New Ming Empire mixed in America

San Francisco in July 1860 was not yet the metropolis it would become in later generations, but it had already begun to take shape.

This city that developed because of California's gold mines can now be said to be a true sin city.

"In 1849, the miners came, and in 1851, the prostitutes came. When they got together, the locals appeared."

This folk song from San Francisco in the 19th century vividly analyzes San Francisco at this time.

As a merchant ship with a carrying capacity of only 500 tons, the Bird was inconspicuous to this port that connected gold prospectors from the Far East and Europe.

Under the leadership of the pilot boat, the dusty Bird docked safely.

In less than two hours, the news that a merchant ship full of Orientals had docked caused a sensation in the city.

It is not yet time for the Central Pacific Railroad to build the railway, so there are not many Chinese here.

The weakness of the Qing Dynasty has just been revealed. Although it has been beaten a few times, due to its huge population, the Qing Dynasty is still considered a big country in the Far East in the eyes of foreigners.

So at this time, the Chinese were not called Chinese workers, but at least they had some dignity.

Not to mention more than two hundred people of the Xin Ming Empire who were well-dressed and armed with rifles.

The Chinese wearing uniform brand-new camouflage uniforms, Jiefang shoes and carrying hiking bags were the envy of ordinary San Francisco residents at this time.

Before the American Civil War, only black and sailor clothing were mass-produced. The former was in huge demand because of slaves, and the latter was because there were too many sailors.

At that time, a new piece of clothing was an important expense for the family, and a worker usually did not have a second decent piece of clothing.

In addition to their clothes, the workers' living conditions were also very bad.

Take the British workers in 1840. The average life expectancy of their families was 15 years old, and only 43% of their children lived beyond the age of 5 years.

Only 20 years have passed since then, and the treatment of workers is still so bad.

Historically, there was only one reason why European capitalists freed slaves, and that was because it was more cost-effective to use workers than slaves.

Because now a young black male slave costs close to 2,000 US dollars. And the price of a worker until he dies is far lower than that.

"Can you find a hotel where everyone can be accommodated?" Li Mingqi, who was wearing a double-layer mask, said in a dull voice.

"If it's difficult to gather them all together, you can go to a few more hotels. If you're in a hurry, the warehouse should be able to meet your needs."

Ernesto looked at the snow-white mask on Li Mingqi's face and couldn't help but grinned in distress.

Although San Francisco today is better than those big cesspits in Europe, the smell is not much worse than septic tanks.

The first breath of 'free' air that His Majesty took in almost made him spit out.

More than two hundred armed men in uniform were very intimidating. None of the thieves and gangsters unique to the pier dared to cause trouble.

This made His Majesty the Emperor's idea of ​​pretending to be a pig and eating the tiger come to nothing.

"Let's try to find a hotel nearby. We shouldn't stay here for too long. We'll leave after we finish things."

Looking at the several police officers who were cautiously surrounding him, Li Mingqi ended the topic.

"Sir, may I help you with anything?"

The leading sergeant held the holster of his gun and shouted from a distance.

The police chief was very unhappy with these foreigners who occupied the dock for a long time.

But considering the large number of people on the other side, the police chief was ready to show the enthusiastic side of San Francisco people.

"We are discussing about hotels. Do you have any good recommendations?"

Ernesto raised his hat slightly towards the other party, vividly displaying the hypocrisy unique to Great Britain.

Our Emperor, on the other hand, completely ignored the other party and was explaining to Liu Youcai about the accommodation of the people of the empire.

"Long live my Lord, you can let them live in the cabin first. If you want to walk around, you can choose during the day."

Liu Youcai gave his own point of view, making His Majesty the Emperor nod his head.

"Okay, I'll take Erhe and the others to do some errands first. Let's settle them down after we find a place to live."

After the discussion was completed, Liu Youcai led 150 soldiers of the National Defense Forces and boarded the boat again. Only a few craftsmen and the imperial guards led by Liu Erhe were left on the scene.

Things would be easier to solve when there were fewer people. Under the shouts of the police chief, we found a few carriages and headed towards the city.

The first stop was the local bank. Li Mingqi needed to exchange aluminum ingots for some U.S. dollars. Because he needed U.S. dollars to buy some common tools for the craftsmen of the empire.

Li Mingqi was wearing a slim black suit with dragon pattern embroidery and a black top hat of the same style as Xu Wenqiang. He was walking in front holding an aluminum alloy gold round-headed dragon bracelet.

Behind him were twenty-six men wearing image security uniforms led by Liu Erhe.

Next to him was Ernesto with a flattering smile.

As the group of people arrived, the service staff in the bank trotted out to greet them.

After learning that the carriage outside contained more than a ton of aluminum ingots, the employee serving Li Mingqi was immediately replaced by a bank manager with a flattering smile.

"This is a noble from the Qing Dynasty, planning to establish a trading point in the New World. From now on, porcelain, tea, raw silk and other goods will be continuously sent."

Ernesto's lies came out of his mouth and the bank manager was stunned for a moment.

Although he was curious about this Qing nobleman who brought more than a ton of aluminum ingots for trade, he chose to trust him due to the huge profits.

After hearing that the other party wanted to deposit these precious aluminum ingots in their bank, the smile on the manager's face was like seeing his father who had been dead for many years.

"Half of these precious aluminum ingots are exchanged for gold, and half are exchanged for U.S. dollars. You can rest assured that the U.S. dollars exchanged will be used to purchase land, build factories, etc. Then we will have to trouble your bank."

Seeing the embarrassment on the manager's face when he heard that half of the gold was to be exchanged, Ernesto made another suggestion.

This suggestion relieved the manager's expression a lot. Although it was difficult to exchange so much gold, it was not impossible to get it together.

Nowadays, aluminum is more popular than gold, especially among the European aristocrats and wealthy people. Their pursuit of aluminum products is almost obsessive.

Besides, isn't there still half of the funds used to purchase land and open factories? In the end, these funds will have to stay in your own bank, not to mention possible future trade.

In fact, he had a plan in mind, which was to find an opportunity to kill these Qing people and swallow the gold.

But this plan is really risky. Let’s not say whether it can be realized. Even if these people are successfully killed, it is still unclear whether the gold can be returned to the bank in the end.

If you break the rules of the game first, it means that you are no longer protected by the rules.

So I’d better observe it for a while before talking. I’ll report the matter as normal and leave the rest to my bosses to make decisions.

After some calculations, the manager decisively agreed to Ernesto's request.

A few hours later, the carriage transported the gold back to the Bird, and was then exchanged for system funds by Li Mingqi.

After everything was settled, the group found a high-end hotel to stay.

"Buy a few more boats and convert them into immigration boats with fast speed and large space. It would be better to carry fewer people and ensure the health of the immigrants."

His Majesty the Emperor was sitting on the couch in the posture of Ge You, and Barton next to him was listening and recording.

At this time, Barton had become the general manager of the Imperial Immigration Company. For every immigrant transported, he could receive a commission of five taels of silver. If the immigrants were a whole family, he would receive an additional five taels.

Since it takes more than four months to transport one immigrant back and forth, His Majesty the Emperor attaches great importance to this company.

Barton said: "If it may be too late to buy a new ship, I suggest acquiring a shipping company or hiring..."

Upon hearing this, His Majesty the Emperor waved his hand: "These are your jobs, I am only responsible for paying for them. But there must be many ships, and I hope that at least 10,000 immigrants can be transported at one time in the early stage."

"Remember, I'm talking about immigrants, not workers, let alone slaves! You know what I mean, we must try to kill as few people as possible! Definitely!"

Li Mingqi sat up straight and looked at Barton very seriously.

Because he knows that it is completely normal for a lot of people to die at sea now. But for those who stay in the country and are struggling between the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and Zeng Shao, going to the sea to America is definitely a good choice.

Barton pondered for a moment and said: "Don't worry, I will make all arrangements. I will make it clear to the captain of each ship that we will pay according to the number of people who arrive ashore, and there will be a dedicated person with the ship to be responsible for recording."

Li Mingqi nodded with satisfaction, then looked at Ernesto and said:

"Next I need a piece of land near Los Angeles. The best location is Long Beach. I want to build a dock and shipyard there. The area needs to be large."

Ernesto was confused. Wasn't he an agent for those treasures? Why does it involve land now? And where is that damn Los Angeles?

You must know that there are probably only a few thousand residents in Los Angeles now, and you have to add the farmers scattered around Los Angeles.

Los Angeles was officially established as a city in 1850. At that time, the population of Los Angeles was only 1,600. It did not begin rapid development until the discovery of oil at the end of the 19th century, but at that time the population was only 50,000.

The construction of the railway from San Francisco to Los Angeles will not begin for more than ten years, and Los Angeles is now a remote country.

Seeing the look on Ernesto's face, His Majesty the Emperor said slowly: "If the price satisfies me, I will consider giving you more 'goods'."

Ernesto growled: "Shit, you promised me..."

"Of course I remember my promise, but the quantity of shipments depends on my mood. Who says the seller has the final say now?"

His Majesty the Emperor regained his posture and turned a blind eye to Ernesto's shit-eating expression, and continued:

"I also need a weapons factory that can produce artillery. Engineers must be able to make most of the guns and artillery on the market today. I hope to have as many such talents as possible."

"We also need a steel factory, a chemistry laboratory, and some teachers who are willing to learn Chinese and teach Chinese literacy."

"All this requires you to help me spread the news. The factory will be opened on my newly purchased land. I think this will help you negotiate with the congressmen in California."

Ernesto really wanted to quit, but looking at the smiling person and the huge profits that could be made in the future, he chose to smile:

"No problem, it's not difficult to buy land, let alone open a factory here. But if there is a large number of immigrants, those congressmen may not agree..."

Li Mingqi continued: "They won't know that it will take more than four months for the first batch of immigrants to arrive here at the earliest. Before that, I will hire a large number of workers to build the land I bought, and maybe build a city. This way

They will be moved."

Ernesto nodded and started recording as well.

After almost everything was recorded, he looked at Li Mingqi in surprise and said:

"Build a city? Those son-of-a-bitch councilors will be happy to death. After you build it, they will send many officials to take over, and eventually replace you in charge of the city."

His Majesty the Emperor said nonchalantly: "You can promise them all of this. I only care about the land and factories I need."

As for replacing him in charge of the newly built city? Haha, I think too much.

In his plan, immigrant ships would arrive one after another before the city was established.

It is expected that after the first batch of immigrants arrive, a steady stream of immigrants will follow.

At that time, Los Angeles will not have the final say of the California state government. By then, the flag of the New Ming Empire will be flying over the entire Los Angeles.

In April next year, the Civil War will begin. It's unclear whether the California government will be able to deal with itself by then.

Anyway, what they were promised was that they would need a large number of local workers for the time being. After the factories and cities were built, they could go wherever they wanted, but he wouldn't want them anyway.

In the future, the locals living in Los Angeles will see if they understand each other. If they do, they will be dispersed and forced to assimilate.

If you don't understand, just die. Anyway, they didn't show any mercy when they killed the Indians.