African Entrepreneurship Records

  Chapter 41 Homecoming

   July 13, 1866, Far East.

  Wang Dazhi is an old member of the Chinese immigrants in the East African colony, and now he is a member of the Chinese immigration army in Binhai District.

  Just a month ago, the senior officials of the Chinese Immigration Office in the East African Colony found Wang Dazhi and discussed with him to use his Chinese identity to return to the Qing Dynasty to attract people.

The current Qing government has just pacified the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and the south has been suffering from military disasters for a long time, which greatly eased the conflict between people and land in the south. Since the Song Dynasty, the economic center of gravity has moved south, and the south is a densely populated area. Although the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Qing government’s mutual conquest caused a lot There were vacant lands, but after the end of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the population of the surrounding areas could quickly fill these vacancies.

In the north, the rise of Tsarist Russia and its colonial expansion directly threatened the land of Longxing of the Qing people. I was afraid that the Chinese would destroy the ancestral land of the Qing people’s dragon veins. Yes, in order to immigrate to the border, the Qing government released restrictions on immigration from the Northeast, and a large number of Chinese flooded into the Northeast, which is breaking through the Guandong.

  In the relatively northwest Shanshan area, they also have an immigration route, which is to farm land for the princes and nobles in the Inner Mongolia area, that is, take the west entrance.

  The current main option for immigrants in the East African colonies is the north, through the northern seaport, and transported back to East Africa by ship.

  The people in the north currently have two choices, one is to go to the Northeast, the other is to go to East Africa. Compared with foreign countries, their own land is of course the first choice, so when making a choice, most immigrants choose to drag their families to the Guandong.

  This is also the reason why the East African colony brought over the old immigrants who had already lived in East Africa. Otherwise, these Chinese saw the real benefits. Who would believe you Western devils?

As for the south, it is not so easy to recruit people. In addition to the new living space created after the Taiping Rebellion, the locals still have two choices. One is to go from the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta to the Americas. The Americans currently have the advantage of Germany. It is incomparable, even the British and the French will accept some Chinese to serve as thugs in the colonies.

  The second is the south, especially the southeast coast and the southwestern border. They can start their own business in the Nanyang region. Because of the convenience of sea transportation or the proximity to the border, many people have gone to Nanyang or Southeast Asia since ancient times.

  In the south, there are many clans, and the township party they formed spontaneously will also recruit people in the south, so the East African colony is the most difficult to recruit people in the south, not to mention many competitors, and the conditions offered by themselves are not attractive.

  How would these Chinese spontaneously go to the East African colonies? In addition to actually distributing land to these Chinese, they will definitely drag their families to colonize East Africa.

But Ernst will not give away the land in vain. The land in East Africa is Ernst’s private property, and it will be of great use in the future. If you give the land away directly, you may not be grateful, and you may be able to cultivate white-eyed wolves .

   Only when it is time to distribute the land is it time for Ernst to give these Chinese immigrants the land property rights.

   That is war. Only those who work hard, and Ernst, who has voted for a certificate of merit, will distribute the land to those who have meritorious service in the form of military merit.

   Now that the land in East Africa has been divided, what will Ernst do to buy people's hearts when Britain, France and other countries start to focus on African land in the future? Or land.

Moreover, in Ernst's vision, the future of agriculture in East Africa is intensified, not self-sufficient by small farmers. If you work hard for the Hohenzollern family, I will give you the land. The more you work hard, the more land you will get. In this way, countless large-scale farms will be born in East Africa.

  If everyone can share two or three acres of land, then the Chinese will dare to give birth. It’s okay if there is a lack of people in the colony in the early stage, but what if there is no shortage of people in the future? At that time, no matter how fast the development of East Africa is, it is estimated that it will not be able to keep up with the rapid population growth.

  So the issue of immigration and the way of life after immigrating to East Africa was carefully considered by Ernst. Anyway, it should not be too radical, and East Africa cannot escape there.

Even if Britain, France and other countries began to carve up Africa, Ernst estimated that there would still be a population of 5 million in East Africa at that time. Let alone 5 million, there would be 300,000. With the help of the German Empire, Ernst would dare to fight with the British. Come to the war in Africa.

  …

  Mopan Village, an unremarkable small village in North China.

  The village is very lively today, not because there is any festival, but because Wang Dazhi, who left a year ago, is back.

  It was nothing unusual for Wang Dazhi to come back. What really surprised the villagers was that Wang Dazhi came back with foreigners, and there were a few soldiers behind him, holding real ones in their hands.

  In the beginning, the villagers didn’t dare to show their heads when they saw a group of people coming to the village with Western guns. These years are full of chaos. Who would dare to join in the fun because their necks are itchy?

   Fortunately, everyone knew Wang Dazhi, and he used a loudspeaker to spread the word in the village.

   "Folks, don't be afraid, I'm Wang Dazhi! Don't you remember me? Now that I'm developed, I'm here today to take everyone to live a good life."

  Wang Dazhi was wearing a military uniform, and he looked like five people and six people. He held his chest up and headed up and preached around the village. When he reached the depths of the village, several acquaintances dragged Wang Dazhi into the house.

   "Da Zhi, it's really you! My God, I almost didn't recognize the fat one."

  Wang Dazhi almost didn't recognize the black hemp stalks in front of him.

   "Aren't you old Xu from the end of the village? How are you doing? Now that my brothers are prosperous, I will take you to live a good life."

  Old Xu walked around Wang Dazhi twice, and said in amazement: "You are really developed, and the clothes you are wearing now are all stained! Seeing that you are dressed like this, you are going to serve in the army!"

  Although Lao Xu didn’t recognize Prussian military uniforms, the soldiers behind Wang Dazhi couldn’t fool anyone when he entered the village.

  Wang Dazhi said with a smile: "Where, where, I am now the deputy captain of the 25th Squad of the Binhai Division of the Chinese Immigration Army in the East African Colonies."

  Old Xu asked curiously: "You are really an official! Okay, this is the East African colony. What else is Binhai? How old is your official?"

As soon as Wang Dazhi heard Lao Xu asking himself, he immediately beamed with joy and said: "Brother, I am not what I used to be now, the official is not very old, and he only manages the fifth and sixth people under his command. Don't look at this official. Big, but the way inside is very particular. We are not ordinary officials, but officials for the Germans. You don’t know, with my outfit, I walked hundreds of miles from Jiaozhou to here. Those high-ranking officials who met on the road will send gifts to leave the country when they see me."

  Wang Dazhi continued to pretend: "Do you know that Mayor Li in our town nodded and bowed to me before I went back to the village!"

  Old Xu was surprised and said: "What kind of German soldier has such a big background? The official is short of you!"

   "Old Xu! Now you are ignorant. Do you know that foreigners broke into the Forbidden City a few years ago?"

   "Of course I... heard people say it."

"That's right, now even the emperor is afraid of seeing foreigners, let alone foreigners' soldiers? You see, I was originally an old farmer in the village who couldn't eat. After the land was taken back by the rich man, didn't I go to Jiaozhou to beg for food?" I heard that Jiaozhou Wharf can carry bags and make some money, so I went there, but the big boss of Deutschland was recruiting people, saying that they were going to plant land for them. I didn’t find a job. I was hungry and skinny. I went to the wharf to see that I was going to die, so I didn’t accept me. It happened that the Germans accepted me. They gave me a meal when I signed up. I signed up, and then I ate a few I boarded the boat after dinner."

Recalling the past days, Wang Dazhi couldn’t help but sigh with emotion: “On the boat, the one who vomited and diarrhoeaed me. Fortunately, he arrived on land not long ago. Later, I heard that it was East Africa. The German boss wanted to reclaim the land and was short of manpower. I was recruited there. At the beginning, I planted land. There is a lot of land over there, and there is no crops. The local aborigines live by hunting lions and wild animals. The land is deserted. The German boss asked us Chinese to develop these lands. .”

   "Later, the number of people gradually increased. At this time, the German chief in East Africa began to find men from our group to serve as soldiers, and someone like me was selected."

  Old Xu asked curiously: "Isn't this the same as the Qing Dynasty? If you can't afford to eat, go to the army!"

"It's different! Old Xu." Wang Dazhi hurriedly said to Old Xu: "Can you be a soldier of the Qing Dynasty the same as a soldier of Germany? Let me tell you, do you know how many meals I eat every day?" Wang Dazhi looked Said with a sense of superiority.

   "Two meals? That's not bad."

Wang Dazhi said to Lao Xu with a look of disgust: "You really think that the Germans are not so stingy. I eat three meals a day, and I can also eat meat every week. I wear Western fabrics. , and get a small salary every month."

   As he spoke, he handed the cuffs to Lao Xu and the others and said, "All of you touch this dress, how good the material is, how smooth it is."

Lao Xu and others touched it, and it was true that Wang Dazhi had a good life. When he was in the village, he could see his ribs through his clothes. Now he is not only fat, but also has a red face. , The clothes are also five people and six people.

  But Lao Xu still asked cautiously: "This foreign master is so kind to you? You didn't ask you to work hard."

Wang Dazhi said in distaste: "It's your turn to sacrifice your life! And you don't know, we also encircled and suppressed the aborigines at the border of East Africa. Those aboriginals held clubs and poles in their hands, and the better ones took a stone spear. One shot can knock down one, very weak."

  Hearing this, Lao Xu and the others began to think about it. What Wang Dazhi said really tickles people's hearts. Who wouldn't want to live such a good life? But who knows if you, Wang Dazhi, have picked the best ones.

   "Brother Dazhi, East Africa is so good, so there is no shortcoming?"

  Wang Dazhi understood that this group of people was still not at ease, and he comforted him: "Life is a good day. If you say that there are no shortcomings, you will not believe it. There is really a shortcoming."

   "Brother Dazhi, what is it?" Several people asked curiously.

   "The disadvantage is that there are too many old men and too few women over there, but don't worry, when you go, you won't have to worry about wives in the future."

   "Isn't this contradictory? Brother Dazhi."

"You guys are confused now! Think about it, is it easy to ask for a wife in the Qing Dynasty? Isn't there a lot of bachelors, why? I don't think you are poor. You can save some money after a few years in East Africa, and your health is not good. If you can take care of yourself and come back later, your body is strong and you have money, so that girl doesn't like you?"

Wang Dazhi then said quietly to several people: "To tell you the truth, I came back this time to solve the daughter-in-law problem, but the officer told me that when the time comes to return to the voyage, I will spend money to buy one from Nanyang." , there is a door there, of course, the premise is that I do my job well!"

"Look, I now have money, a livelihood, and even a daughter-in-law. Isn't this developed? So I can lie to you? Hurry up to the village to help me promote it, especially those old bachelors, who don't act now , stay single forever!"

   Several people became anxious after hearing this, and said to Wang Dazhi: "Brother Dazhi, how many people are you recruiting? If there are too many people, don't you want them? You can't forget us first if something good happens!"

Wang Dazhi looked at the urgent people, waved his hands and said, "Don't worry, don't worry, you don't have to be afraid of being robbed. There is a lot of land over there, and there is a shortage of people. Come and ask for as many people as you want. In this way, if you can live in the village Pull a few more people, so I can say a few good words for you in front of the officer and find a good place to go."

As soon as several people heard this, they quickly assured Wang Dazhi that they would definitely live up to expectations, and soon the propaganda team went to the village to promote it door-to-door. It's too late to eat hot food.

  (end of this chapter)