The Empire will continue to win

Chapter 91: Patriotism and a 30% Profit – It's such a difficult choice!

Mitsui conglomerate?

The air inside the room instantly turned several degrees colder, as if a cold front from Hokkaido had blown into Nanjing.

The teacher and student exchanged a knowing glance.

Zhao Liewen blurted out, "Teacher, we can't see him."

Zeng Guofan looked at his disciple and smiled bitterly: "Are you afraid that your teacher is getting senile?"

"This disciple dares not."

"No! From today onwards, no one from Dongsang is allowed to set foot in my governor's office. If there are any more visitors, don't bother asking me, just refuse them."

"You may all leave."

"yes.

""

The housekeeper and maids left one after another, leaving only the teacher and student inside.

The fireplace was ablaze with flames.

-

Zhao Liewen tried to step forward to help him, but Zeng Guofan waved his hand.

"Teacher, if you were 20 years younger, you might have been able to follow Chiang Kai-shek's example and overthrow the imperial system."

"Heh, absolutely impossible."

Why?

"The common people need an emperor."

"Are you implying that the people are uneducated?"

"Yes, the people yearn for a wise ruler."

"I've always had a question: You've served as the Governor of Jiangsu for almost 20 years and were a pillar of the Southeast Mutual Protection Pact. Have you ever considered leading troops north to vie for the throne?"

"Never before, I know very well that striving for supremacy is a pipe dream."

"Although Jiangsu is small, its industry and agriculture are among the best in the country. It borders the sea to the east and is connected to the Yangtze River, making it easily accessible in all directions. Its annual tax revenue is equivalent to the total tax revenue of the eight northern provinces. It has such a valuable land. Why do you say that striving for supremacy is a pipe dream?"

"I remember your hometown is Changzhou Prefecture?"

"Yes, later the whole family moved to Mudu in Suzhou Prefecture."

"Since you are from this province, you should know that the gentry of Jiangsu are not a monolithic entity. There are constant infighting and factional struggles within the province. That is why they elected me, an outsider, to be the governor of Jiangsu."

"Yes."

Zhao Liewen's face instantly darkened; Su Ren was notorious for his loose-fitting clothes.

"What a pity."

"No, no, in fact, it's not just Jiangsu that's divided; the whole country is divided."

"Will the teacher teach me?"

Teachers and students opened their hearts to each other around the fire, the firewood crackling and popping.

"The world may seem like a whole, but it is not monolithic."

First, there are regional differences. For example, Jiangsu and Hubei are not closely related, as are Jiangsu and Zhejiang and Guangdong. Not to mention the differences between the North and South.

Secondly, there are differences in people's perspectives. The ideas of the gentry and the common people differ greatly, and the differences are even greater between the gentry in the south and the gentry in the north. Although they are all human, they are not actually the same species.

-

Looking out the window, Zeng Guofan seemed to have many feelings, and continued, "Why is this? Because in the past hundred years, sweeping Confucian reforms and industrial development have injected too many new things into our country."

"To give you an analogy, imagine a country as a huge iron plate. If the carbon content is uneven, the heating is uneven, and the forces applied are uneven, what do you think will happen?"

"crack."

"That's right. Besides the surface cracks, there are also cracks hidden beneath the surface that are invisible to the naked eye. And the emperor is like a skilled metallurgical engineer, needing to erase these cracks."

"Does the teacher feel they can't do it?"

"Absolutely not. That's why I dare not start a war with the central government. If a war breaks out, the country will fall apart, with various factions vying for power. In the future, my reputation will probably be even worse than that of Ma Ni."

A bizarre thought suddenly occurred to Zhao Liewen. It seemed the teacher wasn't as old as he appeared; he was quite perceptive.

Zeng Guofan coughed lightly twice.

"To give another analogy, the empire is like a cow. If a cow eats too much new stuff all at once, it will need a lot of time to digest and ruminate. Newton was a smart man, and during his tenure, the empire successfully digested a lot of things."

"So, what is the teacher's assessment of the current royal family?"

"Absolutely incredible luck."

"How do you explain that?"

"Everyone wanted to be emperor, but no one dared to be the first to step forward. As a result, the foolish Ma Ni jumped out and became the stepping stone for Emperor Longwu."

"And what about their governing ability?"

"Emperor Longwu was adept at winning people's hearts, Emperor Xianning ruled by doing nothing, and Emperor Xuanwu is still hard to say. However, I predict that if any emperor in the Forbidden City attempts to centralize power, he will be the second Louis XVI."

"Whoever emulates the Ming and Qing emperors in centralizing power will detonate a landmine, and the empire will be overturned like the Frankish Empire."

Teacher, is that what you mean?

"right!"

"Are the officials in the court aware of this?"

"There are certainly wise people in the central government, but we can't withstand a barbarian knocking on the gates, disrupting the rhythm. The Ming dynasty's central government perished due to finance, the Qing dynasty's due to politics, and so will ours..."

As he spoke, Zeng Guofan suddenly laughed, a laugh that was old and terrifying.

"Teacher, will we perish in this world?" Zhao Liewen felt a chill run down his spine.

"That's impossible. No matter how chaotic things get, it's impossible for foreign barbarians to rule the Central Plains. No matter who is the emperor or the chief minister, they are all Han Chinese, and the flesh is rotten in the pot." Zeng Guofan said with certainty.

His words actually represented the vast majority of Confucian scholars in the United Empire.

Compared to the humiliating late Qing Dynasty in that parallel universe, this was an era of unprecedented confidence. The empire had never failed; it had always been winning and had become accustomed to winning.

The Celestial Empire, a superior nation, stands proudly above the world.

Everyone's spine is straight, their knees are stiff, and their eyes are arrogant.

Traitor?

Even a dog wouldn't do that.

To use an imperfect analogy, the current situation is like the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. No matter how chaotic the situation is, it is only Han Chinese warlords fighting each other. Foreign barbarians have no right to compete for the Central Plains.

But ~

Those familiar with history know that after the Three Kingdoms and Wei-Jin periods, northern nomadic peoples began to migrate south on a large scale.

The waxing and waning of one thing to the other is an immutable law.

A civil war cannot last long; if it does, it will inevitably lead to an unprecedentedly brutal external war.

"I have had many students in my life, but the most outstanding ones are Li Shaoquan and you."

Li Shaoquan is shrewd and composed, skilled in both literature and martial arts. The Li family is a prominent and influential clan in Luzhou, with a large and well-established family that commands respect. His future achievements will surely surpass mine.

Although you are intelligent, insightful, perceptive, and innovative, your political foundation is too weak. Although you come from an official family, your family is not large and you lack support.

"I'll find you a good marriage, a political alliance, to solidify your position. What do you say?"

"Thank you, Teacher Xie."

The four cardinal virtues are Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher; a teacher is essentially like a father. Moreover, since it was for the purpose of expanding his political influence, Zhao Liewen had no reason to refuse, and thus bowed deeply.

~

"If one day I die and you succeed me as Governor of Jiangsu, what will you do?"

-

The main event is about to begin.

After a moment's thought, Zhao Liewen replied: "Centralization of power, strengthening of the military, and alliances and counter-alliances."

"Oh?"

"If we compare the entire South to Europe, then Jiangsu is the closest to the Frankish Empire. Although it is located in a strategically important area, it is economically prosperous, culturally strong, and has convenient transportation."

We have railways, shipping, food self-sufficiency, and a complete range of light and heavy industries.

Jiangsu's biggest advantage is that it has money!

In the industrial age, money is the greatest productive force. I believe that the province's population is fully capable of building an elite army comparable to that of Napoleon's era.

Zeng Guofan suddenly asked, "Where are they?"

Zhao Liewen laughed and said, "People are not the problem."

Jiangsu has been a land of great cultural and intellectual activity since ancient times, with a wealth of civil officials and technical personnel.

The only thing to consider is the soldiers!

But manpower is not a problem. We can recruit fishermen along the river into the navy and recruit able-bodied men from Xuzhou to train the army. We can also invest heavily in purchasing foreign warships and hiring a large number of foreign officers.

If we could come up with 100 million yuan, we could quickly build an army and navy with no fewer than 200,000 personnel and far superior equipment, and then send them to the battlefield in rotation to hone their skills for one or two years.

The minds are our own, the flesh and bones are our own, but the nerve conduction is done by foreigners.

This province is a battleground on all sides, so diplomacy requires exceptional flexibility.

Pull one in and then attack the next; keep one in check and then deceive the next.

As long as the enemy doesn't attack from all four sides at once, we can defeat them one by one.

The most crucial element in achieving all of the above is centralization of power.

Businessmen are short-sighted; they always focus on petty profits and their own small piece of land.

Therefore, the provincial governor's office needed to constantly suppress industry associations, allowing the major shareholders to enjoy company dividends from home, but preventing them from interfering in the day-to-day operations of the companies.

After a long time~

-

"I believe that your future achievements will be no less than those of your senior brother."

"Teacher, you flatter me."

"No, do you know why Li Shaoquan, my eldest disciple whom I personally trained, broke off relations with me?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "Because he doesn't have a good opinion of the South from the bottom of his heart. He believes that if the North and South go to war, the South will definitely lose."

"It's not surprising that you have such thoughts, senior brother. After all, in history, only Zhu Yuanzhang fought from south to north and eventually unified the country."

Zeng Guofan shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"The era of fine horses and curved swords is long gone; now it's the era of warships and cannons. Warfare is about industrial strength, logistical capabilities, and political structures. How could someone as clever as him not see that?"

Zhao Liewen remained silent, guessing that Li Shaoquan was worried about being dragged down by her teammates.

Although the North was poor, the thoughts of all social classes were relatively unified; at least on the surface, most people were royalists.

Although the South is wealthy, there are huge ideological divisions in society. Even within liberalism, there are at least three camps that look down on each other, resulting in astonishing internal strife.

Hey ~

Wait and see.

Undeterred by being turned away at the Jiangsu governor's office, Mitsui Hisashi turned around and went to visit his business partners.

Here, we must introduce the Mitsui family, one of the four most famous zaibatsu in Japan. Their earliest founding period can be traced back to the Mitsukoshi Department Store during the Chongzhen era, which is well-known to those who frequent Ginza.

One of their family mottoes is: "We should go to Shimazaki or foreign countries to do business."

Internationalization is ingrained in the family's bloodline.

After the start of the Bunji Restoration, the government deliberately cultivated the company and sold off many mines and factories to the Mitsui Group at extremely low prices, which quickly propelled it into the ranks of super conglomerates.

Coal mining, textiles, and banking are its most important pillar industries.

Mitsui Hisashi's sudden visit to China to lobby was because the United Empire had just issued a comprehensive blockade policy, and the first to be severely affected was the raw silk industry of Dongsang.

Raw silk is the mainstay export industry of Dongsang, and is known as a meritorious industry.

The Mitsui Group also holds a 50% share of the domestic raw silk industry.

We're having trouble selling our raw silk; please help us!

They wanted to wage war while also engaging in trade. This reveals a glimpse of their split personality.

The Qinhuai River.

Separated by a river, they are two different worlds.

To the east is the Jiangnan Examination Hall, where thousands of scholars buried themselves in their studies.

The west side is lined with brothels, a place of extravagance and debauchery, where people revel every night.

According to records by impoverished scholars of the Ming Dynasty:

I traveled in a small boat from west to east. The courtesans were by the window, washing and dressing, arranging their makeup in front of the mirror, chatting over tea, or leaning against the window watching the boat. Some were smiling while picking flowers, while others were glancing sideways with flirtatious eyes. Some were smoking water pipes, some were playing the pipa, some were showing their whole bodies, and some were showing only half of their bodies.

at this time.

The view of the riverside from Mitsui Hisashi's perspective from the painted boat was just like this: on the west bank of the Qinhuai River, countless beautiful women leaned against the windows, vying to show off their charm.

The poor can't watch it, but the rich can watch it as they please.

This has always been the case.

Every girl knows that guests traveling on luxurious pleasure boats are either rich or powerful. Mitsui Hisashi is young, tall and thin, with shrewd eyes, and dressed almost identically to a Han Chinese.

Who knew he was a foreigner?

Besides, it doesn't matter if I know. Because the Qinhuai River only discriminates against one type of person: the poor.

Looking at the many compatriots wearing kimonos on the shore and listening to the slightly sad song "Sara," Mitsui Hisashi was filled with mixed emotions.

Suddenly~

Footsteps sounded behind me.

"Mr. Mitsui, let me introduce you. This is Hu Xueyan, the president of the Jiangsu-Zhejiang General Chamber of Commerce."

"Ah~ I've long admired Chairman Hu's name, the richest man in East Asia, the god of business. It's my great honor to meet the God of Wealth today." Mitsui Hisashi stepped forward quickly, extended his hands, and bowed deeply, extremely humble.

"Um.

""

Hu Xueyan's attitude was very cold.

-

"This is Zheng Guanying, president of the Jiangsu Textile Chamber of Commerce."

"Chairman Zheng, I've heard so much about you."

"Although we've been cooperating with the Tomioka factory for several years, this is the first time I've met the young master of the Mitsui family. Mr. Mitsui looks young; I wonder where he is in his family?"

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that Zheng Guanying wanted to assess the young man's status within the family.

The difference between a legitimate son and a illegitimate son is greater than the difference between a person and a dog.

"Chairman Zheng is mistaken. I am not a male member of the Mitsui family, but a son-in-law of the Mitsui family."

Everyone was stunned.

"son in law??"

"Yes, the current head of the family has no sons."

"Without a son, who will inherit the family business in the future?"

"Son-in-law".

Damn it! So this guy in front of us is a lowly son-in-law who dares to boast about inheriting his father-in-law's business? Who in the world is so stupid? So everyone was furious.

Seeing the situation was turning sour, the broker quickly stepped forward and introduced, "Esteemed sirs, you may not know this, but barring any unforeseen circumstances, Mr. Mitsui Hisashi will be the next head of the Mitsui zaibatsu. I can guarantee with my life that it's true."

The expressions on everyone's faces softened slightly.

Credit is the lifeblood of donors; they must be trustworthy.

"Mr. Mitsui was originally a samurai, but he was proficient in Chinese studies, Dutch studies, and multiple foreign languages. He also participated in the formulation of the currency reform policy of the Ministry of Finance of East Japan. Oh, by the way, before he was designated as the heir of the Mitsui family, he had a nickname in the East Japan banking industry."

"What nickname?"

"The Debt Collector Immortal"

Everyone laughed.

A wealthy family's son-in-law + a debt collector—what an unusual combination.

"That's because I have some knowledge of finance. If I were an immortal, then Chairman Hu would be Maitreya Buddha."

The crowd laughed.

"I don't understand. The Mitsui Group is so wealthy that it can't even compare to a country. Why would they let their son-in-law inherit the family business?" Hu Xueyan couldn't help but ask.

"President Hu, you may not be aware of this. This is a cultural difference between our two countries," Mitsui Hisashi explained. "In your country's culture, a son-in-law is considered an outsider, but the Mitsui family believes that having a daughter allows them to choose the best son-in-law, and even if the son-in-law changes his surname, he can still inherit the family business, and the bloodline will continue. But with sons, it's not so certain; what if a spendthrift son is born?"

Hu Xueyan shook his head as he listened.

Although I don't agree with it, it seems to make a little bit of sense, just a little bit, and that's all.

"Getting back to the point, what brings you here?" Hu Xueyan asked seriously.

"Recently, your country's government issued a 'Wartime Blockade Order,' covering the fields of finance, shipping, and import and export trade. Our Mitsui Group attaches great importance to our business friendship with Jiangnan and hopes that both of us can circumvent your country's government's unreasonable blockade order and continue to do business as usual."

"Are you aware that the two countries are at war?"

"War should not affect our friendship. I believe this war is between my country and your country's northern central region, and has nothing to do with the south."

"Soliciting nonsense."

-

"To demonstrate its sincerity, the Mitsui Group has decided to further reduce the landed price of raw silk by 30% from the current level."

The crowd erupted in uproar.

For large transactions, 30% is no small amount.

Full of sincerity.

"Mr. Mitsui, we have indeed seen your sincerity, but with the imperial court's strict orders in place, we merchants cannot openly defy the imperial court's prohibitions," Zheng Guanying said.

He is from Xiangshan, Guangzhou, and is currently the president of the Jiangsu Textile Chamber of Commerce. He looked troubled when he spoke, and it wasn't an act; he was genuinely in a dilemma. On one hand, there were huge profits, and on the other hand, there was his patriotic sentiment. It was a difficult choice.

"Yes, yes, it's a difficult situation for us."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Another half-percent reduction, that's the bottom line. Gentlemen, I beg you!" Mitsui Hisashi suddenly stood up, bowed 90 degrees, "The Mitsui Group will never forget its old friends."

35%!

Want some free profits?

All eyes turned to Hu Xueyan.