Basic Undertakings

  "The Blue Sky with a White Sun" was originally designed by Lu Haodong, a close friend of Sun Yat-sen, for the Xingzhonghui in 1895. It was planned to be used during the Guangzhou Uprising on the Double Ten Day, but the uprising failed and Lu died. To commemorate his fallen comrades, Sun Yat-sen used this flag in all subsequent uprisings he participated in.

  As for the meaning of the "Blue Sky with a White Sun" flag, Sun Yat-sen's interpretation is: "The blue sky and white sun symbolize the bright and just illumination of freedom and equality." Sun Yat-sen believed that China at that time had become a dark and eerie world without sunshine, and revolution was to make the "blue sky" appear with a round "white sun".

  Although Sun Yat-sen gave a good meaning to the Blue Sky with a White Sun flag, for China's grassroots people who generally have low cultural quality, they find it difficult to understand the connotation and symbolic meaning represented by the pattern of "blue sky" and "white sun", and thus produce a sense of identity in their hearts. On the contrary, due to the similarity between the Blue Sky with a White Sun flag and the Japanese national flag, it is easy to cause strong resentment among the people.

  After the First Sino-Japanese War, Japan has been increasingly aggressive towards China, and the great harm caused by Japan to China has made people from all walks of life in China highly vigilant against Japan. The Blue Sky with a White Sun flag, similar to the Japanese national flag, advocated by Sun Yat-sen, not only failed to gain recognition from the Chinese people but also easily led to resistance. For example, Mr. Zhang Taiyan, a famous scholar in China, was willing to cover his body with the Five-color Flag until his death and refused to recognize the Blue Sky with a White Sun flag as the national flag.

  The Tongmenghui also had intense conflicts over the national flag issue, and Huang Xing, a revolutionary pioneer who was as famous as Sun Yat-sen, almost broke with Sun Yat-sen because of this. Huang Xing believed that the design style of the Blue Sky White Sun Flag was too similar to the Japanese sun flag, advocating for the use of the "equal land rights" Jingzi flag, but Sun Yat-sen insisted on not allowing it, and the two almost quarreled over it.

  The red, yellow and blue tricolor flag designed by Yang Shouming has a straightforward yet profound meaning that is easy to understand at a glance.

  Among the three colors of red, yellow and blue, the blue in the upper part represents the sky, the red at the bottom symbolizes that the great land of China has been stained with blood, and the huge and striking yellow "human" character in the middle represents the descendants of Yan and Huang, meaning that the hot-blooded sons and daughters of China have their heads under the blue sky and their feet on the bloody land, being a Chinese who holds up the sky and stands on the earth! And the whole national flag symbolizes the Chinese nation's rebirth in blood and its proud standing in the world again.

  The concept of "Chinese people standing tall and proud" is fully embodied in this flag.

  Even an illiterate farmer or village woman in China knows how to write the character for "person"!

  The most obvious example is that Yang Shuo painted the pattern of the national flag, and without his explanation, his loving wife Huang Yunzhi already understood the symbolic meaning of "topping the sky and standing on the ground" represented by this national flag!

  Yang Shuo Ming is precisely trying to evoke the most primitive emotions deep in people's hearts through the cultural significance represented by this "person" character, and to awaken people's spirits!

  Although it is said now, this flag can only be a symbol of a private comprehensive company that is just about to be established.

  At this moment, Yang Shuoming gazed at the national flag he designed, clenched his fist bit by bit, and a flame seemed to be burning fiercely in his eyes.

  Huang Yunzhi, standing beside him, noticed the flames in his eyes. She suddenly remembered her "little move" when he was asleep, and a mischievous and confident smile flashed across the corner of her mouth.

  "I see, if I don't invest now, won't I lose out big time later?" In the security office, Xu Yuanjin looked at the investment contract Yang Shaoming gave him and smiled, "I just realized, you're actually a seasoned businessman."

  "The old rich men in the town didn't have as much nonsense as you, they all rushed to invest after hearing about it." Yang Shouming smiled and said, "After all, I am a member of the security team, how can I let Captain Xu lose out? That would be too unfeeling."

  "I've noticed that since you married Huang Lao Cai's daughter, your mind hasn't been on the security team." Xu Yuan Jin smiled and said, "However, it's also true that a small place like the security team isn't where someone with your talents should stay for long. I just hope that before you leave, you can finish making all the mortars I need."

  "You're wrong about that," Yang Shuo Ming said calmly, "I'm doing this for the brothers in the security team to have a better life. The future security team will definitely not just have a few mortars."

  Xu Yuanjin listened to Yang Shuo Ming's words, first stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing happily. He patted Yang Shuo Ming on the shoulder, indicating that he understood his meaning, took up a pen and signed the joint stock contract, then took the red seal mud and stamped his handprint.

  "My private money is not much, I'll send it back to you later." Xu Yuanjin wiped his fingers with a cloth and said to Yang Shouming.

  "It's not needed." Yang Shuo Ming calmly put away the contract and said.

  Xu Yuanjin looked at Yang Shuo Ming, and Yang Shuo Ming met his gaze. The two of them simultaneously revealed a knowing smile.

  "By the way, this is the new charter of our security team, take a look," said Yang Shuoming, handing an envelope to Xu Yuanjin. "Just for salt mining and transportation, there are many places that rely on the security team, and the scale of the security team will be very large in the future, it must be formalized."

  Xu Yuanshen glanced at Yang Shuo with a hint of amusement, took the envelope, pulled out the letter inside, and after reading it for a few moments, his expression suddenly turned solemn.

  "How did you think of so much?" Xu Yuanjin looked at Yang Shuo with an incredulous gaze, "You're not studying law and finance? Have you been to a military school or something?"

  Yang Shuo Ming just smiled and didn't answer.

  He certainly couldn't tell Xu Yuanjin that this was his "eye" which had been helped to come up with by referencing many examples from ancient and modern times, China and abroad.

  "With this approach, the security team you've drawn up wouldn't be a security team at all." Xu Yuanjin said with admiration after reading Yang Shouming's draft of the new security team regulations, "I dare say that even Old Yuan's troops in the north don't have your military strategy."

  Yang Shuo Ming heard Xu Yuan Jin say the word "Military Governance Method", knew he had understood his meaning, and nodded.

  "It's not enough to guarantee local peace and security," said Yang Shuo Ming, "You know, once the salt mine is mined, the profit will be huge, and there will be many people who are eager to get a share."

  "You don't have to say it, I understand." Xu Yuanshu said with a bitter smile, "I've seen it, now I'm on your Yang Han's pirate ship and can't get off."

  "With your talent, Captain Xu, you shouldn't be stuck in the security team." Yang Shaoming said, taking out a badge-like object from his pocket and placing it in Xu Yuanjin's hand.

  Xu Yuanjin looked at the thing in his hand and stared with wide eyes in surprise.

  In his hand was a ceramic circular badge, with a pattern of a red and yellow five-pointed star on it. The outer edge was a circle of blue, with the three colors of red, yellow and blue shining together, looking both beautiful and solemn.

  "This is the cap badge, I had a set of military uniforms tailored for the security team. The security team should have their own formal attire, so that last time they wouldn't be confused with bandits." Yang Shaoming chuckled and pulled at the police uniform on Xu Yuanjin's body, "Honestly, you look terrible in this outfit, Captain Xu. You should wear a real military uniform to match."

  After hearing Yang Shuo Ming's words, Xu Yuan Jin seemed to have thought of something and let out a deep sigh.

  "I haven't worn a military uniform in a long time..."

  Yang Shuo Ming looked at Xu Yuan Jin, whose eyes had become somewhat moist, and smiled as he patted his shoulder. Xu Yuan Jin took a deep breath and tightly grasped the hat badge in his hand.

  On September 16, 1913, the "Rén Hé" company was established. On August 13 of that year, the Guangdong-based army led by Long Jiguang, who supported Yuan Shikai, entered Guangzhou. On August 18, Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi Province, was captured by the Northern Army's Sixth Division under Zhang Jingyao. On September 1, Zhang Xun's Wuwei Front Army took Nanjing. Sun Yat-sen, Huang Xing, Li Liejun, Chen Qimei, Bai Wenwei, and Ju Zheng fled to Japan one after another as the "Second Revolution" failed.

  On September 29, 1913, Yuan Shikai appointed Li Xun as acting governor of Jiangxi and director of civil affairs.

  October 10, 1913, Yuan Shikai formally took office as the formal Grand President of the Republic of China in Beijing.

  January 25, 1914, New Year's Eve.

  "It's New Year's Day and I've got you stuck here with me and my cat, I'm really sorry."

  Yang Shuo Ming stood in front of the window, gazing at the snowflakes fluttering down from the gloomy sky. He turned his head and spoke to Huang Yunzhi, who was wrapped in a fur coat and sitting by the brazier.

  "There's nothing wrong with this place either." Huang Yunzhi got up and came to Yang Shuoming's side, warming his hands with hers that had been heated by the fire. "This underground fortress is our haven, don't forget, we first met here too."

  Yang Shuo Ming looked at his loving wife with a happy expression on her face and revealed a joyful smile.

  After the establishment of "Renhe" company, in order to develop the nearby underground salt mine, Yang Shouming set up the headquarters of "Renhe" company in the cave fortress occupied by Hei Liu that year.

  When surveying the salt mine and surrounding areas, it was found that the Didingbao, which originally belonged to the Qing Dynasty's Hanlin Biezhai, had a tunnel connecting to the salt mine, and there were even wells and pools for extracting salt underground. This suggests that this place should have been used for experimental mining, but for some reason, it was eventually abandoned. Hei Liu's bandit gang did not conduct a thorough survey of the area after occupying it, so he never knew that he had been living in a mountain of gold until his death.

  Due to the fact that the underground fortress is connected with the salt mine and is easy to defend but hard to attack, Yang Shuo Ming set up the headquarters of "Ren He" company here, and the military purpose is actually a bit bigger.

  After nearly two months of intense preparation, the "Renhe Salt Mine" was officially opened. Thanks to Yang Shuoming's prior use of the "Super Computer Eye" to maximize the utilization of all available technical conditions at the time, the efficiency of mining was maximized and the working tools, working conditions, and living environment of salt workers were improved. The output of the first month of the "Renhe Salt Mine" far exceeded that of its peers in this era.