More and more soldiers were disembarking from the Ming Dynasty's fleet, and Wilmington's not-so-large dock was quickly controlled.
There were French soldiers brought by Bernadotte on the dock, but they did not take any action until they received orders.
There were also local militia and police from Newcastle County around, but of course they had no intention of confrontation without receiving orders.
After all, they were Ming Dynasty's troops.
In the center of the pier, in the depressing and chaotic atmosphere, someone spoke again.
A man in Ming-style formal attire, a little thin, and looking to be in his early twenties.
The image was probably influenced by the New Ming Wave pop culture that was spreading from France.
"Your Excellency, I, Thomas Stockton, am a native of Wilmington.
"I just heard you mention that limiting the amount of wealth brought by people leaving Wilmington was a request made by the British and French courts to the Ming Dynasty?"
Ruan Yuan suddenly said with disgust:
"Yes, otherwise you think Ming Dynasty cares about your little money? A hundred thousand people is only the size of a county in Ming Dynasty. How many rich households can there be?
"When we drove the Taixi people away before the Ming Dynasty, did we ever ask for your frivolous wealth?
"Not only is it a requirement of the British and French courts to limit the amount of assets they can carry, but it is also a requirement of the British and French courts to keep the population."
The scene was once again in an uproar, but the direction of the astonishment changed.
Stockton immediately asked in disbelief:
"Why did the British and French courts make such a request? This is obviously a request that is beneficial to Ming Dynasty, right?
"Whether it's population or wealth, staying on the land of the Ming Dynasty will not be of any benefit to Britain and France, right?"
Ruan Yuan laughed dryly and said:
“If you have read the writings of our Emperor Shizu, you should know the reason.
“In a place where the original economic order was not very stable, a sudden influx of a large number of unemployed people and money will have what kind of impact on the local area?
“A large number of unemployed people will lead to an oversupply of workers at the bottom, and the income of workers at the bottom will subsequently decrease.
“A large amount of money leads to a shortage of goods in the market, leading to inflation and soaring prices.
“Under such circumstances, if the imperial court does not send out capable ministers and officials to guide and smooth things over, public dissatisfaction will inevitably boil over.
“The colonies of Britain and France are already on the verge of collapse, otherwise how do you think this war happened?
"The British and French courts don't know how to solve this problem, so they ask that your local ordinary people and the money in your hands should be kept in the Ming-controlled areas and not disturb the order of other colonies."
After listening to Ruan Yuan's explanation, the atmosphere at the scene became even more noisy, and many people were shocked by this reality.
The local citizens and businessmen chose to follow Adams and Napoleon in seeking independence, not because they really wanted independence.
Britain or France, as big countries in the West, still have cultural cohesion.
Historically, Americans still had no real expectations for independence until independence.
Most of them still consider themselves to be English, the same ethnic group and the same civilization as the native British.
Until World War I, wealthy Americans were still proud to marry a British aristocratic lady, even one from a down-and-out aristocratic family.
This kind of thinking is more common among ordinary people. They do not know what is great about independence, and they do not actively pursue independence.
They don't know why they want to be independent, and they don't know whether independence is right.
But they are dissatisfied with the current state of reality, so they are willing to follow any person or organization that can change reality.
I don’t think it can get any worse.
Most ordinary people still have a lot of love for the overlord country.
But now Ruan Yuan's words made it clear to them openly and thoroughly that it was their sovereign country that abandoned them.
What ordinary people care about is not the half-understood economic logic that Ruan Yuan talks about.
What they care about is that the sovereign country has made the decision to abandon them because of some problem that the Ming Dynasty can solve.
The impact of this new understanding is actually very far-reaching...
The independence movement promoted by Adams was just an attempt to be independent for ordinary people, to see if they could live a better life.
Now Ruan Yuan's explanation may make them start to completely cut off their nostalgia for the suzerain country.
Amid the chaotic discussion, Stockton asked a question again:
"Your Excellency Chang Shi, if we choose to stay in the Dongyi Kingdom of the Ming Dynasty, how much wealth can we keep?"
Stockton's question should have been explained in advance as a matter of course.
Ruan Yuan glanced at the other party and nonchalantly said a very simple and crude standard prepared in advance:
"All assets should not exceed 10,000 silver coins when converted, and the land should not exceed the area that the family can cultivate by themselves."
In fact, there should be many details in this restriction.
For example, how to handle financial assets, how to price various types of wealth, how to limit the area and quantity of real estate, etc.
But Ruan Yuan did not give an in-depth interpretation on the spot.
There is no need to interpret it in depth, because this upper limit is actually very high.
Ten thousand banknotes is the limit of assets held. If it is actually spent and not converted into fixed assets, it will not be counted.
In fact, as long as you are not crazy about buying land and building houses, or holding a large amount of stocks and bonds, or participating in the local or foreign financial industry, otherwise it will be difficult for anyone to stably hold such a large amount of wealth in a place with only a few hundred thousand people. .
A high-level car now only costs two to three thousand silver coins. Most residents cannot afford such a car, and most families do not have cars.
There are only a few local richest families with assets exceeding the standard of 10,000 silver notes. They are an absolute minority.
The New World was in the process of being developed, and no aristocratic system had yet been established.
The vast majority of residents are workers and farmers, and the overall population density is very low.
Natural resources and agricultural resources are very abundant, and there is very little competition pressure in work and life.
Compared with their counterparts in the Old World, their living standards are relatively high, but their assets will not increase in the short term. Naturally, the gap between rich and poor cannot be widened.
The most important thing is that Ruan Yuan has announced before that he can only take away one thousand silver notes when leaving here. If you stay here, you can keep ten thousand silver coins.
The difference between the two cars is ten times, and most people can retain all their assets.
In a situation where it has truly severed ties with the mother country and does not know where to go in the future.
Still staying and living in a place that is already familiar to him, while becoming a citizen of a vassal state of the most powerful and civilized world in the world, it seems to be a problem that does not need to be considered.
So Stockton almost immediately shouted out:
"I want to stay, I, Thomas Stockton, choose to become a citizen of the Dongyi Kingdom of the Ming Dynasty!"
It's a decision, to say your name, like an oath, to join a new group.
As soon as Steckton finished speaking, there was a chorus of echoes all around.
Similar declarations echoed above the Wilmington docks.
Ordinary residents outside the core area of the dock are waiting for the results of the negotiations on the dock.
Now I suddenly heard shouts, and many people subconsciously followed suit.
The true centerpiece of the dock, Mitchell was now completely disorganized.
It turns out that when ordinary people spread "rumors", Delaware's elite at least stood with them.
Ruan Yuan's two different wealth standards were raised, and the news that the suzerain country abandoned them was released, and these elites also began to rebel collectively.
Among the officials, new nobles, and businessmen present, there were only a few who had not announced their intention to join the Dongyi Kingdom.
Mitchell hesitated for a while, feeling that it was a shame to leave.
Of course, my own assets are more than 10,000 silver notes. The difference between keeping 10,000 silver notes and taking away 1,000 silver notes is an individual's choice.
But Mitchell was still a little unwilling to give up and couldn't help but ask Ruan Yuan:
"Your Excellency, Mr. Chang Shi, I am the current governor of Delaware, and I am very familiar with the local area of Delaware.
“The vast majority of local people in Delaware are immigrants from Thailand and Spain, and their language is mainly English.
“If the Ming Dynasty wants to govern this land, it should require the cooperation of the Taixi people, right?
"If I join the Dongyi Kingdom, can I hold an official position in the Dongyi Kingdom's court?"
Ruan Yuan returned a cold look.
Still want to seek refuge here and continue to be an official?
Even if we try to use Taixi people to rule Taixi people according to the suggestion of His Highness Prince Dashi, we will give priority to friendly people who are already cooperative with Ming Dynasty.
Even if it is a peripheral fan of the West Factory, it is more suitable to hold positions in a public capacity than to recruit these old rentiers.
Ruan Yuan really wants to get rid of people like Mitchell.
So Ruan Yuan said with a serious face and a businesslike attitude:
“We, the Ming Dynasty, have our own decision on how to govern the Dongyi Kingdom.
“When we need people who are proficient in English to assist in management, we will notify and hire them separately.
"If Mr. Mitchell's ability is really outstanding and he can pass the assessment we have set, then he will have a chance."
Ruan Yuan said that if there is a chance, he still has the final say on how to operate it.
When the time comes, I will reply to him with "Unfortunately, you did not pass the assessment." That is also a normal result.
Mitchell was certainly not satisfied with this answer, but he did not have the guts to provoke Ming officials.
Moreover, officials in the Ming Dynasty originally had to undergo assessments, which everyone has heard about for a long time.
Therefore, in the future, the routine of roping in friends, family, and business partners to cooperate with oneself in elections will no longer work.
Mitchell was really worried that he would not pass the exam.
The other elites around them had completely different ideas. They saw the hope of becoming officials of the Ming Dynasty.
Even if they are only officials from a vassal state, they are also officials from the Ming Dynasty in a broad sense!
Many young people who have changed their thinking are already cheering.
Stockton took the initiative and asked a few questions, and now has a tendency to become a representative of the young people in the neighborhood.
At this time he raised his hand again and asked:
"Sir Chang Shi, what are the main personnel needed for the Dongyi Kingdom's imperial court established by the Ming Dynasty?
"What positions can we participate in? What are the main contents of the assessment?
"Can you introduce it in advance so that we can prepare in advance."
Ruan Yuan also answered naturally:
“The first is listening, speaking, reading and writing in Daming Yayan and English. You must be able to work in Daming Yayan and translate documents into English for ordinary people to listen to.
“Secondly, you need to have basic mathematical abilities, basic hands-on skills, and understand the actual situation of the local people.
"For specific information, we will post a notice after the reception work is completed. Those who are interested can pay attention."
Stockton agreed quite excitedly:
"Thank you, Lord Changshi, we will pay attention to it, and we hope to serve the Ming Dynasty Dongyi Kingdom."
In this kind of question and answer, Ruan Yuan has actually started his own work, the work of local governance and rule.
The literacy rate in today's society is already very high, but it is only relatively high compared to classical society.
The vast majority of ordinary farmers and workers are still illiterate or semi-illiterate, let alone being expected to understand foreign languages.
Therefore, if the Ming Dynasty wanted to use a very small number of officials to rule hundreds of thousands of Taishi people, it had to rely on the Taysi elite.
Especially those who belong to the middle class, understand and yearn for Ming Dynasty culture, and are relatively energetic groups.
For young people like Stockton, it is only natural to give them the most basic courtesy.
But the Ming Dynasty will not retain their original ruling class. Otherwise, how could the ruling class of the Ming Dynasty come in?
So Ruan Yuan is quite kind to Stockton, but he is obviously indifferent to Mitchell.
