New Shun 1730

Seeing the court making such a big fuss, the governor of Guangdong also understood that the court wanted to make this a big deal, and the tension in his heart at the beginning dissipated.

Dashun’s affairs are sometimes like this.

It’s not afraid of being difficult to handle, but it’s afraid of not knowing what the superiors are going to do.

As the governor of Guangdong, he didn’t have a very good impression of Macau, or he didn’t have a very good impression of the local merchants who did business with Macau.

Because his predecessor fell because of this matter.

With the construction of the Dashun navy, Dashun finally had the courage to move the trade center north to Songjiang Prefecture. This also led to the beginning of the shake of Guangdong’s special trade status that had lasted for 150 years because of Macau.

A large number of merchants bribed and lobbied, hoping that the governor of Guangdong at that time would submit a memorial to strongly advocate the many benefits of trade in Guangdong. The governor of Guangdong at that time only submitted such a memorial, and it just kicked the horse’s hoof.

In fact, in the original history, there were many "brainy" stories about the status of trade centers in Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Guangdong.

For example, Shi Lang, after the Taiwan incident, privately contacted Britain and the Netherlands, hoping to make Taiwan and Fujian the only trade centers and close the other customs to maintain trade profits.

For example, the supervisor of the Guangdong Customs of the Qing Dynasty, "respecting the wise and humble", personally went to Macau to measure the size of British ships, negotiated privately with the people of the East India Company, and gave tax reduction policies, hoping to divert trade from Macau to the customs.

For example, Chinese merchants who traded with Macau lobbied for someone, hoping that the governor of Guangdong would write a memorial saying that "the foreign ships anchored in Huangpu and approached the provincial capital, and they would test their guns sooner or later without any scruples, which was shocking", so as to hope that all the foreign companies would be moved to Macau instead of Guangzhou.

And the Ningbo Customs reduced taxes to attract ships from Britain and France to trade in Zhejiang, which triggered British merchants to sail directly to Tianjin to "file a complaint with the emperor".

To use a very popular word in later generations, this can also be regarded as a kind of "involution".

But this kind of involution also depends on the rank of the official.

For example, the customs supervisor, the county magistrate, etc., of course hope that trade with them will be extremely profitable and oily.

However, at the level of Jiedushi, it is better to have less trouble than more, and no mistakes are merits.

Moreover, the customs are not under the jurisdiction of Jiedushi, and they certainly do not want these messy things to happen under their rule.

The court was a guest of the court the day before, and the next moment it became a stinking dog shit spreading foreign religions. The court has done too many such things. When dealing with Western barbarians, the Jiedushi is also afraid that the court’s attitude may change again one day.

The previous Jiedushi who fell was because of greed for money, kicked the horse’s hoof, and ended up sadly.

Although the current Guangdong Jiedushi is also greedy for money, most merchants from various countries have gone to Songjiang Prefecture to trade. Even if he wants to be greedy, the merchants and compradors here can’t give him a price that makes him feel tempted enough.

There is also a lesson from the past. From the previous heyday, bribes and lobbying amounted to hundreds of thousands of silver, to now at most tens of thousands of taels of silver, compared to the future of a Jiedushi frontier official, which one should he choose?

Besides, apart from the few years when the war broke out in Europe, Macau's trade was dying. How could there be enough money for bribery?

Bribery is an investment to make more money. If there is no business opportunity, what is the point of bribery?

For various reasons, the governor of Guangdong had no worries about dealing with Macau.

And after confirming the attitude of the court to accomplish a thousand-pound task, he even thought about how to end it later: arrest a group of local officials, gentry, merchants, and smugglers, torture them severely, and prove that they are in collusion and deceive their superiors and subordinates, so that he can get himself out.

There must be someone to take the blame, and the local county magistrate is the best scapegoat.

But, does the court really want to handle human trafficking and opium cases? Or does it want to take back Macau? This matter needs to be clarified.

After figuring out the key points, the Guangdong Jiedushi said, "Since the court wants to severely punish human trafficking and opium, I will do my best."

"Originally, the court still needed Macau to maintain trade with various countries. Now that all the foreign trade houses have moved to Jiangsu, it is no different to keep Macau. It is better to take it back."

"Even though Macau has contributed medicine in the past, the grace of a gentleman is cut off after five generations. I think it is enough to continue to this day. I don’t know what the court means? Do you have any news?"

When he asked this, these people actually agreed in their hearts.

But the order given to them by the court did not mean this.

The two naval officers were generals, not commanders after all.

What they need to think about is not as vast as the entire South China Sea or even the Seven Seas. They agreed with the words of the Guangdong Jiedushi, and were also puzzled by the fact that the court did not intend to take back Macau this time.

They came from the navy and heard Liu Yu talk about it when they were in Weihai. According to statistics from Japan, from the 27th year of Wanli to the 12th year of Chongzhen, in just 40 years, merchants from Macau took away 60 million taels of silver from Japan, most of which were spent in China. This does not include the trade between Macau and Manila, which also imports silver and exports goods, because Manila has nothing to sell except cochineal dye.

They also know that Macau is now meaningless for trade. If it can still import 60 million taels of silver in 40 years, it will be fine to keep it.

But now, let alone 60 million, it is difficult to import 600,000, so what is the point of keeping this special status?

Just thinking back to the order they received, there was no option of "capture Macau", not even a hint.

So they shook their heads.

This kind of thing is not to steal credit, otherwise it will cause trouble.

"Sir, the court has no intention of taking back Macau. Our order is just to cooperate with you, block the sea route, and open the waterproof board of the gunboat to Macau. To prevent the treacherous people from escaping from the sea."

The Guangdong Jiedushi asked Jiao Lao Butu and the officer of the Children's Army again, and neither of them said that the court had the intention of taking back Macau.

After a brief analysis, although the Guangdong Jiedushi did not understand, he knew that this matter would be easier to do.

It seems that only four words are needed.

Handle it impartially.

Human trafficking and opium smuggling are both serious crimes. The lightest is exile for 3,000 miles, and the 3,000 miles here is a fictitious reference to the border.

A little more serious is hanging.

Some of the guards in the Children's Army are the emperor's secret service agencies, and all officials know this. Since the Children's Army had sent people here a long time ago, I think they have already found out a lot.

The Guangdong Jiedushi said: "In this case, we will handle it impartially. I am not good at arresting people for smuggling. Since there is an order from the court, I can open the military equipment and baggage warehouse and arrange everything along the way."

"I will bring people to the rear to support, interrogate, and control the place."

"Please show me the military dispatch documents from Tianyou Palace and the Privy Council. Please arrange the siege."

Jiao Laobutu also followed the rules, took out the official document, checked it, confirmed that it was correct, and signed the document.

"If this matter is to be done, it must be done quickly. The court obviously attaches great importance to it. I think we should first lead troops to surround Macau, and the brothers in the navy should also block the sea."

"Since they want to smuggle and sell, they must have colluded with Chinese people outside Macau. Each nearby garrison has a company, and the local gentry and village guards are waiting for orders. If one is found out, the order will be issued immediately and they will be arrested."

"Also, we must guard all the intersections. There should be martial law in the next few days, and no private passage is allowed."

"There must be people who have colluded in Guangzhou, and the city must also be prepared."

Jiao Lao Butu has been in the north for so long, and he is in charge of some matters of border trade with Luosha. Although it is different from Macau, I think it is similar.

He used to catch private transactions and transfer rhubarb seeds there, and he is also familiar with smuggling contraband.

After making arrangements, he discussed with several people from the navy and the children's army and roughly finalized the plan.

…………

A few days later, outside the port of Macau, the Jesuit exclusive merchant ship St. Paul was preparing to go to Dongguan in Annan.

Although Hanoi was actually called Dongjing at that time, it was fine to say "The mountains of the South and the emperor's residence in the South are clearly divided in the Book of Heaven" in the country.

Since he is not the emperor, why come to Beijing?

Therefore, as long as you arrive in the territory of Dashun, if you don't want to cause trouble, it is better to call it Dongguan instead of Dongjing. Dashun has its own special political correctness.

The St. Paul is the most famous merchant ship in Macau, because it is full of Jesuit goods, and everyone knows it.

Although the Jesuits were originally the "Jesus Company" when they were first established, a standard military organization, so they were not allowed to do business, and they had to make three wishes of no wealth, no beauty, and no will.

However, the times are developing, and the era of religious reform has passed. And the reality is that without money, it is difficult to move forward.

Therefore, the Jesuits have their own exclusive merchant ship St. Paul, which specializes in running businesses in various places to make money.

On the ship, the hired captain, or the manager of the Jesuit, Rodriguez, was complaining to the people around him.

Complaining that business has become increasingly difficult in recent years.

The person who heard the complaint advised: "It is rare to be able to go to Dongguan this time. You also know that a large number of brothers and sisters who have been persecuted by the pagan emperor have poured into the city. Now they are in urgent need of money to deepen their faith in God, so they suppressed the other ship owners and only let the St. Paul run this trip."

"Moreover, it seems that the trade volume is gradually recovering. Perhaps Macau will revive."

In recent years, Macau's trade has revived a bit, but this revival is not entirely Portuguese. There are also many British people who have come to avoid Spanish and French ship robbery.

Although trade with Europe has benefited Portugal because of the European war and the Dashun invasion of the Netherlands. However, trade with Europe is not something that everyone can do, and the Jesuits cannot run business with Europe. Many businesses are still in the South Seas.

As a captain, Rodriguez knows very well that the root cause of Macau's short-term recovery is the war in Europe. I disagree with my companions' overly optimistic expectations of "revival".

"In fact, Macau's trade is over. This is something everyone knows. In fact, I think the only possibility for Macau's revival is to open a route to Brazil. Other than that, all attempts are in vain."