Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Wang Dingxian has been in Hong Kong for more than three months (appeared in Chapters 253 and 254 of the previous article).

He came here following Captain Yang, or more accurately, Captain Yang.

Yang Baihu, the former chief of the Xiaoyongfang Police Station, has now been promoted to the rank of junior lieutenant of the fifth rank and serves as the chief of the Hong Kong Guard Office, responsible for law enforcement in the Free Trade Zone.

Although there are not many people in this Xiangjiang area now, it can even be said that there is no one there.

But Wang Dingxian was certain that this place would prosper, just like Xiangshanao to the west.

He had been to Xiangshan'ao and knew that Xiangjiang Island was established based on Xiangshan'ao. However, there were not only Portuguese people, but also Westerners such as the Dutch and Spanish were allowed to exist.

The types of these foreigners were determined by the emperor.

And the country was renamed Holland, also known as the Netherlands.

The Portuguese are divided into the Spanish and the Portuguese, and the two are not the same kind of people.

There were also foreigners such as the English and French. Although Wang Dingxian had never seen them, he knew their names.

These are what he gradually learned and understood after coming to Hong Kong.

The person who taught him was a very famous person. He was Feng Quan, a former cabinet minister who was listed as a member of the eunuch party.

This man attached himself to the eunuch party and was promoted to Grand Secretary at the age of 30. Later, he offended Wei Zhongxian's chief adviser Cui Chengxiu and was dismissed from office within a year.

However, the Donglin Party did not forget him. When they tried the Eunuch Party, they convicted him as the sixth category criminal, and the first of the sixth category, ahead of Gu Bingqian.

Such a person who failed in the internal struggle of the eunuch party and was envied by the Donglin Party had already been sentenced to death in the officialdom and it was basically impossible for him to be reinstated.

But he had a good friend, Zhou Yanru, who once "shared a bed with him and had sex with him every day", and he recommended him to the emperor.

Therefore, although he was not reinstated, he was transferred to Hong Kong with a piece of paper.

The emperor asked him to learn Western languages ​​and summoned officials to Hong Kong to plan and build and control the Hong Kong Parliament.

Speaking of this, we have to mention that before Wei Zhongxian fell, he was arranged by the emperor to become a public official.

At that time, in order to please the emperor, Wei Zhongxian forced the eunuch party and those who were affiliated with the eunuch party to donate money to the public officials to collect the money and grain needed to build the tomb of the late emperor.

Although Feng Quan was defeated in the internal struggle of the eunuch party, he was also a member of the eunuch party and was assigned 5,000 taels of silver.

Therefore, his younger brother, son and others all donated money to become public officials.

This civilian title was considered as a way for the emperor to amass wealth, and not many people paid much attention to it.

After all, the treatment that a scholar enjoys is also available to a public official. It is much more cost-effective to donate to become a student than to become a public official.

However, after the fall of the eunuch party, the status of a public official played a role. Even if the whole family of a person implicated in a rebellion was exiled, the civil title was not taken away. He was even treated as a scholar and enjoyed various preferential treatments.

Among those families that fell into ruin after their property was confiscated, some descendants made a living by serving as officials and helping merchants with their business.

It can be said that this official who was forced to donate money left them a glimmer of hope.

With this status alone, some families were able to survive difficult times and later become officials again through the imperial examination.

Because of this, the civilian title of Gongshi was favored by more and more people, and more and more people donated money to it.

Zhu Youjian made a lot of money by doing this.

When establishing the Xiangshan Bay and Xiangjiang Island Free Trade Zones, Zhu Youjian also stipulated that one could reside in the Free Trade Zone with the status of a public official, and have the right to vote and be elected, and could serve as a member of the Free Trade Zone, as well as being an official in the three departments.

When Feng Quan came, he brought with him many eunuchs who were public officials and were willing to come to Hong Kong.

Wang Dingxian has several such officials under his command, and now they work as clerks in the Xiangjiang Weiwei Office.

Speaking of which, Wang Dingxian was promoted and became an official official awarded the rank of ninth-rank second lieutenant.

Now he is an official police chief, responsible for the establishment of the most important port police station.

Because of this, he was fortunate enough to participate in the training of Hong Kong officials and was taught by Feng Quan, the former Grand Secretary, and enjoyed treatment he had never imagined before.

As a result, Wang Dingxian felt dizzy when walking these days, and never thought that there would be a day when he would be taught by the Grand Secretary.

Even though Feng Quan was a little unsophisticated as a Grand Secretary, he was promoted to the position of Grand Secretary. But before he became a Grand Secretary, he was a real Hanlin. His friendship with Zhou Yanru was established at that time.

At that time, because of their youth and beauty, they shared the same bed and engaged in lewd activities every day, and were called "little prostitutes and Hanlin".

As a native of Beijing, Wang Dingxian knew a little about Feng Quan's reputation.

But he also knew that people like Feng Quan were not people he could laugh at.

Apart from other things, Zhou Yanru did not fall from power after the Guanglu Temple case. Instead, he was quite trusted by the emperor because he took the initiative to declare his property.

With such a good friend in the court, even if Feng Quan could not be reinstated, he could not be bullied by anyone.

Not to mention that the emperor sent him to Hong Kong to set up the Hong Kong Parliament.

Wang Dingxian respected Feng Quan very much and even thought about asking him to find a good husband for his son when he grew up.

As he was already an official, he wanted his newborn son to embark on the path of imperial examination.

Because of his attitude, Feng Quan sent several of his sons to serve under him and help him set up a police station.

Now, under the leadership of Feng Quan and others, and with the help of the two thousand households in Dongguan and Dapeng, all the fishermen who originally lived on the island have been relocated and resettled on other islands.

The pier at Xiangjiang Port has also been repaired and can accommodate ships.

Various houses and buildings can accommodate thousands of people.

The Navy Department also sent officials and personnel from the Guangzhou Customs Office to set up a Hong Kong Branch.

It can be said that the conditions for establishing the Hong Kong Free Trade Zone are ripe, and it only waits for Westerners to recognize it and come here to trade.

But what worried Wang Dingxian was that the Westerners just wouldn't come.

Occasionally, a few Portuguese people would come from Xiangshan Bay to inquire about the news here.

As far as Wang Dingxian knows, the restructuring of the Xiangshan-Ao Free Trade Zone has been carried out smoothly.

Many missionaries and businessmen donated to the Ming Dynasty and were elected to the Xiangshanao Council.

The Xiangshan'ao Council has established a Government Affairs Office, which is specifically responsible to the Council.

The Jesuit Inquisition was incorporated into the Supreme Court, and was responsible for trying Westerners using Western religious laws.

They also had personnel on Hong Kong Island, setting up a religious inquisition in the Hong Kong Court of Justice.

Wang Dingxian didn't understand why the religious laws of foreigners were used in the territory of the Ming Dynasty. But these people could only judge Westerners, so he didn't bother to care. When they caught the criminal Westerners, they just sent them to the Supreme Court.

These people will not only be tried by the laws of the Ming Dynasty, but also by religious laws. This is a blessing that ordinary people cannot enjoy!

While thinking about these things, Wang Dingxian was walking on the street when he suddenly heard a noise.

This made him look up, and he saw more than a dozen large ships appearing on the newly built dock.

Many people filed out, carrying large and small bags, and got off the big ship.

Wang Dingxian saw an acquaintance, and pushed forward with all his might, shouting:

"Brother Zheng, Brother Zheng, do you still remember me?"

"I'm Wang Liu from the capital, we've met before!"

When Zheng Cai heard the name, she looked carefully and remembered who Wang Liu was.

It was this person who was discovered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard when he and Zheng Zhihu first entered Beijing.

I didn't expect that I would be promoted and sent to Hong Kong.

Seeing Wang Dingxian in a police captain's uniform with a bar and a star on his shoulder, he patted him hard and said:

"Good boy!"

"This is using us to get promoted!"

"Now he has become a ninth-rank lieutenant!"

Wang Dingxian smiled and said:

"TOEFL! TOEFL!"

"It's really thanks to Brother Zheng's opportunity!"

He patted his epaulettes again and said:
"This uniform of mine was sent from the capital not long ago. Can Brother Zheng recognize it?"

Zheng Cai laughed and said:

"It's the same in Dongning. The patrol officers of the Weiwei Office all wear this kind of clothes."

"I heard that the lieutenant of the guard will also have to wear it in the future, so I remembered this."

"You have one bar and one star, which means you are a ninth-rank lieutenant, right?"

This is not a secret, and even the Weiwei Office is popularizing it to the public. Wang Dingxian said with a smile:

"The Emperor said that these shoulder straps represent police ranks, and the ranks are divided by stars and bars."

"From now on, the Imperial Guard will use four-pointed stars, officers will use five-pointed stars, and civilian officers such as the Guards will use six-pointed stars."

"There is also a three-pointed star, which is awarded to technicians and auxiliary troops such as engineers and logistics troops."

"When you see the shoulder badges, Brother Zheng will be able to recognize them."

Zheng Cai asked curiously:

"Is this used in the military?"

"Everyone will have to match it in the future?"

Wang Dingxian said affirmatively:
"of course!"

"My rank as a second lieutenant is one bar and one star. If I move up to lieutenant, I will get one more star, up to one bar and four stars."

"A lieutenant plus one bar also makes it four stars."

"Add one more bar to the captain, and it will still be four stars."

"Captain Yang of our Xiangjiang Weiwei Office now has three bars and one star."

"I heard that there are even higher ones with no bars but only stars, which are to be awarded to generals."

"It's just that it hasn't been seen yet, and no one has got it yet."

With an envious tone, Wang Dingxian spoke of Captain Yang's three bars and one star. His biggest goal was this honor, or police rank.

His one bar and one star is eight levels short of three bars and one star. According to the five-year probation period for military officers, even if he does not make any meritorious service, he can still get promoted in 40 years. Not to mention that he is currently working in an overseas martial law zone, and as long as he does not make any serious mistakes, his probation will be reduced every few years.

This is also the reason why he was willing to follow Captain Yang and leave the capital.

After arriving in Hong Kong, he was quickly promoted to the rank of second lieutenant, and at the age of just over 20, he could become a captain and take charge of a local Weiwei Office after accumulating experience.

Zheng Cai didn't know the young man's ambitions, nor did he know much about epaulettes, so he just asked casually.

But at this moment, he suddenly heard Wang Dingxian say:

"I heard that the navy will also use it, not only as epaulettes, but also embroidered on the sleeves."

"The use of wide and narrow bands instead of staves and stars makes it easier to recognize at sea."

"If Brother Zheng joins the navy, he will also have shoulder straps and armbands in the future."

Zheng Cai was surprised. She didn't expect that Wang Dingxian also knew about the navy.

This made him inquire carefully, and then he took the initiative to tell his purpose:

"These Dutch people all migrated from Dongning."

"Don't be polite to them, but be on guard against them."

"These people built Fort Zeelandia on Dongning Island and wanted to occupy it."

"This time, they were forced to surrender by Mr. Huo and moved here."

"I heard that the Spanish have surrendered, and they will move here when the time comes."

Wang Dingxian was overjoyed when he heard this, because he knew that the Hong Kong Island Free Trade Zone was mainly set up for the Dutch and Spanish.

Now that these people have finally arrived, how can he not be happy?

So he quickly thanked Zheng Cai and told his superior, Captain Yang, the good news. (End of this chapter)