Just as Zuo Zongtang was heading west to Guazhou, in the far south of the South China Sea where there was no winter, a small ceremony that could change the geopolitical landscape of East Asia was quietly taking place.
Vietnam, which the Qing Dynasty called Annan, was at the southernmost tip of this long and narrow country, on the impact plain of the mouth of the Mekong River. This small commercial town, formerly known as Jiading and now renamed Saigon, was holding this small ceremony.
Saigon is a commercial city opened after the arrival of the French. Due to its excellent geographical location, convenient shipping on the Mekong River and fertile soil on the impact plains, this small city has become a very famous rice trading market in South Asia.
Yes, the entire Mekong River Basin is the main rice-producing area in South Asia. Rice produced in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia is transported from upstream to downstream along the dense water system.
Human society has been relatively prosperous in areas close to water systems since ancient times. On the one hand, the impact plains brought by water systems are suitable for agricultural development and human survival.
On the other hand, water transportation is indeed the lowest cost and most efficient among all transportation methods!
In a river, the area closer to the downstream entrance to the sea will be richer. Because it is close to the seaport and ocean trade, it can naturally become a bulk distribution center for commodities.
Maritime trade is the giant in the traditional commercial field. Whoever controls this place controls the wealth!
Saigon, a small commercial city, developed based on the business vision of the French. In just a few years, it controlled the rice business in the entire Mekong River Basin.
At present, this small town has a permanent population of more than 30,000, which is considered a prosperous town in Southeast Asia!
There are not many French troops stationed in Annan, because there are no battles to fight. At full battle, there are only more than 5,000 people. This was added the year before last to prevent the Chinese from retaliating. At first, the French only controlled more than 2,000 people. South Vietnam.
But I never expected that Xiao Letian would personally lead his troops to Europe to fight France. However, in the French colonies in Asia, the Chinese did not send a single soldier.
The French governor guarding Annan spent more than two years in panic. His most important task every day was to stand on the roof of Norodom Palace and look through a telescope.
Many times the old French baron had hallucinations. He always felt that a wave of Chinese troops in blue military uniforms suddenly appeared in the direction of the sea.
Five thousand lone soldiers struggled day after day in Annan. Although life here was very rich, they could eat the sweetest rice, drink the clearest wine, and enjoy goods from all Asia through caravans.
Of course, there are beautiful Annan women to enjoy, but none of this can calm the fear in their hearts!
These people are not the arrogant big-nosed people in Europe. They are watching the Chinese grow stronger in Asia!
The South China Sea is full of Chinese merchant ships, and they sell China's precious goods ship after ship. This is not a fake act of Western merchants, but the Chinese themselves organized an ocean-going fleet to start doing business.
What was sold was tea, silk, porcelain...but what was taken back was ship after ship of silver, copper ore, tin ore, weapons, rubber...and of course grain from Nanyang.
What the Chinese sell are handicrafts and luxury goods, but what they get back are all raw materials necessary for industrialization. The old baron sees this unstoppable development trend very clearly.
At first, these Chinese businessmen were very polite, and they were somewhat afraid of Western warships. However, as time went on, the old baron found that these Chinese people were getting harder and harder.
Until one day he discovered that the Chinese merchant ships actually had cannons installed, and they were very advanced breech-loading rifled guns, and every merchant ship had advanced breech-loading needle rifled guns.
The Chinese's ocean-going caravans actually began to arm themselves, and they armed themselves very quickly!
This is when all the people are soldiers! The old baron was shocked by the news he got through many Asian informants. It turned out that Xiao Letian used all evil tricks in order to develop the Chinese navy.
The Chinese Head of State has ordered that all Chinese-registered ocean-going merchant ships must be obliged to assist in training new recruits for the Chinese navy according to their tonnage!
In other words, the head of state does not have many training ships, and the Chinese also lack naval talents who are familiar with the ocean, so the private caravans have the obligation to raise new troops for the head of state.
A sailing ship with a displacement of 300 tons has to support a class of naval soldiers for the head of state. You, the merchant ship owner, also have to spend your own money to buy new cannons and rifles to train these soldiers.
During the voyage, these naval recruits have to complete various basic training courses. If they can eliminate some pirates during the course, these are hidden items that will add bonus points.
At first, the old baron thought that these businessmen would be very resistant to such a policy, because businessmen are profit-seeking, so how can they pay extra?
But he underestimated the Chinese people's patriotic enthusiasm and their admiration for the head of state!
No one in the Chinese clan will carry out the orders of the head of state without any discount, especially those Ryukyu businessmen. They have seen the tragic scene of foreign bombardment of Naha. Of course, they know that if they fall behind, they will be beaten.
Spending money to buy expensive artillery and rifles is nothing. As long as they are not bullied, they will eat chaffy vegetables every day without any complaints!
Help the Prime Minister raise some new soldiers and help them with some basic training. These are all things that are dreamed of!
Sure enough, the truth lies within the range of the cannon. When the Chinese merchant ships that came to Saigon to purchase rice began to be armed, these merchants obviously became more confident in speaking.
Many Vietnamese businessmen who were attached to French influence shrank their necks. Some of them wanted to bully Chinese businessmen according to the past rules. As a result, they were lured out of Saigon by these recruits and taken directly to Naha for trial!
And all this happened under the eyes of the French, and the old baron didn't dare to care at all!
"The sky has changed, the South China Sea has really changed!"
They watched Chinese merchant ships filling the sea, watched a Chinese uprising break out in Kalimantan, and watched the Spaniards in Luzon being beaten to pieces.
With the Strait of Malacca as the boundary, the life of Westerners in the waters east of Singapore is getting increasingly difficult!
After the Franco-Prussian War broke out, the old baron knew that his five thousand men had become completely alone and would probably not be able to wait for reinforcements from Europe or the Bay of Bengal.
This old baron, whose chest was full of pride, began to use Saigon's tax money over the years. He wanted to cheer up his five thousand lonely troops, spend a lot of money on training and rewards, and maintain morale!
He must be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor, and he must maintain the dignity of Europeans!
"Even if I die, even if this army is defeated, even if Saigon is eventually destroyed... I still want Asians to know that this world belongs to Western civilization!"
At that moment, the training of five thousand lone soldiers actually made him feel like a mournful soldier, and his morale really improved a lot!
But life is always full of drama, wait and wait, wait and wait!
The old baron did not wait for a single soldier from the Chinese people, but waited for the news sent by the British ship and the special envoy of the new government!
"Annan...the French government...don't want it anymore!"
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