With the dispatch of the troops of the Fifth Town to key areas in Guangdong, all kinds of unfavorable news continued to come from various places. Long Qian underestimated Guangdong's xenophobia towards the Fifth Town's guest army. When Wang Mingyuan began to reorganize the Guangzhou Prefecture Patrol Battalion, contradictions gradually broke out.

In fact, before the ministries left for the designated stations, Long Qian, in the name of the Political Department, issued an internal document detailing the policy of suppressing bandits and eliminating the Hui Party. Generally speaking, it is to put up a notice to reassure the people, and to tell all the people that the bandits and members of the party will surrender and dissolve within a time limit, and that all those who take the initiative to surrender before the deadline expires, regardless of what kind of crimes they have committed before, will not be held accountable in the past.

This method was quite appreciated by Zhou Fuzhi, who believed that he was well versed in the way of loyalty and forgiveness of the Confucian saints.

Bandits who make a living from robbery generally gather in the dense forests of the mountains, and it is a matter of course for the troops to eliminate the bandits, and the localities dare not and will not say anything. But the rectification of the patrol battalion is a problem.

The patrol battalion is the former green battalion. According to the Governor's Palace, there are nearly 30,000 people in the province's green camps, all of whom are raised by the local government, and at the same time bring huge benefits to different classes. According to Long Qian's instructions, Wang Mingyuan organized the patrol battalions of various prefectures into security regiments, which was immediately strongly resisted by the local vested interests.

Wang Mingyuan's method of rectifying the patrol battalion is to register, disband, and re-employ. Behind it is the control of the military salary of the patrol battalion, which is a fatal move. No one can say that it is wrong to put an end to empty salaries, but it immediately cut off the financial route of the former patrol battalion commanders. Therefore, the Guangzhou Prefecture Patrol Battalion, which was first rectified, resolutely planned a disturbance after learning about the policy of the new commander. Dozens of middle- and lower-ranking officers of the patrol battalion who firmly believed that they would lose their jobs were gathered to besiege Wang Mingyuan's headquarters, and were forcibly surrounded and disarmed by the Mengshan Army troops commanded by Hu Zongyu and incorporated into the patrol army. Wang Mingyuan personally interrogated and learned that it was Mo Xinjiang, the head of the Guangzhou patrol battalion, who instructed him to arrest him. Mo Xinjiang, who got the information, fled into Fu Qi's general's mansion and hid.

Although Hu Zongyu's order to besiege the general's mansion and forcibly demand Mo Xinjiang was canceled by Wang Mingyuan, this incident intensified the contradiction between Fu Qi and Long Qian. Fu Qi immediately sent someone to summon Long Qian and demanded that Long Qian immediately stop the rectification of the patrol battalion. Release the arrested officers and soldiers. Generously soothing dead officers.

Fu Qi and Long Qian had already met before. It was the second meeting between the two. The first time they met was at the entrance ceremony of the fifth town, Long Qian gave Fu Qi a lot of face, and Fu Qi also said that he should be polite. The Fifth Town was praised as a model for the New Army. Imperial Pillar Stone. The two did not say a total of ten words.

The second time was when Long Qian came to visit Fu Qi. According to Zhou Fu's instructions. Long Qian brought a heavy gift to the door to meet the Manchurian general. Long Qian fantasized that he had met a guy who resembled Yixuan and ignored him after taking his benefits. However, Fu Qi rejected Long Qian's gift money, accusing Long Qian of not obtaining his approval when arranging the Fifth Town garrison. It is a serious ultra vires. Fu Qi warned Long Qian that the previous practice of encircling and disarming the Guangdong New Army was extremely wrong, and that the guns and ammunition should be returned immediately. After that, all the actions of the Fifth Town in Guangdong must be approved by him, and they must not act without permission!

The meeting ended in an unpleasant outcome. Long Qian didn't even bother to argue with Fu Qi. Anyway, this self-righteous Manchurian general didn't have a few soldiers in his hands, not to mention Guangdong Province, it was Guangzhou City, and it was easy for his orders to not get out of the general's mansion. You don't want money and you're ready to be tough with Lao Tzu, okay, I see what you can do with me?

Ignoring Fu Qi's order, Long Qian immediately organized the trial of the arrested officers of the Guangzhou Patrol Battalion, arrested seven of them on charges of colluding with the party, embezzling military salaries, and bullying the township, and handed them over to the governor's office for punishment.

This is the Guangzhou patrol battalion incident. Except for one "Progress Times," which objectively and impartially reported on the Guangzhou incident, the rest of the newspapers all stood on the opposite side of the Mengshan Army and vigorously attacked, saying that Long Qian had relied on his military power and wantonly eliminated dissidents and had ill intentions.

Long Qian instructed Wang Mingyuan that Mo Xinjiang should leave him alone and build the security team of Guangzhou Mansion first. Just like that, one by one. With the Mengshan army here, I see how hard their heads are.

"Mingyuan, be quick! We're racing against the imperial court! Long Qian told Ai Jiang.

"Understood, please rest assured, Commander. I'll go to Zhaoqing. Wang Mingyuan is full of confidence.

Long Qian knew that Fu Qi's message of impeachment had already been sent. Come on, come on, and before the imperial court makes up its mind to have a showdown with itself, it must really control Guangdong in its hands.

Of course, Long Qian had to make superficial statements, and Xu Si, who served as his secretary, drafted a report to the imperial court, biting the facts of the corruption and incompetence of the Guangdong patrol camp and colluding with lawbreakers, showing that it was necessary for him to make great efforts to rectify the patrol camp and eliminate hidden dangers for the imperial court.

This report was copied from both the Governor's Mansion and the General's Palace. There was no response from Fu Qi, but Zhou Fu was going to speak.

Zhou Fu watched the rapidly deteriorating situation in horror. He knew that Long Qian couldn't wait.

On October 21, Zhou Fu summoned Long Qian and talked seriously for two hours. Because the two talked behind closed doors, the content was naturally unknown to others. But four days later, Zhou Fu sent a telegram to the imperial court in support of Long Qian's rectification of the patrol battalion, which was regarded as a public statement of his position.

I don't know what to do, the court did not express its position. And Wang Mingyuan's pace of rectification has not stopped. Since the Guangzhou Mansion, Wang Mingyuan's rectification of the Zhaoqing Mansion has been relatively calm, and a security regiment has been set up. Named the Zhaoqing Security Regiment, most of the soldiers came from the original patrol battalion, but the main officers were sent by Wang Mingyuan.

But the third reorganized Huizhou Mansion once again had bloody clashes. Huizhou Prefecture has a sign of the Mengshan Army, and the patrol battalion that does not know the times and rises to resist was quickly dispersed, and dozens of people died. All the officers were captured, except for those who escaped.

Guangdong was once again a sensation, and even newspapers in Shanghai reported on the bloodshed in Zhaoqing Province.

The gentry of Zhaoqing Mansion organized themselves and ran to Guangzhou, they did not dare to go to Long Qian's Admiral's Mansion to make trouble, but ran to the Governor's Mansion and the General's Mansion to petition, demanding the arrest of the murderer and avenging the death of the Zhaoqing children.

Guangzhou is another round of news bombardment. Fu Qi couldn't sit still any longer, this bare-bones commander had to use Zhou Fu's strength to fight against Long Qian.

Let's not talk about Fu Qi's anxiety. Let's set our sights on Long Qian.

Xu Si had already put on a military uniform and became Long Qian's personal secretary. She liked the feeling of wearing a military uniform, so she cut off a black and smooth hair, which made Long Qian feel sorry, but she didn't say it.

Not to mention, after Xu Si cut off his long hair and put on a military uniform, he looked very heroic. And Long Qian really needs a writing assistant now. In the reform of the military system in Guangzhou, Long Qian did not set up an adjutant office, and his chores were originally in charge of Ouyang Zhong, and Ouyang had no time to do writing work. Another willingness is that Long Qian once asked Ouyang Zhong to write materials. He thought that his aptitude for writing, a close adjutant who was very good at handling chores, was very mediocre, so he did all the correspondence and documents himself. In fact. When Ouyang Zhong was in Shandong, he looked for a text secretary for Long Qian, but Long Qian was not satisfied after trying it. There is no retention.

Since Xu Si came to his side. Long Qian found that Xu Si was quick to think. The key is to understand the format of officialdom documents. This liberated Long Qian and freed up a lot of energy for him. Some thoughts. As long as it is dictated to Xu Si, it is almost written, and the content is very appetizing to Long Qian.

Xu Si was arranged by Ouyang Zhong to live next door to Long Qian, and he only said that he was the commander's secretary to the outside world. The name has also been changed, it is called Yan Xinruo, and only Long Qian knows the meaning of the name Lu Dao.

In the Fifth Town Headquarters, only a very few people knew the true identity of Xu Si.

On November 2, Xu Si showed Long Qian an article published in the "Progress Times" entitled "Who has been provoked by the reorganization of the patrol battalion." Long Qian was greatly appreciative when he saw it. I noticed that the signature of the article is called Nan Huasheng, which is obviously a pen name.

"I'd like to meet this Nanhuasheng." Long Qian put the newspaper away.

"I knew you'd like it. You really don't have such talents, I can't write this kind of article. I investigated, and his real name is Hong Yuecheng, and he is the owner and chief writer of the "Progress Times". ”

"Oh?"

"Before the king, it was said that it was a trend, and before it was a trend. You'd better deign to go. ”

"That's exactly how it should be. A martial artist, what kind of condescension to talk about? Long Qian laughed.

In the afternoon of the same day, Long Qian put on a disguise and took Xu Si, Ouyang Zhong and several personal guards to the newspaper to see this Hong Yuecheng.

On the way, Xu Si introduced Hong Yuecheng to Long Qian. She had been following the Progress Times for a long time, and she had inquired about this person clearly.

Hong Yuecheng is a native of Guangdong and is Chinese New Year's Eve years old today. His father and grandfather have been in business for two generations, and they are very famous in Zhaoqing Mansion. Hong Yuecheng didn't like the method of taking scholars from eight shares, and he didn't want to donate officials, so he cut off the road to his career. At the age of twenty-two, I traveled abroad to study a lot, Japan, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and traveled all over Europe, but I didn't get any degree. That's five years. After returning to China on his father's orders to marry a wife, he did not take over the family business, but ran around the country, including living in Shandong for half a year, and settled in Guangzhou after returning, and set up a newspaper at his own expense, which is now a well-known "Progress Times", and became a celebrity in the Guangzhou press circles.

waited for an hour, and after Hong Yuecheng finished writing today's current commentary, he received Long Qian and the three of them in his messy office.

"Who are the three? See what I can advise? ”

"My surname is Chen, the two of them are my entourage, and it doesn't matter." Long Qian wore a white suit, a top hat, and shiny pointy scalp shoes under his feet (this set was just bought by Ouyang Zhong), dressed very much like a wealthy businessman in Nanyang, "I read the current review written by Mr., I am very interested, I want to talk to Mr. about the current situation, and I want to talk to Mr. about the current situation. ”

"What does Mr. Chen do?"

"Ah, I'm from Nanyang and want to do some business in Guangzhou. It's a businessman, but he's more concerned about the current situation. ”

"Wait," Hong Yuecheng stared at Long Qian, "You are not a businessman, let alone Nanyang who returned to China." If you don't even want to see your identity, you won't talk about it. Drop-off. ”

Long Qian smiled slightly, "Oh, why do you say that I am hiding my identity?" He pulled a chair and sat down, looking at Hong Yuecheng closely, with dark skin, a big head, big eyes, and a big nose, which looked very special. Instead of braids, he tied his long hair in a knot at the back of his head. He wore a gray silk shirt with a pair of black cloth shoes underneath.

"You're not a businessman, you're a soldier. As long as you are not blind, you will not fail to see. Hong Yuecheng said coldly, "Don't waste my time." Please. ”

"Okay. I'm a soldier. Could it be that Mr. Hong has a prejudice against soldiers? ”

"Lord Admiral, why did you come in disguise?"

Ouyang Zhong and Xu Si were startled at the same time, and couldn't help but glance at each other.

"Ha Lu Ha, it's really funny. How did Mr. Hung determine my identity? ”

"Your accent. Your mannerisms. Especially your domineering attitude that is difficult to hide, plus some legends circulating in the market, so you know that you are Long Qian, the governor of Guangdong. ”

"Okay, I'm Long Qian." Long Qian admitted.

"Is Admiral Long here for that article?"

"Yes and no. I've read Mr.'s series of current reviews, and I want to discuss some issues with Mr. ”

Ouyang Zhong and Xu Si noticed that the newspaper owner and chief writer, who did not look good, was unmistakable after learning Long Qian's identity.

"Oh. What issues does General Long want to discuss with Hong? ”

"I read my husband's comment about the Meiji Restoration the other day. I had some doubts in my heart. The imperial court has been engaged in foreign affairs for decades, and it seems to be influenced by the eastern neighbors. Why is it that Japan has succeeded in the Restoration and its national strength is thriving, but we are struggling? I haven't been to Japan. The news is hearsay. And he has been on a field trip to Japan. May the sir teach me. ”

"I heard that the general grew up in the United States and has great knowledge, is this the examination school Hong?"

"Don't dare. Long Qian is sincerely seeking advice. ”

"Okay. I'll share my opinion. First, the foundation of the Restoration was different, and the Manchu Qing Dynasty did not have the favorable conditions of Japan. ”

"Oh?"

"Japan has decentralization and autonomy, while China is highly centralized. Under the centralized power of Japan, there was a certain degree of decentralization at the local level, and its social structure before the Meiji Restoration was very similar to that of Western Europe at the end of feudalism. This structure was the hotbed of the Industrial Revolution in Europe. Japan had such a hotbed, so as soon as it came into contact with Western Europe, it coincided, and an Oriental Industrial Revolution came into being. Second, although Japan is closed to the rest of the world, it still has channels to understand the world, and China is closed to the outside world and knows nothing. ”

"May it be auspicious."

"From the 16th century onwards, Western natural sciences and techniques were mainly introduced to Japan by the Dutch. Because it is mainly studied in Dutch, the Japanese call this kind of learning 'Rangaku'. From 1633 to 1639, the shogunate issued five successive lockdown decrees, restricting all Japanese travel with foreign countries, leaving Nagasaki with a weak connection with China and the Netherlands. However, the spread of Ranxue made the Japanese aware of the shortcomings of Sinology and the advanced nature of Western science and technology. In 1720, the 8th shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune, finally lifted the ban on the import of Dutch books, and there was a resurgence of the Rangaku craze among the Japanese intelligentsia. Orchidology developed mainly in the fields of medicine, astronomy, and physics. Through the Dutch language, Japanese people learned about modern natural sciences such as geography, naturalism, and chemistry. Before the Restoration, education in Japan was developed, and at the end of the Edo period, 40%~50% of men were literate, and women also had a literacy rate of 15%, which was far better than China.

Before the Opium War was opened by the British with cannons, the Qing Dynasty knew nothing about the world. Even Lin Zexu, who is known as the first to 'open his eyes to see the world', actually knows very little about the outside world. Until the start of the war, Lin Zexu still believed that the British soldiers would be 'a servant and unable to recover' when they arrived on land, and he firmly believed that the British must buy Chinese tea boxes and rhubarb. The ignorance of the Qing Dynasty people at that time can be seen from this.

In 1862, twenty years after the end of the Second Opium War, the Japanese shogunate sent the merchant ship Chitose Maru to Shanghai for trade. At just 23 years old, Takasugi went with the ship to open his eyes and was shocked to find that Wei Yuan's "Atlas of the Sea Kingdom", a bestseller that was almost a household name in Japan, was unknown in Shanghai. From here, we can also see that the attitudes of the Qing and Japanese countries towards understanding and accepting the world are really very different. ”

"Makes sense." Long Qian nodded.

"The reason why the Meiji Restoration was smooth sailing and the Westernization movement in China was difficult was that the Meiji Restoration was a revolution driven by a powerful majority, and the natural process went smoothly, while the Westernization movement was the struggle of a few visionaries who could not shake the stubborn majority. The overthrow of the shogunate was the work of the majority and the minority. During the Meiji Restoration, the shogunate was extremely fragile and fell into extreme isolation, with the Restoration and the middle and lower samurai as the core. Raising the emperor as a banner and uniting with the strong feudal clans that oppose the shogunate, there were both bases and arms, and the general public and peasants also actively participated in and supported the anti-shogunate forces. It united the bourgeoisie, feudal lords, peasants, and other strata to form a powerful force to overthrow the rule of the shogunate at a rapid pace, return power to the emperor, and carry out reforms. ”

"Please sir."

The Meiji Restoration succeeded because the main body of the Restoration was a powerful alliance of samurai merchants, and the Westernization Movement was a bitter attempt by a few far-sighted officials of the Qing Dynasty to awaken the majority. The Westernization Movement is a self-help movement initiated by a small number of people. In China, which is closed to the rest of the world, there are still many more unenlightened scholars and bureaucrats who strongly oppose this practice of 'worshipping foreigners and flattering foreigners'. The diehards denounced the Western studies advocated by the Westernists as the flood beast of 'abandoning the great capital of etiquette, righteousness and shame' and using 'razing to change summer'. Reputedly. When Prince Gong set up the planetarium in 60, it was strongly opposed by the diehards.

"The most rear. The effect of the modernization of the lower society: The Meiji government was able to take more money from the bottom than the Qing Dynasty, but the imperial court's expropriation for the Westernization Movement and the New Deal led to the withering of the people's livelihood in the vast number of rural areas. ”

Hong Yuecheng said that he was thirsty, Xu Si saw this, and immediately picked up the teapot on the table to refill the water for him. Hong Yuecheng nodded to Xu Si. "There is no doubt about it. At the time of the development of Western industry using the strength of the country. Both the Meiji and Qing governments had the problem of where the money would come from. The solution path of the two is the same - squeezing the peasants. But why did the Meiji government squeeze more money out of the peasants? ”

"Exactly what I questioned. Because any reform is a redistribution of benefits. ”

Hong Yuecheng was very surprised by Long Qian's words, and nodded for a long time, "Lord Admiral's words are extremely insightful. Year 1873. The Meiji government officially promulgated the "Land Tax Reform Ordinance", the main contents of which are as follows: 1. The standard of taxation was changed from the original unstable harvest to a certain land price; 2. Change the payment in kind to monetary payment, and the tax rate is set at 3% of the land price; 3. Stipulate that the landowner is a taxpayer. The core here is the approval of land prices, and from the standpoint of the government, of course, the approved land prices must be raised as much as possible, so as to bring more income, and for this reason, Japan is very chaotic for a while. But it was the landlords who suffered, not the landless and landless peasants. Under the chaotic financial and financial management of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the promise of 'never giving more' made by Emperor Kangxi back then, although it was the foundation of the Qing regime, became an expired and invalid old ticket, and it was impossible to board the new passenger ship that 'paid the levy of profits'. Of course, since Kangxi's promise is so solemn, the successor of later generations must maintain it on the surface, and the 'endowment' will not be added, but only the 'surcharge'! It spreads all over the country and has many names, which overwhelm the peasants. Although all localities increased the levy of Tian Fu in disguise, they deliberately avoided the word Tian Fu in order to maintain the solemn promise of Emperor Kangxi. For a time, new terms such as 'mu donation', 'resisting levy', 'increasing the price of grain', and 'regulating the money and grain' emerged one after another. Moreover, the more it is a land of fish and rice, the heavier the burden. In addition to the land endowment, governments at all levels have also made a big fuss about the salt that people need for daily life, and 'they can't afford to eat salt', which has become the most vivid portrayal of the difficulties of people's livelihood, which has promoted the overall price surge. ”

"It's very clear. But what can the lower classes of Japan afford to bear a heavier tax burden than us? ”

That's a good question. To put it simply, it's fairness. In 1878~1880, the Meiji government realized the three new legal systems in Japan's modern local system. The Meiji government realized the initial modernization of the local fiscal system by organizing and institutionalizing the previously disorderly prefectural and prefectural finances, that is, strengthening the right to expropriate, securing tax sources, and establishing the purpose of fees. A fair tax system, even if it is heavier, is acceptable to the people. For example, at the beginning, the average tax rate of the British government was much higher than that of France, but the tax law in England was very fair, and there were many people in France who did not pay taxes at that time, such as the aristocracy. The social structure in England was much more stable than in France for a long time. ”

"Listening to your words is better than reading a book for ten years. Mr. Hong, what do you think will be the outcome of the New Deal movement that we are using? ”

"It is clear that the Qing Dynasty will move towards centrifugal splitting." Hong Yuecheng affirmed, "The Westernization Movement and the Meiji Restoration went in two directions. The Meiji Restoration: With the advancement of the modernization of the country, an efficient and centralized central government was established. However, the Westernization Movement that arose in order to maintain the old pattern led to the growth of local powerful factions, which laid the root cause of the later warlord secession. With the suppression of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the military and financial power of the central court were gradually decentralized. In the Westernization Movement, the local magnates, who had made their military fortunes, used their military power as capital, which was used to call the rule of the Qing court, continuously shared financial power from the central government and increased their own power. The powerful local faction headed by Li Hongzhang took control of the vast majority of the Western-style enterprises and strengthened the capital for dialogue with the central authorities. With the absolute weakening of the power of the central government and the loss of the idea of loyalty to the monarch in the imperial era, the local government gradually became domineering and uncontrolled by the central government, and finally developed into a situation of warlord secession. ”

Speaking of this, Hong Yue looked at Long Qian sincerely for a while, but Long Qian was expressionless.

The only way to unify Japan was to abolish the feudal feudal system and the feudal governors and replace them with a system of prefectures under the direct jurisdiction of the imperial court. The Restoration government phased out the power of the former vassal lords to occupy land and lead the people. Subsequently, through the gradual reorganization of the government, a large number of the old aristocracy was squeezed out of the central power. During the 18th year of the Meiji era, Japan's modern bureaucratic system gradually took shape, and it has the characteristics of a modern state apparatus that is centralized and efficient. My conclusion: It is impossible to support the upper class of modernization or even modernization by relying on the lower class of the Middle Ages. ”

"Ah, what a pleasure. Sir, can you give Long a certain face? Let's have some dinner and talk at night, shouldn't it be fast? ”

"I don't have any good stuff here......"

"Ouyang, you go get some wine and dinner." Long Qian ordered. (To be continued......)