Daming 1805

Chapter 239 "You Are Abandoned"

More and more soldiers boarded and disembarked from Deming's fleet, and Wilmington's not-so-big pier was quickly brought under control.

There were French soldiers brought by Bernadotte on the pier, but they did not take any action until they received an order.

There are also local militiamen and police from Newcastle County around, but of course there is no idea of ​​​​confrontation without orders.

After all, it was Daming's army.

In the center of the pier, in the oppressive and chaotic atmosphere, someone spoke again.

A man in his early twenties, wearing a Ming-style formal suit, with a thin body.

The image is likely influenced by the new Ming trend pop culture that is spreading from France.

"Your Excellency, I am Thomas Stockton, a native of Wilmington.

"I just heard you mention that it was a request from the British and French imperial courts to Daming to limit the amount of wealth that people who leave Wilmington can carry?"

Ruan Yuan suddenly said with some disgust:

"Yes, otherwise you think that Daming cares about your little money? 10,000+ people are just the size of a county in Daming. How many wealthy households can there be?

"When we drove the Taixi people away before the Ming Dynasty, did we ask for your floating wealth?

"It is not only the request of the British and French courts to limit the amount of assets that can be carried, but also the request of the British and French courts to keep the population."

Now 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 Ming Dynasty will not benefit Britain and France, right?"

Ruan Yuan laughed dryly and said:
"If you have read the works of our emperor Shizu, you should know why.

"In a place where the economic order was not very stable, a sudden influx of a large number of jobless people and money will have an impact on the local area?
"A large number of jobless people will lead to an oversupply of bottom-level workers, and the income of bottom-level workers will decrease accordingly.

"A lot of money leads to a shortage of goods in the market, so inflation occurs, and prices skyrocket.

"Under such circumstances, if the imperial court does not send capable ministers and officials to guide the dredging, the people will inevitably be filled with resentment.

"The colonies of Britain and France are on the verge of collapse, otherwise how do you think this war happened?
"The imperial courts of Britain and France don't know how to solve this kind of problem, so they request that your local ordinary people and the money in your hands be kept in the control area of ​​Ming Dynasty, 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 for independence, not because they really wanted independence.

Britain or France, as big countries in Europe and America, still have cultural cohesion.

Americans in history, until the time of independence, still had no real expectations of independence.

Most of them still think of themselves as English, of the same ethnic group and civilization as the native British.

Until World War I, rich Americans were still proud to marry a British noble lady, even if it was from a down-and-out noble family.

This kind of thinking of ordinary people is more common. They don't know what is great about independence, and they don't actively pursue independence.

They don't know why they want to be independent, and they don't know whether it is right to be independent.

But they are dissatisfied with the current state of reality, so they are willing to follow any person and organization that can change the reality.

I don't think it can get any worse.

Most ordinary people are still quite nostalgic for the suzerain country.

But now Ruan Yuan's words are openly and thoroughly explained to them that it is their suzerain country that has abandoned them.

What ordinary people care about is not the half-understood economic logic that Ruan Yuan talked about.

What they care about is that the suzerain country has made a decision to abandon them because of some kind of problem that the Ming people can solve.

The impact of this new cognition is actually very far-reaching...

The independence movement promoted by Adams is just an attempt for ordinary people to be independent, to see if they can live better.

Now Ruan Yuan's explanation may be to make them completely cut off their nostalgia for the suzerain country.

Amidst the chaotic discussions, Stockton asked a question again:

"Your Excellency Changshi, if we choose to stay in the Ming Dynasty's Dongyi Kingdom, 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 rude standard prepared in advance:

"All assets converted should not exceed [-] silver notes, and the land should not exceed the area that the family can cultivate by itself."

In fact, there should be many details in this limitation.

For example, how to deal with financial assets, how to price all kinds of wealth, how to limit the area and quantity of real estate, etc.

But Ruan Yuan didn't give an in-depth interpretation at the scene.

There is no need to go into in-depth interpretation, because the upper limit is actually very high.

The [-] silver bills are the limit of assets held, and if they are actually spent and not converted into fixed assets, they 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, that is, participating in the local or foreign financial industry, otherwise it is difficult for anyone to hold so much wealth in a place with only 10,000+ people in total.

A relatively high-level car costs only two to three thousand silver bills. Most residents cannot afford such a car, and most families do not own a car.

There are only a few of the wealthiest people in the area whose assets exceed the standard of ten thousand silver notes, and they are an absolute minority.

The New World is in the process of being opened up, and the nobility system has not yet been established.

The vast majority of residents are workers and farmers, and the overall population density of the area is very low.

The natural resources and agricultural resources are very rich, and the pressure of work and life competition is very small.

Compared with their counterparts in the Old World, their standard of living is 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 already announced before that he can only take one thousand silver bills with him when he leaves here.If you stay here, you can keep [-] silver bills.

Compared with the hatchback, there is a ten-fold gap, and most people can keep all their assets.

In the case of having truly severed ties with the suzerain country and not knowing where to go in the future.

Still staying in the place I am already familiar with, and at the same time becoming a national of the most powerful and civilized vassal state in the world, it seems to be a problem that does not need to be considered.

So Stockton yelled out almost immediately:

"I want to stay, I, Thomas Stockton, choose to become a citizen of the Great Ming Dongyi Kingdom!"

It is a decision, calling out one's name, like an oath, choosing to join a new group.

As soon as Stockton finished speaking, echoes echoed from all around.

A similar proclamation echoed across Wilmington Pier.

Ordinary residents outside the core area of ​​the wharf are waiting for the outcome of the negotiations on the wharf.

Now suddenly they heard bursts of shouting, and many people subconsciously followed suit.

The real central figure on the docks, Mitchell is completely out of sorts right now.

It turns out that when ordinary people spread "rumors", Delaware's elites at least stood with themselves.

Ruan Yuan's two different wealth standards were brought out, and the news about the suzerain country's abandonment of them was thrown out, and these elites also began to rebel collectively.

Among the officials, new aristocrats, and businessmen at the scene, there were not many people who had not announced to join Dongyi Kingdom.

Mitchell hesitated for a while, feeling that it was too bad for him to leave.

Of course, my own assets are more than [-] silver bills. The difference between keeping [-] silver bills and taking away [-] silver bills is the individual who knows how to choose.

But Mitchell was still a little bit unwilling to give up, and couldn't help asking Ruan Yuan:

"Your Excellency Changshi, Lord Changshi, I am the current governor of Delaware, and I am very familiar with the local people in Delaware.

“The vast majority of local people in Delaware are Thai-Western immigrants, and their language is mainly English.

"If Daming wants to manage this land, it should need the cooperation of the Thai and Western people, right?
"If I join Dongyi Kingdom, will I be able to hold an official position in the court of Dongyi Kingdom?"

Ruan Yuan directly returned a cold look.

Still want to join here and continue to be an official?
Even if it is to follow the suggestion of His Royal Highness Prince Dashi and try to use Taixi people to rule Taixi people, it is still a priority to choose friendly people who have cooperated with Daming.

Even if it is a peripheral fan of Xichang, it is more appropriate to take up a position in an open identity than to recruit these old rentiers.

Ruan Yuan really wanted to drive away people like Mitchell.

So Ruan Yuan put on a serious face and said in a businesslike manner:

"As for how to govern the Dongyi Kingdom, our Ming court has its own decisions.

"When we need personnel proficient in Ming and 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 set, then he has a chance."

Ruan Yuan said that there is a chance, but he has the final say on how to do it.

It's a normal result to reply "Unfortunately, you failed the assessment" at that time.

Of course Mitchell was not satisfied with this answer, but he didn't have the guts to provoke Ming officials either.

Moreover, the officials of Ming Dynasty had to be assessed in the first place, and everyone had heard about it.

Therefore, in the future, relying on attracting relatives, friends and business partners to cooperate with one's own election routine will not work.

Mitchell was really worried that he would not pass the exam.

But the other elites around them had completely different ideas. They saw the hope of becoming officials of Ming Dynasty.

Even if it is only an official of a vassal state, it is also an official of Ming Dynasty in a broad sense!

Many young people who have changed their minds have already cheered.

Stockton took the initiative to ask a few questions, and has now tended to become a representative of the young people in the neighborhood.

At this time, he raised his hand again and asked:

"Lord Changshi, who are the main personnel needed for the imperial court of the Dongyi Kingdom established by the Ming Dynasty?
"What positions can we participate in? What is the main content of the assessment?

"Can you introduce it in advance, we can make preparations in advance."

Ruan Yuan also replied as a matter of course:
"The first is the listening, speaking, reading and writing of Daming dialect and English. It is necessary to be able to use Daming dialect for office work, and to be able to translate documents into English for ordinary people to listen to.

"Secondly, it is necessary to have basic mathematical ability and basic hands-on ability, and to understand the actual situation of the local people.

"For the specific situation, after the receiving work is completed, we will post a notice, and those who are interested can pay attention."

Stockton excitedly agreed:

"Thank you Master Changshi, we will pay attention to it, and we hope to serve the Great Ming Dongyi Kingdom."

In this kind of question and answer, Ruan Yuan has actually started his own work on 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-literate, let alone expect them to know foreign languages.

Therefore, if Ming wanted to rule hundreds of thousands of Taixi people with a very small number of officials, it had to rely on the Taixi elite.

Especially those who belong to the middle class, understand and yearn for Ming culture, and are more energetic.

For young people like Stockton, it is only natural to give them the most basic courtesy.

But Daming will not retain their original ruling class, otherwise how could my ruling class of Ming come in?
So Ruan Yuan is kind to Stockton, but he is obviously indifferent to Mitchell.

(End of this chapter)