When Zhao Xin came to the end, he just pointed at Luo Fangbai's nose and scolded him. How could he not be nervous?
After that, the two of them had few topics of conversation, mostly Zhao Xin chatting and Luo Fangbai being obedient. After Wu Yuansheng and others had eaten grilled crocodile meat, Luo Fangbai stood up and left, citing old age and lack of energy. Fortunately, Zhao Xin did not reveal the identity of the other party in the end, which saved some face for Luo Fangbai.
However, after returning to the hotel, Jiang Wu saw Luo Fangbai's gloomy expression and asked Wu Yuansheng what happened. The problem was that Wu Yuansheng knew very little about the conversation between Brother Luo and Zhao Xin, and he couldn't explain why. Jiang Wu came to Luo Fangbai's room with doubts.
"Brother, I heard from Yuan Sheng that you had a very happy chat with the official from the Military Control Commission. Why are you so depressed?"
Luo Fangbai sighed and said: "Lao Wu, do you know who the person I met today is?"
"who?"
"Nine times out of ten, it's that King Zhao!"
"What?!" Jiang Wu was shocked, thinking that that person was a man with a body of ten thousand gold and only wore a white dragon fish suit. It happened that Brother Luo met him. However, he also felt that King Zhao really had no airs about him and was friendly and polite, which should be a good thing for Lanfang Company.
"A good thing?" Luo Fangbai shook his head. From the time he said goodbye until now, he has been thinking over and over again every word Zhao Xin said. It is obvious that that person is extremely dissatisfied with the current situation of the Chinese companies in West Borneo. It is very likely that Beihai Town will intervene in the affairs of West Borneo after dealing with the Dutch, and may even take the entire Borneo into its pocket.
Moreover, this person was extremely dissatisfied with the system established by Lanfang Company with the clan and township party as the core, but Luo Fangbai didn't understand. Hasn't this been the case since ancient times? What's more, the sages said that "kissing is the most important thing", everyone kisses his relatives, and everyone has his own children. It is simply unheard of for fellow villagers not to stick together, but to win over and get close to strangers!
In fact, Luo Fangbai was most satisfied with his achievements, which was the establishment of a political power based on the Hakka people in the lower reaches of the Shiku River Basin. It was precisely because of these compatriots that he was able to respond to all calls and make government orders smooth.
Take a look at the Heshun General Hall to the north. It's called the Alliance, but fourteen companies are constantly fighting among themselves. Although Xie Jie, who is the leader of the alliance, is very ambitious, he has been dealing with internal disputes in various companies all day long since he took the high position. He is very anxious and exhausted. The reason is that all companies in Heshun are composed of "half-mountain customers", a mixed bag of good and bad. Luo Fangbai dared to assert that Heshun Alliance would definitely have internal strife again one day, and the status quo of fourteen companies coexisting would not last long.
As for exploiting his miners and other practices, Luo Fangbai didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Don't talk about him, which Chinese company doesn't do this? But he understood one thing, it would be too much if he wanted to sell opium in the future.
After hearing Luo Fangbai's words, Jiang Wu suddenly realized: "Brother, I think that King Zhao has already planned for the land of Xipo."
"How to say?"
"Crocodile team."
"Huh?" Luo Fangbai pondered for a moment after hearing this. He slapped the armrest of the chair and said with astonishment, "Sure enough! What are they doing to eliminate harm for the people? They are exploring the waterways of the Kajiang River!"
"Brother, we must make plans early for today's plan. Although our Lanhe battalion has 6,000 troops and is proud of Xipo, the Beihai Navy is extremely powerful. I will go to the Military Control Council in the afternoon to post a message and listen to it in the teahouse when I come back. People were chatting, and they happened to be talking about how the Northern Navy defeated the Dutch."
"What did they say?"
"It's really shocking. If it weren't for the Dutch defeat now, I would have thought it was a joke. When the North Navy launched its attack more than ten days ago, thousands of guns were fired, and the fortifications built by the Dutch were instantly reduced to powder. That King Zhao only dispatched With only three to four thousand men, tens of thousands of Dutch troops were defeated and fled. Moreover, they only used two thousand men in the Wurong River area, and they actually wiped out all four thousand Dutch troops!"
Luo Fangbai was shocked when he heard this, and then he realized that the elite soldiers and generals under his command were nothing in the eyes of others. He felt that the only bargaining chip at the moment was the output of his own gold and diamond mines, but he didn't know that King Zhao How big is your appetite.
At the same time, in the Heshun General Hall in Daluolu, West Borneo, big brothers from various companies were holding overnight meetings. Everyone here belongs to Dagang, Santiaogou, Manhe, Taihe, Xinwu, Kengwei, Jielian, Laobafen, Xinbafen, Jiufantou, Twelvefen, Thirteenth, Old Fourteenth and Fifteenth. Fourteen companies in total.
When the news of the Northern Navy's victory over the Dutch reached Dalaolu and Sanfa, there was no objection to going to Bacheng to "worship the mountain", and it was better to do it sooner rather than later. However, the fourteen eldest brothers had different opinions on how much gold and diamonds should be paid as tribute to King Zhao, and how much each company should share. Several eldest brothers almost staged a full-scale military attack because of their disagreements, and the commander-in-chief Xie Jie was screwed. The head is huge.
After everyone finally calmed down, Xie Jie said with a heartbroken look on his face: "Brothers, please listen to me first. Everyone knows what happened in Beihai Town. They are not coming to Borneo to compete with us for gold. Mines, fighting for diamond mines. If nothing unexpected happens, King Zhao will be the emperor of the new dynasty!
This time, each company was asked to raise 300,000 gold and diamonds. Some people felt that too much was allocated to themselves and felt it was unfair. Little did they know, this is the money you need to pay for your return home in glory.
Everyone here knows the virtues of the Qing Dynasty. No matter how much territory you control in Borneo and how powerful you are, a mere county magistrate and a few subordinate officials can manipulate people like us to death and destroy our families.
It has been 30 years since I came to Borneo. Although I have made a fortune of tens of thousands, it is already the age when the loess is buried in my neck. What I dream about every day is that the fallen leaves are returning to their roots. I want to return to my hometown one day to see my relatives and friends. I want to thank you. The glory of the family shines on the lintel, thinking that a hundred years from now, I can be buried with my parents and relatives! "
Xie Jie's eyes were already red as he spoke. After listening to these heartfelt words, the fourteen eldest brothers present, whether they were originally proud or waiting to see the joke, all turned solemn.
At this time, Boss Peng of Jielian Company, who was causing the most trouble in the afternoon, stood up, bowed to Xie Jie, and said with a flushed face: "Brother Xie, your words make me really ashamed."
After he finished speaking, he gave Boss Hu of Xinwu Company another bow, clasped his fists and said, "Brother Hu, just now Peng made some rude remarks and offended me, please don't take offense."
Boss Hu quickly stood up and bowed: "What did Brother Peng say? We brothers have been dating for many years, how can we hurt our friendship over such a trivial matter? Let's not talk about it anymore. Since the money of Jielian Company is tight, I will not be able to share the insufficient share of my new house." Help me put it on first."
With a grateful look on his face, Boss Peng stepped forward and held Boss Hu's hand with both hands and said: "Brother Hu's thoughts, Peng will bear them in mind. It's just 20,000 silver dollars. I can even afford to eat bran-thick vegetables." .”
Don't look at Mr. Peng's pretense of being pitiful. In fact, both Lanfang Company and Heshun Alliance have been in the best period of development in history in recent years. With the cessation of large-scale armed fighting, various companies are operating stably, developing rapidly, and making huge profits. At present, the total annual gold mining value of Chinese companies in the entire Xiba region is as high as 3.7 million Spanish silver dollars, which is 2.63 million taels of silver, while the annual output value of the Heshun Alliance is as high as 1.9 million taels.
In view of the booming business opportunities, maritime merchants from the coasts of Fujian and Guangdong would carry large amounts of supplies and general merchandise to trade every year. Such as opium, salt, grain, cotton yarn, pig iron, gunpowder and hardware and sharp tools, etc., arrived in Pontianak and Samfa for sale; various companies sold gold, diamonds, bird's nests, yellow wax, rattan bamboo, ebony, and pepper. , camphor and other native products are traded with them. In the port of Pontianak alone, five red-headed ships come south for trade every year.
Because trade is booming, it is very timely for Sanfa to obtain news from the mainland. Big brothers in various companies have heard about what Beihai Town has done to the Manchu and Qing court in recent years, as well as what it has done in the coastal areas of Guangdong and Guangxi and in Annan. But since the matter is none of my business, I just kept it as a story told over the wine table.
Two years ago, Xie Jie also sent people to Bacheng to "worship the dock" and tried to buy weapons from Beihai Town. However, like Lanfang Company, neither Deng Fei nor Wang Yuanfang agreed. Xie Jie feels that since you don't give me face, then I don't have to rush to fawn over you. Everyone does their own thing and makes their own fortune.
However, things are different now. The powerful force used by Beihai Town to deal with the Dutch shocked all the big brothers. Only then did they realize that the other party was not a dragon crossing the river, but a real giant crocodile, more ferocious than the Dutch. Faced with such a powerful force that can turn clouds and rain with its hands, it is by no means easy to get along with them.
Boss Peng pretended to decline the other party's kindness, and then he cupped his fists at everyone present and said: "Everyone, what Brother Xie just said is true. We are traveling across the ocean just to follow Tao Zhu's example, earn a millionaire, and spread the legend. Let’s give it to our descendants and bring glory to our family. If King Zhao of Beihai Town allows us to return home in fine clothes, not to mention 20,000 silver dollars, even if he asks Peng to give him half of the mining area of the joint company! But the government alas! Our old Peng has no I have read books for several years, and I have also read some scripts and commentaries. Officials in the past dynasties all spoke well on the surface, but there were too many cases where they secretly took advantage and turned their backs on others."
Liu Ashui from Kengwei Company said: "Yes! Brother Xie, although the money is not much, everyone can afford it, but what if that person's appetite is whetted and he wants more in the future? We are the big brothers It’s hard and it doesn’t matter if you skip a few meals, but I still have a large group of brothers under my command.”
Xie Jiexin said that Liu Ah Shui, you are a turtle's egg, and I burst into tears. You are still saying weird things. Sooner or later, I will find an opportunity to deal with you!
You must know that although the fourteen companies are all Hakka, most of the people in the connected company are from Wuyun Town, Jiexi; the people in Xinwu Company are from Yongding, Fujian; companies such as Dagang and Santiaogou are composed of immigrants from Lufeng and Huilai; Kengwei They are Huiyang Hakkas; as for those companies in the 1980s and 1990s, they are all Haifeng people. In addition, there are seven Jiexi Hakka companies in the Lara area east of Dalaolu, most of which are named after the word "和". Such as Yuanhe, Yinghe, Changhe and so on.
Luo Fangbai was right. After only fifteen years in history, after years of armed struggle and mergers, there were only seven companies left within the Heshun Alliance. After the Dutch army invaded Santiaogou, the number was reduced to four. By the time the Heshun Alliance Before its demise, only three families remained.
Speaking of which, if these Chinese companies in West Virginia want to merge, they must use dialects as a prerequisite; even if they are both Hakkas, as long as the dialects are different, there is absolutely no chance of merging. The problem is that the way companies merge with each other these days is to fight with each other in order to drive out their opponents.
On the other side, Zhao Xin, who returned to his residence, was also thinking about how to integrate various Chinese companies in West Borneo and how to effectively organize the millions of Chinese in Southeast Asia so that Southeast Asia could be "turned from barbarians to summer". But his focus is on how to completely transform corporate and community organizations tied to clans, deprive them of control over social public resources, and crack the economic foundation of their power system.
Some people say that the nature of human beings is to agree with others and reject differences. Everyone will naturally divide other people into the same kind and different kinds, defend the same kind and reject the different kinds. The differences in this era are different dialects and different bloodlines.
The patriarchal system is a social security system established by ancient people in order to survive under extremely harsh environmental conditions. The economic function is the main one and other functions are derivative. Sedentary life under a small-scale peasant economy inevitably faces the dilemma of limited resources. In order to ensure their own survival resources and cope with the resulting conflicts, rural clans form armed forces to protect themselves, and armed fighting arises from this.
What Zhao Xin needs to consider now is how to ensure the interests of the people at the bottom after weakening the clan power. Laws alone are definitely not enough. In ancient times, the Chinese people have always "succumbed to death without seeing an official, and died unjustly without complaining." Zhao Xin now feels that it is time to introduce the peasant association system among the Chinese groups in Southeast Asia. This can be regarded as a pilot project to prepare for the future transfer of Beihai Town power to the countryside. But there are too many details here that need to be thought about carefully.
He casually picked up a thread-bound book on the table, opened it, turned to a certain page, shook his head and read:
"Zong, what is it? Zong means respect. He who is the master of the ancestors is respected by the clan. "Li Yue": 'When the clan has something to do, everyone in the clan will serve it.' So why should a saint have a clan? Therefore, there is always harmony. The big sect can lead the small sect, and the small sect can lead the group of brothers, and know what they have and what they don't have, so they are the ones who regulate the clan members. The sect is the first ancestor and the latter is the big sect. This is the sect for hundreds of generations."
After Zhao Xin read this paragraph, he put the book in his hand on the table and rubbed his eyebrows with his hands. A Miao walked up behind him silently, put her jade fingers on his temples, and rubbed them gently.
""White Tiger Tongyi". What does this book say?"
Hearing A Miao's question, Zhao Xin closed his eyes and said calmly: "An ancient book from the Eastern Han Dynasty talks about the Three Cardinal Guidelines, the Five Constant Rules and the Sixth Period."
"I heard you say the three cardinal principles and the five constant principles. What are the six disciplines?"
"Fathers, brothers, clan members, uncles, teachers, and friends. The ancients said, 'The three cardinal principles govern the world, and the six disciplines govern the heaven and earth.' In short, people should listen to God honestly and don't mess with the imperial power."
"Don't you like these things the least? Why do you like it?"
Zhao Xin raised his hand and took A Miao's little hand to cover his face, and said helplessly: "Hey~~ What can I do? I have to read the book list Mr. Rong Fu gave me. He is such a person It’s not like you don’t know, even I dare to shame you.”
A Miao couldn't help but stick out her tongue when she remembered how Zhao Xin was so angry after being scolded by Wang Zhongkuang. At this time, Dofu, who was curled up on the sofa and sleeping soundly, began to snore, his voice rising and falling. Zhao Xin smiled bitterly and said: "Duofu is too fat and his snoring is louder than mine. You can't let him have his way anymore. Listen to me and give him two meals a day."
A Miao said: "It is already old. Last time Mr. Liu said that Duofu is almost the same as a sixty-year-old man. I always think that at such an old age, I can eat whatever I want." What she said "Mr. Liu" is Liu Zheng. Every time this guy returns to Beihai Town, Zhao Xin will ask him to check Duofu.
Zhao Xin said dumbfounded: "You, you pamper it too much."
The two chatted and laughed for a while, and Zhao Xin felt that his groggy mind had sobered up a lot, so he asked A Miao to hold Duofu to rest while he wrote down his thoughts.
A Miao shook her head and refilled Zhao Xin's tea cup with hot water. Then she sat on the sofa and gently rubbed Duofu with her hands. She turned to look at Zhao Xin, who was writing at the desk, and felt that it was best to live like this forever.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, a large number of Hakka people also lived in the Hailufeng area of Guangdong and the Jiexi area in the north. However, because they were adjacent to the Fujian people, they were called "Banshan Hakka". Although they are both a Hakka group, the dialect of Banshan residents is somewhere between Hokkien and Hakka. When communicating with Hakkas in Jiaying Prefecture, they can only understand each other.
(End of chapter)
