America 1881: Legend of the West

A few weeks later, one sunny morning, two "merchant ships" flying American flags docked at the port of Honolulu.

The owner of the boat is Chen Jianqiu.

He took the members of his "caravan" and set foot on the land of Hawaii.

"Sean, leave some people on the ship to perform normal maintenance and replenish supplies on the ship." Chen Jianqiu arranged his clothes and walked to the side of the ship. "The others will get off the ship with me."

Sean agreed and went to the back to deliver the order.

"Boss, what's the matter with those guys on our ship?" Li Sifu came over and asked in a low voice, "Will there be any trouble if someone checks us out?"

Chen Jianqiu pointed to the American flag flying on the ship: "I have customs documents. The customs director in San Francisco told me that no one here dares to check American ships."

The ship approached the berth, and Chen Jianqiu strode out and took the lead to board the pier.

He took a greedy breath of air.

Mild yet refreshing.

After arriving in Hawaii, Chen Jianqiu finally had a deeper understanding of the blue sea, blue sky and mild climate.

The person who greeted him was a representative of the local Chinese association named He Kuan.

He Kuan looked at the mighty "caravan" members behind Chen Jianqiu and the boxes they were carrying, and didn't react for a moment.

"Excuse me, is this Mr. Chen?" he asked cautiously.

Chen Jianqiu nodded.

"Xiao Luo, you take Mr. Chen's people to where they live. I will lead Mr. Chen around first."

He Kuan quickly called to a young man wearing a newsboy cap behind him.

"Thank you." Chen Jianqiu thanked him and walked along the beach with He Kuan on the outskirts of the city.

This city is far more prosperous than Chen Jianqiu imagined before.

The entire city sits on a mountain overlooking the sea, with densely packed houses and an unusually wide variety of architectural styles.

Especially along the coastline, there are various commercial places gathered.

Restaurants, coffee shops, bars, you name it.

There are also a lot of people walking on the street. They have different skin colors, including yellow people, white people, and some people who are obviously from Latin America.

"This is the capital of Hawaii, located on Oahu, one of the four major islands. There is the Koolau volcano." He Kuan walked on the fine white beach with Chen Jianqiu, pointing to a bulging volcano in the distance.

Except for the bare top of the mountain, the part below the mountainside is completely green.

Like Chen Jianqiu, he has a flat head, a mustache, and his clothing and behavior are completely Westernized.

"Why is this city called 'Honolulu'?" Chen Jianqiu asked curiously.

"Decades ago, sandalwood was abundant here. Americans and British exchanged this wood from locals and sold it to China at high prices to make huge profits." He Kuan pointed to the forest in the distance, "But There is very little production now because the resources are almost exhausted.”

"The main industry here now is the sugar cane industry. Many of us Chinese run sugar cane plantations here, or work as laborers in the sugar cane fields," He Kuan said.

The two people continued walking on the beach, leaving a series of footprints behind them.

He Kuan continued to introduce the situation in Hawaii to Chen Jianqiu.

"The Kingdom of Hawaii used to have a lot of indigenous people, but due to various infectious diseases, the population has dropped by more than half in the past hundred years. Now, apart from them, the main residents here are Chinese, Japanese and white people."

"We have the largest Chinese population, and many Japanese have come here in recent years. The total number of white people is not large, but they control the basic politics of the kingdom."

"Oh? White people have completely controlled the royal family?" Chen Jianqiu became somewhat interested.

"The Kingdom of Hawaii now implements a constitutional monarchy, and its ruler is Queen Liliu'okanila. However, most officials in the cabinet and government have been infiltrated by white people. The indigenous people have no say at all. It is said that the queen is trying to seize power. Come back, hey, who knows about this."

"How many people are Chinese?" Chen Jianqiu asked.

"Twenty percent." He Kuan thought for a moment and reported a rough ratio.

Chen Jianqiu touched his chin.

Thanks to his unremitting efforts in the past few years, the Chinese population in New Mexico will reach about 20%.

The China Act basically exists in name only.

Both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party must take into account the votes in the hands of the Chinese.

Hawaii is not yet the United States. The Chinese have deep roots here. Many people have lived here for decades, intermarried with the locals, married wives and had children.

"With so many people, it stands to reason that the environment should be much better." Chen Jianqiu was a little confused, "Why did Lao Huang tell me that the situation was so urgent?"

He Kuan let out a long sigh.

"That's the problem."

"Those white people took control of the legislative power and began to move the West Coast to Hawaii. They passed the 'Razor Constitution' a few years ago and deprived us of our right to vote."

"Those people are inciting people to be disloyal to China?" Chen Jianqiu raised his eyebrows.

He still vividly remembers what happened on the American continent a few years ago.

Although with Hawley and the People's Party coming to power in California, the living environment of the Chinese on the West Coast is much better.

However, with the economic downturn and rising unemployment rate, God knows when this card will be revealed again.

But through the collection of information from various channels, Chen Jianqiu judged that both the Republican and Democratic parties now have to weigh this card carefully if they want to play it.

The influence of the Chinese in the United States is no longer what it used to be.

"Yes, they incited local whites and indigenous people to attack the Chinese." He Kuan said, "At the same time, they tried to promote the anti-China bill like in the Kingdom of Hawaii."

"Why didn't they move those Japanese? Aren't there a lot of them?" Chen Jianqiu suddenly thought about it.

He Kuan's face was filled with sadness.

"The Japanese government will take care of them! The armored ship 'King Kong' hangs around the coast of Hawaii from time to time. We gathered that some naive people have also sent requests to the court, but..."

"The most important thing is that the Japanese also thought that we were easy to bully and occupied their jobs. They were ready to attack us first like the white people and drive us out!"

"We have received information that they have planned an attack on our plantation."

He stood on the beach, facing the sea, letting the sea wind blow over his face, with sadness in his voice:

"They have the government behind them, but what do we have? What do we have!?"

Chen Jianqiu also remained silent.

After a long time, he walked to He Kuan and patted him on the shoulder:

"We still have ourselves."

"By the way, have you notified the Hawaii government of the news that the Japanese are going to cause trouble?" Chen Jianqiu asked.

"The armed forces of the Hawaiian government include some police officers and the Honolulu Lancers, but these armed forces are simply not enough to maintain order in Hawaii. The Queen herself may not have enough time to take care of herself," He Kuan said.

"Yes." Chen Jianqiu said that he understood.

The two of them continued walking forward until they entered the downtown Chinatown.

"Mr. Chen, it's almost noon, why don't we eat something first." He Kuan suddenly remembered that Chen Jianqiu hadn't eaten yet. "After eating, I will take you to meet a few people and let's discuss countermeasures together."

The two men turned into a Chinese restaurant.