Jiangnan, the richest land in the country, was the heavily fortified base camp of the Qing Dynasty’s Westernization faction.

With Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo and other places serving as treaty ports, Li Hongzhang, Zhang Zhidong, Sheng Xuanhuai and others could only be on guard at all times, work hard to expand Westernization forces, and try every means to prevent the penetration of Japanese forces.

Some years ago, the Japanese wanted to set up a Japanese concession in Shanghai, but they were firmly resisted by Li Zhongtang and other Westernization ministers.

But a weak country has no diplomacy, and the Qing government does not have a strong voice on its own land, which is ridiculous.

In desperation, Sheng Xuanhuai found the consuls of Britain, France, and the United States and asked them to unite to resist the Japanese settlement in Shanghai through concessions.

As a result, this alliance successfully drove the Japanese out of Shanghai.

Later, the Qing government had no choice but to carve out a piece of land in Hangzhou as a concession for the Japanese.

In addition, in the fields of shipping, postal services, textiles, mining, railways, finance and banking, Sheng Xuanhuai and others actively cooperated with Westerners and tried their best to exclude the influence of Easterners in Jiangnan.

Now, the Japanese people secretly go to Guangde, Anhui to conduct illegal prospecting, which is enough to show that they want to accelerate their expansion in Jiangnan.

Of course he wasn't happy.

Therefore, he told Li Jingfang to ask Chen Tianhua to come see him in the afternoon.

"I'm not in a hurry, Shanda people, please feel free to do it." Seeing that Sheng Xuanhuai was really busy, Chen Tianhua replied quickly.

After a while, Sheng Xuanhuai stopped writing, read the document again, and then put the document aside with satisfaction.

The two sounds of "hmm" and the cough that reaches the throat show his majesty.

Sheng Xuanhuai raised his head and took a look at Chen Tianhua. He was quite satisfied when he saw that he was tall, with good features, plump and majestic.

He stroked his long beard on his chin and said calmly:

"The plan you wrote about developing the coal mine in Guangde, Anhui has been submitted to me by Brother Fang. I have reviewed it and thought it is basically feasible. I have forwarded this plan to my staff. The specific details are up to you.

How about discussing it in detail with them?"

"Thank you, Mr. Shanda, for your kindness. Everything will be done as you command." Chen Tianhua quickly bowed and replied.

"There are two things in the plan. I want to ask you. First, the plan lists the amount of funds to be invested, as well as the proportion of batches, etc., but you have not told what the sources of these funds are.

People come to invest, why?”

"This..." Chen Tianhua groaned.

"There's no need to hesitate. You are already a member of the Li family. You are considered a junior. I am both a superior and an elder. I should help you regardless of business or private matters. If you have any questions, just tell me."

As soon as Sheng Xuanhuai's words came out, Chen Tianhua's uneasy heart finally relaxed and he whispered:

"My Fengzhong Bank can raise one million taels of silver on its own. The rest has not been found yet. I boldly ask Shanda people for help."

"One more thing, do you have any plans for selecting or arranging technical management personnel for mining?" Sheng Xuanhuai continued to ask.

After hearing this, Chen Tianhua's heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself that he is worthy of being a modern entrepreneur, and every time he asks a question, he gets to the point.

Insiders know that funds and management teams are very important when investing in a project, especially mine development.

However, Sheng Xuanhuai was straightforward, first of all, around these two issues.

"I have not yet determined the personnel and professional team in this area, but I would like to ask for your help."

These two aspects are precisely the weakest links for Chen Tianhua at present. He is starting from scratch.

Regarding the development of the Niutoushan Mine, both funds and talents are empty. All he has is passion and feelings for his family and country.

From the perspective of modern investors, Chen Tianhua's tactics are completely like a snake swallowing an elephant.

Who is Sheng Xuanhuai? How could he not know?

"Haha, the young man is very courageous and smart. He actually thought that I have a complete talent reserve and management team here. Well, these two things are not difficult. The funds are raised by me. Both the manager and me personally

You can provide some funds. If there is a funding gap during the mining process, you can find a bank loan. My Commercial Bank, and the British HSBC Bank, etc., can all support it."

He continued to stroke his long beard and said with an understatement.

Chen Tianhua only mentioned what kind of person he was, and he immediately thought of a solution to these problems.

In fact, Chen Tianhua, who is not a historian, does not know Sheng Xuanhuai very well.

For mining railways, Sheng Xuanhuai can be said to be familiar with the road.

As early as 1875, Sheng Xuanhuai was appointed by Li Hongzhang to manage the Hubei coal and iron mining industry. From then on, he embarked on the road of mining exploration.

The next year, 1876, he established the Hubei Coal and Iron Administration and established a prospecting team composed mainly of British miners.

After decades of stumbling, he started from scratch and owned a complete mining and exploration company, including Hanyang Iron Works, Daye Iron Mine, and Pingxiang Coal Mine Heavy Industry.

Therefore, he said that Chen Tianhua was smart and deliberately did not mention these two aspects, leaving him to fill in the blanks.

In fact, this was Chen Tianhua's helpless move, but it was a coincidence that satisfied Sheng Xuanhuai's self-esteem and vanity.

"Thank you for your kindness, sir. I am deeply grateful."

"Work hard, I'm optimistic about you." Sheng Xuanhuai nodded and smiled.

"Thank you, sir. I will work harder in the future to live up to your expectations." Chen Tianhua did not forget to take the opportunity to flatter him.

"Okay, the matter is settled like this. I will inform Brother Jingfang about the specific matters, and he will tell you how to do it. You can go down first."

Sheng Xuanhuai is almost ten years older than Li Jingfang, and usually the two of them have a friendship like a big brother and a little brother.

"I'll take my leave."

Chen Tianhua bowed and bowed before exiting the court room. He knew that Sheng Xuanhuai was busy with official duties and could not give him much time to chat.

But this time the goal was achieved so quickly, it was completely beyond his expectation.

It seems that the people who originally wanted to use the Xi family to win over HSBC's investment need not act too hastily, let alone come forward themselves.

Sheng Xuanhuai is at the helm of everything. Perhaps your thoughts are smarter than mine.

In the form of a government-supervised commercial operation, it is invested by domestic capital and only uses en-route loans from HSBC Bank.

If so, that would be great.

In Chen Tianhua's mind, neither the Western nor the Eastern Japanese are good birds.

At present, the Qing Dynasty is in a weak position. To survive in the cracks, it can only play the Western card to suppress the Eastern.

Looking at Chen Tianhua's leaving figure, Sheng Xuanhuai was thoughtful.

…

One morning in late November of the lunar calendar.

Winter has already entered in the Jiangnan area, heavy snow is flying all over the sky, and the earth is covered with white everywhere.
Chapter completed!