"According to the statistics of Shanghai County Customs last year, the total export was 64.62 million saint yuan, the total import was 80.36 million saint yuan, and the total customs revenue of Shanghai Customs was 12.56 million saint dollars, of which the subsidies for imported machinery, weapons and other subsidized goods were directly allocated from the customs, and a total of 4.6 million holy yuan of subsidies were planned, and the balance of tariff revenue totaled 7.96 million billion saint dollars. The factories and shops in Shanghai County had a booming business last year, and since the Nanyang Company took the lead in several textile factories and weaving factories, textile factories, weaving factories, silk reeling factories, ginning factories, printing factories, and so on have been established one after another, as well as shipping companies, shipbuilding factories, handling companies, machinery factories, hardware factories, banks, insurance companies, trading firms, candle factories, match factories, paper mills, briquette factories, firewood factories, and so on. The number of private and other large and small commercial banks, companies, and workshops has grown from dozens to more than 600. There are more than 1,000 comprador intermediaries engaged in trade with foreigners who have been registered with the Shanghai Bureau of Commerce. The tax collected by merchants and companies in and around the city alone is 5.3 million syrup, among which the newly built Pudong Special Economic Zone has not yet started to collect taxes because of preferential policies, and it will be a huge leap forward in another year. ”

Zhang Zhidong said proudly, but he didn't know that Liu Kunyi next to him was already blue and extremely ugly.

Although he is the prefect of Songjiang, firstly, because Shanghai County is very special, and secondly, Shanghai County has established the Pudong Free Trade Special Zone, and his status is transcendent, so he has never asked about the affairs of Shanghai County, and the Songjiang Mansion he governs has always excluded Shanghai County.

After all, they are very close, and he still has some understanding of the situation in Shanghai. Foreigners and foreign goods, ships come and go, the whole is like a big downtown area, all people are going for the bustling pursuit of profits, especially the dignified Shanghai Zhixian Zhang Zhidong, who actually mingles with those businessmen who call them brothers and sisters, and is also very affectionate to foreigners, Liu Kunyi is very dissatisfied with this. If it weren't for the fact that Zhang Zhidong took in the beggars inside and outside Shanghai, let them clean the streets and keep them to eat, and also delivered free urban manure to rural farmers in the suburbs of Shanghai, rented ploughing cattle, etc., and could be regarded as doing something benevolent and beneficial to the people, Liu Kun would have impeached him as soon as he said it.

He has always thought that the way of merchant trade is just a way that has not been advocated by previous dynasties, and it is not on the table, after all, farming silkworms is the right way. A businessman does not produce, sells low and sells high, and is just stealing and cheating. If there were no surrounding Songjiang Mansion, as well as other grain-producing mansions in Jiaxing, Huzhou, Suzhou and other state capitals, he would be afraid that he would starve to death like Shanghai County. Moreover, if all the villagers went to the city to do business, who would grow the grain and who would read the books of the sages?

But now, Zhang Zhidong reported a large series of figures, which made Liu Kunyi stunned: his small Shanghai county, which was originally the second-to-last third-class county under the rule of Songjiang Prefecture, actually had a tariff balance of 7.96 million saints, and if it weren't for the subsidies for those foreign goods, it would have even been as much as 12.56 million saints. That's not all, even those merchants and vendors in the small Shanghai City have 5.3 million holy yuan, looking at the smug appearance of that Zhang Zhidong, speaking of the Pudong New Area has not yet collected taxes, otherwise it will be more. You must know that the total tax paid by the other 7 county halls of Songjiang Prefecture is 5.2 million holy yuan, which is 100,000 holy yuan compared to his Shanghai county, not to mention the tariff of the big head, even worse than the taxes of those traders. This undoubtedly shocked Liu Kunyi!

In the two years since he took office, he has already understood that the entire Chinese Empire, under the leadership of Emperor Feng Yunshan, has focused on reality, and although it has pursued interests too much, it has paid attention to the improvement of the people's lives and cared for the people's weal and woe. All political achievements must be calculated into relatively accurate figures by a set of so-called practical and scientific evaluation systems, and the imperial court should hand over a full amount of tax funds, and then allocate funds according to the situation to balance the localities. Therefore, it is unlikely that the revenue and expenditure data of Shanghai County will be watery. This shocked him! Could it be that the set that the sages said and thought about since ancient times is really wrong? As the emperor said in the empire's most famous and best-selling "Nanfang Daily": "The times are different, the industrial revolution has brought about the process of industrialization, and the empire must also follow the trend of the world, create a mercantile idea, build a country with manufacturing, establish a country with trade, and let the Chinese people live a richer life." ”

But Liu Kunyi is still a little puzzled, even if he can have surplus wealth in business, if he doesn't farm, where will he get the grain?

I only heard Zhang Zhidong then report to the emperor: "Your Majesty, after more than two years of development, the urban area of Shanghai County has begun to take shape, the population of the old county town is more than 120,000 people, and the population of the foreign bank district and the former consulate area outside the city is 200,000, especially the newly developed Pudong Special Economic Zone, which has also attracted 50,000 people to live, and thousands of people from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui and other places continue to grow every month, all of them are here to find work or do some small business, and there are more than 37 million people around the entire Shanghai county, plus more than 45,000 other farmers in the countryside outside the city. The county's population is about to exceed 600,000 ......"

Feng Yunshan interrupted Zhang Zhidong's words and asked, "The population has increased dramatically, and the urban governance of Shanghai's urban area must also keep up. In particular, can the food supply of firewood, rice, oil, salt, especially grains and vegetables, keep up? ”

Liu Kunyi on the side also moved: Yes, he checked some information in Songjiang Prefecture, originally except for the foreign population such as the consulate in the concession area, the population of Shanghai County, which belongs to the third-class county, is less than 200,000, which is small in the 8 counties in Songjiang Prefecture. Unexpectedly, in the last two years, the rich peasants from the countryside and the squires from all over the country have been attracted to Shanghai to open some companies and engage in trade, and the population has increased dramatically to nearly 600,000.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, Shanghai has no worries about food. In the wharf warehouse by the Bund of the Huangpu River, there are still 20,000 tons of grain from Suzhou Prefecture that have not been opened. A few days ago, several cargo ships loaded with rice from Luzon Island have not yet finished unloading, and yesterday I heard that five cargo ships in Ninan Province had brought 8,000 tons of grain, and the price was one percent lower than that of the old grain in Suzhou Prefecture. Weichen did not agree, the grain in the official warehouse of Shanghai County has been stored for more than a year, and it is time to replace a batch of new grain. In fact, now Shanghai has become a transshipment and distribution center for grain in the eastern coastal area, not only the grain from Sichuan, Huguang, Jiangxi, and Anhui, but also the grain from Jiaozhi, Japan, Nanyang, and even the West will be concentrated here, which is very convenient, just take the rice from Jiaozhi Province as an example, enough for 600,000 people in Shanghai County to eat the rations for the first half of the year, and 10 cargo ships will transport enough in two months......

Liu Kunyi didn't listen any further, and Zhang Zhidong's words filled his heart with frustration. The food problem that I thought was difficult was solved so easily, and there was so much food in Cochin, Nanyang, and even Western countries that it was impossible to eat it all, and it was sold cheaply everywhere.

Feng Yunshan was not surprised at all, nor did he notice the change in Liu Kunyi's mind, he was listening to Zhang Zhidong's report on the development of Shanghai, in addition to the economy, population and people's livelihood, he paid more attention to Shanghai's education and modern industry.

"Your Majesty, in addition to the printing and publishing halls run by the Western Church, such as the Mohai Bookstore and the Meihua Bookstore, there is also the Shanghai Translation Hall under the Shanghai Machinery Manufacturing Bureau, which uses Shanghai as a base to translate and publish Western books, and establishes the first public library in the Chinese Empire, the Shanghai Library.

In addition to the Imperial Chinese Railway School, which was jointly established by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Public Works of the Imperial Court the year before last, the Shanghai Machinery Manufacturing Bureau opened the Shanghai Machinery Secondary School, the Shanghai Shipbuilding Bureau opened the Shipbuilding School, and the Ministry of Commerce opened the Shanghai Commerce and Trade Higher School. Seeing that Shanghai's textile industry is developed and there is a lot of demand for other kinds of craftsmen, Weichen opened the Shanghai Textile Secondary School the year before last, opened a Shanghai Skill Secondary School last year, and a Normal School and a Western Literature School. ”

Feng Yunshan praised: "Zhang Aiqing has done a good job in Shanghai, and he has lived up to the expectations of the imperial court, I am very pleased!" It is not easy for Shanghai County to set up four schools of textile, technology, teacher training and foreign literature with the strength of one county. Passing on my will and ordering other qualified prefectures and counties to follow suit and improve the education and cultural level of the people is the foundation of strengthening the country and enriching the people. As for Aiqing's own reward......"

Feng Yunshan was silent, turned his head to look at Liu Kunyi, the prefect of Songjiang on the side, and saw that his face changed slightly, and explained with a chuckle: "Liu Aiqing doesn't have to worry too much, Songjiang Mansion has also developed well in the past two years, but it is still slower than Shanghai." I hope that Aiqing can understand that development is the last word, and only officials who let the people live a good life are really good officials and what the sages want! ”

At this time, the sky had already darkened, and the royal boat continued to move forward, and had already arrived at the concession Bund on the northeast side of the old city of Shanghai.

The 19th-century city of Shanghai at night is like the Huangpu River flowing in front of Feng Yunshan. After more than 10 years of development, the original concession area outside the city is much more prosperous than the county seat of Shanghai, and the consular area of the concession is the most prosperous around the Bund. There are many foreign shops here, and factories and workshops are all over the exhibition area.

Feng Yunshan and others stood on the high "Hong Kong" and looked at the Bund on the banks of the Huangpu River on the right bank...... Ancient Shanghai presents a modern and busy beauty...... However, only Feng Yunshan can experience this feeling of traveling through time and space.

Liu Kunyi felt another thing in his heart, full of bitterness and bitterness. He looked at the huge whirring white steaming cargo ships on the banks of the river, and the mountains of goods, and the busy porters shuttling back and forth between the ships and the docks, and suddenly it dawned in his heart: perhaps, these industries in their mouths are not necessarily bad!

Looking at those busy dock workers, they also have a livelihood, perhaps, the ancient sages can see this, and they will also think it is a good thing. Thinking about it this way, Liu Kunyi seems to feel that he doesn't hate the occasional foreigner on the dock so much.

Feng Yunshan turned to the left side of the river bank on the deck, which is the Pudong Special Economic Zone that is still under construction, and although it is not as bright as the Bund at the moment, it is also prosperous. He pointed to a piece in the center and asked, "What are those towering up?" ”

Zhang Zhidong next to him hurriedly replied: "Back to Your Majesty, this is the British-funded Xiangsheng Shipyard in the ship business area of the Pudong Free Trade Zone, which towers up to hoist the iron tower in their dock. Its bosses are British businessmen Nicoson and Bao Yide, both engineers of the British Plymouth Shipyard, and their technical strength is quite strong, and they can build four or five cargo ships of more than 1,000 tons a year, and they have some business contacts with the Shanghai Shipbuilding Bureau, and the Shipping Bureau has obtained some design and technical drawings and materials of British warships from the British Plymouth Shipyard through them. Therefore, Wechen listened to the advice of the Harbour Master Bureau and took great care of them. ”

"Oh, yes. Ship operation area? What's going on? Feng Yunshan did not care about the fact that the Shanghai Shipbuilding Bureau obtained the technical information of the British Plymouth Shipyard through Xiangsheng Shipyard, and he had already received a report on these circumstances, and the four major Shipyards are now surrounded by foreigners and domestic squires to jointly set up supporting small and medium-sized shipyards or related companies to undertake business, especially foreign-funded companies, to provide some advanced technical drawings and materials and equipment, which is their main way of survival. On the contrary, he was a little interested in the matter of the ship business area mentioned by Zhang Zhidong, and he couldn't help asking.

"Your Majesty, in accordance with the will of the imperial court, when the Pudong Free Trade Zone was established in the east of the Huangpu River, Weichen made a plan to divide these golden areas along the bank of the Huangpu River into several major functional areas, namely the ship business area, the machine business area, the steel business area, the textile business area, the pharmaceutical business area and other major divisions, centralized management, common development. Moreover, for the original concession old area here, some adjustments have also been made, sorting out the bank business area, cloth business area, tea business area, raw silk business area, grain business area, printing business area, grocery business area, etc., through the rest of the year, the people and merchants are happy to see this adjustment, it is the Weichen ......"

Zhang Zhidong didn't say any more, Feng Yunshan smiled, I don't know what Zhang Zhidong looked like in history, presumably even if he is not old-fashioned, he should be a serious person, but he didn't expect that now he became famous at a young age, and he was promoted by himself to be the magistrate of Shanghai, and became an authentic protégé of the Son of Heaven, but it is not very different from the traditional Confucian scholars, but he likes this temperament.

"It's Aiqing, your proud move, right?" Feng Yunshan scolded with a smile, he liked this feeling of being a gentleman and a minister, if his courtiers were all dull and unsmiling, it would be boring.

Seeing Zhang Zhidong laughing awkwardly, Feng Yunshan put away his smile and said seriously: "But Zhang Aiqing's move is very good, it is very agreeable, and the imperial court should promote it throughout the country." ”

Liu Shengbang, who was beside him, hurriedly wrote it down, and when he was free, he sent the emperor's will back to Shengjing and ordered the whole country.

At this time, the "Hong Kong" slowly approached the wharf, but because the "Hong Kong" was too displaced, the draft was too deep, and it could not get too close, so it dropped anchor more than 10 meters away from the wharf, and a small armed steamship arranged by the Imperial Forest Army had already approached the "Hong Kong" to connect the emperor ashore.

From a distance, the east gate of Shanghai County is wide open, and the city is brightly lit. The short mile of cement road leading from the wharf to the county seat has been blocked, and thousands of soldiers stationed in the begging army are guarding the town in two steps and one post, Feng Yunshan is under the protection of hundreds of royal forest troops, standing under the tower of the East Gate City, looking at the two big characters "Shanghai" that are somewhat shiny in the firelight, and can't help but feel a lot of emotion. In his previous life, when he came here, he had no place to stay, and it was impossible for him to even want a place the size of a palm, but now he has the whole city, as long as he wants. At that moment, I silently thought in my heart: "Brother is coming to the magic capital again!" Although it is of the XIX century. "With a single step on his legs, he entered the city.