Liu Ziguang went to Shandong to hold the title of imperial envoy under the supervision of the Beiyang Navy. He was already a super-ranking official of the Crown Prince Shaobao plus a first-class marquis, so he could only hold the title of temporary imperial envoy. All officials on the ground in Shandong had to do so unconditionally.
They followed his orders, dispatched personnel, materials and money, and jointly established the Beiyang Navy.
The so-called Beiyang Navy is a large naval unit corresponding to Taiwan's newly established Nanyang Navy. It is based on the Shandong Peninsula and has the Manchu, Goryeo, and Japanese countries as potential enemies. It includes several docks, supporting forts, and defense
Infantry on land installations, and of course a powerful armored fleet.
The foundation of the Beiyang Navy is the three armored battleships led by Liu Ziguang. The battleships have no names yet, but numbers such as "001" and "002" are marked with black paint on the bows. The official names need to wait for the water.
The division will be named after it is formally established. Of course, these three ships are not the only fleet heading north. When it departed from Nanjing, it brought ten steamships for transporting supplies and personnel, and when it arrived in Shanghai, it also brought thirty steamships for transporting machinery.
Equipment, skilled workers, sailing ships carrying food and fodder, Shanghai Governor Ma Shiying personally boarded the ship to express condolences to the people going north. He would give whatever the army needed without any ambiguity. He even wanted his daughter to go north with Mr. Liu, but Liu Ziguang was once again
After politely declining, Governor Ma sighed with regret, lamenting that his daughter did not have such a good life.
Sighing, sighing, cooperation is still needed. Ma Shiying seems to have regarded himself as Liu Ziguang's loyal team. Under his governance, Shanghai is Liu Ziguang's strong logistics base, including grain, grass, cloth, food and water, machinery and equipment, and the settlement expenses for those who go north.
With the financial allocation from the Shanghai Provincial Government, the purchase of Merlin cans alone cost tens of thousands of taels of silver, and the purchase of cigarettes and cigars from Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company also cost a large sum of money. These money eventually fell into Liu Ziguang's pocket.
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The fleet set off from Wusongkou and headed north to Shandong. It made a mighty journey, riding the wind and waves. It only stopped in Haizhou for one day, and the next day it arrived at Jiaozhou Bay, 360 miles away. Jiaozhou Bay is located in the southern part of the Shandong Peninsula, with the Nanjiao River.
Injection. The mouth of Jiaozhou Bay is narrow and wide inside, thirty miles wide from east to west and forty miles long from north to south. It is a semi-enclosed bay extending into the inland. The natural deep-water channel is about five feet deep and has no sedimentation. The inner harbor of the bay is wide and deep, and the wind and waves are calm.
, the sea water never freezes all year round, making it an excellent natural harbor.
Liu Ziguang ordered the establishment of a naval base in Jiaozhou Bay. The location of the base was set at the mouth of the bay. This small fishing village did not have a name yet. Liu Ziguang pondered for a moment and said: "Let's call it Qingdao."
The construction of Qingdao was in full swing. Migrant workers from Jimo County and Jiao County came over to help with the work under the leadership of the county officials. Liu Ziguang, the great god, was here. Even the governor of Shandong did not dare to sit in Jinan. He was in a panic.
He rushed over to say hello, but was stopped by a telegram from Liu Ziguang, saying that it would be of no use for the governor to come, so he might as well stay in Jinan to mobilize personnel and supplies.
The task of building Qingdao City was given to the people of Shandong. People from all over the province came from all directions. Liu Ziguang did not send them in vain. Every worker was paid enough wages, and there were no supervisors with whips, only supervisors with rulers.
If you think about it, the workload is there. If you complete it, you will get money. If you don't complete it, you will drink the northwest wind. Who is lazy and slippery? Therefore, the construction of the dock is extremely smooth, and the progress is many times faster than the government's dispatch of corvees.
"At the end of the trestle, a pavilion needs to be built." Liu Ziguang stood on the beach in Qingdao and pointed. In front of him was a long trestle that extended into the sea. The sea breeze blew the big cloak on his body and made a sound, even though it was already summer.
, the temperature in Qingdao is only about 25 degrees, which is very pleasant.
"Sir, what style should the pavilion be built in?" an engineer asked.
"Well, let me think about it..." Liu Ziguang tried his best to recall the trademark on the Tsingtao Beer bottle, then took the carbon strip and white paper from the engineer's hand, used the sketching skills he had practiced in the Children's Palace, and painted the Tsingtao Beer with a few strokes.
The logo is outlined: "Just build it like this."
The Beiyang Navy has more than one base. Liu Ziguang also chose locations to build docks and yamen on Liugong Island in Weihai and Changshan Islands in Penglai. The Beiyang Navy needs to recruit a large number of sailors and soldiers. Fishermen on the peninsula will be given priority, and others will be given priority.
Children from Shandong who are not good at water can also sign up to join land forces such as the Navy Patrol Battalion. Since the Battle of Jinan last year, Shandong people have accounted for a large proportion of Liu Ziguang's troops, not only the Red Shirts, but also Nanchang and
The Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division and the Shandong soldiers were the backbone of the force. Shandong people also liked to eat food from Marshal Liu. Not only were their salaries paid in full and on time, but they also felt that they were very dignified in front of the villagers.
The construction of Qingdao City not only used local labor, but also mobilized prisoners from all over Shandong. These criminals are often responsible for the hardest work. They have no money to earn, and they will be punished with whips if they work slowly. This gang
Many of the prisoners were prisoners who had been detained during the Manchu period. For serious criminal offenders, no matter how the regime changes, these people will always be prisoners.
Using prisoners to do hard labor was not a big deal, and Liu Ziguang did not pay special attention to it until a serious case occurred, which attracted his attention.
An official responsible for guarding the prisoner camp was beaten unconscious with a sap, and all the bows, arrows and swords he was wearing were lost. But the strange thing is that there are all the prisoners. These prisoners are all criminals with heinous crimes, including gangsters and flower pickers.
There were bandits and thieves, as well as the bullies in Zongheng Township, none of whom were friendly to each other. However, when they dared to cause chaos in Liu Ziguang's territory, it was a bit too arrogant. Liu Ziguang immediately ordered Nanchang to investigate.
Now, with Liu Ziguang's move north, the Nachang's business has also expanded to Shandong. There are offices all over the province, and Qingdao is the top priority for security work. After they took over the case, they made every effort to investigate and arrest the prisoners.
They were brought to court one by one and sentenced to death, but still nothing happened. Even the missing bow, arrow and waist knife could not be found. The use of police dogs with sensitive sense of smell did not help, which made Liu Ziguang even more annoyed.
The urban construction work was proceeding in an orderly manner, and every matter was handled by capable officers. As the person in charge, Liu Ziguang had nothing to do. He simply took over the case, carrying forward the tradition of "Liu Gong's case" and trying to solve the problem.
The case was investigated and came to light.
The files of all prisoners were transferred for Liu Ziguang's review. According to the files, almost every prisoner in the camp where the guard was attacked was highly suspected. These criminals included charlatans, habitual thieves, gang thugs, and robbers.
Everyone is dishonest and has a strong desire to escape from prison, but why do they attack the guards and seize weapons? Liu Ziguang is puzzled.
Finally, the most inconspicuous file caught Liu Ziguang's attention, not because of the seriousness of the crime he committed, but because his sentence was too long. He was in jail before the fall of Shandong. During the Manchu Qing Dynasty,
He has been in jail for ten years. When the Qing Dynasty was defeated and Shandong restored the rule of the Ming Dynasty, he was still in jail, and his sentence has been getting longer. From the initial five-year sentence to the current fifty-year sentence, it is really amazing.
, what is even more surprising is that the crime for which this person was originally imprisoned was actually stealing a few pieces of clothing.
"This person may have a grievance." Liu Ziguang said, and immediately ordered Guanying where the prisoners were to be called for questioning. These prisoners were all sent by Tai'an Prefecture, and Guanying was also a servant of Tai'an Prefecture. These people who eat at Six Doors
They are all old people. They were servants when the Qing Dynasty ruled. Now that the Ming Dynasty came over, they are still retained, but their uniforms have changed. Guan Ying is a middle-aged man in his forties. When he saw the commander
Then he nodded and bowed, fearfully, and when he heard the commander asking about the prisoner who had been sentenced to fifty years in prison, his eyebrows suddenly lit up, and he introduced him to the adults while spitting:
"This man's name is Bai Xiaoshan. He was poor since he was a child. He is good at using a slingshot to catch birds. He is very good in the local area. When he was fourteen years old, he was caught for stealing the silk and satin clothes of the local member's wife who had left the house outside. He was sentenced by the county magistrate.
He was sentenced to five years in prison. During his imprisonment, he refused to change despite repeated admonitions and escaped from prison many times. After he was caught, his sentence became longer and longer, eventually reaching fifty years. This man has always been dishonest. Although he did not fight, he was by no means a good person.
I guess he has always wanted to seek revenge from the county magistrate... This is the situation, and I would like to ask the commander-in-chief to warn him."
"Oh? Why do you want to seek revenge from the county magistrate? Why did your county sentence this man to five years in prison for stealing a few pieces of clothing? This sentence is too harsh." Liu Ziguang frowned and asked.
"Our Feicheng County enforces the law strictly and punishes these underprivileged people severely. We are famous in Tai'an Prefecture for being a tough guy. If it weren't for..." Guan Ying wanted to continue, but was rudely treated by Nanchang Fanzi who was wearing a Feiyu suit behind Liu Ziguang.
interrupted: "What are you talking about! The commander-in-chief said that if there are doubts, there are doubts. What is important is to say, stop talking nonsense!"
Looking at Shangguan who was down a lot in rank, Guan Ying finally became honest and said: "Actually, Bai Xiaoshan is also unlucky. Who told him to break the glazed window of the county gentleman's mother-in-law's house when he was shooting birds with a slingshot?
I know that the price of glazed windows in those days was more than ten times higher than now. Even small homes can't afford to install glazed windows now... I'm going too far again, I'm so stupid!" Guan Ying slapped himself.
He continued: "The county magistrate is a filial son. There is no way he can tolerate his mother-in-law's family being bullied. He immediately ordered a quick team to arrest Zhang Xiaoshan and ordered him to compensate for the losses. Bai Xiaoshan's family was very poor. There was no money to compensate, so he had to act like a rogue.
, the county master could not allow him to be so arrogant, so he was sentenced to a severe sentence in court for five years."
"Wait a minute, doesn't the file say that Bai Xiaoshan was imprisoned for stealing clothes? Why did he become charged with breaking a glass window?" Liu Ziguang asked suspiciously.
"The commander-in-chief doesn't know. The county magistrate is an upright official. He didn't want to give him a heavy sentence for his own case, so he found a crime of stealing clothes and charged him with it. In fact, it was not unfair. Bai Xiaoshan has been running rampant in the countryside for many years, and he must have stolen a lot.
Take off your clothes." Guan Yingyan said firmly.
"Your county is really blue." Liu Ziguang praised teasingly.