The Jiangnan merchants' large-scale investment in the Nanyang Islands soon attracted the attention of the sensitive Nanhai merchants. They encountered the challenge of the Jiangnan merchants at their own doorstep. How could the Nanhai merchants with developed industry and commerce swallow this sigh of relief? Led by several major industrial and commercial families, the South China Sea merchants who showed weakness also began to invest in the Nanyang Islands, especially the investment in new ports on Princesa Island and Verne Island, which aroused the enthusiasm of the South China Sea merchants. Great interest.
On behalf of the Governor-General of the South China Sea, Zhong Wenjing issued an intentional policy on the development of Princesa Island and Verne Island. In order to encourage the development of these two pearls embedded in the Southern Ocean, the new ports and terminals will be joint-stock companies. For operation, the Nanhai Governor's Palace, on behalf of the government, will hold 50% of the shares and use the land required for the construction of port terminals on the two islands as equity, while the remaining 50% of the shares will be purchased by merchants and individuals from the built ports and terminals. , the government will not participate in the construction and future operation and management of ports and terminals, and construction and operation and management will be supervised and managed by a board of directors elected by the remaining 50% of share holders.
This good news also directly stimulated the merchants of Jiangnan and Nanhai. In the battle for the control rights of the newly built ports and terminals on Princesa Island and Fernie Island, Jiangnan merchants and Nanhai merchants fought fiercely. In the end, Jiangnan merchants won They obtained a controlling stake in the port terminal of Princesa Island, and the South China Sea merchants also obtained a controlling stake in the Fernie Island as they wished.
The revival of Jiangnan merchants' power was not only reflected in their interest in the Nanyang Islands. After encountering the double blow of war and economic policies, Songjiang's textile industry began to regain its vitality, and the silk weaving industry represented by Huajia began to build large-scale new buildings. The computer room took the first step in the economic renaissance of Jiangnan. The Hua family's first investment immediately attracted the attention of Jiangnan merchants. Everyone knew that Hua Yumei, the eldest daughter of the Hua family, was in the Queen of Qin's harem, and the Hua family's attitude was to some extent This also represents His Highness the King of Qin’s attitude towards the merchants in the south of the Yangtze River. News soon spread that Xijiang will further encourage the import of materials such as silk, porcelain, pottery, tea, jewelry, handicrafts, etc., and may also Such materials exported outside the control area of Xinjiang have greatly reduced or even eliminated the extravagant transfer tax that has been levied since the founding of the empire. This quickly won the favor of merchants in the south of the Yangtze River. The ceramic industry in Jinhua and the manufacturing industry in Quanzhou The tea industry, handicraft manufacturing industry in Yuhang and Suzhou, and the jewelry industry in Weiyang have all quickly set off a new round of investment boom. The industrial and commercial giants in Jiangnan, led by the Seven Families, have expressed that they will spend huge sums of money to increase investment, striving to make various industries in Jiangnan prosper. Take a greater advantage in competition with the same industry, expand foreign exports, and ensure that Jiangnan's industrial and commercial industry is the leader in the empire.
Three prominent families, headed by the Wen family, announced that they would spend huge sums of money to build Jiangnan Shipyard, known as the largest shipyard in the empire, in Yuhang. The newly built Jiangnan Shipyard will have twelve shipyards and its own dedicated wharf. By then, the Xijiang Government Affairs Bureau will The Commander-in-Chief of the Military Affairs Administration and the new Governor of Jiangnan will all attend the inauguration ceremony of the shipyard. These three companies are preparing to invest heavily in expansion based on the original Yuhang Shipyard. Of course, the Military Affairs Administration and the West Xinjiang Navy have also promised to build ten ships every year in recent years. Orders for large and medium-sized warships and above are given to Jiangnan Shipyard. The current premise is that Jiangnan Shipyard must further improve its shipbuilding capabilities by digesting the existing shipbuilding technology of the original empire, and must technically overwhelm the Japanese and Milanese to ensure that the performance of Xijiang ships is high. of advancement.
When Jiangnan and Wuhu ushered in the first glimmer of dawn in Western Xinjiang, almost from the shores of the East to the shores of Dongting Lake there was cheering. When the people of Anqing, Wenning and Jinhua announced their resignation, they were even more elated. They rejoiced and spontaneously expressed their respect and gratitude to Situ Biao who announced his resignation. The clouds of civil war finally disappeared over the Sanfu. Even Situ Biao was speechless for a long time after learning about the people's reaction after he resigned. He did not expect that he This move actually won him respect that he had never won in the land of five lakes, but it seemed so pale and helpless to win the support of the people in this way.
Although Xiao Tang had already begun to prepare to take over the management of Jiangnan and Wuhu before he sent troops to the Five Lakes in Western Xinjiang, reserve cadres was the most important task. After encountering the persecution of the Situ family, Jiangnan and Wuhu were probably both It is a dying scene. If we want to develop Jiangnan and Wuhu as soon as possible, we must have a large number of capable and energetic officials in grassroots local governments. Xiao Tang had already estimated the difficulty of this work, and added Regarding the importance of Jiangnan and Wuhu to the future new dynasty, he began to select capable officials from administrative officials throughout Western Xinjiang early.
However, the lack of capable officials has always plagued Xijiang. Although Northwest University can train a large number of students every year, most of these students have no practical experience and cannot adapt to administrative work in a short period of time, and it will also take some time to adapt. To examine and train them, not every graduate of Northwest University is a talent. On this point, Xiao Tang and Li Wufeng have surprisingly consistent opinions. Both of them appreciate those who have been tempered in the grassroots government and then selected to enter Northwest. Officials trained by universities, who have practical management experience and are trained and improved by colleges, are qualified for more important positions. The attachment of the peninsula region swallowed up a large number of officials in the Xiaotang Reserve Area, as well as major officials in the Nanhai Dominion and Zhongnan County Although a considerable number of them are produced locally, a considerable number are still dispatched from Western Xinjiang, especially Zhongnan County. In view of the strong folk customs, backward economy and complex ethnic composition of this area, in addition to the appointment of Jin Ning, who once served as the Director of Intelligence, as In addition to the governor, three of the five prefectures under his jurisdiction were dispatched from Western Xinjiang to serve as city guards, and most of the officials in the various departments under the government came from Western Xinjiang.
Beiyuan and Heshuo areas have not been annexed for a long time. The war-torn two counties are also seriously insufficient in the demand for officials. When it comes to the appointment of officials, Xiaotang and Mo Lun both prefer to be short of nothing. Mo Lun is not because of officials. The shortage of officials has relaxed the supervision of officials. The number of personnel in the Supervision Department under the Legal Affairs Department has been expanded several times. They are snooping around like wolfhounds with a keen sense of smell to spy on the secrets of officials. This also makes Xiao Tang more cautious in appointing officials. Be more cautious. Beiyuan and Heshuo counties still have not established separate counties. The affairs of their respective prefectures are managed by the governors of Northwest and Guanxi counties respectively. This is also a problem that needs to be solved urgently. There is no unified plan for the two counties. The economic development of the county will inevitably be greatly affected. However, as the war in the early stage became increasingly tense, neither Wu Feng nor Xiao Tang had much energy to deal with this matter. Now as the war situation becomes clearer and the current situation As the situation eased, these matters were put on the agenda.
The speed of Jiangnan and Wuhu's surrender was much beyond Xiao Tang's expectation. Even Wufeng did not expect that it would be so easy and quick for Jiangnan and Wuhu to be included in his rule. However, it also brought many problems. Due to the various prefectures in Jiangnan and Wuhu, During the period under the control of Situ Tai and Situ Biao, almost all administrative officials in each government were controlled by the direct descendants of the two sons of Situ. With the collapse of the Situ family's rule in these two areas, the entire Jiangnan and the Thirteen Prefectures of Wuhu needed to carry out large-scale Adjustment is also a necessary means to stabilize the rule, which also makes Xiao Tang, who is a little unprepared, feel more troublesome.
The special circumstances of the Jiangnan and Wuhu areas also prevented Xiao Tang from sending officials easily. These areas were more economically developed than the original areas under Western Xinjiang. To quickly restore vitality and develop in Jiangnan and Wuhu, this required It is even more important to test the ability of the administrative officials who are in charge of the overall situation, especially as the governors of Jiangnan and Wuhu counties. Originally, Wu Feng intended to let Liao Qichang and Chang Gui continue to serve as the governors of the two counties, but Liao Changer Everyone politely rejected Wu Feng's request. They were willing to serve as consultants to help the new county magistrate carry out his work, but were unwilling to hold the position of county magistrate again. This made Wu Feng feel a little disappointed and at the same time increased his suspicion of the two. Respect, after all, after being included in the new regime, a new atmosphere is indeed needed. Only those who are completely loyal to themselves can be more free to implement their own policies. Two veterans who have been in the political arena for decades have this point. It is very clear that it would be most appropriate to decline this position but to fully express one's willingness to support and cooperate with the work of the new county magistrate.
In view of the importance of the status of Jiangnan and Wuhu, after a long discussion between Liao Qichang and Chang Gui, who had arrived in Hanzhong together, Xiao Tang formally nominated Wang Zongxi to Li Wufeng as the governor of Jiangnan County and Su Minshun as the governor of Wuhu County. With the approval of the Military Affairs Administration, military control was officially lifted in Heshuo County. He Jing was appointed as the governor of Heshuo. Bai Yuanzhong, the governor of Hejian City who had performed well in Hejian Prefecture, was nominated to serve as the governor of Yuhang City and the governor of Anshun City in the capital of Jiangnan. Lin Dezhi was nominated to serve as the city guard of Yueyang Prefecture, the capital of Wuhu County. Wu Yaohan, the governor of Qingyang City, served as the city guard of Quanzhou Prefecture. Zou Zhiguang, the governor of Shuangdui Prefecture, served as the city guard of Songjiang Prefecture. Lu Zhonglin, the administrative director of Jinzhou Prefecture, served as the city guard of Jinhua Prefecture. Yan Qing, Director of the Internal Affairs Bureau of Dongfu Prefecture, serves as the city guard of Anyuan Prefecture.
The series of appointments is dizzying, but even with a large number of personnel adjustments and appointments, there are still as many as a dozen prefectures without city guards. Some important prefectures and counties such as Gusu, Weiyang, Huzhou, Songjiang, Jiujiang, Huanggang, and Ba Ling, Anqing, Wenning, Hejian, Shuangdui, Qinghe, Longquan, etc. are all still vacant. However, under Wu Feng's instructions, they would rather leave the temporary vacancies to be managed by the local garrison than appoint administrative officials at will to ensure that officials of virtue and talent.