In the middle of the night, Nishimura Matsuhei came outside a bar and recalled that the industrialist Shibusawa Eiichi introduced him to a person named Shizuki Yayanaga, who specially opened the Sakura Nomori Izakaya in Shanghai to make it convenient for him to stay here.Nishimura Matsubei's goal in coming to China is very clear, that is, he has determined that China's industrialization is lagging. Even if the Shanghai machine weaving layout monopolizes the market, he is still confident that he will use Chinese cotton to defeat Chinese companies and completely occupy the Chinese market.

Zhang Jian took Shen and Meng to visit Guo Huamao. They were both scholars, but their ideas were slightly different.Compared to Zhang Jian's patriotism, Guo Huamao was more interested in making money. After listening to Zhang Jian and others' ideas, he directly asked two questions, pointing out that the cost can be reduced if it is high, but the donation must not be reduced.

They have to collect donations for growing flowers, and they have to collect donations for weaving. They have to collect donations over and over again. They are completely inferior to Western woven fabrics, because they only need to pay enough customs duties at one time, but the cost of this is hugely different.In addition, Guo Huamao felt that the cotton mill was dependent on the government and would collapse quickly if those court officials who were not familiar with business were allowed to take random orders and enrich their own pockets.

After listening to Guo Huamao's words, it was like an enlightenment, which made Zhang Jian feel that it was necessary to think clearly about the issue of commercial shares and official shares, otherwise there would be endless troubles.In Zhang Jian's view, as long as the official shares come in, there will be officials, and they must manage them as soon as they come. They will talk nonsense even if they don't understand, and they will boss around and yell at you all day long. They will use the same officialdom style all day long, and then they will end up getting paid, taking bribes, nepotism, and excluding dissidents. Not only can they not make any money, but they will also have to collect money when they lose money.Therefore, whether it is official shares or commercial shares, Zhang Jian feels that he must get all the say and do his best to rely on human resources.

Guo Huamao was invited by Nishimura Matsubei and came to the wine house to meet him in person.Nishimura Matsubei hopes that Guo Huamao can help him buy a stake in Zhang Jian's yarn factory.As soon as these words came out, Guo Huamao lost his smile and said frankly that this matter made him very embarrassed. Unexpectedly, Nishimura Matsuhei took out the records of kickbacks he had received over the years to blackmail Guo Huamao into completing the matter.Guo Huamao was completely unthreatening and mocked Nishimura Matsuhei for sending him the account book, but he didn't care at all.

Not long after, Zhang Jian received a transfer order, asking him to go to Yichang, Hubei Province to take charge of the Sichuan Salt and Caligraphy Bureau. Zhang Jian felt that this job was troublesome and tricky, and it was easy to get caught between his superiors and the people, which made Zhang Jian a little worried.But Zhang Jian also wanted to benefit one party, so he asked Zhang Jian to have a drink with him tonight as a farewell.

At Sheng Xuanhuai's residence, Guo Huamao mentioned Zhang Jian to Sheng Xuanhuai and thought that he was a humble man and worthy of consideration for cooperation.Similarly, Sheng Xuanhuai also had the same intention. He felt that Zhang Jian was a good person and should not be underestimated, but he did not explicitly say whether he would buy shares.

Zhang Zhidong was about to return to Huguang, so he specially asked Zhang Jian to discuss the cotton mill and firmly opposed the commercial operation.By then, the country would not be able to enrich itself by strengthening its army, but it would only enrich a large number of speculators and profiteers, and the cotton mills would have to be run by the government.However, Zhang Jian disagreed with Zhang Zhidong's words and left angrily. Zhao Fengchang hurriedly chased Zhang Zhidong and explained Zhang Zhidong's difficulties. He was begging Sheng Xuanhuai to accept the mess regarding the Huguang matter. Zhang Jian was angry that the New Deal for Westernization had failed because of the government. If these things were not eliminated, no industry would be able to run well. Even if he could not completely change, he should find a way out in the cracks.

When he was in Bingshen, he was defeated in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894. Li Hongzhang signed a treasonous treaty and was reviled by the world.The empress dowager took away his crown for the sake of the common people. After the Russian emperor's coronation, he invited Li Hongzhang to attend the ceremony. However, the empress dowager immediately withdrew her order and appointed Li Hongzhang as an imperial envoy again, thus avoiding another incident in an instant.Not wanting Li Hongzhang to meet with the Queen Mother before his visit to Russia, he listed fifty-seven people who were not allowed to be appointed, and Zhang Jian was at the top.

Xu Duan's health was getting worse day by day, so Zhang Jian made some decoction for her before going out again.Wu Daoyan stood on the bridge holding an umbrella and watched him off. He was filled with joy when he saw Zhang Jian holding the umbrella he sent.Zhang Jian took the initiative to see Liu Kunyi, the governor of Liangjiang, and begged him to allow the Tongzhou cotton mill gentry to run the business without collecting official shares. Liu Kunyi finally came to his senses.