Shinong industry and commerce, this is the division standard that has been carried over from the Spring and Autumn Period. Although the soldiers defended the country and fought bloodily, they were despised, even the last ranked businessmen. Although Zhu Yongxing has improved the treatment of soldiers, the improvement of his political status has officially begun with today's knighthood.

“…… Scholars, virtue in the heart, meritorious service in the world, meritorious service in words, Ze by posterity; Soldiers, the major affairs of the country, the place of death and life, the way of survival, how can there be soldiers who fight bravely and fight bloody battles? The farmer is the foundation of the world, and the king is also the source of the government; If you want to do a good job, you must first sharpen your tools, and this skillful work can also; Merchant—"

Zhu Yongxing deliberately paused and continued: "How can it be contemptible? Tens of thousands of funds, through the risk of wind and waves, humiliated by the officials, endured criticism in the market, and worked hard. ”

Many of the people below bowed down to express their gratitude to Zhu Yongxing for respecting and sympathizing with the businessman.

Zhu Yongxing smiled faintly and said: "The world is bustling, all for profit, and the world is bustling, all for profit." It can be seen that the pursuit of wealth is the normal feeling of people, and it is also people's desire to make a fortune. His face was solemn, and he said in a deep voice: "As long as you respect the rules and abide by the law, and take it in the right way, why should you be melancholy and inferior?" However, I have heard that business has no nationality, and businessmen have nationality. They are also businessmen, but there are two types of businessmen: loyal and patriotic businessmen, and greedy and shameless businessmen who are desperate and traitorous. ”

The hall fell silent immediately, and most of the people who participated in the knighthood were merchants, including those from Yunnan Province, those from Yuxian, and Chinese merchants from Siam, Chenla, and Quang Nam. Without him, one is to come to observe and find out, and the other is to get a piece of the pie in the newly built Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Haiphong, so that he no longer has to be blackmailed by the Annan people in Luxian Yang Annan Zheng's snort. At this time, seeing Zhu Yongxing's expression becoming stern, many people were worried.

"Eight emperors, hehe. What a big jackpot. Zhu Yongxing sneered a few times and said disdainfully: "If you look at it from my point of view, two words can evaluate these eight masters - traitors, three words - traitors, four words - mercenary, and five words - greedy and shameless." Six words - ask for money, not ancestors. ”

"Profiteers are treacherous and immoral, and traitors and traitors. These profiteers colluded with the Tartars, betrayed intelligence, sold arms, and exchanged the bloody battles and fearless sacrifices of national heroes for blood-stained silver from their own families. Crazy to this point, if it is not a thousand knives and Manchu slashing, it is difficult to eliminate the great hatred of my loyal ministers and righteous men of the Ming Dynasty. It is difficult to avenge the deep revenge of the thousands of people who were slaughtered by my Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yongxing has already been very powerful, and he has slowly cultivated a kind of power in his body for such a long time, coupled with a murderous aura that has been in the battle formation for a long time, the hall has immediately become silent, and many people's faces have changed color.

Zhu Yongxing slowly took a deep breath and readjusted his emotions. Fawning over the powerful and colluding with important government officials, in the embryonic stage of capitalism. It was not unusual for merchants to face the weight of feudalism. So. He had to get the help of the merchants, and he had to beat them.

"Zhuo Zai string Gaozi, Shang Yin is unique. Serve the whole Zheng Guo and treat Qin Shi with his life. The reward is not accepted, and the public is destroyed. The humble heart is nameless, and the distant traces live in Jiuyi. Zhu Yongxing's tone became softer. His eyes also softened, and he slowly smiled, and said: "In the past, there were patriotic businessmen, and now there are countless businessmen who are attached to the country, which makes me very happy. He said. He stretched out his hand and pointed at Lu, and said with a smile: "Siamese Chinese businessman Chen Banchao, who lives overseas and is worried about China, can be the highest string today. Boss Chen, please come forward to accept the knighthood. ”

It is still inconclusive when the earliest Chinese immigrants to Siam began. But at least in 1165, there were Chinese merchants who came to the territory of present-day Thailand, either to trade or to live in residence, and became the earliest overseas Chinese. The prototype of the Chinese society in Thailand should have been formed around the Ayutthaya Dynasty (1349~1767 AD). According to the historical records, "there were many Chinese living in Siam, who enjoyed the right to trade freely everywhere in the country, and were respected by the king; There are many people with high status and important official positions; There are also many Chinese who have become the most capable agents, merchants and boat owners. Most of the chargé d'affaires, storekeepers and accountants sent by the king overseas were Chinese. ”

Siamese Chinese businessmen usually settle for more than five years, and about half of them marry local women. After their success in the local area, the descendants of the first generation of Chinese businessmen generally continued to run their businesses, whether they returned to China or not. The King of Siam also attracted Chinese businessmen to assimilate into Thai society through official titles and business privileges, and Chinese merchants intermarried with Thai people, naturally assimilating into Thai economy and Thai society. Intermarriage guarantees the Thai national capital nature of Chinese business capital, and Chinese business capital becomes the national capital of Thailand, which is also unique in Southeast Asia.

And this Chen Banchao is a Siamese rice businessman, and his love for his mother country is one of the factors, and he visited Annam with the Siamese delegation as a general, which shocked him a lot. Zhu Yongxing forced the Zheng clan of Annan to cede land and pay compensation, and opened up the sea to establish overseas trade channels, which also made Chen Banchao realize the development potential of the Ming army in the future and see the business opportunities.

The profit-seeking nature of businessmen makes them usually forward-looking and have a gambling nature. Chen Banchao not only wanted to continue to operate the rice industry, but also took a fancy to the tea industry in Yunnan Province, so he had a preliminary communication and discussion with the Zheng family. After the victory of the Ming army in the western Yunnan counteroffensive, Chen Banchao's psychology became even stronger. After hearing that Zhu Yongxing had sent people to buy grain, Yu Xian brought 30 boatloads of rice from Siam and was willing to give it to the Ming army on credit, just wanting to obtain the right to distribute some of the tea in Yunnan Province.

It is undoubtedly a good way to grasp the model in everything, to fool everyone, and to launch an example first. Chen Banchao's request was approved by Zhu Yongxing, and he was knighted and honored. A decent knighthood in exchange for the donation of thirty boatloads of rice, and the long-term cooperation thereafter.

As the fist product of Yunnan Province's future commerce and trade - tea, the current output is not very high, and in order to expand the scale of planting, it is necessary to solve the contradiction between planting cash crops and grain crops, and there must be grain transported from outside as subsidies. Before the Mekong Delta was developed and became a grain base for the Qing Dynasty, it was inevitable to buy grain from outside.

Chen Banchao's face was full of excitement, and he stepped forward to receive the knighthood documents, and Zhu Yongxing personally wore the medal and scarf, becoming the first overseas Chinese to get the title of civil knighthood.

There are only two businessmen who have been awarded the civil knighthood, and two people from the Ministry of Military Industry have been awarded the "Ming Gong" of the Eight Rank Civil Lords because of their innovation and invention, and two of the veterans have been awarded the "Ming Qin" of the Nine Rank Civil Lords because of their diligence and loyalty, and there is a temporary shortage of scholars and farmers.

Zhu Yongxing is balancing, and he also hopes to use these lords to confront the Confucian gentry in the future. Therefore, the people are filled by all walks of life. It is not dominated by the Confucians.

Do not value business, nor suppress business, as long as businessmen abide by the law and make money in a good way, it can provide a relatively relaxed environment; Foster the workers' and the masses so that the weak germ of capitalism that has emerged can grow. Gradually transition and transform the agrarian society into an industrial society or a commercial society; After all, China is a traditional agricultural country, and industrialization must also maintain a certain ratio and develop in accordance with national conditions.

Of course, Zhu Yongxing is also quite prudent in granting the title of civil lord, so as not to reduce its value due to indiscriminate sealing. Similarly, for those merchants whose families were in the Qing court's ruling areas, he temporarily excluded them from the conferral of knighthood. Without him, he hoped to transfer the wealth of the merchants in the name of the people. Come and contribute under your own rule.

After the knighthood was awarded, Zhu Yongxing said some words of encouragement and appreciation, and then left the venue. All that remains is for the merchants themselves to negotiate the opening of a merchant hall in Hai Phong and the establishment of a merchant group. The government's intervention is minimized, and it is only responsible for tax collection, supervision, auditing, mediation, and punishing wrongdoing in accordance with the law. The rest of the business matters were negotiated and settled by the chambers of commerce established within the business group, which gave the merchants a relatively relaxed environment and allowed them to develop more freely. Meantime. Businessmen are in a group, and they are more powerful in doing business. More targeted, it may also become a force to compete with the British and Dutch East India Companies in the future.

Of course, the merchants also negotiated the acceptance and use of newly minted coins and the subscription of Zhongxing treasury bonds in exchange for charters for merchants in Yunnan Province and other Ming-occupied areas. Perhaps the agreement reached will not be too satisfactory, and the number of government bonds subscribed will not be too large. But that's just the beginning. As the war continues to be won, the territory occupied will become larger and larger, the charter will become more and more valuable, and the number of ZTE treasury bonds will be subscribed more and more.

It's a very natural thing to be on the side of the winners. on this. Zhu Yongxing saw it very clearly, so he didn't just hope for people's patriotic sentiments and some impassioned propaganda slogans. Only when people see hope can they have the impulse to invest and put results into a trickle, and only then can they gather into a stream and form more and more power.

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Win with soldiers, food first. Soldiers use their lives and pay for them. For the feudal army, food and salary were the key to ensuring combat effectiveness. The so-called "emperor is not a hungry soldier" is this truth.

Although Zhu Yongxing was worried about money and food, he still knew that he could not expropriate and extort money arbitrarily, so as not to lose the people's support and lose the foundation for persisting in resisting the Qing Dynasty for a long time. However, the Qing army in Yunnan Province was different, especially the Manchurian generals, who regarded looting and extortion as a normal move, and were making Yunnan Province full of grievances and the people in poverty.

Wu Sangui and the Manchurian generals had different strategic opinions, so they could only report to the imperial court in order to make a decision. However, the Qing court felt that it was difficult to make a decision on a copy that was suspected of exaggeration and had the intention of belittling the enemy, and in particular, it was difficult to meet the demand for food and wages.

At this time, Dasu, the general of Annan in Quanzhou, was mobilizing men and horses, preparing to attack Jin and Xia, and complete the task of eliminating Zheng Chenggong, who was seriously injured. The stakes in this battle were very important, and the Qing court had already staked all the naval forces in the southeast, and gritted its teeth and paid a huge amount of food and salary to supply the Manchurian generals and the officers and soldiers of the naval divisions of Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Fujian provinces. Therefore, Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty successively issued two more vague wills.

"Chen Sangui invited him to enter the pseudo-sect room, and he was ordered to say: If it is not feasible, be careful not to force it. Again, he said: You may be able to raise your own food and salary, and you must plan and deliberate. The words of heaven are detailed and cautious, and the ministers are careless and careless, and their words are unacceptable. However, after careful consideration, the ministers thought that the situation in Yunnan was not over, the border troubles would not stop for a day, and the soldiers and horses would be restless for a day. Ju He's deep grace, talking about Levi Domain, what is the duty? Endure this to worry about the monarch's father......"

“…… Yunnan Province after several wars, ravaged to the extreme, if the grain and grass ask the people, regardless of the provinces of silver two times to relieve the period, it is difficult to help, there is silver to Yunnan to buy more than enough, the people suffer from the overhang, the price of rice in the city is increasing, the public and private relations are difficult, and it is difficult to take measures; The pseudo-sect is good at Gu people's hearts, and the new scriptures of Nanfu are opened, and it is difficult to know the people's hearts. Today, there is the matter of Yuanjiang, and the toast is shaken everywhere, and as soon as it is instigated, it swarms everywhere. If you don't level the head in one fell swoop, how will those who are planning to wait and see be afraid of our emperor's mighty spirit, and how can they know that the law against the sky will not escape......"

Wu Sangui was anxious to occupy his own garden, and he had already regarded Zhu Yongxing as a big problem. While dispatching soldiers and horses from Guizhou as the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, he once again asked for the support of the Qing court. He was a smart man who knew the drawbacks of the war in Yunnan Province. If the imperial court said "self-financing", it is likely that because the persecution is too much, the people and Tusi will be resentful, and then repeat the mistakes of the Yuanjiang Rebellion.

However, Wu Sangui ignored the urgency of the Manchurian generals in Yunnan Province and overestimated their IQ and vision. Since there is a holy decree of the imperial court, the Manchurian generals can be described as vigorous and resolute. Immediately began to "raise food and salaries by themselves", preparing to eliminate the Ming army in Yunnan Province and return to Beijing to enjoy happiness.

When the Qing army first entered Yunnan Province, it was divided into several classes according to the different fertility of the land, and different tax amounts were stipulated. In Yunnan Province, only Heyang County (Chengjiang) has eight liters of rice per mu of high-quality fields, which is the heaviest grain amount in the province. Now, the Manchurian generals sent people everywhere to conquer the holy decree. Arbitrarily increase grain to peasant households.

For example, Guangnan Mansion and Kaihua Mansion (Wenshan) are "remote in Wanshan, and the boundary is connected to the post", and the nanometer per mu is as high as one bucket and six liters of Sanhe, and its tax amount is twice as high as that of Heyang County! There are also "rugged valleys", where there is less arable land, which should have been exempted from measurement, but only symbolically collected. Now, thousands of quintals of new tax rice have been added. It also collects "local silver", "tea tax silver" and so on.

Arbitrary ration is not counted, and the Manchurian generals will use it as "daily necessities". All of them are sent to the people of ethnic minorities to bear the burden. Apportionment of village annual silver, and seed flowers, walnuts, fungus, etc., and apportionment of horse materials.

The ethnic minorities in Yunnan have a lot of wealth, and naturally they cannot escape extortion. The Manchurian generals ordered all local officials to offer gold and silver, which was called "aid". Gold and silver, on the other hand, are not measured by weight, but by the "leather helmet" used locally. The wealth of the "chieftain" was calculated one by one with this helmet. was forced to hand over to the government, "miserable"!

In a word, the Han and ethnic minorities in the areas occupied by the Qing army in Yunnan Province became the objects of enslavement of the Manchurian generals. In addition to paying state taxes, they also bear various private assignments. It is difficult for a poor and war-torn region to bear this heavy burden, and it is not difficult to imagine the hardships suffered by the masses of the people.

"Yunnan Province has been repeatedly destroyed. How can the widows bear the sudden increase of several times the grain? It is called self-raised food and salary, but it is actually a private levy. The people are miserable, and the people are not suffering, and the people who waste the countryside and turn into ravines have passed half of the time. The desolation is getting worse and worse, this is sowing beacon fires everywhere, ruining the reputation of the prince in the people......" Since the defeat of Yuanjiang, Liu Xuanchu has been a little taciturn, and he has less plans and plans, but today he came to see Wu Sangui in a hurry, very angry, and a little worried.

"Brother Xuanchu-" Fang Guangchen was also seated, shook his head with a wry smile, seemed to explain, and said helplessly: "You should know that this is not the intention of the prince, but the Manchurian generals. ”

"The prince is in charge of Yungui, how can he allow this to act recklessly?" Liu Xuanchu's tone softened a little, looked at Wu Sangui, and said expectantly: "Yuanjiang is in turmoil, and the chieftains of the land have already been shaken, and it is time to take care of them. Now that the persecution is so tight, isn't it self-inflicted? Lord, you should stop it immediately, so as not to make it difficult to control! ”

"Don't I know what's at stake?" Wu Sangui was distressed and irritable, and said with hatred and anger: "I have rushed to the emperor and asked the emperor to stop it. I hope there won't be chaos, alas, so I hope so! ”

"The Manchurian generals have always acted unscrupulously, and the holy decree is vague." Fang Guangchen saw that Liu Xuanchu's face was full of anger, and he opened his mouth to speak, and hurriedly persuaded him: "The prince is also very difficult, Brother Xuanchu should give up his position and understand the prince's distress!" ”

Liu Xuanchu's lips furled, and finally he didn't say anything more, just sighed heavily. You are a prince, but you are still a slave of the Manchurians, and you dare not fight against the Manchurian generals; The governor Yungui could not order the Manchurian generals, so he let him act recklessly and disrupt the situation in Yunnan. This sigh implies all kinds of complex emotions.

…………………

Wu Sangui is so short-sighted? No, probably not. When Zhu Yongxing received the information transferred by the Intelligence Department and the letters of help sent by the secret toasts, the floating thoughts were quickly denied by him.

If it is said that in history, Wu Sangui also expropriated in Yunnan Province, and the people were very resentful, but it was after he swept away the remnants of the Southern Ming Dynasty, captured Yongli, and defeated the Tusi rebellion in Yuanjiang and other places. Yunnan Province is settled, and the ass is sitting firmly, Wu Sangui dares to do this, because Yunnan Province no longer has the strength to shake his rule.

Now, those who have the foresight should know that if they want to attack western or southern Yunnan, they must ensure the general stability of the occupied areas. The defeat of Yuanjiang has already made people's hearts float, and at this time, add another handful of firewood, what a short-sighted and stupid thing to do!

Zhu Yongxing's arrogance of claiming to be a victor, his contempt for an enemy who was in a corner and taking a breath, or his self-confidence and habit of winning the world with cruelty, tyranny, and slaughter, Zhu Yongxing speculated on the thoughts of the Manchurian generals, and couldn't help but show a cold smile.

Manchuria is deserted! Thinking of the "shaving order" that stirred up the flames all over the south of the Yangtze River, and the "moving the border from the sea to the sea" that harmed others and did not benefit himself, Zhu Yongxing once again affirmed his conclusion. The defeat of Ming is actually defeated by himself. The internal strife continued, which made the anti-Qingli fall apart and be broken one by one; Hong Chengchou, Wu Sangui, Kong Youde, Shang Kexi, Geng Jingzhong, Zhao Liangdong and others are the great enemies of the revival of China. In a word, the traitor is too powerful. (To be continued......)