In the past year, there is still more than half a month, and it is about to usher in the twenty-fourth year of the reign of the Holy Dao, Li Kezai has resigned from the post of the Western Fleet and the Western Metropolitan Protectorate, and is about to return to China. Thinking of being able to reunite with his parents and brothers, and reunite with the little goddess in the Hong Kong Heavenly Temple, he had a fire in his heart. And my sister is pregnant, and in the new year, her own generation will also be upgraded, and Li Kezai has a sigh of time.

This made him more stable and more mature in temperament when facing local dignitaries in Bangladesh.

Before leaving, his father gave him a political task, as the crown prince, to visit Bangladesh, to liaise with the Anglo-Chinese and Bangladeshi relations, and to enhance the feelings of the new colony towards the suzerain.

Therefore, he came to Dhaka and stationed in the Laleba Fort, which had been renovated and renamed "Kander Palace" (Kan Weixi, meaning Bengal to rule the West by virtue), to receive an audience from Bengalis. Also known as the Tang Palace by locals, Kander Palace will serve as the Anglo-Chinese royal residence.

This is the first time Li Kezai has appeared as the crown prince, which shows the importance that Yinghua attaches to Bangladesh. It also means that he has officially stepped into the political arena, in addition to continuing to serve in the Navy step by step, he also has the special status of a political envoy.

In the main hall of Khandik Palace, Li Kezai was dressed in an ornate nine-chapter crown and was worshipped by hundreds of local Brahmin nobles and Kshatriya dignitaries. The Governor of Bangladesh, Song Ji, was dressed in a red court uniform and accompanied the reception.

The Tianzhu people dressed in traditional costumes learned the Chinese rules of three bows and nine bows, but even if the ceremonial officials corrected them countless times, these Tianzhu people still threw themselves to the ground like worshipping Brahmin gods, stretching their arms forward, making Li Kezai laugh secretly.

Then Li Kezai found that the order of these people seemed to be very problematic, and many people in plain clothes looked quite excited when they knelt down, and they looked like they had never experienced the world. It was at the front, and the big guys who had already met alone before were still lagging behind.

"Your Highness, in front of you are the representatives of the oldest families of the Bengal Brahmins, though they have fallen. But their bloodline is still the most noble. Others did not dare to be in front of the queue for fear of polluting them. ”

A big baotou next to Li Kezai explained in fluent Chinese that this Tianzhu man named Singh was a Sikh, because he was fluent in Mandarin and knew local affairs very well, and had served in Western companies for a long time, and now he was photographed by Li Kezai and became his personal attendant.

It has been a common practice for Meng Chinese to use Tianzhu people as attendants and even housekeepers. Tianzhu people's loyalty to the main family, as well as the meticulousness of the work, have won unanimous praise from the Chinese. The governor of Bengal, Song, not only used his own Tianzhu butler, but also sent a few back to China to serve his relatives.

Li Kezai nodded, and he could see it too. The first few brahmins in the row did have a lighter complexion than the later ones. The appearance of the Tianzhu people according to the color of their skin and caste is indeed correct.

He half-jokingly asked, "I'm darker than theirs, and when I'm going to give them something, will they feel tainted by me?" ”

Singh hurriedly hugged his chest and bowed: "Your Royal Highness, you are the son of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty in Dongtu." Here in Tianzhu, your bloodline is nobler than anyone else. People see you as a child of the gods, and only brahmins have the right to accept your touch, and any contact with you by Kshatriyas and Vaishyas is a pollution to you. ”

Li Kezai sneered: "Singh, I remember that you are a Vaishya......"

Singh smiled slyly: "As an attendant of His Highness." The sacred mission I have undertaken has purified my blood. ”

Li Kezai threw a roll of his eyes at this guy, who said that the Tianzhu caste system is unbreakable? In some respects, Tianzhu people are also particularly good at self-adjustment. This is exemplified by the fact that the Chinese are now generally regarded as "Yellow Kshatriyas" in Bangladesh, and of course, this adjustment is also external. And not for the internal. Only a few people like Singh who climb the high branches can ignore the caste system on certain occasions by external force.

Li Ke continued to be tempted. He said agitatedly: "When you make meritorious contributions to me in the future and have a knighthood in Yinghua, I will let you come back as a great nobleman, marry the daughter of a Brahmin, and let the Brahmin kiss your feet." ”

An extremely complicated smile bloomed on Singh's face, and he said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, it is the greatest honor to be able to serve you for the rest of your life. I also want my son to serve you as well, and my grandson to serve your son......"

This trick diverts the topic, implying the helplessness of the unbreakable caste system of Tianzhu, although Singh can be "a fox and a fake tiger", but his Vaisha background is not only indelible in the eyes of the locals, but also difficult to get rid of in his own heart.

Li Kezai said in his mouth: "It's not promising", but he said in his heart, Tianzhu people are all your virtues, that's just wonderful!

Singh continued to change the subject: "We Sikhs, although we are opposed to the caste system, against the various gods of Brahmanism and the rituals they worship the gods, but we also agree with the unity of Brahman. To live is to practice, and we must learn to endure suffering, which is the source of enlightenment for the soul, and wealth will only bring endless greed and free the soul from the guidance of the gods. In this respect, we Sikhism are no different from Brahmanism. ”

Li Kezai nodded: "In addition to suffering and reincarnation, your Sikhism and our Heavenly Temple actually have a lot in common." ”

Singh bowed deeply again, expressing his admiration for the wisdom of his master.

The roots of Sikhism are in the state of Punjab in northwestern Bangladesh, and this sect is a mixture of Brahmanical Brahma and Islamic Sufis.

Yinghua entered Tianzhu and paid special attention to this force, and in the whole Tianzhu, there are even Sikh believers who have the most rebellious spirit, and especially hate the backward caste system and violent rule. But as a member of the Tianzhu people, the caste system is still deeply embedded in their subconscious. Just as Singh was reluctant to respond positively to Li Kezai's expectations, the Sikhs, who were mainly Vaishyas and Shudras, still had a natural inferiority complex in front of Kshatriyas and Brahmins.

Western companies first relied on Sikhs to penetrate into Tianzhu, and the mercenaries were mainly Sikhs, and the attendants and housekeepers serving the Chinese were also mostly Sikhs. Therefore, the symbol of the Sikhs: Dabaotou, has become a symbol of the Tianzhu people in China. 【1】

Unlike the British, who only regarded the Sikhs as their best mercenaries and even stewards, the Anglo-Chinese courtship of the Sikhs covered all aspects of politics, economics and military. If Bangladesh is the bridgehead for the Anglo-Chinese to encroach on the whole of Tianzhu in the future, then the Sikhs are the vanguard knives.

In an estate outside the county town of Gulingerum. The Shudra tenant farmers, dressed in calf trousers and coarse linen, were busy. Ditches and pits are dug on the hillside in preparation for the planting of indigo trees, whose leaves are processed to become indigo. Turning the fields under the hillside and planting jute.

A few people came along the ridges. At the head were two fat men, one old and one young, followed by several Sikh attendants with big buns. Seeing the old fat man, the tenant farmers knelt down one after another, and some people wanted to rush up to kiss their feet, but they were quickly stopped by Dabaotou.

"Dad, you are too soft-hearted to give clothes to tenant farmers, even if it is just coolie slave clothes that the weaving factory did not sell. A set costs thirty or fifty wen, which is a few taels! Do you want to win their hearts and minds? I've heard that as long as these Shudras don't starve to death, they're already grateful. ”

The little fat man stared at these Shudra tenant farmers. A look of disapproval.

The old fat man, of course, is the top of the clock. The little fat man is his eldest son, Zhong Yinan, who is eighteen years old. Zhong Shangwei felt that his name was suspected of robbing God of creation, and he had suffered so many sins in his life, so how simple and easy it was to name his son. The eldest was born to Annan's concubine. is called Yinan, the second is born to Jiangnan's wife, so it is called Erhua, and the third is born to a Japanese concubine, called Sanri......

Zhong Yinan graduated from county school this year and embarked on a study tour. This is also the new atmosphere of the younger generation of Yinghua. After graduating from the county school, I will travel before the entrance examination. Either overseas or outside the country, basically limited to one year.

A study tour is not a tour, but you have to do something, such as teaching Mongolian studies in colonial or remote areas, or working as a temporary worker for the local government. It's an eye-opener. After a long period of experience, it has promoted the relationship between China and the rest of the country. Substantial manpower was also provided to local governments in colonial and remote areas. If you do a good job, you will also be recommended, which will be beneficial to the future college examination and even the officer.

However, in Zhong Shangwei's opinion, his eldest son did not have the qualifications to be admitted to any college, so he simply arranged for him to study by his side, and he was also familiar with the future industry. Zhong Shangwei has decided to pass on the Bengali inheritance to his eldest son.

Hearing his son's words, Zhong Shangwei hated iron and said loudly: "Untouchables are also people, God has the virtue of a good life, and you have to have a benevolent heart when treating people, I am also accumulating yin virtue for you, humil boy!" ”

Zhong Yinan pouted and said, "Dad, I have what I want, so I don't want to be buried in this ghost place for the rest of my life." ”

Zhong Yinan's words are the mainstream thoughts of the younger generation of Yinghua, at this time it is the end of the twenty-third year of the Holy Dao, and the new generation of Yinghua has become an adult, in the great furnace of change of the times, full of opportunities, dare to fight to win, the spirit is very high, whoever fights the father will have no interest.

Zhong Shangwei said: "Beware of flashing your tongue!" I only got a middle and lower in the final exam, and the abacus beads are not good, what more can you ask for!? ”

was poked in the underbelly, Zhong Yinan pouted and said: "If you can't learn, you can always do business." ”

He pointed to the field and said, "Let's just say here, Dad, you still use the tenant plus pre-purchase system, it's really old-fashioned." Nowadays, the field work system is popular, and the field is bought as a workshop and mine, and the monthly money is directly given to the long-term workers, and all the things they grow are their own. If the business is not good, the workers will be dismissed, and it will save more trouble. ”

Zhong Shangwei shook his head and said: "If you have a low eye, you know how to stare at new tricks, and you don't see what is actually going on." The field work system is suitable for planting those things with high prices, and the monthly income of long-term workers who can plant those things is not low. Also, if you fire the workers casually, not to mention whether the local courtyard will trouble you, the workers will spread the news to see if you can still recruit people. And if you want to open the reform, it is a breach of contract, and you have to pay a lot of liquidated damages. ”

The father and son are talking about the industrial upgrading of Yinghua agriculture, the early commodity production is a pre-purchase system, and the merchants use the pre-purchase method to contract the farmers' crops, and the advance money is a loan to the farmers, which is used to support the farmers' lives. After the crop is produced, the crop is purchased at a price lower than the market price.

This method is a means of "exploitation" used by merchants when they are undercapitalized and cannot afford to take risks in the production process. In this way, the merchant and the peasant were partners connected by usury. In ancient times, the production of various cash crops, including tea, salt and iron, and even mining was done in this way, as was the case with Zhong Shangwei's "cooperation" with Guan Fengshengtian Daiyu in Fengtian Village.

With the progress of the times and the growth of capital, the profits in this way are insufficient, and capital begins to penetrate downward into the production process. Just like industry, the "means of production", that is, the land, are taken as their own and agricultural workers are hired to produce them. The payment is made in currency and not in the previous crop share. This method can effectively expand the scale of production and obtain more profits.

In this way, as a proletariat, the agricultural workers are in a more disadvantageous position than the peasants under the previous tenancy system, especially when the value of money is unstable, and they are as incapable of defending themselves against risks as the workshop workers.

Zhong Yinan reminded his father: "This is Tianzhu ......"

There is a spirit on the top of the bell, yes. In the country, there are local councils and even the eastern courts of the country, and there is quite mature public opinion, and there is the general righteousness of "benevolence", and the oppression of agricultural workers is like that of workshop workers in towns. Someone is always watching. Don't dare to be too bottomless.

At the same time, Chinese people also have options such as immigration, there are many opportunities, and if they don't give enough wages, they will pat their butts and leave. has its own place, so the domestic labor is always a cut higher. This kind of field work system was also very popular in Luzon, Funan, and even in the Nanyang countries, where British and Chinese merchants invested in plantations, and in any case, the agricultural workers were almost all foreign serfs.

Now that Bangladesh is in place, it is only natural that the industries and plantation owners are rejoicing.

Zhong Shangwei's eyes flickered. Sweeping around the tenant farmer, the calf trousers and linen clothes he had distributed were instantly numbered, and red letters kept dancing on his account sheets, while his son's proposal turned into green numbers, which leaked like sand in another column.

Zhong Shangwei pinched his chin: "You can try ......"

Then he patted his son on the shoulder: "It is worthy of being my son on the top of the clock, he is very talented." What do you think? Don't go to the college for the New Year. Just stay here to help Dad take care of the industry, and it will be yours anyway in the future. ”

Zhong Yinan raised his head and looked into the distance: "Dad." I'm going to start a colony company in the future, and I'm going to turn it into my kingdom according to my own ideas......"

With a snap, Zhong Shangwei gave his son a violent shudder: "Rebel!" ”

He pointed to this vast manor and said angrily: "You are the Zhong family, you can't take it if you don't want to!" ”

Zhong Yinan said aggrievedly: "What does my father do, does my son have to do something?" ”

Zhong Shangwei laughed angrily: "Do you still want to rebel against God?" Dragons give birth to dragons, phoenixes give birth to phoenixes, and the sons of mice will make holes, which is a matter of course! ”

Although Zhong Yinan's heart is high, he is a concubine after all, and he doesn't dare to be too presumptuous in front of Lao Tzu, and muttered in a low voice: "Just like these Tianzhu pariahs? ”

Zhong Shangzhi stagnated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said: "Your father and I have earned you a rich man, but I am not a pariah!" ”

When I said this, I was still thinking in my heart, if Lao Tzu really became a pariah, I am afraid that the biggest wish in his life is to make his son no longer a pariah, and we Chinese people are not Tianzhu people!

In Dhaka, the largest mosque in the region, Li Kezai finished his meeting with the elders and left at noon to pray, and he was amazed to see the prayer crowd in the temple divided into distinct parts. Could it be that in this Tianzhu, even Muslims have to divide the noble and the inferior according to caste?

Singh nodded: "Yes, Muslims in Tianzhu also have to abide by the caste system, and they must be separated when praying, and the lower castes cannot pollute the higher castes......"

Li Kezai said that he had really seen that the caste system of the Tianzhu people was really strong, and even Islam, which had extraordinary combat power, had to obey such a tradition. The combination of foreign conquests and Brahmin religious traditions, after the precipitation of time, has turned into this viscous sauce jar, and everything can change the taste.

When he returned to the Kande Palace and talked to Song Ji about this matter, Song Ji corrected: "Tianzhu can have today, and there are other things besides foreign conquest and religious traditions. ”

The caste system has two foundations, one is the varna, that is, the race distinguished by the color of the skin, and the other is the gati, which is the occupation. The Manu Code of Brahmanism lists a number of Kati and lists what the higher races can do and which the lower races can do. This distinction eventually precipitated into four classes, the Brahmins who were responsible for the sacrifices and the "spiritual world", the Kshatriyas who ruled and held the military and political power, the Vaishyas who were the common people and were responsible for production, and the Shudras who were untouchables who were equal to slaves. The "polluters" and "untouchables", the untouchables as the British and Chinese called "Dalits", can only engage in the lowest occupations such as moving corpses and digging excrement.

The more history precipitates, the more the caste system is attached to Gati, which is after all the real basis of society, and Varna is just another dimension. This can be seen in the fact that Brahmins can accept foreign rulers as Kshatriyas without psychological barriers.

Recalling the scene I saw on the streets of Dhaka, countless Shudras and even Dalits huddled in the corners, unclothed, haggard and withered, but with a serene face, not suffering from suffering, I am afraid that in the hearts of these people, there is no sense of grievance at all.

Li Kezai subconsciously said: "Fifty knows the destiny of heaven, sixty and the ear is obedient, and seventy does what you want without exceeding the rules...... The heart is already trapped in the high wall, and naturally no matter how much you move, you will not exceed the rules. ”

Song Ji said angrily: "I said before that Tianzhu has a rancid smell, just because, this seems to be the holy place in the hearts of my Confucians and Legalists in the old Chinese world, isn't this the world of Datong they seek?" The people are in peace with each other, each obeys his own courtesy, and the children and grandchildren will inherit the same lineage, and the world will be peaceful forever. ”

Li Kezai sighed: "Children and grandchildren, keep their business, obey their etiquette, and always be unswerving, this is the ...... heaven on earth."

At this point, Li Kezai vaguely understood why his father wanted him to open his eyes and see Tianzhu clearly. There is no choice, there is no freedom, and the whole society is imprisoned in birth and occupation, and the resulting hierarchy is unbreakable. Ironically, such a society has no resistance to foreign enemies and has been the object of alien ravages for thousands of years.

Today's Tianzhu is not a poison lurking in the bone marrow of China, and Yinghua has already understood the social issues that Yinghua is facing even in this world.