Zuo Zongtang has always felt that there is something wrong with Li Hongzhang. There is always something wrong with what he said today. Now he actually mentioned the British in a roundabout way. Does Li Hongzhang know the secret of the British?
Or is it that Li Hongzhang has defected to the British?
Li Hongzhang pushed Zuo Jigao's hand away with a grimace, "Brother, what can I know? I'm a fallen general. Even if the British want to bet on it, it won't be my turn!"
"Let me tell you the truth, I have realized these truths!"
The ancients were good at reading and understanding. In fact, the Confucian scholars in the feudal era suffered because they were not knowledgeable and always analyzed the world with their eyes closed. But once they open their eyes, the truly smart people cannot be suppressed!
"There is no doubt that today's great era is a great change that has not happened in three thousand years. It is also the darkest era for our Confucianism. I don't say that a country is not a country. I just regret that the teachings of the saints may be abandoned by others!"
"Where is the place where we Confucians can settle down and live? In fact, it is on the land, on the ethics and morality of the clan. Do you think all this can be maintained?"
"I came from Shandong by taking an official ship through the Grand Canal. I have seen Jinan, Zaozhuang, Jining and other prosperous canal places. Jiaozhou Bay has been taken over by the Chinese concession, and steel and cement are transported every day. I have also seen that scene. inspected!"
"It's over, we're really over! Local Confucianism has been wiped out to pieces, and the more prosperous the landowners are, the more they surrender!"
"Shameless! This landlord doesn't want to buy land anymore when he has money, but he wants to send money to the capital and Jiangnan, and speculate in stocks... He even wants to imitate them and build a local factory!"
"Printing and dyeing factories, yarn mills, flour mills... just this year, more than 20 factories, large and small, were built along the Grand Canal!"
"This is all money! With all the money gathered here, will anyone still farm the land? Farmers have become workers. Do you know how much land is abandoned?"
"What if this keeps going on? I won't even be able to eat anymore!"
Zuo Jigao frowned and said, "Why is it so serious? Factories make a lot of money and attract private capital and manpower, that's for sure, but if you have more money, can't you still buy food? You won't starve to death!"
"Confused! How can you say such a thing, brother? Who is the largest grain merchant in the world now? Mi and Sihai. The Chinese control all the grain ships on the sea!"
"They are selling it to you now, but what if one day they don't sell it to you? Are we going to starve to death?"
"Besides, am I talking about food? What I'm talking about is what will we do as Confucians in the future? You and I are both Confucian ministers, disciples of saints, and we are all blessed by the saints when we become officials! "
"If in the future, officials are not selected from the landlord class, but from businessmen, will the Qing Dynasty still be a Qing Dynasty?"
"Brother, you are indifferent to fame and wealth. You just retired without asking for anything. The imperial court will give you a high-profile tablet... That means you will have no worries about food and clothing. How can the Qing Dynasty guarantee the prosperity and wealth of your descendants!"
"But what about your brothers? You don't want them anymore?"
"Okay, even if guarding the border in the Western Regions is not that hard as you said, brothers can all have food, but what about others? The brothers under me and the brothers under the Ninth Commander, including more brothers from the Hunan Army!"
"What should they do? They don't have a second Western Region to divide! They have nowhere to go and can only struggle to survive in their homeland of the Central Plains!"
"We have reached the end of our wealth. Why don't we leave a way out for them? Don't we leave a way out for all the Confucian scholars in the world? No matter how the times change, these our nephews must have something to eat!"
"You can't say that if you just say that you are out of step with this era, we will all starve to death, right?"
"Just because we don't understand Western things, doesn't it mean we have to die or starve to death? We have to think about the people below..."
Zuo Zongtang's head was buzzing. He had to admit that what Li Hongzhang said was correct. If he went on an expedition to Xinjiang in official terms, he would be protecting his family and the country, and his merits would last forever!
But he also has selfish motives. He may not have the idea of finding a way out for his 100,000 brothers!
The land in the Western Region is vast and sparsely populated. The brothers guarding the border may sound very hard, but it is only the first ten years or so. With more development in the future, the lives of the descendants of these 100,000 brothers will be much easier!
Why go back to the Central Plains and experience dynasty changes and land annexation?
Zuo Jigao conquered a large area of land in the Western Region and distributed it to his men, but the Ninth Marshal and Li Hongzhang could not do it. They had nowhere to go, and they could only continue to fight for power in the Central Plains, an old territory.
They want to use every possible means to fight for greater living space for their brothers, so Li Hongzhang wants to seize power and even prepare for the Great Qing Navy.
"Commander Zuo, my good brother...I say all this just to tell you one thing. In this era of great changes that have not happened in three thousand years, we must be allowed some time to adapt!"
"Brothers all come from Confucian backgrounds, and it's impossible to change their ideas immediately, so I have to fight for some rights for everyone, which can be regarded as a buffer space!"
"If I don't care about them, by the time they adjust themselves and adapt to the new era, I'm afraid all the big fish and meat will have been eaten up, and not even a bit of residue will be left!"
"Brother, you have to help me, not me... but more brothers!"
Zuo Jigao was speechless. He leaned on his chair and frowned and thought for a long time, "There are thousands of ways in the world... Why do you have to choose the path of building a navy?"
"Since you know the major trends of the new era, why don't you follow the times...or let the court approve an industrial zone in Shandong?"
"In other words, if you are afraid that there will not be enough food in the Qing Dynasty, you can also organize an ocean-going caravan yourself and go to North America to do food trade! Isn't this also a way to make a fortune?"
"Why do you have to increase military power? You will be jealous of the imperial court!"
Li Hongzhang thought to himself, you old guy, why are you so difficult to persuade? I have already explained my words so clearly, why do you still not understand that you have to explain it clearly?
"Brother...did you really not understand? I just said that now in the capital and Jiangnan, the capital market and industrialization are in full swing!"
"The wealth of the people has been drained! From Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, Zhili... almost all the floating wealth in these areas is being transferred to the capital!"
"The prosperity of the capital is based on the abject poverty of several provinces! Such a castle in the air... aren't you afraid?"
"You know, not all the careerists inside and outside the government are dead!"
