Dominate the Country

The news of the great victory in the naval battle was spread to all directions by the Fu Han Army at the fastest speed.

In Fuzhou City, Wu Bidada's expression was a bit complicated and puzzled. Just looking at the combat power of both sides, in this battle on the sea, the Southeast Navy seemed to have an absolute advantage, but the strength comparison between the two sides was definitely not as disparate as the final result reflected. Wu Bidada didn't even know how Gan Guobao fought this battle.

In fact, if Gan Guobao hadn't sunk with the ship, he would have suspected that Gan Guobao was an insider of the Fu Han Army.

Wu Bidada was of course clear about the strength of the Fu Han Army's Southeast Navy, and he was also very clear about the strength of the Guangdong Navy. If he was put in Gan Guobao's position, he would not have ended up with such a tragic defeat even if he closed his eyes? Could it be that Gan Guobao himself was confused and made a stupid move? Or was it like the Penghu naval battle 90 years ago, the wind direction suddenly changed, and God protected Chen Han?

Shi Lang relied on the sudden change of wind direction at sea to turn defeat into victory, defeated Zheng's army with minimal losses, and annihilated 20,000 main forces of Zheng's army. Is this the case with this naval battle? It's just that God is no longer protecting Daqingguo, but Chen Han?

Wu Bi Da thought so in his heart, and he actually felt a sense of "respect" for Chen Han. Think about Chen Han's history of making a fortune. In just three or four years, Daqingguo, which was prosperous in the prosperous times, has become so bleak. It has lost half of the country in the south and is about to fall. It's hard to say, Chen Han is really protected by God's will. Otherwise, how could the obscure local clan of Lushan Chen suddenly rise like this? Chen Ming, a young man who has just turned 20, has never practiced archery and horse riding for a day, has never read military books, and is the son of a small landlord. How can he be so powerful on the battlefield without a single defeat? He has destroyed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses of the Qing Dynasty?

Is he really a natural genius, or is he gifted by heaven?

Wu Bidada thought so, but then he felt that he shouldn't think so. This was disloyalty to Daqingguo. He was so flustered that his heart was beating non-stop.

But no matter what, the Guangdong Navy's combat power was completely destroyed. In this battle, the Southeast Navy of the Fu Han Army won a complete victory. I don't know how much the confidence of the Fu Han Army will swell. It is certain that they will take over Guangdong and Guangxi. In the future, their footprints will never be limited to the southeast.

"The court is in trouble." Wu Bidada sighed. Daqingguo, which was prosperous and prosperous three or five years ago.

The Fu Han Army, which has an absolute advantage in the navy, will make Daqingguo's battle from northern Jiangsu to southern Liaoning a thousand-mile sea border with no peace for a day in the future. There will be smoke and battlefields everywhere.

The fate of the Wu family has been tied to the big ship of the Fu Han Army. The matter is done, and Wu Bidada, no matter how conservative his character is, does not want to see the Fu Han Army capsize. He was just "imagining" in his mind now, because everything he said and thought was false, because he had "had a stroke".

Throughout the city of Fuzhou, there were thousands of government officials, scholars, farmers, merchants and businessmen, and there were definitely many people who thought like Wu Bi Da.

The news of this great victory quickly spread throughout Jiangnan, and newspapers from all over the country published the news of the complete victory of the Fu Han Army in the Daya Bay naval battle. I don't know how many people were so happy that they slapped their tables and chairs.

After the Fu Han Army took over Jiangnan, there was no more grain, and the port was opened to foreign countries. Although the whole Jiangnan was depressed by the war, in fact, both farmers and merchants have seen a bright way out.

As the most prosperous place in China's economy, the power of Jiangnan merchants is definitely not weak. Before, because of the existence of "traditional factors", the status of merchants was actually suppressed by the gentry, but now the merchants have the support of the Industrial and Commercial Bureau behind them. Even if the little lotus has just begun to show its tip, it has burst out a little bit of power, which has made the Fu Han Army's rule in Jiangnan much smoother.

Especially the teahouses and restaurants in Shanghai and Ningbo, which were packed every day. The wealthy merchants, with rosy faces, held newspapers in their hands and talked loudly, making the shop owners earn a lot of money.

...

Of course, Chen Ming is not silver, and the Fu Han Army is not gold, and not everyone likes their goodness.

The Eight Banners in Beijing especially hate it. Every great victory of the Fu Han Army means a great defeat of the Qing Army. And what makes the millions of Eight Banners in Beijing feel "deeply disgusted" is that because of the "tumbling" of the Fu Han Army, Daqingguo finally has no money to pay the Eight Banners' iron crops in full. Not only that, the Eight Banners have to move back to their hometowns outside the Great Wall to open up wasteland and plant crops, and to dig food from the land. How can the Eight Banners who have been pampered for a hundred years want to pick up the hoe again?

"Fuck him, this thief Chen is out of luck again. Bah!" This is still polite.

In the Forbidden City, when Wu Shulai reported the victory of the Fu Han Navy, Emperor Qianlong seemed calm and just nodded to show that he knew it, but his shaking hands revealed the fear in his heart at this time.

On the wall of Emperor Qianlong's bedroom hung a large map, which was the geographical map of the entire Daqingguo. Qianlong stared at the location of Guangdong on the map. Now the Fu Han Army is about to attack Guangzhou.

And if the Fu Han fleet that destroyed the Guangdong Navy goes to Shandong and Tianjin...

Qianlong just thought about it, and he was chilled to the bone! "Speed ​​up, the Northeast must speed up." Qianlong needs more money and more food.

His empire is collapsing!

...

Lushan.

It was already dark, and Chen Hui had been sitting on the chair for more than two hours. He had been sitting here since he finished his official duties. Of course, Chen Hui would not stay still, but his face was calm, and he exuded a suffocating sense of oppression all over his body!

Two days ago, a pigeon came to report that the Southeast Navy and the Guangdong Navy of the Qing Army had exchanged fire for the second time. The two large fleets were getting farther and farther away from the shore, and then there was no news of the naval battle. How could Chen Hui let it go? So in the past two days, especially today, the entire Han Palace was silent. The officials and maids who came and went seemed to be afraid of disturbing Chen Hui and causing his infinite anger, so they spoke in a low voice and took lighter steps!

Until a loud cheer rang out in the palace, the entire Han Palace returned to the earth in spring, and the ice and snow melted!

Everyone knew why Chen Hui became like this, and when his laughter rang out, and the cheers of the guards and attendants around him came out, it undoubtedly meant the victory of the Guangdong naval battle, at least not at a disadvantage.

"Announce to all quarters, our army won a great victory in the naval battle, the Guangdong navy of the Tartars has been completely annihilated by our army, a great victory in the naval battle!"

Chen Hui held a short piece of paper in his hand, his face was beaming with joy, and his whole body was refreshed. The anger that had been suppressed in his heart for two days was released. Seeing the victory news, he felt more comfortable than eating the fruit of life. All 84,000 pores were comfortable and cool.

...

Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province. The good news also spread here.

As the original capital of Hunan Province, although Hunan still did not establish provincial officials such as the governor, Changsha's status was not affected by Hengyang and Yueyang at all.

So Chen Guangqian's status as the prefect of Changsha is needless to say. This prefect, who has not served Chen Han for a long time but has been favored by His Highness Lu Gong, has always been one of the strongest competitors for the "Governor of Hunan" in everyone's mind.

However, this prefect, who was said to be a small sugar vendor, was very methodical and handy in his official duties. He even held the Changsha Daily tightly in his hands. Apart from being an official, the Changsha Daily was also very popular. In terms of sales, it has already caught up with the provincial newspaper Xiangbao in Changsha alone. He really doesn't want to be a sugar vendor.

Moreover, this prefect admired Zheng Banqiao very much. He hung the four characters "It's rare to be confused" in his study, and there was also a paper fan with the eight characters written on it: "Not stupid or deaf, not a master of the house". After he took the position of the prefect of Changsha, he invited officials to meet in his study. Soon these twelve characters were spread out, and immediately calmed the hearts of his subordinates. But "It's rare to be confused" is not really confused. He focused on the big and let go of the small, and emphasized the light. With his "words and deeds", he won the love of officials and officials in the yamen. But recently, the prefect has suddenly become more diligent, and there are small meetings in the signing room of the government office every few days.

All the officials in Changsha know that Chen Guangqian has a very good temper and a humorous personality. He is very kind and polite to his officials, and is even more considerate to the garrison personnel in Changsha. He is also very friendly to the common people and gentry below. He rarely loses his temper in public and shows anger in public. Basically, he is an extremely good boss.

And everyone knows that he is a person valued by His Royal Highness Lu Gong. The garrisons in Changsha, Yueyang, and Hengyang are all polite to him.

Although some people are very curious about Chen Guangqian's true identity, such a person and talent, how could he be a candy vendor, but Chen Guangqian is very tight-lipped. Even if he wants to send someone to Guangxi to investigate, there is no way to investigate in the chaos of war.

Everyone has tacitly accepted that Chen Guangqian, who has a somewhat mysterious origin, has a promising future, and has remained silent about the things behind him. Perhaps when he gets a higher position one day, he will reveal his true identity.

Today, all the county bureau chiefs in Changsha gathered in the signing room of the government office. The officials of Changsha Prefecture were used to Chen Guangqian's amiability, but unexpectedly, Chen Guangqian's face was covered with a layer of frost today, which was very ugly. The atmosphere in the signing room suddenly became solemn.

The prefect not only had an ugly face, but also did not speak. It seemed that he was angry about something. The subordinates and assistants did not dare to speak, and just waited quietly. Until the cough of Chen Chengzhi, the director of the police station, broke the silence.

Chen Chengzhi is an old man in the dark camp. At the beginning, he was ordered to track down the whereabouts of the Li family. He traveled back and forth between the two lakes and worked hard for half a year but did not track down the final destination of the Li family. He lost a great opportunity to catch up with Li Xiaomei in vain. Later, Hunan became the territory of the Fu Han Army, and a large number of dark camps transferred to civil affairs, and he became the head of the Changsha Police Department.

With such an identity and background, Chen Chengzhi's position is very important, but no one in the entire Changsha Prefecture dares to provoke him.

Born as a descendant of the Chen family, he is a direct descendant, and he is born in the dark camp. Who dares to offend him?

Chen Chengzhi also implements the policies issued by the upper level effectively and seriously. He is a capable person who helps Chen Guangqian deal with the affairs of Changsha Prefecture.

Because Chen Guangqian and Chen Chengzhi both know where their wealth and glory come from, and know that the regulations and decrees above are to make Chen Han stronger, which is related to their fundamental interests. Naturally, Chen Chengzhi, an old man who is able to implement the policies of the upper level, is the most in line with Chen Guangqian's heart.

So now it is time for him to speak out. Break the low atmosphere in the signing room.

"My dear masters, the corruption case in Wuhu is really heartbreaking. We should learn from it and listen to your teachings." Chen Chengzhi pointed out the reason why Chen Guangqian looked unhappy. It was the corruption case in Wuhu that happened not long ago. It was a major corruption case that broke out because the local township official - a retired soldier - leaked a letter to the newspaper. The amount involved was more than 100,000 silver dollars.

This newspaper really can't be underestimated. Once it is targeted, it's like poking a hornet's nest, with a huge impact! All the officials of Changsha Prefecture who were present in the signing room sighed in their hearts. Then they pricked up their ears to listen to Chen Guangqian's lecture.

"My dear colleagues, the corruption case in Wuhu has a huge impact. Our dynasty has just established the moral code, and there are people who are so bold and reckless. It is extremely hateful. The King of Han and the Duke of Lu have issued strict orders, asking local officials to reflect on themselves and investigate quickly.

A mere county magistrate in Wuhu swallowed up more than a thousand acres of good farmland, which is extremely bold. He even colluded with evil gentry to sell ten thousand acres of good farmland at a low price. His crime is unforgivable!" That place is Wuhu, and the price of land is half more expensive than that in Changsha.

"And beheading a county magistrate in Wuhu is just cutting the grass, not the root. There is endless corruption in this world, how can we eliminate this bad habit?"

Chen Guangqian seemed to be really angry. His face flushed as he spoke, and he gritted his teeth when he mentioned the county magistrate in Wuhu who had been beheaded and the local tyrants and evil gentry under Wuhu's rule.

"After the Wuhu incident, I couldn't sleep for many days, tossing and turning, and came up with some immature ideas. Today, I invite all my colleagues to discuss it, and everyone can give their opinions. If it is feasible, I will write to the King of Han!" The last two words made dozens of bureaucrats in the signing room silent.

"Officials are the foundation of a dynasty. If the officials are not honest, the official power will not be accepted by the people. How can the people trust the court without the court? We all benefit from the country. If the country is not prosperous, we will not be prosperous. If the country is defeated, we will also be defeated. Therefore, honest officials, using all means to fight corruption, refresh the reputation of officials, and give the people confidence are also major national affairs.

Nowadays, the official salaries of the country are generous, the system is clear, and the three respects [ice respect, charcoal respect, and farewell respect, the rules of Qing Dynasty officials giving gifts] are strictly prohibited. Everyone here has no worries about food and clothing. But the business atmosphere is also prosperous, and the world is full of temptations.

In order to have clean government, we must not only fight corruption, but also use some compulsory policies to "protect" officials. "

"I think that disclosing family assets and declaring land is a good way."

"Every official who takes office, takes up a new post, transfers, or retires should report his or her assets, and the censors will check. See how it compares before and after, and see if there are any huge amounts of property from unknown sources? In this way, we can see the nature of a person. "

Chen Ming swore to God that Chen Guangqian's idea of ​​declaring officials' property was absolutely not his idea. This is really a clever idea that Chen Guangqian came up with when he was in charge of ancient and modern history. The original "native nature"!

In the early Western Han Dynasty in China, there was a "property declaration system" when selecting officials, that is, the so-called "ten counts to be an official", and one count means having 10,000 yuan of property. That is to say, the property of the candidate officials could not be less than 100,000 yuan. This was because it was believed that officials who were too poor might become greedy, which was not conducive to the administration of officials. In addition, officials had great responsibilities. Once mistakes were made, people with property could use their property to compensate. This system was reduced to "four calculations for officials" during the reign of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty.

Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty carried out reforms, stipulating the salaries of officials at all levels, and at the same time announced that "after the salary was paid, those who embezzled more than one piece of cloth would be put to death." The "anti-corruption" during this period mainly relied on the central government to send "envoys" directly to conduct inspections. Once evidence of corruption was found, the officials involved would be punished. The objects of inspection naturally included the property of officials at all levels. Serious discrepancies between property and income would arouse suspicion.

This system was revised and followed by the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties. The property of officials at all levels was placed under the open and secret supervision of the emperor and central agencies. In some eras (such as the Wu Zetian Dynasty), the emperor knew the family property of officials more accurately through secret agencies. However, whether to punish "property and income are inconsistent", whether to impose a light or severe punishment, is full of personal likes and dislikes and arbitrary elements.

But in any case, these "predecessors' experience" are completely different from Chen Guangqian's official property declaration system based on "suppressing and monitoring corruption and clean and honest official administration". But it cannot be denied that Chen Guangqian did learn certain ideas from it.

Chen Guangqian's words made the faces of dozens of officials, big and small, pale. Is this really the idea that Chen Guangqian, a good prefect in the eyes of everyone, came up with?

Too cruel, too damaging!

"Officials bear great responsibilities, and the court should use means to protect official administration..."

The entire signing room was silent. Chen Guangqian was still talking about the benefits of his method at length. It seemed that he didn't notice the people below at all. Everyone was fidgeting and everyone's face was changing.

He only focused on talking about the "benefits" of this policy that was highly praised by Lu Gong in his letter for officials. Chen Guangqian had a feeling that he could make a big splash with this strategy alone. It would lay a solid foundation for him to move to a higher level!

The signing room was silent. No one spoke up for Chen Guangqian's invitation to "give his opinion". Almost all officials disagreed. But they couldn't think of any reason to oppose it openly.

One's property was public, and the other's huge property was of unknown origin. It really scared all the officials present!

"One person's plan is short, two people's plan is long."

"This method was created by someone behind closed doors. It is just one person's opinion, so there must be some inconsiderate and inappropriate aspects. Colleagues, please speak freely..."

The signing room was still silent. Chen Guangqian seemed to have not noticed the expressions of the people present. He spoke in an official tone without any embarrassment and talked a lot. Then he said:

"Since no one has spoken, so you all have no objection? That's good. This official will immediately inform Mr. Liu [Hunan Supervisory Censor Liu Jijiang] and write a joint memorial to the King of Han. This policy is very unfavorable to some people. None of my Changsha officials objected, which proves that all my Changsha officials are good. This official is very relieved. The matter of Wuhu County only represents a minority..."

Just when the whole world was "surprised" by the victory or defeat of the Fu Han Army Navy and the Guangdong Navy, no one knew that a policy that would deeply affect the future political arena of Chen Han for hundreds of years had been born in Changsha, a land of fish and rice.

When the joint memorial of Chen Guangqian and Liu Jijiang was sent to Lushan, although Chen Hui was deeply looking forward to the victory of the Guangzhou War that had already begun, he still applauded this policy and cheered loudly.

"A brilliant plan, a truly brilliant plan!"

There is no policy in the world that can absolutely eliminate corruption. The public declaration of officials' assets has greatly increased the risk of officials' corruption and abuse of power. This is enough.

"Chen Guangqian." This name was remembered in Chen Hui's heart. This is a talent!