New Shun 1730

"Since you compare that to the 'Western Regions' of our dynasty, if the court opens up the South Seas, it can be likened to the four Anxi towns. Batavia can be likened to Suiye, Kucha, Khotan, and Shule. The army must be stationed, and the officials must be transferred. As for the many South Sea countries outside the four towns, they can be likened to the Western Regions."

"These people have moved overseas since the Ming Dynasty and are alienated from the Celestial Empire. We cannot only use kindness without dignity. Today, the Dutch are oppressing us deeply and we yearn for our homeland. If the Celestial Empire changes its system in the future, such as changing the natives to the people, I am afraid that the local nobles may not rebel. "

"I don't know much about the situation in Batavia, but I know from history that when our dynasty was first founded, it also relied on the land of the Zhu Ming imperial farm and the vassal kings, and the enclosure of the Later Jin Donglu. Batavia did not have the Zhu Ming imperial farm and vassal kings, but it had local nobles; Batavia did not have the enclosure of the Later Jin Donglu, but it had the enclosure of the Dutch. "

The Duke of Qi did not know much about Lian Huaiguan's background, but he instinctively thought that Lian Huaiguan was also a local noble. As a noble, it is common for him to bet on both sides.

The court will not allow a "Chinese Federation" form. As long as they have sent troops and made efforts, they will definitely not allow the local Chinese to have too strong independent power.

As Liu Yu believed, the economic base determines the superstructure.

The economic base of Nanyang is very strange, mainly plantation economy, which means that if the local clans and nobles are not cleaned up, they will definitely control the entire vitality of Chinese society.

Only by changing the local economic foundation can we solve the idea of ​​"the mountains are high and the emperor is far away, and they want to be independent at any time" in Batavia and other places.

According to the Duke of Qi's idea, or the court's idea, it is better to disintegrate into the state of small farmers in North China: there is no natural organization such as clans or manor owners and literati, but it is replaced by bureaucratic rule.

"Shou Chang, you should know that every year in Fujian and Guangdong, there are a steady stream of people going overseas to make a living and going to Southeast Asia. The population of Southeast Asia must be increasing, so from the beginning, the "Anxi Four Towns" in Southeast Asia must have no powerful families."

"Since Lian Huaiguan can come here, he is also a warrior. All the land under the sky belongs to the king, and all the people are the king's subjects. Since he is a warrior, he will be rewarded by the court for his meritorious service in the future. After the reward, he will have a rank and should abide by the rules."

Liu Yu agreed, and thought about the situation in Batavia in his mind, thinking that the things in Southeast Asia are really different from those in North China.

The sugar industry in Batavia is finished. Unless the consumption of sugar cane in Dashun soars, the bankruptcy of the manor economy cannot be solved after controlling Batavia.

It is estimated that Dashun is unlikely to abandon the sugar from Taiwan and Fujian and purchase the sugar from Batavia at a high price.

In addition, it coincides with the War of the Austrian Succession. It is estimated that Europe is in chaos, and the consumption of sugar cane will also be affected.

Once the Dutch leave, it will be very dangerous to trade in Europe in a short period of time. The Dutch may hijack the ship halfway... The sales volume of sugar cane will only be lower.

After thinking about it, if you want to save the sugar cane industry in Batavia, you have to see how much demand there is for sugar cane after Japan opens its country.

This is the only growth point in the short term. Anyway, Dashun’s domestic demand cannot be counted on and is basically saturated.

After all, the sugarcane plantation is not the arable land in North China, and it is no problem to divide it into small pieces.

Can the Japanese market support the sugar cane industry in the sugarcane plantation in Batavia? It is still uncertain now. It is estimated that even if there is an increase, it will not quench the thirst of the near.

Besides the sugarcane industry, the real tyrants in Batavia all relied on tax farming and lending, and land conflicts were not the main conflicts.

The court thought of suppressing the tyrants, and they must have thought that Batavia all relied on farming for a living, and the tyrants were all big landlords.

However, this was not the case, at least not among the Chinese.

Liu Yu supported the idea of ​​curbing the local tyrants. But how to curb them, he felt that the small farmers in the court today could not figure it out.

Seeing Liu Yu silent, Duke Qi smiled and said, "Don't think this is difficult. I think this is also simple. In places like Jiangnan, the tyrants are difficult to control because they study and become officials, and they are all connected to the court."

"You know the changes in the history of our dynasty, from equalizing land and exempting grain to protecting the world and driving out the Tartars. What virtues and abilities do the tyrants in Batavia have to be qualified to be gentry in Jiangnan? Are they qualified to make the court compromise?"

He thought that Liu Yu was worried about whether the court could control Nanyang, considering that it was difficult for the court to promote Wendeng's policies such as "gentry paying grain, land tax distribution, and permanent tenancy rights" throughout the country, so he revealed the key: the local gentry in Batavia could not even beat the Dutch. If the Celestial Empire drove away the Dutch, what would those gentry be?

The gentry in each province are all scholars, and they have connections in the court, so they cannot be touched; then do the gentry in Batavia have connections in the court? Do they have spokespersons?

Can't you just rub and pinch them as you want?

Liu Yu said "oh" but didn't comment.

He supported the general direction of the court to move against the gentry. He originally thought that the most reliable people in Nanyang were the lowest-level hired workers and hawkers in Batavia. As for the tax farmers, Kapitan Lei Zhenlan, they would probably live worse than when the Dutch were there after the Celestial Empire took control. They were not the core group.

But he didn't quite agree with the solution that Duke Qi wanted. This method could be used in places where land conflicts were concentrated, but it was not a panacea under the plantation economy of Batavia.

At this time, he didn't directly oppose it. Even Huaiguan only introduced the specific land policies of Batavia and the various systems of the Dutch from his perspective. He was more emotional than rational, so this still needed to be discussed.

Fortunately, the words of Duke Qi also untied another knot in his heart.

He was worried that the court would directly copy the Dutch ruling method in Batavia and continue the old system for the sake of convenience.

Now it seems that Duke Qi believes that the court will not allow the local area to maintain the old system. As long as the general idea of ​​curbing local tyrants is consistent, there will still be a lot of room for maneuver in the future.

Thinking that he should change his inherent image in the court, Liu Yu did not discuss this matter in depth with Duke Qi, thinking that you can do whatever you want, as long as you don't let Lian Huaiguan feel disappointed.

Ask him afterwards. If he really shows disappointment, he will have to be cruel and detain him to prevent the news from leaking out.

"The Duke should have his own plans. This is also the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I won't say much."

"Also, I still want to remind the Duke to make preparations early. I estimate that next year, not only the Russian envoys will come, but also the Swedes and the British. Britain and France are enemies, and Britain has wanted to send people to the capital since the Ming Dynasty, but has never had the opportunity."

"Now that our dynasty has changed, the Russians have come, the French have come, and the British may come too. This Russian envoy is a special case. Your Majesty has granted him permission to stay in the capital to survey the boundaries and pacify the Western Regions. The rest of the envoys, I guess, want to stay in the capital, but I'm afraid it won't work. I think it's better to ask them to move all the commercial embassies to Songjiang for easier jurisdiction and diplomatic liaison?"

Although Dashun has undergone some changes, it still has to pretend to be the Celestial Empire internally. Since it is the Celestial Empire, things like equal diplomacy should not be too conspicuous, such as opening an embassy in the capital.

Furthermore, the imperial court was also wary of these Westerners, and there was a trend of banning religion. It was not realistic to open an embassy in the capital according to Western rules.

Let alone what the people thought, what would the loyal minister and filial son of Korea think?

The Russians were special, because they had to survey the border, solve the Mongolian problem, and pacify the Western Regions, which all required direct communication with the Russian envoys, so they were allowed to stay in the capital, but there was no formal embassy after all.

Now that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been established, if you want diplomacy, of course you have to send envoys.

Gathering together for easy management, there are only these few ports. Songjiang is the best, Guangdong is too far away.

During the Qing Dynasty, the Taiping Rebellion was caused by various factors.

One thing that should also be considered is that before the Treaty of Nanjing, Guangdong was the only port for trade, which led to many goods from Jiangnan being shipped to Guangdong, which led to many people making a living from it.

After the Treaty of Nanjing, Shanghai became a port and comprador center, which caused many people who were engaged in transportation and relied on the development of trade to lose their jobs, and contributed a lot of core personnel and core forces to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Dashun did not need to consider this problem. It had always opened many ports, and the impact caused by this change would not be too great.

The embassy is easy to say, mainly the trading house, and it is easier to supervise it when it is clustered together. The navy cannot go to Europe, and it is temporarily unable to show off its power in Europe. The only diplomacy that can be understood by Westerners is tariffs.

Duke Qi said: "I have considered this matter. Westerners have the habit of sending envoys. If I want to make my Ministry of Foreign Affairs useful, I will certainly consider sending envoys. But Songjiang is impossible."

"First, it is farther away and communication is inconvenient; second, Songjiang is located in the south of the Yangtze River, the heart of the court, and the envoys are probably all spies, so it is impossible to allow envoys to be stationed there. I mean, in Tianjin."

"Tianjin?" Liu Yu was a little surprised. Tianjin is good, after all, it is closer and convenient for communication. But will this work?

Tianjin is too close to the capital, will the court agree?

Seeing Liu Yu's surprise, the Duke of Qi smiled and said, "Your Majesty has agreed. But the embassy can only be built after the navy has established its prestige."

"Placing it in Tianjin will facilitate communication, this is one reason."

"After I came back, His Majesty asked me to see the Beijing camp after the military reform and asked me how it compares with Western countries. I said it is better! The navy is slightly behind the Westerners, but the army is not to be afraid of. If it is placed in Tianjin, Tianjin will also station an army to let the Westerners know that our army is not weak."

"The trading house will not be moved, and the embassy will be stationed in Tianjin. Don't the Japanese allow the Dutch to visit Edo every year? We also allow Westerners to visit Beijing every year. If there is really Things can be handled easily. "

"As for Songjiang, don't think about it. There are many merchants there, and it is the hinterland of Jiangnan. The court is worried that merchants will collude with Westerners. Moreover, it is the mouth of the Yangtze River. At the beginning of the grain transport, Westerners have a clear understanding of the place. If something really happens in the future, it will be very disadvantageous to the country. "

"If you can't stay in the capital, it's just right to take a step back in Tianjin. All Western ships that are going to arrive in Tianjin must report to the embassy, ​​and the court will send ships to the south to pick them up, and they can't let Western ships enter the Bohai Sea. "

Hearing this, Liu Yu smiled. It seems that the court finally has a trace of real confidence after being conceited. In addition to considering issues such as collusion with Westerners and the hinterland of Jiangnan, the reason why Western envoys were allowed to stay in Tianjin this time is that the emperor really believes that the army after the military reform is very strong. This is the confidence after asking the Duke of Qi who visited Europe, rather than the extreme arrogance before.

The emperor specifically asked about the Duke of Qi who had been to Europe to watch the war. Liu Yu felt that it was because of his previous bluffing that scared the emperor from the arrogance of the Celestial Empire to being unconfident. This time, after confirmation, he threw away his arrogance and became truly confident.

This is also a good start. Confidence is good. Confidence can lead to tolerance. The less confident you are, the more closed you are.

The emperor's mentality has really changed since he dared to set up an embassy in Tianjin.

"The embassy and the permanent envoys have been decided. But will the Swedes and British really come next year? I don't want to set up a table of food here, but the guests don't come."

Liu Yu thought about it, but didn't dare to say it, so he just said: "I'm 70% sure."

After saying that, he thought that Mantou should be returning from Europe soon, right?