Wild North America 1846

Chapter 646 The launch is about to begin

Author: Portuguese toothless

Chapter 646 The launch is about to begin

The Lunar New Year in 1878 was particularly lively. There was no trace of the tense atmosphere before the war in North America. There were crowds of happy residents everywhere, and the festive atmosphere was very strong.

In major cities with a population of one million, such as Chang'an, Los Angeles, Chicago, Mexico City, Salem, and Detroit, in recent years, reinforced concrete high-rise buildings with more than 10 stories have appeared one after another. There are more and more cars on the streets, and they have become a means of transportation together with trams.

mainstream.

Due to intentional restrictions in major cities, carriages have become increasingly rare in the city. Those who can afford them are carriages for upper-class celebrities such as aristocrats and rich people. They are equipped with carved noble badges. The horses are driven with extraordinary grace, and the horses are all decorated with exquisite clothes.

The velvet horse jacket covers the manure bag hidden behind the horse's butt.

Such a carriage has to pay a high monthly city management fee, which is 60 Tang Yuan for one horse, 120 Tang Yuan for two horses, and 240 Tang Yuan for a large carriage dragged by four horses, and every month

It has to be paid every month.

If someone defecates in a carriage, they will have to pay a high fine, which can easily start at 100 Tang Yuan, and even the imperial nobles with slightly weaker financial resources cannot afford it.

This has also led to more and more wealthy families buying cars for transportation. Following diesel cars, less polluting gasoline engine cars have gradually become popular among middle-class and above urban families, and have rapidly become popular.

In addition to trams, cars and horse-drawn carriages, another public means of transportation for urban travel is the human-powered tricycle, which can be seen in all major cities in the empire.

Most of the people engaged in the tricycle industry are Italians or white Germans, but there are very few Chinese, the largest population.

This is because the Chinese, who have the largest population, have many employment opportunities and are generally welcomed by factories, mines and trading companies. It is easy for everyone to communicate with people of the same language and race, and Chinese workers are hard-working and willing to work overtime when they are busy.

Therefore, the Chinese capitalists, factory owners, planters and ranchers who had full control over the economic sphere in the empire were more willing to hire Chinese workers, thus forming a close employment relationship.

Especially in some farms and ranches, the relationship between farmers, ranchers or planters and their workers is more like family. Employers who cannot treat their workers well often do not run their farms or ranches well.

in this regard

Chinese workers have natural advantages in employment, and the same applies to government employees. They must be proficient in Chinese and English in order to serve the public well.

First of all, 99% of white immigrants are stumped by the proficiency in using Chinese, so it is difficult for them to compete for public sector positions in the government or the police. Not knowing Mandarin is a fatal weakness.

this era

The Chinese people have a very serious idea of ​​​​a heavenly kingdom. They have strong local complexes and clan concepts, and they are also very superstitious. Therefore, many people look down on ghosts with strange sounds and regard them as aliens.

Especially among the farmers and ranchers, who are known for their conservative nature, many of them followed His Majesty the Emperor to conquer the world and slaughtered white people like pigs and sheep. Naturally, they had an arrogance in their hearts that no one could look down upon.

The invincible glory of the Tang Empire gave the people an overwhelming sense of self-confidence;

What kind of garbage ghosts are they? They are all low-class people who have not evolved well.

With this widespread concept of discrimination in society, even Emperor Richard had no choice but to pass the Anti-Discrimination Bill introduced by Parliament to prohibit discrimination against white people.

The implication is that it is okay to discriminate against South American Indians and North American Mexicans, but it is even more legitimate to discriminate against black people.

The current era has its limitations, and black people are generally not treated as equal human beings in European countries. Naked indigenous black tribes are publicly displayed in London parks.

Eating, defecating and even mating were all shown to the crowd of onlookers, who simply regarded these indigenous black people as beasts.

This kind of thinking also affected the Tang Empire, so the Datang Empire strictly prohibited black people from entering the country, and there was no living space for black people at all.

Once a plantation owner or farmer who keeps private black slaves is found in the empire, he will be punished for violating the criminal laws of the empire. Not only will he be punished by losing all his property, but he will also be put into a hard labor camp to atone for his sins by working.

By the end of 1877, the total economic output of the Tang Empire had grown to 11.775 billion yuan, ranking first in the world and 16.3% higher than the second-ranked United Kingdom.

The exchange rate of 11.775 billion Tangyuan is converted into British pounds, which is 2.355 billion pounds. The per capita income is more than 110 Tangyuan. This per capita income level is about half that of the United Kingdom and higher than France and Germany.

As a world power with a huge population, Datang's total population has surpassed that of Tsarist Russia, ranking first among the world's powers.

In particular, Chinese immigrants have made a major contribution to population growth. In the 32 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the early immigrants have multiplied to the third generation. Many imperial nobles and wealthy merchant families with many wives and concubines have a population of dozens or hundreds, and their branches are flourishing.

In the fertile land of North America, the abundant supply of grain, oil, eggs, and milk also made the second and third generation immigrants taller, stronger, and smarter.

The sound of firecrackers banishes the old year, and the spring breeze brings warmth to Tusu.

Not long after the Lunar New Year, which was celebrated by all the people, just after the Lantern Festival in 1878, the empire's war machine quietly started to move forward in an orderly manner according to the established steps.

Havana, Cuba

The civil war that has lasted for more than nine years has depressed all industries in Cuba and made local people's lives difficult. The sugar plantation industry, which was originally the mainstay of the economy, has been severely hit, and its export share has been taken away by competitors such as Central Plains Province, Costa Rica Province, and the New Colonial District of Colombia.

Come on, Havana is full of beggars and hungry people, and it looks even more dilapidated.

The Spanish colonists were helpless in dealing with the economic difficulties.

It is never news that the Spanish are not good at economic construction. They will only brutally plunder and exploit the colonies, and then consume huge wealth in building Catholic churches and the luxurious life of the nobles, and so on.

Take the Spanish silver peso as an example;

The Mexican silver peso, Cuban silver peso, and Luzon silver peso have different prices. The exchange rate has been very confusing for hundreds of years, and no Spaniards are aware of the serious problems involved.

This is because the Spanish overseas governors have great power and are all Turkish emperors. They have neither the will nor the solution to the problem to promote the unification of the silver peso exchange rate in the colonies.

The silver pesos of the Spanish colonies needed to be exchanged with pounds sterling in order to carry out international trade. Is this strange?

Although all industries in Cuba today are depressed and many Chinese businessmen have left, most of Cuba's trade is still in the hands of Chinese businessmen, who have a decisive influence.

Havana Chaoshan Chamber of Commerce

Nine years of civil war and social unrest have made the hawala market increasingly dilapidated, and trade volume has shrunk sharply. It is now less than a quarter of what it was before the civil war broke out.

Most of the members of the Chaoshan Chamber of Commerce have also left. The Chinese-style buildings of the Chamber of Commerce, with their carved railings and painted buildings, have been covered in dust for a long time and look much bleak and dilapidated.

Zhou Qingren, the gray-bearded president, was sitting in the Chamber of Commerce drinking tea, his brows furrowed into the Chinese character "Chuan" solemnly, as if he was thinking about something troublesome?

At this time, the door of the room opened, and a man walked in from the outside. He said with a smile, "Brother Qing, I haven't seen you for a long time. Your style is still better than before. But do you welcome me as an old friend?"

Zhou Qingren looked up and almost dropped the tea bowl in his hand to the ground in fright. He quickly put the tea bowl on the table aside, walked a few steps quickly and squeezed Zhu Fengchen's arm with both hands, and was about to say something...

Suddenly he stopped again, turned around and walked to the door and looked around. He saw four sturdy men guarding the corridor in the distance. They obviously had bulges around their waists.

"Brother Qingren, don't worry, that's our guy." Zhu Fengchen explained with a smile.

Only then did Zhou Qingren feel relieved and closed the door tightly. He turned around and looked at Zhu Fengchen and said with some complaints and some regrets; "Master Zhu heard that he has been promoted to a high position and entered the central government. Why are you risking your life and coming here now?"

People hate you so much, but if your secret is exposed, you will definitely not get any good fruit from it, right?"

"Hahaha...Deputy Director." Zhu Fengchen corrected him nonchalantly. He was originally the director of Operations Division 3 of the Imperial Security Bureau. How could he suddenly skip the deputy director level and be directly promoted to the bureau seat?

Businessmen do know how to talk. The word "bureau seat" made Zhu Fengchen feel in a good mood. It sounded much better than "deputy bureau seat".

The two exchanged pleasantries for a few words, and Zhou Qingren made tea himself. The two parties sat down separately, and then they got to the main topic.

"I'd like to ask you, brother Fengchen, are you here because of that matter?"

"Yes, the matter is of great importance. I wouldn't trust it if it were left to others. I have to take charge personally. Otherwise, if something goes wrong and someone blames me, neither you nor I can afford it."

"The candidates have been selected. It is Gao Fengda, the boss of Fengda Trading Company. This man has always been mean and stingy, and he is very close to the Spaniards. He has done many evil things, and dozens of people from his family live in Monti.

In the mansion on E Street." Zhou Qingren was an influential figure in the local Chinese Chamber of Commerce and was directly involved in planning the event, so he stated everything in a coherent manner;

"We have several internal lines in the local area. By then, we will use the internal lines to guide the thugs to attack Fonda Trading Company and ransack the mansion on Montier Street. All arrangements have been made, so there should be no problem."

Zhu Fengchen nodded in agreement, thought for a moment and said, "When the mob starts, can we arrange for a few of our own people to go in, so that we can better guide the development of the situation."

"It should be no problem, as long as you are a local. This Fengda Trading Company has a pretty bad reputation. Many people have gone bankrupt due to loan sharking. There are many people who hate him. After the mob starts, who knows what kind of people will get involved.

?It’s so messed up that you can’t tell the difference!”

"Okay, let's start without further delay tomorrow night." Zhu Fengchen was still resolute and made a decision directly.

"So urgent?"

"Why...are there any places that haven't been prepared yet?"

"No, no, no... everything is ready. Let's start on time tomorrow night. Anyway, I have done enough of this life-or-death business. I hope to welcome the imperial army as soon as possible and create a new situation as soon as possible."

"Hahaha...this is right!"

In the secret room of the Chamber of Commerce, the two looked at each other and laughed, each with their own thoughts in mind.

(End of chapter)