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Text Chapter 62: Moving (Part 1)

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    Nanjing.

    Since the Qing army was defeated in northern Sichuan six years ago, the life of the governor of Jiangnan has become more and more comfortable.  Over the past few years, Jiang Guozhu's gray hair has not increased at all, but his face has become increasingly rosy. He feels that it will not be a problem to serve the country as governor of Liangjiang for another ten years; the question that troubles Jiang Guozhu now is how to ensure that  His son could successfully take over. Originally, Jiang Guozhu hoped to play a major role in Deng Ming's unification of the world to ensure the wealth of his descendants. However, because Deng Ming was reluctant to fight domestically, this wish could not be realized.  In addition, the Zhang Dynasty in Jiangxi is still a worry for Jiang Guozhu. The latter, like him, has prolonged his life due to the disastrous defeat of his officers and soldiers. Now he still separates Jiangxi, so that Jiang Guozhu's governor of Liangjiang is still in name only.

    Because Deng Ming went on an overseas expedition, Jiang Guozhu's mind became active again, and he called in his old comrade Liang Huafeng for discussion. Now Admiral Liang was not only still the commander-in-chief of the Liangjiang Army, but also became the son and daughter of Jiang Guozhu like Zhou Peigong.

    "Prime Minister Deng will go to Nanyang this time. I'm afraid he won't be able to come back within a year and a half, right?" Jiang Guozhu had no interest in discussing the previous military adventure in Beijing with Liang Huafeng. Emperor Kangxi had already lost the war before he sent troops.  In the first half of the month, all kinds of inside information about the Qing court's dispatch of troops were circulating on the exchange.  Kangxi's court bought a large number of bonds in Sichuan, and senior officials and generals had savings and real estate in Chengdu.  Even the Taijun of Manchuria sent many of their children to school in Sichuan, and the prince's son Fujin also went to accompany him to study Before the army was sent out, the commander-in-chief and senior officers used military pay to speculate in futures. It would be damned if the emperor could win this battle.  .

    "We will definitely not be able to come back in the short term." In the past few years, Liang Huafeng helped Jiang Guozhu build a pretty good army, and also hired a large number of retired officers from western Sichuan to help train officers and soldiers. Now he has encountered the Manchu and Qing central forces.  Have the courage to fight.  Liang Huafeng also knew very well what Jiang Guozhu was thinking. Before the rise of Deng Ming, the Qing court was very powerful, and everyone never thought of attacking each other. After the First World War in northern Sichuan, the prestige of the Qing court was ruined, but Deng Ming came out to suppress everyone.  Let everyone drool while looking at their neighbor's territory, but dare not take action.

    Jiang Guozhu and Liang Huafeng have discussed Wu Sangui's annexation of Guangxi for several years. Jiang Guozhu believes that there are two key factors for Wu Sangui's success.  The first is good timing. At that time, the Battle of Northern Sichuan had just ended. Deng Ming and the Qing government were all focused on the north. Wu Sangui happened to take advantage of this gap where neither Beijing nor Chengdu had time to intervene. The second was quick action. If Wu Sangui fell into a protracted war,  , then Sichuan will at least sell arms to the weaker party. If it takes a little longer, maybe Deng Ming will send troops to join the war.

    "Is the Governor interested in Jiangxi?" Liang Huafeng asked.  The experience he summed up from Wu Sangui's success was different from Jiang Guozhu's. Liang Huafeng felt that to do big things, one must be good at turning against others. However, Liang Huafeng thought about it and decided not to discuss this topic with his immediate boss.

    "If it takes more than a year for Prime Minister Deng to come back, this is really a good opportunity to unify the two rivers." As Liang Huafeng expected, Jiang Guozhu was indeed thinking about Nanchang.  First, now that Deng Ming is gone and the Qing government has suffered a new defeat, the timing seems to be perfect; second, this is ultimately an internal affair of the two rivers. Jiang Guozhu is the governor of the two rivers recognized by both Beijing and Chengdu, and the Zhang Dynasty's separatist regime in Nanchang is eliminated.  The power is justifiable; thirdly, Jiangxi now relies on selling a large amount of porcelain to Sichuan merchants, and its financial situation is quite good. After Jiang Guozhu unifies the two Jiangxi, its strength will become stronger.

    It stands to reason that Zhejiang is also a target that can be considered.  However, it¡¯s hard to say what the current national situation is like. If it¡¯s not a time of chaos, it¡¯s obvious that local governments are already divided. If it¡¯s a time of chaos, Beijing and Chengdu still have a considerable deterrent effect on the provinces, and everyone needs to find excuses if they want to bully their neighbors.  Zhao Guozuo's Zhejiang did not fall within the sphere of influence of the governors of Liangjiang. If Jiang Guozhu tried to attack him by force, he would easily be criticized verbally and written by the governors of the north and south.  Moreover, Zhao Guozuo is a very well-behaved person. Every year, his shipping to Beijing always accounts for more than 70% of the tax payable. He also vigorously develops prohibited sea zones. Ningbo, Wenzhou, and Taizhou were all prohibited sea zones several years ago. At the beginning of this year, Yiwu's prohibited sea zones  It has also been put on the agenda - in this way, most of Zhejiang will be a restricted sea zone.  Even if Jiang Guozhu invades Zhejiang, he would not dare to go to the forbidden sea zone to accept the territory of the Eastern Zhejiang Army.  The most critical point is that Zhao Guozuo and Songkui took a lot of money from the Eastern Zhejiang Army by strictly enforcing the sea ban. They deposited half of it in banks in Chengdu, and used the other half to bribe senators and imperial congressmen in Chengdu.  There are good things to say about Zhao Guozuo and Songkui everywhere; just last year, General Songkui of Hangzhou wrote a memorial saying that the hair shaving order was outdated, suggested that the court revise the policy, and preemptively announced the cancellation of the hair shaving order in Zhejiang.

    "My Lord Governor, I think so too, the general thinks so." Liang Huafeng nodded heavily.  He has been unhappy with Jiangxi for a long time, and Liang Huafeng asked himself:No matter how young he is, he has been waiting for Deng Ming to launch the unification war for many years, but the left will not come, and the right will not come. If the peace continues like this, Liang Huafeng will have no chance to make contributions.

    After receiving the support of Liang Huafeng, Jiang Guozhu secretly convened a staff meeting of the Governor's Yamen, followed by a military meeting with the participation of a large number of Jiangnan officers.  Over the years, relying on the continuous sales of silk, cotton and other raw materials to Sichuan, the Liangjiang Governor's Office also accumulated some savings; and Jiang Guozhu was far less honest than Zhao Guozuo, and always tried every means to deduct Beijing's shipping.  After the Battle of Northern Sichuan, Jiang Guozhu's annual arrears in food and grain arrears reached half of the taxes payable. There was no problem in raising military expenses for a war against Jiangxi.

    Most of the officers also welcomed the governor's plan with both hands raised. Their thoughts were similar to Liang Huafeng's. If there was no war, their soldiers would have no value in existence.  These officers all patted their chests and assured Jiang Guozhu that they could easily defeat the Zhang Dynasty and assist Jiang Guozhu in achieving the great cause of unifying the two rivers.

    Although Jiang Guozhu strictly prohibited everyone from leaking the contents of the meeting, after the two meetings, the exchanges in Nanjing and Nanchang responded quickly, and the wind moved accordingly. In Jingdezhen under Zhang Chao, the stocks of the provincial ceramics group plummeted, and the ceramics  Futures prices rose rapidly; although the rise and fall in Nanjing was not as large, many people panicked because they heard that there was going to be a war.

    "What the hell is going on?" Jiang Guozhu couldn't help but became furious and called Liang Huafeng over again: "Why haven't I ordered preparations for war yet, and even Chengdu knows about it? The Sichuan consul just came to me and asked me to make peace with him.  To be noble, bear with each other for the sake of the country!"

    "I heard that someone wants to make a fortune using inside information." Liang Huafeng said cautiously: "Your Excellency, the Governor's Yamen, and the General's Admiral's Yamen, there are always a lot of people speculating in stocks."

    "Alas." Jiang Guozhu sighed.  He found it funny when he saw the emperor's joke not long ago, but now that it was his turn, he realized that this taste was very bitter: "I have long said that we should be like Chengdu and not allow officials to interact with those who are within the third level of service."  If close relatives are speculating in stocks, officials¡¯ assets should also be disclosed.¡±

    "You must not do it, Governor-General. This approach is not in line with the people of Liangjiang." Liang Huafeng was shocked when he heard this.  As the first Liangjiang people to learn that Jiang Guozhu intended to attack Nanchang, his wife and son were the first people to rely on inside information to speculate in the Nanjing stock market.  Seeing Jiang Guozhu's hesitant expression, Liang Huafeng was afraid that the other party would back down: "Your Majesty Governor, now that we have started to do it, we must get it done. If the Governor backs down at this time, I am afraid that the general will treat him badly."  His prestige is tarnished.¡±

    "Well, how could I not know that there is no turning back when a bow is fired?" Jiang Guozhu glanced at Liang Huafeng, suspecting that his chief general had also leaked the secret - but as Liang Huafeng said, it is indeed a difficult situation now. It is estimated that a large number of people have already  The staff and officers were all speculating. If Jiang Guozhu went back on his promise at this time, many of his civil and military subordinates would lose money, and even lead to the alienation of the governor's office of Liangjiang.

    "As long as we occupy Jiangxi quickly, Chengdu can only admit the fact. Did the Governor tell the consul that we have absolute confidence in ensuring the supply of porcelain, and if the porcelain is in our hands, our selling price will be higher than Zhang  Even lower." Liang Huafeng said confidently: "Don't Sichuan people just want to make money? As long as we can ensure that they earn more, is this still a problem?"

    After the news spread to Nanchang, Zhang Chao personally rushed to Jiujiang to take charge, saying that he would defend Jiangxi for the Qing Dynasty to the death.  He also accused Jiang Guozhu of intending to manipulate the governor candidates of Jiangxi, which was an out-and-out betrayal of the Qing Dynasty and would only benefit the rebellious parties in Chengdu. While accusing Jiang Guozhu of collaborating with Deng and the governors across the country, he explained the justice of Jiangxi's self-defense.  , Zhang Chao also met with the Chengdu consul stationed in Jiujiang, hoping to urgently purchase a batch of arms.

    Although the matter has been exposed, Jiang Guozhu never stopped doing anything and retorted that Zhang Chao was in love with authority and had held the position of governor of Jiangxi for many years and tried to pass it on to his son. He was really a sinner of the Qing Dynasty!  Moreover, Jiang Guozhu cited some evidence and retorted that Zhang Chao was actually "tong Deng".  As the governor of Liangjiang, Jiang Guozhu had an unshirkable responsibility to crusade against the rebellious Zhang Dynasty. Jiang Guozhu knew that because he had been withholding money and grain shipped to Beijing over the years, the imperial court had a very bad impression of him, and he would definitely not agree with him labeling Zhang Dynasty "tong Deng".  crime.  Therefore, Jiang Guozhu did not continue to spend more time in Beijing. Instead, he met with the Sichuan consul in Nanjing again, saying that he would do his best to ensure the smooth flow of the porcelain trade, and that Jiang Guozhu was also willing to ban the sea in Chizhou, Tongling and other places.

    In addition to Beijing and Chengdu, Nanjing and Nanchang are also very concerned about Anqing Zhou Peigong's attitude towards this.

    After Wu Sangui annexed Guangxi, Zhou Peigong rushed to Guizhou to mediate successfully, and obtained the title of Chief Envoy of the two provinces from Wu Sangui; while from Guangdong and FujianWhen returning home, the vassal kings of these two provinces were wary of Wu Sangui or other neighbors, so they also appointed Zhou Peigong as the chief envoys of their two provinces.  Coupled with the favor of Gao Mingzhan, the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, Zhou Peigong was now the chief envoy of twelve provinces.  In recent years, Chief Minister Zhou held high the banner of "suppressing Deng" in Anqing, inviting various banks in Sichuan to invest, and also invited Sichuan arms dealers to take shares, and opened many arms factories.  His Deng Suppression Corps was also able to hire active imperial officers as instructors instead of veterans, so its strength was considerable.

    Now that the war between Jiangnan and Jiangxi is about to break out, Zhou Peigong's attitude becomes crucial. The eyes of the world quickly focus on Anqing. For a while, there is a big meaning of "If Zhou Gong doesn't come out, what will happen to the people".
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