Great Qing Dynasty talker

1788
The Frankish Kingdom has still not been able to emerge from the shadow of reduced grain production.

The drought that started three years ago is still affecting everyone's livelihood.

One of the major impacts of the drought is the mass death of livestock.

This in turn led to an extreme shortage of animal manure as farmland fertilizer, and crop yields continued to decline.

Flour price increase
Parisians' spending on bread has soared from 50% of their total household expenditure to 80%. What's more frightening is that there is no end in sight.

Large numbers of bankrupt farmers began to flock to towns trying to find a job to make a living.

obviously,
This poses a serious problem.

When wages drop, human life becomes cheaper.

At least a hundred young girls were vying for a maid job that provided food and lodging but no wages.

Anyone with a little sense of smell can realize the huge crisis hidden here.

However, the response of Louis XVI's administration was to expand the Bastille and form 30 new army regiments.

……

Paris streets.

A luxurious carriage rumbled past, followed by four strong men running.

This attracted the attention of passers-by.

Immortal Wang sat in the car with his eyes closed, looking like a hermit.

The reason I went out today was because I was invited by a down-and-out nobleman to look at his feng shui.

Castle entrance.

"The main road faces the main gate, which is not good. We need to rectify it."

Walk to the study.

"The master has no one to rely on, no wonder he can't get promoted. Add a rock to lean on."

Go to the bedroom.

"The area is too large and does not attract people. We need to make some changes."

Walk to the bathroom.

"It stinks. We need to rectify it."

……

Immortal Wang walked around the castle with a compass in his hand.

The pointer was spinning around.

suddenly~
He pinched his fingers and muttered something. Seeing the master's expression, the little noble's heart was in his throat.

Immortal Wang casually drew out the peach wood sword and drew a circle on the ground.

"Building a rockery here can stabilize your position."

"Yes Yes."

Continuing to walk, Wang Shenxian pointed at a solitary landscape tree in the yard:

"Cut it off."

"Master, why is this?"

"Don't ask. The secret of heaven cannot be revealed."

"Yes Yes."

Seeing that this person was quite pious, Wang Shenxian asked again:
"How long has your father been dead?"

"20."

"Your father is living in misery in heaven. He has resentment, and that has affected your future."

"God, does heaven cost money?"

"Nonsense. The Yin and Yang worlds are the same. Without money, heaven is also hell."

……

Immortal Wang ordered his disciple to take out a stack of Tiandi Bank coins.

"Spiritual Coin! A kind of oriental money that can communicate with spirits. Ahem, it is specially used for deceased ancestors."

Saying,

He walked over to the burning stove in the house and put down the stack of money.

When his hand loosened
A miracle happened.

One by one, the bank coins of Heaven and Earth flew up from the spot and were sucked into the furnace.

Like a miracle~
The last bit of doubt in the nobleman's heart disappeared completely, and he burst into tears.

"God, save me."

……

After some trouble, Wang Shenxian easily took away 50 gold coins.

Not much money~
He did not come here to make money. One of his sons was an official in the colony, and another son was an official in Wu Dinh.

During this period of time, he looked at the Feng Shui of three nobles and two businessmen and gave them advice.

Two of them worshipped him as a god and made all the changes.

The other three were skeptical and were not proactive in making corrections.

The effect is there.

3 people who were not proactive in making rectifications.

One of the merchants went bankrupt after a fire broke out in the factory at night. One of the two nobles was accused of treason and imprisoned, where he was tortured for a month. A family's merchant ship sank in the Atlantic Ocean, causing heavy losses.

The two people who actively made corrections.

A minor nobleman is suddenly favored by the goddess of fate and becomes a high-ranking official in an overseas colony. A businessman unexpectedly wins a big order and his net worth soars.

……

Viscount Staunton was shallow after all.

He only saw the influence of Wu's tangible commodities on Europe, but failed to see the influence of Wu's intangible culture on Europe.

With the arrival of the first batch of professional immigrants from the Wu State, all kinds of intangible concepts quickly entered the minds of the urban middle class and above.

Especially the nobles.

They are precisely hit by the concepts of health preservation, feng shui and traditional Chinese medicine.

Do you want to live longer? Do you want to get promoted? Do you want to be healthy?
miss you!
You have to believe it.

The Wu State Chinese Medicine Clinics opened in the capitals of various countries were luxuriously decorated, surrounded by flowers, and had spotless floors.

The clinics of their European counterparts were filled with stench, blood stains all over the walls, and were disgusting.

The Chinese medicine doctor who was seeing patients was gentle and elegant, spoke slowly and was dressed very elegantly.

At this time, European doctors still believed in the bizarre idea that the dirtier the clothes, the higher their skills, and they dressed like butchers.

……

In addition to leading hardware, software is even more advanced.

Wu's Traditional Chinese Medicine emphasizes disinfection, nutrition, and psychological considerations. Its treatment methods combine medicine and physical therapy, and are very effective in treating many diseases caused by dietary imbalances.

Word of mouth quickly spread.

The nobles developed an extreme worship for the act of "diagnosing the pulse".

Because it is mysterious, we worship it.

The consultation fee is ridiculously expensive.

Chinese medicine practitioners quickly integrated into the local upper class. Even the royal family treated them politely and often consulted them on health and beauty ideas.

Business is booming.

The screening process for open recruitment of nurses is extremely rigorous, with strict requirements on age, height, appearance, number of Chinese literacy, and personal integrity.

Still crowded with people~
These applicants are not stupid.

A nurse's job, where one frequently goes in and out of the palace and earns 10 silver coins a month, is not only full of romanticism, but also allows one to marry into a wealthy family.

……

In recent years, the number of merchant ships sailing across the oceans has increased year by year.

International trade has never been more prosperous.

With the rapid development of the economy, the European common people are extremely dissatisfied with their current life, because there are more and more steam factories around them, but their treatment is getting worse and worse.

The capitalists are clamoring all day long to "strictly control costs and compete with their counterparts in the State of Wu."

The average career life expectancy of Scottish women textile workers has dropped to six years.

In other words, a healthy person will go to see God after working in a factory for 6 years.

Factory owners organized armed factory guards to suppress dissatisfied textile workers.

The first generation of capitalists were like this. They were not only cruel to the colonies, but even more cruel to their own country.

……

Prime Minister North made several speaking tours:

“The coming 19th century will be a century of unprecedentedly fierce competition around the world.”

"National strength determines everything."

"We are engaging in fierce competition with the State of Wu in all aspects, including but not limited to textiles, steel, military industry, and navigation. To achieve this, we must spare no expense, no matter what the cost."

"This is a silent war, and the final winner will win the next hundred years."

The gentlemen of the House of Lords and the House of Commons responded with enthusiastic cheers.

The people are more united than ever before.

Compete and prepare for battle at the same time.

The British Empire wanted to be the sole overlord of the 19th century.

……

The atmosphere of the Saxon Kingdom is just a microcosm of Europe.

All countries generally have similar ideas. On the one hand, they desperately exploit their colonies, and on the other hand, they desperately develop industry, mixing the flesh and blood of their own common people with the flesh and blood of the colonial natives.

no way.

The joint visiting group returned from the State of Wu and was deeply shocked.

The members of the visiting group boasted that the industry of the Wu State was rare in the world and unparalleled on earth, and claimed that Europe's industry had fallen behind in all aspects.

To catch up and overtake.

This requires the strong cooperation of the royal families of various countries.

There are only four things to develop industry: money, people, technology, and the right policy. The royal family promised to reduce taxes.

The royal family acquiesces in personnel cost control.

The royal family gave higher rewards to inventors.

The royal family issued more liberal decrees, especially to plunder cheap resources from the colonies to supply domestic factories.

……

From the South Asian subcontinent to the West Indies, from the Caribbean to North America, the colonists were unprecedentedly greedy. They wanted furs, spices, gold, copper, timber, and slaves. They wanted everything.

The war between the colonists and the natives became increasingly fierce.

Countless people died from gunshot wounds.

The arms dealers of the Wu State joined forces with European merchant ships that only valued gold and sold the cheap muskets all over the world.

Liberty brand rifle.

A rubbish rifle that has a 6% chance of exploding after firing six times in a row.

so what?
Dying from a chest explosion is also a kind of happiness.

It's better than having your scalp cut off and dying, right?
The Saxon Navy, extremely angry about this, intercepted a Wu arms merchant ship in the Indian Ocean. Soon, their merchant ships suffered the same retaliation in the South China Sea.

finally,
London decided not to engage in direct confrontation unless all-out war broke out.

……

The world's major powers are all doing the same thing: prepare for war! Prepare for war! Prepare for war!
Expand the military.

Shipbuilding.

Upgrade tactics.

Develop new weapons.

Build more and stronger bastions in colonies around the world.

These are the physical aspects, and the non-physical aspects are diplomacy.

Saxon diplomatic envoys frequently went to the courts of various countries to lobby, trying to propose a loose military alliance to jointly fight against the State of Wu.

Europe has never had a Qin Shi Huang.

It’s a headache at this time because I can’t mold it into a whole.

There are constant differences among countries and the contradictions are too deep.

……

Saxon's vision:
"European countries jointly announced a boycott of Wu's products, and then united to wage a global war against Wu, seizing most of Wu's overseas colonies and sending warships into Wu's backyard. Then, the two sides reached a humiliating alliance, where everyone took a step back for the sake of world peace, and Wu shared its tea planting technology with the world."

The Saxons never thought of attacking the Wu homeland by force. The best outcome they could imagine was to earn more money from the Wu.

From this point of view.

The current Wu State and the Saxon Kingdom are quite similar, both are corporate empires.

……

Crimean Peninsula.

The war has lasted for four years and both sides are exhausted.

The Russians, who were partially equipped with European weapons, lost 45 troops, most of whom were conscripted serfs.

The Ottomans, fully equipped with Wu weapons, lost 78 troops, most of whom were Arabs and Persians.

Unable to fight.

A 20-mile ceasefire zone appeared in the middle.

The seven major heavy industry groups of the Wu State made a lot of money, and so did the arms dealers in Western Europe.

There was a high degree of tacit understanding between the two sides in watching the fight between Ottomans and Rakshasas.

It is precisely because of this tacit understanding that both sides can be so restrained.

The funniest thing is that the border trade volume between Luosha and Wu has been increasing year by year.

Let the whole world see what fucking free trade is.

……

Songjiang Mansion.

Gu Ah Si, an aboriginal resident, reluctantly bid farewell to his old house. He was the last family to move out of this place, as all the neighbors had left long ago.

no way.

I can't live here anymore.

The prices in Songjiang Prefecture have been rising year by year. The fresh meat dumplings in the shop cost 1 liang per tray. Can you afford it?
All the newly opened shops in the downtown area are owned by bandits who have changed their business.

black!
However, as long as you sell your own house, you can move to Jiaxing, Huzhou, or even Hangzhou City to buy a better and bigger house, and you will still have a lot of surplus.

……

"Dad, what is that place?"

Gu Asi raised his head and took a look.

There is a large building complex on the other side of the river. Several new buildings stand within the square walls, and under the outer walls there are several people wearing black and white striped tops fishing.

He blurted out:

"The owner must be really rich to have built such a big garden in such a good location."

The coachman laughed:
"Wrong, wrong, that's Songjiang Special Prison."

"What?"

……

"Yes. It's a prison, but ordinary people can't enter. Only the masters can live here."

"Tell me more?"

"I can't go into detail. I just heard it from others."

Gu Asi muttered in his heart: Zong Sang.

Then he closed his eyes and rested, muttering to himself, "I don't want to be a Songjiang person anymore. I want to be a Hangzhou person."

The carriage was light and there were not many bumps along the way.

Shock-absorbing springs and cement roads make transportation no longer painful.

Today in the Jiangnan region, the development of road traffic is as rapid as a month.

There were highways funded by the empire, branch roads donated by merchants, freight roads built by factories at their own expense, and small paths in front of houses built by wealthy rural households with funds raised.

Hardened road surfaces are becoming increasingly common.

Cement production doubles every year and is out of stock every year.

……

Matsue Special Prison is like a garden.

"Report to the warden, there is a new person."

"who?"

"Three businessmen and two tax specialists."

The warden stopped working on the abacus, took the verdict, glanced through it, and then lost interest.

"Little fish and shrimp, you go and make the arrangements."

"Yes."

At this moment, the five newcomers standing in the yard looked around timidly.

I didn't see any armed guards, nor did I see any prisoners being beaten, and the environment was so elegant. This, this seems wrong.

Was it sent to the wrong place?

……

The jailer came over smiling.

"Everyone, let me introduce. Our cells are divided into four levels. A-level cells pay 4 taels per month, which is equivalent to the conditions of a medium-sized post station. B-level cells pay 100 taels per month, which is equivalent to the conditions of a small hotel. C-level cells pay 50 taels per month, which is equivalent to the conditions of a large coach inn. D-level cells, ahem, are stables."

"What does the officer mean?"

"It's up to you to choose!"

moment,

The three businessmen laughed. If a problem can be solved with money, then it is not a problem.

In unison, "Prisoner A."

The jailer was not surprised at all and asked with a smile: "What about you two?"

The two tax commissioners lowered their heads and said, "Supervisor C."

……

Three people go left and two people go right.

Life has many paths~
The gears of fate are turning with a click.

The tax commissioner regretted deeply that he had lost his hereditary job for a small profit. It was a huge loss.

The people living in Bingjian are all these low-ranking officials.

The three businessmen walked into Prison A and saw another price list.

First floor, monthly rent 100 taels.

The second floor has a monthly rent of 120 taels, and so on. The fifth floor is the most expensive.

In addition,

There is also the mysterious Tianzihaojia Prison, which pays 500 taels a month and is located above the warden's head.

……

It's lunch time.

The cook smiled:

"Let me introduce the rules of the cafeteria to the newcomers."

"Meal A, two dishes and one soup, 200 taels per month. Meal B, one dish and one soup, 100 taels per month. Meal C, two bowls of rice a day, 50 taels per month. Meal D, three steamed breads a day, 30 taels per month."

"In addition, there are additional meals, each with a different price."

The three businessmen who had just arrived were stunned.

I couldn't help but ask a soul-searching question:

"Go to jail or do business?"

The warden was on his rounds and happened to pass by. He spoke solemnly:
“Prison is also a business.”

"Everything here is clearly priced, fair, just and transparent. All the profits earned by this agency will be used for the low-cost private medicine project." (End of this chapter)