Wild North America 1846

Chapter 671 New York General Strike

"go to bank."

Near noon, Sir Liu Shunli did not eat in Guangliang Trading Co., but walked out with an unswerving expression. After Uncle Zhong opened the car door respectfully, he gave a brief order.

Uncle Zhong didn't dare to ask any more questions, but just winked at the driver and the personal guard, and then followed the old man into the car and sat in the back, the car started and drove out in a circle and a half.

The white Chicago limousine drove out of the Port Authority yard, past the guard post and out onto the street.After passing the Royal Navy Family Court and the tram terminal between Eighth Street and Ninth Street, it soon approached the bustling New York Harbor Passenger Terminal.

Uncle Zhong endured it for more than ten minutes, and finally couldn't hold back and asked, "Master, did you encounter any unpleasant things?"

"It's nothing. The orders of the British guys have been greatly reduced this year. I heard that they were transferred to Robertson Matheson. Is it really unreasonable?"

"Is the reason still the same as the previous two times? That's not right. There won't be any major military operations this year and next. Why won't the British show us off?"

"It probably has something to do with the French. The British guy has always been the most stinky person in the world. He reminds us of his existence from time to time. Forget it, let's not talk about it." Sir Liu Shunli waved his hands in a bad mood.

Even if it is just an inconspicuous minority shareholder of Guangliang Trading Co., the decrease in coal orders from the British will affect him, and of course he will not be happy.

As a Guangliang trading firm with a strong military background, the British often vent some dissatisfaction through orders. For example, during the imperial army's invasion of Colombia and the Tangxi War, the British greatly reduced coal import orders.

It's not that imports are stopped, but that the order is transferred to others.

Robertson & Co. is a British-funded foreign firm, one of the few large-scale commercial firms in New York that can compete head-on with Chinese-funded firms.

The Appalachian coalfield in the United States is the coalfield with the largest output in the world, and its distribution is extremely wide. It is distributed in seven states in the northeast and two provinces under the Datang Empire. Mainly.

Generally speaking, the coal exported this year is last year's order, and this year's order is the export volume of next year.

The long-term contracts confirmed on the Chicago Board of Trade are mainly based on the delivery prices of Chicago, Philadelphia, New York and other ports, that is, the port delivery price.

If British coal importers want to transport the coal back, they still need to find powerful merchants such as Guangliang Trading Co., Ltd. to handle coal export permits, ship shipments, and arrive at the UK for customs declaration, etc., until they are delivered to the designated port for unloading.

The order that Sir Liu Shunli mentioned refers to this kind of full-process service transportation order. Guangliang Trading Company has always been one of the main participants, and this long-term cooperation has lasted for more than 20 years.

Take London, UK as an example;
In the mid-19s, the population of London had reached more than 80 million. It is the most populous international metropolis in the world today. There are many factories. In autumn and winter, it is shrouded in continuous choking smog, which is called "the land of smog". All".

This "smog capital" consumes an astonishing amount of coal every year, as high as more than 4510 million tons, accounting for one-third of Britain's coal production.

The countless factories in London and the cold autumn and winter seasons at high latitudes have resulted in an astonishing amount of industrial and residential heating coal. However, this is a metropolis with endless wealth, and its consumption power is astonishing.

Therefore, it is also the largest market for US coal exports, with an annual import demand of more than [-] million tons of coal.

every autumn and winter

The ships transporting coal on the Thames River can't see the end at a glance, sending burning light and heat to the world's largest city, and also making many traders a lot of money, and Guangliang Trading Company is one of them.

The United Kingdom is the second largest coal producer in the world. However, due to the early start of industrialization, some old coal fields that were exploited on a large scale in the early 18th century are facing resource depletion, and many of them have ceased production.

Some major coal mines also have limited capacity to increase production and cannot meet Britain's thirsty demand, so a large amount of imported coal is needed to supplement it.

Today, France is also one of the major importers of coal, which is a bit heartbreaking to say the least.

Originally, France had no shortage of coal, but after the defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, Alsace and Lorraine, which were rich in coal and steel resources, were ceded to Germany. As a result, there was a big gap in domestic demand.

However, the coal and iron resources of the French North African colonies are relatively poor. Even though the African and Indochina Peninsula colonies are rich in coal and iron resources, the distances are too long and the transportation costs are high.

It cannot compete with the cheap and high-quality coal and iron ore imported from North America, so it is also an importer of bulk resources such as coal, iron, copper and oil.

"Bah ah ah..."

"Hey buddy, get out of the way."

The road ahead was blocked by a crowd of people and many carriages. The driver could only pinch the rubber horn desperately, and at the same time let go of his voice to shout, moving forward with difficulty in the crowd.

At this time, the guards in the front seat and the loyal uncle in the back seat also stood up, with a vigilant hand on the revolver at their waist, and loudly drove the crowd away, preventing Italian thieves and Irish villains from approaching the convertible.

The passenger terminal of New York Harbor has always been the busiest, most chaotic place in the city, and the place where the most crimes occur. There are hundreds of robbery, theft, wounding or rape cases every day. This kind of woman often disappears in the passenger terminals of New York Harbor.

They may appear in dimly lit strip parties, may appear in brothels or streets in the dark, or may be sold to rich Chinese as concubines, and perhaps the latter is the best ending.

Anyone who lives can be lost, and it is quite normal to lose some carriages, luggage or other things.

The Tang Empire garrison does not care about local security cases, nor does it accept any criminal cases. Unless it is too rampant to kidnap people under their noses, they will generally not intervene in the management of the New York Port Authority.

Seeing a car of a Chinese dignitary stuck in the crowd, several Chinese policemen hurried over blowing their whistles, which made the crowded crowd dodge one after another and made way for a narrow road.

After passing through this congested road, the speed of the Chicago convertible gradually picked up, and Uncle Zhong sat down with lingering fear.

When the cold wind blows, the back feels chilly.

It turned out that I was nervous for a while, and my back was sweating a lot. At this time, the cold wind blew and it was naturally chilly.

Uncle Zhong’s worries are not unreasonable. The law and order at the New York Port Authority Passenger Terminal is quite poor. There are not a few people who kill people with guns or stab knives in the street. There are more than a dozen Irish or Italian gangsters making money here, and each has its own territory. .

It was really hurt in the hands of these little Karami, there was really no place to cry.

20 minutes later
The Chicago white convertible drove into the bustling Grove Street in Queens, and turned into the yard next to the bank building at an intersection.

This is where the Royal Changan Bank Queens District Branch is located. Because it is located in a bustling street, there are a lot of people coming and going from south to north, and the nearby shops are very prosperous next to each other, so there are many people of all kinds.

This is the stronghold of Sir Liu Shunli, where he can easily meet people of various identities, command his subordinates to deploy operations, and collect secret information from all directions.

arrived here not long ago
Sir Liu Shunli received a piece of bad news that made him feel cold; 57.3 workers in New York City are going on a general strike in tandem, demanding the implementation of an 8-hour working day. Construction workers' unions, textile unions, iron and steel workers' unions, craftsmen's unions, transportation unions and tricycle drivers' unions, etc., almost included the main trade union forces.

American workers have demonstrated for a long time to demand an 8-hour or 9-hour working system. More than 100 demonstrations and demonstrations that have erupted in various places in the past few years are related to this.

美联邦政府在1884年通过一项解决方案，以立法规定从1885年5月1日开始执行每日8小时工作制。

But in fact
No factory or enterprise followed this regulation. Workers had to work at least 10 hours, and some even had to work [-] or [-] hours. This made the workers' anger accumulate day by day.

No... Trade unions in various industries have started a series of general strikes.

The only good news is that the tram union did not participate, because the vast majority of tram drivers in New York City are Chinese retired soldiers. This is a relatively stable job with good pay, so Chinese capitalists give priority to the retired soldiers.

"So... how does the government respond?" Sir Liu Shunli was already very hungry. He sat at the table and prepared to eat a big piece, and asked with chopsticks in his hand.

"The Federation of Western New York Business Owners has allocated US$3 for the emergency purchase of guns. Similarly, the Grocery Store Owners Committee has raised tens of thousands of dollars in emergency funds to purchase additional guns and ammunition for the police station. Some other Chaoshan Chambers of Commerce, Jiangsu and Zhejiang Chambers of Commerce and Huguang Chambers of Commerce also have Such a move, anyway, is not willing to compromise!" The intelligence chief introduced.

"Oh, it looks like another bloody incident!" Sir Liu Shunli shook his head helplessly, and began to eat with relish.

Too many lice and not itching.

This is the situation in the United States today. The government, upper class and capitalists do not sympathize with workers' strikes, nor are they willing to follow the "eight-hour working system."

Those are all promises made by the former US President Zhang Zongliang for the general election of the Liberal Party and trying his best to win the votes of the grassroots people. Why should the current government fulfill the promise?
So now the New York municipal authorities and the police department are highly tense, and they may have contacted the North American Command to prepare for the suppression of strikes and demonstrations.

It's just that the scale this time is particularly large, and there will be no less blood flow, let alone fewer people who died.

But so what?

This is the case in industrial countries all over the world. Factory owners try their best to oppress and exploit workers. It is too common to work 10 hours or even [-] or [-] hours a day. Thousands of workers die in factories every year. What's so strange?
Datang Dingguo explicitly prohibits workers from working more than 10 hours. It is not because many companies secretly work overtime, but they will pay more money.

This situation has been repeatedly prohibited, and it is entirely caused by interests, and it is by no means a matter that can be resolved with a single rule or a few demonstrations.

Then why didn't the Tang Empire have so many strikes?

It's not that the Chinese capitalists in the Great Tang Empire were benevolent, but because, as a feudal monarchy, the Great Tang Empire did not have the freedom to parade in the streets.

Those who want to parade must report in advance, otherwise they will be severely punished for the crime of gathering a crowd to cause trouble, and the military and police will be dispatched to implement merciless suppression.

On the other hand, it is because the Chinese are hardworking and willing to work. After experiencing such a difficult life in the mainland, their ability to bear has greatly increased.

If you work more in the Tang Empire factory and get more money, your grievances will naturally not be so great, and you won't fight against the boss everywhere.

The more than 200 years of enslavement education in the Manchu Qing Dynasty still has some remnants.

(End of this chapter)