The first thing was the Kunlun slaves that Zhu Jinsong had long yearned to use as laborers.
The Heaven and Earth Society and the Embroidered Uniform Guard finally found Westerners in Guangdong who could procure Kunlun slaves. If Zhu Jinsong hadn't insisted on only eunuch Kunlun slaves, the first batch would likely have already been loaded onto ships.
This was absolutely good news.
Zhu Jinsong had been thinking about Kunlun slaves for a long time.
For Zhu Jinsong, for highly dangerous tasks such as mining or mountain excavation, using Kunlun slaves was far more cost-effective than using his own people.
His own people were precious treasures, and the loss of even one would be agonizing. There was no need to feel heartache over these Kunlun slaves, as one could be bought for a mere few taels of silver.
There was no need to talk about human rights or anything of that sort. That nonsense was merely used by the degenerate wealthy to fool bankrupt nobles and less evolved simpletons, and its actual use was even less than toilet paper.
Anyone who believed it was brainless.
Especially for an emperor, the focus should be on internal sagehood and external kingship, not on being brainwashed by such mindless rhetoric.
And the second piece of good news was actually closely related to the first.
In the end, it was primarily because of that deaf old dog Qianlong's retreat tactics that the Great Qing completely abandoned seventeen of the eighteen Han provinces, which thoroughly confused the Westerners left in Guangdong.
If they acknowledged the Great Qing as legitimate, the Great Qing fled. If they acknowledged the Mei Chun-yao regime that occupied Guangdong and Guangxi, Mei Chun-yao only occupied a part of Guangdong and Guangxi. Not only did the rebels in Guangdong and Guangxi want to replace him, but the rebels in Yunnan, Guizhou, Hubei, and Jiangxi also wished to eliminate Mei Chun-yao to occupy Guangdong and Guangxi. Especially Guangdong, where the Thirteen Hongs were located, was a coveted prize for these rebels, big and small.
In other words, Mei Chun-yao's territory was originally small, and coupled with the constant fighting against rebels of various sizes, the business of the barbarians trading with the Thirteen Hongs of Guangdong was inevitably affected.
When business was affected, it meant that the bright silver was affected. For the Westerners, who were loyal only to money, this was absolutely unacceptable.
Therefore, after connecting with the Heaven and Earth Society and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, these Westerners became extremely excited.
The Mei Chun-yao regime was unstable, while Zhu Jinsong occupied Shandong and Henan provinces. Lin Shuang-wen, who occupied the Great Ryukyu and Fujian, also publicly acknowledged Zhu Jinsong as the legitimate Great Ming Emperor, stating that all of Fujian and the Great Ryukyu were under the jurisdiction of Zhu Jinsong's Great Ming imperial court. What did this mean?
This meant new trading ports, new markets, and bright silver.
Therefore, the Westerners in Guangdong intended to send people to contact Zhu Jinsong to see if they could open trading ports in Dengzhou, Quanzhou, and other places.
As for the Great Qing?
Sorry, we don't seem to be very familiar with each other?
Upon receiving the relevant intelligence, Zhu Jinsong was also very interested.
Although Zhu Jinsong had obtained books such as "The Illustrated Manual of Military Equipment" and "The Illustrated Manual of Strange Devices," as well as blueprints and documents for the treasure ships from that deaf old dog Qianlong, he was unwilling to let go of any opportunity to understand the Westerners and, in turn, acquire more advanced technology.
Zhu Jinsong was different from that deaf old dog Qianlong.
The more Qianlong understood the developments and trends in the world, the more he closed off the country, because he feared rebellion from the 300 million Han people he ruled.
Zhu Jinsong, however, was not worried about this at all.
If, one day, all the people in the world united to force him, the Emperor of the Great Ming, off his throne, it could only mean that he was the one with the problem, not the people of the world.
However, when the so-called "British envoy" first arrived in Jinan, Zhu Jinsong could no longer be happy.
The "British envoy's" request to establish trading ports in Dengzhou, Quanzhou, Songjiang Prefecture, and Dengzhou, as well as the request for the Great Ming to establish customs and publicize tariffs so that British merchants could pay taxes according to regulations, seemed normal to Zhu Jinsong, and he had no intention of refusing them.
But what was this request to lease a piece of land in the Great Ryukyu for British merchant ships to anchor, reside, and store goods?
What was this demand to grant British merchants the same rights as merchants under Zhu Jinsong's jurisdiction?
What was this request to abolish the transshipment tariffs between these trading ports and Guangzhou, and to exempt or reduce tariffs on British goods transported from these trading ports to Guangzhou?
Looking at the so-called "envoy's document" in his hand, Zhu Jinsong was so amused he almost laughed out loud.
Were they treating my Great Ming like the Great Qing?
Among the conditions proposed by the so-called "British envoy," except for the requests to add trading ports and establish customs and publicize tariffs, which were still considered normal, the remaining ones were completely treating people as fools!
Although it was wrong for our Great Qing to regard themselves as the celestial empire when receiving the British delegation and to treat trade as tribute, even that deaf old dog Qianlong knew to firmly refuse Britain's attempt to expand under the guise of establishing modern commercial relations, aiming to turn China into a market for British goods and a source of raw materials.
"All are unacceptable!" "Every inch of the Celestial Empire's territory belongs to the registered land, with clearly defined boundaries. Even islands and shoals must be demarcated and have their own exclusive territories. This matter is even more inconvenient to approve."
As an emperor who had transmigrated, I certainly couldn't be worse than that deaf old dog Qianlong, could I?
Therefore, Zhu Jinsong directly threw the so-called "envoy's document" to the ground and said to Ke Zhiming with a cold smile, "Want to lease land? Want to be treated like my Great Ming subjects? And you still think a tax rate of less than four percent is too high?"
"Are they treating my Great Ming like the Great Qing? Tell them to get lost from where they came!"
Ke Zhiming, without hesitation, picked up the so-called "envoy's document" from the ground, returned it to the so-called "British envoy," and conveyed Zhu Jinsong's exact words: "His Majesty says, are you treating my Great Ming like the Great Qing? Get lost from where you came!"
The so-called "British envoys" were also completely dumbfounded by this series of events.
Was there a problem with requesting to open trading ports? Was there a problem with requesting to establish customs and publicize tariffs? Was there a problem with requesting some human rights for our British merchants in your Ming country? Was there a problem with requesting lower tariffs?
There was absolutely no problem.
Moreover, even if you couldn't agree to certain terms, we could discuss them properly. Why did you start by telling us to get lost from where we came?
Is this what you call a land of etiquette?
Anger! Shivering! Cold!
After exchanging glances, the indignant and shivering "British envoys" all turned their eyes to John Howard, who was at the forefront.
Howard, suppressing his anger, bowed to Ke Zhiming and said, "Respected official, I wonder which of these terms your Emperor is dissatisfied with?"
Ke Zhiming let out a cold laugh and said, "What do you think? Want to lease land? Want to be treated like my Great Ming subjects? And you still think a tax rate of less than four percent is too high?"
Upon hearing Ke Zhiming's words, Howard was immediately dumbfounded.
Let's not even talk about leasing land for residence and warehousing, but what's wrong with wanting to be treated like your Great Ming subjects?
You don't allow our women to enter your cities, you don't allow us to ride in sedan chairs, you don't allow us to buy Chinese books, you don't allow us to learn Chinese, you only allow us to enter the city three times a month, with no more than ten people each time, and we must be accompanied by your personnel at all times. Even merchant ships must leave immediately after unloading, and we are not allowed to linger. You're not treating us like humans either! Why is it so difficult to ask for some human rights?
And the tax rate, what's this about a tax rate of less than four percent being too high? That's clearly a tax rate of around fifty percent! Alright, it's understandable that you consider us barbarians, after all, money is important. But to travel across the sea for months and have to pay half of the earnings as tax – that's a four percent tax rate? And you call that a low tax rate?
In his desperation, Howard had to patiently explain to Ke Zhiming and then tentatively said, "Respected Ming official, I am Duke Howard of the British Empire, and I have a gift from Her Majesty the Queen to present to your Emperor. Therefore, please be sure to let me see your Emperor?"
Ke Zhiming was not particularly concerned about titles like Duke—if his Emperor willed it, the heads of several Qing officials could be brought at any time. Who would care about a Duke?
However, the problems Howard had just explained, along with the mention of a gift from another country's queen to his own imperial family, made Ke Zhiming hesitate.
After careful consideration, Ke Zhiming finally said, "Wait."
After hearing Howard's explanation relayed by Ke Zhiming, Zhu Jinsong realized he had made a big mistake.
The issue of customs duties was indeed a troublesome one.
The customs duties of my Great Qing were divided into ship tax and cargo tax. The ship tax was further divided into true ship tax and official gift; the true ship tax was 1200 taels for large ships, 960 taels for medium ships, and 450 taels for small ships. This money went to my Great Qing court, while the "official gift" was more interesting: all ships, regardless of size, had to pay 1950 taels, and this money went to the customs officials.
Similarly, the cargo tax was also divided into regular tax and irregular charges. The regular tax was 3.9% as stipulated by the Ministry of Revenue, which also went to my Great Qing court, while the "irregular charges" were 6% of the total cargo value, which also went to the customs officials personally.
During the reign of Emperor Yongzheng, when the administration was rectified, the "official gift" from the ship tax went to my Great Qing treasury, and the officials' income was reduced accordingly.
What to do? Naturally, it was to shift the burden back onto the people. By adding another item, "Jiaosong" (remittance), to the cargo tax, the problem was perfectly solved.
Jiaosong was even more severe, accounting for approximately 10% of the total cargo value.
Let's take a large ship worth 10,000 taels as an example. The total taxes that Chinese or foreigners needed to pay were 1200 (ship tax) + 1950 (official gift) + 390 (regular tax) + 600 (irregular charges) + 1000 (Jiaosong) = 5140 taels, a tax rate of 51.4%.
Of course, this calculation is not entirely scientific, as the ship tax for smaller ships was less, and the cargo carried was less, so the total value of the cargo was lower. However, after examining various historical documents, we concluded that the customs tax rate was between 45% and 55%.
This was only the customs. As goods flowed into the interior, there were also perpetual customs. Even if Chinese agents handled the sale of goods, the associated freight, warehouse storage fees, and perpetual customs duties would be transferred to the foreign merchants.
Of these so-called taxes, half flowed into the pockets of local officials, more than thirty percent flowed into the Imperial Household Department of the Qing royalty, and only slightly more than ten percent entered the Qing treasury. By the 59th year of Qianlong's reign, the revenue surrendered to the treasury by the customs only amounted to a meager 4 million taels.
In addition, the regulations for managing foreigners promulgated in the 24th year of Qianlong's reign were indeed quite ridiculous:
Foreign women were not allowed to come to Guangzhou; foreigners were not allowed to ride in sedan chairs, buy Chinese books, or learn Chinese; they were only allowed to enter the city three times a month, with no more than ten people each time, and they had to be accompanied by personnel from the Thirteen Hongs at all times; merchant ships had to leave immediately after unloading and were not allowed to linger in Guangzhou.
My Great Qing's precautions against foreigners were from the heart, and the inner fear and unease were also genuine.
It was no wonder these Westerners felt wronged.
After understanding the misunderstanding, Zhu Jinsong, with an unchanged expression and righteous indignation, ordered Ke Zhiming, "Then meet them."