The Silent Reforms of Eldridge Chapter 107

Zhang Qiyao retreated. I don’t know whether he really doesn’t understand or pretends not to know about the money bureau; I don’t know whether he really understands or pretends to understand what I say. It gives me the feeling that most of the official affairs in Fujian Province are perfunctory, and the superiors are not interested in official duties, so of course they cannot point out the real shortcomings; the committee members only work for a year and a half to gain more seniority, so that they can become state and county officials---In short, in the whole province, there are almost no people who are dedicated to public affairs.

In the third year of Xianfeng's reign (1853), the Xiao Dao Hui in Zhangzhou revolted and killed town and road officials. Zhangzhou and Longzhou fell one after another. Then bandits spread and there were long-haired nuisances. Tingzhou and Pucheng prefectures and counties fell one after another, and the province The realm is endless. The government deployed troops for five or six years and spent more than 10 million in military pay, but to no avail. Although Fujian petitioned the imperial court for support from various provinces, neighboring provinces also had too much to take care of themselves. The land in Fujian Province was barren and the people were poor, so they were not active in donating taxes, so they opened official money shops and issued banknotes to raise military pay. As a result, there was a large backlog of private banknotes, and the political situation was on the verge of collapse. Therefore, it was allowed to donate money to officials. After making 28,000 coins worth one tael of silver, they became enthusiastic about donating money. We knew clearly that the losses were too great, but if we had not followed the authority but stuck to the rules, Fujian would have been doomed and would have had to reorganize and spend even more money. This method of using money to donate officials was reported to the Ministry of Household Affairs and approved sixteen times in a row. Suddenly, I received a document from the Ministry of Household Affairs, ordering an additional 50% silver charge starting from the 17th time. It seems that the imperial court is also short of silver.

Jiangjun Yamen always failed to collect regular taxes and relied entirely on tariff subsidies from foreign businessmen. The landowners in Fujian Province can't collect much money, and military pay depends entirely on this tariff, which amounts to about five to six million yuan every year. Soon, I received a document from the Ministry of Household Affairs, ordering all customs duties to be handed over to the Ministry of Household Affairs. The opium tax must also be handed over to the Ministry of Household Affairs before being disbursed. If this is followed, Fujian will have no income, and its annual expenses will be several million taels. Even if I were a gold man, I would not be able to melt this much silver.

Zhejiang was in a hurry and was ordered to allocate 100,000 taels of silver. No matter what the amount was, it was required to be shipped immediately. 80,000 taels have been sent. The Ministry of Household Affairs later ordered the payment of 200,000 yuan in customs duties, and 150,000 yuan has already been paid - and actually asked for 3,000 taels of government fees - which is the benefit fee. If you don't pay this money, you will not be able to continue I can't even hand over the money.

Then I received a message from Wang Youling, the governor of Zhejiang (who was the benefactor of the famous red-top businessman Hu Xueyan), saying that 100,000 yuan was far from enough, and that at least 50,000 taels of silver should be provided every month---I didn't think so. There's a solution. Wang Youling is from Fujian, doesn’t he know his family background in Fujian? It's ridiculous for a lion to open his mouth like this. He has always been known for being good at raising funds, and he prided himself on this when he was the governor of Jiangsu Province. He Guiqing, the governor of Liangjiang, also told everyone he met that he was an extraordinary talent. I said at that time: "Jiangsu is the richest in the world. As long as you are willing to find a way, it is not difficult to raise money. If you can easily raise money in Fujian, Anhui, Gansu, Yunnan, Guizhou and other provinces, you will be a real genius." Now Wang Youling As the governor of Zhejiang, he was unable to do anything when faced with a difficult situation. Although the people's livelihood was difficult after the place was ruined, it was not impossible to rely on neighboring provinces for help. The reason was that he was used to spending money in Jiangsu, and suddenly he changed from extravagance to frugality, which inevitably left him in dire straits. He Guiqing has been friends with Wang Youling for several generations, so he obeys his advice and is almost a best friend. The reason why Wang Youling was so domineering was because of He Guiqing's connivance. He Guiqing and my nephew Zhang Yunzao were of the same age, and we worked together in Beijing. I passed through Changzhou last winter and chatted with He Guiqing for a long time, talking about almost everything. This person is indeed very smart and very impressive, but he is too frivolous to hold a big position.