I want to be emperor

Chapter 1099 East London

The west gate of the Chu Concession in London was still a wilderness before the Chu people arrived. The same place where the Chu Concession was located was actually a wilderness before the Chu people arrived.

But this wilderness area has undergone drastic changes in a short period of time... As the Chu people established the London Concession area, they began to build large-scale construction in the concession, building military camps, fortresses, warehouses and many residences.

A piece of wilderness outside the west gate of the concession also rose rapidly in this wave.

At the beginning, there were just a lot of indigenous people setting up stalls here to sell some fruits and vegetables and specialties... Because the Chu people in the concession and the indigenous people working for the Chu people had very rich pockets and had strong purchasing power... The indigenous people The businessmen there naturally came here after smelling the smell. They set up stalls at first, and then purchased land to build shops here.

Soon, some big businessmen and even dignitaries among the indigenous people began to build commercial buildings and set up offices here in order to facilitate business and contact with the Chu people!

Even the officials of the Kingdom of England set up an office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs outside the West Gate to facilitate nearby contact with the people of Chu, and the Foreign Secretary of the Kingdom of England was stationed here all year round.

As the buildings in this area increased and the population increased, the Kingdom of England also established administrative agencies here and established a very special city: the City of East London.

This newly emerged city of East London has only been in the early ten years since it was a wilderness. However, its population has exceeded that of the old city of London, and its economic data in all aspects has also exceeded that of the old city of London. Many Most of the wealthy people in the Kingdom of England gathered here to build their own villas, mansions and estates.

On the one hand, this place is developing too fast and there are better opportunities here.

On the other hand, it is also because this place is close to the Chu State Concession, so it can be greatly guaranteed in terms of safety... It is assumed that there will be a civil war within the Kingdom of England in the future, or that armies from the Kingdom of Wales, the Kingdom of Scotland and other countries in the north will come to London. Then the only safe place is probably the city of East London, and the closer it is to the Chu Concession, the safer it is.

When the Chu people saw it, they were dumbfounded... In just two years, their concession was surrounded by a large number of indigenous people.

The original intention of the Chu people was to ensure the safety of concessions or other administrative territories adjacent to indigenous territories, and to avoid accidental injuries caused by wars between indigenous peoples.

However, these places still belong to the vassal states in terms of sovereignty and even management rights.

So good that the Kingdom of England wanted to move the entire kingdom's administrative agencies into it... but was rejected by the Chu people... Damn, you've moved the political center of the kingdom here, aren't you trying to force your way into my lap? Avoid being attacked by rebels, external enemies?

The Chu people will not let you take advantage of this. With a piece of paper, except for the local administrative structure and diplomatic institutions in East London, other institutions are not allowed to enter the demilitarized zone... and the king is not allowed to stay permanently.

Because... no rebels or troops from other countries dare to fight close to the Chu State Concession. If you are not careful, the bullets and cannonballs will fly over the concession boundary and then fall into the Chu State Concession. Here, the Chu people were going to go crazy on the spot and massacre the chaotic indigenous army.

Today, East London has actually become the most populous and most developed city in the Kingdom of England... better than the neighboring Old Town of London.

Then... the foreign legion of the Chu army stationed in the concession directly killed them, killing thousands of indigenous soldiers from both sides of the war, including the noble generals who led the army. Except for a few lucky ones who escaped, the remaining one Many of them were slaughtered... The Chu people followed the ancient tradition and put up two landscapes outside the concession... one for the rebels and one for the Austrian royal army.

Contemporary East London is a very deformed city that developed under special historical conditions!

How disgusting is that!

Especially the commercial buildings built here by some Chu businessmen, they are basically modern buildings after the industrialization of Chu... well, they are actually square, multi-story masonry and cement buildings.

This also leads to the unique status of a city like East London...because it is the only city in the demilitarized zone recognized by the Chu people in the London Concession area.

Subsequently, in order to prevent the indigenous troops from continuing to fight near the concession and causing accidental injuries, the European governor of the Chu State issued a special authorization order, allowing the Chu army stationed in various places to take active defense measures to attack those who appeared within five kilometers of the boundary line of the concession. The indigenous troops within the concession carried out preemptive strikes and signed supplementary agreements with various indigenous countries, requiring that the five kilometers surrounding the concession be established as a 'demilitarized zone' and no troops could be stationed.

From then on, no indigenous army dared to start a war near the Chu concession. Let alone a war, they did not even dare to get closer than five kilometers... Because as long as you dare to get close, the Chu people will just take the rear equipment without saying a word. Rifled cannon to blow you up...

At the same time, because only established cities and areas are recognized, the urban area of ​​East London in the demilitarized zone is also limited. There is only a strip of five kilometers wide and about four kilometers long, and it is not allowed to continue to other demilitarized zones. Expand.

But this has also led to a ridiculous consequence... that is, many indigenous people, even the rich and powerful, have gathered to live in the demilitarized zone within five kilometers of the border line of the Chu concession... Because of this This kind of place, in the eyes of the natives, is a very safe zone: a safe zone protected by the force of the Chu Empire...

Regardless of its administrative status, even the buildings here are similar... because in East London, there are a large number of industrial-style buildings from Chu State and even many traditional Chinese-style buildings.

This kind of thing has not happened before... It happened in Austria. After the Chu people entered the Austrian region, the arrival of the Chu people shook the local ruling foundation of the Habsburg family. Rebellions occurred frequently... Once the rebels were so fierce that they attacked Vienna directly and fought with the Austrian army near the Chu concession... During this period, artillery shells fell into the Chu concession, causing several Chu people to watch the excitement. People get hurt.

Therefore, within two years, the empire issued corresponding policy patches and signed new supplementary agreements with various countries. In addition to recognizing a small number of indigenous cities in the established concession boundaries, subsequent indigenous people are not allowed to establish cities, villages, etc. near the concession. In a population gathering place, the construction of buildings in the demilitarized zone within five kilometers requires the approval of the Chu people before they can be built... If they are built without approval, the Chu artillerymen who are bored in the concession will regard these illegal buildings as illegal buildings. Targets for gunnery training.

The Chu people don’t care who you are or what the cause is... As long as the fighting happens around the concession and bullets and artillery shells fall into the concession, the Chu people will just kill you... regardless of whether you are a rebel or not. It was still the royal army, and everyone who appeared on the nearby battlefield was killed.

After this limited the scope, land prices in East London have also been rising... and at the same time, more people from the Kingdom of England have been attracted to live and work here.

In the end, this led to cities like East London that developed close to the Chu Concession... The scale was actually not large, because the distance between the demilitarized zone and the demilitarized zone was only five kilometers, but in order to obtain security guarantees, they basically surrounded Chu State. The construction was carried out in the state concession... This is actually very extra. It is to build an indigenous living area only five kilometers wide around the concession of the Chu people.

By the way, most of the land in East London does not actually belong to the English, but to the speculators who are Chu businessmen... The houses built by the Chu people are naturally Chu style houses.

When the city of East London first took shape, many businessmen from Chu State took a fancy to the business potential of this place, and then purchased large tracts of land to build houses for rent and sale... The largest real estate businessman in East London, Not from England, but from Chu...

Although the mayor of East London is said to be an Englishman appointed by the King of England, in fact the members of the committee responsible for urban planning and development of East London are all Chu people...

The reason why East London was able to be retained was largely because these Chu businessmen who owned a large amount of assets in East London lobbied and persuaded the local Chu officials to acknowledge the established facts...otherwise If this happens, these Chu businessmen who have hoarded large amounts of land and real estate will suffer heavy losses.

However, the Chu people own a large amount of assets here and dominate the development of this East London city. To a certain extent, they also ensure the development and safety of this city... It also gives many people in England a chance to seek better jobs and a A place with a better living environment!

There are gains and losses!

This city of East London has become a place where many ordinary English people seek survival and pursue their dreams in life.

John Taylor is one of many people who came to East London from other places to pursue their dreams!

John, who was born in the south of England, did not come from a very low-income background. His father was a small businessman and was not very wealthy, but he was able to ensure that John and other family members had a stable life and received a basic education.

When John was growing up, it was also the time of greatest and most intense changes in England!

After the Chu people came to the British Islands, the entire British Islands ushered in a more drastic change than during the War of the Roses... This change does not mean how many people were killed or injured. In fact, when the Chu people came, although they launched a war , but it did not cause too many casualties to the local civilians... It was not that the people of Chu were kind, but that the fighting power was too strong, and the original English resistance army was defeated in a few seconds.

Because the war started and ended quickly, the war launched when the Chu people came actually had a very limited impact on the local ordinary people.

Later, England was divided into five kingdoms, and there was a war between the Kingdom of Wales and the Kingdom of England. However, the scale of this war was actually relatively limited. It was mainly limited to military battles. The armies of both sides did not penetrate into each other's territory. hinterland, causing massive casualties. The invasion of the Chu people, the division of the British Empire, the war within the British Empire, etc... These actually did not have much impact on the ordinary people in the area.

What really had a big impact was the series of economic policies implemented by the Chu people after they came... The Chu people regarded the British area as a mineral mining area, a sheep herding area, etc., and then almost completely destroyed the original local economic ecology... In the early days, potatoes from Africa, which were cheap and large in quantity, directly destroyed the grain farming economy in the British region... directly prompted the landowners in the British region, that is, the nobles, to start planting large amounts of pasture and raising sheep...

Then a very interesting situation emerged, that is, the British region quickly fell into a food shortage situation... A large amount of land was used to raise sheep. If there was no land to grow food, there would naturally be a food shortage.

At this time, the grain merchants of Chu State began to regulate grain prices, the price of wool purchase...

Now, the aristocratic landowners in the British area have raised a large amount of land to raise sheep and then sell the wool, but the income obtained is actually far less than it was in the past. It can only be said to be barely okay... At the same time, the price of food in the British area is also rising year by year.

At this time, if those landowners want to go back to growing food... it will not be that easy. It has been interrupted for about ten years, and now if you want to farm, you can't even find farmers who are skilled in cultivating the land.

And if you dare to grow food, the Chu people will tell you what the market economy is... If you can't play the market economy, the Chu businessmen will also let you know what the political economy is!

If the political economy is not good enough, the Chu businessmen will let you know what military economy is...

In the global economic system of the Great Chu Empire, a place positioned as a production area for wool supply, coal, and iron ore supply. If you dare to grow food on a large scale, you simply don't take the Chu people seriously...

The people of Chu will change kings in minutes. If that doesn't work, the foreign legions will quickly appear and tell you with guns and cannons: This land can be used for grazing sheep and mining, but it can't be planted on a large scale. food!

The "global economic integration", a basic national policy formulated by the senior leaders of the Da Chu Empire and related to the next hundreds of years, is no joke!

According to the geographical and climatic conditions of each region, the Chu people promoted the local single economy and obtained maximum benefits. At the same time, they could also deeply bind these vassal states and even administrative orders and directly governed territories economically.

For this basic national policy, let alone a vassal state, even administrative territories must cooperate with a high degree of cooperation, and even directly governed territories must cooperate...

Of course, the promotion of economic integration in directly-administered territories relies more on policy guidance and support rather than coercive means.

However, the administrative territories and vassal states... adopt an economic integration policy that is not mandatory on the surface but is actually mandatory... The empire has planned to grow cotton in your area based on global conditions, so you can only grow cotton in this area. Cotton is the main crop, and other crops can be planted, but the proportion of cotton planting must be maintained at a relatively high level.

This global economic integration policy has naturally gained a lot of benefits for the Chu Empire itself. Various agricultural, livestock, mineral and other raw materials are gradually produced from various administrative territories and vassal states, and then used by the empire's 700 million people. .

But for the vassal states, this is not a good thing.

For example, the Kingdom of England... From the perspective of local agricultural conditions, they should not be short of food... But unfortunately, in the 51st year of Chengshun, the Kingdom's food self-sufficiency rate is only about 60%, and the remaining Forty percent of the food below needs to be imported from the global economic system of the Great Chu Empire, mainly wheat from France and potatoes from Africa.

And these cross-regional grain trades are controlled by Chu merchants... Aboriginal merchants cannot participate at all, how can I put it?

For example, the local aristocrats in France produce a large amount of grain. However, in addition to selling it locally, if they want to sell it on a large scale to the outside world, if they want to sell it to the British area, they must sell the grain to Chu State. Merchants themselves cannot export directly to the British area.

As for the reason, it's actually very simple... they can't transport it!

The railways belong to the Chu people, and the ships belong to the Chu people... You want to transport the grain to the port, and then ship it to England. You are blinding the Chu grain merchants who are active in France... I'll be stumbling upon you in a matter of minutes.

In fact, this was still an early method. Later, active grain merchants in Europe collectively petitioned the European governors to ban railways and ships to provide grain transportation services for Chu grain enterprises... In other words, No transportation services could be provided to indigenous grain merchants.

What does a European governor do? It was to protect these businessmen... so relevant policies were quickly introduced... Starting from the 45th year of Chengshun, railways and ships in Europe were not allowed to provide grain transportation services for non-Chu grain companies.

Therefore, the grain merchants of the Chu Empire completely controlled the cross-regional grain trade in Europe, and had nothing to do with the indigenous merchants.

In this way, the people of Chu basically have the final say as to what the price of grain should be in a region... In order to better regulate grain prices in various regions in Europe, the European Branch of the Da Chu Empire Grain Corporation took the lead, and worked with the Second More than a dozen active grain companies in Europe have formed the European Grain Merchants Association to uniformly plan grain prices in various regions.

It sounds nice to say that it is to stabilize food prices, but in fact it is to better harvest the wealth of Europe!

Controlling the output, transportation, and sales of core livelihood commodities such as grain and cloth in the vassal country... is also an important feature of the economic integration of the Great Chu Empire!

And this kind of economic integration has brought drastic changes to countries in Europe that have not been seen in thousands of years... As for whether it is good or bad for the local people, it is hard to say, you can't say... The population of Europe is actually There has been an increase in the past ten years, which can be said to be an extremely rare situation in the process of Chu State's external expansion.

The Chu people are not good people. They have been in the Americas for decades, and now there are no natives in the Americas... The local population structure is no different from that in East Asia.

The Chu people went to Africa... It’s hard to tell in detail. I can only describe the current results. The population in Africa is now about half less than it was twenty years ago, and it is still growing at an abnormal and extreme speed. Disappearing quickly... In contemporary Africa, if you want to find local indigenous free people, you can only go to the inland areas of Africa to find them. You can hardly find them in coastal areas...

But in Europe... the local population did not decrease on a large scale, but actually increased. This incident was once reported by domestic newspapers, attracting some people who did not understand global economic integration and Europe's economic position in economic integration. He violently criticized the current Minister of Counselor who is in charge of European affairs... saying that he acts like a woman, and then shouted that people who are not my race must have different hearts and want a pure Europe.

Many people were speechless after hearing this... Damn, just because you were more ruthless in the Americas and Africa, there are only Europeans, a few West Asians, and some Indians left. You killed them all. , who will farm, mine and serve you, a low-level loser in the Chu Kingdom?

Economic integration, from the perspective of ordinary people at the lowest level in Europe, is actually a good thing... at least they can survive.

Otherwise... the people of Chu will continue to do the same thing of not giving up the land but the people!

Even if it were Chu people themselves, many people would turn away and dare not look at it... Of course, it is one thing to not dare to look at it, but it is absolutely impossible for them to object to it.

Nowadays, the remaining indigenous people on the earth have to thank the Chu Empire for quickly entering the second industrial revolution. As a result, the Chu people no longer have such a desire for land, but instead have a strong need for various raw materials. And these raw materials require a lot of labor to grow and mine...

In other words, in addition to the indigenous people in primitive tribal status, the existing indigenous people in these civilized countries are still valuable in the eyes of the Chu people... even if it is only the most basic labor value.

If the Chu people don't even value the labor of these indigenous people... then the scene... tsk tsk... I don't dare to think about it!

During the process of colonial expansion, the moral bottom line of the Chu people was lower than modern people imagine...

Of course, this is lower. It is only judged from the perspective of later generations. If it is judged by the moral level of the seventeenth century, it is actually nothing. It is probably about the same moral standard as the previous European colonists. There is no one who is better. The question is who is worse.

How the European colonists did it in the past is how the Chu people do it now... There is no essential difference between the two.

Well, similarly, the current set of economic measures implemented by the Chu people in Europe were actually started by European colonists, and they continued until the 20th century, and even remain in the 21st century... For example... West Africa.

You can't see anything on the surface, but in fact it's still the same as before, but the methods are more secretive and difficult for the public to detect.

You think Luo Zhixue is innovating... In fact, he is just a porter, copying the colonial methods of the Europeans in the original time and space.

(End of this chapter)