There had been news of the Governor wanting to move the capital a few years ago. The Governor was in Guangzhou, and the development of Guangdong and even Lingnan was very good. After the capital was moved from Guangzhou to Nanjing, the Yangtze River Valley developed rapidly. Compared to these two areas, the economic development rate north of the Huaihe River was very average. Based on the past experience of the Governor being able to develop rapidly wherever he went, moving the capital to Beijing was undoubtedly a wonderful way to promote economic development. Things that were beneficial to the country were easily spread. The only problem was that "no one wanted to go."
As the capital of Manchu Qing, Beijing was probably similar to the lair of demons and ghosts in the eyes of the officials. Some people from the State Council had also been to Beijing. The comrades who had been to that city compared Beijing to Nanjing and came up with the comment that "it's just a small county town." Well, the people of Nanjing did feel that Beijing was too shabby. To be more realistic, they felt that other than a few cities, the places outside of Nanjing were not much different from the countryside. Some comrades simply made the following suggestions. "The Governor has the world in his heart and the four seas are his home. He is a great hero. I think that moving the capital is a big deal and needs to be considered at length. "
Wang Haiyang also did not want to go to Beijing. As a southerner, he naturally had a fear of the cold north. Heavy snow swirled in the air, water droplets turned into ice, and the accumulated snow on the road was up to their feet. This kind of place was probably too bitter and cold. But as the premier, he had to carry out the Governor's orders. Ignoring the thoughts and attitudes of himself and others, Wang Haiyang began to promote this aspect of the work.
If this news could reach the State Council, it could not be considered confidential. Vézé soon received questions from a group of old brothers.
"Governor, are you going to abandon us?" The first to come was the retired Hu Chenghe.
"What do you mean abandon you?" Vézé pretended to be surprised. Vézé felt that the reaction of his old brothers was really on point.
The struggle between the local and central ministries became clear in the second half of the year before last. At that time, the economy of a group of provinces showed signs of instability. In order to maintain the stability of their "own territory," the old brothers fought with the central ministries. In the end, it temporarily subsided. After more than a year of development, the economy of some places became worse. Vézé could see clearly that it was impossible for the local authorities to solve such a deep problem with their current means. Once his old brothers retired, Vézé could begin to implement his ideas boldly and decisively. He had to be polite to his old brothers, but he did not have to worry about the new wave of young brothers.
From Vézé's point of view, the purpose of moving the capital was to distance the central government from these old brothers. Nanjing was so prosperous, and it was the representative of the gentleness of Jiangnan. Vézé doesn't believe that his old buddies are willing to leave Nanjing to live in the lair of the monsters. In a brand new Capital, a brand new group of people could naturally establish a brand new organizational model.
What Wei Ze thought was one thing, but what Wei Ze said was a high-sounding reason. "Right now, the North isn't developing very fast. Moving the capital will make the North develop faster and better. Cheng He, do you think I'll do it without hesitation? "
If someone else said this, it would undoubtedly be a classic example of boasting. But when Vézé said it, Hu Chenghe really didn't object. Since productivity was recognized as the fundamental driving force to promote social development, the base point to promote the productivity development of the Min dynasty was undoubtedly Vézé. So many earth-shattering things came out one by one, making China a powerful country today. Vézé's attitude of promoting the development of the country was consistent in everyone's eyes.
"Commander in Chief, if you go, what's the point of leaving us in Nanjing? We'll go with you. "Hu Chenghe said quickly.
"It's not like I won't come back after I go. I remember you used to agree with Guangzhou as the capital. "Vézé laughed.
"Now I see that Guangzhou can't compare to Nanjing." Hu Chenghe said firmly.
Vézé nodded. "Not only can Guangzhou not compare to Nanjing, but Beijing also can't compare to Nanjing. I'm going there to work. I'll come back after the situation is stabilized. The economic development of the northern provinces is not good. How can I not go and supervise them? The last time I went for an inspection, I was called back because of some things. After that, I thought, I can't do that again. This time the capital move is to do a good job in the north. Now that transportation is so developed, communication is not difficult. Don't worry, I'll come back often to get together with us old brothers. My old brothers miss me. I'll go to Beijing and see what Beijing looks like. I'll also treat everyone to a drink in Beijing. "
Listening to Vézé's words, Hu Chenghe really felt that going to Beijing was not a big deal. But this feeling didn't last long. Hu Chenghe remembered that something was wrong. Nanjing was indeed too good, but the best thing was that Nanjing was the capital, the core of power. If Vézé moved the capital to Beijing, Nanjing would be reduced to an ordinary prosperous city in the blink of an eye. This was not a matter of prosperity, but a matter of status.
So Hu Chenghe continued to persuade, "Commander in Chief, if you think the comrades in the north are not doing well, call them back and give them a lecture. Let them report more. Why bother moving the whole thing to Beijing? "
Vézé waved his hand. "What do you mean by moving the whole thing to Beijing? It's just moving the office to Beijing. There are too many places that can't be moved at all. [Cheng He, your way of thinking is too strange.] How can I move the millions of books in the National Library? How can I move the National Archives? Moving it will be troublesome. Too many ministries and departments can't be moved. But you know the situation in the north. If I don't go there and see for myself, I'll be worried. "
"If Commander in Chief goes, I'll go too." Hu Chenghe knew that there was no way to convince Vézé, so he insisted on his own view.
"Then let me go first. There are so many people living there, and the local adjustment is a problem. You can come after you're done with these. "Wei Ze said something that was impossible to achieve with a deadpan expression. But this wasn't Vézé's nonsense. The state organs and the State Council had moved nearly 100,000 people to Beijing. Beijing would have to carry out a lot of construction. Naturally, it was impossible to build the houses of the retired old comrades first. It was impossible to let them live comfortably in a short period of time.
It wasn't easy to persuade Hu Chenghe to leave. Vézé also patiently persuaded the old brothers to visit. This matter started in March and finally calmed down in April. The old brothers knew that the capital wouldn't be moved immediately or permanently. Beijing was just a temporary capital city. Their mood finally calmed down a lot.
The news spread even faster with the uproar in the capital. The old brothers north of the Huaihe River also received the news. Their mood was very different for such a big event. Since the Commander in Chief had clearly said that the northern economy wasn't developing fast enough. Even if he didn't mention names, it meant that the Commander in Chief wasn't very satisfied with the north.
Although Vézé didn't act recklessly and issued the "Outline for Promoting the Development of the North" to all provinces, the outline didn't criticize or mention names. He only analyzed why the northern economy wasn't developing so fast from the overall situation. Lingnan had Guangzhou, and the Yangtze River basin had a group of cities, while the north lacked a core city to drive the economy. The Military Governor Of Vaize was confident that after moving the capital to Beijing, they could carry out the industrial layout nearby. This finally made everyone feel a little more at ease. But this also revealed an attitude. The Military Governor Of Vaize didn't think that the other provinces had the ability to develop a core city to lead the economic development. The old brothers still felt a sense of defeat, which was not very strong.
This matter had a lot of influence in the country, but it was far from shaking the country. With the current level of construction of the railway network, the distance between Beijing and Nanjing wasn't the kind of distance that most people imagined. It could be reached in a few days by train or boat, a day by telegraph, and a few minutes by radio. The revolution in communication and transportation had made China's upper class feel very different about distance.
The British Times had full-time reporters in Beijing. These reporters' status in other countries was almost equivalent to the second British embassy, but in China, their status was just a foreign newspaper reporter. The Times reporters didn't have any special complaints about their status. In a sense, thanks to the Times, China, with a population of more than 700 million, was far more prosperous than Europe, to European readers. Now, people in Europe who could read newspapers generally thought that China was a big country stronger than Britain. Such a big country that dominated the Western Pacific didn't pay attention to the Times reporters at home, which was normal for Europeans. Not to mention the reporters from The Times, didn't China just start a war with the United Kingdom just like that?
So after the Times spread the news of China's capital move to Europe, everyone paid attention to the news, not the status of the Times reporters in China.
A capital move would cross a distance of thousands of kilometers, and most European countries couldn't reach this level of distance. And this capital move was only the internal movement of the capital of China from the Yangtze River basin to the north. Beijing was still thousands of miles away from the nearest European country. The immensity of China gave the European reader a deep impression of it through the rather professional introduction of the Times.
What Europe cared more about was not just the thousands of kilometers of capital move, but the firm will of China's rulers. In order to develop the northern economy of China, the emperor of China personally led the capital move. The Times introduced several important economic zones in China. The Lingnan economic zone was already very active, and the Yangtze River basin was even more prosperous. When northern China could also develop because of this capital move, China's power would only be stronger.
The emperor of China, who spared no effort to develop the economy, made China, which had not cooled down in Europe, even more hot. Many European readers who could read newspapers openly or secretly complained, "What is our country's emperor (king) (president) doing for the country?"
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