I'm really not doing business

Chapter 1034 Establishing a Maritime Court
The Huang Chao-style missionary method refers to the practice of French missionaries of the Church of the Holy Light, who, unlike other missionaries, did not respect lords. Instead, they would lead their men to conquer enemy castles, kill the castle owners, divide the land equally, and then move on to the next target.

Furthermore, in the process of proselytizing, the Great Light Cult did not care about dioceses, missionary work, churches, or believers; it was simply about attacking, attacking, and attacking again.

"Why did Marion issue such an order? What exactly happened to the Great Brightness Cult that made them do this?" Zhu Yijun frowned and asked Gao Qiyu for his reasons.

The actions of the Church of the Great Light had almost no effect other than turning them into enemies of France.

This uncompromising killing was completely different from the previous practices of the Great Light Cult.

Gao Qiyu said with a solemn expression, "The answer given by the Great Brightness Sect is: to spread the flame of light to the world, so that people know that they can still live well even without feudal lords lording power."

"We must prove with concrete actions that feudal lords are utterly useless trash without the support of their subjects."

"Feudal lords bring only evil, yet people should be grateful for these evils and let the fire of truth burn throughout France."

Zhu Yijun said with a sigh, "Even if I'm shattered to pieces, aren't you afraid?"

After hesitating for a long time, Gao Qiyu finally spoke: "Marie is fulfilling her promise to become a torch and illuminate the path for those who come after her."

"Lord Gao, you're hesitating." Zhu Yijun looked at Gao Qiyu, who was squinting slightly, and asked in a low voice, "Since becoming Minister of Rites, you've always been outspoken and never hide your thoughts. You always speak very frankly. What are you hesitating about?"

“The Great Light Cult is in a very bad situation,” Gao Qiyu explained. “Tragedy is that the Great Light Cult has not even gained the support of free people.”

"The priests and the Knights of Freedom of the Great Light Church have stormed castle after castle, killed the feudal lords who had oppressed them for generations, and granted freedom to all the people of the land. However, these free people are afraid of the priests and the Knights of Freedom of the Great Light Church and refuse to support them."

"The War of the Three Henrys has come to an end. Henry IV has effectively secured the throne and converted from Protestantism to Catholicism, gaining the support of the majority."

"Henry IV took advantage of the fear of the nobles, lords, knights, and the common people towards the Church of the Great Light, and united these people to launch an attack on the City of the Great Light."

"Before the emissaries of the Church of the Great Light set out, the allied forces of Henry IV and the nobles had already surrounded the city of the Great Light, and it has probably already fallen."

Gao Qiyu hesitated for this very reason. From a sentimental standpoint, the Ming Dynasty should provide some support to the Great Brightness Sect, which was born from the wisdom of the Ming Dynasty, even if it was just to offer words of encouragement. However, from a practical standpoint, it was too far away, and providing support would be meaningless, as the effort and reward would be disproportionate.

"Your Majesty, when Henry IV launched his general offensive against the Great City of Light, the priests and the Free Knights scattered throughout the land did not hide under different names as agreed, but instead headed towards the Great City of Light."

“Countless people shouted that destruction is rebirth, and then bravely faced death.” Gao Qiyu mentioned something that surprised him even more: when destruction was imminent, countless people did not choose to escape, but chose to die for their country.

Gao Qiyu could understand their actions, but he didn't know what the consequences would be.

Zhu Yijun revealed a relieved smile. In later generations, during the era of the vigorous bourgeois revolution, France was also like this, completely ending the imperial system, overthrowing the aristocracy, and becoming one of the world's major countries that did not adopt a constitutional monarchy.

“Perhaps, this is the best ending for them.” Zhu Yijun looked out the window, pondered for a long time, and finally said calmly, “The curtain has been raised, the grand drama has begun. This is just the end for priests and saints like Marion, but it is the beginning of a new era for France.”

Indeed, the free people now do not support the Church of the Great Light's practice of indiscriminately hanging feudal lords for various reasons, because they have lived this way for generations and seem unable to survive without these feudal lords.

But once these free people have gained their freedom, will they still be willing to accept the exploitation and ruthless oppression of the feudal lords of the past? Having witnessed the light, these free people will not accept the inhumane rule of the feudal lords, so embracing and supporting the Great Light Church becomes inevitable.

It doesn't take many; if even just one percent of these free citizens firmly support the Church of the Great Light and take action, a major outbreak of the Church of the Great Light in France will be inevitable.

In fact, from the moment Antonio first came to the Ming Dynasty, this Portuguese king candidate supported by the common people appeared in the court's sight, there was a question that was repeatedly mentioned, that is, where exactly were the common people who supported Antonio?

Where were the common people when Antonio was driven out of Portugal?
After the assassination of the swordsman Marcus, Spain came on strong, but where were the common people?
In fact, ordinary people have always been there.

Without the support of the common people, Antonio could not have ascended to the throne, even with the support of the Ming Dynasty, and he could not have won Felipe's attack a second time.

The Liberty Fleet launched a suicidal attack on the Spanish mainland, forcing Felipe's invincible Armada back to the Mediterranean.

Felipe sent a Spanish territorial force of 30,000 men to attack Antonio. Antonio personally led the attack and, with a determination to fight to the death, repelled the invading enemy.

Antonio's success was precisely due to the silent support of these unassuming civilians. The army, supplies, intelligence, and conscription of laborers all depended on the support of these civilians.

Thus, the Ministry of Rites arrived at a rather absurd conclusion: whether a regime is completely destroyed depends not on the majority, but on a mere less than one percent of its staunch supporters who are willing to take action.

They are willing to give everything, even their lives, when the regime needs them.

For every 1% of staunch supporters, 5% of speculators will be willing to join them, while the remaining 90% will simply follow the crowd.

A stable and solid core base becomes the most important key to the survival of a regime.

This is a very absurd conclusion, but it is indeed the truth.

For example, the most solid base of the Ming emperors was actually the 100,000 elite soldiers of the Beijing Garrison, as well as the newly emerging class of artisans. These people accounted for less than one percent of the total population, but they were more than enough for the emperor to do whatever he wanted.

Even the 160,000-strong navy and the emerging bourgeoisie along the coast were not considered staunch supporters of the emperor.

For example, Felipe relied on his large phalanx army and invincible fleet. He could issue gold bonds three times, go bankrupt three times, and fool everyone. He could dissolve the Council of State.
From the Ming Dynasty and Spain to the Mexican Viceroyalty and Governor Peto, whose pirates numbered less than six thousand, Peto was a staunch supporter. Peto firmly controlled Mexico and even dared to challenge Felipe.

The biggest problem for the Great Light Cult before was that it did not have such a solid foundation.

Of those believers before, how many truly possessed genuine faith and wisdom? Marion probably even had doubts deep down about whether wisdom could guide them to live a good life.

Now, all these doubts have been dispelled.

The Church of the Great Light gained its own staunch supporters. The new King of France, Henry IV, could destroy the city of the Great Light and Marion herself, but he could not destroy Marion's spirit.

Free citizens, ordinary people who yearn for freedom, will regard Marion as a spiritual totem, or even a belief.

History always seems so cruel, always repeating itself, stumbling and falling.

After finally taking three steps forward, they retreated two steps, only to find it unbearable, so they had to take another step forward. This repeated process was made up of countless bones and blood.

This kind of cruelty is repeated again and again.

“England cannot abandon its privateering licenses in the short term, because they need to use privateers to deal with the Spanish navy. What frustrates England is that these privateer pirates not only attack the Spanish navy, but also launch attacks against England.” Gao Qiyu said something that made him very nervous.

By relinquishing the privateering license, Spain would have a much easier time attacking England.

They didn't give up; these privateers even robbed the English navy.

“If Felipe hadn’t been so enraged and had been more rational, he could have sent a few ships on armed patrols every now and then, making an offensive gesture rather than actually attacking, and England would have been destroyed by pirates,” Zhu Yijun said with a raised eyebrow and a smile.

"Your Majesty is wise." Gao Qiyu was also somewhat moved; what His Majesty said was the best strategy.

Fighting is inevitable; the war has progressed to this point and there's no way to stop it. But we can put on a show, at most conducting armed patrols and making threats, without actually launching an attack. We can let the English and the pirates fight amongst themselves.

Unfortunately, Felipe, blinded by anger, would not do such a thing, nor would the court secretaries dare to make such a suggestion. As for the Spanish Council of State, Felipe also dissolved it.

Gao Qiyu reported that this year's fleet included an envoy from West Africa, sent by King Alvaro II of the Kingdom of Congo.

This was an unfamiliar kingdom to the Ming Dynasty court.

The Kingdom of Congo has a vast territory, covering the entire Congo River basin.

The Congo River is the second largest river in the Ming Dynasty by volume, after the Amazon River in Brazil. However, the Congo River is not suitable for navigation, as its nearly thousand-mile-long series of waterfalls makes navigation impossible.

"This king has been completely sidelined. The governor of Portuguese Angola, Duarte López, could even execute him and replace him with a new king," Gao Qiyu reported on the situation in the country.

The Ming Dynasty had a Ming Pavilion in Angola, staffed with seventeen people, to serve the Ming Dynasty's global fleet. They were responsible for trading various specialties, such as cocoa, copper, gold and silver, and of course, for collecting various intelligence.

The previous King of Congo was unable to quell the rebellion and asked the King of Portugal for help. The King of Portugal sent 600 men to help the King quell the rebellion. The natives, who were still using bronze weapons and only had a small number of iron weapons, were no match for matchlock guns. As a result, the King of Congo soon became a puppet.

The previous king opposed the slave trade and died soon after, replaced by the current Alvaro II.

Zhu Yijun studied all the intelligence about this kingdom and determined that it had no diplomatic value. He said to Gao Qiyu, "A kingdom that is only a shell, a puppet, there is no need for its envoy to pay homage."

"If the Angolan Governor's Office wants to do business with the Ming Dynasty, they should just send people directly and not resort to these tricks."

The envoy was actually sent by the Governor-General's Office of Angola, but he deliberately used the name of the Kingdom of Congo to avoid a vassal relationship.

The Angolan Governor-General's Office was nominally subordinate to Portugal, but the nobles generally did not support King Antonio of Portugal, nor did they recognize Portugal as a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. The Angolan Governor-General's Office also did not want to trade with the Ming Dynasty as a vassal state, so it used a shell company.

The reason for using a shell company is to make it easier to go back on one's word, act barbarically, and always like to be so self-righteous.

All contracts were agreed upon by the Kingdom of Congo and had nothing to do with the Governor-General's Office of Angola. If trade did not align with their interests, they would simply break the contract. In any case, the Ming Dynasty was too far away to punish the King of Congo and the Governor-General's Office of Angola.

The Ming Dynasty court had no time to play these childish games with them. The goods of the Ming Dynasty were right here. If they wanted them, they had to show some sincerity. If they didn't buy, there were plenty of others who would.

The trade volume of the East Pacific Business Alliance is still expanding. In particular, after the establishment of the East Pacific Business Alliance Council, some conflicts and trade disputes can be properly resolved. Under this stable maritime trade environment, the trade volume is growing faster and faster.

The Ming Dynasty's primary trading partner was Southeast Asia, and its secondary trading partner was the East Pacific Merchant Alliance. As for the markets of the Western and Atlantic governorates and kingdoms, the Ming Dynasty did not have much demand at present, and even cotton cloth was sold through Akbar.

The reason is very simple: there isn't much silver in that direction.

The initial purpose of the Ming Dynasty's opening of the sea was to solve the money shortage. Silver was the primary objective of the opening of the sea. Without silver, gold, or even special products that the Ming Dynasty cared about, it would indeed be difficult to attract the Ming Dynasty's attention.

Gao Qiyu then reported the arrival of several envoys from Western (present-day Indian Ocean) kingdoms and governor-general's offices, and briefly introduced the customs and traditions of these countries. He noted that most of them had little diplomatic or trade value, serving at most as a bonus to the international congratulations. Zhu Yijun and Gao Qiyu discussed the matter carefully for nearly half an hour, with Gao giving a clear opinion and instructing the Ministry of Rites to act accordingly.

Cornelius de Hautemann, an envoy from the Netherlands, and Paulino, an envoy from Portugal, got into a fight at the Siyiguan (Foreigners' Hall) in Songjiang Prefecture.

When the two met, Paulino punched Hotman twice, and Hotman refused to back down, immediately retaliating with two kicks. Soon, his entourage joined the fight, and sixteen people were grappling together.

If the imperial guards hadn't appeared and subdued everyone, there might have been fatalities.

Gao Qiyu had just returned to the Siyiguan from the imperial palace when he heard about the fight. He immediately detained everyone and began questioning them one by one about the cause of the fight.

Fighting and brawling at the Siyiguan is utterly disgraceful!
Soon, Gao Qiyu understood the reason: all the disputes were about a ship called Santa Catarina.

The Santa Catarina was a merchant ship belonging to the Goa Governor's Office, a caravan fully loaded with 140 million catties of cargo, including spices, cotton cloth, tea, silk and other goods from the Ming Dynasty.

The ship was hijacked by Houghtman's men last April while en route back to Lisbon, and they stole the ship and its cargo.

When the Portuguese envoy Paulino met with Houtman, he was naturally not very friendly. After exchanging a few words, they disagreed and started fighting.

“Your Excellency, we implore you to do us justice,” Paulino said, his face filled with excitement. “These 1.4 million catties of goods are worth nearly 500,000 taels of silver. The Dutch have plundered our ships and goods and are openly selling them in Amsterdam!”

"Do the Netherlands intend to allow privateering like the English?!"

Gao Qiyu didn't really want to get involved in this. The plunder didn't happen on the Ming Dynasty's coast, but near the Strait of Gibraltar, which is in the waters of the West, Spain.

Paulino complained to the Ming Dynasty, but even if the Ming Dynasty intervened, it was too far away to do anything about it.

“Young Master, things aren’t as he says!” The Dutch envoy, Hottman, became agitated, stood up, and waved his arms, saying, “Two years ago, six of our Dutch ships arrived at the port of Goa, purchased enough goods, and were attacked by those damned Portuguese on their return voyage.”

"Two of the six ships escaped, and the rest were hijacked. We only got back our cargo!"

Gao Qiyu's eyes darted around, and he sat up straight, becoming serious. There was room for maneuver in this matter. As the Minister of Rites, Gao Qiyu's forte was actually rule-making.

This is an excellent opportunity to increase the Ming Dynasty's influence on maritime trade.

Upon hearing this, Paulino immediately retorted loudly, "Hotman, you liar! It was your ships that failed to pay taxes and left port under cover of darkness, which is why the Goa Governor's Office was pursuing you!"

"Young Master, the Dutch, killed all the crew members on our ship and threw them into the sea!"

“Even if there were some disputes over the cargo, we did not kill the Dutch crew members, which is the usual practice, but they broke the practice and killed our crew members!”

Houghtman said angrily, "That's not how it is! All six of our ships paid the full amount of tax, a full 30%. It was the greedy governor who insisted on levying an extra tax, which led to all this!"

"All the problems were caused by this greedy governor!"

"Stop!" Gao Qiyu slammed his hand on the table and said sternly, "Shut up! This is the Ming Dynasty. How can you argue like this, even resorting to violence? Do you have any respect for the Ming Dynasty?!"

"bass!"

The sound of swords being drawn rang out in unison as the Imperial Guards drew their swords half a foot from their sheaths, awaiting Gao Qiyu's command.

Gao Qiyu waited until the two calmed down before speaking: "I have roughly understood your statements. Here's what we'll do: write down what happened in a petition. After I review it in detail, I will give you a year to collect and organize the evidence and submit it to the court."

"If you are willing to abide by the court's judgment, then this matter is considered settled. If you do not wish to abide by it, then do not quarrel or cause any disputes within the territory of the Ming Dynasty."

As the Portuguese envoy, Paulino was naturally willing to let the Ming Dynasty take charge.

"I am willing to abide by the judgment of the Ming Dynasty." After thinking for a moment, Haotman also prepared to write a petition. In the eyes of the Westerners, the Ming Dynasty was known for its fairness and impartiality.

If this ship leads Portugal to fully align with Spain, it will be even easier for Felipe to deal with the Dutch.

Gao Qiyu was not surprised by Paulino's attitude, after all, Portugal was nominally a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, but Hothman's willingness was something Gao Qiyu had never expected.

Haotman noticed Gao Qiyu's doubt and said very seriously, "Before I came to the Ming Dynasty, I heard many legends. The Ming Dynasty was like a divine kingdom on earth."

"I didn't believe these legends until I saw everything, and then I was certain that they were true."

"The Ming Dynasty possesses the best political system in the world today; at least for now, no one can come up with a better system."

"Everything is decided by the superior government office. All officials must go through several rounds of rigorous screening before they can be hired, and even after being hired, they must be screened again."

“Young Master, in the West, all officials are hereditary. These hereditary officials are greedy, incompetent, and cruel. If it weren’t for these qualities, the Dutch wouldn’t have rebelled.”

"In the Ming Dynasty, the lives, reputations and property of ordinary people here are protected by law. Even nobles will pay a heavy price if they kill a commoner."

"I believe that a fair judgment can be obtained here."

Gao Qiyu's eyes flickered. After the Ming Dynasty opened its seas, it expanded its influence through the ever-expanding scale of maritime trade. Just as the scholars of the Hanlin Academy were arguing why the Ming Dynasty was the Celestial Empire, Westerners had countless fantasies about the distant Ming Dynasty.

And some of these fantasies, when seen with their own eyes, are even better than they imagined, and they become shrewd and enlightened people.

Despite the lack of suitable livestock breeders in the Ming Dynasty, the remote animal husbandry industry remained highly developed. Of course, the spread of the Great Brightness Sect accelerated this process.

"Then write up the complaint and submit all the evidence within a year. The Ming Dynasty will naturally make a fair judgment." Gao Qiyu said very seriously, "No one can play tricks on the Ming Dynasty. I guarantee that anyone who tries to do so will pay a bloody price!"

If Hotman refuses, the program cannot start normally, and everything else is fine, but it will just lead to infighting among the barbarians.

Since Haotman has agreed and the process has already begun, and the Ming Dynasty has wasted manpower, material resources, and financial resources to make a fair judgment, if it cannot be obeyed, then don't blame the Ming Dynasty for being impolite.

The English have already suffered greatly at the hands of the Ming Dynasty because of the issue of letters of marque.

On June 20, Gao Qiyu once again requested an audience with the Emperor, telling him in detail about all the disputes concerning the Santa Catarina, and also wrote down his plans in a memorial, which he then presented to the Emperor.

"Does Gao Zongbo mean to establish a maritime court under the East Pacific Merchant Alliance Council to adjudicate trade disputes between countries?" Zhu Yijun finished reading Gao Qiyu's memorial and understood Gao Qiyu's plan.

To establish rules, expand the influence of the Ming Dynasty, and meet the Ming Dynasty's current need for extraterritorial jurisdiction.

The Ming Dynasty established many governor-general offices overseas, had a fleet of ocean-going merchants trading around the world, and set up Ming offices in major ports around the world to collect intelligence from various countries.

The Ming Dynasty needed greater influence and stronger long-arm jurisdiction.

“Your Majesty, people cannot be relied upon; we must rely on systems.” Gao Qiyu said with a very solemn expression, “Yongle opened the seas and made seven voyages to the Western Ocean. After Zheng He’s death, the Ming Dynasty never made another voyage to the Western Ocean, and even the Southeast Asia was rarely visited.”

"It is essential to establish a complete system, rather than relying on the power of one person to open the seas. I believe this is extremely important."

Gao Qiyu is no longer young; he is fifty-seven years old this year, well past the age of forty. He has witnessed too much evil and fickleness in people, and he does not believe that people can be trusted forever, not even Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng was completely retired due to health reasons, but before he retired, he showed obvious stubbornness. He distrusted everyone more and more and became more and more ruthless. He had gone from being the ballast stone of the country to one of the dangerous sources of violent turmoil in the country.

After completing the purge of Zhang's faction, his decision to retire gracefully was probably the best outcome for him, for His Majesty, and for the entire Ming Dynasty.

"What you say makes sense, I grant your permission." Zhu Yijun acknowledged Gao Qiyu's point; the Ming Dynasty indeed had this need.

“A new ‘Maritime Trade Law’ needs to be revised. This ‘Maritime Trade Law’ will be the general guideline for the Ming Dynasty to handle all trade disputes and make judgments based on the law.” Gao Qiyu took out another memorial, “Memorial on the Determination of Matters Concerning Maritime Trade.”

This memorial is his overall plan for maritime trade law.

Because of the established laws of the ancestors, it was very difficult for the Ming Dynasty to revise a law. Therefore, this law on maritime trade will still be appended to the "Collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty" to avoid touching the established laws of the ancestors.

After all, according to the established laws of our ancestors, the Ming Dynasty should have implemented the maritime ban and the tribute trade. The Eastern Pacific Merchant Alliance Council, the Maritime Court, and the Maritime Trade Law were more suitable for reform and innovation.

Gao Qiyu held his right hand up and his left hand behind his back, and said solemnly: "The first point, and the most important point, is that in order to maintain the maritime trade environment, all parties that join the East Pacific Merchant Alliance and are willing to accept the rulings of the Maritime Court, whether they are countries, governor-general's offices, or even puppets, must completely deny the legitimacy of pirates in the law."

"That is, any force that recognizes the legitimacy of piracy should be excluded from normal trade."

"The definition of pirates must not be confused in any way. The definition of pirates cannot be blurred by so-called privateering, and thus given legitimacy. A pirate is a pirate."

“Any armed merchant ship must be treated as a warship, and all parties shall register and manage it. The ports of all parties shall manage the entry and exit of armed merchant ships in the same manner as they would with warships.”

"No party shall provide any form of supply, repair, cargo collection or distribution, or disposal of stolen goods to pirate ships; otherwise, they shall be punished as accomplices."

Gao Qiyu's first point is to occupy the moral high ground. Standing on the moral high ground, one can openly point fingers at others.

The Ming Dynasty was a celestial empire, the pinnacle of civilization.

Pirates are pirates, and their definition cannot be ambiguous. Armed merchant ships should be treated as warships. Pirates should not be supplied with water, food, wine, or provisions. They should not be repaired or provided with convenient means to sell stolen goods. These are all important components of this rule.

Gao Qiyu found it hard to understand how the West could have developed a pirate culture and pirate worship on a considerable scale, and instead of being ashamed, they were proud of it.

All I can say is that these barbarians are indeed barbarians, utterly devoid of any sense of shame.

(End of this chapter)