Wild North America 1846

Chapter 592 The Duke of Surrell Visits

Two months later
1872. 6, 29

Cloudsdale (Alamas)

After the inspection was over, His Highness Tang Li Xin, who was about to leave, unexpectedly received the special envoy of the Ethiopian Dynasty, Duke Surel, and his party here.

They came all the way from the ancient city of Axum and experienced many hardships along the way.

In order to pass through the territory of the rebel kingdom, they even pretended to be black servants in the European caravan, and endured bad treatment that was not commensurate with their noble status, and finally arrived in Cloud City (Alamas) after a month and a half of trekking.

There are also two British businessmen, Ryan Jacks and James Tomkins, without the cover of these two white men, the Duke of Surrell and his entourage will be in bad luck and will be cut off The kingdom is thrown into prison, or it is directly shown to the public.

The construction of Cloud City is relatively lagging behind. Now, only more than a hundred buildings have been built, and a commercial street with a short length of more than 200 meters has just been opened. Coupled with some municipal housing facilities under construction in the surrounding area, it does not look like a large scale.

Actually

As the capital city of Yunzhong Province, Yunzhong City is designed according to the second-level urban planning standards, so the streets are wider and more empty, and it will take time to develop.

This is a city located on the plateau with agriculture and animal husbandry as its main industry. There are large tracts of undeveloped virgin forests around it. The climate is around 18-25 degrees all year round. The climate is cool and mild, and wild flowers are blooming everywhere.

In the newly built city hall, His Highness Tang Li Xin met the Ethiopian envoys who were pretending to be a caravan, and had a rather interesting talk.

The Duke of Surel first presented a letter and gifts from Emperor Johannes IV. As a Christian country in East Africa, the gifts were a 700-year-old gilded cross from the ancient church of Axum and some Abyssinian royal jewels, including Amy Queen Ni's Crown of Thorns.

The attitude of the envoy was very humble, and the gift was relatively generous.

His Royal Highness Tang-Li Xin read the letter carefully, and it can be seen from the lines that Emperor Johannes IV is full of sincerity in praying for peace, and intends to conclude a bilateral border demarcation treaty, and his posture is quite low.

And hope to get some help, such as hiring a team of musketeers.

Although His Highness Tang-Li Xin has not been authorized by the empire, as His Highness the only prince of the Tang Empire, the Prime Minister of the Expeditionary Army has the right to make decisions on all military and political matters concerning the empire's borders, and only need to report and confirm afterwards.

think back then

The South American Andean Governor's Palace also followed this principle, instead of the imperial capital Chang'an directly intervening in the demarcation negotiations.

The same is true for the Yunzhong Province. Its geographical scope is not clearly demarcated. There is no clear demarcation between the northwest and the Sudan, the southwest and south with Ethiopia, and the east after crossing Djibouti into Somalia. There is also no clear demarcation between the black nomadic tribes in the desert Boundary demarcation.

But since the Ethiopian dynasty first raised this matter, His Highness Tang Li Xin saw that there was a big advantage to be taken. After pondering for a while, he raised the issue of the ownership of the upper reaches of Lalemacher and Tower Kuralo?
These two areas are controlled by two powerful black tribes, which belong to the divisional forces on the edge of the Ethiopian plateau. The tribe's population ranges from 10,000+ to more than 20, occupying more than 8.5 square kilometers of fertile land. born.

These two areas do not belong to the traditional Eritrea region. If they can be merged into the scope of the Yunzhong Province, the area can be expanded from 12.4 square kilometers (the scope of the Eritrea region) to 21 square kilometers at once. Said it was a big deal.

never thought of
Just as His Highness Tang-Li Xin raised the issue of these two regions, Duke Surell agreed, but said that these two regions are under the control of rebel forces, and the Tang Empire needs to personally suppress the rebellion.

Such a straightforward response made His Highness Tang Li Xin almost hesitate. Is there a little depressed guess?
But the words have already been spoken, and it is not easy to go back on his word with the honor of a dignified prince.

Before the Duke of Surel went on a mission, he had been given the opportunity by Emperor Johannes IV; for anything that did not involve the core area of ​​the Ethiopian Plateau, these Easterners could go anywhere they wanted, anyway, it was a generosity of others.

The most important thing is to get the help of the Orientals. It doesn't matter whether it is buying arms or hiring musketeers, as long as it can achieve the goal, it is worth paying more.

The two areas of Lalei Maicher and Tower Kuralo are all rebellious officials and thieves who do not obey the orders of the central government.

When passing through the above areas

Even the Scarecrow would be angry if the honorable Duke Surel still pretended to be a lowly black slave.

The talks were carried out in a harmonious atmosphere, and the general framework was quickly finalized.

Since the envoys of the Ethiopian dynasty were generous, His Highness Tang Li Xin was not stingy. With a big wave of his hand, he first presented 300 old-fashioned smoothbore rifles, which were part of the old-fashioned smoothbore rifles seized from the Yemeni Arab tribes.

These tattered weapons, which the officers and soldiers of the Tang Empire despise, are very handy for the Black Brothers, making Duke Surel so happy that he couldn't close his mouth.

As for the musketeers that Emperor Johannes IV of Ethiopia was thinking about, there really are, and naturally they are the North American cowboys who followed after smelling fish.

Whether it was the bloodbath of Sanaa or the bloodbath of Suez, there were active figures of North American cowboys who came all the way with the expeditionary force.

They are like a group of bloodthirsty African vultures, they will go wherever there is the smell of war smoke, and they seem to be incompatible with the peaceful environment.

Now in Yunzhong City and the streets of Fubo City, these North American cowboys can often be seen wandering around, either following the cavalry to sweep the countryside, or drinking and making trouble, or drawing guns to compete for women, anyway, they are a serious instability.

Of course, it is impossible for His Royal Highness the Prince to help the Ethiopian envoy find mercenaries, so the Duke of Surel has to talk about it himself, and the province will not stop it but is happy to see it happen.

It is much better to go to the Ethiopians for these unstable factors than to stay in the province.

Many North American cowboys will not settle down to farming and farming, as a manor owner.What they seek is a life full of adventure, killing and excitement, and enjoy the joy of conquest. They are war vultures wandering in war-torn areas.

If you can accept the employment and form a musketeer team of more than 1000 to 2000 people to help Johannes IV fight against the warlord forces on the separatist side, it would be a good thing.

Don't think that these North American cowboys are good people. Sometimes their asking prices are ridiculously high, not only money, women but also territory.

If you talk about cooperation with the empire, you must be on the weak side.

If we talk about cooperation with the Ethiopian Dynasty, these North American cowboys who have always been bullying the weak are not so easy to deal with, and they must bite a piece of fat.

His Highness Tang Li Xin will not bother with these trivial matters.

Negotiations on the border demarcation between the two countries went smoothly. The finalized area of ​​Yunzhong Province is about 21 square kilometers, including the upper reaches of Lale Maicher and Tower Curalo. The total of the above two places is 8.5 square kilometers. All included in the scope of Yunzhong Province.

The two areas of Lalemacher and Tatai Curalo are relatively fertile and flat, and have a history of development for thousands of years. However, due to the backward development of farming technology, the local black tribes still live on nomads.

rough statistics;

There are about 10 black indigenous tribes in these two newly included areas, with a population of about 42 to 46 people, and they belong to one of the separatist forces governed by the frontier duke.

This is a hard bone for the wandering Esai Emperor Johannes IV, but for the imperial expeditionary force with abundant military virtues, it is a black slave waiting to be conquered.

Whenever there is a shortage of labor, just go and arrest them, it's as simple as that.

These local black indigenous tribes that still use bone arrows and bone guns to hunt are extremely lacking in iron weapons such as spears and broadswords. They have almost no resistance to the expeditionary soldiers who are armed to the teeth.

During these days of negotiations between the two sides, North American cowboys from Fubo City (Masawa) flocked in and arrived in Cloud City (Alamas) one after another. In a short period of time, they gathered a scale of 800 people. The small town became crowded in an instant.

Thanks to the more than 160-kilometer telegraph line erected between Fubo City (Masawa) and Cloud City (Alamas), the news of the arrival of Duke Surell, a big employer, spread like wildfire. The sore North American cowboys all know the news;

Kaizi is stupid and fat, hurry up and kill him!
So many North American cowboys followed the expeditionary force to plunder all the way. Basically, they were equipped with one man and two horses, or even one man and three horses. In addition to the long and short guns on their bodies, they also had spare guns. Arrived in just one day.

In order to serve these North American cowboys, the Datang Imperial Colonial Bank even set up a branch in Fubo City (Masawa), where the robbed gold, silver, jewelry and money were converted into Tang Yuan and deposited directly into the bank account.

This is also a measure to facilitate expeditionary officers, soldiers and businessmen, and has been greatly welcomed.

The business of the Imperial Colonial Bank was very good, and a large amount of property accumulated was transferred to lend to Chinese immigrants to help them purchase Arab women, farmland and tools, cattle, horses, livestock and other means of production and living, and settle down as soon as possible.

Whether these North American cowboys or officers and soldiers of the expeditionary force, at least 12% to 20% of the handling fee will be charged for transoceanic remittances, mainly because there are different discounts for the officers and soldiers of the expeditionary force.

The discounts for officers are strong, but the discounts for soldiers are small. The North American cowboys can only obediently pay according to the highest handling fee of 20%, or take the money with them.

Loans to Chinese immigrants charge interest ranging from 6% to 8%, mainly based on their status and immigration years. The longer the imperial citizenship is obtained, the wife and children are complete, the greater the discount they can enjoy, and the higher the loan amount.

This is because senior immigrants with both wives and children are more high-quality customers and naturally receive preferential treatment.

The banking industry of the Datang Empire started early and grew rapidly along with the growth of the empire. More than 10 world-class transnational consortiums have emerged with strong strength and a high reputation in the international financial circle.

For example, wealthy businessmen and politicians from various countries in East Asia, North America, and South America have deposited large sums of property in the branches of major banks under the Datang Empire. This trend has even spread to Europe, especially rich businessmen from countries such as Germany, France, Austria, and Italy are the most enthusiastic.

during the south american war

The war loan given to the Brazilian Empire by the French loan sharks was paid through the branches of the banks under the Datang Empire in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. The process was completed quite smoothly and won a very high international reputation.

Many French loan sharks are willing to deposit funds in the overseas banks of the Tang Empire, such as the famous Royal Red Oak Bank, Bank of America, Royal Changan Bank, etc., which can be easily exchanged for German marks, French francs, Tang yuan, US dollars, Moreover, it has an outstanding reputation and can provide many conveniences such as transoceanic remittance, cross-border remittance, and inter-bank remittance, and its services have reached the international first-class top level.

Of course, such a superior service does not come cheap.

During the turbulent period of the German-French War, a large number of French nobles and rich people deposited huge amounts of money in the Royal Red Oak Bank, the Bank of America or the French branch of the Royal Changan Bank. The property safety was properly protected, and an excellent reputation was established.

The weaker consortiums such as Bank of Los Angeles, Bank of Communications, and National Industrial and Commercial Bank of China focus on North America, Central America, or South America, each with a different focus.

For example, the Bank of Los Angeles is a leader in commercial exchange in the Empire. Through its branches in the North American continent, it can conveniently carry out banking business in the north and south of the United States of America, Canada, and the mainland of the Empire. It is a powerful bank that North American merchants like very much.

The Bank of Communications mainly focuses on public transportation facility loans, urban construction loans, and various infrastructure loans. It has a good relationship with the imperial government, and thus has a large number of excellent customers mainly government departments, provinces, and cities.

North American Colonial Bank, Royal West Coast Bank, etc. are rising stars, and their strength is not as good as the above-mentioned six major consortia. Their method is to follow the footsteps of imperial colonization, and take the lead in opening up the market of the South American Andean Governor's Mansion, Beihai Province, Paradise Island, and Central American provinces. misplaced competitive advantage.

During the expedition of the Imperial Expeditionary Force to Egypt, the North American Colonial Bank organized a capable team of 27 people, with the purpose of following in the footsteps of the Imperial Expeditionary Force to expand the market.Banking institutions were successively established in Sanaa City, Suez City, Fubo City (Masawa), and a modern banking network was preliminarily constructed.

This positive and pioneering spirit has been highly praised by His Royal Highness Tang Li Xin, and the business is booming.

No... Duke Surel, who was short of money in his pocket, heard the great name of the North American Colonial Bank, and even took the initiative to approach the door to ask for cooperation.

The purpose is self-evident... that is to borrow money.

After hearing the news, Wu Youcai, the person in charge of North American Exploration Bank in Yunzhong Province, was surprised and delighted, dancing with joy;
This big fat sheep delivered to the door is not slaughtered for nothing, it is so good.

god sorry
Since the North American Colonial Bank is a rising star, those international large-scale loan projects such as war loans from the United States of America, large-scale construction loans, national debt issued by the Confederate States of America, huge war loans from the Kingdom of Prussia, French national debt and post-war construction loans, etc., were almost all considered by strong The empire's big syndicate robbed everything, not even the soup left.

The lucrative North American commercial loans and cross-border exchange pie are also robbed by powerful institutions such as Bank of America, Royal Changan Bank, Los Angeles Bank, Bank of Communications, National Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Royal West Coast Bank. Just leftovers.

There is no way, the introversion is too powerful.

Now he can get a big loan from Ethiopia, isn't he good?
(End of this chapter)