"Mr. Special Envoy, the boat to Jiangbei Pukou is ready."
The person who interrupted Thomas Marvell's thoughts was Henry Pitt, the British envoy to the Ming Dynasty. He was originally a profiteer who entered India and had a name in the British East India Company. Later, because he caught up with the trend of "fold-eared horses", he made a big profit - it turned out that Zhu Cixi's behavior of buying Indian folded horses fattened a large number of British profiteers. This was because the Mughal Dynasty was very vigilant. , worried that the Dutch would use trade means to invade India! So they deliberately suppressed the Dutch East India Company and supported the British East India Company...
In short, thanks to the generosity of Emperor Zhu and the wisdom of the Mughals, Henry Pitt became a millionaire.
After the news of the folded horse trade passed, Henry Pitt also ended his business in India, and then spent money to buy an ambassador to the Ming Dynasty. He went to Nanjing to serve as ambassador and commercial representative of the British East India Company.
Thomas Marvel looked back at Peter and found that although he was old, he still maintained a tall figure and was in high spirits. He did not smell of cigarettes at all, and he did not carry a pipe or tobacco bag with him... ..At first glance, he is a very self-disciplined Puritan!
"Going to Pukou?" Marvell asked, "Isn't the embassy in Nanjing?"
Marvell arrived in Shanghai with Colbert, but they did not go to Nanjing together. Instead, they stayed in Shanghai for two days and then went to Suzhou. After inspecting the manufacturing industry of the Ming Dynasty in Shanghai and Suzhou, I came to Nanjing. I just arrived today. As soon as I entered the city, I first went to see the silk reeling workshop in the east of the city, and then went to the west of the city to see the machine room. It's almost dusk now, and I don't know where to sleep tonight?
Henry Pitt replied: "Yes, Mr. Envoy. The embassy is not in Nanjing, but in Laoshan in the north of the Yangtze River."
"Why should the embassy be placed in that... Laoshan in Jiangbei?" Marvel felt a little strange.
"Because the city of Nanjing is too decadent and degenerate," Henry Pitt said with a serious face, "it is not a city where Puritans should live. In comparison, Pukou and Laoshan in Jiangbei are more suitable for an upright Puritan to live!"
What this means is that there are too many places to eat, drink and have fun in Nanjing...Pukou and Laoshan in Jiangbei are just like them. They are both great places that you can't even spend money on!
"What? Is there any place in China suitable for Puritans to live?"
"Of course!" Henry Pitt said, "There are Puritans in China too!"
"Really? Why haven't I heard that from the Jesuits?"
Henry Pitt explained: "Because they are not Christians, they believe in... God!"
"Are they ***?" Marvel still didn't understand.
"No, they do not explore God through religious rituals and clergy, but advocate that believers communicate directly with God." Henry Pitt said, "And they also advocate abstinence and believe in God, one should eliminate human desires!"
He said that Neo-Confucianism advocates the connection between heaven and man, the preservation of heavenly principles, and the elimination of human desires... It sounds a bit like the views of the Puritans!
Marvell nodded and seemed to agree very much - yes, that's it. China does have Puritan ideas!
This is an important discovery!
"Let's go," Marvell said, "let's go see the Puritans in China!"
...
There are indeed great differences between Pukou and Laoshan on the north bank of the Yangtze River and bustling cities such as Nanjing, Suzhou, and Shanghai in the south of the Yangtze River.
Although there are a large number of handicraft workshops, docks, warehouses, banks, and shops in the Pukou area, life here is much more serious. There are no brothels, no casinos, and even theaters are very rare, while schools and military camps can be seen everywhere!
It turns out that Pukou has been constructed as an important military town and military industrial town since the early years of Hongxing. Most of the handicraft workshops concentrated in this area are engaged in making guns, casting cannons, making armor, producing gunpowder and building ships.
In addition to handicraft workshops, a large number of military camps and military academies were also moved from Nanjing to Pukou, as well as some new primary schools, middle schools, a university and a vocational college sponsored by the Royal Chamber of Commerce and the Veterans Brotherhood under the Grand Marshal's Office. , all drove to Pukou.
Including the Yangtze Navy Camp, Xiaoling Guard Forbidden Army Camp, Artillery Division Camp, Cavalry Division Camp, Engineer Division Camp, Nanjing Jiangwu Hall, Nanjing Artillery School, Nanjing Jiangwu Middle School, Nanjing Jiangwu Primary School, and Pukou Primary School. , Pukou Middle School, Jingxuetang Pukou Branch, Pukou Engineering School, etc.
In order to ensure that the environment around military camps and schools was serious enough, Zhu Cixi also issued an imperial edict to control commerce in Pukou City (formerly Jiangpu County), prohibiting brothels and casinos from opening in Pukou, and also restricted the number and location of restaurants and theaters.
In short, it is to turn Pukou into a rather boring place...
However, this kind of boringness is very consistent with the aesthetics of Thomas Marvel, the British Puritan poet.
In addition, the streets in Pukou City are also carefully planned. Every street is straight and open, paved with stone pavement. Many of the buildings on both sides of the road are of Western style or a combination of Chinese and Western styles, tall and straight, and very impressive.
Drainage ditches have been dug along the road, and there are people dedicated to sweeping the streets, so it looks very clean. There is also a special sidewalk on the roadside, with street trees planted on the sidewalk and lampposts inserted. When Thomas Marvel rode the carriage towards Laoshan, it was already dark and lanterns were hung on the lampposts. The light was dim, but I could barely see the road clearly.
The carriage walked along the official road leading to Laoshan for about forty minutes. There were no tall buildings on both sides of the road. Instead, there were rows of small buildings, most of which had flashing lights.
"Who lives here?" Marvel asked.
"Most of the people living here are officers of the Ming army or officials from various cabinet ministries, the Great Court (Dali Temple), and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, as well as some teachers from Taixue, Jingxue, Jiangwutang and other schools." Henry Pitt said , "From here, all the way to Laoshan Palace, are the residences of these people. These residences are not private residences, but official residences, provided for officials, military officers, and teachers to live for free. Therefore, the closer to Laoshan Palace, the more The larger the mansion, the higher the status of the people living there.
To the west of Laoshan Palace City, there is Tangquan Town, where the Ming Dynasty was stationed in Laoshan, and our embassy is also there.
Tangquan Town is surrounded by noble residences, and all civil and military officials and scholars with titles are granted titles there. The emperor also opened Laoshan Primary School and Laoshan Middle School in Tangquan Town, specifically to recruit children of aristocrats. "
"How is Tangquan Town?" Marvell asked again, "Is it prosperous?"
"It's not prosperous at all," said Henry Pitt. "It's quite serious and frugal, like a Puritan city!"
He is right. Tangquan Town is a city that is "dehumanized". There are only a few restaurants in the town, not a single theater, and no brothels. Of course, there is no nightlife. There is a curfew as soon as it gets dark, unless there is official business. , otherwise you can’t go for a walk on the street.
The reason why the political center of the Ming Empire was like this was because after Zhu Cixiang became firmly established, he began to consider the long-term inheritance of the feudal dynasty.
In his view, the feudal dynasty still had to rely on the support of nobles, but it could not rely on a group of corrupt nobles, but relied on a group of nobles who were well educated, able to keep themselves clean, and had the courage to assume military obligations and responsibilities.
To prevent nobles from becoming corrupted, in addition to strict, systematic, and good education, we must also intervene in the environment in which they live and grow.
It is best for the children of Xungui not to live in bustling cities such as Nanjing, Shanghai, Suzhou, and Yangzhou, but to grow and study in places like Laoshan-Pukou that are "dehumanized"... So in Xungui Laoshan Hot Spring, the most concentrated area, not only has no entertainment, but also has a strict curfew system!
However, Marvell was traveling in an embassy carriage, which was a chartered official vehicle, so it was not subject to curfew restrictions and could take the British envoy to the British embassy in Tangquan Town at night - this is a small European-style building. It is also a Puritan style, quite simple.
