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- "The beauty of the West Sea came from the East. Scholars and people were addicted to tea, but the tea style was vulgar and very inelegant. People in the Middle East drank the same way as before, while Westerners often boiled it with sugar, milk, fruit slices and other miscellaneous ingredients, losing its aroma. Marrow, the taste of tea is very different. I think it is a strange medicine and drink too much. If there is a shipwreck or other events, the tea road will be blocked, and there will be no goods in the Western market. The price of tea will rise sharply, the people will be resentful, and the state will be afraid."
"Since the Wanli year, there have been Franji people (now Portuguese) buying tea. At first it was Yaoyin, and later it was the door of a noble family in Western countries, and the tea trend became more and more popular. By the Tianqi year, Huamei ship merchants Arriving in the southeast, the four-sea tea trade began to flourish, and the number of tea goods transported from the south of the Yangtze River increased over the years. In the first year of Hongxing, Long was in Guangdong and Guangxi, and the emperor hunted Lingnan. He opened the sea policy, and the state set up a South China Sea transshipment envoy to handle Nanyang sugar, salt, and silk. , tea policy, with tea goods as the top priority. In the tenth year of Hongxing, the Shipping Department of Guangzhou (Guangzhou Panyu) Hai (Qiongzhou Haikou) Quan (Quanzhou) Fu (Fuzhou) City declared nearly 100,000 tons of tea goods, and smugglers escaped from customs I don¡¯t even know how many there are. Every spring and autumn tea harvest, Western tea boats gather in the southeast, like bees and locusts, which is a spectacular sight"
"Westerners often use money and bribes to lure tea farmers from the East to plant tea on the islands of the West China Sea. However, there is an ancient saying: Oranges grown in Huainan will become tangerines, and those born in North Huaibei will become tangerines. The species of Eastern tea is far from its origin. Due to the soil and terroir, there are occasional live seedlings, and the quality of the tea is also poor. Its color, aroma, taste, and emotion are all lost, making it infrequent to drink and boring to taste. Therefore, the rich and beautiful people ignore it and still regard Eastern tea as the best. "
Excerpted from "A Study of Western Tea" (Huang Zongxi)
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April 1, 1646, Sunday.
The famous April Fool¡¯s Day in later generations is still just an inconspicuous social farce in mainland France. Judging from the trend of China and the United States military blockading Quebec and the French getting further and further away from the colonial cause of North America, it is unlikely that this European custom that will become popular in later generations will spread in North America.
The situation in the Far East and a series of rumors that were both true and false finally brought a new wave of influence to the New World of North America at this time.
The final madness of the European war and the massive local infrastructure construction brought unusual economic enthusiasm to China and the United States. However, the deterioration of Far East trade caused by the Ming and Qing wars and warlord separatism has made the local people of China and the United States vaguely feel that something is wrong.
In the first three months of 1646, there was only one pitiful number of merchant ships from the Eastern Union Group carrying various industrial and agricultural raw materials from the Far East to China and the United States. It is the lowest record in the past ten years.
At the Futures Trading Center located in the State-owned Securities Exchange Building in Manchester, the forward contract prices of raw silk, spun silk, tea, rosin, bristle, tung oil, raw lacquer and other commodities have all risen sharply, which has directly caused the spot transaction prices to follow frequently. rise.
To protect domestic industrial consumption. Even though there is not much production cost advantage in the labor-intensive industry, Huamei Cabinet still takes advantage of the abundant natural pine resources in North America. Bite the bullet and increase support for local rosin production a few years ago, which is better than nothing at alleviating the demand for this strategic industrial raw material. But for raw lacquer, tung oil, raw silk and tea, which have more demanding geographical and climatic conditions and labor force scale, Huamei is helpless.
Especially for tea, which is closely related to the lives of ordinary people in China and the United States, the sharp decline in imports from the Far East has had a particularly serious impact on public sentiment.
Changes in income and quality of life have greatly increased the tea drinking hobby in this era. Not only are Chinese families with traditional tea-drinking habits, but in Huamei, where meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products account for 50% of the nation¡¯s daily food intake, at least two cups of tea a day that can relieve inflammation and cleanse the intestines, and have a mellow and fragrant aroma are undoubtedly the most popular. One of the invisible necessities of life in Huamei society.
The gorgeous sweet green tea, sweet black tea and special milk tea and fruit tea, which are added with sucrose to bring a sense of sweetness and happiness, are deeply loved by the Chinese and American people, especially European families. Its drinking volume even exceeds that of Chinese families, and its popularity has surpassed other fashionable foods, such as coffee and cocoa (chocolate). On ocean-going merchant ships and naval warships, due to the mandatory implementation of relevant navigation health protection systems, the consumption of tea by seafarers is twice that of ordinary people.
Whether it is coffee, cocoa or tea, these 100% labor-intensive industries, unless it is a strategic demand that is difficult to replace, Huamei's successive cabinets have not carried out special promotion in the country. Agricultural capital from China and the United States has only invested in a small number of tea plantations in Yueshan Island Overseas Territory, Nanshan Overseas Territory, the Viceroyalty of South Africa and Portuguese Brazil where the climate is more suitable and labor costs are lower. Yield. It can be said that it will not be enough to affect Huamei's current tea import pattern within a hundred years.
The main supplier of Huamei tea was the Jiangnan provinces in the Ming Dynasty in the East.
Old History A French businessman in the 18th century once said: "From the noble Duke to the humblest milkmaid, everyone drinks teaTea is the main driving force for European merchants to come to China. Other goods are It's just embellishment." And in this new time and space?Huamei, dominated by Chinese consumption, has enabled the Far East tea trade across the intercontinental ocean to enter a period of vigorous development more than half a century ahead of schedule.
In the past two years, including the amount re-exported to Europe, the total amount of tea imported by Huamei from the Far East has exceeded 3,000 tons, of which more than 90% has been consumed by Huamei citizens. The Dutch East India Company and the Portuguese Macao Council, who had experienced Huamei's huge tea consumption capacity, were also trying their best to compete for the supply of tea in the Ming Dynasty and then resell it. The Eastern Union Group even specially modified three tea merchant ships to rush to transport tea from the Far East in the spring and autumn.
¡°The amount of imported tea from the Far East that arrived in North America in the first quarter of 1646 was only a few dozen tons, causing retail prices in the already tight tea market in the capital, Manchester, to rise continuously. Tea powder, which is usually the cheapest, has increased by 50%. The price of tea with better taste has increased by as much as 100%. As for the higher-end ones, they are simply priced but not available.
Tea retailers are happy. But ordinary people stopped doing it. Some Manchester residents even took the owner of a tea shop on the commercial street to court for taking the opportunity to raise prices. The Ministry of National Defense and the Naval Command clearly announced that they would invoke the provisions of the National Security Law. They forcibly purchased inventory from tea wholesalers to ensure the navy's needs.
The military's "booing" posture has further worsened the supply of domestic tea retail markets. Citizens in many remote towns have been unable to purchase tea from the market.
The North American Financial Times even joked: "If the market supply of tea cannot be improved within a year, how frustrated people will be. It is estimated that the operating efficiency of all merchant ships and factories will drop by at least ten percentage points. It may be necessary to launch a war for this purpose." That¡¯s understandable.¡±
The Manchu Qing¡¯s comprehensive southward invasion of the Ming Dynasty led to a sharp decline in tea imports from the Far East. It can be said that it has also deeply hurt the Chinese and American people.
In order to ensure the supply of tea in the local market, Twin Ports, the capital of the Chinese American Caribbean State, which is the Far East Tea Logistics Distribution Center on the Atlantic route, is under heavy pressure from Congress. The Caribbean state's local council in March forced the introduction of a ten-year temporary local bill that would impose heavy taxes on all commercial tea from the state for re-export to Europe.
Provisions of the temporary act. When the retail price of Huamei's local tea market is 30% higher than the average price in the past twelve months, all tea re-exported to external markets will be subject to a 100% special tariff. This bill, which did not hesitate to offend a group of old European customers in order to prevent tea from flowing to the external market, was known as the "Tea Act" in history. It was similar to the "Corn Act" promulgated in England in history.
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The former Manchester City Entertainment Company has been renamed Manchester City Arts Media Group, and Cheng Daxiong, chairman of the group's board of directors, has recently finalized a share sale agreement to sell 10% of the group's personal shares to one of the five largest domestic funds at a premium of exactly double "Cathay Fund".
In Huamei. There are countless financial investment institutions established in the name of funds, but most of them are handbags that facilitate the financial control of the public. In fact, there are only about 20 that actually have actual power, and among them the five major funds are the main ones.
UnionPay Fund was the first to be established. It is the first of the five major funds and has the most abundant capital. It was the fairest fund-raising project within the group. UnionPay controls this country¡¯s huge but incalculable upstream economic lifeline. Almost every medium-sized and above-sized Huamei enterprise has more or less investment shares from UnionPay or its financial institutions. Every dollar of profit of these enterprises Dividends will go directly or indirectly into UnionPay accounts.
Oriental Fund ranks second among the five major funds. It controls the vast majority of the shares of Eastern Union Group and has invested extensively in various domestic small and medium-sized trading or transportation companies. Almost all of its core directors are from the liberal camp.
Dayang Fund. Ranked third among the five major funds, it was originally co-founded by Lin Youde and Jiang Zhaolong. It is now a symbol of the capital strength of the neutral camp, and its influence spreads across all small and medium-sized industrial enterprises in the country.
Guoxing Fund, ranked fourth among the five major funds, was founded by former cabinet prime minister and progressive leader Wu Yuanyi. From this, Guoxing Group was born, which can barely compete with Eastern Union Group.
Cathay Fund, ranked last among the five major funds, is the weakest. It is the only important financial capital in the hands of the conservative camp. Although Cathay Fund lags far behind the other four companies in overseas trade and overseas industrial investment projects, it mainly operates financing projects related to national infrastructure. It occupies considerable advantages among domestic highway, railway, canal, mining and port operating enterprises and really wants to show off its power. It is not something that ordinary people can imagine.
Cheng Daxiong¡¯s public gesture can be regarded as giving up his previous position of never taking political sides and officially joining the conservative camp.
The sale of some personal shares of the group to Cathay Fund at a double premium also made Cheng Daxiong and his family instantly happy.Wealth means that once the regulatory authorities pass the approval procedures for the equity change and the bank completes the relevant fund transfer procedures, Cheng Daxiong will receive more than US$200,000 in cash in his account.
Among the gorgeous time-traveling groups these days, the total family assets are much higher than those of the Cheng family, but most of the assets consist of gold custody, corporate stocks, financial bonds, land and real estate, etc. There are not many companies with hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash on hand that can be used immediately.
What troubles Cheng Daxiong next is not how to explain his political stance in public, but how to use the funds that can almost buy the latest improved frigate of the Navy's Alfalfa class.
Now Cheng Daxiong¡¯s Manchester City Entertainment Art Group has three branches, namely Manchester Song Entertainment Art Company, Observer Culture Publishing Company, and Manchester Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company.
Manchester City Music and Entertainment Arts Company is a well-known old cultural enterprise among Chinese and American people. Whether it is the national queen Jenny, Tao Xinmei who died young, or the angel lover Alice who is now popular all over the country, they are all led by Cheng Daxiong and his wife. It has produced superstars and the only professional-level Manchester Symphony Orchestra in the country.
Observer Culture Publishing Company is the industry that Cheng Daxiong has been most concerned about in recent years. There is the weekly "Observer" newspaper, the monthly "Observer Monthly" magazine, and a variety of life and art themed books independently published every year.
The weekly circulation of "The Observer" exceeds 10,000 copies. Although it is far inferior to other established newspapers, its influence is gradually increasing. However, the total circulation of "Observer Monthly" unexpectedly exceeded 100,000 copies last year, making it one of the publications with the largest circulation among monthly magazines.
Whether it is the "Observer" weekly newspaper or the "Observer Monthly" magazine, its readers are middle- and lower-class citizens. The content is sharp, novel, and exploratory. A large number of lower-class literary and artistic young people have become fans. Readers' letters and contributions are published by several major media The most in business.
As for the Manchester Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company, it was Cheng Daxiong¡¯s earliest private industry. It was purely a whim, with an initial investment of only US$5,000. Now it has become the only company in China that can produce various string, wind and percussion instruments.
Luxurious limited-edition top-grade pianos are extremely profitable. Many wealthy families are vying to buy one to show off at home. They are also exported to royal families and high-ranking aristocratic families in various European countries, becoming one of the highest symbols of the Chinese and American culture and art industry.
In addition, the "Manchester Evangelical Private Girls' High School", which Cheng Daxiong and his wife have been preparing for a long time, will officially debut this summer and become the second private educational institution in Manchester to only recruit girls after the Girls' High School Affiliated to Ivy League.
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Because he had rheumatism a few years ago, in this humid and slightly cold spring, the fireplace was still burning in the office of the chairman of the board of directors of Manchester City Art Media Group. Cheng Daxiong was sitting quietly behind his desk writing documents alone.
After signing an investment document, Cheng Daxiong gently knocked on the brass bell at hand, and then continued to open the next group business document without raising his head.
The door opened. A series of light and steady footsteps approached from far away, and finally stopped in front of Cheng Daxiong's desk.
"Miss Ada, please send the document on my right hand side. Remember that the recipient must sign for it."
"In addition, please help me contact Romus, the general manager of the publishing house, and ask him to come to the group headquarters tomorrow because he has important work matters."
As Cheng Daxiong spoke, he picked up his pen and drew key paragraphs on the new document, still not looking at who was standing in front of him.
"Today is Sunday. My dear, Miss Ada, the secretary, is not at work."
A gentle and familiar voice came into my ears. Cheng Daxiong paused with the pen in his hand, then raised his head in embarrassment.
His wife Jenny, who is over forty years old, is standing in front of him with a gentle smile. Although her clothes, appearance and temperament were as beautiful and elegant as ever, time still left cruel marks on her delicate face.
"Haha, look, I almost forgot again, I'm getting old Oh, I'm going to church in the afternoon, I'll go there later!" Cheng Daxiong looked at the clock on the wall and quickly speeded up the review of documents.
Jenny did not rush her husband. Instead, she sat quietly next to him and began to act as his temporary secretary. She took a pile of documents that had been processed and sorted them out carefully.
"In another week, I will formally sign a personal share sale agreement with the people from Cathay Fund. By then, there will be an extra two hundred thousand yuan in my bank account. What do you want to do?" Cheng Daxiong pointed to his wife's hand. A certain document in the book, with love shining in his eyes, "Money is of little use to us now, we want to do something meaningful."
Although I am aShe is the artistic director of Chengcheng Entertainment Art Company, but Jenny has never been involved in any financial matters, let alone the management of the family business, so she has always been relatively slow about the amount of money. But the money figures coming out of her husband¡¯s mouth also made Jenny stunned for a while, and it took a while for her to come back to her senses.
"Well, I received a letter from an old friend from West Point a while ago. He wanted to get my help. It must be related to project investment, right? Maybe I can please tell me."
Jenny thought for a long time before remembering something mentioned in the personal letter she received not long ago.
"Haha, that's fine. I've long heard that people in Union City are very entrepreneurial By the way, Alice's kid is applying for a 'personal charity performance donation' again. I heard that you are very supportive of her idea. ." Cheng Daxiong smiled and took out an application letter. The font was elegant and it looked like it belonged to a girl. "I think this child is very caring, so I support her application for scheduling a personal charity performance. I also plan to use yours to A nominal donation of one thousand yuan to her Angel Charitable Foundation."
Make this decision about your husband. Jenny was not surprised at all. It can even be said that the Cheng family is now the family that has done the most charity in Huamei, and Alice founded her own charity foundation. It was this influence.
"Also, I had a brief chat with Guan Ruzhong and An Shaoqing last month after the congressional meeting. They are planning to organize a 'Chinese-American Youth Science and Education Association', with An Shaoqing as the president. I think this is very important. It¡¯s meaningful and I want to join.¡±
"If we want to do it, we must make it bigger and stronger! Based on the Youth Science and Education Association, we plan to inject money to create a youth award fund specifically to encourage young people under the age of 30 to participate in scientific research and technological innovation. It will be awarded once a year. In academic research There are five award places in each field of science and technology patents to commend young people who have made outstanding contributions!"
"Also, now that there are sufficient funds, I plan to continue to increase investment in the girls' middle school. Then I will buy the land in the adjacent community that is planned to be demolished, expand it, and open a primary school next year."
Seeing her husband talking in high spirits, Jenny just listened carefully and kept her smile unchanged, as if everything her husband did was the most correct thing in her eyes, and she could only provide support and encouragement. only option.
"The last item is more interesting. It is the result of the discussion between Su Zining and I. We plan to work with the National Congress Science and Technology Committee to fund the establishment of a large-scale land expedition. This is completely different from the previous mapping expedition project. It will go directly to the western inland Launch a large-scale exploration! The first phase of the plan is to reach the Central River Plain. We plan to officially start the preparatory work next month and strive to implement it next spring"
Just as he was about to explain his latest spending plan to his wife, the door rang. I saw an administrative clerk on duty at the group headquarters pushing open the door and entering.
"Sir, madam, Senator Mr. Su has arrived and is waiting in the living room."
Just as they were getting excited, Cheng Daxiong and his wife suddenly had a feeling that Cao Cao, Cao Cao would be here.
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In the elegantly decorated living room, Jenny quietly exited after serving the hot tea in person, leaving only Su Zining and Cheng Daxiong sitting face to face on the sofa in silence.
"Regarding the sudden spread of the Manchu Qing southward massacre in the capital some time ago, a series of Far Eastern rumors and the investigation results of the Department of Homeland Security all point to you." Su Zining sniffed the aroma of hot tea. The expression on his face was calm, "So I feel the need to come over. Let's solve this problem together."
"These rumors have never stopped, from the perspective of hearsay. The dispatched reporter is actually no different from an ordinary crew member who likes gossip news. There is no need to make a fuss. At least we believe these are facts, and It may be more cruel than we imagine.¡±
Cheng Daxiong is very calm and disapproving of this kind of private investigation under the guise of national security. He has experienced it once in a lifetime, so he is not surprised. Speaking of his identity, he is also a senator in Congress and does not care about these investigations at all.
About a week ago, a rumor from the far East once again attracted the attention of the citizens of the Chinese and American capital. Various rumors from the Far East brought back by merchant ships in the past year finally converged into a very graphic piece of content, which greatly surprised the citizens of the Chinese capital who had had difficulty contacting new immigrants from the East for many years.
The invasion of the Central Empire by ethnic minorities in the northern part of the Asian continent has developed into a chaos concerning the life and death of Eastern civilization. Millions of people in the Ming Empire were massacred or displaced from their homes in the war, and beautiful cities were reduced to ruins. Military defeats caused by the incompetence of imperial officials continued to occur one after another.
The feasting and feasting under the bustling city still seems to be the main theme of the gorgeous capital, and the rapid catch-up in infrastructure construction across the country is still the most popular among pubs.?Topic. However, in some civilian communities, whispers about the homeland among Chinese citizens have gradually increased.
In other words, the shock caused by large-scale war massacre seems to have exceeded the natural disasters, banditry and famine they have personally suffered. Especially for most of the older generation Chinese immigrant families from the Jiangnan area of ??the Ming Dynasty, they cannot believe that the beautiful homeland in their minds will suddenly one day become a bloody morgue with corpses strewn everywhere.
¡°The outside world is really cruel, and the younger generation can be said to be completely in the dark. No matter how much the rumors are embellished, the older generation of Chinese immigrants who keep their old memories still recall the painful experience that has been stored in their hearts for many years.
"Well, we all know this, and it is true that citizens are used to these overseas rumors full of exaggerated descriptions, so the investigation is over." Su Zining nodded.
"Then you came here solemnly. I thought you were here to tip off the news. When did you get first-hand information from the Department of Homeland Security? That should be something Guan Ruzhong cares about, right?" Cheng Daxiong was stunned, as if he didn't understand the significance of Su Zining's trip.
"Lao Guan told me. That's why I came here today." Su Zining suddenly pointed to the east sky, "During a secret investigation, the Department of Homeland Security discovered that the Observer Publishing House has an interesting project underway. . Investigators discovered that Observer Publishing House was planning to publish a book on the theme of "Oriental Insights"."
"Well, I'm about to apply for a publication number. It's a set of three volumes. It's a relatively grassroots popular book that allows the new generation to understand various customs and customs in Asia. The name is relatively high-end, so I think the sales will be good. The project was established early last year and is currently in the process of collecting materials and writing. It is estimated that it will take another year to be officially published. Why, do you think this set of books may involve sensitive content?"
"You may have misunderstood, Cheng Daxiong. I am not here to emphasize the country's current limits on public opinion control over publications, and I do not have the power of the General Administration of Press and Publication of the Ministry of Culture and Education."
Seeing the other party showing a familiar look of resistance, Su Zining quickly explained.
"What Lao Guan means is, should you revise your publishing plan, or start a new book specifically to write a book about the Ming Dynasty, such as official infighting, official corruption, natural disasters, and war massacres! And the sooner the better, it is best to be able to It will be available this fall!¡±
After Su Zining finished speaking, a mysterious smile appeared on his face.
"Guan Ruzhong interferes in the normal business of a publishing house at every turn. And he only gives him a few months. Don't you think it's a bit overwhelming? If you have any ideas, just say it!"
Cheng Daxiong was a little confused.
"Because we now have to solve two problems: First, the country's moral position for large-scale military intervention in Europe and the Far East. This will involve various temporary tax increase bills that can be foreseen next year for war operations in Europe and the Far East. . It will cost a lot of money to make the people support us as the world¡¯s policeman without any complaints. In addition to the cooperation of the news media, we will also need various published books to strengthen the propaganda theme and stimulate their sense of justice and mission of the times.¡±
"The second one is the homesickness and tendency of some elderly Chinese immigrants to return home. This has a greater impact on us than the former. They were desperate and were tricked and deceived to get here. It is said that they were willing to do so. Absolutely impossible. Although their destiny has changed, their lives are stable, and they have many children, they are also old. If their hometown complex affects future generations, we will never accept it."
"All kinds of official propaganda are always unable to get close to the people at the bottom in terms of emotional investment. But your Observer Publishing House has a simple style and detailed content. It is very close to ordinary citizens, and more and more young people like to read it. So old Guan thinks it¡¯s best for you to take the lead in this kind of publication. No, he went to Yunzhou for inspection, and I helped run the errands.¡±
After Su Zining finished speaking, he looked like he was being entrusted by someone but was being put in a difficult position by a strong person.
"I understand that the outside world should be described as mysterious, barbaric and backward as possible, so that ordinary people can develop an unknown saint's compassion complex, a sense of self-lucky and superiority after reading it. Even because the content is true and the expression is friendly to the people, it can make The new generation questions, rejects and even resents the older generation¡¯s beautiful depiction of their homeland.¡±
"Similar to the book "Europe Under Darkness" that I was asked to publish by the Ministry of Culture and Education a few years ago, through realistic and even exaggerated depictions of natural disasters, official corruption, civil strife, alien invasions, and massacres in the Ming Dynasty, it created a story of ignorance, A bloody and cruel hell on earth, trying to eliminate as much as possible some of the influences that the new generation has been indoctrinated by the older generation. Is my guess good?"
Cheng Daxiong finally understood the other party¡¯s intention, and unknowingly stood up and walked around the living room.
"Perhaps we are just telling the facts of this era, and there is no need to add fuel to the fire. In fact, I have always encouraged young people to see it with their own eyes."
Su Zining spread his hands, noncommittal.
"If coupled with various high-profile patriotic education for young people, they will vilify the outside world and carry out independent local cultural development to achieve the purpose of cultivating world hegemonic ideas. On the one hand, they desperately advocate the importance of Far East trade to the country; on the other hand, they let Our descendants will maintain an emotional distance and a sense of superiority towards the East. Is this appropriate?"
After a long while, Cheng Daxiong stopped and looked at Su Zining quietly.
"Can you stop this? Several years ago, Manchester City people have been discriminating against foreign accents, but they don't hate foreign products."
Su Zining replied helplessly. (To be continued.)
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