After the door opened, Chai Rugui, Zhao Xin's new guard captain, walked in. The moment he saw Zhao Xin, he felt something was wrong with the atmosphere in the room, and then he saw Duofu, who was baring his teeth and claws at him.
However, Chai Rugui has always been insensitive when it comes to matters between men and women. As a guard, his first reaction was to quickly scan around Zhao Xin's office and found nothing unusual. Then he stood at attention and reported: "Chief, Mr. Huang
Mianshe, Wu Zuanxu, and Lin Changsheng are all here."
Only then did Zhao Xin remember the meeting he had agreed with the three of them yesterday, but at this moment he still wanted to beat Chai Rugui violently. However, this man's force value was at the 3S level like Chen Jishan, and Zhao Xin tried to make a gesture with him once
, Chai Rugui only used one move of "Black Tiger to Eviscerate the Heart", and while still holding back his strength, he pushed himself seven or eight meters away, taking away a butt.
A Miao saw that Zhao Xin was about to receive a visitor, so she picked up Duofu from the table and walked towards the door. Before leaving, she turned around and made a face at him. Upon seeing this, Zhao Xin raised the corners of his mouth slightly and said to Chai Rugui: "I understand.
, please invite them in."
Counting the previous time when they recommended planting oil palm to everyone in the public sector, this was the third time Huang Mianshe and the others met Zhao Xin. However, the first time Zhao Xin did not reveal his identity, made a big mistake and was attacked by several businessmen.
of contempt.
When Zhao Xin arrived in Bacheng on the Thunderbolt a few days ago, he did not get off the ship directly. Instead, he called people from the General Management Committee and the Public Bank to the ship for two meetings. Only then did Huang Mianshe and the others know that the "mouthpiece" of Daqing was
The guy with "no hair" turned out to be the prestigious King Zhao, and he was immediately frightened into a cold sweat. Lin Changsheng, who had ridiculed Zhao Xin behind his back, was even more frightened. If the guards hadn't stopped him, he would have wanted to
He just got down on the ground and kowtowed a few times to Zhao Xin to apologize.
This time, Zhao Xin brought over oil palm seeds, and they were high-yield ones. So when Huang Mianshe and others entered the room and sat down, he opened the drawer and took out a transparent plastic bag containing oil palm seeds.
on the table.
Huang Mianshe picked up the bag and looked at it carefully, and saw several gray-brown egg-shaped fruits inside. Others also came over to watch, and Lin Changsheng asked curiously: "Is this the oil palm that the prince said?"
Zhao Xin nodded and said: "I was careless last time and thought that Java already has this thing. If you are interested, you can take it back and try to plant it. Someone will give you a bag each when you leave."
"May I ask, Your Majesty, how much oil can this thing produce?"
"Depending on the terrain, you can plant 8 to 10 seeds per acre. As long as they are properly cultivated, one acre of land can produce 400 kilograms of oil. If you are interested, you can apply to the Agriculture Department of the Military Control Commission and send someone to our
Ouch! The three of them were shocked when they heard this, feeling a little unbelievable.
In these days, the price of cooking oil is as expensive as pork. Taking Guangzhou as an example, a liter of rapeseed oil outside the oil bar now costs at least 50 cents, which can buy several liters of rice, enough for five or six poor families.
People have been drinking vegetable porridge for several days.
As for the price of soybean oil in the north and rapeseed oil in the south, the prices are similar. For example, the rapeseed grown in Guangdong and Jiangxi only produces about 200 kilograms of seeds per acre. After frying and pressing, the rapeseed can only produce more than ten kilograms per 100 kilograms.
Kilogram of oil. Precisely because it is difficult to extract, the price of edible oil has been rising in recent years.
Even if you have a small amount of money, you can only put a little in cooking before the Chinese New Year. If your family raises another scholar, it will be over! Just the money for lamp oil to study at night is a huge expense.
Promoting oil palm cultivation on a large scale in West Java is definitely a big deal for Beihai Town and Zhao Xin himself. In addition to being edible, palm oil can also be used to refine glycerin and can be widely used in industry and military. Currently used in Beihai Town
All industrial-grade glycerin comes from another time and space, that is, it is synthesized from propylene; just making double-base gunpowder costs a lot of money every year.
However, Huang Mianshe and the other two people did not come here today actually for the oil palm seeds, but to speak for the various gambling houses that had been sealed off. Since the war with the VOC started again, the Bacheng Military Control Commission has implemented public security control inside and outside the city.
Under Zhao Xin's instruction, he took advantage of the situation and banned all gambling houses in Chinatown outside the city, and ordered no cockfights. Violators would be severely fined.
At this time, many Chinese business families related to the gambling industry couldn't sit still. They said that even the Dutch didn't care about it before, and casinos can pay a lot of taxes every year. How can they ban things that benefit both the government and the people?
Woolen cloth?
The gambling industry in Bacheng began when the Chinese came to this land and has existed for nearly two hundred years. Anyone who can open a gambling house in Bacheng is the former Kapitan or Lei Zhenlan family. These people
Passed down from generation to generation, he has appeared as a tax collector from the beginning, so opening a casino is naturally the right thing to do.
It is said that it is human nature to take a chance, especially the Chinese who went to Southeast Asia. Their behavior of traveling across the ocean to Southeast Asia was itself a formalized adventure. Don’t look at the previous VOC government that allowed the Chinese to open gambling dens and obtain high profits from it.
There is a huge amount of tax, but the Dutch are strictly prohibited from entering the casino.
For those wealthy Chinese who have lived in Bacheng for a long time, due to the Qing government's maritime ban policy, it was difficult for them to return home and buy property, let alone take part in the imperial examination; while a large number of ordinary Chinese workers could only work hard for several years.
Having enough food and clothing is far from getting rich.
So there are people who have nothing to do, and there are people who are eager to get rich overnight. Many people put the wealth accumulated by their parents or their hard-earned wages into casinos and cockfighting rings. This makes the Chinese in Southeast Asia often not rich for more than three generations.
It is not uncommon for children or grandchildren to lose their entire family fortune at the gambling table.
After all the gambling dens inside and outside the city were closed down in one day, the bosses of each shop first approached Jiang Asheng privately, hoping that he could help accommodate the military control commission. Although there were a dazzling array of gifts delivered to his door, how could Jiang Asheng dare to get into trouble? You know this
It was Zhao Xin who personally gave the order. So they went to Huang Mianshe to complain.
These prominent Chinese figures in Bacheng are all related by relatives, and there are many who intermarry with each other. Huang Mianshe thought about it and felt that this move was inappropriate. However, he was not just considering his own interests, but sincerely doing it for Beihai Town.
.
It is said that it has been more than a hundred years since the Huang family moved to Bacheng from Zhangpu, Fujian. From an ordinary Chinese worker to becoming a leading Chinese family, they have experienced countless ups and downs. Although the Dutch committed the "Hongxi Massacre",
These families are still working for the Dutch wholeheartedly. One of the important reasons is that it is difficult to return home.
In the fifteenth year of Qianlong's reign, the Manchu Qing Dynasty did something immoral, which caused all overseas Chinese who had made money by doing business to give up the idea of returning to their hometowns. Even if they had the courage to go back, they would have to spend a lot of money, and they would not dare to stay for a long time.
At that time, Chen Yi, who had been working for Lei Zhenlan in Bacheng for eight years, resigned and returned to Fujian with his concubine and children because he had been away from his hometown for more than ten years and missed his mother. Perhaps his Javanese concubine was too eye-catching.
Maybe Chen Yilao brought back a lot of money and made people jealous. In short, Chen Yilao was arrested before he returned to his hometown in Longxi, and the case was brought to Qianlong.
Soon, Qianlong took the example of "bandits going to foreign countries privately, making friends with foreign countries, breaking foreign bans, and provoking border provocations", and sent more than 30 members of his family to Ili, and his concubines and children married in Java were tortured.
He was deported and all his family property was confiscated. The owner of the boat he took back home was also implicated. Not only the shackles but also the boat were confiscated.
Huang Mianshe is over 50 this year, which is the age for ancient people to bury their necks in loess, so the homesickness has become more and more serious in recent years. I thought that after death, I could only leave my tombstone far away to my hometown, but who knows that Beihai Town is coming
.After understanding Beihai Town’s goal of unifying the world and not imposing a sea ban, the victory of the Beihai Navy became his only hope for returning home.
After learning that the Dutch were going to attack Bacheng, Huang Mianshe took the lead in donating 3,000 guilders in silver dollars to the Military Control Commission and called on all Chinese businessmen in the city to donate. The Military Control Commission accepted the donation after sending a report to Zhao Xin to obtain approval.
It was returned to the people in the form of pre-payments. As a result, Huang Mianshe and others received plaques from the Military Control Commission, earning them the title of "Model Supporter of the Military."
At this time, he held up his hands and said to Zhao Xinda: "Your Majesty is benevolent and loves the people. He does not forget the people's livelihood and economy. This is really a blessing to the people of Bacheng!"
After saying that, he, Wu Zuanxu and Lin Changsheng stood up together and saluted Zhao Xinshen.
"Three of you, you don't have to be like this." Seeing this, Zhao Xin also raised his hand and bowed.
Just listen to Huang Mianshe say again: "I have something else to ask the prince, I don't know whether to say it or not?"
"Mr. Huang, please speak."
"That's it..."
In Huang Mianshe's narrative, he believed that the closure of all gambling halls by the Military Control Commission would first cause great losses to the official fiscal revenue; secondly, gambling has been a long-standing practice in Bacheng, and it would be difficult to ban it. The Manchu Qing court
Gambling is also explicitly prohibited, but everyone from officials and gentry to common people from all over the country participates; especially in Fujian and Guangdong, gambling is extremely popular.
Secondly, we are currently fighting a war with the Dutch. Of course, everyone does not dare to disobey, but what will happen after the war? Once it turns from the public to the underground, it will probably be more difficult to manage. By then, the officials and subordinates below may take this to cause trouble.
Extortion and corruption will also occur.
Huang Mianshe spoke sincerely, and Zhao Xin listened attentively. After the other party finished speaking, he pondered for a moment before saying: "I have actually considered this matter. I give you oil palm seeds in the hope that the proceeds will make up for the closure of the gambling.
The loss to the casino. As for gambling dens, they will definitely not be able to open again in the future. This is not negotiable."
Only then did Huang Mianshe and the other three people realize that there was such a chess game behind the oil palm seeds. Unexpectedly, Zhao Xin's next words shocked the three of them.
"In the future, the Bacheng Military Control Bureau will open an official lottery. In addition to bonuses and a small amount of issuance fees, 30% of the proceeds will be used for medical care and the welfare of orphans and widows."
Huang Mianshe and the other three looked at each other in surprise and asked, "May I ask your lord, what is gambling?"
Zhao Xin then found a piece of paper, smeared it on, and gave a brief explanation. After the three people on the other side listened, they said to themselves, "Hey guys, what I dare to ban is private gambling, and they plan to hold a bet and a flower party by themselves! But!"
If it is true as this person said, and the lottery proceeds are used for public welfare, it will be much better than the previous bet!
It is said that gambling games in Bacheng Chinese society can be divided into several types to suit different rich and poor people, such as European cards, dice or betting, and cockfighting. Needless to say, cards and dice, cockfighting requires a venue.
Those who are good at this will also raise their own chickens; betting is easy and cheap to play, and it caters to the psychology of the bottom class of society who spend small money to gamble on luck, so it is the most popular.
The so-called betting has been around since ancient times. It is called "Hua Hui" in southern Fujian and "White Pigeon Ticket" in Guangdong. It is similar to the nature of a lottery; for example, choose 1 out of 12, choose 1 out of 24, choose 1 out of 36, choose 1 out of 80, etc.
, each with different odds.
The banker of the Huahui will wrap a scroll every morning and tie it to the beam in the house in public. This is called "making a treasure". The gamblers will give either an ancient name of a person, an animal, or something from the banker.
Choose one of the numbers to fill in on the paper, indicate the amount of money to bet, and then put it into a wooden cabinet. When it is time to open the bet, the boss untied the scroll from the beam in public, unfolded it, and then opened the bet box.
The wooden cabinet will win or lose the bet according to the name betted by the gambler.
If someone loses, they will shout "Hua"; if they win, the winner will happily shout "Yes".
For example, the Guandi Temple and Tin Hau Temple in Chinatown outside Bacheng will be crowded with many people every time before the "Flower Fair". They go there not to burn incense and worship gods, but to ask for divination.
Whatever number is drawn, then everyone will wait all night for the number to come out.
The water here is very deep, and the bookmakers have countless tricks to prevent people from winning; even if they win, the amount they receive will be a little more than the purchase cost. Therefore, people who are addicted to this method often lose all their money, and even pawn their wives and concubines.
Real estate. Among the civil disputes that Bacheng Public Bank handles daily, many are divorces and property lawsuits caused by gambling.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! In fact, Zhao Xin knows very well that no matter whether those in power encourage or suppress, human beings' strong demand for gambling has never changed. Hugo in later generations had a famous saying about this:
"No matter whether the gambling in life is a gain or a loss, as long as there is still one pound of meat left to gamble on, I will bet on it."
Whether they are too lazy to eat or want to get rich overnight, there are people like this everywhere; no matter what method the official adopts to ban people from participating, the facts can only prove that the results are limited. Human beings have a gambling gene in their bones. As long as there is
If there is land, it will grow; if there is no land, it will grow in disguise.
When you come to this time and space, whether you are seeking gold at the beginning or seeking the world later, you are actually gambling. Every time you fight an opponent, you are also gambling, but with materials and weapons from another time and space, your chances of winning are greater.
big.
It is precisely because of this that Zhao Xin walks very slowly on the road to conquering the world, one step at a time. He is afraid that everything that has been hard won will disappear with a single oversight. But even so, he cannot guarantee that he will become
The ultimate winner is because the difficulty of conquering the world and ruling the world are not at the same level. The former seeks for a moment, while the latter seeks for a lifetime or even several lifetimes.
Professional scholars in another time and space will analyze the psychology of gambling from many aspects such as personality, unwillingness, self-esteem, greed, desire for control, etc. However, even if they play mahjong with their family members, they still have to bring some winnings.
It doesn't matter whether you win or lose, the key is that it would be boring if it didn't make any noise.
Huang Mianshe and the others finally left with the packet of seeds given by Zhao Xin, and they finally had an explanation for the casino owners and the masterminds behind them.
In any case, according to Prince Zhao's description, oil palm is definitely a big business, and as long as the tree remains, it can be sold for a hundred years. This is much more cost-effective than opening a casino.