Prodigal Son of the Ming Dynasty

  Chapter 1689 Suicide

   Zhou Tangsheng is here again.

  When we arrived at the entrance of this Franco-style building, although the white mansion felt unlucky, Governor Liu Yi followed the tradition of officials not repairing government offices, and did not let people redecorate or repair.

   Zhou Tangsheng did not come here by carriage.

   On the one hand, the price of the carriages shipped from Daming is too high, on the other hand, the manpower here is outrageously cheap.

  There are too many people in Luzon.

  The local natives are extremely docile, just give a bite of food, and a whole family will surround you.

  For example, Zhou Tangsheng, he likes to sit in a sedan chair. Of course, this sedan chair is not an ordinary sedan chair.

  This sedan chair is made of the finest wood. If this kind of wood is in Daming, it must be very valuable, but in Luzon, it is worthless.

  The sedan chair is a large sedan chair with eight lifts. People are in Luzon, and the mountains are high and the emperor is far away, so there are not so many rules and scruples.

  The sedan chair is spacious and luxurious. Eight natives are carrying this large sedan chair. The sedan chair is open on all sides. After all, it is too hot, and it is a pain to be stuffy inside.

  When Zhou Tangsheng was sitting in the sedan chair, in addition to the eight people carrying it, there were also two natives standing behind him, fanning him slowly.

  The plantain fan brings a little coolness, Zhou Tangsheng is leaning on the rattan chair to take a nap, he is too hard, so much land needs to be consolidated, and there is so much food...

   I heard from the people at the Four Seas Trading Company that there is a huge demand for alcohol and sugar in Daming.

   Drinks are easy to talk about, just brew them with grain.

   But the sugar... made Zhou Tang's heart move even more.

Here in Luzon, the most suitable planting is sugar cane. It costs almost no cost. If you sprinkle the seeds, you can boil sugar. The manpower used is almost negligible. ...but it is very valuable, who knows who grows it, this is money.

   Not to mention...the land here also produces a large amount of spices. If these spices are continuously transported into Daming...continuous supply, the benefits...

  Whether it is wine, sugar, or spices, these things can be sold for a lot of money.

  He has begun to plan his own land, and he has been thinking about it every day, whether it is more profitable to make wine or to make sugar.

As he was thinking, his eyes fell casually on a native who was carrying a sedan chair in front of him. He saw that the native was naked, with a dark back exposed. Because of the frequent exposure to the sun, his skin was burned red by the scorching sun, with layers of old skin. After falling off, white and tender new skin grew again, so that his back was like a piece of wall covering that had been in disrepair for a long time.

He squinted his eyes, and couldn't help feeling in his heart, living a life like a native, in addition to working and eating, is not a bad thing, you don't have to think about anything, carefree, a man with land like this old man... hey, every day It is really a troublesome thing to calculate the income every day.

  As soon as the governor's yamen arrived, Zhou Tangsheng fell to the ground with the support of the native attendants.

  He coughed... Immediately behind him, a native attendant with eight sedan chairs took out a bamboo tube of herbal tea from the food box he carried with him.

   On the other side, there are still natives fanning him dutifully.

  The wind cools him.

  The herbal tea finally made his throat, which was almost smoldering, feel a little cooler.

  He couldn't help cursing, and then...he saw many gentlemen, and they all came.

   This is an appointment made by everyone, to pay homage to Governor Liu Yi together.

  This Liu Yi was originally the chief political envoy, but then... the imperial court gave him the post of governor.

  Because it was really hard for the imperial court to find anyone to come to Luzon except for the general officer Xu Pengju.

   Zhou Tangsheng greeted each other with the gentlemen who came along, and held each other's fists. Unlike the stern face just now, when they saw the gentlemen, everyone smiled and said hello in a friendly manner.

  While they were notified, a native attendant put a big umbrella on them to cover the sun, and each stopped and chatted under the umbrella.

   "I heard that the price of sugar has risen again. This is the news from a merchant in Quanzhou. Those people, who have been hungry for half their lives, are finally full now. With spare money in their hands, they especially love sugar."

   "I heard that the price of spices has dropped, but... even if the price is reduced, there are still big benefits. There are places where spices are grown all over the mountains and plains. If those spices are sent to Quanzhou, the price can be doubled."

"I also heard that Tuntianwei may come to try to grow that kind of rubber. It is said that this is a treasure. If it is planted here, it will be purchased at a high price in the future, but... I heard that if this rubber is planted, there will be no one. Five years or ten years, don't even think about harvesting, will there be risks in this?"

   Just as he was talking, a clerk came out in a hurry and said, "The governor has an invitation."

  The scribe's accent is a bit strange.

At first glance, it looks like a local in Luzon, but... obviously the other party is also a Han citizen. During the Han, Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties, a large number of Han immigrants migrated to the West, and many of them came to Luzon. The vast majority of immigrants, all Adhering to their own traditions, language and characters have been preserved. This time the Ming Dynasty managed Luzon, these people have a place to use, because there are no language barriers and the characters are interlinked. Although the customs have passed through hundreds of years , some changes, but after all, they are still inextricably linked. These people were soon hired by merchants, yamen and gentry, and they did things at leisure. Some were in charge of documents, some were in charge of translation, There are also quite a few, who are responsible for managing the farm for the gentry.

After all...they don't understand the language of the natives, and they are unwilling to hire people from Quanzhou, Suzhou and Hangzhou. The Han people here are not only proficient in the local native language, but also able to communicate with themselves. They are the best managers .

   Zhou Tangsheng and the others looked at each other, then walked into the yamen with sullen faces.

  Because the yamen is a Franchise building, there are no six doors, and there are no front halls and houses. Usually visits are carried out in the meeting hall.

  Everyone went in and sat down one by one, then Liu Yi walked out slowly.

  In Nanjing, he was an old acquaintance with many gentry, but now in Luzon, everyone has left their hometowns, and they are naturally more intimate with each other.

Liu Yi didn't have any airs, so after he sat down, he said, "Hey, it's too hot today. I don't drink some ice water every day to relieve the heat, and I feel dizzy. Hey, I'm old. By the way, if you have any If you feel dizzy, you need to use some Kinney cream, this thing works."

"Yeah, yeah, but...those merchants are really too black-hearted. They know that we have little medicine. The medicine from Daming Xishan Medical College, they trafficked here, and the price has increased by no less than five times. And that penicillin...tsk tsk...the old man It was only how much money when we were in Nanjing, but here we are..." As he spoke, Zhou Tangsheng shook his head, wanting to scold the group of merchants, but then he thought about the sugar he would squeeze out next year, the wine he would brew, and the spices he would harvest, and he pointed at This group of unscrupulous merchants bought it, so they simply... stopped cursing.

  Liu Yi smiled and said: "This is also a helpless matter, okay, what are you asking for this time, let's just say it."

  Liu Yi asked directly, but everyone did not show any embarrassment, while Zhou Tangsheng exchanged glances with the other gentry.

Immediately, Zhou Tangsheng coughed and said with a straight face: "I heard that the southern islands are occupied by natives, and some of these natives even attacked the nearby manors. Mr. Liu, although this Luzon is small, it is not a stranger. The land, the natives of the southern islands, are really disrespectful, we hope the imperial court can exterminate them. Not only that, but near Luzon, there is Java, this Java has always been occupied by the Portuguese, and these Portuguese are dead Heavenly conscience, oppressing the local Javanese, burning, killing, looting, doing all kinds of evil, not only is my confidant's serious trouble, but also violates human relations, and my evil deeds are obvious. My Ming Dynasty is a country of etiquette, virtue is everywhere, how can I bear to see these Portuguese, I wait...everytime I think about this, I feel unwilling to eat. Therefore, I beg Liu Gong to immediately go to the court and ask Wang Shinan to punish the crimes of the Portuguese and hang the people of Java, so that the people of Java will fall like the rain of rain. Make the people happy."

   Liu Yi: "..."

  He looked at Zhou Tang and others speechlessly for a moment.

  Liu Yi is naturally not a fool. Zhou Tangsheng's words have some deep meaning, and he has a measure.

  Now these gentry look indignant, don't they...do they think they have too little land?

  Actually... thinking about it carefully, no one should think that they have less land.

only…

  Java also has abundant sunshine and fertile land. It is said that if the seeds are sown, grain can be grown without any care, and the spices there are better than those in Luzon.

  Once the imperial court uses troops against Java and the southern islands of Luzon, they can follow the royal division to continue to develop the land. For them, it is like a pie in the sky.

   But Liu Yi felt something was wrong, he stroked his beard and was about to say something.

However, Zhou Tangsheng continued to speak righteously: "Of course, Master Wang is too far away. Once we go to war, we will have to work hard, and the cost will be astonishing. I wait for the emperor's grace, and I will contribute to the imperial court. The money and food needed by the army are just a drop in the bucket. However, we must not sit idly by. The money and food for rewarding the army, everyone contributes their own efforts. If the auxiliary army and the labor of the strong men are needed, we will try our best to rescue them. Mr. Liu, in this sage book , Didn’t you say it? Condemning the people and punishing crimes, this is the righteousness that scholars should have. The sage’s teachings, how can we forget each other when we are mere lackeys? I can’t stand what they are doing. If I just sit idly by, Conscience is disturbed. Today, I am upright and upright. The emperor is gentle and distant, and does not punish the fangs. How can I show the kingly way? Liu Gong, here... there are evidences about the murder of local natives in Java and the southern island of Luzon. This old man tried his best If you get it, let Mr. Liu have a look."

   As he spoke, Liu Yi pulled out a stack of newspapers from his sleeve like a juggler, and said angrily, "Look, Mr. Liu, these people, are they still human?"

  (end of this chapter)