The finances at the end of the Qing Dynasty were in an outrageous mess!
The military expenditures used by Zuo Zongtang to pacify Xinjiang came from extremely confusing sources. Due to the previous disputes between coastal defense and land defense, it almost evolved into a party-state affair in the court.
The court officials still supported Li Hongzhang's suggestion. It was not that they did not want Xinjiang, but that they should try their best to favor coastal defense within their limited finances.
After all, the coastline is so close to the capital. The British and French allied forces can hit the capital directly from Dagukou!
Xinjiang is so far away. There are so many natural cuts along the way. There is no way Agubai can reach Sijiu City!
Based on the virtue of those ministers who were dawdling and waiting to die in the late Qing Dynasty, they would not be in a hurry until the fire was imminent. They would demolish the east wall to repair the west wall. The hole in Haiphong is closer to them, so let's block it first.
During the debate between Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang, they gradually fell into a disadvantage. The hot-tempered and stubborn Zuo Zongtang would not accept defeat. He wrote to the court in anger, "I want to raise my own military pay."
As soon as these words came out, the queen mothers of the two palaces and the princes and ministers were all happy. As long as it doesn't cost me money, you can do whatever you like!
However, the so-called self-funding of military pay cannot be ignored by the imperial court. It is really embarrassing not to give it at all. In the end, the Ministry of Revenue allocated two million taels of cash.
The rest will depend on provincial rates!
It can be seen how incompetent the Manchu rule was. In the end, they even lost basic financial control rights. The provincial rates were agreed to give each province very large independent financial rights.
It was not until this time that the governors of various provinces were really called frontier officials!
There is too much to gain from the provincial rates, and there are endless bad debts and expenses. Anyway, your court no longer has the energy to check the accounts, and even the court is acquiescing to the corruption of the local bureaucracy.
Under the order of the government, if you have a good relationship with Zuo Zongtang, you can still raise 50% to 60%. If you have a bad relationship with Zuo Zongtang, you can say that there are uneven floods and droughts in your province, and you won't be able to do anything even if you owe him.
It wasn't until the year that Zai Chun returned to China that Zuo Zongtang did an inventory and found that the various provinces owed a total of 20 million taels in wages!
The imperial household department had no money to give, and the local provinces were in debt. Zuo Zongtang had no choice but to borrow money. He borrowed money from private capital in the Qing Dynasty, borrowed money from foreign merchants... and borrowed money from the Chinese!
In real history, Zuo Zongtang recovered Xinjiang by borrowing money!
The mighty Qing Dynasty actually forced its ministers to borrow money to fight the war. Even if the debts were paid back with the taxes from the court, this process still had to be carried out by the court!
Why did the Manchu Qing Dynasty perish? He himself had already believed that his country would perish. Ever since the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, he had known that he would perish sooner or later.
If you want to spend my money, that's absolutely not allowed, but what if you borrow money to do something? Then it's up to you. Anyway, in the end, it's the Han people who pay taxes, so this won't touch the meat in my Manchu pot.
With such greed and selfishness, how could such a court survive?
In the dark night, under an oil lamp, the famous Zuo Zongtang was lost in thought in the study room of the Marshal's Mansion in Jinzhou. The table was full of detailed accounts at the end of the year. His accountants wrote detailed notes, Each number is shocking.
"Commander...it's too dark, please use an extra light..."
A voice came from outside the study, and then a general wearing a commander's uniform came in, holding a European-style silver candlestick in his hand.
Three smokeless candles were dancing on the candlestick in the shape of Neptune's trident. The candlestick suddenly lit up as soon as it entered the room.
"Ah...it's Yi Zhai! You haven't rested yet? You don't need to be so bright, save some military expenses..."
Yizhai is the famous Liu Jintang, the first governor of Xinjiang after Xinjiang was established as a province! At this time, under Zuo Zongtang, he was just a newly promoted vanguard commander.
"What are you talking about, Marshal? Although our military expenses are tight, we still don't need the money of a few candles... Besides, Marshal, you are the beacon that guides everyone. Your eyes are more important than our lives!"
"Haha... Are you here specifically to make me happy? That's the guiding light, Long Live Lord. We are all ministers! Besides, it doesn't matter if you are blind, you won't be angry if you are blind..."
Zuo Zongtang looked at the table full of expressions and punched them with a loud bang!
"Xinjiang wants it, but doesn't want to spend money... Everyone on the left and right wants it, and all the good things in the world belong to the damn Manchus? Are we just going to die from exhaustion?"
"Shut up... Commander, keep quiet... Be careful that walls have ears!" Liu Jintang quickly tried to persuade him.
"Walls have ears? Whoever listens to repay God will be killed immediately! If you want to work under my account, you have to know who rewarded you with this bowl of rice!"
"See for yourself, the arrears, the arrears are all arrears... It's as if this Xinjiang belongs to me, Zuo Zongtang, as if I am going to break the soil and become the king if I conquer it..."
"Oh my god..." Liu Jintang was so frightened that he rushed forward and covered the handsome man's mouth with his hand.
"My great commander, don't say such things. What if it gets out? Of course the court doesn't dare to do anything to us now, but don't forget..."
"Our ancestors and ourselves in the future... still have to be buried in the Central Plains, and they have to be buried in their homeland!"
"Don't bring trouble to the people behind you! Don't bring trouble to the descendants..."
This sentence suddenly touched the commander's weakness, and Zuo Zongtang sat back in the Taishi chair!
"Hey... my country, my country... If it weren't for the ancestral huts and tombs... forget it..."
This is a huge weakness of all aspiring people throughout the late Qing Dynasty. The Chinese people's thoughts about family and country are too heavy. The thoughts of monarch, minister, minister, father, father and son are actually based on a whole set of ethical concepts.
What should I do if I rebel and bring shame to my ancestors? What should I do if my ancestral graves and mine are dug up after death? What should I do if I don’t accumulate virtue for future generations and will get into trouble?
After thinking it over, it’s better not to rebel. This way, the world will be at peace!
Liu Jintang poured a cup of tea for the Marshal, "Commander, why do you have to worry about this little money? You really want money. As long as you ask, someone will come to your door!"
"Who? Who has such great ability? My military expenditure is short by ten million taels. Who can make up for it?"
"There is someone there! Why did you forget that there is a God of Wealth riding a black tiger in the East China Sea?"
"Xiao Letian?" Zuo Zongtang stared and straightened his waist as if he was about to fight. "Did you take Xiao Letian's money? You are so brave!"
"No, Marshal, please calm down, absolutely not..." Liu Jintang was so frightened that his white hair broke out.
"Commander, please calm down. I don't dare to touch this money... Xiao Letian has become powerful now. All of Europe has recognized the Chinese as one country. If I take his money, the court will not eat me alive." !”
"I just reminded the commander that a caravan came to the city recently... Their leader has a close relationship with Hu Xueyan. They found me with Hu Xueyan's letter and asked me to introduce him to the commander..."
"Hu Xueyan said that you can talk to the people in this caravan about many things, whatever you want..."
