The mountains are long and the land is scarce. About 80% of the land in Fujian Province is mountainous and hilly, and the total area of plain arable land is less than 20%.
The extremely scarce land and coastal geographical features have made people in Fujian become the main force going to sea to make a living.
In the coastal counties and cities of Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, and Fuzhou, the number of people who go to sea each year exceeds tens of thousands. Among them, the Xiamen area, where overseas trade is the most prosperous and where the great powers are concentrated, has an average of more than 100,000 people who go overseas every year.
Xiamen was once a base for anti-Qing forces such as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and Xiao Dao Hui. After the failure of the Xiao Dao Hui uprising, the local anti-Qing forces were brutally suppressed by the Manchu Qing government. Until the end of the Second Opium War, European and American powers gathered to set up diplomatic offices in Xiamen.
Since the establishment of the consulate, the Qing government's local administrative, economic, and military control was restricted by Western powers. Taking this opportunity, the Han Dynasty in South America reunited a group of scattered anti-Qing militants and established an intelligence base in the Xiamen area.
On July 24, Wang Shizhen and his party arrived in Fuzhou. After meeting with the confidants sent by Cai Yuanlong, they prepared to leave Minhou County in Fuzhou, where they would meet up with Li Rongfa, and then transfer to Xiamen to leave the mainland.
"Sir, this is a list of gifts given by merchants and gangs across Fujian in recent days. Please take a look."
At the admiral's office of Green Camp on the left, Ma Ronghe, who had been in office for less than a month, looked very different from a few days ago.
"Seventeen thousand taels of silver and one hundred taels of gold. These businessmen are willing to spend money."
"Businessmen from Fujian, Zhejiang, and Guangdong are all wealthy owners. When I catch up with you on the occasion of taking office, you can't fool me with a few taels of silver. Otherwise, if you don't like you, how can they do anything in Fujian?"
Buy and sell.”
The staff flattered him.
"makes sense."
Ma Ronghe nodded, his eyes focused on the gift list on the table again, his eyes heated and he said, "I heard that maritime smuggling in Xiamen, Quanzhou, and Zhangzhou is very profitable. If I privately request to join various business gangs in my own name,
Do you think it’s possible to take 10% of the shares?”
"My lord, no." Seeing the greed aroused by the gifts in front of him, the staff tried to dissuade him, "My lord, when you first came to a high position, it was all thanks to the support of the Governor-General. Those officials and generals of the Hunan Army did not blatantly make trouble for you, but if
If the interests of Fujian merchants are touched, I'm afraid it won't end well even if the Governor comes forward."
"Why is this?"
"Your Excellency, please let me explain. Although the merchants in the coastal areas of southern Fujian appear to be just a group of hard-working merchants, their backgrounds are not simple. For example, Liu Yiguang, a businessman from Jinjiang County who visited your Excellency a few days ago, is a member of the Jinjiang County Business Gang.
Various officials and generals of the Hunan Army have taken shares, and it is said that Hu Xueyan owns 15% of the shares. In addition, in the Nanyang region, the Jinjiang Merchant Gang has two to three thousand Chinese employees. Those employees are all young and strong, and many of them are bandits who have rebelled.
, they open up wasteland and mine in Borneo and the Malay Peninsula, and often fight with the local natives. In terms of combat effectiveness, they are no less than the veterans in the left green camp."
"There is no shortage of brave and ruthless people among the common people who dare to go to sea regardless of the imperial ban. Although they have a certain arrogance and rely on the power of the rural party to bully the Nanyang natives, compared with the well-equipped imperial officers and soldiers, they are indispensable."
Ma Ronghe said disapprovingly, "I think when the Kingdom of Heaven revolted, there were millions of soldiers and horses from all over the country. The King of England, King Zhong, King Shi, and other famous generals of the Kingdom of Heaven fought against the Hunan and Huai armies many times with two or three times the imperial force.
In the end, it didn't end in a big loss.
The Hunan Army and the Huai Army are both equipped with foreign guns and artillery. Although they are small in number, they are elite. When I expand the troops in Ma Ziying and supplement them with foreign guns and artillery, how can I be afraid of the small overseas unruly people!"
"Sir, this is where the trouble lies. The Fujian merchant group not only has young and strong labor for them to drive, but they also have money. The Nanyang escorts under the name of each merchant gang are equipped with varying numbers of foreign guns, and even some
The merchant gangs who secretly made deals with South America's Han Dynasty were also equipped with the latest Gatling machine guns. That thing looked bulky and could only be pulled by a horse-drawn carriage for mobile operations. But once it was started, the shells would rattle.
It keeps ringing, and no matter how many people and horses rush towards it, it won't be of any use."
"Nonsense! As a second-grade military attache of the imperial court, I have never heard of this weapon. Where did you get the news?"
"I don't dare to deceive you. There are reports in the Shenbao and the Gazette of All Nations that the South American Chinese army and the French fought in Annan. Whether it was the Chinese army affiliated with the South American Han country or the French colonial army, they all
Equipped with a lot of Gatling guns."
"A newspaper run by foreigners?"
"Yes, Shenbao and Universal Gazette are newspapers founded by European and American foreigners. When the Annan War broke out, several foreign newspapers in the concession sent people to Annan to learn about the situation. Foreigners were the first to publish these news.
from."
"Alas, all the princes in the imperial court are seeking personal gain instead of serving the country. They clearly know that allowing the gentry to organize militia will be harmful, but no one stops them. Although I am an official, there is nothing I can do."
The Fujian Merchant Group has militia armed forces inside and overseas employee armed forces as its foundation. Even if Ma Ronghe wanted to get a share of the profits from them, he would not be able to do so.
"In today's world, money and guns are the foundation for a foothold. Your Excellency, you should first train your troops and use the green revenue from the left side for your own use, and then consider obtaining some benefits from the Fujian business gangs."
"Humph, I have no money and no food. Where can I recruit soldiers? The recruitment notice has been posted for three days. There are about three to four hundred applicants. At this rate, let alone conquering the left green camp for my own use, there are only four people under the name of Ma Ziying.
There is only one camp, and I don’t know when it will be fully replenished.”
The amount of military pay for recruiting soldiers in Ma Ziying was low. Ma Ronghe had been working hard for most of his life and had not accumulated much wealth. He expected his benefactor to use the gifts received from him to subsidize the army, but he didn't even think about it.
A clever woman can't make a living without rice, and her close aides can't think of a good way to make money. Just when the two of them were facing the problem of recruiting soldiers, an officer from the Green Battalion hurried into the Admiral's Yamen.
"Sir Admiral, I have something important to report!"
“If you have something to say, say it, and if you have something to say, let it go!”
"Three days ago, the villain discovered that several officers in Jianning Town were acting strangely, so he sent four brothers to follow up and investigate. This morning, one of the brothers sent out came back to report that the officers and soldiers in Jianning Town were disguised as business gang thugs.
, mixed with a dozen rebels."
"What evidence is there that those people are rebels?"
"More than a dozen of them were wearing fake braids and had short guns hidden on their bodies. The few people sent out just went up to test them, but three of them were silenced by their people last night. Only one was lucky enough to come back and report the news."
"If it's just ordinary smuggling of arms and opium, there's no need to kill people and silence them."
Ma Ronghe thought secretly for a moment and realized that there might be something important hidden in it that he didn't know about.
"I ordered Zhang Guandai and Liu Guandai to select a hundred elite soldiers. Today, I will personally lead the team to see what kind of tricks Cai Yuanlong is playing!"
Please remember the first domain name of this book:.Mobile version reading URL:
