Chapter 2383 Tea Disturbance (Ⅱ)

Rebecca nodded thoughtfully, did not directly refute Joan's point of view, and continued to ask him about his position.

"In other words, you agree that the chick chooses to help the fox in the fight between the fox and the wolf?"

After hesitating for a while, Qiao An nodded reluctantly: "If you have to choose a side, it's better to support a relatively weak fox than a jackal."

"That's the problem, why do you have to choose to support one of them?" Rebecca shrugged and spread her hands, "We don't help each other, can we stay neutral?"

"In fact, this is my position. I don't like foxes or jackals. I don't buy both the fox's smuggled tea and the jackal's dumped tea!" Joan said angrily.

He is a bit of a moral freak, and he doesn't take the two sides of the current struggle, no matter the royal franchise dealer trying to dump the tea monopoly market, or the smuggling group inciting the people to boycott imported tea, he doesn't take it seriously.

Asking him to choose a side between the two is like putting two pieces of shit in front of him and being forced to choose one to eat. Options.

As a decent person, Joan feels that true freedom must at least have the right to refuse to eat shit, instead of having to choose between two shits, and complacently thinking that he is helping justice and fighting evil.

It is precisely because of this mentality that Qiao An really doesn't have much interest in the current political turmoil caused by "tea".

However, Rebecca did not allow him to escape, held his hand, and asked solemnly: "If someone does not allow you to remain neutral, puts a knife on your neck, points a gun to your head, and forces you to Choose a side, what do you want?"

Rebecca's questioning, like a spark, completely ignited the depression in Qiao An's heart for a long time. He stood up abruptly, and vented his anger sharply.

"Whoever forces me to stand in line with a knife and gun, I will smash his dog's head!"

Rebecca also stood up, shook his hand vigorously, and said word by word:

"Remember your words, let's wait and see."

The meaningful look in the girl's eyes made Qiao An feel chills running down his spine, and he had a faint sense of foreboding.

Rebecca's predictions always seem to be unlucky, and what's more, her predictions always seem to come true.

Joan now understands why those famous prophets in ancient times, such as Laocoon and Cassandra, always had unsatisfactory deaths.

...

On May 18, the Port of Leiden convened a parliament and passed ten resolutions against the "Tea Tax Law", defining anyone who distributed this batch of tea as an "enemy of the people".

On the afternoon of the same day when this bill was promulgated, in response to Joseph Adams' summoning, the "Sons of Liberty" gathered at the "Green Dragon Tavern" in the city, and made a unanimous commitment—to block the importation even at the risk of their lives. Tea comes into Leyton Harbor!

...

On May 21, another anonymous leaflet appeared on the streets of Leiden.

Anyone attempting to land or store the tea would be subject to "unwelcome visits" and more explicit threats, the authors warned.

"Think about it, what do you guys think of putting a noose around your necks? How about pouring gallons of scalding tar over your heads and then throwing a dozen goose feathers on it?"

On the second day after the leaflet was issued, the "Sons of Liberty" made a scarecrow, pasted white paper, wrote the name of the recipient, and erected a gallows on the square outside the parliament building. Hang the scarecrow on the gallows all day, and let passers-by watch and mock.

Threats and intimidation are admittedly an unsightly means, but the effect is immediate.

The consignees who distributed the imported tea felt that the lives of themselves and their families were threatened by the thugs. They could only hold their noses and admit that they were unlucky. They succumbed to the threats of the thugs one after another. Quietly flee the city on the crater.

Only one of the largest tea dealers in the city, run by Faneuil Snow and his partners, has not yet surrendered.

Faneuil Snow seemed particularly hard-boned, perhaps because his uncle, Andrew Snow, Commissioner of Customs for Leighton City, felt that he was relied on and ignored the threats of the mob.

However, it will prove that he overestimated his background and underestimated the threat of his opponent.

On May 25th, Joseph Adams, the representative of the "Sons of Liberty", published an open letter on the front page of the "Leiden Post", claiming that "the people of Alfheim have been greatly offended", warning that the Royal Chartered Tea Dealer Act The consignees, led by Neil Snow, stopped being a minion, and called on them to sign a public statement as soon as possible, refusing to accept low-priced tea from across the ocean, and to take practical actions to clarify the people's doubts about their "royalist" status.

This open letter is actually tantamount to an ultimatum.

The next day, Faneuil Snowden responded, claiming that he and his partners had paid the deposit, freight and customs duties for imported tea, and signed an underwriting contract.

If you break your word and tear up the contract, the deposit and shipping costs previously invested will be in vain, and you will have to pay a large amount of liquidated damages, which is bound to go bankrupt.

Mr. Snow admitted that he was just a law-abiding businessman and could not bear such a loss, begging the "Sons of Liberty" to give him a way to survive, and don't make it difficult for him to do things that are impossible.

On the other hand, Mr. Snow also expressed his understanding of the anger of Adams' party. After all, the price of the tea underwritten by him was lower and the quality was better, which squeezed out the interests of the smuggling group headed by Adams.

He called on both sides to talk about business and compete fairly through legal and reasonable means. Whoever can provide the public with high-quality and low-cost commodities is worthy of public support.

On the contrary, inciting people to make troubles under the banner of justice, suppressing competitors in the business field with unscrupulous means, such shameless people are not qualified to represent public opinion, and any person with conscience should disdain to associate with them.

...

Historical Materials: The Situation of the Tea Dealers ("The Collapse of the British Empire and the Birth of America")

In New York and Manhattan, resistance to tea took a relentless campaign—in the newspapers, at public meetings, in the streets—to force the recipients to resign.

Threats of violence were taken in both cities, especially in New York, where tensions were palpable despite or because of the presence of troops.

On November 5th, Guy Fawkes Day, when a group of people made a statue of a consignee and hung it on the gallows, the consignee and his colleagues received real punishment for their lives. Threatened and terrified.

In Pennsylvania and New York, these strategies have been resoundingly successful. By the end of November, all consignees had either resigned or disappeared.