Wuhu and Chaohu are famous rice producing areas. Wuhu has convenient water transportation conditions. The vast Yangtze River connects it with Jiujiang and Wuchang, and connects it with Zhenjiang and Shanghai. There are also inland river transportation networks such as Qingyi River, Yuxi River, Shuiyangjiang River and Zhanghe River. Taking Wuhu as the center of grain transportation can revitalize the mainland economy, and the conditions are naturally better than Zhenjiang No.7 Port. At the same time, the Jianghuai rice shed is close to the distance, which will undoubtedly spill the rolling financial resources to other provinces. In this case, Li Hongzhang wrote to the court, asking it to move Zhenjiang rice market to Wuhu.
The rice merchants in Zhenjiang No.7 Port have formed a group, mainly including Guangbang, Chaobang, Shandong Bang and Ningbo Bang. They refused to move and secretly resisted. Li Hongzhang instructed Zhang, the garrison commander in southern Anhui and the inspector general of Wuhu Customs, to take advantage of his hometown relationship to go to Zhenjiang to lobby Zhang, a Guangdong businessman (1837- 1900), a native of Nanhai, Guangdong. 1882, Zhang came to the No.7 entrance of Zhenjiang, and made use of the relationship of Guangchao Association to get to know the rice industry leaders of Zhuguangbang and Chaobang, and immediately agreed to four preferential conditions: First, Wuhu Guandao issued a license to specialize in rice industry; Second, every rice merchant who goes to Wuhu has a patent agency; Third, the rice packaging fee is paid by the seller; Fourth, there is no additional increase in the price of foreign marine water feet, that is, the transportation of rice from Wuhu to Shanghai is still calculated according to the transportation from Zhenjiang to Shanghai. These four preferential conditions really triggered the wave of Guangzhou-Chaozhou rice merchants moving out of the town. Then Shandong Gang and Ningbo Gang also set up rice in Wuhu.
After Zhenjiang No.7 rice market moved to Wuhu, the whole Wuhu suddenly became a rice market. According to the records of Wuhu County, among them, there are 43 rice shops in Jiangguang, more than 50 rice shops in Guangchao, more than 30 rice shops in the south, more than 0/0 in the east, more than 20 in the west and more than 0/0 in the north. To this end, the Rice Department was established on the north bank of Qingyi River, and the Heather Rice Department was also established on the south bank of Qingyi River. During the twenty-four to thirty years of Guangxu (1898- 1904), rice was "exported from five million tons to three or four million tons".
13 later, the rice market moved to Wuhu, and Jiangsu Province set up official checkpoints in Jiangsu Dashengguan, Dahekou and Guazhou, which are close to Anhui Province, and levied tariffs on transit grain carriers, which was equivalent to paying taxes twice. Wuhu rice sales dropped sharply. This not only harmed the interests of Anhui government and rice merchants, but also had a negative impact on the Li family's industry. This loss of officials, businessmen and people has aroused strong dissatisfaction from all walks of life in Wuhu and even Anhui. In order to maintain the prosperity of Wuhu rice market, Jiangsu tax card must be removed. Later, after consultation, Anhui and Jiangsu decided to remove the three checkpoints in Jiangsu, but the premise was to maintain the prosperity of Wuhu rice market without harming the interests of Jiangsu Province. Set up two rice donation bureaus in Wuhu, Jiangsu and Anhui. Among them, Jiangsu Rice Donation Bureau is located in the lane of Rice Donation Bureau on Wuhu Second Street, and its duty is to collect taxes and silver from Dashengguan, Dahekou and Guazhou. It is very rare for a province to have two rice donation bureaus in Jiangsu and Anhui. But for Wuhu rice market, the lost rice merchants have returned, and the rice market has returned to its former glory. Sure enough, in the second year, the trading volume of rice market soared to 310.3 million tons, reaching 8 million tons at the highest time, and Wuhu became the first of the four rice markets in China.
However, it must be noted that the rice distributed by Wuhu Rice Market is far from Anhui Province, and the rice from Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi and other provinces is also transported to Wuhu by water. This kind of prosperity has been vividly recorded in A Glance at Anhui: "Ships carrying rice travel between Guangzhou and Wuhu, as dense as shuttles, and there are boat people carrying rice to Wuhu everywhere. Sailboats along the river pile up like clouds, and rice piles on the shore pile up like mountains. ..... At this time, the rice business is three times profitable. " Later, with the rise of railways and highways, especially the opening of the Guangdong-Han Railway in 1936, the era of relying on water to transport grain came to an end. Guangdong no longer relies on rice from Anhui, and rice merchants from Guangzhou and Chaozhou first retreated across the board. In the late 1940s, with the last batch of rice merchants leaving Wuhu, the once brilliant Wuhu rice market officially withdrew from the historical stage.
Zhang (1837- 1900), a native of Nanhai, Guangdong, was a minister in the late Qing Dynasty. That son was a magistrate of a county, and he was promoted to the position of Taoist Guangxu for two years (1876), where he was named Denglaiqing Road in Shandong. Seven years (188 1 year), awarded Guangtai Road in Chi, Huining, Anhui. The following year, the provincial judges were transferred. Appreciate the three products of Beijing and Tang dynasties, and serve the prime minister's yamen to discuss state affairs. Ten years of Guangxu (1884), except Shao Qing Taichang Temple. 12 years (1886), in addition to the minister of Taichang Temple, he was transferred to the position of Deputy Minister of the General Political Department. Complex value integrated management. Assistant to the left minister of relocation department. 1894- 1895 During the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War of 1895, he went to Japan as a plenipotentiary minister to negotiate with Shao Youlian. 1March, 898, assisted Li Hongzhang to sign a land lease treaty with Russia. During the Reform Movement of 1898, he was transferred to Shi Jing Mining Bureau and General Administration of Railways for management, tending to reform. During the reform of 103, Zhang did four important things: First, he contacted Kang Xin School for Emperor Guangxu; The second is to preside over the General Administration of Railways and Mines; The third is Chen Xinzheng's suggestion; The fourth is to lead former Japanese Prime Minister Ito Bowen to meet with Emperor Guangxu. To this end, Cixi hated it. 1898 After the coup, he was impeached and exiled to Xinjiang. 1900 was killed.