Chapter 47 1. In order to raise money, Zhang Zhidong took the risk of reopening the gambling

On the afternoon of Zheng Guanying's return to Guangzhou from Nanyang, Zhang Zhidong put aside the important work at hand and met the author of "Words of a Prosperous Age" alone in the governor's office.Zheng Guanying's eyes were deep-set, and his description was so strange that he was completely different from those vulgar officials with fat brains and potbellies in the officialdom. Zhang Zhidong had to look at him with admiration. Zheng Guanying, a well-informed man in his forties, has no sense of inferiority in front of this newly made military leader.He talked eloquently about his experience of being an apprentice in a Shanghai bank when he was a teenager, and later working for China Merchants Shipping Company. When he talked about how he broke down the American Qichang Company, Zhang Zhidong burst out laughing and praised him very much. Courage and boldness.From afternoon to late night, Zhang Zhidong gained a lot of new knowledge from this practical man who has been involved in Westernization for more than ten years.It was late at night, and when Zheng Guanying was leaving, Zhang Zhidong asked him to consider a plan to revitalize the industry in Guangdong Province, and Zheng Guanying readily agreed.

Three days later, Zheng Guanying submitted to Zhang Zhidong a 15-page industrial plan for Xingyue, which included flood control, setting up a naval academy, building warships, training the army, setting up munitions factories, iron smelting plants, and machine mints, etc. .Zheng Guanying's suggestions were all in line with Zhang Zhidong's wishes, and he decided to adopt them in their entirety and implement them year by year. The most urgent task at the moment is to prepare and train a new type of army that is different from the green battalion and regiment training.This army must use all Western weapons and be trained according to the methods of Western exercises.Zhang Zhidong handed over the matter to Li Xianyi, a registered general who was familiar with Western military art, and stipulated that he should have 2,500 soldiers. He expected it to become an invincible army in Guangdong Province, so he named it Guangsheng Army.

Later, he opened a bullet factory in Shijingkuang, north of Guangzhou City.Through Zheng Guanying, he purchased a batch of British machines from Shanghai Tailai Foreign Firm.This machine can make four kinds of bullets: Mauser, Thiene, Schneider, and Zhushi, and can produce 8,000 bullets per day. At the same time, Zhang Zhidong used the former site of the Bo Xue Guan near Huangpu to open the School of Water and Land Teachers.The Naval Academy employs British teachers to teach, and it is divided into a turbine manufacturing and application hall and a ship driving attack hall.Lushi Academy employs German teachers to teach, and it is divided into Mabutang, Gunpaotang, and Jianzhaotang.The students in the Navy and Land Division Academy have a three-year semester. After graduation, those who choose the best will go abroad for further study, and most of them will stay as military instructors for the Navy and the Army.The former Huangpu Dock was also used to set up a shipyard to build small warships by itself.

Just when Zhang Zhidong was preparing to set up a powerful industry in Guangdong with great fanfare, a serious problem stood out in front of him, which was the word "funding".To practice Guangsheng Army requires money, to run a school requires money, and to build warships requires even more money. At one time, all kinds of papers requiring money flew to the governor's office like snowflakes. Facing these papers, the ambitious builder was full of melancholy and was at a loss what to do. . The treasury in Guangdong had been cleaned up long before the great victory outside the customs. As a last resort, they borrowed another one million yuan from HSBC Bank in Hong Kong. By the time the Vietnam War ceased fire, the money was almost used up.Fortunately, Gong Yitu, the governor of the feudal clan, was a little tighter, so that there were still 130,000 to 40,000 taels of silver in the treasury.Training the army, setting up factories and running schools, once these few things were done, within three months, the 130,000 to 40,000 silver was spent again.When Zhang Zhidong handed over to Gong Yitu the report that Huangpu Shipyard urgently needed 20,000 silver to buy machine parts, Gong Fansi said to Zhang Zhidong with a mournful face: "I really don't have any money, let alone 20,000, even 2,000 can't be paid at this moment." .”

"How can I buy parts without money?" Zhang Zhidong became angry, "This iron ship was not built for me, Mr. Zhang. If something goes wrong, can you, Gong Yitu, be held responsible?" In the past few months, Gong Yitu has often been reprimanded by Zhang Zhidong for appropriating funds.He found that since the battle outside the customs, Zhang Zhidong's personality has changed significantly.In the past, not only were they polite to big officials like the governor and the two divisions, but they also didn't lose their temper with prefectural and county officials, but now it's different.He always speaks to people in an orderly tone, he doesn't allow you to put forward different opinions, he doesn't even bother to listen to a few explanations, and he always uses aggressive words like "you can take responsibility" to pressure people.Gong Yitu heard that Zuo Zongtang always spoke in this tone when he talked to people. It seemed that Zhang Zhidong was imitating Zuo Zongtang.Alas, if this is the case, you have to be careful everywhere in the future.

"Master Zhang," Gong Yitu said in an almost submissive tone, "I know that the purpose of building iron ships is for Guangdong's coastal defense. You worry about these things, others can't see it, and I can't see it? It's just that the treasury does It’s because there is no money, and the lowly position has neither the ability to turn stone into gold, nor can it forcibly search the people!” "Who asked you to search for the common people?" Zhang Zhidong said angrily, then waved his hands, "Go back!" Gong Yitu hurriedly got up to say goodbye, and he took a long breath until he walked out of the gate of the Superintendent's Office.

The Fan treasury didn't have much money, and Gong Yitu didn't tell lies.Zhang Zhidong knew all of these.What's the use of forcing him?After working together for more than a year, Zhang Zhidong has already figured out the few senior officials from Guangdong that he often deals with. They are not capable officials, let alone great talents. Want to come up with some new ideas.If you want to give them another test, the word "mediocre" is the most appropriate. Gong Yitu was mediocre to the bone marrow, and he was hopeless.As for Ni Wenwei, in addition to mediocrity, the word "old and rotten" should be added.Zhang Zhidong really hoped that Ni Wenwei would be self-aware and able to propose to serve for the elderly; otherwise, the imperial court would send him an order to transfer him to another province, even if he was promoted to a governor, so that he could nominate a capable person to come. Take over, let's all join in the great cause together.But even if Ni Wenwei stayed in Guangzhou, Zhang Zhidong couldn't do anything about it.Neither Gong Yitu nor Ni Wenwei could expect them to come up with any way to raise money, and he was the only one to bear this heavy burden.

Where can I get the silver?It is useless to borrow from HSBC again, even if you are not afraid of paying heavy interest, but the previous payment is not repaid, and you open your mouth again, they will not borrow it!Guangdong's commerce is well developed, how about knocking some money from merchants?But why call them to bleed!If it is not done well, it will cause trouble, and this road cannot be taken.Open your mouth to the court?Training the army, setting up a factory, and setting up a land and water division school is not what the imperial court wants you to do. How can the imperial court allocate funds for you?It would be even worse if a decree such as "funding is insufficient and all affairs are suspended" is attracted!Are you doing it, or not doing it?All roads are blocked, and the only hope is to rely on yourself.Is there any way for Guangdong to think about it?

The closest people around Zhang Zhidong, Sang Zhiping, Yang Rui, Gu Hongming, etc., all knew the governor's problem, and they were anxious, but they couldn't find a solution. Zheng Guanying knew the difficulty of the governor, and seeing that everyone couldn't share his worries, he finally couldn't help but came to the governor's office and looked for Zhang Zhidong. "Master Zhang, I have an idea about fundraising." Zheng Guanying sat in front of Zhang Zhidong, hesitated for a moment, and said, "I don't know if this method is feasible or not. I’m afraid to say it. Seeing that you haven’t found a solution for several days, I have to make up my mind and tell you, it’s up to you to decide whether it’s okay or not.”

Seeing Zheng Guanying's cautious appearance, Zhang Zhidong couldn't help laughing, and said, "Tao Zhai, you are a person who has traveled far and wide and seen many things in the world. How can you be so unhappy? The fundraising matter has made me difficult. There is no good way. You can just say what you have an idea, if it can be done, I will not do it. For example, if you ask me to rob houses, like Chao Gai to take the 100,000 birthday outline of Liang Zhongshu, I will naturally not do it. will do." Zheng Guanying was also amused by the governor's words, and said: "Of course I won't persuade you to do robbery. However, in the eyes of some people, this matter is also very disgraceful and decent. Not much difference."

"Just tell me what it is, don't go around in circles, it makes my heart itch." "Okay, let me explain it clearly!" These few words of Zhang Zhidong cleared Zheng Guanying's psychological barrier, and he said boldly: "My lord is from the north, and I don't know the characteristics of southerners who like gambling, especially those from Fujian and Guangdong. In this province, everyone, regardless of whether they are scholars, farmers, businessmen, men, women, old or young, are addicted to gambling." Zhang Zhidong laughed: "You are talking too much!" "It's not too much." Zheng Guanying said solemnly, "Not only is it good to gamble, but there are many kinds of gambling and the scale is very large. There is a lot of money in circulation in this gambling industry." As soon as Zhang Zhidong heard the word "silver money", Zhang Zhidong's interest immediately increased: "You are from Cantonese, so you must know the inside story very well. You should tell me in detail, so that I can learn more." "Let me first tell you about the flower fair in Fujian." Zheng Guanying smiled slightly and said, "This kind of flower fair is based on thirty-six characters." "Thirty-six characters!" Zhang Zhidong interrupted, "Which thirty-six characters?" "There is no fixed one, it's up to the host to choose, but they are all common and commonly used characters, and they will be announced to the public after they are selected. The host will choose a word from among them, write it in secret, and then wrap it tightly in paper, Hanging high on the roof beams. There is a big table in the room, and these thirty-six characters are arranged on the table. Everyone can guess the characters. The character is "Zheng", so you can bet one penny on the Zheng character, or you can bet ten, eight, one hundred and one thousand, as you like. If you guess correctly, the host will give you thirty-two times the money. If you stake one coin, you will get thirty-two coins. If you stake a thousand coins, you will get thirty-two thousand coins." Zhang Zhidong said: "One thousand Wen has been turned into thirty taels of silver. Isn't this a small fortune immediately?" "Yes!" Zheng Guanying said, "Therefore there is a popular saying in the local area: one penny can satisfy hunger, one hundred pennies can make a quilt, and one thousand pennies can marry a wife. a wife." Zhang Zhidong said: "Does the leader mean what he says? If many people are right, can he afford it?" "That's a good question, my lord." Zheng Guanying said, "The host must be a rich family, who either owns land or a store, and everyone can trust him, so they will pledge the money to him. It may be the leader of the meeting. This is an old custom that has been passed down for many years. If it loses money, the leader of the meeting will also have to pay for the sale of the land and house. Failure to pay will cause public anger, and he will not be able to stay in the place." Zhang Zhidong nodded, his right hand habitually stroked the long beard on his chest, and listened with great interest. "The person who writes the characters can also not come by himself, but entrusts someone to handle it. The organizer will also hire a group of people, called walkers. Walk around the village and go to the door, and come to the door. What character you bet, how much money, go I will give you a receipt, and if you win the bet, I will deliver the money to your door and collect 20% of the travel fee. In this way, the situation will be expanded very much, and even women in the boudoir can come to bet." "Ah!" Zhang Zhidong sounded fascinated, "Women in Fujian also have this kind of interest." "Women are more interested." Zheng Guanying smiled and said, "Think about it, my lord. This woman usually doesn't go out, and she doesn't know anything about the outside world. Her life is much more monotonous and boring than a man's. , A heart is hooked by the words, and life is very different than usual. When the women in the neighbors meet, they talk about the words, and there are many topics. It looks even more interesting. So some women eat fast to ask for divination, some go to temples to burn incense and pray to Buddha to ask for the protection of Bodhisattva, and some women really dream of Bodhisattva at night and come to tell her, and immediately go to sign this word after waking up. It's crazy. You can't eat or sleep. You see, don't you have a rich and colorful life?" Zhang Zhidong said with a smile: "It's not bad, it has added a lot of content." Zheng Guanying said: "Isn't this good? The most unbearable thing in the boudoir is loneliness. Let them worry about this, and they will not be lonely anymore." After a pause, Zheng Guanying said again: "However, troubles will follow. It's good to win, and you can be happy if you win. If you lose, it's not good. The husband beats and scolds, and the in-laws blame, so I hide it The family bets again, trying to earn back their capital, but loses again, and pawns jewelry and clothing. If the jewelry and clothing are exhausted, it is disrespectful. Widows lose their morals because of this, and good women remarry because of this, which is immoral. Zhang Zhidong nodded and said, "This is the harm that gambling brings to ordinary people. In other places, only men gamble. I didn't expect women in Fujian to be so addicted to gambling." Zheng Guanying said: "Women in Fujian and Guangdong are mostly hard-working, and their ability to be directors is often stronger than that of men, so their interest in gambling is not weaker than men." "Tell me about Guangdong, how the Cantonese gamble." Zhang Zhidong put aside the money for the time being, knowing the folk customs is also very important for a governor! "Cantonese people bet on the Chinese surname in the provincial examination. Whoever guesses correctly wins. This is called gambling surname." "It's really unreasonable!" Zhang Zhidong became angry. "The rural examination is such a solemn and noble thing, how can it be connected with gambling!" "It can be seen from this that Cantonese people are addicted to gambling. No matter the noble or the humble, they can gamble with anything, and they can gamble with pleasure. Let me tell you a few small bets first." Zheng Guanying Picking up the teacup, he took a sip and said, "For example, there is a man who has a very good dress to sell, and the price is three strings of money. Because the price is too high, no one comes to buy it. So he took it apart and offered it for a hundred yuan. One bid, folded into thirty bids, lottery in public, whoever catches this dress will get it, and buying three strings of clothes for 100 Wen is a bargain, so everyone is willing to participate." Zhang Zhidong said: "Thirty people participated, and only one person got it. If he didn't get it, wouldn't the one hundred Wen be lost?" Zheng Guanying said: "If you don't catch it, the one hundred Wen coins are lost for nothing, but the loss is very small. If you catch it, you will gain a lot. Take a chance. Cantonese like to take chances the most. A person's life To put it bluntly, it is luck. If you do small things right, you will get small luck, and if you do big things right, you will have great luck. If you get a few big luck in your life, your life will be good. Even Zeng Wenzheng said that he does not believe in books , believe in luck." Zhang Zhidong stroked his long black and white beard slowly, and kept silent, as if many insights came to his heart at once. "The folks are like this, and the government also does the same. Three years ago, a big businessman committed a crime, and his luxury house was not returned to the public, and the price was 100,000 silver. No one could afford it, so it was divided into 20,000 bids. The bid was five taels, but it was bought by a farmer selling vegetables in the city. It was useless for him to take the mansion, so he subtracted 20,000, bid it at four taels, and sold it again, but it was bought by a scholar. The scholar got the house Zhaizi, if you are happy to meet someone, ask, do you know who I am?" Zhang Zhidong was surprised: "Why did he ask such a question?" "He is afraid that he is dreaming, and he wants others to confirm that it is true!" "Hahaha!" Zhang Zhidong lifted his beard and laughed happily. "Now let's talk about the surname gambling." Zheng Guanying saw that the governor was so willing to listen to him talking about gambling, and his interest also increased a lot. "Gambling is the biggest gambling in Guangdong. There are two halls in nine prefectures and four states in the whole province, and there is no place where they don't participate. The person who runs the gambling is either the owner of the ticket office or the local rich family. Every early February of the year of the provincial examination The day starts until the day when the main examiner enters the imperial examination. The big surnames do not gamble, and only bet on the small surnames. You can gamble with 20 surnames. List several items, or ten or fifteen. You can deposit each item, and the deposit is one yuan, two yuan, until ten yuan, whatever you want. There are ten categories, the same deposit is one category, and one category is divided into several columns. One column is limited to a thousand people, and another column will be opened after a thousand people are filled. Therefore, the number of columns in each item is different. If there are more people, there are more columns, and some people with the surname A are less, so the number of columns is less. One column of the unary category is 1,000 yuan, and one column of the binary category is 2,000 yuan. Divide this into two parts: ten percent One goes to the owner of the gambler, and 90% goes to the bidders, which are divided into the first bid, the second bid, and the third bid. The first bid is divided into six tenths, the second bid is divided into two tenths, and the third bid is divided into one tenth. The first, second, and third marks are divided in this way: out of twenty surnames, those who guess ten surnames are counted as the first mark, those who guess more than six surnames are counted as the second mark, and those who guess more than three surnames are counted as the third mark.” Zhang Zhidong said: "It's quite complicated!" "It's very complicated. I just gave a rough idea. There are many details in it. I haven't said anything yet. The head mark of the one-yuan category is 600 yuan, the second mark is 200 yuan, and the third mark is 100 yuan. If it is the ten-yuan category , the first bid is 6,000 yuan, the second bid is 2,000 yuan, and the third bid is 1,000 yuan. If several people win the first bid, they will be divided equally. For example, one hundred of the thousand people won the first bid. If all bids are one yuan, 100 people will be divided into 600 yuan, and each person will be divided into 6 yuan. If the bid is 10 yuan, each person will be divided into 60 yuan. Because there are many people participating, the total number is very large. There are about 20 to 30 million bids in the province." "Slow down." Zhang Zhidong saw the crucial point.He stopped stroking his beard and interrupted Zheng Guanying's words. "You just said that the person who started the project will take 10%. If the total number of bids is 20 million, he will get 2 million. If the total number of bids is 30 million, he will get 3 million, right?" "Yes." Zheng Guanying knew that Zhang Zhidong's heart had been moved by the huge profits made by the founder. "He won't lose, and he won't lose, and he won't even pay the expenses, because there is a rule in it, take one-tenth of the remaining ninety percent for all rounds and feet. The cost of paper and other expenses. The money will be transferred to the bidders, and the founder will get 10% of the total amount.” "That won't work, the government wants to levy taxes." Zhang Zhidong's tone sounded like three parts angry and seven parts jealous. "This has been done for many years. In the past, there was no express tax collection. It was just that the founders secretly gave red envelopes to various yamen. The red envelopes ranged from large to tens of thousands of yuan, and small ones ranged from three to five hundred yuan. Since Changmao's rebellion, , The military pay was huge, and the treasury couldn't afford the money, so the governor's yamen came up with the idea of ​​​​this matter. In the third year of Xianfeng, the Military Supplies Bureau was established, and it ordered the people who had previously run gambling to bleed. Ten thousand taels of silver was given to the Military Supply Bureau. Since then, it has become a rule, and it has been increased every time. In the second year of Tongzhi, it was increased to 1.5 million taels, which made every gambler very distressed." "What is there to worry about? It's all ill-gotten gains. Don't feel bad about handing over the gambling, and the government won't be wronged if it is drawn." Zhang Zhidong seemed to have made up his mind for a while. "Tao Zhai, you have a good idea, so I won't add any more. Just follow the example of the second year of Tongzhi, 1.5 million silver. The year of the rural examination will be next year, but I am in urgent need of money right now. I can't wait. I want money." The people who ran the gambling game the year before last immediately pooled 1.5 million taels for me as an emergency; otherwise, the governor will not allow them to do it next year." Seeing that Zhang Zhidong had made up his mind immediately and opened his lion's mouth wide, Zheng Guanying was taken aback at one and a half million.He not only admired Zhang Zhidong's courage in doing things, but also worried that the gamblers would oppose him, because the high tax levied more than ten years ago was to pay for the army. Now that there is no war in the country, those gamblers who are greedy for money will agree to it. Is there so much blood?When he got up to leave, he made a special warning: "Master Zhang, this is a big event, you have to listen to other people's opinions. Especially Fu, Fan, and Zhuo Santai in Guangdong Province, listen to what they have to say of." Zhang Zhidong was very excited about this.He told Sang Zhiping, Yang Rui, and Gu Hongming about it.Everyone agreed, especially Yang Rui applauded, thinking that this is a great thing that is taken from the people and used for the people, so why not do it?Sang Zhiping also thinks that it is feasible, but there is no need for a fixed amount. It is better to have a commission, 40% or 50% from the sponsor.Zhang Zhidong thought this suggestion was very good, and said, "Let's set it at 50%! The government and the family are divided halfway. Just like this, they also earn too much. If I don't allow them to do it, they won't earn a penny. " Zhang Zhidong had already decided this matter in his heart.In a few days, he invited the Fu, Fan, and Nie Sanxians of Guangdong to discuss this matter.Who knows, just after he finished speaking, Ni Wenwei waved his hands again and again, Gong Yitu looked shocked, and Shen Rongjing was expressionless.The reaction of the three constitutions was beyond Zhang Zhidong's expectation. Sixty-five-year-old Ni Wenwei, with white beard and hair, said anxiously: "Master Zhang, gambling has been banned for more than ten years. In that year, Yinghan lifted the ban once when he was the governor of Guangdong, but there were many bullets. At the end of the year, Yinghan was dismissed because of this." He was so angry that he couldn't get sick, and died in the second year with hatred. Mr. Zhang, the imperial system is the same as the past, and we must never start gambling again." It turned out that this gambling has long been banned, Zheng Guanying did not explain this, and Zhang Zhidong did not know about it.However, Yinghan was dismissed in the thirteenth year of Tongzhi. Zhang Zhidong, who was studying politics in Sichuan at that time, knew that he was dismissed because of a corruption case.When he died the next year, the court said that he had nothing to do with the case, and gave him the posthumous posthumous title of "Guo Min". Seeing Zhang Zhidong stroking his beard and muttering silently, Gong Yitu, who always looks at his face and acting on his face, guessed that Zhang Zhidong's thoughts were dispelled by the governor's words, so he boldly added: "Master Zhang, the lowly position knows , you are forced to do this because you are short of money to set up a factory and run a school. You understand your painstaking efforts, but others don't necessarily understand. It must not be opened, because there are too many disadvantages in it, and the gain outweighs the loss.” Zhang Zhidong looked at Gong Yitu sternly: "Tell me about the disadvantages here." Looking at Zhang Zhidong's fierce eyes, Gong Yitu felt a little timid.He glanced at Ni Wenwei, and Ni Wenwei hurriedly cheered him up: "Gong Fangbo, the disadvantages of gambling are obvious. Mr. Zhang came to Guangdong not long ago, and he doesn't know the inside story. You pick a few important ones and tell him." Zhang Zhidong couldn't detect Ni Wenwei's old-fashioned tone a few months ago, but now it sounds very uncomfortable. Gong Yitu thought for a while and said: "The first disadvantage of gambling in the imperial court is that it desecrates the rural examination. The rural examination is a grand ceremony held by the imperial court every three years. All the people who enter the imperial court are scholars who have studied hard for ten years. They are all famous. People, Chinese people are the pillars of the country in the future, how can we tolerate ignorant and ignorant village women taking their surnames as bets for teasing and playing?" Gong Yitu's words made sense, and Zhang Zhidong, who had been the chief examiner of the rural examination twice, couldn't disagree. "Secondly, there are people who bet a huge amount of silver dollars. In order to make huge profits, they use silver to buy off the chief examiner and the deputy chief examiner. Please ask the chief examiner and the deputy chief examiner to take care of the surnames he bet on when they are circled at the end. Then it becomes a surname admission, the justice is gone, the king's law is gone, and the harm is very serious." Zhang Zhidong thought to himself: cheating in the examination room is the most hateful thing. In this way, there is another layer of cheating in Guangdong, which is indeed harmful. "Thirdly, the year of the rural examination starts on the first day of February and ends on the first day of April. For two whole months, all the bidders are concerned about this matter, so that the scholars have no intention of studying, the farmers have no intention of farming, and the craftsmen have no intention of doing things. The merchants have no intention of doing business. Due to the large number of bidders, the entire province of Guangdong, agriculture, industry and commerce has almost stopped. How much impact will this have on the entire province of Guangdong?" Zhang Zhidong thought to himself: The influence is there. To say that the whole province has closed down the business of scholars, farmers, industries and commerce is an exaggeration! "There are still many disadvantages that can be mentioned. I think these few are enough." Zhang Zhidong turned to ask Shen Rongjing, "What do you think?" Shen Rongjing hesitated for a moment and replied: "The words of Ni Futai and Gong Fantai just now are both reasonable. I think that since the imperial court has already banned this matter, it is naturally due to too many disadvantages. It is better not to lift the ban." After sending away the three members of Guangdong, Zhang Zhidong hesitated whether to open the ban or not. What Ni Wenwei and Gong Yitu said made sense. If he was still a court official in the capital, he would firmly oppose such a thing, because there was no need for any reason, and it would be very off-putting to connect the rural examination with gambling.But now, Zhang Zhidong, who has three or four years of experience as a governor, no longer holds a completely positive attitude towards the scholarly spirit of that year. In the past, those Qingliu friends in the capital thought that the world cared about everything, but they just didn't talk about making money and making profits. Almost all Qingliu believed that talking about profit was not what a gentleman should do.Today's Zhang Zhidong really understands that the establishment of practical affairs in the world is built on the basis of financial resources, and its ultimate goal is always based on the word profit.If you don't talk about wealth and profit, you can't have a happy life for all living beings, and you can't have a strong and prosperous country.Take the present as an example, if there is no money, all good ideas cannot be realized. He has always been daring, and he doesn't care what others think of him. In the past, the powerless and powerless little Beijing official was bold and bold, not to mention the governor of the Southern Kingdom who now has all kinds of power and prestige. He can ignore everything else. What made him hesitant and difficult to make up his mind was that the imperial court once issued an order prohibiting gambling.If you don't ask for instructions, you are deliberately disobeying the imperial order; if you ask for instructions, it is obvious that you can't do it.If it is not done, no money will be raised, and without money, all new initiatives will be abandoned halfway. At the time when Zhang Zhidong was most distressed, Zhao Maochang, a policeman from the Provincial Government Office, came to the governor's house for signing the custody. "Xiang Shuai." Zhao Maochang called Zhang Zhidong affectionately. This unique address made Zhang Zhidong feel a little pleasantly surprised.As a military commander, he can be called a marshal.The word Xiangtao can be called Xiangshuai according to the official practice at that time.But no one has ever called him that, for another reason.A governor can be called a commander, but for a governor who was born as a literati and has never led a soldier to fight, people usually don't call him a commander. People just call a few governors who have made military achievements a certain commander, who is the most famous nowadays. The commanders-in-chief are Xianshuai Liu Kunyi who once served as the governor of Liangjiang and Liangjiang, Zeng Guoquan, the ninth commander-in-chief of the current governor of Liangjiang, Peng Yulin Xue, who acted as the governor of Liangjiang and is currently the secretary of the Ministry of War, and Zhang Shusheng, the former governor of Guangdong and Guangxi who just passed away.Although Zhang Zhidong envied this title very much, he knew that he was not as good as Liu, Zeng, Peng, and Zhang.However, now that someone calls him that, although he is proud of it, it is the first time after all, and he still feels not used to it. "Mr. Zhu, don't call me that. I've never been on a battlefield. Calling me handsome is a bit of a misnomer." "Xiang Shuai, calling you handsome is the most worthy of the name." Zhao Maochang said solemnly, "Going to the battlefield to attack the city and conquer the territory is actually a matter of generals. It is handsome to plan a strategy and win thousands of miles. You choose talents and appoint talents, formulate strategies, Provide military supplies, grasp the overall situation, sit in Guangzhou and win the decisive victory outside the Zhennan Pass, this is the real commander-in-chief. Zhang Liang and Xie An in ancient times, and Zeng Wenzhenggong today, did not straddle horses and swing swords, charge into battle, who can say that they Isn’t it a military strategist? Let me tell you, Jiu Shuai and Xian Shuai are really inferior to Xiang Shuai! They just beat their own family, but you defeated the foreigners, destroyed the prestige of the foreigners, and grew up with us Chinese Your ambition. If you are not called Dashuai, who else in this world can be called Dashuai?" Zhang Zhidong felt extremely comfortable hearing Zhao Maochang's flattery.He thought about it too: being handsome is different from being a general, and beating Chinese is even more different from beating foreigners. He really is a person worthy of the name and the most qualified to be called a handsome man! Zhang Zhidong immediately had a good impression of the handsome and well-proportioned Wen Xunbu in front of him, and said to this junior from Nabi, who was twenty years younger than him, in a kindly tone rarely seen in the past: "Mr. Zhu, you What were you going to say to me just now!" "Xiang Shuai." Seeing the governor calling his name so affectionately, Zhao Maochang knew that Zhang Zhidong liked the words just now, so he said vigorously: "I heard that you have been betting for Wei these few days. Something is depressing." Zhang Zhidong thought: Some people say that this matter can be done, and some people say it can't be done. Zhao Maochang is also a person who understands things. Why don't you ask him to talk about his views.So he interrupted him: "Whether this can be done or not, don't worry about it, just let me know." "I have been in Guangdong for four or five years, and I have heard a lot about gambling. Most of the people who say bad things are from the government, and most of the people who say good things are the common people. What the common people say is the truth, and most of the people in the government say it It's a lie." "What did you say?" Zhang Zhidong looked at Zhao Maochang sharply. "From a superficial point of view, it is indeed degrading to associate the names of the candidates in the provincial examination with gambling. Once someone comes to attack, the people in power always feel that there is something wrong with the reason, and the prohibition is a matter of course. Publicly , They have to ban this kind of gambling. But this kind of gambling is beneficial to both public and private, so they don’t want to ban it in their bones, so what they say is all false and duplicity.” "En." Zhang Zhidong nodded subconsciously. "For Mr. Yu, gambling can bring a lot of money to the government and solve many difficulties. For Mr. Yu, from the province to the prefecture and county, which level of officials does not get benefits from it? Ban it all at once, and everyone will be gone." , although they say it’s good in their mouth, they don’t taste it in their heart. The common people are different, they don’t want to say anything face-to-face, they just say what they think in their hearts, and they don’t think about long-term gains and losses, what can give them immediate benefits, They just do it." Seeing Zhang Zhidong's eyes full of anticipation, Zhao Maochang said bluntly, "Xiang Shuai, you still don't quite understand that the Cantonese people like to gamble by nature, and gambling can bring them great joy. For example, he He does not have much joy in his heart when he earns a string of money by strength, but when he earns a string of money by gambling, he is extremely happy. Even if he spends a string of five or even two strings for this string of money, he will also feel happy. For example, if the government asks them to donate money for public welfare, they will never donate. Donating one penny is like asking them to give a bowl of blood. But another way is to let them spend one hundred or two hundred cash to buy a stick , and then use this lottery to draw numbers, and if they are drawn, they will get a gift worth ten times and a hundred times. Knowing that the chances of being drawn are very small, they will be willing to do it, and the government will get a lot of money for it. In this way Do it, everyone will be happy, why not do it?" Zhang Zhidong smiled: "It's true that there are customs in different places, and human nature in different places. Northerners are simple and simple, and most people don't bother to do such opportunistic things." "That's exactly what you said." Zhao Maochang hurriedly complimented him. "If you talk about us Wu people, it won't be like this. Wu people are smart. If you do the math, only a few people out of a thousand people or 10,000 people will win the lottery. It's obvious that I can't get it. Why bother to give a hundred coins? It’s better to buy a few biscuits with this one hundred Wen, which can fill your stomach, and it’s much more cost-effective.” "According to what you said, setting up gambling in Guangdong is beneficial to both the country and the people." "I think so." Zhao Maochang nodded. "In fact, over the years, gambling has been explicitly banned, but it is still going on secretly, but it is not in Guangzhou, but moved to Macau. Foreigners can't help gambling. As long as you pay taxes according to their rules, you can gamble with them. People only pay attention to reality, so they don't care about those empty words!" "Focus on reality, regardless of fiction." Zhao Maochang's words touched Zhang Zhidong's heartstrings.He seemed to have learned a lot from this ordinary sentence. "Xiang Shuai, seeing our Chinese money flowing into the pockets of foreigners for nothing, it's unreasonable!" Seeing Zhang Zhidong's silence, Zhao Maochang knew that the governor was listening to him seriously, so he took this eye-catching The point is emphasized again. "It's just gambling," Zhang Zhidong seemed to be talking to himself, "the imperial court expressly prohibits it!" "Xiangshuai." Zhao Maochang thought for a while and said, "I think this matter can be done first, and don't tell the court. Maybe the court has changed its mind. If someone files a complaint, the court will pursue it. Don't be afraid. It's a last resort. He explained his difficulties clearly to the imperial court, and the imperial court would forgive him if he was humble. The most important thing is that the money handed over by the gambling bureau must be clearly accounted for, and it must be clear where each sum of money is used. Not a single bit of corruption is allowed. In addition, it is strictly stipulated that the tax of the gambling game is only handed over to the supervisory office, and all other past fees are prohibited. In this way, the gambling operator saves a lot of money, and the money handed over to the supervisory office will be profitable. "Xiang Shuai, according to my humble position, as long as the money that goes out to the people is used for the people, I will not be afraid of reprimands from Taiwan, and I will not be afraid of the court's investigation." Zhang Zhidong narrowed his two big eyes, and looked at Zhao Maochang carefully.He suddenly realized that the young man sitting in front of him turned out to be a man of courage and insight! "Mr. Zhu, I'll say hello to Ni Futai tomorrow. The day after tomorrow, you'll come to my place for patrolling." "Thank you Xiangshuai for his promotion." Zhao Maochang hurriedly stood up and bowed.Not only because the Supervision Office is higher than the Fu Office, but also because of Zhang Zhidong's high reputation, daring to act, following Zhang Xiangshuai who has a bright future, he is a hundred times better than Ni Futai who is dying in the west! "Whether the ban on gambling is lifted or not, I have to think about it." Zhang Zhidong said slowly, stroking his beard, "If the ban is lifted, I will entrust you to do this. As I said, do this matter well, and do it so that there is no way for others to hold it!" "Xiang Shuai trusts the humble job so much, the humble job must be so heartless, and handle this matter well for the adults!" 赵茂昌心中顿时惊喜万分，暗暗地想：倘若闱赌交给我来办理，只办三科，我就要让三四十万银子悄没声息地进入赵家账户！ 张之洞打发桑治平、杨锐、大根等人到广州城内城外去询问百姓对闱赌的看法。询问的结果，大部分读书人不赞成重开闱赌。除开士人外，绝大部分人都赞成开禁，许多人说十来年没有办这事了，一想起来就心痒痒的，若开禁的话，要好好地赌一赌乐一乐。张之洞本人也悄悄地问过广州府里几个知县，出乎意外，这几个知县异口同声地表示，只要省里三大宪为头，他们就支持。张之洞心想：过去开赌时，广州府各个县的文武衙门可能获利最多。 官场百姓两方的查访结果，大多数人主张对闱赌开禁。经过再三权衡，张之洞决定重开闱赌。当然，他心里很清楚，倘若朝廷追查起来，所有的责任，都只有自己一人承担。为了筹集银钱办大事，他决心豁出去了！ 赵茂昌果然会办事。禁止了十二年的闱赌，在他的操持下办得比以往任何一科都要大。省府县各级闱赌主办者都知道，这次赌局，是制台张大人在亲自坐镇，是他冒着革职丢官的风险，瞒着朝廷开禁的。而掌舵的，便是总督衙门的赵老爷。是赵老爷磨破嘴皮说服张大人，才同意开的禁。赵老爷同时也明白告诉他们：说不定就这一科，倘若被人弹劾，下一科就办不成了。大家都要珍惜来之不易的这一科，也要体恤张大人的苦心。 广东省大大小小的主办者、千千万万的赌徒，都以空前未有的热情参加这次闱赌，他们的心情比过任何年节都要欢跃兴奋，下的赌注也比以往的大得多。本是明年的乡试，不到三个月，便已聚集了一千二百万的巨额赌款，而且还在日日增加。主办者们欣喜无比，自动先拿出八十万两作为税款上缴总督衙门；当然，赵茂昌没有忘记自己的账户。虽说才只三十岁，钱庄学徒出身的他在这方面已有丰富的经验，手脚做得干净利索。摸着一天天膨胀的私囊，他心里美极了。 有了这笔庞大的银子，张之洞的大事真是好办多了。广胜军的洋式操练更加起劲，中气十足的口号声数里外的百姓都听得见。黄埔船厂开工了，小战船也造出来了。水陆师学堂也办起来了，一百多名学子跟着洋教师学英文，学西学，兴致勃勃的。军火厂的机器也已运来，日以继夜在安装。铁厂的厂址也在忙碌选择之中。 还剩下二十多万银子，辜鸿铭向张之洞建议，办几个为百姓谋利益的工厂，如纺纱织布、缫丝等工厂。桑治平则建议创办一所书院。因为这银子毕竟是来自乡试，且士人反对激烈，用它来办一所传经授道的书院，既可以减轻读书人的愤怒，又于心稍安，万一朝廷追究下来，也多一层申述的理由。 张之洞采纳了桑治平的建议。除桑治平所说的理由外，作为有十年学政经历的两广总督，他从心底深处更为喜爱中国固有的学术文化。泰西的学问不能不学，但那只是为富庶、致强大，至于世道的整治、人心的化育，还得靠中国的经史诗文，这才是治根本的大学问。 岭南属蛮荒之地，学术向不发达，近几十年来虽然也办了一些小书院，但与中原江浙两湖相比，还远为落后。广东省的最高学府，至今还是乾隆年间由阮元所创办的学海堂，然则它早已陈旧落伍了，再办一所，无论规模还是地位都要超过学海堂。新建的军队既然命名为广胜军，那么新建的书院就叫它广雅书院吧。胜，是军人追求的目标；雅，则是士人必须达到的风致。一胜一雅，堪称文武合璧。 有了钱，书院的地皮房屋设施都好办，教师也不难聘请，最难的是请一位主持教务的人。最佳者为道德文章名世的宿学，其次为两榜出身的显宦。然而目前的广东，这两方面的人物一时都找不到，张之洞为此颇为费神。 这一天，他收到姐夫鹿传霖的一封家信。鹿传霖为官处世一向稳健，官运也因而亨通。早在张之洞还只是一个小京官时，他便做了福建按察使，不久又调四川布政使。这个时候，姐夫比起小舅子来，要神气许多。孰料，张之洞突然间时来运转吉星高照，短短的几个月，便由从四品升为从二品，又外放山西巡抚。小舅子反倒超过姐夫了。到了光绪九年，鹿传霖升为河南巡抚，两人拉平。第二年张之洞升粤督，又后来居上。郎舅并世为督抚，也算是当时官场的佳话。然而，鹿、张深知宦海三昧，为不授人口实，有意避嫌，凡自己所任职省份的政务，尽量不牵扯，暗地里却常有书信往来，互相帮衬。 前些年，鹿传霖从河南改调陕西，这封书信便是从西安抚署里发来的。除了几句家事外，大段大段说的都是国事。鹿传霖告诉内弟，他和张之万都因镇南关大捷一事增光不少，所有的亲戚都因此而自豪。又说，放眼今日海内，李鸿章一误再误，威望日减，曾国荃、刘坤一日渐衰迈，后起之秀就是贤弟，过不了几年，就会超过曾、刘，直逼李相。姐夫如此颂扬的语句，过去信中还从来没有。张之洞看了心里很舒畅。接着，鹿传霖就议论起李鸿章来。说李鸿章最近在京中做了一件蠢事，弄得很不得人心。事情是这样的，翰林院编修梁鼎芬上疏朝廷：宜乘镇南关大捷的兵威，一举收复太原、河内，将越南北圻从法国人手里全部夺回来。李鸿章却借此来与法国和谈，实在是误国媚外。李鸿章这些年来与法国人偷偷摸摸多方接触，或许私自接受了法人的馈赠，以牺牲国家利益来换取法人的欢心。李鸿章秉政多年，贪权恋栈，不修私德，世间多有议论，请朝廷严查以息人言。李鸿章得知后勃然大怒，给太后皇上上折，说梁鼎芬恶意中伤大臣，干扰国家大事，可恶至极，请严惩不贷。太后批示交部严议，结果梁鼎芬被降三级使用。京师官场士林议论纷纷，都说李鸿章以宰相之尊与一个小小的编修怄气，太失身分。信中最后说，梁鼎芬近日已回广东番禺原籍守制，如此有风骨的人，可予以延见嘉奖。 番禺在广州城外三四十里地，张之洞没想到就在身旁便有一位敢于和李鸿章作对的人物。他是翰林院的编修，又有如此见识和风骨，现既守制在家，不如就请他做广雅书院的山长！他立即修书一封，打发人急送往番禺，请梁鼎芬即来广州一见。 梁鼎芬很快就来了。原来竟是一个瘦瘦的二十六七岁的年轻人。因为丁忧期间，身穿一件玄色长袍，纽扣边吊着一束白麻。待梁鼎芬坐下后，张之洞和气地说：“听说足下因上疏言中法战争事，恶了李中堂？” “李鸿章这人，就是今日的秦桧！”梁鼎芬直呼李鸿章的名字，又将他称之为秦桧，既令张之洞惊讶也使他甚觉快意。 “大人您苦心经营，冯老将军冒死奋战，三万将士流血牺牲，得来的辉煌战果就让他轻飘飘地换了一张和约，真是气死人，恨死人。他不是秦桧是什么？怀疑他私下收了法国人银子的，不只我梁鼎芬一个人，京师持这种看法的人多着哩！” “足下因得罪了李中堂而降职，不后悔吗？” “不后悔。”梁鼎芬毫不犹豫地说，“莫说只是降了三级，就是革职坐牢，我也不后悔。李鸿章报复我一个年轻的编修，是他丢了面子，反倒成全了我的名声。现在京师提起梁鼎芬，哪一个人不知道？我还要感谢他哩。” 说罢，不由得笑了起来。 it is good!广雅书院的山长就是他了！刚见梁鼎芬，张之洞的心中尚有一丝疑虑：年纪轻轻，又只是一个编修，能孚众望吗？能压得住那些心高气傲的学子吗？听了梁鼎芬的这几句话，观其气概，张之洞很快打消刚才的疑虑，断然决定此事。他相信梁鼎芬有能力掌管一个书院。他敢斗李鸿章的骨气，他在京师士人中赢得的声望，就足以使粤省士子对他服气。更重要的是，张之洞要重用梁鼎芬，来跟权势煊赫的李鸿章唱一出对台戏。 正当张之洞几个月来一直在广州城里随心办事、恣意用人的时候，一场麻烦事很快便降临到他的头上。