In Qing Dynasty, Huaihai Province was established, with Xuzhou as its capital. Why should Xuzhou set up a province?

In the Qing Dynasty, an official once proposed to build a province in Xuzhou. The official who put forward this point is Zhang Jian.

In the 30th year of Guangxu (AD 1904), Zhang Jian, who had been awarded the triple crown by the imperial court, gave Guangxu a passbook and proposed the establishment of Xuzhou Province.

Zhang Jian put forward this suggestion because during Guangxu period, after the diversification of means of transportation, grain transportation began to decline, and by the end of the Qing Dynasty, grain transportation had existed in name only. By the twenty-seventh year of Guangxu (A.D. 190 1), grain transportation in eight provinces in China had stopped.

The Governor's Office of Grain Transportation is located in Huai 'an Prefecture, Jiangsu Province, and there is also a Governor's Office of Nanhe River not far from it. In addition, the Governor's Office of Liangjiang is also in Nanjing, and there is also the Governor's Office of Jiangsu in Suzhou, Nanjing. Jiangsu province is so big, but there are three governors and one governor here, which is too crowded compared with other provinces.

Therefore, Zhang Jian thinks that Xuzhou is a good choice to build a province. Geographically, Xuzhou is located at the junction of Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan and Anhui provinces, and its geographical position is very important. At the beginning of the 20th century, the intention of western powers to carve up China became more and more obvious. British warships galloped freely on the Yangtze River waterway, and Germany controlled China's railway in Shandong. The Germans even want to extend their clutches to the Yangtze River valley in China, while the British want to extend their clutches to Shandong. At this time, Xuzhou is particularly important, just stuck in the middle point between Shandong and the Yangtze River basin. If a province is established in Xuzhou, Britain and Germany that want to expand can be banned.

Zhang Jian said in the passbook handed to Guangxu: Building a province in Xuzhou and deploying heavy troops here is like hitting a hard nail between the spheres of influence of Britain and Germany, which is controlled by the imperial court. This will not only prevent the British army from continuing to expand northward, but also prevent the German army from continuing to expand southward.

So, which areas are under the jurisdiction of Xuzhou Province proposed by Zhang Jian? First of all, Xuzhou Prefecture of Jiangsu Province and its subordinate counties should be placed under Xuzhou Province, followed by Haizhou (now Lianyungang), Anhui Province, Shandong Province and parts of Henan Province, accounting for 45 counties.