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 Zhenjiang and Shanghai, and 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 trading can revitalize the mainland economy, and its conditions are naturally better than that of Zhenjiang Qihaokou. At the same time, the Jianghuai rice shed near and seek far, which will undoubtedly spill the rolling financial resources to other provinces. In this case, Li Hongzhang made a memorial to the court, asking him to move Zhenjiang rice market to Wuhu.
However, the rice merchants in Qihaokou, Zhenjiang have formed groups, mainly including Guangbang, Chaobang, Shandong Bang and Ningbo Bang. They refused to move and secretly resisted. Li Hongzhang instructed Zhang Yinhuan, a garrison commander in southern Anhui and the supervisor of Wuhu Customs, to use the relationship of fellow villagers to go to Zhenjiang to lobby the merchants of Guangdong gangs. Zhang Yinhuan (1837-19), a native of Nanhai, Guangdong Province, was also known as Qiao Ye. In 1882, Zhang Yinhuan came to Qihaokou, Zhenjiang, and took advantage of the relationship of Guangchao Association to meet the rice industry leaders of Zhuguangbang and Chaobang, and immediately promised 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 packing fee is paid by the seller; Fourth, there is no additional increase in the price of foreign shipping water feet, that is, the transportation of rice from Wuhu to Shanghai is still calculated according to Zhenjiang's transportation to Shanghai. These four preferential conditions really triggered the wave of Guangzhou-Chaozhou rice merchants moving away from the town. Followed by Shandong Gang and Ningbo Gang, they also set up meters in Wuhu.
After Zhenjiang Qihaokou Rice Market was moved to Wuhu, the whole city of Wuhu suddenly became a rice market. According to Wuhu County Records, among them, there are 43 Jiangguang Mihang, more than 5 Guangchao Yanning Gang, more than 3 Mihang in the south, more than 1 Mihang in the east, more than 2 Mihang in the west and more than 1 Mihang in the north. To this end, the rice industry office was established on the north bank of Qingyi River, and the Nanshi rice industry office was also established on the south bank of Qingyi River. From the 24th year to the 3th year of Guangxu (1898-194), rice was "exported to more than five million tons, and at least three or four million tons". At that time, people described Wuhu rice as "piled up like a mountain, but sold like a river".
Thirteen years after the rice market moved to Wuhu, Jiangsu Province set up official checkpoints in Jiangsu Dashengguan, Dahekou and Guazhou, which are close to Anhui Province, and levied customs duties on transit grain carriers, which is equivalent to paying taxes twice. The sales of rice in Wuhu dropped sharply. This not only harmed the interests of Anhui government and rice merchants, but also negatively affected the Li family's industry. This loss of government, business 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's tax card must be removed. Later, Anhui and Jiangsu decided to remove three checkpoints in Jiangsu through consultation, 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 in Wuhu Second Street, and its duty is to collect the tax and silver from Dashengguan, Dahekou and Guazhou. It is very rare to have two rice donation bureaus in Jiangsu and Anhui in one province. But for Wuhu rice market, the lost rice merchants are back, and the rice market has returned to its former glory. Sure enough, the trading volume of rice market soared to 3.13 million tons in the second year, reaching 8 million tons at the highest time, and Wuhu became the first of the four major rice markets in China.
however, it must be noted that the rice distributed in Wuhu rice market is far from Anhui province, and rice from Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces is also transported to Wuhu by water. This kind of prosperity has been vividly recorded in A Glance at Anhui Province: "Ships carrying rice travel between Guangzhou and Wuhu, as dense as shuttles, boat people carrying rice to Wuhu everywhere, sailboats piled up like clouds along the river, and rice piled up in the stacks on the shore. ..... At this time, those who do rice business are all 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 relied on rice from Anhui, and the rice merchants of Guangzhou and Chaozhou first retreated across the board. In the late 194s, with the last batch of rice merchants withdrawing from Wuhu, the once brilliant rice market in Wuhu officially withdrew from the historical stage.
Zhang Yinhuan (1837-19), a minister in the late Qing Dynasty, was born in Nanhai, Guangdong. Na Zi was a magistrate of a county, and was promoted to Daoist Guangxu for two years (1876), where he was granted the right to ascend Laiqing Road in Shandong. In seven years (1881), it was awarded Taiguang Road in Huining Pool, Anhui Province. The following year, the provincial judges were moved. Reward the three products of Jingtang, and serve the Prime Minister's yamen on national affairs. In the tenth year of Guangxu (1884), except for Shaoqing in Taichang Temple. Twelve years (1886), in addition to Taichang Temple Minister, he was transferred to the Deputy Envoy of the General Political Department. General administration of complex value. Left assistant minister of the relocation department. During the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, he went to Japan to negotiate with Shao Youlian as the plenipotentiary minister. In March 1898, he assisted Li Hongzhang to sign the Land Lease Treaty with Russia. During the Reform Movement of 1898, he was transferred to the management of Jingshi Mining Bureau and General Administration of Railways, tending to reform. During the 13-day political reform, Zhang Yinhuan did four important things: first, he contacted the new school of Kang Liangwei for Emperor Guangxu; second, he presided over the General Administration of Railway Mines; The third is Chen Xinzheng's suggestion; The fourth is to lead former Japanese Prime Minister Ito Bowen to meet with Emperor Guangxu. For this reason, Cixi deeply hated it. After the coup of 1898, he was impeached and banished to Xinjiang. Killed in 19.