Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

Chapter 374 Li Hongzhang's Memorial (2)
Overnight, the price of raw silk skyrocketed, but at this time all the talents suddenly discovered that it was almost impossible to buy raw silk in the entire Jiangnan market.Because most of the raw silk is concentrated in the hands of one person. Nanxun has always been a land of fish and rice. Every family has planted mulberry and raised silkworms for generations. Because it is located near Taihu Lake, the climate is warm and humid, the water quality is good, and the mulberry leaves grow very lushly. A high-quality silk silk that can only be produced on this soil.Clothes made of silk are soft, shiny and durable. In history, in addition to supplying the needs of the courts of the past dynasties, it is also the favorite of British and French upper-class aristocratic women. It is what they think about day and night. and other luxury goods.Because this kind of silk fabric is not only bright in color, but also has good tensile strength and sufficient elasticity, it has long been a hot commodity in overseas markets, with an average annual sales of [-] to [-] tons.

When it comes to Jiris, one cannot do without the Zhang family in Nanxun, which became famous for a while.

In the year when Shanghai was opened as a port, a young man named Zhang Songxian rode a boat full of jilis from the Sixingdai in front of his house into the Grand Canal, and then swayed along Taihu Lake and Suzhou Creek, in the afterglow of a sunset At dusk, the ship full of raw silk and the ambitions of young people slowly swayed into Shanghai Beach.Zhang Songxian was 26 years old that year.

In the past, Zhang Songxian bought silk from the silkworm farmers in the countryside at a low price, and sold it to the compradors of foreign companies who came to Nanxun to collect the silk after increasing the price, earning the difference from the price.Now he has entered Shanghai by himself, and has set up his own silk shop in Shanghai's Yangjingbin Bridge area, and directly transports the silk to Shanghai to organize sales, which can save a lot of intermediate costs.Especially in cooperation with compradors in foreign firms, the upper and lower sides joined forces to do business, and the news became more well-informed. The Zhang family gradually monopolized the sales of raw silk from Nanxun to Shanghai.From then on, the Zhang family in Nanxun started from the silk industry, and then got involved in the salt industry and the real estate industry. In just a few decades, they accumulated tens of millions of wealth and became a famous maritime family in modern Chinese history.

"Whether the problem of this raw silk war will be caused by the Zhang family in Nanxun is still unknown. However, in the past few days, the price of raw silk in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Jiaxing has skyrocketed by as much as 15 times. The increase in raw silk prices has directly led to the local Prices fluctuate frequently, and the economic order tends to be chaotic. If this continues, Hangzhou and Jiaxing will become the second Shanghai in a short time." Zhao Bingjun raised his concerns at the right time.

Guan Xuqing took a deep breath. What Zhao Bingjun said was not unreasonable, and the situation would even be more serious than imagined. The main financial institutions affected by the Shanghai incident, mainly the Bank of Shanghai, would not be able to harm the city after all. However, the raw silk industry has become the economic lifeline of many areas in the south. Once there is a change, the blow to the local economic development will be fatal.

Now that the matter in Shanghai has been dealt with, Guan Xuqing immediately decided not to return to Luan for the time being, but to continue southward. He wanted to see for himself whether the economic problems were caused by his own reform measures, or whether the traditional economic problems had erupted within a certain period of time. .

In the middle of the night on March 3, the humid mist spread out, sticking to people's skin and hair, making people very uncomfortable.At this time, there is only one train consisting of six carriages on the steel rails of the huge Central Station.The front of the car was still emitting white gas from time to time, and from a distance it looked like a giant beast crouching in the night.This car is called "Vision Car", also known as "Special Train Float Car", and it is specially prepared for the emperor.Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine the luxurious degree of its content decoration.There are restaurants, living rooms, bedrooms, entertainment rooms, dance halls, bathrooms, etc. inside. It can be said to be a mobile emperor's palace.Luo Ming's guard regiment soldiers were stationed in the four carriages at the front and rear. Most of the staff in the carriages were military agents under Zhao Bingjun.

That night, the central station suspended all train lines. The station was full of security personnel sent by the Shanghai General Public Security Bureau, as well as soldiers from the 49th Division of the Shanghai Army. Suspicious pedestrians.500 meters outside the station, there are all forbidden to approach.Although it was arranged very secretly in advance, the news was caught by reporters with a sensitive sense of smell. In the old days, reporters in Shanghai were the most skeptical, not to mention such a big event as the emperor's departure from Shanghai. Therefore, in just two short Within hours, almost all the reporters from all over Shanghai came to the central station, but to their disappointment, the security measures here are very strict, they have no chance to enter the station, even if they have the opportunity, they dare not risk their lives .

Around one o'clock in the morning, Guan Xuqing arrived at Central Station surrounded by a large group of senior officials and guards. The main people who saw him off were Shanghai Mayor Nie Jiju, Shanghai Branch President Li Duo, Director of the Finance Department Yu Hongyuan, Imperial Flying Academy Dean Feng Ru, Sanxin company directors Huang Jinrong, Du Yuesheng, Zhang Xiaolin, as well as important officials from various departments and departments in Shanghai, celebrities in Shanghai's business circles, etc.The accompanying personnel mainly included Zhao Bingjun, director of the Imperial Security Bureau, Luo Ming, head of the Imperial Guard, Xu Zishan, division commander of the 49th Division of the Imperial Army stationed in Shanghai, and Bai Xianming, director of the Shanghai General Public Security Bureau, who led a security detachment to accompany them on the journey and protect them all the way. The emperor is safe.

Not only that, local garrisons have been arranged along the railway from Shanghai to Nanxun to keep informed of the situation along the line.It is absolutely impossible for Zhao Bingjun's careful arrangement to cause danger.For this reason, Guan Xuqing could only smile wryly. He felt that there was no need to mobilize the teachers and mobilize the crowd so much. It would disturb the place and the local people, but he really couldn't say anything about the kindness of his ministers.

Guan Xuqing stayed in the station lounge for a while, and then decided to temporarily arrange to meet with the visiting reporters. Guan Xuqing knew that there were some things that must be explained to people before leaving, otherwise, after this departure, it is very likely that there will be more people here. Make waves again.But this made Zhao Bingjun very nervous. The original defense plan was to resolutely isolate the emperor from outsiders, but now the emperor wants to contact the reporters. Those reporters are mixed up. Who can guarantee that no one will be safe for the emperor. threatening.But since the emperor had already made a decision, it was not easy for him to stop him, so he had to order his subordinates to move closer to the north gate of the Central Station as much as possible.

Guan Xuqing came to the north gate, waved to the reporters and the people present and said: "You have all seen that I am going to leave Shanghai and continue to go south. If you have any questions, you can ask them now, but time is limited, and I can't." Do it all."

A reporter asked: "Excuse me, Your Majesty the Emperor, if I read correctly, you should be followed by the three directors of Sanxin Company. They are the tycoons of the Qinghong Gang and the most powerful people in Shanghai. People. So we speculate that the subduing of the Shanghai incident is because you and these three tycoons, or you have reached some kind of concealment with the Qinghong Gang?"

Zhao Bingjun glared at the reporter, thinking that reporters in Shanghai are the most difficult to deal with, and seeing him today, he dared to openly raise such a question to the emperor. If it wasn't for this occasion, he would have been arrested.

Guan Xuqing turned his head and motioned Jin Jinrong and the others to take a few steps forward so that everyone could see clearly. The three smiled awkwardly at the reporters present, and then respectfully stood behind the emperor on the right side.Guan Xu said in a clear voice: "That's right, these three are the board members of Sanxin Company, Huang Jinrong, Du Yuesheng, and Zhang Xiaolin, who were once the leaders of the Qinghong Gang, the largest gang in Jiangnan, but now this gang no longer exists. Yes, its new name is the Shanghai Rescue Association. The main task of this association is to assist the Public Security Department to maintain social order. The new president is Bai Xianming, the Director of the Public Security Department. Therefore, from now on, these three people will have nothing to do with the Qinghong Gang. In addition, Sanxin Company will become a subsidiary company of Far East Co., Ltd. in the future, specializing in legitimate trade. What I want to say here is that everyone makes mistakes, but I think that as long as he can sincerely correct his mistakes, he should give them a An opportunity to make meritorious service and atone for their sins. In order to atone for their sins, these three people expressed their willingness to pour out 3000 million yuan to support the construction of Shanghai and improve the lives of citizens. What do you think?"

(End of this chapter)