The sun never sets in America

Chapter 224 Voyage: British India

British Indian Colony, Bombay…

That’s right, it’s Mumbai, the magical capital of the East! !

This city is currently the most prosperous commercial city in the entire South Asian subcontinent. It has the richest commodities in the world. Even because it is located in India and relies on cheap Indian labor, the things it sells are even cheaper than in London.

On the streets of Mumbai, the people most seen are not the British colonial rulers, but the Sikhs wearing turbans. They are the most trusted subordinates of the British in India.

Most Sikhs are engaged in security, police and other jobs. They hold a thick baton and have a big beard. At first glance, they are British thugs.

In addition, the most numerous mansions in Mumbai are the mansions of princes from all over India. These Indian princes, as the actual rulers of India, and their local monotonous and poor lives cannot satisfy their consumption desires, so , Mumbai took on this task.

Sikhs, Indian princes, and if you add the actual rulers, the British, they will form a pyramid-shaped ladder.

At the top were the colonizers, the British, and at the second level were the princes from various places, the so-called tax collectors. (The British implemented a tax-farming system in many places in India. They gave the taxes to local powerful figures or princes and nobles. They got the money and gave part of it to the British. This was also the main reason why the British Empire was able to rule India until the mid-to-late twentieth century.)

Those who bear the top of the pyramid are the low-caste Indian population. These people are the best nourishment for the development of the British Empire.

After thousands of years of transformation by the caste system in India, these lower castes in India are no longer human beings, but slaves and livestock.

Otherwise, the British would not have said that as long as there was an Indian, the British Empire would not surrender.

The entire British India was not only a population supplement for the British, but also a cotton producer for the British Empire, and even a source of black tea.

Even the tax revenue contributed by British India was not comparable to that of South Africa or Canada. This is why it later had to deal with Tsarist Russia.

Because Tsarist Russia is expanding in Central Asia and has threatened the most important colony and the most dazzling colony of the British Empire, India! !

And below India is the east-west link, the most important sea area, the Indian Ocean.

In the past, the Indian Ocean is the crucial Strait of Malacca.

It can be said that if any country wants to move Canada or even South Africa, the British Empire can talk to the other party, and even consider selling it if it is really uncertain. But India, that is, if Britain sells London, it will also Save the place! !

It is the British Empire, the real land of dragon prosperity! !

There is a huge difference between Britain with India and Britain without India.

The United Kingdom, with India, controls one-third of the world's population and wealth. The United Kingdom without India is a second-rate country, and even in later generations, it is still declining to the third rate.

With India, the British Empire's navy had the best reason for expansion and the most powerful military expenditure, even in British diplomatic strategy.

India has always been second only to Europe. Even except for the English Channel, India is more important than other European regions.

When the United States becomes independent, the British can comfort themselves that they are just a bunch of unruly people, forget it for now.

There were several riots in India in history, and the British suppressed them several times. There was no room for relaxation at all.

India was so important that in the seventh year of Longwu's reign, the Han fleet passing through the Indian Ocean was warned and monitored.

Even Han's mere deployment in Lanfang made the British extra vigilant and included Han in the list of potential threats to India.

India is like the brightest pearl in the colonial era of the British Empire and the best witness to the glorious era of the British Empire.

Without India, the glory of the British Empire, on which the sun never sets, would have been much bleaker.

India is the lifeblood of the United Kingdom. The British will turn against anyone who touches it. Be it France, Tsarist Russia, or even Han in the Americas. If they dare to take advantage of India, the British will not hesitate to join forces with the traitorous United States. , first punish Han to death.

The reason why Gandhi was respected by the British was not because he practiced non-violence and did not undermine the British rule in India.

This is the most important thing. If Gandhi had not engaged in non-violence but direct violence, he would have died long ago! !

In a word, you can do it in other places, but not in India! !

…………

Mumbai is a city full of British style. There are a large number of British and European-style buildings in the city, so that those onion temples and Indian temples with various strange gods look so abrupt. It's like they shouldn't be here.

In this city, there was one thing that surprised Bai Erwen, and that was the three-wheeled bicycle, which was the tuk-tuk that he had ridden in Lanfang.

He had ridden on such a bicycle when he was in Lan Fong, but he never saw it again in Vietnam or Siam. It was not until he arrived in British Malaya some time ago that he saw such a three-wheeled human-powered bicycle in Penang. (That is, the Straits Settlements, including Malacca, and later Singapore)

But after all, there are a large number of Chinese in Bincheng. Even if it was a little strange at first, they became accustomed to it later. But India is different. This is a completely strange civilization and a completely strange place.

In Bai Erwen's mind, what are the memories of India? It's the Ganges River where corpses are said to be thrown, those curries that taste good but have a strong smell, and those Indian sailors wrapped with onions.

All in all, in Bai Erwen's view, India and Han are like two different parallel worlds, giving people a feeling that they are unrelated.

But precisely because of this, Bai Erwen became more and more curious.

After asking later, I found out that products produced in Han China, especially bicycles, are very popular in India, especially among the rich and high-caste people. What they like most is to let their servants ride three-wheeled bicycles and take them around.

In the eyes of these high castes, it is much better to command people than to command animals.

In addition, canned fruits produced in Lanfang and Penglai Province are also very popular here. Even some high-caste Indian families refuse to eat fresh fruits and insist on eating canned fruits.

The euphemistic name is that the prepared ones are healthier and closer to Lord Shiva. (Supreme God of India)

And when Bai Erwen knew the news, he could only burst out bursts of laughter that he didn't understand.

After walking around Mumbai for a few days, Bai Erwen came to the conclusion that the best way to make money here was to make money from the upper castes, because the lower castes had no money at all.

Throughout British India, wealth was basically concentrated in the hands of local princes, that is, princely states. Because of hundreds of years of accumulation, they were even richer than the British.

And making money from these people is much easier than making money from low-caste slaves.

So much so that after Bai Erwen visited Mumbai for a few days, he immediately included India in his plan to make a fortune. (A whimsical plan, Bai Erwen tried to build a multinational group)

…………

"Old Bai, don't sleep anymore..."

"Don't sleep!!"

In the room, Luo Daniu slapped Bai Erwen awake.

"Ah, what time is it!!" Bai Erwen touched his face and got up from the bed.

Just now, he was dreaming that he had developed a business empire spanning the United States, Asia, Europe, and three continents.

He is holding the foreign girl in his left hand, and the young lady from the Xungui family in his right hand. There are people beside him who are flattering him that he is a rare business genius in a century. He is the richest person in the world, richer than the emperor.

Until Luo Daniu slapped him awake from this dream! !

"What's wrong with you? Have you forgotten that today is the last day?" Luo Daniu said angrily as he looked at Bai Erwen, who was half asleep after getting up from the bed.

"Damn it, forget about this!!" After hearing this, Bai Erwen immediately got up and put on clothes. One of the clothes was newly bought yesterday and cost him a lot of money.

"What are you doing now?" Luo Daniu asked Bai Erwen after he got dressed. "What are you doing? What else can you do? Let's eat first!!" After Bai Erwen put on his coat, he patted Luo Daniu's shoulder and replied angrily, "You're gone, why are you still standing there?" Bai Erwen said Pulled out Luo Daniu, who was still a little confused.

"I said, it's the last day, and I don't want to eat those Indian foods anymore. Damn, I ate those fried balls last time, and they were stained with that green poisonous water. It lasted from the day before yesterday to last night, and now. My stomach still feels uncomfortable!!”

When it comes to Indian food, Luo Daniu is a little scared. Are those things really for people to eat? ?

Why is it like poison? How do Indians survive to this day? There are hundreds of millions of people. Is it possible that they are immune to all poisons? ?

These questions and doubts popped up in Luo Daniu's mind from time to time.

But when Bai Erniu dragged him to a Chinese restaurant, he was relieved.

"A few..."

“What do you guys want to eat??”

The boss was cleaning the tables in the restaurant. When he heard the noise outside, he said hello in Indian style. It was not until he saw the faces of Bai Erwen and Luo Daniu that he enthusiastically changed back to Chinese.

"Boss, how many years have you been here??" Bai Erwen looked at the exclusive menu written in Chinese characters and asked the boss with a southern Fujian accent about his origins.

"I've been here for four years." The boss replied enthusiastically. "If you ask me, there are really not many Chinese in Mumbai. There are only a few batches of foreign Chinese like you this month. At other times, there are They are local Chinese, come to my place for dinner..." When the boss saw Bai Erwen and Luo Daniu, they started chatting enthusiastically, talking endlessly, and couldn't finish talking at all.

While Bai Erwen was listening, he asked his own questions, such as why not find an Indian helper to do the work and even clean the table himself? ?

It's okay if I don't mention this, but when I mention this, the boss named Xu becomes very angry.

He cursed and said: "These Indian bastards are just bastards. They have no brains at all. They never work accurately. As long as they are paid, they don't know where they go. Once they have no money, they all come back." .”

"And these guys' hands and feet were not clean. I hired three Indian helpers to steal from me five times. One of them stole from me three times. I forgave him twice. I couldn't stand the last time and called the police to arrest him!!"

"And what's even more disgusting is that the Indian suppliers, the people who sell my seasoning vegetables, are also like this. They always do tricks and take advantage."

"I tell you, it's best to be cautious when making friends with Indians, especially us foreigners. Except for the British, they even dare to trick Europeans!!" Boss Xu thought Bai Erwen and Luo Daniu were coming. India came here to make a fortune, and quickly advised them to be cautious. Indians were not as honest as they thought...

After listening to Boss Xu's evaluation of Indians, Bai Erwen felt like he was overturning his previous understanding.

When he came to India these days, he always thought about how to make money from those Indians, but he forgot the most basic fact. Indians just have brain problems, but they are not really stupid! !

And later, Boss Xu said something that gave Bai Erwen another insight.

"Although India makes so much money every year and produces so much cotton and spices, these things are all under the eyes of the British. For example, in many places in India, cotton and spices are only sold to the British, and others want to buy them. , you can’t even buy it...” Boss Xu mentioned the UK’s identical trade monopoly on India.

"Also, don't look at the fact that there are so many Chinese bicycles on the streets of Mumbai, but do you know how expensive those bicycles are??"

Boss Xu asked Bai Erwen a question about trade.

"One hundred and two??" Bai Erwen thought for a while and came up with a number.

This number is considered very high in Bai Erwen's opinion. After all, the price of a local bicycle has dropped to less than 50 yuan. No matter how far this is, it can't be ridiculously high, right? ?

"One hundred and two, it's a joke. If it were really that price, the bicycles would be sold like crazy." Boss Xu laughed out loud on the spot when he heard the figure of one hundred and twenty yuan, leaving Bai Erwen confused.

"It's three hundred!!" Boss Xu said a number that shocked Bai Erwen.

"What, how can it be so expensive??" Bai Erwen was immediately frightened by the price and almost dropped his jaw. This is three hundred Chinese yuan silver coins, not three hundred banknotes printed randomly by some unknown small country! !

"The reason why there are so many is because..." Boss Xu then talked to Bai Erwen about India's current customs policy. The most important one is that except for British industrial products, industrial products from other countries will be subject to additional taxes. High tariffs, and even higher tariffs for textiles, machinery and other products that compete with the UK.

Unfortunately, the Han bicycles were added to the mechanical list by the British. After all, no matter how you put it, this thing also belongs to the mechanical category and has a competitive relationship with British mechanical products.

This has resulted in the current situation that foreign goods in India are extremely expensive, but British goods are very cheap. The essence is to monopolize the huge market in India and complete dumping.

After World War I, Britain and France relied on this hand to quickly emerge from the shadow of the war. What Britain is currently implementing is even more terrifying than that of later generations. After all, with the rise of other countries in later generations, Britain will still have to show off. .

Now I just don’t have any shame. The Indian market is basically dominated by British products.

This naturally has great advantages, that is, British goods will never lack markets and raw materials. The disadvantage is that Britain further relies on the colonial economy, and even conversely, this almost flat way of making money also suppresses the development of British industry. progress.

This is why later, the United Kingdom, which was the first to complete the first industrialization, stagnated in the second round of industrialization, and was even overtaken by Germany and the United States.

This phenomenon actually exists now, but it's just not obvious enough.

The most obvious ones are military rubber and telegraph.

Because of the war between Han and the United States, in fact, the current military-industrial systems of Han and the United States, except for the navy, are the most complete and advanced in the world.

The best rifles in the world were born in laboratories of Han Dynasty, factories or research institutes in the United States, but they were not produced in the British Empire.

The same is true for rifles, and the same is true for artillery. For example, the navy and naval guns on warships, which the British relied on to control the world, actually had a certain gap with the Han Dynasty in the rifled era. Even the rising star of the United States was affected by the threat of the Han Dynasty. , the development level of naval guns has accelerated a lot. The latest Starfish 32-pound rifled naval gun has basically reached the level of the current British battleship guns.

In addition, Han is currently far ahead in the rubber industry and accounts for 70% of the world's rubber production capacity.

Even the total railway mileage of Britain's first railways has been surpassed by the United States, which is more suitable for building railways.

If there were not enough markets, Britain's industrial capacity might have been overtaken by American factories on the East Coast and the Great Lakes.

If you add in the crazily developing telegraph networks between China and the United States, then from the perspective of technology and some industries, the decline of the British Empire has already begun.

It's just that because of the huge size and terrifying diplomatic capabilities of the British Empire, it won't be obvious for a while.

The people who see all this most clearly are the British elites. While accelerating the upgrading of domestic industry, they are trying to acquire British rubber producing areas. Among them, the Caribbean and Malaya are the best places selected by the British.

At the same time, it also made the British more wary of the rapid development of China and the United States.

In the minds of today's British elites, there is always a plot, that is, the plot of the Second Sino-American War. It has reached the point where the British have to admit that they must use war to weaken these two threats to imperial rule at the same time! !

In this way, it is even more impossible for Han to get a good tariff share for industrial products in India. The same is true for the United States. Anyone who threatens the global dominance of the British Empire is a key target for the British to guard against and attack! !

…………

When Bai Erwen and Luo Daniu walked out of this restaurant, two hours had passed. During these two hours, they had talked with Boss Xu.

Bai Erwen had a deeper understanding of India, a British colony, and it was completely different from his original naive idea of ​​making a fortune.

A few days later, Bai Erwen stood in the port of Mumbai, took one last look at the city that had benefited him a lot, and then got into the cabin of the Happiness without looking back.

Target: Ottoman Turkish Empire! !

　Please give me a reward, please give me a monthly ticket

　　

　

(End of this chapter)