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In September 1853, the General Staff Headquarters underwent a major reshuffle. More than 90% of the positions were replaced. Whether it was the personnel who were transferred out or the new personnel who were transferred in, everyone knew the reason for Vézé's decision. With the experience of the General Staff Headquarters leading the various units, the staff system could be established faster.
After a batch of "old guys" left, the younger batch joined the General Staff Headquarters. This batch of young people was different from the older ones like Wei Changrong and Hu Chenghe. They were not experienced enough. However, this group of people was the first batch of officers selected through written examinations and skills examinations. Vézé thought that this group of people needed to learn the rules set by the General Staff Headquarters. He did not expect the young people to be more active than he had imagined.
A staff officer named Levis suggested to Vézé that he could help Vézé's unit to contact sulfur. Moreover, this guy knew Vézé very well. At least he had confirmed that there was a batch of sulfur that could be purchased at any time.
Vézé looked at this young staff officer. There were some words in his heart that he could not say out loud. If it was said that Levis was disloyal to the army, it could not be said that at this stage. If it was a smooth guy, even if it was a private operation, he would let someone else handle this business.
But if it was said that Levis was wholeheartedly serving the public interest, then it was even more impossible. At least in Vézé's view, the sign of wholeheartedly serving the public interest was that Levis was able to propose a plan to purchase sulfur in the army's system. The army and the General Staff Headquarters should be the ones to stand up for this matter, not Levis.
However, this was not the time to pursue this matter. There were plenty of opportunities and excuses to deal with Levis. The most important thing now was whether or not they could smoothly obtain sulfur. With sulfur, Vézé's gunpowder supply problem would naturally be solved. If they could not obtain sulfur, Vézé could still deal with Levis, who obviously did not abide by the rules.
"We can use the channels of Hui Zhou merchants to get sulfur from Shanghai and other places. Not only sulfur, but also saltpeter, raw silk, and tea leaves. They have a lot of connections and can do a lot of things in Anhui, "Levis explained to Vézé.
"Are you saying that if we want to continue expanding our silk and tea business, we should look for Huizhou merchants to purchase from them?" Vézé asked. Vézé's tone was rather impolite when he said this. Although Vézé was never against business, he wasn't the kind of person who would allow other business groups to meddle in Vézé's territory.
Levis wasn't afraid. He said seriously, "Chief of Staff, our central Anhui doesn't produce much raw silk and tea leaves. Most of them are produced in southern Anhui. In Central Anhui, naturally our Taiping army has the final say. But in Wannan, why don't we make use of the connections of the Hui merchants? "
Vézé frowned and was silent for a moment. Then he suddenly said, "If I remember correctly, you were in charge of collecting tea leaves and silk a few months ago, right?"
Seeing that Vézé remembered him, Levis became even more excited. His eyes lit up and he said, "Yes! I was ordered to be in charge of this. During this period of time when military resources are tight, Chief of Staff, you repeatedly emphasized that we can't harm the interests of those who sell tea leaves and silk. Just this kind of heart and the rules you set, this subordinate sincerely admires you. "
Vézé didn't have good intentions. The local tea leaves and silk in Anhui weren't expensive. When Vézé sold them to Smith, he didn't have to worry about transportation, so he bought them at a very reasonable price. For Vézé, as long as he could make a profit, it was fine. Normal sales could also expand Vézé's influence in the local area. Squeezing people to death was not suitable for the current Vézé.
However, Levis obviously didn't think so. When this matter was brought up, Levis repeatedly praised Vézé's benevolence. But after a few words of praise, he couldn't help but clear his name first. "Chief of Staff, I should have reported this earlier, but I didn't get a reply when I contacted my family, so I didn't dare to say anything. I hope Chief of Staff can forgive me! "
Without Vézé's urging, Levis had already taken the initiative to explain his background. Levis's family was a traditional Hui merchant. The Hui merchants came from the Huizhou Prefecture in the south of Anhui, including the six counties of Xi, Xiuning, Wuyuan, Qimen, Xi, and Jixi, which were the ancient Xin 'an County. The Annals of Huizhou Prefecture recorded: "The valleys of Huizhou Prefecture are located in the foothills of the plains. The fields are barren, and the production is meager. Most of the crops are harvested in one year, and can't produce a tithe. The commoners have many skills, and those who sell their wares in other counties are often nineteen. "
During the last years of the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the feudal rule was on the decline. Taxes and taxes were increased day by day, and the Hui merchants' situation became more and more difficult. In 1831, Tao Shu, the Governor of Liangjiang Province, who was also in charge of the salt administration of the two Huai Provinces, abolished the long-standing abuses of the Huai salt industry, and changed to the "Note Law". The Hui merchants who relied on the patent of the salt industry to prosper began to decline.
Levis's family was one of the many Hui merchants that began to go bankrupt. When Vézé and his men killed their way from Wuchang to Nanjing, the young Levis carried anger towards the Manchu Qing court and defected to the Taiping army. After joining Vézé's army, Vézé began to purchase raw silk and tea leaves from Anhui in order to trade with the arms merchants.
As the saying goes, even a rotten ship has three catties of nails. Although Levis's family went bankrupt, they still had a social circle of Hui merchants. After receiving the news from Levis, Levis's family immediately began to operate. Although it couldn't be said to be a huge profit, there was a chance for them to make a comeback.
After listening to Levis's introduction, Vézé smiled and said, "It seems that we have found a treasure to be able to meet a Hui merchant like Brother Li."
Levis replied, "Chief of the General Staff, I didn't want to be a merchant in the first place. Being a Hui merchant is my family's livelihood. Since I have followed the Chief of the General Staff, I am only willing to fight a good war with him. "
"War is not as safe as doing business. Brother Li, although you are now in the General Staff Department, a staff officer may not be a staff officer forever. When it's time for your rotation, you will still have to continue fighting. If something happens to you on the battlefield, we won't be able to explain it to your family. "Vézé began to persuade Levis to leave the General Staff Department. He originally thought that Levis was a dangerous presence in the army, but now he didn't think so. At the moment, Vézé couldn't find any other partners for the time being. Levis's family was equivalent to a "specialized merchant" to a certain extent. With a continuous flow of orders from Vézé, the Li family had a great opportunity to catch a breather. Since the Li family had benefited from their cooperation with Vézé, they probably wouldn't abandon this relationship with Vézé before it became a burden that the Li family couldn't bear.
Although the Li family wasn't likely to betray him, Vézé didn't want a high-ranking military officer with a business backing to appear in his army at all. Interest groups were the most annoying thing. If Levis had two forces behind him, who would he choose to work for? Moreover, if Levis was in the General Staff Department, it meant that he was showing his brothers that there was another path to choose. You don't have to work hard and fight for it. You can get the same treatment by relying on some interest chain behind you.
Therefore, no matter what Levis said, Vézé contacted Levis about his position in the General Staff Department and sent him to the logistics department to be in charge of contacting the Huizhou merchants.
Regardless of Levis's thoughts on this matter, Vézé soon discovered that the Huizhou merchants, as a business group with a history behind them, were quite capable. They could obtain large amounts of sulfur from the coast, and a lot of it was imported from Japan to China.
It wasn't just Levis's family that was involved in the sulfur trade. Many Huizhou merchants behind them were involved in this business. Vézé didn't believe that Levis's family had the ability to obtain 30,000 kilograms of sulfur in less than two months. Taking advantage of this matter, Vézé gathered the main generals of the army and asked them to conduct a background check on the key personnel of all levels under the arrangement of the political department.
Vézé spoke in a dignified manner in front of a large number of military commanders, "As the saying goes, more friends means more paths. I'm doing this because I'm afraid that some of our brothers' backgrounds will be buried. Knowing everyone's background will help us contact the heroes of the Three Mountains and Five Peaks. "
However, in front of the senior generals, Vézé made it very clear, "Whether these people want to work for us or use our power to serve their families, we can't figure this out immediately. So we have to find out from the political side. "
Meanwhile, this birth theory that was clearly based on the theory of class struggle didn't seem to be immediately understood by the high-ranking generals. Even Wei Changrong, who was closest to Wei Ze, raised some doubts. "Uncle, what can they do with just a few people? Aren't you being a little too careful? "
Vézé didn't want to bring up something that no one could understand at this time. He just ordered, "Just do as I say. We'll know what's going on after the investigation. "
During the internal investigation of the army, the logistics department did an excellent job. More than 30,000 kilograms of sulfur could produce nearly 200,000 kilograms of gunpowder. For Vézé's army, it was barely enough at the current stage.
On January 11, 1854, the official document from the King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing, finally arrived at Luzhou. The official document ordered Vézé, the Prince Of The Qi, to immediately go north to rescue the Northern Expedition Army led by Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang. As the General Staff Headquarters had already discussed this matter, when everyone saw the order, they only felt that it came too late.
Before leaving, according to the results of the investigation conducted by the political department, Vézé left all the soldiers who were landowners and merchants in the base. The 11th, 13th and 14th troops were all old brothers who had gone through the test of war, as well as a group of people in Anhui who volunteered to join the army for their families.
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