The great changes that have not happened in three thousand years, this is a sentence written by Xiao Letian in "The Journey to the West". Historically, it was supposed to be a famous saying after Li Hongzhang came to power. In the end, Xiao Letian plagiarized it, and it was very easy. It became popular among the literati circles in the Qing Dynasty.
This sentence is indeed very accurate in describing the Qing Dynasty at that time. The great changes unseen in three thousand years have plunged all scholars into deep confusion. Even Cixi, who was naturally proficient in politics, faced the world. Just as confused and helpless.
Frankly speaking, the governance capabilities of the officials of the Qing Dynasty are still very strong. Thousands of years of imperial scheming and the ruling experience of the feudal dynasty have reached their peak in the Qing Dynasty. This is the most centralized feudal dynasty in the history of China, and it was the most centralized feudal dynasty in the history of Kang and Yong. During the three dynasties of Qianlong, the territory of the Qing Dynasty has been growing slowly. This is indeed a historical achievement left by the Qing Dynasty to the Chinese nation. Update as soon as possible
Perhaps historians can find countless Manchu corruption and depravity, and the sins of the people, but we cannot deny that it was the Qing Dynasty’s actual rule for hundreds of years that allowed the Chinese nation to control the three eastern provinces, Mongolia, Xinjiang, and other places. Four vast pieces of land have legal inheritance rights recognized by international law.
During the three dynasties of Kangxi, Yongzong and Qianlong, China's governance philosophy has been developed to the extreme, and the degree of centralization has reached a terrifying level. Politicians immersed in this political atmosphere are all masters of evil and masters of balance. In their bellies, they have thousands of conspiracies and intrigues to choose from. Not to mention men, even Cixi, a woman, was a master of politics.
Xiao Letian has long concluded that Cixi's political level is a woman whose sensitivity to politics is completely innate. To be more idealistic, this is what this woman did when she was reincarnated into the Qing Dynasty. Many men felt helpless in the complicated court situation, but this woman was able to play with ease. She danced on three eggs until she died without breaking them.
However, when these politicians, who have been steeped in thousands of years of traditional experience, encounter Western visitors who are like aliens, all their experiences are useless. These political figures in the Qing Dynasty not only did not understand the human geography of the Western world, they did not even understand the cultural inheritance of Westerners.
They have no idea what these foreigners want, and all negotiations are based on chicken and duck talk. Europe wanted to do business with the Qing Dynasty, but the Qing Dynasty wanted to impose restrictions and hope to open a large number of ports for business. The Qing Dynasty also disagreed, and even exchanged envoys to establish embassies in various capitals. The Qing Dynasty still shook its head desperately.
Europeans can't figure out why the Qing people like to shake their heads so much, and why they left so many excellent seaports unused for business and turned them into fishing ports instead. Wait, it seems that in the history of the Chinese people, even fishing ports were not allowed to exist. At that time, it was called Pianfan and was not allowed to go into the sea.
The Qing people also couldn't understand why the Europeans had so many demands. Isn't it enough to open the Guangzhou Thirteenth Bank? Do you still want to stop at all ports all the way north? What good things are you thinking about? We even need to send officials to be permanently stationed in Beijing? What a bunch of lunatics. What's more, if they don't agree to this group of foreigners, they will send troops to force them to agree. Is there anyone in the world who is so unreasonable?
Look, this was the real Qing Dynasty at that time. Facing the outside world, it was completely dark. From top to bottom, everyone shook their heads and got mad when they mentioned Westernization. The first update includes Cixi, who is no exception. As long as foreigners are involved, this woman will immediately transform into an old rural lady, and her eyes will only have a confused light.
Cixi could not give an answer to Emperor Tongzhi's question. The only person in the Qing Dynasty who could give an answer was still hiding in Tanggu Port. Cixi knew that this cunning Japanese devil must be ready to escape. As long as the court had the slightest intention to target him, he would definitely board a foreigner's ship and escape as soon as possible.
To be honest, Cixi really wanted Xiao Letian to teach Huang Er some foreign knowledge, but whenever she thought about the overall balance of the court, she backed down. Xianxue has ruled China for thousands of years, do you really expect that little guy to overthrow it? Forget it, the Aijia should not have this dream anymore. Update as soon as possible
In the end, the little emperor Tongzhi did not get the answer he wanted from his mother, but the changes in the court in the next few days proved E Niang's wisdom. No one really mentioned a matter that was so big in the eyes of the emperor, and everyone just It really feels like this thing doesn't exist.
In an era when there were no newspapers, no radio, and even less likely television, the media industry did not exist at all. The court's rule over the people was actually very simple. One word of "concealment" could solve all problems. The common people could not even connect dozens of miles around them. If you don’t know what is happening hundreds of miles away, who cares about thousands of miles away?
Four years ago, the British and French allied forces captured the city of Beijing. If you go to the countryside in Henan, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou and other places and ask, I guarantee that not one person in a hundred would know.
Of course, the news from the upper echelons cannot be closed to everyone. The huge group of scholars and officials cannot be bypassed by the ruling class. And these people are all in a shared and highly closed interest field. Every occurrence of an unexpected event is just a reshuffling of the cards in this interest field.
After the incident known as the "Three Dou Rice Riot" in history, the various forces seemed calm on the surface, but the private communication between the various forces never stopped. Hundreds of miles of fast horses, one after another, shuttled on the post road. There were always high-status big shots and various brokers talking to each other in the brothels and wine shop boxes in the capital.
Time passed day by day, and a month and a half later, when the summer heat in Beijing had dissipated a bit, a great court meeting was held. What is shocking is that the Qing Dynasty actually approved the plan for three industrial zones without any objection from officials. Tanggu, Shanghai, and Guangzhou became the first batch of special zones to be developed industrially during the Qing Dynasty.
The Qingliu people who had made such a crazy fuss before were actually silent today. They were all as quiet as little white rabbits. As for their leader Weng Tonghe, he simply closed his eyes and meditated during the court meeting.
Among the three industrial special zones, the Shanghai special zone is under the sole responsibility of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau. Anyone with a discerning eye will know at a glance that this is a concession made by the Manchus to appease Zeng Guofan and others.
Needless to say, there is a special zone in Guangzhou, which has always been the most important trade center of the Qing government. The establishment of the Thirteen Banks is actually a disguised special zone.
Even though this was the southernmost part of the empire, the Manchu and Qing government had the strictest control. This was the money bag second only to Jiangnan. How could the court let go. Even when the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was at its most violent, Guangdong did not fall. The establishment of a special zone here is a sure thing for the Manchu people.
What is weirder is the Industrial Zone in Tanggu. First of all, it feels weird from the name. At this time, Tanggu was a seaport town and could not be regarded as a city at all. Ordinarily, the naming rights should be given to Tianjin. Should this be called Tianjin Special Economic Zone? But the Qing government actually named it after Tanggu.
The meaning here is very deep. In China's political atmosphere, every word in national documents has a profound meaning, and smart people can understand it at a glance.
Who first suggested the industrial zone? Who is one of the culprits of the Tanggu riot? The answer is of course Xiao Letian, so since he is the culprit, but in the end his proposal was passed at the court meeting, and the special zone in the north was named after the city where the riots occurred. What does this show about the attitude of the court?
Weng Tonghe should just close his eyes and rest for a long time. He really didn't have the face to speak today, because everyone can understand that this is the royal family's support for Xiao Letian.
Qingliu, please stop making trouble. Even if Xiao Letian is raising bandits, even if he provokes a civil uprising, we will still use him. Moreover, we and the Hunan Army have reached an agreement, so you should just accept your fate.
What makes the Qingliu people even more ashamed is that the person in charge of the Tanggu Industrial Zone is actually Fu Qing. This is a slap in the face. Who in Beijing doesn’t know that the third master Qing and Xiao Letian of the Fucha family are good friends. It's the same as over the top. Please come to more and faster chapters.
A major conflict caused by the "industrial zone" mentioned by Xiao Letian finally broke through with the blood sacrifice of more than a thousand lives in Tanggu. History will not remember the names of these more than a thousand people. History will not even remember the names of Huang Ju and Ma Bao. In the face of the mighty tide of the times, everyone is like gravel, and only those who make the tide will be remembered by people.
When the court meeting came to an end, the Qingliu finally received their gifts. The emperor and the queen mother issued a decree and decided to add an encore this winter. The Qing Dynasty was about to welcome a large number of new officials.
It was only then that Weng Tonghe opened his eyes and took the lead to walk out of the courtroom. He knelt on the ground and shouted three times, "Long live the emperor and the empress dowager..." followed closely by the civil and military officials of the court who knelt in the Hall of Supreme Harmony and collectively shouted " Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Queen Mother..."
After the court meeting ended, Weng Tonghe walked out of the Meridian Gate, but he did not get into the sedan chair directly. He looked back at the deep palace, feeling the smell of power gushing out from inside, and clenched his fists tightly.
"I didn't lose, we Qingliu didn't lose, and we Xianxue didn't lose. Do you think getting three industrial zones is a victory? How naive. Don't forget, anything in the world needs officials, and who If you can become an official, you can only listen to us. I want to see how long Xiao Letian's Western learning can last..."
"Let's go, have a hearty lunch when we get home. Master, I want to celebrate today, to celebrate this year's Enke..."
The decree promulgated at the meeting had actually been finalized before. Even ten days ago, Mr. Qing, who was far away in Shanghai, had received a letter from the Prime Minister's Office, asking him to quickly return to Beijing by boat to prepare to take over the Tanggu Industrial Zone. construction work.
By the time the meeting was held, Third Master Qing was already standing on the bow of the foreign merchant ship and saw the outline of Tanggu Port from a distance. Third Master Qing was really eager to return home. He urged the British captain more than once to hurry up and return. Hurry up, he is so confused now that it is driving him crazy.
When the ship finally docked on the pier, Mr. Qing Tengteng was the first to rush off the ship without even having time to say goodbye to the foreigners. Before he could open his mouth to ask about the location of Lotte Matheson, a boy on the dock was already dancing so much that he started shouting.
"Third Master, look here, I'm sent by Mr. Xiao to wait for you. I'll take you to a foreign trade company..."
