Chapter 80 Chapter 80: Tour with the Emperor
The tenth year of Qianlong's reign was not a good year.
There was a severe drought in Zhili in the summer, and the grain harvest was poor.
This is when the benefits of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway came into play. Grain could be quickly allocated from all over the country, which not only increased the speed but also greatly reduced the cost.
The overall food prices have not fluctuated much, and the people are also very relieved.
Qianlong issued an edict in May of this year, deciding to take the empress dowager on a tour of Mulan in the autumn, and he would also go to Dolon Nor to summon Mongolian princes and nobles.
This time, no one could stop us. Taking the train from the capital to Zhangjiakou wouldn't affect the people's autumn harvest, nor would we need officials to entertain us along the way. It wouldn't cost much.
The officials knew that the emperor was determined to go on tour this year, and that summoning the Mongol nobles did have certain political significance. So no one said anything.
Furthermore, after Ortai passed away this spring, Zhang Tingyu replaced him as the Chief Military Advisor. The old man was now preoccupied with getting through the next two years in peace and quiet, preserving his honor of being enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. He simply didn't dare to offend Emperor Qianlong.
He knew very well that if there were no respected Manchu ministers at the moment, he would never have been able to become the chief military advisor.
Qianlong was indeed unable to find a Manchu official capable of the position of Chief Military Advisor. He considered replacing Hai Wang, but Hai Wang's health had declined over the past two years, and he was also a diehard loyalist to Ortai. If he were to become Chief Military Advisor, the political situation would remain unchanged.
Although Yin Jishan and Shuhede were given important positions, Yin Jishan was carrying out reforms in Sichuan and Shaanxi and could not leave for the time being. It was not a good idea to promote Shuhede too quickly, lest his descendants become too powerful after Yonglian ascended the throne.
Qianlong then placed his hopes on his brother-in-law, Fuheng, and arranged for him to serve in the Grand Council as a minister of the Ministry of Works. Two years later, Zhang Tingyu retired, and Fuheng was appointed the chief military advisor.
As for Nianqin, whom Qianlong had high hopes for at the beginning, Qianlong also let him join the Grand Council, but he did not allow him to stay in the capital, and sent him to serve as an imperial envoy every now and then.
This time, when Emperor Qianlong went on tour, he insisted on taking Yonglian with him. He had to take his son to get acquainted with the Mongolian princes.
Yonglian now went to the Manufacturing Bureau in the morning and returned to the Old Summer Palace in the afternoon to practice horseback archery and musketry.
Yonghuang would also come over from the study, and together with Yongzhang, Hongzhou, and Yongbi, they would all cram together.
Yong Zhang was still a little frail, and wasn't very good at archery or horseback riding. Fortunately, modern flintlock rifles didn't require much strength, and the young boy was quite skilled in using them.
Hongzhou, Yongbi, and Yonglian were all equally skilled in horseback archery. Yonglian completely ignored the fact that he was older than them, as long as someone was of similar skill.
Yonghuang was the most skilled in riding and shooting among the few people. It was worth it that he practiced every day after receiving the task.
The weather was very hot, so after practicing for a while, everyone sat down on the veranda to rest and talk.
Hongzhou was curious about Yonglian's recent experience working at the Manufacturing Bureau. Yonglian couldn't help but sigh, "I thought the Manufacturing Bureau was just about technical matters, but it's not like that. There are a lot of disputes and disputes. I've been settling lawsuits for them these days."
The disagreements between craftsmen may seem technical, but they're actually about vested interests. Every new generation of parts creates a conflict. The designers of the previous generation, unwilling to see their work replaced, find fault with the newer ones.
Many parts have been designed that seem useful, but because they require relatively rare ores, they cannot be mass-produced. The Manufacturing Bureau needs to calculate the cost.
There were so many chores to do. Although Hai Wang had been in charge of the Imperial Household Department for many years, during the Yongzheng era, the department was still only producing utensils for the imperial family. He was also learning about machinery on the spot. At his age, his learning ability was limited, so he wanted to put off many things.
As soon as Yonglian arrived, the craftsmen from the manufacturing bureau gathered around him. Many things had been piled up for a year or two and had not been resolved.
Yonghuang said, "The Manufacturing Bureau is now a large government agency. The tax revenue collected last year was very considerable. The more profitable a place is, the more trouble it will cause."
Yonglian smiled and said, "Brother, what you said is absolutely right."
"There's no dispute when we go through the study," Yong Huang said with a smile, "it's just that everyone is too lazy and needs someone to rush them to get things done."
Yong Zhang listened to his two brothers talking and thought for a moment, "I want to be like my eldest brother and work in a government office like the Fenshufang. Where do you think I should go?"
Yongzhang was in poor health and had a soft temper, so he thought it would be best if his job was less stressful. Yonghuang said, "Why don't you go to the book repair office?"
Yong Zhang said, "But I'm not interested in poetry or books." In his opinion, he was mediocre in all aspects and had no special talents.
Yonglian said, "Come to the National News. Gao Jin has been transferred to a provincial post, and the official in charge of reporting will also be transferred in two years. Why don't you come and gain some experience, my third brother?"
Yonglian also had an idea, which was to expand the scope of the interviews, not only interviewing scholars, but also interviewing some craftsmen and military commanders. Especially interviewing craftsmen, it could be considered a kind of technical exchange.
Upon hearing this, Yong Zhang immediately said yes happily and thanked Yong Lian repeatedly.
Yonglian laughed, "What's there to thank me for? The editorial team of Guochao News doesn't have any lucrative jobs."
In fact, there should be many places where one can exploit loopholes to make money, but Uncle Hongxiao is very strict, and the things Yonglian is worried about have never happened.
Little did they know that this was not only due to Hongxiao's contribution, but the more important reason was that Qianlong often personally intervened.
He had been following the "Guochao News" not only because it was Yonglian's hard work, but also because he gradually realized the importance of newspapers. In the past, many government orders from the court could not reach the people. The court exempted taxes every year, but officials below collected taxes and put the money into their own pockets.
In the end, the people blamed the imperial court. It was okay in good years, but it was easy for people to cause trouble in bad years.
However, in the past two years, "Guochao News" has often published articles and comic strips about reducing taxes and levies, or he wrote them in the form of poems and hid them in various corners to let the people know that the court had reduced taxes.
Although there is no guarantee that all the people will see it, as long as there is one person in a village who sees it, the people will not be deceived when the government wants to impose heavy taxes and levies.
At the same time, there are also disadvantages, that is, there are more conflicts between officials and the people.
In the past two years, Nianqin has been serving as an imperial envoy, investigating similar cases.
When this happened more frequently, it became clear that the court was not at peace. Many officials wanted to shut down the newspaper or prohibit it from publishing articles about taxes. However, any savvy person could see that this was tacitly approved by the emperor, who relied on it to monitor his officials.
If anyone dares to question the "Guochao News" at this time, the emperor will definitely suspect that you just want to increase taxes and levies on the people.
So in the end no one dared to speak.
Fortunately, local commercial taxes have increased over the past two years, and the income from local workshops has supplemented the officials' previous gray income. The maintenance silver is calculated based on the tax rate, so the higher the income, the more maintenance silver. Officials are living a good life.
The woolen cloths ordered by Pan Zhencheng in Europe arrived one after another, and foreign merchants also brought back some Qing Dynasty silk and tea from the Qing Dynasty.
Foreign merchants also brought news that some Chinese restaurants had appeared in France, and it was said that they were opened by the colonists who returned from Libya.
The British thought that the Qing Dynasty had sent people to Libya to compete with them for territory, and became alert.
But upon closer inquiry, people who had been to Libya only said that people from the Qing Dynasty opened restaurants and clinics in the French colony, but they were just doing small businesses and had no intention of grabbing territory.
British businessmen did not understand what the people of the Qing Dynasty were thinking. The Qing Dynasty did not value people who did business, so why did it send people to Libya to do business?
Pan Zhencheng and the merchants from the Thirteen Hongs deceived them because business in the Qing Dynasty was too difficult and some people wanted to make a living outside.
When Emperor Qianlong received Pan Zhencheng's secret memorial, he immediately told Hongxiao and asked him to tell Hongtao's family.
After being away for so many years, there is finally some news.
There was no mention of Hongtao's own safety. Hongxiao was still very worried, so he told his fourth sister-in-law that the British had met his fourth brother, and that he had opened a restaurant in Libya with his people and was doing well.
Pan Zhencheng was going to take a merchant ship to Britain again, so Qianlong wanted him to visit Libya on the way. It would be even better if he could meet Hongtao.
The imperial court also specially equipped this fleet with new cannons and muskets. The proportion of gunpowder this time was adjusted and it was not easily affected by moisture.
When the Guangdong caravan set off, Emperor Qianlong also boarded the train with the Empress Dowager, the Queen, and his children to begin this year's Mulan Hunting.
Qianlong had a separate carriage, followed by the carriages of the three princes and several royal princes, then the officials and guards and palace maids, and finally the carriages of the empress dowager, the empress, several accompanying concubines and Niu Lun.
There were guards guarding the connection between each carriage, especially the last carriage. No one was allowed to enter except Qianlong who went over to see the empress dowager.
Fortunately, the distance is short, so it won’t cause any trouble if I don’t move.
Yun Mi sat with some of his nephews and grandnephews. "The imperial train is different. It's clean and tidy. Last time, I bought a ticket for a train ride just for fun. It was a real pain. The smell on the train was enough to kill me. I was completely covered in dust when I got off."
Yonglian was curious, "I heard there's a VIP carriage, why don't you take it?"
"The VIP carriage is filled with either wealthy businessmen or officials. If someone recognizes me, he will come to curry favor with me." Yun Mi said.
Yonglian thought about it and agreed.
Yong Zhang was curious, "I heard there's food for sale on the train?"
Yun Mi nodded, "Yes, but not many people buy it. Most people bring their own dry food. After all, the whole journey is only three hours, and they won't starve to death if they don't eat for three hours. Only those people in the VIP carriage will buy some tea and snacks. They just have money to burn."
Hong Zhou nodded thoughtfully, "Only long-distance trains in the future will need to sell food and tea on board."
"Is there any woman in the car?" Yongbi asked curiously.
"I didn't see any young women last time, but there were a few old Mongolian women." Yun Mi said, "Although the women were in the same carriage as the men, their seats were separate."
Yonglian had heard Fuheng say, "The VIP carriage is also separated by a screen for men and women. A while ago, Alawangbu's mother came to the capital and took the train to Zhangjiakou."
Three young Mongolian boys were also in the same carriage. Alawangbu said, "My mother told me how great the train was as soon as she saw me. Since the train was built, many new things from Beijing can be found in Mongolia. This summer, the emperor gifted some grapes to Mongolian princes, and they were still fresh when they arrived in Mongolia."
After the railway was completed, Mongolia became more abundant in goods and prices began to change. Previously, fruits and fresh vegetables were very expensive in Mongolia, and were mostly sold by Shanxi merchants. But now, merchants from Zhili could also profit from them.
Balzhuer said, "I heard that Zhangjiakou is very prosperous now."
"In the future, wherever there is a train, there will be prosperity," said Yonglian.
"When will the court continue to build railways?" Hongzhou asked. Everyone was very concerned about this matter.
Not only court officials were concerned, but merchants were also interested. Wherever the railway was built, there would be business. Building the railway required laborers, and even though the court was responsible for the laborers' food, clothing, housing and transportation, it still required cooperation with merchants.
"We have discussed this matter for a long time, but no decision has been made. Anyway, the repairs will not be continued this year," said Yonglian.
While Hai Wang was in charge of the Manufacturing Bureau, he was also the Minister of Revenue. He told Yonglian that the amount of money the Ministry of Revenue would allocate to railway construction next year would depend on how much the Railway Bureau could pay to the Ministry of Revenue this year.
The Ministry of Revenue has a target. If it doesn't meet that target, construction won't take place for now. If it exceeds the target a bit, they can consider building along the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway to Shanxi. If it doubles the target, they can choose a single route and build both routes simultaneously.
The Railway Department has dispatched numerous personnel to various locations over the past few months to survey the terrain and estimate the difficulty of road construction. Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan are the most in need of road construction, but their mountainous terrain makes building a railway too challenging.
Yonglian started working on cement. He just put forward an idea, and the manufacturing bureau had not yet figured out the ratio.
At this time, Qianlong was sitting in the imperial luxurious carriage, and Yunlu, Yunli, Yunxi and Zhili Governor Gao Bin were talking to him.
Gao Bin was talking about the changes that the opening of the railway brought to various parts of Zhili. Not to mention the distant changes, in previous years when the emperor went on tour, it was very troublesome just to allocate food and supplies along the way.
But this year, with the arrival of the train, things were much easier. Sending memorials from the capital to Mulan Paddock would also be faster.
However, this made Zhangjiakou a particularly important place. Before Emperor Qianlong went on tour, he specially sent officials and guards to station there and prepare horses. As soon as the memorial got off the train, they immediately rode to the palace.
The carriages carrying memorials also needed to be heavily guarded. This was unprecedented, and everyone was extremely cautious for fear of any mistakes.
When we arrived in Zhangjiakou, officials were waiting at the station to greet us. All other trains were stopped that afternoon to welcome the emperor.
Qianlong got off the car first and then went around to the back to meet the empress dowager in person.
There was a soft couch in the Empress Dowager's carriage, but the old lady was too excited to lie down. Instead, she sat by the window, looking at the scenery outside and chatting with the concubines from time to time.
This was much more comfortable than riding in a carriage, and the old lady was very happy. If she had to take the train for her tours in the future, she would still be happy to do it.
They changed carriages and headed for the temporary palace. It was already afternoon, and after dinner, Emperor Qianlong began to summon officials.
The young boys were full of energy, so they changed their clothes and went for a walk on the street.
With the guards following him, Qianlong felt at ease.
The street is very busy, with many shops selling wool felt blankets and various Mongolian dairy products.
Occasionally, they would see a few people dressed in Mongolian clothes doing business, which would surprise Balzhuer and his friends. After all, Mongolians have never been good at traveling for business.
Balzhuer couldn't help but go up and talk to those Mongolians. When they heard him introduce himself as being from Khorchin, they were happy to chat with him.
This year, drought struck parts of southern Mongolia, leaving little grass and water. The few good pastures were out of reach for the ordinary herders, so the women went to shear and comb sheep, while the men went to Zhangjiakou to do business.
"...Everyone has figured it out. Mongolians can farm, so why can't they trade? And this won't prevent us from continuing to graze next year."
Seeing this, Dadu and Alawangbu were both somewhat disdainful. They felt that the Mongolians should only raise horses and herd livestock, and that anything else was unorthodox.
Balzhuer was very happy. "Business is also very good. Nowadays, when people in other parts of the court encounter disasters, they will go to the workshop to work and earn money. We people on the grassland can't always rely on the court for relief. Since we have ways to make a living, why should we ask the court for help?"
The three princes nodded frequently after listening. Yonglian thought that there was a reason why Balzhuer was favored by Khan Ama. This kid had positive values and was good at talking.
Compared with him, Dadu and Alawangbu have no competitiveness at all.
Occasionally, you can see newspaper boys on the street selling "Guochao News".
It was already getting late at this time, and Yonglian saw that the newspaper boy still had two or three copies in his hand, so he bought them all.
Then he discovered that there was an advertisement leaflet sandwiched between the three newspapers.
This flyer was copied, with large fonts and only a big slogan and store addresses. Not only did it list bookstores, restaurants, and escort agencies, it even listed brothels.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
