At midnight, all the sounds were silent, the sky, a pitch black, on the ground, but a white expanse, when the moon was in wax, the first snow in Wuchang fell, and the branches of some ancient trees in the governor's palace were gently fluttering in the cold wind.

"It's snowing!"

Stepping out of the study and looking at the snow outside the window, Zhang Zhidong, who is a northerner, showed a smile on his face, he hadn't seen snow for 4 years.

"Yes! Looking at the sky, it seems that this snow can fall heavier! If you go to Snake Mountain, I don't know how the snow scene in the south of the Yangtze River compares with that in the north? ”

Sang Zhiping, who was following Zhang Zhidong, was speechless for a while when he walked out of the door.

"Zhongzi, the anti-smoking bureau is handed over to Tang Ziran, can you rest assured?"

Before he finished, Zhang Zhidong sighed again.

"I'm afraid that someone else will be even more uneasy!"

Zhang Zhidong's helplessness, listening to Sang Zhiping's ears, made him smile.

"If you change to someone else, I'm afraid it's just worry! That is, Tang Ziran, who can say that sentence imitates the customs system! ”

"If he can make the anti-smoking bureau a customs, in less than twenty years, I will be able to protect him as a feudal official!"

As a close confidant of Prince Alcohol, doesn't Zhang Zhidong know about the customs presided over by Hurd? More than 20 years ago, when Hurd took over the General Taxation Department of the Customs, it was just a mess like other yamen, full of malpractices, bribery, and unruliness, but he took over only a few years, not only made the customs look new, became the most honest yamen in China, but also made the customs customs situation more than 20 million taels, so that people can not be admired, even Prince Alcohol also sighed that if there were a hundred Hurd, the affairs of the Qing Kingdom would be worry-free.

"Since he can say that he imitates the customs system and ensures that the administration is as clean as the customs, he can also do this!"

Sang Zhiping did not know much about the customs system, but whether it was hearsay in Guangzhou, or taking the sea route from Guangzhou to Shanghai, he had seen the efficiency of the customs along the way, and that efficiency was by no means comparable to that of the Yamen of the Kuo Dynasty.

"Nakako!"

Suddenly, as if thinking of something, Zhang Zhidong burst out laughing.

"Ziran said that he wanted to imitate the customs system, I was still puzzled at the beginning, but now I understand, his current situation is the same as Hurd's,"

"Oh! How does this say? ”

Compared with other foreigners, Hurd, as the General Taxation Department of the Qing Dynasty, knows very well that the reason why he is so honest and honest is that in addition to personal cultivation, there are more external factors. Second, the British government regards customs as the foundation of its relations with the Qing Dynasty, and any corrupt behavior by him will harm Britain's interests, and Russia, France, Germany, and other countries are eyeing the throne of the General Department of Customs and Excise and Taxation, just waiting for him to make a scandal, "he can replace him", Zhongzi, you see, Ziran's situation is not the same as Hurd's. ”

As soon as Zhang Zhidong explained this, Sang Zhiping immediately figured it out.

"Brother Xiangtao, I figured it out, Ziran is not a greedy person, although he has not been educated by Chinese culture, but he has also been taught by Western University, his personal quality can naturally be seen one or two, his one qiē is given to him by Brother Xiangtao, if he is corrupt, there is something good to do and something to do, when the time comes, this anti-smoking bureau will naturally become a decoration, and the tobacco profit of the anti-smoking bureau is related to the success of Hubei foreign affairs, when the time comes, Xiangtao you will naturally not tolerate him, and the province's tobacco profit is more than 10 million, such a piece of fat is placed there, I don't know how many people are eyeing that position, Waiting for the time when he can take his place, indeed, indeed......"

Sighing at the similarity of Tang Haoran's situation with Hurd, Sang Zhiping sighed again.

"However, Ziran is so young, it is rare to be able to figure this out! Back then, Prince Alcohol found Hurd for the Qing Dynasty, but Brother Xiangtao found Tang Ziran for the Qing Dynasty. Brother Xiangtao, it is really gratifying to be able to get this talent! ”

If it were normal, Sang Zhiping's congratulations would definitely make Zhang Zhidong proud for a while, but this time it was a long sigh from him.

"Hey!"

A sudden long sigh made Sang Zhiping curious.

"Brother Xiangtao, why is this?"

"Brother Zhongzi, in the past, I was most worried that there was no talent around me, but now, Tang Ziran is here, and I ...... instead."

After a pause, Zhang Zhidong shook his head and said.

"Let's not talk about that for now,"

Suddenly, it was as if I remembered something.

"Zhongzi, from Ziran to the mansion, what is the curtain?"

"When Ziran entered the mansion, he didn't mention the curtain ceremony!"

"Since he wants to be my Huguang's Hurd, I can't lose him, Brother Zhongzi can remember Wu Wenjue in Li Hefei's mansion!"

Sang Zhiping naturally knew that Wu Wenjue, who had entered Li Hongzhang's curtain, frowned slightly when he heard Zhang Zhidong say this.

"Brother Xiangtao, what do you mean ......?"

"He and Shen Hanyu want to recruit him into the curtain, so he will give Wu Wenjue an annual salary of 6,000 taels of silver every year from Tianjin and Shanghai, and now he receives an annual salary of 10,000 taels from Tianjin Guan, how can Ziran's talent be compared with Wu Wenjue, since he enters my curtain, he can't be treated badly, otherwise I Zhang Xiangtao will not make people laugh, well, in the future, Jianghan Guan will pay 15,000 taels every year!"

Zhang Zhidong's words made Sang Zhiping's brows furrow even tighter.

"Brother Xiangtao, I'm afraid there's something wrong with this!"

The person with the most inside the house is Gu Tangsheng, excluding the respect of the four seasons, it is only four thousand taels per year, although so, it has made Gu Tangsheng very isolated, not to mention 15,000 taels.

"Are you afraid I'll kill him? Ziran's talent, how can he kill it? ”

Laughing, Zhang Zhidong looked at the snowflakes falling in the air.

"Hurd is British, Ziran ......"

He is from the Qing Dynasty!

Standing in the courtyard, Sang Zhiping silently murmured in his heart, now he finally understands why Zhang Zhidong had that sigh before, he is reluctant to Tang Ziran, but if he is summoned by the imperial court, how can he Zhang Xiangtao refuse?

But Hubei wants to do foreign affairs but can't do without Tang Ziran, now he understands why Xiangtao will drastically hand over the personnel power of the anti-smoking bureau to him, not for anything else, just to prevent the imperial court from summoning him into the court, after he presided over the anti-smoking bureau, because of the employment of people, I don't know how many grievances will be accumulated, there are thousands of supplementary officials in Hubei alone, but the establishment of the anti-smoking bureau does not need to make up officials, how can those supplementary officials be willing, and how can the people in the court be willing.

There is Xiangtao in Hubei to protect him, and they naturally can't move him, but it also blocks his way to advancement, and the Qing Kingdom wants more than just officials who can do things.

"In terms of being an official, you are far inferior to Xiangtao!"

With a long sigh, but he didn't know whether it was for himself or for Tang Haoran, Sang Zhiping, who was in the corridor, just quietly looked at the snowflakes drifting in the wind, and there seemed to be a little melancholy between his eyebrows.

The cold wind was biting, Tang Haoran, who was walking alone on the street, walked silently against the snow on his head, every step on the snow road, he could hear the sound of stepping on the snow, and the cold wind blew into his clothes, but he walked on the street as if he didn't feel anything.

"In order to achieve a noblest end, the most despicable means can be used!"

Thinking of these words, Tang Haoran thought from the future that he had completely become a believer in Machiavellianism.

"As long as the end is right, what is wrong with unscrupulous means?"

While sighing in his heart, a voice in his heart defended him.

"Yes, what's wrong? I'm just saying what they want to hear, just doing something according to their train of thought! ”

"Are they banning, are they legalizing? Or do they encourage planting! Or are they ......"

"They just collect money for the sake of accumulating money, and I am here to do big things!"

"With the money, I can become a SWAT officer and plan for the future!"

"With money, I can still run a school, enlighten the people,"

"You can still run a factory!"

"I can still build a laboratory and breed good seeds......"

When countless voices in his heart were defending themselves, deep in Tang Haoran's heart, there was another voice there that kept telling him that this was a crime! Even if they agree to ban smoking, they are only trying to accumulate more wealth.

"I want to ban it, but they, they, who wants to ban it!"

Suddenly, Tang Haoran yelled at the night sky.

"They think of silver, they want silver, they only have silver in their eyes, who of them really thought about banning smoking, they don't have it, they have never treated the people as the people, what can I do?"

When the roar came out of Tang Haoran's throat, tears also flowed down his face, and then he muttered again.

"At least, I'm going to do it now, and my intention is to stop smoking!"

Did I really mean to stop smoking?

At this time, even Tang Haoran doubted his original intention, if it was really to ban smoking, why could he plan that qi qi so calmly?

No, I'm here to stop smoking!

This is just a means, a means to enforce the ban on smoking, and when they regard tobacco as a source of wealth, they are just using their minds! Only in this way can you achieve great things.

Perhaps, my means are despicable, but my ends are noble.

With power, I can do things, and with money, I can get things done......

"I will bring a brighter future to this country, I will change all the qiē, I will make amends, I will definitely be able to make amends......"

Just as Tang Haoran was standing in the snow, muttering to himself, a voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Brother Ren, since the wrong thing has been made, how can you make up for it?"