In Guan Zhuofan's eyes, Zuo Zongtang's "heroic deception" can be regarded as a classic of political struggle. Moreover, except for Guo Songtao, who was unlucky, the other parties, those who showed up and those who did not, were all happy.

The imperial court was coerced by Zuo Zongtang, so it had to go to Guo. But what's interesting is that whether it is the two palaces or the center, there is no real opinion on Zuo Zongtang.

First, it is because the Western Expedition has already decided Zuo Zongtang, and now is the time for the imperial court to borrow him; Second, it is because the court understands that although Zuo Zongtang has a big temper, he does not "form a party".

Zuo Zongtang's popularity is not good. Cixi once said to Guan Zhuofan, "No one wants to partner with the 'left mule'" - this is a fact. Zuo Zongtang loves to oppress people everywhere, making everyone hate him. But because of this, there is no powerful figure "attached" to him, so it is more "reassuring" to the imperial court.

On the contrary, Guo Songtao, who was driven away by Zuo Zongtang, is a lineage of Zeng Guofan. Collecting power from the "Hunan system" is an established statute that the imperial court does not declare. It's rare that Zuo Zongtang is willing to come out with this, otherwise, with Guo Songtao's prestige and performance, it will not be easy to move him.

Therefore, the imperial court's accommodation to Zuo Zongtang is actually "pushing the boat along the river".

Three, it was originally a deal.

Zuo Zongtang didn't expect Jiang Yifeng to stay in Yuefu's seat for long, after he got what he wanted in the future, Jiang Yifeng would be an outcast, and it didn't matter where he put it.

For Jiang Yifeng, even if he can't sit in the position of Yuefu in the future, it's not a big deal, anyway, it's a pie in the sky. With the stroke of "Fuyue" on his resume, he climbed to the position of a provincial governor again over time. It's not so difficult.

Zuo Zongtang wanted to get the envoy of the Western Expedition. I hope Guan Zhuofan will not only not fight with him. In turn, he also supported him, knowing that he couldn't just rely on a gift of 10,000 silver, plus a few words of sycophants from his aunt's wife, to reach a deal.

Through Hu Xueyan as an intermediary, Guan Zhuofan and Zuo Zongtang reached a tacit understanding on the territory of Guangdong. Zuo Zongtang first "passed a hand", and Guan Zhuofan came to "take over".

When Guan Zhuofan recommended Zuo Zongtang to the Queen Mother of the Two Palaces, Guo Songtao had not yet left his post. Zuo Zongtang felt that Guan Zhuofan's affairs were really beautiful, and he was quite grateful in his heart. So he stepped up the "reversal of Guo". There are people in the court who are easy to do, and when they see that the heat is almost over, they pretend to be helpless "above" and follow Zuo Zongtang.

Guan Zhuofan was apologetic to Guo Songtao, but he remembered these few words, "Yu relatives have a loss, and Yu has no disobedience; Shame on the private sector, shame on the public".

The first two sentences can be put on Zuo Zongtang, and the last two sentences can be put on himself.

Guo Songtao. Just make some sacrifices and suffer some grievances for the times.

Also, I'll ask you to go out again.

The topic returns to Shanghai.

The telegram "is in a good situation". The momentum of the postal service is also quite encouraging.

In fact, the "Jiangsu Post Office" was hung under the Shanghai Telegraph Administration. The land mail route between Songjiang, Suzhou, Taicang, Changzhou and Zhenjiang, and the waterway mail route between Zhenjiang and Shanghai, after a month or two of "trial operation", soon operated smoothly.

In the beginning, the post office only delivered telegrams and sent and received letters, but later, "postal packets" could also be delivered.

The enthusiasm of ordinary people for the postal service far exceeded that of the telegraph, and the potential huge market demand was released explosively, and the mail delivery volume of the post office continued to "refresh" the most optimistic estimates of Yang Shiquan and Shao Desheng, who were in charge.

A year has not arrived, in terms of expenditure, "Jiangsu Post Office" has passed the breakeven point, and the "growth curve" is high, and it must be a business that can make a lot of money.

Zhilu Dao Post will succeed, but the success will come so quickly that it is still beyond everyone's expectations. After careful analysis, everyone came to a conclusion: In addition to the "government monopoly," the success of the post office has a lot to do with the fact that the mail horses, mail trucks, and mail ships all hang the flag of the Xuan Army and the Chinese Army.

This flag is not only a guarantee of security, but also a guarantee of confidence. Protect the smooth flow of postal routes, but also let the people rest assured that they will be delivered. I wonder if this "intangible asset" should be included in the cost?

The new postal services of Song, Su, Tai, Chang and Zhen aroused great interest in Zeng Guofan. It has been said that after the New Year, the postal routes in Jiangning, Huai'an, Yangzhou, Xuzhou, Haizhou and other places directly under the jurisdiction of the governor of Liangjiang in northern Jiangsu will be opened.

In this way, the postal routes of Jiangsu Province will be fully opened.

The customers of Jiangsu Post Office also include foreigners. The former consultant of the Jiangsu Post Office is discussing with Yang Shiquan to see if the lines of the two can be merged together, in fact, he hopes that the Jiangsu Post Office will "acquire" his "guest mail".

For the sake of Pierre's work as a consultant of the Jiangsu Post Office, it is not good to teach students to starve to death of teachers, Zhao Jingxian asked Guan Zhuofan to show him, and said to Yang Shiquan that if the price is reasonable, you can talk about it.

Next is the "financial mouth".

As soon as the newly cast "Su Yang" came out, it quickly circulated in the market.

People love this delicate, shiny, "filling" silver dollar. In the beginning, there were quite a few people who wanted to hoard Juqi. Liu Xunjiao's Yamen kept a close eye on it, and paid close attention to a few typical examples to set an example. When "Su Yang" is listed in an endless stream, the circulation will be completely normal.

"Su Yang" soon "walked out of Jiangsu", north to Beijing, south to Guangzhou, you can see the figure of "Su Yang".

At the beginning, after deducting the minting cost and the commission of the bank and money bank that issued the "Su Yang", it was estimated that there was a premium of six or seven percent. But in fact, Su Yang's price has been converted into silver prices and has risen all the way, and after a year, the premium has been close to 10%.

The reason for this situation is, in the final analysis, the word "supply exceeds demand".

It was the first time for ordinary people to see such a high-quality national currency, and the popularity of "Su Yang" quickly surpassed that of silver and copper coins. As a kind of "local currency", "Su Yang" actually began to circulate throughout the country, and the supply of "Su Yang" was naturally insufficient compared to the huge market demand in China as a whole.

This situation will not change substantially in the short term; For a long time, Su Yang's worth will get higher and higher.

"Seigniorage" is such a wonderful thing.

In Yangfang's Shanghai Customs, the monthly customs silver has exceeded one million, and it is still growing, while a year ago this figure was still 500,000; In the following year, that is, the fourth year of Tongzhi, that is, in 1865, Guan Yin was determined to exceed 15 million taels.

That's a staggering number. There was a Qing generation, and the peak of the country's income before it appeared in the Qianlong Dynasty, about 45 million taels. The income of Shanghai Customs alone is equivalent to one-third of the entire national endowment!

It was expected that Shanghai Customs would exceed 10 million years a year, but I didn't expect it to come so quickly.

Several reasons.

The first is that the long hair in Jiangsu and Shanghai is the earliest, so it recovers the fastest. The unique "function" of China's social economy of "strong rebound after the great turmoil" has been vividly manifested in the areas of Jiangsu and Shanghai.

Second, the historical position and development trend of Shanghai in this era have not undergone any changes in this time and space. Shanghai has become the leader of China's economy, and has become a huge "gold-absorbing magnet" both internally and externally, with a steady flow of capital and talents.

Third, Guan Zhuofan's promotion has greatly accelerated the formation of this pattern.

People who do business are the most sensitive, although the "industrial park" and "free trade zone" have not yet been officially implemented, but the construction of Gaochang and Gaochang cannot be hidden. What these two pieces of land mean, the seers are all excited. Naturally, many people entered Shanghai in advance and "reserved the place".

Xuanjun Chattanooga in the United States has been transmitted back to China, and the "investment curve" in Shanghai, which has been in the "upward channel", has suddenly risen. Later, with the victories of Atlanta and Savannah, this curve "climaxed" again and again. After the "unconditional surrender" of the Southern Rebellion, there was an explosive increase in the amount of capital entering Shanghai.

The situation in Jiangsu seems to be slightly inferior to that of Shanghai.

In the words of the original time and space, Shanghai has become the "best investment destination".

The issuance of "Su Yang" and the improvement of the financial environment have also accelerated this process.

Political clarity, including the establishment of the Commissioner for the Integrity of the Corruption, is also powerful.

*(To be continued......)

PS: I have to go out in the afternoon to do some personal business, and I can't come back very late, and I only have one shift at noon today, sorry.

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