Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 616 Zhao Xin's Great Oolong
Deng Fei took the densely written paper and turned it over for a while, then tentatively said: "Then you mean, we should learn from the Dutch to mint copper coins and replace their money?"

"Money must be minted and the scale of the Cam Ranh Bay Mint should be expanded. But this is only one of them. If you want to replace the 11 billion Dutch copper coins with coins, you have to wait until the year of the monkey!"

Wang Yuanfang said: "Intervene in the spice trade?"

Deng Fei said: "Impossible, the spice monopoly has long since ceased to exist. Didn't you see that all the plantations here are growing sugarcane?"

Zhao Xin rubbed his brows, got up and walked to the window to look at the roof in the distance, and murmured: "There is a saying in the horseman, the circulation of goods determines the circulation of money. The problem is that the demand for money in circulation is not only determined by the price of commodity exchange. total, but also depends on the total turnover of value distribution and redistribution”

Wang Yuanfang and Deng Fei looked at each other, and said jokingly, "This guy is talking again? I can understand every word, but I can't even understand one word! Boss Zhao, can you speak human language?"

Zhao Xinyan laughed, turned around and said: "Simply put, it is a multi-pronged approach. On the one hand, we must use the military to break the VOC's military coercion against Banten, Sumatra, and Kalimantan. The forced plantation system', and then there's the oil development in Sumatra."

Deng Fei said: "Didn't we start a rubber farm?"

Zhao Xindao: "The effect is too slow, not to mention that it is impossible to grow rubber in the future. Although there is a surplus of wheat in Beihai Town, the southerners are not used to it after all, and the transportation cost of grain transfer from Beihai Town is too high. Food is the most important thing for the people. No matter how big it is, it is nothing more than the problem of food for the common people. We still have to start with agriculture and land.”

Deng Fei said: "One more thing must be added, the Chinese cannot be compradors for the Dutch."

"Just banning is not enough, there must be alternative products. The reason why they leave their homes is to make a fortune. No matter what it is, as long as there are two or three times the profit, someone will always take the risk."

Zhao Xin stopped talking suddenly, frowned and thought for a moment, then slapped his forehead and said, "Hey! How did I forget about palm oil!"

Deng Fei reacted very quickly, his eyes lit up and he said: "Yes! Carry out oilseed planting, engage in palm oil processing, whether it is food or industrial use."

Zhao Xin asked Wang Yuanfang: "Are the richest companies in the local area now have people in the city hall?"

Wang Yuanfang said: "Well, basically all of them are there."

Zhao Xin nodded and said, "Then go and have a look tomorrow morning and listen to their opinions first."

In the evening, Wang Yuanfang hosted a banquet in the VOC Governor's Mansion on behalf of the Bacheng Military Control Committee, entertaining everyone from Europe.Until then, Zhao Xin no longer kept secrets, and revealed his identity on the spot, which aroused the surprise of all French people.They never dreamed that this "naval staff officer" with a young face who often discussed mathematics, history and philosophy with them on board was actually No. 1 in the Republic of China!
Before the dinner began, Zhao Xin, on behalf of Beihai Town, sent an official invitation to five scientists from France to assist in the establishment of the "Republican Chinese Academy of Sciences", and awarded them the first batch of foreign honorary academicians of the Academy of Sciences.Relevant certificates will be issued when the official ceremony is held later, and their specific tasks will not be confirmed until after the inspection in Beihai Town.

However, compared to the four "Gods of Ra" and their families, the Marquis of Condorcet and his beautiful wife Sophie, who are deeply involved in politics, privately speculated why Zhao Xin wanted to hide his identity and go to Paris, and he felt a little nervous in his heart. There is a question mark, will there be Chinese shadows behind the "temple tower incident"?

Although Condorcet had many friends among the Girondists, he did not join any faction because he hated factionalism, and kept his distance from the Girondists.

The reason why Condorcet was arrested and executed in history is quite sad. He just criticized the "Constitution of 1793" designed by Robespierre and Saint-Just, and was branded a traitor.In addition, Condorcet's attitude towards Louis XVI also annoyed Robespierre. He supported the trial of the king, but opposed the death penalty, and even naively suggested that the king be sent to a warship as a rowing slave.

Mrs. Elizabeth and her two children did not attend the dinner because of the exhaustion of the journey, and the contagion and confidentiality of tuberculosis.

In the morning of the next day, Zhao Xin did not let Wang Yuanfang and Deng Fei follow, but called Jiang Asheng, wearing a military uniform without military rank, and took two soldiers from the Special Operations Battalion as guards, and strolled to the Baba The northern part of the city is near the former Customs House on Flagstaff Street.Jiang Asheng had never met Zhao Xin. When he was notified yesterday, he only said that Zhao Xin was an official in the trade department of Beihai Town.

When he got to the gate, Zhao Xinxin said that it was a good guy, it was similar to the government office of the Manchu Qing Dynasty.I saw a thick flagpole standing in front of the gate, with nothing on it.The walls around the courtyard are more than ten feet high. Looking from the outside, the gates are built in a majestic manner, which is comparable to the state government under the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

Seeing Zhao Xin staring at the bare flagpole, Jiang Asheng explained: "My lord, this flag used to be hung on the first day of every month. When the head tax is collected every month, once the flag is raised for everyone to see, they will know what to do. paid."

Zhao Xin said: "Isn't there no head tax?"

"Yes. But there is also shop tax, gambling tax, slaughter tax, import tax, tobacco tax, etc., which are all paid on a monthly basis."

Because Zhao Xin didn't want to make a big fuss, Jiang Asheng didn't go in to report in advance.A group of people walked into the gate with the painting of Shentu Yulei, and saw a 50-meter-long stone road leading directly to the lobby, and then looked at the layout of the houses on the left and right, and it was different from the prefectural yamen that Zhao Xin had seen.At this time, the guard in the gatehouse saw someone coming, so he came out to ask with a straight face, but when he saw Jiang Asheng and Zhao Xin, who were guarded by the two Bei Haijun, he immediately put on a smile.

"Hey! Who am I supposed to be? It turns out to be Brother Sheng! Are you here on business today?"

Jiang Asheng said: "Xiao Dai, these three were sent by the military control committee to discuss matters with Huang Jia. Is the old man there?"

"Yes! Yes! The case will be settled today, and he, Mr. Wu and Mr. Lin are all in the second hall."

"What case?"

"It's a trivial matter, the couple divorced."

Jiang Asheng nodded and smiled, and led Zhao Xin and the others to the main hall.The guy called Xiao Dai waited for others to walk away, and then he gave Jiang Asheng a blank look at his back, and muttered: "The mud legs climbed up to the short-haired master, and he reached the sky in one step! Tsk tsk~~"

Zhao Xin walked to the entrance of the empty lobby, but didn't go in. He saw that there was also a "Mirror Hanging High" plaque hanging on the hall. On the east and west walls on the left and right sides, there were two large wooden plaques with dense It's full of words.Because of the distance, he could clearly see the front content.

"Qianlong Renxu, Duke Wei Hanlin was Jiabidan, and began to set up a court to discuss matters. Benevolence and compassion for the people, teaching to transform, salty and good, and its legacy is to the end."

When the four of them passed through the side door and came to the second hall, they were really hearing cases inside, but they all spoke Hokkien.Zhao Xin didn't understand either, so he went back to the lobby, thinking about going in after finishing his work.He looked around, and casually asked Jiang Asheng about the personnel in the courtroom.

According to Jiang Asheng, the current court staff is composed of 16 people, the highest is Kapitan (council officer), Lei Zhenlan (deputy officer), Zhu Gejiao (secretary), Dashi (order), Wu Zhimi ( Property Management Officer), Tu Gong (Funeral Affairs Officer), Ma Jiao (District Chief) and other positions correspond to different affairs.

When the Dutch were here, the courts mainly dealt with civil disputes, ranging from household registration and tax collection, to marital disputes due to money and taxes owed, all-encompassing, trivial matters.As for major criminal or economic cases, they are handed over to the Dutch judiciary.

After Beihai Town implemented military control in Bacheng, due to the lack of administrative personnel, it retained the establishment of courts and related personnel, and continued to let them handle civil matters, and then reported major cases to the Military Control Committee for handling.Although the official title was changed to City Hall, the local people are still accustomed to calling it "City Hall".

After waiting for about 10 minutes, several people came out of the second hall, including men and women.It seemed that the divorce case had been dealt with, so Zhao Xin asked Jiang Asheng to report.

Across the courtyard gate, Zhao Xin heard a commotion inside, knowing that his sudden attack caught everyone in the court by surprise.After Jia Dahuang Mianshe came out with his subordinates to greet the ceremony, they went to the flower hall in the second hall to sit down.After a simple exchange of greetings, the servant served tea, and Zhao Xin got straight to the point, saying that he represented the Ministry of Trade to understand the economic situation in Bacheng and planned to open up new sources of income.

As soon as everyone heard this, their hearts sank in half. It turned out that they didn't come for a surprise inspection.The Bacheng Military Control Committee has vigorously implemented epidemic prevention in the past two years, and opened a hospital to save lives and heal the wounded.

But when it comes to financial resources, everyone in the room immediately feels concerned.

In recent years, due to VOC's colonial and plundering policy, Bacheng's economy has been depressed for a long time, and its business has declined. Many small plantation merchants have fallen into bankruptcy.The British colonies across the sea are superior to Bacheng in terms of immigration policy and taxation policy. Big households like Huang Mianshe and the others have moved to Malaya and Malacca to set up branch offices and become British. middlemen.

In addition, due to the arrival of Beihai Town, after the abolition of head tax, weighing tax, and inland navigation tax, the tax package has basically become an unprofitable business.

Since the establishment of the Bacheng Court, the officials of the court have not been paid, but because of the convenience brought by their positions, most of their income comes from the tax package system.Among the 20 tax items in Bacheng in the past, the Chinese contracted 11 items, and the total amount was roughly [-] silver dollars per year.In addition to being taxed, these people are also VOC's middlemen and project contractors.

Therefore, the actual situation in these colonies in Southeast Asia is that all Chinese leaders are families that have long controlled the courts in various places, and at the same time controlled the tax package projects, which have been passed down from generation to generation.Thus the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

On the one hand, these people stand up for the Chinese, mediate civil disputes according to the model of village self-government, and negotiate with the colonial authorities on their behalf, but at the same time they exploit the bottom Chinese and share profits with the colonists.

Although Beihai Town's policy on the mainland is to rely on the poor, unite the middle peasants, and attack big landlords, it does not currently apply to Bacheng.We must know that these Chinese leaders’ families have connected the small transactions in the rural areas of the East Indies. They are the middlemen between the local people and overseas export agencies, as well as the middlemen between overseas industries and local consumers. Ordinary Chinese workers at the bottom cannot do it at all.

Zhao Xin listened to the demands of everyone present, and then said with a smile: "There is a long-term business right now, which is much better than sugar cane, indigo, and coffee, and it is a huge profit."

"Oh?!" Huang Mianshe and the others didn't take it seriously.Xin said that we have stayed in Java for decades, and you, a person who just came to Bacheng, said that there is a lucrative business, just kidding us!
The aged Huang Mianshe said in Hokkien Mandarin, "Please advise me, my lord."

"Palm fruit."

Everyone at the scene looked at each other in blank dismay, thinking what the hell is this?

Huang Mianshe said: "May I ask my lord, what is a palm fruit?"

Zhao Xin originally thought that the economic value of oil palm had not been discovered in this era, and everyone didn't care, so he described the appearance.Unexpectedly, after listening to it, all the people in the room were stunned, saying that they had never seen it before.

Zhao Xin didn't know that he had made a big oolong this time, because there were no palm trees on Java Island in this year!
The origin of palm trees is actually in Nigeria, Africa. Historically, the planting of Indonesian palm trees began in 1848, when a Dutchman brought 4 palm seeds from Amsterdam and planted them in the botanical garden.Unexpectedly, after only five years, it grew to a height of 12 meters, and the palm tree began to bear fruit.However, the economic value of oil palm trees was not discovered at that time, and they were only used as decorative plants on the side of the road.It was not until 1911 that extensive commercial planting began on Sumatra Island. Since then, Indonesia has become the world's largest producer of palm oil.

Well, Zhao Xin didn't know yet at this time. He felt that he had never seen the group of "turtles" in front of him.

Besides, since they have all come, they must not go back without accomplishing anything.He immediately mentioned that he would build a cooling oil factory locally, and he would purchase a large amount of related raw materials at that time.In addition, the purchase price of rice and corn will be increased to encourage everyone present to switch to growing crops on their own plantations.

After Blabla spoke a lot, Zhao Xin slapped his ass and left amidst the praises of everyone.When they returned to the flower hall, the chief Lei Zhenlan and Wu Yanxu said to Jia Dahuang Mianshe: "Huang Gong, do you see this?"

"Since the Military Control Commission sent someone to talk about it, it is always necessary to save face. In the past two years, the epidemic situation in Bacheng has decreased a lot. We learned about Entubao. Each family will first plant dozens of acres of rice, and then sell it at a low price. The military control committee can be regarded as a mission."

Another Lei Zhenlan named Lin Changsheng said dissatisfiedly: "What kind of oil palm, I have never heard of it! I think this person has no hair on his mouth, and he can't do things well. Come here to get it." We're having fun!"

　The Renxu Year of Qianlong, that is, 1742.Before that, the courts were all located in the Kapitan Mansion.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)