Qing Yao

Chapter 311: Putting an end to the chaos
What could be the reason?
With the matter handled remotely, there's no need to worry about them resorting to desperate measures.

All the officials and wealthy people in the province have formed an unbreakable alliance with Wang Fantai. How can we investigate?
How to catch it?
If you don't want to cause too much of a commotion or even trigger unpredictable consequences, the best solution is to transfer the person to another location.

If a tiger leaves its den, there are plenty of ways to deal with it.

Similarly, when Zhao An sold tens of thousands of university diplomas in Anhui, he was binding those who bought them to him. As long as Zhao An remained in good health, these people could enjoy the various benefits he offered. If Zhao An were to get into trouble, they would end up like those suckers in Gansu, having wasted their money.

This gave Zhao An a certain "popular support" base in Anhui. Coupled with his image as an upright official who actively helped with disaster relief, as long as he did not openly raise the banner of anti-Qing, the gentry class in Anhui would not oppose him.

This would facilitate the "power struggle between the prefect and the governor" between Zhao An and Zhu Gui in Anhui, making it no longer a dream to completely drive out the governor Zhu Gui.

As for Lao Song's concerns about governance performance, Zhao An didn't take it to heart. Given the current situation in Anhui, it was to be expected that he wouldn't achieve any political achievements within two or three years, since it would take at least three years after such a major disaster.

A qualified local official's job right now is to stabilize the disaster area, restore the order of production and life in the disaster area, and allow the people to recuperate. Talking about anything else is just empty talk.

Although no accurate data was reported to the province from various regions after this major disaster, Zhao An was able to arrive at a conservative figure based on his own research in the areas he visited: the number of people who died as a result of the disaster would not be less than two million, which is equivalent to a reduction of one-tenth of the total population of Anhui Province.

even more.

Nobody knows exactly how much.

Even if Zhao An ordered a population census, he would not get accurate data.

The limitations of an era cannot be changed by an individual's subjective thoughts.

Two million was an astronomical figure in Zhao An's eyes, and in later generations it would be considered a shocking event. However, in the Qing Dynasty, this death toll was quite common. Not to mention the Shunzhi and Kangxi eras, the number of deaths in several major disasters during the Qianlong era far exceeded two million.

For example, the drought in North China during the eighth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign killed more than five million people, and tens of thousands of people died in the heat alone in the capital city.

The greatest drought of the Qing Dynasty was the "Dingwu Famine" a hundred years later. This drought, which also occurred in North China, caused more than 10 million people to starve to death and more than 20 million people to flee their homes.

After each major disaster, neither the Qing government nor the local authorities had any effective solutions. Apart from providing appropriate relief, they could only let time heal all wounds.

Therefore, even if Zhao An, the provincial governor, cannot restore Anhui's tax revenue to its original level, or even raise it to a higher level, as long as he can stabilize the disaster area, it will still be considered a capable official's performance.

Furthermore, like Zhu Gui, he petitioned the court to exempt the disaster-stricken areas of Anhui from taxes. Therefore, it is not surprising that he could not collect taxes during his term of office.

On the surface, donating money to the emperor seemed like undermining the emperor's influence, allowing many people in Anhui to be exempt from taxes for life. However, from another perspective, it was Anhui raising money on its own to solve its difficulties without needing government funding for relief. It was also a form of "consideration" from local officials for the court, and an excellent demonstration of ministers sharing the emperor's burdens.

Whether the diplomas of these Qing Dynasty "university students" from Anhui will be recognized by the new dynasty is a matter for the future.

Zhao An felt that he wouldn't have to worry about this pain for at least twenty years.

Even if the new dynasty recognizes the diplomas of the previous dynasty, it doesn't say that a university diploma can be passed down from father to son.

And there's an open conspiracy involved in this matter.

The tax exemption privilege enjoyed by "university students" indirectly caused the Qing government to lose this part of its tax revenue. This is another version of "state withdrawal and private advancement". The Qing government will be able to obtain very limited money and grain taxes in Anhui.

Having tasted the benefits, these "university students" would surely rely on their diplomas to continue receiving tax exemptions until their deaths. If the Qing government were to cease recognizing these diplomas due to a financial crisis, these "university students" and their families would undoubtedly become opponents of the Qing government.

As long as someone stirs up trouble, even "university students" in the Qing Dynasty can become enemies of the Qing Dynasty.

The wealth these people accumulated through tax exemptions would also become the funds and motivation for the anti-Qing movement.

Mobilizing the public does not necessarily require only taxation.

As long as Zhao An persists in opposing the Qing dynasty, the more wealth left behind in Anhui, the more advantageous it will be for him.

War is all about money and supplies.

"Wang Danwang only makes money and doesn't support his army; he deserves to be investigated. We make money and support our army; when the White Lotus Rebellion breaks out, who will dare to investigate us?"

Zhao An told Lao Song not to worry about this or that, and to use his professional experience to help him come up with ideas. He would also go to Anqing as the director of the Provincial Governor's Office to hold a symposium with all parties, listen to their opinions, and come up with a plan that would satisfy all parties.

In short, the goal was to sell these titles and official positions in a way that would please everyone, even the Qing court would have to give Anhui a thumbs up and say that they handled things well.

"Okay, I'll do my best."

Since Zhao An had said so, what could Lao Song do but comply?

Zhao An quickly wrote a memorial requesting the establishment of a temporary donation system and ordered a messenger to send it to the capital by express courier. He also took out the provincial governor's seal that he had received from Jing Daoqian and obtained an appointment letter for Old Song. The former provincial governor's assistant was not simply dismissed, but was assigned to a prefecture in southern Anhui as a deputy prefect.

After receiving the letter of appointment, Old Song told Zhao An that he had not come alone, but had brought more than a dozen students from the county school with him.

They were all students who felt hopeless about passing the imperial examinations.

He figured that Zhao An had no roots in Anhui, and now that he had been promoted to acting governor, he would definitely need people under his command. These students were all his own students, whom he knew well, so he took it upon himself to bring them over.

Zhao An was delighted and instructed Lao Song to place half of the students he brought in the provincial government office and keep the other half under his command to do clerical work.

At the same time, everything became clear.

Yes, he has the sons of the Grand Canal Gang to use in the military, and he also has a contingent of his own soldiers among the civil officials.

That was a large number of students from Yangzhou Prefectural School.

Although the number of candidates admitted to the imperial examinations in the Qing Dynasty could fluctuate—for example, Yangzhou might admit ten this year and fifteen next year—the overall admission rate was quite low. Out of one hundred students who passed the preliminary examinations, only about two could obtain the title of Xiucai, and out of one hundred Xiucai, only one could pass the provincial examinations.

This led to a large number of students wasting their lives crowding onto the single-plank bridge of the imperial examination, with some even struggling to pass the county-level examination at the age of fifty or sixty.

Employment prospects are very limited.

However, Zhao An could completely use the entire Anhui province as a "market" to absorb the group of scholars and students from Yangzhou's educational circles, arranging these intellectuals in various institutions in Anhui for his own use.

Those who perform exceptionally well can have their educational restrictions waived using the privileges of the provincial governor. In this way, within three to five years, a large number of Yangzhou natives could fill grassroots and even mid-level positions in Anhui. Furthermore, these scholars could be recruited into the "New Army" and local militias, completely solving the talent shortage problem. Without hesitation, he wrote a letter to Vice Principal Ma, emphasizing the importance of the "assistance" between Anhui and Yangzhou, and urging Vice Principal Ma to encourage students to seek employment in Anhui.

He once again joined Principal Zhao's team.

All students from Yangzhou who are willing to come to Anhui to help Principal Zhao will be given a permanent position.

Even if you don't have a script, you have to create one.

Zhao An didn't want his students to get soaked in the rain he had already experienced.

The official system is complicated, but the staffing system is just a matter of his word.

Old Song agreed wholeheartedly and, holding the letter of appointment, led his men to Anqing to "take over" the provincial governor's office and the provincial governor's treasury. Zhao An then met with Ye Zhigui, Zhuang Yingjiu, and others, inquiring about the grain transportation situation and learning about the situation of the Yangzhou branch.

After Zhao An was promoted to Jiangning, the old master of the canal gang appointed Zhang Baofa's son, Zhang Anle, as the leader of Yangzhou. As Zhao An's official position rose higher and higher, it became impossible for him to be a candidate for leader. Therefore, even though Ding Jiu and others resisted Zhang Anle's appointment as leader, under the pressure of the old master, Zhang Anle still became the new leader.

However, according to Ye Zhigui, Zhang Anle was not as domineering as his father Zhang Baofa; he was more like a businessman than a leader.

After arriving in Yangzhou, he basically did not interfere with the affairs of the ship, and was very polite to Ding Jiu. What he did most every day was to use the cargo ships under the ship's jurisdiction to help Zhang's family transport tea and silk.

"All Zhang cares about is money; he doesn't care about the lives of his brothers."

Ye Zhigui, Ren Chaoyang, and others were all dissatisfied with the new leader.

"What's wrong with money? Without money, what will you eat and drink?"

Zhao An thought that Zhang Anle was quite clever. If he really tried to seize power from Ding Jiu and forcibly interfere in the affairs of the helm, it was hard to guarantee that Ding Jiu and his men wouldn't kill Zhang Anle.

After all, the Yangzhou branch has a lot more business now. The two salt transport routes to Hubei and Xuzhou alone are enough to support tens of thousands of people in the branch. Moreover, he has also introduced construction business to the branch.

The two salt transport routes to Hubei and Xuzhou have been successfully operating. Ding Jiu only sent someone to be in charge of the operation in Xuzhou, while the people working below were the same group of people originally hired by the Jiao family.

Because of Zhao An's repeated instructions, the people in charge and those actually running the boats on the Hubei route were all from the shipping guild. There were more than a thousand men running this route, and they were responsible for the business of two major salt merchants.

Every year, they could earn more than 400,000 taels of silver just from transportation fees. However, Ding Jiu and his men were certainly not satisfied with just transportation fees, and they were also secretly transporting smuggled salt to Hankou.

This smuggled salt was from Xinglong Salt Company, which was managed by Bao Dawei and Yang Xiaoshuan. With the help of Lao Ding, the two not only obtained official permits for several thousand yin of salt from the Salt Administration Office, but also secretly organized people to directly purchase "hidden salt" from salt producers in Dongtai.

Because of Zhao An and Lao Ding, the Dongtai authorities turned a blind eye to Xinglong Ship's illegal salt purchasing activities, which allowed Xinglong Ship to smuggle tens of thousands of kilograms of salt out of Dongtai every month.

Bao Dawei and Yang Xiaoshuan became increasingly proficient in their business, and Ding Jiu planned to set up a Xinglong branch in Hankou to expand the private salt business.

Zhao An certainly supported this, because Hankou was not only a transshipment center for Huai salt sold to the Hubei and Hunan regions, but also the largest economic center in Central China after the White Lotus Rebellion.

At that time, the army and supplies mobilized by the Qing Dynasty with the strength of the whole country will be concentrated in Hankou. Merchants from all over the country who want to make a fortune from the national crisis will also flock to this place. If you can make arrangements in Hankou in advance, you can get a big share of the pie. At the same time, you can also establish an intelligence network in Hankou.

After thinking it over, he asked Ye Zhigui to send a message to the gang, instructing Ding Jiu to shift the focus of resources toward Hubei. This meant sending the gang's elite forces to Hankou to "integrate" with the local shipping gangs and then using them to establish a foothold in Hankou.

It's true that the members of the Canal Gang are one family, but interests are never free from conflict just because they are family. Therefore, Zhao An asked Ding Jiu to give 30% of the profits to win over and bribe the local Canal Gang, the local power.

He also wrote to Bao Dawei, asking him to coordinate the matter with Ding Jiu, and instructed Yang Xiaoshuan to come to Anhui to meet him after receiving the letter.

Previously, Zhao An sent Baili Yunlong to contact the salt bandits in Fengyang, but for some reason, Baili Yunlong has not been heard from since. He may have been detained or killed.

Zhao An is currently unsure of the exact reason, but he has not given up on his plan to recruit the salt bandits and intends to send Yang Xiaoshuan to contact them again.

Offer the most tangible benefit—salt.

In the past, the salt bandits didn't smuggle salt directly from the salt-producing areas; it went through several intermediaries before reaching them. Now, Yang Xiaoshuan is negotiating cooperation with them, providing the salt bandits with first-hand salt. This not only allows the salt bandits to become the distribution team of Zhao An Salt Group, but also gives them control over the source of the salt, ensuring that they won't cause any trouble.

Zhao An had inquired in detail about the houses he had built for the Canal Gang in Yangzhou and the schooling situation of the Canal Gang's children. He was satisfied with the results, and the branch was basically implementing the plans he had made before he left.

"When you get back, tell Ding Jiu that Zhang Anle should be treated well. As long as he doesn't cause trouble, the gang should try to meet his requests as much as possible."

After talking for a while, Zhao An invited Ye Zhigui and the others to have dinner, and then made a special trip to visit General Hou Feng, who had brought troops and supplies.

When they saw that Zhao An, who was already a third-rank official, had come to visit them in person, General Hou and his soldiers escorting the grain were extremely excited. Many of them had been to Huai'an with Zhao An, and the warmth in their eyes was evident.

To the disbelief of these Green Standard Army soldiers, after more than half a year, Lord Zhao could still accurately call some of them by name, and even had someone prepare three taels of red envelopes for each of them, saying that he was representing the Anhui Provincial Treasurer to thank his brothers for their support.

"You've gone to so much trouble, sir!"

The red envelope that Commander Hou received was not much, only fifty taels, but it was personally placed in his hand by Zhao An, who was the acting provincial governor. Commander Hou could not help but be excited.

“I am very happy that you could come. Although I am now an official in Anhui, I have never forgotten the days and nights we spent together on the banks of the Grand Canal, nor have I forgotten your kindness to me.”

At this point, Zhao An expressed his regret that because the entire province of Anhui was severely affected by the disaster, he was unable to host a welcome dinner for the Green Standard Army brothers from Yangzhou. He could only have someone prepare a small feast to express his gratitude.

"You're too kind, sir. We are already deeply grateful that you came to see us. We can't possibly ask for more."

As Commander Hou was excitedly rubbing his hands together, a fast horse arrived, and a document was delivered to Lord Zhao.

When Zhao An opened the package, his expression changed drastically, his face turning ashen.

Seeing this, Commander Hou cautiously asked, "Sir, what happened?"

"The White Lotus Sect has rebelled and is besieging Suzhou."

Zhao An handed the document to the attendant beside him, glanced at Hou Feng, and said with considerable guilt, "I wanted to stay with you for a while, but now I have no choice but to go to Suzhou to relieve the siege. Otherwise, if Suzhou falls, I, as the acting governor, will be held responsible, and the court will most likely take my head."

(End of this chapter)