Wild North America 1846

After continuously inspecting several representative workshops in Sidaowan Village, Richard stayed at a well-known hotel in Sidaowan Village called "Nanyue Hotel" at night.

during this time

The 120 personal guards Richard brought from Denver were successively dispatched to serve as grassroots officers in the newly formed army, leaving less than 20 with him.

These are good seedlings who have experienced several large-scale bloody battles, are rich in experience, and are loyal and down-to-earth. After a period of training, they have developed the excellent qualities of grassroots commanders.

After the Guards members are officially promoted to second lieutenants or lieutenant officers, they are transferred to the newly formed units and become the backbone of the new units.

at the same time

380 to 400 outstanding soldiers were selected from the new unit, and after layers of screening, they entered the royal guard cuirassier regiment to serve, providing new blood for this cavalry unit with the nature of a teaching regiment.

The basic requirements are that they are 17 to 21 years old, in good health, of good appearance, loyal to the kingdom, loyal to His Majesty, literate in writing, of good moral character, and willing to dedicate their lives to the revitalization of the Chinese nation.

These selected outstanding soldiers were finally reviewed one by one by His Majesty the King, and after being approved, they entered the Guards Cuirassiers Regiment, with the total number being controlled at about 320.

The entrance of Nanyue Hotel

Fan Pengfei, who was recently selected into the Guards Cuirassier Regiment, stood at the sentry post in full military uniform, holding a spear in his hand, standing upright, with a look of excitement on his face that could not be concealed.

He is a refugee from the Jiaodong Peninsula. There has been a drought in his hometown for nine years. Every year during the spring famine, he has to go out to beg for food. Along the way, he gnaws tree bark and eats countless Guanyin soil. Hungry flies are everywhere, and he collapses as he walks.

.

Last year there was another severe drought with scorching sun and no harvest.

18-year-old Fan Pengfei's parents, sister and brother all starved to death on the way to escape. He struggled to come to Weihaiwei along with the fleeing crowd. He heard that British foreigners here were recruiting indentured workers, providing food, shelter and money.

So what is there to hesitate about?

As long as you can survive, you can do whatever you want!

Just like that, Fan Pengfei passed the foreigner's physical examination and found no disease, no plague, no disability, and no bad habits.

He was strong, young, articulate, and met the basic standards for immigration. He put on new clothes, ate enough food, and stayed there for more than three weeks. His body became stronger as if he was breathing.

Such measures are necessary. When many refugees were first selected, they were as skinny as bamboo poles. It was difficult for them to withstand the harsh environment of ocean voyages. They had to be strengthened before they could survive.

Then, he and 789 other people were packed into a large sailboat and traveled all the way across the ocean to North America, finally ushering in a good life that he could not have imagined in his dreams.

Because Fan Pengfei was young, strong and literate, he was selected to the recruit training camp after disembarking from the ship, starting his own unique military career.

Here, I ate my fill of white flour steamed buns and broth tubes, ran five kilometers every day, sweated on the training ground, and received daily ideological education of loyalty. I quickly transformed, and my whole person became different from before.

After four months of training in wrestling, his body became stronger and stronger and he became a qualified recruit.

By chance, through various screenings, I entered the most glorious army of the Tang Dynasty - the Royal Guards Cuirassier Regiment.

This is an opportunity that all partners envy, how can you not be excited?

"Stay serious, keep your eyes firm, and always be vigilant when on duty." The officer on patrol came over and ordered loudly.

"Yes, sir."

The eight sentries on duty involuntarily raised their chests higher and looked ahead with bright eyes.

The officer walked up to the sentry and corrected the irregularities in his appearance one by one. When he walked up to Fan Pengfei, he lowered his head and took a look, and suddenly became furious;

"Soldier, name?"

"Reporting to commander, Private Fan Pengfei."

"Why aren't your boots wiped clean?"

"Sir, I...I was negligent."

"What? Neglect." The officer's vicious face came close to Fan Pengfei's face. The difference between their noses was no more than three centimeters. He shouted loudly, "These boots are more valuable than you, idiot! Not everyone can wear them."

These boots. I want you to polish them every day so that they are brighter than a mirror, so that you can see people's shadows, and you are not allowed to let a trace of dust fall, otherwise I will put your head on them and lick them clean, do you hear me?"

The officer's saliva sprayed all over Fan Pengfei's face, with a strong smell of garlic, but he did not dare to move. He stood up straighter and replied loudly: "As you command, sir, if you can't wipe it clean, lick it clean."

"Repeat my orders, Private."

"Sir, this pair of leather boots must be polished every day to make them shine brighter than a mirror, so that people can be seen, and no dust is allowed to fall."

"Mark my words, private, the glory of the Royal Cuirassiers is to take care of every piece of equipment we have, from helmets to breastplates, from water bottles to boots, and the symbol of the Royal Cuirassiers.

Every badge must be as clean as new and spotless. This is the honor that we will protect with our lives. Do you understand?"

"Understood, sir, this is an honor we will protect with our lives."

"And what about you?"

"Understood, sir, this is an honor we will protect with our lives." The eight sentries shouted in unison.

"Okay, why are you shouting so loudly?" The officer waved his hand, turned around and looked at the bright lights in the depths of the hotel, and said with a little fear; "If a group of idiots alerts His Majesty, I will accompany you in misfortune.

."

"Understood, sir, you will join us in our misfortune." The eight sentries replied in unison, their voices indeed much quieter.

The officer was stunned by the sentry's answer. He looked at their innocent faces with black lines on his head, shook his head speechlessly and turned away, continuing to check the post.

in hotel room

There were a large number of memorials piled on Richard's desk, involving military, political, economic, police, and people's livelihood aspects. After reviewing them one by one, he handed them over to various departments of the kingdom for execution.

It has been a year and a half since the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, and various systems are gradually getting on track. The United Kingdom has dispatched a considerable number of administrative, legal and police professionals to assist the Tang Kingdom in establishing a modern administrative system.

The legal and administrative systems of the Tang Dynasty were all based on the British system, which saved time, effort and worry, and was proven to be more efficient.

Richard did not have the time to develop an entire administrative system unique to the Tang Dynasty. The feudal system of the Manchu Qing Dynasty had been proven by historical trends to be unsuitable for the development of the new era, and he would not learn it.

There are several important matters concerning international people's livelihood before Richard now, and they must be decided as soon as possible without any further delay.

Once the situation of the war changes

As the supreme commander and spiritual pillar of the Tang Kingdom's army, Richard had to rush to the front line in Denver immediately and had no time to deal with these government affairs.

When the time comes to postpone it, I don’t know how many years it will take.

One thing is the standard of weights and measures in the Tang Dynasty. Whether it adopts the imperial system, the metric system or the Qing system, this matter must be clarified, otherwise it will cause confusion in measurement.

Richard first abolished the Qing system. Even he did not understand the Qing system. He still paid taxes and grains in approximate amounts such as one bucket and one load, which was extremely imprecise.

1 tael of clear silver = 1/16 catty.

1 tael = 37.3 grams

1 tael = 10 money

Since 1 catty is equal to 16 taels, there is an idiom "half a catty of eight taels", which means they are equally matched, which can easily cause cognitive confusion among modern people.

The British system is widely popular in English-speaking countries and British colonies. It is the most widely circulated weights and measures system in the world today. It is conducive to the development of international trade in English-speaking countries and is convenient and trouble-free.

But there is a big problem with the imperial system. Pints, gallons, ounces, miles, feet, etc. have a whole set of convoluted nouns, which are not friendly to ordinary people who are not proficient in English.

Moreover, when the British system reaches the Chinese world, French-speaking countries and Spanish-speaking countries, it still needs to be settled.

Think about it

Richard finally chose the metric system of weights and measures. The Tang Kingdom will promulgate laws as soon as possible to establish the legal status of the metric system of weights and measures and end the current chaotic situation of measurement.

The second thing is that the Tang Kingdom must issue its own banknotes, which are currently designated as "yuan". Since the Datang Kingdom itself is rich in gold, the currency value is linked to gold.

Looking at the countries around the world that have adopted the gold standard system, the gold content of their currencies varies, especially the pound sterling which has the highest value.

1 pound = 7.32238 grams of gold

1 franc = 0.2903225 grams of gold

1 US dollar = 1.50463 grams of gold

1 German gold mark = 10 German marks = 3.58425 grams of gold

1 ruble = 0.774234 grams of gold

1 yen = 0.75 grams of gold

1 kuping tael of silver = 37.3 grams = (the gold-silver ratio during the Sino-Japanese War was 1:20) 1.865 grams of gold = (the gold-silver ratio after 1900 was 1:35) 1.065 grams of gold

1 Spanish peso = 0.507816 grams of gold

Although the British pound has the highest value, its annoying value system makes conversion very inconvenient and really makes people scratch their heads.

1 pound = 20 shillings, 1 shilling = 12 pence, that is, one pound is equal to 240 pence.

After careful consideration

Richard finally determined the currency value of 1 Tang Yuan = 1.5 grams of gold, which is approximately equivalent to one U.S. dollar.

1 Tang Yuan = 1.5 grams of gold

1 US dollar = 1.50463 grams of gold

The currency value difference between the two parties is about 4.63‰. Unless the transaction is of extremely huge value, it can generally be ignored. By default, 1 Tang Yuan = 1 U.S. dollar, which is also conducive to trade in North America.

1 Tang Yuan = 100 Tang cents, and 1 US dollar = 100 cents. This is also the same, which is conducive to the smooth use and acceptance of Tang Yuan currency by the general public.

Currency related to the Tang Yuan Dynasty is divided into two types: coins and banknotes. Coins are divided into gold coins, silver coins and copper coins. One gold coin is worth ten Tang Yuan, weighs about 15 grams, and contains 92% gold. It is used for large-scale circulation and collection.

The face value of silver coins is divided into two types: 1 yuan and 2 yuan. The face values ​​of copper coins are divided into four types: 1 cent, 2 cents, 5 cents and 10 cents. They are used for daily commodity circulation. These two coins are the most commonly used coins.

There are four denominations of banknotes: 1 yuan, 2 yuan, 5 yuan and 10 yuan. The price is the same as gold coins and can be exchanged with each other without any barriers. The above currencies are issued by Sequoia Bank and can be exchanged for equal amounts of gold.

Thus

The currency of the Tang Kingdom can be integrated into the international system, and the exchange ratios with the currencies of other countries are:

1 pound = 25 francs = 5 Tang yuan = 5 U.S. dollars = 2 German gold marks = 20 German marks = 9 rubles = 10 yen = 4 taels of silver (before 1894) = 7 taels of silver (after 1900) =

14 pesos

Convert it to:

1 Tang yuan = 1 U.S. dollar = 4 shillings = 5 francs = 4 German marks = 1.8 rubles = 2 yen = eight silver coins (before 1894) = 1.4 taels of silver (after 1900) = 2.8 Spanish pesos