August 12, the thirty-fourth year of Taiping, in the northeastern part of the French Yinzhou Colony, Quebec City.
The Sixth Detachment of the Third Fleet of the New Tianfu Huangzhuang Navy followed the mouth of the St. Lawrence River and arrived at the foot of Quebec City.
The name Quebec comes from the language of the local Yin Algonquian tribe, meaning "the place where the river narrows."
The St. Lawrence River does narrow here, and with the Orleans Island in the mouth of the river ahead, this area is shaped like a throat.
Quebec is also the northeastern outlet of the entire French colony and the Great Lakes region, and even the Honey River Basin that will be connected later. This is the entire North Yinzhou water network.
Therefore, Quebec is known as the Gibraltar of the Yinzhou continent.
Although this may sound like exaggerated bragging, this city at the mouth of the river port is indeed very important.
Quebec will be the first large city that the Ming Dynasty accepted in the northeast of Yinzhou.
French troops and officials stationed in Quebec, despite being notified half a month in advance, have been urging residents to leave these days.
France, like Portugal, wanted to remove as many immigrants as possible.
Quebec in France is much more convenient than Rio in Portugal. Across the St. Lawrence River is the French colony.
There is also the existing Quebec Bridge over the St. Lawrence River.
The historical Quebec Bridge is a famous negative teaching material in engineering.
In the 1850s, local residents were eager to build a bridge. In 1887, local businessmen established a bridge construction committee, and construction of the bridge began in 1900.
The bridge was about to be completed in 1907, but the bridge collapsed suddenly on the eve of the ribbon-cutting, killing 75 workers.
Construction of the bridge resumed in 1913, but another major accident occurred in 1916 when a support member broke, killing 13 workers.
The bridge was not finally completed until 1917.
Most of the people who originally hoped to build the bridge are no longer around, and the committee to build the bridge has been around for thirty years.
Construction of the Quebec Bridge in this world started more than a hundred years earlier than in history.
Both the bridge and the local residents were very lucky. The construction of the bridge was completed smoothly and it was quickly put into use.
At the same time, France does not want immigrants to come into contact with Ming people to avoid unnecessary conflicts and unpredictable consequences.
The public opinion atmosphere in French colonialism is not much better than that in British America, and it is also sitting on a string that is about to be broken.
But neither the officials nor the local residents expected the Ming troops to arrive so quickly.
There are still a large number of residents stranded in the city.
Some residents are simply slow to move, but many are reluctant to leave.
The reasons for not wanting to leave are two extremes.
Some refused to leave the place where they had lived for a long time and opposed France ceding the land where they lived.
Some fantasized about becoming citizens of the Ming Dynasty and did not want the French to force them to rebuild wasteland elsewhere.
When the fleet carrying the Ming Dynasty flag sailed into the Quebec port, the originally busy and chaotic port slowly came to a halt.
Whether it was people who were leaving, people who refused to leave, or people who didn't want to leave, everyone stopped.
Let’s look at the foreign ships coming from afar.
But they reacted quickly, and there was a chaotic discussion.
"It's Daming's ship!"
"They came to drive us from our homes—"
"My house, my fields, everything I have is here, no one can drive me away!"
"I'm going to petition the officials of Ming Dynasty and ask them to allow us to stay!"
"Don't surrender to Akito, we should fight!"
These discussions do not affect the actions of the people of Ming Dynasty.
Daming's ship slowly stopped at the dock and lowered the gangway.
More than three hundred army soldiers from one division quickly walked down the gangway with rifles on their backs and ran and dispersed on the dock.
Check the surrounding situation, drive away the crowds who are too close, and after controlling the situation at the dock, line up on both sides of the road.
During the agricultural era of the Ming Dynasty, the average height was not at a disadvantage compared to other European and American countries.
During World War I, the Beiyang government sent 140,000 Chinese workers to Britain and France.
The British and French impressions of them are that they are all strong men, which is completely different from the American impression of the short Chinese workers.
Because most of the Chinese workers who went to the United States to build railroads were "piglets" who were sold there, and they were extremely poor people who could not survive.
The Chinese workers requested by Britain and France were "strong" workers selected from Shandong with the cooperation of the Beiyang government.
The British recorded at the time that some Chinese workers were over six feet tall, or 183 centimeters.
Many old photos left at that time show that many Chinese workers were taller than British and French soldiers and officers.
This shows that before industrialization, large numbers of "strong men" who were taller than Europeans could already be found in the East.
This shows that there is no physical gap between the two sides.
After all, the number of 140,000 is enough to form ten divisions, and it is impossible for British and French soldiers to specifically look for short men.
In other eras, if there is a gap in general physical fitness between the two sides, it should be mainly due to the nutritional gap caused by living standards.
The Ming Dynasty in this world has been the first to industrialize for more than a hundred years.
It also controlled the grasslands in the north of the mainland, the Nanyang Islands, Tiannan Continent, and the grasslands of Nanyinzhou.
Before the war began, the living standards of the normal working class in Ming Dynasty had far exceeded those of farmers in the agricultural era.
It was the continuous consumption in the middle and late stages of the war that caused the living standards of ordinary people to continue to decline.
But Xintianfu is different.
Xintianfu Imperial Villa is the "escape" for the Ming Dynasty royal family. The welfare benefits received by ordinary people here are among the best in the world.
There is basically no extreme poverty, and there are very few extremely wealthy groups. Moderately wealthy families account for the vast majority of the entire society.
Even ordinary Yin people, as long as they are not stuck in the old forest and are willing to work for the imperial village, can have enough food and clothing.
The education they received made them generally understand that their current good life came from the emperor's special care.
This can ensure that when the emperor runs away to Xintianfu, he can be directly accepted by them and continue to be emperor in Xintianfu.
Xintianfu controls the Nanyinzhou Prairie and Great Plains, and there is a long-term oversupply of food and meat.
This kept their living standards from declining due to the war.
They are very motivated to defend their current good life, and their desire to seize more land for the emperor and the imperial village is very strong.
The soldiers of Nanyinzhou Xintianfu Imperial Mansion were all from the middle class.
They grew up eating plenty of meat, and they were screened out when they joined the army.
Therefore, the soldiers coming out now are basically tall and strong young men.
Their height is as low as 1.72 meters, and most of them are 1.75 meters tall.
When they stood on the pier, they were obviously taller than the average local people. Few of the French people around them were taller than 1.7 meters.
The key is that these soldiers came from the Xintianfu Imperial Mansion and were theoretically the personal soldiers of the Emperor of the World Empire. Before disembarking from the ship, they all changed into gorgeous military uniforms similar to the Jinyiwei Feiyu uniforms.
This made the spirit of their entire team obviously different from that of the local French.
The colonial immigrants in France were either poor people who could not make a living in their own country, or they were speculative small businessmen.
There was already a gap in image and temperament between them and Huangzhuang soldiers, and coupled with the strong culture of the Ming Dynasty, the gap in psychological perception was further widened.
Many colonial men felt ashamed looking at these Ming soldiers.
Many women looked at these soldiers in a daze.
The previous discussions have also obviously disappeared. Many of those who shouted to fight are now afraid to speak out.
The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty stood in rows on the dock without making any unnecessary movements.
Several more people got off the boat.
First of all, there are the officers, Chen Shaohong, the governor of the town, and Zhu Guangjun, the governor of the army.
After the Renwu Dynasty, Emperor Shizu reformed the military governor system, changed the position from special to fixed, and significantly adjusted the powers.
All troops above the sentry level have permanent governors, most of whom are appointed by distant clan members and relatives. The governors above the post level are directly appointed by the emperor.
The military governor is responsible for the supervision of military discipline, regularly provides ideological and cultural classes to soldiers, and is responsible for dealing with civilians and officials when performing tasks.
Under normal circumstances, the governor is not allowed to interfere with combat command, but when an officer issues an obviously unreasonable order, the governor can stop and take over the army.
However, the military governor must be relieved of his post and go alone to the Military Aircraft Department and the Zongren Mansion to explain, file and report to the emperor.
Then there is the captain of the West Factory, also known as the stall, Lu Liang, and several of his subordinates, also known as Fanzi.
Emperor Shizu reduced the size of the palace and gradually abolished the eunuch system, using widowed strong women to do menial jobs in the inner court.
Foreign slaves were not qualified to enter the palace, nor to be eunuchs.
Everyone in the East and West Factory has long been a normal person.
The governor is responsible for military occupation, the governor is responsible for temporary civil affairs, and the stall is responsible for things under the table.
They are the smallest team that can take over a city militarily.
Several people stood on the pier and looked at the surrounding buildings and scenes. Chen Shaohong said with emotion:
"Oh, the scenery here is pretty good, but it's a bit too cold. It's already August, so why is it still so cold? It's only in the early teens. Xintianfu seems to be over 20 degrees..."
Warlord Zhu Guangrui said with a smile:
"Old Chen, you are used to it in Nanyinzhou. It will be August 15th soon. Can the weather in the northern hemisphere not be cold?
"And this is 46 degrees north latitude, just as far north as Hecheng (Qiqihar).
"If you have to compare it, it's actually much warmer here than in the Ming Dynasty. Do you know what Crane City looks like at this time?"
Chen Shaohong reacted immediately:
"That's right. We were originally in the southern hemisphere, but this is the northern hemisphere. It's almost winter in the northern hemisphere, and it's going to get colder and colder."
The two people here were chatting, and the crowd around them also moved.
A middle-aged man wearing a priest's robe led a group of people to the pier in a panic.
Acting Mayor of Quebec, Bishop Geoffrey of the Archdiocese of Quebec.
When the Ming Dynasty's fleet entered the Quebec dock, Jeffrey received the news.
But something got in the way, so I arrived at the scene a little late.
Jeffrey ran under the boat, bowed to Chen Shaohong and others, panted slightly, and said hello in standard Ming Dynasty elegance:
"Your Majesty, Acting Mayor of Quebec, Jeffrey, has kept several generals waiting for a long time..."
Chen Shaohong took a step back and waved his hand in front of his nose with a very disgusted expression.
Zhu Guangrui did not retreat, but he slightly bent his fingers to cover up his mouth and nose.
The two of them didn't mean to humiliate this time, they really smelled it.
Some soldiers who had been on the boat for several days without taking a shower did not smell that strong.
Jeffrey was suddenly embarrassed and quickly took a step back.
I was mainly exercising before I received the news. After I received the news, I became even more nervous, and then I ran all the way.
I was sweating all over, and the smell came out immediately.
Jeffrey didn't think there was anything wrong with what the two Ming officers did. He just quickly clamped his arms and carefully apologized:
"Reckless, reckless, Ming generals, please forgive me..."
Chen Shaohong didn’t want to talk nonsense to him. He pointed at the immigrants in the distance and told Jeffrey:
"We have nothing to say between us. Let those who want to leave leave quickly. This place now belongs to our Ming Dynasty."
Jeffrey said helplessly:
"Yes... we know, but... some people have lived here for many years and have many things in their homes, and they are unwilling to leave..."
Chen Shaohong kept a straight face and said nothing, but Zhu Guangjun immediately shouted back, and the words were so loud that the surrounding soldiers could hear:
"No matter how long you live here, will you be able to outlast the ancestors of the Yin people? The Yin people asked you to drive them all out.
“Our Highness is being magnanimous in letting you leave on your own.
"The other side of the river is your territory, and there is a ready-made bridge on the river. You will be given three days to cross the river.
"The handover of Quebec City must be completed before August 15th of the Ming Dynasty.
“We are now starting to receive city agencies and military installations.”
Jeffrey could only nod helplessly and agreed:
"Okay, I will definitely, no matter what method I use, I will let everyone leave as soon as possible..."
After the two parties met in this way, they took out documents to confirm each other's identities, and were ready to officially start the handover of the city.
During this process, some commotion broke out in the crowd not far away.
Zhu Guangjun looked up and saw a group of French people wearing Ming Dynasty costumes trying to break into the circle surrounded by Ming Dynasty soldiers.
Of course the soldiers didn't let them in, so they held their rifles horizontally and blocked them away with all their strength, while shouting:
"Back off! Back off! Otherwise we're going to shoot!"
Zhu Guangjun thought about it for a moment, then called a few guards to go over with him and take a look.
When the French over there saw Zhu Guangrui coming, they immediately stopped struggling, and the soldiers also stopped blocking.
Before Zhu Guangjun opened his mouth to ask, one of them shouted loudly in a very non-standard Daming dialect:
"General of the Ming Dynasty, we don't want to leave here, we want to continue living here."
Zhu Guangjun's tone was quite gentle, but in fact he said very coldly:
"I'm sorry, you are French citizens, so you are not under our control. We cannot force you to stay."
Someone from the opposite side immediately shouted:
"We are not French citizens and France will not give us citizenship!"
Zhu Guangjun continued to explain his refusal and said:
"Then you are also residents of the French colony. According to the peace treaty signed between Ming Dynasty and France, we have no right to decide your stay.
"Moreover, even if the French don't take you away and allow you to stay, you can only get the right of residence in the local vassal country."
It was quiet for a while, and then someone shouted:
“Residency is fine too!”
“I am willing to stay if I have the right of residence!”
"The rights of residence in the Ming vassal state are also better than those in French colonies."
Zhu Guangjun still said the same thing:
"We need to abide by the peace treaty we signed with France, and you are still under the French colonial government."
The crowd on the opposite side began to plead again, and only the right of residence was willing to stay.
But Zhu Guangjun was completely unmoved.
Zhu Guangjun himself actually has no objection to retaining a group of Westerners as low-level workers. At least the Westerners are much more useful than black slaves.
But His Highness the Food King, who is in charge of these matters, is not interested in this.
On the other side, Chen Shaohong, the governor, and Lu Liang, the commander of the West Factory, also came over.
Chen Shaohong smiled dryly and said:
"Warlord, the details of our peace treaty with the French are not important at all.
"We want to leave a group of Westerners to work for us, and they don't dare to gossip at all.
"I remember that Xichang needs this kind of people. The image of us Ming people is too different from that of Xiyi, and we can't do many small jobs."
Chen Shaohong glanced at Lu Liang as he spoke. Lu Liang smiled and shook his head and said:
"Thank you Chen Zhenfu for your kindness, but they are not the people our West Factory needs most. We can easily find many such people.
"But if they have to do detailed work for the West Factory, then they are not qualified. Their temperament is too easy to spot."
Chen Shaohong suddenly became interested:
"Those who have such a heart for our Ming Dynasty are not qualified. So what kind of person does it take to catch the eye of your Xichang?"
Lu Liang explained casually:
"First of all, you cannot be a 'Minghua element', it is best to be an ordinary person among the Western Barbarians.
“But they may be depressed and frustrated, and may have suffered a lot in their society, so it’s best if they still have some ability.
"They are still thinking in the Western way, but they will work for our Ming Dynasty."
Chen Shaohong frowned and shook his head and said:
"Your job is too complicated. Even if there are such people, there is no way to simply screen them out."
Lu Liang smiled and said:
"So we won't bother General. We at the West Factory can handle this kind of work ourselves."
When you see the first release of Daming 1805, remember the domain name: .w.8.2...m. 82 Chinese website mobile domain name:
