New Shun 1730

Valkenir didn't know why, he just thought this was another weird oriental tradition, a bit exotic, and it looked like some kind of witchcraft ritual.

Little did they know that the people here in Dashun also felt the same way when they watched Mass in those churches and sang Our Lady's Sacrifice during funerals.

Lian Fuguang was not born in Dashun, and had been to Dashun all his life.

But I also listen to a lot of scripts, operas, and stories on weekdays. The moment the incense table was set up and the reader unrolled the bright yellow scroll, he almost subconsciously knelt on the ground, just like the kneeling posture he used every year when worshiping ancestors, bending his head to the ground.

Several Lei Zhenlan next to them also made almost the same move, especially after seeing those soldiers.

"...I also know that you have no choice but to go abroad in order to make a living. The purpose of traveling across the ocean in those days was to find food. Even if people are outside the realm of kings, they are all my children..."

After the reading, Lian Fuguang imitated the scene in the play and shouted: "Long live my emperor, long live, long live..."

Although the movements were very irregular compared to those in the court, and the slogans were completely unruly, the people sent to observe by the emperor still remembered it in their hearts and were quite satisfied.

No matter what, these people's authority over the emperor is still imprinted in their minds.

Valkenir didn't know what the imperial edict actually said. Seeing these people with Dutch official positions and military ranks, almost subconsciously kneeling down to worship the pagan emperor, he didn't think much about it.

The Chinese are very exclusive in Batavia and have their own circles. During the great plague in Batavia six years ago, missionaries conducted a prayer ceremony in accordance with Protestant rules. Although the Chinese also participated, they were obviously not so devout.

The last governor, Dirk Van Croon, died in the plague. Some people commented that Governor Van Croon's death was obviously because people from a nation that worshiped idols, worshiped gods and were greedy for money were not pious and religious when praying. praying for the Governor with their heart, and with their own rites, caused God to be angry.

Although this is just a "justifiable" and public opinion campaign to capture Chinese people and send them to Ceylon and Cape Town as debt slaves, Valkenier is also used to some strange behaviors between the Chinese and Dutch cultural barriers, such as ancestor worship. wait.

He didn't think there was anything wrong with these people kneeling down to worship the Chinese emperor while wearing Dutch military titles. In his opinion, it was similar to ancestor worship, and it was a strange ritual.

After someone translated the gist of the imperial edict, Valkenir felt even more relaxed.

It seems that Dashun really acquiesces to the Dutch rule in Southeast Asia, and Batavia is not king.

The obvious meaning is that these Chinese should abide by local laws and refrain from committing crimes.

There was also a Dutchman in the crowd who recognized Shi Shiyong. This Dutchman had worked at the Nagasaki Merchant House. He had seen Shi Shiyong in Edo City when he went to visit Edo. He did not expect to see him again here.

We also know that this person should be a figure in the Dashun court, and we can also confirm that the level sent this time is enough to give the Dutch East India Company enough face.

You can guess that a spy who has lived in Edo for a long time will not have a low status within Dashun. The fact that such a person comes in person shows Dashun's attitude.

After the imperial edict was announced here, Shi Shiyong also met with the governor according to the Dutch etiquette of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This is a hint that only people within Dashun understand. The hint is that this is outside the Celestial Dynasty. If it is a place within the Celestial Dynasty that is not the royal land, the etiquette of other countries will not be used.

Valkenir couldn't understand the implications of this Confucian cultural circle. Shi Shiyong's approach was like ogling a blind man.

After a brief exchange of words, the two parties invited Shi Shiyong's people to go to the Governor's Mansion.

After walking a few steps along the way, Shi Shiyong asked the interpreter to ask: "I heard that there are many Tang people in Batavia. Why are there no traces of Tang people on the streets?"

Valkenir knew that this finally brought up a difficult reality, so he had to carefully explain it from the colonist's perspective.

"Mr. Special Envoy, maybe you don't know this. In the past few years, there have been a large number of unemployed and untouchable people in the Tang Dynasty, dressed in black. We call them the Black Shirt Party. They do not do their jobs and have no jobs. They wander around the city, rob and steal."

"I think it is not allowed in any country. For this reason, Batavia has to arrest them for the sake of public security and stability."

"After being arrested, they are people without residence permits. According to the law, they will be sent to hard labor."

"God is a loving King. He is willing and able to forgive all penitent people unconditionally, but He must let people know that the consequences of sin are actually very serious so that people will not sin again. Therefore, He let Christ come to the world to openly Suffer and die for us to bear the consequences of our crimes. But obviously, these Tang people do not believe in God and do not know the suffering of Christ for mankind, so they are made to do hard labor to let the Tang people know that the consequences of sin are actually. It’s very serious. So…”

As soon as the interpreter finished translating this sentence, Shi Shiyong burst into laughter.

"I have lived in Japan for a few years, but I heard that in the Netherlands, don't you all have statues of the Virgin Mary on your feet, and even business houses use Japanese era names to commemorate their years? So you also believe in Christ?"

He couldn't stand Valknir's nonsense. Even though he was on a mission, the habits he had developed in the market when he was a child were not so easy to break, so he subconsciously teased him.

Valkenir was speechless for a long time, and then he said: "Anyway... there are rumors that we loaded the criminals on the ship and threw them into the sea halfway. Such rumors spread widely. , when we searched for some criminals, law enforcement officers were beaten by Tang gangsters. "

"The Batavia government hoped to resolve the matter through consultation, but those criminals among the Tang people actually ambushed the law enforcement officers sent by the Governor's Palace. They killed more than ten people. They were so vicious that they even wanted to attack Batavia."

"Considering that some hooligans and restless elements among the Tang people are hiding in the city and may have official identity cover, we ordered the Tang people to close their doors and windows tightly and not to walk around the streets at will."

"I think this is a decision that any government would make. In your country, when rebels attack, will you allow people to take to the streets at will?"

Shi Shiyong said with all his heart, you are just talking nonsense about what sentencing is for Christ. Although I have not read a few books, I can still talk about it at a basic level. I thought about the simple words for a while and said: "No. The ancients said : The strength of a country lies not in danger but in virtue. This... uh..."

The deputy following him quickly answered: "In the past, the three Miao clans had Dongting on the left and Pengli on the right. Their virtues and righteousness were not cultivated, and Yu destroyed them. Xia Jie's residence was Heji on the left, Taihua on the right, and Yique was in the south. , the sheep's intestines are in the north, and the government is unkind, Tang Fangzhi: The country of Yin and Zhou had Longmen on the left, Taihang on the right, Changshan in the north, and the river in the south. If the government was not virtuous, King Wu would kill him. From this point of view, if he did not cultivate virtue, his boat would be in danger. Everyone in it is an enemy."

The deputy was born as the concubine or second son of a distinguished member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He had also studied in the Wude Palace for several years. At the very least, he could memorize a classic passage in "The Biography of Sun Wu".

Shi Shiyong nodded and said: "Of course. Batavia is backed by the sea and the city defense is strong. If you can cultivate virtue, there will be dangers in the mountains and rivers and the attachment of people's hearts. Why fear rebellion? If you don't cultivate virtue, even if there is a dangerous place, It cannot be defended. Could it be that Batavia has always been unfair to the Tang people and is that why they are worried about the Tang people in the city?"

These few simple words did not stump the interpreter, but they confused Valkenir. The translator also adheres to the principle of transliterating names of people and places as much as possible. When Dongting Pengli and Heji Taihua are translated, the flavor is naturally missing.

Fortunately, transliteration was chosen after the translation, and the general idea of ​​cultivating virtue was translated.

Shi Shiyong raised his hands to the north again and said: "I, Emperor Taizu, rebelled and conquered the world. This is because the previous dynasty did not practice morality and the whole country was an enemy. Since those people are guilty of committing crimes, we need to think about it first. , Why do they commit crimes when they are good people in China?"

"Does that mean that when oranges grow in Huainan, they become oranges, and when they grow in northern Huaibei, they become oranges?"

"Or maybe you don't practice virtuous government, and the oppression is so heavy that it has no choice but to rebel? What on earth have you done, so that the innocent emperor who is persecuting you actually wants to rebel?"

"The emperor ordered me to come here just to ask questions clearly."

Dashun has its own political correctness, which is directly related to the process of Dashun winning the country.

Although the emperor of the Li family actually did not like people to rebel, considering his own legality, he could only adopt an attitude of "abstract affirmation and concrete denial" in this matter.

Isn’t it right to create opposition if you can’t survive? Of course, otherwise Dashun's legitimacy would be in question, and the Li family would be a group of rebels.

However, when it comes to the uprising in Dashun, we have to be specific. There are not many eggs in Dashun. Of course, there are peasant uprisings. Apart from the abstract affirmation, the concrete must be negative. Kill those who deserve to be killed, catch those who deserve to be killed, and be merciless with those who deserve to be Ling Chi.

During the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, hundreds of schools of thought had not been deposed and only Confucianism was respected, so there was no need to argue. But at this time in Dashun, Confucianism had become the only thought, so they had to adopt this kind of abstract and concrete double standard.

The problem is that this is Nanyang, not Dashun. The Chinese rebelled, and the emperor had a navy in his hands, and he was confident that he would be able to control it in the future. At this time, it was natural to ask what the Batavia government had done that was so outrageous that everyone in the same boat was the enemy.

This was still said within the framework of the Celestial Dynasty. Even Fuguang and others understood it and felt that it was normal to ask this question, and even normal thinking should be like this.

In fact, there was nothing wrong with this framework in all dynasties. As long as it was controlled from the perspective of "anti-corrupt officials and not anti-emperor", each dynasty was generally relatively tolerant of books and plays that "incited rebellion".

But the premise of tolerance is not to touch the system itself. It is to appropriately allow the killing of corrupt officials within the framework of the system, and wait for Master Qingtian or the Imperial Envoy to investigate the case.

Anti-framing itself, not allowed. Pursuing justice within the framework, within the framework, allows. After all, Chen She still has "Aristocratic Family" and Huang Chao also has "Biography", which belongs to the officially recognized level of princes, generals and ministers.

Shi Shiyong didn't come from the imperial examination, and he didn't read too many books. Today, he heard that there was an uprising outside the city and killed more than a dozen Dutch people. He felt in his heart that these people were really smart.

Valkenir had no choice but to explain, saying that it was caused by the imposition of a poll tax.

Shi Shiyong laughed and said to the people around him: "I don't read much, but I remembered a piece of drama."

Then he said with a smile: "Let me ask you: does this fishing tax money have the will of the Holy One?"

The deputy following him did not read many sage books, and there were not many entertainment activities in these years. This kind of classic music was really like a parody that was imprinted in his bones, so he subconsciously said: "No."

"Official documents from the household government?"

"No."

"Where does it come from?"

"The county magistrate made the decision in court."

"Is it Wu Zhiqiu?"

"I want you to call me magistrate!"

"Dang! Go back and tell him: the fishing tax should be waived..."

"What if it's not?"

"If he bumps into me on the street, I will peel off his skin, pull out his tendons, dig out his eyes, and soak them in liquor!"

An attendant beside him also joined in the fun, saying in a shrill voice: "It's not good for a girl to kill people. But if your father kills people, it's also good for the child to stand by and show courage with your father..."

After reciting the lines, several people shouted a few lines of the Qinqiang opera "Fishing and Killing the Family", and the soldiers in the battle array naturally understood and cheered in unison.

Chen Chen, who wrote the sequel to Water Margin, was a man in the late Ming and early Shun period. Dashun had its own "Sequel to Water Margin", but the second half was slightly different.

In the historical version, it was "Zhao Liangsi proposed the plan of [allying with Jin to resist Liao] to King Song, which caused troubles later"; while in the Dashun version, it was "Cai Jing proposed the plan of [allying with Jin to eliminate the bandits] to King Song, which caused troubles later". The name of the corrupt official and bully was also changed from Lu Zhiqiu and Ding Zixie to Wu Zhiqiu and Hong Zixie.

Although Valknir did not understand the background of this play, he was not a fool. He could understand the logic here and could seamlessly switch the fishing tax to the head tax.

He thought that this was indeed a barbaric nation. Their plays even encouraged women to kill people...

When Shi Shiyong finished singing, he felt relieved and laughed, "Isn't this just a story of "Fishing and Killing the Family" and officials forcing the people to rebel? Let me ask you, are there any orders from the King of the Netherlands for this head tax and detention certificate tax?"

Walkenir thought that the Netherlands now has no king, but it was difficult to explain, so he had to say, "No."

"Is there an official document from the Dutch household government?"

Walkenir thought that Batavia was not under the jurisdiction of the seven provinces, but was the property of the company, so what was the Minister of Finance?

"No."

Shi Shiyong was still in the same mood as when he was singing a play just now, and asked, "Then what is the basis?"

"The orders of the previous governors."

"That's it. Since there is no order from the king and no official document from the household government, this tax should not be collected. I think the silver for the capitation tax should be waived!"