Chapter 35: The five major forces arrive (Part 2)
Compared with the East Coast Republic, which is surrounded by war every day and has an extremely strong military atmosphere, the strategic space of the Chinese and American Republic in remote North America is relatively more relaxed. Unlike the countries on the east coast of South America, China and the United States, with the New York area as its core in later generations, are also isolated in a foreign land. However, the competitors around them are not the Spaniards and Portuguese who have taken root in the Americas for hundreds of years, but only the Indians who are relatively easy to deal with. The indigenous people, as well as the British and French colonists who were so weak that they could not protect themselves. As for the nearest Spanish power, it is still thousands of miles away in the Caribbean.
Moreover, the Huamei Group has intermarryed and formed alliances with the local Delaware tribe Indians from the very beginning of the time travel, thereby obtaining valuable and reliable human resource supplements, instead of always being the core ethnic group like the East Coast Group. Struggling with the unsolvable problem of population scarcity: hundreds and thousands of Indian men and women joined construction teams Five, the same number of Indian children sat in the class of travelers and learned Chinese... There were also many young travelers who married Indian girls and brought advanced and wealthy production and lifestyle to the Delaware tribe. They no longer had to worry about plague and famine, and even attracted other small nearby Indian tribes to come to join them one after another.
With such a relatively solid basic base, even if the Chinese-American Republic still has to recruit many immigrants from Europe, it does not have to worry about losing its tail. No matter what, Indians and Chinese are both yellow races, and in the eyes of European colonists It is easier for the Indians who are the same aliens and have a lower level of civilization to give up their original backward customs and integrate into the traveler group than it is for European Christians.
In this way, Huamei Group inadvertently gained the recognition and support of the indigenous people and established a firm foothold in this unfamiliar land. Before that, they flexibly used military strikes and economic temptations to annex various Indian tribes step by step, expanding the territory and population of the Republic.
As competitors for a similar level of civilization in the Chinese-American Republic, the only nearby French colonies were the French colony of Quebec and the British colony of Virginia. But the French colony of Quebec was basically just a trading post collecting North American furs. It couldn't even grow food to eat and needed to obtain supplies from overseas. Any serious famine, plague, Indian attack, or even a collapse of fur prices in the Paris market could push this fragile, crumbling colony into a desperate situation due to internal and external troubles, not to mention the distant and beautiful colony. Republic.
The British in the southern Virginia colony were also poor and hungry, and had bad relations with the nearby Indians. They struggled on the edge of death all day long. What's more terrible is that Britain was already on the eve of the civil war at this time, and the opposition between the Royalists and Parliament was on the verge of intensifying. Due to the problem of taking the wrong side in the domestic political vortex, the Virginia colony unfortunately became an embarrassing existence where the father did not love the mother. , it is impossible to borrow the power of the motherland to fight against Huamei Group - In fact, with the development and growth of the Huamei Republic, the current Virginia has almost become a vassal force of Huamei, economically controlled by the Huamei Travelers, politically "guided" by the Huamei Republic, and the distance is limited Official annexation is not far away either.
As for the other group of immigrants who founded the New England Colony and are regarded by modern people as the ancestors of the United States, the "Mayflower" immigrants... Well, I'm sorry, they and their ships were disarmed and captured by the Huamei Crossing Group, and now they are all Huamei Loyal subjects of the Republic, several of the "activists" who joined the army even followed the Chinese and American Far East Fleet to Batavia in Southeast Asia. In a few days, they will probably reach Lingao County on Hainan Island.
Since there are no foreign enemies around the country that need to be seriously dealt with, there are only weak chickens and fat chickens that can be abused. Therefore, judging from satellite images, the development speed of the Chinese-American Republic is quite astonishing, and the developed territory is much larger than that of the East. The Republic of China is more vast. The current core territory of this country is lined up along the coast of North America, with the capital "Manchester" (named because of its location on Manhattan Island) located in what would become New York as the center. The northernmost settlement villages have been developed as far as Maine, and the northernmost settlements have been developed into Maine. The southern sphere of influence reached Virginia, where the modern capital of the United States, Washington, is located. The tentacles expanding inland have also initially reached the coast of the Great Lakes. Another World: The thirteen-state territory of the United States of America at the beginning of its founding, and the half of the territory that belonged to the North during the Civil War, have now fallen into the hands of the Chinese-American Republic, which was only eleven years old.
Compared with the densely populated Old World, the Chinese American Republic still seems vast and sparsely populated, but in the entire New World, at least in North America, it is already the well-deserved supreme overlord. Through satellite images, Wang Qiu and the others saw row upon row of buildings on Manhattan Island. Neat building, busy with traffic Bustling markets, steam ferries sailing on the coast and the Hudson River, large wheat fields and vegetable fields spread out in strips, industrial towns with black smoke... even those marginal Indians who have been 'civilized' by the travelers The tribes also planted crops and pasture and lived in brick houses.
Although the industrial towns of the Chinese American Republic scattered along the Atlantic coast may not be as technologically advanced as the "rich guys" like the Far East Company in Vladivostok who brought too much belongings with them - they seem to have just reached the level of the 19th century, but their scale and coverage are It is a sky and a place, no longer a lonely stronghold, but a truly industrialized country, a huge and complex industrial division of labor system has initially formed!
If the Far East Company in Vladivostok is like a heavily guarded secret base, Zhongnan City in Australia is like a crude refugee camp, and the East Coast Republic is like a murderous war fortress, then the Chinese American Republic is truly like a prosperous A modern country!
"...From Maine to Virginia, from the Chesapeake Bay to the Great Lakes, plus the overseas colonies as far away as Cape Town, South Africa, there are almost two to three million square kilometers of territory... It really robbed the old United States of America. The foundation of the 'Chosen Country'! Especially the capital city on Manhattan Island. Not only does it have an electric system and a radio station, but the streets and parks and statues are so beautiful that it looks like it was in the 19th century! The United States! ”
Looking at the animated simulation of "Manchester", the capital of the Chinese-American Republic, on the screen, Guo Yi couldn't help but admire it - although Dongmen City in Lingao also has broadcast speakers and street lighting, but in terms of the scale and size of the city, The grandeur of the architecture does not seem to be comparable to that of Manchester in the Chinese-American Republic: on Hainan Island, after all, there are not as many high-quality wood and stone resources as on the North American continent...
As he spoke, he took out a mimeographed booklet from his arms and spread it out on the table, "... I used to think that the Ming Dynasty scholar who wrote this thing was ignorant and liked to brag, so he boasted so beautifully. So powerful. I didn’t expect that this Chinese American time traveler is really something that people dare not underestimate..."
Wang Qiu and others curiously picked up the book and read it one by one. They found that the title was "Ji Meiliu Collection", and then opened the cover. The content was in classical Chinese. When the book was opened, it read: "...In the past, the former Han Dynasty was destroyed by the Mang Dynasty, and the Later Han Dynasty was Guangwu. Kuang Fu, attacked the Xiongnu in the north, and settled Baiyue in the south. Today, the former Song Dynasty died in the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, and the later Song Dynasty was called Dominant in the West, spanning the seven seas, and dominating the Western world, this is called splendor... Since I unfortunately broke up my family and went into exile, I have recorded everything I saw and heard during my three-year stay in the United States, and compiled it into a volume called "Ji Mei Luo Ji". , I hope you can get a glimpse of the gorgeous scenery and learn a little bit about it with this book..."
——Combining the content of the book with Guo Yi's introduction, Wang Qiu and others just knew that the person who wrote "Ji Mei Lue Ji" was a scholar named Zhang who was born in southern Fujian. Unfortunately, he was attacked by pirates and his village was broken up. He was kidnapped by pirates and sold to the Portuguese in Macau. After that, he traveled across the ocean on an immigrant ship and arrived in the Chinese American Republic thousands of miles away.
Zhang Xiucai from southern Fujian has been in China and the United States for nearly three years. When he first arrived, he was very disdainful of this overseas foreign country. However, after seeing the scene of this traveler country with his own eyes, he soon became very impressed. Shocking...this year's Chinese and American Republic An expedition fleet was organized to go to the East. After learning about it, Zhang Xiucai, who missed his hometown, took the initiative to sign up. Because he was well-educated and familiar with the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty and the etiquette of the gentry, he was successfully hired and accompanied the gorgeous fleet to Batavia on Java Island. . Although the Chinese and American fleet stayed in Batavia for many days, it has not yet reached mainland China. However, the giraffes, alpacas and other "auspicious tributes" carried by the fleet to be presented to the Ming court, as well as the diplomatic envoys carrying credentials, had already boarded the fast ship provided by the Lingao Senate in advance and arrived in October. Entering Guangzhou, it caused a sensation in the whole city.
Therefore, Zhang Xiucai also followed the Chinese and American envoys to Guangzhou in advance as a staff member. Later, because he met relatives and friends he had met in Guangzhou, he did not follow the Chinese and American envoys to escort the tribute northward, but continued to linger in the city every day. There were wealthy gentry people who asked him to come and talk about his wonderful experiences in "China and the United States"... and after the "Ji Mei Lue Collection" written by this scholar was leaked, it quickly became the hottest bestseller in the Guangzhou book market, everywhere. There are people who are passing around excerpts. After hearing the news, the Lingao Senate also obtained the manuscript as quickly as possible, and immediately launched this simplified version of "Ji Mei Lue Collection". On the one hand, it was distributed to all the senators for reading reference, and on the other hand, it was tried in small quantities. It was put on the market and was quickly sold out. The current price of the book has been raised to twenty taels of silver per book, but the supply is still in short supply.
Well, to get back to the subject, since this book is written from the perspective and way of thinking of people in the Ming Dynasty, it is the most profound first impression of the "China and America" thousands of miles away, or of any traveler group and advanced forces. There is nothing better than "strong ships and sharp cannons" - "... I have read in the book "Tiangong Kaiwu" that the Song Dynasty was good at making boats. With a favorable wind, it can travel hundreds of miles in a day. It is also extremely huge and can carry hundreds of people. There are too many people, and everyone in the academy says he is exaggerating. I was said to be silent. When I was in trouble and was transported to Africa, I first saw a magnificent ship, as big as a mountain. The hull was tens of feet long and more than ten feet wide. It was indescribably huge, and it did not rely on the power of the wind. , only rely on refined charcoal Using hot coals, one can cut through the waves regardless of the direction of the wind. It is truly said to be extremely fine workmanship. Others all admire the skills of studying things in the Song Dynasty. The owner of the ship said that the most refined ship in the United States was the most refined ship. He abandoned the sails and used fire steam, which was called a steam ship.
There are also warships and giant boats, the fast ones are called cruisers, the giant ones are called iron armor, the big guns and giant ships are all covered with iron armor, and the cannons can hardly damage them at all. Heavy Weapons cannot be defeated by manpower. I lament that although the Taizu of this dynasty drove away the Mongols and restored the Han Dynasty, all the secret craftsmanship of the previous Song Dynasty was lost. Skilled craftsmen traveled to America, and later generations lamented that it was in vain..."
In addition, the "Hua Mei" is very different from many magnificent buildings in the Ming Dynasty, which also shocked the author: "...Hua Mei is especially good at creating. When I first arrived at the Hua Mei capital, Manchester, I stood on the deck and leaned on the railing to overlook Manchester City by the sea. According to the hill, the roads are crisscrossed like a chessboard. During the inlay of fine houses and mansions, one can see endlessly. It can be seen that it is vast. The market is bustling with people and the market is full of people. The inner road is straight and wide, with pedestrian lanes separated. At all intersections, there are professionals holding red and green signs to direct traffic in an orderly manner. Trees are widely planted on both sides of the market, like a canopy, so you will not be afraid of the scorching summer heat. , all buildings, no matter how big or small, are built with square bricks and huge stones, with very little earthwork. They can stand for hundreds of years and are not afraid of water, fire and ants, which is completely different from those in China.
Later, I visited the gorgeous National Congress Pavilion and saw how majestic it was. It was more than tens of feet high. Bricks were cut out of rock and pillars were carved out of stone. The brick pillars were so huge that even though a hundred people could not move the heavy bricks, three or four people were needed to make the pillars thick. It can be surrounded by one hundred and thirty-six huge pillars under the eaves of the surrounding building. There are also exquisite and complex carvings on the eaves. The figures' appearance and clothing are all Chinese and not Chinese. I don't know where they are. No matter where the masonry or pillars are, they are smooth and can be seen. Contact as a mirror, Capitol Building The atrium hall, which is the center of state affairs, can seat thousands of people without being embarrassed. It is so vast that there is not even a supporting pillar. The gorgeous little guard guarding the door said that relying on the dome is enough, and I sighed while stroking the wall. It is so beautiful. tall A majestic man, I don’t know how much manpower and financial resources are wasted, but Huamei’s ruler does not hesitate to use the people’s power, Qin Jian is not far away, Huamei’s petty officials were shocked when they heard this, and sneered and said that only five hundred engineering teams were needed, and the construction period could be completed in three years. We were all stunned. also.
When I had free time after that, I often wandered around the folk houses in the market. I experienced them personally and felt the prosperity of China and the United States. The red roofs and white bricks of the houses were all made of square stones. The seams were stitched together and a needle could not be inserted. It was common to have more than two floors. There are many potted flowers along the windowsill, and clusters of spring and summer jacarandas look like colorful flowers blooming in the sky. It is so beautiful that it is a major scenic spot in Manchester. However, there are countless buildings with three or four floors, and those with six or seven floors are also ordinary. The windows are bright and clean, and they are all covered with colored glass. The appearance is colorful and grand. The tall buildings are gorgeous and beautiful, and people call them office buildings. Yu Bai was puzzled.
Yu met Tang, a great Huamei builder, and said that his family has been involved in building construction for generations. Yu invited Tang to work on Huamei Construction. Tangchang told Yu that Huamei was good at building, all relying on machinery, digging foundations and driving piles, it could be built overnight, and the huge pillars were square. The stone weighs more than 10,000 kilograms, and lifting it is like child's play. Practitioners need to attend a junior college for three years before completing their studies. They are called architects. The knowledge and skills learned in the academy are passed down from generation to generation, and they strive for excellence more and more. They are also the Mahayana masters of Western and Western China. He also talked about the gorgeous people preferring the neoclassical style of Rome and Greece, and so on. I admired him so much that I could not accept it. I lamented that in the Ming Dynasty, the common people could not have their own homes. However, everyone has a place to live in the gorgeous. The ancients said that people who have permanent property have perseverance. Don't deceive me sincerely..."
Next, the culture and entertainment of Huamei also deeply impressed this Ming Dynasty scholar: "... When I first arrived in Huamei, I saw children hawking along the street with bags and paper, shouting nicknames endlessly, peddlers and pawns with high officials. People are constantly inviting people to buy, and as they live longer, they realize that this is a newspaper, or newsprint. National events and rural anecdotes are all published in it. When changes in national policies are announced, supplements are also published in the newspaper. The colorful education is effective and the common people are aware of it. There are many writers, and all the big and small things can be read in the newspapers. All beautiful and beautiful people can submit books to newspapers and periodicals to express their feelings directly. The writer is not guilty. If the newspapers and periodicals choose to use them, they will also pay a certain amount of writing fees. Submissions are also enthusiastic, and the government has taken some measures. If they make mistakes, the newspapers will attack them. If the officials are lazy and corrupt, they will expose them and pursue them. The officials in the temples will be vigilant and will not dare to be unfair or go against the will of the people. ,a little If you behave badly, you will be exposed to the world, and everyone will ask for it. How to deal with yourself? It can be said that there are thousands of resistances on one piece of paper. The officials dare not be clear in their governance. Yu Shen thinks so. The publisher of the newspaper is the newspaper, and the newspaper is published every day. It is a beautiful and beautiful cultural tripod. In Sheng, there are many newspaper publishers, and there are many newspapers and periodicals. There are big newspapers and small newspapers. The big newspapers are rigorous and rational in their writing, with a clear and clear starting point. They have a clear and powerful purpose, point out the current ills with reason and evidence, and have orderly arguments for the gains and losses of national policies. , my favorite, the most famous ones, the Manchester Times, the Atlantic Review, the Financial Times are the best among them, I read them every day, tabloids, the content is obscene, specializing in celebrity privacy scandals, known as gossip, Practitioners call them paparazzi, but I don't know what they mean. However, ignorant people are keen on it, so there are many people who sell it for great rewards. Everyone has their own preferences.
There are many Chinese and American novels, and there are many famous writers. Meirenzhihuaben is like studying things, divided into categories, and there are many types. I have been in the United States for many years, and I have dabbled in them all. Among the martial arts novels that I admire the most, and the author with the most reputation is undoubtedly The Legend of the Condor Heroes, The Condor Heroes and the Couple have two ears, I read it, and never leave the book, without thinking about tea or food, I am fascinated by the wonderful points. When he hits it, he claps his knees and sighs that he is a true hero and a good man. The family members are surprised and inexplicable. Looking at the whole book, the most important point is that the hero is a great hero who serves the country and the people. The so-called small words and great righteousness are all here. The people, not only the great chivalrous ones, but also lamentable that the country and the dynasty are full of nobles, and the gentry in the world are few for the country and the people, and many are for profit and selfishness. In addition to martial arts, the gorgeous romance novels are also unique. When Yu lived in Huamei, there was a scholar named Yan who was in trouble and rented a house with Yu. They were young and romantic and fell in love with him. He praised his love story in Manchester and praised it. It was the first of gorgeous romances. The beauty was so loud that it made him cry. After reading it, I finished it in one go. During this period, I didn't eat or drink, and I didn't think about food and tea. When I read it, I felt sad, my eyes were filled with tears, and my fists were clenched. When I read it, I felt happy, and my face was full of smiles, like a spring breeze. After reading to the end, I was overjoyed and sad that lovers could not get married. I covered my head and cried bitterly. It really made me tear up. Although what I said did not conform to the etiquette of famous religions and warned men and women against each other, it was also deeply touching. Thanks to this book, I became a beautiful girl. There are many people named Lixiang..."
Of course, after saying so many good things, this scholar who was deeply influenced by feudal ethics, even though he had seen so many exotic sights, was still completely unacceptable to some things: "... Gorgeous people, gorgeous clothes and beautiful clothes. also, Although Guo Youyu is also famous, his ornate clothing is quite different from that of the imperial dynasty. The attire of the imperial dynasty is wide, with wide sleeves, and a turban on the right side of the collar. The hair is short and the beard is short, and the blouse is usually worn with trousers, and the clothes are fastened with buttons. Wear trousers with belts, especially leather belts, which are tough and beautiful. There are many more cloth belts. When they are dignified and solemn, they often wear gorgeous suits, ties around the neck, white shirts and trousers, which looks dignified and capable. Women all wear skirts and girdled waists. What’s more, young women mostly love short skirts. There are those who are short and narrow, over the knees and over a foot, wearing super short skirts and off-shoulder tops. Their clothes are light and thin, and they have a swaying grace. They walk through the market in a swaggering manner, but they are the same as everyone else. Where are Zhu Cheng and others in the Song Dynasty? They are the rest of the etiquette keepers. Abandon..."
After reading to this point, Wang Qiu couldn't help laughing, threw the book to Ma Tong and Liu Chaozuo, who had been waiting impatiently, turned to Guo Yi and said, "...Hey, I didn't expect that the ancients really didn't like women showing up! The natives of Nanyang don't It's common for people to wear clothes. They see a woman wearing a short skirt and scold her. It's immoral. Such old-fashioned etiquette should have been abolished long ago... But according to the content of this book, it is estimated that after reading it, scholars in the Ming Dynasty will immediately connect you who are entrenched in Hainan Island with the two groups in America—— After all, no matter how you look at it, they look too alike..."
"...Yes, in fact, since our three parties met, the Dutch in Batavia have long noticed this, and the 'naturalized people' in our three camps are also very surprised by this, which makes Rumors are flying all over the place both internally and externally. Even the Guangzhou government, which has always been slow in dealing with Zhuan Yu, quietly sent people over this month to find out if we are 'from the same family'..."
Guo Yi shrugged and replied with a wry smile, "...Lingao hasn't thought about how to explain it yet, so I can only deal with it vaguely... Where should we look next? Huamei Group's South African colony ”
"...No, we only need to know a rough outline of these forces outside China's territory. Now only the Hainan Island closest to us is left - that is, the Senate where you are. I don't know how many years you have been here. What kind of situation has been managed here, and whether it has reached the level of the two groups in North America and South America...Senior Guo Yi, You might as well introduce what they have on Hainan Island that is worth seeing..." As Wang Qiu said this, he adjusted the observation object of the remote control screen to the neighboring Hainan Island... The fifth one in this time and space, The live scene of the last large-scale traverser group base was fully displayed in front of everyone's eyes.