The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 319: Suppressing Urban Rebellion
Yang Yuchun, commander of the Hamburg garrison, met with representatives of the Hamburg City Hall and local people with a somewhat annoyed mood.

They include the Speaker of the Parliament, the President of the city commune, the Chief Justice, as well as influential members of parliament, heads and members of social associations, and well-known judges.

The Hamburg representatives first asked for confirmation of the Ming Emperor's order and to confirm how much autonomous power Hamburg would have in the future.

Yang Yuchun told them very bluntly:

In the future, the city of Hamburg will belong to the King of Han and King of Hanover of the Ming Dynasty.

In the future, the political, military, and judicial leaders of cities will be appointed directly by the kingdom, rather than being generated locally.

In the future, everyone in Hamburg must abide by the laws set by the Ming Dynasty and the King.

What Yang Yuchun said was of course correct. The cities of the Ming Dynasty looked like this, and they were all directly managed by officials appointed by the emperor.

In the eyes of the Hamburg representatives, this meant depriving the country of all autonomy and establishing a dictatorship by officials appointed by the king.

Of course they didn't want to accept it, so they protested.

As a representative, the Speaker stated that Hamburg could pledge allegiance to the Ming Dynasty, but hoped to become a city directly under the jurisdiction of the Ming Emperor rather than a territory of a king.

They can respect and even learn from the traditions of the Ming Dynasty, but they also hope to have a certain degree of autonomy.

Yang Yuchun did not refuse directly. He knew that it might lead to armed conflict. This so-called city had its own armed forces.

It's not that he can't suppress it, but that the emperor has decided to cease fire and maintain stability in Europe.

If I cause a big fuss in the local area, the emperor probably won't be very happy when the news reaches Shuntian Prefecture.

That's why Yang Yuchun tried to comfort her patiently:
"I am only responsible for fighting and sending you notifications. As for how you will manage your place in the future, I will have to wait until your king sends someone here before I can discuss this with you further.

"If you have any ideas, you can ask your king, and then your king will ask His Majesty."

Yang Yuchun's way of thinking obviously did not match that of these European businessmen.

The main reason why these autonomous cities emerged was that merchants could use the power of distant kings, emperors, and churches to improve their negotiating position with local lords.

What they really want now is to establish direct contact with the Ming court and avoid the local ruling institutions.

Yang Yuchun asked them to wait for the king to come and ask the emperor for instructions on their behalf, so that their previous methods would be of no use.

However, they also knew that the original churches, lords, and Holy Roman Emperors were either gone or could no longer play a role.

The only ruler left among them was the Ming Emperor, and the new king was the emperor's son, so there was already very little room for negotiation.

Coming to see Yang Yuchun was originally a test. The result we got now is not the worst. We can only wait for the king to come and then talk.

They didn't have to wait too long, as Zhu Jingjian soon arrived with his fiancée and brothers.

Zhu Jingjian did not follow the example of European kings and hold public parades when he arrived in his new territory. In fact, European kings basically did not do that after Louis XVI.

Zhu Jingjian didn't even enter the city. Instead, he greeted Yang Yuchun who came to greet him and went directly to the military camp outside the city under his escort.

Several princes settled down directly in the military camp, and then followed Yang Yuchun to eat in the officers' mess hall, and talked about any special circumstances in Hamburg.

Yang Yuchun had nothing to hide, so he told Zhu Jingjian that the original city hall wanted to govern itself, and reminded Zhu Jingjian to be as careful as possible.

Zhu Jingjian had an idea when he listened, and he immediately expressed his opinion after Yang Yuchun finished speaking.

“In fact, in the cities and towns of our Ming Dynasty, there are also various industry associations and gangs, and in the villages there are also large and small clan groups.

“Although after the Chongzhen period, the Ming Dynasty established grassroots institutions such as wards, cities, factories, townships, and towns below the county level, and intervened in the direct management of ordinary urban residents and rural areas.

“The Ming Dynasty’s control over local and grassroots levels has also increased a lot, but it still cannot completely replace these de facto autonomous groups.

“Moreover, this kind of grassroots organization has not been fully rolled out and is only really arranged in relatively affluent areas.

"In those remote counties, the level of grassroots autonomy is still high."

Shen Fu, the Junior Secretary of the Honglu Temple, also smiled and said with emotion:
“Your Highness is absolutely right. In fact, many of the systems and requirements of our Ming Dynasty are exaggerated.

“It is required that the administrative, judicial and military leaders here must be appointed directly by the king, as if the king has the power to make arbitrary decisions.

“But when it comes to actual implementation, there are always various flexible response plans.

“In fact, in counties where there was no grassroots organization, the imperial court would usually only appoint a county magistrate, a county magistrate, a judge, and a county lieutenant.

"The clerks, clerks, and runners who actually handle affairs in the magistrate's office, the judge's office, and the county lieutenant's office are still local.

“Many similar things can be transformed from unacceptable to acceptable by simply changing the wording.

“For example, Your Highness, you can claim that you are not going to rule Hamburg directly.

“You only arranged a few officials to represent your will as king, supervise the operation of various power institutions in Hamburg, and ensure that they would not harm your interests.

“The actual day-to-day management of Hamburg will still be left to them.

"Plus, now that the Church in Europe and the Grand Commander of the Holy Roman Empire are gone, and our Lord will not have anything to do with them, they will have no choice but to accept this arrangement."

After listening to this, Zhu Jingjian smiled and nodded and said:
"Mr. Shen's words make sense, but negotiations must first have backing. General Yang, how many troops can you give me?"

Yang Yuchun immediately said:

“According to your majesty’s order, I can leave you 10,000 main force divisions and 20,000 militia divisions as your kingdom’s guard corps.

“The costs of the kingdom’s army, construction, and development will be supported by the Ming court’s finances for twenty years, decreasing at a rate of ten percent every two years.

“The portion of the court that is gradually reduced can be supplemented by the financial resources collected by your local organizations, or you can also disband some of the troops.

“If the kingdom’s finances become prosperous in the future, you can continue to use these soldiers as officers and form more troops with local people.”

Zhu Jingjian is very satisfied with this arrangement:

"Good, great, with these 30,000 troops, the kingdom will be stable.

"These 30,000 men are all equipped with Type A rifles, right?"

Yang Yuchun nodded:
"Yes."

Zhu Jingjian immediately continued to ask:

“What is the population of Hamburg itself?”

Yang Yuchun said:

"Now there are about 80,000 people."

Zhu Jingjian was obviously stunned for a moment:
"What? Only... 80,000 people? Paris, London, and Antwerp have hundreds of thousands of people!"

Shen Fu also confirmed:
“According to the news, there are indeed only 80,000 people here, but this is already a very large city in Europe.

“London, New York, Antwerp, those are special cases.

"We in the Ming Dynasty are in Hadlun City, and there are now more than 200,000 people."

Zhu Jingjian seemed to have figured it out all of a sudden:

"Is there something wrong with the brains of these white devils? With just this small number of people, they still want to negotiate with me for self-government?
“If I didn’t have an army, I would certainly have to talk to them nicely.

“If I had a Ming army of several thousand men, I could negotiate with them on how to get along in the future.

"Now I have 30,000 Type A rifle corps, so they can either obey or die. There is no other meaningless option.

"General Yang, when can you give me command of the army? I'm ready to massacre the whole city.

"All adult men and old people were killed, women and girls were made servants for the soldiers, and all boys were castrated and made slaves."

Yang Yuchun and Shen Fu were both stunned, and both of them subconsciously persuaded:
"Your Highness, your guard corps has been organized and can be given to you at any time, but it is not appropriate to start a war now, right?"

"Your Majesty also hopes that Europe can settle down as soon as possible and not get involved in war again in the short term."

Zhu Jingjian said as a matter of course:

"For these white devils in Hamburg, the best way to settle them is to bury them in the ground. People are more obedient than anything else after they die.

"The Ming army now has hundreds of thousands of troops in Germany, and has built trenches and barbed wire around Hamburg.

"General Yang, you surround the city with your army, and my guard corps will go in to settle them.

“I estimate that it will only take ten days at most to completely resolve the problem of unstable rule here.

"Mr. Shen, you should know that it is not uncommon for European lords to rob and massacre the unruly people in their own cities.

"Since I came here to be a lord and married a European woman, shouldn't I follow the local customs?"

Shen Fu didn't know how to comment:
“This…European lords did rob and massacre their own cities, but there were usually reasons for it.

“It’s mainly because they owe money, or they want more taxes, and the merchants in the city don’t want to pay.”

Zhu Jingjian continued to say confidently:
“In short, what they did was to disobey the orders of the lord, and the current situation is the same.

"They disobeyed the laws of the Ming court and the vassal states, and took the initiative to ask me, the king, for power. "The only way is to teach them a lesson, and set an example for other cities."

Yang Yuchun actually felt that what Zhu Jingjian said made sense and could indeed set an example.

But I still felt that directly massacring the city was too outrageous, so I didn't know how to answer it.

Shen Fu could only continue to persuade subconsciously:

"Your Highness, please calm down. The situation is not that bad yet. We are still in the communication and negotiation stage.

"You can meet with local representatives, announce your will, and tell them that if they don't obey, they will be treated as rebels and suppressed.

"If they still refuse, then you can order a crackdown with good reason, and it won't count as punishing without teaching."

Zhu Jingjian hesitated for a few seconds and felt that a direct massacre would probably not pass muster with his father, so he really had to come up with a reason.

At the very least, they must be labeled as rebels, and then they must be suppressed in the name of suppressing the rebellion. And they cannot be really killed all, they must be allowed to surrender.

So Zhu Jingjian generously accepted Shen Fu's suggestion, and then directly ordered someone to arrange for representatives of Hamburg's original ruling group to meet him.

The next morning, they were still in Yang Yuchun's camp, but in an open space outdoors. Yang Yuchun had people prepare chairs.

Zhu Jingjian put on the prince's robe and sat in the middle chair. Yang Yuchun and Shen Fu sat on Zhu Jingjian's right.

Zhu Jingjian's young fiancée Charlotte, his future father-in-law, the British Crown Prince of Wales, and British Foreign Secretary Grenville sat on Zhu Jingjian's right.

There were two rows of soldiers carrying Type A bolt-action rifles standing on the left and right sides.

Yang Yuchun's adjutant brought in the representatives from Hamburg, asked them to stand in the open space among the soldiers, and introduced them to the people on the scene.

The adjutant first pointed out Zhu Jingjian's identity, and this group of local bullies immediately looked at their future king, the Prince of the Ming Dynasty who was only sixteen years old.

They all prepared a lot of words, countless reasons, and countless plans, ready to negotiate with the king.

But Zhu Jingjian didn't want to give them a chance to speak. After the adjutant introduced the others, he announced directly:
"I, the sixteenth prince of the Ming Dynasty, the King of Han and the King of Hanover, now formally order the immediate and complete abolition of Hamburg's autonomous city status.

"The Hamburg Parliament, the Hamburg guilds and all the guilds, the Hamburg courts, the Hamburg army and the Hamburg police are all dissolved immediately.
“At the same time, all personnel of the corresponding agencies will be relieved of all their duties.

"If the relevant agencies and relevant personnel use the name of the relevant agencies to carry out any public affairs without my permission, it will violate my orders and requirements.

"They will all be regarded as traitors and rebels and will be killed on the spot without mercy.

“From now on, all local laws and officials will be formulated and appointed by me personally, and no one may interfere.

"Given the general stupidity of Europeans, I might as well be clear with you.

"In the future in Hanover and Hamburg, my orders will be your supreme law. You either obey or die."

Shen Fu and Yang Yuchun were already mentally prepared and just sighed in their hearts at this time.

But Charlotte, the Prince of Wales, and Grenville had no idea how the future British son-in-law would negotiate with the people of Hamburg.

They believe that Zhu Jingjian will most likely make slight adjustments to the degree of autonomy and eventually obtain the final judicial power in Hamburg and the power to appoint senior officials.

Now I am completely stunned after hearing half of it. This is not a negotiation at all, but an ultimatum, and what they are asking for is complete dictatorship.

Grenville was the first to react. He subconsciously turned around and grabbed the Prince of Wales' arm, and reminded him with a completely suppressed sense of shock:
"Your Highness... What is this prince going to do? Do you want to remind him and persuade him?"

The Prince of Wales was stunned for a few seconds, then immediately turned to his daughter and son-in-law and uttered a few words:
"Your Highness, this is not a good idea. This is an absolute dictatorship. The merchants from the free cities will definitely not accept it."

Zhu Jingjian ignored the noise and just looked at the people in front of him with a stern face to see how they would respond.

The representatives of the local ruling class in Hamburg were all stunned. From what Yang Yuchun had expressed before, they thought they could talk to the king.

They had never expected that the king would give a death order right from the start and demand absolute dictatorship. They couldn't help but complain.

"Your Majesty... let's not be like this, we should be able to discuss it."

"Hamburg is a famous city in Germany. The city can generate a lot of tax revenue, which is considerable wealth."

“Running a city is a very complex job and you don’t have to spend your energy on it.”

"Dictatorship without freedom will definitely limit the city's revenue, and you will get less tax money in the end."

Zhu Jingjian didn't want to pay any attention to these noises. He just confirmed that they didn't surrender to him immediately, and then turned to Yang Yuchun:

"General Yang, they obviously don't want to accept my orders. This is a rebellion. Let my guard corps enter the city to quell the rebellion.

"Kill all the rebels who refuse to surrender, and make slaves of all those who surrender.

"Raze this old city to the ground and rebuild a Ming-style Hamburger City."

Yang Yuchun felt that this order was a bit exaggerated. These Europeans had no intention of rebelling at all. They just wanted to have a brief talk with him.

So Yang Yuchun did not dare to accept the order immediately. He looked at Shen Fu somewhat at a loss, hoping that he would persuade him.

Shen Fu stood up and said loudly to the hamburger representative:

"Your Highness is serious about everything he says. This is now the territory of the Ming Dynasty, not the so-called German Alliance.

"Your city has a total population of only 80,000. Can you fight against His Highness's 30,000 Ming Dynasty guards?

"Your Highness is not interested in the wealth of your European city. If you do not surrender immediately and completely, the final result will be death."

Zhu Jingjian is not making empty threats now. Zhu Jingjian has no interest in continuing the negotiations at all.

Zhu Jingjian's real purpose was to make an example of someone else and set an example for free cities in the Hanover region and even across Europe.

Let them know that times have changed, and the vassal monarchs under the Ming Dynasty are no longer the former Holy Roman Empire.

There are Ming Dynasty soldiers suppressing them here, and the result for them if they are unwilling to obey is death.

When Zhu Jingjian saw that Yang Yuchun disobeyed orders and Shen Fu began to persuade him, he became a little anxious and annoyed.

Zhu Jingjian is a prince after all. He grew up under the rule of others and has a naturally hot temper. He is more murderous than most people.

At this time, there was no time to wait for the Hamburg people to express their opinions, and they were even worried that they would immediately give in and obey orders.

Zhu Jingjian stood up and looked at Yang Yuchun, pointing his finger at him and yelling:
"Yang Yuchun, what do you mean? My father promised to give me the guard corps, but I can't command it now!
“If you don’t carry out the order immediately, I will write a report to my father.

"You gave me a hard time about the Guard Corps, and you sided with these European white devil rebels.

"Are you trying to win their hearts and minds and start a rebellion in Germany?"

Yang Yuchun came to his senses immediately, jumped up and said loudly:

"Your Highness, calm down. I will immediately assign your guard corps to you, and I will immediately cooperate with them to suppress the rebellion!

"Your Highness, please take the princess back to the tent to rest, so she won't be frightened by the flash of swords and blood."

Yang Yuchun thought that the sixteenth prince was a lunatic.

If he really wrote the report to the emperor as he said, perhaps the Sixteenth Prince himself would be reprimanded by the emperor, but he would definitely leave a bad impression in the emperor's heart.

How can a general sent abroad dare to win the hearts of the people?

The point is, it is absolutely not worth it for just a few tens of thousands of European barbarians, so it is better to kill them quickly.

According to the situation of the occupying forces in various places, it is now necessary to take drastic measures to intimidate the residents of European cities who are accustomed to freedom.

When Zhu Jingjian heard Yang Yuchun take the order, he snorted coldly, took Charlotte with him and left.

Yang Yuchun waved his right hand, and the guards on both sides immediately raised their rifles and aimed at the representatives of Hamburg's ruling class in the middle of the venue.

These speakers, councillors, commune presidents, association chairmen, and wealthy businessmen looked at the backs of Zhu Jingjian and his wife as they left, and at the black muzzles of guns in front of them, and finally realized that things seemed to be getting out of control.

He might be serious about being the future king. His previous anger was not in preparation for real negotiations. He really wanted to kill these people.

After two congressmen and a businessman reacted, they subconsciously bowed and begged:

"No, no, no, we are willing to be loyal to Your Majesty, we are willing to obey all Your Majesty's orders, please don't kill us..."

Yang Yuchun looked back at Zhu Jingjian and confirmed that he had pulled Charlotte into the tent before he gave his guards the order to open fire.

After a burst of intensive gunfire, only the three people who had just begged for mercy were not killed.

The others, whether they really intended to continue fighting or those who were slow to react and had no time to surrender, have now been shot and fallen to the ground.

Yang Yuchun continued to give orders with a dark face:

“According to your Highness’ wishes, those who surrendered will be demoted to slaves and will be temporarily detained in a prisoner camp, awaiting unified treatment after the war.

"Let the main force of the army leave the camp, enter the trenches and fortresses, surround the city of Hamburg, and don't let anyone leave.

"Assign your Highness's guard corps to enter the city and suppress the rebellion of the unruly people of Hamburg."

(End of this chapter)