Forty-eight years of Qianlong

After the door opened, it was Zhao Xin's new captain of the guard, Chai Rugui, who walked in.The moment he saw Zhao Xin, he felt that the atmosphere in the room was not right, and then he saw Duo Fu who was baring his teeth and claws at him.

However, Chai Rugui has always been insensitive when it comes to matters between men and women. As a guard, his first reaction was to quickly scan around Zhao Xin's office, and when he found nothing unusual, he stood at attention and reported, "Chief, Huang Xing of the public office." Mian She, Wu Yanxu, and Lin Changsheng are all here."

It was only then that Zhao Xin remembered that he had agreed to hold a meeting with the three of them yesterday, but he still wanted to beat Chai Rugui violently.However, this man's force value is the same as Chen Jishan's 3S level. Zhao Xin has tried it. Chai Rugui can push himself seven or eight meters with only one move of "Black Tiger's Heart", and he can push himself seven or eight meters with a butt. So I had to YY about it.

A Miao saw that Zhao Xin was going to meet a guest, so she picked up Duo Fu from the table and walked towards the door. Before going out, she turned her head and made a face at him. Seeing this, Zhao Xin raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and said to Chai Rugui: "Got it." , invite them in."

Counting the previous recommendation to the public to plant oil palms, this is the third time for Huang Mianshe and the others to meet Zhao Xin.It's just that Zhao Xin didn't reveal his identity for the first time, and made a big oolong, which was despised by several businessmen.

A few days ago, when Zhao Xin arrived in Bacheng on the Jinglei, he didn't disembark directly. Instead, people from the general management committee and the public line were called to the ship for two meetings.Only now did Huang Mianshe and the others realize that the "hairless" guy who dared to love turned out to be the famous Zhao Wang, and they were frightened into a cold sweat.And Lin Changsheng, who had sarcastically ridiculed Zhao Xin behind his back, was even more out of his wits. If the guards hadn't stopped him, he would have kowtowed on the ground to apologize to Zhao Xin.

This time, Zhao Xin brought over the oil palm seeds, and they were high-yield ones.So when Huang Mianshe and others entered the room and took a seat, he opened the drawer, took out a transparent plastic bag containing oil palm seeds and put it on the table.

Huang Mianshe picked up the bag and examined it carefully, and saw several gray-brown ovoid fruits inside.Others also came over to watch, Lin Changsheng asked curiously: "Is this the oil palm that the prince said?"

Zhao Xin nodded and said: "I was careless last time, thinking that Java already has this thing. If you are interested, you can take it back and try to plant it. Someone will give you a bag for each of you when you leave later."

"Dare to ask the prince, how much oil can this thing produce?"

"Depending on the terrain, you can plant 8 to 10 seeds per mu. As long as you take care of it, one mu of land can produce [-] catties of oil. If you are interested, you can apply to the agricultural department of the Military Control Commission and send someone to our directly under the farm to learn planting techniques."

Whoa!The three of them were startled when they heard the words, feeling a little unbelievable.

The price of cooking oil is as expensive as pork this year.Taking Guangzhou as an example, the price of a liter of rapeseed oil outside the oil fence now costs at least [-] Wen, which can buy several liters of rice, enough for five or six people in a poor family to drink vegetable porridge for several days.

As for soybean oil in the north and rapeseed oil in the south, the price is similar. For example, the rapeseed in Guangdong and Jiangxi can only produce about [-] catties of seeds per mu; Jin oil.It is precisely because it is not easy to extract that the price of edible oil has been rising in recent years.

Even if you have a small family, you only dare to put a little bit in the stir-fry until the Chinese New Year.If the family cultivates another scholar, it's over!The lamp oil money for reading at night alone is a large expenditure.

The promotion of oil palm plantation in West Java is definitely a big event for both Beihai Town and Zhao Xin himself.It is important to know that in addition to being edible, palm oil can also be used to extract glycerin, which can be widely used in industry and military.All the industrial-grade glycerin currently used in Beihai Town comes from another time and space, that is, synthesized from propylene; the manufacture of double-base gunpowder alone costs a lot of money every year.

However, the three of Huang Mianshe did not come here today for the oil palm seeds, but for the various gambling houses that were seized.Since the war with the VOC started again, the Bacheng Military Control Committee has implemented security control inside and outside the city. Under Zhao Xin's instruction, it took advantage of the situation and banned all gambling halls in Chinatown outside the city, and ordered that no cockfights be held. Violators will be punished with heavy fines.

This time, all the Chinese merchant families related to the gambling industry couldn't sit still.Xin said that even the Dutch didn't care about it before, and casinos can pay a lot of taxes every year. How can it be banned for the benefit of both the government and the people?

The gambling industry in Bacheng has existed since the Chinese came to this land, and it has existed for nearly 200 years.Anyone who can open a gambling house in Bacheng is the former Jiapitan or Lei Zhenlan family. These people have been inherited from generation to generation, and they have appeared as tax contractors from the very beginning. Opening a casino is naturally what it should be.

It is said that it is human nature to give it a go, especially the Chinese who went to Southeast Asia. Their behavior of traveling across the ocean to Southeast Asia is itself a formalized adventure.Don't look at the previous VOC government that allowed Chinese to open gambling halls and get high taxes from them, but strictly prohibited Dutch people from entering casinos.

For those wealthy Chinese who have lived in Bacheng for a long time, due to the sea ban policy of the Qing government, it is difficult for them to return to their hometowns and buy properties, let alone take the imperial examination; It is far from getting rich if you have enough food and clothing.

So there are those who have nothing to do, and those who are eager to get rich overnight. Many people send the wealth accumulated by their parents or their hard-earned wages to casinos and cockfighting rings.This makes the Chinese in Southeast Asia often not rich for three generations, and it is not uncommon for the children or grandchildren to lose their family property at the gambling table.

After all the gambling halls inside and outside the city were closed within a day, the bosses of the various companies first approached Jiang Asheng in private, hoping that he could help to negotiate with the military control committee.Although there were a lot of presents, Jiang Asheng dared to touch this bad luck. You must know that this was an order from Zhao Xin himself.So they went to complain to Huang Mianshe again.

These leading Chinese in Bacheng are all related, and there are not a few people who intermarry with each other. Huang Mianshe thinks it over and over again, and feels that this is inappropriate.But he didn't consider it solely for his own interests, but for Beihai Town sincerely.

It is said that the Huang family moved from Zhangpu, Fujian to Bacheng for more than 100 years. From an ordinary Chinese worker to becoming a leading Chinese family, they have experienced countless ups and downs.Although the Dutch committed the crime of the "Red Creek Massacre", their families are still determined to serve the Dutch. One of the most important reasons is that it is difficult to return home.

In the 15th year of Qianlong's reign, the Manchu Qing Dynasty did something immoral, which caused all overseas Chinese who became rich in business to stop thinking about returning to their hometowns;

At that time, Chen Yi, who had worked for Lei Zhenlan in Bacheng for eight years, resigned and returned to Fujian with her concubine and children because she had been away from home for more than ten years and missed her mother.Maybe his Javanese concubine was too eye-catching, maybe Chen Yilao brought back a lot of money to make people jealous. In short, Chen Yilao was arrested before returning to his hometown in Longxi, and the case has been stabbed to Qianlong.

Soon, Qianlong used the example of "bandits and people going to foreign countries privately, making friends with foreign countries, breaking the foreign ban, and provoking border disputes" as an example, and sent his family of more than 30 people to Ili, and the concubines and children married in Java were repatriated. , All property was fined and confiscated.The owner of the boat he took back to his hometown was also implicated, not only the shackles, but also the boat was confiscated.

Huangmianshe is over 50 this year, which is the age when the loess is buried in the neck for the ancients, so the homesickness has become more and more serious in recent years.I thought that after death, I could only send the tombstone to my homeland, but Beihai Town came.After knowing Beihai Town's goal of unifying the world and not imposing a sea ban, Beihai's victory became his only hope of returning to his roots.

After learning that the Dutch were going to attack Bacheng, Huang Mianshe took the lead in donating [-] guilders and silver dollars to the Military Control Commission, and called on all Chinese businessmen in the city to actively donate.After the military control committee reported to Zhao Xinfa for approval, it accepted the donation, and then returned it to the common people in the form of pre-payment salary.As a result, Huang Mianshe and others won a plaque issued by the Military Control Commission, and got the title of "Model Supporting the Army".

At this time, he cupped his hands and said to Zhao Xin: "My lord is benevolent in government and loves the people. He does not forget the people's livelihood and economy. It is really a blessing for the people of Bacheng!"

After finishing speaking, he got up together with Wu Yanxu and Lin Changsheng, and saluted Zhao Xinshen.

"The three of you don't have to be like this." Seeing this, Zhao Xin also raised his hand and arched.

Only to hear Huang Mianshe say again: "I have something else I want to implore the lord, I don't know if I should say it or not?"

"Mr. Huang, please tell me."

"Yes"

In Huang Mianshe's narration, he believes that the closure of all gambling halls by the military control committee will firstly cause a great loss to the official financial revenue; secondly, gambling has a long history in Bacheng, and it may be difficult to ban it.The Manchu and Qing courts also banned gambling, but everyone from officials and gentry to common people participated in it; especially in Fujian and Guangdong, gambling was very popular.

Secondly, we are now at war with the Dutch. Of course, everyone dare not disobey, but what will we do after the war?Once it goes from open to underground, it may be more difficult to govern.At that time, the officials and subordinates below may use this to cause troubles, and extortion and corruption will also appear.

What Huang Mianshe said was sincere, and Zhao Xin listened carefully. After the other party finished speaking, he pondered for a moment before saying: "I have actually considered this matter. I give you oil palm seeds in the hope of using the proceeds to make up for the closure of gambling." The loss of the casino. The gambling hall, it must not be opened again in the future, this is not negotiable."

Only then did the three of Huang Mianshe understand that there was such a game of chess behind the Ganqing oil palm seeds.Unexpectedly, Zhao Xin's next words stunned all three of them.

"In the future, the Bacheng Military Control Commission will open an official gambling game. In addition to bonuses and a small amount of distribution fees, [-]% of the proceeds will be used for medical care and welfare for orphans and widows."

The three of Huang Mianshe looked at each other, and asked in amazement: "Dare to ask the prince, what is gambling?"

Zhao Xin then found a piece of paper, scribbled on it, and explained briefly.After listening to the three people on the opposite side, they said in their hearts, good guy, the one who dares to ban is a private gambler, and he is planning to hold a betting and flowering party by himself!However, if it is true as this person said, using the winnings for public welfare, it will be much better than the previous betting!

It is said that the gambling games in Bacheng Chinese society can be divided into several types to suit different rich and poor groups, such as Europeans playing cards, betting on dice or betting, and another one is cockfighting.Needless to say, playing cards and dice, cockfighting requires a venue, and those who are good at it will raise chickens themselves; while betting is simple and cheap, and it caters to the psychology of the bottom of the society who spend a small amount of money to gamble on luck, so it is the most popular.

所谓的押宝从前明就有了。在闽南叫“花会”，在广东叫“白鸽票”，类似于彩票的性质；比如12选1、24选1、36选1、80选1什么的，分别有不同的赔率。

Every morning, the dealer of the Flower Fair will wrap a scroll and tie it to the beam in the middle of the house in public, which is called "making treasure".The gamblers choose one of the ancient names, or animal names, or numbers given by the dealer to fill in the paper, and indicate the amount of money to bet, and then put it into a wooden cabinet.When it’s time to place bets, the boss will untie the scroll from the beam in public and unfold it down, then open the wooden cabinet for betting, and take in or pay out bets according to the names bet by the gamblers.

If someone loses, they will shout "Flower"; on the contrary, if they win, the winner will happily shout "Yes".

For example, the Guandi Temple and Tin Hau Temple in Chinatown outside Bacheng will be crowded with many people before the opening of the "Flower Fair". They do not go there to burn incense and worship gods, but to ask divination. What number will be drawn, and then everyone will wait all night for the number to come out.

The water here is very deep, and the dealer has countless methods to make people lose the prize; even if they win, the rewards will be a little more than the purchase cost.As a result, people who are addicted to this way often go bankrupt, and even pawn their wives and concubines' real estate.Among the civil disputes that Bacheng Public Bank handles daily, many of them are divorces and property lawsuits caused by gambling.

In fact, Zhao Xin is very clear that no matter whether those in power encourage or suppress, human beings' strong demand for gambling has never changed.Hugo of the later generations has a famous saying about this: "No matter how good or bad the gambling in life is, as long as there is one pound left of the meat that should be gambled, I will gamble on it."

Whether it's good to be lazy, or hoping to get rich overnight, there are such people everywhere; no matter what methods the government uses to prohibit people from participating, the facts can only prove that the results are limited.Humans have a gambling gene in their bones. As long as there is land, it will grow, and if there is no land, it will grow in disguise.

When I come to this time and space, no matter whether it is seeking gold at the beginning or seeking the world later, it is actually a gamble.Every battle with an opponent is also a gamble, but with materials and weapons from another time and space, the chances of winning are greater.

It is precisely because of this that Zhao Xin walks slowly on the road to conquering the world, one step at a time. He is afraid that everything that has not come easily will disappear with a negligence.But even so, he can't guarantee that he will be the final winner, because the difficulty of conquering the world and ruling the world is not at the same level.The former seeks for a while, while the latter seeks for one life or even several lives.

Professional scholars in another time and space will analyze gambling psychology from many aspects such as personality, unwillingness, self-esteem, greed, and desire for control. It doesn't matter whether you win or lose, the key is that it's too boring if you don't play it.

The three of Huang Mianshe finally took the bag of seeds given by Zhao Xin and left. They also had an explanation to the casino owners and the masters behind them.

In any case, according to Prince Zhao's description, oil palm is definitely a big business, and as long as the tree exists, it can be sold for 100 years, which is much more cost-effective than opening a casino.