The railway was a paramilitary unit. After Colonel Yan Fu took office, he didn't do anything. Instead, he kept his mouth shut and went to the grass-roots level for inspection. On the Internet.
"Li Zhongtang" didn't accompany the inspection. Perhaps he thought that he was valued by Vézé, Li Hongzhang said to the inspection team, "I won't be able to see anything new even if I go. It's better to let me stay in Seoul and deal with the Korean officials. If the officials working in the company can go back to Korea and become officials, they won't object. We can do some foreshadowing. "
This kind of traditional feudal power struggle was Li Zhongtang's strength. Yan Fu, Yuan Weiting, and Wang Shizhen weren't good at it. Yan Fu agreed to Li Hongzhang's request. When Yuan Weiting talked to Wang Shizhen about this matter in private, he was a little surprised by Li Hongzhang's choice. "What's wrong with Director Li? If it was before, he would have to accompany the leader for inspection. "
Wang Shizhen's tone was still calm. "The leader inspects the grass-roots level, it's all our credit. If Director Li goes with us, are you trying to steal the credit? "
Her tone was so calm, but Yuan Weiting was not calm after hearing it. The more credit, the better. Yuan Weiting was a courageous guy, as long as he was given the opportunity, he would be able to do something. However, in Yuan Weiting's eyes, Director Li's credit was probably only that he didn't cause trouble. He took the credit of the grass-roots staff, and when it was time for Director Li to make a move. As an ambitious young man, Yuan Weiting could clearly feel Director Li's dissatisfaction and dissatisfaction. He quickly asked, "Can Director Li make a contribution?"
"This kind of thing depends on Director Li himself. If the two of us were to do his work, we definitely wouldn't be able to beat him. We don't rely on going to the top, we rely on doing it from the bottom, "Wang Shizhen said calmly.
Yuan Weiting had always admired Wang Shizhen. Wang Shizhen could accurately find her position and know her responsibilities. Although Yuan Weiting was capable, he often indulged in rushing forward. Without Wang Shizhen as an anchor, Yuan Weiting found that it was easy for him to lose his position. The phrase "We don't rely on the top, but on the bottom" made Yuan Weiting clearly see his own position.
Yan Fu didn't talk much when he was inspecting. He listened a lot but didn't comment. After arriving in Pyongyang, Yan Fu looked at the sizable Pyongyang Railway Station and asked a question, "Who owns this land?"
Pyongyang is an important city in the northern part of Korea, and China's companies naturally gather there. Han City was considered the elite district of Goryeo. Facing the Goryeo Royal Court, there were some things that they might not be able to do. In Pyongyang, the status of Chinese people was already a cut above others.
Yuan Weiting hurriedly said, "The Royal Court of Korea is very strict with the land we bought in Korea. The locals saw that the area near the train station is a good place with good Feng Shui, so they are even more unwilling to sell the land. Net ww
The land belongs to dozens of landlords, which is why it's so chaotic. "
Yan Fu's calm expression didn't show any intention to comment, so Yuan Weiting quickly added, "But the biggest force near the train station is our railway police. No matter what the people of Korea think, I will wait here to say it."
The situation was just as Yuan Weiting said. The railway police were wearing uniforms and carrying sticks and long forks in their hands. They were neatly patrolling near the train station. If this was in China, it would be called "increasing the police rate." Only by showing their strength could they let the local people know who was in charge here. Yan Fu didn't intend to comment. He calmly looked at the team at the train station. The daily patrol of the Navy was the same as the railway police team. They had to repeatedly appear in a certain sea area to prove their existence. This method was a bit stupid, but it was direct and efficient enough. It was a necessary measure.
So far, Yan Fu was very satisfied with the work of the railway and telegraph companies. In this foreign country, China effectively built its own power. Yan Fu didn't continue to talk. Yuan Weiting followed up on this question. "Secretary Yan, we have long wanted to buy the land, but the Koreans didn't agree. If it wasn't for Ceng Guofan's Xiang army invading Korea and utterly defeating the Korean army, we would have defeated the Xiang army as well. The Koreans knew that they couldn't really annoy us, so they had to sign a treaty with us. Otherwise, the railway couldn't be built. "
After listening to Yuan Weiting, Yan Fu still didn't say a word. It wasn't that Yan Fu was pretending to be deep, he was just abiding by his own attitude. Without investigation, there was no right to speak. At this time, he just arrived in Korea. No matter how much he heard and saw, it was just a passing shadow compared to the actual situation. Yan Fu didn't want to point fingers at this time.
The inspection team stopped in Pyongyang for two days. First, there were some China companies in Pyongyang. Second, Yuan Weiting wanted Yan Fu to see his achievements in Korea.
The Spring Festival was coming soon. Several trains carrying a lot of supplies arrived at Pyongyang Station. What was unloaded from the trains were rice, wheat flour, some meat, and other New Year goods. Close to a thousand Korean employees lined up neatly in the freight yard, forming a large square formation.
In front of the formation, someone used a loudspeaker and shouted, "Who gave you money?"
"It's our railway!" The Korean employees shouted in unison. The China's words were a bit strange, but when the same voice was shouted together, it was also earth-shattering.
"Who gave you food?" The China's railway publicity department continued to shout. ??
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"It's our railway!" The Korean employees continued to shout.
"Who do you rely on to make a living?" The standardized question had been revised several times, and it was basically settled.
"It's our railway!" The Korean employees' answer was also very consistent, and it was also very true.
"What are you going to do to our railway?" The question soon came to the end.
"Listen to the railway leaders! Follow the railway leaders! If anyone dares to do anything to our railway, we will not let them go! "
This scene of thousands of people might be shocking to the Korean people, but it was just a drizzle to Yan Fu. He once served on a battleship, and the total number of officers and soldiers on a battleship was nearly a thousand. The Navy's oath ceremony easily had tens of thousands of officers and soldiers participating, and this scene of a thousand people was not enough.
The formation was not neat, and the clothes were not neat. Yan Fu could easily pick out a lot of problems. However, Yan Fu still didn't say a word. It was already very difficult to win over so many people, let alone so many Korean people who worked for China. Just by looking at the spirit displayed by these people, Yan Fu could judge that they probably couldn't fight a tough battle. However, they might be able to fight a normal low-intensity battle. After participating in many battles, Yan Fu's experience and vision were greatly broadened. From the appearance, this group of people was not much different from the colonial army under the British. They all had the same ruthlessness on their faces, and they all paid attention to the formation. In general, it was probably usable.
After this part of the process was completed, the chief of the armed forces section of Pyongyang Station stood up and shouted, "Last year, we cracked down on criminal activities against the railway, and the overall work was relatively effective. In addition to getting rid of the bad guys and gangs outside, we also dug out the bad guys inside and got rid of them. The number of robberies on the railway decreased rapidly, and this is the result of everyone obeying orders … "
The chief's words were spoken in Chinese, and there were also Korean people who translated these words into Korean and shouted at the employees. They emphasized discipline and told the Korean employees not to have any ideas about the railway, and the railway would not treat them badly. The next part was the ceremony. The employees lined up to receive their year-end bonus in front of the large line of accountants.
Some employees received thick red envelopes and the corresponding receipt, and then immediately ran to the mountain of supplies. There was a rack of carriages next to it, and a few people could share one. The rack of carriages was piled high with bags, and some people pulled and pushed, and the employees happily left the freight yard. Some just smiled and put the red envelopes and receipts into their arms.
Yuan Weiting quickly explained, "Those who immediately moved things are the locals of Pyongyang. Most of those who didn't move immediately are from other places. They have a stamp on their receipt, and they can go to the station near their hometown to get the supplies. This saves the trouble of running back and forth. All the receipts have to be summarized in the end, one radish for one pit, and after comparing to make sure there are no problems, then archived and sealed. "
Seeing that Yuan Weiting and the others were so meticulous, Yan Fu was very satisfied. He opened his mouth and asked, "Is the profit from the Korean railway and telegraph enough to cover the cost?"
Yuan Weiting and Wang Shizhen exchanged glances, then said, "Our business in Korea is not only the railway and telegraph, but also some new industries in the past year, and the profits are not bad. We will invite Director Yan to take a look. "
The destination of this trip was not the city, but the mountains. There were many sentry posts at the mountain pass. Inside, Yan Fu saw the mines that Yuan Weiting introduced on the way. The train carried a lot of food and meat. The mine pits were mainly guarded by Korean people.
"Most of these mines are managed by us and the Korean foremen. We will pay the miners according to the amount of ore they dig. "Yuan Weiting explained the situation." We completely handed over the management of some mines to the Korean people. We don't interfere with how many people die in those mines and how many people are used. We only care about the amount of ore the Korean foremen give us, and we will pay the Korean foremen the same amount. "
Yan Fu was very smart, and a simple description had given him enough information. He couldn't help but frown and ask, "Why?"
Yuan Weiting was also a smart person. Of course, he knew that Yan Fu wasn't asking about the mines that were operated normally, but the mines that China didn't care about at all. He didn't back down even though this approach was slightly immoral. Looking straight at Yan Fu, Yuan Weiting replied, "These people say that they are foremen, but they all have people behind them. Many of them are local rich people, and some of them can pull miners from Korea. Those who want to dig mines are naturally better to use experienced miners. If something happens, the mine will suffer a great loss. As for the open mine, let them manage it, and our cost will be much lower. "
After a moment of silence, Yan Fu said, "Take me to have a look."
Yuan Weiting was a straightforward person, and he felt that it was better for the ugly daughter-in-law to meet her parents-in-law sooner or later. With a group of guards, Yuan Weiting led Yan Fu to the train and went straight to the mines that were managed by the Korean people. These mines weren't obtained by China from the Korean government, but were given to the Korean people after negotiations between the Korean government and China companies. Yuan Weiting didn't want to clear his name in front of Yan Fu. All the ores in Korea were basically sold to the China people. In terms of cost, buying ores from the Korean mines was even cheaper than the China people. The reason why he didn't implement this model in all the mines was that Yuan Weiting didn't want to let the Korean people monopolize the pricing of ores.
When they went to the mine, they saw the private armed forces of Korea monitoring the mine with guns, and the miners carrying mining baskets inside the mine like ants. In the winter, these people were dressed in rags like beggars. Many supervisors were also in the mine, and when they saw the miners were a little slow, they immediately went up to teach them a lesson. Not only was it the first time for Yan Fu to see such a scene, but it was also the first time for Yuan Weiting to see it in person. Although it was far away, Yuan Weiting could see clearly that many of the miners were wearing leg shackles.
"Are they miners or slave miners?" Yuan Weiting couldn't help but think. Although he was thinking, Yuan Weiting didn't say anything. Even when he saw Yan Fu's face was very ugly, Yuan Weiting didn't make any excuses for himself.
Seeing such a performance, Wang Shizhen, who was accompanying him, sighed in his heart. Wang Shizhen didn't say anything because he was used to silence. Yuan Weiting wasn't a person who didn't like to talk. In the face of the cold face of the superior, in the face of such an inhumane scene, if it were someone else, they would say something. Even without Wang Shizhen's reminder, Yuan Weiting could say nothing. This was completely in line with Yuan Weiting's usual daring style.
Like Yan Fu and Yuan Weiting, it was also the first time for Wang Shizhen to see such a scene, and he also didn't like to see it. At this time, to be able to remain silent and accept the anger of the superior really required a lot of breadth of mind. Wang Shizhen admired Yuan Weiting for having such a breadth of mind.
After watching silently for a while, he quietly left the Korean mine. Yan Fu walked a long distance, and after getting on the train, he asked, "Can these mines make a profit?"
"Barely." Yuan Weiting didn't brag, "These mines haven't been invested for a long time, and we bought a lot of equipment. The current situation can only make a small profit. When we earn back the money to buy the equipment in a year or two, then we can start to make a lot of profit. Fortunately, the domestic food price is getting lower and lower, and transportation is much more convenient. This profit is enough for the Korean employees who follow us to maintain a income far higher than ordinary Korean. "
Wang Shizhen looked at Yan Fu with some nervousness in his heart. At this time, Yan Fu was bound to make a statement, but what would the content of his statement be?
Yan Fu spoke up, "Democracy has always been something that only exists within the same class. There is no democracy between us and the Koreans. The two sides are not the same country at all, so it is even more impossible for us to belong to the same class. This is a fact determined by interests. "
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