It was rumored in the martial world that certain highly skilled machinists, with a mere touch of their hands, could discern the precise tolerances of a workpiece.
By the same token, Zhu Jinsong, as the ringleader of the paramount rebels, intimately understood the minds of these dissidents. If, back then, that old cur Qian Long had ventured south without his armies and with little escort, Zhu Jinsong couldn't say for sure if he wouldn't have ambushed him with a volley of shots.
At the very least, Zhu Jinsong felt he would have found it difficult to resist such a temptation, let alone these "monkey people" who lacked brains.
However, there was one thing Zhu Jinsong absolutely could not comprehend.
It was an undeniable fact that the "monkey people" possessed limited intellect. Yet, avoiding harm and seeking advantage was a biological instinct. Even the most brainless "monkey people" should know the consequences of causing trouble in Old Port and Lanfang, right?
If the "monkey people" knew the outcome of their actions, why did they persist in stirring up trouble?
Could it be due to the recruitment of laborers?
But this reason wasn't very convincing, as the Great Ming's armies were not directly involved in labor recruitment.
Moreover, Old Port was previously under the control of the Dutch "barbarians." If the laborers in Lanfang could possibly have been recruited by the Lanfang Company, then the laborers in Old Port must have been recruited by those Dutch "barbarians." At most, after the Dutch "barbarians" withdrew from Old Port, the Shi family also took the opportunity to recruit some. The Great Ming was not directly involved.
Frankly speaking, the recruitment of laborers by the Dutch "barbarians," the Shi family, and the Lanfang Company was their own affair. The Great Ming was not the one taking direct action. For these "monkeys" to shift the blame onto the Great Ming, and even to want to overthrow the Great Ming's rule because of it, seemed rather unreasonable.
Could it be that the officials dispatched by the Ministry of Personnel to Old Port and Lanfang were too oppressive towards the "monkey people"?
This possibility was also very slim, so slim it was almost nonexistent. For the esteemed officials of the Great Ming, the "monkey people" were certainly impoverished wretches with hardly any oil in their bones. If they had the time to extort the "monkey people," it would be better to collude with the ports of Old Port or Lanfang. At the very least, thinking about how to improve the lives of the citizens who migrated from the Great Ming and enhance their performance reviews for a faster promotion and wealth would yield more benefits than extorting the "monkey people."
After racking his brain without finding any satisfactory answer, Zhu Jinsong finally turned to Ke Zhiming and asked, "Have you figured it out? Why do those 'barbarians' want to rebel?"
Upon Zhu Jinsong's question, Ke Zhiming's expression became peculiar. After a long pause, he bowed respectfully with a troubled look and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the root cause of those 'barbarians' wanting to rebel lies in the 'Great Ming Gazette'."
Zhu Jinsong was taken aback and pressed, "'Great Ming Gazette'?"
Ke Zhiming replied, "Yes, it's because someone brought the 'Great Ming Gazette' to Old Port and Lanfang, and then translated it into languages that those 'barbarians' could understand. Those 'barbarians' learned about the benefits that Your Majesty and the imperial court have bestowed upon the common people of the Great Ming."
"In addition to that, several articles originally published by Your Majesty in the 'Great Ming Gazette,' especially those calling for the entire realm to rise against the Qing, were revered as gospel by these 'barbarians'..."
Ke Zhiming's voice grew softer, while Zhu Jinsong's expression became increasingly complex.
So, it was still because of me?
Damn it!
I called upon the common people of the realm to rise against the Qing because the Jurchen invaders took advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains to conquer the land. After seizing the throne, they then did all sorts of despicable things. Massacres, population reduction, land enclosure, foot binding, book burning – they did every wicked deed imaginable. But are the situations in Old Port and Lanfang the same as in the Great Ming?
No, they are not! Lanfang voluntarily requested annexation by the Great Ming. Old Port was taken over by the Shi family from the Dutch "barbarians," and then they applied for annexation under the title of hereditary Pacification Commissioner of Old Port, enfeoffed by Emperor Yongle of the Great Ming. These places were not occupied by the Great Ming by force, were they?
Besides, the Great Ming hasn't done anything to Old Port and Lanfang. The Great Ming doesn't care about you "barbarians." You live your savage lives, and the people of the Great Ming diligently and industriously build their new homeland. Does this provoke you?
Furthermore, don't these "barbarians" bear any fault?
From the Great Ming's perspective, is it not reasonable to govern Old Port and Lanfang well and to ensure that the people of the Great Ming live better lives here? As for those "barbarians," what relationship do they have with the Great Ming? The Red Creek Massacre and the incidents of that year are undeniably linked to them. Although they were used as pawns, they were the ones who acted, weren't they?
The more Zhu Jinsong thought about it, the more uncomfortable he became, even feeling a sense of injustice.
Don't accuse Zhu Jinsong of being hypocritical.
As Mr. Lu Xun once said, everyone hates hypocrites, but when a certain matter involves themselves, everyone becomes a hypocrite.
Just as many people hate the "silly eagle" precisely because we are not yet the "silly eagle."
Moreover, the Great Ming believes in settling accounts – our ancestors once said: "Even after nine generations, can revenge still be taken? Yes, even after a hundred generations."
Zhu Jinsong did not intend to let the Dutch "barbarians" behind the scenes off the hook, but he temporarily had no time to deal with the messy affairs in Europa and could only leave them for future reckoning. However, these "monkeys" who acted directly were right before his eyes. Suppressing them and settling scores is quite normal, isn't it?
It's not impossible for Zhu Jinsong to give up his revenge against these "monkeys" and treat them the same as the people of the Great Ming, but the prerequisite for doing so is that the small planet has truly achieved universal harmony. Until then, it's not possible. Zhu Jinsong must prioritize the interests of the people of the Great Ming.
Compared to other countries on the entire small planet, the Great Ming is more like a civilization disguised as a nation. Whether it is its universal value system, its way of thinking, its national institutions, or its capitalist system, the Great Ming is different from other countries. Even if other countries want to learn, they can only create a poor imitation.
Of course, Zhu Jinsong doesn't care how much the "barbarians" learn. He also doesn't actually care why these "monkeys" are rebelling. Anyway, sooner or later, they will be recruited as laborers; it's just a matter of when.
In comparison, Zhu Jinsong is more curious about where these "barbarians" got the audacity.
To Zhu Jinsong's question, Ke Zhiming provided an answer: "Because those 'barbarians' believe that the Great Ming's stationed troops in Old Port and Lanfang are not numerous, and the warships patrolling the seas are also few. They... they think the Great Ming can only mobilize such a small force..."
Zhu Jinsong stared at Ke Zhiming, completely bewildered, his eyes almost conveying the four words "utter disbelief."
It was true that the Great Ming's stationed troops in Old Port and Lanfang were not numerous, with one army per province, and their numbers appeared somewhat small when dispersed. However, Zhu Jinsong never imagined that these "barbarians" would gain the courage to cause trouble for this reason.
Why wasn't the Great Ming stationing more troops in Old Port and Lanfang?
It wasn't that the Great Ming lacked the capability to station more troops, but rather that it was temporarily unnecessary.
In the current state of the small planet, who dared to disregard the Great Ming's authority? Provoking the Great Ming was equivalent to provoking the "Five Great Sages." Moreover, the Great Ming's stationed troops in Old Port and Lanfang were not primarily for defense against attacks on Old Port and Lanfang. Besides preparation for disasters, their symbolic significance far outweighed their practical importance.
Furthermore, the Great Ming's overall focus currently is not on massively increasing its military numbers, because if the Great Ming were to rapidly expand its forces, it would involve tens of millions of soldiers...
Zhu Jinsong dared not even imagine such a scene. When calling roll, it would take hundreds or even thousands of people named Zhang San to respond simultaneously. The logistics of other countries' armies were managed by cook squads, while the Great Ming would require at least cook regiments or even higher-level formations.
Therefore, the Great Ming's current military development policy is to enhance combat effectiveness while also focusing on economic growth.
Moreover, in addition to the two regular army formations in Lanfang and Old Port, the Great Ming actually has four Guards formations, each with over five thousand six hundred men. Although the Guard and Garrison formations are more responsible for local affairs rather than engaging in direct combat on the front lines, the training and equipment of the Great Ming's Guards and Garrisons are identical to those of the regular army. In terms of combat effectiveness, these Guards and Garrisons are not inferior to the regular army.
Therefore, these "monkeys" have gone beyond simply growing hair on their courage; they have grown a whole person on it!
However, what Zhu Jinsong never anticipated was that after seeing off Louis XVI and George III, and making a circuitous journey from India to Old Port, he would truly realize how frenzied these "monkeys" were, or rather, how foolish they were.
At the very least, the ironclad ship "Linyi," where Zhu Jinsong was located, could not even enter the port of Old Port. These "monkeys" had dug up large quantities of corpses and, using their familiarity with the terrain, scattered the rotten corpses everywhere. The entire Old Port had been sealed off by the stationed troops of Old Port.
The more Zhu Jinsong thought about it, the more uncomfortable he became, even feeling a sense of injustice.
Don't accuse Zhu Jinsong of being hypocritical.
As Mr. Lu Xun once said, everyone hates hypocrites, but when a certain matter involves themselves, everyone becomes a hypocrite.
Just as many people hate the "silly eagle" precisely because we are not yet the "silly eagle."
Moreover, the Great Ming believes in settling accounts – our ancestors once said: "Even after nine generations, can revenge still be taken? Yes, even after a hundred generations."
Zhu Jinsong did not intend to let the Dutch "barbarians" behind the scenes off the hook, but he temporarily had no time to deal with the messy affairs in Europa and could only leave them for future reckoning. However, these "monkeys" who acted directly were right before his eyes. Suppressing them and settling scores is quite normal, isn't it?
It's not impossible for Zhu Jinsong to give up his revenge against these "monkeys" and treat them the same as the people of the Great Ming, but the prerequisite for doing so is that the small planet has truly achieved universal harmony. Until then, it's not possible. Zhu Jinsong must prioritize the interests of the people of the Great Ming.
Compared to other countries on the entire small planet, the Great Ming is more like a civilization disguised as a nation. Whether it is its universal value system, its way of thinking, its national institutions, or its capitalist system, the Great Ming is different from other countries. Even if other countries want to learn, they can only create a poor imitation.
Of course, Zhu Jinsong doesn't care how much the "barbarians" learn. He also doesn't actually care why these "monkeys" are rebelling. Anyway, sooner or later, they will be recruited as laborers; it's just a matter of when.
In comparison, Zhu Jinsong is more curious about where these "barbarians" got the audacity.
To Zhu Jinsong's question, Ke Zhiming provided an answer: "Because those 'barbarians' believe that the Great Ming's stationed troops in Old Port and Lanfang are not numerous, and the warships patrolling the seas are also few. They... they think the Great Ming can only mobilize such a small force..."
Zhu Jinsong stared at Ke Zhiming, completely bewildered, his eyes almost conveying the four words "utter disbelief."
It was true that the Great Ming's stationed troops in Old Port and Lanfang were not numerous, with one army per province, and their numbers appeared somewhat small when dispersed. However, Zhu Jinsong never imagined that these "barbarians" would gain the courage to cause trouble for this reason.
Why wasn't the Great Ming stationing more troops in Old Port and Lanfang?
It wasn't that the Great Ming lacked the capability to station more troops, but rather that it was temporarily unnecessary.
In the current state of the small planet, who dared to disregard the Great Ming's authority? Provoking the Great Ming was equivalent to provoking the "Five Great Sages." Moreover, the Great Ming's stationed troops in Old Port and Lanfang were not primarily for defense against attacks on Old Port and Lanfang. Besides preparation for disasters, their symbolic significance far outweighed their practical importance.
Furthermore, the Great Ming's overall focus currently is not on massively increasing its military numbers, because if the Great Ming were to rapidly expand its forces, it would involve tens of millions of soldiers...
Zhu Jinsong dared not even imagine such a scene. When calling roll, it would take hundreds or even thousands of people named Zhang San to respond simultaneously. The logistics of other countries' armies were managed by cook squads, while the Great Ming would require at least cook regiments or even higher-level formations.
Therefore, the Great Ming's current military development policy is to enhance combat effectiveness while also focusing on economic growth.
Moreover, in addition to the two regular army formations in Lanfang and Old Port, the Great Ming actually has four Guards formations, each with over five thousand six hundred men. Although the Guard and Garrison formations are more responsible for local affairs rather than engaging in direct combat on the front lines, the training and equipment of the Great Ming's Guards and Garrisons are identical to those of the regular army. In terms of combat effectiveness, these Guards and Garrisons are not inferior to the regular army.
Therefore, these "monkeys" have gone beyond simply growing hair on their courage; they have grown a whole person on it!
However, what Zhu Jinsong never anticipated was that after seeing off Louis XVI and George III, and making a circuitous journey from India to Old Port, he would truly realize how frenzied these "monkeys" were, or rather, how foolish they were.