Daming 1805

Chapter 242 "Ming's Imperial Examination in New York"

Long Island is geologically a peninsula.

Because between Long Island and Manhattan Island, and between Manhattan Island and the North Yinzhou mainland, there is a part separated by the freshwater channel of the Hudson River.

None of the surroundings are completely surrounded by sea water.

However, even if it is separated by a river, there are natural geographical boundaries, so the cession of Long Island itself is very simple.

But the problem is that Long Island is on the verge of New York, the largest city in the United States, and it has begun to integrate with New York itself.

Many have assets in both Manhattan, New York, and Brooklyn, Long Island.

The key is the possibility of owning a residence at the same time.

Can they still be allowed to run on both sides in the future?

A large number of regulations and records quickly flashed through Liu Wei's mind, especially those related to vassal states.

Liu Weizhi especially recalled the sacred words left by Emperor Shizu, and then made a quick decision.

Looking at the expectant New York dignitaries, they gave a rather cold response:

"His Majesty the Emperor Shizu expressly forbids any country or organization to pay tribute and allegiance to the Ming Emperor and other monarchs at the same time.

"Otherwise, you will be punished as bullying the emperor, the highest punishment is Ling Chi.

"Dali Temple, Inspectors, Ministry of Punishment, Ministry of Households, Ministry of Taxation and other departments have all made special interpretations of this holy words of the ancestors, and then made more detailed regulations, some of which are applicable to your current situation:

"Anyone who is not a citizen of Daming or the Daming vassal state, who wants to obtain the status of a citizen of Daming or the Daming vassal state, must first publicly swear to renounce allegiance to the original monarch and country, and then swear to always be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor of Ming Dynasty.

"For the original residents of Dongyi Kingdom, the Changshi Mansion will arrange a collective oath ceremony in the future.

"Once you formally swear allegiance to Daming, you will always be directly governed by the laws of Daming, and you will have to pay taxes to Daming for life, regardless of whether you are in the territory of Daming."

"Before this moment today, all non-Mexican humans who have lived in Long Island for a long time are applicable to the above clauses.

"The Changshi Mansion will gradually complete the household registration of the residents of the whole island, and at the same time calculate the amount of property of special residents, and the part exceeding [-] Daming silver notes will be turned over to the state treasury...

"If you refuse to accept it, you can leave within three months, but you can only bring property that does not exceed one thousand Daming silver notes."

After Liu Weizhi's announcement was made, the New York dignitaries at the scene left to discuss.

But it was just a discussion, and no one was singled out to question and criticize loudly.

And soon some congressmen from New York State proposed to their companions:

"We can formulate a new bill that allows Ming Dongyi people to enjoy the same rights as New York citizens in New York."

Immediately someone gave a new suggestion:
"It is not appropriate to give all Dongyi people the same treatment. An honorary citizenship system should be established. Honorary citizens can enjoy all the rights of New York citizens, and can even run for parliament and governor."

Someone else suggested another idea:

"No, New York's laws do not need to be changed. New York's laws do not stipulate that people who join other nationalities will lose their identity and rights as New York citizens.

Relevant issues spread rapidly among the crowd, and there was actually only one essential purpose, which was to retain the power, status and wealth in the New York area while obtaining the citizenship of the Great Ming Dongyi Kingdom.

It is best to live unaffected at all.

But there are also a few people with ugly expressions, mainly those who have a lot of real estate in Brooklyn and Long Island, and those who have built large factories in Long Island, that is, people with a lot of investment.

Their assets far exceed ten thousand silver notes.

Long Island is on the verge of the largest city in the United States, and there are not a few people with assets exceeding [-] silver bills.

The few on the scene are just their representatives.

Then there is Adams, the acting Prime Minister of the United States.

New York is the current capital of the United States. In the future, the capital will be close to the Dongyi Kingdom of Ming Dynasty.

If the Ming Dongyi Kingdom puts its capital in Brooklyn, then there will be a river between the capitals of the two countries.

That's how close the Papal State of the Vatican is to Rome, the capital of Italy.

Just like what my son said, if the two sides set up cannons in their own capitals, they can directly bombard the opponent's capital.

Although Adams had to make the decision to abandon Long Island, of course he couldn't be happy in the face of this situation.

Now Adams is instinctively considering moving the capital in his heart, but he has not found a very suitable place.

New York, Richmond, and Philadelphia are three places suitable for building a capital, but they are all too close to Daming now.

Philadelphia is more than 30 kilometers upstream of Wilmington, all in a river.

It is not known whether Richmond has been completely captured by Napoleon now, and the Chesapeake Bay where it is located is blocked by Ming Dynasty.

Boston, Massachusetts, where its main industry is located, and Philadelphia are close to the Canadian border.

If the United States and Canada are fully merged, Massachusetts can become the combined capital.

Adams muttered to himself with a blank face, because he was not the person in charge of the reception.

Each state in the Kingdom of America was established independently, so independence is very high.

The newly established kingdom is actually not even a federation, but closer to a confederation or an alliance.

The most powerful in New York is the governor of New York, not the nominal acting prime minister of the kingdom.

So the governor of New York is the real person in charge of the reception operation.

New York Governor Lewis was also a little nervous, and his expression was a little awkward.

Those guys in the back are talking too bluntly, and is this the time to get straight to it?

Lewis had to take the initiative to change the subject, so he took the initiative to find a topic and said:
"This...Master Changshi, since there is a three-month deadline, let's not rush to make a decision on this matter right away.

"My lords, why not go to the hotel to rest first, and we will discuss the handover tomorrow..."

Liu Weizhi didn't fully understand what was being discussed later, but seeing the energy of their discussion, he felt that something was wrong.

Listening to Lewis' suggestion, Liu Weizhi frowned and waved his hands and said:
"There's no need to go to the hotel, just go to the city hall later, start receiving it now, don't wait until tomorrow."

Lewis had originally skipped the topic temporarily, and had no intention of delaying the handover.

Liu Weizhi wants to hand over directly, and he has no objection at all:
"Okay, then hand over immediately. Liu Changshi has worked so hard, of course we will fully cooperate."

Liu Weizhi said that he would hand over immediately, but he didn't leave immediately.

Instead, he waited for enough soldiers to disembark before going down to the city hall with a few officers under the escort of the soldiers.

The handover process of Long Island is consistent with the design of Dongyi Peninsula, but the actual operation process is much simpler.

There are clear geographic boundaries, there are no states like Delaware that are revoked as a whole, and there is no land involved in multiple states.

The whole process is directly connected with the New York State Government, and the New York State Government is very cooperative.

The two sides signed a formal statement, and then Liu Zhenzhi announced similar orders to Ruan Yuan.

The Zuo Changshi Mansion of Dongyi Kingdom was established within the scope of Changdao, and the three county-level institutions on Changdao were temporarily retained.

However, Daming will send officers to supervise and gradually begin the assessment of officials.

In addition, King County was renamed Lin County, Queen County was renamed Kun County, and the area outside the two counties was directly called Changdao County.

As for whether the existing residents should stay or not, they can think about it slowly, and it will not affect the decision-making of the Zuo Changshi Mansion of Dongyi Kingdom.

After completing the handover of materials with the New York State Government, Liu Weizhi also issued an announcement to recruit translators.

At the same time, during the process of receiving the land of Dongyi Kingdom by Liu Weizhi and Ruan Yuan, related news was also spread through the media.

Especially New York, the largest city in the United States, even the largest city east of the Rocky Mountains.

Yinzhou, east of the Rocky Mountains, has the largest middle class and the highest number of literate people.

Where there is demand, there is a market, and where there is a market, there are suppliers, so there are many newspapers and magazines.

The editors and reporters of the newspaper know what New York residents read first and care most about.

Daming's takeover of Long Island and the establishment of Dongyi Kingdom dominated by Thais and Westerners is absolutely hot news at the moment.

So all the newspaper reporters are tracking all the movements of Zuo Changshi Mansion in Dongyi Kingdom through various channels.

Pass on and spread all the news according to your own understanding and in the way that New Yorkers are most willing to accept.

For Dongyi Kingdom's left and right Changshi Mansions, on Long Island and Dongyi Peninsula, the matter of openly recruiting translators has passed the assessment.

The "New York Evening News" made a special report with the title "Da Ming Holds Imperial Examination in New York".

It is called the first real Ming-style "imperial examination" in Northern Yinzhou east of the Rocky Mountains.

And the most important first "authentic" Ming-style imperial examination for Taixi people.

Emperor Shizu of the Ming Dynasty reformed the imperial examination system, retaining the name of the examination itself, but modifying the content and mode of the examination.

Stereotyped essays and the Four Books and Five Classics were no longer used, and replaced by modern civil service examinations and natural and social sciences.

This new type of examination is easier to imitate than the old type of imperial examination, and it has now been used for reference by the whole world.

The main purpose is to give up some government posts and official positions to give the emerging middle class and elites an upward channel.

But all Taixi "imperial examinations" are considered not "authentic" enough by elites and folks

The main reason is that the number of places is small and there are many restrictions, which is far less free than that of Daming that is theoretically open to all Daming people.

Now the "imperial examination" organized by the Ming Dynasty for Thais and Westerners has given the local elites and middle class a place to release their emotions, so it has suddenly become the biggest hot news.

The New York Evening News and other newspapers saw that the response to these news was very good, and immediately increased the depth of investigation and the scope of interviews on related matters, trying to dig out more news.

They first went directly to Brooklyn, which is now Lynn County City Hall, and asked the people in the city hall directly.

What is the main direction of the scope of the exam? Is it mainly political or cultural?

Are there restrictions on the gender, age, and place of origin of the candidates? Can other Thais and New Yorkers outside Long Island come to take the test?

Do those who pass the exam have any special status in the future, can they become "scholars" or "students"?
The former Brooklyn civil servants who stayed at City Hall were ignorant of these questions.

Because the Ming adults in the Changshi Mansion did not give corresponding explanations.

So they went to ask the officials of Daming who stayed in the county government. The officials of Daming had never done this kind of thing before.

It's not that no exams have been held in other vassal states, but that no exams for Thais have been held.

So these questions were reported to Zuo Changshi Liu Weizhi again.

Then, together with the latest routine report, Liu Weizhi sent it to the relevant departments of the Ming Dynasty Hall and the Great Food Kingdom.

(End of this chapter)