Chapter 84

Today is still a four-chapter day, and here is the first chapter. I hope readers will like Dalu Luo's new book. I still ask for your collections, recommendations, and votes for the Three Rivers.

"Can we do this business with the coolies?" Zhu Jishi pondered and asked.

"We can do it, but... it always feels a bit against our conscience," Liu Jiong interjected. "The coolies sold to Nanyang (Southeast Asia) live in extreme hardship, working like slaves all day, and they only earn a few silver dollars a month..."

"A few silver dollars? That's actually not bad," Zhu Jishi waved his hand to interrupt. "Many British workers here don't even earn that much!"

Zhu Jishi had already learned in recent days that the so-called "colonizers" were different from what he imagined over a hundred years later. Most of those who crossed the ocean from the European continent to the new continent were penniless, and even in America, they were hardworking proletarians. The idea of becoming a wealthy and powerful American was a distant dream.

As for Nanyang now, it wasn't under Chinese control. If Chinese people wanted to go there to "colonize," they would first have to be oppressed and work hard, with many dying from exhaustion or illness. In the future, those who became wealthy and powerful would be a minority.

But should the people be moved? Yes, and the more, the better! The reason is simple: the era of European colonialism will eventually pass, and whether Nanyang will be under Chinese or native control depends on who has more people! Moreover, those Chinese who sold themselves to Nanyang lived even harder and poorer lives in China. After paying the imperial taxes and rents to the landlords, they might not even have a few silver dollars left at the end of the year.

"Mu Wen, Po Jun, what do you think?" Zhu Jishi did not make an immediate decision but sought the opinions of his two subordinates.

"Your Excellency is wise!" Han Si suddenly thought of something and said with great joy, "Your Excellency, selling coolies to Nanyang is a way to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming!"

Uh, this guy was almost crazy with the idea of rebellion, and he could relate everything to it. Zhu Jishi frowned, about to tell Han Si the real purpose of the coolie business. But Han Si quickly continued, "To overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming, Your Excellency needs an army, and to have an army, you need able-bodied men! The Heaven and Earth Society has countless good brothers, and it's easy to gather a few hundred officers, but it's hard to recruit soldiers. I think the only option is to use the coolies!"

"Make coolies into soldiers? Will they agree?" Liu Peng shook his head in doubt.

"Agree? Ha, how many French soldiers in Algeria went there willingly?" Han Si sneered. "The European method of training soldiers relies on capable officers, and they can turn any scoundrel into a fine soldier!"

"In that case, this coolie business can be done," Liu Peng calculated. "The Heaven and Earth Society has branches throughout Guangdong and Fujian, and even in the two lakes and Guangxi, we have brothers. Recruiting destitute people to sell themselves as coolies in Nanyang is not difficult, and there is demand there. The British, Dutch, and Siamese are all recruiting Chinese workers, and even Australia needs coolies."

"Since that's the case, this business can be done!" Zhu Jishi tapped his fingers on the table and said, "Take advantage of the fact that the foreigners don't care about immigration now, and sell more coolies to Nanyang. If we can sell them to Australia, that would be even better! Ideally, we should make the Chinese the majority in Nanyang and Australia!"

"Understood, Your Excellency," Liu Peng, Han Si, and Liu Jiong replied.

Zhu Jishi knew they didn't fully understand, but he didn't explain further. He continued, "Jishi Trading already has three armed merchant ships in Nanyang. We'll buy a few more in the future. There are many shipyards in Britain, and the cost of building ships is not high."

"Your Excellency, we can actually build ships in Guangdong," Liu Peng reminded him. "Ships for Nanyang don't need to be large Western ships; we can use large Guangdong ships."

"Guangdong ships?" Zhu Jishi was taken aback. "What kind of ships?"

"Large Qing navy warships, with a maximum of about 3,000 tons, equivalent to about 900 tons in Western ships. They use hard sails, so their speed is not as fast as Western ships, and they are not as sturdy, but they are the most economical for running to Nanyang," Liu Peng, the manager of the Jardine Matheson & Co., explained. "Moreover, Guangdong ships are much cheaper than Western ships. A Western armed merchant ship of about 1,000 tons costs at least 20,000 pounds, while a Guangdong ship, if we recruit craftsmen to build it in Hong Kong, would cost no more than 5,000 silver taels, excluding cannons. Additionally, using Western ships would require hiring Western sailors, which is expensive and unreliable. With Guangdong ships, we can use all Chinese sailors. Another advantage is that Guangdong ships can also run to Vietnam, Korea, and Japan, which, like the Qing, are closed to foreign trade but allow Qing merchant ships to trade."

"Jishi Trading is not a Qing merchant company," Zhu Jishi said calmly.

Liu Peng smiled, "We say it is, it is; we say it isn't, it isn't."

This was obvious. In the future, Jishi Trading would be a very special entity in Nanyang. On one hand, it was a holding company registered in Britain, closely associated with Prince Albert and Duke of Marlborough, and its boss, Zhu Jishi, was a renowned European scientist, so Jishi Trading was undoubtedly a foreign company.

On the other hand, through Han Si and Liu Peng, Jishi Trading could connect with the Heaven and Earth Society and the Thirteen Factories. Its fleet consisted of Guangdong ships, and the sailors were all Chinese, so Vietnam, Korea, and Japan would see Jishi Trading as a Chinese merchant company. Of course, the necessary bribes would still be given.

This way, not only could the coolie trade in Nanyang be conducted, but trade with Japan, Vietnam, and Korea could also be carried out.

Thus, Zhu Jishi decided to make maritime trade and shipbuilding the fourth and fifth main businesses of Jishi Trading.

...

However, setting the major policies did not mean immediate implementation. This was not the information age; things were done on a yearly basis.

The next morning, Zhu Jishi still followed the original plan and went to Vincent Street in Manchester to attend the board meeting of Jishi Trading. However, as the carriage entered Manchester, Zhu Jishi felt a strong sense of gunpowder in the air.

The laborers of Manchester were angry again!

"Down with the bourgeois dictatorship! Long live democracy! Long live universal suffrage! Robert Peel, step down..."

"Abolish the New Poor Law, limit working hours, separate church and state!"

"Long live Irish independence! Stop oppressing the Irish!"

"Universal suffrage equals bread!"

"Bread! Bread! No bread, revolution!"

On the once bustling streets of Manchester, there were now ragged, emaciated British laborers everywhere. They were unarmed but did not retreat in the face of the British police's rifles and bayonets. They held up signs and shouted slogans, as if they were all in a frenzy!

It was January 1844, the coldest time in Britain, but Zhu Jishi, walking among the protesters, felt waves of heat coming from all around, perhaps from the burning anger of these British proletarians. Soon, he was drenched in sweat.

"Your Excellency, what's going on?" Liu Peng, who had never seen such a scene, asked in a mix of fear and surprise. "What are these foreigners doing? What are they shouting?"

"Rebellion! Do you know, they are rebelling!" Zhu Jishi, holding Liu Peng's arm, answered loudly while pushing through the crowd. "Mu Wen, do you know? The whole of Europe is not peaceful, and the lives of the people here are very hard. In 1842 and 1843, agriculture in Britain and France suffered poor harvests, food prices rose, and most of the workers' income went to food, reducing the demand for industrial products, which in turn led to factory layoffs and wage cuts. Now, ordinary British workers work 12 hours a day and earn only a few pennies, and there are 1.5 to 2 million unemployed..."

As he spoke, the sound of gunfire erupted, and the crowd immediately erupted. The previously orderly slogans turned into a cacophony of curses, screams, shouts, and whistles. The crowd's forward movement stopped, but they did not disperse, indicating that the shooting was just a warning.

"Quick, quick, let's get out of here!" Zhu Jishi, while speaking, took a new Colt revolver from his briefcase and handed it to Liu Peng, then took another one for himself. "Mu Wen, follow me. Let's go to a side alley to take cover. It looks like the British military and police are about to suppress the crowd!"