Liu Chong's question made Pan Qi silent for a while.
He repeatedly thought about the things that this matter might be related to, thinking about the possibility of Zhao Xuening launching the Northern Expedition and the possibility of winning, as well as the situation that Guangzhou might face in this war.
If the Northern Expedition does not start, then everything will be meaningless.
But if the Northern Expedition really begins, the decision he makes today will greatly affect the future destiny of his entire family.
Will Sun and Moon reopen the Great Song Dynasty?
Pan Qi thought of what he had experienced and seen when dealing with the government in order to survive.
He lowered his head and took a few puffs of cigarette.
"Why not? After all, what Zhao Xuening said is right. A cunning rabbit has three burrows, so how can a person put all his hopes in one place? And it seems that Lanfang is developing. It’s pretty good, Zhao Xuening is pretty good at playing.”
Liu Chongwen strongly agreed with Pan Qi's judgment.
"Indeed, the weapons and ships of the barbarians in the West are indeed good. Zhao Xuening can fight with them, win, and form an alliance with the British. I think he is quite powerful."
"What he said is right. We businessmen should really find more escape routes."
Pan Qi put down his cigarette and sighed: "My son has written to me many times, saying that it is not easy for officials in the capital to rise and fall. Everyone is chasing fame and fortune. If you want to keep your heart, you will be ostracized. If I don't spend money to get through, With all the joints, it would be extremely difficult for him to gain a foothold in the capital.
From this point of view, even if someone in the family is an official in the capital, it is difficult to guarantee the long-term prosperity of the family. My family has a lot of wealth, and there are countless people who covet my family's wealth. If you are not careful, you will be doomed. In this case, it is not easy to arrange a court. Reaching back. "
"To tell you the truth, I view it the same way privately."
Liu Chongwen nodded and said: "The officialdom is dangerous. You never know when you will offend someone who cannot be offended. Even if you are a favorite of the emperor, your life is precarious. In the Qing Dynasty, it is impossible to be safe. If there is a way out, you can at least save your life. From this point of view, Come on, Lanfang is indeed a good choice."
Pan Qi was silent for a while and looked up at Liu Chongwen.
"He also told you that he hopes you can go to Lanfang to buy property, right?"
"Yes, it does happen."
"Since ancient times, those who have no permanent property have no perseverance. He is asking you implicitly if you want to join him, and he has already implicitly shown you his intention to do the Northern Expedition in the future."
Pan Qi sighed and said slowly: "The power of the Qing Dynasty cannot be competed by ordinary people. However, the descendants of the Huangming Dynasty raising their troops for the Northern Expedition are tantamount to draining fuel from the bottom of the cauldron. They hit the target. If he can compete with the imperial army, even if he only wins once, , will cause huge waves.
At that time, if all bets are placed on the imperial court, it is hard to say who will win and who will lose just by relying on a few Eight Banners soldiers. The Qing Dynasty seems to be tyrannical, but if Zhao Xuening can win over the Han people, it may not be possible to rely only on a few Eight Banners soldiers. Can turn the tide before it falls. "
"But Lanfang is still a small country after all."
Liu Chongwen said in a low voice: "It is very risky to use small things to make big things."
"When Taizu of this dynasty raised his army, there were only thirteen pieces of armor, but what was the result?"
Pan Qi looked at Liu Chongwen, who was speechless.
After a moment, Liu Chongwen nodded.
"I understand what you mean. I will convey the news he wants to Zhao Xuening."
"Not only that, it's best to ask him what kind of industries Lanfang needs and what industries we can set up privately."
"Are you so optimistic about Zhao Xuening?"
"Having multiple escape routes is not a bad thing. If he makes an expedition to the north in the future, Guangzhou will definitely bear the brunt. If we can manage the relationship, we can also protect the whole industry from being affected."
"Then what if Zhao Xuening fails?"
"In business, how can you always make money? Even I have experienced losses. It was just a loss of money."
Pan Qi shook his head and said: "As long as we don't show up in person and operate in private, it's just like doing business with the British. Having said that, even if we don't do anything, do you think we will be safe and sound if we follow the imperial court's instructions? You Knowing the war in Gansu last year, how much was allocated to the Thirteenth Bank?"
"I don't know."
"one million."
"so many?"
"Maybe the emperor's requirements are not that many, but in addition to the public apportionment, the Guangzhou general also came to me privately, saying that the imperial court was having difficulty in spending money, the emperor spent too much on going south, and the national treasury was empty. He asked me and several big businessmen to donate in private names, add more Together, a million.”
Pan Qi sighed: "If you give some to the emperor and some to these corrupt officials, how much of it can really be used? But the situation is stronger than the people. Even if I don't want to do anything, I still have to pay. I’ll pay you one hundred thousand taels of snowflake silver. If I don’t pay this amount, can the court give me a good ending?”
Liu Chongwen stopped talking.
Businessmen, such as Pan Qi, were nothing more than lowly creatures begging for mercy in front of the imperial power.
"I hope that everything I do today can accumulate some blessings for the future, or that before I die, I can return to the Han family clothes and stop shaving my hair. That would be great..."
Pan Qi looked out the window in a daze and said nothing again.
Zhao Xuening does not yet know the respective situations and final decisions of the two groups of businessmen after they return.
After entering August of the second year of the Republic, the administrative divisions of the Lanfang Republic and the establishment of local administrative teams were basically completed, and the pattern of eight states and ninety-three counties across the country was completely established.
Subsequently, Zhao Xuening began to focus on rectifying Luzon's agriculture.
No matter how far the times have developed, agriculture has always been the most important fundamental cause of the country. Without agriculture, there would be no normal country. If the country is to be stable, agriculture is also the most important.
Therefore, Zhao Xuening personally presided over the large-scale promotion of agricultural reforms in Borneo around Manila.
A certain number of households are registered to form a township, which operates according to the model of a collective farm. The collectives help each other cultivate the land. They also need to undertake the construction orders issued by the government to repair water conservancy projects, etc.
In such undeveloped and underdeveloped areas, using this collective farm model can quickly concentrate manpower and material resources to reclaim land, quickly restore agricultural production and obtain food.
As long as the first crop of grain is harvested, it means that the Lanfang regime has gained a firm foothold on the island.
As for the source of the land...
Hahahaha, the Spanish landowners and Filipino landowners who went to see God are crying to God...
Basically all the cultivated fertile land around Manila is in the hands of this group of people, including some religious figures and Spanish businessmen and officials. Each of them owns extremely large private land properties and real estate, such as some beautiful small European-style houses.
And they are also Zhao Xuening's key targets for eradication.
The army would march over, directly level the land, kill the people, or throw them into the ranks of coolies responsible for mining in the most dangerous mining areas. In this way, the land would be available.
In just a few months, the amount of land in Zhao Xuening's hands increased several times. He used the land to build township-level collective farms and extended the successful experimental system in Borneo to Luzon, achieving quite impressive political achievements.
Throughout the entire policy promotion process, the most disciplined and cooperative group was of course the Chinese community.
Basically, as soon as Zhao Xuening showed up, before he finished explaining the policy, the Chinese people cheered and said - except for your orders, we will not listen to anyone else.
They firmly believe that Zhao Xuening will bring them a good life and a prosperous and happy life, so they strongly support Zhao Xuening's policies and will have no difficulty in implementing them.
They didn't have land originally. Most of them were in abject poverty and had problems eating. Now that they have land and can cultivate it, who wouldn't want to?
As for the other natives of Luzon Island, they had nothing to say. After Lanfang's officials arrived, they summoned prestigious local people to announce the order.
Because they had made an agreement in advance, they basically complied with this administrative order, but their execution efficiency was far inferior to that of the Chinese group.
But it doesn't matter, as long as you don't resist, there is always a way.
