The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 46 Two Hundred Years of Malpractices
As the fishing boats headed north, the Santa Ana shrank into a black dot and disappeared between the sea and the sky.

Zheng Zhilong was full of energy and enthusiasm as soon as he boarded the ship, constantly introducing the local customs and culture of Guangzhou.

Bai Langzai was a Tanka (boat people) who rarely went ashore to wander around. He knew very little about Guangzhou, and there were many things Zheng Zhilong mentioned that he genuinely didn't know.

Zheng Zhilong was adept at social maneuvering and also showed goodwill, so he soon started chatting with Bai Langzai.

Lin Qian closed her eyes to rest, her mind constantly going over her plan, checking for any oversights.

As the saying goes, "The most difficult things in the world must be done by starting with the easiest; the greatest things in the world must be done by starting with the smallest."

Since his transmigration, although he has often taken risks, every plan he has carefully considered and deliberated before taking action, ensuring that nothing goes wrong.

For example, this personnel arrangement.

He brought Bai Langzai to the Ming Dynasty for two reasons: first, to rely on Bai Langzai's skills for protection; and second, to use Bai Langzai's identity to recruit the Tanka people.

As for showing goodwill or keeping promises, those can be done casually.

Chen Jiao and Lei Sanxiang were left on the ship.

Firstly, the two men had high prestige and could suppress the crew.

Secondly, Lei Sanxiang values ​​brotherhood, so if Chen Jiao has any disloyal intentions, there will be someone to restrain him.

The reason for sending Zhou Xiucai and Jose to Macau was to have Zhou Xiucai keep an eye on Jose, since this glib-tongued Spaniard had only recently joined the group and Lin Qian didn't quite trust him.

The same reason why Lin Qian didn't tell Jose about the Feast at Hongmen.

Those in positions of power may be ignorant of everything, but they must know how to use people.

His arrangements might seem arbitrary to his subordinates, but they were all carefully considered and planned by Lin Qian.

Even when assigning positions on the ship, Lin Qian had the intention of having the two men share power and check each other, by appointing Chen Jiao as first mate and Lei Sanxiang as boatswain.

Therefore, when he realized that Lei Sanxiang was not respected by the boatmen, he came up with the idea of ​​using torture and medicine to help him.

He hid his thoughts very well, and since most of his brothers were rather rough around the edges, they probably didn't notice.

But it doesn't matter if they find out.

As the saying goes, "Trust those you employ, and don't employ those you don't trust."

This is something to be said to others, not something to be used.

If you act according to this common saying, you'll sooner or later end up as a floating corpse in the sea.

Just as he was pondering this, he suddenly heard Zheng Zhilong say, "Look, that's Lingdingyang."

Lin Qian opened her eyes and looked at the bow of the ship in the direction Zheng Zhilong was pointing. She could see two landmasses between the sea and the sky, with a wide body of water in between, and ships of all sizes sailing on it.

Bai Langzai sighed, "If my second brother were here, he would surely recite Prime Minister Wen's poem."

Lin Qian: "You know Prime Minister Wen?"

Bai Langzai nodded: "I've heard the old folks talk about it."

The ship sailed north along the Lingdingyang, passing Hutoumen, and saw the water narrowing. Gradually, a wide river appeared before them, which was the Pearl River.

On the Pearl River, many boats sail along the river, with fishing boats fishing and merchant ships selling their wares, creating a bustling scene.

Once in the middle of the river, the fisherman came to the stern and began rowing.

The Pearl River has a gentle current, so even when going upstream, there is no need for people to pull the boat.

Moreover, a southeast wind is blowing now, which provides assistance from the sails. Combined with the propulsion from the oars, the speed is not much slower than at sea.

Lin Qian looked around at both banks and saw lush green trees and distant mountains, a beautiful scene reminiscent of a Chinese ink painting.

After walking for nearly two more hours, they arrived at the outskirts of Guangzhou. Many houses appeared on both banks of the river, the surrounding forests had been greatly reduced, revealing red soil, and some barren mountains could still be vaguely seen in the distance.

Lin Qian asked, "Bai Langzai, is the Po Shan Wharf in this area?"

Bai Langzai nodded and looked out of the boat. Just then, a small boat passed by with several cormorants on it, and a man wearing a straw hat was rowing it. Bai Langzai shouted, "Uncle, have all the boats from the Tanka Bay at Po Shan Wharf returned yet?"

The man wearing a straw hat said, "It can't be that fast. Let's finish in a day or two."

Bai Langzai thanked him and sat back in the cabin.

Zheng Zhilong, with his keen eye, translated for Lin Qian: "Brother Lin, just now Brother Bai asked that man, 'Have the boats from Poshan Wharf and Danjia Bay returned yet?' The man replied, 'Not so soon, we'll have to wait another day or two.'"

Bai Langzai sat back in the cabin and sighed, "Helmsman, my ship should still be on its way back."

Lin Qian found it strange and was about to ask further.

Observing the situation, Zheng Zhilong preemptively explained, "Brother Bai must be a pearl merchant at Po Shan Wharf. Brother Lin, judging from your accent, you're from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. You might not know much about pearl merchants in Guangdong. May I explain a bit?"

Lin Qian smiled and nodded.

Zheng Zhilong: "Our founding emperor established the Yellow Register and delineated the household registration of the people. Among them, there was a category for pearl households. Since most of the pearl pools in the South China Sea were located in the Lianzhou and Leizhou areas, the pearl households were initially located in this area..."

Zheng Zhilong glanced at Bai Langzai as he spoke, and seeing that he looked normal, he continued, "Over the past two hundred years, the earliest pearl farmers have either died, fled, or died out, becoming increasingly rare. Meanwhile, the imperial court's expenditure on pearls has not decreased but increased, which has forced local officials to add new pearl farmers..."

Bai Langzai was a man of few words, and he was even less willing to talk about the Pearl House. It was the first time Lin Qian had learned about the origin of the Pearl House.

At this point in the story, Lin Qian could guess what would happen next.

It was nothing more than local officials trying every means to force good people to become registered residents, but they couldn't force Lianzhou and Leizhou to the point of exhaustion. Guangzhou Prefecture had a large population and was located by the sea, so it naturally contributed a lot of poor people to become registered residents.

This is probably the origin of the "Pearl Households" in Guangzhou.

The Yellow Register of the Ming Dynasty strictly prohibited the transfer of household registration, and the supervision of hereditary service households such as the Pearl Household was particularly strict.

This led to the absurd situation where people registered in Guangzhou were forced to perform forced labor in Lianzhou and Leizhou.

Fortunately, the people of Zhujiang live on boats; otherwise, the constant back-and-forth travel would have been exhausting enough to kill them.

What Zheng Zhilong said next was basically the same as Lin Qian's guess.

After finishing his explanation, Bai Langzai added, "My family lives in the Pearl Pond in Leizhou Prefecture, where we harvest pearls. We come back every three months."

Seeing that Bai Langzai hadn't hit the nail on the head, Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but add: "The Guangzhou government conducts a random check of the pearl households' registers every three months and collects taxes along the way. If any households abscond, the entire village is punished. This forces the pearl households to make the trip every three months. Otherwise, the pearl households would live on boats and stay near the pearl fields."

Bai Langzai nodded in agreement.

The residents of Zhumin already live in poverty, and now they have to go through the hassle of roll call every three months.

So this means that when officials are involved in their own interests, they abuse their power and open doors of convenience for others; but when the interests of the people are involved, they are impartial and show no leniency whatsoever.

No wonder the Ming Dynasty only lasted for twenty-four years. From the corrupt policies that had been maintained for two hundred years, one could see the signs of the country's demise.

Just as I was pondering this, the fisherman rowing the boat said, "We've arrived."

Lin Qian looked up and around, and saw that the fishing boats were already moored at a dock.

Lin Qian disembarked first and stepped onto the boardwalk. Bai Langzai gave the fisherman two taels of silver, which was an extra tip since the boat fare had already been paid when they set sail.

The fishermen were extremely grateful.

Zheng Zhilong coldly warned, "There are some things you can't say, do you understand?"

This was a warning to the fisherman not to speak carelessly.

The fisherman smiled apologetically and nodded.

Then Zheng Zhilong and Bai Langzai went ashore.

Lin Qian ignored their conversation and simply looked quietly at the city in front of her.

Is this Guangzhou Prefecture of the Ming Dynasty?

(End of this chapter)