Deng Fei flipped over the densely written paper for a long time, then tentatively said: "Then you mean, we can also follow the example of the Dutch in making copper coins and replace their money?"
"Money must be minted to expand the scale of the Cam Ranh Bay mint. But this is only one of them. If you want to replace all 1.1 billion Dutch copper coins by minting, you will have to wait until the Year of the Monkey!"
Wang Yuanfang said: "Involving in the spice trade?"
Deng Fei said: "Impossible. The spice monopoly has long since ceased to exist. Didn't you see that all the plantations here are growing sugar cane?"
Zhao Xin rubbed his brows, stood up, walked to the window and looked at the rooftops in the distance, murmuring: "Master Ma has said that commodity circulation determines currency circulation. The problem is that the amount of currency required in circulation does not only depend on the price of commodity exchange.
The total amount, but also depends on the total turnover of value distribution and redistribution..."
Wang Yuanfang and Deng Fei looked at each other and joked: "This guy started talking nonsense again? I can understand every word, but I can't understand even one word! Boss Zhao, can you speak human language?"
Zhao Xinyan laughed and turned around and said: "To put it simply, it is a multi-pronged approach. On the one hand, we must use military force to break the VOC's military coercion on Banten, Sumatra and Kalimantan. On the other hand, we must change what the Dutch did."
The forced cultivation system', and then there's the oil development in Sumatra."
Deng Fei said: "Aren't we setting up a rubber farm?"
Zhao Xindao: "The results are too slow, not to mention that it will not be possible to grow all rubber in the future. Although there is an abundance of wheat in Beihai Town, southerners are not used to it after all, and the transportation cost of grain transfer from Beihai Town is too high. Food is the most important thing for the people.
No matter how big the issue is, it is not as big as the problem of food for the common people. We still have to start with agriculture and land."
Deng Fei said: "One more thing must be added. The Chinese cannot be compradors for the Dutch."
"Banning alone is not enough, there must be substitute products. The reason why they leave their hometowns is to get rich. No matter what it is, as long as there are two or three times profit, there will always be people who take risks..."
Zhao Xin suddenly stopped talking, frowned and thought for a moment, then slapped his forehead and said, "Hey! How could I forget about palm oil?"
Deng Fei reacted very quickly, his eyes lit up and he said, "That's right! Carry out oilseed cultivation and palm oil processing, which can be used in both food and industry."
Zhao Xin asked Wang Yuanfang: "Are there people from the richest families in the city now in the city hall?"
Wang Yuanfang said: "Well, basically they are all here."
Zhao Xin nodded and said: "Then go and have a look tomorrow morning and listen to their opinions first."
In the evening, Wang Yuanfang, on behalf of the Bacheng Military Control Commission, held a banquet in the VOC Governor's Palace to entertain everyone from Europe. Until this time, Zhao Xin no longer concealed himself and revealed his identity on the spot, which aroused the surprise of all French people.
They never dreamed that this "naval staff officer" with a young face, who often discussed mathematics, history and philosophy with them on the ship, was actually the number one person in Beihai Town!
Before the dinner began, Zhao Xin, on behalf of Beihai Town, sent a formal invitation to five scientists from France to assist in the establishment of the "Academy of Sciences" and awarded the five people as the first batch of foreign honorary academicians of the Academy of Sciences. The relevant certificates will be held at a formal ceremony later.
However, their specific work will not be determined until after the inspection in Beihai Town.
However, compared to the four "Ra Gods" and their families, the Marquis of Condorcet and his beautiful wife Sophie, who were deeply involved in politics, secretly speculated on why Zhao Xin concealed his identity and went to Paris.
A question has arisen: Are there Chinese people behind the "Temple Tower Incident"?
Although Condorcet had many friends among the Girondins, he did not join any faction because of his aversion to factionalism and always kept a distance from the Girondins.
Historically, the reason why Condorcet was arrested and executed is quite sad. He just criticized a few words of the "1793 Constitution" designed by Robespierre and Saint-Just, and was branded a traitor.
In addition, Condorcet's attitude towards Louis XVI also angered Robespierre. He supported the trial of the king but opposed the death penalty, and even naively suggested that the king be sent to a warship as a rowing slave.
Lady Elizabeth and her two children did not attend the dinner, partly because they were tired from the journey and because of concerns about the contagiousness and confidentiality of tuberculosis.
On the morning of the next day, Zhao Xin did not let Wang Yuanfang and Deng Fei follow him. Instead, he called Jiang Asheng. Wearing a military uniform without a military rank, he took two soldiers from the special operations battalion as guards and strolled to Baja.
Flaggan Street in the north of the city near the former Customs Building. Jiang Asheng had never met Zhao Xin. When he was notified yesterday, he only said that Zhao Xin was an official in the Trade Department of Beihai Town.
When they arrived at the gate, Zhao Xinxin said, "Good guy, it's like a Manchu government office." There was a thick flagpole standing in front of the gate, with nothing on it. The surrounding walls were more than ten feet high, and when viewed from the outside,
Go, the gate repair is as majestic and majestic as the state government under the Manchu Qing Dynasty.
When Jiang Asheng saw Zhao Xin staring at the bare flagpole, he explained: "Sir, this flag used to be hoisted on the first day of every month. When the head tax was collected every month, the flag would be raised for everyone to see, and they would know what to do.
The money has been paid.”
Zhao Xindao: "Isn't there a head tax?"
"Yes. But there are also store tax, gambling tax, slaughter tax, import tax, tobacco tax, etc., which must be paid on a monthly basis."
Because Zhao Xin didn't want to make a big fuss, Jiang Asheng didn't go in to report in advance. The group walked into the gate with a painting of Shentu Yulei, and saw a fifty-meter-long stone road leading directly to the lobby. They looked at the layout of the houses on the left and right, and followed
The prefecture and county yamen that Zhao Xin had seen were different. At this time, the guard guarding the gate saw someone coming, so he came out with a straight face to ask, but when he saw Zhao Xin being protected by Jiang Asheng and two Beihai navy, he immediately changed into
A smile.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Yo! Who do I think it is? It turns out to be Brother Sheng! Are you on business today?"
Jiang Asheng said: "Xiao Dai, these three people are sent by the Military Control Commission to talk to Huang Jia. Is the old gentleman here?"
"Here! Here! The case is being decided in court today. He, Mr. Wu and Mr. Lin are all in the second hall."
"What case?"
"It's just a trivial matter, and the couple is getting divorced."
Jiang Asheng nodded and smiled after hearing this, and then led Zhao Xin and the others to the main hall. The guy called Xiao Dai and others walked away, and then he rolled his eyes at Jiang Asheng's back and muttered: "Climb up on the mud legs."
The short-haired master has reached the sky in one step! Tsk tsk~~"
Zhao Xin walked to the door of the empty lobby and did not go in. He saw that there was also a plaque with the word "Mingjing Hanging High" hanging in the hall. On the east and west walls on the left and right sides, there were two large wooden plaques with dense numbers on them.
It was filled with words. Because of the distance, he could clearly see the front content.
"During the reign of Renxu in Qianlong, Duke Wei Hanlin was appointed as Jiabidan, and he began to set up a court to discuss affairs. He was kind to the people, taught and transformed, and practiced good deeds. His legacy is..."
When the four people passed through the side door and came to the door of the second hall, there was indeed a case being interrogated inside, but they were all speaking in Minnan dialect. Zhao Xin couldn't understand it, so he returned to the front of the lobby, thinking that he would finish his work inside before going in.
.He looked around and casually asked Jiang Asheng about the personnel in the court.
According to Jiang Asheng, the current staff of the court consists of sixteen people. The highest one is Kapitan (director), and the subordinates include Lei Zhenlan (adjutant), Zhuge Jiao (secretary), Da Shi (servant), Wu Zhimi
(Property Management Officer), Tu Gong (Funeral Affairs Officer), Ma Jiao (District Chief) and other positions correspond to different affairs.
When the Dutch were here, the courts mainly dealt with civil disputes, ranging from household registration and taxation, to marriage disputes over money and taxes, everything was included, and trivial matters were dealt with. As for major criminal or economic cases, they were handled by
Handled by the Dutch judiciary.
After Beihai Town implemented military control in Bacheng, due to the lack of administrative personnel, it retained the setting up of the court and related personnel, and continued to let them handle civil affairs. Major cases were then reported to the Military Control Commission for processing. Although the official name was changed to City Hall, the local
Common people are still accustomed to calling it "Gongtang".
After waiting for almost twenty minutes, several people, both men and women, walked out of the second hall. It seemed that the divorce case had been settled, so Zhao Xin asked Jiang Asheng to go in and report.
Across the courtyard gate, Zhao Xin heard a commotion inside, and knew that his sudden attack had caught everyone in the court off guard. After A Dahuang Mianshe came out with his men to see the ceremony, they went to the flower hall in the second hall and sat down together.
After a brief exchange of greetings, the servant brought tea, Zhao Xin got straight to the point, saying that he was here to understand the economic situation of Bacheng on behalf of the Ministry of Trade and planned to open up new sources of income.
When everyone heard this, their hearts dropped immediately. It turned out that they were not here for a surprise inspection. In the past two years, the Bacheng Military Control Commission has vigorously implemented epidemic prevention and opened hospitals to save lives and heal the wounded. The court officials have cooperated with each other, so the relationship between the two parties is very harmonious.
But when it comes to financial resources, everyone here suddenly feels sad.
In recent years, due to VOC's colonial plundering policy, Bacheng's economy has been in a long-term slump, business has declined, and many small plantation businessmen have fallen into bankruptcy. The British colonies across the sea have both immigration and tax policies.
Better than Bacheng, large companies like Huang Mianshe and others moved to Malaya and Malacca to open branches and became middlemen for the British.
In addition, due to the arrival of Beihai Town, after the cancellation of poll tax, weighing tax, and inland navigation tax, tax farming has basically become an unprofitable business.
Since the establishment of the Bacheng Court, court officials have not received salaries. However, because of the convenience brought by their positions, most of their income comes from the tax package system. In the past, 11 of the 20 tax items in Bacheng were contracted by the Chinese, and the total annual amount was roughly
10,000 silver dollars appeared. In addition to having to deal with taxes, these people are also VOC's middlemen and project contractors.
Therefore, the actual situation in these colonies in Southeast Asia is that all Chinese leaders are families who have controlled the local courts for a long time. They also control tax farming projects, which are passed down from generation to generation. As a result, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
On the one hand, these people stood up for the Chinese, mediated civil disputes according to the model of village autonomy, and negotiated with the colonial authorities on their behalf. But at the same time, they also exploited the lower class Chinese and shared profits with the colonists.
Although Beihai Town's policy on the mainland is to rely on the poor, unite middle peasants, and crack down on large landowners, it is not currently applicable in Bacheng. You must know that these Chinese leader families have connected the small transactions in rural areas of the East Indies and are the link between local people and overseas.
Ordinary lower-level Chinese workers simply cannot serve as middlemen for export agencies, as well as between overseas industries and local consumers.
After hearing the appeals of everyone present, Zhao Xin said with a smile: "Now we have a long-term business, which is much better than sugar cane, indigo, and coffee, and it will make a huge profit."
"Oh?!" Huang Mianshe and others disagreed after hearing this. They said to themselves that we have been in Java for decades, and you, a new comer to Bacheng, are teasing us by saying that you have a very profitable business!
The elderly Huang Mianshe spoke in southern Fujian Mandarin and said: "Please give me some advice."
"Palm fruit."
Everyone present looked at each other in shock after hearing this, wondering what the hell is this?
Huang Mianshe said: "May I ask, sir, what is a palm fruit?"
Zhao Xin originally thought that the economic value of oil palm had not been discovered in this era and no one cared about it, so he described its appearance. Unexpectedly, after listening to it, everyone present looked confused and said they had never seen it before.
Zhao Xin didn't know yet that he had made a big mistake this time, because there were no palm trees on Java Island in those days!
The origin of palm trees is actually Nigeria, Africa. Historically, the planting of palm trees in Indonesia began in 1848. At that time, a Dutchman brought 4 palm seeds from Amsterdam and planted them in the botanical garden. Who knew that it would be so long ago?
It took five years to grow to a height of 12 meters, and the palm trees began to bear fruit. However, the economic value of the oil palm trees was not discovered at that time, and they were only used as decorative plants on the roadside. It was not until 1911 that widespread commercial planting began on Sumatra Island.
, Since then, Indonesia has become the world’s largest palm oil producer.
Well, Zhao Xin didn't know yet at this time. He felt that he had never seen these "country bumpkins" in front of him, but the Chinese workers in the plantation outside the city must have seen them. When the time comes, he asked Jiang Asheng to go down and ask.
Besides, now that they are all here, they definitely can’t go back without success. He immediately mentioned that he would build a cooling oil factory locally, and would purchase a large amount of relevant raw materials. In addition, he would also increase the purchase price of rice and corn to encourage everyone here to invest in their own plants.
Changing crops on the plantation.
After Bulla Bulla talked a lot, Zhao Xin walked away amidst the praises of everyone. When he returned to the flower hall, Chief Lei Zhenlan and Wu Zuanxu said to Jia Dahuang Mianshe: "Huang Gong, what do you think of this?"
"Since the Military Control Commission has sent people to come on a special trip, they have to save face. In the past two years, the epidemic in Bacheng has been reduced a lot. We learned that the favor was repaid. Each family will plant dozens of acres of rice first, and then sell it to them at a low price.
The Military Control Commission can be regarded as a business meeting."
Another Lei Zhenlan named Lin Changsheng said dissatisfied: "I have never heard of oil palm! I think this guy has a hairless mouth and is not good at work. Come here to get it