I can't die

Presumably many people will involuntarily mention the gangsters in Shanghai when they talk about Shanghai Bund, and when it comes to gangsters, the Qinggang is naturally the top priority.

In fact, the Green Gang is a gang with a long history in China. It was founded by Weng Yan, Qian Jian and Pan Qing as early as the fourth year of Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty (1726).In the past, all the disciples used water transportation as their business, so they were called the grain boat gang.In the Qing Dynasty, there were quite a lot of gang members in the north and south of the river.The Green Gang is one of the most popular and far-reaching secret folk associations since the early Qing Dynasty.It was also one of the three major civil gang organizations in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China (Green Gang, Hongmen, Gelaohui).

Feudal dynasties of all dynasties in China transported part of the grain collected from the land tax to the capital or other designated places.The purpose of transporting grain is for court consumption, official salaries, military pay and people's food adjustments.This kind of grain is called Cao grain, and the transportation of Cao grain is called Cao transport. There are three ways: river transport, water and land transport and sea transport.This is what the Green Gang does.

The Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties all paid attention to water transportation. For this reason, they even dredged the network roads required for the south-to-north grain transfer, and established a water transportation storage system.However, in the fifth year of Xianfeng (1855), the Yellow River was diverted, and the canal was shallow, making river transportation increasingly difficult. With the development of the commodity economy, water transportation was no longer necessary.So the Green Gang has also started to go downhill in the past few years.Not to mention that with the Taiping Rebellion, the Green Gang was reduced from 120 eight and a half gangs (half of which were incense boats) in its heyday to six gangs: Jianghuaisi, Xingwusi, Xingwuliu, Jiabai, and Jiahaiwei. , Hang San.Each gang is marked with a triangular or rectangular flag.Business is also going from bad to worse.

At this time, as long as the Green Gang doesn't really want the organization to go bankrupt, it must find another way out.Pan Ren, the head of the Green Gang, found Li Hongzhang under such circumstances.Seeing this, some people may ask, how can such an underground organization have the right to ask to see the imperial court's second-rank officials?

Speaking of this, I have to mention the water transportation.Although the actual manipulator of the water transport was the Green Gang, the Qing Dynasty once set up an official position for management, that is, the governor of the water transport, and his official residence was established in Huai'an, Jiangsu.However, if the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom occupied Jiangnan now, this position has been abandoned for many years.Since ancient times, water transport has colluded with officials a lot, and the help of the Qing Gang inevitably has many privileges.

Li Hongzhang knew the power of the Green Gang.This gang has been entrenched in the south of the Yangtze River and along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal for hundreds of years. It has long formed an invisible chain of interests with rich merchants from all over the world. Even in the most dangerous period of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, this gang still survived and was not defeated. It can be seen that its sharp.

"Please come in quickly." Li Hongzhang passed the background of the Green Gang in his mind, and then called someone to invite Pan Ren to come over.When Li Hongzhang met Pan Ren, he was at his official residence in Shanghai.In order to better handle the relationship with the big powers entrenched in Shanghai, he applied for the establishment of the "Shanghai Branch of the Prime Minister's Office" in Shanghai, which was just approved by Zai Chun.

Pan Ren got the interview, straightened his clothes and went in.However, although Pan Ren was born in an underground organization, his attire looked very bookish. He wore a blue gown, a folding fan on his waist, and an emerald finger ring in his hand, as if he was born in a scholarly family.

"Pan Ren, a grassroots man, has seen Governor Li." Pan Ren saluted, and then he was awakened by Li Hongzhang to give him a seat and tea.

"I have heard for a long time that Mr. Li is a minister of great service to the Qing Dynasty. It is really the grassroots' fault that he only came to see him now."

Pan Ren took a sip of tea, and then bowed his hands to Li Hongzhang. It was the etiquette among literati, and he looked even more refined.

Li Hongzhang looked at Pan Ren's posture, and sighed in his heart. Who would have thought of his background for such a character?

"It's okay, I don't know what Mr. Pan said all this time?"

Mr. Li Hongzhang's words were very polite, but Pan Ren hurriedly refused. "It's for water transportation."

Now that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has been pacified for more than half a year, the Qing Dynasty has resumed its control over the southeast area. Naturally, the rivers across the north and south of Central China have also resumed smooth flow.It's just that the Qing Dynasty has not re-established the post of Governor of Water Transport for a long time, and Pan Ren is also very helpless. He can only ask Li Hongzhang to come before him. After all, Li Hongzhang is the most powerful official in Jiangnan at present.

"This matter is also difficult for the imperial court." Li Hongzhang did not hide it: "Although the imperial court has slowed down now, you also know the front line of the Yangtze River. There is more energy than energy."

The military threat of British warships at the mouth of the Yangtze River in Shanghai was serious, and it would be useless even if the water transportation was resumed.Moreover, during the years of the Taiping Rebellion, the transportation of grain in the Qing Dynasty was basically transferred to road transportation. After more than ten years of land transportation, there was no small resistance to the restoration of water transportation.

"Caomin is also aware of the difficulties of the imperial court, but now the survival of the whole gang depends on the imperial court. I also hope that the benevolence of the Holy One can give me and other brothers a way out."

Pan Ren's words are very sincere, but it's hard to say how much is true and how much is fake.Although the Green Gang is based on water transportation, after a hundred years of accumulation, it will not say that it will close down immediately if it loses the water transportation errand. Everyone knows that these underground organizations also have a lot of shady business.

Li Hongzhang smiled after listening to Pan Ren's words: "The emperor is benevolent."

Li Hongzhang praised Zai Chun and stopped talking, and was a bit cold for a while.Pan Ren didn't care much about this. How could he shrink back because of this little embarrassment if he could reach the current position of the leader of the Youth Gang?

"Caomin came here this time, in addition to asking about water transportation, there is another matter, please call your lord."

"You said."

"The salt merchants from Liangjiang specially asked to come here before the grass people came, and asked, what is the rules for this year's ticket salt?"

Ticket salt is a formal salt.During the reign of Qianlong, the "Lianghuai Salt Citation Case" that shocked the government and the public broke out, which caused many corruption problems of salt merchants.In order to reform these problems, Emperor Daoguang changed the salt to vote salt.Although the ticket and salt system retains various procedures for salt introduction, such as "selling salt" and other old regulations, salt tickets can "compete across borders" and "government-supervised commercial sales". Merchants have a monopoly on Yan Yin, but canceled the boundary of salt travel, that is, the restriction on "introduction to the shore" (also known as "going to the shore"). It is simpler than commercial transportation. Regardless of the amount of capital, it can be operated according to its ability, and it is convenient to come and go.” .After the implementation of this policy, the price of salt "slumped", "the price of salt in the west of Chu was suddenly lower, and the people cheered for it." The obvious effect was to "suppress the price of salt", and the large salt merchants as "bankers" "collapsed" ".So far, ticket salt has replaced salt introduction as the continuous means of handling salt.