"Second brother, I'm back!" Li Hezhang, who was dressed in a green coat and a small hat, pushed open the door, strode in, glanced at Li Hongzhang, who was sitting on the edge of the chair and writing big characters, and smiled, "Second brother is so interested, it's all at this time, and I'm still in the mood to practice calligraphy." ”

"Practicing calligraphy can cultivate the mind, and the more at this time, the more calm the heart must be." Li Hongzhang smiled slightly, and after writing the last word slowly, he stopped his pen, looked left and right, and was satisfied, before he nodded and slowly put down the pen.

After putting down the brush, Li Hongzhang looked up at Li Hezhang: "How is the situation?" After the imperial court declared the Jingwu Army a rebel, Li Yong guitar ...... What is the situation on the ground, for example, what is the backlash of the local people? More towards the imperial court, or more towards Li Yongji? ”

"Hey, hey." Li Hezhang smiled, "Is there water?" I'm dying of thirst, I'll talk about it when I'm done. ”

Shaking his head slightly, Li Hongzhang pointed to the purple sand teapot on the table: "Drink it, the freshly brewed tea is a little cold now, but it's just right to quench your thirst." ”

"Good! It's good to be cold! Li Hezhang rubbed his hands, walked over in a few steps, and then didn't use the teacup, picked up the teapot and drank it to the spout.

Seeing Li Hezhang's rude appearance, Li Hongzhang didn't move much, but turned his head with his hands behind his back, looked at the red sunset outside the window, and subconsciously sighed.

At the beginning, when Li Yongji had a stalemate with the imperial court over the matter of Caoyin, Li Hongzhang was ordered by Zeng Guofan to come to mediate, of course, mediation was only a superficial reason, the main reason was to come to listen to the reality of the Jingwu Army and see if there was any possibility of cooperation.

You must know that during that period, Chen Yucheng had just led the army to defeat the Hunan army in Anqing, and broke Hankou and Wuchang by the way, and retreated to Jiujiang after plundering.

That is, after that. Zeng Guofan realized the importance of foreign guns and artillery, because in the battle of Anqing, it was clear that the Hunan army was superior in numbers, but it was broken by Chen Yucheng, who was few people, in addition to Chen Yucheng's courage and good fighting, and good command, his total number of 2,000, all equipped with Western-style foreign guns and foreign artillery of the personal guard team was even more indispensable.

That's right, in the Battle of Anqing, Chen Yucheng's killer weapon. It was the 2,000 guards armed with Western-style guns and cannons, which not only used all foreigners' guns, but also had four small foreign guns, that is, 6-pounder bronze field guns.

Those foreign guns have a long range and fierce firepower, and the four foreign cannons are even more lightweight, flexible and powerful, Chen Yucheng relied on this all-foreign gun-based army to be the first soldier, and the other troops were behind, and then waited for the vanguard to break up their vanguard defense with foreign guns and artillery, and then let the follow-up troops rush towards this gap. The result is often a war end.

In the subsequent battles, Chen Yucheng basically followed this routine, starting with the foreign gun team, and the follow-up troops rushed violently. But it was such a simple tactic, so many fierce generals and good soldiers of the Hunan army couldn't stop it, and as a result, Chen Yucheng broke through various camps one after another, and finally defeated the Hunan army. The good situation created by the Xiang army under the city of Anqing took a lot of effort fell short.

After that, Chen Yucheng's troops fought all the way to Wuchang and Hankou, and it is estimated that the ammunition was also gone, and it was too lonely to go deeper. Only then did they retreat to Jiujiang, but even so, the disabled Hunan army was unable to launch a counterattack in the short term.

It seems that he was used to failure before, and after this defeat, Zeng Guofan did not jump into the river to die or live, but continued to sum up the experience of failure.

Summing up, he came to a conclusion, that is, if there were no foreign guns and foreign cannons, these long hairs would not have won, so why did the bandits suddenly have so many foreign guns and foreign cannons? It's very simple, it must be the foreigners who began to meddle, and it was the bandits who colluded with the foreigners!

This conclusion made Zeng Guofan very depressed, to be honest, his perception of foreigners was not good, but he was not so old and confused as a shrinking turtle and blindly rejected the changes of the outside world, so he also knew that although foreigners were hateful, their combat power could not be ignored.

However, in Zeng Guofan's cognition at this time, he did not think that foreigners were so powerful in close combat, nor did he think that Westerners also surpassed Chinese in the military system, he felt that foreigners were sharp firearms, without those sharp foreign guns and cannons, foreigners were not one in front of them at all.

In fact, Zeng Guofan has long recognized the importance of firearms, and began to study firearms by himself very early, but due to the technical level, he cannot produce qualified steel and qualified barrels, so he can only thicken and weight, and create large-caliber guns, like small cannons, which require two or even three people to use heavy lifting guns, but even so, this weapon is stronger than the carrying guns equipped by the main force of the Qing army.

His Hunan army was equipped with a large number of such self-made heavy guns, but in the battle of Anqing, he realized that the firearms he produced were still not good in the face of foreign guns and foreign guns, so he decided to find a way to purchase some foreign guns and foreign guns, which could not only be taken back for imitation, but also enhance his own strength.

If you buy it directly from a foreigner, he can't get this face, and he doesn't think that a foreigner will sell it, after all, the foreigner is still in a state of war with the imperial court, and he has begun to support the bandits.

Li Yongji's elite army was still a soldier of the imperial court at that time, and the long-haired ghosts cried wolf, and there has not been a single defeat so far. Although that army did not encounter Chen Yucheng's soldiers and horses head-on, it crippled the main force of Li Xiucheng, who was as famous as Chen Yucheng, in the first battle, and it is said that the reason why the Jingwu army was so fierce was because of a large number of foreign guns and artillery.

Just when Zeng Guofan was about to send someone to contact Li Yongji, Wang Sanwu privately intercepted Caoyin, which made the relationship between the Jingwu army and the imperial court deteriorate sharply, Zeng Guofan, out of various considerations, wrote a note to persuade the imperial court to be calm, and at the same time hurriedly sent Li Hongzhang as a special envoy to persuade Li Yongji to calm down, and at the same time, it was also with this excuse to come to Jiangsu to see the situation of the Jingwu Army, if appropriate, contact the Jingwu Army, and buy a batch of firearms.

Li Hongzhang was also a little bold, in order to speed up, he actually took his third brother, pretended to be a merchant, and temporarily hired a few followers, and then took the British steamer to Shanghai, but not long after he arrived in Shanghai, he heard the order of the imperial court to reward him.

This time. Li Hongzhang immediately saw that this was the division and disintegration of the imperial court, in order to prevent accidents, he did not rashly contact Li Yongji, wanted to wait and take a look, but the result was that he waited for the Jingwu army to collectively cut the braids, which in Li Hongzhang's view, was tantamount to a yellow robe, and sure enough, the imperial court could no longer bear it. directly said that the Jingwu Army was a rebel, and the court and the Jingwu Army had completely turned their faces.

Li Hongzhang is very valued by Zeng Guofan, he also thinks that he is very powerful, and he usually shows an unfathomable appearance, but he is actually very timid, or rather, he thinks that he wants to keep a useful body to do great things, so when he heard that the Jingwu Army turned against the imperial court, in order to prevent accidents. He decisively went to the foreigner's concession, and then sent his third brother Li Hezhang out to find out the news.

Of course, it can't be said to be a faction, because Li Hezhang asked to go out to find out the news by himself. According to his words, there are not many people who know him Li Hezhang, and he is not as important as Li Hongzhang. Their Dongxiang Li family can do without Li Hezhang, but they must not do without Li Hongzhang. So it was only fitting for him to go out and find out the news.

In this way, Li Hongzhang sat in the Shanghai Public Concession to strategize, and Li Hezhang went alone to find out the news. Li Hezhang first went to Qingpu County, the old nest of the Jingwu Army. Then I went to Suzhou again, and when I felt that the news was almost inquired, I was afraid that the second brother would be in a hurry, so I rushed back again.

"Whew." It seemed that after drinking the water, Li Hezhang exhaled a long breath, then wiped his mouth, put the teapot on the table heavily, and also attracted Li Hongzhang's attention.

"Awesome, awesome." Seeing Li Hongzhang looking at himself, Li Hezhang smiled bitterly, "Come, second brother, sit down, I'll tell you slowly, I'm going out this time, it's really worth the trip, a lot of your and my guesses before, maybe many places are wrong." ”

Immediately afterwards, Li Hezhang began to tell the story of his spy trip.

At the beginning, Li Hezhang, who went out of the concession, was also apprehensive, because Shanghai had already fallen at this time, and the original Shanghai magistrate had already been caught by the county government and received the reward, and then the power of the county government was also taken over by the newly established Shanghai Municipal Government.

Since then, you can see so-called policemen with shaved heads, black hats, white leggings, and waist knives everywhere on the streets of Shanghai. These policemen with shaved heads and hats patrolled everywhere, and went up to interrogate them at the slightest disturbance, but fortunately they did not oppress the good and did not collect money indiscriminately, so the law and order was better than usual.

Li Hezhang was also interrogated by the police once, but after hearing him say that he was a merchant from other places and that he was a Han Chinese, he quickly let him go, but when he left, he persuaded him to cut off his braids, saying that this is what Han people look like, saying that braids are a thing full of people, and it is a humiliation that is forced on the heads of Han people.

Li Hezhang had a ghost in his heart, and when he was thinking about whether to cut his braids as a cover-up, he soon found that it was not necessary.

Because when he occasionally drank tea in a teahouse, he heard some merchants who bought a batch of pearls from Qingpu County say that the Jingwu army only cut off their braids themselves, and also encouraged others to cut their braids, but they never forced ordinary people to cut their braids.

In this way, Li Hezhang, who has deep feelings for his braids, was relieved of this trouble, and then found those jewelers and talked with each other.

Soon, Li Hezhang got some information through the merchants in Guò, that is, in addition to Shanghai, the entire slightly larger cities in Jiangsu have automatically defected and surrendered to Cheng after the collective voice of the Jingwu Army.

That is to say, not only Shanghai County spontaneously changed the court, but also other places such as Songjiang Mansion where the main force of the Jingwu Army was stationed, either the local garrison mutinied, or the local government rebelled, or the local militia uprising, in short, at the moment when the imperial court ordered the Jingwu Army to rebel, the entire Jiangsu region changed banners, and the power of the imperial court was like a sand dune, which was pushed down as soon as it was pushed, and it looked like a picture of the people's desire and looking at the scenery.

Originally, Li Hezhang didn't quite understand, he felt that the Jingwu Army had only started for a year, and the foundation was very shallow, since the imperial court ordered the Jingwu Army to be rebellious, then how could there be some loyal ministers and righteous men in this place of Jiangsu who rose up to resist, how could it be a picture of the general trend?

When he asked these questions, the big-mouthed jeweler began to explain triumphantly again, and his explanation seemed to have been said many times, so it was quite smooth.

According to the merchant surnamed Lin, although the Jingwu Army has a history of less than a year, since Li Yongji's uprising, not to mention the brilliant military achievements, even in terms of people's livelihood. That's also remarkable.

As long as the people who have a relationship with the Jingwu army can be exempted from the government's strict taxes and miscellaneous taxes, they can not be oppressed by the government and the squire, and they can buy cheap grain at a price lower than the market price......

It can be said that as long as you take refuge in the Jingwu Army, even if you don't serve as a soldier, as long as someone in the family works for the Jingwu Army, goes to be a migrant worker, builds roads, bridges, and houses for the Jingwu Army, the whole family can also be protected by the Jingwu Army. And the sooner you go, the sooner you will be sheltered.

The requirements of the common people are very simple, do not pay taxes, do not be bullied, this is already a great gift, and this qiē, as long as someone in the family has a relationship with the Jingwu army, this benefit is real, it can be said that even if the whole family does not pay taxes for more than half a year. You'll be able to live a lot better than others.

Not to mention being a soldier in the Jingwu Army, food and housing are all-inclusive, and the salary is still high, and they are all paid in full. There was no deduction at all, and many elite officers and soldiers sent the money directly home, and they didn't need it at all, because they didn't need the silver at all.

It's also good to work for the Jingwu Army. Every time the Jingwu army conquers a place, it will recruit a large number of people to work, usually to build bridges and pave roads. There are also large-scale house repairs or water conservancy repairs, which are actually good things for the benefit of the country and the people, and they are things that the government will do.

But in the past, when the government did these things, it was generally forced to conscript, and it would be good to be able to give the people a little subsistence wages, but the Jingwu army recruited you to work in large quantities, not only covering food and shelter, but also paying you a high salary, and on average, each person had at least one or two silver per month.

Not only that, those who go to work for the Jingwu Army can not only enjoy tax-free treatment at home, but also go to the grain store under the Li family to buy a certain amount of cheap quantities with the status of the workers' families.

In addition, if someone in the family is a soldier in the Jingwu Army, the child can go to the free school, that is, the child goes to these schools, the school includes food, accommodation and tuition, you don't have to pay a penny for this, if the worker has worked for the Jingwu Army for three consecutive years, the family can also enjoy this treatment, that is, the child can go to the free school.

In the end, the merchant surnamed Lin concluded that under Li Yongji's rule, no matter if someone in the family goes to serve as a soldier or work for the Jingwu Army, they can be exempted from harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes, free from all kinds of oppression, can get a high monthly salary, can buy low-cost food, and their children can go to school for free, can they do this, and they have been doing it, never betraying their promises, can this not make people loyal and supportive? Can others not blush when they see it?

The merchant surnamed Lin also said that in the past, whether it was recruiting soldiers or recruiting workers, the number of Jingwu troops was limited, and many people who couldn't catch up were heartbroken by it, and after a long time, with the victory of the Jingwu Army, as those who followed the Jingwu Army lived better and better, these people who still had to pay taxes to the imperial court did not resent the Jingwu Army for not accepting them, but resented the imperial court.

To this day, except for a very small number of officials, most of them are eager for the Jingwu Army to establish themselves as kings, because they think that as long as Li Yongji is self-reliant, they can be regarded as Li Yongji's people, and they can enjoy the same benefits.

This is the will of the people, the trend of the times, coupled with the strong strength of the Jingwu Army, when the imperial court officially ordered the Jingwu Army to be a rebellion, not to mention other places, at least in Jiangsu, in fact, the people are mostly happy. Because they don't think this is a bad thing, but think that it is a good thing, and even think that once the war starts, the Qing court will be defeated, and the Taiping army is not a matter at all, and the new dynasty will inevitably be Li Yongji sitting in the world, and even if they can't enjoy the treatment of elite military officers and soldiers, at least they can enjoy the benefits of not paying food.

Hearing this, Li Hezhang was drenched in cold sweat, knowing that this move was quite ruthless. Not to mention anything else, just a fine army without food can make all the people in the world crazy.

Think back then, Li Chuang relied on the slogan of not paying grain to defeat the Ming Dynasty, and thought that back then, the Qing court relied on never adding endowments to the Han people by relying on foreign tribes, and wanted to ...... In short, if this qiē is true, then there is really no way to compare with Li Yongji in this world.

However, Li Hezhang is not an ignorant person, he knows that this is simply impossible, and does not collect taxes? So what does Li Yongji rely on to raise the army? What do you rely on to pay officials? What's more, the Jingwu Army not only does not collect taxes, but also gives so many benefits to the people, no matter how you look at it, it is a big loss.

Therefore, in Li Hezhang's view, even if this is true, it can only be a temporary purchase of people's hearts, and even the specific implementation is difficult, I am afraid that there are only a few places like this, most of which are propaganda. And. In the past, there were few people who benefited, and it didn't matter, but now the whole of Jiangsu has changed banners, and so many people have to be managed, he can't continue to not collect taxes, right?

When asked about this, the merchant surnamed Lin said again, Li Yongji himself is a big businessman, and he relies on the money he earns from trading to support soldiers and workers, and what if he changes his banner now? People are engaged in regional autonomy, and there is no need to spend half of it for the bureaucracy.

The man surnamed Lin said. Now, after the change of banners in various places, except for the main force garrison of the Jingwu Army, Songjiang Prefecture, Suzhou Prefecture, Wuxi, Changshu, Changzhou, Hangzhou and other places with relatively strong control force, other small places are all autonomous.

In other words, the local county government no longer functions, and the local businessmen jointly elect a respected person to be the mayor or county magistrate, similar to the previous prefect and county, and then the new city government or county government will control the power of a place.

After the formation of a new government. The cost of government operation is first paid by these businessmen themselves, that is, they do not collect taxes from the people under their rule, but if there are lawsuits or other disputes among the people, they can come to these new yamen to seek judgment. If there are ruffians and hooligans making trouble, the new government can rely on its own police force to suppress it, or it can ask the nearby elite army garrison to help suppress it.

Generally speaking, except for Suzhou, Wuxi, Changshu and other places where the main force of the elite army is stationed. In other small places, the police force is mostly composed of former officials, such as the police in Shanghai. In fact, it is just that the officials in Shanghai have changed their skin, which can be regarded as changing the soup but not the medicine.

The clothing and weapons of these policemen are provided by the elite armed forces, and the police chief, that is, the chief, is usually sent from the elite armed forces, but the salaries are paid by the new local government, in other words, by the businessmen who work in the new government. Because of this, the officials of the new government are basically local businessmen and gentry, and generally whoever pays the most money will be the head, such as Yang Fang, the first mayor of the Shanghai Municipal Government, in addition to prestige, he also paid the most money to win this position.

"Isn't this just selling the official mantle?" At that time, Li Hezhang couldn't help but say.

"It's a traitor." At that time, the merchant who had drunk high said with a big tongue, "But the Qing court doesn't sell official beards?" Moreover, although Lord Li sells official beards, the new government does not collect taxes, and the officials all pay out of their own pockets to support the government and county offices, is there anything better for the people? What is this called? That's all there is to the rule of inaction, right? ”

"Just because you don't collect taxes now doesn't mean you won't collect them later." Li Hezhang frowned at the time and said, "Those businessmen are willing to pay money now, and they are investing in advance, so they will wait for later...... Hum! Have you ever seen a merchant trading at a loss? ”

"Oh, it's not that there are no taxes." The merchant surnamed Na Lin suddenly patted his head at that time, "It seems that they will collect opium tax and luxury tax for the time being." Well, that is, whoever smokes big cigarettes, and whoever buys and sells big cigarettes, has to draw high taxes. There is also a luxury tax, which seems to be levied according to the amount of land, the more land you have in your name, the more tax you collect, and those who open brothels and casinos also have to be heavily taxed.

By the way, there is also a stamp duty, that is, whether the merchant buys or sells locally, as long as the transaction is completed, the new government must be sure, stamp it, and charge a little supervision fee. Of course, you don't have to go to the government to stamp this stamp to pay this tax, but then there is no guarantee, you don't care if something happens, and the stamp tax is not high, so everyone is actually quite happy to pay this stamp duty.

In fact, these taxes alone can support a yamen, after all, the elite army does not need taxes, but it is difficult to collect taxes to support their own small yamen. ”

"The elite army does not collect taxes?" Li Hezhang said strangely at the time, "It's all like this, he still doesn't collect taxes?" ”

"That's why it's a teacher of benevolence." When the merchant surnamed Lin said this, he couldn't hold back anymore and fell asleep on the table.

It can be said that the conversation at that time had a huge impact on Li Hezhang, but he didn't believe that what the other party said was true. Because if this is the case, Li Yongji is tantamount to taking money to support the army and workers, and he is seeking benefits for the majority of the people without asking for anything in return, even if he buys people's hearts. You must know that this is buying the entire province with your own money, and it will be nearly a year since you bought it, even if you are the richest man in the world, you don't have the financial resources, right?

How difficult it is to raise a soldier and horse, and how much silver it costs, Li Hezhang is not unincomprehensible, after all, he is in the Li family, and he is taking the military route, so he knows very well the ability of an army to swallow gold every month, not to mention the gold-swallowing giant beast of the Jingwu Army.

Although I don't believe it, the other party's words are conclusive. It's not like lying, so Li Hezhang decided to take a walk and see if it was really the case.

In addition to the county seat of Shanghai, he could see that there were herbal tea shops everywhere outside the city, and the shops were full of groups of men, who were either carrying shovels or hoes, and most of them were talking and laughing, and only after a little questioning did he know that they were migrant workers working nearby. They are all migrant workers who work for the Jingwu Army and develop Li Yongji's private territory!

It is precisely because of this that they speak so loudly, for fear that others will not know their identity, for fear that others will not know that they are working for Li Yongji.

Li Hezhang asked a little question, and asked a lot of things, from the mouths of these men, he knew that at least the merchant surnamed Lin was right about the welfare of Li Yongji's hired migrant workers, and these migrant workers really included three meals and accommodation a day. Moreover, the newcomer will pay a month and a half taels of silver, the probationary period will be three months, and after three months, it will be one or two pieces of silver a month, and one or two pieces of silver a month after a year. Two taels after two years, three taels after three years.

Moreover, it doesn't matter if you are a newcomer on probation or not, as long as you become a migrant worker. The families of the immediate family members can pay no taxes and can buy cheap grain at a much lower price than the market according to the population. Note that we're talking about population. It's not a dingkou, that is, the limit of the cheap amount is not divided into men and women, one serving per person, and although it is a limited amount, but in fact, this limit is very high, generally as long as it is not a super pot-bellied man, it is definitely enough to eat.

In fact, the families of these migrant workers can not only buy cheap grain, they usually have a copy of the work contract, if you take this copy to buy cloth and oil, etc., the store will usually consciously give you a discount, at least 9% off, and 5% off the powerful ones.

This is actually a kind of privilege, and because of this, the family members of those who are migrant workers for Li Yongji are quite influential and face-saving in the local area, and their identities are second only to the military dependents of the Jingwu Army, which are slightly stronger than those who have meritorious reputations.

This made Li Hezhang quite surprised, not because of the content of the incident itself, but because of the fact that it was true.

Bidding farewell to these high-minded and bragging migrant workers, Li Hezhang got back on the road with a heavy heart, and this time, he hired a carriage and came to Qingpu County, the place known as the place where the Jingwu Army started.

If you want to enter Qingpu County, although you don't have to pay the city tax, outsiders must register first, write your name, place of origin, what to do here, etc., and then look at it, press a handprint, and the other party will send you a hard card, which is your temporary temporary residence permit, which should be kept well, because in Qingpu County, whether it is a store or a business, you must use a temporary residence permit.

The new county magistrate of Qingpu County is called Chen Jingtang, a native of Shaoxing, it is said that he was originally the master of Qingpu County, that is, Master Chen, after Jiangnan changed banners, although he did not have much money, but because he was familiar with the affairs of the county, he had a good relationship with Li Yongji and Li Zhengxiang in the past, so he was elected as the county magistrate of the county, but other positions such as deputy county magistrate, director of the county finance bureau, and police chief were divided by other businessmen.

Li Hezhang only inquired about these things a little, but did not ask in depth, because he didn't want to touch them, he just wanted to see what the local situation was.

He first pretended to buy a batch of pearls, the price was really surprisingly cheap, and then he used this as a cover, went to the county government to stamp the transaction contract, paid stamp duty, this business is supervised by the county government, it is said that in case of disputes in the future, you can go to the county government to fight a lawsuit.

In short, with this relationship, he co-opted an office staff of a county government, invited him to dinner under the pretext of making friends, and interrogated him at the banquet, which allowed Li Hezhang to learn more about the inside story.

In the mouth of the office worker, he learned an important news, that is, Li Yongji, the soul of the Jingwu Army, was not busy leading troops north to rescue Wang Sanwu at this time, but went to Guangde County early, and turned it into a military forbidden area, which outsiders were not allowed to enter, so no one knew what to do.

That is to say, for such a long time, Li Yongji himself is not in charge of the situation of changing banners in various places, he is not interested in taking care of these things at all, he is only in charge of the army, and those who are in charge of these civil affairs are Li Yongji's brother, father, grandfather and other relatives.

After completely turning his face with the Qing court, the administrative orders such as integrating the new yamen in various places and contacting the garrisons of the elite army in various places were all from the newly established Jiangnan State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and the director of the Jiangnan State Administration for Industry and Commerce was Li Zhengxiang, and the deputy directors were Li Yongchang and Lin Guangyao.

Li Zhengxiang and Li Yongchang don't mention it, Lin Guangyao is also Li Yongji's brother-in-law, so this Jiangnan State Administration for Industry and Commerce can also be said to be opened by Li Yongji.

Jiangnan State Administration for Industry and Commerce, don't look at the name. However, it is in charge of the financial power of various places, such as how to collect taxes and what taxes to collect, all of which are decided by the Jiangnan State Administration for Industry and Commerce.

In addition, although the State Administration for Industry and Commerce does not have the right to appoint officials in various localities on the surface, it actually dominates the appointment of officials in various local yamen. That is to say, don't look at you as a regional autonomy, you can nominate officials at the city and county level by yourself, but if the Jiangnan Administration for Industry and Commerce does not approve you, your official position will not count, and you must be re-elected. Therefore, the election is often a formality, and the key is that the State Administration for Industry and Commerce recognizes you.

For example, Yang Fang, the first mayor of Shanghai, seems to have the most money on the surface, but in fact, there are more rich people in Shanghai, and there are many businessmen with high vision, and there are more businessmen who want to be officials and want to rely on the Jingwu Army. Or it is clearly said that it is due to the departure of Li Zhengxiang's relationship.

To put it simply, these civil affairs are actually led by the businessmen who were attached to Li Yongji's family in advance, and these businessmen have a lot of money in their hands. There is an elite army behind him, and in the name of Li Yongji, the people are aspiring, so there is no obstacle to traffic everywhere. Any opposition will be stifled in advance by the local Jingwu garrison or militia that has been incorporated into the army.

In addition, the main force of the elite army. If there is a rebellion in the local area, the local county government or city government must first let the police quell the rebellion, and if the police cannot be quelled, the police chief and the head of the new government will jointly request the local garrison, and the local garrison can only send troops to quell the rebellion after obtaining the approval of the Jiangnan Industry and Commerce Administration and the approval of the General Staff of the Jingwu Army.

This seems cumbersome, but there is a mysterious weapon within the Jingwu Army, which can transmit sound for thousands of miles, so the transmission and issuance of orders is very fast, such as what happened on the Huai'an front, and the sound transmission device of thousands of miles can be transmitted to the ears of Li Yongji in Guangde County, so even if Li Yongji is far away in Guangde, he will be in charge of the troops in various places.

"Second brother." Speaking of this, Li Hezhang sighed, "When I heard there, I knew that Li Yongji was definitely not a puppet, but really actually controlled the Jingwu Army, otherwise his family would not have been able to make these moves so smoothly, because to do this, the local Jingwu Army must fully cooperate." That is to say, the Li family is the same as ours, one person is in charge of the army, the other is in charge of the government, and the family works together, relying on the means of holding a knife in one hand and money in the other, the entire Jiangnan area is like an iron bucket.

And what I have seen and heard along the way, as long as there is a garrison of the Jingwu Army, or a place where there are Jingwu military and civilian workers to work, the local people's recognition of the Li family is quite high, if you say bad things about the Li family on the street, you don't have to send it to the government, and the locals can beat you to death.

I once saw with my own eyes that an old gentleman was beaten to death by several migrant workers on the spot because he said a few bad things about Li Yongji in a teahouse...... Second brother, you should understand what I mean. ”

"Well, he does have a set of things when it comes to buying people's hearts." Li Hongzhang nodded, "So, at least here in Jiangsu, the local people are completely oriented towards Li Yongji?" ”

"Pretty much." Li Hezhang nodded, "Except for a very small number of people, most people are oriented towards Li Yongji, this kind of situation of popular desire is quite obvious, and it is different from the situation of coercion of bandits, people are really supported from the bottom of their hearts." Of course, in all fairness, what Li Yongji did was indeed enough to make these people really support. To tell you the truth, second brother, if it weren't for the fact that I didn't think he would be in this situation for long, if it wasn't for the fact that I felt that there were always some things in it that I couldn't see through, I would have to applaud his moves, and I really wanted to go to him.

But the problem is, I can't figure it out when I think about it, where did he get so much money? It is said that he makes money from trading, but what kind of business can he raise the military and civilians of a province by himself without collecting taxes? Even opium sales aren't so profitable, are they? ”

"Hmph, then you don't need to ask, he has no money himself, so naturally foreigners support him behind him." Li Hongzhang narrowed his eyes, "This Li Yongji's family used to be just a small family, and it rose so fast, as you said, it is the method of holding money in one hand and a knife in the other, but in the final analysis, it is still a money word!" But where did he get so much money? Even if he digs a mountain of gold, where does he get so many foreign guns and cannons? Hmph, the three main battalions, sixty or seventy thousand people, all of them are foreign guns and artillery, how big is this? Without the support of foreigners, can he do it? But why did the foreigners support him so strongly? ”

"yes, why, I wonder too." Li Hezhang also frowned.

"Of course, it's a long line to catch big fish." Li Hongzhang clenched his fists, "The foreigners saw that they couldn't seize my Qing Dynasty by force, so they simply followed Lu Buwei's example, and invested a lot of money in Li Yongji's hairy boy with the idea of a strange thing, just to let Li Yongji finally take over the country, and then they can control my country in the way of controlling Li Yongji, hum, it's so calculating, it's really calculating!" (To be continued......)