1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 825 Dongzhou
Li Qingli kicked Scott Moore lightly, reminding him not to stare at His Royal Highness so excitedly.In this way, it is obviously a bit presumptuous.

"How long have you been in Handong Trading Company?" Prince Qi Zixing asked warmly.

"Back to His Royal Highness, the three of us have been in Handong Trading Company for seven or eight years." Seeing that the two companions were silent, Li Qingli said cautiously.

"Seven or eight years, you can be regarded as an old man of the business company." Qi Zixing nodded, and then asked: "Then you should be very clear about the situation of the several island territories under the jurisdiction of the business company, right?"

"Returning to His Royal Highness, although we have served in the trading company for seven or eight years, the territory developed by the trading company is relatively broad, covering many islands, and the ordinary people dare not lie and know everything."

"Gonggong Island (now New Zealand's North Island) and Jingwei Island (now New Zealand's South Island) in the Dongzhou area are the core development territories of your Handong Trading Company. You should be more clear about the situation on these two islands, right?"

"...Xiaomin is quite clear about the situation on these two islands." Li Qingli nodded in response, "I don't know what aspects His Royal Highness wants to know, but Xiaomin knows everything."

"Hmm..." Qi Zixing pondered for a moment, then said with a smile, "Tell me about the current development of these two islands first....Bring them a few chairs, sit down and talk slowly."

"...Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince." Li Qingli paused for a moment, watching a few attendants bring three chairs for them, and then sat down gently, but only a little bit of the seat was touched by his buttocks.

"My Handong Trading Company was established 20 years ago, and then I was granted full authority to develop the vast sea area east of Hanzhou. As His Royal Highness said, the two islands of Gonggong and Jingwei under the jurisdiction of Dongzhou are the core of our Handong Trading Company. After years of development, the trading company has set up a total of more than ten large-scale strongholds on these two large islands. In addition, under the care of the Ministry of Immigration and the Ministry of Civil Affairs, more than 9000 people have immigrated here from the mainland .At present, including the population born one after another, it is estimated that the two islands have [-] to [-] people from our country of Qi."

"My Handong Trading Co., Ltd. is on these two islands. The main business activities are to develop local gold, silver and copper mines, harvest giant trees, and hunt for fur. In addition, there are many whales, seals, and sea lions in the waters there. The whaling ships under the trading company And many fishing boats will hunt these marine animals to obtain whale products, seal oil and fur. Whether these products are shipped to our Hanzhou mainland, or to Luzon, Japan, or even Ming Dynasty, they can earn a lot of income .”

"In addition, the Dongzhou area is also used as a logistics transfer base for trading companies to develop territories in the South Pacific. Countless island specialties are gathered here. After simple processing and processing, they are continuously exported to the mainland..."

"Dongzhou has also established some processing factories?" Qi Zixing asked curiously.

"Returning to His Royal Highness, the trading company has established some simple processing plants in several strongholds in Dongzhou, mainly processing whale products, peeling animal fur, and processing ship materials. At the same time, in order to process the whale meat, seal meat and countless fish. , and also introduced several food processing plants to make various canned meats and export them to the mainland. Oh, yes, there is also a ship repair shop in Guangzhou Fort (now Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand) on Jingwei Island. Its numerous transport merchant ships provide vessel maintenance.”

"Then do you think that with the resources and manpower on these two islands, they can separate themselves?" Qi Zixing asked lightly.

"There are 9000 people on the two islands, and more than ten strongholds. Tens of thousands of mu of fertile land have been reclaimed, plus several excellent fishing grounds in the nearby sea area. It must be no problem for people to eat. Therefore, in addition to some production Except for the relatively short supply of tools and daily necessities, everything else is fine. Self-reliance, it’s not impossible to be self-reliant..., self-reliance..." Li Qingli suddenly felt something was wrong, and his face turned pale.

It seems that His Royal Highness is not asking about self-sufficiency in production and life, but self-reliance!

"Your Handong Trading Company has recruited a large number of armed guards in the eastern coastal area in recent months, why?" Qi Zixing stared into Li Qingli's eyes and asked in a deep voice.

"The aborigines on the two islands of Gonggong and Jingwei have intensified conflicts with our trading company since February and March this year, and frequently attacked the strongholds of our trading company and caravans heading inland. The number of guards on the island was seriously insufficient. For a while It is difficult to suppress. Therefore, in addition to mobilizing the immigrants on the two islands to form a crusade team, several big shopkeepers of the trading company also sent people to recruit armed guards in the eastern coastal area of ​​Hanzhou to deal with the crisis on the island."

"Indigenous riots on the island?" Qi Zixing frowned and asked, "Handong Trading Co., Ltd. has been in operation for so many years. Before that, didn't the situation in various places be controlled very smoothly? Why are there incidents of indigenous attacks on strongholds and caravans now, and It even made it necessary to urgently recruit armed guards in the mainland for suppression?"

"I think...it's probably because our trading company has drawn too much money on the island, which has made the local natives increasingly dissatisfied." Li Qingli said with a bitter face: "In addition, the immigrants who immigrated to the island often encroach on the arable land of the indigenous tribes. And The aborigines also often stole the livestock and poultry raised by the immigrants, and there were often conflicts and confrontations between the two sides. The local tribal leaders did not tattoo the face of the aborigines controlled by our stronghold, which also made them feel offended and kept claiming those things to us. Indigenous affiliation . . . "

"Smoking ding?"

"In order to develop the many islands in the east, the trading company will draw young men from the tribes under its control and send them to those islands to act as guards. Military headquarters, Weiyuan (New Guinea Island), Xuanhua (Timor Island), Java, Luzon, Ming Dynasty In other regions, those maori aborigines who are strong in stature are considered to be more deterrent, and they will also ask our trading company to provide some servants to clean up the aborigines in the area or carry out combat missions in the Ming area. In this way, the aborigines drawn every year The number of strong people is around 800."

"I'm afraid the several colonies in the Americas have drawn a lot of young natives from Gonggong and Jingwei Islands." Qi Zixing nodded after hearing this and said, "In this way, the strength of the natives there should not be weakened. No, why can't the guards of your trading company control the local situation with a large number of muskets and artillery?"

"Returning to His Royal Highness, in the past 20 years, due to the frequent contact between the guards and immigrants of the trading company and the local aborigines, many firearms have been lost. In addition, the aborigines there are familiar with the local geographical environment, and when they conflict with our trading company, they will not confront us directly. Instead, relying on the mountains, rivers, and forests, they attacked our inland caravans and coastal strongholds in a guerrilla manner. Those natives were brave and good at fighting, and made the guards and immigrants of the trading company suffer a lot. Therefore, several big shopkeepers of the trading company prepared Recruit more guards and carry out a large-scale campaign against the local indigenous tribes to completely stabilize the security situation on the island."

"Currently, who is the person in charge in Dongzhou?"

"It's Qi Pengwu, the young owner of the trading company."

When Qi Zixing heard this, he was taken aback for a moment, and then smiled wryly.Qi Pengwu, the young owner of the Handong Trading Company, is really not an outsider. He is the eldest son of his uncle Qi Dahai. However, he was born and raised in Fujian. Until then, he moved to the mainland of Hanzhou with his parents and family.Because he lacked the necessary systematic education since he was a child, he was relatively rough, and coupled with his own special identity background, he seemed domineering and flamboyant when he was in Jianye City.The aborigines on the two islands of Gonggong and Jingwei probably had a certain relationship with his radical character and simple and rude management style.

"Do you think that with the strength of your Handong Trading Company, you can stabilize the situation on those two islands?"

"Should... yes. Although those aborigines also have some firearms in their hands, they are definitely not many. Moreover, there are dozens of aboriginal tribes, large and small, on both islands. For them, a tribe is a country. The chiefs are their kings, and different tribes still oppose each other because of blood feuds and grievances. If our trading company can gather more armed guards, we will surely subdue those ignorant and backward tribal natives one by one."

"When will you return to the Dongzhou area?"

"Returning to His Royal Highness, our merchant ship will leave Daxing in three days. It will first go to Linzi (now Sydney, Australia) and Nandu (now Melbourne, Australia) to load necessary living materials and industrial products, and then pass through Bliss Island (now Australia) Tasmania) to Guangzhou Fort on Jingwei Island."

"When you left Chang'an, bring me a letter to Qi Pengwu. I have something to tell him."

"It is a great honor for Xiaomin to serve His Highness the Crown Prince."

"I took up a lot of time for you to learn about the situation of your Handong Trading Company today." Qi Zixing said with a smile, "If you don't mind, you can stay in this palace and have a light meal."

"Thank you, Your Highness, for your kindness." Li Qingli swallowed, "I still have to catch the noon train to return to Daxing, so I won't bother His Highness anymore."

After Li Qingli and the other three were sent out of the palace by an officer of the imperial guards, they all felt a little ecstatic.

"Didn't we return to Daxing tomorrow?" Half a minute later, Scott Moore looked back at the majestic and majestic palace, yearning for it, "We should have lunch inside. Such a thing is enough for us to show off for a lifetime ah!"

"You know what!" Li Qingli glanced at Scott Moore, "His Royal Highness invited us to dinner, it was just a polite remark. You fucking mean it!"

"No way." Scott Moore was stunned. "This prince looks very sincere, without any condescending attitude. It should be his sincere wish to invite us to dinner, right?"

"Old Mo, you still need to learn more about the culture of our Han people." Huang Yuancai looked back at the palace, smiled and patted Scott Moore on the shoulder, "Sometimes, people say to invite you to dinner , I don’t really want to treat you to dinner.”

"why?"

"It's a human-to-human courtesy."

"Courtesy between people?"

"Come on, don't stick around here anymore. Let's find a place to fool our stomachs. I saw His Highness the Crown Prince today, and I feel a lot of extravagance. What do you want to eat, I treat you!"

"...Li, are you being polite to us?"

"Haha..." Li Qingli laughed loudly when he heard this, "This is not a formality, I am sincerely inviting you to dinner!"

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On July 7, Gonggong Island, Xing'an Fort (now Tauranga City, North Island, New Zealand).

Qi Pengwu, the young owner of the Handong Trading Company and the general manager of Dongzhou, looked at the tattooed head on the table with an ugly face, and then turned his head to look at the smiling elder of the indigenous tribe in front of him, his expression constantly changing with.

It has been four years since I came to Dongzhou, and it's not like I haven't seen blood and killed people.But for this large tribe with a population of 500 people, a head full of tattoos on the face was used to express peace to them, and I still felt a little angry.

What's the matter, take a human head to scare the men?When I was in Fujian, I killed someone when I was 15 years old. During the two years in Dongzhou, I even killed you local barbarians. How can I be frightened by your behavior?
"Tell them, those who obey will prosper, and those who oppose will perish." Qi Pengwu said coldly: "Since you have expressed submission to our company, then don't put on such a rebellious posture. Three days later, a hundred A soldier, with the escort team into the mountains to wipe out those indigenous tribes who do not accept Wanghua."

Handong Trading Co., Ltd. occupies and operates countless islands in the South Pacific region. Basically, after landing on the island, it shows some force and can successfully incorporate the local aborigines into the colonial management system.But only the aborigines on Gonggong and Jingwei islands are wild and difficult to tame. If they disagree with each other, they dare to use simple and backward weapons to make enemies of our Qi people. For more than 20 years, Handong Trading Co., Ltd. has been operating in coastal areas and has not yet entered the inland.

Originally thought that the ocean blocked the communication between these islands and the main mainland, and it should bring them peace and quiet.It is a pity that the natives on the island have not become as gentle as the kiwis on the island (the well-known kiwis, which are also translated as kiwis).

These aborigines, called Maori by the king, are tough by nature, as if bloodthirsty is a trait engraved in their genes, and it is very difficult to domesticate.Moreover, these indigenous people also have an incomprehensible custom, that is, tattooing.

It may be that the early Maori only used linen fabrics to cover their bodies, and it was difficult to distinguish their status from each other.So, they identify themselves with a tattoo called "MOKO".They are tattooed not only on the body but also on the face.

After dealing with these Maori for a long time, you can see the tribe and family history of a person from the tattoo on his face. Accepting the tattoo of "Moka" is the most important milestone in their life. It means he is officially an adult.Later, when this person achieved certain achievements and established a career, he would also paint different patterns on his face.

However, what is most unacceptable to the people of Qi is that when a person with tattoos on his face dies, his relatives usually keep his head and make a specimen for long-term preservation. The production of specimens is similar to the method of making mummies in ancient Egypt.

First, the brain and eyes of the deceased were removed, and the cavities in the head were filled and sealed with flax fibers and gum.The heads are then boiled or steamed, smoked over an open fire and dried in the sun for a few days before being treated with shark oil.

The well-preserved heads of these indigenous people are usually called "mokomokai" (mokomokai), which are regarded as family treasures and are only taken out on special occasions such as sacrifices.

In addition to making "Moka Mokai" for their own people, these wild and fierce Maori also made "Moka Mokai" from the heads of enemy leaders killed in battle.These skull specimens generally played an important role in intertribal ceremonies of war and peace.If the two sides confront each other, then take out the head specimens of the other tribe to hit the morale of the other side.If the two sides desire peace, then exchange each other's head specimens.

"So, this head belongs to our Qi people?" After hearing the explanation from Xing'an Fort Commander Cai Chengping, Qi Pengwu couldn't help but change color.

"This head is very likely to belong to Lu Zhenggen, the deputy captain of the Xing'an Fort Guards who was captured by them." Cai Chengping carefully looked at the head with many patterns tattooed on his face, "Perhaps, before they killed Lu Zhenggen, they specially Got a tattoo on his face and made it look like 'Moka Mokai'."

"Lead people to slaughter them tomorrow!" Qi Pengwu said bitterly: "At the moment when they express their submission tomorrow, take the opportunity to slaughter this tribe."

(End of this chapter)