New Han Dynasty 1834

Chapter 15 "The Emperor Orders the Expulsion of the Britons"

There were officials in the court who supported foreign trade, but there were also officials who opposed it, mainly because they disliked foreigners.

The customs and habits of Westerners, especially their beliefs, did indeed cause some trouble for officials in matters of etiquette, culture, and the imperial examination system.

Pan Shi'en, the Minister of Rites, expanded the scope of the suggestion from the Court of State Ceremonial, recommending that all treaty ports be closed directly.

Besides genuinely disliking the foreigners, he also wanted to test the new emperor's attitude towards foreigners and private trade.

Liu Yulong's instinctive and swift rejection suggests that he places too much emphasis on overseas trade and may even disregard etiquette and law.

Liu Yulong immediately realized this, so after a moment's thought, he made some supplementary explanations:

"A decree was drafted to reiterate the imperial edict prohibiting Westerners from leaving Shanghai and Bao'an counties."

"Any officer, soldier, or inspector who discovers Westerners in other places shall be regarded as spies of the enemy country and arrested immediately."

"For any improper behavior, prohibited acts, or illegal acts committed by foreigners, they shall be severely punished."

"This is to urge Westerners to read books, learn etiquette, and abide by the law."

Pan Shi'en hesitated upon hearing Liu Yulong's additional statement, realizing that the new emperor's stance indicated he was not prepared to change the status quo.

According to Pan Shi'en's understanding, most local officials would severely punish foreigners who broke the law.

As for the lack of translators in government offices and the fact that the Westerners did not understand Chinese, almost no officials cared.

Unable to understand the gibberish, the official took it as a confession.

If you come to the Han Dynasty and don't speak Chinese, that's your problem, not the problem of the Han Dynasty's court, officials, or people.

Severe punishment can indeed make the barbarians focus on learning Chinese and understanding the taboos of the Han people.

To avoid being sentenced without knowing where you committed the crime.

The Western barbarians themselves did not think there was anything wrong with this practice; their own officials did the same thing to their own people.

Pan Shi'en was silent for a moment, then bowed, accepted the order, and withdrew.

"Your Majesty is wise; I obey your decree."

Liu Yulong continued to inquire about the situation in other departments and what decisions he needed to make recently.

If a decision can be made on the spot, then make it on the spot; if a decision cannot be made on the spot, then have the other party write a memorial and send it to the cabinet, and then Liu Yulong will discuss with the cabinet how to handle it.

The meeting lasted for most of the morning, ending around 11 a.m.

Liu Yulong returned to the West Palace to rest, and the officials of various departments returned to their respective offices to handle their own affairs.

That afternoon, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies quickly wrote the memorial arranged by Liu Yulong and sent it to the Grand Secretariat through the Office of Transmission.

After reading it, Liu Yulong approved it immediately and instructed his cabinet secretary to draft an imperial edict based on the memorial.

By the morning of the following day, the various edicts issued by Liu Yulong the previous day had entered the postal system and began to be transmitted to the corresponding agencies.

Regarding the handling of the Shanghai opium smuggling case, there were edicts to have the militia cooperate in expanding the police force, edicts requiring severe punishment for foreigners who committed crimes, and edicts to expel British foreigners, etc.

All of them were transported southwards along the post roads in an orderly manner, and arrived in Shanghai County ten days later.

Liu Desheng established two patrol teams in Shanghai, namely the Shanghai Anti-Drug Patrol Team and the Shanghai Anti-Smuggling Patrol Team.

The two patrol teams are not under each other's command, and their work is very similar, only their focus is different. They have a mutual supervisory and restraining effect.

The captains of the patrol teams were of the same rank as the county magistrates, and were not under the jurisdiction of the local provincial or county governments, but were directly subordinate to the Ministry of Justice of the central government.

Upon receiving the imperial edict, the anti-drug patrol team immediately arranged for personnel to escort the criminals and the stolen opium to the capital.

The anti-smuggling patrol team copied the notice according to the imperial edict and posted it at the entrance of the Shanghai County Government Office and the patrol team the next day.

At the same time, people were sent to the major British trading companies to deliver notices and directly shut them down.

Although Liu Desheng opened Shanghai and Bao'an as ports for foreign trade, he did not allow foreigners to directly purchase and own land in these two places.

Liu Desheng organized the Royal Trading Company, which bought most of the land inside and outside the cities of the two counties, and then rented it out to the Western Yi people.

In Shanghai, Westerners were only allowed to rent land east of the Huangpu River, and were not permitted to build Western-style buildings.

Therefore, at this time, the trading companies and guild halls of various European countries in Shanghai were all located in Pudong, mostly on the riverbank directly opposite the old city of Shanghai.

At the same time, they are all Eastern-style buildings and courtyards, making it seem at first glance that Shanghai's old city has expanded across the river.

At around 9 a.m. on April 7, ten policemen carrying rifles ran into the lobby of the headquarters of the Dent Company.

The clerks in the trading company's lobby were also Han Chinese, but they were intimidated by the sight of these policemen and quickly greeted them with smiles.

"Gentlemen, what brings you here? How can I help you...?"

The head patrol squad leader took out a notice and loudly read it aloud to the manager and staff in the lobby:

"The decree of the Ministry of Justice of the Great Han Dynasty allows foreigners from the border regions and overseas to enter the Great Han for trade and residence, which is a grace from the emperor to his obedient subjects."

"Britain was unwilling to become a vassal state and pay tribute, and the British barbarians were all shameless and unscrupulous. They not only did not know how to be grateful for the favors they received, but also disregarded the laws of the Han Dynasty and smuggled opium, which was repeatedly prohibited but never stopped."

"Therefore, from this day forward, it is forbidden for British barbarians to trade with the Great Han."

"All British barbarians shall, upon receiving this notice, immediately cease all their businesses and shops."

"Those who fail to leave the country by the end of the year will be enslaved by the government."

After the notice was read aloud, the squad leader slapped it onto the nearest clerk of the trading company, then shouted to those around him:

"Close the store immediately! Seal it off!"

As the lobby manager listened to the notice read by the team leader, he instinctively thought, "It's all over."

At the same time, without thinking about anything else, he quickly caught up with the squad leader, grabbed his arms with both hands, and cautiously pleaded and explained:

"My lord, please wait, please wait. We'll see each other again someday. We can talk things over, we can talk things over."

"Our trading company has always operated honestly and has never smuggled a single ounce of opium."

"What does the smuggling and trafficking by unscrupulous merchants have to do with my business?"

At this point, two police officers had already taken out another notice with the same content and went to post it at the entrance of the lobby of the foreign firm's headquarters.

The patrol squad leader on this side pushed away the manager's outstretched hands:

"You all know in your hearts whether you've been smuggling or not! Don't think I don't know where those smugglers get their opium!"

The manager instinctively continued to defend himself:

"This is a huge misunderstanding! Our trading company has never smuggled opium. If you want to punish us, you need to provide evidence..."

The squad leader chuckled coldly and said:

"It's no use telling me this. The Emperor is utterly disgusted with the British because of their opium smuggling."

"From now on, Britons will no longer be allowed to trade with the Great Han. Whether your trading company is smuggling opium or not is irrelevant."

"Make it clear to your boss and master that if they don't leave by the end of the year, they will all be captured and enslaved, and sent to Liaodong to reclaim wasteland."

After the squad leader finished speaking, he looked back and saw that his two companions had already finished posting the notice.

So he led the team out of the lobby, and had the other companions help the Didi Trading Company put up the door panels and then put a seal on the door.

Finally, he led his men away from the scene to deliver a notice to the next trading company.

The clerks of the Din Dye Company, locked behind the door, were all filled with astonishment and confusion, and couldn't help but start whispering among themselves:

"This is terrible. The Emperor is angry and is going to drive the Britons away."

"Do you think the landlord actually smuggled opium?"

"That's hard to say. Anyway, the police find opium from time to time. Most of it probably comes from India, and our boss mainly deals in Indian goods..."

"They are likely suspects, but we can't find any evidence, which is why the Emperor is angry..."

"But anyway, it has nothing to do with us."

"What do you mean it has nothing to do with us? This means we're losing our jobs..."

The forced closure of the business was equivalent to the collapse of a company, and the employees lost their jobs.

However, for those in slightly higher positions and with slightly more seniority, it's not just about losing their jobs.

In this era, senior employees and managers in businesses and companies usually held shares.

Those without actual shares are not considered part of the company, and they won't work sincerely for the long term. They might also leak internal secrets to outsiders, and of course, they won't have access to the company's real secrets.

So the ordinary guys on site were still in the mood to discuss, but the two veteran guys remained silent.

The lobby manager stared blankly for a while, then took the notice and ran to the backyard to explain the situation to the foreign firm owner.

The major shareholder of Dent & Co., and the actual controller of the firm at that time, was named Lancelot Dent, an Englishman in his thirties.

Dindi also had businesses in India and did indeed buy opium there, smuggling it into China along with regular goods.

However, the Han Dynasty had always strictly prohibited smoking, and considered the sale of opium as the most serious crime.

For the sake of his own life, Din Dil would not use his legitimate trading company to sell opium, but instead hired outlaws as indentured servants to smuggle and sell it.

Opium and normal goods were clearly distinguished in India. Dindi himself would not directly handle opium in the Han Dynasty, but would secretly provide assistance through foreign trading companies.

The opium that was transported to the Great Han had no nominal connection to Dindi himself.

Dindy was already in a bad mood these days. Although most of the people and opium arrested by the Shanghai anti-drug police belonged to another foreign firm owner, Dindy did have a share in them.

Dian Di was enjoying tea in his room when the lobby manager rushed in with a very unpleasant expression. He immediately had a bad feeling and, holding his teacup, asked with some surprise:

"Oh... judging from your expression, something bad happened?"

The manager handed over the notice, sighing with a wry smile:

"Our young emperor of the Han Dynasty is enraged and will drive out all you shameless Britons..."

He glanced at the notice, then jumped up on the spot, dropping his teacup to the ground.

"The Emperor has ordered the expulsion of all Britons? How could this be? Why would this happen?"

"The Dent Company has never sold opium! How can the Emperor expel all Britons just because others are selling opium!"