The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 371 "Do you yearn for freedom?"

"Freedom? There has never been any freedom in this world that is not subject to any constraints or controls. Moreover, the price of freedom is very high, even at the cost of one's life."

In a luxurious manor outside Huining City (now Cape Town), a welcome dinner was being held to entertain several guests from the Kingdom of Qing.

The owner of the manor is Wang Qianming, the second dean of Nanhua University, which was established only eight years ago. He is a scholar highly respected by the world. He once served as the deputy dean of Southeast University in Daxing, Hanzhou. He has old friends in both political and economic circles in Qi State, and his students are all over the world.

Yan Dexuan, who came from Qing State, graduated from Southeast University more than ten years ago. Although he was not a student of Wang Qianming, they were from the same school after all, so there was some relationship between them.

Therefore, after settling down in Huining City for a while, he took a few companions who had fled from Qing State together, bought some gifts, rented a carriage and came to visit his former university teachers.

Wang Qian was obviously very happy about the visit of these students. He immediately held a welcoming banquet for them and invited many scholars and professors in Huining City to join them.

Although he did not quite agree with their decision to leave after failing to persuade Qing State to abolish slavery, he was overjoyed when they hinted that they wanted to find a university teaching position in Qianzhou.

The newly established University of Nanhua has a huge demand for all kinds of professionals in order to improve its teaching level and expand its educational scale. As long as they have local university experience, they will accept anyone.

Not to mention that these people are from Southeast University and can be considered his direct students, so he should recruit them to help him.

By the way, the University of Nanhua invited me to be the Dean of Academics, wasn't it just to make use of my extensive network of educational contacts?
At the banquet, many scholars and professors talked about education, academics, economics, and finally the current affairs of the empire. Then the topic shifted to the issue of abolition.

When Yan Dexuan mentioned the argument of equality of all beings and freedom of all people, Wang Qianming's third son, Wang Yuancheng, a lieutenant colonel in the navy, strongly disagreed with this.

"Decades ago, the theory of evolution stated that the fittest survive through natural selection. This not only talks about the development and competition of all things in the world, but can also be described as the evolution and change of our human civilization. Those who do not compete and are self-contained will eventually be eliminated and disappear in the long river of history. This is true for countries, nations, and people all over the world. Mr. Yan, when you liberated or released those slaves, did you ever think about why they became slaves?"

"Isn't it that they bully the weak and take them as slaves?"

"If no one had forced them into slavery, they would have been able to live freely and...prosperously?"

“Does poverty and backwardness necessarily mean enslavement and exploitation?”

"Whether it's animals or humans, in order to survive and reproduce, they must adapt to and take advantage of drastic changes in the environment. As for those individuals who cannot adapt to the environment, they will naturally be eliminated."

"If the situation were reversed, and our Great Qi declined and fell behind at some point in the future, would we also have to accept slavery and oppression?"

"Of course." Wang Yuancheng said proudly, "But the swords of our Great Qi will continue to be sharpened, and we will never let the empire fall into decline and backwardness."

"Captain Wang." Yan Dexuan took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "There is no dynasty that will never prosper, nor an empire that will never fall in this world. We, the Great Qi, should take advantage of this moment of powerful world discourse power to establish a global order of harmonious coexistence for the entire world and all mankind, where the strong will not bully, the weak will not be humiliated, all people will be equal, and all races will be integrated."

"Mr. Yan..., you are too idealistic!"

Wang Yuancheng felt that this person was indeed too pedantic and could not understand the background and trend of this era.

Today, it is an era of great contention, just like a jungle wilderness. The relationship between countries and nations is as naked as that between wild animals, killing and fighting each other and competing with each other.

In this situation, there is never any place for the weak. Civilization and morality are the excuses of the weak, while conquest and plunder are the logic of the strong.

An ignorant and backward nation or race is ultimately doomed to be subordinate or extinct.

In the agricultural age, barbaric nations could easily conquer advanced civilizations such as the Jin, Mongolia, and even the later Qing Dynasty by relying on their many advantages such as horse riding and archery and the mobility of horses.

But in today's industrial age, barbaric nations can only endure the arbitrary attacks of advanced civilizations.

"If you fall behind, you will be beaten!"
Whether it is backward technology or backward civilization, it is both the result of being beaten and the reason for being beaten.

At this time, as long as violence is developed sufficiently, one naturally has the legal right to conquer and enslave others.

As an ancient once said, "If I am in a big country and do not attack small countries, how can I be great?"
Is it really necessary to "send warmth" to those ignorant and backward countries and nations, and enthusiastically help them develop productivity so that they can live a happy and free life?
Give me a break!

Even Mencius, who was famous for his benevolence and righteousness, once said, "If it is an official of heaven, then it can be attacked."

Take Africa, a chaotic, ignorant and backward continent, for example. It has no value worth mentioning. Most of the people here are illiterate and believe in natural objects. They seem to be no different from the beasts in the jungle and grassland.

Their customs sound childish, meaningless, even offensive, and the languages ​​are so useless and obscure that few people bother to learn any of them.

African art, in the form of ambiguous legends of desire or the stylized and bizarrely ugly mask art of Ife, looks very inferior.

When the Qi people arrived in Africa, they were all shocked by how cruel, lustful and shameless the people there were. Many people believed that this continent was inherently inferior, like an unevolved world, where the empire could scribble and copy at will.

This place, you want to give them freedom and equality?
Do they know how to write these two words?

"Afu, if we redeem you and release you as a free man, would you be willing?"

The argument between Wang Yuancheng and Yan Dexuan was sternly stopped by his father, who then left the table angrily.

When he passed Ah Fu, the servant who was waiting on guests in the corridor, he suddenly stopped and turned to ask him, "Third Young Master, is it possible that the master is not satisfied with Ah Fu's service?" Upon hearing this, Ah Fu looked a little uneasy.

Afu is a Khoisan man. Five years ago, he was "hired long-term" by the Wang family for 35 yuan to serve the daily life of Wang Qianming, who was nearly 60 years old. He has a gentle personality and is extremely hardworking, and is deeply trusted by his master.

However, he did not expect that when the eldest master was hosting a banquet today, the majestic third young master actually asked him if he was willing to redeem himself and leave.

This inevitably made this cautious servant feel a little inexplicably panic.

What? The master doesn’t want me anymore?
Before the Qi people took over Huining and surrounding areas, the Khoisan people had been living a life worse than that of cattle and horses. They were hunted and enslaved by the Dutch colonists, and were even given an extremely insulting name, Hottentots (meaning a stupid person with a dull mouth and a slow tongue).

Under the massacre of the Dutch (and of course, the large number of plagues and infectious diseases brought by the colonists), the Khoisan people, who once numbered more than 100,000, were reduced to only more than 10,000 people. They were all driven out of their homes and forced to move to the barren northern desert area.

Twelve years ago, when the Dutch handed over Huining to the State of Qi, they ended their more than sixty years of colonial history in South Africa, and the Khoisan people, who were almost on the verge of extinction, ushered in a major turning point.

It may be because their facial features are close to oriental features, and their skin color is not nearly as dark as that of typical African ethnic groups. At the same time, in order to dilute the nearly 10,000 European immigrants, the new masters regarded the Khoisan people as an ethnic group that could be absorbed and naturalized, and brought them under their rule for grazing, mine development and various infrastructure construction.

Although these Khoisan people were still forced by the colonial authorities of Qi to do the hardest and most arduous work, at least they did not have to worry about being slaughtered at will and could barely get enough to eat. Compared with their situation under Dutch rule, this was a tremendous change.

The only thing that made them complain was that the labor of the Qi people seemed to have no end. There was construction everywhere, as if they wanted to completely change the face of the entire Huining area.

It is speechless to say that the Dutch East India Company colonized here for decades, but did not build any major infrastructure projects in the area. Not to mention the roads leading to the various immigrant settlements, even the most basic urban sewer network was not built. Except for the Governor's Mansion and a few dozen luxurious mansions of senior staff and wealthy businessmen, the entire colonial outpost was full of shabby houses, and even many immigrants' houses were built with adobe mud, which made people complain.

In order to squeeze out every penny of profit, the Dutch East India Company was so stingy that it was unwilling to invest too much in urban construction.

Can you imagine? Such a critical strategic point only has two artillery batteries and a pitiful six guns. With such armaments, even ordinary pirates would not be able to deal with it.

But the Dutch also said that since the Qi people in South Africa are so powerful, it doesn't matter whether I have weapons or not. If Cape Town is besieged by hostile forces, will you Qi people just watch it die?

Besides, you Qi people have been coveting the Cape Town colony for a long time. Why should our Dutch East India Company spend that much money on its construction?

It was built beautifully, but in the end it will benefit you people of Qi?

Due to the Dutch's lazy governance, or inaction, the Qi people had to start from scratch after taking over Cape Town and carried out a large-scale demolition and reconstruction of the entire city in the hope of turning it into a colonial territory with Qi characteristics.

Compared to engaging in heavy infrastructure construction projects, becoming a servant of a wealthy family is definitely the best choice for the Khoisan people. Not only is the work light, but also there is no worry about food and clothing, which is simply a paradise-like life.

Therefore, after being "hired" by the Wang family, Ah Fu never dared to slack off and served his master wholeheartedly, hoping to live such a wonderful life forever.

"Don't you yearn to be a free man?" Wang Yuancheng continued to ask with a smile.

"Afu doesn't want to be a free man." Afu shook his head and said, "Afu hopes to serve the master for the rest of his life. If Afu gets old, my children will continue to serve the master on my behalf."

What a joke! If I become a free man, who will give me food to eat and clothes to wear? Am I going to dig garbage in the city and eat sand in the wild?

"That's right. Since you have chosen to survive, freedom is a luxury for you." Wang Yuancheng shook his head, ignored Ah Fu, and left the banquet hall.
-
The Cape of Good Hope, the southernmost tip of the African continent, is one of the most magnificent capes in the world. It is a wild and magnificent place covered with rocks and wind-eroded landforms. Baboons and antelopes run in the wilderness, and seabirds circle in the wind, heralding an approaching storm. Under the steep cliffs, the blue and green of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans converge here.

Tonghai (now Simonstown, South Africa) was hidden in the lee of this wonder.

This is the most comfortable and beautiful place one can imagine, with a touch of oriental style. It used to be the anchorage for the Dutch East India Company's fleet traveling between the East and the West, but now it has become the headquarters of the Qianzhou Squadron of the Western Indian Ocean Fleet of the Great Qi Navy.

Near the secluded bay, there are neatly clustered quiet villas, cottages, sailors' barracks, and streets lined with shops and buildings. All the buildings are washed and painted, elegant and unique. The scale and overall layout of the buildings are almost the same as those of the small towns in Hanzhou.

The gate of the naval dockyard was solemnly decorated with royal and military emblems, and a red and yellow dragon flag was flying high. The dockyard was neatly located between the town and the sea, blending perfectly with all the surrounding buildings.

Everything here has the inherent leisure of the navy. The shops sell all kinds of sailing equipment, tobacco, special souvenirs, clothes, shoes, and novels. There are numerous taverns, restaurants, and public carriages, and there are sailors with nothing to do everywhere.

"The officers and soldiers of the fleet have enjoyed peace for a long time. I wonder if there will be a war again?" The fleet commander, General Zhenguo (Lieutenant General) Hou Guangtai, stood in front of the rear turret of the squadron flagship "Liying" in military uniform, stroking the thick gun barrel, and said softly.

"Commander-in-Chief, the amount of shells and supplies consumed by the Great Qi Navy for exercises every year is far more than the military needs of other countries' navies in several years. Even though our naval fleets have not experienced large-scale actual combat in recent years, their combat status is still maintained at its best. ... If there is a war, we will win!" Fleet Chief of Staff, General Guangwei (Major General) Xiong Jichang said confidently: "Besides, looking at the navies of various countries in the world, there are only a handful of countries equipped with ironclad ships like the Liying. The advantage of the Great Qi Navy cannot be easily shaken."

"That being said, the situation on the battlefield is ever-changing. How can we easily say that we will win the war?" Hou Guangtai smiled and said, "This time, our Qianzhou Fleet has been ordered to dispatch several warships to form a task force to go to the Caribbean to curb possible military adventures by the French. It is not a problem to successfully complete the mission. But I am worried that with the strong intervention of our Great Qi Navy, the situation will be further intensified, and it is very likely to cause a full-scale conflict between Qi and France. Are we all ready to deal with the war?"

"Commander-in-chief, the French naval power is not reliable, so we don't need to worry too much." Xiong Jichang said, "Besides, the French focus is always on the European continent, and I don't think they will get too entangled with us at sea. As long as we show our military power in the Caribbean, they will definitely give in. It is said that Saint-Domingue is the French's biggest money bag and the overseas territory they value most. If they annoy us, don't they worry about being taken away by us?"

"..." Hou Guangtai frowned, feeling somewhat displeased at the blind confidence displayed by this subordinate who had participated in the Qi-England War several years ago. It seemed as if after defeating the English navy, the Great Qi would have established global maritime hegemony and could look down on everything and regard the navies of other countries as nothing.

Remember, arrogant soldiers will surely be defeated!

"Yesterday, Changning (now Durban, South Africa) called and asked our Qianzhou Fleet to dispatch two warships to provide escort services for the treasure ships transporting gold and diamonds this year." Hou Guangtai said calmly: "In the next few days, you should arrange for capable ships to sail to Changning Port immediately."

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief." Xiong Jichang nodded in response.

(End of this chapter)