In the same cigar club-like room, Lu Ming expounded on the Montenegro Special Administrative Region's proposition, the main point of which was that all parties should put aside disputes over sensitive issues and pass a declaration to restore peace in the entire Anshan territory as soon as possible. Regarding controversial issues, all parties could express their own opinions after the declaration was issued.
At the same time, Lu Ming also informed several parties that the Montenegrin peacekeeping force will help the seven provinces of Ansan to establish the Northern Montenegro Autonomous Republic.
In fact, in this world, there is no essential difference between dominions, autonomous states, autonomous provinces and autonomous republics, from the meaning of the words to the political significance.
However, an autonomous republic definitely has a stronger sense of independence than the first three.
The four "provinces" in the Northern Territory are similar in meaning to "kingdoms". In the Imperial Federation, the four provinces, the Kingdom of Griffinni and the Kingdom of Dongying are all equal members of the Imperial Federation in political terms.
In fact, the population of the seven provinces of Anshan controlled by Heishan is greater than that of Zhenjiang Province, close to 20 million, and its territory is also larger than that of Zhenjiang Province.
An autonomous republic was established because it was located in the Northern Territory and was originally part of the four provinces of the Northern Territory. It did not belong to the Kingdom of Griffinni. However, if a "province" was established, it would definitely cause an uproar, so an administrative system slightly lower than kingdoms and provinces was adopted.
As for the Autonomous Republic of Northern Montenegro, Lu Ming plans to abolish the provincial-level administrative units, as is the case with the Montenegro Special Administrative Region, and the cities and counties will not be subordinate to each other. The counties will focus on developing rural areas, while the cities will develop cities and suburbs. The two will be parallel institutions and will be directly under the jurisdiction of the republic (province).
Moreover, at the county level, the power is very small, and it is mainly self-governing among the towns.
This may make it more difficult to form megacities, but it will be fairer to most people, especially those in rural areas, as agriculture will not be constantly sucked dry to build industries and megacities.
Anshan was already in a mess and had just experienced war, so there was no need to worry about the initial pain. They might as well just start over.
However, in fact, many ideas are deeply rooted, and it is a period of war, so the Anshan people's worship of authority is not necessarily a bad thing. For the Anshan people, the current changes are just a seed that has been sown and will slowly take root and sprout.
In order to attract investment to the Autonomous Republic of Northern Montenegro, peace needs to be restored as soon as possible so that funds from the Eastern Alliance can flow in.
Investors' experiences in Wanzhou and Nanping should make them confident about the areas under Heishan's rule.
…
In the afternoon, when Lu Ming was chatting in Wang Ding's room, several groups of guests came one after another, all of whom came to visit Commissioner Zhang.
The first one is Qi Zongxun.
Later, Sun Chonggu also came, and with him were two young men, one was Sun Chonggu's cousin, named Sun Chongxing, and the other was Ren Zhonglin's fourth grandson, named Ren Xingfei.
Ren Zhonglin has two sons, both of whom are already quite old. The one he is currently focusing on training is his eldest grandson, Ren Xingwen, who is said to be very resolute and decisive. He serves in the military and is currently the commander of the Third Army of the First Front Army of the Longbei Army that has entered Anshan.
The army in Longbei is about the same size as the Heishan division, with about 15,000 people.
As for Ren Xingfei in front of him, he and his cousin are like two extremes. As the name suggests, he is lively and jumpy.
The third group of guests who came to visit Lu Ming were from the Ma family, one of the four major families in Longbei, namely "Sun, Ma, Zhao and Chen". They sent a visiting card and said that the head of the family, Ma Boshang, wanted to host a banquet for Commissioner Zhang tomorrow.
The Sun family was obviously not on good terms with the Ma family, and Sun Chonggu made a few sarcastic remarks to the visitor, but the visitor was neither humble nor arrogant and responded very appropriately.
Lu Ming accepted the invitation and agreed to attend the appointment the next day.
"What's the point of hanging out with a bunch of old people?" Sun Chonggu rolled his eyes. He and Lu Ming were very familiar with each other.
After the Anshan War broke out, he was transferred back to the provincial capital from Shengjing and joined the Ministry of National Defense as assistant minister.
Lu Ming looked at him helplessly. This guy's life was getting better and better. But after coming back to the provincial capital, why did it seem like he was acting like a rich young man more often
Sun Chonggu said mysteriously again: "Brother, Xiaoxing arranged it for us this time. Let's go to the dance hall on the first floor to dance? The dance partners are all good, not dancers."
Next to him was Sun Chongxing, a pretty boy in his early twenties, with the image of a dandy young master. He wore a vest, shirt with suspenders, and yellow plaid trousers, with a pocket watch hanging from his shirt pocket. In front of Sun Chonggu and Lu Ming, he smiled and nodded, with a fawning look on his face.
Obviously, Sun Chonggu's cousin is just a follower to Sun Chonggu. Of course, if he goes out, he will probably stomp his feet and make the city tremble.
Lu Ming said helplessly, "I really can't get away. How about this, you guys go first, I'll be there in a bit." He then nodded in the direction of Qi Zongxun, "Please take good care of Marshal Zongxun for me."
Sun Chonggu knew Commissioner Zhang's character to some extent, and said with a smile: "Okay, big brother, you must come, we will wait for you!"
Ren Xingfei showed a slight dissatisfaction on his face. After all, the entire Longbei region belonged to his Ren family, and no matter how high the official surnamed Zhang was, he was still working for someone else, right? This was a bit too much.
Sun Chonggu had already gone to talk to Qi Zongxun with a laugh. Although Qi Zongxun was helpless, he was still pulled away by the three of them while they were chatting and laughing.
Ren Xingfei had a different attitude towards Qi Zongxun. Naturally, he felt that they were of the same class and, implicitly, were all royal families of the Northern Territory.
…
Lu Ming sat back and talked to Wang Ding about some of the principled issues on their side when signing a peace agreement.
As they were talking, the phone rang. Wang Ding went to answer it, covered the receiver and said with a smile, "Specialist, your call is from a young lady." As he spoke, he picked up the phone.
Lu Ming took the microphone and said, "I am Zhang A Ming."
"Master, it's me, Xue Zihan..." Her voice was very clear and pleasant.
Lu Ming didn't expect this, and smiled: "Zi Han? Didn't you make an appointment with your bestie to go shopping today? Do you have something to talk to me about?"
"Hmm..." Xue Zihan hesitated for a moment and said, "I'm in the coffee shop opposite Richard's Hotel now. I have something to do, but it's hard to explain over the phone. Do you have time?"
Lu Ming smiled and said, "We are almost done talking. I will come to see you. What is the name of your coffee shop?"
…
A quarter of an hour later, Lu Ming arrived at "Phoebe Coffee" across the street. The blocks around Richard Hotel and the commercial street were also filled with Western colors of the 1920s and 1930s. In fact, they had not kept up with the development of the times and were still stuck in the past. But in Lu Ming's opinion, unlike the modernization of Donghai, this atmosphere was very retro and unique.
From a distance, Lu Ming saw Xue Zihan and his companions standing at the door of the coffee shop, looking eagerly and a little anxious.
Seeing Lu Ming appear, Xue Zihan showed a happy expression on her face. She looked like a student in a blue jacket, black skirt, white socks with laces and black cloth shoes, but she had a beautiful face and was radiant. Coupled with the pure student outfit of a peaceful life, she looked even more beautiful and charming.
There was a slightly plump girl next to Xue Zihan, looking at Lu Ming curiously.
The three of them entered the coffee shop, and Xue Zihan introduced her good friend Li Wanjun. Lu Ming was speechless when he heard the name.
Li Wanjun smiled sweetly and said, "Mr. Zhang, what is your relationship with Zi Han? When I asked Zi Han, she didn't tell me. But she seemed to call you master? Zi Han used to hate old-fashioned families the most. They are very corrupt, aren't they?" There was a hint of thorns in her smile.
Xue Zihan tugged at her clothes and said, "Let's talk business with the master."
Li Wanjun curled her lips: "What could possibly happen to them? I think you're just overthinking it. I think Mr. Zhang is so young..."
Xue Zihan frowned and became a little angry, "You don't understand!" She said to Lu Ming, "Master, do you know if the ballroom in Richard Hotel is open today?"
Dance hall? Lu Ming was startled, thinking of Sun Chonggu and the others, and nodded, "The facilities inside are still open, but not for public use. In the past, you could buy a ticket and enter even if you were not a hotel guest. Now the entire hotel is closed to outsiders, and the facilities are only open to guests, but they are all open!"
Li Wanjun said, "I told you, he's not a liar! Li Changhong, don't think I look down on him, but he has a wide range of friends in society and has many connections. Look, Richard's Hotel is closed to the public, but he can still bring people in, right?"
Xue Zihan didn't bother to pay attention to her and said to Lu Ming, "The president of our school's student union is called Li Changhong. He said that there is a social gathering in the Richard Hotel's ballroom today. The other party is all unmarried young talents. A good friend of mine named Zhou Xiaoli went there. I just heard that it seems that the people Li Changhong invited are all very beautiful girls in our school. I think it's not right."
Li Wanjun laughed and said, "Aren't you the most beautiful campus belle? It's a pity that you're already taken, and Li Changhong doesn't know how to contact you. However, you would never agree before. You hate those vain female classmates the most, right? You always say that you should be free to fall in love, even if you find a rickshaw driver, as long as you love him and he loves you, it will be the happiest life." She glanced at Lu Ming while speaking.
Obviously, she had a vague feeling that the relationship between her friend and this man was not a normal romantic relationship. As like-minded people who had once vowed to be new women and worked passionately for women's rights, she felt very sad today, thinking that her friend had betrayed his oath, betrayed his ideals, and betrayed her.
As she spoke, she shook her head in disdain: "It's their own business if they want to meet young talents. Zi Han, we shouldn't be mean to them!"
Xue Zihan was angry, "If you do this again, I won't look for you anymore!"
Seeing that she was really angry, Li Wanjun was shocked and fell silent.
Lu Ming had already stood up, "You two, follow me." Obviously, Xue Zihan's experience made her realize how dark this society is, and how terrible it is to see the upper class's petty intrigues. Li Wanjun, on the other hand, had no such experience and had no contact with the real upper class. College students were usually respected in the streets, and even the upper class seemed to attach great importance to the rights of this group, so she certainly didn't understand what Xue Zihan was thinking.
…
After leaving the coffee shop, Lu Ming was soon surrounded by several young men in baseball caps.
Lu Ming led Xue Zihan and Li Wanjun into the magnificent lobby of Richard Hotel. Several guards at the revolving glass door outside saluted together.
Li Wanjun looked at this scene in shock, and her gaze towards Xue Zihan was even more complicated.
Lu Ming and his party turned left again and walked along the softly lit corridor. In front of them was a grand gate with the golden words "Civilized Dance" engraved on it.
There were several plainclothes men standing in front of the door. They wanted to come up to stop it, but they were suppressed by several guys in baseball caps like chickens and pushed to the wall.
A young man in a baseball cap pushed open the magnificent golden door, and Lu Ming walked in first.
The lights were on inside and there was no dance music. It seemed that something unexpected had happened. A group of people were gathered at a teahouse and a woman was crying.
Sun Chongxing was at the outermost edge, with sharp eyes. When he saw Lu Ming and his party coming in, he immediately came forward and shouted again: "Third brother, Commissioner Zhang is here!"
Sun Chongxing ran to Lu Ming's side, and his eyes lit up when he saw Xue Zihan beside Lu Ming, but he didn't dare to look at her any more, and smiled and said, "You're here!"
Sun Chonggu also strode over and said with a smile: "Brother, you are here!"
Lu Ming pointed outside and said, "There's a little misunderstanding. The kids outside don't recognize me."
Sun Chonggu’s eyes widened and he looked at Sun Chongxing.
Sun Chongxing reached out and slapped himself on the face, "Blame me, blame me! I should have waited outside!"
In fact, it was Sun Chonggu who told him that Commissioner Zhang would not come.
At this time, Sun Chonggu pointed at him and scolded him with a smile: "You can't do things, so you deserve to let your subordinates suffer a little!"
"Yes, yes..." Sun Chongxing smiled apologetically and said to a man beside him, "Go tell them it was just a small misunderstanding!"
Lu Ming looked towards the crowd and asked, "What's going on?"
A man's voice rang out, "Damn it, whether you agree or not, I've been waiting for more than half an hour! And you just know how to cry!" He then said, "No more waiting, take me upstairs!" It was Ren Xingfei's voice.
The woman's sobbing voice suddenly turned into a scream. It seemed that someone was trying to force her away.
Lu Ming frowned: "What's going on?"
Sun Chonggu pouted, "Damn it, such a good time was ruined by this guy. Xiaoxing had found a few dance partners, all of them were beauties from the First University, beautiful and talented, but this Master Fei has no sense of romance at all. He took a fancy to one of them as soon as they met and wanted to take her to get a room! Well, I told her to ask her companions to persuade her, and wait until she calms down, she will agree, otherwise it will be such a bummer. Damn it, can't they just dance and talk first?! What an idiot!"
Over there, the girls' screams turned into howling, and two strong men were seen dragging a girl towards this side, while the other girls were trembling with fear.
Ren Xingfei walked aside, cursing. There was another young man smiling and saying something beside him. Suddenly, he was slapped by Ren Xingfei and staggered. Ren Xingfei went up and kicked him hard, "Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you talk to me? I'll kill you!"
"Master, that's Xiaoli, and the one who was beaten is Li Changhong..." Xue Zihan said anxiously, pointing at the girl who was dragged.
Lu Ming said to Sun Chonggu: "Tell Ren Xingfei to release him. He is my concubine's friend!"
Sun Chonggu was stunned for a moment, then nodded quickly, walked over and ordered the two men to let go.
Lu Ming looked around but didn't see Qi Zongxun. It was obvious that he had left after seeing the mess here. As the successor trained by Qi Huaide, he couldn't continue to fool around with a bunch of playboys.
Over there, Ren Xingfei listened to what Sun Chonggu said and stopped chasing Li Changhong. He rubbed his wrist and slowly walked over.
When he got closer and saw Xue Zihan beside Lu Ming, Ren Xingfei's eyes lit up and he said with a smile: "Commissioner Zhang, you have someone better? A concubine, right? When can I get close to her..."
With a crisp "slap" sound, Ren Xingfei was slapped hard by Lu Ming. He saw stars and took several steps back before sitting on the ground.
After hearing what Ren Xingfei said, Sun Chonggu knew that something bad was going to happen. Just as he was about to stop him from talking, Ren Xingfei was slapped to the ground.
Although it is not unacceptable for the Northern Territory to send concubines to each other, it also depends on the concubine's background. Usually, concubines who are born as prostitutes are not liked by their masters, and they are just trying something new. Those are the real goods.
But Sun Chonggu knew that there were always extraordinary women from all over the place around Commissioner Zhang, all of them were beautiful women, either ladies from wealthy families or socialites. Any of them would be a top treasure in the eyes of men. All of them had great backgrounds. It was because of the reversal of classes during the war that they were convicted for various reasons and were taken in by Commissioner Zhang.
Commissioner Zhang has no other problems, and is a very scary local lord-like figure, but he just loves women. He takes them wherever he goes, and he has a strong possessiveness. This was known when we were fighting bandits together in Wanzhou and lived in the same compound of the Suppression Headquarters.
In Commissioner Zhang's opinion, Ren Xingfei's words were simply an attempt to cuckold him.
Which man can tolerate this
Sun Chonggu smiled bitterly in his heart, hurried to support Ren Xingfei, and shouted: "Don't do anything, calm down!"
It was several of Ren Xingfei's followers who rushed up and confronted the young man in the baseball cap next to Commissioner Zhang.
Ren Xingfei seemed to be completely stunned, as if one Buddha was born and two Buddhas ascended to heaven.
Seeing the redness and swelling on his face, Sun Chonggu was horrified. He thought that his big brother had such a strong hand that he almost beat Ren Xingfei into a pig's head with just one slap.
Lu Ming frowned and said, "Chong Gu, tell him to get out. I will discuss this matter with his father tomorrow!"
Sun Chonggu's heart suddenly shuddered. To be honest, he had been promoted all the way, and many of the credits came from the support of Brother Zhang. Including the suppression of bandits in Wanzhou, the smooth sailing in Shengjing, and the early contact with the coalition forces, from Longbei's point of view, he also had his own credit, but in fact, it was all thanks to Brother Zhang.
As for this Young Master Fei, I just used to hang out with him often, and now that I'm back in the provincial capital, I can't abandon him.
If I say that I will be the leader of the Sun faction in the future, what is he
Maybe when his elder brother Ren Xingwen came to power, he was still acting like this and affecting the reputation of the Ren family. The old people are all gone, and his elder brother is using him as a scapegoat every moment. Their relationship was already very bad.
As for now, if Xiaofei's father heard that he had caused trouble again and offended the most popular person in front of the Prince's Palace in Black Mountain Castle, wouldn't he break his legs
Sun Chonggu pondered over it randomly, and gestured to Ren Xingfei's followers, "Quick, you guys, take him away! Don't get into trouble! Damn it, if you don't behave yourself, I'll break your legs. Do you know who I am, Brother Zhang? Get out of here!"