There was dead silence in the secluded study. Xiao Letian remained silent for a full quarter of an hour. How should the changes be made? To be honest, Xiao Letian was just an ordinary white-collar worker before time travel. He just had personal hobbies and was more willing to study military and history. In front of a real politician, his level is definitely not enough.
But just because he had so many hundreds of years of history in his mind, he was able to face the current situation calmly. The Tongzhi period was the period when human history began to transition from the first industrial revolution to the second industrial revolution. China completely missed the first industrial revolution represented by steam power, so will China miss the second industrial revolution represented by electrification again?
This year is 1865. In three years, Japan will change to the Meiji era. The historically important Meiji Restoration will begin. Moreover, the current Japanese government and opposition parties already have a group of people such as Sakamoto Ryoma, Takasugi Shinsaku, Okubo Toshimichi and others working desperately. Think about the way of change, and the bayonets of the conservatives and reformers have already seen red.
Three years later, the little ship of Japan will begin to modernize. In just 27 years, during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894, Japan will be able to defeat the huge Qing Dynasty and tear off the flesh and blood of the Chinese nation to feed itself. nationality.
In just over twenty years, things can happen in the blink of an eye. This is what worries Xiao Letian the most. There really isn't much time, and it's a major change that hasn't happened in three thousand years. Want to learn from other time-travelers and build an army to overthrow the Qing Dynasty, establish a new country, and at the same time complete the initial industrialization of China? The most important thing is to defeat the stubborn traditional thinking?
Okay, let me see if there are any wild Ultramans I can catch. It might be more reliable if I tame two of them. Please come to more and faster chapters.
Time passed minute by minute, and Guizi Sixth and Ninth Marshal waited quietly with unprecedented patience. Except for one shorthand person, all the other women who were waiting withdrew.
Xiao Letian seemed to be making a very difficult decision, and even sweat broke out on his forehead. When he opened his mouth, the prince and the ninth commander were stunned.
"If I can't say anything, am I going to be attacked by swords and axes soon? Are there eight hundred swordsmen and axes lurking outside this door?" Xiao Letian was so funny, and the serious atmosphere in the study had just accumulated. He let it out in one fell swoop.
In the eyes of Guiziliu, if Ninth Commander Zeng Guoquan said this, it would be a naked declaration of war, but if it was said in Xiao Letian's mouth, it could only be funny.
"Haha, Mr. Xiao has really returned from overseas. It seems that he has listened to a lot of chivalrous legends about mountains and mountains, and has forgotten what drama is and what reality is... Hahaha, you really only know Western learning, and you really don't know anything about the things in your mother country. …”
Yi? and Zeng Guoquan both laughed, secretly sighing in their hearts to pay back eight hundred swords and axes? Is there any better way to kill people in this world than a foreign gun? If I really wanted to kill you, a scholar, I would have taken action as early as when you were plotting against Wang Laohanlin. Do you really think that those bandits who were attracted by you could protect you?
Of course Xiao Letian is not a fool. He is just pretending to be stupid and deliberately speaking some layman's words to prove his identity as a lonely overseas traveler. Update immediately. Only if they don't have any labels of domestic forces on them can they feel confident about themselves.
"Well, since the prince has not arranged for the swordsman to chop me up, I have nothing to say." Xiao Letian carefully recalled the reform path of various nations in later generations, and slowly matured what he had been thinking about for a long time. The plan was laid out.
The thirty-year-old Zhuangyuanhong on the table exuded a strong aroma of wine. The dishes had been cold for a long time, but the eunuch outside the study did not dare to come in and change them without the prince's order.
"It is very difficult to make changes in such a large empire. It is like a large truck loaded with goods. Once it travels in one direction, it will generate a strong inertia. If you want to change this inertia, you must exert more force. A huge force, and if the conflict between these two forces is too fierce, it can easily cause the entire cart to be damaged or even disintegrate..."
Xiao Letian started with the principle of turning the boat around. He abandoned all idealism and instead laid out all the problems faced by the Qing Dynasty one by one. The core problem was the empire's rejection of Western ideas. .
You said that the railway travels thousands of miles a day and can move tens of thousands of kilograms of goods? I just want to say that the sound of the train was so loud that it might have disturbed the tombs of our ancestors. You say that the steam engine is highly efficient and powerful, but I insist on saying that this steel monster is taking advantage of the people and harming farmers and workers.
And you said the earth is round? Sorry, I just don’t believe in that evil. Even if you invite me to travel around the world, I’m not interested. As for imposing sea bans, building ocean-going caravans for business, etc., that is even more unacceptable. We do not want to change the policy that has been continued since the Ming Dynasty, and we cannot change it. Whoever changes it will be a sinner through the ages.
Look, the power of tradition is so powerful. In fact, the core contradiction is the explicit learning represented by Confucianism. They are fundamentally afraid of the invasion of Western learning. If one day the country no longer needs to use explicit learning to select talents, then wouldn’t these Confucian scholars want to drink the northwest wind? Therefore, the rise of Western learning must face countless resistances, even bloody resistances.
Speaking of this, Xiao Letian couldn't help but think of the Six Gentlemen of 1898. What kind of period was that? It was an era when the Japanese had just been defeated and the Qing Dynasty had completely torn away even the last fig leaf. It was an era where almost all literati knew that there would be no change. A time when you will be waiting to die.
It was in such an atmosphere that Tan Sitong and others' efforts to reform and strengthen themselves ended up being beheaded at Caishikou, using their blood to once again suppress the domestic literati's enthusiasm for reform. It can be seen that the power of tradition is so powerful, how can those in power give up the rights they have obtained.
Xiao Letian didn't want to die, despite the fact that he tried every means to establish relationships with foreigners, dressed himself up as a Japanese devil, and then wrote books to increase his reputation, in an attempt to gain some sense of security with his status as a great master of Western learning. Please come to more and faster chapters. However, as long as he dares to touch the power of the vested interest class, even just a little bit, he will die without a burial place, and even foreigners will not be able to save him.
"So, the Qing Dynasty is now like a weak patient. Although it has just passed the crisis from the Hongyang Rebellion and its body has begun to improve, we must not forget the identity of the patient. Therefore, any major changes are impossible Taken..."
"Here, I only offer one idea to the prince, and that is to create a special zone... You heard me right, it is to build a small country within a country. Of course I don't want to rebel. What I mean by a country within a country is to build a small country within a country. Let the Qing Dynasty obtain everything owned by the Western powers at the minimum cost..."
"In Guangdong, Shanghai, Fujian, Ningbo, Tianjin, Shandong and other places, we can completely circle some places, close to the port, and build our own industrial zone in Daqing. Here we can build steel plants and lay railways. Build military factories and even shipyards..."
"Political innovation can come slowly, but our Qing Dynasty must have its own industrial base. Needless to say, we must be able to manufacture guns and cannons ourselves, and all of this requires our heavy industrial base! With enough foreign guns and cannons, we will have the power to resist the foreigners. Even if there is a rebellion, we will not buy them from the foreigners now. That would be such a disadvantage..."
Xiao Letian spoke in detail and slowly. Updated as soon as possible. He gradually sketched out the prototype of a huge industrial empire. China is too big. It is precisely because of its size that it is difficult to carry out comprehensive reforms. However, it is also precisely because of its size that China has more varieties. There is also a great strategic depth to the choices and possibilities.
Needless to say, as long as one or two provinces in China can achieve industrialization, the population and resources of these two provinces alone will be enough to compete with Japan during the Sino-Japanese War of 1884-88. Ito Hirobumi once said that in the Sino-Japanese War, his opponent was only Beiyang, and there was only one Li Hongzhang. The Sino-Japanese War was actually a war between Japan and Li Hongzhang alone. In this way, Japan's economy was dragged into bankruptcy.
Guiziliu and Zeng Guoquan were stunned. Talents are top-notch talents. Why didn't we think of using this method to build a factory? If you had thought of this method earlier, you wouldn't have to worry about the chatter of those Confucian scholars. What Mr. Xiao said is so good. At worst, once the industrial zone is built, we can build a wall to block it. Ordinary people will not be allowed in, and we will send troops to guard the province in case of trouble.
If the hazards are artificially controlled, useful commodities will flow in and out, and everything else will be sealed inside. Who can talk nonsense now?
Prince Gong Yi? actually stood up excitedly and paced back and forth in the study. He could see the feasibility of this plan at a glance. The resistance of all forces to this plan must be minimal. With a little effort, he will definitely pass the court meeting.
Zeng Guoquan was also moved. Although the Hunan Army now has several repair shops and can even imitate some famous foreign guns, there is one thing they have been unable to solve, and that is the problem of the industrial system. Steel plants, large machinery factories, precision parts manufacturing plants...the various industrial bases in the Qing Dynasty are almost zero now, and the few repair shops just assemble semi-finished parts provided by foreigners.
Baby, this overseas solitary guest is really a treasure. At that moment, the representatives of the two major forces cast greedy glances in their eyes.
Of course Xiao Letian knew what they were thinking, and he even knew the rebellion hidden in Zeng Guoquan's heart. In addition, Guiziliu must be able to understand his own subtext. Things like the industrial zone can not only avoid the artillery fire in the court, but the most important thing is that it is easy to control.
As long as the Manchu nobles stationed the most loyal Eight Banners troops in the above cities, they could even use city walls to encircle the industrial areas. These industrial bases will become the Qing Dynasty's private territory, just like the wicker border in the Northeast, they will definitely be firmly in their hands.
Time passed by minute by minute. When Xiao Letian recited his plan completely, the sky was already dark, and the whole afternoon passed like this.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty? The food and wine are gone, don't you want to take care of the food anymore?" Xiao Letian teased.
At this time, Prince Gong Yi? But he said seriously to Xiao Letian, "I wonder if Mr. Xiao is interested in joining the court as an official? How about I entrust Mr. Xiao with the big plan of this industrial zone? As the second-rank minister of the Ministry of Industry, I think I should not offend you for your great talent. If the Industrial Zone goes well, I can also grant you the position of Minister of the Ministry of Industry..."
Good guy, Yi? You are so courageous. When you open your mouth, you will be a second-grade senior official, but it is a pity that it is only the Ministry of Industry. When Zeng Guoquan heard the bait thrown by Guiziliu, the look on his face changed. He really didn't expect that Yi? would dare to make such a heavy investment.
Unfortunately, Xiao Letian smiled and shook his head, "My lord, you have been negligent. You have forgotten that I am not a citizen of the Qing Dynasty. If I become a second-grade official, the court will go crazy with noise. Besides, Now, my ambition is not to be in the court. In two months, I want to invest in a foreign company in Tianjin and do some business with foreigners. My wish is to live a relaxed and leisurely life while making money."
There was a trace of regret in Guiziliu's eyes, but then he said, "The matter of identity is not simple. Our Qing Dynasty still recognizes dual nationality. As long as you change your mind, sir, my promise will always be fulfilled!"
