Another World: Naval Storm

"General, she is very beautiful!" Dawson said softly.

The voice startled Leo, "Wow... When did you get here?"

"We have arrived a long time ago, but the general didn't notice it!"

"Haha, the food here in Dawson is great, you should eat more!" Leo changed the subject with an embarrassed look on his face.

"Leo here..." Governor Paul called out to get Leo away from Dawson.

"What do you think of Qifeng Port?"

"Very good. As the Empire's only deep-water port in the Far East, Qifeng Port meets all the fleet's needs."

"How does Qifenggang compare to Ma Shijin?" Governor Paul has been paying close attention to the progress of the war since the outbreak of the Romanian-Japanese War.

"There is no comparison! There are less than 5000 troops stationed in Qifeng Port now, but there were tens of thousands of troops in Mashijin! More than artillery pieces!" Leo answered the question truthfully. The Luosha people invested a huge amount of money in Mashijin. Although Qifeng Port is the only home port of the Drake Navy in the Far East, its construction is limited.

"I'm very worried. The Empire is in conflict with Taren, and the Japanese are dogs raised by the Taren people. Once the war breaks out, they may unite to attack Qifeng Port!" Governor Paul was a little worried.

"Yes, I have this concern as well. But the empire's firepower is limited, and the main enemy is still on the Onebaroa continent. The Far East can only invest a limited amount!"

"Yes, but I will still apply for some funds to strengthen the defense of Qifeng Port! We don't know when the war will break out, or maybe the war will never come. Don't think about it, Qifeng is very glad that you are here, cheers." Governor Paul relaxed his brows and clinked glasses with Leo.

After drinking a glass of wine, Leo listened to Governor Paul talking about the customs and culture of Xunyang.

"You know what? Xunyang is a country with great potential, but its rulers are extremely stupid. Just like Qingzhou, where Qi Feng belongs, has many such people."

The Qingzhou Kong family, a prestigious family of scholars with a history of 72 generations, welcomed the portrait of Emperor Drake into the Kong Mansion with drums and gongs and enshrined it.

You should know that this is not the first time that Kongfu has enshrined portraits of foreign heads of state. The year before, Konglingyi of Kongfu had already enshrined the portrait of King Tarun in Kongfu.

"What's going on? Do you think His Majesty is a god?"

"It shouldn't be. The ancestors of the Kong Mansion seem to have said that there are no ghosts or gods in this world. I forgot what they said. Xunyang dialect is sometimes difficult to understand!"

"Does this family want to get closer to us and do things for us?"

"Not really. This family has no real power, but it is very prestigious in Qingzhou and even in Xunyang. It is said that it has been passed down for 72 generations, and the bloodline has never been cut off. This is longer than the royal inheritance of many countries in the Onebaroa continent."

"Seventy-two generations of family slaves? Twenty-five dynasties of traitors?" Leo blurted out. Isn't this the same as the family in the previous life?

"What? I didn't understand?" Governor Paul looked confused.

"Nothing, Your Excellency the Governor! I mean this family has no principles and likes to rely on the strong!"

Governor Paul thought about it and realized that this was indeed the case, but he didn't say anything. After all, such things were very common in the continent of Onebaroa.

"You came at the right time. We have just built a floating dock. The warships of the fleet can be effectively maintained! No need to travel a long distance back to the homeland." Governor Paul was talking about the largest floating dock in the Far East built by the Drakes in Qifeng Port. The dock is 125 meters long, 39 meters wide outside, 30 meters wide inside, and 13 meters deep. It is equipped with a crane that can lift 150 tons and deliver it to a distance of 12 meters.

"In order to make up for the funding gap in the construction of Qifeng, we also signed a new treaty with the Xunyang government." Governor Paul showed off his achievements.

Xunde signed the "Qifeng Customs Taxation Modification Regulations", which stipulated that the duty-free zone of the Drake Concession was limited to the vicinity of the dock, and the Xunyang government allowed 20% of the customs import tax to subsidize the concession expenses every year. The next day, Governor Paul promulgated the "Qifengde Taxation Regulations".

The leasehold authorities imposed high taxes and a monopoly on opium, and handed over the right to import and sell opium in Drake to a Chinese businessman named Liu Zishan. Liu Zishan opened the Yanshiguan Paste Bureau on Yanjing Road and openly sold opium.

"Sir, I will not allow my subordinates to come into contact with opium. If anyone dares to sell it to Drake soldiers, I will punish them severely!" Leo said righteously.

"Of course, General. Although the whole world is dumping opium into Xunyang, it is better for our own people not to eat it!" Governor Paul agreed.

Since the Tarun people invented it, they have been smuggling opium crazily, causing the people of Xunyang to be deeply poisoned by opium, and the Tarun people themselves are also abusing it.

He even shamelessly praised it, "Opium is God's gift to mankind. No medicine can compare to it in controlling or treating diseases." It's really disgusting.

You have to know that the price of a pound of bread in Talen at that time was about 2.1 pence, which means that the price of a bottle of opium was not even as much as the price of a pound of bread.

Buying opium tincture is as convenient as buying cigarettes in a convenience store now. In fact, the widespread use of opium is also related to the cruel exploitation of the Talen capitalists at that time.

At that time, there was no eight-hour work system and no concept of labor protection. The factory environment was extremely poor and workers often worked more than 8 hours a day, sometimes even 12-14 hours, but their income was negligible.

Long hours of hard work and lack of time to relax made opium their first choice, and slum mothers, nannies and orphanages even used opium to calm their children. They didn't know that this was ruining their children's lives, and many children died in their sleep.

The Talens produced a kind of children's candy containing opium, which was disgusting. In the army, opium and laudanum were also widely used. For the rich and nobles, they directly added opium to wine and juice and enjoyed the intoxication.

It is not new for Taren literary and artistic workers and scholars to smoke opium to find creative inspiration. Some Taren prose writers even wrote a book called "Confessions", which describes in detail the wonderful feelings after smoking opium, which has led many readers to follow suit and even test the drug themselves to experience the ecstasy described in the book. Leo watched a lot of legal education programs in his previous life. Once you stop taking it, you will become a demon. There are many people who commit suicide without recognizing their relatives!

Leo heard about Tarun's situation from Liam, and he was helpless. Not many people in this world realize the harm of opium. Liam thought that it was only a minority and it would not affect the operation and health of a country.

Leo scoffed at this. What they discovered now was only the surface. There must be fus everywhere in the dark. He could only ensure that his subordinates would not become addicted to drugs.

Thinking of the curse of Empress Dowager Cixi in the previous life, there is also an old empress dowager in this world. Will she also be cursed? Leo couldn't help but shudder.