Chapter 970: Heavenly Kingdom (First update, please subscribe)
What is the Middle East?
For the French, the answer varies.
It is the emperor's place of glory.
It is a sad place for France.
Glorious and sad... that's the official version.
But for the vast majority of French people, the Middle East is a colony.
From Beirut to Basra, from Mosul to Jeddah on the east coast of the Red Sea, it was a vast colony of the French Empire. In that colony lived more than two million locals who were not very devout in their faith in Catholicism, but that was no big deal.
Yeah, it's no big deal at all.
For the Second Empire, the Middle East was an extremely important colony, not only because the Mesopotamian Basin supplied a large amount of food to France - after official French investment, modern irrigation facilities were built in the Mesopotamian Basin, and French expatriates established a large number of farms in the area, exporting millions of tons of wheat and other food to France every year.
What really matters?
It's oil!
Three years ago, the Second Empire Royal Oil Company drilled its first oil well, the Babagag No. 1 Well, in Kirkuk, northeast of Mosul Province. This well gushes out 13,000 tons of crude oil every day!
This was undoubtedly great news for the Second Empire, which needed to import millions of tons of oil every year. For a time, the "money-losing commodity that drained France's wealth" became a hot commodity in the eyes of the French.
Good news for the French is naturally bad news for the British. As we all know, France has always been Britain's number one imaginary enemy.
"France is lucky. The emperor's blood has turned into black oil, which is continuously supplied to France..."
Once upon a time, the British were so envious and jealous of the oil fields discovered by the French in the Middle East.
After all, with the widespread use of cars, everyone knows that oil is an extremely important energy source, just like coal in the past. What makes the British quite helpless is that Britain has no oil fields! Not only does Britain have no oil fields, even in the British colonies, there is no oil.
What about the "Four Emperors Alliance"?
Russia has the largest oil field in Europe in Baku. The Ming Dynasty, which has always had an insufficient supply of coal, also has an oil field in the south of its homeland. Even France, by chance, discovered a large oil field in the Middle East colony it had just occupied.
How can Britain not be jealous!
Britain is very jealous and wants to kick France out and replace it.
Of course, Britain would never admit this.
After all, in order to occupy the Middle East, France sacrificed an emperor!
Does Britain have an emperor to sacrifice to?
No, then go play in the mud!
However, no matter what, Mosul's oil changed the Second French Empire. While bringing rich returns to the empire, it also injected a shot in the arm for the economy of the Second French Empire.
In the past few years, France's economy has grown by leaps and bounds. Its industrial strength has not only not been surpassed by Germany, but has even surpassed Germany. This is not surprising at all - there are many factors in the other world that affect the speed of France's industrial development: the Franco-Prussian War caused France to lose 20 billion francs, including reparations, and lost Alsace and Lorraine, which are rich in iron ore reserves; the lack of natural resources, especially coal mines, restricted France's industrial development, and the lack of resources led to obsolete machinery and equipment. The lack of industrial development led to a large amount of capital output, which in turn affected the development of industry.
But in this world, France did not lose the Franco-Prussian War. Although Germany was still unified, France gained Luxembourg and the Rhine region, while also retaining Alsace and Lorraine.
Coupled with the oil from the Middle East, France in 1881 was far better off than at any other time.
France has never been so powerful!
However, while being powerful, it is not without hidden dangers. Like almost all European countries, the workers here are engaged in heavy labor in factories, working more than fourteen hours a day, but receive extremely meager income.
“What kind of places do the workers live in?”
In the park, a speaker in a tattered suit shouted down there.
"Gentlemen, who among you does not live in slums filled with sewage, darkness, dampness, and epidemics of disease? You and your fellows are suffering from infectious diseases. What do you get in return for your hard work? A meager income that barely makes ends meet..."
As he passed by the speaker, Wang Jingchu took a special look at the speaker and the onlookers.
"We demand that all French factories implement an eight-hour workday!"
"We demand that all French factories must provide their employees with dormitories with good environment..."
"We demand that all French factories must set up canteens to provide good meals for employees."
While the speaker was speaking, someone suddenly asked loudly.
"How is this possible? Mr. Peake, I think this is impossible. How can the factory provide these things?"
"It's just not realistic,"
"Who said no!"
Someone followed up by calling out loudly.
"Of course not! How can poor people live the same life as rich people?"
"Isn't it possible with the Ming Dynasty?"
"Yes, just like the workers in the Ming Dynasty, we demand to have pensions and medical insurance like the workers in the Ming Dynasty..."
“Who knows if that’s true or not?”
Facing everyone's doubts, Pique, who was giving a speech, saw Wang Jingchu standing next to him, and his eyes lit up - a Ming Dynasty man.
"Sir, sir,"
Pique shouted at Wang Jingchu, and when he saw that he ignored him, he rushed over and stood in front of the man.
"Yes, sir, are you from the Ming Dynasty?"
"Yes"
Wang Jingchu looked at the Frenchman in confusion. What did he want to do?
"Gentlemen, he is from the Ming Dynasty. He can tell you what life is like for ordinary people in the Ming Dynasty. Sir, in the Ming Dynasty, does everyone live in an apartment with electric lights, flush toilets, running water, and bathrooms? Does everyone have their own room?"
When Pique asked the question, everyone looked at Wang Jingchu with anticipation, waiting for his answer.
"Yes, sir, but not everyone lives in an apartment. Rich people rarely live in community apartments."
Wang Jingchu answered with some pride.
"Indeed, in the Ming Dynasty, even the most ordinary people have a decent and comfortable house of their own."
Only when you are abroad can you deeply feel the difference between the Ming Dynasty and other countries. In comparison, the life of the people in the Ming Dynasty is so happy.
Even on campus, whenever they mention the living environment of the people of the Ming Dynasty to their classmates, they are full of pride. This is indeed their pride!
"Ahaha, all the rich people in the world are the same, they really deserve to be hanged..."
Pike's self-proclaimed humorous words startled Wang Jingchu. His family didn't live in an apartment, and his father was a big factory owner. Wouldn't he also be hanged?
"So sir, is it necessary for factories in Daming to provide food to workers?"
"gentlemen,"
Looking at the people who were full of expectations, Wang Jingchu replied.
"It's not necessary, but after working for more than ten hours, the factory always needs to provide food to the workers. This is also to improve work efficiency..."
“Damn it!”
The onlookers suddenly cursed.
“Not only do you have to work longer hours in France, but it’s simply impossible to put food on the table.”
"Yes, those who give you a piece of bread are very kind."
"Bread, even a loaf of bread, will be deducted from your wages. Show some mercy. The factory owners have never had any mercy."
For a moment, the onlookers were all filled with anger. Of course, they were more envious of the lives of the workers in the Ming Dynasty, and they were eager to learn everything about the Ming Dynasty from this Ming Dynasty person...
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(End of this chapter)
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