Chapter 60 1. Sheng Xuanhuai's policy of "government supervision and commercial management" was rejected by Zhang Zhidong

Zhang Zhidong and his party took the sea route and went north along the shipping routes of Guangdong, Fujian, and Zhejiang.He has always hated the boring entertainment in the officialdom, not to mention that in his eyes now there are not many people in the officialdom who are worth talking to. Therefore, along the way, he declined all kind invitations and boarding visits from local officials at all levels, even the Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang. Bian Baodi didn't even give him face.When the boat arrived at the mouth of the Minjiang River, the Fuzhou government was within easy reach. He neither went ashore to visit Bian, nor declined Bian's kindness to come on the boat to see him.

This kind of behavior by Zhang Zhidong is rare in official circles.Some said that he was unreasonable, some said that he was noble, and some said that he took credit and pride, but he turned a deaf ear to them and went his own way.Peiyu persuaded him not to be so stubborn. Officials like Shanghai Dao, Governor of Zhejiang Province, and Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang Province have important positions and senior qualifications. Zhang Zhidong said with a sneer: "What important status and qualifications are seniors? They are all vegetarians!" Sang Zhiping saw all this in his eyes, and thought to himself: Is he setting a high standard of honesty and integrity as an official, or has he developed the habit of arrogant arrogance because of his success?In any case, Zhang Zhidong's way of dealing with people has obviously changed.

Zhang Zhidong made full use of this rare free time and read a lot of books about Hubei and Hunan provinces.From the historical evolution to the modern system, from the cultural origin to the customs and products, from the great events and celebrities in Jianghan, Jingxiang in the past to the recent encounters of Huxiang figures, he holds them all in his chest.In his opinion, these feelings of Huguang Province are far more important than insincere polite words and scheming hospitality.The only interruption was when he learned of the obituary of Peng Yulin's death in Hengyang. He was very sad for a long time, and wrote a letter of condolence and sent it to the relatives of the old general.

During the thousands of miles of voyage from Guangzhou to Wuchang, Zhang Zhidong only received one person. That day, when the ship was just berthed at Huangpu Port in Shanghai, a man with a luxurious dress and a humble attitude who claimed to be a member of the Shanghai Telegraph Bureau sent an important letter to the new governor of Huguang, Mr. Zhang, hoping to get an immediate reply.Dagen said to the visitor: "My lord is very busy, maybe he doesn't have time to read your letter right now. Don't wait here, go back!" The man said, "I will wait here for an hour. If there is no reply within an hour, I will go back to the telegraph office."

When Da Gen walked into the cabin with the letter, Zhang Zhidong was having lunch.Dagen didn't want to disturb the fourth uncle, and was about to withdraw when Zhang Zhidong stopped him.He had to hand over the letter.Zhang Zhidong put down the bowl and chopsticks and took out the letter paper.After a quick look, he asked Da Gen to tell the messenger waiting on the shore: at seven o'clock in the evening, he will meet him on the ship. Dagen had a big accident, and excitedly stepped off the boat and came to the shore, and said to the people in the telegraph office: "What is the role of your master? The governor and governor along the way, all of my adults have disappeared. After traveling thousands of miles, your family The master is also the first person to be summoned. Go back and tell him to get ready and come to the ship at seven o'clock in the evening to meet my lord."

After hearing this, the staff of the Telegraph Bureau went back to report happily. Who is this person, how can he have such a big face?The person who made Zhang Zhidong make an exception to summon him was none other than Sheng Xuanhuai, who lives in Denglai, Shandong and supervises Yantai East Customs. After hearing the news that Zhang Zhidong was taking the post by sea, Sheng Xuanhuaite rushed to Shanghai from Tianjin and stayed at the Shanghai Branch of the Telegraph Bureau, waiting to meet Zhang Zhidong.Why did Sheng Xuanhuai go to such great lengths to request a meeting with this arrogant new Lake Governor?Is it intentional to curry favor with the heroic army who defeated the foreigners?Of course he has a heart of flattery, but more importantly, he has another grand plan in his heart.

It turned out that this No. 1 long-sleeved and good dancer in Tianzi was about to use the new governor of Huguang to complete a big business he had been running in Hubei for a long time.His good friend Zheng Guanying is doing weaving layout in Shanghai at this time.Knowing that Zheng Guanying was familiar with Zhang Zhidong, he asked Zheng Guanying to accompany him to Huangpu Port.Zheng Guanying fully agreed. Sheng Xuanhuai took out two expensive gifts he brought from Tianjin: a three-foot-high British-made clock inlaid with gold and jade, played music at the time, and twirled by foreign girls.A Khotan dark green jade Ruyi covered with 108 pearls asked Zheng Guanying: "These two gifts are Western-style and Chinese-style. Help me as a consultant, which one suits his appetite? Or two gifts?" Send everything."

Zheng Guanying smiled and said: "If you visit Zeng Guoquan, governor of Liangjiang today, you will send Chinese style. If you visit Bian Baodi, governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, you will send Western style. However, today you are visiting Zhang Zhidong, governor of Huguang from Qingliu. In my opinion, don’t give any western style or Chinese style. If you give him a heavy gift, he will suspect that you have asked for something extraneous from him, which will spoil the atmosphere of the meeting. It’s better not to give anything, and let each other relax and talk freely. " "Okay, it's up to you."

Accompanied by Zheng Guanying, Sheng Xuanhuai, accompanied by Zheng Guanying, was running through the busy streets and alleys of Shiliyangchang to Huangpu Port in the elegant rickshaw of the Telegraph Sub-bureau. Walk quickly from the second-class cabin where I live to the first-class cabin. "Xiang Shuai, it's a wonderful side story, let's take a look!" Gu Hongming said loudly to Zhang Zhidong who was reclining on the soft leather sofa in casual clothes. Zhang Zhidong put down the "Jingzhou Fuzhi" in his hand, and said with a smile: "What interesting side news, let me read it to relieve boredom."

"Prince Chun is suffering from syphilis and is already seriously ill. Take a look at this." Gu Hongming handed over the "Times" in his hand. Zhang Zhidong took a look and saw that the paper was full of foreign language, he was displeased and said: "I picked up a piece of garbage paper somewhere to fool me, you are bullying me for not knowing foreign language!" Seeing this, Gu Hongming hurriedly said: "Xiang Shuai calm down, how dare I bully you, I was so happy that I forgot that this is a foreign language newspaper. But the newspaper is indeed not rubbish paper. This is when I was just walking on the pier. Chatting to an Englishman who sent me the latest edition of The Times."

He gets carried away with joy when he sees the gossip news, he must be a womanizer; however, he doesn't hide his inner thoughts, and he is frank and cute, much better than those hypocrites who want to be a bitch and set up a memorial archway.Thinking of this, Zhang Zhidong's face calmed down: "Just tell me what's going on." Gu Hongming said with a smile: "That's what the newspaper said. A doctor in the British Legation recently came to the palace to see a doctor at the request of Prince Chun. After a careful diagnosis, the doctor clearly told him that he had syphilis." The king of alcohol was shocked and said that he had never been to a brothel at all, so where did he get the syphilis disease. The British doctor said that the disease was syphilis, which is beyond doubt. It's contagious. King Jin said, don't talk nonsense, my side Fujin are all well-behaved women, how could they have such a bad disease. The British doctor said, apart from his concubine, has the prince ever liked other women in the mansion. These words reminded King Chun. He thought of a new maid beside him. A month ago, King Qing graciously invited King Chun to his palace as a guest. Xi Wen, a very charming and alluring woman, seduced King Chun so intently King Qing smiled and said, the prince likes her, so take her back to the mansion! King Chun happily accepted this gift, and took it back to the mansion that night. For a month, this girl slept with him every night and served him The heart was full of joy. Could it be that she brought the disease? King Chun called this maid for an examination by a British doctor, and it turned out that something was wrong with her. King Chun was so angry that he beat this maid and told her to do it honestly. The maid then confessed that she was originally a prostitute in Bada Hutong, and she was sent to Prince Jin’s residence the day after she was bought by Prince Qing’s residence. King Jin was shocked when he heard this, and thought to himself: Why did Prince Qing harm me like this? Only after buying off a little eunuch who was often with the Empress Dowager did Cixi ask King Qing to do this. So King Chun knew that he was bound to die, and never asked foreign doctors to see him again." "Nonsense!" Zhang Zhidong said angrily, "This must have been fabricated by a low-ranking foreign ruffian! Even if there was such a thing in Prince Chun's mansion, how would he know about it? Besides, why did the Empress Dowager want to harm King Chun like this? He's an honest man, and he doesn't get in her way." Gu Hongming still said with a smile: "You can't believe it completely, and you have to believe it. "The Times" is a serious big newspaper, no more than those boring tabloids. Mu is a famous doctor, so he won't talk nonsense. Xiang Shuai, you don't need to say that King Chun is all about the Empress Dowager's business, do you still remember Wu Daji's petition to add honor to King Chun?" This is what happened not long ago, how can I not remember! Wu Dacheng, a former Qingliu celebrity and current governor of Donghe River, gave a memorial to the court.The memorandum said that the dynasty ruled the world with filial piety, and ordinary people even enshrined their parents with their own codes, let alone the parents of the emperor, there should be more respectful ceremonies.On the eve of returning to power, the Empress Dowager is requested to order the title ceremony of the court ministers meeting to satisfy the expectations of the emperor and the people.The Memorial also mentions the two most famous allusions in history, Puyi in the Song Dynasty and Daliyi in the Ming Dynasty.And based on Qianlong's instructions, it affirmed the great etiquette of the Ming Dynasty, that is, it was right for Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty to respect his father as Emperor Xingxian and the temple name Ruizong.Wu Dalian's meaning is very clear, please make King Chun the Supreme Emperor.A few days later, an imperial decree came down, saying that as early as the first month of the first year of Guangxu, King Chun had a memorial to the queen dowagers of the two palaces, and would never accept honors. Little man, Li Jia reprimanded him.It also attaches this memorial written by King Chun back then. This incident caused great shock inside and outside the court.Some people say that Wu Dacheng has always regarded himself as a clean stream, and often gives away the self-written motto of "living in groups and keeping your mouth shut, sitting alone and guarding your heart". It seems that he is a typical hypocrite, a treacherous villain who is good at flattering.Unexpectedly, the flattery didn't hit the point this time, which annoyed the Queen Mother. But more people think that the so-called memorials of the first year of Guangxu of King Chun are likely to be temporarily forged. One is why they have never heard of such memorials before, and the other is that this memorial is aimed at Wu Zuo. Come on, even the examples of the previous generation mentioned are Pu Yi and Da Li Yi. Did King Chun know that Wu Daji would make such an argument fifteen years ago?Soon there was news from the inner palace that the queen mother was very annoyed by this, and suspected that King Chun wanted to replace her, the queen mother who had returned to the government, with the status of the emperor.Wu Daji moved up according to the will of King Chun.The rift between the queen mother and the king cast a shadow over the political situation of the court. Could it be that the Queen Mother wants to get rid of King Chun because of this?But it is too humble to use this method.Will the Queen Mother do this? At this moment, Yang Rui came in and reported: "Sheng Xuanhuai has arrived at the pier, waiting to be interviewed." Zhang Zhidong said: "Tell him to board the boat." Then he turned to Gu Hongming who was leaving and said: "This piece of gossip in the foreign newspaper must never be told to anyone again." Sheng and Zheng boarded the boat.Yang Rui went in and reported: "Xiang Shuai, Sheng Xuanhuai and Zheng Guanying are waiting outside the cabin for an interview." "Tao Zhai is here too!" Zhang Zhidong put down the "Jingzhou Fuzhi" in his hand, "Call them in!" Zheng Guanying took the first half step, and Sheng Xuanhuai followed closely behind, the two of them wanted to salute.Zhang Zhidong said, "It's all free." He pointed to the sofa opposite. Zheng Guanying said: "Your Excellency is honored to transfer to Huguang, and Xingsun came here from Tianjin to congratulate you. I haven't seen Your Excellency for two years, so I come to pay my respects under his honor." Sheng Xuanhuai hurriedly said: "I have admired your lord's reputation for a long time, and I have longed to pay homage to you for many years. It is a great honor to be rewarded by your lord today!" "Oh, you are Sheng Xingsun. I've heard your name for a long time. Sit down so we can talk." While Sheng Xuanhuai was seated, Zhang Zhidong took a serious look at him.I saw that Sheng Xuanhuai was in his forties. Not only was he short and thin, but he also had a small head and face, slender eyes, and a pointed chin. His whole body looked like an ape.Although Zhang Zhidong was ugly and short, he didn't like Sheng Xuanhuai's appearance, he thought to himself: No wonder many people say that he is a profit-seeking villain, looking at this appearance, he really doesn't look like a grown-up gentleman.First of all, I was a little bit displeased, and then I thought about it: Zhang Shu claimed that even ten servants could not compare to him, so he must have some real skills. Isn't it because of this that I decided to meet him?Thinking of this, Zhang Zhidong put on a smiling face and said to Sheng Xuanhuai: "Shuai Zhang Xuan praised you greatly, saying that you are a genius in foreign affairs. I, Zhang, can be seen by others, but how can they not see you?" Sheng Xuanhuai was a little flattered and said: "Xuan Shuai is serious. Back then he asked me to go to Guangdong and Guangxi to help him set up electric wires. I couldn't go, and I always felt sorry. I didn't expect him to pass away soon. I was sad for a long time. a period of time." Zheng Guanying interjected: "Xuan Shuai was mad at the French. Xiang Shuai defeated the French and avenged Xuan Shuai." "Yes, yes." Sheng Xuanhuai said hastily, "Since the war with foreigners, no one has ever defeated a foreigner. Xiang Shuai not only avenged Xuan Shuai, but also brought great prestige to our Qing Dynasty." The words of Zheng Guanying and Sheng Xuanhuai made Zhang Zhidong very happy.In the past two years, what Zhang Zhidong likes to hear the most is compliments on his defeat of foreigners. "Wen Lan doesn't take it back to Xifu, but he was the same as Wei Moshen when he was in the military strategy." When he was young, he promised himself that he was both civil and military.The article has indeed been recognized by the world. For many years, he has been hoping that the military strategy will also be recognized by the world.Now that there is a great victory outside the Zhennan Pass, who dares to ignore this military strategy?Zhang Zhidong, who was in his early fifties, even though he didn't say anything, he already believed in his heart that he was the number one minister in the world! "Sheng Dao, you came all the way from Tianjin to Shanghai to see me, what's the big deal?" "Zhi Dao came to Shanghai, firstly because he wanted to meet your lord, and secondly, because he heard that your lord was going to transport the iron factory machinery he purchased from Guangdong to Wuhan, and build an iron smelting plant in Hubei. Because of this matter, you should report to your lord In some cases, maybe it will be of some use to adults?" "How did you know that the ironworks' machines were going to Hubei?" Zhang Zhidong stared at Sheng Xuanhuai's eyes the size of mung beans. It turned out that Li Hongzhang, who was still recognized as the first minister by the ruling and opposition parties, had always held prejudices against Zhang Zhidong. Even if Zhang Zhidong won the Vietnam War, Li Hongzhang believed that he was just a fluke and did not change his opinion of Zhang Zhidong.Li Hongzhang knew that there was no coal and iron in Guangdong, so he sneered at Zhang Zhidong's idea of ​​building an iron factory in Guangdong.When he learned that Li Hanzhang was going to be transferred from Caodu to Guangdong, he told his brother that Zhang Zhidong was a man of great success, and everything he did in Guangdong had to be carefully reviewed, and those that were out of season had to be resolutely shut down. He moved to Hubei. Although Li Hanzhang is the eldest of the Li family, he is always used to listening to the second son, so he sent an urgent letter to Zhang Zhidong before he arrived.On the eve of leaving Sui, Zhang Zhidong received a letter from Li Hanzhang.He was regretting that the iron factory could not be brought to Hubei, and this proposal was in line with his wishes, so he hurriedly wrote back to Li Hanzhang expressing his agreement.Only he and Li Hanzhang knew about this matter, how did Sheng Xuanhuai find out so quickly? "A few days ago, Zhidao visited Li Juexiang in the Beiyang yamen, and Jue said to Zhidao." Oh, Zhang Zhidong suddenly understood, wasn't Sheng Xuanhuai the one who was single-handedly promoted by Li Hongzhang?How could you ignore this layer!Because he was dissatisfied with Li Hongzhang, Zhang Zhidong felt disgusted with this unremarkable servant of the Li family in front of him. "Xiaoquan thinks the iron factory is a trouble. I, Zhang, did this, and I, Zhang, can only clean up the mess. So what if I don't bring it to Hubei?" Shrewd and shrewd Sheng Xuanhuai already sensed Zhang Zhidong's indifference from these words. He dared not say "it's not suitable for an iron factory to operate in Guangdong" for fear of offending the commander-in-chief's prestige. "Xiang Shuai, it is an extremely wise decision to bring the iron factory to Hubei. In my opinion, it is ten or twenty times better to set up an iron factory in Hubei than in Guangdong." "Why?" Zhang Zhidong looked suspiciously at the supervisor of the Telegraph Bureau and Shipping Bureau. "The raw materials of the iron factory are iron ore and coal. Hubei has the most reserves of these two things." "Oh! Do you have solid evidence?" Zhang Zhidong's interest obviously improved. "Xiang Shuai," Zheng Guanying interjected, "Xingsun has been doing mining business in Hubei for several years." Zhang Zhidong's eyes lit up with joy, he looked at Sheng Xuanhuai and said, "No wonder you know well about the mines in Hubei. Are you running an iron mine or a coal mine?" "Coal mine." Sheng Xuanhuai replied. "Tell me in detail." Zhang Zhidong crossed his legs and leaned against the back of the sofa cushion. "My father has been an official in Hubei for many years, first working in Hu Wenzhong's shogunate." "What's your father's name?" Zhang Zhidong interrupted Sheng Xuanhuai. "My father's name is Sheng Kang." Sheng Kang, Zhang Zhidong tried his best to recall the short period he spent in Hu Linyi's governor's yamen. Sheng Kang was neither seen nor heard by Hu Linyi, and he was probably an aide with a low status. Sheng Xuanhuai looked forward to Zhang Zhidong's enthusiastic answer "Oh, I know", or "Oh, I've heard of it".But Zhang Zhidong didn't say anything. After waiting for a while, Sheng Xuanhuai continued: "Later, he became the Yanfa Taoist in Hubei. In the sixth year of Tongzhi, Zhidao lived in the Yandao Yamen in Wuchang for a period of time, in the house signed by my father. I have seen Guangji County's official document prohibiting the excavation of Wuxue Coal Mountain. This matter has always been in the heart of the profession." "How old were you then?" "Twenty-four years old." Zhang Zhidong thought to himself: Ordinary officials' children at this age are either studying in the study or spending time in restaurants and brothels. Few people care about the livelihood of the people. Sheng Xuanhuai is indeed different from ordinary people. "You were young then, how could you pay attention to such things?" "Xiang Shuai didn't know that Zhidao was only a scholar in his twenties, and he failed several times in the provincial examinations. Maybe it's because of his innate dullness, but in all fairness, since he was young, Zhidao was not happy to start a career. He has always been very interested in economic matters. Interested." Hearing the affirmative tone in Zhang Zhidong's words, Sheng Xuanhuai's mood was much better than before. Zheng Guanying said: "Xingsun has told me many times that we must do things that are of real benefit to the country. Today, the things that are of great benefit to the country are doing business and foreign affairs." Zhang Zhidong nodded and looked at Sheng Xuanhuai with a smile. Encouraged, Sheng Xuanhuai began to talk endlessly: "When I was working in the China Merchants Steamship Shipping Co., Ltd., I was deeply concerned about the high cost of foreign coal. I thought, we have plenty of coal in China, why should we buy foreigners? What about it? Someone told me that the quality of coal in China is not good, and it is scarce and not enough, so I have to buy foreign coal. I asked, can we not find good coal in China as big as it is? The staff member said that good coal is deep in the ground It cannot be excavated by Chinese local methods. If we buy foreign machines and use foreign methods to mine, we can get good coal and produce it in large quantities, and both problems will be solved.” Zheng Guanying interjected: "More than ten years ago, there were only two places in China that used foreign methods to mine coal. One was Kaiping in Zhili, and the other was Keelung in Taiwan. Both were run by the British." "After hearing these words, I thought to myself: If I set up a foreign-style coal mine in Hubei, not only will my shipping company no longer buy coal from foreigners, but it can also be sold to other ships, and even For a foreign ship in China. So I asked someone to do a survey first, and finally settled on the Guangji area. In order to determine the exact location, I specially hired a foreign miner, a British man named Ma Lishi." Zhang Zhidong looked at Sheng Xuanhuai with half-closed eyes, and asked, "How is this British miner capable?" "This foreigner has a false name." Sheng Xuanhuai smiled wryly, "He has been making trouble for three months, but he still hasn't found a good coal seam. Tell me, give him another three months, and he will definitely find it. I think he spent 30,000 yuan, a little No results have been seen, I don’t know if he is not capable or has no ability at all, it is purely a scam, I did not agree to let him walk.” Zhang Zhidong nodded and said, "When dealing with foreigners, you need to be more careful. I have accumulated this experience in Guangdong and Guangxi in the past few years. Many foreigners can speak foreign dialects just because of their red hair and green eyes. , so they flaunt their power in front of us Chinese, thinking they are great, but in fact most of them have no ability. Some of them can't get along in their own country and come to China to fish in troubled waters, and some are probably hooligans, ruffians, thieves, Beggars. In this country, they only play the role of grandsons, but when they come to us, they want to be uncles!" After hearing these words, Zheng Guanying laughed.Sheng Xuanhuai thought: Don't look at Zhang Xiangtao who is going to do foreign affairs now, he is still the same in the past; it is too mean to ridicule foreigners who come to China like this.But he said in his mouth: "Xiang Shuai is right. When dealing with foreigners, you need to be more cautious. Later, I became more cautious. I know that Hurd is trustworthy, and I also know that a miner recommended by him works in the Keelung Coal Mine in Taiwan. He was well-organized in handling mining affairs, so he asked Hurd to recommend him. Soon, Hurd recommended Guo Sidun, a British miner. Guo Sidun is capable and willing to do it. After half a year of on-the-spot investigation, he identified Xingguo, Guangji, Guizhou, Xingshan There is no good coal in other places, but the good coal in Hubei is in the Wozigou and Sanligang area of ​​Guanyin Temple between Jingmen and Dangyang, where the coal seam is more than two feet thick and the reserves are two million tons." "Two million tons, what is a ton?" Zhang Zhidong interrupted Sheng Xuanhuai. "Ton is what foreigners call it." Zheng Guanying explained: "One ton is two thousand catties, ten thousand tons is twenty million catties, and two million tons is four hundred million catties, or four billion catties." "And the quality of the coal is good, comparable to white coal in the United States. The iron ore is also very good, with a reserve of about 5 million tons; the iron content is also very high, with 12% iron in 10,000 jin of iron ore. Jin, you can smelt high-quality iron." "Daye should have good iron." Zhang Zhidong touched the bushy half-foot-long beard under his chin and said, "Several books, such as "Taiping Huanyu Ji" and "Fangyu Minutes" have recorded that there is iron near Daye. Since Sun Quan, king of Wu in the Three Kingdoms, set up furnaces for iron smelting here, and people continued to mine and smelt iron until the Ming Dynasty. Yue Fei forged a batch of extremely sharp swords here, known as Daye Sword. Daye The sword was the precious sword at that time. I think someone must have done this kind of thing before Sun Quan. Where did the name Daye come from? Of course it is because there was a large-scale iron smelting here!" The two westernizers who focused on industry and did not study much admired the governor's erudition and strong will. "The platform is right. Daye and Daye must be related to smelting. I haven't thought about it like this before." Sheng Xuanhuai nodded and said, "After the Jingdang coal mine and the Daye iron mine were found, I decided to mine. But problems arose.” "Not enough money?" Zhang Zhidong asked.Since he became the governor, he has deeply understood that the first thing he faces when doing any practical thing is the word money, and raising money is really extremely difficult. "That's right." Sheng Xuanhuai said, "Zheng Dao and Guo Miner had a preliminary discussion. Mining coal and iron mines requires 200,000 taels of silver to purchase machinery, and a railway needs to be built from the coal mine to the Yangtze River, requiring 300,000 silver. Two, the sum of the two items is 500,000 taels. At that time, the silver received by the profession was less than 200,000 taels, and 100,000 taels had been spent in the preliminary investigation. After reporting to Li Jue for approval, the method of recruiting business shares was adopted Come raise money." It is not new in Guangdong to use the method of issuing shares to gather money in the hands of merchants to handle affairs, but Zhang Zhidong believes that the government cannot do this.The purpose of government affairs is to benefit the people, and the purpose of business affairs is to make profits.If the government is entangled with the merchants, it will turn benefit into profit, and the government will lose its status in the eyes of the people.Since ancient times, the government has done government affairs, and merchants have done business affairs. There has never been a combination of government and business.Collusion between officials and businessmen, what kind of system is this? "It was originally planned to issue 1,000 shares and 100 taels of silver per share. In the end, only 500 shares were issued and 50,000 taels of silver was issued. The machine could not be bought, so we had to use local methods to mine coal." Zhang Zhidong said: "A businessman wants to make money. If he doesn't see a 70% to 80% possibility of making money, he won't take out his money. If he loses money, what will he do with his money? The government uses this method inappropriate." Hearing what Zhang Zhidong said, Sheng Xuanhuai was taken aback for a moment. After a short pause, he bit the bullet and continued: "Because of the lack of funds and some management problems, the coal mine suffered a lot of losses. In less than a year, the mine The bureau was closed." Zhang Zhidong thought: Zhang Shusheng raised Sheng Xuanhuai so high, it seems that it is nothing more than that.But what is his purpose in meeting me this time?Didn’t you come to Shanghai from Tianjin just to report to me about the closure of the Mining Bureau? "Sheng Dao, since the Bureau of Mines has been closed for several years, is anyone still mining coal there?" "The local people are still digging coal with earthen methods. Because there are no machines, good coal from the bottom cannot be mined, and there is no government supervision, so there is no rules and regulations. The common people cared about their own small profits and severely damaged the mining area. It will bring a lot of trouble to future mining. I know it is a pity after the incident." Sheng Xuanhuai looked at Zhang Zhidong eagerly and said, "Xiang Shuai, the reason why Zhidao came to disturb you this time is because of this Hubei I would like to ask Xiangshuai to issue an order immediately after arriving in Hubei, just like the prohibition of the governor’s office in Hubei, strictly prohibiting the people in Jingmen and Dangyang from digging coal mines without authorization. Xiangshuai, this suggestion is purely For the sake of the country and Hubei. It is said that such a good coal area is now in disrepair, and if we dig a few more years, it will be completely destroyed." From Sheng Xuanhuai's expression, Zhang Zhidong saw a kind of sincerity from the heart.This kind of sincerity comes from a person's heart of cherishing what he loves.It's like an antique lover who sees a rare antique being destroyed, even though the antique is not his, he feels very sorry.Another example is a school teacher who sees a bright child who cannot go to school, and feels very painful, which has nothing to do with the relationship between the child and him.Zhang Zhidong is a lover of antiques, and he has also been a student of politics for many years. He often has this kind of feeling, so he can understand Sheng Xuanhuai's emotion very well.He believed that Sheng's words were not artificial. "Don't worry, I can do this when I go to Wuchang, and I will restore the Mining Bureau soon. To build an iron factory, you must first have iron and coal, and the restoration of the Mining Bureau must first be done." step." "Xiang Shuai does what he says, he is really resolute." Sheng Xuanhuai became happy. "Mineer Guo is a very good person. He has already returned to England. If Xiangshuai needs it, I can write to invite him to come to China again." "Okay." Zhang Zhidong said bluntly, "I believe in your vision. After I arrive in Wuchang, I will discuss with Fu Fanjian in Hubei, and then I will ask you for help." "Professional principles should serve." Sheng Xuanhuai said, "Xiang Shuai said just now that it is wise to restore the Mining Bureau immediately. Although there was not enough money to buy enough machines back then, we still bought some components, such as generators, blowers, and rubbers. Cars, etc., were piled up in the warehouse and locked up. Once the Bureau of Mining Affairs is in operation, all these will be given to the Bureau of Mining Affairs without receiving a penny.” "Then thank you in advance." Zhang Zhidong said with a smile, thinking to himself: This human machine bureau is not small, no wonder the telegraph bureau and steamship company have been doing well in recent years, and businesses that really make a difference can't do it. Everything is preoccupied. The real purpose of Sheng Xuanhuai's trip was to persuade Zhang Zhidong to hand over the mining industry in Hubei to him, so that he could attract investment and raise funds, and resume his old business.Sheng Xuanhuai believes that if this is the case, he is fully sure that the mining industry in Hubei will be prosperous.This is because first, five years later, he has accumulated more experience and more money, and he has become stronger in all aspects.Secondly, compared to five years ago, the trend of buying shares is more prevalent in China, and there are also businessmen who have made a lot of money, so there will be far more people who come to subscribe for shares than before.The more important point is that Zhang Zhidong set up an iron factory in Hubei, and the coal and iron ore had regular buyers, and the business of the Mining Bureau was not losing money.Such a good opportunity to make a fortune is really rare, how could he not seize it? Just now, Zhang Zhidong clearly disagreed with the method of China Merchants to raise shares. Should this matter be mentioned?Although Sheng Xuanhuai is a well-behaved person who is the most adept at perceiving words and deeds, he is also a persistent person who desperately pursues success. The method of collecting business shares was originally learned from foreigners, and it is rare for Chinese government officials to accept it. Strange, the point is that they don't yet understand its benefits.Zhang Zhidong is a sensible person, if you explain it clearly to him, he should support it.Thinking of this, Sheng Xuanhuai boldly said: "Professionalism is incompetent. I have been doing mining business in Hubei for three or four years without success, but I have accumulated a few experiences after the last setback, which can be regarded as a setback. It can be used as a lesson for others!" Zhang Zhidong was very interested in this sentence: "What experience do you have, tell me to the governor." Sheng Xuanhuai said: "The first experience is to choose the mine carefully. Because Ma Li did not choose the right one, he not only got nothing, but also caused me to delay for three months and lost 20,000 to 30,000 taels of silver. Guo Miner found out The treasure buried three to four hundred feet underground, such a talented miner, might as well pay ten times or eight times the salary, because the wealth he created for us should be counted as one hundred thousand times and one million times." Zhang Zhidong nodded without making a sound.Sheng Xuanhuai continued: "The second is to carefully select the mining area. The best mining area has large reserves and high quality, and the convenience of transportation must be considered; if transportation is inconvenient, it must be specially designed for road construction and bridge construction, which will cost a lot of money." Zhang Zhidong still didn't make a sound, but it could be seen that he was listening carefully. "Finally, I would like to report to Xiangshuai in detail. The Bureau of Mines should take the form of a government-supervised business office." "Government-supervised business office?" This name obviously made Zhang Zhidong feel unfamiliar.He lowered his crossed legs and unconsciously leaned forward to ask. "That's right, Xiangshuai." Sheng Xuanhuai explained, "Official supervision means that the government supervises. The Mining Bureau's major plans and decisions must be reported to the government and decided by the government. Commercial management means that the merchants will handle it. Because mining It is a matter of huge investment, and the way of raising shares can raise large sums of money relatively quickly." "Sheng Dao," Zhang Zhidong interrupted him, "Didn't you try to collect shares before and it didn't work? Why didn't you learn from the lesson and use this method again?" "Xiangshuai," Sheng Xuanhuai said patiently, "When I talked about stock raising just now, I haven't had time to explain its other big advantage, that is, besides raising funds, stock raising has more important advantages. It is to closely link the losses of the mining industry with the interests of the mine operators. The usual practice of foreigners is that everyone who buys shares is a shareholder, and a group of large shareholders will form a board of directors, and the board of directors will select capable people to operate. If you make more money, the shareholders will get more dividends, and if you lose money, everyone will suffer. In this way, they can only make money but not lose money. If it is done by the government, the money will be paid by the treasury, and the profit and loss have nothing to do with the manager , they won’t handle it well.” "Sheng Dao, what you said is wrong." Zhang Zhidong reprimanded, "The people appointed by the government to run the Mining Bureau must of course choose people with good character and integrity. The money in the treasury is the hard-earned money of ordinary people First, he can’t get rich from corruption, and second, he should know how to do things well. How can he say that he has nothing to do with profits or losses? Throughout the year, there are many things that the government has to do, and they are all done by people appointed by the yamen at all levels. You said that everything has to be elected by the board of directors, otherwise it will not be able to handle it? So, what do you need the government to do?" Zhang Zhidong's aggressive tone made the Westernization School, who had a heavy responsibility as an official Taoist, unbearable, but for the sake of the lofty goal, Sheng Xuanhuai suppressed the displeasure in his heart, and tried his best to make a smile to explain: "Xiang Shuai, this foreign affairs business is different from the government's errands in the past. The government's errands are not related to making money, and they don't take risks, but this is different..." "What's the difference?" Zhang Zhidong immediately interrupted Sheng Xuanhuai's words, "Aren't the Dental Bureau and Lika all related to making money? Aren't they all run by the government, what kind of board of directors do you want?" Sheng Xuanhuai was at a loss for words with these few words.Zhang Zhidong didn't want to pay any more attention to him, seeing that he was a visitor from afar after all, and what he was talking about was all important matters related to Hubei's national economy and people's livelihood, so he said a few more words: "Sheng Dao, have you ever thought that the coal and iron ore buried in the ground are the wealth of the country, how can businessmen use the property of the country for their own personal gain? Mining coal and iron making, such a big event, Of course, it can only be done by the government. Take it from the country and use it for the country. You must not let those greedy businessmen get involved. They want to use the wealth of the country to make their own fortune. It may be feasible in the hands of others. In the hands of someone like me, Zhang, it can’t be done.” After hearing this, Sheng Xuanhuai was full of grievances.He really wanted to make it clear to the governor who wanted to do Westernization but didn't know how to do it: Coal and mines are the property of the country, yes, but if they are buried in the ground, they are not wealth unless they are dug out and used.It is true that a businessman wants to make profits, but he also brings benefits to the country while making profits. This kind of profit-seeking should be supported by the government.集股就是把分散的闲置在民间的银钱融聚起来办事，这是一种很好的办法，尤其是国家银钱紧缺时，更要多采取这种形式来办大事。但是，他听说张之洞固执刚愎，这两年更以英雄自居，听不进别人的话，又眼见这种毫无商量余地的神态，知道再多说也无益，于是向郑观应使了个眼色。郑观应明白，说：“大人百忙之际能抽空接见，杏荪兄和我都感激不已，不敢再多打扰，就此告辞了。” 说着起身，张之洞也起身说：“盛道刚才说的这些，对湖北今后的矿务和创办铁厂都很有益处，本督理应感谢。到时，或许还会请二位专程到湖北来实地指导。” 盛宣怀忙说：“指导不敢当。香帅今后若有用得着的地方，职道当尽力效劳。” 张之洞站着不动，对着窗外喊了一声：“叔峤，代我送客人下船。” 目送盛宣怀、郑观应走出舱门后，张之洞背着手在船舱里踱步，脑子里总在想着：湖北的采矿冶炼之事，今后应当如何去办呢？