Chapter 37: The Manchu-Han Conflict?

  The daughter learned from the side that Zhang Bo was a clean and honest official, loyal to his duties, diligent and frugal, known as the first clean official in Jiangnan. The emperor also praised and promoted him several times. In the 45th year, he was promoted from Jiangsu Provincial Governor to Fujian Provincial Governor by the emperor himself. Why did the emperor let him govern Jiangsu?

  Gaga's move this time was too ruthless, and the scope of the attack was too broad. With one stroke, he offended all the Han Chinese officials in Liangjiang. This move is no different from provoking a conflict between Manchu and Han people. During her stay at the Governor-General's residence in Liangjiang, my daughter quietly observed that most of the officials who came and went were Manchus, while there were very few Han Chinese officials. As for the common people, whenever they mentioned Gaga, they would grit their teeth with hatred.

  If Ga Da Ren is an honest and upright official, his daughter would not have to worry. However, he is greedy and tyrannical, and there must be a dispute between him and Zhang Bo Xing, which is known as the "Dufu dispute". This is different from the usual Dufu dispute, it is actually the Han-Manchu dispute in Jiangnan. The daughter thinks that the final loser will definitely be Ga Da Ren.

  "Father should make early preparations, try to distance himself from Duke Ga as much as possible, and settle all matters cleanly. Firstly, to avoid being implicated in the disaster of the fish in the pond, secondly, also to prevent someone from finding a handle to attack Duke Ga through you."

  Zhang Yuanlong's heart turned cold as he listened to his daughter's incisive analysis. His daughter had shown remarkable judgment since she was young, and over the years, she had rarely misjudged people or situations. When he sent her to the Governor's younger brother's place, it was not only to broaden her horizons but also to gather information with her help. The main reason, however, was to see if Zhang Mengjiao could climb up the social ladder. Although his daughter from the Zhang family didn't have to worry about marriage, Zhang Mengjiao had been struggling for many years, and this year she was already 21 years old. Her marriage had become Zhang Yuanlong's biggest concern, but she herself didn't seem to care at all.

  Zhang Yuanlong did not expect Zhang Mengjiao to bring back such bad news from Jiangning, and he immediately furrowed his brow in thought. At that time, using naval warships to smuggle rice was not only on a large scale but also took a long time, and many people were involved. It would be impossible to clean up the mess, and if someone deliberately investigated, it would be impossible to hide. Thinking of this, he felt extremely annoyed. He had thought that he had found a reliable backer, but instead, it was an iceberg, one that was about to sink.

  Seeing Zhang Yuanlong's helpless appearance, Zhang Mengjiao said softly: "As for the private sale of rice, I also know a little about it. If we want to cover it up completely, not only is it difficult, but it will also be discovered by Lord Gao. This matter is extremely difficult to resolve, but we can't just sit back and wait for death. We must find a way that benefits both sides. Along the way, I have been thinking hard, but I haven't been able to figure out a solution. After entering the county town, I found a way out."

  "Oh, what way out?" Zhang Yuanlong was like a drowning man who suddenly saw a wooden board, his eyes lit up instantly, "Quickly tell me and let me hear."

  Zhang Mengjiao smiled and said, "Father has walked into a dead end. This matter is difficult to solve with our own ability. Why not borrow external force? We change our backing, and everything will be solved easily?"

  "Both governors of the two rivers are unreliable, who can we rely on?" As he said this, Zhang Yuanlong looked at Zhang Mengjiao with suspicion. "Are you referring to the 14th prince?" He shook his head again, "No way, that's a ruthless master who swallows people without spitting out bones. If we find him, our Zhang family might not even have any leftovers."

  "Dad, why did you get such a bad impression of him?" Zhang Mengjiao asked in confusion.

  "You know about the 'Four Great Constants', right?" Zhang Yuanlong said with a bad tone, "The 'Four Great Constants' started with a capital of over 20 million, but at that time, Yin Zhen only invested 2 million and swallowed the entire 'Four Great Constants' including its bones and meat, leaving no residue. Although now the 'Four Great Constants' dominates the entire Qing dynasty's draft industry, being extremely prosperous, the original owner only holds a share of one percent."

  "Besides, this Yi Zhen is now stationed in Shanghai building a fleet of ocean-going warships. You've seen those massive ironclad ships before, but do you know how much silver it takes to build just one? Over a million, and for a whole fleet, we're talking at least ten or so of these giant ships, plus another fifty or sixty slightly smaller battleships. How much silver does that add up to? I've heard that Yi Zhen is footing the bill himself, but where did he get all that silver from? It's not like it's coming from anywhere else - taking it from us would be like throwing sheep into a tiger's den."

  After Zhang Yuanlong finished speaking, Zhang Mengjiao couldn't help but let out a light laugh and said, "Father, you only know one side of the story and not the other."

  "Oh?" Zhang Yuanlong looked at his daughter in confusion, "Could it be that the news I heard was false?"

  "Not quite." Zhang Mengjiao suppressed a smile and said seriously, "In Jiangning recently, the most talked-about topic is this Fourteenth Master, because he is in charge of Shanghai, so my daughter also pays special attention to topics related to him. His takeover of 'Four Great Constants' is also what people are most enthusiastic about. What Father said earlier was correct, but later on, Father got it completely wrong. The original owner of 'Four Great Constants', Zheng Shichang, now only holds 1% of the shares. Do you know how much this 1% stake is worth?"

  Five hundred thousand! Moreover, the emperor also rewarded him with a sixth-grade hat and had his long house lifted into the flag register. Now, even Zheng Shichang has been said to be a legendary businessman, and in Jiangning, there are already storytellers who have compiled this matter into a passage and are singing it everywhere.

  Besides, Jiangning is now preparing to build an agricultural college, a specialized official school that teaches farming and agriculture, which was also the idea of this Fourteenth Master. I heard that he even set up a charity school in Beijing, inviting foreign missionaries to teach Western knowledge. How could such a person become so different after arriving in Shanghai?

  Zhang Yuanlong felt a bit embarrassed upon hearing this, but still said, "Even if that's the case, isn't it true that he built an ocean-going fleet? Where did he get so much silver from?"

  Zhang Mengjiao furrowed her brow, "I'm not clear about this matter either, but judging from the style and means of the 14th master's actions, it shouldn't be so greedy and cruel."

  "Hum, since the imperial court promulgated the 'Regulations for Rectifying and Standardizing Drafts', all the draft banks in Jiangnan have been cleaned up, leaving only one 'Si Da Heng' remaining. I don't know how many draft banks and silver banks have lost their capital and gone bankrupt, causing families to break apart and people to die. Is this not greed and cruelty?"

  "The rotten ship still has three catties of nails, those ticket numbers and silver numbers, which family is not making a fortune? Even if they go bankrupt, how can it be that they lose everything and their families are ruined? Besides, what's wrong with 'Four Great Heng' being the biggest? At least you don't have to carry cash when going out, and now the ticket market is more standardized and safe, no need to worry about being robbed or counterfeited, nor do you need to consider the quality of silver. And it's rare that it can be used nationwide, how many merchants are applauding? Zhang Mengjiao said with a slight smile, "Dad, I'm tired from the bumpy road, let me go rest first."

  Zhang Yuanlong looked at Zhang Mengjiao's back as she walked away and muttered, "Where did I offend this little treasure again?"