Rule over Ming Dynasty

With the sea of ​​clouds rolling, the most dazzling capital in the world today is naturally Beijing.

Beijing is no longer just a magnificent ancient city, but has become a symbol of world power.

The Ming Dynasty's fleet has spread across the four seas. It has not only successfully entered the American continent, but also dominated the Indian Ocean. Now, Wang Henren is leading his fleet to the Atlantic to teach those bandits in Western Europe a lesson.

The Ming Dynasty, which now stands in the east, has not expanded its territory much, but after so many years of operation, it has become the true master of the ocean.

Over the four seas, only the flag of the Ming Dynasty is flying!

The Ming Dynasty, relying on its invincible fleet, demonstrated its power and issued a ship ban to its vassal states in the South China Sea, the East China Sea and the Indian Ocean.

In theory, all vassal states were not allowed to enter the ocean. All trading merchant ships had to apply to the governor's office of each ocean and had to fly the flag of the Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, they would be regarded as pirates by the Ming fleet or Ming merchant ships and directly sunk.

After Western Europe discovered the sea route to the East, they also formed fleets and went to the East to seek gold.

They showed off their military might along the way, provoked, threatened and declared their sovereignty to the residents along the way, and also intercepted merchant ships, slaughtered crew members, merchants and fishermen.

If they had followed the original history, they would have had an unimpeded journey until they reached India and occupied land, and then they would have passed through Malacca and arrived in Macau of the Ming Dynasty.

Now, they have just entered the waters of the Indian Ocean and have been hit head-on by the Ming fleet. This fleet of only more than a hundred people is simply vulnerable in front of the Ming fleet.

After their nations were annihilated by the Ming fleet, the Spanish and Portuguese royal families went bankrupt one after another.

The troubles they faced were not limited to this. Due to the smallpox epidemic that raged throughout Europe, a large number of people were infected with smallpox and died every day. Now Western Europe, let alone developing the shipping industry, faced severe challenges in basic survival due to the loss of a large number of laborers.

Unfortunately, when the Ming Dynasty saw that the Western European fleets dared not come again, it immediately established the Western European Governor's Office to station in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, with Wang Zhi as the first governor.

That's right, the Ming Dynasty's maritime hegemony is about to complete the last piece of the puzzle, so all the maritime countries in the world today have already known about the existence of the Ming Dynasty, and its capital is Beijing.

Looking down on Beijing from the sky, Beijing was originally a square brick city, but in recent years, with the square ancient city as the center, more and more residential areas, factory areas and campuses have appeared around it.

As Beijing's population continues to grow, even though brick-built high-rise buildings have appeared in the city, they still cannot meet the housing demand, so Beijing has been developing towards the suburbs.

After breaking through the one million mark, the population of Beijing city and its suburbs is now heading towards two million.

Although the Ming Dynasty was becoming more and more powerful and the population of Beijing was rising steadily, more and more problems emerged. The gap between the rich and the poor was inevitable, and more and more bankrupts appeared in Beijing in recent years.

The Ming Dynasty has always adhered to the idea that development is the only truth, but the development of the times has also brought about problems such as comparison, and more and more ordinary people are eager to get rich overnight.

Speaking of this, we have to mention the stock market that has been popular in Beijing in recent years and those greedy young people.

Zhao Laosi is nearly 60 years old and is an honest farmer. As one of the first farmers to grow cotton, he has also enjoyed the dividends of the times.

Although he was far from being wealthy, his family lived a simple yet fulfilling life, a good life that was simply unimaginable before the Hongzhi period.

Zhao Xiaosi, the son of Zhao Laosi, is an ambitious young man who always fantasizes about becoming rich overnight and changing his destiny.

He followed the trend of the times and found a job in Beijing, but he was not content with the status quo. After seeing people around him making money by buying and selling stocks, he also chose to join in.

Although the railway blue chip stocks brought him good returns, when he saw people around him making several times the profit from buying shipping and trade stocks, he began to feel eager to make a move.

It was last summer. Mr. Wang, who was known as the stock god, came out of the Royal Stock Bank and brought him and others the news of Western No. 3 stock.

He claimed that this was an emerging shipping and trading company that was actively exploring new trade routes in Europe and that success would bring rich rewards.

Zhao Xiaosi was very excited after hearing this. He felt that this was an opportunity for him to change his destiny.

Despite his wife's dissuasion, he not only invested all the family savings, but also borrowed 500 silver dollars from various banks and invested them all in the stock of Western No. 3.

After such a crazy investment, what he cared about most every day was the stock price of Western No. 3.

Although the price of Western No. 3 continued to rise in the early stage, he was unwilling to sell it. He always believed that Western No. 3 would return safely and the stock price would increase by at least ten times.

He was filled with excitement and anticipation, fantasizing that the stock market would soar and he would become the richest man in the village.

However, fate seemed to play a cruel joke on him.

The Western Ocean III fleet entered the Indian Ocean from Malacca, crossed the Indian Ocean and went around the Atlantic Ocean, and then headed north to the European continent. However, the cargo they carried was attacked by pirates, and a group of pirates disguised as Spanish fleets robbed the Western Ocean III.

When this news reached back to China, the stock price of Western No. 3 plummeted instantly, and these investors lost all their money.

Zhao Xiaosi was disheartened. The 500 silver dollars he owed was undoubtedly an astronomical figure for him.

After Zhao Laosi learned about this from his daughter-in-law, he also hurried from the village to Beijing and beat up his useless son. However, after venting his anger, he knew that he had to stand up and take responsibility at this moment.

Although his life had improved a lot in recent years and he had some savings, it was far from enough to fill this huge hole. Out of trust in the court, he brought Zhao Xiaosi to the Shuntian government office.

He hoped to find an upright official in the Shuntian government office who could give his family guidance and perhaps they could find a glimmer of hope in repaying their debts.

Hai Kuan, the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, received the two of them. After learning the whole story, he said, "The court promulgated a bankruptcy law at the end of last year! As long as what your son said is true, he can apply for personal bankruptcy and he does not need to repay the money he owes to the bank!" "Lord Hai, there can't be such a good thing in this world, right?" Although Zhao Laosi heard about the great thing of pie in the sky, he knew in his heart that there must be other conditions involved.

Hai Kuan worked his way up from a local county magistrate to his current high position, but he still upholds the spirit of serving the people: "This does have additional conditions! Once an individual files for bankruptcy, he needs to accept the court's arrangement to immigrate to America to participate in land reclamation and crop planting, and he cannot come back within five years!"

The imperial court was no longer surprised by situations like Zhao Xiaosi's. Although the stock market had made a group of people rich, maritime trade did involve great risks, so there were also many speculators who were in debt.

After realizing this problem, the court did not sit idly by, but gave these people a new way out.

As long as they voluntarily gave up their land in the country, they would no longer have to repay this debt that was enough to ruin their lives, but they would need to be transported to America to participate in the ongoing western development of the American Governor's Office.

"What about five years later?" Zhao Laosi knew that this was the normal way of the world, but he asked curiously.

Hai Kuan raised his head and looked at Zhao Laosi and his son, and said sincerely: "Anyone who immigrates to America can be allocated more than ten acres of land and corresponding farm tools. As long as they participate in production and pay taxes normally, they will be restored to the status of citizens of the Ming Dynasty in five years, and can naturally return to their motherland at any time!"

"Ah? The court also allocated land and farm tools to him. How does this matter resemble the policy of Henan refugees migrating to Northeast China?" Zhao Laosi suddenly remembered the policy of migrating millions of refugees from Henan to Northeast China.

Hai Kuan looked at Zhao Laosi approvingly and nodded with a smile: "Yes, this policy is basically the same as the situation back then! The only difference is that the location is not in our Northeast, but in a basin under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty's Governor-General's Office in the Americas. The soil there is very suitable for farming!"

"If he comes back to Ming Dynasty, does he have to pay back the 500 silver dollars he owes?" Zhao Laosi suddenly thought of a question and asked seriously.

Hai Kuan took out the bankruptcy bill and said with certainty: "As long as you file for bankruptcy and go to America to participate in the American development, you don't have to repay his money, and the bank can't ask you for it. Otherwise, you can sue the government!"

"It's only natural to pay back debts! Isn't this not very...good?" Zhao Laosi said with some uneasiness in his heart after hearing Haikuan's answer.

Hai Kuan has dark skin but bright eyes. “Our court is people-oriented, but we will not allow the people to be crushed to death by debt! The court has enacted bankruptcy laws and immigration laws, just like the immigration policy of Henan Province back then. His Majesty the Emperor is sincerely helping everyone!” After a pause, he looked at Zhao Xiaosi. “You are still young. I think you should seize this opportunity to go to America to participate in the development of the West! If you let this debt hang on your head, you will only affect your family and even your future children!”

Zhao Xiaosi's eyes were already filled with tears, and he took the initiative to speak: "Master Hai, what should I do?"

Hai Kuan did not reply immediately, but asked earnestly: "Are you sure you want to file for personal bankruptcy and agree to go to America to participate in the Western Development?"

"Dad can still work now, and even when he gets old, he will be taken care of by you brothers. Just go out and explore the world!" Zhao Laosi expressed his opinion while meeting the gaze of his youngest son.

"Dad, I am an unfilial child!" Zhao Xiaosi knelt down and kowtowed solemnly nine times to Zhao Laosi.

At this moment, he was actually very reluctant and felt that he had let his father down. But at this point, this was the best option.

If he really took on this debt, not only would it be a burden to his family, but as Mr. Hai said, it would also affect his children in the future.

If he could do it all over again, he would never be so greedy. Not only would he not borrow money, but he would not buy Western No. 3 stock, and he would not even touch the stock.

But the mistake had already been made, and now the only choice was bankruptcy to survive. He agreed to go to America to participate in the development of the West.

After Hai Kuan obtained Zhao Xiaosi's consent, he called the clerk over to process the bankruptcy for Zhao Xiaosi, who had committed a serious mistake due to greed.

However, personal bankruptcy also requires government review, so this time I only submitted a personal bankruptcy application form.

Of course, the Ming court now needs a large number of people to go to America to participate in the large-scale development, and plans to completely integrate the American continent into China within a hundred years.

Although Zhao Laosi was reluctant, he still looked at it with an open mind: "This is a favor from the court! When you arrive in America, don't gamble anymore and live a good life!"

"In order to prevent them from going bankrupt again, the Governor-General's Office of America has issued a gambling ban!" The registration staff next to him heard this and smiled and revealed a piece of news.

When Zhao Laosi learned about this, he felt relieved and said, "That's great!"

"You can actually be more optimistic! America is indeed a little far away, but the conditions there are no worse than those in the Northeast. Maybe your son can become a big landowner in the future?" The registration staff next to him handed the form to Zhao Xiaosi and said with a smile.

For people of this era, being away from their homeland is indeed cruel, but there is a precedent for this after all, and this precedent makes many people jealous.

When the Yellow River burst its banks, millions of people in Henan were displaced. Based on past experience, it would be difficult for such a large number of people to resume production, or even survive in this era.

However, after the imperial court recovered Jianzhou, it invested a lot of manpower and financial resources to transport these millions of disaster victims to the Northeast to open up wasteland, which led to the current granary of the Northeast.

Although some of the millions of disaster victims inevitably died during the land reclamation process, the vast majority of people survived and now own the enviable black soil. Many people even believe that it was a blessing in disguise for them.

In fact, this is indeed the case. The disaster victims in Henan Province now have fertile fields and live a well-fed and well-clothed life, which is hundreds of times better than before the disaster.

It is no secret that the Ming Dynasty court has entered the American continent. American furs have long been famous in Beijing, and it is undoubtedly a treasure land.

They were arranged to go to open up the wasteland this time. Although it was a forced act, it was also an opportunity for them personally!
Zhao Laosi thanked the clerk, and then told his youngest son: "You can have this way of life, it's a good thing you met a good emperor! This time you go to America, you must work hard to open up wasteland and farm. Daddy's body can live for at least ten years. I hope you can come back from America to visit your family in ten years, and Daddy will be satisfied!"

"Dad, I will never let you down!" Zhao Xiaosi met his father's gaze and expressed his opinion solemnly.

By April, Xiyuan is a royal garden full of vitality.

The water of the 800-acre Taiye Lake is crystal clear, the Qionghua Island is covered with colorful flowers and plants, the royal medicine garden is thriving, and the palace looks even more magnificent.

Led by the eunuch, a group of important officials of the imperial court came in from the West Garden Gate, and then headed towards the Imperial Study. Today, a high-level meeting that will affect the world will be held. (End of this chapter)