Chapter Twelve: The Guard Corps

  Qiao Yu was teaching these people while preparing to set up other factories, and he also placed an order with Bao Shide for 300,000 taels, including 50 sewing machines, a batch of printing and dyeing equipment. In addition, Qiao Yu also asked Bao Shide to get him some military supplies, including 100 handguns, 300 rifles, all of which were the most advanced Mauser guns from Germany, as well as a large quantity of bullets.

  Now that the framework is set up, it's necessary to strengthen our power. In fact, both the Qiao and Bai families have a considerable number of guards, and those wealthy merchant families also possess armed forces to varying degrees. After the late Qing dynasty, especially after the Taiping Rebellion, the imperial court obviously lost its control over local areas. The reason it was able to maintain itself for so long is entirely due to the complex balance between local governors and viceroys.

  Li Hongzhang, Zhang Zhidong, Liu Kunyi and other old-fashioned Chinese people faced the unprecedented changes of the past three thousand years, put their energy on the Westernization movement, and did not plot against the imperial power, which enabled the Qing dynasty to maintain its rule.

  By the Xuantong period, the Qing dynasty was like a rudderless wreck. Local forces continued to expand, with those in power emulating each other. Merchants with some influence would hire a considerable number of bodyguards to ensure their safety. Many merchant organizations in Jiangsu and Zhejiang had their own armed forces. The old and new armies were severely eroded by the revolutionary parties, and it could be said that if such a dynasty did not perish, there would be no justice in heaven.

  There are more than thirty guards at Lixin Textile Factory, led by Han Yong. It seems that the security is sufficient, but Qiao Yu knows that this number of people is far from enough, so he takes the opportunity to establish an investment company and expand his forces.

  Qiao Yu thought carefully, building his own team was the most important thing, loyalty was the key, absolutely no party members could be mixed in, and it must be ensured that they were pure. Secondly, he had to try his best to select some with training value, the first batch of troops were prepared to become future officers, if they were too stupid, it would never work.

  It seems that only by selecting talented young people from rural areas can we do it, and if we recruit in Chongqing City, we cannot avoid being infiltrated by the party. Therefore, Qiao Yu brought over his elder brother Qiao Cheng, who had not been idle these days either. He was mainly responsible for raw materials and had barely sorted things out when he was called over by Qiao Yu.

  "Big brother, I've already placed an order with the Germans and am preparing to purchase a batch of military equipment. I'm planning on establishing a guard corps!"

  "Shun Qing, I think it's entirely possible. As our production increases, more and more cloth needs to be transported to other counties, and the raw materials needed are also increasing. With the situation on the ground becoming increasingly turbulent, our current guards are indeed insufficient. Let Lao San decide how many to recruit, no need to ask me!"

  "Big brother, this matter is going to trouble you. I think that since we're recruiting bodyguards, we should find those who are loyal to us. Those gangsters absolutely cannot be allowed in. I think we can only select from the countryside, young people with a clean family background, aged 16 or 17, clever and sharp, without any bad habits, and good physical quality. It's best if they can recognize a few characters! I want to train them personally."

  Qiao Cheng was taken aback by Qiao Yu's request, which seemed a bit too much. Although there were many surplus laborers in the countryside, they wouldn't come out to join the army unless absolutely necessary. As a result, most of the people recruited by the military were idle and vagrant types, such as thugs and rascals. Good families' children would not easily become soldiers, let alone bodyguards. Suddenly, an idea flashed through Qiao Cheng's mind, and his face immediately changed color.

  "Lao San, you don't want to train your own army, what are you going to do?"

  Qiao Cheng was relatively familiar with his third brother, Qiao Yu, who had a somewhat impulsive and rough temperament. However, after returning from abroad, he seemed to have changed into a different person altogether. Qiao Cheng thought that this was probably due to the influence of foreign countries on Qiao Yu. He also worried that Qiao Yu might get involved with revolutionary parties, but seeing how dedicated Qiao Yu was to running his factory, Qiao Cheng felt reassured. However, when Qiao Yu suddenly proposed recruiting bodyguards and made such high demands, Qiao Cheng immediately became vigilant, thinking that his third brother might be planning a rebellion.

  Qiao Yu also knew that he had to pull his brother over to his side, so he said: "Brother, to be honest, this time I recruited bodyguards, it was actually to train a substitute army, controlled in my own hands. I don't deny that I have the intention of rebelling, but mainly it's still for self-protection. We have so many factories, and this family business has already attracted the envy of the elder brother's association. Moreover, the imperial court is currently facing financial difficulties, who knows if they won't set their sights on us? Brother, what should we do if that kind of situation arises?"

  Qiao Cheng listened to Qiao Yu's explanation and also bowed his head in contemplation. He had participated in the entire process of setting up the textile factory, so he naturally knew how much heart and soul had been poured into it. Where would he be willing to let it fall into someone else's hands? Moreover, the situation that Qiao Yu described had indeed occurred, with some fabric shops already facing extortion from local rascals, but the amounts were still relatively small, so they had just suffered financial losses to avoid disaster.

  "Third Brother, recruiting soldiers for self-protection I don't object to, we indeed need the power to deter petty villains. However, the imperial court is after all powerful, everything must be done with careful consideration. You should know that the fortune and misfortune of our entire family are in your hands!"

  Qiao Yu grasped his elder brother's hand and said solemnly, "Elder brother, rest assured that I will plan carefully before acting. The world is in chaos right before our eyes, the Qing dynasty is already tottering. Last year, the imperial court signed a loan contract with foreign powers to build roads, and rumors have been circulating that they want to take over the railways as state-owned property. Elder brother, you know the pros and cons of this, don't you?"

  Qiao Cheng seemed somewhat puzzled at first, but his face suddenly changed color and his hands began to shake uncontrollably.

  "Lao San, are you saying that the imperial court is going to stir up trouble on the Sichuan-Han Road? Isn't that like asking for death?"

  "Big brother must have guessed it too, once the imperial court moves on the Sichuan-Han Road, even if there is no great chaos in the world, Sichuan will definitely not be peaceful, so I am eager to grasp some military power, just in case!"

  Qiao Cheng nodded frequently upon hearing this, saying that the Chuan-Han Railway was truly a beehive. The railway could be said to be the lifeline of transportation, extremely important. At the end of the Qing dynasty, China's road rights fell into the hands of Westerners, becoming an important means for plundering China's resources. Wherever the railway reached, the powers' influence extended there as well.

  In response to the invasion of powerful countries, the Sichuan-Han Railway Company was established in 1904 and later changed to a private enterprise. The idea was to rely on private capital to build the railway, which seemed like a good plan at first, but it turned out to be a huge problem when it came to fundraising.

  The cost of repairing the railway was astonishing, and in order to raise funds, Sichuan Governor Xieliang even approved a seemingly absurd fundraising method. This involved collecting rent and taxes from ordinary people, converting the forcibly collected money into company shares, and making Sichuan locals shareholders of the company.

  The problem arose at this time, the Sichuan-Han Railway Company was a private enterprise, but it had the power of taxation that only the government could have, and it became a second government. The government did not effectively manage the company's operations, and soon these funds were squandered by a small number of major shareholders, resulting in severe losses. However, the railway was not repaired at all. The most serious problem occurred during the 1910 Shanghai Rubber Stock Crash, when some shareholders even played with stocks, causing losses of tens of millions of taels. It was also because of the huge losses that the Qing government wanted to take over the railway. Of course, the Qing government had its own plans, and during the stock crash, the government was also trapped in a financial crisis, wanting to use the Sichuan-Han Railway rights as collateral to borrow from foreign powers.

  But to be returned to state ownership, the assets must be accounted for clearly, who should be held accountable for the losses? The imperial court has no money and is still relying on railway loans. How can they bear this loss? Those major shareholders are all Sichuan gentry and powerful families, truly controlling local figures, can they be forced to bleed and cut their flesh? But it's impossible to let millions of Sichuan people take the blame! That's the blood and sweat money of ordinary people, the Chengdu-Hankou railway is also the hope of Sichuan people, a dead knot was formed, therefore any rash move will certainly lead to chaos throughout the country.

  Although the Qiao family was not deeply involved in the railway issue, Qiao Cheng also had some understanding of the problems within the railway company and knew how dangerous it would be to take over the nationalization, which would undoubtedly lead to a struggle with the entire Sichuan gentry class, and if things went wrong, they might even see each other's swords.

  "Lao San, for now it's just a rumor, I think the imperial court might come up with a suitable solution, and it won't lead to a disaster of epic proportions!"

  "Big brother, do you still believe that this imperial court can do good things? How many of the Eight Banner nobles in Beijing know about the problems of the Sichuan Railway Company? Those people like Sheng Xuanhuai are blinded by their own desires, and with foreigners pressing from behind, there's no doubt they will sacrifice the interests of the ordinary people of Sichuan. It's just a matter of sooner or later!"

  Qiao Yu was very confident in his own judgment, which is a clear historical fact. After experiencing it personally, he became even more determined in his judgment. At this time, the so-called protection of the road, the responsibility lies with the minority of large shareholders, and they should be punished to protect the property of the common people. However, the Qing court's control over local areas was too weak, and it did not have the power to deal with the powerful forces, so it was counter-attacked by the shareholders, the Qing court took the blame, Sichuan fell into chaos, and then the whole country fell into chaos.

  It's already February now, and it's been four months since the Baolu movement broke out. Qiao Yu must speed up his preparations. Qiao Cheng carefully considered the pros and cons and agreed with his third brother's judgment, hastily recruiting bodyguards.