Just as the drama in Yulin City was about to begin, the people in the four counties were flocking to the free mooncakes and reward money. He Xiwen's troops were also secretly gearing up, preparing to go out on the night of August 14th to surprise Teng County. The governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Zhu Suddenly, Gui personally led an army of 5,000 people to Wuzhou City.
Just after midnight on the morning of August 14th, Hu Youren, the prefect of Wuzhou, led his subordinates including Tongzhi, Tongpan, Xuezheng, and the magistrate of Cangwu County to the pier outside Nanxunmen with a full set of ceremonial books. Also coming with him was Xu Guocai, the deputy general of Wuzhou Association.
"Your Excellency! Master Zhi Tai's official ship has already passed Longzhou Pond. It will arrive with just two more sticks of incense."
After hearing the report, Hu Youren and a group of bureaucrats got up and left the reception hall and came to the shore to wait. The climate in Guangxi in August is hot, and the scorching weather seems to be able to roast people. Although high-status officials have their servants fanning constantly and holding parasols above their heads, big beads of sweat are still dripping down their cheeks.
Just when everyone's backs were soaked with sweat, they saw a gorgeous black ship coming slowly from the east. On both sides and behind the ship were troop transport ships that were as long as snakes and could not be seen to the end. Among them were Including rice boats, paddle boats, fast horses, fast crab boats, fishing boats, etc., the decks of each ship were filled with flags of various colors, and the momentum was amazing. Such a scene filled both sides of the Xunjiang River with people watching.
Although Wuzhou had already received the order, the scene in front of them still made all the officials including Hu Youren extremely excited. This was so awesome!
"Your Majesty, Master Tai will lead the army here, and everyone in our Wuzhou Mansion will be safe."
"We have such a large army in Wuzhou. No matter how fierce Zhao Ni is, he will definitely be defeated!"
Hearing the excited discussions of the people behind him, Hu Youren couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief, thinking that with this army, at least Wuzhou City would be safe, and he hoped that He Xiwen's men would retreat in the face of difficulties.
Ever since the Northern Navy captured Bobai and quickly captured Yulin Mansion, Wuzhou Magistrate Hu Youren has never had a good night's sleep. Although he has never faced the Northern Navy directly, who among the Manchu and Qing officials in the world is not afraid of them?
Although Wuzhou is located in a remote area of Guangxi, it is located at the intersection of the Xunjiang and Guijiang water systems, with developed shipping and business travel from all directions. It is very well-informed. News from Guangzhou can be known here within a month.
Speaking of the prosperity of Wuzhou's commerce in the Qing Dynasty, only one example can be used to illustrate it.
The Qing court divided the hierarchy of state capitals around the world based on "vacancy". That is to say, on the basis of "rush, complexity, fatigue, and difficulty", four levels are derived: the most essential, the essential, the medium, and the simple. Among the one hundred and eighty-three state capitals in the pass, there are five most urgent vacancies - super fat vacancies, which are coveted by countless fourth-rank officials. If you can serve as an official, you can basically make up for the shortfall you suffered when you were an official before, and your life will be richer, so that your family will no longer have to worry about money.
The five most important shortages are Kuizhou in Sichuan, Guangzhou and Chaozhou in Guangdong, and Xunzhou and Wuzhou in Guangxi. Among them, the annual income of the prefect of Kuizhou, Sichuan, in addition to his salary, is as high as 200,000 taels of silver, and that of the four prefectures of Guang, Chao, Xun, and Wu is more than 100,000 taels of silver per year.
Yes, you read that right, there is no one in Jiangnan, which is known as the blessed land. The reason for this situation is that the above-mentioned five prefectures all guard the throat of waterways, and whether it is eastern Sichuan or Guangdong and Guangxi, land transportation is so poor that business travelers can only take waterways. The same cannot be said for Jiangnan. The rivers are criss-crossed like a network, and no government can control all water systems.
Because they have high profits that are unmatched by other states and counties, the five most fertile prefects have always been elected for two years. When the time comes, they will be replaced and will never be given a chance to be re-elected. Anyone who dares to break the rules and seek re-election will be punished by all the officials of the fourth rank.
Hu Youren was so heartbroken. In order to get this position the year before last, he had given He Shen one hundred thousand taels. He borrowed almost half of this money from people who lent money to Beijing. As the saying goes, three years to become a magistrate would cost one hundred thousand snowflakes. He could earn this amount by staying in Wuzhou for one year.
In order to make enough money while in office and to firmly control taxation, he brought more than 200 domestic slaves when he took office. The daily consumption of horse chews was a huge sum of money. After a year of busy work, I finally paid back the previous loan. Seeing that all the money in the future would be my own, the Beihai Navy came.
Although the main battlefield between the Beihai Navy and the Manchu Qing Dynasty has been outside the Pass in recent years, don't forget that there is still a problem in Jiaodong. As a result, some governance methods and policies of Beihai Town gradually became known to officials from all over the Qing Dynasty.
Things like abolition of slaves, reduction of commercial taxes, state and county officials having no other income besides regular salaries, organizing peasant associations in each township, land reform, etc., all of these things made the Manchu bureaucracy unable to do anything. accept. It is said that taking someone's money is like killing one's parents. Hu Youren was determined to defend Wuzhou for the sake of money.
Hmm. I can't say I can't beat him.
As the Heilou ship got closer and closer, the bright yellow flag on the ship became more and more conspicuous. Under the bright sun, the words on it were clearly visible: Bachelor of the Imperial Cabinet, Taibao of the Crown Prince, Minister of the Ministry of War, Zhu, Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi and Governor of Guangdong.
Hu Youren hurriedly ordered the cannons to be fired to play music. In an instant, three cannons exploded in succession, white smoke curled up, and drum music followed closely.
When the official ship approached, a general on the deck had already lifted the door curtain, and saw an official with gray beard slowly walking out of the cabin. This person is not tall, with a round face that looks very blessed, and a foot-long beard under his chin. He is wearing an azure official uniform with crane patchwork, a yellow mandarin jacket, and a red robe hanging from the top. Eyes with peacock feathers.
He is Zhu Gui and Zhu Shijun, known as the "Emperor's Master" and currently serving as the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.
Well, let us welcome the youngest super academic to enter the Jinshi since the Qing Dynasty, croak croak croak!
It is said that Zhu Gui is a super academic because he was admitted as a scholar at a young age. He passed the imperial examination at the age of 17 and became a Jinshi at the age of 18, which attracted the attention of scholars all over the world. In the history of another time and space, if the Daoguang Dynasty had not produced an even more outstanding academic master named Lin, who was admitted as a scholar at the age of 9 and a Jinshi at the age of 15, Zhu Gui would definitely be in the top spot.
What are you thinking! Not Lin Zexu. The man's name was Lin Tingxi, who was from the same hometown as Lin Zexu.
In the forty-fifth year of Qianlong's reign, the 49-year-old Zhu Gui left Beijing to serve as an academic administrator in Fujian and has been traveling in the south. In the following ten years, he and Yongyan continued to exchange letters. Although they were thousands of miles apart, their friendship did not diminish at all. Among the study masters such as Xie Yong, Feng Kuan, Zhu Gui, Wang Jie, Liu Yong, etc., Yong Yan and Zhu Gui have the best relationship.
Why did Heshen in history prevent Zhu Gui from entering Beijing after Jiaqing succeeded to the throne? He was not afraid of Wang Jie or Dong Gao. What he was most worried about was Zhu Gui returning to Beijing. The latter has worked from the central government to the local areas, from academic administration to administrative envoys, administrative envoys, governors and even governors. They have so much experience in political struggles! When the time comes to join forces with Jiaqing as master and apprentice, I'm afraid it will be impossible for him to want to be the "Second Emperor" again.
As for Wang Erlie, who is well known to many people, the relationship is just average, not as good as what was said in the "Legend of Muyu Stone". Otherwise, Jiaqing would not be able to check Wang Erlie's luggage when he retires.
You must know that the second most lucrative position among governors in the world is Guangdong and Guangxi. The money received every year is only 300,000 taels, and Zhu Gui is exactly the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. Taking this kind of money has nothing to do with whether you are honest or not. If you sit in this position and you have so much income, whoever dares not to take it is breaking the rules.
Ordinarily, as Jiaqing's most valued imperial master, Zhu Gui should have gone to the capital at this time, been promoted to bachelor, and joined the military aircraft department. As soon as the mourning period came out in Jiaqing, Zhu Gui was summoned to Beijing. However, as luck would have it, He Xiwen led his troops to land in Lianzhou before the imperial edict reached Guangzhou.
In recent years, there has been no good candidate for the position of governor of Guangdong and Guangxi since Li Shijie's death. For several years before, the governor of Guangdong, Guo Shixun, held the concurrent position. Last year, Guo Shixun was seriously ill and was about to die. After receiving the memorial, Qianlong thought about it and asked Zhu Gui, who was the governor of Anhui, to go to Guangdong to serve as governor and governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.
Even though Zhu Gui had never led troops to fight in a war, what Qianlong wanted was his reputation for serving the people with integrity and honesty, and to stabilize the situation in Guangdong and Guangxi through team training. In recent years, the Qing court has suffered successive defeats in the north, and those dormant Tiandihui elements and White Lotus cultists among the people are also ready to make a move.
Zhu Gui knew very well that if he went to Beijing without hesitation, the training regiments from all over the country would be leaderless, Guangdong and Guangxi would inevitably become a mess, and the Guangdong Customs, the emperor's money bag, might not be safe. Guangzhou General Fuchang is a loser, and the Eight Banners Soldiers and the Green Battalion are even more useless. If they want to withstand the offensive of the North Navy, in addition to supervising and raising bids, they can only rely on team training.
So he immediately sent an urgent memorial to Jiaqing, stating the emergency situation in Guangdong and Guangxi, and asked to stay in office temporarily. He had been waiting in Zhaoqing for those days, waiting for the regiment training army from eastern Guangdong to join up.
It is said that since Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng drove the Thunder God to repel the Qing army's attack and bombarded the Xiangshan Association, Sun Shiyi, the then governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, reported to Qianlong, requesting to recruit young people from the gentry and people in the counties of the Pearl River Delta to form rural warriors. Resist Beihai Town's attack from the sea. At first Qianlong did not agree, fearing that it would be difficult to control once the breach was opened, but after Zhao Xin led more than a dozen people to turn half of Guangzhou upside down, large-scale formation of a regiment was imminent.
No way, Guangzhou's Eight Banners and Green Camp are really unreliable, but Guangdong's team training actually has a foundation and is relatively easier to operate than other regions.
Since the early years of Yongzheng's reign, with the economic development in the counties of the Pearl River Delta, the problem of land shortage has become increasingly serious. The local gentry and people had no choice but to compete with water for land and build fields from sand, causing the area of shatian to increase dramatically. In the process of reclaiming Sha Tin, politics, economy, and force are all indispensable, otherwise it will be seized by others in a matter of minutes; and when Sha Tin is reclaimed, self-defense force must be retained, otherwise the harvest will not be preserved.
Although the Beihai Navy looks down upon these sand fields and harvests and will not rob them at all, the common people don't know. Under the vigorous propaganda of the Manchu and Qing government, Beihai pirates were more vicious than pirates, and Zhao Xin's name could even make children stop crying.
After Li Shijie took office, he worked hard to accomplish the most important thing and established the "Team Training Convention" in Xiangshan, Shunde, Xinhui, Dongguan, Panyu and Nanhai. During his tenure, Guo Shixun expanded it to Zhaoqing Prefecture, Huizhou Prefecture and Chaozhou Prefecture.
To put it simply, the content of the "Team Training Convention" is that each township draws funds according to the land, eighty cents per mu of land per year, half of which will be paid by the owner and tenant, and will be paid twice a year, which will be used to recruit and train brave men; Water booms, artillery piers and blockhouses were set up at the passes, muskets and artillery and other equipment were built, and civilian ships were hired; the "professors" of each township were appointed by those who had good conduct and were convinced by everyone.
After the formation of the regiment training in each township is completed, the Guangdong governor's yamen will send special personnel to conduct a review together with the Bingbei Road yamen and the yamen of various prefectures and counties. After confirmation, a "bandit-attacking Baoliang stamp" will be issued to allow the formation of the regiment. If the Northern Navy invades on a large scale or there is banditry in the area, the commanders will be ordered to fortify the walls and clear the country, and at the same time assemble the troops to train and go out to fight. The Governor-General's Office of Guangdong and Guangdong and the Governor's Office of Guangdong will distribute food and rewards during regiment training, dispatching troops and fighting, and award sixth-grade titles to meritorious squires.
In the past few years after the establishment of the regiment, although the Northern Navy did not come, small groups of South China pirates still invaded the inland. Ever since Deng Fei and Wang Yuanfang led their troops to eliminate Mo Guanfu and Chen Tianbao, and occupied Hoi An and Citrus Ao, the small group of pirates in the South China Sea were frightened. They did not dare to provoke them even if their heads were squeezed by the door. . Comparing the two, some people felt that it was safer to plunder coastal ships and towns.
However, what this group of crazy-poor pirates didn't expect was that as soon as they entered the inland, the league coaches from all over the country rang the gongs and bells to call the police. Then the league coaches from each township contacted each other and went out to fight bravely with the bonus from the government, beating the pirates. They couldn't even get off the boat, let alone go ashore to resupply. Over the past few years, the bandits off the coast and inland rivers of Guangdong have disappeared and been completely eliminated.
When Zhu Gui walked off the gangplank, Hu Youren immediately took off his horseshoe sleeves and led everyone present to perform the courtesy of a subordinate meeting his superior. His tone was both respectful and a little excited: "Hu Youren, a humble employee." , lead Wuzhou civil and military officials to pay homage to the Taiwanese Master!"
"Brother Hu, please get up! Everyone, please get up!" Zhu Gui smiled, raised his hands for support, and then said with a fist to the officials and gentry who were welcoming him: "Except for the Supervisor and Biao Department, the people who came with me this time, There are also four thousand regiments from various townships in Zhaoqing Prefecture and Guangzhou Prefecture. If there is any disturbance, please take it for my own sake and don't take offense."
"Don't you dare! What you said about making a platform is too outrageous."
"Zhi Tai personally led a large army this time to save our 40,000 people in Wuzhou from fire and water. How can we call it a nuisance?"
"Exactly, Guangdong and Guangxi are all one family. As the saying goes, one family does not speak the same language."
"Shi Jungong is famous far and wide. To see him today is enough for a lifetime's wish!"
The officials and gentry present had heard of Zhu Gui's name for a long time, and when they saw his sincere words and lack of arrogance, they all admired him. No problem, the governor's reputation was too great. When he met him, he was three points shorter than him, so he unconsciously put him in a superior position.
Zhu Gui smiled and remained calm, and then introduced several civil and military officials who had accompanied him to Wuzhou to everyone present. Among them are the chief military officer of Zuizui Town who is in charge of regiment training affairs, Guangzhao Luofen Patrol Road who is in charge of supervision and food and salary affairs, the deputy general of the Chinese Army who supervises the central battalion, the deputy general of Zhaoqing Association, and the staff general of Zhaoqing Naval Battalion.
After the welcoming ceremony, Zhu Gui declined the banquet at the reception hall and directly got on the eight-carriage sedan to the Wuzhou government office. After freshening up and changing clothes, he went to the custody room to talk to Hu Youren. He came up without any nonsense and directly asked about the donation situation of the Wuzhou gentry.
Nowadays, the Qing government's treasury is empty, and the money in the Guangdong vassal treasury is far from enough. The troops and horses have not moved, the food and grass have gone first, and there is no money to reward, who will sacrifice their lives for you?
There is no shortage of food in Guangdong and Guangxi, and the autumn harvest has just passed, and the grain stocks in various warehouses are sufficient, but the lack of money makes Zhu Gui very worried. Guangdong Customs did have money, and the Thirteenth Bank and businessmen in Guangzhou City also donated hundreds of thousands of taels, but that was for Guangdong, and there was no reason to use it in Guangxi.
Hu Youren wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a look of shame on his face: "Reporting to Zhitai, I sent a donation letter to several big business houses and gentry in the city five days ago, and now I have received a total of thirty thousand taels."
"Only 30,000?" Before Hu Youren could finish, Zhu Gui's face darkened and he interrupted: "It's too far behind. This production station brought 5,000 soldiers and 300 warships. How can this little money be enough?" ? I heard that the richest man in Wuzhou is named Huang Genyun, known as Huang Wanwan. How much has he donated?"
"Eight thousand taels."
"It's ridiculous. If the North Sea Pirates attack Wuzhou, will Huang Baiwan use millions of his family's wealth to honor Zhao Ni?" Zhu Gui thought that he must capture Huang Baiwan. As long as this person takes the lead, it is not difficult to pay hundreds of thousands taels of silver. get.
As soon as these heart-wrenching words came out, Hu Youren hurriedly explained: "To make the platform, Huang Genyun said that he could donate more money, but he had a small request, but he didn't dare to agree to it because of his humble position."
"What does he want?" Zhu Gui's eyes became sharper and sharper, making Hu Youren feel like a thorn in his back.
"Huang Genyun told him that he would like to ask the editor to write a congratulatory article for his father's Xiangxian Temple. To this end, he is willing to donate fifty thousand taels."
Cunning! Zhu Gui cursed in his heart. He had heard about the Huang family in Wuzhou for a long time. Their business extended to Nanning in the west and Guangzhou in the east. The family also opened several pawnshops. It would be too stingy to donate 50,000 yuan while it was at least three to five million yuan.
Hu Youren saw Zhu Gui's displeasure, so he said: "Huang Genyun's donation of 50,000 yuan is a bit too little, but as long as he takes the lead, other gentry and businessmen will donate more, and together, it should not be less than 100,000 yuan. But they all hope The imperial court can reward them."
"That's natural. I will inform the emperor afterwards and invite rewards for them."
Zhu Gui nodded and said. An article can be exchanged for 100,000 silver. Although it requires some risks, there is no other way at the moment. Afterwards, he asked Hu Youren about the situation of the Xian Temple in Huang's hometown.
Why did the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi come to Wuzhou? Coincidentally, he had the same idea as He Xiwen and planned to play a trick. It's just that He Xiwen was bluffing and taking advantage of the Mid-Autumn Festival to launch a sneak attack from thousands of miles away, but Zhu Gui had other plans.
In fact, after learning that the Northern Navy landed in Lianzhou and then attacked Yulinzhou, Zhu Gui guessed that He Xiwen must not have come to attack Guangdong, but to attack Nanning.
Why? Because Zhu Gui knew the inside story of He Shen's defection, Jiaqing made it clear in the secret letter summoning him to return to Beijing. As a political rival for many years, Zhu Gui knew He Shen's character very well, and he knew that the other party would never give up on He Lin. Nowadays, there are dense spies on the land and water roads from north to south, all looking for traces of Heshen. If the latter wants to go to Yunnan to join his brother, the nearest way is to go to Guangxi.
So when the Northern Navy landed from Lianzhou, they did not attack Qinzhou, which was close to the left, and Leizhou on the right, but went straight to Yulinzhou. Zhu Gui immediately understood what was going on, so he dared to take Supervisor Biao and The regiment training in eastern Guangdong left Zhaoqing, preparing to come to He Xiwen to buy time for Fukang'an in Sichuan.
However, Zhu Gui would definitely not dare to fight the Northern Navy face to face with gongs and drums. His plan is to take advantage of Xunjiang's unique climate, specifically the fog.
It is said that the terrain of Guangxi is high in the west and north, and low in the middle, east and south. It looks like a basin with gaps on both sides of the southeast. After the cold air blowing from the South China Sea enters the warm and humid Guizhong Basin, it will quickly condense into water vapor, causing either rain or heavy fog.
Of course, the people of the Qing Dynasty in the 18th century definitely didn't understand this, but the experienced sailors on the Xunjiang and Pearl Rivers would know it if they asked someone.
In addition, when Zhu Gui set out from Zhaoqing, he had already sent an order to Guangxi Admiral Peng Chengyao, who was in Xunzhou, to block the Northern Navy in Xunzhou Mansion.
1. Ouyang Zhaoxiong in the late Qing Dynasty specifically mentioned in his book "Dream Talking in the Water Window": "The governors in Liangjiang are the most powerful, with 300,000 a year, followed by Guangdong, Guangxi, and Sichuan. In Guangdong and Guangxi, both have more than 100,000. , Zhejiang only has 60,000, while Sichuan, Shaanxi, Shandong, and Shanxi have the most Pingyu, and Di and Dingju are also..." Second, Lin Tingxi and Lin Zexu are just from the same hometown, not related. In 1856 (the sixth year of Xianfeng), Du Wenxiu of Yunnan rebelled and led the Hui people to attack Dali City. Lin Tingxi, then in charge of Yixidao, died in the rebellion at the age of 39.
(End of chapter)
