Wild North America 1846

Chapter 667 Parade
His Majesty the Emperor spent a month and a half of leisure time in the beautiful Los Angeles, and personally attended many important events of the 12th World Expo. Then he started driving in early June and returned to the imperial capital Chang'an by the imperial train.

Along the way, you can see many wealthy families driving cars on the road, heading towards Los Angeles, which hosts a world-class technology event.

On the spacious and flat asphalt road, there are lush street trees on both sides of the road. Clear lanes are planned on the road. According to traffic rules, all vehicles drive on the right.

On the road, all kinds of cars are constantly flowing, only a few horse-drawn carriages are mixed in, and the whole family travels by car. This kind of scene is rare in Europe.

The vast territory and well-developed road transportation system of the Datang Empire, coupled with the world's advanced automobile industry that has been in existence for more than 30 years, have created the reputation of the Datang Empire as a "country on wheels", and the number of automobiles accounts for more than 86% of the world.

The stable and affluent life coupled with the rapid expansion of the middle class has made the subjects of the empire more and more fond of cars.Large car posters of car beauty can be seen in the streets and alleys of the city, advocating a travel lifestyle full of modern flavor.

With the gradual rise of the car travel lifestyle, road hotels, auto repair shops and fast food restaurants have appeared all over the empire to provide services for people on the road.

New lifestyles based on the automobile industry chain are constantly being developed, and come into people's field of vision with exquisite pictorials.

The pictorial shows the modern lifestyle of a family traveling by car, passing through beautiful mountains and rivers, and camping by the river in the countryside.Picnic at the edge of the forest, stay away from the hustle and bustle of the city and get close to nature, presenting the artistic conception of a new car life that people yearn for.

Owning a car undoubtedly greatly extends the travel radius.

During the Sunday vacation, inviting three or five friends to go for a picnic in the countryside has become a popular activity for many middle-class families in big cities like Chang'an and Los Angeles.

The quiet farms and plantations in the countryside also benefit from this, and can create more benefits for the farm by providing accommodation and very characteristic local food.

Everything happened naturally, as if it was meant to be.

Unlike the peaceful Tang Empire, the United States in 1885 appeared to be more chaotic and restless. Labor conflicts broke out frequently in the cities, large and small parades continued, and there was a sense of dissatisfaction with society hidden in everyone's heart.

Twenty-three years after North America's defeat, the United States has been under the weight of international debt and lost much of its national sovereignty.

The mountain of debt weighs heavily on the shoulders of Americans, and it seems that it will never be repaid.

In two years, the huge war indemnity of the Tang Empire will be repaid. This date is September 1887, 9, known as the "Payment Day."

But what about after the "payoff day"?

Now the most popular newspapers and magazines in the United States have published the huge international and domestic debts undertaken by the US government. Today, the total debt has reached 16.2 billion US dollars.Not only has it not decreased, but it has increased day by day.

The U.S. federal tax revenue is only more than 2300 million U.S. dollars a year, while the international debt principal and interest that needs to be paid each year is as high as more than 6400 million U.S. dollars, which is seriously beyond the means.

The U.S. federal government can only deal with it by continuously borrowing new debts to repay old debts, raising taxes, and reducing expenditures. This is a debt trap that seems to never climb out.

If you calculate the international debt, you can know that after the defeat in February 1862, after repaying some high-interest loans by selling some high-quality government assets, the remaining international debt of 2 million Tang yuan was the scourge left by the excessive borrowing during the civil war .

After more than two years of difficult negotiations, an agreement was finally reached with the "International Committee of Creditors";
A total of 9.85 million Tang Yuan international debt plans to be repaid in 49 years, with an annual interest rate of 6.6%. The total repayment of principal and interest at maturity is about 25.7 billion Tang Yuan, and it is estimated that nearly 5000 million Tang Yuan will be repaid each year.

these years
The US federal government sold some high-quality assets to reduce this figure to an average annual level of more than 4200 million Tang yuan, which is still unbearable.

After the "Day of Repayment", the international debt that the United States of America apparently needs to repay each year has dropped from more than 6400 million Tang Yuan to more than 4200 million Tang Yuan, but in fact it is not.

Because more and more domestic debt is inflated, the pressure to repay the debt and interest is greater every year, the federal debt deficit is getting higher and higher, and the tax cuts that the people hope are nowhere in sight.

Such a hopeless immigrant country, without a mainstream social group (such as Chinese) as the cornerstone, without a strong army, can easily shatter like glass under heavy pressure.

Philadelphia, USA
Black crowds of demonstrators took to the streets, holding up large banners that read, "Strongly protest against government tax increases," "Give us back our bread," "Children are starving," "Demand 9 hours a day," "Less Some squeezes!"  …

Most of the crowd in the parade had white faces, only a few were Chinese or Mexicans, and none of the free blacks could be seen, because free blacks didn't even have the right to parade.

Although they advocate equality, the status of free blacks in the north is extremely low. They have no right to ride trams or carriages, and they cannot approach whites or Chinese on the road, and they cannot even touch their shadows.

Otherwise, they will be severely beaten, and at worst they will lose their lives.

Lieutenant Mo Jiabao led more than a hundred soldiers of the Tang Empire garrison armed with live ammunition, and blocked a block at the intersection. Behind them was a middle-class neighborhood with a large Chinese population, and the parade was prohibited from entering.

As for going in other directions, Lieutenant Mo Jiabao didn't care.

There are many Chinese police officers on duty on the street, as well as Philadelphia National Guard members with white faces. They did not stop the progress of the parade, but more to maintain basic order.

Avoid these parade crowds who started violently smashing carriages and shops along the street as they walked, frantically looting and destroying catharsis, and escalating from demonstrations to urban riots. There are many precedents for this situation.

Police on duty and the Philadelphia National Guard have been ordered;
In the event of violent smashing and other excessive behavior, when the on-site commander judges that it is becoming serious and uncontrollable, shooting can be allowed to suppress it.

A tidal wave of angry demonstrators rushed up, shouting their appeals loudly, and soon came to the intersection.

Lieutenant Mo Jiabao stood at the forefront of the blockade line. He was wearing a straight, horizontal-breasted dark woolen military uniform of the Tang Empire, with two gold tattoos on the cuffs, and a Tang-style military cap with large brims (note, refer to German style), with a pair of shiny boots on his feet, and a shiny saber hanging on his waist.

With a serious look on his young and heroic face, he walked forward more than [-] steps majestically, then stood proudly at the intersection of the street with a calm expression, and said loudly;
"I am entrusted by Shangfeng's military order to block Jianguo Avenue on May 5st. All personnel are not allowed to trespass, and all personnel are not allowed to cross the place where I stand, otherwise they will be killed without mercy!"

He stood calmly at the intersection of the street alone, but the tens of thousands of demonstrators did not dare to attack him. They flowed by the side like a tide. The nearest crowd was three to four meters away from Lieutenant Mojiabao. The people on the board also tried their best to squeeze into the middle.

The fierce reputation of the Tang Empire garrison has already been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in the previous suppression of urban riots. No one dared to touch this bad luck.

Lieutenant Mo Jiabao stood proudly at the street corner, with a confident and proud look on his face. Behind him was a powerful army and empire. It was the glorious glory of the army that was more important than life, and the sacred mission shouldered by soldiers.

see this scene

Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Perier, commander of the Philadelphia National Guard, groaned with a headache, and the marching crowd rushed towards him as if encountering an invisible boulder at the intersection.

Lieutenant Colonel Jean Perrier, a French immigrant, ordered: "Let our people cheer up, load their bullets, and be ready for battle at all times.

God, these goddamn city scumbags are always making trouble, and those goddamn Irish and Italians, let them all go to hell. "

In today's American cities, Irish gangs and Italian gangs appear in the form of various workers' mutual aid associations, such as the Italian Pedicab Drivers Workers' Union or the Irish West End Dock Union, and are often at the forefront of various demonstrations.

These low-level urban untouchables are often keen to participate in these movements. If there is a chance to grab a fortune and vent their resentment from being oppressed and exploited for a long time, it is undoubtedly a good thing.

So for Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Périan, every march made him nervous.

In today's Philadelphia, there are only mid-to-high-end neighborhoods where Chinese and British immigrants are concentrated, guarded by patrol soldiers sent by the Tang Empire.The vast civilian neighborhoods are neglected, and all security tasks are left to second-line law enforcement forces such as the police and the National Guard.

Due to the government's financial constraints, Philadelphia's police force is seriously understrength.

Philadelphia, with a population of nearly 50, only has more than 270 police officers. They focus on patrolling and guarding the mid-to-high-end neighborhoods where the middle class and upper class gather, and they are completely laissez-faire in civilian neighborhoods.

It is impossible to expect the police to maintain law and order in the city, so gangs are rampant in various cities in the United States, and vicious crimes emerge in endlessly, especially the law and order situation in poor neighborhoods is terrible.

Whenever there is a big event like a mass demonstration, the police need to request the National Guard and the Tang Empire garrison to prevent it from turning into an uncontrollable urban riot.

The so-called National Guard is also the militia. It is better than the ordinary militia in that it can get a small duty subsidy. Many soldiers bring their own guns because the government is too poor to pay for it.

It stands to reason that a National Guard commander like Lieutenant Colonel Jean Perrier should be able to enjoy a stable and relatively generous salary.

In fact, Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Périère has not received the government's few military officer subsidies for more than a year, but instead put a lot of money into it.

He himself is the president of the Philadelphia Bakers Association. His family runs two large flour mills and more than a dozen bakeries, and there is no shortage of money at all.

The reason why he is willing to take up this thankless commander position is because Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Perrier believes that;
Maintaining social stability in Philadelphia is a major responsibility closely related to family interests. Many officers and soldiers in the National Guard have similar ideas, and this is also the motivation that supports them to persevere.

Sometimes you will come to whatever you are afraid of.

Just as the parade crowd was rushing forward, there were bursts of strange screams and noises, and occasionally women's screams of fear could be heard, and the order suddenly became chaotic.

"Damn, what's going on?"

"Reporting sir, the nuns of the Santa Maria Convent happened to be returning from the library with some female students, and ran into the parade crowd head-on, and now they are surrounded by some Italian mobs, and the situation is quite chaotic."

"Oh...God, take your people and go with me to suppress it, I hope things don't get too bad. And immediately ask the imperial garrison for support, and go right away." Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Perrier's face became pale Ugly, with a livid face, he made a decision, and hurried away with his people.

(End of this chapter)