Chapter 18 Chapter 15 Situation and Resources·Clear

The Qing Dynasty was a very authoritarian era. The emperor himself was his own prime minister, and his prime ministers were just secretaries.The first chancellors were Cabinet Grand Scholars. These people held the same jobs as the Cabinet Grand Scholars in the Ming Dynasty. They had a high status and certain powers.After Yongzheng, the Military Aircraft Office was established, which is equivalent to the secretariat of the inner court.There are five or six ministers of military aircraft in the military aircraft department, and no one person can make major decisions. Everything is a collective decision, and they all report to the emperor collectively.Under this system, it is impossible to have a truly prominent and virtuous minister who can make decisions that have a major impact on the affairs of the country as a prime minister.It was not until the late Qing Dynasty that there was a unit with greater power, that is, the newly established Prime Minister's National Affairs Office other than the Military Aircraft Department. This official in charge of foreign affairs negotiations had greater power.The decision of the Zongli Yamen also has a great impact on the future of the country.This official can be said to be equivalent to the position of the prime minister of the previous dynasties, but he is only the chief of the minister of military affairs, or an important figure among the ministers of military affairs.The Zeng Guofan we often talk about is not actually the real prime minister, and his main energy is not spent on the position of prime minister.The greatest achievement in his life was when he commanded the battle against the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.Later, he participated in the political affairs of the central government, and the time was not long, and his contribution was mostly in diplomacy.Zeng Guofan's commendable work, just like the case of Li Hongzhang, was done when he was serving as the minister of the frontier abroad, and they had a considerable influence on later generations.

Before talking about the contributions of Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang, we must first talk about China's economic system and the structure of the economy at that time.Since the Han Dynasty, China's economic system has undoubtedly been dominated by agriculture.The resources available to the government at that time were land tax and poll tax.The common people in the Han Dynasty had to contribute a certain amount of labor services to the government. When they were not doing labor services, they had to pay taxes and service, which was called counting money and changing taxes.Even after the Three Kingdoms period, the system of rent adjustment is still land rent and labor services.Therefore, since ancient times in China, the object of government taxation has basically been the agricultural population.Of course, business is also taxed.In the early years of the Han Dynasty, industry and commerce were quite developed.During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, quite high market taxes and property taxes were levied, and tax evasion was severely punished, which dealt a serious blow to industry and commerce. Industry and commerce have never recovered. Since then, China's production has been transferred to farmhouse handicrafts.Cottage industry is an economy attached to agriculture, not agricultural production itself.The production work that this part of agricultural production engages in during leisure time is not the main object of government taxation. Therefore, workshop industry and general commerce are not the main items in China's taxation items, and the government does not pay much attention to them.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, China experienced a period of long-term economic growth. There were many reasons for this. The main factor was the development of international trade, the inflow of foreign silver in exchange for Chinese goods, and the sale of Chinese goods to Southeast Asia, Japan, and even Europe.Silk has been an important commodity exported from China since ancient times, and it was still an important export commodity in the Ming and Qing dynasties.Porcelain and tea are also very profitable export products.In the second half of the Ming Dynasty and the first half of the Qing Dynasty, China accumulated considerable wealth.The southeast coast, the south China coast, and several major inland river ports along the Yangtze River can clearly see the developed local economy.The towns along the southeast coast increased rapidly, and many small towns became commercial cities or industrial production centers. Jingdezhen is such an example.Many small towns in the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta also emerged one after another during this period.The population of these places also increased substantially during the Ming and Qing dynasties. This phenomenon shows that China's economy at this time has reached a considerable scale.However, this economy dominated by industry and commerce has not become a source of taxation for the government. Useful resources are placed aside, and the government has not touched it.

The Ming Dynasty wanted to fight both Mongolia and Manchuria, while Japanese pirates invaded the coast, and rogue bandits sprang up in the late Ming Dynasty.The financial expenditures to deal with these wars were extremely large, and for this reason, the Ming government's finances were very tight.However, the government only continued to distribute donations and taxes, and did not add new tax sources other than land tax and poll tax.In addition to agricultural tax sources, there are some monopoly items, but other than that, the government has not touched the industry and commerce itself.Even if there is someone as capable as Zhang Juzheng, he did not open up tax sources in industry and commerce when he was looking for financial resources.

The southeast coast and the South China coast were quite prosperous from the late Ming Dynasty to the first half of the Qing Dynasty. Although there were frequent wars in the north, there were relatively fewer wars in the south, and the bandits did not spread to the south.In order to conquer the Yangtze River Delta in the southeast, the Qing Dynasty spent a lot of effort to put down a large-scale war of resistance.Neither the rogues nor Manchuria had a significant impact on this wealthiest region.As a result of hiding wealth among the people for a long time, a new economy has emerged.This new economy waited until the rise of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom before it became a tax source touched by the government.

Another problem for China is national defense.In addition to spending money on national defense, we also need a certain amount of standing army.The standing army of the Ming Dynasty was the Weisuo.The guard is an organization that integrates production and training. It has long been an independent administrative unit, and the country basically does not need to spend money on raising soldiers.After the guard system gradually deteriorated, the state still had to bear the cost of raising troops and mobilize the troops of ethnic minorities to fight against Manchuria in the northeast and Mongolia in the north.However, in the Ming Dynasty, there was no nationwide conscription and turmoil.

The fighting forces of the Qing Dynasty were mainly the Eight Banners in the early stage, including the Eight Banners of Manchuria and the Han Army Banner. In the later stage, there were Green Battalions, all of which were standing troops.The Qing Dynasty did not have a national conscription system like the Han Dynasty.During times of war, common people would be disturbed and their lives would be affected, but unlike the Han and Tang eras, young people across the country would join the conscripts.In terms of financial resources, no matter how many wars the Qing Dynasty had with the outside world, ordinary people were not affected much.Since the Opium War in the late Qing Dynasty, it has been constantly invaded by external forces. The losses suffered by China are trade losses, and the post-war reparations are not the consumption of the war itself.Therefore, these huge human and material resources hidden among the people have not actually been greatly disturbed.

China's economy has been on the rise for hundreds of years from the 17th century to the 19th century, and has not declined.After the Opium War, China's economy gradually declined, so that it plummeted.Because of the intervention of foreign economic forces and the emergence of railways, highways, and ships, China's original economic network was severely damaged, and the economic recession caused by external force invasion appeared among the people. When China's economy changed and a new economy attached to a treaty port appeared, the government had no way to touch it.Zeng Guofan developed his business in the southeast during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom War, relying on his ability to see the existence of this new economy, and use this new economy to organize a new army, develop a new arms industry, and further develop the so-called Westernization from the arms industry The movement brought China into a society of industrialization and modern enterprises.

There are not many prime ministers in the past who can make such a big change, open up new ways and touch new resources.Taking the corporate world as an example, there is a large company that has been operating well. The organization and scale of the company are based on the company's original work direction and production project arrangements.One day, new and completely hidden funds suddenly appeared, and a new market appeared, so a cadre of the company set up a new work unit to mobilize these previously unused resources and open up new markets , creating new services.To use another analogy: Today's business world is all engaged in multi-faceted operations, looking for a business direction and a new market that have not been touched before in addition to their own business operations.Such is the case with Zeng Guofan's work.

Zeng Guofan is a traditional scholar-bureaucrat from Hunan.Hunan is an inland province in China, neither particularly rich nor particularly poor.Around Dongting Lake in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River is a fairly good agricultural production zone.A land of fish and rice, agricultural production is sufficient for self-sufficiency, and some handicrafts and commerce have also been developed.In the middle of the Yangtze River Basin in China, Hunan can be regarded as a center.But in China as a whole, Hunan is not very prominent, just an ordinary inland province, rich, but not an important center.Zeng Guofan was just a scholar from the mainland, but it was beyond everyone's expectation that he would be able to make such a big career later on.

Zeng Guofan's official career was not particularly smooth, he just passed the imperial examination, and then he was promoted step by step to be a minister.When he was promoted to minister, which is equivalent to the deputy head of a ministry today, he returned home because of a family funeral.A township official who was on leave of absence and was equivalent to semi-retired, encountered the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom incident.The army of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom marched north from Guangdong and Guangxi, and the first step out of their hometown was Hunan.For the Taiping Army, fighting Changsha is a very important task.After fighting Changsha, Wuhan, and east along the Yangtze River, Hunan suddenly became an important war zone, and the Dongting Lake area was the most harassed.Zeng Guofan organized a local militia as a registered and semi-retired official.Xiangyong, originally outside the normal establishment, is a local army such as the local township regiment and militia regiment.Zeng Guofan led Xiangyong, and the army continued to expand, chasing the Taiping Army step by step to Nanjing, and finally put down the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It was not easy for the Hunan Army to start, and the central government gave it very limited help at that time.Green Jian, the central government's standing army, is almost useless. Once it encounters the Taiping Army, it will be defeated.In addition to authorizing Zeng Guofan to plan the required resources on his own, the central government cannot provide specific financial support.The reason why Zeng Guofan was able to accomplish such a great event was due to some specific conditions.Let me talk about his personal conditions first: he is an orthodox Confucianist, he has cultivated the Confucianism of Zhu Xi's school, and can practice it by himself.Neo-Confucianism pays attention to the growth of virtue and learning together. Learning is not empty talk, but learning must be put into practice.Practice has two aspects, one is one's own conduct, which is the part of forging morality and virtue.Dao Wenxue and respect for virtue are inseparable. Dao Wenxue is the study of knowledge, and respect for virtue is the practice of Confucian morality.Zeng Guofan is very strict in this regard. He often reflects on his behavior and dare not relax at all.His self-reflection and mutual exhortation among friends can be seen in letters and diaries. On the other hand, he also paid attention to practical learning, that is, the so-called affairs of managing the world.How to find out the country's economic and social problems and find solutions to benefit the people of the country is the so-called Shushi tradition of Confucianism.The tradition of Shushi is an attitude of joining the world, doing things for the world and contributing one's own efforts.If you want to establish yourself, you will establish others, if you want to achieve yourself, you will achieve others, not only to be a good person yourself, but also to create a good society and environment for the world.Zeng Guofan paid attention to the knowledge of the world. He made a group of friends when he was in his hometown, and discussed knowledge with each other.A group of people younger than him were his students. They followed him to learn, and they also strengthened each other's conduct and talked about world affairs.On this basis, Zeng Guofan can be said to have a group of comrades who are willing to do things for the country and have the ability to serve the society.When the Hunan Army was formed, most of the officers were not professional officers, but friends and students who studied with him.These are the seeds of reading in Hunan, a group of friends who are congenial, learn from each other in knowledge, and improve their conduct.These people took off their Confucian clothes, put on short clothes, and even organized farmers in their hometown to "defend" their hometown.The Hunan Army chased the troops of the Taiping Army all the way out, fought out of Hunan, then into Hubei, and then along the Yangtze River into Nanjing. This group of scholars who had never led a soldier led a group of farmers who had never been a soldier to form an army.Their organization is relatively flexible, and the number of each unit is not too large. The generals recruit soldiers from the country, and there is a echo among the same robes, and the generals are congenial and know each other very well.Zeng Guofan's staff became the shogunate when the size of the army became larger and larger.Not only talents from Hunan, but also talents from other places and people who have friendship with him follow him to do his staff work.It costs a lot of money to maintain such a not-so-small army, and the government doesn't have a lot of money for him.At that time, the government's finances were also quite tight, and most of the money came from farmland taxes.Beginning with Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, there was a so-called promise that "people in the prosperous age will never be taxed", and the poll tax will be shared on the total of the land.The Qing government did not measure frequently, so there were no new tax sources.Farmland tax alone is also quite limited.While the population has increased and the business of government has become more busy, taxes have not increased.After the Kangxi and Qianlong dynasties, many public constructions and foreign conquests (such as Qianlong’s top ten martial arts) required a large amount of funds. By the time the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom rose, the government’s financial resources were no longer sufficient.Under such circumstances, in the face of large-scale civil strife, the normal officers and soldiers have already spent a lot of money. How can they have spare money to manage these militias? Therefore, Xiangyong's funds must be raised entirely by himself.Among Zeng Guofan's fundraising directions, one is to collect lijin.Lijin is a checkpoint in various places, and the passerby is collected from passing merchants.It is not unreasonable for the government to extract likin. Xiangyong maintains the safety of this road and the tranquility of the countryside.The area where the Hunan Army extracted lijin happened to be the wealthiest area in central China and southeast China, and there were many commercial activities.At that time, the scope of the Taiping Army's operations was quite wide, but it was not really able to effectively control the occupied areas. The Taiping Army only occupied a few lines and a few points, and did not have enough ability to control the vast "area."Most of the checkpoints for the Hunan Army to extract lijin were in the traffic hubs in the countryside with frequent traffic.Zeng Guofan's Hunan Army could rely on lijin to get through, but the Taiping Army did not get much benefit from it. Another source of income for the Hunan Army is donations.When the Hunan Army entered a new place, some of them were taken back by the Taiping Army, and some entered the defense area not yet occupied by the Taiping Army to protect it from the Taiping Army's attack. The local gentry would raise funds through the chamber of commerce and contribute to the Hunan Army. maintenance fee.When the Hunan Army gradually expanded, there was not only an army in the Yangtze River Basin, but also an army led by Zuo Zongtang in Zhejiang, and then another Huai army led by Li Hongzhang appeared.These systems of the Hunan Army and the Huai Army mostly rely on local donations, and local local leaders usually organize chambers of commerce to collect these sums of money.Both lijin and donations were financial resources that the central government of the Qing Dynasty did not develop in the past.