The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 391 They Will Never Be Others’ Slaves Again

Qian Dazhao strolled along the streets of Guangzhou with his son Qian Dongyuan and his friends Zhang Fu and Chen Qiuze.

After they went south, they were placed in the Guangzhou Confucian Temple, waiting to be summoned by the emperor.

After adapting to the weather which was even hotter than that in the south of the Yangtze River, they also started to go out and wander around.

Then, what they saw on this trip was even more shocking than the experience they had after seeing the large ships overseas.

Because in the view of Qian Dazhao and others, no matter how powerful the ships are, they still cannot play a decisive role.

The fleet of Zhu Chenggong was powerful enough in the past, but in the end it was unable to stand on land and was driven into the water, and could only live in Dongning.

So when he saw the large sea ships, he just felt that Emperor Guangzhong's Dayu Dynasty was basically stable. If the mainland could not stand, he could still return to Southeast Asia.

When they walked on the streets of Guangzhou, Qian Dazhao couldn't help but feel excited, because he saw a whole new world that was completely different from Jiangnan.

Everyone here has a look of excitement and pride on their face, which is completely different from the lifeless Jiangnan under the suppression of the Qing Dynasty.

It seems as if each of these Cantonese people has a unique skill, they never have to worry about food and drink wherever they go, and they have complete control over their own destiny.

Well, of course they don’t have to worry about food and drink and can control their own destiny!
What is the equivalent of Guangdong and half of Fujian now? It is equivalent to them owning the entire Nanyang with the population of these one and a half provinces.

If Guangdong Province in future generations could include Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, half of Myanmar and most of Malaysia, then everyone would be able to control their own destiny.

Because they can vote with their feet.

What, you want to charge 30% rent for this land?
Go to hell! The tenant packed up his bags and took his entire family to Southeast Asia.

What? I work hard in your shop for a month and only get paid one or two taels of silver. Goodbye, I'll pack my bags and go to Southeast Asia.

After only six months, the migrant workers in Guangdong had learned a hard lesson from the landlords, factory owners, shopkeepers, restaurant owners, etc.

As a result, human resources are extremely valuable. The boss has to coax anyone with a little skill. Such an environment is of course full of vitality and makes people seem to be in control of their own destiny.

"Brother, I just counted. Among the 170 men who passed by us, almost all of them were carrying swords, and many of them were even carrying muskets. Doesn't Emperor Guangzhong care about this?" Chen Qiuze asked curiously.

Qian Dazhao was also a little surprised. Before he could think of how to answer, he heard a commotion coming from the alley ahead. Several people hurried over to take a look.

It turned out that at the end of the alley there was a high-walled courtyard, a building that looked like both a garden and a fortress.

Outside the courtyard wall, seven or eight strong men were holding a ladder, as if they were picking someone up from inside the high wall.

Is this, helping slaves escape secretly?

Several people from Jiangnan looked at each other in confusion. They didn't know whether they needed to report to the police when they saw such a thing in this foreign land.

"Someone's stealing! Someone's stealing!" At this moment, a fat man came into the alley from the small door in front of the high wall.

As soon as he saw the group of strong men sneaking around outside the wall and setting up a ladder to pick up people, he jumped up and shouted.

"Stealing people?" Zhang Fu, who barely knew some Cantonese, felt puzzled because he was going to Guangdong to sell tea.

Those people who were picked up from inside the wall were not women, but strong, dark-skinned young men. Even if they were looking for a pedophile, no one would look for one like this.

How can this be called stealing?
"Oh no, let's go, let's go!" When the 'stealers' saw that they were discovered, they panicked and wanted to take their people away immediately.

The ladder was also taken away with a loud noise, leaving only the black boy who had not yet come down from the courtyard wall, disheveled in the wind.

But it's too late.

"Woof woof woof!" A burst of fierce barking of vicious dogs suddenly arose, and then a large group of people rushed out from the high wall, holding dogs and knives and guns, and pounced on them to attack.

Qian Dazhao and others hurriedly took shelter on the side of the road, watching the two gangs fighting with swords and guns.

'Bang bang bang! '

'Bang bang bang! '

When they reached the entrance of the alley, gongs on both sides were beating, people were shouting everywhere, and more people joined in.

"Fuck you, it's your Qiangsheng Company again. Shameless, shameless, you come to steal people again!" The short and fat man who first discovered the theft was holding a musket and cursing at the opposite side.

"I am willing to pay three taels of silver a month to these craftsmen who are willing to go to Guangnan with me. What's it to you? If you have the ability, your Yicheng Company should also pay three taels a month." The one who was arguing with the short and fat man was a bald strong man.

When the short and fat man heard the figure of three taels per month, he felt a sharp pain in his heart. Their Yicheng Company only paid one tael and five cents a month. If they paid three taels, the labor cost would immediately double.

"Zheng Bald Donkey, stop talking about salary. I hired these craftsmen by paying for their travel expenses in Wuzhou.

I'll pay you whatever amount you want in Wuzhou, and it's none of your business. If you're brave enough, go to Wuzhou and recruit people yourself. What's the point of stealing?"

"Fatty Liang, you're an asshole. Everyone knows that your uncle, Mr. Liang Sanye, is the head of the Xijiang Hall. If I want to go to Wuzhou, do I need you?" Zheng Bald Donkey was so angry. The Liang family had the merit of following the dragon and entered Kunlun Mountain seven or eight years ago. Now they monopolized the waterway of Xijiang. He couldn't go to Wuzhou to recruit people at all.

"The Emperor has already issued a decree prohibiting the freedom of craftsmen. You're using high walls and vicious dogs to prevent craftsmen from leaving the house. That's a crime! I'm going to file a complaint against you before the Emperor!"

When Fatty Liang heard that someone was going to report him to the Emperor, a look of fear flashed across his face, which was then replaced by ferocity.

"Fuck you, there's no room for negotiation. Fourth and Fifth Brothers, call everyone over here and let these Teochews taste how powerful we Cantonese people are!"

Following Fatty Liang's loud roar, Qian Dazhao and the others were horrified to see at least thirty or forty thugs suddenly appear from the surrounding villages.

They quickly formed a fairly standard horizontal row, then took out their flintlock rifles and lined up.

Zhang Fu's eyes widened suddenly. This was too scary. A garrison battalion of the Zhejiang Green Camp probably only had these muskets.

"Okay! You bastard, you think we Chaozhou people are easy to bully, right?" Zheng Tulu roared and waved his hand. Dozens of Chaozhou thugs who had been lying in ambush jumped out from the hidden corners and quickly formed a neat horizontal row.

"Hurry, hurry and report to the police, there will soon be a river of blood here!" Chen Qiuze was so scared that his voice trembled, and he turned around to report to the police.

"No need to go. Which city in Jiangnan are you from?" Unexpectedly, a dark-skinned old Cantonese man next to him stopped Chen Qiuze.

"They can't fight. This isn't a battle. On a battlefield, you have to line up in rows. But here, if they really want to fight, they'll definitely spread out and use skirmish formations to fire cold shots."

"And." The dark-skinned old Cantonese pointed at the muskets held by the thugs from Johnson & Johnson and Yicheng Company.

"These are imitations of the English Brown Bess short-barreled smoothbore rifles. They're not very accurate when they're scattered. If you want to fire a cold shot, you have to use the Feijiangjun rifle, which was produced in the second year of Xingtang at the Jiading Royal Arsenal."

The four of them were stunned by what they heard. Qian Dazhao asked hesitantly, "But even so, with nearly a hundred muskets, is it really not necessary to report this to the authorities?"

"No need, this is just the beginning. Last time, the Qiangsheng Company was trying to steal the craftsmen from someone else and even pulled out the three-pound cannon. The Emperor was so angry that he drove them away to Guangnan. This time, they were about to leave, so they came here specifically to steal other people's craftsmen."

When the four heard this, they felt their worldviews shattered. In the Qing Dynasty, even the Green Camp was not allowed to equip artillery, and even the garrisoned Eight Banners were not allowed to cast artillery. All artillery was cast in the capital and would only be distributed to the various armies when a war was about to break out.

In Guangzhou, a small trading company can pull out artillery and have dozens of musketeers, which looks quite elite. How powerful must Dayu's Xing Tang Army be?

They soon saw it. Not long after, a burst of orderly footsteps was heard, and at least two or three hundred soldiers wearing red round-necked battle robes and vermilion lacquered helmets with the word "Yong" on them arrived.

When Johnson & Johnson and Yicheng saw each other, they were like mice seeing a cat. They stopped cursing and shouting, and they consciously dropped their muskets and were surrounded in a corner to await their fate.

"Oh, this has angered His Majesty. The ones coming are the Heavenly Soldiers from the Yuan Cong Guards. Baldy Zheng and Fatty Liang are in trouble now."

The well-informed Hei Laoguang finally showed a look of surprise on his face, and then he looked at the four people.

"Four old men, do you have any way to find some weavers in Jiangnan who are willing to go abroad to Southeast Asia? If so, I will give each of you a commission of two taels of silver."

"Damn, I thought this old Cantonese guy was a good person, but it turns out he's also into human trafficking."

Qian Dazhao's face turned cold, and he quickly shook his head, "No, no, we came to Guangzhou to study, we don't know anything else."

"Alas, you people from Wu still don't know that the world has changed. You have mountains of gold and silver but don't know how to make money." The well-informed old Cantonese shook his head and handed Qian Dazhao a business card.

"This is my business card. There's always someone at the shop at the address. If you think this business is worth doing, just come find me anytime."

When Lao Guang walked away, the four of them came over to take a look and saw the words "Guangli Textile Company, Lu Guanheng" written on it.

With so many things happening, the four of them lost interest in wandering around. They didn't even realize they were almost in Foshan.

Qian Dazhao looked at the business card in his hand and suddenly smiled nervously. The three people were puzzled by his smile and were about to ask questions when Qian Dazhao suddenly swung his fist and showed the business card to them again.

"The Tartars are going to be finished, the Tartars are going to be finished, hahaha!" Qian Dazhao became more and more excited as he spoke, "Look, even a mere merchant knows how to deploy troops and when to use which muskets.

Just two businesses fighting over a craftsman would mobilize hundreds of musketeers and even cannons. Almost every male on the street was armed with a blade.

This shows that Dayu's martial virtues have begun to spread from the army to the people. From now on, even in Guangzhou, tens of thousands of musketeers and sword and shield soldiers can be mobilized immediately. The Tartars will no longer be able to easily capture Guangzhou."

"Yes!" Zhang Fu stroked his short beard and said, "This is exactly the martial spirit of the Han people!
And I looked at the people on the street. They were all full of energy and high-spirited. They did not have the banner masters who were domineering over them, nor would they be treated as traitors for a few wrong words.

Today, they have become accustomed to this kind of freedom, and in the future they will never again willingly allow themselves to be oppressed by the Tartars. Naturally, the Tartars will no longer be able to oppress them."

"This trip is worth it. If the people of Jiangnan can be like the people of Fujian and Guangdong, then millions of people will be reborn.

The Tartars are only a handful, and we can drown them with just a spit from each of us." Chen Qiuze exclaimed in admiration.

Qian Dazhao extended his hand. "Brother Zhang, Brother Chen, when we return, we must show the other princes from Jiangnan who came with us the changes in Guangzhou. The next day, we can mobilize our Han men in Jiangnan to lead the way, drive out the Tartars, and rebuild the country!"

"Drive out the Tartars and restore the country!" Zhang Fu, Chen Qiuze and Qian Dazhao held hands tightly together.

Beside him, fifteen-year-old Qian Dongyuan looked at him and seemed to want to reach out his hand, but when he thought of his father Qian Dazhao who dared to say words like "you and I are brothers", he could only watch and smile foolishly.

(End of this chapter)