The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 253: Double Loyalty, Shanghai Governor (Request for Subscription, Request for Tickets)
Yu Garden, Dianchun Hall.

This garden, which occupies the largest area in Shanghai County, has now changed its owner again, from "Luo Yaoguo" to "Luo Xueyan"!
According to Luo Yaoguo's plan, his office in Shanghai would not be located in the narrow and noisy county town in the future. The more ideal location for the office would be the racecourse of the Shanghai New Army at the junction of the former British Concession and the Chinese area.

However, at present, the racecourse is just a large open space and a few simple Western-style wooden houses, which is far from enough to accommodate his new army headquarters and Shanghai government offices.

In addition, with the arrival of Bonham, the number of British troops in the former concession area of ​​Shanghai has now increased to several hundred, not to mention the sailors on the paddle wheel gunboat that Bonham was on!
In the near future, French Minister Bourboulon and American Minister Marsalis will also arrive from Hong Kong, and the number of French and American troops following them to Shanghai will be at least one or two hundred.

By then, the number of foreign soldiers stationed in the former concession area might reach one thousand. In this case, Luo Yaoguo would have to be careful and vigilant.

So, the day after Wenxian arrived in Shanghai, he moved his headquarters from the racecourse to Yu Garden in the county town.

At the same time, he ordered Wang Dalong, the commander of the first regiment of the new army, to build a position at the racecourse to prevent any changes in the concession. He also ordered Feng Zicai, the commander of the second regiment of the new army, to build a position north of Shanghai County with the former North Gate of Jianghai Customs as the core base. He also ordered Li Kezhong, the commander of the third regiment of the new army, to move his troops from Luodian to Wusongkou to control the two east and west forts facing each other on the Jiajiang River, and to place twelve of the eighteen 12-pound cannons bought from foreigners on these two old forts built during the Kangxi period. Another six will be placed on the North Customs position to control the river near Shiliupu.

After some deployment, Luo Yaoguo finally felt relieved. He could finally gather Wang Kuiyi, Cheng Fupei, Wu Jianzhang, Wu Chaoyue, Wu Ruxiao and others to Dianchun Hall to discuss how to manage the newly acquired Shanghai.

"Lord Luo"

In Dianchun Hall, the first person to speak was Wu Jianzhang. He glanced at Luo Xueyan, who had taken off his fake braids and revealed a big bald head, and his heart beat faster.

"Don't call me Sir, call me Xueyan." Luo Yaoguo smiled gently and interrupted Wu Jianzhang's words, "Brother Shuangguan and I are family, calling you Sir seems strange."

"Xueyan," Wu Jianzhang said with beads of sweat on his forehead, "Now the magistrate of Shanghai County is gone, you see..."

"Shuangguan, why don't you just act as the governor?" Luo Yaoguo said with a smile, "We will jointly submit a memorial to the emperor later, telling him that Shanghai is a place where Chinese and foreigners live together, and the situation is very complicated. Only Shuangguan is not qualified to govern, and only the new army can garrison it. In addition, we will ask the emperor to let Wang Bowen of Taicang Prefecture act as the governor of Baoshan County.

In this way, the future Shanghai will belong to us two brothers!"

"No, no, not all of it belongs to you, Xueyan. I have no share."

Wu Jianzhang was self-aware and knew that he was not cut out to be an official or a warlord - he himself was captured by the militia he hired from his fellow villagers. The level of this militia was definitely the worst in the Qing Dynasty!
"Brother Shuangguan, you still have a chance!" Luo Yaoguo said with a smile, "You are an average official, and you are definitely not good at leading troops, but you are still good at doing business. The future Shanghai will surely be the metropolis of the Far East, a place where China's wealth is gathered, and there is a lot of room for development! Brother, why don't you hang the title of Susongtai Dao and Jianghai Customs Supervisor Acting Shanghai County, and become a big tycoon with my support!"

Wu Jianzhang said with embarrassment: "Xueyan, I'm afraid that business in Shanghai is not that easy to do, right?"

"Oh? Why is it difficult to do?" Luo Yaoguo asked with a smile.

Wu Jianzhang sighed, "Xueyan, you don't know that the reason why business in Shanghai is so good is because of Sino-foreign trade. Shanghai is just a port. The market for foreign goods and the production of local products are not in Shanghai, but in the provinces along the Yangtze River. Now the Yangtze River coast has been owned by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It's hard for foreign goods to come in and it's hard for local products to go out!"

"Don't worry, Mr. Shuang," Luo Yaoguo said with a smile, "The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will not block trade. Not only will it not block trade, it will even encourage trade! Moreover, the wealthy people in southern Jiangsu controlled by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom can also bring their savings to Shanghai to buy houses and run businesses, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will not stop them."

"No?" Wu Jianzhang stared at Luo Xueyan, thinking: "You can be the leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom? Who are you?"

"Brother Shuangguan," Luo Yaoguo said with a smile, "I won't tell you much else, but there are a few things that are certain. First, Shanghai County, Baoshan County, and the three towns of Nanxiang, Huangdu, and Anting in Jiading County will not be attacked by the Taiping Army; second, the trade route from Shanghai to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will always be unobstructed; third, all the wealthy people in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom can come to Shanghai. So in the future, Shanghai will not lack people, money, goods, or stability. In the midst of chaos, there is such a piece of pure land, how can it not be prosperous?"

Are you related to that Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Holy Angel Wu Wang Luo Yaoguo? After hearing what Luo Xueyan said, Wu Jianzhang began to doubt his relationship with Luo Yaoguo - if what he said could be fulfilled, his relationship with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was really too strong!

"If that's the case, Shanghai is truly a blessed land!" Wu Jianzhang nodded.

Luo Yaoguo added: "The blessed land must be managed well! Shuangguan, this is what I think. In the future, Cheng Zengyi will be in charge of the government affairs of Shanghai County, and Brother Ruxiao will be in charge of the customs. We will set up a Greater Shanghai Company together, specializing in the most profitable industries such as real estate, banks, ports, etc. in the Shanghai New District, and Shuangguan and Chaoyue will be in charge.

Bowen, in addition to managing the affairs of Baoshan, you should also manage my Jiangnan Salt Administration Office. With the title of Jiangnan Salt Administration Office, we can go to Jiangbei to buy salt. We should try to let Jiangbei's salt be sold all the way to Hankou through our hands!

As for me, I will first set up a Shanghai Military Governor's Office in Dianchun Hall, Yuyuan Garden! I will first govern the four offices of Shanghai County, Baoshan County, Jianghai Customs, and Jiangnan Salt Law in the name of Shanghai Military Governor! "

Wu Jianzhang was just thinking about how to start the Greater Shanghai Company when he suddenly heard that Luo Xueyan was planning to set up a private office. He stopped thinking and asked, "Xueyan, do you want to ask the emperor for permission to set up the Shanghai Military Governor's Office?"

Luo Xueyan nodded and said with a smile: "Of course I will. Not only do I need to ask the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty for permission, I also need to ask the Heavenly King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom for permission!"

"What? He wants to be a vassal of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?" Wu Jianzhang thought with fear and trepidation: "Sure enough! He is colluding with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom."

Seeing Wu Jianzhang with an uncertain face, Luo Xueyan smiled faintly and said, "Shuangguan, if we hadn't colluded with the Heavenly Kingdom, would we be able to occupy this precious land of Shanghai? The Heavenly Kingdom's current approach makes it difficult to connect with foreigners, but they need foreign guns and cannons, so they can use us as middlemen. And the Qing Dynasty also needs our Shanghai Governor's Office to maintain the dignity of Jiangnan. As for the foreigners, their embassy can't go to Beijing, and it's meaningless to stay in Hong Kong. It's just right to put them in Shanghai, and they also need us as the Shanghai Governor!
Therefore, I, the Shanghai Governor, am a double loyal minister, a must for all three parties! As the world's largest middleman, it's hard not to be successful!"

"Hey, which sect's daughter is this? Why are you here in Yu Garden?"

Inside the Shenchi Hall of Yu Garden, Xu Yuegui, who had just been promoted to the chief steward of Yu Garden, was staring at Zhou Xiuying, who had an extraordinary temperament, in a daze!

She was in the Shenchi Hall today to interview male and female servants. Yu Garden covers an area of ​​more than 30 acres, with small bridges, flowing water, pavilions, towers, rockery and strange rocks. It is also the headquarters of the Shanghai Governor's Mansion. There are also many officials and soldiers stationed there. It would be difficult to manage it without a large group of servants.

When Zhou Xiuying was brought in by a local Shanghai leader of the Tiandihui, Xu Yuegui knew something was wrong at first glance.

This temperament and figure are not something that can be cultivated in a poor family. Even if she wears a patched jacket and skirt, it cannot hide her good figure that can only be formed by eating well and drinking well and exercising every day.

Xu Yuegui, who was born as a daughter of a Tiandihui boss, saw through Zhou Xiuying's background at a glance - just like that, she can only be the second generation of a gangster! How could officials and gentry raise such a cool daughter!

The "middle-aged man" who came with Zhou Xiuying was surnamed Du, and was a disciple of Zhou Lichun, who opened a sect in Shanghai County. Now Zhou Lichun had retreated to Qingpu, and he could not be contacted for the time being, so he had to follow the command of Miss Zhou Xiuying.

But she didn't expect to be exposed as soon as she entered Yu Garden. When she was panicking and at a loss, Zhou Xiuying's beautiful eyebrows were already in tears. She cried and said, "This elder sister has good eyesight. My name is Zhou, and I am from Zhouzhuang, Kunshan County, Suzhou Prefecture. My father is the leader of the Tiandihui in Suzhou Prefecture. Yiliang, that dog official, is arresting Tiandihui everywhere in Suzhou Prefecture. My father is also... elder sister, I have no other choice. Please accept me!"

Something fishy!

Xu Yuegui wants to recruit people whose background he knows well, and it would be best if their family is from Shanghai County. Even if the monk can run away, the temple cannot!
This Miss Zhou is obviously a woman from the underworld, and she came from Suzhou.
But Boss Xu was also a gangster, so he helped the Hongmen children in trouble, so he took out a few silver dollars and gave them to them, saying, "Miss Zhou, we are recruiting servants here. I don't think you can work, so here are a few silver dollars, take them and use them first."

Zhou Xiuying did not take the money, but knelt down in front of Xu Yuegui, tears streaming down her face: "Sister, I really can't do anything, and now I have no one to rely on. How many days can I live with your money? Where can I go after it's all gone? Am I going to sell myself in a brothel? Instead of selling myself in a brothel, I am willing to sell myself to Lord Luo's mansion!"

(End of this chapter)