Chapter 7: Atonement
This move has already exceeded Tan Yanqing's understanding, from the beginning, this old man had been planning and arranging his emotions, and he himself was just following the steps of the old man unknowingly, and also brought in the old man's opponents. Tonight, a judicial officer came, it is not guaranteed that the governor and the provincial military commander will not be involved, it is indeed a one-net catch!
Tan Zhonglin has been the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang for almost a year, but during this period he rarely appeared to handle official business. Except when necessary, he remained in seclusion in the governor's mansion like a hermit who did not ask about worldly affairs. Originally, everything was under his control, even how to intimidate subordinates could be calculated, and with ease, he could give subordinates "a jab" without exerting himself. This method, Tan Yankei couldn't match even if he tried for a hundred years.
"Alright, you'd better learn from your mistakes! I don't have many years left, but your road is still very long. The Tan family's reputation depends on you now. As for those two brothers of yours... sigh!" Tan Zhonglin's expression turned gloomy and he shook his head without continuing. Tan Yanke's two older brothers were also famous for their talents in their youth, but that was because they had been strictly trained by Tan Zhonglin. They had easily passed the imperial examination at a young age, but unfortunately, both of them got stuck at the provincial examination stage and hadn't made any progress in ten years. Tan Zhonglin had given up on them long ago.
"Father, the ups and downs of officialdom are not something a child like me can control. My two elder brothers are also not ordinary people, they will surely have their day of glory...” Tan Yanqi looked at the 70-year-old man in front of him, but for a moment, he didn't know how to comfort him.
Tan Zhonglin waved his hand and said, "Which of you brothers can inherit the Tan family's legacy? Don't I know it clearly?! If one day I'm not around, you'll still have to take care of those two... Father is old now, if he were twenty years younger, haha, I'd also like to try walking Zhang Xiaoda's path and see if I can become the number one governor in the world!"
Tan Zhonglin shook his head and continued: "Alright, let's not talk about this. I'm sure the officials are already impatiently waiting for us. They probably want to return the betting money and close the case. We can't afford to confront them after all. They're the local snakes, and they need to control the peace in Fuzhou City. And if the governor's involvement in gambling gets out, it won't sound good..."
"See the Governor!" The officer He Jiong bowed and asked after his well-being.
Tan Zhonglin smiled and stepped forward to hold He Jiong's arm, saying: "Lord Tai, you don't have to be so polite when you come to my humble abode. Please take a seat... This is..."
He Jiong immediately turned around and said: "This is Yu Liang, a well-known rich man in Fuzhou City. He is kind and charitable, and is loved by the local people... Today, I am specially introducing him to you!"
Yu Liang, despite wearing a long gown, couldn't hide his true nature. This kind of person is obviously not on the right path, and as for being loved by the local people, that's even more nonsense. What Yu Liang is like, both sides know what's going on, they just don't want to say it out loud.
"Your Excellency, I have come today mainly to make amends. A few days ago, Yu Liang unknowingly offended the Third Master, and this time I have come to apologize!" He Qiong did not want to drag things out, but as soon as he saw the 50,000 taels of silver, he knew that things were not so simple after all. It was definitely Tan Zhonglin who was behind the scenes causing trouble. Although the rank of the Provincial Governor was lower than that of the Governor-General, He Qiong was not afraid of him. However, if Tan Zhonglin insisted on making things difficult, he might use some trickery or really cure his opium addiction, and the 500,000 taels of silver would be hard to bear. He could have impeached the Governor-General for participating in gambling, but the other party had deep roots in the capital, and even if they were dismissed from office, they could be reinstated. It was possible that he himself would also be dragged down. Moreover, if both sides fought to the end, the outcome was uncertain, but one thing was certain: the gambling dens in Fuzhou would definitely be destroyed, which would not benefit either side. That's why he had softened his stance.
He Jiong finished speaking, and Yu Liang stepped forward, bowed his head, and pulled out several silver tickets from his sleeve. Just by looking at the thickness, it was clear that it was far more than 50,000 taels. He said: "Is this the Third Master? I, He Jiong, have eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai, and have offended you in many ways, please forgive me!"
Tan Yanqian saw Tan Zhonglin nod and walked forward to take over the silver ticket, didn't even look at it, and put it aside. He took out a betting ticket and handed it to Yu Liang while smiling and saying: "Mr. Yu, this is just a misunderstanding. However, the prestige of the Fujian-Zhejiang Governor's Mansion cannot be blasphemed. If not for the rumors in the city, I fear that if we don't control it, it will tarnish my father's reputation and won't look good on the faces of officials in both provinces. That's why I'm taking this extra step. Even if Mr. Yu didn't come today, I would have visited him another day. This is just a misunderstanding, and after clearing things up, we can still be friends!"
He Jiong and Yu Liang both showed an awkward smile on their faces: "Wait for you to come visit? By that time, I'm afraid I'll have to take out 500,000 taels!"
He Jiong, after all, was also a veteran of the officialdom, and he chuckled: "Third Master is talented, this opium addiction is also a harm to my Chinese people. If it can really be overcome through medicine, Third Master's merits are boundless! Governor Tan is truly blessed to have Third Master, who will surely bring glory to his family!"
Tan Zhonglin smiled slightly and said, "If Xiao San can be half as old as you, Mr. He, I would thank heaven and earth. This kid is not diligent in his studies, so he will need your guidance even more in the future!"
He Ji hastily waved his hand and said, "Where? Where? Director Tan is too modest. The third young master is young and promising. I am also from the imperial examination field. At the age of three, I was not even a scholar. I heard that next year the court will hold an imperial examination, I wonder if the third young master..."
"Although his studies are not thorough, it's also good to let him go back to his hometown in Hunan to try, this matter is not urgent!" Tan Zhonglin muddled through with a few words.
Next year, the imperial court will hold an examination, and Tan Yanxin had already planned with his father to return to Hunan to take part in the provincial examination - this is a very important step in the imperial examination process, passing which would make him a juren, and only then would he have the opportunity to move on. At 16 years old, Tan Yanxin's participation in the provincial examination was quite early, but Tan Zhonglin was extremely satisfied with his academic performance, and planned to let him give it a try - if he passed, that would be best, and if not, then it would be a valuable experience, after all, there were too many people who had become xiucai but never became juren in their entire lives. Tan Sitong, the son of Tan Jixun from the same province of Hunan, had already taken the provincial examination three times without becoming a juren, and Tan Zhonglin took a rather open-minded view of such things, only hoping that Tan Yanxin would become a juren around the age of 20.
Tan Yankei escorted them to the gate of the Governor's Mansion and returned to the living room, where Tan Zhonglin was still sitting motionless, lost in thought.
"What is Father thinking?" Tan Yanqin asked in a low voice.
Tan Zhonglin smiled and said: "How's your detox experiment going? It can't be that something went wrong with such a tight seal, right?"
"Everything is going extremely well, now it seems that in less than a month, in another six or seven days these people will be able to return home!" Tan Yanqing said with great confidence.
Tan Zhonglin nodded his head in satisfaction and said, "You've done a great job with this matter. If it hadn't succeeded, I would have really lost face for the Governor's Mansion. Zou An, let's see if He Yun and the others will behave themselves!"
Tan Yanqin picked up the silver tickets on the table, carefully counted them and said: "There are a total of 100,000 taels of silver tickets. It seems that Yu Liang and others have made a big investment!"
Tan Zhonglin nodded and said, "Yu Liang and the others will definitely lose some face, but it's not to the point of losing their foundation. He Jia is not a simple person, so don't confront him head-on in the future. He's a provincial official, his background isn't that simple! This time he came to your door to apologize, I think it's settled then. In the future, as long as you don't provoke him too much, he'll also acknowledge your kindness..."
"How dare they..."
Tan Zhonglin said lightly: "What's there to dare or not dare, do you think I didn't consider letting you follow Huang Fengqi? However, no matter how good your martial arts are, they don't have much significance against this kind of person. Martial arts are just for strengthening the body, if you want to kill someone, a bullet is much more convenient. Not to mention you, a governor's son, even Zhang Zhidong couldn't do anything when he was ambushed by a provincial official during his tenure as governor-general. Although it wasn't fatal, this kind of person can be very troublesome when they want to escape..."
Huang Fengqi was Tan Yankai's mentor, not only a famous Confucian scholar but also a master of martial arts with exceptional skills, especially in hard qigong. In Tan Yankai's memory, there is a scene where Huang Fengqi easily split several bricks into two segments from top to bottom. To this day, Tan Yankai still has the habit of practicing martial arts every morning. The spirit attached to Tan Yankai, Feng Wenyu, also knew martial arts. In his previous life, in a small village in Chaling, Hunan, there was a small Taoist temple not far away, where Feng Wenyu learned martial arts. However, unlike Huang Fengqi's external skills, he excelled in internal qigong, and although splitting bricks with a palm strike was impressive, he wasn't very interested in it. He just practiced a different set of moves every morning during his practice sessions.
"Zu An, what are your plans for these 200,000 taels of silver?" Tan Zhonglin asked.
"The young master plans to use the remaining 5,000 taels from his father's 10,000 taels to establish a rehabilitation center. The cost of rehabilitating addicts won't exceed 100,000 taels, and the remaining 50,000 taels can be used to cover expenses. Those who are poor will receive free treatment, while the wealthy will be charged accordingly. If there is still a shortfall, we can allocate some funds from the Strong Learning Book Bureau's monthly profits to make up for it.
As for the workshop that manufactures the anti-opium pills, it can be expanded into a health clinic. I think this anti-opium pill is not only needed in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, but also in other places. Zhang Zhidong and Liu Kunyi have always been opposed to opium, so they will definitely be interested in this. These two governors have a lot of money at their disposal, and with the development of the clinic, we can use it to eradicate opium from Fujian and Zhejiang provinces once and for all!" Tan Yanqing said with a smile.
Tan Zhonglin nodded and said: "It's good that you can think this way. I will make arrangements with Zhang Zhidong and Liu Kunyi, they can afford to donate a little blood, and I will also move other governors and governors around. When the anti-drug effect in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces is very obvious, your father can still submit a memorial to the emperor, and this medicine factory won't be short of things to do! What plans do you have for the remaining 20,000 taels?"
"The child thought of what his father said about Zhang Zhidong's affairs, so he wanted to ask his father to recruit some people to train and form a team of guards! The number doesn't need to be too many, the child estimates that one hundred is enough, equip them with the best weapons and ammunition, invite the best martial arts master to teach them martial arts and physical fitness, and they can be sent out in less than half a year!" Tan Yanxin said.
"Oh?"
"After all, the kid's pharmaceutical factory is producing anti-addiction pills, which will probably cut off many people's sources of income. These people are not easy to mess with, and in comparison, today's Yu Liang should be relatively easier to deal with. Father also knows that among those who can open opium dens, how many are clean? The local hooligans don't have the ability to do such big things, most of them are gang organizations, and behind them, there are some corrupt officials as their backing. Although they don't dare to use force, but causing trouble for the pharmaceutical factory or harassing the Governor's office..."
Tan Zhonglin nodded and said, "Zu An, what you said makes sense too. Training the Imperial Guard is not a big deal, since we are the imperial family, spending this amount of money is easy for us, but isn't two million taels a bit too much?"
"The child needs this hundred people to be the best! This household will all be armed with foreign guns, and if possible, the child also wants to buy foreign artillery! The monthly salary of these people must also be higher than that of ordinary soldiers, and foreign military officers will be invited to take charge of training. However, foreign military officers are only responsible for training and cannot command. After the training is completed, they will leave, which can also avoid conflicts between China and foreigners. Once this household army is trained, the child needs them to be able to defeat ten people at once, and see who dares to provoke us!" Tan Yanqing said coldly.
Tan Zhonglin smiled and said, "Zu An, do you still want to buy foreign artillery? This is impossible! If we follow your plan, wouldn't that be like having an army? It's just a smaller number of people!"
"Father, this world is full of hidden dangers everywhere. Although the Taiping Rebellion has been over for a long time, it's hard to guarantee that it won't happen again. Father, you are an honest official, but how many officials like you are there in the imperial court? The people are forced to rebel! This household troop is actually an army. If something happens in Fujian or Zhejiang provinces, before things get out of hand, send these men over quickly to put out the fire and avoid more trouble!"
Tan Zhonglin listened and thought for half a day with a solemn expression, then said to Tan Yanqing: "You must do this thing yourself, no one else can intervene! What you just said is something that our father and son can discuss among ourselves, but we cannot say it to outsiders. It's not good that you were born in these times... the chaos of the world has already begun to show its signs, and the Qing dynasty is in trouble both domestically and internationally..."
Tan Yanqian said: "Father's words, son will remember!"
Tan Yanqing did not expect that he would also start to take the military route slowly. He knew that the Qing dynasty's large-scale imitation of the West to build a new army was only carried out after the defeat of the First Sino-Japanese War, which also gave birth to the Beiyang warlord clique that affected China for nearly thirty years in modern times. Of course, the formation of the new army by the Qing dynasty was also another aspect that led to its downfall. The southern new army was the main force of the Xinhai Revolution. If there were no new armies, it is possible that the Qing dynasty could have lasted a few more years. Thinking of Beiyang, Tan Yanqing couldn't help but think of Yuan Shikai, the "Northern strongman" during the Xinhai Revolution.
"Yuan Shikai would still be the Emperor of Korea, but it is said that during his time in Korea, he also trained a new-style army for the Korean emperor. No wonder he was able to establish the Beiyang New Army so smoothly later on. Without this experience, it would have been impossible to accomplish such a feat!" Tan Yankai thought to himself with some amusement.
Tan Yanqing did not think highly of his own role in this era - which of those strongmen and heroes of the early Republic of China had not spent years or even decades accumulating power before rising to control the situation? Although he knew that those historical figures had their shortcomings, whether they were positive or negative, he would not belittle them. After all, this was a chaotic world, and being able to stand firm for many years in this turbulent era was not something that ordinary people could do. Whether it was Yuan Shikai or Sun Yat-sen, they may have done many wrong things, or become great men, or become heroes, but one had to admit that they had a profound impact on China. In the state of being blind to the future, how many people could see so far ahead, and leave their names in Chinese history? Basically, none of them were people he could easily dismiss.
Tan Yanxin's detoxification experiment was extremely successful, and all the opium addicts successfully quit their addiction after more than 20 days of detoxification. To verify the effect, he even bought some opium, and as a result, these former opium addicts took it and vomited uncontrollably, seeing this scene, Tan Yanxin smiled with satisfaction at the corner of his mouth.
The anti-opium experiment of the Fujian-Zhejiang Governor's Office has attracted the attention of all citizens in Fuzhou, and it is a highly valued matter within the two provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang. In this era when communication is not very developed, the news that Governor Tan Zhonglin is trying to use medicine to cure people's opium addiction has spread widely in southern China. After the Governor's Office announced the success of the anti-opium experiment, for a time, the entire central and southern regions of China focused their attention on this small Governor's Office.
The opium den in Fuzhou City was abolished a few days ago, and although Yu Liang and others lost some money and their reputation was damaged, it's better to compensate Tan Yanqing. After the news was confirmed, the people of Fuzhou City felt that Yu Liang and others were able to retreat quickly, after all, at that time, almost the entire city of Fuzhou was defeated by the Governor's Mansion, and Yu Liang had blocked a small disaster for them.
Although the "Anti-Opium Den" incident has passed, Yu Liang and his associates are even more worried - their wealth today is not only due to gambling, but also the benefits brought by the opium dens they operate. The success of the anti-opium campaign in the Governor's Office has been proven to be absolutely true, and Tan Zhonglin did not cheat in this matter. This makes them even more uneasy. Especially yesterday, the Fujian-Zhejiang Governor's Office gathered the wealthy merchants in Fuzhou City, hoping they could donate a piece of land for an anti-opium center. Many of the wealthy merchants in Fuzhou City are also involved in operating opium dens, but facing Tan Zhonglin's stern expression and the guards holding knives outside the gate, they wisely donated 10,000 taels of silver and two large mansions to be used as an anti-opium center and for anti-opium expenses. This far exceeded the expectations of Tan and his son.
