Dominate the Country

[Thanks to ‘wq007_00...’ for the 500-coin reward, thank you]

“I am Pang Zhenkun, a criminal from Dengzhou, Henan. Thank you, Your Highness, for not killing me.”

In a confiscated rich merchant’s house outside Changsha, Chen Guangqian, who had just turned down the position of Governor of Hunan, revealed his true identity to Chen Ming. He was Pang Zhenkun, a famous genius in Henan.

Chen Ming was not surprised. He sent people to investigate Chen Guangqian’s background, but there was no trace. The ‘experience’ he mentioned could not be verified at all. The whole person seemed to have jumped out of a stone.

But Chen Guangqian’s identity can be faked and concealed, but his talent cannot be faked. In this era, it is difficult not to take the imperial examination after learning a lot of ink. Chen Guangqian, as a native of Henan, said that he had been living in Guangxi in recent years. Pang Zhenkun, who was noticed by Chen Ming in his early years, was not the magistrate of Wuxuan County, Xunzhou Prefecture, Guangxi, and Cenxi County, Wuzhou Prefecture, two times? Pang Zhenkun, the small county magistrate, is well-known in Dengzhou. He is said to be a good official who cares for the people.

Chen Guangqian's accent has a bit of Nanyang flavor, but he is very good at being an official. He also understands some official rules very well. He is very comfortable in the position of Changsha prefect. How could he be a small vendor?

Chen Ming naturally connected him with Pang Zhenkun. Comprehensive summary, Chen Ming thinks that it is very likely that "Chen Guangqian is Pang Zhenkun".

"Your Highness, I think that during my two terms as county magistrate, I have been diligent in government, promoted education and loved the people, and have made contributions without faults. Even if the Qing court dismisses me from my official position, I can return to my hometown. I want to make a living by speaking, teach students according to their aptitude, and teach people tirelessly." Pang Zhenkun did think so at the time. "However, the Tartars are despicable and shameless, selling official positions and titles. Just because the Cenxi County Magistrate paid 8,000 taels of silver, they dismissed me from my post as a mediocre and incompetent official, and quickly replaced me as the County Magistrate with the Cenxi County Magistrate." This is absolutely an insult.

Pang Zhenkun thought of the humiliation he suffered before leaving, by the County Magistrate and some local gentry. Pang Zhenkun offended many local gentry by "promoting education and loving the people" in Cenxi County. Don't forget the boy's test, the power of the latter is in the hands of the county magistrate.

He left Guangxi penniless, with only a roll of clothes and a box of books, and later he threw the box of books into the river. "I swore to the river at that time that I would make them pay for the great humiliation. If I don't take revenge, I will not be a man!"

So Pang Zhenkun sent his wife, sons and daughters to his best friend Wu Xueli, who is now serving in Sichuan.

Pang Zhenkun himself really defected when the Fu Han Army went south to Hunan. Because he knew that he could only rely on Chen Han to take revenge.

"I am grateful to your Highness for your understanding, and I will never repay you with my death." Pang Zhenkun turned down the position of Governor of Hunan and revealed his crime of impersonation in front of Chen Ming. The official position waiting for him in the future will be the Censor of Guangxi.

For Pang Zhenkun, who was determined to return to Guangxi to "take revenge", the position of Censor of Guangxi might be more attractive to him than the Governor of Hunan. Although the rank of Censor of Guangxi is exactly the same as that of the prefect.

With the establishment of provincial and governor-level officials, the authority and importance of Censors are being greatly reduced. Pang Zhenkun paid a great price for his pseudonym. Sometimes in the officialdom, if you miss one step, you will fall behind step by step. But Chen Ming looked at Pang Zhenkun's slightly chubby face and felt that he could not suppress his excitement and roar in his heart.

"Go down. Be prepared for the handover." Anyway, Chen Erbao and Chen Yongsheng in Guangdong will not wait until next year to attack Guangxi. It is estimated that as soon as Chen Ming arrives in Lushan, Pang Zhenkun's new appointment will be issued.

When Chen Ming sailed along the Xiangjiang River to Changsha, it was already mid-November. In addition to the original people, there were also garrison generals from southern Hunan and Hengyang in his entourage.

In Hengyang, Chen Ming held a small-scale civil and military symposium. In just seven or eight months, the stormy waves in Hunan washed away a lot of gravel. From southern Hunan to western Hunan, Hunan was surrounded and beaten by the Qing army for half a year. Not only did many soldiers die, but many county officials in various places also died. The worst-hit Baoqing Prefecture - Wugang, has changed four county magistrates.

At the beginning, Chen Ming let Cheng Hao, Xu Yongmin, Lin Anhong and others recruit people and appoint local officials in Hunan, but in less than a year, 60% to 70% of those first county magistrates had died. Many people died in the hands of the Qing army, and some were beheaded by the Fu Han army for abandoning the city and fleeing without fighting. In addition to some incompetent and mediocre people who were dismissed, only one or two officials can still sit on the county magistrate's chair.

The number of local officials in Hunan who are from Hunan has dropped sharply from more than 90% at the beginning to less than half now.

"I think this newspaper doesn't need to pay much attention to "Shi Gu Wen" and "Yuelu Mountain". Just keep an eye on their funding sources and write down the list of investors." Liu Jijiang said to Chen Ming.

In the entire Hunan officialdom, except for Pang Zhenkun, who used the alias Chen Guangqian, the person who is most capable of competing for the governor of Hunan is undoubtedly Liu Jijiang. Now that Chen Guangqian has been eliminated, Chen Ming has to take a closer look at Liu Jijiang's quality. Unless it is necessary, Chen Ming and Chen Hui are unwilling to transfer other officials from outside to Hunan.

As the Supervisory Censor of Hunan, Liu Jijiang’s power is actually far less than that of Shen Guozhen. During his tenure, he also focused his work on the public opinion newspapers. After the summer harvest, Liu Jijiang also organized a rural work team in the province, and kept a close eye on the three popular newspapers published by three famous academies in central Hunan.

"Under the Tartar literary inquisition, no one dared to speak out in the newspapers. There were some innuendos, but since Your Highness ordered me to be patient, I never looked for their faults and mistakes." Liu Jijiang didn't believe that those "righteous" people dared to really shout out slogans against Chen Han. They definitely knew that their heads were not as hard as the blades of the Fu Han Army.

"I think that if you want to pacify the three newspapers, it is not about high pressure and toughness, which will make the people sympathize with them, but to cut off their funds." Finding trouble with the financial backers behind them is the real winning strategy!

"Those three newspapers claim to be 'true Confucian scholars and upright scholars', and they sneer at advertisements and money. They sell two cents for each newspaper, following the official newspaper's pricing. The more they sell, the more money they lose."

So Liu Jijiang teamed up with Changsha Garrison Corps Commander Shen Zichun and Police Chief Chen Chengzhi to secretly send a large number of people to buy the three newspapers. Two cents for each newspaper, one silver dollar can buy three or four hundred newspapers, and look at how much money it costs to print those three or four hundred newspapers?

Liu Jijiang's actions greatly increased the sales of the three newspapers such as "Shiguwen" by several times in a short period of time.

The academies behind the three newspapers only thought that the people had finally 'woke up', knew what 'the righteousness of the world and the justice of the world' was, and were willing to read their newspapers. They had no idea that the final fate of these newspapers that suddenly increased in sales was 'reduced' to white paste.

In less than a month, the Chengnan Academy, which had the least wealth, was the first to collapse.

After two months of "crazy" daily sales of more than 50,000 copies, the number of newspapers sold by "Shiguwen" and "Yuelushan" is now firmly fixed at 5,000 copies per day.

In contrast, official newspapers such as "Xiangbao" and "Changsha Daily" backed by the Chen Han government have sufficient funds and diverse sales channels. The former has daily sales of more than 20,000 copies - all within and outside the province, and the latter is a local representative newspaper, and its sales have steadily reached 10,000.

Why can Liu Jijiang become a candidate for the governor of Hunan? Although his position is a little behind Pang Zhenkun, don't forget that Pang Zhenkun proposed the "Officials' Property Declaration", which made him famous all over the world, and Liu Jijiang's most significant achievement is to suppress the stubborn conservatives in Hunan's literati in public opinion.

When Liu Wu reported this to Chen Ming, he also lamented the ruthlessness and ruthlessness among the literati. Liu Jijiang has been teaching at Chengnan Academy for several years.

"Mr. Daxiang has been teaching and educating people in Chengnan Academy for many years. Why don't you talk about the past and start with Chengnan Academy?"

Liu Jijiang's way of dealing with conservative newspapers is to attack their money. Keep an eye on which family gave money to the academy, and then call on various departments to conduct strict and thorough investigations on all aspects of that family. It is not easy to find some bad accounts and broken things about these big families that were rich and powerful during the Qing Dynasty?

Chen Ming generally agreed with this method. Although it is a bit despicable, since those families funded Yuelu Mountain and Shiguwen, they are not the same as Chen Han in terms of their positioning. You need to feel guilty about it!

When Liu Jijiang finished his recital, Xiong Bingzhang stabbed Liu Jijiang with a knife. This knife was handed to him by Chen Ming, and he had to stab it. As for whether Xiong Bingzhang and Liu Jijiang can still play happily in the future, and whether they can explain it clearly in the future, Xiong Bingzhang doesn't know, and Chen Ming doesn't care.

Liu Jijiang's heartstrings, which had just relaxed, suddenly pulled up. Xiong Bingzhang was saying that he was "heartless and cold-hearted". He absolutely couldn't admit this! Who wants to have a cold-hearted subordinate? Can such a person be loyal? Who wants to have a cold-hearted boss? What good would it be like to work under such a person?

If Liu Jijiang couldn't find a decent rebuttal, he would be labeled as "cold-hearted". In the future, he would not only be unable to move forward in the officialdom, but also encounter many unnecessary changes and troubles.

Xiong Bingzhang's knife really hit his vital point.

"Your Highness, I think Lord Xiong is wrong. I kicked Nancheng Academy out first, not because I am cold-hearted, but to better preserve Chengnan Academy."

"Our dynasty is like the rising sun, with a bright future. The current path of Chengnan Academy runs counter to our dynasty. If it weren't for the magnanimity of King Han and Duke Lu, who didn't punish people with words, Chengnan would be finished. I was born in Chengnan, how can I bear to sit back and watch it go further and further?"

"The newspaper is the source of its misfortune."

"Cut off the root cause, and then guide it step by step. Only in time can Chengnan Academy be reborn."

Looking at Liu Jijiang who responded calmly and came up with appropriate words to refute in an instant, Chen Ming really agreed with him in his heart. He learned this trick from Qianlong, who used this trick on Qin Dacheng at the beginning.

Qin Dacheng won the first place in the imperial examination and stayed in the Hanlin Academy. During a palace banquet, after three rounds of wine and five dishes, Emperor Qianlong asked the eunuch to take out two bundles of things and said to Qin Dacheng: "Jiading, where you have lived for generations, is famous for bamboo carvings and bamboo utensils. What do you Jiading people call these two things?" Qin Dacheng looked carefully and found that one bundle was the thin skin of bamboo, which is called bamboo green in Jiading; the other bundle was thin bamboo slices without the skin, which is called bamboo yellow in Jiading. So he thought: In Jiading, even three-year-old children know these things, so why are they testing me, the first place in the imperial examination?

However, he was shocked and broke into a cold sweat as soon as he thought of it: "Isn't bamboo green the same pronunciation as "MIQING"? Isn't "篾黄" the same as "MI Huang"? A single mistake can have a huge impact! If you don't do it right, you will be imprisoned or killed!

So, he held his breath and whispered, "Your Majesty, these two things have local names in Jiading. One is bamboo skin, and the other is bamboo meat."

After hearing this, Emperor Qianlong laughed heartily, thinking that Qin Dacheng was very cautious, and nodded to approve of this new champion.

Although Qin Dacheng cleverly answered the emperor's question, he was more and more afraid after thinking about it. It was really like being with a tiger. After thinking about it again and again, he decided not to be an official anymore. So Qin Dacheng resigned early and returned to his hometown to take care of his mother.

This matter was no secret in Qin Dacheng's hometown.

Now Chen Ming saw Liu Jijiang's reaction, just like Qianlong did at the beginning, and recognized Liu Jijiang's qualifications to be the governor of Hunan. Although this matter was so "frivolous"!

Who made Chen Han's current accomplices only have so many people? Chen Ming's mind rang with Gong Zizhen's poem:

The nine states rely on wind and thunder for vitality, and it is a pity that all the horses are silent;

I advise the God to shake himself up again and send down talents regardless of their background.

The current Fu Han Army really needs talents, great talents. Before, when appointing prefects and county magistrates, they did not think that the people in their hands were not qualified and incapable, but now they are appointing a provincial governor, which is a provincial-level assistant officer of all kinds, and they immediately feel uneasy.

…

Korea, a splendid country with three thousand miles of rivers and mountains - hehe.

Hailancha, who crossed the Yalu River, commanded 20,000 soldiers and braves. Since he set foot on the territory of Korea, in just ten days, he swept Yizhou, Dingzhou, Anzhou, Shunzhou, and these coastal areas of the southern route of North Korea like a whirlwind, and the troops were pointed directly at Pyongyang.

The envoys sent by the Qing Dynasty to Korea to ask for punishment were still flying in the Bohai Bay on a fleet departing from Tianjin Port.

The first regiment, the first regiment, the first battalion, and the first battalion of the first regiment of the Eight Banners New Army.

The seventeen-year-old Fu Kangan raised his saber high, "Raise your gun."

With only a battalion of soldiers, facing the three or two thousand Korean soldiers who counterattacked the army, Fu Kangan had no fear at all. Even the first battalion of the Eight Banners New Army beside him was calm and composed. It seemed that the people rushing over were not three or two thousand Korean soldiers, but three or two thousand humble and tiny ants.

"Aim." Fu Kangan's voice was full of endless passion. This is love for the Qing Dynasty.

Although the women of the Fucha family only left a daughter in Qianlong's harem, the Fucha family was favored by Qianlong, especially Fuheng's family, which was completely favored by the emperor. Fu Kangan, who was only thirteen years old and walked in the Qianqing Gate, was ordered to be a third-class shrimp. His heart was full of loyalty to the Qing Dynasty and full of hot passion.

No matter how high-sounding the excuses were, Fu Kangan knew the actual intentions of the Qing Dynasty's expedition to Korea this time. But it was precisely because he knew it well that Fu Kang'an's heart surged with passion to repay the emperor's grace.

Which young man does not have a Huo Qubing in his heart? Which military official does not have the grand wish of "turning the tide and supporting the collapsing building" in his heart?

Fu Kang'an was a third-class guard at the age of thirteen, a second-class guard at the age of fourteen, and a first-class guard at the age of fifteen. Although he is now serving in the new army, he is the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the deputy governor of the Mongolian Banner. Awesome, right?

The eyes of the first battalion gathered on Fu Kang'an, staring at his waist knife raised high in one hand. Fu Kang'an was not nervous at all, and his eyes watched the Korean soldiers approaching from seventy or eighty feet away to twenty or thirty feet.

"Shua." When the Korean musketeers also approached the distance of twenty feet, Fu Kang'an slashed down with the waist knife in his hand.

"Beep-beep--" A sharp whistle sounded.

As Fu Kang'an's sword fell. The collective shooting of five hundred muskets shook the world.