Macau, Pan Family Courtyard.
The Ming army captured Guangzhou, and the Qing army on the Macau Peninsula had all withdrawn. Public security became chaotic, and commercial trade was completely interrupted. The example of the Dutch East India Company fleet being robbed by the Ming army was there. European merchants did not dare to come to East Asia. They were afraid to death.
The Navy's Lan Ling destroyer slowly entered the Port of Macau. The Fletcher class destroyer with a displacement of more than 3,000 tons could directly dock at the deep water dock of the Port of Macau. It was very convenient, unlike the 10,000-ton battleship, which could only be docked in the deep waters of the open sea.
Although the Fletcher-class destroyer was only 114.76 meters long, less than half of the Iowa-class battleship, and the caliber of the cannons was much smaller, with only five 127mm dual-purpose cannons, it was made of steel, which still made the merchants and civilians on the dock feel incredible.
"My goodness, this ship doesn't have a sail and is made of steel. Won't it sink?”
"It can float and run so fast. Are you blind?”
"I saw it a few days ago. The Ming army sent several such steel warships. Two of them were the largest, about two or three times as long as this steel ship. It's too scary."
"Have you heard? The Qing army suffered a terrible defeat. In one day, hundreds of thousands of people were killed or injured. The bonfire burning the corpses outside Guangzhou did not go out for three days and three nights! It was these giant ships that were blown up by the cannons.”
"No, my third uncle escaped from Guangzhou. According to him, the Ming army was very small, less than 10,000 people, but the firearms in their hands were very powerful. They could shoot continuously and accurately. He saw with his own eyes that thousands of Qing soldiers were chased and beaten by more than 100 Ming soldiers. The streets were filled with the corpses of Qing soldiers. It was too tragic!”
"Really? Is the Ming army that powerful?"
"Why would I lie to you? The Imperial Court's Minister of Military Affairs, Ah Gui, led 150,000 troops to guard Guangzhou. In the end, less than 50,000 people escaped, and they were the cavalry of the Eight Banners riding horses. The other Green Camp Han soldiers were basically wiped out, or they surrendered to the Ming army!”
"Whoa, so powerful. I'm afraid Great Ming will be restored.”
"I don't know. I heard that the imperial court has already mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops to besiege Guangzhou. If the Ming army can defeat the Qing army again, it means that the Ming army has the strength to restore itself!”
"Sigh, restoration is good! Big Ming is the orthodox Han Dynasty…"
"Shh, don't talk nonsense. Be careful not to cause trouble!”
The merchants and commoners discussed in low voices. They were not afraid because the Qing army in Macau had all withdrawn and gathered around Guangzhou. Would they hurt the commoners if they understood? It was obviously impossible!
The Great Ming Dynasty had only perished for a hundred years, but the commoners had not forgotten about the Great Ming Dynasty and still retained a sense of familiarity.
The warship lowered the gangway and Pan Youdu led a team of tall and burly Ming soldiers in black military uniforms to the dock.
Pan Zhencheng, who was anxiously waiting in the crowd, heaved a sigh of relief when he heard the news and rushed over.
"Pan Zhencheng, accept the decree!"
The lieutenant colonel of the imperial guards, Dian Wei, stepped forward and unfolded the black imperial edict in his hand.
The air instantly fell silent. Everyone looked at Pan Zhencheng in confusion.
Imperial decree? An imperial edict from the Great Ming Emperor to the Pan Clan?
Pan Zhencheng's spirits were lifted. He strode out with his eldest son and two second sons. He took off his hat, revealing his shiny bald head, and knelt on the ground.
"I, Pan Zhencheng, respectfully welcome the imperial edict of the Great Ming Emperor!”
Seeing the bald heads of Pan Zhencheng and his sons, the onlookers were stunned. The Pan family was going to betray the imperial court?
Surprised and incredulous, wasn't the Pan Clan afraid of being exterminated?
However, despite their surprise, everyone still knelt down.
When the imperial edict arrived, it was as if the emperor of Ming Dynasty had come personally. If one did not kneel, they might be arrested and beheaded for being disrespectful.
" The Emperor of Heaven has decreed that Pan Zhencheng, a righteous merchant from Guangzhou, is loyal to the king and loves his country. He has made great contributions to the country. He is conferred the title of son of Dongguan County. He is hereditary and is promoted to the second minister of the cabinet. His wife, Chen..."
The imperial edict was very long. Not only did it confer a title of nobility to Pan Zhencheng, but it also conferred the title of Madam Chen as a third-grade imperial concubine and conferred official titles to all his sons.
The air was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
The Pan Clan was so excited that they trembled. The surrounding commoners were dumbfounded.
Oh my god, the Pan family had transformed from a merchant family into a noble family with a noble title? Pan Zhencheng also served as a cabinet minister.
Although he didn't know what kind of official position this business minister was, it was not a trivial official when it came to the cabinet. It was probably similar to the left and right assistant ministers of the six ministries.
A high-ranking official, a proper high-ranking official.
The problem is, if you rely on Big Ming, what if Big Ming loses? The Pan family would probably be executed by a thousand cuts!
The commoners lamented Pan Zhencheng's audacity. It was too unwise for him to take the risk of extermination and rely on the Ming Dynasty.
The shrewd merchants did not think so. The Pan family was betting that Great Ming could destroy the Mie Qing and successfully restore them.
The benefits that could be obtained were clear at a glance.
Xie Youren, the manager of Dong Xing Bank, sighed.""Pan Zhencheng, that old fox, is too decisive. Viscount, Vice Minister of Commerce, he has reached the top in one step!”
" Yes," Liang Jixi nodded." But it's also very risky. If things go wrong, your family might be raided and your clan wiped out."”
"Ha, even if the Ming army is defeated, it won't be completely wiped out. Didn't you see the indestructible steel giant ships at the Pearl River Mouth? The Ming army could leave calmly, but the Qing army could only watch helplessly.”
"With the steel ship in hand, it is only a matter of time before the Ming army makes a comeback.”
While Xie Youren was sighing, he also had the idea of sending charcoal in the snow to Da Ming.
After doing business for so many years, he had a secret warehouse overseas like Pan Zhencheng. He had hidden all his assets overseas. After all, he could not put all his eggs in one basket. He had to leave a way out. Who could guarantee that the Miqing Imperial Court, which treated the world as slaves, would not find a crime and destroy them?
"Zhonghe, you want to submit?"
Liang Jixi seemed to have noticed Xie Youren's eagerness.
"Why not?"
Xie Youren smiled and said," It's fine even if we fail to submit to Great Ming. We can follow Great Ming overseas. With the protection of Great Ming's steel giant ship, we can directly set up our business in Europe. We can still prosper in official business and wealth, right?”
It had to be said that in terms of foresight and sharpness, Western capitalists were far inferior to gardeners.
Liang Jixi's eyes lit up. He whispered,""I also have this intention. Why don't we also go and rely on Great Ming?”
"It's returning to Great Ming. Great Ming is our orthodox Han Dynasty. We've been waiting for Great Ming for more than a hundred years. Now that Great Ming has finally returned, we're like wanderers who can't find our home and have finally returned home!”
Xie Youren corrected him, and Liang Jixi quickly agreed.
"Extreme, extreme! We're going home!"
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。