The Ming Dynasty’s Prodigal Son - Chapter 1777

[1777. Chapter 1689 Condemning the people and punishing them]

Zhou Tangsheng is here again.

When we arrived at the entrance of this Franconian-style building, although this white official residence felt unlucky, Governor Liu Yi followed the tradition of not repairing government offices and did not let anyone re-decorate or repair it.

Zhou Tangsheng did not come by carriage.

On the one hand, the price of carriages shipped from Daming was too high; on the other hand, the manpower here was outrageously low.

There are too many people in Luzon.

The local natives are extremely docile. If you give them just a bite of food, a whole family will surround you.

For example, Zhou Tangsheng likes to sit in a sedan chair. Of course, this sedan chair is not an ordinary sedan chair.

This sedan is made of the finest wood. Such wood would have been valuable in the Ming Dynasty, but in Luzon, it was worthless.

The sedan is an eight-carriage sedan. Since we are in Luzon, the mountains are high and the emperor is far away, so there are not so many rules to worry about.

The sedan was spacious and luxurious. Eight natives carried the large sedan. The sedan was open on all sides. After all, it was too hot and it would be painful to be suffocated inside.

When Zhou Tangsheng was sitting in the sedan, in addition to the eight people carrying him, there were two natives standing behind him, fanning him slowly.

The banana fan brought a bit of coolness, while Zhou Tangsheng leaned on the wicker chair and took a nap. He was too hard working, so much land had to be annexed, and there was so much food…

I heard from people at Sihai Trading Company. , now in Ming Dynasty, there is a huge demand for wine and sugar.

Drinking is easy, just make it from grain.

But sugar… made Zhou Tang even more excited.

Here in Luzon, the most suitable thing to grow is sugar cane. It costs almost nothing. If you scatter the seeds, it will be a large area. After the sugar cane is grown, sugar can be boiled. The manpower used is almost negligible, and this sugar …But it’s worth a lot of money. Who knows who planted it? It’s like picking up money.

Not to mention… the land here also produces a large amount of spices. If these spices are continuously transported to the Ming Dynasty… and continue to be supplied, the income…

whether it is wine, sugar, or spices, these things will be It can be sold for a big price.

He has begun to plan his own land and is working hard on it. He thinks about it every day, whether it is more profitable to make wine or to make sugar.

He was thinking, and his eyes casually fell on a native carrying a sedan in front. He saw that the native was naked, revealing his dark back. His skin was burned red by the scorching sun due to frequent exposure, and there were layers of old skin. After it fell off, white and tender new skin grew back, so that his back was like a wall in disrepair.

He squinted his eyes and couldn’t help but sigh in his heart. It’s not a bad thing to live like a native. In addition to working and eating, he doesn’t have to think about anything and is carefree. People like me who have land… Hey, Calculating profits every day is really a troublesome thing.

As soon as the governor’s Yamen arrived, Zhou Tangsheng landed with the support of the native attendants.

He coughed… Immediately behind him, a native attendant who was following the eight-carriage sedan took out a bamboo tube of herbal tea from the food box he carried.

On the other side, there were still natives fanning him dutifully.

The wind brought coolness to him.

The herbal tea finally cooled his throat, which was almost smoking.

He couldn’t help but curse, and then… he saw many gentry, and they all came.

This is what everyone has made an appointment to come together to pay homage to Governor Liu Yi.

Liu Yi was originally the chief envoy, but then… the imperial court gave him the post of governor.

Because except for Xu Pengju, the chief military officer, it was really difficult for the court to find anyone to come to Luzon.

Zhou Tangsheng then greeted each other and the gentry who came with them, hugging each other’s fists. Different from the stern faces just now, when they met the gentry, everyone smiled and said hello in a friendly way.

While they were making announcements, a native attendant gave them a big umbrella to block the sun, and each of them stopped to chat under the umbrella.

“I heard that…the price of sugar has increased again. This is the news brought by a businessman in Quanzhou. Those people have been hungry for half their lives, but now they are full. With spare money in their hands, they especially love to eat sugar. “

I heard that the price of spices has dropped, but…even if the price drops, there are still big profits. There are places to grow spices all over the mountains and plains here. If you send those spices to Quanzhou, the price will be doubled.”

“I also heard that the Tuntian Guards may come to try to grow some… rubber. They say it is a treasure. If it is planted here, it will be purchased at a high price in the future. But… I heard that if this rubber is planted, it will be purchased at a high price. There is no chance of harvesting anything within five or ten years. Are there any risks?”

Just as he was talking, a clerk came out in a hurry and said, “The governor has invited me.”

This clerk spoke with a certain accent. Strange.

At first glance, it looks like a local in Luzon, but… obviously the other party is also a Han citizen. During the Han, Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties, a large number of Han people migrated to the West, and a lot of them came to Luzon. The vast majority of immigrants, They all abide by their own traditions, language and writing, and they have naturally preserved it. Now that the Ming Dynasty has taken over Luzon, these people have a place to use, because there is no language barrier and the writing is interoperable. Although the customs have evolved over hundreds of years The reasons have changed slightly, but after all, they are still inextricably linked. These people were quickly hired by merchants, yamen, and gentry, and they all worked leisurely. Some were responsible for paperwork, and some were responsible for interpretation. , and there were quite a few who were responsible for managing the farms for the gentry.

After all… they don’t speak the same language as the natives, and even if they hire people from Quanzhou, Suzhou and Hangzhou, they won’t come. The Han people here are not only proficient in the local native language, but can also communicate with themselves, which is the best management By.

Zhou Tangsheng and others looked at each other, then walked into the Yamen with a straight face.

Because this yamen is a Franconian building, there are no six doors, let alone a front hall and a building. Usually, visits are conducted in the meeting hall.

Everyone went in and took their seats one by one, and Liu Yi slowly came out.

Back in Nanjing, he and many gentry were old acquaintances. Now in Luzon, everyone has left their hometowns, and they are naturally more friendly with each other.

Liu Yi didn’t have any official airs. After sitting down, he said: “Hey, it’s too hot today. In order to relieve the heat every day, I don’t eat some ice water, and I feel dizzy. Hey, I’m getting old. By the way, if you have any If you feel dizzy, you need to use some Cinchona Cream. This thing works.”

“Yes, yes, but…those businessmen are really evil. They know that we don’t have enough medicine, and they only use the medicine from Xishan Medical College in Ming Dynasty. They trafficked it here, and the price has increased by no less than five times, and that penicillin… tsk tsk… how much did it cost when I was in Nanjing, but when I got here…” As he said that, Zhou Tangsheng shook his head, wanting to scold those merchants. But then he thought about how he would purchase the sugar, wine and spices he had squeezed out next year from these black-hearted merchants, so he simply… stopped scolding him.

Liu Yi smiled and said: “There is nothing you can do about it. Okay, tell me what you want this time.”

Liu Yi asked very directly, but no one showed embarrassment. Zhou Tangsheng looked at each other with the other gentry. .

Immediately, Zhou Tangsheng coughed and said with a straight face: “I heard that the southern islands are occupied by natives, and some of these natives actually attacked nearby manors. Mr. Liu, although this Luzon is small, it is not a foreigner. The natives of the southern islands are really shameless. We hope that the imperial court can destroy them. Not only that, but also close to Luzon, there is Java. This Java has always been occupied by the Portuguese, and these Portuguese people have been wiped out. With a conscience, he oppresses the local Javanese, burns, kills, and loots, and commits all kinds of evil. This is a serious problem for our Ming Dynasty, and it is also contrary to human ethics and has obvious evil deeds. Our Ming Dynasty is a country of etiquette, and its virtues are everywhere. How can we bear to see these Portuguese people? Whenever we think of this, we feel uncomfortable with our food. Therefore, we sincerely request Liu Gong to report to the court immediately and implore the king to go south to punish the Portuguese for their crimes and punish the people of Java, so that the people of Java can be like the rain of sweet rain. , which made the people happy. “

Liu Yi: “…”

He looked at Zhou Tangsheng and others speechlessly.

Liu Yi is certainly not a fool. There is some profound meaning in Zhou Tangsheng’s words, and he certainly has a measure of tolerance.

Now these gentry look indignant. Do they think they have too little land?

In fact…if you think about it carefully, no one would think that they have too little land.

It’s just…

Java also has abundant sunshine and fertile land. I heard that by sowing seeds, you can grow food without caring about it, and the spices there are better than Luzon.

Once the imperial court sends troops to Java and the southern islands of Luzon, they can continue to develop land with the king’s army. This is like pie in the sky for them.

But Liu Yi felt something was wrong. He stroked his beard and was about to say something.

But Zhou Tangsheng continued righteously: “Of course, the king’s army is too far away. Once a big war is launched, it will be unavoidable to mobilize the troops and the expenses will be staggering. We showered the emperor’s favor and we should contribute to the court. The money and food needed for the army can only be a drop in the bucket.” , but we must not sit idly by. Everyone will contribute their own efforts to reward the army with money and food. If auxiliary troops and strong men are needed, we will also try our best to relieve them. Mr. Liu, in this sage’s book , Didn’t you say it? It is the duty of a scholar to punish the people and punish them. How can we, the mere lackeys, forget what they are doing? If we just sit back and ignore it, I have a troubled conscience. Today, I am a great righteousness. The emperor shows mercy to those who are far away and does not punish his claws and claws. How can I show my royal way? Mr. Liu, here… there is evidence about the crimes of Java and the southern island of Luzon that harmed the local natives. I have tried my best. If you can get it, please ask Mr. Liu to take a look.”

As he said that, Liu Yi took out a stack of reports from his sleeve and said angrily: “Look at these people, Mr. Liu. Are they still human?”

(End of Chapter)