The situation within Jinan's inner city was indeed as Pierre and the other French nobles had guessed.
The streets were cleaner and more orderly than those in the cities they had passed through, with houses standing in neat rows and the Ming populace appearing spirited and disciplined. This sight almost blinded the French nobles and students.
The more they looked, the more despairing Horbach and Diderot felt.
Compared to this temporary capital of the Ming Dynasty, Paris seemed like a dirty and chaotic pigsty.
It was clear that the Ming Dynasty's temporary capital would only improve, while the dirty and chaotic Paris would likely remain that way—
Among the kings of France, there had been those who considered clearing the dung walls outside Paris. However, the idea was that "clearing the dung outside the city walls completely might require all the city's labor, and the king's soldiers alone would be insufficient to fully clear the excrement outside the walls." Thus, the French kings had to abandon this idea and instead continue to heighten Paris's city walls.
Horbach, who had been transitioning from praise to vigilance, whispered to Diderot as he walked with the crowd, "I've always said that European governments must take China as a model. Now it seems I was right."
Diderot echoed his sentiments, saying, "Yes, you are right. For France to improve, we must learn comprehensively from the Ming Dynasty, both their systems and their knowledge."
After a moment's thought, Diderot added, "However, merely learning from the Ming Dynasty's systems and knowledge is clearly not enough. I believe we should persuade His Majesty the King to send all his troops to the Ming Dynasty for training."
"After all, those petty bourgeois have always been at odds with His Majesty the King, especially the downfall of the Rohan family, which has caused many nobles to align with those petty bourgeois."
"These damned fools!"
After cursing vehemently, Diderot couldn't help but launch into a sarcastic tirade against the French nobility: "Don't they realize they are nobles, and these capitalists want to snatch their rights? How can there be so many fools in this world!"
It wasn't until they had settled into the posthouse that Horbach and Diderot, who had been discussing quietly all the way, finally remembered something very important.
After finding an official from the Court of Ceremonial through Pierre, Horbach and Diderot eagerly expressed their desire to visit the "Great Ming Library."
According to Pierre, the largest and most comprehensive library in the Ming Dynasty was the "Great Ming Library" located in Jinan City. It housed countless books, with a scale several times larger than the French Royal Library, which possessed 150,000 volumes.
However, the official from the Court of Ceremonial only agreed to part of their request: "It is possible to visit the Great Ming Library, but it is limited to the first floor of the first branch, which is open to everyone. The second floor and other branches are not permitted for non-Ming nationals to enter."
Regarding Horbach and Diderot's wish to become Ming nationals, the official from the Court of Ceremonial unceremoniously laid out several conditions.
"Firstly, the Great Ming does not recognize dual nationality. Anyone wishing to become a Ming national must swear allegiance to the Ming Emperor and renounce their original nationality. Even if the Great Ming declares war on their home country, those who have become Ming nationals must serve the Great Ming."
"Secondly, one must be able to read and write the Ming script fluently, be able to recite the Analects, and be familiar with the Book of Rites."
"Thirdly, one must possess a skill."
The Buddha, Shakyamuni, said that humans have eight sufferings: birth, old age, sickness, death, resentment, separation from loved ones, the burning of the five aggregates, and the torment of not getting what one wants.
The inability to become Ming nationals made Horbach and Diderot feel dejected. After falling into despair, the two began to envy the common people of the Ming Dynasty—
According to Pierre, Ming citizens not only had the right to freely enter and borrow books from the library but also possessed the rights of being born equal and born free.
"The laws of the Ming Dynasty adhere to the principle of 'what is not prohibited by law is permitted' as long as it does not violate morality. Ming citizens have the power to say 'no' to anyone, and their rights are protected by the Ming Emperor, the Ming Army, and the Ming government."
"Compared to the so-called freedom in France or Europe, the freedom in the Ming Dynasty is more like true freedom."
"Moreover, they have given commoners opportunities to change their social class—through studying, joining the army, or even working diligently, there are chances to change one's destiny."
At this point, Pierre also expressed envy: "Those born as Ming citizens are so because they were born into the right families. Whether they can recite the Analects or understand the Book of Rites does not change the fact that they are Ming citizens."
"As for those who were not born Ming citizens but wish to become them, they must undergo rigorous tests."
Only by becoming Ming citizens can they possess the rights that Ming citizens have enjoyed since birth, such as the allocation of land, children's access to education, exemption from agricultural taxes, and the rights of being born equal and born free. They can then be protected by the Ming Emperor, the Ming Army, and the Ming government.
"Do you know what is written on the licenses of Ming maritime merchants? It says, 'The holder of this license is protected by the Ming Emperor and the Ming Army.' In their laws, they stipulate that their court must intervene in any foreign-related cases involving Ming people, and any trial that is not witnessed and approved by a Ming official will be considered invalid by their government."
"God is my witness, being a commoner in the Ming Dynasty offers more security than being a noble in France."
...
Zhu Jinsong had not expected that the mere absence of dung walls outside Jinan City would astound a group of European nobles, nor had he expected Pierre, a staunch admirer of the Ming Dynasty, to never forget to praise the Ming Dynasty's advantages at every opportunity.
In fact, the sanitary conditions in Jinan City were only average, and even the sanitary conditions in all the cities in the Central Plains were generally average. Although they were much better than the scene of dung walls outside Paris, they were certainly not very good.
This is a highly obscure and unnoticed historical cold fact—
Since ancient times, cities and villages in the Central Plains have used dry toilets, and no matter how deep the latrines were dug, their capacity was always limited and they would quickly be filled.
Even in the 21st century, dry toilets are still prevalent in the rural areas of the Central Plains.
Fortunately, the people of the Central Plains were much better than the "romantically inclined" barbarians of Europe; at the very least, they did not dump their waste outside the city.
However, to solve the problem within, all the cities in the Central Plains had a special profession—dung haulers.
Dung haulers were also known as "feces excavators," "dung monkeys," or more politely, "honey gatherers."
Their equipment was simple: a dung scoop, a dung bucket, and some even had a dung cart. Their main job was to dry the collected feces and sell them to farmers.
The number of dung haulers in the capital was around four to five thousand, and in Jinan City, it was over a thousand.
Do not underestimate this profession. After all, under the rule of my Tatar Qing, simply surviving was considered good. Dung hauling could even be considered a decent job, and dung haulers would even fight each other to get opportunities to excavate feces.
When the Emperor, known for his pockmarked face, ascended the throne, my Tatar Qing began to demarcate areas for the dung haulers' work. Dung haulers who worked in a particular area regularly could contract that area's excrement, thus giving birth to the "dung road system" in the dung hauling industry.
Dung roads could be divided into three types: "dry roads," "water roads," and "following-picking roads." Among them, "dry road" dung haulers had to excavate from dry toilets, "water road" service provided toilet scrubbing for residents, where dung haulers received a monthly salary instead of excavating feces, and "following-picking road" dung haulers had a more miserable job; they had to follow the water road dung haulers and collect residual matter from the toilets, with little "harvest" (feces) and hard work.
In addition to these formal dung haulers with designated dung roads, there were also freelance haulers who did not have fixed dung roads and mostly collected feces in secluded corners, known as "roaming dung haulers."
Dung haulers were generally in their thirties and forties. They endured the hardest of labor but never rose above their station. Their income was often lower than that of rickshaw pullers, and their lives were quite impoverished. They had to arrive at the dung roads before the morning rush hour when residents used the toilets, clean the dry toilets, and then transport the excavated feces to nearby fecal treatment plants.
The tools for transporting dung were very rudimentary: wooden single-wheeled carts with uncovered dung baskets on either side. Those without carts carried wooden buckets on their backs, also without lids. Dung haulers had to traverse streets and alleys in foul-smelling environments all day.
Despite the arduous life of dung haulers, some became wealthy by exploiting them—the contracted dung roads belonged to the dung road masters, who held "dung road rights" and could resell the dung roads to others.
How much was a dung road worth? Depending on the number of toilets, the region, the number of households, and the amount of feces produced, the price of a dung road varied. "Property can be let go, but dung roads must never be let go." This was the secret that dung overlords always believed in.
During the Guangxu era, an ordinary dung road was worth dozens of taels of silver. By the time of the秃子 (a derogatory term for the Qing emperor), the market prices soared, and the value of dung roads increased significantly. A dung road serving a hundred households could fetch up to five to six hundred yuan.
In the twenty-third year of the 秃子's reign, the 秃子 government attempted to nationalize the dung rights, but this was met with collective opposition and even demonstrations from the dung haulers, and the plan ultimately failed.
The dung road ownership system still existed during the Rabbit's reign, and it wasn't until November 3, 1951, that the "Proclamation on the Reform of the Dung Road System" completely "abolished the feudal dung road ownership system, and all dung roads and toilets were to be managed by the Bureau of Sanitation."
Given the capabilities of the Rabbits, the dung road system persisted for over two years, and the cleanup and filling of the last two dead-pit dry toilets in the capital even took place at the end of the millennium.
Zhu Jinsong, as the Emperor of the Great Ming, despite possessing seemingly supreme power, could only sigh helplessly when it came to solving this problem.
Of course, Zhu Jinsong was the Emperor, and he ruled with the administrative model of the Rabbits. His army was also very formidable, which is why Zhu Jinsong could easily reclaim the dung roads and directly incorporate the dung haulers. Except for the dung overlords, the dung haulers were eager to receive imperial provisions, and those dung overlords who refused to cooperate ultimately met their fate at the firing range.
After reclaiming the dung roads, the Great Ming's sanitation system worked hard to promote the conversion of dry toilets to flush toilets and vigorously renovated Jinan's drainage system. The dung haulers were then reassigned to sanitation work. Through these combined efforts, the clean, orderly, and heavenly Jinan City, as perceived by Pierre, Horbach, and Diderot, the French nobles, came into being.
Of course, regardless of the details, Horbach and Diderot were deeply shocked. Coupled with Pierre, the ultimate Ming enthusiast, their psychological defenses had largely crumbled even before Zhu Jinsong unveiled his firearms and cannons.
However, before Zhu Jinsong could devise a plan to add further pressure, Ke Zhiming reported a piece of news that surprised even Zhu Jinsong.
The Tatar Qing, which had always been characterized by "cutting whatever is far away and compensating whatever is far away," had actually become powerful!