Ricci's words made Qu Rukui frown.
Hearing this, he pondered for a while. After a while, he relaxed his brows and nodded.
"Although this method isn't perfect, it's feasible for a small country with a few people. However, I'm afraid it'll be difficult for the entire Great Ming Dynasty's hundred million people. Moreover, what if the Audit Office colludes with the local government? How to supervise the officials from the local to the central government? The Daming officials protect each other, and the officials under Xiao Zhennan's command are not any better.
However, for a military general to be able to think of such an administrative method and still be able to operate it, this is indeed not simple. This old man has been in Guangdong for the past few years and accidentally heard that Myanmar's maritime trade is very prosperous. Many foreigners go to Myanmar to do business, and many Great Ming coastal merchants also go to Myanmar and Siam to do business. It can be seen that Xiao Zhennan's financial management ability is very good.
Such a general who is good at both literature and martial arts will be like a fish in water in Burma. If he is only used to manage the army, he may not be so effective. In the inland of Daming, no one can allow him to do so. The imperial court doesn't care about Burma and regards it as a place to exile criminals. Now, I'm afraid it will change. By the way, Mr. Li, you work for Xiao Zhennan. Is there any assistant around him? "
Ricci nodded.
"There is a Mr. Yuan Yuan Huang. He is General Xiao's right-hand man and helps General Xiao deal with a lot of administrative affairs."
"Yuan Luofan? This rumor is true. It is said that he went to Burma after he resigned. Later, he sent a letter to his hometown and asked his friends to go south to help Xiao Zhennan manage Burma. But it is said that only his son Yuan Yan and his disciple Chen Longzheng went south. No one else went south. Xiao Zhennan only has these three assistants. How can he be so successful? "
Qu Rukui stroked his beard and exclaimed, "This old man wants to go to Myanmar to have a look. This place has always been regarded as a barren land, and this old man has never thought of going there."
"That's great! Taisu, I came here under General Xiao's order. When I finish my business here, you can go to Burma with me. I will treat you to mung bean cakes. "
Qu Rukui was stunned.
"Mung bean cake? What was that? A pastry made from mung beans? "
"Well, yes. Myanmar's climate is hot, so General Xiao made mung bean cakes with mung beans that can relieve the heat. They taste sweet and soft, and when eaten with tea, it is simply intoxicating. Basically, the residents in Myanmar have eaten mung bean cakes. They are not expensive, and everyone can afford them."
"Oh? There was actually such a thing? This old man really wants to take a look … "
Qu Rukui murmured.
Because he needed to make some connections, Ricci used Qu Rukui's connections to hire reliable people from Guangzhou's port to take a ship to Luzon Island to ask for money. After getting the money, he would ship it back from Guangzhou's port and give it to Ricci as operating expenses to bribe the Fujian officials.
Then, relying on Qu Rukui's connections and influence, he explained the fact that there was no gold or silver mountain on Luzon Island to persuade the emperor to give up the idea. Ricci regarded himself as a diplomat, and he was indeed doing the work of a diplomat. There was no other way, there were too few foreigners who knew Chinese.
And Ricci himself was one of the more proficient ones. Many things needed to be communicated through him. There were not many people in the Daming Dynasty who knew Spanish and Portuguese, and there were no translators in the capital who knew Portuguese and Spanish.
These missionaries were the earliest translators, and they helped the Chinese and Europeans in the Ming Dynasty to achieve the first exchanges, and they took great credit.
Luzon Island was in a state of panic. Suddenly, news of Matteo Ricci came. The governor of the Philippines heaved a sigh of relief and quickly ordered a batch of gold and silver to be sent to Guangzhou as Matteo Ricci's operating expenses.
Qu Rukui's servants and friends were also honest, and they sent money to Ricci. After Ricci thanked them, he asked Qu Rukui to give him some pointers on how to manage the Chinese officialdom. He had seen some missionaries at the bottom of the hierarchy bribe the corrupt missionaries at the middle and upper levels of the church, but he did not know much about the Chinese officialdom.
Qu Rukui guided him bit by bit on how to build relationships and follow the clues to the palace eunuch who had the power to make decisions.
The eunuch got a bad job this time. He went to Nanyang and was half dead. Because there was no place to send him back and forth, the local officials were not in a hurry to please him. Except for some who were eager to get promoted and get rich, most of the officials did not pay attention to him.
Going out of the palace to handle affairs had always been a direct route for eunuchs to get rich. As long as there was a local assignment, especially in the areas of Jiangnan and the southeast coast, they would definitely be able to make a lot of money. One trip out would be enough to earn money for their future retirement. However, if there was no local assignment, then they would be a step behind.
No one needed you to say good things in front of the emperor. Without a handle in hand, the officials would not panic. There were some people who did not want to lose money to avoid disaster. Except for the local officials who had to come out to meet the eunuch on the way, most of them did not need to ask for an audience, and the eunuch did not have much income.
This time, it was even more so. Going to Nanyang to Luzon to find a mountain of gold was a purely torturous task. Moreover, there was not much profit. When he was about to go back, Ricci appeared and gave him a few chests of gold and silver. The eunuch was dazzled.
"Hmm, not bad, not bad. Hahaha, Mr. Qu, you think too highly of me. I only work for His Majesty. Whatever His Majesty says, we have to do it. If we are not good enough, His Majesty will get angry and we will lose our lives. This time, we also came out to work for His Majesty. They said that they were going to Luzon to find a mountain of gold and silver.
Hey, don't joke around. Those people who spread the news all think that they are Xiao Zhennan and Luzon is Japan. They think that there are mountains of gold and silver everywhere. I went up and circled around. My feet were bruised, but I didn't even see a speck of gold sand. This is complete nonsense. A group of people who are crazy about money are playing around with the Emperor! ' When I go back, I will teach them a lesson! "
Qu Rukui understood, and so did Ricci. The task was done.
Ricci was finally relieved, while Qu Rukui curled his lips in disdain.
These eunuchs reeked, but there was one good thing about them. They did things as soon as they took the money. They treated this kind of work as their main business and cared a lot about their reputation. If they couldn't do it, they usually didn't dare to accept money. They were afraid that they would ruin their reputation, ruin their livelihood, and give other eunuchs a hard time.
What he said meant that the imperial court would not send troops to Luzon.
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