Hidden Dragon in Qing Dynasty

The weather in the Tanggu in May was already getting hot and dry, not to mention this huge Industrial Zones, which was constantly releasing endless energy.

The Northern Steel Group, which was jointly acquired by the American Carnegie Steel Company and the Letian Bank and numerous other Chinese Shang, had already become the landmark of the Special Zone.

Black smoke billowed from the tall chimney every day, but it could be said that it was the west wind. The black smoke blew directly into the BoHai Sea, and if it was the east wind that blew into the Tanggu City, then it would really be bad luck.

The Steel plant in the north had a total of six furnaces, each furnace producing over 40,000 tons of steel per month, with a production capacity of nearly 250,000 tons per month, which already surpassed that of the entire Great Qing, with an annual output of 3 million tons.

The coal and iron from Kailuan was not enough at all. Now, the coal from Shanxi was being transported to Tanggu by land, and even the North Korean iron ore were being transported from Bohai Bay by ship.

The huge wall of the steel company was about eight to nine meters high, and it was as dark as a monster lying on the ground. With every breath, it would spit out shiny steel, and the sales department of the factory was filled with Great Qing merchants.

With the iron and steel industry as the core, more machinery industry emerged. Needless to say, the military factory was already able to mass produce all kinds of gear sets, and the civilian light industrial and agricultural factory's sickle hoes were incomparably cheap. Selling them outside would simply be dumping at a low price.

It has become the Ruhr of the East, Liverpool of Asia, Pittsburgh of China... Every breath of air you breathe here is filled with the smell of coal and iron and the power of fire and molten steel.

The streets were filled with people who were constantly passing by. The police were whistling as they tried to maintain order. The westernized carriage had replaced all the palanquins that belonged to the Qing Empire. People who rode on it in this city were the most discriminated against.

The streets were full of workers, merchants, engineers and military police... Everyone is in a hurry and you can't see a single idle person. There were no beggars, no thugs, no street warlocks, no scammers or thieves.

The city was filled with power and order. On the streets, you couldn't even see a few people holding onto their braids, the merchants from the other provinces of Great Qing all secretly changed into suits and put their braids on their heads to hide them.

This was a very disciplined city. Xiao Letian had set a very clear management position for this city from the very beginning.

The West Water Gate had now become the only base of administration for immigrants. The entire district was sealed with barbed wire and willow trees, and only the West Water Gate had the right to manage the household register at dozens of entrances and exits.

That was to say, the refugees and victims from Great Qing could only go in and out of the Special Region. All the Qing citizens who wanted to make a living in the Special Region could only go through two choices to enter the Special Zone to work.

This kind of person could not cut his hair and hair, and after entering the Special Zone, the government would coordinate his or her work. In the Special Zone, there was plenty of work to do, such as carrying bags on the docks, going to the Steel plant to mold the sand, or simply sweeping the streets and digging the ditches …

As long as you put in the effort, you will not die of hunger. Moreover, you will be able to gather seventy to eighty silver coins a year.

If you are healthy and go beg for food to be a rascal, then you can lie by the side of the street and catch lice in the sun. Don't blame the military police for being unscrupulous.

The second option was that they could no longer survive in the Kingdom of Qing or be bullied by corrupt officials and bandits. They chose to immigrate to China, which meant that they would be declared as the lowest class of immigrants.

At the same time, they divided the commoners who did not have a noble title into three categories. The first class belonged to the immigrants, and these people came here from a different culture, so they needed some time to understand the laws and values of the Chinese.

Such persons were immigrants, who had basic human rights and were protected by law, but they had no political rights, could not participate in elections of any kind, could not join the army, and could not enjoy free and compulsory education, which was available only for paid education.

There were also two prerequisites for immigration: one was to cut the braids, and the other was for the women in the family to put their feet down. This was an iron rule, and no one was allowed to specialize in it.

This was the very strict immigration policy of the Special Administrative Region, as well as the main reason why the West Water Gate's curses were so resounding. If one wanted to enter the Special Region, they had to accept very strict rules, but letting go was very simple.

Under the influence of this policy, all the immigrants in the Special Administrative Region were very familiar with the rules, and because they knew the rules, they were able to fit into the life of the Special Region.

It was true that after the modern Industrial Revolution, humans would have to learn how to deal with machinery. However, machinery and farmlands were different, and the machinery was cold and merciless.

As for the farmers in Great Qing, they would do some work today if they were happy. If they were unhappy tomorrow, they would sleep, or they could even drag a broken bowl of rice to beg for. These people could not deal with machinery at all. They could not adapt to the era of industrialization at all.

"Aiya, pouring a pail of engine oil for lubrication is such a waste. It's rather tiring, just half a pail …"

"Hey …" What are you calling me, a half millimeter short of spare parts? "It won't be a problem if I'm half a li short of farming in my hometown, but when the time comes, I'll hunt for food in the fall as well …"

It was said that countless of American and Prussian engineers had vomited blood at the thought of this. This joke had even gone to Europe, where the Thames had once created a news page specifically to laugh at Xiao Letian.

But at the same time, the Tanggu also had a system of high-salary emigration management. As long as you understand the rules, are willing to accept management, and are not sloppy when it comes to work, the rewards you get are absolutely unimaginable.

Eating meat at a meal was nothing. He could even drink two taels of good wine at a time. Only by sending a large amount of silver over to his hometown for the new year was he worthy of honor.

If you were young and had a high level of comprehension, how could you know how to learn? If the foreign devil engineer thought highly of you, he could directly promote you to a blue collar and blue collared work clothes. The lowest level of income would be 15 silver coins a month.

A month's income was enough to feed his family for a year. What a high salary!

In short, the Tanggu had become the dream of countless of Great Qing immigrants, and at the same time, it was a land of sorrow … And amongst these sad people, there was one person that Xiao Letian was very familiar with: Qing San Ye.