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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 265: Special Economic Zone

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    Looking at the endless flow of the Yangtze River in the distance, Xiao Yungui sighed softly, recalling the scene when Zuo Zongtang and Qian Jiang gave him advice on the night he returned to Suzhou

    After seeing off the fleet going south that day, Xiao Yungui and Hong Yun'er stayed in Shanghai for another two days, mainly discussing some details of building the railway. Although the railway from Shanghai to Suzhou is not long, it may occupy people along the way.  fields, houses, etc.  The engineers and exploration team dispatched by Jardine Matheson are already on the way. The specific construction route will not be determined until these professionals arrive in Shanghai for on-site survey. However, Xiao Yungui still explained some details that need attention to Wang Kaiyun, Wei Helin, Zhu Changlin and others.  .

    The resistance to the construction of railways from all aspects in this era is still very huge. For the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, although there is no interference from the conservative forces within itself like the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the fear of this new thing among the people will bring resistance to the construction of railways.  .  At this time, people were superstitious about ghosts, gods, and feng shui. When building a railway, some people thought it was locking the earth or disturbing someone's feng shui. Once the people resisted this new thing, it might lead to civil unrest.

    When explaining to Wang Kaiyun and others, Xiao Yungui set the tone. The railway must be built no matter what, but before the construction, the routes surveyed by foreigners may involve violations of civil rights, and they must be prepared in advance.  Of the policy.  For example, if a field is occupied, the Military and Administrative Department of Shanghai will be responsible for finding a field that can be replaced. If a civilian house is occupied, the Military and Administrative Department will pay for the demolition. If a cemetery is occupied, someone will be sent to find another geomantic treasure land for relocation, and the Military and Administrative Department will be responsible for the expenses.  etc.

    In addition, Xiao Yungui also asked Wang Libin to start the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's first newspaper. In this era, it was necessary to have its own public opinion weapons to occupy the moral high ground. This newspaper was named "Southern Jiangsu Times" and was published every seven days.  Journal.  Later, in the Taiping Army, this newspaper was also called a weekly.

    Wang Libin also founded a newspaper in history. Xiao Yungui naturally asked him to be responsible for running the newspaper. Later, it became the Xidian Propaganda Department, with Wang Libin as the director and the same position as the chief executive.  After taking up the post of Publicity Department, Wang Libin seemed to be reborn. He changed his name to Wang Tao and devoted himself wholeheartedly to his journalism career.  Unlike the imperial edict office, the Publicity Department was more responsible for the release of external news and newspapers and public opinion control of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, while the imperial edict office was responsible for the collection and collection of various ancient books.  The issuance of various official customized books, manuals, and regulations.  The imperial edict office was originally in charge of Hong Yuner, but was later handed over to Li Xuanji and Fu Shanxiang.

    With the Publicity Department and "Southern Jiangsu Times", Xiao Yungui asked Wang Tao to publicize the benefits of building railways in newspapers intentionally or unintentionally. At the same time, newspapers also did more propaganda about Han culture to attack the foundation of Manchu rule.

    After explaining the railway and newspaper matters.  Xiao Yungui received an edict from the King of Heaven. The last edict was from the King of the East.  This time it was the King of Heaven who came to urge the King of the West to return to the capital.  Last time, Xiao Yungui delayed the battle on the grounds that the war in Ningbo was tense. This time, the battle report of the Ningbo victory had been sent to Tianjing. He could not delay any longer, so he, Hong Yuner, Li Xuanji, Qian Jiang, Tang Erniu and Qian  Yu Jingrui, the counselor of the West Palace, went to Suzhou.  Xiao Yungui asked Wang Kaiyun to take Xu Shou, Hua Hengfang and others to discuss and deal with the remaining telegraph, arsenal, and shipyard matters. If the matter was not decided, it could be reported to the Xiwang tribunal.

    Xu Shou and Hua Hengfang were recommended by Li Shanlan.  Xiao Yungui and Hong Yun'er also knew their names in history. They were most suitable to assist Wang Kaiyun in handling Shanghai's foreign affairs. They also held important positions in the Military and Political Department, with the same title.

    After spending two days returning to Suzhou.  The epidemic in Suzhou has completely subsided. With the efforts of Zuo Zongtang and others, Suzhou has gradually returned to its former prosperity.  After returning to Suzhou, Hong Yun'er took Li Xuanji to find Clifford. Clifford's status was special, and it was not known that he might be able to get support from the United Kingdom through him. So after the couple discussed it, Hong Yun'er decided  Take action personally to continue to win over Clifford.

    Xiao Yungui introduced Qian Jiang to Zuo Zongtang, and then talked about governance together. Zuo Zongtang showed Xiao Yungui and Qian Jiang the official policy document "Regulations on Treating the People" sent by Tianjing. The edict from Tianjing  All localities were required to implement this, but Zuo Zongtang felt that there were too many absurdities and did not implement it. Zuo Zongtang also locked the edict and regulations in a cupboard and slept.

    After reading it, Qian Jiang first said: "His Royal Highness the King of the West, by doing this, the King of Heaven is turning all the private property in the world into public property and turning it into the property of his family. Such perverse actions are destroying people's wealth and are no different from killing their parents."  , If we really carry out governance in this way, the kingdom of heaven will not be able to last long."

    Zuo Zongtang joined the Taiping Army earlier than Qian Jiang, and he knew what the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was pursuing. He coughed lightly and said, "Mr. Qian's words are too strong, but his words are not unreasonable. Your Highness the King of the West, the Heavenly Kingdom is raising troops."  Since ancient times, the banner has been to equalize land and share wealth. Those who have always raised up revolts have always raised such a banner in order to call on the people of the world to become vassals.?Human nature is self-interested, and everything in the world is for profit. Absolute fairness can never appear.  In the past, we were fighting all over the place without establishing a base. It was necessary to centralize all manpower and material resources and distribute them uniformly. But now that we have our own territory, we cannot manage it this way.  "

    Xiao Yungui raised his hand to stop the two of them from talking and said: "I understand what you two said. Prime Minister Zuo did a good job and did not follow Tianjing's decree, otherwise there would be big trouble. Not to mention Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou are among the two states.  How many merchants are there in this area, and how many handicraft workshops and shops are there? If we really have to do things according to the rules of heaven, wouldn't it mean that the merchants' trade routes will be cut off?" At this point, Xiao Yungui stood up and looked at the huge candle in the room and sneered.  : "The capital and profit of buying and selling in the shop are all the capital and profit of the Heavenly King, and the common people are not allowed to use it What is the reason for this?"

    Zuo Zongtang nodded and said: "That's right, but the King of the West has to think more deeply. We can still fool this matter in secret, but you, the King of the West, will go to Beijing to report on your duties soon. Tianjing is here  We must have spies here. What should I do if the King of Heaven and the King of the East use this as an excuse to ask the King of the West why he does not respect the decrees of the Kingdom of Heaven? I am worried about more than that."

    Xiao Yungui said with a gloomy face: "They can't see the general trend, so I will go it alone. Anyway, I can't go to the road of death with them. Now that Sunan has fallen, I have more than 100,000 troops in my hands, am I still afraid of them?"

    Zuo Zongtang glanced at Qian Jiang. Qian Jiang stroked his goatee under his chin and pondered for a moment: "The King of the West. I understand what Zuo is really worried about. Now, although the King of the West has led his troops to take down Sunan, he has nothing to lose."  To be prosperous, it takes time to establish a firm foothold. Secondly, southern Jiangsu and Shanghai were important tax areas for the Qing government. After the fall of Nanjing, water transportation to the south of the Yangtze River was cut off. The Qing government originally thought that there would still be sea transportation and water transportation from Shanghai, but  Shanghai was also captured, and the water supply in Jiangnan was completely cut off by us. The Qing government will definitely take back Southern Jiangsu at all costs. If we fall out with Tianjing at this time, then the West Palace will have to face the pressure of the Qing government alone, and the gain will not be worth the loss.  . Thirdly, although most of the West Palace Army were soldiers from Hunan, Huizhou, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, most of the elite backbones were the old brothers of the Western King in Guangxi. At this time, the Western King and Tianjing fell out due to political disagreements, and in the name of justice  We cannot have the upper hand. There is no guarantee that the old brothers who lead the troops will not become suspicious. In the future, there will be internal worries when the armies meet. At this time, the time to fall out with Tianjing is far away."

    Xiao Yungui was stunned for a moment, slowly sat down, put his chin with one hand and began to think.  Zuo Zongtang continued: "Mr. Qian is worthy of being a famous scholar in Guangdong. It can be said in one word. King Xi, the general situation of the world is still unclear. Although the soldiers in Tianjing are not as elite as mine, they are a thorn in the side of the Manchus."  We, because we occupy this sacred land in southern Jiangsu, if Tianjing does not come forward to support us, it will be difficult for us to deal with the Manchus. If the King of the West wants to replace him in the future, he must temporarily tolerate it. This time he returns to Tianjing.  We can persuade Tianjing to send troops to Huaisi and cross the Yangtze River to attract Qing troops."

    Qian Jiang added: "Yes, although the Tianjing government decree is absurd and unruly, we are not irreversible. My subordinates believe that when the King of the West returns to the capital this time, he should persuade the King of Heaven and the King of the East to take back his life. Even if he cannot take back his life, he must promise a huge profit.  Asking Tianjing to grant permission to the West Palace does not respect this decree. And if Tianjing can be persuaded to send troops to Jiangbei, that would be the best situation."

    Xiao Yungui said with a sigh: "Yeah, there are people in front of us, and we can make a fortune in the back. How great. Well, we can set up a special economic zone and strive for southern Jiangsu to be a special economic zone. We don't have to follow Tianjing's laws.  Seeing that Zuo and Qian did not understand the special economic zones, Xiao Yungui explained with a smile: "The so-called special economic zones mean special areas. Our southern Jiangsu and Shanghai have prosperous industry and commerce, which is very different from the mainland. I can do this."  As an excuse to report to the King of Heaven and King of the East, requesting the establishment of the Southern Jiangsu Special Economic Zone, all laws within the special zone can be implemented without regard to Tianjing's regulations, and it has great autonomy."

    Zuo Zongtang nodded and said: "This method is very good, but if Tianjing agrees to such a request, I'm afraid it will have to pay a certain price."

    Xiao Yungui chuckled and said: "Yes, the price must be paid. I plan to promise Tianjing that Sunan will pay one million taels of silver to Tianjing every year as a profit in exchange for Tianjing's independence.  Quan, what do you two think?"

    Zuo Zongtang frowned slightly and said, "Sunan is a privileged place. I only pay one million taels for fear that I won't be able to get through."

    Qian Jiang smiled evilly and said: "The price offered by Xiwang is good. As the saying goes, asking for a high price and paying it back on the ground, we can't raise it too high all at once."

    Zuo Zongtang hummed and said, "That's right, but the King of the West must have his own account in mind, and where is the bottom line before he can bargain."

    Xiao Yungui said with a smile: "This time to rectify the Shanghai tariff, I think this year the Shanghai Customs tariff alone will bring in two to three million silver, not counting the tariff in Ningbo, plus the money and grain paid in other places.  As for taxes, even if Tianjing requires me to pay three million taels per year, I can still bear them."

    Zuo ZongTang was surprised and said: "How much can the customs tariff be? I heard that in the past, the Qing government received only a few hundred thousand taels of tax money from Jianghai Customs every year."

    Xiao Yungui said with a faint smile: "The Qing court is self-inflicted. It does not know the benefits of trade taxation. In addition, there are so many corrupt officials under its control, so its income is bleak. But since the Qing court's income was like this before, we don't need to report it to Tianjing.  Tell the truth."

    Qian Jiang said with a gloomy smile: "Yes, the Western King should be a guest here. He can learn from Liu Bei and Liu Huangshu, talk about his hardships more, and complain more. I heard that the Western King and the Eastern King are like brothers, and they are also close brothers with the Heavenly King. That's fine.  Moved by emotion."

    Zuo Zongtang chuckled and said: "Mr. Qian's words are right. Children who cry can be fed by milk. The King of the West can make a big show of it, and the guards who return to Beijing should wear tattered clothes, which makes people feel sympathy."

    Xiao Yungui smiled and then frowned and said: "It's okay for me to pretend to be pitiful, but I'm afraid that after I go to Tianjing, I will be put under house arrest and I will be in trouble if I can't come back."

    Zuo Zongtang smiled and said: "I have already thought of some good strategies for the King of the West. If Tianjing is in trouble, I can help the King of the West escape."

    Xiao Yungui was actually reluctant to go back to Tianjing, but the current situation seemed to force him to go back. He was afraid that Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing would harm him again. When he heard that Zuo Zongtang had a good plan, he immediately said with great joy: "Prime Minister Zuo  Say it quickly.¡± (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novels will be better and updated faster!
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