Looking at Luo Fangbo, who was clearly excited, Jiang Wubo couldn't help but smile and say, "Is the Grand Chief so excited that he can't even walk properly?"
Luo Fangbo smiled and shook his head. "They say one feels timid upon approaching home, but aren't we more than just timid?"
He pointed to the merchant ships flying various national flags in the harbor and the common people bustling on the docks. Luo Fangbo's expression was complex. "If this were still the Great Qing, even if we returned now, we'd still have to face the whims of those barbarians. Now, it's the opposite."
Jiang Wubo nodded in agreement. "Yes, everything has been reversed."
After speaking, Jiang Wubo let out a sound of surprise and crouched down, touching the ground beneath his feet. "This ground..."
Luo Fangbo also crouched down and tapped the ground with his fingers. "Why is it so solid?"
Just then, a loud "whoosh" sound echoed from afar. The head of a giant steel beast emitted thick smoke, followed by a clanking sound as the steel beast began to move forward slowly.
Luo Fangbo was greatly alarmed and wondered, "What is this?"
Jiang Wubo mused that this was Luo Fangbo's first time returning to the Central Plains in years, and it was his first time too. If Luo Fangbo didn't know, and asked him, who was he supposed to ask?
While Jiang Wubo was silently complaining, a passerby casually said, "That's a steam locomotive, used for hauling goods. It's much better than a horse-drawn carriage. It only needs coal, no feed."
After speaking, the person looked curiously at Luo Fangbo and Jiang Wubo and asked, "Weren't you here when this road was being built? Even if you weren't, you must have seen it in the newspapers, right?"
Luo Fangbo and Jiang Wubo exchanged glances and shook their heads. "We indeed haven't seen it. We've been living overseas for over ten years, and this is our first time back. As for the newspapers you mentioned, we've had very few opportunities to see them."
The person who answered appeared to understand, and looking Luo Fangbo up and down, said, "So that's how it is. Then you two really need to take a good look. Life in the Great Ming gets better every day. Whether farming or working, people can earn money. You two old brothers might as well walk around and see."
Luo Fangbo smiled in agreement, thanked him, and then asked with a smile, "Brother, I see so many people on this dock, some with long hair and some with short hair. Doesn't the court manage this?"
The person laughed and said, "Why would the court manage this? As long as you don't keep that disgusting rat-tail hairstyle, you can wear your hair however you like. For those working on the docks, long hair is inconvenient, so some keep it short, and some even shave their heads bald."
"The Emperor said in the newspapers that one's body and hair are received from parents and should not be lightly damaged. This means filial piety to parents and not forgetting ancestors, and it doesn't mean one cannot trim their hair, nor does it mean one must keep it long."
It had changed, it had completely changed, to the point of being unrecognizable.
In the past, the Great Qing used swords and sticks to dictate hairstyles, allowing only the rat-tail style. Now, with the Great Ming, except for the rat-tail, everything else was allowed!
Luo Fangbo and Jiang Wubo thanked the passerby and slowly strolled around the dock. As the sky began to darken, Luo Fangbo seemed to have made up his mind and said, "Let's not go home yet. We'll first take the brothers to the Thirteen Factories to handle the cargo, and then go directly to Jinan Prefecture to pay our respects to His Majesty."
Jiang Wubo also nodded. "That's fine. Back in the Great Qing, we were considered overseas outcasts. The government was constantly wary of us, wishing we would die abroad. Now it's the Great Ming. Once we integrate and obtain Great Ming household registration, we can return whenever we want." xxs壹贰
The Thirteen Factories of Guangdong did not refer to thirteen types of trades, nor to thirteen merchant houses, but rather to thirteen guilds.
For instance, Wu Bingjian, who was praised by "The Wall Street Journal" as "the world's largest commercial asset, the richest man on earth," his family was one of the Thirteen Factories, the Yihang. Pan Zhencheng, who was rated "the world's richest man" by "French Magazine," his family was also one of the Thirteen Factories, the Tongwenhang.
To put it this way, in the Great Qing era, the head of any of the Thirteen Factories of Guangdong had the qualification to become "the richest man in the world." Any one of them was richer than some kings in Europe.
However, when Luo Fangbo and Jiang Wubo arrived at the location of the Thirteen Factories along the Pearl River, they were both stunned and bewildered.
Where were the Thirteen Factories?
Where were the Thirteen Factories of Guangdong, once known as the "Heavenly Son's Southern Treasury"?
Luo Fangbo wandered around for a long time but couldn't find any trace of the Thirteen Factories. In desperation, he stopped someone on the roadside and asked, "Excuse me, brother, have the Thirteen Factories moved?"
The person looked Luo Fangbo up and down and asked, "Aren't you a citizen of the Great Ming?"
Luo Fangbo patted his chest and declared, "How could I not be? I am from Shishanbao, Jiaying Prefecture. Although I went overseas for a living more than ten years ago, I have never forgotten that I am a citizen of the Central Plains."
The person made an "oh" sound. "That explains it. Frankly, the Great Qing has been gone for many years, and the Thirteen Factories of Guangdong have also disappeared for many years. It is said that they all went overseas with the original Governor-General of Liangguang, Mei Shiyao, to a place called the Lanfang Kingdom."
Upon hearing this answer, Luo Fangbo was completely dumbfounded.
Governor-General of Liangguang Mei Shiyao?
The Governor-General of Liangguang was always held by an Eight Banners official. Mei Shiyao's name suggested he was a Han Chinese. Did a Han Chinese want to attain the position of Governor-General of Liangguang?
Furthermore, even if this Mei Shiyao had managed to reach the position of Governor-General of Liangguang and taken the Thirteen Factories of Guangdong overseas, they definitely would not have gone to the Lanfang Kingdom, otherwise, wouldn't he, the Grand Chief Administrator of the Lanfang Kingdom, know about it?
After a moment's thought, Luo Fangbo decided to gloss over this matter and instead asked with clasped hands, "Then, esteemed brother, who is handling the guild business now? To be frank, I have brought some overseas goods with me and wish to sell them, but I can't find a way."
The person made another "oh" sound. "That depends on how much cargo you have. If it's one or two ships, then any merchant house will do tomorrow. If you have ten or eight ships, or more, then you need to find Wenchang Hao or Sihai Hao."
"It is said that Wenchang Hao is controlled by the government, and Sihai Hao is backed by the Imperial Household Department. Both companies are large and conduct business fairly. Although there are many other merchant houses, none are as large as these two. They can handle small amounts of cargo, but anything more will be too much for them."
Luo Fangbo continued to be bewildered.
What was this? The Emperor and the court were competing with the people for profit?
When Luo Fangbo found the location of Wenchang Hao according to the information he had gathered along the way, his earlier thoughts were further confirmed.
As soon as he arrived outside the entrance of Wenchang Hao, someone suspiciously approached Luo Fangbo and asked if he had goods to sell. After Luo Fangbo gave an affirmative answer, the person then stated that if he wanted to sell his goods quickly, he should go to a shop opposite and spend some money to buy a piece of broken iron nail. If he was unwilling to spend this money, then the speed of selling the goods could not be guaranteed.
With a feeling of skepticism, Luo Fangbo first went to Wenchang Hao himself, stating that he had some goods to sell. The final result was indeed as the person at the door had said: there was a queue, inspections were required, and in short, the process was long and troublesome.
After having Jiang Wubo go to the shop opposite and spend a hundred taels of silver to buy a rusty iron nail, the subsequent matters suddenly became simple. More than ten ships' worth of cargo was all sold in less than half a day.
After selling all the cargo and setting off again for Jinan Prefecture, Luo Fangbo couldn't help but sigh, "It seems that the Great Ming is not perfect. Although it is much better than the Great Qing, the rampant corruption cannot be stopped."
Jiang Wubo, however, frowned and said, "Why don't we report it? Isn't it true that the 'Great Ming Laws' permit commoners to accuse officials?"
Luo Fangbo shook his head and said, "Of course, we can go and report it, but reporting it would delay our time. Many sea merchants have no choice but to tolerate it because they cannot afford to waste time."
"Besides, didn't we hear earlier that the government was behind Wenchang Hao and Sihai Hao?"
"The price they offered was fair, and there was no forced buying or selling. We made nearly ten thousand taels of silver from this trip, and they only asked us to spend a mere hundred taels to buy an iron nail. In a way, we still profited."
"Never mind, let's just take our time. We were too hasty before. It seems there are still many troublesome matters waiting for us."
...
At the Guangzhou Censorate Office, Guan Sheng, a hundred-household officer of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, sat in the guest seat, sipping his tea while observing the expression of the Censor-General in the main seat. He saw that Chen Cheng, the Censor of Guangzhou, had an expression that shifted between dark and red, like a face-changing performance.
After a long while, Chen Cheng finally sighed, "I'm impressed, truly impressed. You deserve to be called the renowned Embroidered Uniform Guard. To be able to uncover such secret information."
Guan Sheng put down his teacup and chuckled. "It's not that the Embroidered Uniform Guard is厉害, but rather that these people are too foolish. Also, I'm not here to mooch tea from you today."
Chen Cheng frowned and said, "Do you know who is involved in this matter? If it truly escalates, no one will be able to cover it up."
Guan Sheng nodded and said, "I know very well who is involved. However, although Xu Zhendong has his hands everywhere, we, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, are not to be trifled with. Moreover, it was Xu Zhendong who broke the Great Ming Laws first, not the Embroidered Uniform Guard framing him."
Chen Cheng sighed again, got up, left for a while, and then returned, handing a warrant to Guan Sheng. "Here is the warrant you requested. You go and apprehend the person, and I will go find the Censorate and the Guangzhou Prefectural Office."
Guan Sheng nodded, took the warrant, and stood up. "I'll go get the person first."
Upon returning to the hundred-household office within Guangzhou city, Guan Sheng immediately mustered his Embroidered Uniform Guard officers and said with a dark expression, "From now on, no one is allowed to contact outsiders. For this operation, no information is to be leaked to anyone. Violators will be punished by family law!"
Upon receiving Guan Sheng's orders, all the Embroidered Uniform Guard officers in the courtyard responded with solemnity.
In the Great Ming, there were four institutions that were above the "Great Ming Laws," and the Embroidered Uniform Guard was one of them. The other four institutions, which were on par with it, were the even more infamous Eastern Depot, the even more mysterious Western Depot, and an organization under the Five Military Commissions.
There was also the Internal Affairs Office, whose exact information was unknown even to the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
There are five members in the Four Heavenly Kings, it's common knowledge.
These four mysterious organizations each had their own responsibilities, and each had a portion of their personnel responsible for doing the dirty work. Even when internal problems occurred, they were usually not resolved by the government, but by internal family law.
Family law was a hundred or even a thousand times more brutal than the "Great Ming Laws."
Therefore, when the Embroidered Uniform Guard officers heard the word "family law," they knew that this matter today was absolutely not trivial.