Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 47: Joining the Party (Readers who support us please vote for the monthly ticket and recommendation ticket. Thank you very much.)
In the turbulent times of today's society, Western powers forced open China's borders with guns and cannons. The Taiping Rebellion, which spread across dozens of provinces in southeastern China, lasted for 14 years and has not yet been completely quelled.

In this turbulent situation, many knowledgeable people clearly realized that the Qing court was like a leaky ship, and was heading towards corruption and decline.

Cao Yucheng, the prefect of Jinling, was one of the Han ministers who was sensitive to this change. In daily contacts, officials from other prefectures and counties often had similar understandings, which was very scary.

During the war of invasion by foreign powers, the people from south to north turned a blind eye and even helped the invading foreign troops push carts and carry loads to transport logistical supplies.

It means that the people at the bottom of society deeply detest the corruption of the Qing court and have completely lost confidence in it.

Then the subtle change in the cognition of local government officials represents the general disappointment of the Han elite.

When the building is about to collapse, how can the eggs remain intact?

After 14 years of Taiping Rebellion, and with the Nian Rebellion in the north still uncontained, local officials' confidence in the imperial court has reached an unprecedented low.

The change of dynasties, which no one dared to talk about before, is no longer a secret in private.

People's hearts are broken and it's hard to lead the team.

Zeng Guofan, an important official of the imperial court, openly defied the imperial court's order to incorporate the Hunan Army and sent hundreds of thousands of Hunan Army soldiers back home, which was a severe blow to the imperial court's prestige.

However, Zeng Guofan remained an important official at the imperial court, and the governors of several southeastern provinces followed his lead. The Xianghu clan even comprised half of the officials at the imperial court in several southeastern provinces, acting as if they were separatist princes.

This made many people see the secret: having soldiers means having power.

Don't think that Zeng Guofan lost power and could disband hundreds of thousands of Hunan troops with a single order. If he raised the banner of rebellion, he could also gather hundreds of thousands of troops again.

The imperial court saw this and was deeply wary.

When other officials saw this, they all showed their goodwill to the minister who held a large number of troops, and Cao Yucheng was no exception.

After a brief exchange of greetings,
Cao Yucheng smiled and took out a document from his sleeve, presented it with both hands, and said;
"General, I have recently discovered in Yexia and the surrounding prefectures and counties that some unscrupulous salt merchants are manipulating prices and suppressing the market, causing great harm to the common people.

Now, colleagues from Zhenjiang Prefecture have joined forces with our Jinling Prefecture detectives to apprehend and bring to justice the relevant illegal salt merchants. We intend to impose severe penalties and uphold the law and order.”

Zheng Guohui took the letter and took a look at it. Several salt merchants from Weiyang, including Li Wen'an, Wang Rui, Zhou Congming, etc., were on the list and were included in the government's crackdown list.

This is not just a gesture of goodwill, but an active move towards the forces represented by Zheng Guohui and a token of allegiance.

Zheng Guohui's mind raced, and he understood the reason almost instantly.

I wonder how much the Minister of Rites Fuzhu Hong'a paid?

He used connections with the imperial court to obtain the title of third-rank Jiangning Censor for his student Wu Weicheng. Together with Jiangnan Governor Fu Zhuhong'a, one civil and one military, they completely controlled the overall situation in Jiangnan Province.

The governor Elong was disgraced and had his position sidelined.

Those who can mix in the officialdom are all shrewd people who can adapt to the situation!

Zheng Guohui looked at the signatures on the back of the letter. More than a dozen officials from Jinling Prefecture and Zhenjiang Prefecture were listed. He nodded and smiled with satisfaction, then carefully put the letter into his sleeve.

Then he said;

“I am fully aware of your Excellencies’ intentions.

I will be setting off for the capital soon, so I will take this memorial with me. It is a great gift!

Hahahaha...

It is imperative to severely punish illegal salt merchants. This is within the responsibilities of all officials. It is the people's concern and we have no choice but to do our duty!

But I have a request. The soldiers stationed outside the command of our Du Biao Battalion are ready to cooperate at any time to capture the criminals. Please rest assured, Your Excellency.

Once discovered, we will suppress it and show no mercy."

Zheng Guohui was using force to endorse the prefectures and counties of various places. When Jinling Prefect Cao Yucheng heard this, he was overjoyed and quickly stood up, bowed deeply to the ground, and said;

"Your humble servant thanks the general and is willing to be the vanguard. He will go through fire and water without hesitation." "Please stand up quickly. Your Excellency is so polite. How can I accept it?" Zheng Guohui hurriedly stepped forward to help him up. The two looked at each other and laughed, and everything was said without words.

Although Cao Yucheng, the prefect of Jinling, was a fourth-rank official, his position was extremely valuable and was no less than that of a general or deputy general.

Cao Yucheng did not join Zheng Guohui. Zheng Guohui was not that powerful. He was just representing his own forces and accepting these dozen county officials to join him.

Cao Yucheng, a fourth-rank official, was not qualified to be the worthy minister Fuzhu Shoushan. Zheng Guohui was a perfect step for him to advance, so it was natural for him to introduce him.

Then why didn't Cao Yucheng follow the path of the new Jiangning Censor Wu Weicheng?
Lord Neitai (note: a respectful title for the Censor) is the immediate superior of the Jinling Prefecture, and they are both in the civil service system, so aren't they closer?
Not really
The Neitai was in charge of the criminal justice system of a province, including cases, corruption and abuse of power by officials, etc. His affairs were not much more valuable than those of the Jinling prefect, and his actual power and benefits were far less.

In addition, Lord Wu Weicheng parachuted in, and there was not even a suitable manpower available.

If it weren't for the support of local tyrants like Zheng Guohui and the cooperation between the two, it would be basically impossible to make the Governor Elong look bad.

Cao Yucheng saw it clearly;

General Zheng Guohui is courageous, decisive, ambitious, and most importantly, he is still young, so his future is almost limitless.

The Jinling prefect is a pastoral official. Apart from the pacification officials, there are really no other officials above him who are worthy of Cao Yucheng's attention.

In the early and middle periods of the Qing Dynasty, not to mention the third-rank Jinling City Guard, even the first- and second-rank generals and lieutenant generals were not enough in front of the Jinling prefect.

To follow Zheng Guohui's path is to show naked goodwill to Zheng Guohui.

A wise man doesn't need to say everything. After seeing off Cao Yucheng, the prefect of Jinling, Zheng Guohui touched the letter in his sleeve and smiled with satisfaction.

Before leaving
Cao Yucheng presented another 10,000 taels of silver, and Zheng Guohui accepted it with a slight politeness.

With this beginning, the magistrates of Changzhou Prefecture and various counties would come to pay their respects and present gifts of silk and gold.

This is a necessary move to re-align, otherwise, a mere petition signed by a seventh-rank magistrate is obviously not enough.

Interactions among officials in the Qing Dynasty court have always been paved with money.

When Zheng Guohui went to the capital, he prepared 100,000 taels of silver for the Minister of Rites Fuzhu Hong'a. It was not a silver note but real silver. This was just the regular silver for the private salt business for five months.

If they don't have that much money, why would they spend so much effort to protect Zheng Guohui? Are they just bored?
as expected
In the next few days, the threshold of the mansion in Gulou was almost broken down.

Officials from prefectures and counties all over the country flocked to the city, often with several horse-drawn carriages full of local specialties, as well as private gifts of gifts such as silk and gold, which made the city rich.

Amidst the chaos, Zheng Guohui received a visiting card from the Censor-in-Chief, instructing him to come to his residence for a visit.

It looks like

Is it that Lord Wu Weicheng, who has not seen Zheng Guohui take the initiative to pay a visit to him for a long time, finally realized who is the real local boss in this area of ​​Jiangnan?
When Zheng Guohui saw the business card, he sneered and threw it aside, then continued to hold the teacup and sip the tea slowly.

Dong Huanzhang picked it up, took a look at it, and asked, "Sir, this is the name card of the Minister of Justice. Doesn't it require a date?"

"That's fine. Cooperation is fine, but getting close isn't necessary. It's better to keep a proper distance."

"You mean, the governor..."

"Even brothers settle accounts openly, not to mention officials, who are most wary of wavering."

"But... these are all close disciples of Minister-sama. Logically, they are family."

"Brother Huanzhang, you don't know that Lord Minister has more than one son. Fuzhu Hong'a is only the second son. Hehehe...there are many hidden dangers here."

"what……"

Dong Huanzhang was surprised that an egg could be stuffed into his mouth. He really broadened his horizons.

(End of this chapter)