January 24, 1912, some British, French and Belgian banks that were excluded from the Six-Power Banking Consortium formed an international syndicate with the Banque Belge pour l'Etranger as representative to begin secret negotiations with the Northern Government regarding a loan.

  In comparison to the harsh terms of the Five-Nation Banking Consortium, the terms of this loan from the Hwabong Bank were not just mild, but gentle. The contract stipulated an interest rate of 5%, with a 9.7% deduction; payment was due 15 days after signing the contract; China pledged its usual annual revenue and the net profit and assets of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway as collateral for this loan, and agreed to give the consortium priority in lending ￡10 million. The most important point was that there was no specification on the use of the loan. What more could be asked for? The contract was signed without hesitation, and this loan came to be known as the Hwabong Loan.

  On March 14, the two sides signed a contract, and the first payment of about ￡1 million was immediately available. As soon as the news came out, it immediately caused dissatisfaction among the five-nation banking group, who immediately accused Yuan Shikai of being untrustworthy, and the envoys of various countries also put pressure on Yuan Shikai. In the end, on April 29, Yuan Shikai had to return the Belgian loan and continue to borrow money from the five-nation banking group.

  Thus, the strongest buying and selling banking business in human history was born, and the Five-Nation Banking Consortium was also nailed to the pillar of shame in history due to its own arrogance.

  Please remember their names: HSBC Bank (UK), Banque de l'Indochine (France), Deutsch-Asiatische Bank (Germany), Russo-Asiatic Bank (Russia), and Yokohama Specie Bank (Japan).

  While the Huabai Bank ultimately failed to establish a business relationship with Beiyang, the ￡10 million loan quota remained on the bank's books. Mr. Franki hoped to lend out this money, and Ye Zuwu's promotion of Wang Zhenyu's Xiangxi Great Development Plan in Hankou also caught his attention. He invited Hans, the manager of the Hankou branch of Lihong洋行, and Felix from Luxembourg, to meet with Ye Zuwu together, clearly hoping to understand the details of the Xiangxi Great Development Plan, and if possible, to provide loans and investment for this project.

  In this regard, Belgium had previously cooperated with Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Hubei and Hunan provinces in the Qing dynasty. The original Lu-Han Railway, which was over 1,200 kilometers long, was invested and constructed by Belgian people.

  Luxembourg is no exception, and the chief engineer of the Hanyang Ironworks was a Luxembourger named Lübel.

  As for the German company, many Chinese bridges and railways have their shadow. However, the most famous one is still the construction of Qingdao, this foreign company has made the greatest contribution. As soon as Wang Zhenyu heard the name of Lufthansa Company, he immediately became interested, he was planning to build the entire Xiangxi provincial capital in Anjiang, what he lacked was people with experience in this field and companies, now they came knocking on his door.

  As a well-known historical figure in the future, Wang Zhenyu, who was in charge of one side, also considered introducing foreign capital when developing his power at the beginning. This is not just a matter of funds, but also a technical issue.

  In this era, China, despite decades of efforts in the Westernization Movement, has established a certain industrial foundation. However, this foundation is thin. It's equivalent to modern-day Chinese football not focusing on building a strong foundation or reforming management systems, but rather being content with selecting a few dozen talented players and creating an overseas team. The Westernization Movement was a reform movement that adhered to the principle of not touching the fundamental system of the Qing dynasty, much like Chinese football's style of reform. A tree with a crooked root and unclear goals is destined to bear no good fruit from the start.

  Decades have passed, and although the Westernization Movement has produced a few bright flowers, it still cannot change China's vast desolation.

  In comparison, Wang Zhenyu's control was limited to Xiangxi, a region whose economy, culture and transportation were among the worst in the country. However, in terms of governance foundation, it was ahead of its time.

  A precursor to the collapse of a regime is when power and interests are highly concentrated. Why do I say that? Because humans are the most realistic high-level animals in this world, when one family monopolizes all the benefits, others no matter how hard they try cannot change their circumstances, but can only add bricks and tiles to your happiness. Everyone will make two choices: first is silence, second is explosion.

  Many people will wonder if there is no third choice? Yes, but only one person chooses the third option, Lei Feng who dedicates himself selflessly.

  Why can't Chinese football get going in later generations? It's because everything has been made into a small circle.

  The management power has always been in the hands of the Football Association and its superior department, the General Administration of Sports, while football investors are not allowed to have any say except for investing money.

  The selection of players and coaches has always been in the hands of the management department, and their standard for selecting personnel is only one, based on the closeness or distance of relationships.

  The league's dividend is always taken by the management department, which is also the reason why they grasp the management rights tightly.

  As for the interests of investors in this industry, it can be summed up in one English sentence: who cares?

  The clock points to 2013, in a hundred years later China is still like this, then we look back at the Republic of China a hundred years ago in 1912.

  In this small place in Xiangxi where Miao and Han people live together, bandits, Gelao Hui, Shenbing, Shanghui and various forces are intertwined, Wang Zhenyu, the actual ruler of the four prefectures and twenty counties, carried out a political reform that can be called subversive.

  He relied on his own military strength to successfully integrate the various forces in western Hunan within a few months. The reason why he could gain recognition from all parties was very simple: carrot and stick.

  For those who threatened his rule and disobeyed him, a big killing stick would come crashing down on your head without mercy. Now at the west gate of Jingzhou County, the heads of Yang Shouyin and more than 40 other bandit chiefs who had gathered to attack the county seat still hang there, now completely dry and unrecognizable, but the deterrent effect remains...

  For those who supported him, his return was also immediate. He opened a precedent for the rulers of China's past dynasties, handing over local civil power to these supporters. Its essence is the same as the land contract responsibility system in later generations, with county people governing counties and self-governing civil affairs. The clan forces, merchant guilds, and social prestige in various places almost overnight found themselves suddenly transferred from under official rule to above it. As long as they paid enough taxes to the garrison commander, they could discuss and handle matters related to the military at home. County magistrates were appointed by themselves, county policies were formulated by themselves, and there would no longer be cunning officials coming to this place to exploit the land, nor would there be county magistrates who ruined families or prefects who exterminated households. This feeling of being in charge made everyone willing to take out their own private property to repair roads, build bridges, and run schools in their hometown, because these funds would not be embezzled by the original superior officials, and the improvement of these basic infrastructure could also be enjoyed by themselves and their descendants.

  Wealth can be openly displayed, shown off and flaunted without worrying about being targeted by the authorities. On the contrary, the current authorities have to worry about being targeted by us instead. This feeling is just wonderful.

  Of course, in the eyes of these local snakes, reform is still somewhat imperfect. Firstly, they are still unable to do as they please locally because the garrison commander has actually dispatched so-called judicial organs, courts and procuratorates. Not long ago, more than a dozen illegal and criminal representatives were stripped of their status, four of whom were taken to Hongjiang for execution by firing squad. People generally like to have the power to restrain others while hating to have their own power restrained; the existence of the garrison commander makes them feel very constrained.

  Secondly, on the territory of Xiangxi, no matter how rich and powerful these people are, they will be tightly controlled by the garrison commander. Power blinds people's eyes, if the garrison commander could disappear, it would be perfect for the county to be governed by its own people, but everyone still has to face reality. Looking around the country, although everywhere is shouting for democracy, constitutionalism and returning power to the people, only this General Wang can truly hand over civil administration to local authorities.

  Yes, General Wang, this title full of warlord implications has been widely spread among the county gentry and is generally used to refer to and address our classmate Wang Zhenyu.

  Historians studying the history of the Republic of China have long debated an issue, who is the father of Chinese democracy, Sun Yat-sen, who proposed the Three Principles of the People, or Wang Jingwei, who appears to be a bit stupid.

  However, in August 1912, the Belgian Franqui made an accurate judgment about Wang Zhenyu: "This is a person with super strong control power. I can determine that within at least ten years, unless he suffers from major external blows, the rule of this garrison commander in western Hunan will be as unshakeable as diamonds in Za?re. His sphere of influence is worth our investment risk, more importantly, he is different from other Chinese officials who are barbaric, vulgar, greedy and corrupt. From the so-called county self-government policy, we can see that this is an official who understands human rights, law, and is very practical. Since he can protect the private property of his own countrymen from infringement, he will naturally also be able to protect our investment."

  Actually, Mr. Franke's judgment still has some errors, Wang Zhenyu is not as understanding of human rights as he said, even if it comes from the future, due to the education and national conditions he received, Wang Zhenyu's concept of human rights is also quite vague. So when killing opponents, he will not have a bit of softness or ambiguity, as for the law, Wang Zhenyu's understanding can be summarized in ten words: "The law serves the ruler."

  The reason he chose county people governing counties and local autonomy is very simple:

  First, he is not a Xiangxi person, but a Baoqing person. To gain support, he must put out sufficient chips; otherwise, the Chinese people's strong regional exclusivity will make him a short-lived ruler without provincial support. Now that this chip has been played, no one can replace himself as the provincial governor.

  Secondly, he needs money. To stand out in this era without strength is just nonsense. And the reality of strength lies in developing the economy and expanding the military, both of which require large investments. If you don't have enough benefits, how can you expect merchants to contribute financially? Are they going to generously donate just because you shout about a grand development plan for Xiangxi? Go ahead and chase your Chinese dream!

  Third, and most importantly, in the eyes of ordinary people, Wang Zhenyu has a background, his uncle is Wang Longzhong. However, in reality, compared to Yuan Shikai, Sun Yat-sen and other representatives of group interests, Wang Zhenyu still only has a silhouette.

  A force wants to become a trend, it's absolutely not just relying on a golden finger to casually point a few times. In the military, you need talent, in politics, you need talent, and economically, you need even more talent. You calculate, with over 20 counties, how many talents do you need to cover? Wang Zhenyu can't cover it, so straightforwardly, you guys take care of yourselves. As long as I firmly grasp the gun handle, all the talents will be working for me, and I don't even need to pay high labor costs.