Chapter 575 Ah, Hawaii (3rd update, please subscribe)
"Under the mediation of the British Empire, the clouds of war have disappeared and peace has returned to the world!"
The "Los Angeles Incident" of November 1871 has not really ended yet - according to the results of the British mediation, both parties will submit the matter to the "International Court of Arbitration". Even in 1871, there is an International Court of Arbitration, and this year's judge is... the Tsar of the Russian Empire.
No matter what the final outcome is, this expedition is still a great victory for the Ming Empire!
Whether it is the bombardment of Los Angeles or the arrest of hundreds of suspects, they will be tried within the territory of the Ming Dynasty and serve their sentences in Ming Dynasty prisons, even if the U.S. Department of Justice has repeatedly protested and requested international arbitration to intervene.
But so what?
Let’s talk about it after intervention!
For the Ming Empire, it was just a way to vent their anger!
From now on, no one dares to bully or discriminate against Chinese people!
It was after the incident that tens of thousands of overseas Chinese in San Francisco joined the Ming nationality. They cut off their braids and threw away their robes. They did not embrace the so-called "civilization", but used actions to show their break with the Qing Dynasty.
In the past, no matter where the Chinese were, they would bow their heads and dare not raise their heads to show others. But now, no matter where they are, they can confidently raise their heads and hold their chests high. When someone asks them who they are, they will answer proudly.
"I am from the Ming Dynasty!"
What determines people’s support?
Sometimes people's support is determined by their own interests. No matter what they think, it is definitely more in their interest to be a Ming citizen overseas than a Qing citizen.
This is what people think!
In fact, all of this is due to strength. The reason why they were not taken seriously in the past was ultimately because the Qing Dynasty was too weak and cowardly in the treaty.
But the Ming Dynasty was different. The Ming Dynasty dared to directly fire for its own people, and it did so more than once or twice.
What about the United States of America?
That's right, we should bombard when we should bombard, and we should fight when we should fight. So what if we fight?
Just hit me!
What else can the United States do?
No, I'm still a coward.
Just when the overseas Chinese in the United States were feeling proud, the task force, which had completed its mission, did not immediately return to Linhai, but instead headed towards the Pacific Ocean, heading for Hawaii, 4,700 kilometers away.
The visit to Hawaii was actually to bring the "power of great victory" to strengthen Ming's influence in Hawaii.
How important is Hawaii?
No one knew better than Zhu Xianhai that in the sailing era, Hawaii was dispensable because it was not on the route, but the problem changed after entering the steamship era.
For countries engaged in global trade and military deployment, the Hawaiian Islands in the central Pacific Ocean have become an excellent supply and transit base because the Pacific Ocean is too vast and transoceanic voyages often require replenishment of fresh water and food.
For the Ming Dynasty, Hawaii's importance is self-evident. Together with the Aleutian Islands and the Chenggong Islands in northern Papua New Guinea, it can form an "island chain" to control the Pacific region. By seizing this island chain, the Ming Dynasty can advance to East Asia and retreat to defend its sphere of influence in the Pacific.
"Whoever controls Hawaii controls the Pacific Ocean!"
Standing on the bridge of the "Alliance", Zhang Wenli looked at the vast ocean and said.
"This time, we are visiting Hawaii, firstly to promote the power of our Ming Dynasty, and secondly, to increase the number of immigrants here for the future."
What future are you planning for?
Of course it will be annexed in the future!
This time, Zhang Wenli came to Hawaii not only to sign the "Treaty of Friendship and Commerce" with the King of Hawaii, but also to sign the "Immigration Treaty". In a word, signing so many treaties was to completely annex Hawaii in the future.
As for now, we have only just begun our planning!
"I'm sure the Americans won't be happy about us interfering in Hawaii!"
Meng Qingen smiled.
“Do Americans… matter?”
Zhang Wenli's question caused laughter on the bridge. If they had some concerns about the United States before, now... the United States is not even within their consideration. After all, this world is ruled by strength.
The United States...at least right now, their strength is not worth mentioning at all.
In this case, there is naturally no need to consider them.
"But it's not entirely true to say it's unimportant. After all, the Americans have been operating here for many years, and there are many American expatriates working in the Hawaiian government, so their influence here far exceeds ours. After all, they have been operating here for many years, and most of the plantations on the island belong to them."
While narrating all this, Zhang Wenli knew that all this would soon be over, because his arrival was not just to establish an embassy here. Soon, banks such as HSBC from the Ming Dynasty would also come here. They would open branches here, provide funding to overseas Chinese, and help them buy land and expand plantations.
With the full support of banks and the financial industry, it will only take a few years for overseas Chinese to become economically comparable to Americans.
Eventually they will become a force to be reckoned with on this land, just like the big plantation owners in the United States.
A few days later, the arrival of the task force caused an unprecedented sensation in Hawaii. After all, before that, the people here had already learned about the "Los Angeles Incident" through passing merchant ships. Naturally, those American expatriates were full of vigilance and hostility towards the fleet's visit.
But this is not important. What is important is the welcome from overseas Chinese.
"Look, that's our warship!"
Sun Mei, who rushed to the port with his fellow villagers, looked at the warships in the harbor in surprise. This was the first time he saw Ming Dynasty warships.
"It really is our warship. It looks just like us!"
They look the same, except that they are dressed like foreigners and don't have braids.
"What do you mean by looking the same? We are a family. Haven't you heard that the foreign devils in Los Angeles are bullying us? The Qing government doesn't care about the lives of the people. It's still the Ming Dynasty that is powerful. They sent a fleet directly over and bombed Los Angeles to the ground..."
Even in Honolulu, even among the immigrants working on the plantations, they had heard about what was happening in Los Angeles, and because of this, many in the crowd were considering cutting off their braids.
After all, the queue belongs to the Qing Dynasty, and for them... it is more profitable to be subjects of the Ming Dynasty. At least the foreigners dare not bully them!
When stepping onto the warship, Sun Mei looked around the large warship from time to time. Although he could not speak Mandarin, when he looked at the sailors, he felt a sense of security he had never felt before. Where did this sense of security come from?
Of course, it was the sense of security brought by these warships. Standing on the warship and looking at the thick gun barrel, he suddenly smiled foolishly. Not only did he do so, he even walked to the stern of the gun, patted the gun excitedly, and then said.
"With it, I don't have to worry about being bullied by foreigners anymore!"
Yes, with it they don't have to suffer anymore. For them who are living in a foreign country, they have suffered too many grievances in the past, but now they no longer have to swallow their anger like in the past.
"That's right. Why are those Americans in Honolulu so arrogant and superior? It's because American warships come here every few days. In the future, we will have warships here too."
"Yes, not only do we have warships, but our warships have also bombarded American territory."
When this matter was mentioned, everyone was all beaming with joy. Of course, no matter what, the bottom line was that from now on, they no longer had to be afraid of foreigners!
While the overseas Chinese were talking like this, at the port, some American expatriates in suits were looking at the three warships with complicated expressions.
They're the ones that destroyed Los Angeles!
Now that they are in Hawaii, what do they want to do?
"Gentlemen, did you see that?"
Thurston, standing on the harbor beach, stared at the warships and said,
"If the United States does not have its own fleet, then we will definitely lose this land in the end!"
As the founder of the "Merger Club", Thurston has always longed to incorporate this land into the United States, but now, the strong rise of the Ming Dynasty has made him feel an unprecedented crisis.
Although Britain and France have been trying to get their hands on Hawaii, the number of their immigrants here is very limited.
But the Chinese are different. There are now nearly 10,000 Chinese workers living in Hawaii. In the past, they were just Chinese workers and coolies, but now... there is a powerful empire behind these Chinese workers!
Would the empire tolerate the United States annexing Hawaii?
The answer is obvious. The reason why the Ming fleet came here is to increase their share of this land.
In this regard, the American plantation owners in Hawaii naturally realized the crisis.
"We must return home and convince Congress to expand the navy. If our navy cannot stop their ambitions here, we will soon lose everything here."
Many times, businessmen's sense of smell is even sharper than that of politicians.
In the next few days, Zhang Wenli, as the special envoy of the Ming Empire, not only signed the "Treaty of Friendship and Commerce" and the "Immigration Treaty" with the King of Hawaii on behalf of the empire, but also specifically emphasized - respect for the territorial and sovereignty integrity of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
What is respect?
In fact, it means telling others that we do not accept "changes" in any other aspects.
Of course, when the time is right, the Ming Empire will still find some excuses to respect the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hawaii in its own way.
For example, elections and voting. In the end, the Ming Empire will definitely respect their decision and incorporate this land into the Ming Empire!
(End of this chapter)
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