Chapter 2835 I Daqing Pills
The Qing Dynasty was a huge and fragile country. It was very difficult to maintain such a large country in the agricultural era. If the British also adopted similar measures during the Opium War in the future, the Qing Dynasty might collapse; however At that time, Britain only wanted to obtain benefits, and had no intention of completely destroying the Qing Dynasty, so it did not cut off the water transportation.
Britain did not have the possibility of completely conquering China at that time, so it was more appropriate to maintain the corrupt Manchu Qing to gain benefits than to completely collapse the court, but for Shen Long, his purpose was not just a little commercial It's just for profit, but to let this ancient country be reborn from the ashes, so more violent measures were adopted.
Before Ah Gui led the army to arrive, many people inside and outside the court had hope, thinking that Shen Long's last victory was because the Jiangnan area had not experienced war for a long time, and the local garrison was unbearable, so he won. Ah Gui brought the elite Shaanxi-Gansu Green Battalion to the south, and he was sure to win in one battle.
Who knew that the most elite Shaanxi-Gansu Green Battalion in the Qing Dynasty and the more than 100,000 soldiers recruited by Huguang and Liangjiang not only failed to win, but were also annihilated by Shen Long in one fell swoop. Now they really panicked.
The Qing Dynasty had a lot of military power on paper. However, it has been more than a hundred years since the founding of the country, and now it has been peaceful for a long time. There are not many people who can fight. Only the Shaanxi-Gansu Green Battalion, which often fights in the northwest, is the most elite. Right now, the Shaanxi-Gansu Green Battalion has suffered heavy losses. It was the backbone that supported the Qing Dynasty that was directly interrupted, coupled with the closure of the water transport, and the breakage of the main artery, this Qing Dynasty seemed like a pill!
"More than half of the Shaanxi-Gansu Green Battalion has been damaged, and Huguang and Liangjiang have few soldiers to use. If the bandits lead their troops northward and westward, Huguang and Liangjiang will all belong to them. It's hard to keep going, what should I do!" Some well-informed people began to discuss the situation quietly.
"You don't even need to go north and west, just cut off the water transportation, and the north can mess up by itself! Now that the price of rice in Beijing is rising three times a day, the imperial court doesn't dare to release grain. Just the grain stored in the surrounding granaries, the supply The Eight Banners and the officials and soldiers are not enough, so there is still more to distribute to the common people. If things go on like this, sooner or later there will be chaos in the capital. In my opinion, it is better to leave the capital as soon as possible and return home as soon as possible. I'm afraid I'm in danger of my life!"
"How much better will it be to go home? My home is just along the canal." Someone said with a wry smile, "Everyone also knows that from grain collection, delivery, shipment, through the lock, to storage, where can't be tampered with? When the gate is opened, it needs to be supervised by the officials sent by the governor of the water transport. The carrying capacity and draft of the water tanker are determined by these supervisory officials. It is up to them whether they comply with the regulations. Bribes must be paid to clear the way, and the gate fee is only a drop in the bucket in the whole process, and there are other fees such as stripping fee, official fee, reminder fee, etc. "
"I don't know how much money I spent in order to find a good position in the past. Now that the water transport has been cut off, the money is naturally gone, but they can't just stop collecting money, right? Without the benefits of water transport along the canal, it would be useless." Steady, now that it is squeezed again, I see that the two sides of the canal are about to become chaotic! I am afraid that going home will not be much better than staying in the capital!"
"That's right, when Beijing is in chaos, Shandong Zhili should also be in chaos." These people seemed to see that the whole north was falling into chaos, and then they said in their hearts, "Hu people have no luck for a hundred years since ancient times." Could it be that Is my halal coming to an end?
The streets in central Beijing are no longer as bustling as they used to be. Grain shops and rice shops and other shops have closed their doors, and the outside is crowded with people selling grain. However, no matter how much you shout, the shopkeepers will not open the doors.
"Dog, see clearly, I am a banner man, don't you want to starve me to death? Open the door quickly,
If you don't open it again, you will be beaten in! "The more the shop is closed, the more anxious the people outside are, and someone is about to smash the door.
"Aren't the banner people supplied with grain and grass from the granary outside the city? Why are you still short of food?" Someone asked wonderingly, the banner people are different from ordinary people, and no one can starve them when they are hungry.
"Hehe, the banner people are also divided into high and low. After the food is transported into the city, although the bannermen can buy it at a fair price according to the roster, the uncles in the banner also want to make money! Sell it to the poor in the banner at a fair price, so how can they get it? How much is earned outside? But there is only so much grain transported into the city every day, and if they sell it, wouldn’t someone be hungry?” Someone sneered.
Although Qianlong issued a strict decree, it was too difficult to avoid hoarding through administrative means during the feudal dynasty. If you wait until Yongzheng, there is still a possibility. After Qianlong succeeded to the throne, he treated civil and military officials, Man Mengqin is very tolerant, but now suddenly wants to tighten up, how is that possible?
Ordinary people may not dare to do anything, but the bannermen don't care so much, the world is ours, and how can we let ourselves starve to death? The old men in the banner dare not offend, you, who runs a grain store and a rice shop, don't you dare to offend? So he immediately picked up the guy and started to smash the door. After smashing it open, he picked up the food and swaggered away.
When the people behind saw it, they flocked in cleanly and robbed them of all the food; one spread to ten, ten to hundreds, and soon the whole capital began to smash grain stores to grab rice. The soldiers' homes were also short of food. They drove the people away, but there was no food left in the rice store.
After such a wave, half of the rice shops in the capital closed down, and the remaining half were forced to open by the government, but the canal was cut off by Shen Long, and even if they opened the doors, they didn't have any rice to sell! So the situation in the capital became more and more tense.
The same is true along the canal. Without the biggest daily income, the more than 100,000 Cao Ding can't bear it. Among them, there are all kinds of people, and soon some people start to stir up trouble.
In addition, the soldiers near the canal had suffered heavy losses, so, from the north of Zhenjiang, the two sides of the canal soon became chaotic. Those who opposed the Qing Dynasty and restored the Ming Dynasty, those who worshiped Wusheng old mother, and those who worshiped Luozu began to make noise.
Originally, even if the water transportation was cut off, the capital could still rely on the accumulation on both sides of the canal to make up for it a little bit. Now, the whole canal is abolished, and judging from this, even if Shen Long can be defeated, it will take a lot to calm down so many forces on both sides of the canal time.
Since then, people of insight in the world have become even more pessimistic about the future of the imperial court. From the capital to Zhili, from Shandong to Huguang, and even farther away in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Sichuan, some people have a faint feeling that this is the medicine of the Qing Dynasty!
book reading room
Recommend the new book of urban master Lao Shi: