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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 744: Killing the Goose to Get the Eggs

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    Outside the Jiuzhou Qingyan Hall in Yuanmingyuan, the original royal garden of the Qing Dynasty, Xiao Yungui looked at the plaque hanging high outside the hall and said to Zuo Zongtang next to him: "Prime Minister Zuo, the word "Qing" in Jiuzhou Qingyan still looks too eye-catching.  Shouldn't you change it?" Before Zuo Zongtang could answer, Xiao Yungui said to himself: "How about changing it to Jiuzhou Taiping."

    Zuo Zongtang smiled and said nothing, but Hong Yun'er on the side said: "We can already remove the Manchu characters, but you must not change the names randomly. You must know that it is easy to change a word here. After it is spread,  , I¡¯m afraid that the people below have misunderstood it, followed the trend, and started to create mosquito prisons across the country. If the top and bottom are followed, and the whole country is encircling and suppressing the writings related to the Qing court, that is not good. Maybe in the end even the Qing characters and the Manchu characters will be suppressed.  If you don¡¯t even dare to put words on paper, that¡¯s your sin.¡±

    Xiao Yungui stared at Hong Yun'er for a long time with wide eyes before saying: "Okay, then we won't change it." He paused and then continued: "It is such a waste for our family to live in such a large royal garden.  ." At this point, he said to Zuo Zongtang: "Prime Minister Zuo, how about this? When we are away on weekdays, ordinary people can come in and visit, charge some admission fees, and all the expenses for managing the garden will be deducted from the income.  After that, half of it will go to the national treasury and half of it will belong to the royal family, how about that?"

    Zuo Zongtang smiled and said: "I think it is feasible, but in this case, Your Majesty may have to be annoyed by those rotten scholars and old Confucianists. What kind of national prestige and imperial prestige cannot be degraded?  If the untouchables are allowed to come and go, they might even stage a Meridian Gate petition."

    Hong Yun'er said: "I think this is how it should be done. It's a waste to leave such a big garden alone, and it should also play some role. As for those who wrote the petition, let's talk to them carefully first.  If they are still stubborn, let the police department arrest them all for disturbing the peace, let them spend a few days in jail, and think about it."

    Xiao Yungui said: "This matter is settled. This is our royal property. We are not in a hurry. Why are those people anxious? Besides, I heard that the Queen of England often opens her Buckingham Palace to the public for visits.  Yes. I will also open this garden to earn some money to supplement my family income."

    Zuo Zongtang smiled and said: "Your Majesty separated the royal family's expenses from the national treasury. It is indeed an unprecedented benevolent policy. The royal family's expenses are all funded by your majesty himself. This pressure is indeed a bit great, so I will handle this matter.  That¡¯s it.¡±

    Xiao Yungui hummed and walked back: "By the way, how is the negotiation between Britain and France?" Zuo Zongtang replied: "The rest of the terms are easy to negotiate. It's just that the British refused to agree to the takeover of Hong Kong. I heard that they are still there  Ask for instructions from home.¡±

    Xiao Yungui frowned and said, "Haven't we already released all the news that the Russians signed a treaty with us? Can Britain and France still withstand this?"

    Hong Yun'er said with a smile: "I guess they are just holding on to it. Maybe there will be a turn for the better when news from the UK comes." At this point, Hong Yun'er paused and said, "Ah, I really didn't expect that we would  How can a wing king do such a beautiful job, otherwise Chen Yucheng and Tan Shaoguang would not be able to make Russia surrender if they attack Siberia alone."

    Zuo Zongtang said with a smile: "The big insect Yiwang has been hiding in Hubei for several years. Once it enters the mountains and forests, it will definitely become a blockbuster. I remember the time when the Yiwang tribe just entered Qinghai and Xinjiang, Shaanxi, Gansu, Sichuan and other places  But they are working day and night to provide them with food and grass. Fortunately, King Yi's troops are not highly equipped with hot weapons, otherwise we would still be a little bit overwhelmed."

    Xiao Yungui nodded and said: "Yes. At first, I just wanted to let Yidian have a place to live before letting them go to the northwest. And in order to appease Yidian's heart, the places they passed along the way were fully supplied with food and clothing.  Well, luckily places like Sichuan, Hanzhong, Shanxi and Shaanxi have a lot of grain stored in them, otherwise I really wouldn¡¯t be able to find so much grain to supply them with their expedition to Xinjiang.¡±

    Hong Yun'er smiled and said: "This is how the predecessors planted trees for future generations to enjoy the shade. The three previous governors of Shaanxi and Gansu in the Qing Dynasty, Deng Tingzhen, Lin Zexu, and Shen Zhaolin, were all experts in governing the country. It was only because of their good management that they could manage the mountains and Shaanxi.  The land was built as a fertile land in the south of the Yangtze River. After Yi Wang and the others arrived in Xinjiang, they relied on the Lin Gongjing developed by Lin Zexu when he was in Xinjiang and opened up many fertile fields to solve the food problem of Yi Wang and the others. "

    Zuo Zongtang nodded and said: "That's right. Mr. Lin has really done a lot in his life. When he was exiled in Xinjiang, he saw Tsarist Russia's ambition to invade the northwest, so he vigorously developed agriculture in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains and called for reclamation  In Shibian, hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land were reclaimed and Lin Gong wells were built. Local water conservancy was improved, Lin Gong spinning wheels were promoted, and various tribes in Xinjiang were stabilized. It was only after Xinjiang received the imperial edict from the Qing Dynasty that the takeover could be completed so smoothly.  Only the royal troops and horses can gain a foothold in Xinjiang so smoothly."

    Xiao Yungui nodded slightly and said, "I believe in Shi Dakai."??What I do in Xinjiang is no worse than Lin Gong. With him stationed in the northwest, I can rest easy.  His policies towards the tribes and khanates of the Kazakh grassland were also very practical. They exchanged commerce and trade, treated them equally, united the weak to attack the powerful and overbearing tribes, and united everyone to fight against the Russians. Even their troops were directed at Orenburg.  So the Russians will surrender.  "

    Zuo Zongtang said: "The Russians suffered a defeat in the Crimea just a few years ago. Domestic uprisings are everywhere, and the Ottomans and other countries are eyeing them. It is indeed clear that their new emperor gave up eastward expansion in order to ensure the stability of Western European territories.  choice, otherwise they will suffer a serious blow in Central Asia." Zuo Zongtang paused and said meaningfully: "But I think this is just an expedient measure by the Russian emperor. In the future, when Russia  Once the national strength is restored, they will still have a fight with our country."

    Xiao Yungui nodded and touched his palms with a smile: "What the Prime Minister Zuo said is true. Britain and France are too far away and they will not have territorial claims on us. But Russia is different. They are adjacent to us and are indeed a serious concern. But now we are unable to do anything about it.  To fight, the three armies still need to digest the newly opened territory, otherwise I will not give up."

    Zuo Zongtang said: "Your Majesty, although the Yiwang tribe is temporarily strong in military fronts, there are still many internal problems. The battles and conflicts between the khanates and tribes are still there. Once the Russians retreat, these contradictions will still arise.  Come out, King Yi still needs to make great efforts to stabilize the place. It is very necessary to support several Central Asian countries that are friendly to us as a buffer between us and Russia. At the same time, we need to strengthen the control of the northwest and north. Then we  The local transportation environment must be improved.¡±

    Hong Yun'er applauded: "The left prime minister has hit the mark. Whether it is immigration to the border, strengthening border control, or increasing trade quotas, transportation needs to be improved. I think we should consider in advance the connections to Xinjiang, Mongolia, Northeast, etc.  The railways in these areas have been built. Once the railways are connected to these three places, it will be beneficial for us to send troops whether it is for trade, immigration, or if war breaks out again."

    Xiao Yungui nodded heavily and said: "Exactly, but it costs a lot to build railways in these three places. The country's finances are still in deficit due to years of war, and there is really no extra money to build railways. I think these three railways  Using our method of raising private funds for construction, there are still many wealthy people among us, especially those Shanxi merchants in Shanxi. They used to be the imperial merchants of the Qing Dynasty. Now it is time to contribute more to the country, so let Shanxi merchants  Shanxi merchants set an example and persuaded them to participate in the construction of the railway."

    Hong Yun'er smiled and said: "That's right. People like Qiao Zhiyong have been asking for meetings frequently recently. They are also worried that when the new dynasty settles old scores with them and asks them to fund the construction of railways, they will definitely be happy. Besides, their trade routes  Mainly for Mongolia, Xinjiang and Russia, building a railway will make it easier for them to trade, and they will definitely be willing to do so. As long as the railway is still owned by the state after it is built, and they only have fifty years of management rights, they will definitely be happy.  "

    Shanxi merchants are legends of this era. Among them, leading merchants such as Dashengkui, Fusheng Gong of the Qiao family, etc. all control huge wealth.  For example, the Dashengkui trading company is now at its peak, with 6,000 to 7,000 clerks and nearly 20,000 caravan camels. Its operating areas include the four major parts of Khalkha, Khovd, Ulyasutai, and Ulan.  Bator, Kyaktu, the various banners of Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang Urumqi, Kuqa, Ili, and even as far as Moscow, Russia and other places, their capital is very strong, claiming that their assets can be used for fifty taels of silver ingots.  , paving a road from Kulun to Beijing.  Fushenggong, the Qiao family firm headed by Qiao Zhiyong, is not far behind, so they can fully afford the investment in building three railways.

    Moreover, these businessmen also strongly agreed and supported the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's policy of encouraging industry and commerce. However, Shanxi merchants had always supported the Manchu and Qing Dynasties before, so they were worried that the new dynasty would settle accounts with them. As for their history of supporting the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, they even  It can be traced back to before the Qing Dynasty entered the customs.

    However, Xiao Yungui and Hong Yun'er have never thought about killing the goose that lays the goose to lay eggs. It is true that the rise of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and the Manchu Qing Dynasty's entry into the country were inseparable from the support of Shanxi merchants. At that time, they were indeed representatives of traitors, but in Xiao Yungui's view, this  It's not entirely Shanxi merchants' fault.  They are merchants, and the nature of merchants is to pursue profits. The Ming Dynasty fought with the Manchus and cut off trade routes, and the Ming Dynasty did not allow Shanxi merchants to trade with Mongolia. Wouldn't that cut off other people's financial routes?  Under such pressure, they had no choice but to seek business opportunities in the Manchus.  The real mistake of the Ming Dynasty was to emphasize agriculture and suppress business. It failed to make good use of the resources of the merchant class, so it was exploited by the enemy.

    Now that the Qing Dynasty has perished, although Shanxi merchants are all stained with the stench of Han blood, their experience and wealth accumulated after many years of doing business have allowed them to gradually transform into the capitalist class.  The emergence of various bank accounts in Shanxi is an example. Only when capital accumulation reaches a certain level will financial concentration and transformation occur.They still have many shortcomings, but it is undeniable that they are already a group of people in China who are closest to the capitalist class after relying on their own transformation.

    Making good use of this group of people is very beneficial to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's implementation of the new industrial and commercial policies in the north. Killing the goose to retrieve the eggs actually does more harm than good to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and letting them fund the development of railways is the best choice.

    When we were discussing the construction of railways in the northwest, Mongolia and northeast, the confidential secretary came quickly and reported: "Your Majesty, urgent report from Shanghai, there is good news coming from the negotiations between Britain and France" (To be continued.)
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