Chapter 155 Construction of Foundation Works
"Young Marshal, I just received a telegram from Mukden City that the Governor has arrived in Mukden City safely. According to a telegram issued by the Governor, the Governor would depart north in ten days. Li Jun took the latest information from the Intelligence Department to Feng Yong. Although the construction of the Northeast Governor's Mansion has not yet been fully completed, Feng Delin, the titular Northeast Governor, cannot stay in Fengtian City for a long time. He needs to come to Changchun to "preside over the overall situation".
Feng Yong nodded and said, "Little Japan was really scared by us. He actually aimed the spearhead at the weak government of the Republic of China. Little Japan is no longer looking for a tough government in the Northeast, which means that they themselves do not want to go to war! We can see this, and there is no reason why the bigwigs of the Republic of China can't see it. Why don't these bigwigs of the Republic of China government dare to gamble! ”
Li Jun shook his head and smiled bitterly: "These old officials who are up and down in officialdom are all about their own interests. What is not good will not be done, and the affairs of the state are far less important than their private affairs. If they were tough, the Japanese would really come and everything they had worked so hard to master for years would turn into ashes. They don't even have a place to cry. In addition, the power struggle within the Republic of China is becoming more and more acute, and these people can do anything for the sake of profit. ”
"Beijing is not at peace right now. I don't know if you have read the newspapers of Britain, France and other countries, which say that Japan will send troops to Europe in the near future to assist the Allied side in fighting Germany. But no matter how I look at it, little Japan doesn't look like someone who makes wedding dresses for them. Moreover, Japan was extremely calm, and there was not the slightest news of sending troops to circulate. Coupled with the attitude of the Japanese government, I have a bad premonition. The Japanese government seems to be calculating the government of the Republic of China. Feng Yong said with a frown. You must know that in the First World War, China was also the victorious country, although Chinese soldiers were not sent to Europe, but millions of people were sent to the European battlefield, laying the foundation for the victory of the Entente side. But China did not gain the slightest benefit, and those benefits were instead swallowed by Japan. Until now, Britain and France and other Allied powers did not regard the government of the Republic of China as a force that could help them, but attached great importance to the Japanese who attacked the German army in Shandong. To this end, he did not hesitate to promise to hand over all German colonies in the Pacific to Japan. The Japanese government acted quickly, taking the benefits promised by Britain and France into its mouth a few years ago. The ambassadors of Britain and France kept going to the Japanese government to urge Japan to send troops as soon as possible, and Britain also put pressure on Japan through international public opinion. It is hoped that Japan will be able to fulfill its commitments as soon as possible. Now in Europe, when the German front is at its peak, the three major Entente powers of Britain, France and Russia are under increasing pressure. They desperately need to find allies who are strong in combat. And the Japanese who can shake the German ** team are nothing less than a very good choice.
"Are you saying that the Japanese want to deflect pressure and drag the Republic of China into a world war?" Li Jun said in surprise.
"Quite possibly. Otherwise, a war between Japan and us would not be the best excuse for rejecting Britain and France. Moreover, with Japan's current military strength, in the eyes of the Japanese military leadership, it is unlikely that the Republic of China will be defeated, but it still has a good chance of winning the three eastern provinces. From the last time the Japanese army suddenly attacked the 2nd Brigade, Japan's actions were very strange, as if there was a big contradiction between the Japanese military and the government, the military wanted to go to war, and the government advocated peace. Feng Yong said with a frown.
"I feel that way, but I've never thought about it that way. Young marshal, you may not know that you have never been to Japan. Japan's military department has very high powers, and the status of those military bigwigs is even higher than that of the prime minister. They can even influence the formation of the cabinet. The current Japanese Prime Minister Shigenobu Okuma ascended to the prime minister's throne with the support of the Japanese military department. Could there be a conflict between them? "Li Jun is still not sure, some things have been seen too much, but they can't be judged accurately.
"Nothing is impossible. The Japanese military department's support for Shigenobu Okuma's coming to power must have been to achieve the military's goals. The purpose should have been achieved by now. It is quite normal to abandon the government. After all, a government that wants to come to power will do greater good to the military. ”
Li Jun thought about it, nodded, and recognized Feng Yong's reasoning, "What should we do?" After all, this negotiation happened because of us. If the government of the Republic of China signs a treaty that humiliates the country, I am afraid that we will also be implicated. Li Jun was a little worried, after all, the Northeast is now a banner to resist China's foreign aggression.
"It's okay, my father has taken care of things well! If the Republic of China really signed a jump to lose power and humiliate the country, it won't be on our heads. As long as it works well, it will continue to improve the prestige of our Northeast. Feng Yong said confidently. If you want to rely on public opinion to gain support, how can people in this era catch up with him, and what kind of hype Feng Yong from later generations has not seen.
"By the way, how is the work of the Government Council handled? During the time we went south, nothing happened to Jilin and Heilongjiang, right? ”
"Nothing serious. With the expansion of the Jilin police force, the entire Jilin Province has been completely stabilized. Heilongjiang in the north is sparsely populated and oppressed by Jianglong, so we recovered quickly after we took over. Now, though, there's a tricky problem that needs to be solved. That is the two great families of the original Jilin Province, although after the rise of the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce, the business of the two families has been impacted, but after all, they have a deep heritage, and now they have figured out the government's policies, with their years of business relationship, the two families have a tendency to rise again. It is even leading in some areas. What should we do? ”
"The Beize family will put it aside first, they don't have much property in Changchun, and the marriage contract between the Feng family and the Beize family has not been dissolved, so it will be chilling to do it." Feng Yong pondered for a moment and said.
"What about the Nalan family? They are now very obedient, and they have stopped the original human trafficking and skin business! Li Jun said with a slightly strange expression.
"Humph! It's not that they completely shrink back after the victory of our security forces. The Nalan family is different from the Kitazawa family, and the people of the Kitazawa family are not prosperous. Moreover, during this time, many of Kitazawa's industries have been transferred abroad. It can be said that the influence in the Northeast will only get smaller and smaller. However, the Nalan family industry is spread all over Jilin Province, and many sensitive industries have intervened, and even infiltrated the government. The secrets of these things they thought they were doing were actually known to us. It's just that the Nalan family is a business giant in the Northeast after all, which is different from those Manchu relics and Japanese-funded enterprises. If we don't have a legitimate reason and evidence, we can't make a move against the Nalan family at all! Feng Yong knew how much reputation the government would suffer by dealing with these businessmen by force. Originally, the Northeast government had a bad reputation in the land area, and if it had a bad reputation in the commercial field, how could it talk about the rapid development of Northeast China.
"Sendai Prefecture, can't our people still be inserted?" Feng Yong's face was a little unpleasant, Sendai was too close to Changchun City, and the Nalan family actually ran Sendai County into an independent small kingdom. And in this kingdom, the Nalan family is the absolute master. This made Feng Yong, who had a strong desire to control, feel very awkward in his heart.
"Although the Nalan family did not stand up to us, our people still can't work normally in Sendai. Because the influence of the Nalan family in Sendai is too great, and most of them are people on the periphery of the Nalan family. Many of the government's policies are not sustainable in Sendai. ”
"Have you found any signs of Nalan family meddling?" Feng Yong asked. If Feng Yong now had conclusive evidence of the Nalan family's resistance to the government, Feng Yong would definitely kill the Nalan family without hesitation. In addition to the wealth owned by the Nalan family, it is also an important reason why others are not allowed to snore next to the couch. Although the Nalan family expressed a certain intention of being close to the government of the Northeast, they swayed from side to side many times because the Northeast faced a strong enemy. Feng Yong is most unaccustomed to this kind of wall grass, these people are some wolves who can't be fed. If they have the chance, they will definitely bite themselves hard. Compared to being bitten, Feng Yong still likes to peel the skin and eat meat from these beasts, and it is best to chew even the bones.
"Nope! Although the confrontation in the Sendai area is definitely inseparable from the Nalan family's lineage, their actions are very clean, and we didn't catch them. Li Jun said regretfully.
"I see. The current Nalan family can only be regarded as a small role, and there are no big waves. We'll have time to brew them slowly in the future. The most important thing now is the construction of infrastructure in the Tohoku. Without strong infrastructure, the development of the Northeast is tantamount to a dream. Now, taking advantage of the chaos in the country, we can recruit labor to carry out infrastructure construction in the Northeast at the lowest cost. Anyway, now the government is not short of money. The Northeast is so big, Jilin and Heilongjiang are still basically in a blank foundation, and they need a large number of labor, and you must act as soon as possible for these jobs. The sooner we score, the faster our Northeast will develop. "With the current prestige of the Northeast Security Army, the Nalan family is not even qualified as an opponent. Feng Yong's vision is no longer limited to the three eastern provinces, he has begun to look at the whole country or the world. Since repelling the Japanese Third Division, Feng Yong has already had such qualifications. The Northeast Security Force, which was feared by the Japanese, has also become an armed force in East Asia that cannot be ignored.
"This is something that our Government Council has been preparing for a long time, and this is the preliminary plan we have drawn up after several preparations. Young marshal, infrastructure requires a lot of capital investment, and even the funds we got from the Manchu relics are not enough to support it. In order to complete the construction of the entire railway network and the road network, at least 500 million taels of silver are needed. Unless we put all our possessions into it. Those antiques are also converted into money. ”
"Five hundred million taels of silver? Boy! It's a staggering amount of infrastructure! However, no matter how much money we spend, we will still build it. Don't worry about money, we don't need to pay such a large amount of money now, I think it will take at least five years to complete the construction of your huge railway and road network, and there will be no turmoil in between. Feng Yong looked at the report submitted by the government and said.
Li Jun nodded and said, "Yes, the completion time predicted by the Ministry of Finance is also roughly about five years. However, such a large amount of investment will make our already abundant finances suddenly become strained. The young marshal must prepare for this in advance. ”
"Money is not a problem, we have unified the three eastern provinces, and it is time to set up our own bank and issue our own currency. Compared to silver dollars, paper money is more suitable for commodity trading. And now we have antique treasures worth more than 400 million as collateral, and there is no problem at all in issuing new coins worth hundreds of millions of silver dollars. Feng Yong said roughly. He didn't know much about some things about bank construction, although he studied economics in his previous life, but he didn't listen carefully to the first class, and his knowledge was limited, and the other point was that finance was extremely mysterious, and it was not easy to operate. And after a busy year, the little economic knowledge in my head has basically been forgotten.
"As long as the problem of money can be solved, the Northeast can become a huge construction site at any time." Li Jun said confidently that in this era, affected by domestic disasters, more and more people have left their hometowns, crossed the sea, and earned living income by working as laborers. Many of them never returned to their hometowns.
"Brother Chuanxin, I think we should carry out the infrastructure construction in batches. Focusing on the construction of major railway and highway lines and striving to complete them in the shortest possible time, and then starting the next batch of construction projects according to the situation, so that the planning can also alleviate the government's financial situation as much as possible. Feng Yong thought of the projects that would be built in batches in later generations, and such projects were also more suitable for the current situation in the Northeast.
"That's a good idea! In this way, the urgent need can be solved, and the funds can also be disbursed in batches, and the financial pressure on the government will be much less. Li Jun sees the benefits of this approach.
"In addition, it is also possible to recruit local people to work and pay a certain amount of remuneration every day, and I believe that there will be a lot of idle labor in the three eastern provinces to be attracted and join the construction of the project." The more Feng Yong thought about it, the more open-minded he became. It can be said that good ideas are constantly coming.
Feng Yong continued his vigorous and resolute behavior as always, and since he decided to engage in infrastructure construction, he personally participated in the discussion of the first batch of infrastructure construction projects in the Government Council. and promulgated and implemented as soon as possible. With the telegram from the Governor's Palace, recruitment notices were posted in major newspapers in China, and the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce also opened recruitment points in large coastal cities, and sent a steady stream of registered workers to the Northeast. The current Mansfield Chamber of Commerce is rich in money, and it has undertaken part of the construction of infrastructure projects. After all, the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce is the first enterprise in Northeast China, and it should contribute some strength to the development of Northeast China.
With the actions of the Northeast government, a steady stream of domestic labor has been sent to the Northeast. Feng Yong set up these people as a construction corps one by one, and carried out work in the form of army management, which not only facilitated the management of these migrant workers, but also provided them with preliminary military training, so as to lay the foundation for recruiting workers in the future.
(To be continued)