Chapter 239 “You were abandoned”

More and more soldiers were disembarking from the Ming Dynasty's fleet, and the dock in Wilmington, which was not large to begin with, was quickly controlled.

There were French soldiers brought by Bernadotte on the dock, but they did not take any action until they received orders.

There were also local militia and police from New Castle County around, but of course they had no intention of confrontation without receiving orders.

After all, they were Ming Dynasty's troops.

In the center of the pier, in the depressing and chaotic atmosphere, someone spoke again.

A man in Ming-style formal attire, a bit thin, and looking to be in his early twenties.

The image was probably influenced by the New Ming Dynasty pop culture that was spreading from France.

"Your Excellency, I, Thomas Stockton, am a native of Wilmington.

"I just heard you mention that limiting the amount of wealth brought by people leaving Wilmington was a request made by the British and French courts to the Ming Dynasty?"

Ruan Yuan suddenly said with disgust:

"Yes, otherwise you think the Ming Dynasty cares about your little money? A hundred thousand people is only the size of a county in the Ming Dynasty. How many wealthy households can there be?

"When we drove the Taixi people away before the Ming Dynasty, did we ever ask for your frivolous wealth?

"Not only is it a requirement of the British and French courts to limit the amount of assets they can carry, but it is also a requirement of the British and French courts to keep the population."

The scene was once again in an uproar, but the direction of the astonishment had changed.

Stockton immediately asked in disbelief:

"Why did the British and French courts make such a request? This is obviously a request that is beneficial to Ming Dynasty, right?

"Whether it's population or wealth, staying on the land of the Ming Dynasty will not be of any benefit to Britain and France, right?"

Ruan Yuan laughed dryly and said:

"If you have read the works of our ancestors, you should know the reasons.

"In a place where the original economic order was not very stable, a sudden influx of a large number of unemployed people and money will have what kind of impact on the local area?

“A large number of unemployed people will lead to an oversupply of workers at the bottom, and the income of workers at the bottom will subsequently decrease.

“A large amount of money causes the supply of goods in the market to exceed demand, leading to inflation and soaring prices.

"Under such circumstances, if the imperial court does not send out capable ministers and officials to guide and smooth things over, public dissatisfaction will inevitably boil over.

"The colonies of Britain and France are already on the verge of collapse, otherwise how do you think this war happened?

"The British and French courts don't know how to solve this problem, so they ask that you local ordinary people and the money in your hands should be kept in the Ming-controlled areas and not disturb the order of other colonies."

After listening to Ruan Yuan's explanation, the atmosphere at the scene became even more noisy, and many people were shocked by this reality.

The local citizens and businessmen chose to follow Adams and Napoleon in seeking independence, not because they really wanted independence.

Britain or France, as big countries in the West, still have cultural cohesion.

Historically, Americans still had no real expectations for independence until independence.

Most of them still consider themselves to be English, the same ethnic group and the same civilization as the native British people.

Until World War I, wealthy Americans were still proud to marry a British aristocratic lady, even one from a down-and-out aristocratic family.

This kind of thinking is more common among ordinary people. They do not know what is great about independence, and they do not actively pursue independence.

They don't know why they want to be independent, and they don't know whether independence is right.

But they are dissatisfied with the current state of reality, so they are willing to follow any person or organization that can change the reality.

I don’t think it can get any worse.

Most ordinary people still have a very sentimental attachment to the sovereign state.

But now Ruan Yuan's words made it clear to them openly and thoroughly that it was their sovereign country that abandoned them.

What ordinary people care about is not the half-understood economic logic that Ruan Yuan talks about.

What they care about is that the suzerain country has made the decision to abandon them because of some problems that the Ming Dynasty can solve.

The impact of this new understanding is actually very far-reaching...

The independence movement promoted by Adams was just an attempt to be independent for ordinary people to see if they could live a better life.

Now Ruan Yuan's explanation may make them start to completely cut off their nostalgia for the suzerain country.

Amid the chaotic discussion, Stockton asked a question again:

"Your Excellency Chang Shi, if we choose to stay in the Dongyi Kingdom of the Ming Dynasty, how much wealth can we keep?"

Stockton's question should have been explained in advance as a matter of course.

Ruan Yuan glanced at the other party and nonchalantly said a very simple and crude standard prepared in advance:

"All assets should not exceed 10,000 silver coins when converted, and the land should not exceed the area that the family can cultivate by themselves."

In fact, there should be many details in this restriction.

For example, how to handle financial assets, how to price various types of wealth, how to limit the area and quantity of real estate, etc.

But Ruan Yuan did not give an in-depth interpretation on the spot.

There is no need to explain it in depth, because this upper limit is actually very high.

Ten thousand silver notes is the limit of assets held. If it is actually spent and not converted into fixed assets, it will not be counted.

In fact, as long as you are not crazy about buying land and building houses, or holding a large number of stocks and bonds, or participating in the local or foreign financial industry, otherwise it will be difficult for anyone to stably hold such a large amount of wealth in this place with only a few hundred thousand people.

.

A high-level car now only costs two to three thousand silver coins. Most residents cannot afford such a car, and most families do not have cars.

There are only a few local richest families with assets exceeding the standard of 10,000 silver notes. They are an absolute minority.

The New World was in the process of being developed, and the aristocratic system had not yet been established.

The vast majority of residents are workers and farmers, and the overall local population density is very low.

Natural resources and agricultural resources are very abundant, and there is very little competition pressure in work and life.

Compared with their counterparts in the Old World, their living standards are relatively high, but their assets will not increase in the short term. Naturally, the gap between the rich and the poor will not widen.

The most important thing is that Ruan Yuan has announced before that he can only take away one thousand silver notes when leaving here. If he stays here, he can keep ten thousand silver notes.

Comparing the two sides, there is a tenfold difference, and most people can retain all their assets.

In a situation where the connection with the overlord country has truly been severed and I don’t know where to go in the future.

Still staying and living in a place that is already familiar to him, while becoming a citizen of a vassal state of the world's most powerful and civilized world, it seems to be a problem that does not need to be considered.

So Stockton almost immediately shouted out:

"I want to stay, I, Thomas Stockton, choose to become a citizen of the Dongyi Kingdom of the Ming Dynasty!"

This is a decision, to say your name, like an oath, to join a new group.

As soon as Steckton finished speaking, there was a chorus of echoes all around.

Similar declarations echoed from the Wilmington Pier.

Ordinary residents outside the core area of ​​the dock are waiting for the results of the negotiations on the dock.

Now I suddenly heard shouts and shouts, and many people subconsciously followed suit.

The true central figure on the docks, Mitchell, was now completely disorganized.

It turns out that when ordinary people spread "rumors", Delaware's elite at least stood with them.

Ruan Yuan's two different wealth standards were raised, and the news that the suzerain country abandoned them was released, and these elites also began to rebel collectively.

Among the officials, new nobles, and businessmen at the scene, there were only a few who had not announced their intention to join the Dongyi Kingdom.

Mitchell hesitated for a while, feeling that it would be a shame to leave.

Of course, my own assets exceed 10,000 silver notes. The difference between keeping 10,000 silver notes and taking away 1,000 silver notes is an individual's choice.

But Mitchell was still a little unwilling to give up and couldn't help but ask Ruan Yuan:

"Your Excellency, Mr. Changshi, I am the current governor of Delaware, and I am very familiar with the local area of ​​Delaware.

“The vast majority of local people in Delaware are immigrants from Thailand and Spain, and their language is mainly English.

"If the Ming Dynasty wants to govern this land, it should require the cooperation of the Taixi people, right?

"If I join the Dongyi Kingdom, can I hold an official position in the Dongyi Kingdom's court?"

Ruan Yuan returned a cold look.

Do you still want to seek refuge here and continue to be an official?

Even if we try to use Taixi people to rule Taixi people according to the suggestion of His Highness Prince Dashi, we will still give priority to friendly people who are already cooperative with the Ming Dynasty.

Even if it is a peripheral fan of the West Factory, it is more suitable to hold positions in a public capacity than to recruit these old rentiers.

Ruan Yuan really wants to get rid of people like Mitchell.
To be continued...