Chapter 3 Getting to Know Chen Shaokuan

  ument.write(

  Since the Inspectorate had become more mature, Xu Shao-wen's official duties had also become busier. He would often meet with social elites and military officials. Once these events accumulated, they could only be recorded on his schedule. He glanced at Chen Ling-xian and asked in slight surprise: "Is there only one meeting today?"

  "It's almost Chinese New Year, all the scheduled appointments have been postponed, and there's only this one today," Chen Lingshen nodded and said, but he suddenly remembered something and added another sentence, "Oh, right, there's also an impromptu meeting at 3 pm this afternoon, Shanghai tycoon Zhang Jingjiang has something important to discuss with you."

  Xu Shaowen was shocked when he heard the name Zhang Jingjiang. It had been half a year since he last contacted Zhang after investing in the military supplies, and he assumed that Zhang must have gone to Guangzhou to help with something, which is why he had been out of touch for so long. Today, Zhang suddenly came to meet him, which was quite abrupt.

  Xu Shao Wen even thought, Zhang Jing Jiang must know that he is now the Shanghai Garrison Commander, and it was Yuan Shi Kai who personally appointed him. As someone who has always supported the Guangzhou government, would he resent himself? He can't control so much now, wait until this afternoon when they meet again, see how things unfold, besides, he never intended to serve the Beiyang government anyway. The reason for taking up the Shanghai Garrison Commander position was just to have a place to exert his influence.

  "Oh, I see," Xu Shaowen sighed and glanced at the wall clock in his office before saying, "It's almost eleven o'clock. You go to the first floor hall to welcome General Li Dingxin. In terms of military rank, he is still above me."

  Chen Lingxian immediately turned around and walked out of the office.

  After waiting for about half an hour, Chen Lingxian returned to the office again. He knocked on the door and brought in a fifty-year-old general wearing a naval uniform, followed by a young naval officer in his twenties.

  This general was Li Dingxin, a prominent figure in the early Republic of China's naval history. Although he had always been loyal to the Beiyang government, after Yuan Shikai's death, Duan Qirui insisted on his own dictatorship, and this old minister of the Beiyang government decided to join the revolution, leading the entire First Fleet to join the National Protection Army Government.

  Xu Shaowen immediately stood up and welcomed him, saying: "Commander Li has come all the way to visit, it's really making me, a junior, feel flustered. Please, please sit down."

  Li Dingxin was somewhat moved by Xu Shao's enthusiasm, and the two sat down after exchanging pleasantries. He smiled slightly and said to Xu Shao: "Director Xu has achieved great things at a young age, truly a model for my China's revival generation."

  Xu Shaowen hastily declined with a smile, saying: "Commander Li is being too polite, the great hat of China's revival, Shaowen is afraid he can't bear it." He suddenly saw that the young officer who followed Li Dingxin was still standing, and said, "Commander Li, your deputy seems to be very restrained. We are all soldiers serving the country, there is no need for such politeness. Please sit down together."

  The young officer bowed his head slightly and smiled kindly at Xu Shao Wen before sitting down.

  "Ah, let me introduce him to you, Commander Xu. This is Hou Fu, a young brother who has just returned from studying abroad not long ago. He's been serving as my deputy officer for the past few days and is a very dependable person. I wasn't planning on bringing him along this time, but he had heard of your great name, Commander Xu, and begged to come along and pay his respects."

  "Hou Fu?" Xu Shao Wen was slightly stunned and asked further, "May I ask if this brother's surname is Chen?"

  Li Dingxin and the young officer both showed a look of astonishment.

  "What? Does Commander Xu know Hou Fu?" Li Ding asked in surprise.

  Xu Shao Wen took a deep breath, and indeed he had guessed correctly. This Chen Hou Fu was actually none other than the Chinese Navy's national hero and outstanding patriotic general, Chen Shao Kuan. Since enrolling in the Shipbuilding Academy at 17 years old, Chen Shao Kuan had studied abroad in Britain and France at a young age, and this year he had just been transferred back to Shanghai's First Fleet as a lieutenant colonel deputy officer.

  According to the normal historical time calculation, in a few months, Li Dingxin and Chen Shaokuan will participate in the suppression of the "Zhaohe No. Uprising" naval battle together. Also because of this incident, the career fate of both men will take a turn.

  Xu Shaowen chuckled twice and said, "Oh, I've heard of him before when I was at the Army University. Commander Chen introduced him as a rare talent." He casually made up an excuse to brush it off. "I wonder what instructions Commander Li has for me this time?"

  Li Dingxin's face was slightly embarrassed, and he forced a smile, saying: "I'm afraid it would make Director Xu laugh. This time, I, Li, have come with an impolite request, hoping that Director Xu can generously assist."

  "Oh, is it about the naval expenses?" Xu Shaowen understood the purpose of Li Dingxin and Chen Shaokuan's visit as soon as he heard the word "generous".

  The development of the Chinese Navy has been a tortuous process, especially in the early days of the Republic of China, when the navy's budget was always in difficulty. From 1910 to 1913, seven cruisers ordered by the Chinese Navy from abroad were all cancelled due to financial difficulties, and only two cruisers, "Yingrui" and "Zhaohe", were successfully incorporated into the fleet after the navy's repeated efforts to raise funds.

  Li Dingxin's greatest contribution to the navy was not his departure from the Beiyang government and participation in the National Protection War, but rather his active personal efforts to raise funds, which enabled the development of the Shanghai First Fleet, Xiamen Fleet, and Wuhan Yangtze River Fleet.

  The two cruisers, Yingrui and Chaohua, are about to be completed, and Li Dingxin has come to see Xu Shaojing, obviously for the final payment of the two cruisers.

  "Hmm... Director Xu, you're indeed well-informed about this matter. This is a bit of an awkward situation for me to ask for funding, but I'll just get straight to the point. The navy is an important part of our national defense forces, so I was wondering if you'd be willing to provide some generous assistance."

  "According to my calculations, the seven warships that the Navy Department has ordered from abroad have not paid off the remaining payment, and this cost adds up to almost 50 or 60 million." Xu Shaowen had a thoughtful look on his face, muttering to himself.

  Li Dingxin heard Xu Shaowen say this, and hastily added: "Actually, it doesn't need to be that much. The two warships that are about to be completed only require a balance payment of $470,000 and $350,000 respectively."

  On the side, Chen Shaokuan, being young and vigorous, couldn't help but interject: "We didn't come here to ask Director Xu to donate the entire amount all at once. In these past few days, I and Lord Li have already raised tens of thousands from other military and government departments. You, Director Xu, only need to contribute a token amount."

  －－－－－－－－－－－－－

  Please collect, vote, and show love, strong request, you will be rewarded. Thank you.