Chapter 755 Southern Tour - Don't be smug! (5,000-word chapter)
"Now Shibosi allows them to live there. If they just want stability, they don't have to become citizens of the Ming Dynasty. They can just live in Shibosi." Yunxi said.
"Your Majesty, I also told the businessman the same thing, but those two businessmen are very willing to become subjects of the Ming Dynasty, and my repeated persuasion is useless." Zhang Yanfang said. When bureaucrats encounter unplanned things, their first instinctive reaction is
That is to push the matter to the outside. As the only Yamen chief official in the Ming Dynasty who had contact with foreign merchants, Zhang Yanfang had no choice but to work hard to eliminate the matter. But he failed to eliminate the matter, so he had to report it to
emperor.
So Yunxi knew very well that Zhang Yanfang must have said everything, but the two businessmen still insisted on becoming subjects of the Ming Dynasty, and insisted that they did so because they felt that the Ming Dynasty was very stable, leaving him helpless.
Yunxi suddenly became curious: "What is this businessman called? Where does he come from? What business is he doing now? Is he a big businessman or a small businessman?"
"Your Majesty, one of them is named Basong, who claims to be from Siam. His main business is to buy silk and satin from the Ming Dynasty and transport it to Siam. He also transports some rare items from Siam for sale. This person's capital is not small, and he pays several thousand in customs duties every year.
Wan Guan, the family is rich."
"The other person's name is that he claims to be from Sinhala (Ceylon or Sri Lanka) and takes the Chinese name Su Dongli. When doing business, he also buys silk porcelain from the Ming Dynasty and transports it back to his country. He also transports some rare items to the Ming Dynasty for sale. But this person
The cost is much smaller, and the annual tariff is only a thousand dollars."
"Your Majesty," Zhang Yanfang suddenly thought of something and said: "Although these two foreign merchants have different capitals, they both came here to do business when the Baoan Shipping Department was established. Therefore, the two of them came here to do business.
The shops are all in the best locations and can be seen from Shibosi Yamen."
"Oh, you can see it from the Shibosi Yamen? From where?" Yunxi said, "Let me take a look." Although he could only take a look at the appearance, Yunxi also wanted to take a look.
Zhang Yanfang immediately stood up and said to Yunxi: "Your Majesty, please come with me." Then he walked towards a house to the east.
After a while, he walked to a window. Zhang Yanfang pointed at the window and said: "Your Majesty, you can only see two shops from this window. The one in the north belongs to Basong, a businessman from Siam, and the one in the south belongs to Basong, a businessman from Siam.
From Su Dongli, a Sinhala businessman."
Yunxi walked to the window and looked out. As he looked, he said: "You chose the position of the Shipping Department well at the beginning. It is much better than the location of the Shanghai Shipping Division Yamen. It's okay..." But when it comes to
Halfway through, he suddenly stopped speaking.
Zhang Yanfang was standing aside waiting to hear Yunxi's evaluation, but suddenly his voice fell silent, and he quickly looked up. Then he saw Yunxi's turned face with a gloomy expression.
Before he could ask, "Your Majesty, what's going on?" Yunxi took a step away from the window, pointed to a tall building with four spiers and a round top outside the window and said, "What's going on here?"
Will there be a mosque?”
"Your Majesty, this was built by Tianfang believers who came from the west. These Tianfang believers who came from the west have to pray five times a day, which they call the ritual of worship. This mosque was built in the open space in Shibosi.
It affects the number of shops and does not cause any inconvenience to other shops, so I think it is okay and allows them to build it." Zhang Yanfang said a little strangely.
'There are Semu people who believe in the Tianfang religion in the Ming Dynasty. Why is Your Majesty so dissatisfied when he sees this temple? Hey, it seems that there is some edict related to the Semu people in the Di newspaper a few days ago? What is written on it? Could it be...
…' he thought to himself.
Before Zhang Yanfang could think of it, he heard Yunxi say again: "A few days ago, I remember that I issued more than ten imperial edicts regarding lustful people. You, Zhang Yanfang, are now being promoted in front of the Bao'an City Shipping Department without reading the Di's newspaper.
What?"
When Zhang Yanfang heard that the emperor called him by his first name, he suddenly felt very bad: Under normal circumstances, Yunxi addressed his close ministers by adding 'Qing' after their surnames, and those who were not particularly close friends always added 'Aiqing' after their surnames, but now he called him directly
Calling his name showed that His Majesty was very unhappy.
Zhang Yanfang hurriedly tried to recall the Di newspaper he had read, but Yunxi immediately said: "Send people to demolish this temple immediately! Immediately, I will hear the news of demolishing it within an hour."
"Also, no one is allowed to build religious temples other than Buddhist temples and Taoist temples in Shibosi in the future. Just like in the Ming Dynasty, no religious preaching other than Buddhism and Taoism is allowed. Violators will be expelled from Shibosi immediately.
Never accept it again.”
"At the same time, a Buddhist temple and a Taoist temple will be built immediately in Shibosi, and eminent monks from Guangdong will be invited to preside over them."
"Wang Xi, record my oral order: Zhang Yanfang was promoted as the envoy of the Maritime Administration and the Shipping Secretary of Bao'an City. However, he failed to manage the Shipping Division of Bao'an City. He was demoted to the rank of Prime Minister of the Maritime Administration and acted as the envoy of the Maritime Administration."
"As for why I did this, you will know by reading the newspapers from the past few days. If you still don't understand, you don't have to figure it out. Just do it according to my will!"
Zhang Yanfang knelt down and said, "I accept the order."
Yang Ren stood aside, very surprised. The rest was fine, but demoting Zhang Yanfang to a lower official rank, although he did not change his real job, was still a heavy punishment. Official circles often regarded this as a sign that this person had lost the emperor's trust, but it was just
Because he is very capable, it is a symbol that cannot be replaced for the time being. If he were in the capital, I am afraid that many memorials to impeach Zhang Yanfang would appear in front of Yunxi tomorrow.
But I witnessed this with my own eyes. Just now, His Majesty had great trust in Zhang Yanfang, but his face suddenly changed. It was because of a mosque.
He raised his head and glanced at the mosque, thinking to himself: 'Your Majesty is so afraid of the Tianfang Sect. You need to pay attention to it from time to time.'
While Yang Ren was thinking about it, Zhang Yanfang had already stood up again and ran out to arrange for people to demolish the temple. After a while, shouts came from the window, and it sounded like many people were preventing the Shibosi people from demolishing the temple.
But their efforts to stop him had no effect. Although Zhang Yanfang has a peaceful temperament, it does not mean that he has no temper. He was inexplicably reprimanded by the emperor and demoted just now, all because of this temple. Now he wants to vent his anger and is very determined to push forward with the demolition.
Temple of worship.
Immediately, there was a "ding-dong-dang" sound outside the window, occasionally mixed with shouts and fighting sounds in some unintelligible languages. Yang Ren was immediately shocked: "These people from the West are actually fighting for a temple and Daming City."
The police from Bosi started fighting! Don't they want to do business here anymore?'
The sound of fighting lasted for a long time before it subsided. When it subsided, all that could be heard from outside the window was the sound of "ding, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong."
Yunxi was impatient and continued to wait here. He returned to the room where the meeting was held and talked about the matter with Yang Ren.
But they didn't speak for long before they heard a "rumbling" sound coming from outside. The sound was so loud that you could hear it clearly even if you were sitting here.
After a while, Zhang Yanfang returned to the room, bowed to Yunxi and said: "Your Majesty, I have used gunpowder to blow up the walls and pillars of the mosque, and the entire mosque has collapsed to the ground. I am letting people come in."
The handymen and police are working to clean up the rubble and ruins. It will be difficult to finish the work at this time and it will probably take a long time."
Hearing Zhang Yanfang's words, Yunxi and Yang Ren were stunned for a moment: neither of them expected that Zhang Yanfang would use gunpowder to blow up the mosque!
Yunxi then laughed and said: "Haha, Zhang Qing, I didn't ask you to completely demolish the temple immediately, but slowly and slowly over a few days before completely demolishing it. You actually used gunpowder to blow it up directly."
Haha, haha." He laughed uncontrollably.
Yun He laughed for a long time before he calmed down and said, "If it's blown up, just blow it up. It's okay. But when cleaning up the ruins, be careful not to leave any residue behind. Pour all the residue into the sea."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhang Yanfang agreed.
"What was the sound of fighting that I heard just now?" Yun He asked again.
"Your Majesty, these merchants who believe in the Tianfang Sect are so lawless, I can't imagine it. They actually took out their private weapons to fight against the police of the Municipal Bureau because the Ming Dynasty wanted to demolish their temple! This is simply a rebellion!"
"Your Majesty knew that I had been a local official before, so I subconsciously used the methods of local officials to quell civil unrest. First, I discussed with them whether they could retreat. After they said that they would not retreat unless the Shibosi gave up the demolition of the temple, I immediately
Ordered to counter the rebellion, he also took out the only 20 muskets that the Baoan City Police had. I could only think of using gunpowder to blow up the mosque because I took out these muskets."
"Although these merchants who believed in the Tianfang Sect hid some weapons, but not many, they were quickly suppressed by the police. One policeman from Bao'an City's Bosi died and nine were injured; more than 30 rebel businessmen died in total.
More than sixty people were injured, and seven ordinary businessmen who were passing by were accidentally injured. Now the injured policeman and the businessmen who were accidentally injured have been sent to the medical center here for treatment. Among the arrested people, the injuries were more serious.
They were also sent for treatment, and the remaining more than 80 prisoners with minor injuries and uninjured prisoners were imprisoned in their shop."
"According to the regulations of the Shipping Department set by your Majesty and other ministers, the wealth of these merchants has been confiscated by me. However, please tell me how to deal with these rebellious merchants," Zhang Yanfang said.
The original regulations were that if businessmen who came to do business in Shifusi did not abide by a few rules, all their wealth would be confiscated and expelled from Shifusi. However, the regulations did not include how to deal with their rebellion. To be honest, there was no one at all.
It was expected that some merchants would dare to rebel, and it was not the Pu family who was appointed as the chief port officer.
"All rebellious merchants over the age of sixteen, regardless of gender, will be executed for treason; those who have not yet reached the age of sixteen will be incorporated into Lehu." Yunxi thought for a while and said.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhang Yanfang felt that although the emperor's treatment was a bit harsh, it was still reasonable, so he did not raise any objection. Yang Ren also felt that it was appropriate.
However, Yunxi, who proposed such a treatment, felt that something was wrong. The crime of rebellion should be against his own people. These rebels were not the people of the Ming Dynasty. He felt that it was not appropriate to use the crime of rebellion.
But he couldn't find a better crime for the time being, so he took this as his crime. Anyway, the people and officials of the Ming Dynasty would not think there was anything wrong.
"Those rebel businessmen who have been seriously injured do not need to be treated, and I do not have to let them be beheaded in public; but the few businessmen who were accidentally injured must be treated. Not only must they be treated, but the Shifusi Yamen must also compensate them.
Money." Yunxi said again.
"Compensate money!" Zhang Yanfang said in surprise. There has never been such a precedent for the government to compensate businessmen since ancient times.
"It's just to compensate them for their money." Yunxi said affirmatively: "This is an innocent person who was accidentally injured. Why doesn't he need to compensate? If two people fight in private, if they accidentally injure other people, they have to compensate."
"But you don't have to pay much money. Check their tariffs and compensate them based on the average number of tariffs per day. The name doesn't need to be compensation, you can just name it whatever you want, but you must compensate them." Yun He felt.
These innocent passers-by must be compensated for 'loss of work'. As for 'mental damages', well, forget it.
"As well as the police officers who performed meritorious services and were injured this time, you will also reward them according to the regulations." Yunxi said.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhang Yanfang replied.
After the matter was dealt with, Yunxi thought of the topic that caused the matter: the foreign merchants who wanted to immigrate, and immediately asked: "Among these rebellious merchants, are there two who want to become Ming subjects this time?"
One of the merchants?" Although both Siam and Sinhalese are mainly Buddhists, there are a few Tianfang believers in Baoqi.
"No." Zhang Yanfang said: "Your Majesty, these two foreign businessmen who want to become subjects of the Ming Dynasty all believe in Buddhism."
Yunxi nodded. He thought for a while and said, "In this case, I will set the requirements for the people of the outside world to become the people of the Ming Dynasty."
"If you want to become a farmer or worker, there are no unnecessary requirements. You just need to come to Ming Dynasty, be able to speak Chinese, be willing to act in accordance with Ming Dynasty etiquette, and pay taxes and work in accordance with Ming Dynasty laws."
"If you want to become a merchant, you must meet several conditions: first, you must do business in the Shipping Department of the Ming Dynasty for more than three years; second, you must pay more than a thousand guan in tariffs for the Ming Dynasty for three consecutive years; third, the average wealth per person
More than five thousand guan, including children."
"If they meet the above three requirements, they can be allowed to become merchants and common people in the Ming Dynasty."
"But there is one point of veto. All businessmen who believe in Christianity and Tianfang religion are not allowed to naturalize under any circumstances! Remember, they are not allowed to naturalize under any circumstances!"
"In addition, foreign merchants who have just been naturalized must immediately choose a place as their place of residence, and they are not allowed to leave the state capital where their residence is registered within one generation, and cannot move around with a merchant's residence certificate."
It is natural that there are no restrictions on farmers and workers. In this era, no country thinks it has too many people. It is open to welcome all people who are willing to pay taxes and labor and skilled craftsmen.
As for the restrictions on merchants, this is actually a characteristic of Eastern countries. Eastern countries have long believed that commercial activities are harmful to the country and discriminate against merchants. Except for a few royal merchants, other merchants are not allowed to exist, let alone accept them as nationals.
The Tang Dynasty had no restrictions on them. However, the Tang Dynasty was the only dynasty in Chinese history that still made peace with foreign countries during the period when the country was in its heyday and suppressed barbarians, so it cannot be used as an example.
Although Yunxi felt that commercial activities were still necessary, he did not think it was meaningful to accept merchants from foreign countries, so he set such high requirements for the naturalization of merchants.
Both Zhang Yanfang and Yang Ren felt that Yun Xi's request was inappropriate. However, they did not think that the request was too high, but that merchants had no significance to the country except paying taxes, and they should not accept foreign merchants as subjects of the Ming Dynasty.
So Yang Ren immediately said: "Your Majesty, why do you want to accept foreign merchants as subjects of the Ming Dynasty?"
"Yang Qing, it will do no harm to the country to accept a few foreign merchants, and it can also show my great ambition for the Ming Dynasty. Of course, I will not accept all foreign merchants like the Tang Dynasty. The few foreign merchants I just mentioned
These restrictions will always exist and will not be abolished."
"There is no need to hide these standards. Although it is not convenient for the Shibosi Yamen to admit it openly, it can release the news. This way in the future, those who are not demanding enough will not come to you to ask to become a citizen of the Ming Dynasty."
Since Yunxi said so, they would not refute again. Zhang Yanfang bowed and agreed: "Yes, Your Majesty." At the same time, he estimated in his heart: "Basong, who comes from Siam, has a rich family and can probably meet these requirements."
, he can be accepted as a subject of the Ming Dynasty; Su Dongli, who is from Sinhala, most likely cannot meet the requirements and can only reject him. However, the Semu people...'
"Your Majesty, I have been in Shibosi Yamen for several years, and I know that not all Semu people believe in the Cross Religion and Tianfang Religion. I have never even seen anyone who believes in the Cross Religion in Shibosi. However, how should we distinguish between those who do not believe in religion?
Where are the semen? Your Majesty, has your Majesty heard other people talk about good methods for distinguishing?" Zhang Yanfang asked. Since Your Majesty has such strict restrictions on this, he did not dare to treat it as a trivial matter. But he found that he had nothing but very obvious things to do.
Apart from the signs, there is no good way to distinguish between religious and non-religious, so I asked.
"This is actually very easy. For Christian believers, look at their Fridays, ah, that is, well, I once understood the teachings of Christian Christians. They believe that God created the world in seven days, so seven days are used as a cycle, from Monday to Saturday
'.No meat is eaten on Friday. So just check if they don't eat meat on one day every seven days."
"As for distinguishing the other one, it's easier. Just give them a piece of pork and see if they eat it." Yunxi said.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhang Yanfang agreed. But he thought to himself: 'In order to identify them, we still need to observe like this? It's a bit troublesome. In the future, we should reject all requests from these lustful people to become subjects of the Ming Dynasty.'
