Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 703 Undercurrent in the provincial capital

Even though he was sitting in a bamboo sedan chair, even though there was a handsome boy servant fanning him in the big sedan chair, and Li Fengjie had just eaten a cup of iced plum soup.Still feel hot and dry.This official robe is stuffy and heavy on the body.He wished he could take it off quickly to cool off, and get down easily.

He just came back from Bai'etan——attended a banquet, which was held in a restaurant next to the Bai'etan, and the banquet was called a "summer gathering". Of course, poetry, essays, singing and the like were indispensable at the banquet. elegant gadgets.But the main topic at the banquet is how to "pay".

The banquet was mainly attended by local powerful gentry.The state of war with the Kun bandits and the ensuing fiasco made the gentry in the provincial capital very disturbed.There are pleasure aspects to this - not only the Ziminglou, a gold-selling cave, has been closed down, but Australian goods have gradually disappeared from the market, which has greatly affected the quality of life of the masters, wives, young masters and misses.

This is the second thing. The economic impact of the Lingao economy on Guangdong is multifaceted, and they have long used the port of Guangzhou as a window for material procurement, making the province have formed many directly or indirectly dependent on the operation of the Lingao economy. upstream and downstream industries.

And Guangzhou, as a trade window, has many people benefiting from the Lingao-Guangdong industrial trade chain.Now the hostility between Guangdong and Lingao has dealt a big blow to one of their profit channels, and no one can make any money—especially the upstream suppliers of the Lingao industrial system.Their lost chance to export is particularly hard hit.

Nearly a hundred iron smelting plants in Guangdong were closed, and a large number of workers lost their jobs.In the past, the names of commercial firms that trafficked coal, timber, grain and other raw materials for production also suffered heavy blows.

Even the downstream sellers also feel the pain of losing the supply of goods.The price of Australian goods is soaring, but few people stock up in large quantities.Even when there were enough stocks, sales fell after prices rose.

In addition to the inconvenience in life and the loss in business, the gentry were also very dissatisfied with Wang Zunde's approach.The pirate government like Liu Xiang who constantly harassed the coast, robbed ships and extorted money was helpless, but the Australians who honestly did business in Lingao and provided all kinds of good things became the targets of extermination-in their view, this was simply putting the cart before the horse , "Good at opening border provocations."Many people secretly agitated the provincial officials in Beijing to work among the officials and censors, preparing for impeachment.

And some headless posters and pamphlets began to circulate in the provincial capital, which aggravated the dissatisfaction.Many yamen, government offices, and mansions of officials and gentry were quietly thrown into Jietie.Some even posted it on the street.Many of the messages revealed not only dissatisfied the officials and gentry, but even incited the common people.All kinds of rumors spread all over the sky.

It seems that the change of governor of Guangdong and Guangxi is a matter of time.Li Fengjie was eager to try this position.But he knew very well that his plan would be challenged by Xiong Wencan—and Xiong Wencan's family was much better than him.

From all aspects, if Lao Xiong wants to seek the position of governor, he is more sure than himself.Li Fengjie thought over and over again, and felt that he could only start by recruiting Australians as soon as possible. Although this has certain risks, it can greatly please the gentry and business people in Guangzhou.Take a step back and say that even if you can't seek the position of Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, you can still preserve your position as Governor of Guangdong.

From a military point of view, his staff also believed that it was hopeless to continue the "suppression".According to the reports of the defeated soldiers and the pond newspapers sent from all over Hainan: the military strength of the Australians far exceeded their estimates, and this made them a very dangerous and terrible enemy.And this enemy also has powerful sea power.They may break into the Pearl River anytime and anywhere, and carry out large-scale looting and destruction of the fertile delta area.

Li Fengjie's sedan chair was carried into the governor's office.After he got off the sedan chair, he went directly into the study room - this place was where he discussed matters with his staff, and it was very quiet.

The servant helped him take off the official robe and black gauze, changed into a poplin shirt and a flat square scarf, and fetched water to scrub him.After a while, someone brought herbal tea again—the fruit shaved ice he liked was completely gone because of the closure of Ziminglou.

Li Fengjie drank tea and looked at the various documents sent by his personal servants.

On the table are the latest various postings circulating in the city.The content of the post was varied, but the firepower was concentrated on Wang Zunde and his staff and cronies around him.Its origin is self-evident.Either the king's enemies or the Australians concocted it.

Many posts described in detail how Wang Zunde planned to go to war with the Australians.How did Tian Da use Qi Wan's power to blackmail everywhere, until he blackmailed Zizihao, forcing Dongzhu Guo and others to flee... The details of the content and the vividness of the dialogue can only be understood by those who have experienced it first-hand. written by.

There is also a part of the posts that Australians have made: the text is all in vernacular, the text is in vulgar style, and the printing is exquisite, bound into the appearance of a book.The content is varied.Some are shady scandals about Wang Zunde's staff, servants, and cronies - Li Fengjie thinks that Australians are very smart: Wang Zunde's personal virtues and reputation are quite good in the officialdom, and it is difficult to slander him with scandals.But the people around him were not so tough.There are also some posts that describe various anecdotes and ambiguous things about the royal relatives and relatives.There are many detailed descriptions in it, which are vivid and vivid, which makes people's blood gushing and interesting.It's like reading a novel, it's hard to put it down.Some posts are even divided into volumes, with the difference between the first volume and the second volume, which makes people think of the second volume after reading the first volume.Many people exchanged and exposed posts secretly, and some even secretly printed and copied them privately.

In this way, the posts by Australians have become popular reading materials and spiritual food for Guangzhou citizens.Even a high-ranking official like Li Fengjie is very interested in this.He is not interested in the explicit descriptions that the small townsfolk are fond of, but he is eager for the various "truths" revealed from time to time in the pamphlets.

This special propaganda tactic is the result of the cooperation between the Foreign Intelligence Service and the "Publication Steering Group".The publishing leading group organized a group of veterans to rewrite this kind of pamphlet from a large number of copy and paste on the computer.Booklets are printed at the size of a modern "pocket book" booklet for easy portability.The left-behind personnel at Guangzhou Station continue to spread through various channels.

On the table are a few copies of the Australian Posts that I have just collected.As the governor of Guangdong, the governor's yamen is under the key care of the Foreign Intelligence Bureau, and the latest pamphlets will be sent here in the first batch.

Li Fengjie told the servants to invite several trusted staff members, and picked up a copy of the Australian Poster.The above several topics are very impactful: "Looking at the so-called "Tuen Mun Victory" from the secret files of Franji's court", "The former Ming Dynasty general explained the inside story of the recovery of Penghu by the Apocalypse Dynasty".

"Australians are still on top of things!" he said to himself, planning to watch it later.

On the table, there are several latest Tang newspapers.He opened one and read a few sentences, and his face changed instantly.

While the official circles in Guangdong were still conducting frequent private explorations and discussions on the issue of appeasement, the news came that the gangsters had landed on Hong Kong Island.Then, the report that the Kun bandits had wiped out Zheng Bao's group cleanly and neatly on Lantau Island came back.The sudden escape of Liu Xiang's men and horses made the image of the Kun thief even more terrifying-even the feared, well-known shopkeeper Liu disappeared in front of the Kun thief.

In this way, the wishful thinking of Li Fengjie and others holding Liu Xiang and Kun thief to snatch the Pearl River Estuary land was completely over.The Australians are ready to fire on anyone who stands in their way, but Liu Xiang does not intend to use up his own strength to defend the Pearl River Estuary with arms-there is no need to fight head-on when there is a soft persimmon to pinch.

Between Lingdingyang and Huangpu, there is no force worth mentioning that can resist the attack of the Kun bandits.If they are willing, they can put the boat straight to Baietan, and become the masters of the entire Pearl River water.

"Dong Weng! It's too late to appease you." He Chengzong put down the pond newspaper and said with a worried face.Although He Chengzong is only a scholar, he is highly regarded by Li Fengjie.It is a figure of the "military division" in the shogunate.

According to the news in the Tang newspaper: After the Australians built a fort in Hong Kong and eliminated Zheng Bao, the warships had already "knocked off" at the mouth of the Pearl River, especially patrolling in the Lingdingyang area, as well as measuring the water depth.It seems that there is an attempt to enter the Pearl River.If they launch a large iron boat into the Pearl River, and then use the legendary powerful cannons to bombard the city of Guangzhou, not only will the place be corrupted beyond control, but Li Fengjie will no longer have to wear the black hat.

"It's just a blind appeasement, I'm afraid it will be difficult to get things done." Li Fengjie said.He even hopes that there will be a force that can contain the Australians, lest their family grow bigger and act more unscrupulously.

Li Fengjie originally expected that Liu Xiang would stick to his own territory-after Liu Xiang slipped away, he turned his mind on the Frangji in Macau.

Due to the trend of interests, Franji has always been very concerned about the maritime safety of the Pearl River Estuary.They have always had the habit and determination to protect their trade.As long as you point out to them the impact on trade at the Pearl River Estuary once Ming and the Australians go to war, the Franji people will definitely dispatch ships to protect the Pearl River Estuary.

Li Fengjie got a report from the Xiangshan county magistrate who was in charge and stationed in Macau: Franji now has four large ships moored in the port of Macau, all of which are three-masted plywood ships.There are 32 cannons on board.In terms of the size of the ship, it surpasses all the current ships of the Kun Bandits—except for the big iron ship.Franco also had several smaller brigantine ships, also armed with 12 cannon.

(End of this chapter)