Chapter 522 Daming is here to support you (Today's update, the third update, please subscribe)

"From now on, you are all people of the Ming Dynasty! No matter what grievances you have suffered or what losses you have suffered at the hands of foreigners, you can come here. The Ming Dynasty will never let its own people suffer losses."

In the incense hall of the Tiandihui, Zhao Yongfu looked at the leaders of the secret societies who were sitting there. They included the leaders of the Tiandihui, the Hongmen, and of course the local party halls.

Even the Tiandihui and Hongmen were divided into more than a dozen branches, and they were independent of each other and kept to themselves. Zhao Yongfu had his own reasons for calling them together today.

In the past twenty years, from Singapore under British rule to the inland of the Malay Peninsula, mainly in Kuala Lumpur, a large-scale Chinese tin mining center has been formed. What is the biggest feature of these places? They are inseparable from Chinese secret societies. After nearly half a century of development, Chinese private societies have become stronger. At that time, almost every adult male among overseas Chinese was a member of the Hongmen. According to some British people, secret societies were "governments within the government", and they were like the rulers of Singapore and Malaysia. Their leaders were prominent figures with status and money in Chinese society. They relied on strict organization and strict discipline to control the behavior of all members: they

They have their own stable source of income by collecting membership fees, protection fees, contracting taxes and running businesses.

But...the infighting between them never stopped!

The reason why Zhao Yongfu invited them over was to unite these infighting secret societies into one! To unite them so that the Ming Dynasty could intervene here in the future!

When they heard that the Ming Dynasty would support them in the future, everyone was delighted. What do these overseas wanderers want?

Isn’t it just that when they are bullied, they can have the support of the officials?

But no government has ever backed them up, so they formed a gang to protect themselves. Now that a government has come out to back them up, how could they not be happy?

Seeing everyone's happy expressions, Zhao Fuyong continued.

"Since we are all from the Ming Dynasty, we must stick together and face the outside world in unison. From now on, there must be no private fighting among the various halls. If you have any conflicts, you can sit down and talk. If you can't reach an agreement, you can ask the consul to arbitrate!"

"Consul!"

Fang Renli raised his eyebrows, then smiled when he thought of the Western practice of appointing local merchants as consuls.

"I wonder how the Special Envoy intends to appoint the consul?"

When they heard that the Ming Dynasty was going to establish a consul, the others also started to think about it. Being a consul is a great thing! Apart from anything else, with this official position, they will definitely be able to dominate other gangs in the future.

"It's not this envoy who appointed you, but the imperial court. Before I leave, I will appoint a subordinate who specializes in diplomacy to set up a consulate here to handle overseas Chinese affairs. If you have any matters that need to be negotiated with the local government, you can go directly to the consulate. After all, the consulate is there to do things for you."

When they heard about the appointment of an official as consul, the expressions of Fang Renli, Li Mingkuan and others became a little complicated. They originally thought that one of them was appointed as consul, but they never expected that a "master" would come. No matter how polite this "master" was, he was still a master!

For them, who were like local emperors, they had long been accustomed to life without government. As for the British, they were also happy to use them as intermediaries to manage the Chinese and maintain social stability.

Nowadays, the Ming Dynasty is going to establish a consulate here, which... may not be a good thing.

This is also the most contradictory aspect in their hearts. On the one hand, they want the government to support them, but on the other hand, they don't want the government to interfere in their affairs.

For a moment, everyone was silent. They were moved but realistic. They first considered their own interests. Even if someone in Singapore cut his braids and wanted to become a Ming citizen, the Ming was too far away.

What can the Ming Dynasty give them?

This is what these people are thinking about.

In addition to the somewhat weak "support", the Ming Dynasty now gave them something - a master!

This is obviously not what they want, so naturally it cannot impress them.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Zhao Yongfu said.

"What? If you have any ideas, please share them with me."

No one responded. The hall masters, who were originally full of enthusiasm, chose to remain silent. Many of them even lit up their pipes or cigarettes at the same time. It seemed that, for them, nothing was more important than smoking at the moment. If this gentleman had not been here, they would have wanted to just lie down on a couch and take a few puffs of opium.

Sure enough, it all comes down to profit. Zhao Yongfu, who knew it well, didn't say anything, but smiled.

"We have reached a consensus with the Straits Settlements on setting up a consulate. This is imperative. I hope you will support Consul Xu's work in the future."

Since you don't want to accept my toast, then just drink it!

"Xu Tianlei greets all of you gentlemen. I will have to trouble you in the future."

Xu Tianlei stepped forward and bowed politely. Everyone stood up to return the greeting for the sake of face. After all, this man was an official!

But even if he is an official, he can't just interfere in this matter casually.

Li Mingkuan glanced at Fang Renli. There were many secret societies in Singapore, but the two of them were the largest with the most members. They would definitely stand up and speak out at this time.

"Master Zhao, Master Xu, in fact, if we talk about fighting, there will be times when the upper teeth will hit the lower teeth. Although there are occasional small misunderstandings in the various halls, it is generally quiet. Don't worry, there will definitely be no chaos here!"

As soon as Li Mingkuan finished speaking, Fang Renli echoed him.

"That's true, that's true. Please rest assured, my two lords. Nothing will happen here. At least there will be no trouble here! Don't you agree?"

Everyone else agreed. Even if they had a grudge against each other for killing their fathers in the past, they were all smiling in front of the two adults, looking closer than brothers. They didn't think it was a good thing for the court to interfere in the affairs here.

"But what do you say about the internal fighting in the gangs? It's not a lie. In some places, even the civil wars between gangs can last for more than ten years, and tens of thousands of people have died. Alas, to think that my fellow gang members are killing each other is really..."

Li Mingkuan shook his head repeatedly.

“It’s so heartbreaking!”

“I feel so sad!”

As Fang Renli agreed, even his eyes turned red.

"Every time I think of my compatriots who went overseas to survive but suffered such a catastrophe, I can't sleep or eat, and I feel extremely sad! Just last month, I even called on everyone to raise funds to buy land and build a charity mountain so that my compatriots would not be left to die in the wilderness!"

When he finished speaking, the room was filled with sighs and groans. These people were all old Singaporeans. How could they not know what Li Mingkuan and Fang Renli were talking about? How could they not know what they meant?

What they meant was very clear - if you have the ability, go and settle the civil wars in other places first. We are living in peace here, so we won't trouble you adults.

Everyone has their own selfishness, and they certainly have their own selfishness. Their selfishness is very simple, that is, they want to keep the benefits at hand. As for the government, if the government is really capable and supports them, then that would be great. If the government is not capable,

They certainly didn't force it.

But if the government doesn't have the ability, but still wants to be the master, they are naturally not happy. How many people in this world are willing to find a master for themselves?

Now that you have said so much, you have to do something and let everyone see it.

As everyone sighed, Zhao Yongfu also sighed.

"That's right. When I first came to Singapore, I heard that the Haishan and Yixing families in the Sultanate of Jilida had been fighting each other for more than ten years because of the issue of the local chieftain. If this kind of thing is not stopped, our compatriots will live in dire straits every day! Don't worry, Zhao will do his best to handle this matter, so that our compatriots will no longer kill each other like in the past."

When he finished speaking, the people around him were all filled with disbelief.

They didn't believe at all that the person in front of them could handle the matter, after all, those involved were foreigners.

Maybe they still take these four officials, but the local chieftains may not. They don't have any Ming Dynasty in their eyes. They are impossible to buy into the Ming Dynasty. As for the Qing Dynasty, of course they don't buy into it either.

Besides, the Sultanate of Kedah is not just the territory of the local chiefs, but ultimately it is the territory of the British.

This is also the reason why those local chiefs do not take the daimyo seriously.

"If so, it would be a blessing for our compatriots."

Li Mingkuan quickly followed suit.

But deep down he was thinking about it.

"I want to see how your Ming Dynasty deals with foreigners. Don't just brag about everything!"

It's not because he doesn't believe it, but because he has seen too many officials over the years. When those officials collect money, they all pat their chests, but when it comes to doing things, what can they do? When they see foreigners, even those local chiefs will become soft in their bones. They expect those officials to protect them.

Is it possible?

As for the Ming Dynasty, are they just talking casually or can they really do something?

How could Zhao Fuyong not understand what everyone was thinking?

It is better to do one practical thing than to say a thousand nice words!

"Everyone, rest assured. Zhao will take care of this matter for him. After all, Daming is here to support you all!"

I have never thanked all the book friends for their tips. To thank you for your support and love, I will add more chapters today! I will add more chapters frequently this month!

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(End of this chapter)