Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

As the core of the Taihu economic circle recognized by the emperor, what happens in Suzhou will naturally affect other places in the south of the Yangtze River.

Xu Xiake, a native of Changzhou, is one of them.

Originally, after the last party, he had decided to visit Jiangling Principality.

But what happened in Suzhou forced him to stay.

Xu Xiake, a commoner who owned many slaves and land, was very concerned about the employment and government land in Suzhou.

The result made him both dissatisfied and relieved, because Changzhou did not have as many official farmlands as Suzhou. In particular, the Xu family had been a large landowner since the beginning of the country, and most of the land handed down now was private farmland owned by the Xu family for generations.

Therefore, he did not have to worry about his own land being forcibly taken back, unlike the Suzhou gentry who owned government land and complained about it.

However, Xu Xiake was very dissatisfied with the limit on slaves.

With no achievements and no donations, he could only own two slaves of different races like other commoners.

If Changzhou also implemented this restriction, it would mean that he would have to release all the slaves in his home, which inevitably made him feel a little dissatisfied. At another gathering, he complained:

"Your Majesty is really a fool. He even restricts slaves and servants and insists on turning them into hired workers."

"This hired worker must be supported by a wealthy family. Who else can afford to hire someone?"

This was the thought of many wealthy families in Suzhou. They thought that they were the ones who supported their slaves and did not let them be as helpless as refugees. Unexpectedly, these lowly slaves still felt that it was not enough and even wanted to have no status difference with them.

This made them feel betrayed, and many families resolutely drove away the slaves who had ulterior motives.

Zhang Pu, who led the Employees Association, was still fighting with them, demanding that employers not arbitrarily fire workers who had worked for more than ten years, and even sign lifelong employment contracts with them.

Others who were laid off without reason also need to pay compensation, otherwise the matter will not be over.

This caused a lot of disputes, which made Huang Daozhou, the prosecutor, miserable.

He heard Xu Xiake's complaints and tried to persuade him:
"The emperor has been lenient this time, relaxing the slave quota ten times more than before."

"Brother, don't you want to donate to the government? I think you should donate as soon as possible."

"This way you can support ten slaves and keep the most loyal ones."

"Others can just sign employment contracts and can be fired if they don't perform well."

Xu Xiake still grumbled, thinking that ten slaves were not enough to serve his family. After all, a family like his had more than one wife, and also several concubines.

These mistresses needed to arrange for people to serve them, and then arrange for servants and maids to serve their children. Ten slaves were definitely not enough, and they were not assured of hiring workers.

He also remembered something and asked Huang Daozhou for advice:
"I heard that some families have already designated all the maids and other slaves as concubines."

"Do you think this is feasible? Can we use this method to raise more slaves?"

Huang Daozhou hurriedly stopped him upon hearing this and said sternly:

"Don't do this!"

"It is best not to find loopholes and violate the etiquette and laws set by the current emperor."

"Although the emperor is a little impatient, he is also very cautious. No matter what method is used, it must be tried out, and then it will be improved after the problems are found."

"Those who try to take advantage of concubines will surely suffer more in the future."

"Just like those people who still want to raise slaves in the name of adopted sons and daughters, they should really treat them as their own children."

This was his feeling after personally experiencing the changes in Suzhou. He felt that although the current emperor's approach was a bit hasty, it had its own set of rules.

There are some things that others are not clear about, but he, a judicial official in Suzhou and the person responsible for compiling the new etiquette and legal system, feels them deeply.

As far as he knew, restrictions on concubines were being formulated. They would be more relaxed than before, but they would still be restricted.

Especially for concubines who were born in good families, they were specially designated as good concubines. The number of concubines was strictly limited, and they also planned to collect concubine taxes.

A lowly concubine who was born a slave would become a resident or citizen after giving birth to a child, and would be transformed from a lowly concubine to a good concubine.

Therefore, it is not feasible to use concubines as slaves in various ways, and relevant clauses will definitely be included in the etiquette and laws that the court will eventually formulate.

Xu Xiake and others were all somewhat awed by Huang Daozhou's warning. Although not everyone listened to his advice, they all kept his words in mind.

Chen Jiru said at this time:
"My dear friend Xiake, there is something that is really hard to talk about."

"Recently, people often ask me about New Jiangnan. I have never been overseas, so how can I know everything?"

"Could you go take a trip to New Jiangnan for me?"

He then confessed his crime to Xu Xiake:

"I am really sorry for delaying your trip to Jiangling Principality."

"If you don't want to go, that's fine. I'll find some other people to go."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xiake said hurriedly:
"Why do you say that, Mei Gong?"

"The waterway of Jiangling Principality is about to freeze over. It's impossible for me to get there this year."

"Let's go south in the winter. It's warmer there!"

He immediately agreed to explore Xinjiangan and planned to go deep into the Lancang River and go upstream to Yunnan.

Chen Jiru was extremely happy to hear this, and even Wang Shimin said happily:

"Brother Xiake is willing to explore New Jiangnan. The gentlemen of Suzhou and I will keep it in mind."

"In this case, I think Brother Xia Ke doesn't need to donate the title of public official, and can just donate the title of knight directly."

"After all, the price of a knight is 1000 koku, and the down payment of a knight is only 3750 koku. After five years, he can cultivate good farmland and pay off the remaining installments."

Xu Xiake was naturally happy to hear this, but he was puzzled:
"Isn't this policy specifically aimed at Suzhou gentry?"

“As a Changzhou native, can I make donations like this?”

Wang Shimin laughed loudly and said:

"This is indeed the emperor's preferential treatment for Suzhou people, but it is not just for Suzhou people."

"Anyone who has land in Suzhou can donate it in exchange for land in New Jiangnan."

"Those who donate more than one li of land can be treated as Suzhou citizens, and can donate knighthood and pay in installments after five years."

"Brother Xiake and I will exchange one li of land, and I will give 3750 shi of grain as the down payment for Brother Xiake's donation to become a knight."

"Even if New Jiangnan cannot be developed and the remaining installments cannot be repaid, Brother Xiake can still have the status of a knight for five years."

This shocked Xu Xiake a little. He didn't expect Wang Shimin was willing to invest so much.

Although 375 acres of land in one fangli was not a small amount for him, he still did not hesitate at all and decided:
"How dare Xiake disobey the king's good intention?"

"If I become a knight, I will ask the prince to take care of the knight's territory."

"I just want a knighthood to make it easier for me to travel, I don't ask for wealth and glory!"

This is a good thing for Wang Shimin, but he doesn't want it to be like this.

Because compared to Xu Xiake's 100-square-mile knighthood, the path explored by Xu Xiake is what he values ​​more.

In the future, he can choose a territory based on the road and choose a good plot of land in New Jiangnan.

He had received a promise from the emperor that he would be awarded the status of baron for the merits of his grandfather Wang Xijue. If he did a good job in developing New Jiangnan, he might be promoted to viscount. He could choose a fief of 200 li in advance as his ancestral property passed down from generation to generation.

Shen Yongmao received the same treatment, and both of them were entrusted with the important task of developing New Jiangnan.

That's why he invested a lot of money to help Xu Xiake obtain the status of a knight and get a knighthood, so that Xu Xiake could be more careful, explore a navigable route, and choose a good plot of land.

Xu Xiake couldn't refuse, so he had to agree.

Huang Daozhou was somewhat puzzled and asked:
"Smoker, are you going to split up?"

"The Emperor is extremely concerned about cross-province and cross-province properties. Is your Wang family going to move a branch to Changzhou?"

After Wang Shimin exchanged one li of land in Suzhou with Xu Xiake, he owned one li of land in Changzhou Prefecture.

This kind of thing would definitely be registered with the government, because the emperor required that this be counted to prevent some people from evading property taxes in this way.

Therefore, in order to avoid taxes and to avoid the attention of the imperial court, most families would separate their branches in other places so that they no longer belonged to the same family.

Even after the taxation of enterprises began, some large merchants have split up and used clan members to manage foreign companies, turning into cooperative relationships. In the future, there will be a large number of small and micro enterprises in Jiangnan, which is also related to tax evasion.

Many people only want to pay three percent business tax and split up the business when it gets bigger.

Wang Shimin was very concerned about the affairs of the court, and he was also a family friend of Wen Tiren, so he naturally knew about these things. He sighed and said:

"That's right. The Wang family plans to move a branch to Changzhou."

"Suzhou has become a place of trouble. If we move some people to Changzhou, it might be better preserved."

"Three or four families pay one cent, and then they don't have to pay property tax."

"I also want to thank Brother Xiake for helping me exchange this piece of land."

The last sentence was addressed to Xu Xiake, and it was obvious that he also intended to ask the Xu family to take care of him.

Xu Xiake knew that he had taken advantage of the exchange this time, so he dared not take advantage of it. He promised Wang Shimin that he would help the Wang family settle down in Changzhou.

His next itinerary was also decided: to explore the Lancang River.
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Just as he was about to leave, a message came:
The imperial court conferred the title of Nan'an Earl on Zheng Zhilong for his achievements in naval battles. The spoils that Nan'an Earl presented as tribute to the imperial court have been transported to Suzhou.

One of the captured Dutch plywood ships was left behind by the emperor on purpose, for the Jiangnan Shipyard to be built, to build warships for the Chu vassal to go to Southeast Asia to establish a vassal state.

These warships were able to cross the oceans from the distant West to the Ming Dynasty, and were even used by the Dutch to dominate the South Seas and invade the Ming Dynasty. It can be seen that they have advantages.

Xu Xiake, who was extremely curious about this, applied to go on board for a visit.

In the past, he did not have the qualifications.

However, relying on his knighthood, which he had donated with his land, he easily obtained the qualification to board the ship for a visit, along with many other gentry who had also donated their knighthood.

These people called him "Sir" one after another, and some even called him "Sir", which made Xu Xiake feel uncomfortable. He hid himself away like a stranger like his father, and only visited places where there were no people.

"what is this?"

"What is it used for?"

Pointing to a map, Xu Xiake said with great curiosity.

Zheng Caidao, who was on the ship again entering Beijing, said:

"This is a nautical chart showing the routes discovered by the Dutch in the South Seas."

"This is actually the biggest trophy this time. With it, Ming Dynasty can also control Southeast Asia."

He felt somewhat smug when he spoke of this, for he had discovered this when he was sorting out his spoils.

After the report was sent to the capital, the emperor asked for it to be sent over, and a fleet was arranged to explore these routes.

In order to encourage Ming Dynasty's maritime merchants to explore the South Seas, these routes were not required to be kept confidential, but all merchants were allowed to travel freely.

Xu Xiake's impression of the Dutch changed greatly after seeing such a detailed nautical chart:

"The Dutch should not be underestimated for being able to draw such a map."

"I wish I could draw pictures, so I could draw all the places I've been to."

Zheng Cai was delighted when she heard this and said:

“If you want to draw, you can learn it!”

"Both the military academy in the capital and the naval academy in Tianjin teach how to draw longitude and latitude maps."

"The Astronomy School of the Imperial Observatory also teaches this, and they also study the measurement methods of longitude and latitude."

"You know about the bounty for the marine clock, right? That clock is used to measure longitude."

He knew all these things by heart, and spoke them out with great joy:

There’s nothing we can do about it, since most people don’t know the value of things!

These people simply could not understand the nautical charts that were so precious to them and the court.

Now that he had finally met someone who knew what he was doing, he began to speak with all he had learned.

Xu Xiake listened with great interest and asked some more questions about the situation at sea. He became even more excited about exploring New Jiangnan.

When Zheng Cai learned that Xu Xiake was going to New Jiangnan to see if the place was as good as the court said, he enviously said:

"You people really don't know how to appreciate your blessings."

"We worked so hard to gain sea power, but the most fertile land is going to be given to you."

"If the emperor had not granted us only Borneo, we would really like to go to New Jiangnan."

Speaking of this, Zheng Cai felt a little indignant. She was unwilling to let the Fujianese give up the territory to the Suzhou people.

Unfortunately, Suzhou was the queen's hometown, and even the emperor considered himself Suzhou's son-in-law, and continued to select beauties from Suzhou.

Even if he was resentful, he could only keep it to himself and go to Borneo to choose a fiefdom.

Fortunately, the emperor still treated them well and allowed them to establish a fiefdom in Java, the most fertile island in Southeast Asia.

Li Guozhu, Liu Xiang and others were already in a hurry to go there, fearing that they would be snatched away by people from Jiangnan again.

Xu Xiake felt like laughing when he heard these complaints. He confirmed that the Lancang River Delta was one of the best, if not the best, land in Southeast Asia.

It's just a little small, only about 300,000 square miles. Four earls can make it, no wonder the emperor often made sons and sons here.

Thinking about the number of jazzmen in Suzhou now, Xu Xiake was secretly shocked and felt that he had to go there as soon as possible:

This time the emperor gave a lot of money to junior knights. There were at least tens of thousands of people in Suzhou who had the financial resources to donate to become knights.

One hundred square miles is not enough for each person to share, so the rest can only be used to choose bad plots of land.

Even the number of viscounts is limited, but no more than ten.

No wonder Wang Shimin spent so much effort and was willing to help him obtain knighthood.

Even if it means paying him money, I have to go there as soon as possible and help him choose a good fiefdom.

Thinking about the Zheng family's influence in Southeast Asia, Xu Xiake inquired about how to get to New Jiangnan.

When Zheng Cai learned that Xu Xiake was commissioned by the Wang family to explore New Jiangnan, he enthusiastically introduced the ship and helped bring Xu Xiake there.

He also taught Xu Xiake many tips for living in Southeast Asia and suggested that he bring bodyguards with him.

He especially admired the new-style firearm, believing that this kind of firearm, which did not require ignition and was not afraid of wind and rain, was very suitable for Southeast Asia.

Xu Xiake, with his guards and muskets, could definitely run rampant in Southeast Asia. He could even conquer a piece of land and upgrade his rank. (End of this chapter)