Hong Jiang, Town Guardian's Study Room.

  "Come, come, sit down, sit down." Wang Zhenyu warmly welcomed his two subordinates.

  These two subordinates are Wang Zhenyu's chosen persons in charge of the Anjiang Model City project, Chen Shao and Chen Quzhen.

  Two people faced Wang Zhenyu, both somewhat nervous, especially Chen Quzhen, who did not expect that a person who worked on river engineering would be appreciated by the town's guardian. Chen Shao was surprised that he had been serving for less than half a year, and Wang Zhenyu had become the guardian of Xiangxi, the true king of Xiangxi.

  "You all share the same surname Chen, and you will be working together from now on, so I hope you can unite sincerely and achieve something." Wang Zhenyu said with a somewhat leisurely tone.

  "Please rest assured, General. I'm older in age and I'd like to make a statement here. I will definitely work hard with Brother Chen Shao to accomplish the tasks assigned by you, and I won't let you down." Chen Quzhen was the first to stand up and make a statement.

  Chen Shao also smiled in agreement, Wang Zhenyu chuckled and said: "I've already told you not to be nervous, Qū Zhēn, do you know why I transferred you from the river works to Anjiang?"

  Seeing Chen Quzhen shaking her head, Wang Zhenyu continued: "Firstly, after the river work is done, everything will be handed over to the local authorities, and the Town Guardian's Office will not have a specialized agency to take charge of it anymore. Secondly, I asked Tian brother and knew that you were also from the new army and had gone to Xizang to quell the rebellion. So I thought about it, talent is hard to come by, as long as you can be at ease with your duties, I still hope you will continue to serve in the military, don't bury your own talents."

  Chen Quzhen immediately stood up with an excited expression, his whole body slightly trembling as he said: "The general's kindness to Quzhen is like a rebirth, these 180 catties of flesh are the general's from now on. From this day forward, wherever the general goes east, Quzhen will not go west, and will not hesitate to jump into boiling water or walk through fire."

  Wang Zhenyu still liked to hear people express their loyalty, but he waved his hand and said, "It's not necessary to go through thick and thin, just focus on doing things with a clear conscience."

  Then the tone changed: "I asked you to come, indeed there is something important to be done. You may have also heard that I plan to build a modern new city in Anjiang, dozens of miles east of Hongjiang. This city will be the center of the entire Xiangxi, not only commercially but also politically. Our future lies in this city, so building this city requires effort and dedication. My intention is to entrust this matter to you two, with Han Chuan (Chen Shao's courtesy name) as the main person and Qu Jingwen as the assistant. The design plan will be proposed by the German company, and you will mainly be responsible for reviewing and supervising the construction. This review is very important, don't think that Germans are honest, they are doing business, there must be false reports of prices, you need to learn how to deal with them, directly and frankly haggle with them, it's not embarrassing; supervision is even more important, all engineering projects are long-term plans, don't be careless, use your conscience to do it, take responsibility. You are in charge, the specific construction should listen to the ideas and suggestions of professional personnel, also, the administrative district speed needs to be accelerated, the whole model city, the administrative district strives to be completed before the end of the year, I hope to spend New Year's in Anjiang." Although Wang Zhenyu was only 21 years old, his actual age was almost 50 years old due to his rebirth, and as he held a high position for a long time, his speech became somewhat old-fashioned.

  But when heard by subordinates, it gives a sense of reliability and a steady demeanor.

  Chen Shao and Chen Quzhen immediately stood up and expressed their determination to spare no effort and live up to the trust placed in them.

  The problem of Anjiang New Town construction has been secretly discussed and signed by Hans and Ye Zuwen from Lihe Yanghang.

  Lihe Yanghang will provide a loan of 10 million yuan for this new city, which is used to hire technical personnel and purchase some materials that cannot be found locally (mainly decoration materials). Wang Zhenyu unhesitatingly handed over the purchase of these decoration materials to his sworn brother Liu Hongsheng.

  Liu Guojun, who was arranged to work and study at Liu Hongsheng's place, also received the latest work arrangement, taking charge of introducing textile mill and power company projects. According to Wang Zhenyu's idea, once these two projects are introduced, Liu Guojun will come over to Anjiang to take care of the factory affairs for him. These business matters, currently his subordinates who only know how to lead soldiers in battle can't handle.

  Before meeting Chen Shao and Chen Quzhen, Frankie also brought good news that the loan application to Huabai Bank had been approved, and one hundred million pounds would be deposited into his new account at Huabai Bank fifteen days from now. Later, when Huabai Bank set up a branch in Xiangxi, this money would arrive together. This sum of money will become the basis for Wang Zhenyu's future issuance of banknotes, and its benefits are absolutely not just one hundred million yuan.

  Luxembourger Felix recently often found Ye Zuwen alone to discuss a cooperative idea, and Ye Zuwen sorted it out and reported it to Wang Zhenyu.

  Wang Zhenyu took a closer look and was overjoyed. According to Felix's words, he was related to Paul Eyschen, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg who had been in power for 27 years. He had heard Paul Eyschen propose a great idea - building a new Luxembourg outside of Europe. In fact, the European situation in 1912 had already shown signs of tension, and France and Germany, which had become sworn enemies after the Franco-Prussian War, had begun an unprecedented arms race. This put Luxembourg, sandwiched between France and Germany, in a difficult position. This small country, with a land area less than one-twentieth of Xiangxi and a population less than one-twenty-second of Wang Zhenyu's jurisdiction, wanted to maintain its neutrality between the two military powers - it was like a fool's dream. Paul Eyschen, who had actually ruled the country for 24 years, had to make plans for the country's future, including transferring some industries, funds, and residents temporarily away from Europe, which was about to be engulfed in war. Felix thought Xiangxi was a good choice, but Wang Zhenyu doubted whether this guy could convince his Prime Minister relative, because the Second Revolution would erupt in 1913, and he would actively participate in it to gain enough benefits. By then, the people of Luxembourg would come all the way to China and say, "Hey, you're not just fighting, you're directly involved! We'd better stay in Europe, it's safer."

  Of course, Wang Zhenyu also has an idea, which is to first collectively deceive Luxembourg's steel industry over here. As long as the equipment is in place, what coal and iron are left can be figured out later. What was the most profitable thing during World War I? Steel! If this step is taken solidly, the debt owed now is not even worth mentioning.

  Wang Zhenyu proposed a joint venture plan for the iron and steel plant, building Anjiang Iron and Steel Plant, with Xiangxi Development Company and Luxembourg's Arbed Company each holding 50% of the shares, with Luxembourg providing full technical support and technicians. At the same time, during the construction of New Anjiang, Luxembourg would obtain a block of land to build a residential area that can accommodate 500,000 people, on the condition that Luxembourg provides a loan of 200 million yuan to Xiangxi Development Company. It is also noted that if the Luxembourgers need this block, the loan does not need to be repaid.

  It is also unknown whether Luxembourg will agree, anyway Felix left with the documents and returned home, it's estimated that there will be news in two months.

  Shanghai, Rong Gong Mansion, Liu Hongsheng was sitting on the sofa in the living room with Liu Guojun, sipping high-quality green tea and admiring the rustic charm of Rong Gong Mansion.

  "Ah ha, who is it? It's actually Liu Ke Ding, Liu younger brother! What a rare guest, what a rare guest!" Rong Zong Jing, dressed in a long shirt and wearing an old-fashioned merchant's hat, walked into the living room with his brother Rong De Sheng, both of them smiling.

  To be honest, Rong Zongjing was not impressed with Liu Hongsheng in his Western suit. In the past six months, Liu Hongsheng had become one of the most prominent figures in Shanghai, and after the opening of Hongsheng Company, he had occupied two-thirds of the coal market in Shanghai within a few months. He could almost be called the "Coal King", but in Rong Zongjing's eyes, who was 15 years older, Liu Hongsheng was just a middleman making a profit from price differences, and was not comparable to himself, who was dedicated to industrial development for national salvation. The current glory was like that of a nouveau riche, not worth mentioning. What made Rong Zongjing look down on Liu Hongsheng the most was actually his sworn brotherhood with Du Yuesheng of the Green Gang. This had greatly lowered Liu's status in Rong's eyes, because business people were most afraid of dealing with gangsters, as their rules were different. By forming a sworn brotherhood, were you prepared to follow the other party's rules or have them follow yours?

  Liu Hongsheng also knew this, but entrusted by his third brother, he had no choice but to bring Liu Guojun here with a hard face, fortunately the Rong family still treated them with courtesy.

  Liu Hongsheng smiled: "In front of Honorable Rong, I am just a clown. Normally, I wouldn't dare to disturb him, but since someone entrusted me with this task, I brought Mr. Liu Guojun to pay respects to Honorable Rong. Please take care of us."

  Rong Zongjing chuckled and said: "There's no need to mention it, I'm good at making friends with people from all sides. Whatever I can do, it's easy to say."

  You have to understand this way: whatever can't be done, it's better not to say.

  Liu Guojun smiled slightly: "We want to set up China's largest textile mill in Hunan with Mr. Rong."

  Before meeting Rong Zongjing, Liu Guojun had carefully studied this person and knew that his personality was relatively biased towards grandeur, so he directly invited him to take advantage of this point.

  As expected, Rong Zongjing showed interest: "What is your maximum capacity? How many machines are there and how many spindles can be produced per year? How to cooperate?"

  Liu Guojun immediately replied: "The capital is 4.8 million, we will invest 3 million, and the profit will be divided equally between us. The management rights belong to you. We have 4800 new-style looms (the old-style loom can only produce 30 rolls per year, this gap is too big, data from Hunan Spinning Factory established in 1911), with an annual output of 480,000 rolls. What do you think?"

  Rong Zongjing smiled slightly disdainfully and said, "Young man, don't be so arrogant. 480,000 yuan, do you know what the daily output is? I'll tell you, it's 120,000 catties. I'm very interested in knowing where you're going to collect so many raw materials?"

  Liu Guojun smiled and said, "Old Rong, seeing is believing. Even if I, a junior, can convince you, would you dare to believe me? Why not go to Xiangxi for a trip and see the strength of my boss. All problems will be solved."

  Rong Zongjing was also a straightforward person and immediately replied: "Then I'll go with you to Xiangxi for a trip, let's see what the situation is like?"

  It's that simple, Liu Hongsheng was stunned, while Rong Desheng seemed to be very familiar with his brother's personality, with a look of being not surprised at all.