"The republic, whether in our country or in the world, is the trend of the times, but the national conditions of each country are different, and the path taken is not the same." Duan Qirui continued, "Since Xinhai, our China has laid a considerable foundation, and it is already a nation-state, but there are still many people in the [***] trend of thought, Han Yi wants to build Mingzhu China, thinking that Mingzhuo free science can save China, which is completely right, but in the means to achieve this goal, you might as well be flexible, when you need an iron fist [***], you must not stick to the theory of Mingzhuo, shrink your hands and feet." Otherwise, it is self-defeating. ”

Hearing Duan Qirui's heavy words, as if he was telling the reason for his failure back then, Xu Shuzheng couldn't help but sigh secretly.

"Yes, today you Yang Hanzhi is on the stage, and you can be merciful to him Feng Jishan, but if he Feng Jishan is on the stage, will he do this to you?" Xu Shuzheng said.

Yang Shuoming knew that Duan Qirui was waking himself up, and said: "What Duan Gong said, you should keep it in mind and never forget it. ”

"This inspection will make the meeting on the issue of the dismissal of military power, Songpa and Youzheng should be able to solve the problem, but you, the Minister of Finance, how to settle those provinces that refuse to release funds to the central government will be even more difficult." Duan Qirui said, "Do you have any plans for this piece?" ”

"Knock on the mountain and shake the tiger." Yang Shuoming smiled slightly and said, "Let's handle a few big cases of him first." ”

"Handle the case?" Duan Qirui and Xu Shuzheng were both shocked when they heard his words, and couldn't help but ask in unison.

"Yes, handle the case." Yang Shuoming met the gaze of Duan Xu and the others, and seeing their puzzled looks, he added, "Our China is now a country ruled by law, of course we have to act according to the law." ”

Seeing the seemingly sunny but cold smile on Yang Shuoming's face, Duan Qirui seemed to understand something and nodded.

"You're always willing to do things that are unexpected." Duan Qirui said, "But it's okay like this, you don't have to come forward directly, and it saves people from pointing the finger at you." ”

"Not necessarily." Yang Shuoming turned his head to look out the window and said, "From this year onwards, I'm afraid I have to go down and walk often, and there are some things that you have to see and hear with your own eyes before you know what to do." ”

"Then you have to be careful." Hearing Yang Shuoming say this, a trace of worry flashed in Duan Qirui's eyes, "The so-called strong dragon can't suppress the ground snake, it's really fighting, it's enough for you to bear." ”

"It depends on how you fight, hehe." Xu Shuzheng seemed to support Yang Shuoming's idea, he looked at Duan Qirui with a smile and didn't say any more.

"Duan Gong, don't worry, I have my way." Yang Shuoming smiled and said.

After finishing the party with Duan Xu, Yang Shuoming saw that it was still early, and returned to his office in the Ministry of Finance building, at this time several new documents and reports appeared on his desk, Yang Shuoming took a look at the report placed on the top, and his eyebrows couldn't help but raise slightly.

This report, which has just been sent from the Intelligence Bureau of the Ministry of Finance, reports on some situations in Sichuan.

However, a name mentioned many times in the report evokes some interesting memories of Yang Shuoming's original historical time and space.

"Isn't this man a bully landlord? Why is this written? ”

"I just knew that the water dungeon was fake, but I really didn't expect such a situation......"

Yang Shuoming said to himself and carefully read the report.

"Interesting, it seems that this person is not just a bully landlord." He threw the report in his hand on the table, and he stared at the middle-aged man in his thirties who looked kind but had a murderous look in the report, "I just wanted to hit a big tiger, and this tiger was delivered to the door, what a coincidence." ”

Yang Shuoming thought about it, picked up the phone, and connected to the office of the director of the Ministry of Finance's intelligence bureau, "Descending Dragon".

"It's me, yes, come here, I have something to discuss with you. It's about Sichuan. ”

"Do you want to 'fight tigers' in Sichuan?"

"Oh, yes."

"I'll go right over."

Sichuan, Yibin.

At this moment, two young students, a man and a woman, were crouching on a small hillside, looking through binoculars at a magnificent manor building in the distance.

"His Liu family's compound is so magnificent." Tao Shiyong looked at the exquisite building components in the courtyard, and couldn't help but say hatefully, "Sure enough, there is a lot of looting of people's fat and people's ointment." ”

"Didn't you hear that the people called him 'Liu Laohu'?" Liu Desheng, the lover next to Tao Shiyong, put down the telescope in his hand and said angrily. "I can collect all the rent for the next ten years, and he can figure it out."

"Now the evidence of his opium trafficking is almost complete." Tao Shiyong carefully observed the people coming and going in and out of the Liu family's compound with a telescope, and said, "When the time comes, report it to the top, and you can knock him down at once." ”

Now Liu Desheng and Tao Shiyong have both been recruited into the Economic Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Finance and have become trainee intelligence officers.

The two of them and a large number of colleagues from the Investigation Bureau came to Yibin in Sichuan Province this time to carry out the task of collecting illegal evidence of the local bully landlord Liu Wencai.

Liu Wencai is the elder brother of Liu Wenhui, commander of the 24th Brigade of the Sichuan Army. In 1921, Liu Wenhui was ordered to lead the army to be stationed in Yibin, and Liu Wencai was successively appointed as the General Office of Taxation and Contributions in Southern Sichuan and many other important positions. Liu Wencai had financial and military power, that is, he expropriated and extorted money in southern Sichuan, causing the people of southern Sichuan to suffer greatly.

According to the investigation of Liu Desheng and others, Liu Wencai's career is very special. Unlike most small and medium-sized landlords in China, Liu Wencai's fortune did not rely on careful budgeting and thrift to keep his family, but through two abnormal ways: guns and cigarettes. On the one hand, he relied on the power of his brother Liu Wenhui to leap from a small rich man to the general office of taxes and taxes in southern Sichuan in charge of dozens of counties such as Yibin and Jiang'an, and was able to loot the people's fat and ointment; On the other hand, it refers to the large number of militia groups under his control, which are the size of a mixed brigade. The so-called cigarette stick refers to his use of his position as the director of the anti-smoking investigation department of the southern Sichuan water and land to enforce the law and break the law, selling opium and manufacturing morphine in large quantities in the name of banning smoking, and becoming the drug king who underwrote the opium in Yunnan.

Previously, according to the statistics of the Intelligence Bureau of the Ministry of Finance, Liu Wencai is currently ranked 42nd among the wealthy households in Sichuan; He has more than 5,000 acres of land under his name, as well as a number of shops and real estate.

Liu Desheng and others certainly understand that the amount of wealth itself is not the criterion for judging someone's quality or badness. The real criterion is whether the means of acquiring wealth are legal. Before the age of 30, Liu Wencai actually took the route of making a fortune for most Chinese peasants who were careful and thrifty. He was born in 1887 in Anren Town, Dayi County, when his family had more than 30 acres of land and operated a winemaking workshop in addition to farming. There are seven brothers, Liu Wencai ranked fifth, he himself is not highly educated, after a few years of private school, he went home to farm, and when the farm is not working, he walks the streets and alleys to sell wine. A few years later, Liu Wencai saved a little, and opened a joint venture with the clansmen to open a soju workshop and a water mill. In the winter of 1922, the 35-year-old Liu Wencai walked out of Anren Town and went to Yibin to serve as the director of the Fuchuan Donation Bureau, officially becoming the "gathering member" behind Liu Wenhui. Since then, wherever Liu Wenhui's army has gone, all the important positions related to the accumulation have been gathered in Liu Wencai. Collecting political and war funds for Liu Wenhui became Liu Wencai's most important work after that.

In order to gather money for his brother Liu Wenhui and use it to expand his team and political contacts, Liu Wencai spared no effort in collecting money. According to the investigation of Liu Desheng and others, there are more than 150 kinds of taxes in southern Sichuan, only in Yibin collected tax stamps and local people's complaints, Liu Desheng knows that there are 44 kinds of reliable items, including "remember the female flower donation", "lazy donation", "hoe donation", "toilet donation" and so on, some of the names can be said to be unheard of, therefore, Yibin folk have "since ancient times have not heard of taxes, and now only fart and no donation" proverb. Liu Wencai also distributed the large amount of taxes to the ordinary people in various forms. Liu Desheng and others learned through investigation and unannounced visits that when buying a movie ticket in Yibin City, they had to bear 14 kinds of additional taxes, such as "entertainment tax", "stamp duty", "expenses for wounded soldiers and friends", "donation of winter clothes for police officers", and "political and religious expenses". Southern Sichuan under Liu Wencai's control, like some places in other provinces in China, also vigorously engaged in the "pre-levy" of land endowments, and according to the tax stamps collected by Liu Desheng and others, Liu Wencai had already "pre-levy" the land endowments from the peasants of southern Sichuan to the 1934 level!

Because Liu Wencai had rich experience in business in his early years, his means of collecting wealth were not only a lot of exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes, but also another hand, that is, to use his power to operate a monopoly speculative trade to make huge profits.

As soon as Liu Wencai took office, he invested 50,000 silver dollars to set up the "Yihe" silver number, and in less than two years, the capital of 50,000 yuan turned over several times, and returned to Liu Wencai's cash cabinet, and in 1924, the scale of "Yihe" has been extremely large, the principal exceeded one million, and soon climbed to 10 million, and opened branches in Yucheng, Zigong and other cities. After Liu Desheng's careful and serious investigation, he believed that Liu Wencai's "Yihe" was a "serious business" at the beginning, "it was a normal operation, with deposits, loans, and foreign exchange as its main business, and also engaged in some trade", but "it didn't last long, and with the rapid changes in the political scene, Liu Wencai's business surname has undergone a fundamental change." ”

Liu Wencai used "Yihe" to start making money by unscrupulous means, and all his business was included in the field of speculative trade. Liu Wencai, who was originally engaged in "serious business", turned to the "underground economy" at this time and became an out-and-out speculator.

After more than half a year of investigation, Liu Desheng and others learned that in order to achieve the purpose of concealment, Liu Wencai requested: "It was decided not to use the signboard of 'Yihe', change a number of different brand names in various places, still take Yibin as the general number, and manage it internally in a unified manner, so as to facilitate the concealment of property, so that the network is fast, the network is fast, the end is easy, and no loss is made at the end." The business is only focused on hoarding, trafficking, marketing and disguised usury. Moreover, business operations only focus on hoarding, trafficking, selling, and disguised usury, in order to maximize the short-term effect of accumulating wealth. In order to achieve this goal, Liu Wencai's hard surname stipulates that all firms are "only allowed to make money, not to lose money", the annual interest rate shall not be less than 50 percent, and the stipulation is that "hoarding unlimited funds and operating by unscrupulous means", and the basic way to achieve this "profit" goal is to monopolize hoarding by buying out the source of goods, for example, the "Changfa Yuan" firm in Syria has bought out the commonly used, large-scale, and affordable varieties of medicinal materials, such as angelica, gastrodia, banxia, and Chuanxiong, in Yunnan, western Sichuan, and other places, and hoarded them for price. Sometimes, pharmacists from all over the country have no choice but to rely on the supply of "Changfa Yuan", and by this means, Liu Wencai's hoarding of medicinal materials and other local products can make profits of up to 80 percent. In addition to medicinal materials and mountain goods, Liu Wencai relied on his brothers' guns and a large amount of taxes in his hands, and his monopoly industries also included salt, cotton, and usury. In Liu Wenhui's defense zone, almost all the industries that make money can see the existence of Liu Wencai, a monopoly giant crocodile integrating government and business.

In his report to the Economic Investigation Bureau, Liu Desheng wrote sadly and indignantly: "With the power to open the way, Liu Wencai is galloping freely in the commercial sea, and ordinary businessmen are simply unable to compete with it. Liu Wencai started a medicinal material business, and more than ten pharmaceutical companies such as 'Deshunsheng' and 'Fu Yuanheng' could not help but collapse. When Liu Wencai started the shipping business, the 'Zhifeng' steamship company and the 'Hezhong' steamship company had to close their doors. Officials and businessmen are harmed by free competition, and Liu Wencai can be an example. ”

But Liu Desheng knew through investigation that whether it was excessive taxes or hoarding, they were actually not as much money as Liu Wencai's opium business in southern Sichuan.

Liu Wencai also has a part-time position, called the director of the "South Sichuan Anti-smoking Investigation Department". The responsibility of this position was originally in response to a 1923 resolution of the Yenching government to ban opium in the country for two years, starting in 1923.

However, Liu Wencai's practice during his tenure was not to actively ban smoking, but to actively use his status as the highest anti-smoking governor in southern Sichuan to engage in opium business. Liu Desheng's basic means of recording Liu Wencai's cigarette trafficking were: "In the more than 50 counties under the jurisdiction of the defense zone, according to the size of the county, there are anti-smoking investigation offices or offices, and each county and township also has a non-smoking inventory investigation branch to collect tobacco taxes and sell 'public land'. On the surface, smoking is banned, but in fact, smoking is banned, so that there are many tobacco houses in southern Sichuan, which is appalling. At the same time, in order to further monopolize the distribution and sale of opium, it ordered the subordinate defense areas to set up 'official paste stacks,' set up a fixed period of time, forced private traders to stock cigarettes, and sold them to 'public and private households' at low prices, and then resold them to public and private tobacco houses at high prices in the name of 'public land', so that addicts could openly smoke them and make money. For tobacco-producing areas, in the late autumn and early winter of each year, when opium is planted, personnel are sent to various places to urge the local group to 'persuade the smokers to plant', and for those who do not want to grow tobacco, they will increase the 'lazy donation' and force them to plant, and then the tobacco soil they collect colludes with Shanghai tobacco merchants and hooligans to make morphine ......" That is to say, Liu Wencai actually established a complete set of "opium monopoly system" in the southern Sichuan jurisdiction in the name of banning smoking, and Liu Wencai monopolized the opium trade in southern Sichuan alone, according to some informed sources, Liu Wencai even underwrote one-third of the opium production in the southwestern provinces at one time!

"It's better to go into his house and find the accounts." Liu Desheng raised the telescope again and observed the situation in the Liu family's compound. At this time, he noticed that two American "Ford" luxury cars drove in front of the yard, and he couldn't help but sneer.

"Is this the provincial government's car?" Tao Shiyong asked on the side.

"Of course not, it's their Liu family's own car." Liu Desheng said, "If I guess correctly, the car should be the one he Liu Wencai raised." ”

"You're talking about Ling Junru?" Tao Shiyong was curious and immediately pointed the telescope at the car door.

Sure enough, the driver in a Western-style uniform got out of the car and opened the door, and a noble lady wearing a cheongsam and heavy makeup appeared.

Tao Shiyong felt that the lover's breathing seemed to become rapid, and she couldn't help but be a little annoyed.

For her lover's exuberant **, no one knows better than her.

At this time, Liu Desheng seemed to be filled with blood all over his body. He stared at Ling Junru's figure, his mouth opened unconsciously, revealing a standard pig brother look. Seeing his fascinated appearance, Tao Shiyong couldn't help but kick him.

"Sure enough, it's a flattering attack, no wonder Liu Wencai is fascinated by it." Liu Desheng was in pain, he immediately sobered up, laughed dryly, and said as if to hide it.

Ling Junru is a well-known Huanchang woman in Yibin, alias Ling Dan and Ling Dou, born under Ling Youchen in the middle of the Syrian Mansion. If Ling Jun can sing and dance, his skin is fair, his figure is slender, and he is born with a shy and weak attitude, which can be said to be soul-grabbing and falling in love at first sight. It is said that Ling Junru was originally Cao Rongguang's mistress. Cao Rongguang was promoted to the director of the Yibin County Collection Bureau, and thanked the newly appointed master Liu Wencai, and set up a family banquet to entertain him, and let Ling Junru accompany him during the banquet. Liu Wencai was shocked when he saw it, and couldn't help but be fascinated. This happened to fall into Cao Rongguang's hands, and he took the opportunity to give Ling Junru away, so that she and Liu Wencai could form a pair of "fairy couples". Liu Wencai was overjoyed and bought a mansion for Ling Dan on Guanyin Street, and began the life of "Jinwu Zangjiao".

Ling Junru was originally flattering, and he had been in the Fengyue Field for many years, and he had already practiced a set of tricks to invite pets, and at this time, he had to meet a noble person like Liu Wencai, and he even used a mixed trick to make Liu Wencai so obsessed that one Buddha was born, and the second Buddha ascended to heaven, and Liu Wencai was favored by Ling Junru in every way. At first, their "romantic love" was still underground, but it soon became public. For this reason, Liu Wencai's main room, Yang Zhonghua, had a big quarrel with him, and finally turned against him.

At this time, Liu Desheng looked at Ling Junru, who walked into the door with a twist, and suddenly had a bold idea.

(To be continued)