Chapter 306 The status of Shanghai Bund, Luo Xueyan’s suggestion (please vote, please order)
In Shanghai, everything seems to have been peaceful since the fight between the Catholic Church and the foreign Catholic Church and the London Missionary Society. There was no big commotion in the subsequent court proceedings, and there was not even a quarrel.
Without much relief, there was a verdict that was quite satisfactory in all aspects, except for Zhao Fangji, who was "reincarnated in Jerusalem."
In fact, it is difficult to distinguish right from wrong when it comes to sectarian conflicts - how can one distinguish right from wrong with two groups of dancing masters who are so good at dancing that they start fighting? Unless the people in power want to end up themselves, otherwise they will just settle the matter. In the end
Whoever has the big fists will have the most people, and whoever has the loudest voice will take advantage.
Of course, the number of people means that there are many people who can stand up, not that there are many people who are silent!
But in this Shanghai teaching case, the God Worshipers did have a lot of people, they were good at fighting, and their voices were loud! They really managed to convince people with reason, whether it was theory or physics, Hong Xiuquan could convince people.
The Cao Gang thugs hired by the North London Missionary Society and their own parishioners fled in the face of dozens of Taiping Army soldiers who were killed in a mountain of corpses and blood, and then were attacked by the Red Gang sent by Xu Yuegui.
The thugs sent many people down to the Huangpu River to plant lotus flowers, and they also scanned the Caogang forces in Shanghai.
In this case, even if the officialdom of Shanghai is not in the hands of Luo Yaoguo, as long as there is another official who does not want to get involved too deeply, he will take a calm stance and settle the matter. Therefore, the London Missionary School suffered a loss in the sectarian conflict.
The Church and the Catholic Church had no choice but to admit defeat.
Moreover, the God-worshipping religion is also branded as a "foreign religion." If we look closely, it seems that those who belong to the True Covenant sect of Christianity would only be able to defeat the Roman Church and the Anglican Church even if they were replaced by serious Qing officials.
It can smooth things over.
What does the internal strife among your "foreign religions" have to do with the Qing Dynasty?
As for Zhao Fangji, who was stabbed in the British, French, and American embassies, he is Italian after all. Oh, and his nationality is the Austrian Empire, the country ruled by Princess Sissi and her husband.
Britain, France, and the United States have no reason to stand up for the Austrian Empire!
Moreover, why Zhao Fangji died and who killed him, Wenxian, Bulbulon, and Marsali all knew it well.
This matter cannot be investigated or discussed, it can only be settled.
The series of measures used by Luo Xueyan to secure the position of commander-in-chief of the first district, six counties and one office of Shanghai through this lesson plan also received the support or at least the tacit approval of the representatives of the three imperialist interests in China, Britain, France and the United States.
After all, the performance of the God-worshipping religion in the Shanghai religious case also showed them that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was really difficult to deal with - it was the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom blessed by the "Prophet of Mass Destruction"!
Although this "prophet of mass destruction" is unlikely to help the Taiping Rebellion defeat a superpower like the British Empire, he can help France, the United States, and Russia defeat the British Empire.
With such a factor, the principle of "unity of great powers" no longer exists.
Since the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is difficult to deal with, let Luo Xueyan handle it! As long as he can maintain Shanghai's current "free market" status, businessmen from Britain, France, and the United States can have a safe and bold relationship with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Qing Dynasty.
Just make the sale.
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom seems to have the same meaning.
Before the Shanghai teaching case occurred, news spread on Shanghai Beach that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom wanted to make Luo Xueyan the governor of Shanghai!
After the Shanghai Mission Case, the Shanghai Governor's Office published an announcement in the Shanghai Times, announcing that Shanghai Governor Luo Xueyan would concurrently serve as the Shanghai Governor of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom from now on!
This is a situation where one person works two jobs (actually three jobs). He is the Shanghai governor of the Qing Dynasty and the Shanghai governor of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
This announcement also stated that from now on, the former Shanghai County, Jiading County, Nanhui County, Fengxian County, Chongming County, Baoshan County and Chuansha Ting will all be under the jurisdiction of the Shanghai Governor's Office!
In addition, Luo Xueyan also announced at the first Shanghai Consultative Council, which was composed of representatives recommended by the gentry of the first district, six counties and one hall, that he would immediately levy a "city wall tax" based on land and real estate.
Taxes collected within the prefecture's jurisdiction were used to build the inner and outer city walls to protect the tranquility of Shanghai.
The outer wall is a "wooden wall" built on a natural river, that is, a wooden fence. Small bastions will also be built at key intersections, bridgeheads, and river mouths to strengthen defense.
The inner wall is a "big triangle" city wall built based on the Suzhou River and Huangpu River. Along the Suzhou River and Huangpu River are embankments and dock gates that can be closed at any time. On the other side, there is a wall from Caohejing.
A sixteen-mile-long brick wall stretches northwest from the town to the intersection of Suzhou River and Xinjing River.
At the same time, except for part of Shanghai's Jiangguan Customs tax revenue, which was provided to the Tianjing court of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and paid for the expenses of the Governor's Office and the Five Ministers of Commerce's Yamen, the rest was earmarked for the purpose of running the new army and the navy!
The Shanghai New Army will expand to one division, and the number of troops will increase to 12,500!
In addition, each county and department under the jurisdiction of the Governor's Office will organize another group training. The number of people will depend on the situation of each county and department, ranging from three thousand to two thousand.
The Shanghai Navy will initially rent ships and hire sailors from Britain, the United States, and France as a "quick fix". In the future, it will try to build its own or raise funds to purchase ships. At the same time, it will also open a naval school to train naval officers and soldiers.
In short, a separatist situation emerged in Shanghai with more than enough self-preservation and insufficient progress.
But everyone understands that Shanghai’s current status is just a temporary measure and cannot be maintained forever.
At a shipping dock on the Huangpu River, a paddle-wheel clipper with a Union Jack flag was whining. Seeing that the boiler had been boiled, it was about to pull anchor and set sail.
Outside the pier, the area was heavily guarded. They were all New Army soldiers in blue and gray military uniforms, holding rifles with bayonets in their hands, as if no strangers were allowed to enter.
On the pier, there were only a few people.
Luo Xueyan, the governor of Shanghai, was rarely seen wearing the official uniform of the second rank of the Qing Dynasty. He wore a top-band on his forehead, but the braid on the back of his head was gone. He was holding Prince Gong's hand and talking in a low voice.
However, the two entourages were clearly separated and stood far apart. Most of them looked at each other strangely. Only Xu Yuegui and an unshaven Taoist priest on the other side of Prince Gong were looking at each other.
Prince Gong's face was not very good-looking. Although he had served his country well this time, he had to bear the blame for the defeat of Jiangnan and Jiangbei. He originally wanted to be a general, but he was frightened by a hot air balloon and ran away - he After running to Shanghai, I had already inquired with the foreigners and found out that the red ball flying in the sky in northern Jiangsu was a hot air balloon invented by the foreigners and placed on the battlefield for reconnaissance.
He guessed that the demon from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom might have descended from the sky in a hot air balloon.
He was a little envious of Luo Xueyan when he thought that he, a senior prince, was actually scared out of his wits by a balloon, and how he might be ridiculed after returning to the capital.
After all, they have an army and territory!
Look at this meaning, I will not lose my position as a prince in the future!
At this time, the whistle of the British paddle-wheel sailing ship sounded over and over again, and the gangplank was lowered. It was time for Prince Gong to board the ship and leave.
"Xue Yan," Prince Gong looked at the young man with a prosperous official career in front of him and said with a bitter smile, "How are you going to explain to the emperor? The emperor treats you well!"
Luo Xueyan smiled slightly, took out a yellow paper box with folds, and handed it to Prince Gong with both hands: "The prince has no choice but to submit his official title to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, so that he can at least separate Shanghai for the future. This is the fold I gave to the emperor. Please take it to Long Live Lord!
In addition, I have another suggestion for the foreign affairs that the prince is running. I wonder if the prince would like to hear it?"
"What suggestions?" Prince Gong asked.
Luo Xueyan said: "Didn't the prince promise the British to open the northern ports?"
"How?" Prince Gong asked, "Are you opposed?"
"No, I don't object." Luo Xueyan said, "If I guess correctly, Tianjin must be included in the development, right?"
Prince Gong nodded: "That's for sure."
"What other ports are there?" Luo Xueyan asked.
"It's not decided yet!"
"Then can I suggest opening two ports?"
"Where do you want to open?" Prince Gong asked with some vigilance.
"One is Busan and the other is Vladivostok." Luo Xueyan said, "Your Majesty, these are the only two. No matter where the British want, you can just add these two ports. You can't go wrong."
"Busan? From North Korea?" Prince Gong was stunned.
"Yes!" Luo Xueyan nodded.
"Vladivostok is"
"In Ningguta," Luo Xueyan said, "that is the jurisdiction of the deputy capital of Ningguta. It is close to the Sea of ​​Japan and is the best port in the outer Northeast!"
Chapter completed!