to China.”