In the fifth year of Xianfeng, the second month of the Chinese lunar calendar, the weather had turned warm, especially in the south south of the Yangtze River, and spring plowing had begun.
From south to north, climate changes can be seen through the growth of rapeseed flowers.
Spring seems to be strolling from south to north, spreading endless energy to the earth wherever it goes.
All Huaihaijun farms now have a unified name, called "Fuxing Farm".
The name Huaihai, which carries the origin and growth of the Renaissance Army, has officially become history.
If the Huaihai Navy wants to take the helm in the name of revival, it is natural that it needs to put on a new vest.
Fuxing farms across the country took the lead in starting spring plowing. Plows pulled by ox-horses turned up the soil, revealing the dark soil underground.
Guano fertilizer is sprinkled on top of the soil, and this fertilizer can triple the harvest in the best cases.
This means that the same land can support three times the population.
China is one of the earliest regions in the world where agricultural civilization appeared, and agricultural technology has been developed for thousands of years.
But this also has a drawback. The land in many places has been cultivated for thousands of years, and the land's soil fertility is severely depleted. Just relying on the original farmyard manure will not increase the yield very much.
Therefore, in the past thousands of years, the agricultural output in China has not changed much.
The population has therefore been maintained at a relatively stable equilibrium line.
In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, with the development of overseas trade and the introduction of high-yielding crops such as corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes, the grain output in China reached a new height in the past two hundred years.
The population has also reached a new level.
However, these crops also have their own shortcomings. For example, sweet potatoes and potatoes are not easy to preserve. Corn does not taste good. Rice and wheat are the mainstream food crops.
The Agricultural Research Institute of the Fuxing Army has a set of methods for cultivating food crops. They are already trying to cultivate high-quality wheat and rice. An expedition team was sent to the south to search for high-quality wild rice seeds.
Agriculture and food issues have been a top priority for a country since ancient times, and Dong Shuheng will naturally not ignore this issue.
Fortunately, he has a large number of farms in his hands, which can be used as a carrier for the promotion of new agricultural technologies and new varieties.
This is different from the imperial village controlled by the Manchu royal family. The imperial village was nothing more than a tool for the Manchu royal family to squeeze farmers and gain profits.
Those eunuchs who manage the imperial village will not use the imperial village to develop agricultural technology.
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Jinan Prefecture is the capital of Shandong Province of the Qing Dynasty, with jurisdiction over 1 state and 15 counties: Dezhou and Licheng, Zhangqiu, Zouping, Zichuan, Changshan, Xincheng, Qihe, Qidong, Jiyang, Yucheng, and Linyi
, Changqing, Ling County, Deping, Pingyuan County.
Licheng is the seat of the Fucheng of Jinan and the seat of the governor's office of Shandong. Shandong has always had no governor.
Guizhongxing was just over 50 years old, which was the golden period of his political career. Although he was a bannerman, he did not have a profound background.
After being transferred from the prefect of Xuzhou to the governor of Shandong for his meritorious service, Guizhongxing focused his main energy on establishing a new army and suppressing bandits in the early days of his administration.
He has not made any changes to the political scene in Shandong, so he gives people a generous image.
In the third year of Xianfeng's reign, Guizhongxing established the Shandong New Army and sent it to various places to suppress bandits.
There are many thieves in Shandong, and there are bandits everywhere who dominate the mountains. The special hilly terrain makes the government powerless against these thieves and bandits.
However, the new army in Shandong was extremely powerful and never failed to suppress the bandits. In half a year, they went around Shandong and wiped out all the bandits.
With this new army as its backing, Bank of China's policy approach suddenly took a 180-degree turn.
He began to place his own people in government offices at all levels in Shandong. With the intimidation of the New Army, local officials in the prefecture and counties turned a blind eye.
Because Guizhong Bank did not touch the positions of these chief officials. The people he placed were either auxiliary officials or staff members, and these people placed were all very capable.
This also saves those grassroots county officials a lot of worry. Everyone wants to have a few people under them who can get things done.
However, this prevented them from taking bribes and bending the law, but it made such things less likely. Because there were governors' eyes in the yamen, these Manchu local officials would naturally restrain themselves.
In the third year of Xianfeng and the fourth year of Xianfeng, there were rare two years of stable life in Shandong.
In addition, Shandong's policy of encouraging immigrants has also alleviated land conflicts in Shandong.
Jinan, the capital city, is a place with beautiful scenery. It is surrounded by lush hills. There are many springs in the city. Surrounding these springs are towns and exquisite gardens.
Jinan has a tall city wall and a moat. The agate spring beside the moat and the Dragon Temple in the river are places frequently visited by tourists.
The streets in the city are not very wide, with shops on both sides, and even the shops across the street can be put together.
Some men in short clothes were pushing wheelbarrows to transport things on the street. Some pedestrians in long robes, mandarin jackets and braids were walking unsteadily on the stone-paved streets.
Spring eyes can be seen at intervals in the city. People surrounded the spring eyes with bluestones to form a pool. The spring water flowed into the river through small channels built with stones.
This is a gathering place for older girls and younger wives. They wash rice, wash clothes, and exchange the latest news they hear with each other.
Outside the city are small rivers that meander out. These rivers have springs as their source, so the water is clear. People outside the city will fetch water from the river. Some people squat by the river to fish. They can clearly see the fish biting.
hook.
Speaking of Jinan City, it is really a rare paradise under the Manchu Qing Dynasty.
The favorite thing to do in Guizhongxing is to sit on the tall city gate tower and overlook the inside and outside of Jinan City.
This always puts him at ease.
When he first joined the Huai Navy, he always felt uneasy in his heart.
Thinking that he was a bannerman, he once thought about reporting it to the court, but he was worried about Huai Haijun's revenge.
Later, his family members were secretly transferred out of the capital, and then more and more people from the Huaihai Navy were around him.
These people either served as his staff or as auxiliary officials in the governor's Yamen.
Guizhong Bank will no longer have any inappropriate thoughts.
Moreover, Cai Shusen has always been firmly in control of the New Army in Shandong. The officers of the New Army were also sent by the Huai Navy.
Their homes are all in Jiangsu. The family members of officers can be placed to work on the farm. This is the welfare of the Huai Navy for the officers. At the same time, it is also a means of control.
Shandong's new army has always kept a very low profile. Except for suppressing bandits, they rarely appear in people's sight.
The imperial court tried several times to mobilize the Shandong New Army to suppress bandits, but they were all blocked by Guizhong Bank.
The reason is easy to find. There are only a few new troops in Shandong, and as we all know, Shandong has always been a place seriously infested with bandits.
At the end of the fourth year of Xianfeng's reign, news of the Huai Navy's occupation of Zhejiang and Fujian reached Shandong.
Guizhongxing vaguely felt that the time for him to lurk was coming.
He now has two options: one is to take the initiative to retire after the success of the Huaihai Navy. In this way, the president will definitely make himself rich.
Another way is to show your talents and value to the president, and then advance to the next level within the Huaihai Navy.
In the past two years, Guizhong Bank has been paying attention to Huai Haijun. He knows Huai Haijun's working mode. The people around him are all generals sent by Huai Haijun. From these people, Guizhong Bank has also learned a lot.
After serving as an official for many years, Gui Zhongxing has no shortage of methods for becoming an official. All he needs to do is master the Huaihai Navy Government's method of managing and employing people.
On February 20th of the fifth year of Xianfeng, Dong Shuheng held a swearing-in meeting for the Renaissance Army against the Qing Dynasty in Jiangning. He officially announced the start of a crusade against the Manchu Qing court, calling itself the Renaissance Army, with a golden dragon on a red background as its banner and "overthrow the Manchu Qing Dynasty and revive China" as its slogan.
Immediately, Peng Yulin rushed to Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province to command and deploy the Central Route Army for combat.
Dong Shuheng was preparing to leave for Jinan. Cai Shusen had already returned to Jinan ahead of him. He had to do something big first.
Zuo Jigao returned to Wuhan by boat. Forty boats were filled with supplies he took away before leaving, and they sailed upstream in a mighty manner.
Yang Bingchun went to Zhangzhou, Fujian.
On the evening of February 21st, Cai Shusen returned to Jinan and immediately came to the governor's Yamen.
In the study room, all the senior officials of the Renaissance Army in Shandong were present.
"Your Majesty the Governor." Cai Shusen nodded to Guizhongxing.
Cai Shusen looks much more mature than he did two years ago. He has a beard around his mouth, which makes him look a little more mature.
With short hair, thick and long eyebrows, a tight face, and a mature beard, I don’t know how many older girls will be fascinated by him.
But he is still unmarried, and he doesn't even have a good girl.
Only Cai Shusen himself knows who the girl he likes is?
They have been exchanging letters, but both of them are shy in temperament, and neither of them talks openly about what is on their mind.
Cai Shusen has made up his mind to talk about this matter after this war is over.
"General Cai is back! Sit down quickly." Gui Zhongxing was still very polite to Cai Shusen. Cai Shusen was usually polite to him, and the two of them had been working together happily for two years.
There was no daughter of the right age among the Guizhong connoisseurs, otherwise he would have wanted to recruit Cai Shusen as his son-in-law.
"General Cai, tell me, President, what are your orders?" Gui Zhongxing said.
Although Huaihai Haijun is nominally the main force in Shandong, Guizhongxing has positioned itself very correctly.
Cai Shusen stood up and looked at everyone who was working, with an uncontrollable smile on his face.
"Well, everyone, we have been working hard in Shandong for two years, and today we finally have the results."
As he spoke, he raised the military order in his hand.
The president ordered the Shandong Third Division and the Seventh Division to control all prefectures, counties and transportation arteries in Shandong within ten days.
Block all connections between Shandong, Zhili, and Henan.
Waiting for the President Jiangsu militia to go north to receive him.
From south to north, the troops transferred to their respective areas and then moved north. The Third Division assembled in Texas and awaited orders.
The 7th Division assembled in Caozhou to await orders.
There was a hint of disappointment in Zhang Dabiao's eyes, and then it flashed away.
It seems that the great credit of going straight to Huanglong is not his turn.
But when you think about it, you will understand that the Third Division has been keeping a low profile in Shandong for two years, and it is appropriate for the president to give them a big reward to compensate them.
The generals of the third division who were working seemed to have thought of this problem, and their eyes showed indescribable joy.
"Everyone, the president requires us to achieve a peaceful transition in Shandong."
There is still the influence of the imperial court in Shandong, and at least the local prefecture and county officials are still officials appointed by the imperial court.
It is not difficult to deal with the civil servants in these prefectures and counties. At the worst, we can just find a reason to put them under house arrest.
However, there are still green battalion soldiers from the imperial court in Shandong. As for the local Tuanyong, they have been abolished by Guizhong Bank in the past two years.
These people are not that easy to deal with.
Guizhongxing sat there, his mind spinning rapidly, how to make good use of his status as governor?
This seems to be an opportunity for me, an opportunity to show my abilities to the president.
In order to realize the transition stably, they have three major reliances: first, the extraordinary combat power of the two Shandong divisions on the Shandong land; second, the Fuxing Army personnel they have deployed in various parts of Shandong and even in the Green Camp Army in the past two years.
Another thing is that as the governor, he always has the military and political power of a province.
Guizhong Bank has been dismantling Green Camp in Shandong for the past two years. Originally, Green Camp in Shandong had three towns, namely Dengzhou Town, Yanzhou Town, and Caozhou Town.
Originally, the governor still had the Fubiao camp under his direct jurisdiction, but after Guizhongxing arrived in Shandong, it abolished Fubiao and replaced it with a new army.
The funding for each town has been reduced, and a large number of soldiers have been laid off. In addition, each town itself has a phenomenon of empty pay.
The current number of green camps in Shandong will not exceed 10,000.
The top priority is to fully grasp Jinan.
On the morning of February 22nd, Guizhong issued a document summoning the chief officials of all prefectures and counties to come to Jinan to discuss matters.
He asked the chief officials of the prefecture and county to leave immediately after seeing the document and leave the work of the prefecture and county to the assistant officer.
This is to allow the administrative personnel of the Renaissance Army deployed in various states and counties to smoothly take over power.
On that day, Guizhongxing asked a section of the Seventh Division to take over various prefectures and counties in Jinan, on the grounds that it would prevent the Nian bandits from causing rebellion.
Accompanied by the Third Division of the New Army, he himself inspected the Green Camp troops in various places.
On February 23, Guizhong Bank came to Qingzhou.
The Qingzhou Commander-in-Chief is named Kou Renpeng. This Commander-in-Chief Kou is also a veteran Commander-in-Chief.
He knew that Governor Gui did not want to see the Green Camp soldiers.
Governor Gui has been dismantling the Green Camp in Shandong for two years since he took office.
It once caused a mutiny in the Green Camp. However, it was immediately suppressed by the New Army, and all the Green Camp troops were disbanded.
From then on, everyone became more honest and started laying off people without the governor's orders. The governor's office only gave them a little money, so everyone simply put it all into their own pockets.
Of course, Kou Renpeng is not a rigid person. He is an old man and has all the same old problems.
He had no intention of confronting the governor, as long as he could get his share of the money every year.
The entire Qingzhou Town originally had 5,800 Green Camp soldiers. Now there are actually only more than 1,000 soldiers still there.
These people are also their personal soldiers added by generals at all levels.
There are 500 people around Kou Renpeng. He must keep a certain number of personal soldiers around him, otherwise no one will help him do things or protect his safety.
Hearing that the governor had arrived, Kerenpeng waited in front of the camp gate early.
Guizhongxing brought a group of new troops to the camp.
"Commander Kou, now call all the officers and soldiers to gather at the school grounds." Gui Zhongxing said as soon as he came up.
"Yes, Lord Governor, Kou Renpeng doesn't know what trouble Guizhong Bank is trying to cause, but there is no need for him to disobey the Governor's order."
Soon everyone in Qingzhou Town was summoned.
"Okay, very good. Kerenpeng's efficiency is very fast. This will give you more time to travel." Guizhong Bank thought.
Immediately Guizhongxing let the new army march into the camp.
Guizhong Bank announced on the spot that Shandong had surrendered to the Renaissance Army. This sudden incident confused the entire Qingzhou Town generals.
Immediately, someone yelled at Bank of China for rebelling.
But these more than a thousand people were all held at gunpoint by the New Army.
The soldiers were not willing to die in vain.
They put down their weapons one after another and accepted their fate.
Most of the generals cherished their lives. A few cherished their reputations, and Guizhongxing satisfied them on the spot.
After temporarily imprisoning these green camp soldiers, Guizhongxing led the army to the next stop.
With the governor, the biggest boss, leading the way, the Shandong New Army quickly took control of the entire territory.
On March 1, the fifth year of Xianfeng's reign, Shandong Governor Guizhong Xing announced the change of flag in Jinan and accepted the jurisdiction of the Fuxing Army. The red-bottomed golden dragon flag was raised at the top of Jinan City.
At the same time, in various prefectures and counties in Shandong, the government posted notices to calm the people. At the same time, they also posted the Fuxing Army's policies to benefit the people.
On the same day, Dong Shuheng, escorted by a guard regiment, led 30,000 militiamen into Shandong.
These 30,000 militiamen will be assigned to guard various parts of Shandong, freeing up the 3rd and 7th Divisions in Shandong.
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