African Nationhood

Chapter 9 Big Shot (Part )
  February 1879, 2, Port of London.

"Woooo..."

The powerful siren resounded across the Thames River, and the tightly wrapped stone brocade hall stood on the side of the ship and looked at the looming Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) on the bank of the Thames River.

The landmark building that he is more familiar with in his memory - Tower Bridge in London has not yet been built, and it should not start in a few years.

The river in front of you is densely covered with ships traveling from all over the world.

The cargo transported included American cotton, African diamonds, Indian cotton and spices, as well as Australian gold and cattle and sheep furs.

The specialties and wealth of various regions are all gathered here.

Although the United States and Germany have made great efforts to rise, Britain at this time is still worthy of being the number one in the world, an empire on which the sun never sets.

After a month of preparation, Shi Jintang finally escaped from the United States.

He didn't reveal anything to his classmates or teachers beforehand. After all, this kind of thing was kept confidential.

Only his partner, Dr. Smith, was informed, and not even Mrs. Smith and Kelly Smith were informed. This would eliminate unnecessary trouble and entanglement.

When he boarded the ship from New York Harbor, he wrapped himself tightly for fear of being seen by acquaintances, and rarely left his cabin on the ship.

After finally surviving the long voyage, we arrived at the capital of the British Empire.

There were three men and two women traveling with him. The three men were the escorts Dr. Smith had recruited for him.

One of the white men is Robin Trudeau, who is a retired officer of the U.S. Army.

He is 41 years old and has red hair and thick beard.

He is proficient in long and short firearms, and can also repair firearms. He is relatively versatile and has the highest annual salary, up to 1000 US dollars.

After a month of sailing, he had become familiar with several people in Shi Jintang. During this time, he had learned to play mahjong.

Now he is at the peak of his addiction, and whenever he gets a chance, he wants to find someone to play mahjong to relieve his boredom.

The other two men are both Chinese, named Tian Liang and Qu Sangqian respectively.

One of them is from Chaoshan and the other is from Fujian Province. They are both over thirty years old.

They have panned for gold and done illegal work.

Not only did they earn a little, but they were often bullied by white people, so the two of them were willing to take the risk and go to Africa to work as bodyguards.

Both of them have very dark skin. If you don't pay attention, it's easy to confuse them with those Indian red-skinned ones.

Both of them are good at boxing and kicking, but their real skill is shooting. They can use a revolver within 20 meters to make perfect shots.

Both earn an annual salary of $500.

The salaries of the three people were doubled based on their previous annual salaries.

From here we can also see the status gap between white Americans and other ethnic groups.

The other two women are waitress Alice Underwood and her sister Liv Underwood.

Because Alice is Shi Jintang's maid and bedmate, her salary is not easy to calculate, but she will not be short of money anyway.

Her sister is only 10 years old this year, and she just needs to eat enough for the time being.

These three guards were the most comprehensive among the guards recruited by Dr. Smith for him, so they were taken by Shi Jintang.

The other 120 escorts will follow the next ship directly to the British Cape Colony.

Shi Jintang made an appointment with Dr. Smith, and he would send a batch of sterile medical supplies from New York Port in a month.

These things were for sale, and the main target customer was naturally the Cape Colony government.

Medical supplies are in short supply no matter where they are. This time, in order to support Shi Jintang, Dr. Smith gritted his teeth and squeezed out 5000 sets from the already tight production schedule.

Also shipped with the ship were a batch of Zippo lighters and cigarettes produced by American factories, which were used to develop the Cape Colony market.

He came to London to obtain a colonial charter from the British Crown.

He was a fugitive student from the Qing Dynasty, and he had no connections or qualifications to meet the Queen of England.

So after arriving in London, he needed to meet an intermediary first, and through the intermediary he could get in touch with the British royal family.

The task of contacting the intermediary was given to staff in the UK office of Johnson & Johnson.

They will pick up the ship today and leave the rest to them.

As the cruise ship docked, Alice's sister Liv became increasingly excited.

Although Liv Underwood is young, she has already shown her potential as a beauty, and her overall appearance is much higher than that of her sister Alice.

In addition to being young, lively and cute, the three guards and Shi Jintang all liked this little girl very much.

Alice was more emotional than her sister.

She left this land a few years ago and now she is back here. Her person has not changed but her mood is very different.

Alice was more scared than excited when she left here, but now she is more excited than scared when she returns.

Just because the man beside her always shines, which makes her feel more at ease.

Different from her sister's complicated thoughts, her sister Liv's happiness is very simple, as long as she is well fed and clothed warmly.    …

As the crowd slowly squeezed out of the pier, there was a busy scene in front of them.

Cargo unloaded from various ships filled every corner, and people of all kinds shuttled among them, speaking different languages ​​but communicating very smoothly.

It has to be said that the world's largest port has a strong appearance, and the large flow of people also means that safety is more important.

While the three guards were carrying their luggage, they had to pay attention to whether the people squeezing past were real tourists. There were many pickpockets and scammers here, and if you were not careful, you would suffer heavy losses.

Fortunately, they didn't squeeze in for too long, and Alice found someone holding a sign to greet them more than ten meters away.

"Mr. Shi and the others are not far ahead."

Shi Jintang also noticed two Indians holding a cloth sign with "Henry Shi" written in English on it. They should be picking them up.

When they squeezed forward, they saw a thin old white man standing next to the Indian.

"I'm Henry Shi, from New York. Are you the head of Johnson & Johnson's London office?"

The old man has gray but neatly combed hair, aquiline nose wrinkles and shriveled cheeks, paired with a crisp and neat tuxedo and a silk top hat.

It highlights the style of the old-school British gentleman to the extreme.

It's just the raised chin and the fake smile on his face that make this person's arrogance obvious.

"Hello, I am Green White, the director of Johnson & Johnson's London office. Welcome to London."

After saying a dry welcome speech, he turned around and walked outside, ignoring the embarrassment and surprise on everyone's faces.

Shi Jintang was secretly speechless, this girl is quite pretending.

The group of people continued walking for nearly a hundred meters before finding the crowded area. Green White prepared two carriages, got on them and started heading towards London.

"In accordance with the requirements of the headquarters, I have screened many senior officials in London and finally selected Mr. Henry Gambel Bannerman.

This gentleman has been in politics since 1868 and has a very rich resume.

Rumor has it that he is about to be appointed Finance Minister of the War Department for a second time by the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, the Duke of Cambridge.

After contact and feedback, he is very interested in the explanatory materials you submitted. "

Mr. Bannerman is an evergreen figure in politics who advocates friendship with the colonial people.

In the original time and space timeline, he would successively serve as Financial Undersecretary of the Admiralty, Secretary of War, and finally Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

During his term of office, he personally presided over the implementation of the South African Union's self-government plan.

Shi Jintang knew more about this person because of his political opinions and his experience as British Prime Minister.

From this point of view, it shows that the person in charge of London, Mr. Green White, has unique connections and vision.

"Well done, thank you!"

Faced with Shi Jintang's praise, Green White took off his hat slightly and said coldly: "This is my job and I don't need any praise."

This old guy's talk is neither salty nor bland, which is really off-putting.

Shi Jintang said no more, but the Alice sisters curled their lips at each other and snickered secretly.

Liv also took the opportunity to make a face at Shi Jintang, who smiled helplessly.

Perhaps because the road conditions in London are very good, their ride experience was very comfortable this time.

The group of people stayed in a manor outside London. The manor occupied a small area, only more than ten acres.

The main building has three floors and more than thirty rooms. There is an auxiliary building next to the main building, which is the residence of servants, coachmen and gardeners.

As a visitor from the headquarters, Shi Jintang naturally lives in the main building, while Sister Alice's residence is arranged in the annex building.

There are also security guards in this manor, and Trudeau, Tian Liang and others are also happy and comfortable.

After waiting at the manor for three days, Shi Jintang was notified that he could go see Mr. Bannerman.

Get on the carriage again and head towards central London.

Green White, a British gentleman, was born with arrogance. His words and deeds after getting along for a few days all revealed the superiority of British superiors over foreign country bumpkins.

What's more, Shi Jintang is a yellow-skinned Oriental.

Therefore, Shi Jintang deliberately closed his eyes to rest his mind as soon as he got in the car, and the latter also remained silent.

In silence, they finally arrived at their destination. In front of them was a larger manor. Different from the manor when they came, there were official guards standing guard at the door of this manor.

The two lobster soldiers were very serious. When they saw the yellow-skinned Shi Jintang coming, their eyes could not suppress the confusion and horror in their eyes.

The old gentleman Green White stepped forward to report. When he learned that the guests were invited by the master, the two lobster soldiers finally let them go.

The two entered the manor and found that the luxury here was completely different from that of Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals.

Shi Jintang, who has long been used to it, has no idea about it. Today's meeting has far-reaching implications and he must deal with it with all his strength.

　During the new book period, all data are very important. I beg you readers for your support. Thank you.

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)