In addition to serving as a combat force to attack Annan, the Ming army that landed was also accompanied by Jinyiwei, the anti-smoking division responsible for investigating Wuxiang.
These Jin Yiwei are different from other Jin Yiwei in that they wear an extra armband with a no-smoking logo.
Here, when other Ming troops began to set up beachhead positions after landing, there was a group of such Jin Yiwei walking towards Frank, Ruan Wei and others.
Frank's eyes widened on the spot when he saw this kind of royal guard.
He is no stranger to this new type of Jin Yiwei.
Because he knew that these kind of Jin Yiwei had recently appeared and were responsible for banning smoking, and they were very ruthless. Many of his friends who were smuggling black incense were destroyed in the hands of these people.
The same goes for Ruan Wei.
So the two of them trembled when they saw the Jin Yiwei who was responsible for banning smoking.
"Who are you and what do you do?"
Lu Ting, the member of the Jinyiwei Hundred Households responsible for banning smoking, asked Ruan Wei, Frank and others.
Ruan Wei first replied in trembling Chinese: "Back to the official, we are all businessmen. I am a local businessman in Saigon. I am in the porcelain business and I plan to sell it to the West."
"porcelain?"
Lu Ting asked, and then gave his men a wink: "Open it!"
"yes!"
As a result, Jin Yiwei was ready to open the cargo boxes that had just been unloaded and piled up on the shore.
The Ming Dynasty did not choose to attack on land when it annexed Annan, because the mountainous areas in the north of Annan were all covered with tropical rainforests, making it inconvenient for the mechanized infantry regiments of the Ming army to move.
Moreover, it is also easy for Annan soldiers who are more familiar with the local area to carry out sneak attacks.
Therefore, Ming Dynasty now takes advantage of its powerful navy to break through from multiple points directly along the Annan coast.
Annan had limited military strength and was in a state of division. Naturally, it was unable to stop the Ming army attacking from the sea.
The Jin Yiwei responsible for banning smoking will enter Annan together with the field troops responsible for attacking Annan to investigate whether there is any smuggling of black incense.
Now Ruan Wei and Frank were unlucky, and they actually bumped into the Ming army who was about to land and the anti-smoking Jin Yiwei who came with them.
"Wait!"
Therefore, Ruan Wei hurriedly shouted at this time, and said to Lu Ting with a smile: "Master Rong, these are really just porcelain! I am willing to give you 30,000 yuan of silver coins as a filial piety, and please show me your noble hand!"
As a member of a small household, Lu Ting was not moved when he heard about the 30,000 yuan silver coins.
Because these Jin Yiwei who are responsible for the ban on smoking are strictly selected and have been rigorously tested by the internal factory in terms of style, Ruan Wei's method of directly asking for bribes did not make him want to stop there. On the contrary, he became more certain that these people were here. Do illegal things.
"Head, it's Wu Xiang!"
"All of them!"
At this time, Jin Yiwei, who had already opened the wooden box, reported to Lu Ting.
After hearing this, Lu Ting immediately ordered: "Detain all these people, including their black slaves!"
In this era, because the Westerners had a relatively small population, they often hired black slaves to work for them when doing colonial and smuggling trade.
Now, as a smuggler in England, Frank would naturally bring black slaves.
Frank wanted to resist, but he knew he couldn't resist because their muskets were not as fast as the Ming army's guns.
Like Frank, many British and foreigners were caught for smuggling black incense.
After Zhu Youxiao ordered to allocate the elite forces of the Jinyi Guards to strictly investigate the cases of smuggling black incense to the Ming Dynasty, the number of captured Yingyi increased sharply.
You must know that many of these Jin Yiwei were the backbone of intelligence work in places such as Mongolia, North Korea, and Japan. They were only called to investigate the smuggling of black incense because it is now difficult for many people to break into the white world. They are overqualified and underused. , when investigating the case, the natural effect is excellent.
boom!
boom!
boom!
On the execution ground, rows of British barbarians and the black slaves and merchants who helped them smuggle were kneeling on the ground in prison uniforms, and then were shot one by one by the patrolmen of the Ministry of Punishment in charge of executions.
The prisoners who did not get their turn to be shot naturally trembled because of this. Some of them shouted to God, and some begged for their lives.
However, there are also Yingyi who have not been dealt with.
These British and foreigners were all people who agreed to cooperate with the Ming Dynasty in smuggling black incense into their country in order to survive.
Although the British and Yi had already given birth to national ideas in this era.
But this does not mean that both the British and the Yi are unwilling to betray their country in order to survive and benefit from the smuggling of black incense to their country.
Frank chose to do this.
He is afraid of death.
He admitted that he was doing this to disgrace God.
But he thought God would forgive him and blame all the sins on the people of Ming Dynasty.
Frank, accompanied by several Ming businessmen, first went to St. Petersburg, where they would take a boat to England to smuggle incense.
In order to make Frank and other British barbarians willing to smuggle Wuxiang back to the country, the Ming Dynasty also used some methods to make these people addicted to the powdered inhalants purified by Jinyiwei's chemical institutions. The stuff is a top-secret medicine made internally by Jin Yiwei to control prisoners. The addiction produced is many times the effect of Wuxiang. Therefore, if Frank wants to get this kind of thing from Jin Yiwei, he must accompany him as an Annan man. People around him could see that he was selling black incense to his own countrymen.
Frank was more successful. As soon as he returned to England, he used various methods to make hundreds of British people addicted to black fragrance.
At this time, King Charles II of England was planning to have his royal family fund the establishment of a company specifically responsible for smuggling incense to Asia, because he had to admit that the Ming Dynasty and its affiliated countries in Asia were too wealthy. His countrymen have already made huge profits by smuggling black incense.
Because in this era, the Ming Dynasty grabbed most of the global interests into its own hands, so it also accelerated the pace of the British and foreigners to make huge profits by smuggling black incense. Even the king was stimulated to want to use a company to carry out business. Organized business activities of smuggling black incense to Ming Dynasty and other Asian countries.
However, what Charles II still doesn't know is that the Ming Dynasty has strictly banned smoking, and does not hesitate to mobilize the most capable Jinyiwei forces to do this.
On the contrary, his own country is being eroded by this thing because of the despicability of his own country.
"Your Majesty the King, we cannot ignore the threat of the Ming Dynasty, and must establish close cooperation with the countries of the mainland (European continent) as soon as possible to prepare for the future invasion of the Easterners, because they have destroyed the Rakshasa Kingdom of that terrible Eastern Empire. , severely defeated the two great powers of Sweden and Poland, their war flag has been flying along the Baltic Sea coast, and the Netherlands has also become their jurisdiction. This Eastern Empire is increasingly stepping up its pace of westward expansion!"
But the rulers of England did not know anything about the Ming Dynasty. With their in-laws all over Europe, they still had abundant information channels. At this time, James, Duke of York, mentioned the Ming Dynasty again to Charles II.
Charles II nodded and said: "You are right. We are currently considering candidates for envoys to various countries. Maybe you, a great nobleman, will go there in person!"
As he spoke, Charles II walked into a large spinning mill that belonged to his king's property. Looking at the Ming-made multi-spindle spinning machines that were being produced inside, he suddenly asked Xu Qianxue, the Ming consultant beside him: "Mr. Xu, how many years ago did this spinning machine appear in the Ming Dynasty?"
"About fifty years! It has been almost thirty years since the Ming Dynasty used pure machine spinning."
Xu Qianxue replied.
Nowadays, global trade is becoming more and more prosperous, and since the Ming Dynasty has its own sphere of influence in the West, many Western nobles have begun to attach importance to contact with the scholar-officials of the Ming Dynasty, and even actively recruit some scholar-officials who are dissatisfied with the current political system of the Ming Dynasty to work for them. ,
Xu Qianxue, who smuggled himself to England from the Ming Dynasty, is one of these people.
And because he was born into a prominent family in the south of the Yangtze River and had a clear understanding of the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty's industry, he was considered a relatively outstanding representative among these people and had always been trusted by Charles II.
Charles II also awarded him a title and married his favorite daughter to him.
This was undoubtedly an unusual behavior in Europe, which valued aristocratic blood, and it also showed that Charles II valued Xu Qianxue very much.
Of course, the deeper reason is that the Ming Dynasty's strong international influence gave every Han Chinese an aura of nobility, even Han Chinese like Xu Qianxue who had chosen to betray their motherland.
Xu Qianxue was naturally very grateful to Charles II and worked for Charles II wholeheartedly.
However, Charles II felt very disappointed after hearing what Xu Qianxue said, but he still smiled slightly and said: "Even the gap in spinning is so big, no wonder the parliament agreed to ban trade with the Ming Dynasty!"
Although Xu Qianxue was very reluctant to see that the Ming Dynasty ruled by the arbitrary Emperor Tianqi was far more advanced in science and technology and industry than the free England he liked, he had to admit that the Ming Dynasty was indeed far more developed in science and technology and industry. to the England that crushed his father-in-law.
"The machine the count is talking about must be a steam engine. We have also obtained some steam hydraulic presses from the Ming Dynasty from Japan. We are also trying to imitate them. Maybe we can catch up with the Ming Dynasty in the future. This requires our own research. attaches great importance to it.”
James spoke at this time.
"If you can imitate it, tell me in time. If you have major research results in natural science in the future, I will reward you heavily, just like the Ming Dynasty!"
Charles II couldn't help but say.
When Xu Qianxue heard what Charles II said, he couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty, although skills are very important, they are just skills. They are not the way to govern the country. If there are skills but no skills, skills can still be sought. But if there are skills but no skills, then it will stop." Yushu! The Ming Dynasty is as strong as it is today. On the surface, it is because of its advanced machines and profound skills. However, if you look at it from below, it is not the case."
Charles II was quite surprised and curious after hearing this, and asked: "Really?"
The same goes for James. Neither he nor Charles II and other Western nobles dared to question Xu Qianxue's words in this era.
Because they all saw with their own eyes how powerful the Han country where Xu Qianxue was born and grew up was, so he asked humbly like a primary school student: "Then, may I ask, Your Excellency, what is the real reason for the Ming Dynasty to be what it is today?" powerful?"
"Is it related to the emperor himself?"
asked Charles II.
Xu Qianxue hurriedly denied: "This Dufu has nothing to do with it! He can be said to have hindered the further development of the Ming Dynasty!"
Then, Xu Qianxue used his own set of rhetoric to instruct these Western nobles, saying: "The Ming Dynasty can be strong today because China has adhered to the Zhou rites and benevolence for thousands of years, and has orderly ethics. A king must govern with benevolence." The country should be courteous to the wise, lenient in punishments, light on corvees and low on taxes, and not compete with the people for profit. Only in this way can the wealth of the world be stored in the people, and if the people are rich, the country will be strong!"
"Although I don't like Emperor Zhu Youxiao of the Ming Dynasty, I have to admit that he was also influenced by benevolence and directly exempted the world from corvee labor and land tax. This is the main reason why the Ming Dynasty is so strong today! The benefits of machines It is just the end of its powerful skills, or in other words, it is the inevitable product of greater demand due to the wealth of the people."
After all, Xu Qianxue had received several years of education under the new education system of the Ming Dynasty, so he was able to integrate Confucianism and the people-centered ideas displayed in the new education of the Ming Dynasty. After all, he was a Juren person in the Ming Dynasty, and historically he was still in the Qing Dynasty. In high school, he ranked among the best in the imperial examination, and his intelligence was very good.
Charles II, who had been suppressed by the British Parliament throughout history, could not find any fault in his words after hearing this, and looked at his son-in-law with admiration.
On the other hand, the Duke of York, who inherited the throne of Charles II and was at odds with the British Parliament, frowned slightly. He always felt that what Xu Qianxue said seemed reasonable, but he seemed to have missed the point, so he asked: "Blindly frivolous and frivolous." I’m afraid it will be detrimental to the empire’s prosperity, right?”
"This, we must try our best to lighten the corvee and pay less, and do not compete with the people for profit! Mencius said: The old man wears silk and eats meat, and the people are neither hungry nor cold. However, there is no king who is not king. If the people are rich, the empire will naturally be strong! "
Xu Qianxue continued.
Of course, Xu Qianxue was not without selfish motives. When Charles II made him an earl, he also gave him land. He was now considered a property owner in England, so he naturally hoped to pay less taxes.
Charles II could not hear anything wrong, and agreed very much: "It makes sense! This Eastern Confucianism is indeed the right way to govern the world! It should be promoted. In the future, you must explain this Confucian classics to me in detail."
"My son-in-law takes orders!"
Xu Qianxue replied.
James glanced at his brother, but couldn't help but ask, "Earl, what I'm curious about is, why did Emperor Zhu Youxiao of the Ming Dynasty still let the officials and gentry pay the grain together at the beginning of his rule? Is this such a frivolous corvee? There is more truth behind the four words "Bo Fu" that needs to be studied in detail, or is it that the essence of Eastern learning is not simply people-oriented, but the world is for the common good?"
Xu Qianxue discovered that James, Duke of York, was not as easy to fool as his father-in-law, so he couldn't help but said hurriedly: "Uncle, you don't know something. Although Emperor Zhu Youxiao of the Ming Dynasty often performed good governance to benefit the people, in the early days of his reign, he often performed bad governance and harmed the people. This is The government and the gentry all received food from one body, which was a bad policy in the early days! However, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty did not completely change it, and now his ambitions have grown. With the support of a group of sycophants, he expanded crazily and used troops everywhere, regardless of the hardships of the people's livelihood. , refuses to continue to benefit the people, it can be said that it has become bad again, and this time, the nobles of the world will be affected by its bad governance!"
Xu Qianxue continued: "If England wants to become stronger, surpass the Ming Dynasty, and become a new empire on which the sun never sets! It must implement benevolent government, and the world will be convinced in the future! However, due to the expansion of the Ming Dynasty's ambitions, the use of troops around the world, It will definitely enter a recession, and sooner or later we, the British, will catch up!"
What Xu Qianxue said made Charles II very superior.
