"From now on, you are all from the Ming Dynasty! No matter what grievances you suffer or what losses you suffer from foreigners, you can come here. The Ming Dynasty will never let its own people suffer."
In the incense hall of the Tiandi Hui, Zhao Yongfu looked at the leaders of the Hui Party who were sitting there. They included the hall leaders of the Tiandi Hui, Hongmen, and of course the township party hall.
Even the Tiandihui and Hongmen are divided into more than a dozen halls. They are independent of each other and do not interfere with the river. The reason why Zhao Yongfu summoned them here today naturally has his own intention.
In the past two decades, large-scale Chinese tin mining centers have formed from Singapore under the British rule to the interior of the Malay peninsula, mainly Kuala Lumpur. What is the biggest feature of these places? It is that they are far away from each other.
Do not open a Chinese private party. After nearly half a century of development, the Chinese private party has become stronger. At that time, almost every adult male among the overseas Chinese was a member of the Hongmen. According to some British people, the private party
Organizations are "governments within governments", just like the rulers of Xingma society. Their leaders are prominent figures with status and money in Chinese society; they rely on strict organization and strict discipline to control the behavior of all members: they
Pass
They have their own fixed source of income by collecting membership fees, protection fees, contracting taxes, and running businesses.
But...the internal fighting between them never stops!
And the reason why Zhao Yongfu made an appointment with them was because he wanted to twist these cliques who were fighting among themselves into a rope! Twist them into a rope for Ming Dynasty to intervene here in the future!
When they heard that Ming Dynasty would support them in the future, everyone looked happy. What do these overseas wanderers want?
Isn't it just that the official uniform can support them when they are angry?
But no government has ever given them support, so they formed a clique to protect themselves. Now a government has come forward to support them. How could they not be happy?
"Since we are all people of the Ming Dynasty, we must unite as a team to deal with the outside world. From now on, there must be no more private fights in each court. If we have any conflicts, we can sit down and talk about it. If we can't reach an agreement, we can go to the
The consul will arbitrate!”
"Consul!"
Fang Renli raised his eyebrows, thinking of the Western custom of using local businessmen as consuls, and smiled.
"I wonder how the special envoy plans to appoint a consul?"
As soon as they heard that the Ming Dynasty was going to establish a consul, other people also started to make plans. Becoming a consul would be a great thing! If nothing else, with this official status, they would definitely be able to overpower other officials in the future.
"It is not an appointment by the envoy, but by the imperial court. Before the envoy leaves, he will appoint a subordinate who specializes in diplomacy to set up a consulate here to handle overseas Chinese affairs. If you need to negotiate with the local government on anything in the future, you can go directly to the consulate.
, after all, the consulate is here to serve everyone.”
When they heard that officials were appointed as consuls, Fang Renli and Li Mingkuan's expressions became a bit complicated. Originally they thought that one of them was appointed as the consul, but they never thought that a "master" would actually come. Even if
No matter how polite this "master" is, he is still a master!
For them, who are like local emperors, they have long been accustomed to the days without government. As for the British, the British are also willing to use them as middlemen to manage the Chinese and maintain social stability.
Nowadays, the Ming Dynasty wants to send its consul here, which... may not be a good thing.
This is also the most conflicting point in their hearts. On the one hand, they want the government to support them, but on the other hand, they do not want the government to interfere in their affairs.
For a moment, everyone was silent. They were moved by emotion and reality by reality. Their first consideration was their own interests. Even if there are people in Singapore who want to become Ming Dynasty people by cutting off their braids, this Ming Dynasty is too far away.
What can Daming give them?
This is what they think about.
In addition to the somewhat weak "support", Ming Dynasty now gave them something - a master!
This is obviously not what they want, so naturally it won't impress them.
Seeing that everyone was silent, Zhao Yongfu said.
"What? If you have any ideas, you can tell them and listen,"
No one answered, and all the enthusiastic hall masters chose to remain silent. Many of them even lit up their pipes or cigarettes in unison. It seemed that for them, nothing was more important than smoking at the moment.
Even if this adult hadn't been here, they would have just found a couch to lie down on, and then smoked two big cigarettes.
Sure enough, in the final analysis, interests come first, and Zhao Yongfu, who knew it well, did not say anything, but smiled.
"We have reached a consensus with the Straits Settlements regarding the establishment of a consulate. This is imperative. I hope you will support Consul Xu's work in the future."
Since you don’t eat after being toasted, then you will be fined directly by the bar!
"Xu Tianlei has met all of you gentlemen. I will never bother you in the future."
Xu Tianlei stood up and said politely, cupping his hands. Everyone who was concerned about face stood up and returned the courtesy. No matter what, this person is still an official!
But no matter how high an official he is, he can't just insert his hands here casually.
Li Mingkuan glanced at Fang Renli. There were many parties in Singapore, but the two of them were the biggest and had the most people. At this time, they must stand up and speak.
"Mr. Zhao, Mr. Xu, actually, if we talk about fighting, there are times when the upper teeth touch the lower teeth. Although there are occasionally some small misunderstandings in each hall, it is generally quite peaceful. Don't worry,
There will definitely be no trouble here!"
As soon as Li Mingkuan finished speaking, Fang Renli echoed.
"It's true, it's true. Please rest assured, two adults. There will definitely be no trouble at the entrance of the hall, at least there will definitely be no trouble at our side! Do you think so?"
Everyone else said so, even if they had a grudge against their father in the past, now they were smiling in front of the two adults, and they looked closer than brothers. They didn't think that the imperial court was involved in this matter.
What a good thing.
"But what? What your Excellency said about the internal fighting within the party is not a lie. Let alone internal fighting. In some places, even the civil war between the clans can last for more than ten years, and all of them die.
Thousands of people, hey, they want to kill each other because they miss me, it’s really..."
Li Mingkuan shook his head and said.
"It's heartbreaking!"
"It feels so painful!"
As Fang Renli echoed, his eyes even turned red.
"Every time I think about my compatriots who went overseas to survive, but suffered such a catastrophe, I have trouble sleeping and eating, which is extremely heartbreaking! Just last month, I called on people to raise funds to purchase land and build Yishan to support our compatriots.
You won’t end up dead in the wilderness!”
When he finished speaking, there was a sigh in the room. These people are all old Singaporeans. Don't they know what Li Mingkuan and Fang Renli are talking about? How could they not know what they mean?
The meaning of what they said is obvious - if you are capable, go and deal with the civil wars in other places first. Our life here is so peaceful, so I won't bother you adults.
But everyone has selfish motives, and of course they also have their own selfish motives. Their selfish motives are very simple, they just want to keep their current interests. As for the government, if the government is really capable and supports them, then it would be great. If the government
I don’t have that ability,
Of course they don't force it either.
But if the government doesn't have that ability and still wants to be that master, they will naturally be unhappy. How many people in this world are willing to find a master for themselves?
Since you have talked so much about it, you have to do something for everyone to see.
When everyone sighed, Zhao Yongfu also sighed.
"Isn't it just that when he first came to Singapore, Mr. Zhao heard people say that Geely hit Haishan on the Sultanate side, and the Yi Xing family actually fought each other for more than ten years because of the incident of the local chiefs. It hurts those who are so close.
, what the enemy wants to do, if it is not stopped, our compatriots will live in dire straits every day! Don’t worry, everyone, Zhao will try his best to handle this matter, so that we and our compatriots can do it again
They don’t kill each other like they used to.”
When he finished speaking, the eyes of the people around him were full of disbelief.
They simply didn't believe that the person in front of them could handle this matter well, after all, the people involved were all foreigners.
Maybe they still use these four officials as officials, but that's not necessarily true for the local chiefs. There is no Ming Dynasty in their eyes. It is impossible for them to buy the Ming Dynasty. As for the Qing Dynasty, of course they will not buy it.
.
Moreover, the Sultanate of Kedah is not just the territory of the native chiefs, it is ultimately the territory of the British.
This is also the reason why those native chiefs don't take famous names seriously.
"If this is the case, it will really be a blessing for our compatriots."
Li Mingkuan quickly echoed.
But deep down in his heart, he was still thinking.
"I would like to see how you, the Ming Dynasty, deal with foreigners. You don't just brag about anything!"
It's not because he doesn't believe it, but because he has seen too many officials over the years. When those officials collect cash, they all pat their chests full, but when they really do something,
Come on. What can they do? When they see foreigners, even the chiefs will soften their hearts. They hope that the officials will protect them.
is it possible?
As for Daming, is it just casual talk, or is it really capable of getting things done?
How could Zhao Fuyong not understand what the big guy was thinking?
It is better to say a thousand good words than to do one practical thing!
"Don't worry, everyone, Mr. Zhao will take care of this matter for him after all. After all, Daming is here to support everyone!"
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
I have never been particularly grateful to all the book friends from far away for their rewards. To thank all the book friends for their support and love, I will add an update today! Updates will be added frequently this month!
Thank you again! Your support is the biggest motivation for Xiaoyu to keep working hard!