Qianlong: Qing Dynasty?What about my Daqing?

Chapter 346 From East to West
Kant nodded.

He inspected the Chinese countryside in detail.

The extreme poverty and hunger are shocking.

If Wu Dunyuan didn't lie to him.

Coming to Shanghai to work is indeed much better than staying in the countryside.

In the rural areas of China, it is not easy for a family of five to rent 10 mu of land, so it is calculated on the basis of 10 mu.

I didn't earn a few shimi that year.

As for this, it still needs to be under the condition of good weather.

If you encounter some drought and flood disasters.

Then I am afraid that I will owe usury that can never be repaid again. With usury on my back, life will be even more difficult.

And work in a factory.

If the husband and wife enter the factory, they can earn about 96 yuan a month, which is 100 yuan a year. Counting the red envelope given by the boss in Guangdong, I don’t know if there is [-] yuan.

100 yuan.

That can buy 20 shi of rice.

If the three children are over 10 years old, they will also come to work.

You can transfer about 150 yuan a year, and you can save 100 yuan if you live frugally.

And it is also drought and flood protection.

It is much better than farming.

and this.

It is also the fundamental reason why capitalists like Wu Dunyuan can hire a lot of cheap labor with a salary of five yuan-the Ming Empire has too many people, and it is impossible for the surplus labor left in the countryside to earn any money.

Now there is a way out, and everyone wants to squeeze their heads in.

"Demographic Dividend.."

This word suddenly flashed in Kant's mind.

Just when Kant was inspecting the factory in Shanghai.

Several carriages also entered the slums of Shanghai.

As the cradle of the proletariat of the Ming Empire.

The city of Shanghai has finally begun to be like those cities that emerged in the era of the first industrial revolution.

Black smoke from the chimney billowed overhead.

The sewage is discharged directly into the river.

The whole city emits bursts of pungent and choking smells—this is the stench that represents progress, civilization, and industrialization.

The city is now flooded with industrial waste gas, waste water and garbage. The air smells of soot, feces, and sewage, and is also mixed with tuberculosis, cholera, diphtheria, typhoid, and other infectious diseases. Dead bacteria.

Such a terrible scene in the middle of the 19th century definitely meant that the country was strong, the nation was rising, the military power was awesome, and the industrialization that countless poor and weak countries dreamed of!

In this era, it means that the Ming Empire owns the only two industrialized cities in the world-Shanghai and Guangzhou.

"Guangzhou should be similar to this, right?"

Luo Fangmei frowned, covered her mouth and nose with a silk handkerchief, and expressed her sincere emotion: "I'm afraid we can't live in the house in Guangzhou."

Want to go back to Guangzhou?

That old house should have been demolished long ago.

It's just that Luo Fangbo, Gu Song and others all think that it is the "Longxing place", which is related to the geomantic omen of the Ming Dynasty and cannot be demolished.

According to Emperor Zhu's idea.

Even if you go back to Guangdong, it is best to live in Qingyuan, Zhaoqing and other places with beautiful mountains and rivers.

Who wants to live in Guangzhou, which is full of industrial pollution?
When Emperor Zhu thought of Guangzhou, he remembered how he fled from Guangzhou in embarrassment.

Up to now.

It's already 13.

I have been in this world for 13 years.

These 13 years.

It was like a dream to him.

He changed from a traveler to a wanted criminal, and then to the Emperor of Restoration of Ming Dynasty.

And this 13 years.

The Eastern world has undergone earth-shaking changes.

The mite Qing Dynasty no longer exists.

Instead.

It was a Ming Empire that started the process of the Industrial Revolution.

For Zhu Daohua.

Shanghai is a city that makes him feel special.

Uh.
Because Boss Zhu’s first love is a Shanghai girl, if there is no accident, he will go to Shanghai to find a hospital to work after graduating from a master’s degree in medicine, and then try to trick the Shanghai old man and mother-in-law who don’t think highly of him into marrying his daughter give him.

Unfortunately.

The accident still came.

"Shanghai's sewer project needs to be stepped up, this place is really smelly."

Emperor Zhu frowned and said.

"We have to plan the industrial area and protect the water source. Otherwise, if the entire Yangtze River is polluted, what water will the people of Shanghai have to eat? The upstream water source must be planned first. It is best to let Shanghai pay for the construction of the reservoir. In the future The water in these reservoirs is for the people of Shanghai to eat.”

Emperor Zhu said.

He came to Shanghai this time.

It's just for the "sanitary inspection".

Because with the expansion of slums.

The accumulation of population and the increase of environmental pollution.

Last summer, small-scale plagues occurred almost simultaneously in Guangzhou and Shanghai.

Shanghai is plagued by plague.

Guangzhou is cholera.

After the plague.

The government offices in both Shanghai and Guangzhou accepted the suggestion of His Majesty the Divine Doctor Emperor.

1. Set up the Epidemic Prevention Station and the Environmental Sanitation Office, which are mainly responsible for improving urban environmental sanitation.

2. Improve the urban drainage system.

In fact, ancient Chinese cities had drainage systems.

It's just that this kind of drainage system cannot meet the drainage needs of industrialized cities.

Therefore, a perfect design is required.

And Emperor Zhu's visit to Shanghai this time was a private visit in Weifu.

The Shanghai Municipal Government was not notified.

He didn't bring a large number of imperial guards, but just brought dozens of plainclothes guards and Queen Luo Fangmei, and came to Shanghai without anyone noticing.

Today he and the queen wandered around the industrial areas and slums on both sides of the Wusong River, the dirtiest place in Shanghai.

It can be regarded as fully appreciating the life of the working class in dire straits under the booming industrial civilization.

And what he saw and heard in Shanghai fully realized what capitalism is
Now Xing Yusheng, magistrate of Shanghai.

As one of the three hundred old brothers.

Of course, he implemented Emperor Zhu's suggestion without compromise.

He has indeed made great efforts in disease prevention and sanitation.

But Xing Yusheng Dazhi City seems to only think that the rich districts, financial districts, and commercial districts are Shanghai. As for the slums
He didn't care at all.

In rich areas, there are people on the streets who are cleaning up garbage.

There is also a rodent control team, which releases rodent control drugs in various places.

But these benefits are not available in the slums.

In particular, the slums made up of stretches of low-slung shantytowns are even more filthy, almost like a garbage dump.

There was a stench everywhere, beggars filled the narrow streets, and even corpses that died of freezing or starvation could be seen.

Children with bare feet and tattered clothes are chasing and playing in this environment, and they must not have the opportunity to receive education. I really don't know if they will become objects of exploitation by the bourgeoisie or gravediggers in the future?

Emperor Zhu shook his head when he saw it.

country under his rule.

It's really a bit like gold and jade on the outside and ruins on the inside.

But in fact, the ancestors of the developed countries in later generations have also suffered from this kind of suffering.

in this era.

Whether it is a powerful industrialized colonial empire or a traditional feudal country, the people at the bottom have a hard time.

Among the post houses in Shanghai.

An old friend of His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Empire.

Mr. Kant, a famous philosopher, is writing hard in his room.

".Dear Heinrich, I am writing to you right now in Shanghai, the most promising industrial city in the Ming Empire. How are you doing? Say hello to Davari and little Vivian for me, love from China. "

"... I spent five years from 1791 to 1796, and basically completed the basic investigation of the Ming Empire and the Eastern world. Maybe after writing this letter, I will return to Europe. Before that , I have some inspirations and feelings. Under the leadership of Emperor Zhu Daohua, the Ming Empire is undergoing earth-shaking changes. Perhaps this change will completely change the course of the entire human society. The industrial revolution brought about by the steam engine makes people palpitate. I may have witnessed an incredible turning point in China. The productivity brought about by industrial production has increased exponentially, and the entire Ming Empire has entered a period of rapid expansion. era, and in the process, it is quite cruel and dirty.”

"The Ming Empire launched wars to the north, south, and west to acquire land, and the purpose of these wars was to digest the excess population of the Ming Empire. At the same time, during this process, the agricultural production of the Ming Empire also occurred. changed."

".With the reduction of food prices, the industrialization process of the Ming Empire seems to have become faster. My friend the emperor seems to have expected this long ago."

In fact, Zhu Daohua's expansion policy was not aimed at increasing agricultural output.

Instead, they want to win more living space for future generations.

In this way, the dynasty he created can be passed on for a longer time.

However, in this process, there are also some "side effects."

The two policies of seizing and cultivating fertile land and of attacking and containing the bureaucratic landlord class led to the emergence of more efficient capitalist agriculture.

This high efficiency refers to labor productivity and economic benefits, rather than simply pursuing an increase in unit grain output.

".After writing this letter, I will go to bid farewell to the emperor. The Ming Empire will have a liaison ship with the European embassy every month. At that time, I can take this ship to return to Europe. My experience in the East, Enough to become the focus of my work for the next ten years—a book about the East and the Ming Empire, just thinking about it makes me very excited. Looking forward to our reunion in Europe—your friend: Kant.”

After writing this letter.

Kant put it in an envelope, opened the door, and handed it to an attendant.

The Ming Empire's ship to Europe will leave the port in two days
Kant's letter sailed to Europe with the ship of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Ming Empire.

And at the same time.

United Kingdom.

London.

A room next to Downing Street.

The decoration is not luxurious and looks very old, at least it doesn't match the power of the British Empire.

This is the famous 10 Downing Street.

A house with 60 rooms and over 100 years of history looks old and dilapidated due to poor maintenance.

The Prime Minister of the British Empire, William Pitt, has already planned to raise funds to renovate 10 Downing Street.

But as soon as the news came out.

His political opponents began to launch newspapers, attacking William Pitt Jr. for "wasting taxpayers' money indiscriminately."

Therefore, not many people dared to repair this prime minister's official residence.

It has the shabby charm of the yamen of the Qing Dynasty.

In fact, Prime Minister William Pitt has his own manor and villa, so he is unlikely to live here.

It is only used as an office and meeting place.

After an entanglement with those members of the parliament.

Little William Burt hurried back to No. 10 Downing Street, where King George III had been waiting for a long time.

During this period, the British Empire suffered a lot of bad luck.

But there are two most important things.

"Has the matter over in Tsarist Russia been confirmed?"

George III was sitting in front of the large conference table, and asked after seeing William Burt Jr. coming in.

"Confirmed, the Russian Tsar Petrovich ordered the Russian army to enter the Balkans and the Caucasus in two ways. It seems that the war between the Russians and the Turks will continue again!" William Burt Jr. said: "Russia is in the hands of the Chinese. Got a lot of weapons, it seems that the Ming Empire and the Russian Empire have reconciled, Russia's eyes turned to the south, and the Chinese began to look to the other side of the Pacific!"

Hearing the words of Prime Minister William Burt Jr., George III looked solemn: "This is not reconciliation, it is submission!"

Little William Burt nodded.

It is indeed surrender.

Russia lost the vast land of Eastern Siberia.

Moreover, they couldn't wait to start the war against Ottoman Turkey, which also meant to reassure Daming.

Tsarist Russia, scared of being beaten by Ming!

But this way.

The British Empire was in trouble.

"The Russians are doing well in the Balkans and the Caucasus, and the Ottoman Empire doesn't look like they'll be able to stand up to a Russian army armed with Ming weapons."

Little William Burt frowned and said.

George III took a deep breath.

"How are the French doing now?"

Mention the French.

Little William Burt frowned even tighter.

The anti-French coalition was defeated.

Just when London was worried that the French would take advantage of the trend to occupy the German region, conquer Spain, and establish a power in the European continent-based on the performance of the French army in this war and their superiority in equipment, this is not unreasonable. possible things.

Once this happens, it means the failure of the British Empire's balanced policy on the European continent.

But thankfully.

At the crucial moment.

The commander-in-chief of the French army, Napoleon, Duke of Jia of the Ming Empire, was suddenly transferred from the front line.

Only then did the Anti-French Alliance breathe a sigh of relief.

At the same time, it also got a respite.

The two sides are now at a standoff.

but.

Little William Burt knew that before the British Empire or other European countries obtained the same weapons as the French army.

War will not start.

"Those Frenchmen missed their chance to take over half of Europe."

There was a sneer at the corner of George III's mouth.

"They don't have a king, so... the power struggle is still going on, and they have no intention of expanding abroad."

"But there is no doubt that they have a strong army now," George III said.

(End of this chapter)