Volume 2 King of the Northwest Chapter 14 Dilemma
Although Dai Jiliang and Li Genyuan didn't get along very well, they were classmates at Lu Shi after all, so they couldn't lose face.
Just now, the two of them had a chat over tea in Dai Jiliang's office at the Copper Coin Bureau. Even if he had officially handed over the work of the Shaanxi Provincial Government, once Li reported to the Provincial Council, his position as the governor of Shaanxi Province would be settled.
But what Li Genyuan didn't expect was that things changed again early the next morning.
"Governor, this man must see you."
Li Genyuan and Han Wangchen were having breakfast. Since the two governors of Shaanxi before Dai Jiliang took office were also the civil affairs chiefs of Shaanxi, the Governor's Office was the provincial government.
But now the Governor's Office was basically destroyed in the war, and Dai Jiliang himself had to work in the Copper Coin Bureau, so there was no way out. Li Genyuan, the new provincial governor, had to stay in the inn and suffer for a while. Before dinner, the two of them were still discussing where to put the provincial government, when an uninvited guest showed up.
"Excuse me, are you Mr. Li Genyuan? I am Tu Yan from the Shaanxi Provincial Council. I am here on the orders of the Provincial Council to ask Mr. Li to come to the Provincial Council and explain why you ignored the Provincial Council's orders and broke into Xi'an with guns?"
This man spoke standard Mandarin in a very stylish manner. No wonder Li Genyuan's guards did not dare to stop him. While speaking, he handed over a newspaper.
"Isn't it great that Mr. Lee has defied the provincial legislature before he officially took office?"
Li Genyuan and Han Wangchen looked at each other, not knowing what the other meant. Since a newspaper was handed over, the two of them reached out to take it at the same time. However, Han Jun suddenly remembered something and withdrew his hand, and the newspaper fell into Li Genyuan's hand. Han Jun leaned over to take a look. On the front page was printed: "Might is greater than public opinion. Governor Li angrily denounced the resolution of the Provincial Assembly as bullshit."
“Shameless!”
Han Jun slammed the table fiercely, but when he turned around and looked at Tu Yan, his expression had calmed down.
"I can guarantee that Governor Li never said such a thing. Please tell everyone in the provincial assembly that this is slander by a tabloid reporter and a political accusation!"
"Whether it's slander or political accusation, Mr. Li, please come to the provincial parliament and explain it in person. Please!"
Tu Yan, however, had a stern face and did not take Han Wangchen, the descendant of the Han family from Gaoge, Dongyang, Pucheng, Shaanxi, seriously at all. He stared at the protagonist of the incident.
"Why, Mr. Li, do you think that our Shaanxi Provincial Council has no responsibility to supervise the government? In that case, I'll take my leave now."
"slow!"
Li Genyuan shouted, turned around to look at Han Jun, and said something in Japanese.
"Don't worry. As the governor, I have to meet my parents-in-law. Brother Wangchen, you should come with me. I don't even speak Shaanxi dialect."
Li Genyuan fell into a trap and started a dispute with the provincial council before he even took office.
However, when Dai Jiliang heard the news that Li Genyuan was attacked by the legislators for answering questions in Japanese in the provincial parliament, he was not happy.
It turned out that he had just received news from Beijing that the Fengtian Zhengjiatun incident finally ended with China's retreat. The Fengtian Army had been forced to withdraw from Zhengjiatun and the area along Siping Street to Zhengjiatun. China's few remaining sovereignties were once again destroyed by the Japanese power.
“The country is backward!”
Dai Jiliang fell on the office chair, frowning and smiling bitterly. It seemed that he had to develop heavy industry. In another twenty years, a full-scale war would break out under the enemy's step-by-step pressure. Without heavy industry, there would be no modern military industry, and the Chinese would still shed more blood.
But where would the money come from to develop heavy industry? Just a dozen modern factories had drained most of Shaanxi's cash. If he had not finally ordered the money houses in the province to directly handle the deposit-to-equity conversion business, I am afraid that at least a dozen money houses of all sizes would have gone bankrupt.
Besides, in addition to running an industry, you also need to have money and a strong army! Without an army, even if you create wealth, you can't keep it.
"It's only been more than 20 years. It's so contradictory. It's really difficult!"
"What's troubling Zhixiang?"
Wang Danping knocked on the door and walked in, and he just heard the second half of the sentence.
"Don't worry, the God of Wealth is here!"
These two words made Dai Jiliang sit up straight.
"God of Wealth?"
Dai Jiliang looked at Wang Danping in confusion.
"Brother-in-law, you must be joking. Where did the God of Wealth come from? Could it be a Shanxi merchant? No way!"
Dai Jiliang was in self-denial.
"My junior fellow student Yan Xishan would not be so kind as to ask Shanxi merchants to support Shaanxi."
"Then what about Bank of Communications?"
Wang Danping smiled and sat down opposite Dai Jiliang.
"You like to dwell on trivial matters. Are there no rich people in the world except Shanxi merchants? Here, this is a telegram I just received from your sworn brother Zeng Zhisheng. The Communications Department is going to send someone to sound out the situation and have a good talk with us about your railway plan. By the way, they are going to open a Xi'an branch of the Bank of Communications. You will never be short of money in the future."
"Brother-in-law, who is the person who came to open the bank?"
Dai Jiliang became very interested when he heard this, but of course his main interest was in the people who ran banks.
If the person who comes is a capable person, he doesn't mind poaching people from the Department of Communications himself. Running a bank has great benefits. Instead of benefiting the Bank of Communications, it is better to benefit himself and keep the benefits within the family.
"Zhisheng's telegram didn't make it clear, but I guess it was Zhou Zuomin.
This is a big shot. He holds four important posts in the Bank of Communications: head of the head office's audit department, head of the treasury department, manager of the Wuhu branch, and manager of the Bengbu branch. He is deeply trusted by the former president Liang Shiyi and is said to have a close relationship with Xu Shuzheng.
What’s more important is that during the two years he has been in Anhui Province, the fiscal revenue of Anhui Province has increased dramatically, and the profits of the two branches of Bank of Communications in Anhui Province have also increased sharply. Ni Sicong’s Anwu Army has regarded him as a treasure.”
Wang Danping handed Zeng Zhisheng's telegram to Dai Jiliang.
"Your railway project is a big piece of fat meat. It would be unreasonable if the Transportation Department didn't send a capable person here. By the way, Zhisheng will come with you this time. You should hurry up and urge Shanghai. We can't build this railway with our own money if we can't borrow foreign debt. Don't want it to be in vain in the end!"
"Brother-in-law is right."
Dai Jiliang's mind raced. The person who came was obviously a well-connected politician and businessman. Such a person would be a treasure wherever he went. Dai Jiliang had already decided that if it was really Zhou Zuomin who came to Shaanxi, he would never let him in easily.
"Wait a minute. I'll draft a telegram for Changqing."
However, having said that, Dai Jiliang did not start writing immediately.
"Oh, brother-in-law, I've thought about it. If we want to sell our Shaanxi land for a good price, in addition to finding the next buyer, we must also bring in the various princes along the way. Do you think we should let Sima talk to the representatives of Zhang Guangjian, Ni Sicong, Zhao Ti, Cao Kun, and Feng Guozhang in Xuzhou? We can all make money together!"
"Zhang Guangjian?"
Wang Danping understood what Dai Jiliang meant. The people he was talking about were all the actual controllers along the two major opium-consuming areas of Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai, but Zhang Guangjian.
"Zhixiang, you are putting the blame on Jiangdong! According to what you said in the provincial council, the area of opium cultivation in Shaanxi should be reduced every year. In this way, the production in Shaanxi will drop sharply in a few years. You set the source of goods in Gansu, and the profit will come from the transfer. Aren't you afraid that Gansu will be upset?"
" Now the price of Shaanxi is only 50 cents per ounce. Isn't the price in Gansu even lower than that in Shaanxi?"
Dai Jiliang tacitly agreed with Wang Danping's speculation. As long as China has not completely fallen into the hands of one regime, completely banning opium will be just empty talk. Instead of throwing away the money earned, it would be better to harm your neighbors.
"I am also considering Zhang Guangjian. He collects it and sells it to me for 60 cents. I sell it to him for two yuan. Zhao Ti and Cao Kun each add one yuan. If I take it to Beijing and Tianjin, it will only be four yuan, which is cheaper than the market price."
It is okay to ask Dai Jiliang not to plant, but it is absolutely unacceptable to ask him not to sell. When he thinks of the exposed information in his previous life showing that the Japanese also made money from this, Dai Jiliang is even more reluctant to give up this considerable market.
"I think it's okay. You can send this telegram to Sima. However, I'm afraid that the news will be easily leaked by telegram. It can't be seen in public. Otherwise, why don't you send someone else?"
Wang Danping was considering Dai Jiliang's matter in a mature and prudent manner.
"Let Chen Guang go for a trip!"
Dai Jiliang regretted letting Sima leave in such a hurry. He had no choice but to send another adjutant out, but this also reminded him.
"Brother-in-law, shall we give a topic to the new Governor Li?"
Looking at Wang Danping's inquiring eyes, Dai Jiliang gave a dry laugh.
"You can ask our people in the provincial council to mobilize, and when the time is right, ask me, your classmate from the Army Department, to order a ban on the sale of cigarettes in tobacco shops and the consumption of cigarettes by the public throughout Shaanxi."
To be honest, Dai Jiliang was furious when he saw the smoking houses all over Xi'an. He wished that the whole of Shaanxi could become a smoke-free zone immediately.
However, he had bad intentions in proposing this motion at this moment. One must know that the opium business involves interests from all aspects, and he, the governor, did not dare to push it forward at this moment when his foothold was not yet stable. Then, whether Li Genyuan accepted it or not, he was in trouble.
"Zhixiang, what's going on in your head?"
Wang Danping was stunned for a moment and then burst into laughter.
"Great, really great! It seems that it is really unfair for you not to be the governor of Shaanxi. Okay, let me handle this matter."
"Report, Deputy Director Guo wants to see you."
Chen Guang knocked on the door and walked in. It seemed that the people who were monitoring Li Genyuan and Han Wangchen had something to report.
"Let him in!"
Dai Jiliang nodded, and Wang Danping also consciously followed Chen Guang and retreated.
"Marshal."
Guo Bingchang bowed to Dai Jiliang as he entered the room, then quickly walked to the opposite side of Dai Jiliang's desk.
"My people just reported that Han Wangchen left Xi'an alone and headed towards northern Shaanxi."
"I've suffered a loss and want to find help."
Dai Jiliang touched his newly shaved head.
"Well done, keep watching. As long as you have to."
Dai Jiliang paused and said, "If necessary, you can take action against anyone except Li Genyuan."
"I understand!"
Dai Jiliang's words were absolutely murderous. Guo Sinan didn't say much after receiving the imperial sword. He just bowed and left in a hurry.
"Someone come!"
Dai Jiliang walked around the room thinking for a while, then he lay on the table and wrote a few lines. Then he put the words in an envelope and called Chen Guang in.
"Pick a few people, set out overnight, go to Xuzhou to find Director Sima, hand him the letter and come back immediately."
As he said that, Dai Jiliang sealed the letter and handed it to him.
"Also, notify Zuo Liang and ask him to prepare his guards immediately. I want to go down!"
No matter when Wang Danping's proposal was launched, Xi'an is now a big whirlpool with all kinds of people appearing on the scene. Dai Jiliang does not want to be deeply involved in it at this time. It is better to jump out and see how Li Genyuan reacts. After all, those who start late may not be controlled by others.
