novelAbuy Chapter 97 Britain and the Americas
Chapter 97 Britain and the Americas
Chapter 97 Britain and the Americas
On June 15, 1837, Robert Irving once again gave a public speech at the British Academy.
He elaborated on the gains he made during his visit to Great Han, and criticized British investors and the economic system.
"The prophecy of the Han emperor has come true."
"The Citizens' land bonds have collapsed, and it's only a matter of time before they spread to Britain."
"A new economic crisis has begun; the collapse and depression of ten years ago will be repeated in Britain, and even more horrific than before—"
"Soon countless bankrupt businessmen will jump off London Bridge, and everything the emperor predicted will come true."
"The next few years will be a period of depression throughout Britain and North America."
"Only public ownership and comprehensive market control can prevent cyclical collapses and depressions."
"A large number of British investors die every ten years —"
More than three months ago, when Irving had just returned to Britain, he and the scholars who had returned from their visit to China had taken turns giving a similar report and presentation.
However, the two speeches received completely different responses.
More than three months ago, before the economic crisis had even materialized, many scholars and engineers instinctively felt that the Emperor of Han and Irving were exaggerating and deliberately creating panic.
So it didn't cause much of a stir at the time. Some people even criticized Owen in the newspapers, saying he was frightened by the Han emperor's diplomatic intimidation and that this in turn fueled the panic.
But things are different now. News from North America has reached London, and many people know what happened in North America.
The Han emperor's prophecy, combined with Irving's threats, created a truly real and immense panic.
The financial crisis, which might have taken some time to fully spread across Britain, was brought to a head by Irving's two public speeches.
After Irving's speech was published in the newspapers, a sell-off immediately occurred in the London stock and bond markets.
Everyone was selling, almost no one was buying, and the stock market and bonds plummeted across the board.
Countless merchants holding paper money rushed to banks to exchange their gold and silver, prompting major British banks to announce a halt to gold and silver exchanges.
This, in turn, exacerbated the panic, leading to a stampede-like financial and market collapse.
Countless people's assets turned into worthless paper overnight.
There were indeed desperate and distraught investors who climbed onto a London bridge and jumped into the churning Thames.
People who go bankrupt don't necessarily jump off London Bridge.
However, Liu Yulong specifically mentioned this practice, and Irving publicly stated this, which was then published in the newspaper by some busybodies.
Such propaganda has a kind of hypnotic effect, making many devastated investors feel that they should jump off London Bridge after going bankrupt.
The collapse of the financial markets quickly spread to the real economy.
Countless factories shut down or even went bankrupt, leaving a large number of workers homeless and destitute.
Amid this chaos, King William IV of Great Britain died on June 20, and his niece Victoria automatically became the new queen.
The news, once published in the newspapers, further exacerbated market panic.
The prime minister and cabinet officials are feeling overwhelmed.
A market crash means reduced tax revenue and a significant drop in fiscal income, resulting in a very large deficit this year.
At the cabinet meeting on June 25, the Secretary of the Navy raised a question: "Your Excellency, under the current circumstances, should the operations on the west coast of North America continue?"
"Our fleet is likely still stationed near Washington."
"If we send steamships to the Caribbean to intercept them, we should still be able to recall them in time."
Prime Minister Melbourne immediately said: "It is precisely because the market conditions are so extremely deteriorated that the action must continue."
"The investment has already been made, and even if the fleet is recalled, the money will not be recovered."
"The arrival of this batch of naval and army troops on the West Coast will give our claims to the West Coast some value."
"We can use these values to demand some compensation from the Han Dynasty, instead of giving them away for nothing."
"The population of the Han Dynasty's homeland is already saturated, and there is an urgent need to release people from barren land."
"These wastelands in the northwestern part of North America are of little significance to Britain, but they have some value to the Han Dynasty."
With the economic crisis already underway, Britain's fiscal revenue is bound to plummet, making it all the more important to find ways to increase it.
Melbourne's attitude toward the Northwest Coast of America has thus undergone a subtle change.
The initial intention was to maintain a military presence in the area and retain controversial claims as much as possible, only considering transferring claims if control became truly impossible.
The priority now is to maximize profits, which means trying to sell the product at the best possible price.
The Han people, who have a need for barren land, are the best buyers.
As for the interests of the United States in the region, let the Han Dynasty and the United States resolve that themselves.
Britain has no responsibility to protect the interests of the United States.
Melbourne made its stance clear, and cabinet ministers successively nodded in acceptance of the arrangement.
March 4th of the second year of the Hanchang era, April 25th, 1836.
Wenjiatun is located in the valley south of what used to be Vancouver Fort.
Last year, a large area of farmland reclaimed by immigrants was planted with winter wheat in the autumn and winter.
After growing through winter and spring, it is now time for them to head.
A gentle breeze blew through the valley, causing the emerald green wheat to sway slightly, the leaves rubbing against each other making a soft, noisy, yet reassuring sound.
Zhang Zongyu, accompanied by several guards, came to inspect the wheat field and carefully observed the growth of the wheat.
Every now and then, Zhang Zongyu would look down and observe the condition of the wheat: "It seems that of the land reclaimed around these villages in America, the area south of Wenjiatun is clearly the most fertile—"
of.
"The wheat seedlings have the largest number of tillers and grow the most vigorously, with dark green leaves."
"Even if the fields back home were piled high with fertilizer, it would only reach this level."
"The wheat harvested from this field in front of us this season should be enough to feed our four thousand people for a whole year."
Zhang Zongyu's guards chimed in, "Who says otherwise? This black soil is incredibly fertile, and the rainwater here is perfect for growing wheat."
"It rains when it should rain in winter and spring, and it's dry when it should be dry in summer."
"Once the wheat is planted, it basically doesn't need any care. This year is sure to be a bumper harvest."
"It's just that the summers are too dry, so we probably can't grow water-loving crops."
After listening, Zhang Zongyu nodded and then said with a smile, "In the summer when there is a shortage of water, we should plant more melons, fruits and vegetables, which should be very sweet."
"Potatoes, pumpkins, and sorghum should also work. Oh, and we should plant some grapes and make some sweet wine."
"Once this year's immigrants arrive, we'll settle them here as much as possible and develop all of this best land as soon as possible."
"This place will be our center in the Americas in the future, and it might even become a prefecture or a provincial capital."
The valley where Zhang Zongyu is currently located is the Willamette River Valley, south of Portland, Oregon, USA.
This area is the best place in all of America to grow winter wheat.
The fertile soil and abundant rainfall during winter and spring perfectly match the growth pattern of winter wheat.
Summer dryness and large temperature differences allow fruits to quickly accumulate sugar, making it ideal for fruit cultivation.
Zhang Zongyu walked around the wheat field, then returned to the ridge and looked around.
At the edge of this wheat field, local militiamen were still working.
They want to continue cultivating more land, cutting down more trees, and building more houses and agricultural facilities.
Prepare to receive this year's new wave of immigrants.
If all goes well, this year's immigrants should arrive within the next month or two.
There should be 5,000 militia couples, plus 2,000 from last year, making a total of 7,000 households and 14,000 people.
As Zhang Zongyu reached the edge of the field, a centurion rushed over: "Chief, Niu Er's wife gave birth to a son, the first child in our militia's family!"
Zhang Zongyu was delighted upon hearing this report: "This is wonderful news! Let's all go and congratulate him!"
Now, in the three "villages" built by the Great Han themselves, as well as in the village transformed from the trading post left by the Hudson Bay Company, there are pregnant women with big bellies everywhere.
They all conceived during the summer and autumn of last year, and began giving birth one after another in the spring and summer of this year. The first one was from Niu Er's family.
Starting with Niu Er's child, babies were born almost every day for the next few days.
Zhang Zongyu, along with several officers, would spend his free time congratulating the militia members.
Most ordinary immigrants from the Central Plains cherish the most basic traditional sentiments and attach great importance to carrying on the family line.
Now that people are having children, they have new hopes for the future.
The immigrants, who had worked hard for more than half a year, became even more motivated upon hearing the cries of babies in the village.
On the afternoon of April 20th, several sentries from Qiaojiatun (Georgeburg) arrived at Wenjiatun by small steamship to report, "Commander, good news! A ship has arrived! A large ship from the Imperial Court has arrived!"
Zhang Zongyu was overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately boarded their steamship to head to Qiaojiatun at the mouth of the Ge River to welcome this year's new immigrants.
The transport fleet of the Beiyang Fleet of the Great Han Navy, carrying 5,000 new militia members as planned, has arrived at Qiaojiatun at the mouth of the Ge River.
After the fleet admiral met Zhang Zongyu on the flagship, he first had the captain who came with the ship read the imperial edict to Zhang Zongyu.
The imperial edict first commended Zhang Zongyu for his decisive actions last year, and then promoted him to Commander of the American Militia, giving him full authority over the current total of seven thousand militia households in the Americas.
In addition, all officers of the first batch of militiamen last year were promoted one rank to take over a portion of the new militiamen who arrived this year.
Of the 5,000 militia households this year, the number of officers is not fully staffed. This saves on the number of local officers and also leaves room for promotion for veteran officers from the Americas.
As promised, the first immigrants to the Americas would have the opportunity to become officers, and existing officers would be given priority for promotion.
After the imperial decree was read, the admiral of the Beiyang Fleet introduced this year's militia officers to Zhang Zongyu, asking Zhang Zongyu to decide how to place these new militiamen.
Zhang Zongyu made plans for this matter last winter.
Most importantly, as the future capital, Wenjiatun must first increase the number of militia households stationed there from 300 to 2,000.
The number of militia members stationed in the four important villages of First Village, Second Village, Third Village, and Lanli Village will be increased from two hundred to five hundred.
The other nine small villages all increased from one hundred households to three hundred households.
The remaining 300 militia members went to the southern end of the valley farmland where Wenjiatun was located to build a new village from scratch.
This new village serves as an intermediate point for further southward expansion along the river valley.
Following Zhang Zongyu's instructions, the Beiyang Fleet dispatched this year's immigrants to designated locations separately, and then transported the supplies brought on board ashore.
Besides a year's worth of grain as a precaution, the main items were various production tools such as sickles, hoes, and hoes.
Most importantly, a batch of general-purpose steam engines capable of burning wood could be used for the most time-consuming and physically demanding tasks such as sawing wood, grinding flour, and pumping water.
In addition, there was a batch of weapons, a batch of blanks for waist knives and gun barrels, and a batch of new rifles, gunpowder, and bullets.
There was also a batch of light field artillery and several new small steam-powered sailing ships.
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