Due to the Yiwei War, production in Taiwan, the world's main producer of camphor, almost stopped, causing the price of camphor to skyrocket. Camphor that originally sold for only 16 taels of silver per quintal in Taiwan rose to more than 140 taels in the Hong Kong market.
At the beginning of the month, after Lin Shuo had disposed of the more than 30,000 tons of camphor he had hoarded, the situation in Taiwan was out of control.
Although the assets in his hands increased sharply to more than four million taels of silver, Lin Shuo did not feel very happy. The news of the fall of Changhua still made him feel very disappointed.
At this time, it happened that Taiwan's Inspector General Chen Ji-ru was sailing back to Xiamen on four ships, including the "Jiashi" and "Simei" belonging to the Taiwan Commerce Bureau, when he was ferrying from Taiwan. Lin Chaodong came forward and temporarily borrowed two passenger ships from Chen Jitong.
, and then the German Baoji Company in Xiamen hired two ships. These merchant ships flew to Wuqi under the German flag, and successively picked up more than 7,000 volunteers from Taiwan who were willing to cross with the Lin family. The Japanese also acquiesced.
After seeing the actions of the Lin family, it would be very beneficial for them to have fewer insurgents to maintain their rule in Taiwan. Of course, the prerequisite is that they must hand over their weapons.
But the placement of these people became a big problem. Lin Chaodong found Liu Mingchuan who was unemployed at home. Liu Mingchuan, who was seriously ill, wrote a letter asking Liu Kunyi, who had returned to Liangjiang, to take care of him. With the support of Liu Kunyi, Dongjun was able to rebuild.
It was organized into five battalions, and the remaining thousands of laid-off personnel Liu Kunyi gave special permission to the Lin family to purchase mountain forest wasteland in Liangjiang for reclamation.
In February of the 23rd year of Guangxu's reign, Liu Kunyi, the governor of Liangjiang, summoned Lin Chaodong, the commander of Dongjun who had withdrawn from Taiwan, in the Yaxi Flower Hall of the Governor's Office in Nanjing.
"Please sit down!" Liu Kunyi said after Lin Chaodong saluted. Due to poor legs and feet, he leaned on a couch, while his eldest son Liu Nengji stood behind him.
"Yes!" Lin Chaodong took a step back and still stood there respectfully. He had never seen an official older than the governor. The old man was very polite, but this made him feel a little at a loss.
"Let's sit down and talk for a while. You were entrusted to me by Xing San before he died. From now on, you can be regarded as my man, so you don't have to be so restrained!" Liu Kunyi took a few puffs of a shisha rod made of bamboo.
Then he said.
"Yes!" Lin Chaodong then carefully sat on the corner of a mahogany Taishi chair nearby.
"When did you come?" Liu Kunyi asked.
"The official was in Hefei to guard the Zhuangsu government. I came all night after receiving the letter from your Excellency. As soon as I arrived in the morning, I came directly to the hospital." Lin Chaodong replied. Taiwan's first governor Liu Mingchuan, who was recovering at home, heard that Taiwan was ceded.
, I was so angry that I didn’t expect to die from this illness. The Liu family was very kind to the Lin family. Lin Chaodong has been helping the Liu family in Hefei to take care of the funeral recently.
"Well, Sheng San spent half of his life on the construction of Taiwan. He was very sad about the Taiwan cessation. Unexpectedly, he died like this, but he can't rest in peace." Liu Kunyi sighed, "If you have any difficulties in the future, just come.
Find me."
"Everything depends on the master's orders!" Lin Chaodong said.
Liu Kun nodded, "I'm calling you here this time because I have something important I want you to handle." His face became solemn, "In the Battle of Sino-Japanese War, the Beiyang Navy that the imperial court spent huge sums of money to build was completely destroyed.
In addition, Liaodong and Jiaodong also suffered successive defeats on land. Li Hefei signed the "Treaty of Shimonoseki" with the Japanese. Not only did he lose North Korea, Liaodong and Taiwan, but he also had to compensate the Japanese with 20 million taels of silver. I strongly oppose it.
The two hundred million taels of silver who signed this peace treaty are enough to buy a hundred Dingzhi and a big ship like Zhen. With this money, it is better to continue fighting with the Japanese." Liu Kun paused at this point.
After a while, "Now that all the agreements have been signed, it is useless to say that. The imperial court allocated the compensation to the two rivers the most. In addition, an additional 30 million taels of 'Liao redemption fees' were added this year. This year, the compensation will be spread to the two rivers.
The total expenses amounted to thirteen million taels of silver. Where did this money come from? We can only make up for the apportioned amount by trying to rectify the lijin, salt taxes and taxes in various places, instead of perfunctory as in the past."
"If there is anything I can do for you, sir, just tell me." Lin Chaodong muttered in his heart. He had just donated two hundred thousand taels of silver to the court, thus preserving the current status of the Lin family and Dongjun. Would Sir Liu allow himself to do it again?
Just donate money?
I saw Liu Kun picking up the tea cup and taking a sip of tea and continued: "The tax revenue in the south of the Yangtze River is based on the salt tax from the Huaihe River and Huaihe River. Nowadays, illicit salt is rampant and there is a huge loss of finance and tax. Now there are no patrol camps everywhere."
Either in collusion with salt merchants or because of a lack of military discipline, the dignified officers and soldiers often suffered defeats at the hands of the salt lords, allowing them to run amok and lawless." The current situation made Liu Kun shake his head.
The Eight Banners and the Han Army's Green Camp, which they had relied on for a long time, were no longer useful. The training camps of the Hunan and Huai Army, which were later called the powerful forces, also quickly deteriorated. Now they have become similar to those Eight Banners veteran soldiers.
There are not many available soldiers. "I sent someone to check and found that the number of soldiers in each battalion of this army is sufficient and the training is very good. Yintang can be said to be a good general. No wonder Sheng San couldn't stop praising him when he was alive."
"Thank you, my lord!"
"It's nothing but a reward." Liu Kun waved his hand and signaled Lin Chaodong to continue sitting down, "I am going to vigorously rectify the salt affairs. I want to mobilize the Dong army to inspect illegal salt and combat the arrogance of these salt lords. You can be the garrison of Yangzhou City. Yintang
, you still want to help me with this."
Yintang is Lin Chaodong's name. Liu Kunyi called him this to show that he regarded him as one of his own, and also mentioned "help". Lin Chaodong could not refuse. Although he knew that the matter was difficult, he could only bite the bullet and agree, "I obey my order."
That’s it!” Lin Chaodong stood up, clasped his fists and said.
Salt is a necessity for people's lives. The salt tax is actually equivalent to a poll tax. It has become one of the main fiscal revenues of feudal dynasties since the Han Dynasty. The salt tax has been very heavy in all dynasties. If someone evades the salt tax and sells private salt
, the profits are huge, just like the production and sale of counterfeit cigarettes in later generations.
Selling smuggled salt has always been a serious crime, and it is a business that is done with one's head. However, the huge profits still attract a large number of desperadoes to participate. These smuggled salt dealers form groups to smuggle salt and evade salt taxes.
, but they were repeatedly banned. The salt lords in various places were numerous and extremely fierce. Most of the time they used force to fight against the government. When they were surrounded by large groups of officers and soldiers, they scattered and fled.
These salt lords gathered and dispersed from time to time. Many of them were large salt merchants appointed by the court and colluded with the government. Since the Hongyang Rebellion, the court's control has declined. Officials from various places have become even more corrupt and illegal, and the proliferation of illegal salt has become even more severe.
.
Due to the compensation of more than 230 million taels of silver to Japan after the Sino-Japanese War of 1888-1898, the financial pressure on various localities increased sharply. Liu Kunyi arranged for Xindongjun to be stationed in northern Jiangsu to investigate illicit salt. In this era, most salt lords sold illicit salt.
Through the waterway, another part of the Dong army was separated to form two battalions of the navy.
Lin Chaodong was disheartened after leaving Taiwan. He stayed in Xiamen most of the time. He only took the post of commander-in-chief of Dongjun for the sake of the livelihood of his former brothers. In fact, he no longer had much control over the affairs of the camp. As for the Governor of Liangjiang
All requests for the formation of a naval battalion were left to Lin Shuo to handle.
The Dongjun Naval Battalion was located near Chonghai Town in Haimen. Lin Shuo mobilized a battalion from Dongjun and recruited more than 300 16- and 7-year-old boys from the villagers who left Taiwan to join the military.
Training, in order to turn these people into his confidants, Lin Shuo decided to personally take charge of the command and training of the navy.
Chonghai originally had a small wooden fishing pier, as well as some private workshops for repairing fishing boats. After Lin Shuo determined the address of the naval camp, he bought the small fishing port and immediately carried out large-scale renovations to the pier.
Along with the expansion, a simple shipbuilding yard was built. Of course, this shipyard can only build some small wooden fishing boats. As for ships powered by steam engines, it can only be imagined.
In the blink of an eye, it was the autumn of the 24th year of Guangxu's reign.
Autumn wind and autumn rain make people even more sad.
After exiting the gate of the Prime Minister's International Affairs Office, Zhang Yuanji couldn't help but let out a long breath.
Since the news of the 1898 Coup broke out, he had not had a peaceful night's sleep. The streets were filled with soldiers sent by the imperial court to search for Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao and others, and many officials involved in the reform were arrested. Then came the news
The news of the death of Tan Sitong, Yang Rui and other six gentlemen made all officials in the capital who participated in the reform panic.
Zhang Yuanji also knew that the fate of the party was unpredictable. After all, he was a member of the New Party and had an inextricable connection with the emperor's promotion of reforms. However, he did not choose to flee. He was still on duty at the office as usual, waiting for arrest.
Well, after Cixi, who had regained control of the government, killed Tan Sitong and others in a rage, she did not go on a killing spree. She just sentenced Xu Zhijing to permanent imprisonment, exiled Zhang Yinheng outside Xinjiang, and the other New Party members only ordered them to be dismissed from their posts and never be used again.
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In this way, with a feeling of bitterness and joy, Zhang Yuanji ended his career as a Beijing official, resigned with his family and went south, taking a boat from Tianjin to Shanghai.
On the ship, Zhang Yuanji met Zhang Jian, a Nantong native who was the top scholar in the Sino-Japanese War.
After Zhang Jian became Hanlin, he felt that he could not fulfill his ambitions as an official in Beijing, so he left his job and returned to his hometown to start an industry. This time he went to Beijing to sell off his leave, but he did not expect to catch up with the 1898 Coup, and he even gave up the idea of an official career.
The two were Jinshi scholars, and they both had the desire to serve the country, but they were disappointed in officialdom. Their conversation was very congenial, and they had a very happy conversation, which seemed to imply that they had known each other for a long time.
The ship traveled for most of the day, and in the evening, it was passing by the sea near Weihai.
"The blue waves of the Yellow Sea fill the sky with hatred, and the sunset outside Liugong Island is dim. I don't know when I will cross the sea to the east, and the statue of Deng Gong looks sad."
The two were chatting on the deck when they saw a young man not far away, holding on to the railing and looking towards the sea in the direction of Liugong Island, with a desolate expression on his face.
Zhang Jian is a great talent. When he saw this young man wearing a light blue lake crepe gown, a purple satin mandarin jacket, a black silk hat on his head, and a green shiny jade hat hanging on it, he looked like a young man from a wealthy family.
The young man had a childish look on his face, maybe eighteen or nineteen years old, but the poem he just recited seemed to have experienced many vicissitudes of life, and there was still a faint murderous air.
Zhang Jian felt curious, raised his hands to the young man and said, "What a poem. I wonder who composed what I just recited?"
This young man was Lin Shuo. At this time, he saw from a distance that Liugong Island was occupied by the British. All the warships passing by were flying the British Empire's St. George's flag. He couldn't help but lament the outcome of the Beiyang Navy, and recalled his previous life when he visited the Sino-Japanese War of 1898.
I casually recited a small poem I wrote while visiting the memorial hall, not wanting to disturb the two people next to me.
Lin Shuo turned around and smiled sheepishly: "I just saw Liu Gong Island full of foreign warships. I couldn't help imagining the grand scene of the Beiyang Navy back then. I felt emotional and chanted it casually, but it made me laugh."
Zhang Jian couldn't help but feel moved: "I didn't expect that my brother is such a talented person. I'm working under Zhang Jian in Nantong. I wonder which gentleman my little brother is a disciple of!"
Lin Shuo's eyes lit up, "It turns out that he is the number one scholar, but he has been admired for a long time! Lin Shuo in Xia Zhangzhou has no fame. Mengzu Shang Yinde, now serving as a garrison in Dongjun, is just a warrior, doing whatever he wants, making the two of them laugh.
That’s it.” After that, he greeted the two of them again.
The three of them started talking again. Lin Shuo recounted exactly how Taiwan was ceded and how the Lin family left Taiwan. Although Lin Shuo was young, he was well-informed. The other two were moved by his story.
.Also talking about the current political affairs, although Lin Shuo didn't say much, he occasionally said a few words, but he hit the mark on the current situation, which made Zhang Jian feel very regretful. If this kind of person pays attention to his craftsmanship, he will be an economic talent. He really wants to include him.
Under the door.
Later, I thought about it and realized that I had given up on pursuing an official career. In this world, what's the use of focusing on studying? Why should I mislead others again, so I gave up.
The three of them chatted until dinner time before they dispersed.
A night of silence.
Lin Shuo was interested in making friends with Zhang Jian and others, but a visit in the evening was too presumptuous, and since they were not acquaintances, he was afraid of leaving resentment, so he did not take the initiative.
The next morning, the ship had arrived at Wusong, and Lin Shuo found Zhang Jian and the other two, leaving his address and telling them that he was doing business in Shanghai. If they needed anything, just let them know.
Lin Shuo's trip was to accompany his uncle Lin Chaodong to Beijing to meet the emperor. Unexpectedly, he encountered the 1898 Coup of 1898. He was delayed in the capital for more than a month before he was able to return to the south of the Yangtze River. The ship arrived in Shanghai, and Lin Shuo and other Lin family children returned to the concession.
Zhang Yuanji had to settle down his family, and Zhang Jian went back to Nantong.