Qiao Yu didn't expect that Lu Wanqing, who was born in a salt merchant family, would complain so much about the current salt administration, but it seemed that this bold girl had lost all her former casualness and looked extremely solemn.
"Miss Lu, you might as well tell me!"
"Yes!" Lu Wanqing agreed, sorted out her thoughts a little, and said: "The salt industry was originally a necessity for ordinary people's lives, and they are indispensable. The current salt administration follows the system of the Ming Dynasty, and implements a system of official supervision of commercial sales.
, Officials are the protective umbrella of salt merchants, and salt merchants are the treasury of officials. They can extort money at will. How many people think that salt merchants are rich and appear to be prosperous, but in fact they know their own situation. In order to maintain their monopoly privileges, they have to give money to officials.
Gifts of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars are not enough. They also need to give jewelry, toys, and even women, and often rely on marriage to maintain privileges. No family ties or blood relationships can compete with the free money and salt!"
Lu Wanqing was indeed extremely disappointed with her family. She saw with her own eyes that her sister-in-law was forced to marry a husband with tuberculosis and was made a widow before she was married. She also saw that in order to please the officials, her family bought
Dozens of beautiful girls were given to the already decrepit bureaucrats, and they were pushed into the fire bed helplessly. They also saw the salt workers who had to work for fifteen or sixteen hours a day, with their thin bodies carrying more than three hundred kilograms of
Lu Wanqing was talking about the wooden barrel filled with brine, while Qiao Yu listened quietly.
There were indeed serious problems with the Qing Dynasty's salt administration. The most critical point was the monopoly of privileges. Salt merchants desperately curry favor with those in power in order to maintain their privileges. Once they obtained such privileges, they did not need to think about how to reduce costs and improve efficiency. They could simply rely on
The high salt price brings generous rewards, and at the same time, the salt workers can be confidently and boldly oppressed. This is the power of privilege.
Under this situation, the common people are the biggest victims. They have to endure the high salt prices. In fact, the court's salt tax will not reach the expected level due to layers of bureaucrats. And the salt merchants have to spend money to maintain their privileges.
His thoughts are huge, and he has to endure bureaucratic exploitation. Even as a small treasury that withdraws money arbitrarily, Qiao Yu can't help but think in his heart. Salt is one of the most important incomes of Sichuan at this stage, and it is also the source of the military government.
The financial pillar must break the existing strong chain of interests. Otherwise, the salt tax will be greatly reduced, and the high salt price is also a heavy burden, which will fall on the shoulders of the common people. Reducing the burden on the common people will be the key to Qiao Yu's future governance.
This is an important task, and only in this way can we truly gain the support of the people.
Countless warlord groups emerged in the history of the Republic of China. Even if they finally unified the country, they would inevitably disappear in the end. The key problem is that they did not really get the support of the people. They were like duckweeds that could be blown away by a gust of wind.
What needs to be done is to firmly establish a solid foundation for political power.
Lu Wanqing suddenly noticed that Qiao Yu's eyes were slightly stiff, and she knew that he was deep in thought, so she stopped complaining and watched quietly. A man is still very attractive when he is deep in thought. Suddenly, the little girl
Her face was a little red. Although she had studied abroad for several years, and it was precisely because of the experience of studying abroad that she became more disgusted with things at home, the little girl managed to maintain a reserve unique to oriental women.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and the men and horses of the two divisions began to officially march towards southern Sichuan. The two divisions combined had more than 20,000 people, plus the civilians, the number reached 25,000. The momentum was huge. This time
The march was not simply a war, but a demonstration to local forces to implement the new law. Therefore, as the army advanced, the Lijin Checkpoints were abolished one after another, and the old bureaucratic landlords who still had illusions about the Qing court were ruthlessly suppressed.
Local order was restored….
The militiamen who were scattered all over the place disbanded nearby and went home. They walked for five days and finally approached Luzhou. At this time, a large number of militiamen gathered in Luzhou, more than 10,000 people. The leader was Wang Tianjie.
and Wu Yuzhang, who were reinforcing Luzhou's defense at this time and wanted to prevent Qiao Yu from continuing to advance.
It turns out that since Qiao Yu declared independence in Chongqing and issued a new bill, it has aroused dissatisfaction from the people's army. The senior officials generally believed that this was a blatant attempt to steal the fruits of victory of the Revolutionary Party.
When they marched, they became even more furious. Since Qiao Yu declared independence, he did not attack the loyal lackeys of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Instead, he marched to southern Sichuan. This was nothing more than coveting the salt tax. Now the salt tax in southern Sichuan was also the lifeblood of the Democratic Party. How could they be willing to give in?
Go out, and then took the initiative to send troops to Luzhou to prevent Qiao Yu from going south.
In fact, when this decision was made, Yang Shukan was extremely opposed. He was very clear about Qiao Yu's power, and there would be no benefit in directly confronting him. Yang Shukan advocated cooperation with Qiao Yu and actively joined the Sichuan Military Government.
Among them, first keep the power. The revolutionary situation in the country is now very good. After the power of the Tongmenghui further develops, they can use the power of other provinces to suppress Qiao Yu and control the power of Sichuan without using force. His proposal was approved by Zhang Peijue.
Zhu Zhihong's approval only aroused the contempt of Wang Tianjie and others.
They believed that Yang Shukan and others had been frightened by Qiao Yu. The two sides quarreled for several days and finally decided to divide the army into two parts. One team was led by Wang Tianjie and Wu Yuzhang to fight Qiao Yu, and the other team was led by Yang
Led by Shu Kan, he guarded Rong County and nearby prefectures and counties.
The forces of the Revolutionary Party were split. Qiao Yu had already obtained accurate information through spies planted within the Tongmenghui. After arriving at the outskirts of Luzhou, Qiao Yu was not in a hurry to enter the city. Instead, he set up camp first and sent representative Yao Liquan to enter.
Negotiated with Wang Tianjie and others in Luzhou.
Wang Tianjie and Wu Yuzhang also knew that Qiao Yu's army was well-equipped, so they deployed their defenses with all their strength. Unexpectedly, Qiao Yu actually played the game of courtesy first and soldiers later and sent a representative. They were also stunned for a while. What trick did the other party want to play? They invited the representative.
Come in.
"On behalf of Governor Qiao, I would like to say hello to all the anti-Qing martyrs. You all have worked hard!"
"What merits does Qiao Yu have? He can call himself governor. He is just a thief. We have nothing to say!" Wang Tianjie looked very arrogant.
Yao Liquan was very alert and eloquent. When he heard Wang Tianjie's rude words, he was not angry at all. Instead, he smiled and said: "This is Mr. Wang Tianjie. Governor Qiao has mentioned you several times and praised him endlessly. Why are you doing this, Qiao?"
The Governor appoints himself as Acting Governor. What does acting mean? Everyone must understand that he can be replaced as long as there is a more suitable candidate. This march to southern Sichuan is also to unify Sichuan as soon as possible. Everyone here is a patriot of the Sichuan revolution. We are all
In order to overthrow the Manchu Qing Dynasty, we really shouldn’t do things that hurt our relatives and please our enemies. Besides, since we all have great military exploits, we will definitely have high positions in the government in the future, even if we want to be the governor-general, it is not impossible!"
Everyone present did not expect that the other party actually said that Qiao Yu would let the governor out, and everyone was extremely surprised.
"Hmph, to put it nicely, Qiao Yu will be willing to give up his position as governor. Aren't you kidding? Do you think we are three-year-olds?" Wu Yuzhang retorted.
Yao Liquan smiled slightly: "You are all members of the Democratic Party. Don't you know that the Republic of China is a country of the people? The position of the governor is naturally not something that can be changed casually. It must be based on public opinion. Whoever the people choose will be who they choose. If the people choose
If I can support you, I will naturally be able to become the governor. Even the president must be decided through elections. Don’t you know this?"
Wu Yuzhang and others immediately didn't know how to refute. This was indeed their claim. Of course, they didn't necessarily take it seriously from the bottom of their hearts, but naturally they couldn't slap themselves in the face in front of others. Yao Liquan went on to say: "Governor Qiao said
He came to southern Sichuan definitely not to fight with you, but to concentrate all his efforts on wiping out the remnants of the Manchu Qing Dynasty as soon as possible. Don't misunderstand the people's army. He also hopes that all leaders can join the military government. At the same time, he also hopes that the wise men from all walks of life in southern Sichuan can
Join the parliament, formulate new policies, and make due contributions to the people of Sichuan!"