When Lu Ming first came to Longgang, including when he met Liuli, he had not yet turned 20. He is now 22 and a half years old. Counting the time, it has been almost three years.
The changes in Longgang can be said to be earth-shaking. The production of Jiuzhou Group Steel Plant is in full swing, and related alloy material plants, new chemical plants, rubber plants, etc. have settled in Longgang.
In addition, the Heishan Machinery Factory invested by Heishan Investment Company, although named "Heishan", is actually also located in Longgang, on the edge of the administrative area of Longgang County, which is quite mysterious.
The Montenegro Machinery Factory is actually a military-industrial enterprise that mainly produces armored vehicles, including troop carriers, tanks, etc.
The empire's military-industrial enterprises were originally not well developed, and could even be said to be half-dead.
Lu Ming did not foresee that a world war would break out, but with the awareness of a time traveler, he would certainly not let go of the cheap shares of military industrial enterprises. He was the major shareholder of the empire's three major military industrial enterprise groups, holding more than 15% of the shares.
As the empire was in civil strife, military-industrial enterprises immediately prospered.
But the bad thing is that most of these military industrial enterprises are located in the west, especially mechanical military industries such as armored vehicles.
Because the largest customer was originally the Royal Guards near the imperial capital.
The rest of the local militias are just minor infighting and can be ignored.
However, as war breaks out, shareholders and the like may gradually lose their voice.
It is not very obvious now, but if you really go against the second prince and the third prince, in fact, the stocks of those military-industrial enterprises that you own will be worthless.
Moreover, the second prince and the third prince have implemented special management of the military-industrial enterprises in their territories.
The Black Mountain Machinery Factory was actually where Lu Ming urgently "rescued" it during the chaotic period when the civil unrest broke out in the empire.
The engineers are all the best, and even some small equipment are packaged by the original manufacturer.
Moreover, the state of St. Teren in the Eastern Economic Union has always had relatively developed heavy industry and can provide military industrial enterprises with production equipment such as machine tools and stamping production lines.
Although it is a traditional settlement area for Westerners, it is located in the southwest of the East China Sea and is also the southwesternmost region of the Eastern Economic Union.
But at least they are still allies today, and if any changes occur in the foreseeable future, they will be easier to control than the western states.
In addition, Lu Ming is also planning the production of weapons such as firearms and ammunition.
Nowadays, the Montenegrin Army will certainly not purchase infantry weapons and ammunition from the western states to avoid being strangled in the future. There are two main purchasing places. One is the Hausville Peninsula in the southeastern region, which is the dominion that Biss could theoretically even inherit the Duke's inheritance. The research and development and production of light weapons are popular there, and the prevalence of gangs may also be an extension of the gun culture. The second is Hanzhou, which has a large firearms military factory. In addition to light weapons, heavy machine guns, mortars, etc. are also within its research and development scope. Lu Ming already holds more than 50% of the shares.
But the same thing goes, if war breaks out and unfriendly forces enter Hanzhou, the shares will be of no use at all.
They are planning to operate in Antigua, a state adjacent to Hanzhou, as a precautionary measure to create the possibility of quickly controlling the capital of Hanzhou when the situation worsens.
Of course, the technical threshold for the production of firearms and ammunition is relatively low. In Jingyang City in the Montenegro Special Zone, an arms factory is being built with the production line introduced from Hanzhou. I believe that within a few months, Montenegro will have its own rifles and ammunition.
But no matter what, if places like Hausville and Hanzhou can be controlled in one's own hands, it is better to have them in one's own hands.
After all, it is impossible to relocate the production capacity of all military-industrial enterprises to the small Black Mountain.
Driving on the asphalt road in Longgang, Lu Ming was filled with thoughts about the changes in Longgang. He was also very glad that, as a time traveler, although he felt there was no need, he still followed his intuition and started various manipulations to purchase shares of military industrial enterprises very early on.
"What are you thinking about?" Christine asked in the co-pilot seat.
This was a small convertible sports car in the shape of a beetle, but the carport was down and it was not driving very fast because there was a slightly bulky RV following behind it.
Longgang has changed a lot, with the settlement of various enterprises, the opening of passenger trains, and the exponential growth of freight volume. New policies have activated various mining industries, and with the existence of Shili Villa, at the beginning of this year, Longgang has achieved asphalt roads connecting every village in the plains, except for the mountain villages.
But the village that Lu Ming and Christine went to was very remote, right in the Black Mountain Valley.
There is a mountain bike in the RV, so you can go on remote roads.
In addition, the RV is parked at the nearest location, so we will sleep in the RV tonight. Otherwise, it will take until midnight to return to Longgang County. It is already five o'clock in the afternoon, and I am afraid that I will not be able to finish the work today.
Hearing Christine's question, Lu Ming smiled and said, "Nothing. What about you? You seem very surprised."
“I didn’t expect that there are asphalt roads in the countryside of the Northern Territory, but it looks like it was built after you came here.” Christine nodded approvingly: “Very good, little guy, anyone who can benefit the people is worthy of praise!”
Lu Ming reluctantly leaned over and said, "Do you want to rub my head and praise me? Mom?!"
Christine smiled slightly, turned her head to look at the scenery outside, and ignored him.
…
Sunset Valley Village is a mountain village. In the past, most villagers made a living by hunting. Although there are farmlands in the valley, they usually have to be planted for one year and maintained for two years, otherwise the soil is not fertile enough and there will be no harvest at all.
In the past, Sunset Valley Village was a place outside the jurisdiction of the country, and its people were tough. It was also called "Bandit Village". As the name suggests, this village itself is inseparable from the early bandits and later mountain bandits. Many young and strong men in Lao Chai's bandit tribe came from this village.
The people of Longgang outside the mountain have a bad impression of this village, and no one has ever regarded this village as being under the jurisdiction of Longgang.
It was not until General Lu wiped out all the bandit groups that this village was designated as Shanning District.
In Longgang, Lu Ming set up an experimental field. The entire Longgang County was divided into 23 districts, with an average population of 4,000 to 5,000 in each district. Depending on the geographical environment, there were districts with around 1,000 people and large districts with 10,000 people.
Each district elects a "Civil Affairs Committee" to govern itself, and the committee is actually parallel to Longgang's "Municipal Committee" and is not a hierarchical relationship.
These "Civil Affairs Committees" and "Municipal Committees" have basically no power and are more like service agencies.
Matters such as taxation are integrated from top to bottom, and tax authorities are stationed locally.
The police station is also integrated from top to bottom and the local committee has no jurisdiction.
Each district has a summary procedure court, and complex cases are heard by the Longgang District Court.
However, Lu Ming only implemented this East China Sea system in Longgang to see the results of the experimental field first.
Lu Ming is still very confident in his control over Longgang. If the effect is not good, he can just change it back.
Sunset Valley Village belongs to Shanning District, but the mountain people in this village, apart from going to the market to sell mountain products and buy daily necessities, basically have no contact with the outside world, and do not participate in the election of civil affairs committee members in Shanning District.
The first election was held at the beginning of the year, and none of the candidates for civil affairs committee members went into the mountains to canvass for votes.
Shanning District has more than 3,000 people and elected four civil affairs committee members. There are basically no staff members on the committee, and the four of them are responsible for managing everything. There is not much that they need to manage, so it is quite leisurely. However, the salary is symbolic, and the local celebrities just want the honor. When they really do the job, they feel that it is completely different from what they imagined.
Today, when we went into the mountains, we were accompanied by a committee member named Du Dewang. He was a man in his seventies, but in good health. He could walk very fast on the mountain road that was more than ten miles long.
Lu Ming's car was parked in Xiaoheyan Village outside the mountain, which is the seat of the Shanning District Civil Affairs Committee. Du Dewang is also a local squire in the village.
The old gentleman was originally very reserved. He felt that these two young lawyers in their twenties were from different worlds and they had little to talk about.
But after chatting with Lu Ming, he gradually became interested. When talking about the situation of the committee, he himself was also new to all kinds of things.
"Are you tired? Do you want me to carry you?" Lu Ming looked at Christine beside him.
After hearing Du Dewang say that there was a section of mountain road to climb that could not be passed by mountain bikes, Lu Ming was a little hesitant, mainly because he was worried that Christine would be too tired, but Christine insisted on going.
She changed into mountaineering clothes in the RV, elegant blue and white mountaineering clothes, holding a trekking pole and wearing fashionable sunglasses. Christine became a more youthful and energetic girl.
"Not tired!" Christine shook her head.
"After the front, it's downhill. We'll be there soon!" Du Dewang pointed to the narrow mountain road ahead. The slope was very steep, probably about 40 or 50 degrees.
"Aqi, go and carry Miss Chris on your back." Lu Ming said to a sturdy girl behind him.
The name Ah Qi is naturally Qing'e, the one who used to carry the basket for Liuli and a super strongman.
After hearing that they were going to take a mountain road, Ah Qi bought a folding chair in Xiaoheyan Village and took it with him. If it was tied to the back, the owner could sit on it. However, the comfort level was definitely far inferior to those of specially made baskets or single-person sedan chairs.
"No, exercising is good too!" Christine smiled, "I often go hiking, but I heard that you are physically weak, it seems that is not the case!"
Lu Ming rubbed his nose, as if his previous reputation as a weakling was difficult to change. He coughed and said, "I exercise regularly, and now I have much better physical strength."