In the middle of last year, Xiao Ruxun arranged for Chen Longzheng and Ricci to set out from the port of Yangon to Europe to recruit skilled craftsmen, especially blacksmiths and firearms craftsmen. After more than a year, the two of them finally returned with a full load. In this era without the Suez Canal, to reach Europe from Asia, one had to pass through the European Cape of Good Hope. Ricci originally came from this route. As an experienced navigator, Ricci was appointed to accompany Chen Longzheng as his interpreter and assistant.
Chen Longzheng was the only one among the scholars who came to Myanmar to assist Xiao Ruxun because of Yuan Huang's letter. He was also one of the only three scholars under Xiao Ruxun. The other two were naturally the father and son, Yuan Huang and Yuan Yan, and the third was Chen Longzheng. In addition, the officials under Xiao Ruxun were all Chinese without official titles who had gathered from various countries in Southeast Asia. Yuan Huang was responsible for overseeing government affairs, and Yuan Yan was specially trained by Xiao Ruxun and arranged to be the mayor of Yangon.
The commercial district that Xiao Ruxun had arranged was actually just a long and narrow coastal zone. He had built a city at the mouth of the Irrawaddy River and named it Pinghai City. Then, with this city as the starting point in the west, he would follow the coastline all the way to Maomian City. There were a total of four cities, which were equivalent to four trading ports. Merchants from various countries could only reach the periphery of these four trading ports, and without Xiao Ruxun's permission, merchants from the Great Ming Dynasty could not casually enter the mainland.
The Bogu line was the northernmost point that Westerners and merchants from various countries could reach. All commercial activities and merchants could only reach Bogu, and further north was a place where merchants were forbidden to enter. Because there had been cases of merchants coming to the periphery of Bogu to buy land from the farmers living here, Xiao Ruxun issued a ban.
The land belonged to the farmers, but they could not be bought or sold at will, and the sale must be approved by Marquis Zhennan's mansion.
Xiao Ruxun abhorred this kind of vile thing. He could not control the affairs of the mainland of Daming, but here, he, Xiao Ruxun, was the law. No matter who it was, he would fight back. If anyone dared to object, he would issue a ban in the entire Southeast Asia, forbidding the ships of the relevant Chamber of Commerce to go to other countries to do business.
After the three major pirate extermination campaigns, Xiao Ruxun's prestige among the countries of Southeast Asia was not ordinary, and he almost became the spiritual leader of each country. His words still carried some weight, especially after the four major trade ports became the commercial hubs of this area, the sea merchants doing business here had to give some face to Xiao Ruxun.
It was also at this time that Xiao Ruxun felt the charm of power. At the moment, when the Ming court did not care about Burma Town, everything in Burma Town was decided by Xiao Ruxun. If anyone dared to object, they had to first ask Xiao Ruxun's army for permission. Not to mention the army, just the five thousand police officers were enough to make these sea merchants suffer. If they dared to disobey the rules, a team of police officers would be sent down to arrest them, and they would be beaten with a board.
As the saying goes, a powerful dragon cannot suppress a local snake. At this moment, Xiao Ruxun was the biggest local snake in this large area of the sea. The governments of small countries could not defeat him, and the governments of big countries were too far away. They had the will but not the power. After a long time, whether it was the Westerners or the indigenous merchants of Southeast Asia, they all obeyed Xiao Ruxun's ban and did business honestly, not daring to act rashly.
That was why the four major trade ports in Burma Town were so prosperous today. Apart from these four trade ports, the remaining four cities were inland, including Bogu City. They were all cities with a population mainly based on agriculture, and the farmers settled in these four cities. Xiao Ruxun also sent people to build roads to connect the four cities to form the first central area, and then slowly expand to the uninhabited area.
However, although the environment was generally peaceful, Xiao Ruxun could not relax. The big rock of China was pressing on his chest, making him worried all the time. He knew what he had to do, so although he was in a relatively safe environment, he still invested most of his money in weapon innovation and military equipment.
For this reason, he insisted on asking Chen Longzheng and Ricci to go to Europe to recruit craftsmen and firearms related technicians to add bricks and tiles to his firearm production line. Since they were all recruiting craftsmen, he should also not let go of the firearms craftsmen from Spain, Italy, and Turkey. If he could also recruit some other types of craftsmen, he was also very willing.
The first person recorded in China's history to arrive in Europe was called Leban Sauma, who lived in the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty. He was a Uighur, not a Han Chinese. If it was calculated later, it would be Shen Fuzong of the Qing Dynasty. He arrived in Europe at the end of the 17th century and met with King Louis XIV of France. At that time, he became an influential figure in Europe. Later, he went to England and Belgium. He was one of the first Chinese to contact Europe, but unfortunately, he died of illness on his way back.
Now, under the influence and arrangement of Xiao Ruxun, Chen Longzheng was honored to leave a strong mark in the history books. Xiao Ruxun could not wait to see him and ask him what he thought and thought about his trip to Europe.
The two soon arrived at the city of Bogu. The team of Western craftsmen was taken to the designated place by the people sent by Xiao Ruxun to rest and pack up. Xiao Ruxun mainly met Chen Longzheng and Ricci.
Chen Longzheng was still a rare scholar. He didn't have any prejudices and had enough respect for Xiao Ruxun. After witnessing Xiao Ruxun's great generosity and foresight, he even rejoiced at his decision back then. He was deeply influenced by Yuan Huang. What he hated the most were those "giants" who put their ideas on paper and pen. What he admired the most were those who put what they preached.
For this reason, he also practiced what he preached. Although many people in his hometown did not understand him and wondered why a scholar with a bright future would give up his future to go to that remote and barren place, he did not care. He had his own ideals and pursuits. Strictly speaking, he and Yuan Yan were the same kind of people. One was too old-fashioned, the other too idealistic. Neither of them could stand a foothold in today's corrupted and Daming officialdom.
But they were very lucky to meet Yuan Huang and Xiao Ruxun, which changed the trajectory of their lives. Yuan Yan became the mayor of Yangon. After a period of confusion, he stood firm and took good care of Yangon. Yangon had a resident population of 100,000 and a floating population of 200,000. It was the largest of the four major trading ports. Yuan Yan could still manage it well. He did not have the talent to govern a country, but he was more than enough to manage the place.
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