Chapter 1158 Li Tang Empire (3rd update, please subscribe)
After receiving the task from His Majesty, Qian Zizhuang just nodded slightly.
"I know what to do now."
All that's left is some preparation, like developing a plan that the pawns can't get away from. Intelligence work is sometimes a test of patience.
As the head of the imperial intelligence agency, Qian Zizhuang has never lacked patience. He can spend more than ten years to train a person, or he can spend several years waiting for good news from the other party.
He never lacked patience.
This is true for intelligence work and also for competition between countries.
However, such competition is not measured in days or months, but in years or even decades.
Only countries with enough patience can win the ultimate victory, especially after their ambitions have been satisfied to a certain extent, patience is even more needed.
After several fierce expansions in the past twenty years, the Ming Dynasty finally stopped.
Stopped temporarily.
Keep a low profile!
The empire was in hiding once again. To put it bluntly, the reason for this was that the empire had expanded too rapidly in recent years, covering an area of more than 20 million square kilometers, including its homeland and colonies.
Even if you don't hide it, it will still make people jealous.
Therefore, fifteen years after entering the empire, the empire had actually entered a period of strategic contraction, that is, it had completely stopped its expansion.
But this does not mean doing nothing.
While the empire focused on its own development, its overseas development did not stop due to strategic contraction. At least the investment in China was increasing, and both private and official governments were increasing their investment in China.
A locomotive that looks somewhat similar to the Empire Success-6 steam locomotive arrived at the railway station in Anshan, Liaodong Province, dragging black smoke and panting heavily. Although it is just a small station in Liaodong, it shows extraordinary vitality, an industrial vitality.
There were several roaring trains parked on the parking line in the station. Tall factory buildings and warehouses were everywhere near the station. Looking into the distance, there were chimneys everywhere that kept spewing out black smoke. Even the air was filled with the power of industrialization - the unique smell of coal smoke from bituminous coal.
The station was bustling with merchants and passengers, but more of them were coolies waiting to load and unload goods. Voices from all over the country filled the air. This bustling scene was common in Kanto. In order to make up for the shortage of grain and the rice crisis in the capital, the imperial court lifted the ban on Kanto and allowed immigrants to enter and reclaim the land at the suggestion of Li Da, the governor-general of Zhili.
In the following decade, millions of Shandong and Zhili immigrants poured into Guandong, and this uninhabited land soon became another granary of China. But the real construction was after Xuzhou took over the world.
"Three years ago, the army was marching in the Tanggangzi area of Anshan. The compass malfunctioned twice, which attracted the attention of the leading officer, and a large amount of iron ore was discovered in the nearby Dagu Mountain..."
Sitting in a carriage of the train that had just arrived at the station, Li Jingfang, the eldest prince, was drinking red wine while introducing the situation here to Zuo Xiaoxun in front of him. There were some simple dishes and wine on the table in front of them.
There were only two of them in the luxurious carriage. This time, Li Jingfang came to the Northeast for inspection as the eldest son of the emperor. He was not just here for inspection, but to take up his post - he was the first governor-general of the three northeastern provinces.
Years ago, after several discussions, the imperial court finally decided to establish Liaodong, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces in the Northeast. Who was the first governor?
It was none other than the eldest prince Li Jingfang.
This appointment was of course a bit unexpected. It was true that Li Jingfang was the eldest son of the emperor, but... he was not Li Hongzhang's biological son; he was adopted.
When Governor Li was in power, no one thought it was a big deal. After all, at that time, the position of Governor could not be inherited. Even the Huai Army Group was the same, and could not be inherited. So was it a matter of relatives?
But now that the governor has become the emperor, the situation is different. It can even be said that it has become a bit awkward. The eldest son of the emperor should inherit the throne. For example, the Ming Empire is the "primogeniture system", although China has not established the law of succession to the throne.
But this matter is indeed a bit confusing!
Li Jingfang was neither the eldest son nor the eldest son, he was just a stepson, neither of them was the biological son of Emperor Li.
It was not suitable for him to inherit the throne, so Li Jingfang took the initiative to request to be sent out. Why? Because there were a group of officials and generals around him in the court. After all, those who forced the old man to rebel were the "Liu Ming faction", and as the core of the "Liu Ming faction", he also acquiesced.
It was also because of this that since the day Lord Li put on the dragon robe, a considerable rift had arisen between the two of them. After all, Emperor Li was also afraid that one day his eldest son would cause the "Xuanwu Gate Incident."
In this situation, leaving the center became Li Jingfang's best option.
The newly established three northeastern provinces are naturally the best place to go, as the population here is sparse - the three provinces seem to be a large number, but the population is less than 10 million, and they are far away from the center.
So, under such circumstances, Li Jingfang, the eldest son of the emperor, took the initiative to apply for a local position, and Emperor Li naturally had no objection to this.
It’s good to go somewhere!
Being away from the center will not pose too much threat to him. Of course, even if he goes to the local area, he cannot hold the military power. The current governor no longer has the military power to hold. Emperor Li, who rose to power with the military power, certainly knows the principle of releasing the military power with a cup of wine.
Just as they forced the Qing Dynasty to abdicate, they used 400,000 elite Huai Army troops to force the Zeng family and others to surrender their military power. The current governor is just a civilian and does not hold military power.
Li Jingfang, who became the governor-general of the three northeastern provinces, invited Zuo Xiaoxun to visit Anshan the day after he took office in Shenyang. The reason for coming here was that the Liaodong Iron and Steel Company under construction here was the largest project in China at present and also the largest project of the Ming Empire in China.
Li Jingfang cherishes the opportunity to be sent out for a new post. He plans to do something during his tenure. What?
The natural thing is to build the Northeast.
This requires support from the empire. After all, the Ming Empire is the only one that can provide him with financial and technical support.
"Brother Zuo, look here..."
As soon as the train stopped, Li Jingfang pointed out the window and said.
"Now this steel city has begun to take shape. Although the No. 1 blast furnace has not yet been put into production, the prototype of the factory has been completed. According to the plan, the No. 1 blast furnace will produce iron at the beginning of next year. After it is put into production, China's annual steel production will exceed 300,000 tons. Even the Russians cannot produce so much steel in a year..."
"The Longbo-500 blast furnace is a technology that is rarely seen in the world. It is only because it is made in China. If it were any other country, the Imperial Ministry of Agriculture and Industry would not necessarily agree to export it."
Zuo Xiaoxun smiled.
"Brother Li, as long as you run Liaodong Iron and Steel Company well, it will be a great contribution to the country!"
"It's a great achievement, but..."
In front of Zuo Xiaoxun, Li Jingfang did not hide anything and spoke directly.
"No matter how great my contribution is, what does this Liaodong Iron and Steel Company have to do with me?"
(End of this chapter)
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