Master Yuan, start!

8. However, since there was no way to make money in a short period of time, Yuan Xiangcheng began to plot against the Kong family.

In the late Qing Dynasty, the Kong Mansion owned more than 130 million mu of land, equivalent to a market value of more than 1300 million taels.

He can collect nearly 100 million taels of silver in land rent every year, not to mention the shops and restaurants passed down from his ancestors. He is definitely a big fat pig.

Therefore, Yuan Shikai handed the knife to Guangxu and asked him to give the order to search the house himself.

Third, in order to minimize the resistance to the confiscation of property, it was necessary to let the people in the Confucius Mansion fight among themselves and use the position of Yansheng Duke to hang them. This is how the idea of ​​competing for the position of Yansheng Duke came about.

"Mr. Yuan," Guangxu said, holding the memorial in his hand, feeling somewhat moved: "Master Yuan is truly loyal to his country. He is not moved at all by such a huge fortune.

It just so happened that Master Yuan proposed in his memorial to the emperor that the Bank of Qing be established, and that a trial run should be conducted in the three northeastern provinces first.

Then take out half of the money confiscated from the property and give it to Master Yuan as capital."

After saying this, without waiting for the other three grand councilors to react, Guangxu quickly wrote his comments on the memorial, stamped it with the imperial seal of "Guangxu of the Great Qing", and asked Yang Shenxiu to send it out.

Chapter 165 Political Correctness in the Qing Dynasty

The news that Duke Yansheng had kidnapped children and was beaten to death in court reached Jiangnan almost at the same time as it reached Beijing.

Everyone was looking forward to what news would come out of the Liangjiang Governor-General's Office, but surprisingly, only private newspapers such as Shenbao commented on the matter.

The Jiangnan official newspaper, which has always been regarded as the mouthpiece of the Governor-General of Liangjiang, rarely made any comments and simply published the news verbatim.

This could not help but arouse the curiosity of people at that time. After all, since there was a court in the south, three of the five governors south of the Yangtze River began to fight openly or secretly.

Zeng Guoquan, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, had the strongest power on land. On the surface, he occupied the most land in the three provinces, and almost all the fertile land in the southeast was in his hands.

In addition, the New Hunan Army has trained another 5 personnel. Together with the previous 3, there are now 8 Tiger Guards. This means that the navy is a little weak, but now, apart from foreigners, how many navies are strong?

Moreover, ever since Zeng Guoquan and Liu Kunyi, the two living leaders of the Hunan clique, decided to manage Jiangning as the base of the Hunan Army.

They spared no effort to move people from their hometown in Hunan. As a result, after the Taiping Rebellion, the empty Jiangning Prefecture once again welcomed a new wave of population migration.

The last large-scale migration can be traced back to when Hong Tianwang defended Tianjing to the death, which eventually led to the Hunan Army's massacre after breaking into the city, killing almost all of the city's hundreds of thousands of people.

After that, as the domestic situation gradually stabilized, people from Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu and other places moved into Jiangning City one after another.

Of course, the largest number of people are the Hunanese who pull the carts. After all, several successive governors-general of Liangjiang were all from Hunan, so naturally they had to give convenience to their fellow countrymen.

This time, most of the newly relocated Hunanese arrived by water and did not go deep into Jiangning City. Instead, they formed several "Hunan Towns" on the north and south banks of the Yangtze River outside Jiangning City, where tens of thousands of young and strong laborers were concentrated.

Because most cargo ships traveling from east to west dock here, load and unload goods and then rush to the upper and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the port here has a large demand for transportation, so a dock gang culture has gradually formed.

A group of Hunan dock workers with Sanxiang accents wear coarse cloth clothes and carry goods on their shoulders at the dock every day.

If Nanjing in later generations was nicknamed "Huijing", then Jiangning at this time could undoubtedly be called "Xiangjing".

These Hunanese people were not used to the light local cuisine of Jiangning, so they spontaneously brought pickled chopped peppers from their hometown to eat.

Because the dock workers had little free time every day and could not spend time and effort on cooking, they used local ingredients and caught some big silver carp from the Yangtze River, removed their heads and scales, processed them, and then grilled them for food.

But this method is too wasteful, as a large fish head would be lost while grilling. So the workers poured the remaining chopped pepper on top, creating a simple chopped pepper fish head dish, and ate the chopped pepper fish head after eating the grilled fish.

In this way, you can fill your stomach with fish meat and also chew on the fish head to taste the flavor.

Therefore, with the promotion of the vast number of Hunanese people, chopped pepper fish head, a typical Hunan dish with simple preparation, spread in Jiangning City at a very fast speed.

In order to cater to the tastes of Hunanese men, most of the local wives they married, whether they were from Jiangbei or Jiangnan, and whether they liked spicy food or not, would learn to make a dish called "Chopped Pepper Fish Head".

So much so that when later Chinese sociologists conducted a survey on food culture, they found that the banquets in Jiangning city were significantly different from those in other parts of Jiangsu Province.

The most noteworthy thing is that no matter whether they are wealthy or ordinary people, almost every household will have a spicy chopped pepper fish head on the table during the Chinese New Year.

Even if everyone doesn’t eat this dish much, there are elders who will stand up and say that this is a “tradition” left by their ancestors.

Therefore, chopped pepper fish head has become the only spicy dish that is extremely well-known in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, where the overall taste is sweet and light.

However, just as the momentum of Liangjiang was improving under his management, Zeng Guoquan, the governor, unexpectedly fell seriously ill.

The land and water of the south of the Yangtze River nourish people, and with the nourishment of power, Zeng Guoquan has lived half a year longer than in the original time and space, and has not died until now in 1891.

However, his age was there after all, and after a serious illness, Zeng Guoquan was still lying on the sickbed even in summer.

At this time, there was no one else around Zeng Guoquan except Liu Kunyi.

"You're not afraid to offend foreigners, cough cough, and anger Confucianism, just to kidnap, cough, kidnap children?"

Zeng Guoquan took great effort to finish his sentence.

He had not received much education and had obtained the title of tribute student through favoritism. Unlike his elder brother Zeng Guofan, he had no special feelings for Confucianism.

Therefore, after learning that Yuan Shikai had done such a sensational thing in Yantai, I have been puzzled.

Liu Kunyi slowly shook his head: "Thinking about the young emperor who just took power, I'm afraid he is still complacent at this moment, thinking that Yuan Xiangcheng has won a victory for the court.

"Who knows that foreigners cannot be easily offended? Those key officials in the capital are short-sighted. For a few silver coins, they acquiesced to Yuan Shikai's provocation of border affairs. Sooner or later, disaster will arise."

Although Liu Kunyi was Zeng Guoquan's successor in the original time and space, his official career was better than Zeng Guoquan's before the Sino-French War.

It was only after Liu Kunyi was impeached by Zhang Zhidong, a Beijing official at the time, that he returned home and lay dormant for several years.

If we talk about it, Zeng Guoquan was able to surpass Liu Kunyi only by relying on the title of Zeng Guofan's brother.

After Zeng Guoquan died in the original time and space, Liu Kunyi was quickly appointed as the Governor-General of Liangjiang by the Qing court. He served as the governor for 12 years, a full term.

The Southeast Mutual Protection Policy, which was initiated by the Eight-Nation Alliance, was finally formed under the leadership of Liu Kunyi.

It can be said that his political status in the late Guangxu period was not much inferior to that of Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang.

However, Liu Kunyi still couldn't get hard enough with foreigners.

During the Wuhu and Danyang incidents, he, as the governor of Jiangning, made repeated concessions to the foreigners and agreed to their demands for the removal of the county magistrate, the execution of the rioters, and compensation.

If Liu Kunyi and Weng Tong were to meet face to face, Weng Tong would probably have called him spineless and said he was talking without thinking. After all, it was he who proposed to postpone the transfer of customs taxes and silver to the north, which led to the financial difficulties of the Beijing court.

"I've read the application, and it doesn't say much about foreigners. Its assessment of the Confucius Mansion's kidnapping... of children is fairly fair."

Zeng Guoquan felt it was a pity. Although the life of the French bishop captured by Yuan Shikai was safe, it was somewhat abnormal that the French had not responded yet.

"Yuan Xiangcheng is also a Han Chinese, so why is he so devoted to the Manchus?" Liu Kunyi couldn't help but question.

"No matter how turbulent the Qing Empire is, there will always be loyal ministers," Zeng Guoquan replied slowly from his sickbed. "Besides, this time he claimed to have solved a case, but in reality he was confiscating property. He's practically wiped out the 300-year-old fortune accumulated by the Yansheng Duke's Mansion."

At this point, Zeng Guoquan had an idea: "Xianzhuang, can we get the Hunan Army to move north? Qufu is in chaos now, this is a godsend opportunity."

"A town of national defense troops is still stationed in Yanzhou. It's difficult." Liu Kunyi disagreed and planned to wait and see. "Also, this matter depends on the reaction of scholars all over the world. No one can be sure of the consequences."

What Liu Kun was worried about was exactly what Yuan Xiangcheng was good at.

He was not simply persecuting Duke Yansheng, but he had a legitimate reason. Since the beginning of foreign missionaries, many religious incidents were caused by the trafficking of children.

It can be said that opposing the trafficking of children by foreign religions is the greatest political correctness in China today.

The people of the Qing Dynasty at this time may not have understood much about nationalism, but the idea of ​​opposing the trafficking of foreign religions was definitely rooted in their hearts.

From Zhili to Guangdong, from Jiangsu to Sichuan, this was the greatest common denominator of all the people of the Qing Dynasty at that time.

Whether they were reformists, conservatives, or those who wanted to overthrow the Qing Dynasty, they all had only one attitude when facing this matter.

That's "Save the Children"

Many county magistrates and prefects who were well-read in the books of sages suffered great setbacks because they protected the people in religious incidents. Therefore, it is impossible to say that scholars all over the world have no aversion to foreign religions.

If you oppose foreigners kidnapping and trafficking children, then support Yuan Shikai;

If you oppose the beating to death of Duke Yansheng, then you are standing against Yuan Shikai.

Choosing between the holy religion and the people's hearts seems to be a difficult problem.

After careful consideration, the two decided to keep the matter aside and not respond.

After all, no matter which side you stand on, it will be a big shock to the current Governor-General's Office of Liangjiang.

However, at this time, what worried Zeng Guoquan the most was not the Confucius Mansion Incident that Yuan Shikai had caused in the north, but Zhang Zhidong's request for the Pingxiang coal mine.

Although the history of Hanyang Iron Works was advanced by 4 years, some things will still return to their original track, such as the Pingxiang Coal Mine in Yuanzhou Prefecture, Jiangxi Province.

"Xianzhuang, Zhang...cough cough...Zhang Nanpi asked us for the mining rights of Pingxiang coal mine. What do you think?" Zeng Guoquan coughed heavily a few times, took a breath, and asked softly.

"Yuanzhou Pingxiang, haha." Liu Kunyi laughed at himself, wondering how everything could be related to the word Yuan.

But after a moment, he still replied: "Hasn't Zhang Nanpi often claimed to be the lone loyalist of the Southern Kingdom recently?

For the sake of the country, of course he should pay real money to buy it."

Liu Kunyi's words were naturally intended to mock Zhang Zhidong.

Among the five governors-general south of the Yangtze River, three were secretly competing with each other, and the second one was Zhang Zhidong.

Although Zhang Zhidong's Huguang had the weakest foundation, Cixi was in Wuchang. Therefore, after Cixi fled south, he felt that he was superior to Zeng and Li.

At the call of the small southern court, many frustrated officials in the north came to Wuchang. Seeing this, Zhang Zhidong was naturally not idle. On the one hand, he expanded the Hubei Army to 5 in a short period of time to show off, and on the other hand, he accelerated the construction of the Hanyang Ironworks.

Although these 5 troops are far less than the National Defense Forces and are probably only slightly stronger than the Green Camp, the framework has been set up at least.

However, the iron smelting project was ultimately delayed.

Zhang Zhidong still couldn't find a suitable coal mine in Huguang, and the iron he smelted was too fragile and broke at the slightest bend.

After being informed by the people from the Incheon Machinery Bureau stationed at the factory, he learned that the nearest large low-sulfur coal mine to Wuchang was in a small place called Pingxiang in Jiangxi.

Although he didn't understand why Yuan Shikai would help him, Zhang Zhidong thought about it and felt that it was nothing more than a trick to divert trouble to someone else.

Because of the impeachment, his relationship with Liu Kunyi had not been very good.

After becoming the governor of Huguang, he had conflicts with the Hunan clique's governor-general of Liangjiang. Now he asked for the Pingxiang coal mine, but Liu Kunyi naturally did not agree.

In front of Zeng Guoquan, Liu Kunyi reiterated his previous offer to Zhang Zhidong: "The Jianghan Customs has a surplus of several million taels of silver a year. Asking him to spend one million taels to buy the mining rights is not too much."

There is no shortage of coal in Liangjiang. The Changxing Coal Mine in Huzhou has been explored by Liu Kunyi and his men. Once the Ma'anshan Iron Works is completed, the coal will be shipped immediately.

Therefore, he naturally wanted to take advantage of Zhang Zhidong to avenge the impeachment he had suffered that year.

Of course, he couldn't say this to Zeng Guoquan directly, so he had to embellish it a little.

"Zhang Nanpi has repeatedly made things difficult for us when it comes to bringing our fellow Hunanese to Jiangning. Now we need to teach him a lesson. Otherwise, relying on that old woman by his side, he'll become really arrogant."

Zeng Guoquan attached great importance to the friendship of his fellow villagers. After hearing what Liu Kunyi said, he was naturally convinced and no longer cared about the Pingxiang coal mine.

Warriors rarely get sick on a daily basis, but once they do, it is a serious illness that is difficult to cure.

Zeng Guoquan, knowing that his time was running out, was about to continue discussing the affairs of Liangjiang with Liu Kunyi when he heard hurried footsteps outside the house.

"It's bad, Marshal Jiu, Marshal Xian!" The guards of the Governor's Mansion half-knelt on the ground, gasping for air.

Both of them looked at the person in front of them silently, wondering what kind of big thing could cause such panic.