The New Year Festival is approaching, Wuchang is full of joy, the street is very lively, there are people everywhere who buy New Year's goods, and compared to the excitement on the street, the yamen in the city seems a little deserted, at this time, according to the usual practice, each yamen has already been sealed, no longer do official business, even if the yamen asks the case, will wait for the year after the year to ask.

In the Governor's Palace, after another wave of gentry officials who paid New Year's greetings left, Zhang Zhidong felt that his mood was a little strange.

Today was supposed to be a day of joy, and he himself wanted to work hard to make himself happy. But for some reason, there is always a trace of apprehension hidden in my heart that is not easy to detect.

Since he was released to Shanxi as the governor, whether it is the governor of Liangguang or the governor of Huguang, during this period, it is needless to say that he has paid hardships. Words such as painstaking and exhaustive effort are not enough to describe, but perhaps it is more appropriate to use them as if they were on the edge of the abyss and walking on thin ice.

From the time of Fu Jin, in the old archives of the Yamen, I found that Timothy Li had given the former governor Zeng Guoquan some suggestions on the construction of railways, mining deposits, and the establishment of industries and manufacturing factories, so he sent someone to invite Timothy Li, wanting him to give up his mission and participate in Chinese government affairs.

In the last few years of the governor's reign, he built a coinage factory, created a gun and ammunition factory, founded a school for water and land divisions, established a Guangsheng army to practice foreign exercises, and prepared a gun factory and a weaving bureau, which achieved remarkable results, and cultivated talents and accumulated experience for the current governor.

He found that there seemed to be nothing more convenient than after arriving in Hubei, not to mention anything else, it was the most important silver money for foreign affairs.

This month, the anti-smoking bureau has handed over 100,000 taels, if nothing else, next month, it can also hand over 100,000 taels, and 600,000 taels within half a year. In the first year, the old policy was implemented to ban smoking in the city, so that 3 million taels of silver could be obtained a year.

If the first qiē is successful, it will continue to implement the ban on smoking in the whole province according to the established plan, and complete the registration of smokers, so that you can get 5 million to 6 million taels of silver a year.

At that time, with sufficient funds, he will be able to show his strength in Hubei, and foreign factories such as iron works, railways, and gun factories will spring up like mushrooms after a rain, and when the time comes, he will be the first person to do foreign affairs, and Li Hongzhang has already been left far behind by himself.

But if it fails, then what will happen next, Zhang Zhidong doesn't have to think about it, and the twists and turns of impeachment will fly like snowflakes to the emperor's palace of nourishing hearts.

As for the dream of competing with Li Hongzhang to become the "first governor of the world", it will not only be buried in his own hands, but also become the laughing stock of others.

Thinking about the risks he might face, Zhang Zhidong hesitated for the first time, although he knew Tang Haoran's talent, he didn't know if Tang Haoran could do it, more precisely, he knew the resistance caused by the smoking ban.

Especially after the initial results of the smoking ban in these three towns, Zhang Zhidong is more worried about whether going on according to Tang Haoran's three-step strategy will cause any uncontrollable chaos.

"Brother Xiangtao, what are you thinking?"

A voice dragged Zhang Zhidong, who was in deep thought, out.

Zhang Zhidong looked up and saw that it was Sang Zhiping, his most trusted assistant, and it was he who thought that it was far better to leave the smoking ban to Tang Ziran than others.

"No smoking!"

Zhang Zhidong did not hide his thoughts.

"Ziran upholds the public heart in doing things, Brother Xiangtao, you can rest assured."

Sang Zhiping, who vaguely guessed what Zhang Zhidong was worried about, persuaded again.

Indeed, as Sang Zhiping said, compared with other people, Tang Ziran is a little less selfish, and it is better to use such a person to do things, but Zhang Zhidong, who knows officialdom well, also knows that the most unsuitable person for such a person is officialdom.

Now, faintly, he even doubts his original decision, what Zhongzi sees is Tang Ziran's public heart, and it is true that he is fair and selfless, but how can the officialdom of the Great Qing Kingdom tolerate such a person? At first, he felt that he was impartial and could avoid being used by others, and only needed to protect himself, but would he bring any uncontrollable trouble?

"Zhongzi, what do you think of Ziran's current strategy of selling in the Three Towns?"

The package sale in the mouth of Zhang Zhidong naturally refers to the current anti-smoking bureau to sell tobacco soil packages in tobacco houses, this is Tang Ziran's method forced out by silver, but it is extremely effective, those tobacco houses are forced by the power of the government, and finally agree to buy cooked soil from the anti-smoking bureau, and the anti-smoking bureau does not spend a tael of silver, and the three tobacco markets are all collected in the bureau.

On the surface, the profit of the tobacco house is meager, but the tobacco house has made a lot of profits because the government closed the tobacco stalls, and the tobacco house also sells private land, which can be described as a great profit!"

Zhang Zhidong nodded, when Tang Haoran proposed to "sell it first", he had exhausted its pros and cons, just like a salt merchant, although the salt merchant profited from the official salt, but his interest was in the private interest. According to Ziran's policy, tobacco and tobacco are only sold in the anti-smoking bureau, and after the anti-smoking bureau processes mature medicines, they are underwritten by the tobacco shops, and the tobacco shops and tobacco shops value the benefits of private cigarettes and the collusion between officials and businessmen.

And this is exactly what Zhang Zhidong is most worried about now.

"With Ziran's idea, half a year later, the law of package sales will be implemented in the whole province, during which it will be allowed to sell smuggling, and then it will take half a year to complete the registration of smokers in various prefectures and counties, improve the facilities of the anti-smoking bureau, and a year later, it will be confiscated by tobacco shops and tobacco shops, and then establish a three-level franchisor, Zhongzi, do you think, is this policy appropriate?"

"This ......"

Sang Zhiping groaned,

"It may seem like a bit of a risk, but if you want to ban smoking, that's the only way to go."

Yes, it can only be like this, if you want to really ban smoking, Tang Ziran can only do this, after all, there are too many loopholes in the contract business system, and its so-called ban on smoking is different from the current "prohibition in the levy" of the imperial court.

"The contractor system is not so much for the ban on smoking as it is for ......"

In order to collect money!

This is the truth of the contractor system, just like the official salt contractor, just to collect and pay the salt tax, but, according to Tang Ziran, it is to "lure the snake out of the hole", in order for him to take the tobacco store one day, and then monopolize the purchase of tobacco in the province, and it is also to clear the tobacco house, so as to establish a franchisee completely supervised by the Smoking Bureau, so as to gradually eliminate tobacco poison!

"Tens of thousands of tobacco houses in the province, if you insist on banning them, it may cause civil unrest!"

Zhang Zhidong expressed his worries, compared to the third-level franchisor, after seeing the effect of the "contractor", he is more willing to maintain the status quo, compared to the current inn can be undisturbed and can make millions of taels of silver, he is naturally reluctant to take any more risks.

"But, Xiangtao, if you maintain the contractor, I am afraid it will be contrary to the original intention of the smoking ban!"

Zhang Zhidong's words made Sang Zhiping secretly scream in his heart that it was not good, it seems that now Xiangtao is also secretly worried!

"But if this causes civil unrest, I'm afraid the old man won't be able to save him Tang Ziran at that time!"

Zhang Zhidong's long sigh came into Sang Zhiping's ears, only to make his heart sink, how could he not understand the truth that the wood is beautiful in the forest, and the wind will destroy it, faintly guessed his thoughts, just when Sang Zhiping was thinking about how to deal with it, he heard Zhang Zhidong ask.

"Why hasn't Ziran seen him recently? What is he up to? ”

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