What does the outbreak of war mean to the Ming Dynasty?
It means new opportunities!
Every outbreak of war will bring new markets. Whether it is the construction of newly conquered areas or the development of new markets, it will stimulate the economic growth of the empire. From the conquest of Chile in the Nanhua era to Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Bolivia, it can be said that every conquest of the empire has achieved an economic leap for the empire.
The conquest certainly brought about a leapfrog development in the economy and industry, but what was the corresponding factor?
Is the population brought by the conquest, more than 8 million Europeans and Latinos live in these areas!
Once upon a time, nearly 10 million Europeans and Latinos have always been a major concern for the empire. After all, those who are not of our race must have different hearts. This truth is a rule passed down from our ancestors.
The words of our ancestors may not be correct, but sometimes what they said has also stood the test of history. At least history has proven that from ancient times to the present, any dynasty that has blindly made friends with foreign races will inevitably suffer the disaster of national destruction.
Moreover, in Emperor Zhu's simulation, the betrayal of European immigrants left him with lingering fears!
It is for this reason that the principle that Emperor Zhu has adhered to in the past thirty years is - integration!
This kind of integration is not just about marriage, but also about the same writing system. Cultural integration is achieved by prohibiting the teaching of Spanish and Portuguese and prohibiting the publication of corresponding books and newspapers.
Don't say that this way there will be no colorful multiculturalism. That's nonsense. When the United States did not have multiculturalism, the country was so prosperous. Later, it became multicultural, and what a mess it became. There are things like Black Lives Matter, the third or even fourth gender, and even homosexuals and same-sex people entering kindergartens. As for newborns, they are directly Latinized.
As for France, it is a diverse country and has directly become Francestan.
This is how the world is. If you don't want to be replaced by others, you can either kill those people or stick to one principle - localization.
In the Ming Dynasty, it was sinicization. Only Mandarin was taught in schools, and only Mandarin newspapers were available. All people, including Indian tribes, had to change their surnames, whether they wanted to or not, because of the law of the empire. And all of this was also linked to their jobs, etc.
However, there are still some people in this world who stubbornly persist and stick to their "principles". Machado de Assis, a writer, is a principled person. After Brazil was occupied, he did not choose to go into exile. He stayed in Brazil and always resisted naturalization - refusing to learn the national language and even refusing to register for household registration.
As for such diehards, as long as they did not violate the imperial laws, they were not suppressed and were even issued identity cards. Because the cover of the identity card was blue, as distinguished from the crimson of the imperial citizens, they were called "Blue Cards". Many people were even proud to hold a "Blue Card", which seemed to symbolize their loyalty and honor.
Since the day Brazil was destroyed, Machado, as a Brazilian survivor, seldom went out, and even his works were rarely published because Portuguese books were prohibited from being published.
However, all this does not seem to affect his life. After all, he still has his previous royalties to support his livelihood, and he even has an apartment in Rio... no, Huizhou, which he can collect rent from. As a well-known writer, his life is much easier than many ordinary people.
But now, as the war entered its second year, Machado's peaceful life was suddenly disrupted.
"Damn points, damn rationing system, why can't I buy things even if I have money..."
Machado complained as he walked.
The outbreak of war placed a heavy burden on the supply of basic materials such as food, clothing, metal, paper and rubber. The army was growing and also aiding its overseas allies, while the daily lives of the empire's civilians still required these products. In order to meet this surge in demand, the government took measures to prioritize military use. Limited market supply led to rising prices. In order to stabilize prices, the empire established a rationing system at the beginning of the year.
The rationing system is a quantitative rationing system that restricts the purchase of some high-demand goods. The government issues a number of "points" or "ration points" to everyone, including children. These points must be handed in with money to buy restricted goods. For example, the price of a kilogram of beef is about 20 cents, but shoppers must also hand in 7 ration points to buy meat.
The reason why Machado complained was that he was not registered in the household registration, and the issuance of points was linked to his household registration and other identities. Unfortunately, Machado, who held a "blue card", had his blue card points reduced by 40% on the premise of giving priority to protecting the subjects of the empire, but he could only maintain basic living.
Commodities like alcohol, cigars, coffee and sugar were basically out of the question. Even the gasoline was only enough to take a walk around the city twice, and it was impossible to use it for transportation.
Although he could buy all of these things on the black market, the prices there were several times higher. The sudden increase in the cost of living made Macedo feel a little overwhelmed.
Finally, we came to the park. There were many people standing on the edge of the square. This was the local black market. After the implementation of the rationing system, the black market gradually emerged. Although it was repeatedly cracked down by the government, the black market was still very active. In this place, there were not only eggs, chickens, ducks, beef, pork and food sold by farmers in the city, but also a variety of commodities, even Scottish whiskey. As long as you have money, you can buy everything you need.
As a frequent visitor to the black market, Machado had just arrived at the square when a guy wearing a Nanhua hat came over and whispered.
"Mr. Machado, I have cigars just shipped from Cuba, tequila from Mexico, and..."
When Machado heard that there were cigars from Cuba, he immediately asked.
"Do you have Partaga cigars? How much is a box?"
"Of course, 50 yuan a box..."
"What! 50 yuan, why is it so expensive!"
Machado said in a lost voice. This price is more than ten dollars higher than last month. Why don't they go and rob it?
"Well, look at what you said. The points for cigars have increased a lot now, so the price has naturally increased as well. Mr. Machado, maybe the price will go up again later."
Despite the high prices, Machado still bought two boxes of cigars and two bottles of tequila, but just as he was about to leave, a whistle suddenly came from the other side.
"Police! The police are coming..."
Along with the vendors' screams, the small square in the park immediately fell into chaos, with people running everywhere, vendors, buyers and police chasing them. In the chaos, Machado, who was in a panic, ran directly into the police and successfully fell into the trap.
Looking at the police in front of him, Machado had only one thought in his mind - it's over.
Cigars, tequila...all gone now!
After being arrested by the police, these things will definitely be confiscated by the police and may become spoils on their dining tables.
A few hours later, when he left the police station, Machado looked very unhappy with his empty hands. The things he bought at high prices on the black market were confiscated by the police. Even as a punishment, his points for the next month were reduced by 30% - which meant that he didn't even have extra points to buy enough meat.
"What a bunch of damn guys, do they want to starve me to death?"
While Machado was cursing, a thought suddenly came to his mind - should he change his last name?
If you change your surname and naturalize, you can receive full points. This will not only reduce expenses, but you will also have the opportunity to get a long-term job and obtain more allocated points.
Even though Machado didn't need to work, the extra ration points were tempting, after all, it meant two boxes of cheap cigars or a few cases of beer.
For Machado, whether it's cigars or beer, they are things he can't live without.
"Hey, how can you bend over backwards for a few pieces of silver? Have you forgotten your honor?"
When Machado was feeling a little ashamed of the idea, he looked up and saw that there was already a long line in front of the household registration hall outside the police station. Where were they queuing? They were all Europeans like him. He even saw some of his friends... They all had blue cards!
They, what are they doing...
Seeing his friend in the crowd, Machado walked over angrily.
"Leonardo, what are you doing?"
The reason why Machado was so angry was not only because his good friend showed up at this event, but more importantly, he knew why his good friend came here. Because the same thought popped up in his mind.
"Ah, Machado... well, you know this."
Leonardo stammered in response to his friend's questioning.
"I am a family man, I have several children to raise. So, so... I can only do this..."
Just for this reason... just like this... betray their honor like this?
Machado looked at his friend blankly. He couldn't even find a reason to be angry, because just a few minutes ago, he had the same thought deep in his heart.
He didn't even do it for his family, but to get extra ration tickets so he could buy cigars, alcohol, and other things.
Compared to Leonardo, isn't he even more pathetic?
Because of this, it was difficult for him to muster up the courage to be angry when facing his good friends.
At this time, Machado heard his friend's words.
"Machado, my friend, actually, actually, I think, in this special period, we should all make some kind of compromise. After all, after all, Brazil is dead..."
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