Chapter Sixteen: Yang Shoukan Comes to Visit

  Niu Chuan Shan thought he had gotten his way, but Qiao Yu was even more overjoyed at this moment. Although he had already begun training the guards, he didn't dare to provoke the Qing government, so he only trained 300 people on a small scale. Now that Niu Chuan Shan had given him the power to train the police, it was like giving him the green light to expand his forces. How could Qiao Yu not be delighted? He hurriedly went to find Qiao Cheng to discuss the matter.

  Qiao Yu and Qiao Cheng sat facing each other, Qiao Yu recounted the events, then smiled and said: "Big brother, the foolish official has given me the power to recruit and train troops, as long as we train well, soon we'll be able to capture another armed force!"

  "It's indeed the case, but this imperial court is too incompetent. How can they dare to give away all power? Do they really wish for chaos throughout the land? Is there some hidden plot behind this?"

  "They only drank poison to quench their thirst, they were powerless to control the local area. Originally, it was all relying on clan forces to control, now in the city, industry and commerce are booming, each community has fallen into the hands of the Constitutional Party, just like Zhang Jian and others have a certain number of armed men, responsible for maintaining law and order, catching thieves, developing education and other things. Niu Chuan Shan gave us this power, also with the intention of letting us deal with the Revolutionary Party, but it happened to meet our wishes. Big brother, you should quickly recruit more people!"

  "Alright, Old Three, don't worry, I'll definitely gather all the men and horses as soon as possible!"

  "No need to rush, my guards here haven't been trained yet, at least two months are needed for them to take shape. I plan to use these guards as the backbone to train patrolmen by then. Also, don't let Nuan Chuan Shan think we're too eager, lest he becomes suspicious!"

  "You've grown taller than me!"

  The two brothers were discussing when they suddenly heard a knock on the door, and Wang Tianhe's voice came over.

  "Master, someone is looking for you and has already come three or four times, saying they must see you!"

  "Alright then, I'll go take a look!"

  Qiao Yu came out of the room and Wang Tianhe rushed straight to the outside of the mansion, arriving at the gate of the White Mansion. There was a man in his thirties standing at the entrance, not very tall, wearing glasses, looking quite elegant. However, his eyebrows were high and his lips were extremely thin, seeming like he wasn't an easy person to deal with. When Qiao Yu came out, the man's face had a slight smile, and he spoke first.

  "Mr. Qiao, it's harder to see you than to reach the sky!"

  "This friend, having many mundane affairs, can't help but be slow in responding to friends. I just don't know your esteemed surname and given name, it seems we haven't met before!"

  "Qiao Boss is a famous person in Chongqing, a business prodigy. How would he know me? My humble name is Yang Shu Kan, Yang Cang Bai!"

  Qiao Yu suddenly remembered the things in Japan, and the person in front of him was the leader of the Sichuan Alliance, right? Thinking of this, Qiao Yu's face was full of smiles. "So it's Mr. Cangbai, forgive me for not knowing earlier, please come in, we can have a good chat!"

  Qiao Yu invited Yang Shu Kan into the living room, and after they sat down, a servant poured fragrant tea. Yang Shu Kan didn't stand on ceremony, took a sip, and said: "Mr. Qiao, I've looked for you at the factory several times, and also came to the White Mansion several times, it's really not easy to see you!"

  Yang Shu Kan's tone was unfriendly from the moment they met, but Qiao Yu remained calm and composed, his years of experience had given him enough poise to face the situation before him.

  "Master Cangbai, I've been running around non-stop for days and haven't had a chance to rest my feet. Today, I'm hosting a banquet to make amends with you! Please don't take offense."

  Qiao Yu's tone turned polite, and Yang Shoujian also didn't want to force him. With a bitter smile on his face, he said: "Mr. Qiao, I'm not blaming you, but my heart is too anxious. Two months ago, I received letters from Qin Yu and two other brothers, strongly recommending you to me, saying that you have great talent, are one of the few talented people, and joined our alliance, asking me to cooperate with you more, to overthrow the corrupt Qing government together. However, I must say something I shouldn't say, brother, after you returned to Sichuan, you devoted yourself to industry, this revolution still relies on guns, factories need to be developed, but as long as the revolution succeeds, everything will be easy. I've heard that you invested hundreds of thousands of silver coins in a factory, do you know how many guns and ammunition can be bought with this money? In the numerous uprisings, how many brothers failed because they lacked firearms? If we could invest this money in the revolutionary cause, why worry about not overthrowing the Qing?"

  Qiao Yu's anger surged upon hearing Yang Shuqian's words. What to do? Has industry become a mistake? Should I hand over my family property for your revolution? Your flawed revolution would have been doomed if not for the incompetent Qing court, and you still want to squander our money? How unreasonable! Qiao Yu leaned back in his chair, sneering: "Mr. Cangbai, industrializing to save the nation is the trend of the times. I'm just following the trend. Revolution is important, but we can't slack off on industrial development, or the gap between us and the great powers will only grow! Besides, if this revolution fails, isn't it my fault for not sacrificing my family's wealth?"

  Yang Shoukan seemed to have realized that his words were a bit excessive, so he also calmed down: "Qiao Xiongdi, I've been really busy these past few days, please don't take offense. Not long ago, Mr. Sun sent me a secret letter, we're about to make our move in Guangzhou soon. Right now, we lack silver, and I'm scrambling to raise funds everywhere, but what I get is limited. As long as the gentleman succeeds, we'll rise up together and overthrow the Qing dynasty in one fell swoop! Please help me, Xiongdi!"

  Actually, Yang Shouqian had been paying attention to Qiao Yu's situation since he knew about this person. Because of Qiao Yu's family background and his return to Sichuan to set up a factory, as well as his involvement with the Constitutional Party, Yang Shouqian did not accept him from the bottom of his heart. Therefore, he only observed without approaching him. However, now that the Guangzhou Uprising is imminent, Yang Shouqian's power is limited and he has to take risks to pull Qiao Yu over. At present, whether it is Liren Textile Factory or Sichuan Investment Company, both have a huge impact. As long as Qiao Yu can help the Tongmenghui, there is no worry that the revolution will not succeed!

  Qiao Yu had already guessed more than half of Yang Shu-kan's intentions, so he smiled and said: "Mr. Yang, how can I help you?"

  Yang Shoukan looked at Qiao Yu and seemed to be willing to help, his heart was also delighted. It seems that this person is still concerned about the revolution: "Qiao Xiongdi, I hope you can provide 500,000 taels of silver, I will give 300,000 taels to Mr. Sun, and the rest will be used for the Sichuan Revolution. Don't worry, as long as our revolution is successful, this money will definitely be doubled back to Xiongdi, absolutely not letting Xiongdi suffer a loss!"

  The Huanghuagang Uprising could not have succeeded, Qiao Yu said that who else would know better than himself? If it weren't for the Qing government's continuous mistakes, pushing out the imperial cabinet, and forcibly taking back the Sichuan-Han Railway, ultimately leading to chaos throughout the country. Just pointing at these revolutionaries, it's unknown when they will succeed. Take this Guangzhou Uprising, for example. It has been in preparation since last year, already over four months now. From the initial plan of a ten-route military advance, it was changed to a four-route advance, and by the time it was launched, only Huang Xing's route remained. It can be said that organizationally, it was a complete failure. The prolonged preparation process had already made the uprising no secret, and it had long been detected by the Qing government. What possibility of success is there? This is still touted as carefully planned by the Tongmenghui; one can imagine what level they are at.

  Now Yang Shu Kan's red lips and white teeth seemed to be making money from himself, which was a fool's dream. Qiao Yu asked calmly: "Mr. Yang, do you have any other requirements?"

  "Brother, now your factory is thriving and has many workers. I plan to arrange some revolutionary comrades in the factory to mobilize and organize the workers, so that when the time comes, we can rise up together. It would be even better if we could purchase some weapons from foreigners!"

  Qiao Yu picked up the teacup lightly, took a sip, and said slowly: "Firstly, setting up a factory requires a huge amount of capital, I'm already broke, thirty or fifty taels can be negotiated, but three to five hundred thousand taels is simply impossible. Secondly, my heart and soul are invested in this factory, those so-called revolutionaries of yours are just some hooligans and gangsters with no skills whatsoever, I will absolutely not let them mix into my factory. Thirdly, I don't think your revolution can succeed, therefore it's also impossible for me to provide you with funds to purchase weapons, Mr. Yang, if there's nothing else, please feel free to leave."

  Yang Shu Kan had long been furious, thirty or fifty taels? You're sending away the beggar! The other two conditions were also rejected. At this time, looking at Qiao Yu's smiling face again, he felt even more resentful and angry.

  "Are you a Qiao, what do you mean, making fun of revolutionary martyrs again? Do you want to betray the Alliance?"

  "Mr. Yang, you haven't even officially joined the Alliance yet, how can you talk about betrayal? On the contrary, aren't you afraid of the law as a rebellious party member who is so arrogant?"

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