“Father, I have another reason for wanting to take down the Kong family. We need a lot of silver to fight this war. We are expanding our army at an insane rate, buying weapons from the Germans, and the operational costs for everything else—it all requires a huge amount of silver.
Even though you’ve already poured a portion of the family’s assets into this war, it's still nowhere near enough.
The Kong family has been around for over a thousand years, their wealth passed down through generations. They control almost all the land in Qufu. Over the years, their accumulated wealth must be astronomical.
This time, the Kong family colluded with the Qing Dynasty, wanting to work with them against us. This gives us an excellent opportunity.
If we can confiscate all the Kong family’s assets, it will significantly alleviate our financial burden!”
Li Jingyuan presented his second reason.
The Li family was very wealthy. Li Hongzhang had spent a lifetime in officialdom and had amassed a fortune exceeding fifty million taels of silver.
Li Jingyuan had also earned a significant fortune through his partnership with the Germans in the pharmaceutical factory.
However, it was still far from enough.
In Li Jingyuan’s plan, once they overthrew the Qing dynasty, the entire nation needed to develop rapidly, embarking on a massive construction spree—building numerous factories, laying countless railroads and roads.
All of this also demanded immense sums of silver.
The Li family and Li Jingyuan themselves wouldn’t be able to handle it alone.
Therefore, they had to find a way to concentrate the wealth of the entire nation.
Taking this opportunity to confiscate the assets of those big landowners and powerful families was a perfect solution.
Anyway, it was they who chose to be enemies of the Beiyang Army. This also presented them with a perfect opportunity.
Li Hongzhang hesitated for a moment before nodding.
He understood that once Li Jingyuan had made up his mind, even he couldn’t change his son’s decision.
If he insisted stubbornly, it would only damage their father-son relationship.
After all, Li Jingyuan now controlled almost the entire Beiyang Army.
Li Hongzhang might still be able to influence some troops, but it would ultimately be a small minority.
As the Beiyang Army continued to expand, Li Hongzhang’s influence within the army would gradually decline.
Li Jingyuan, the commander-in-chief of the Beiyang Army, was the one who truly held the reins of power.
“Alright, Third Son, since you’ve made up your mind, then go ahead and do it. I’ll always support you! Even if we stand against all the scholars, what does it matter? As long as we can defeat the Qing Dynasty, countless scholars will be willing to serve us. After all, there are endless numbers of scholars who want to become officials in this world!” Li Hongzhang said.
As a scholar himself, Li Hongzhang naturally knew the thoughts of scholars throughout the land.
As the saying goes, “Learn arts and martial skills, and sell them to the emperor!”
This was the expectation and goal of every scholar.
If the Li family succeeded in their rebellion, and the Qing Dynasty was destroyed, would these scholars refuse to become officials?
Perhaps some scholars would remain steadfast in their principles and refuse to serve the Li family, refuse to serve the newly established empire.
But with so many scholars, surely there would be even more who would see this as a golden opportunity to enter government service.
After all, scholars were the most greedy for life, the most cowardly.
Otherwise, the Qing Tartars wouldn’t have been able to win the loyalty of these scholars so easily after entering the Pass.
“Yes, Father,” Li Jingyuan breathed a sigh of relief.
Gaining Li Hongzhang’s support and reaching an agreement with him on this issue was undoubtedly the best outcome.
Li Jingyuan didn’t want these petty problems to affect their father-son relationship.
The next day, Li Jingyuan summoned Li Qian, the intelligence bureau’s head, and had him give the order to close in for the kill.
This time, Li Jingyuan wasn’t only going after the Li family.
He was also targeting all the large and small families in Shandong Province.
Any family that colluded with the Qing Dynasty, Li Jingyuan would eliminate them all, leaving none alive.
He would thoroughly cleanse Shandong Province.
This would not only deal a heavy blow to these corrupt forces but also serve as a powerful deterrent to others. More importantly, it would allow the Beiyang Army to seize a large amount of silver and land.
This silver could be used to recruit soldiers, invest in industrial development, and build infrastructure. The land could be used to reward soldiers and even be distributed to those who had no land or only a small amount.
Li Jingyuan knew deep down the immense power of the landless and small-landholding peasants who made up the vast majority of the Qing population.
Once they woke up and unleashed their strength, they would be enough to make the entire world take notice.
On August 26, 1788, Li Jingyuan issued the order: the 4th, 5th, and 6th Infantry Divisions of the Beiyang Army, along with the intelligence bureau, would launch a campaign against the various families that had colluded with the Qing Dynasty in every prefecture of Shandong Province.
The Kong family in Qufu, in the prefecture of Yanzhou, was a particular target of this operation, and it was personally overseen by the intelligence bureau head, Major General Li Qian.