Three months, sounds incredible.

The Westernization Movement is complicated and complicated, and there are a lot of problems, and naturally it cannot be done in three months. However, if we talk about the outline, grasp the main points, and make a start and lay a foundation for the things that can be done now, then three months will be enough to make a difference.

These three months are the beginning.

This matter is really a major event related to China's national fortunes, and for more than two years, Guan Zhuofan has thought about it countless times in his heart! Now, it's finally time to get started.

I can't wait a moment.

You can't miss a step.

Now Jiangsu Province, people, money, materials, soldiers, all hand, plus a Shanghai, is the most haode window.

And the imperial court's control over the local area, because of the years of war, there has been a rare window period - although the appointment of senior officials is still very tight, but in the affairs of the establishment, as long as military affairs are called, there is no allowed. It is an indisputable fact that local governors are becoming more and more powerful.

Good opportunity, Guan Zhuofan said to himself. He was determined to bring all his wisdom, all his knowledge of history, to make it happen.

As for the "Western-style dispute" in Beijing, that is the proper meaning of the title. Relatives and nobles are like clouds, high-ranking officials are like rain, such a place, with heavy shackles, is not the most suitable place to carry out foreign affairs.

The places with the most loose regulations are often the ones that are most prone to change.

Prince Gong is not easy, this time his name of "Devil Six", I am afraid that he will have to sit even more solid. Guan Zhuofan heard that in the capital, there were already people who put up headless stickers on the street. That couplet. It's neat—"The ghost has a lot of tricks." make the small court set up a hall of the same text; The military aircraft has no far-reaching strategy, and the good disciples are tempted to worship different kinds as teachers", and scolded the imperial court, foreign devils, and military planes together, and it was rumored in the streets and alleys for a while, indicating that not only a group of conservative ministers opposed foreign affairs, but also ordinary people, to foreign devils. They are all respectful.

Guan Zhuofan thought to himself, saying that "the people's wisdom has not been opened" at this time, probably cannot be miscalculated.

Therefore, he has a sympathy for King Gong, because King Gong has a helpless place in doing foreign affairs, that is, the things he does cannot be effective for a while - learning foreign languages, learning algorithms, and learning geography. In the eyes of conservatives, these things. What about learning, and what about not learning?

These people are not only stubborn and conservative, but they are also the best at one thing, that is, they refuse to admit what they have not seen. The foreigners' warships are powerful, and after seeing them, they say that "foreigners only have sharp warships, and the rest is not enough." As long as the foreigners dare to land, they will die and have no place to be buried. When he was beaten by the British and French forces, he lost his armor and said that "foreigners only have sharp guns, and the rest is not enough." In short, if you don't see the coffin, you won't shed tears, and you won't die if you don't hit the south wall.

To deal with such people, Guan Zhuofan also has his own way - you say yours, I will do mine, never do the battle of right and wrong, and talk about it after doing it. If there is a leak, and after the fact, think of another way to fill the seam, as long as the foundation in the two palaces and King Gong does not fall, then it can always be rounded.

He ran a telegram privately, and then relied on the telegram to block Li Xiucheng's tens of thousands of people with thousands of soldiers, so do you say the telegram is good? He got two gunboats, and then the Xuanjun Navy Division relied on these two ships to defeat the invincible "King of Navigation" Tang Zhengcai in half a day, so should the imperial court have gunboats?

No matter what it is, as long as you can do it first, then use it to persuade people, and then use it to promote, it will be much easier.

Speaking of which, the two palaces and King Gong want to summon him back to Beijing, and there is no shortage of ways to use his example to confront the conservatives.

It's the same now, Guan Zhuofan thought to himself, I want to use my own method.

As a modern person, since I have come to this era, I want this era to follow in my footsteps.

*

*

The telegram is the first foreign affairs he did after he arrived in Shanghai, and now the four mansions of Su Song and Taichang have been set up, and there is one Zhenjiang left, which is being rushed. Bian Ning Fuzheng became the general office of the Shanghai Telegraph Bureau, and according to Guan Futai's explanation, he had already begun to plan for the civil telegraph.

It is said that it is civilian, but it is actually commercial, or it is for the rich to use, because the cost of telegraph is still very high - the cost of erection and maintenance of the transmitter, copper wire, pole, telegraph room, etc., coupled with the high salary of the telegraph staff, so the fee is very expensive. Judging from the charter that Bian Ning took out, if you send a word, you will receive three taels of silver.

Guan Zhuofan thought, three taels is three taels, and a business opportunity is worth tens of thousands of taels of silver? Therefore, merchants will still be willing to use it. As for the rich, not to mention, it should only be a fashionable luxury, even if it is playful, how much face? It's just that since a word is so expensive, when everyone sends a telegram, I am afraid that there will inevitably be a craze of cherishing ink like gold.

And the second foreign service that was planned to be set up was, unexpectedly, derived from the telegraph.

Whoever sent a telegram went to the telegraph office of each prefecture and city in person, handed over the money, handed over the slip, and sent it, which was very simple. On the contrary, the newspaper must be delivered by the telegraph room. For this reason, Guan Zhuofan deliberately ordered Zhao Jingxian, the secretary of the domain, to transfer a fellow acquaintance of Suzhou Prefecture, Yang Shiquan, to Shanghai to wait for his life. This Yang Shiquan made a lot of efforts in the dissolution of the "Women's Pavilion" in Suzhou at the beginning, and he was very capable, and he was silently remembered by Guan Zhuofan, and now he is going to use him. Then, from Qingpu County, he transferred a very capable post man to him as an assistant, and as soon as Yang Shiquan arrived, he had to discuss with them to set up a "Jiangsu Post Office", and planned to set up branches next to the telegraph rooms in the five prefectures to be in charge of the delivery of telegrams.

However, on second thought, it seems that this thing is more than just sending a telegram......

Thinking about it, it finally dawned on me, isn't this the postal service?

So I suppressed the excitement in my heart first, and then I had a good discussion when they arrived!

Military telegrams are still free, and they are afraid that in order to save money, they will not even be able to explain things clearly. However, military and civilian affairs are all used in the same line, so Bian Ning's charter specifically stated that if there is a situation of private telegraphy under the pretext of military affairs, it must be reported to the Admiral Yamen for strict punishment.

This Bian Ning is shrewd enough to calculate, Guan Zhuofan thought with a smile. However, to set up foreign affairs, it was necessary to have such a calculating and ethical person in order to really get things done.

When he thought of the word integrity, Guan Zhuofan had a headache, and he was worried in his heart - this is really a huge problem, but it is not something that can be solved in a moment. Generally speaking, those who have done things under foreigners are relatively better in ethics, such as people like Libin and Bian Ning. And whoever was originally mixed up from the officialdom, most of them didn't dare to compliment, and there were very few people who were really honest like Zhao Jingxian.

It's embarrassing to say, if you look at all the departments under the name of the imperial court, the two items of corruption and bribery have basically been eliminated, and only the customs under Hurd's management are basically eliminated.

Every time he thought about it, Guan Zhuofan couldn't help but be depressed, because even he himself was afraid that he would not be able to survive with that share of honest money alone. Of course, he is not an extravagant person, but if he wants to learn from Hai Rui, he is as clear as water, then he is not willing - right now, there are still two sisters-in-law in Beijing, and here I see that I want to accept a beautiful lady into the house. His temper is also generous and cheerful, so it is not a small number to maintain such pomp and circumstance.

The officials of the Qing Dynasty were nominally very low, and the governor was only one hundred and fifty-five taels a year, which was almost to the point where people could starve to death. However, fortunately, there is a maintenance of incorruptible silver, which is also a positive income, which is dozens to hundreds of times higher than that of regular income. Taking Guan Zhuofan's governor of Jiangsu as an example, there are as many as 12,000 taels of silver a year.

It is said that it is "a lot", but after careful calculation, it is not much to 1,000 taels per month, because in addition to the expenses of the governor himself and his family, it is also used for the restraint of the staff, the salary of the head of the household, the entertainment of the contacts, the help of relatives and friends, and the rewards from time to time.

As for where to make up for the shortfall, there are different ways to do it. For Guan Zhuofan, the amount of overspending is not large, and these extra money can certainly come from the company he set up in the future, especially the holding company, which can be regarded as earned by his ability, but he set up the company not for his own expenses, so every time he thinks about it, he will feel a little guilty.

It can be seen that Lao Tzu is not a hero, he pondered in his heart, it is really difficult for a person to be perfect!

But - the hero is sad to pass the beauty level! Thinking of this statement, I finally felt that I had a comfort in my heart, and I could deceive myself.

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