The late Qing Dynasty was an era of great changes. The collision of old and new ideological trends caused a huge contrast in people's values. In addition, the changes in the late Qing Dynasty were not spontaneously formed from the inside out, but were caused by the forced intervention of external forces. , so this conflict is even more shocking.
To be fair, Xiao Letian is also an outsider. Although he is Chinese and has been a serious Han for two generations, for this late Qing Dynasty, his thoughts are actually as destructive as those of foreigners. .
Those who lag behind never know that they are behind, just like every snowflake in an avalanche knows that they are not wrong. People with old ideas are very resistant to change, because change means negation and denial of their previous understanding.
You know, it is not easy to make people think that you are wrong. It is no less difficult than getting a stubborn person to nod. So in life we often see some people who have clearly been forced to a dead end and have no sense at all, but they still refuse to repent.
Why is this happening? Because the pain of continuing on the wrong path is much less than the pain of denying himself before, at least that's what he thinks.
Deny yourself for the first half of your life? Is it wrong to deny the education of your parents and grandparents? How shameless and painful it is. Who can get out of that hurdle?
But life must go on. People refuse to change but at the same time they hope for the benefits brought by change. For example, the Tanggu Special Economic Zone in front of us. This place of wealth has now become a dream in the hearts of everyone in North China, especially in the Zhili area. .
I remember that when the Tanggu Special Administrative Region was first being established, Huang Juren, instigated by people with ulterior motives, desperately attacked the Special Administrative Region. A group of indigenous people such as Xiaowangzhuang were confused and opposed Xiao Letian, even at the risk of death.
At that time, people really regarded this special zone as a scourge, and Xiao Letian was the devil of the West in their hearts. But later, with Xiao Letian's clever response, the local resistance in Tanggu gradually faded away.
Until the end, when the industrial zone began to release the magic of wealth, these locals completely changed their thinking. Looking at the white dollars in their pockets, they fully devoted themselves to Xiao Letian's plan.
Since ancient times, money has been valued as water, and the land is wet when the water passes. Massive funds are being raised to build a special zone. How can the surrounding people not take advantage? Who still grows crops if they have land at home? The land was quickly rented out to build warehouses, and the annual rent for building shops would be several hundred silver dollars.
Just living on rent is not enough. Chinese people are hard-working. Young and energetic people can earn money by doing any work on the construction site. Older people can also set up a pancake and fruit stand, steamed bun shop, etc. outside the factory. There are even several companies that jointly set up a meat shop to provide workers with some stir-fry dishes, common pot wine, and the like.
This is all money. As long as the locals are not lazy, they can make the same money as swimming in the sea.
At first, people were worried that the imperial court would come to pick the fruits. However, when Mailer led his troops to besiege Tanggu, and finally the new army was completely destroyed, everyone was relieved.
At that time, the local people on the street just said: "Oh... Second brother! We are so rich in this life... The city of Beijing has been taken over by the prime minister. Who will dare to grin at us in the future? Let's just Just feel free to make money..."
Later, Beijing made a secret agreement with Xiao Letian to expand the area of Tanggu Special Economic Zone dozens of times, from Tangjiapu to Qikou Village in the south, to Beitang in the west to build Xishuimen, and to the north, after crossing Qilihai and Ninghe, and then Go north all the way to Kaiping.
This large circle covered more than 900 and nearly 1,000 square kilometers of land, which was close to the area of a small county. This large circle has all become the jurisdiction of Tanggu Special Zone.
At this point, a very strange phenomenon occurred. Along the edge of the special zone, Xiao Letian began to hire people to build waterways, and then planted large willow trees everywhere. He actually created a willow border here.
Outside the Pass, the Manchus planted willow branches all over the place where the Han people gathered. Over time, the willow branches took root and sprouted, forming a side wall called the Willow Edge. In Zhili, instead of inserting willow branches, Xiao Letian planted large willow trees in an orderly manner.
This is no longer a row of two rows of willow trees. What Xiao Letian planted is a willow forest with a width of 200 meters. Outside is a wide newly built river. To a discerning eye, it can be seen as a defense system.
Xiao Letian's army is now recognized as the strongest in Asia. No one, including Europeans, dare to underestimate this army. If you must find problems with this army, then there are two points that should be considered its weaknesses.
One is that the number of troops is small. Xiao Letian's available combat troops are only 20,000 so far. This troop strength is indeed not enough. Another point is that Xiao Letian has not developed cavalry so far, which makes Xiao Letian's army lack the ability to make grand strategic detours.
In fact, the Qing government has always had a false sense of security, which is actually because of these two points. They knew that Xiao Letian's new army was very strong, but with such a small number of people there was not much cavalry. Even if they had the upper hand for a while, with the strong national power and strategic depth of the Qing Dynasty, they would be able to be beaten to death in the end.
It is precisely because of this sense of security that the two families have formed the current situation of hostility and cooperation. On the surface, they actually look a bit intimate.
Within the Great Willow Wall, the imperial court's ruling system still existed, and there were still people who took care of things that should be managed by officials. The Qing Dynasty did not collect taxes at all. People could either go to the county government to file a lawsuit, or they could go to the special zone chief to file a lawsuit. Complaint, the two systems actually coexist in parallel and live in harmony.
Even the army has two systems. It is true that there are actually a few green battalion soldiers from the imperial court in the Tanggu Special Administrative Region now. However, it is a pity that these soldiers are only in appearance and cannot control anything serious. .
The Tanggu Special Administrative Region has turned into what it is now, which completely proves Xiao Letian's political maturity. He doesn't want to be vain, but only needs to be honest. The imperial court has given you enough respect, and no one can fault you. This land will always belong to the imperial court, and Xiao Letian is not a rebel.
Li Mi's court in the special zone requires civil servants and military generals, and even taxes are no problem. They collect them at will and collect more than in previous years.
If the court wants to take care of local public security, let it be taken care of by the Special Administrative Region. Anyway, under the bayonets of the New Army, it is unimaginable that the Special Administrative Region's public security will be good.
Everything is as dreamy as heaven, but in such a quiet and peaceful situation, contradictions still exist and conflicts intensify.
The flash point of all conflicts lies in the new policy promulgated by Xiao Letian two years ago.
