In 1602 the Dutch sent Henry Hudson to North America in search of the New Paradise, and in 1609 he arrived at the New York Bay and traveled north along the river. In 1625, construction began on the island of Manhattan and became known as "New Amsterdam". In 1626, the Dutch colonial governor, Peter Minut, bought Manhattan Island from the local Lenape people for 60 guilders worth glass beads. A trading post was established and named "New Amsterdam" after Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, where the Dutch established their homeland.

In 1664, when the English fleet sailed here, the Dutch knew they could not fight it, and the Governor of the New Netherlands, Peter Steuwisant, surrendered New Amsterdam. King Charles II of England gave the place to his younger brother, and the Duke of York changed the name of the place to "New York", or "New York".

Although the British had occupied the area for three years, the population was still predominantly Dutch, and in fact, the British, with the exception of a few immigrants, were the governor of the governor's palace and a few officials plus at most a dozen British soldiers.

Even so, the Dutch were fairly satisfied with British rule, and the result was that the British-appointed Governor, Richard Nichols, did not directly apply English law when he revised New York's legal system. Rather, he changed it step by step, and it worked so well that not only did the English hold him in high esteem, but the Dutch loved him.

However, in just three years, the people here seem to have adapted to British rule. Even the great war between England and the Netherlands on the European mainland did not make the atmosphere tense in the slightest, and it was still calm.

However, this peaceful life was completely shattered on October 27, 1667, with the arrival of a merchant ship. Although New York, as the jurisdiction of the Duke of York, had a governor who represented the will of the Duke of York, it still enjoyed a certain degree of autonomy that characterized the British colonies in North America.

It is for this reason that, after receiving letters from the King and the Duke of York, Richard Nichols, as the Governor of New York, was surprised and summoned the members of the City Council to convey the order to them. And, of course, the news of the end of the war.

The end of the war was good news for the people of New York, especially for the Dutch, who were relieved to learn of the Dutch victory, and that they might be willing to obey the people, but that didn't mean they didn't care about the fate of the Netherlands.

Just when those Dutch were cheering for the Dutch victory in their hearts, the next news shocked everyone.

"What? The king actually leased New York to the Ming Dynasty! ”

After Governor Richard Nichols read out the order from the King, the somewhat cramped chamber exploded. Not only were there the Governor, the Judges, the Priests, and the Townspeople, but even though four of the five Parliamentarians were Dutch, the Crown's decision was beyond their imagination, and everyone looked at the Governor in disbelief.

"Where is Daming?"

For many people, they don't know about the Ming Dynasty at all, and even Richard Nichols himself, if it weren't for the Duke of York's letter telling him that the Ming Dynasty is the legendary "Golden Country", and that country where silk and porcelain are produced, he may not even know that the "Ming Dynasty" is that country.

In Richard Nichols's explanation, people finally knew that "Da Ming" was that country, and after learning that "Da Ming" was not a European country, those few citizen councilors suddenly looked like mourners, although it is now the British who rule here, but at least they are all "civilized people", but what about Da Ming?

Who knows who they are?

"My God! Those Asians are the same as the Indians, they all have the same skin color. ”

The priest immediately exclaimed. His words made everyone's faces even worse, even in New York, clashes with the natives were from time to time, even though the tragedy of killing a quarter of the colony's population in an attack was no longer happening, as it had been more than forty years ago. But the Indians never stopped.

"My God, if they were as savage as the Indians, then we would be all finished!"

Immediately there was a Dutch businessman, who spoke excitedly in stiff English.

"Yes, they're all outright infidels. I bet they'll treat us like savages. ”

Another citizen councillor said with some excitement.

But their argument was immediately rejected by the king's delegates from London.

"Gentlemen, you don't need to panic because of this, Daming is just temporarily leasing New York, nominally, this place still belongs to the United Kingdom, and British law will still be used here, and, you know, Daming is also a civilized person, and they are all very rich without exception, the porcelain we use comes from Daming, gentlemen, I think at least the price of the porcelain we use in the future can be cheaper, after all, there is no tariff."

The king's deputies tried to ease the atmosphere with jokes, but they were unsuccessful, and all the townspeople had a sad face. After all, they are different from the Governor, the Governor and the British officials will end their tenure with the arrival of the Ming officials, they will leave here, maybe go to the Virginia colony, they don't need to face the Ming people, but they are different, they can't leave here.

What would the officials of the Ming Dynasty look like? What kind of rule they will impose here, this cannot but make them worry, worry about their future.

"Your Excellency, I don't care about the price of porcelain. I just want to know what they're going to do with us. Gentlemen, do any of you know how the Ming ruled their country? And how will they rule here? Does anyone know about this? ”

After the initial panic, William, a businessman, got the point. He was a Dutchman, but he was a merchant, and when the English came here, neither he nor the people in the city thought of leaving, because their rule would not change much.

But Da Ming?

I'm afraid only God understands them...... No, I'm afraid even God doesn't understand them.

"I'm afraid only God knows, they went and occupied the East Indies, the Cape of Good Hope, and I think we may be their first colony in the Americas."

Richard Nichols said with a wry smile of helplessness.

"Please rest assured that His Majesty will not abandon his responsibilities to his subjects, and His Majesty will continue to fulfill his obligations to protect you, and of course if you are willing to leave, the Virginia Colony will welcome you."

The king's representative, who was sitting next to the governor, said solemnly.

"If you are unwilling to leave, and in the future the officials of the Ming Dynasty have caused illegal harm to you, and you still have the right to appeal to His Majesty the King, and the King will definitely protect his subjects......"

In spite of this, although it is an oath, in fact, everyone knows that it is just a pretext from Charles II, after all, the vast majority of the inhabitants here are Dutch, and the king will never offend the English patron for the sake of the Dutch.

After all, the king got a million pounds!

A million pounds!

I'm afraid that only God can come up with such a huge sum of money at one time. But Da Ming's was easily taken out, and just before, this huge amount of money had caused them to be amazed. As merchants, how could they not understand all this, and who would offend their creditors?

Just as everyone's expressions were changing from time to time, Father Andrei stood up and asked.

"Your Excellency the Governor, I have only one question. We are all God's people, New York belongs to God, and I wonder if the pagans will ban our faith when they rule here! ”

The priest's words immediately caused a sudden silence in the originally chaotic room, and everyone's faces showed a pious expression, they were all believers, and now the priest's words made them have to worry about the future.

"yes, what if they convert us to heresy like the Moors?"

After all, less than two hundred years after the Spaniards drove the Moors out of Europe, the Ottomans were still invading Central Europe, and they were no strangers to how the pagans ruled over the Catholics.

"Yes, Your Excellency the Governor, that's exactly what we're concerned about—the infidels. How they will treat our faith, how they will treat us! ”

The priest's rhetorical question made Richard Nichols's face change slightly, and the expression of the king's representative on the side also became embarrassed, indeed, compared to other questions, the religious issue is the most important, if under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, those pagans like the Ottomans, threatened and enticed them to convert, and even demolished their churches, then such a rule, no matter what, they could not accept.

This was especially unacceptable to some of the Puritans, who had come to the New World for their faith, who had come to the New World because of their religion and who had stayed away from England because of their religion.

Faced with everyone's questioning, Richard Nichols could only stand up and announce to everyone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please rest assured that His Majesty the King will protect your faith. Moreover, the envoy from Daming will arrive in New York in the next few days, and we will warmly welcome the envoy's arrival. But it will also be observed in the attitude of these pagans toward God. Of course, if you're not at ease, you might be able to head to Jamestown before the Ming people arrive here, after all, it's a British colony. ”