"Premier Xu, this won't do." Zhang Jian, the Minister of Industry, Commerce, and People's Affairs, was the first to rise and voice his opposition.

Since Xu Shichang wanted to establish his own political record, he needed achievements. In Xu's view, extending the original Beijing-Zhangjiakou (Jing-Zhang) Railway to Baotou would be a significant milestone. Beiyang possessed China's top-tier railway engineering team. After Zhan Tianyou, the chief designer, successfully completed the Jing-Zhang line, he had been tirelessly lobbying the Beiyang government to build a line from Zhangjiakou to Baotou, and even planned for one from Baotou to Suiyuan.

Building railways was a good thing; as the saying goes, "When the train whistles, gold flows." However, before earning ten thousand ounces of gold, one had to invest ten thousand ounces of gold first. The source of funding for this railway, as planned by Xu Shichang, left many members of the Beiyang cabinet quite dissatisfied. Yuan Shikai had allowed the People's Party to establish a wool-purchasing enterprise in Zhangjiakou, which had been quite successful. Ever since the railway was completed, Zhangjiakou had become the destination for herdsmen on the grasslands to sell their goods. The impoverished herdsmen didn't want money; they lacked industrial goods. Relying on the Beijing-Hankou line, the People's Party transported large quantities of tea and cloth to Zhangjiakou for direct trade with the herdsmen. Adding up various types of trade, Beiyang collected 700,000 taels of tax silver in a single year.

Xu Shichang wanted to invest this money into railway construction, which was touching a lot of people's "cheese." Zhang Jian was in charge of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and People's Affairs, and commercial taxes were his political achievement. Zhang Jian was an "airdropped cadre"; while Yan Fu was merely disliked by the cabinet, at least he originated from the Beiyang group. Zhang Jian, a top-ranking scholar from the late Qing dynasty, though famous, had his roots in Jiangsu and was isolated within the Beiyang cabinet.

Other taxes within Beiyang's territory were already controlled by various factions. The newly opened tax sources relied entirely on businesses opened by the People's Party. Xu Shichang wasn't touching others' money but was directly demanding the benefits Zhang Jian had worked hard to gather into his hands. Naturally, Zhang Jian refused to yield.

However, Xu Shichang was not Yan Fu. The Beiyang cabinet could force Yan Fu to go abroad, but they couldn't touch Xu Shichang.

"Mr. Zhang, Mr. Zhan Tianyou mentioned that the railway from Zhangjiakou to Baotou can be completed in about three years. Once the railway is through, commerce will flourish even more. Why only look at the present?"

Zhang Jian countered sharply, "Currently, the central government's finances are very difficult, and building a railway requires a massive investment. Even if we take the taxes from the many newly established enterprises, I'm afraid it won't be enough. By the time commercial taxes are collected, the treasury will have been emptied. What use will it be then to just stand by the railway? It would be better to issue railway bonds."

Xu Shichang would not let Zhang Jian block his path. He immediately replied, "From issuing to selling railway bonds, it would take at least six months. Now, if we just tighten our belts a bit, the railway can start construction immediately. Moreover, once construction starts, trains can run on the sections completed first, which will allow the wool trade to grow even larger and tax revenue to increase further. Some things can be planned for the long term, but some things must be done immediately."

The dispute lasted until noon. During lunch, Xu Shichang found Yuan Shikai. "Mr. President, I believe the matter of building the railway can no longer be delayed."

Yuan Shikai actually supported Xu Shichang. Building a railway from Zhangjiakou to Baotou meant a significant increase in Beiyang's control over the local area. Zhan Tianyou's construction of the Jing-Zhang line was personally overseen by Yuan Shikai; originally planned to take six years and cost 7 million taels of silver, it took only four years and cost 5 million taels. Yuan Shikai had great confidence in Zhan Tianyou.

"I will speak to Zhang Jian about this," Yuan Shikai replied.

Xu Shichang was very satisfied. Yan Fu was forced to go abroad precisely because he lacked such support from Yuan Shikai. When the cabinet ministers work against you, life as a Premier is not easy. This was not a problem that could be solved simply by removing the opposing cabinet members. Every member of the cabinet represented the interests of a considerable group of people. The ministers who jumped out openly were actually the easiest to deal with. But if one couldn't reach an agreement with those underlying forces, any matter would encounter layers of obstacles from the shadows. Yuan Shikai's prestige showed its advantage at this time; as long as Yuan Shikai gave his clear support, at least no one would dare to oppose him too much.

However, Xu Shichang's joy did not last long. Yuan Shikai continued, "Juren, the emptiness of the treasury that Zhang Jian spoke of is not without reason. If we issue bonds, the railway could temporarily save a lot of money."

As Yuan Shikai's loyalist and confidant, Xu Shichang dared to speak the truth. "Mr. President, issuing bonds is to solve an urgent need. With current bond interest rates, it's essentially usury. I wouldn't dare take that path."

Mentioning interest rates, Yuan Shikai stopped talking. The lenders were like wolves and tigers, and Yuan Shikai truly did not want to bring more trouble upon himself.

Zhang Jian's view on bonds was completely different from Yuan Shikai's. When Yuan Shikai spoke to him about the matter, this former Qing scholar said aggressively, "Mr. President, issuing bonds is good for both the country and the people. Private funds have a place to be used, and the country can carry out construction."

"Then what about the matter of repaying the debt?" Yuan Shikai asked.

"Railways should not be state-owned in the first place!" Zhang Jian loudly answered Yuan Shikai's question. "Whoever invests, benefits. The state doesn't need to do it itself; it just plans the projects. The interests of railways are huge, and merchants know this. So, railway companies should be formed, and merchants should invest and operate them independently. The state just collects taxes and doesn't need to bear the risks, while gaining a major source of revenue for free. This is what should be done. Premier Xu wants the state to build the railway entirely. Not only can the treasury not afford it, but even if it could, the operational returns would be an issue."

Zhang Jian had been promoting this theory for a long time, and Yuan Shikai had heard it many times. After pondering for a while, Yuan Shikai said, "If I were to let you, Jizhi, take charge of a railway, would you be willing?"

Zhang Jian's previous indignation was mainly directed at Xu Shichang; having the taxes he controlled forcibly taken away was something anyone would find unbearable. Hearing Yuan Shikai's question, Zhang Jian didn't dare to reply immediately. Private companies handling railway construction would be fine if it could be done, but the water there was too deep. Zhang Jian had the courage to oppose Xu Shichang because he didn't need to accomplish anything; he only needed to prevent Xu Shichang from accomplishing anything. Conversely, if Zhang Jian wanted to accomplish something and Xu Shichang tripped him from behind, Zhang Jian didn't believe Yuan Shikai would firmly support him.

Yuan Shikai didn't push too hard either. He turned instead to current administrative affairs. "Jizhi, you've been promoting industry, and your connections in the private sector are very broad. Your Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and People's Affairs should take responsibility for foreign exports."

"Mr. President, I plan to find a few counties in Shandong to grow cotton," Zhang Jian immediately replied. He had originally grown cotton in several counties in northern Jiangsu, and his operations there had been quite good. However, when the People's Party took northern Jiangsu, Zhang Jian's family business vanished. Hearing Yuan Shikai speak, Zhang Jian immediately became energized.

"That's excellent; you should work hard at it," Yuan Shikai encouraged.

Having settled the cabinet dispute, Yuan Shikai returned to his office and sat straight on the sofa, fatigue finally appearing on his face. The once intense and turbulent situation seemed to have calmed down, and the country was moving on the track of development. This should have been a good thing. But as soon as external pressure eased, internal struggle immediately intensified.

Currently, because Beiyang lacked money, the conflict between Xu Shichang and Zhang Jian still revolved around the core axis of how to develop the economy. This was already a very normal struggle. Even so, the two had likely developed a personal grudge due to their public conflict. Yuan Shikai had originally wanted to balance the situation by letting Zhang Jian take on a railway construction and also see how much capability Zhang Jian truly had. Zhang Jian's reputation had always been "daring to take on tasks," but he had unexpectedly shrunk back when it mattered. These scholars truly couldn't be relied upon.

Looking at Beiyang's internal problems, Yuan Shikai couldn't help but think of the People's Party. According to intelligence, the People's Party started construction on three railways simultaneously this year: Lianyungang to Xuzhou, Zaozhuang to Xuzhou, and Lianyungang to Shanghai. Did the People's Party completely lack this kind of internal struggle?

The People's Party certainly had struggles, and they were quite intense. Chen Ke's idea of opening a coconut processing base in Guangdong met with opposition from the Finance Ministry.

Every year from November to the following January was the busiest time for the Finance Ministry—annual summaries and the financial planning for the second year. The statistics department of the Finance Ministry occupied a building with over twenty rooms and more than four hundred people. The sound of so many people clicking away on abacuses filled the entire building with vitality.

In January 1912, many new faces appeared in the People's Party's statistics department. These new faces included both men and women, with the only commonality being that they were very young. The first batch of junior high school graduates from the base area's formal education system had officially entered the workforce.

Starting in 1906, when the People's Party arrived in the Fengtai County base area, they began promoting a compulsory education system. The primary school students ranged in age from five to fourteen. In the blink of an eye, more than five years had passed. Some students had some educational background and graduated from the four-year primary school in a little over two years. Combined with three years of junior high education, they officially received their junior high school diplomas after passing the graduation exams.

In those days, a fourteen-year-old was considered part of the labor force, but the base area tried its best to encourage everyone to finish junior high. Since the People's Party promoted it this way, many parents were supportive. However, high school would take another three years, and many parents were unwilling to let children who were nearly twenty continue to live off the family. They demanded that their children either return home to farm or go out to work.

The People's Party openly recruited workers, which the common people saw as "joining the government." Previously, wanting to "join the government" required paying money; now, having gone to school and passed the exams, one could "join the government," which the people were naturally happy about. Especially that even girls could find a job in the government was particularly surprising to the base area's people.

It should be known that the People's Party had once promised that as long as girls could graduate from junior high school, the state would arrange work for them. At that time, the common people thought the People's Party was talking nonsense. It wasn't until today that everyone knew the People's Party had no intention of joking.

Abacus calculation (zhusuan) was one of the subjects that had to be studied and mastered in both primary and junior high school. Combined with over five years of education, these young graduates were brought in for employment. Aside from not quite understanding what they were calculating, they had little difficulty in how to complete the work.

Finance Minister Qin Wu'an was very satisfied with the work of these new comrades from a student background. After he and his colleagues carefully studied a portion of the already completed statistics, they held a meeting and unified their opinions. He then went to find Chen Ke. "Chairman Chen, we in the Finance Ministry oppose the plan to open a new base area in Guangdong."