Chapter 36 Chapter 36 Alarmist
Pan Zhencheng was from Fujian and later worked as a boatman. He came to Guangzhou two years ago and learned trade at Zhengfenghang.
Zhengfenghang was mainly responsible for trade between the Qing Dynasty and Luzon. Luzon had been controlled by the Spanish since the Ming Dynasty. Trading with Luzon was equivalent to trading with the Spaniards there.
Pan Zhencheng learned Spanish quickly.
He occasionally came into contact with some Portuguese and English people, and had a basic understanding of the languages of these two countries.
He could not only speak but also write the languages of these countries. This alone made him better than many merchants.
The officials of Guangdong Customs valued this person's learning ability and language talent, so they bypassed the person in charge of Zhengfenghang and allowed Pan Zhencheng, who was in his early twenties, to come to Beijing to meet the emperor.
Pan Zhencheng found no difficulty in learning any foreign language, but learning Beijing Mandarin took him a lot of effort.
This still sounded like a strange accent to the officials in the capital.
The official who was supposed to pick him up laughed and said, "If you can't learn it, forget it. We can find an official from Fujian to help translate it for you later."
Han ministers come from all over the world, so it is normal that the emperor cannot understand their accents. Just find an interpreter.
With so many people in the court, you can always find people from the same hometown.
"But you must learn a few words to greet the emperor and express gratitude," the official reminded.
However, Pan Zhencheng felt that these few sentences were unimportant; what was important was the content about traveling merchants.
Even on the way to the palace the next day, Pan Zhencheng was still trying hard to learn Mandarin.
After the morning court session, Qianlong first summoned the Grand Councillors, who were dismissed around noon.
At this time, people from the Imperial Household Department came to report that the two-wheeled vehicle had been manufactured.
Last month, the Imperial Household Department announced that they had made some progress and had built a rideable two-wheeled vehicle. However, for some reason, it took a month for someone from the Imperial Household Department to come and formally invite the Emperor to inspect the vehicle.
Qianlong just thought they were striving for perfection and carved patterns on the two-wheeled cart.
He knew that Yonghuang and Yonglian were both thinking about the two-wheeled carriage, so he sent someone to the Shangshufang to pass on the message, asking the two children to have dinner in the Yangxin Palace, and after dinner everyone would go to the Imperial Household Department to see the carriage together.
After the people from the Imperial Household Department left, Li Yucai stepped forward to remind them that the merchants from Guangzhou were still waiting outside.
Qianlong hurriedly let someone in. Seeing that it was a young man in his early twenties, he frowned subconsciously. He asked the Supervisor of Guangdong Customs to select a merchant who had sufficient knowledge of overseas trade. Why did he send such a young man?
But after exchanging a few words with Pan Zhencheng, Qianlong no longer thought so.
Although he is young, having only been in Guangzhou for a few years, he knows a lot about overseas countries.
Pan Zhencheng not only introduced the situation in Luzon to the emperor, but also said that the English also wanted to find a small island around the Qing Dynasty to store goods, just like the Portuguese and Spanish. They had clashed with Luzon before and did not win.
"The English set up companies in India and the New World, hiring local people to grow crops for them."
"The Indian court doesn't care?"
"The weapons of these foreigners are very advanced, and the Indian court is simply unable to resist. As for the New World, there was no court there. I heard that the people who originally lived there were either driven away or taken as slaves." Pan Zhencheng said.
When it comes to talking about what he is good at, Pan Zhencheng doesn't care about his accent.
He didn't dwell on this, but spoke very fluently.
Although Qianlong occasionally didn't understand one or two words, he didn't have time to worry about these details. He was only concerned about what weapons these foreigners had.
Pan Zhencheng couldn't name those weapons, he only knew that their merchant ships were equipped with guns and cannons.
Even merchant ships have guns and cannons, so wouldn’t the weapons and equipment on official ships be more advanced?
Qianlong's heart sank, thinking that he had underestimated these barbarians in the past.
As the two were talking, Li Yutong came from outside to announce that the two princes had arrived.
Qianlong smiled at Pan Zhencheng and said, "The two princes are also very interested in Western affairs. I asked them to come and listen."
Pan Zhencheng hurriedly stood up respectfully and prepared to salute the two princes.
As soon as Yonglian entered the room, he saw a famous young man standing inside. The man was not wearing official uniform, but only a clean stone-blue jacket. It was obvious that he was a commoner without rank.
Yonghuang and Yonglian paid their respects to Emperor Qianlong before he introduced Pan Zhencheng to them.
Pan Zhencheng bowed politely and didn't dare to look at the two young princes.
When Yonglian heard Pan Zhencheng's name, his eyes lit up instantly.
Is this Pan Zhencheng, the man French media named the world's richest man? It's uncertain whether he was the richest man, Yonglian, but among the merchants of the Qing Dynasty, Pan Zhencheng was undoubtedly one of the best. His annual tax payment to the imperial court started at 50,000 taels.
Pan Zhencheng met the Second Prince's gaze and felt a little confused. Why did the Second Prince look at him as if he saw money?
Isn't that just seeing the money? Pan Zhencheng is a figure who can do business all over the world. Yonglian almost suspected that Khan Ama had some kind of predictive ability. He could just grab a traveling merchant and find a big boss.
In front of Yonghuang and Yonglian, Qianlong did not continue to ask about weapons, but asked Pan Zhencheng to talk about the European textile industry.
Pan Zhencheng told everyone he knew, "The New World has vast plains that are very suitable for farming. After the foreigners drove the locals away, they planted cotton in the New World."
Qianlong suddenly realized that this was the case. No wonder those European countries all paid attention to navigation. It turned out that the New World was so good.
"But you just said that the Europeans drove away the local residents. Who helped them grow cotton?" Yonghuang asked in confusion.
"They will sell Levians to the New World." Pan Zhencheng said.
Yonglian was thoughtful and thought about taking goods such as cloth to Africa, exchanging them for African slaves, then taking the slaves to the New World, letting them grow crops such as cotton, and then bringing cotton, gold, silver and other goods back to Europe. This is the famous Black Triangle Trade.
Qianlong seemed to have heard people mention the slave trade before, but he didn't take it too seriously, as long as they didn't sell any people from the Qing Dynasty.
But he was now afraid that the Europeans would ask the Livians to help fight the war.
And the New World, with its vast plains suitable for farming, why did it let those barbarians from Europe occupy it?
"Where did you hear all this?" Yonglian was curious. He had the impression that the Qing Dynasty was a closed-door country and knew very little about foreigners. Who would have thought that Pan Zhencheng knew so much.
Pan Zhencheng said, "I've been to Luzon Island on a merchant ship before, and there are a lot of Spaniards there. They often fight wars with the English, so they inevitably complain a lot. But the slave trade was started by the Spanish, and I heard this from the Portuguese."
Yonglian: "...the Portuguese aren't much better."
Pan Zhencheng was stunned. "My brother is right. The Portuguese also look down on the English and Spanish. And the people of these countries all have conflicts with France. France has fought with them for territory in Libya many times."
Qianlong: “…”
Yonglian: “…”
Yonghuang felt dizzy after hearing this. It was so confusing.
There was a simple globe on the table by the window in the west warm room, so Yonghuang ran over and turned the globe to take a look.
"England is surrounded by the sea, no wonder they are so good at sailing."
When Pan Zhencheng saw the globe in the emperor's study, he knew that the emperor was very concerned about overseas countries.
"Yes, compared to France, England is more dependent on maritime trade." Pan Zhencheng said, "And now Britain is no longer ruled by the monarch, but by those merchants..."
When he said this, he met the emperor's eyes and almost bit off his tongue.
Help, help! The emperor wouldn’t think too much, he was talking about England, not the Qing Dynasty!
Yonglian looked at Pan Zhencheng with an indescribable look. You were so reliable just now, what happened?
If you were not a businessman, it would be fine for you to say this, but you happen to be a businessman.
Yonglian secretly glanced at Khan Ama's expression and felt worried for Pan Zhencheng.
He got nervous and his stomach growled.
The room was so quiet that even Qianlong heard the sound.
"Khan Ama, my son is hungry." Yonglian looked at Khan Ama eagerly.
Qianlong: "...you only know how to eat. Okay, okay, have someone serve the food."
He glanced at Pan Zhencheng, who had already begun to tremble, and said, "Stay in the capital for two days. I will summon you again."
Pan Zhencheng kowtowed in response and quickly slipped away.
The father and his two sons moved to the dining table. While eating, Qianlong was still thinking about things overseas.
Yonglian ate a few mouthfuls of rice and couldn't help asking Khan Ama, "Are you planning to send someone to Libya?"
Qianlong raised his eyebrows slightly, "Do you think we should go?"
Yonglian did not answer directly, but simply said: "The ugly act of the slave trade is extremely cruel and inhumane. As the Celestial Empire, how can we, the Qing Dynasty, stand idly by and watch?"
Qianlong curled his lips and said, "Come on, don't try to fool me with these high-sounding words. I don't even know what you are thinking."
Yonglian said innocently, "What my son said is true. We can't let foreigners take all the good things in this world. Labor, raw materials, land, and goods. If they are only responsible for transportation, they will become the biggest winner."
Qianlong: “…” It seems to make some sense.
Yonghuang added weakly, "Besides, the land, labor, and raw materials should not have belonged to them in the first place."
"But it's all in vain if their goods can't be sold." Qianlong always felt that something was missing.
Yonglian thought to himself, "You've hit the nail on the head. If this continues, they'll definitely try every possible way to expand their sales channels. We can't sell textiles, and we don't need food. What else can they sell? Maybe medicinal herbs or something like that?"
Qianlong scoffed. "What medicinal herbs does our Qing Dynasty lack? Why would we need their herbs?"
"I heard that there is something called opium in Taiwan. It is addictive. The royal law has even banned it and prohibits merchants from trading it." Yonglian said.
A ban on opium was issued during the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, and no merchant in the Thirteen Factories in Guangzhou ever sold opium, but opium smuggling could not be stopped.
Qianlong said: "You know quite a lot. Did your Majesty tell you?"
Yonglian nodded, "The Emperor said this stuff is even more terrible than ordinary tobacco."
Qianlong knew about the ban on opium. Su Mingliang, the general of Jieshi, Guangdong, discovered that people were selling opium in Guangdong and other places, and that honest people were being lured into smoking opium.
Su Mingliang found that people found it difficult to quit smoking this substance, and they felt weak all over if they didn't continue to use it. It should be banned as soon as possible.
Yongzheng also warned the royal family members not to be curious about this thing and just swallow it with a sniff.
"It's terrifying to think that opium addiction will make the common people lose their energy to farm and study, and that soldiers will be too tired to even handle weapons. "By then, it will be too late to ban opium. Many people will smuggle it, even at the risk of being beheaded. And then the price of this stuff will continue to rise, and won't the foreigners be able to profit from the Qing Dynasty?"
"Hiss..." Qianlong just listened and felt a chill on his back.
If it was really as Yonglian guessed, wouldn't the Qing Dynasty be completely controlled by foreigners?
Yonghuang was also stunned when he heard this. "Is it really that serious? But the price of opium is so high, ordinary people can't afford it!"
"They'll lower the price first," Yonglian said. "The foreigners have a lot of land anyway, so there's no shortage of land for farming."
Qianlong: “…” Suddenly, he felt that the rice in the bowl no longer smelled good.
He glared at his alarmist second son and said, "Hurry up and eat. After dinner, go to the Imperial Household Department to look at the two-wheeled vehicles."
"Wow! The two-wheeled vehicle is finally made!" Yonglian cheered, but worried that Khan Ama would forget what they had just discussed, he asked cautiously, "When do you plan to summon Pan Zhencheng again?"
Qianlong said unhappily: "This afternoon."
He must be exhausted from doing this every day.
When Yonglian heard this, he knew that Khan Ama realized the seriousness of the matter, so he continued to eat obediently.
After finishing their meal, the father and his two sons went straight to the Imperial Household Department.
As soon as he entered the yard, he saw a two-wheeled wooden cart parked in the middle of the yard.
Officials from the Imperial Household Department came out to greet him. Qianlong waved his hand, dispensing formalities. He walked around the two-wheeled cart and said, "This cart is too plain. It doesn't even have any auspicious patterns."
Yonglian: “…” Is this the point?
Khan Ama really likes fancy things.
He skipped to the two-wheeled wooden cart, held the handlebars, and was eager to try.
Qianlong quickly held his son's hand and said, "I haven't ridden it yet."
Yonglian: "Let my son try it for you. I feel like this bike is not very easy to balance."
Qianlong snorted, "It's not your turn to try."
As soon as he finished speaking, someone came forward and said, "There's another bike in the back that we're trying out. How about I ride it over here for you to see?"
The people in the Imperial Household Department were very thoughtful. Qianlong nodded and let him ride a bike.
Soon, the man came from behind on a two-wheeled wooden cart. Yonglian observed carefully and found that most of them were similar to bicycles in later generations, except that one had to step on the ground with one's feet when braking.
Qianlong couldn't help but frown as he watched. This car was not difficult to ride, but the posture was not very elegant.
But when he thought that this was a birthday gift given to him by Khan Ama and his son, he felt that this little problem was not a problem at all.
Qianlong immediately got on the bicycle and started pedaling, imitating the official.
Yonglian was nervously guarding him. He had fallen several times when learning to ride a bicycle before.
Seeing his son's nervous expression, Qianlong was very pleased that the boy was quite filial.
Yonghuang was also a little worried, feeling that the car was difficult to control.
Sure enough, the next second, Qianlong's car tilted to one side.
Several people around were quick to help the man.
Qianlong was supported by his sons on both sides, so he did not fall directly to the ground. The two-wheeled cart had already overturned to the ground.
Everyone in the Imperial Household Department knelt on the ground.
Qianlong wanted to lose his temper, but the other person was riding fine just now.
Yonglian looked up and said, "Khan Ama, it's okay. Riding a bike is just like riding a horse. It's normal to be unskilled at first. My son must have fallen off the bike too."
Upon hearing this, Qianlong didn't care about his own face and patted his son's head, "Don't say anything unlucky."
Yonglian chuckled and ran to pick up the car from the ground. "Can I try?"
"No." Qianlong said, "Wait until I learn it first, then you can learn it. You little brat, you can't even ride a horse, so why are you learning to ride a bicycle?"
Yonglian: ...
Is there a sequence for these two things?
Yonghuang also advised his brother, "Brother, you are too young now and may not be able to ride it. Besides, this bike is a bit high. When you stop, you may not be able to put your feet on the ground."
Yonglian: “…”
Although he didn't like to hear this, it was the truth.
The little guy pouted and retreated behind Qianlong.
The two-wheeled carriage was designed with the participation of Yonglian, so it was normal for the little guy to want to try it out. Qianlong ordered the Imperial Household Department to "make a smaller one suitable for the two princes to ride." One was enough for the two children, as they would not use it on a regular basis anyway.
He ordered people to carry the cart back to the Yangxin Palace, and he learned it slowly.
Yonghuang and Yonglian went directly from the Imperial Household Department to the training ground to learn riding and archery. When Qianlong returned to the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, he ordered Pan Zhencheng to be summoned again.
A few days later, Yonglian heard that the imperial court had issued another ban on opium. Not only would those who sold opium or opened opium dens be punished, but even those who smoked it would be punished with fifty strokes of the cane. Furthermore, officials in coastal areas like Fujian, Zhejiang, and Guangdong were ordered to keep a close eye on anyone who had smoked opium, as they were likely to be smuggling or reselling it.
Yonglian heard it from Yunlu, who always liked to go off topic when giving lectures. He was originally talking about Arabic numerals, but then he mentioned that foreigners also used this kind of numerals, which reminded him of opium.
"Opium is expensive, and foreign merchants usually give it as a gift to merchants or officials in charge of trade. It will not affect the army and the people." Yunlu felt that his fourth nephew was exaggerating.
Upon hearing this, Yonglian immediately said, "That's not the case. It may seem expensive now, but it may not be so in the future."
"Isn't opium made from burning poppies?" Yunlu asked, "Where can I find large fields of poppies?"
Yonglian, "I heard that poppies can be grown in India, Myanmar and other places. These two places are not far from us."
"Is that so," Yunlu thought to himself that little Yonglian knew a lot, the emperor really told him everything.
During dinner, Yonglian emphasized the harm of opium to Mingrui and Erdeng'e.
Ming Rui said: "In this case, we should let the people know that this thing is poisonous, so they won't dare to inhale it."
Yonglian nodded. "Right, right, right. We must emphasize the harm. Just talking about punishment will definitely not attract attention."
After dinner, Yonglian didn’t even bother to take a nap in the next room, and ran to the Yangxin Palace to find his father.
Qianlong was practicing riding a two-wheeled cart in the open space behind, accompanied by a group of guards.
Seeing Yonglian coming, Qianlong quickly stepped on the ground with both feet to brake.
"Wow! Has Khan Ama already learned it?" Yonglian said with admiration, "Khan Ama is amazing."
Qianlong got out of the car and straightened his robe. "What's the difficulty?"
As he spoke, he walked towards the west warm room, and Yonglian hurriedly followed.
"Second prince, since you are not taking a nap today, what are you doing here?" Qianlong glanced back at his son.
Yonglian asked, "Son, have you heard that the imperial court has issued a ban on smoking?"
"You're quite well-informed. Did your sixteenth uncle tell you, or did Ah Gui tell you?"
Among the masters in the Shangshufang, only these two dared to discuss the affairs of the court.
Yonglian said honestly, "Sixteenth Uncle."
"What does he think about this?" After Qianlong issued the smoking ban, many people in the court disagreed and did not regard it as a serious matter.
Yonglian said, "Sixteenth Uncle doesn't have any objections. After all, this matter has nothing to do with him."
Qianlong: "That's right. He doesn't even know what opium looks like. This matter certainly has nothing to do with him."
"I'm afraid many people feel this way because they know nothing about opium. What if some bad people package opium under a different name to lure people into taking it?"
Qianlong frowned when he heard this. It was really possible.
"If we want to truly ban smoking, we must let officials and the people know what opium is and how harmful it is. The more serious the better," Yonglian said.
Qianlong glanced at his son and asked, "So you're the one who has a problem with the smoking ban?"
Yonglian said obediently, "My son is just making a small suggestion."
"This isn't something you should worry about." Qianlong poked his son on the forehead. "Can you concentrate on your studies?"
Yonglian pursed his lips and said nothing.
Seeing this, Qianlong could not bear to scold him. Yonglian was the crown prince, and he should have known more about the national economy and people's livelihood. It was just that the secret system of appointing the crown prince meant that he could not learn many things that the crown prince should learn, so he could only teach him when he had the chance.
"I do not know the true dangers of opium smoking. I have ordered officials in Fujian, Guangdong and other places to write down the details and present them to me. I will then summarize them and announce them to the whole nation."
Yonglian laughed, "I knew Khan Ama was thoughtful and must have thought of it."
Qianlong snorted, "Even a seven-year-old child like you knows it. How can I not think of it?" But Khan Ama had not thought of it.
Of course, this cannot be blamed on Khan Ama. He is too busy and it is normal for him to be negligent occasionally.
"I feel relieved now. Go back and take a nap." Qianlong glanced at Yonglian and had now completely compromised with his son's lifestyle habits.
Yonglian said, "Son, I'm not sleepy. I want to see you ride a two-wheeled vehicle."
I will let my son watch it after he has mastered it completely. Now he doesn’t dare to leave people around him, for fear that it may bend if he is not careful.
"Go away, I don't have time to play with you." Qianlong sent his son away in a bad mood.
Yonglian had no choice but to leave the Yangxin Palace. When he arrived at the training ground, Yonghuang, Mingrui and others were running. Yonglian joined them and ran a lap for the sake of courtesy.
When Master Celeng arrived, the four students had already finished their warm-up and started learning Buku directly.
Mingrui looks thinner than Yonglian, but this kid has a spirit of not admitting defeat. Yonglian is the opposite of him. He gives up easily and will just lie on the ground and admit defeat when he runs out of energy.
Celeng sighed in his heart. The Second Prince saw that he was very serious when he was demonstrating with another guard, but he couldn't beat Mingrui. It must be a problem of physical strength.
He and Qianlong also said the same thing. The second prince tried very hard, but he just didn't have the physical strength. This was innate and could not be compensated by practice.
Qianlong was also worried. He had long felt that Yonglian's energy was not as strong as his own, and his riding and archery skills were also average. "Alas, this child is just bloated, just like my fifth brother when he was a child."
It is useless to blame the child for this. It is better to let the little one eat more nutritious food.
When Celeng heard that the emperor did not ask him to teach the second prince strictly, he knew that the emperor did not have high expectations of the second prince in this regard.
That's right, no one is perfect.
The Emperor Shengzu wanted to train a perfect prince, but something went wrong in the most important step.
Qianlong called Celeng not only to ask about his two sons' riding and archery skills, but also to assign him an important task.
The Yongding River broke its banks, and he was to be sent to provide disaster relief.
"If you do this well, I will give you a more important task." Qianlong said that Celeng was honest, hardworking and loyal to him. Qianlong was most confident in sending him to keep an eye on the affairs in Guangdong and cooperate with the Guangdong Customs and merchants.
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