Chapter 263: Cutting Off Grain Supplies Will Recover Macao

Guangzhou city in the Ming dynasty was expanded three times, roughly matching the old city area of later eras.

But in the late Ming, the Pearl River was very wide, with its banks around the Taiping Sands area. The river south of Guangzhou stretched 700 meters across; centuries later only 150 meters remained (in the old city area), the result of constant silt accumulation.

Zhao Han switched boats midway and arrived at Guangzhou, where countless merchants had long been waiting respectfully at the docks.

These merchants all wanted to know what Zhao Han thought about maritime trade!

Whether to open the seas or not actually mattered little. Because those who opposed opening the seas were the same ones who opposed the sea ban — a statement that seems contradictory.

Opposing the opening of the seas was out of fear of losing their trade monopoly.

Opposing the sea ban was opposing its excessive severity, which made even smuggling difficult for them.

Enforcing the sea ban on one hand while tolerating smuggling on the other — that was precisely the situation the merchants most wished to see.

"Greetings, Commander Zhao!"

Over a hundred merchants, great and small, knelt down in unison, welcoming Zhao Han ashore at the dock.

Passing travelers and commoners also looked on with curiosity.

The commoners' gazes toward Zhao Han, at least, no longer held such resentment — this was naturally because Fei Ruhe had done some things.

Zhao Han's face was wreathed in smiles: "Ha ha, everyone, please rise. You have all rendered meritorious service by surrendering the city, and you deserve great rewards!"

"We dare not, we dare not."

The merchants rose one after another, all politely declining, their hearts uneasy.

Zhao Han appeared amiable and approachable, as if he were easy to deal with. But these merchants were all crafty and seasoned operators — how could they possibly believe Zhao Han was easy to deal with?

Countless landlords in Jiangxi had their homes raided and property confiscated!

Every single landlord in Jiangxi had their land redistributed!

Was that the act of someone easy to deal with?

News of what happened in Jiangxi had long since reached Guangzhou, along with word that Zhao Han seemed very friendly toward merchants.

Guan Jialun was the first to speak: "The Commander's land policy is known to all Guangzhou's people — it is a great deed that benefits the masses. We merchants of Guangzhou have reached a consensus and are willing to fully cooperate with the Commander's land redistribution!"

"You all understand the greater good — this is a blessing for the nation, a blessing for the people!" Zhao Han hurriedly cupped his hands and bowed.

The atmosphere seemed harmonious, but it was all empty talk.

Land redistribution had to be cooperated with; there was no choice but to cooperate. The real focus of both sides was the specific trade policy, yet Zhao Han refused to mention it at all.

"Greetings, Commander!"

Fei Ruhe and his soldiers merely placed a fist across their chests in salute, without kneeling. Compared to the merchants' kneeling prostration, it seemed far too disrespectful.

Zhao Han walked forward a few steps, saw many people bound at the dock, and asked, "What are these?"

Fei Ruhe answered: "All are criminals who committed evil. By law they deserve death. I await the Commander's instructions."

"If they deserve death, then kill them. Why wait for me? Execute them on the spot!" Zhao Han said.

These were all thugs from the strike gangs. Any other rebel would surely have rewarded and praised them, since they had participated in seizing the city and defecting.

But with Zhao Han, anyone who took advantage of the chaos to burn, kill, rape, or plunder would all be beheaded without negotiation.

Fei Ruhe had already executed a batch of the most heinous offenders, saving these to let Zhao Han establish his authority. He immediately shouted: "Carry out the execution!"

Right there on the dock, before the eyes of the merchants and commoners, over forty people were lined up and beheaded.

"Good!"

The Guangzhou commoners erupted in thunderous cheers. They had suffered bitterly before, and it was these very strike-gang thugs who had committed the evils.

There were certainly still some who had slipped through the net.

For instance, the kidnappers had already scattered into the countryside, and Fei Ruhe lacked the resources to investigate and hunt them down.

For instance, the household-slave guards had all hidden in the homes of wealthy merchants, and Fei Ruhe dared not move against them rashly for the moment.

The merchants' faces changed drastically. These strike-gang thugs were the very ones they had hired to seize the city. And now, right before their eyes, they were all being slaughtered in one go — what exactly was the meaning of this?

Zhao Han smiled and explained to the merchants: "Rest assured, everyone. I, Zhao, always reward merit and punish fault. They were beheaded because, after seizing the city, they engaged in wanton burning, killing, rape, and plunder. If you all abide by the law and keep the peace, you naturally have merit and no fault."

"The Commander is wise."

Guan Jialun hurriedly echoed, the hairs on his body standing on end, feeling more and more that Zhao Han was not easy to deal with.

Zhao Han smiled as he entered the city, accompanied by the merchants, and arrived at the former residence of the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.

Only the two of them remained in the room.

Zhao Han asked: "What is the real situation in Guangzhou?"

Fei Ruhe said: "Kidnappers run rampant, frequently abducting people to either sell to the Southern Seas or to the red-haired barbarians."

"Why bring up these trivial details? Have you forgotten what I taught you about distinguishing primary and secondary contradictions?" Zhao Han said with irritation.

Fei Ruhe thought for a moment: "The primary contradiction is that we want to open the seas and collect customs duties, while the merchants want to continue smuggling."

"Wrong, wrong!" Zhao Han shook his head repeatedly.

Fei Ruhe was puzzled: "Is that not the case?"

Zhao Han sighed: "If one could do business openly and aboveboard, who the hell would want to skulk around smuggling?"

"Because smuggling avoids paying taxes," Fei Ruhe said.

Zhao Han analyzed: "These merchants — how much silver do they have to spend every year bribing the Governor-General, the Provincial Administration Commissioner, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, the Regional Military Commission, the Maritime Trade Office, the Inspection Offices, and the coastal guard stations? The silver spent on bribes is no less than what they would pay in proper customs duties. What they truly fear is having to pay customs duties and still having to spend silver bribing officials."

"That's right," Fei Ruhe said, scratching his head.

Zhao Han continued: "If maritime trade is legalized, these merchants will even help us crack down on smuggling. Because smugglers are also stealing their business, and without customs costs at that. What we really need to guard against is them doing legitimate business on one hand while secretly smuggling on the other, and incidentally striking down other smugglers."

"Then how should we guard against it?" Fei Ruhe asked.

"Smuggling can never be completely eradicated, only restrained to the greatest extent possible," Zhao Han said. "I've already read everything you wrote. There are two urgent tasks: first, establish a coastal navy specifically for searching out smuggling; second, bring the several smuggling ports under official administration, especially Macao. Summon that xiucai of yours!"

The official names were Haojing, Haojing'ao, or Xiangshan'ao, but the local fishermen all called it Macao.

As for the xiucai, he was the one who had posted the big-character poster — now already hired by Fei Ruhe as an advisor.

This man's name was Deng Yunzhan, from a cadet branch of the Deng clan. His family ran a small shop in Guangzhou and managed to get by.

"Greetings, Regional Commander!" Deng Yunzhan said, cupping his hands.

"Please, sit," Zhao Han said, getting straight to the point. "Would it be easy to take back Macau?"

Wωω ●тt kān ●℃o

Deng Yunzhan laughed. "Easy. Cut off their grain for three months, forbid any food from going out to sea, and the red barbarians in Macau will all starve to death."

Zhao Han burst out laughing. "Easy indeed."

In truth, Macau could not really be called a Portuguese colony, because the Ming court had never relinquished any sovereignty over it.

The Ming had always permitted the Portuguese to occupy Macau purely out of a desire to import silver — each side simply took what it needed.

Macau had a customs checkpoint, opened once every five days, specifically for the Portuguese to purchase provisions.

During the Tianqi reign, He Shijin, Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, learned that the Portuguese were building earthen walls, blockhouses, and artillery platforms in Macau, and immediately ordered the Portuguese-Macau Senate to demolish them.

The Portuguese Governor of Macau refused to comply. Guangdong promptly cut off grain and timber supplies, leaving the Portuguese with too little to eat and no timber to repair their ships. The starving Portuguese residents rose up directly against their own Governor, and in the end the Governor obediently demolished the blockhouses and artillery platforms.

After Deng Yunzhan recounted these stories, Zhao Han asked, "When red barbarians commit crimes, are they handed over to the Xiangshan County Magistrate for judgment?"

"The red barbarians acknowledge they should hand over criminals, but they always find an excuse to delay," Deng Yunzhan sighed. "In the end, we still cut off their grain to force them to surrender the culprit."

Zhao Han suddenly asked, "Can't the red barbarians go to Annam to buy grain?"

"They cannot," Deng Yunzhan said. Afraid Zhao Han might not understand, he explained in detail: "The red barbarians also belong to several different nations. The red barbarians in Macau are the Greater Franks; the red barbarians in Luzon are the Lesser Franks; as for the red barbarians in Dayuan, I do not know where they come from — we call them Red-Haired Foreign Devils. These Greater Franks seem to have a blood feud with the Red-Haired Foreign Devils…"

Through Deng Yunzhan's account, Zhao Han gained a rough understanding of the situation in the Southern Seas.

Present-day Vietnam was split in two — the north under the Trinh regime, the south under the Nguyen regime.

After Japan closed its borders, Han merchants controlled the trade with the southern Nguyen, while Dutch merchants controlled the trade with the northern Trinh.

Han merchants controlled three trade routes —

First: China — Southern Vietnam — Japan.

Second: China — Southern Vietnam — Cambodia — Japan.

Third: China — Southern Vietnam — the Philippines.

The Portuguese could buy grain most easily from northern Vietnam, but the Dutch obstructed them, and Portuguese merchant ships could not even get close.

As for southern Vietnam, not even the Dutch could go there, let alone the Portuguese. The Nguyen regime banned Western religions at frequent intervals, and would also rob and kill white men; it was far too difficult for Europeans to do business there.

The Portuguese could only buy grain in Guangzhou!

Deng Yunzhan also cautioned: "The Regional Commander must take note — Guangdong does not produce much grain to begin with. In years of natural disaster, if we continue shipping grain to the red barbarians, grain prices in Guangdong will inevitably soar, and the common people of Guangzhou city will certainly go hungry. I am not saying we must forbid grain from going out to sea, but we must select specific merchants to hold a monopoly, and set a fixed limit on how much grain can be sold each month."

"That is a very timely warning." Zhao Han nodded.

Deng Yunzhan continued: "We could let Han merchants go to the Nguyen lord's territory to buy grain, and levy only a light excise tax when they ship it back to Guangdong. Only then will there be profit to be made, and only then will merchants be willing to bring grain back to Guangdong, thus making Guangdong abundant in food. It was impossible before, because of the Ming maritime ban — every voyage required bribing officials, making grain purchases from Annam entirely unprofitable."

"You, sir, are a man of great talent," Zhao Han said approvingly. "What other suggestions do you have? Please, speak freely."

Deng Yunzhan said: "Macau can be taken back under administration, but we absolutely must not expel the red barbarians — these red barbarians can bring in a great deal of silver. At present, Macau is monopolized by the Greater Franks. We could send someone to contact the Red-Haired Foreign Devils and let them come to Macau to trade as well. In this way, we can use barbarians to check barbarians, preventing any one power from growing too dominant, which will make them easier to manage in the future."

"Excellent!" Zhao Han thought this was a very good idea.

Deng Yunzhan's expression suddenly turned grave. "The Foshan merchants who privately manufacture firearms — those must be confiscated. Moreover, from now on, private merchants must not be allowed to have any hand in firearms production!"

"I have long had plans for that," Zhao Han said. "Would you, sir, be willing to serve as Superintendent of the Guangzhou Maritime Trade Office?"

"I dare not refuse!" Deng Yunzhan was visibly excited.

The Prefect of Guangzhou, the County Magistrate of Xiangshan, and the Director of the Guangzhou Maritime Trade Office — Zhao Han had other appointees for these posts, all of whom were now on their way.

(The city of Guangzhou, the county seat of Panyu, and the county seat of Nanhai are all the same city — Guangzhou. This was an error earlier, and is hereby corrected.)

(End of Chapter)