The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 58 Changes in Indian Colonial Policy

On September 1724, 1, Fengyuan (now Chennai, India, also known as Madras).

Trade and empire have always gone hand in hand, and even, at a certain period, these two words were a pair of close synonyms.

The specious theory of expansion such as "Wherever the dragon flag is planted, trade will expand" has not yet been fully formed. However, starting from the establishment of trading stations and settlements overseas by various trade monopoly trading companies and countless adventurous merchants in Qi State, the dumping industry Manufacture of manufactured goods and capture of wealth were important motivations for empire expansion.

According to census data four years ago, approximately 13.5% of the population in Qi are engaged in trade. Together with the industrial population (including mining, construction, etc.), the proportion of the industrial and commercial population exceeds 45%, far exceeding the population in the agricultural sector. Proportion.In the past 20 years or so, the rise of consumer society in Qi is inseparable from the prosperity of commerce and trade, and even more from the long-term development of manufacturing and the outbreak of the industrial revolution. The prosperous business society has created new commodity marketing models for the consumer society. Sales techniques, new consumption venues, and developed manufacturing industries are increasingly bringing Qi into a material society with abundant products.

The turbulent urbanization process in the local area has not only expanded the consumer market, but also contributed to the continuous growth of the middle class in Qi. Their good economic status and strong purchasing power have become the backbone of the rise of the consumer society.

Under this situation, the people of Qi are increasingly transforming into "modern people". The drastic changes in the economy and society have prompted the people of Qi to shift from "traditional people" to "modern people" in their way of thinking, values, lifestyles and behaviors.In a relatively fair society, people are full of ambitions and strive to enter the upper class; factory owners and trading company bosses are aggressive and strive to achieve great success in their careers. They are eager to adopt new technologies and technologies in the commercial and industrial fields. New technologies play a major role in promoting social progress; ordinary people are increasingly interested in new things such as observation, experimentation, and scientific exploration, and conventional and rational knowledge is widely disseminated; people enjoy the material well-being of their own creation and the benefits brought by commercial leisure Mentally happy.

More than 80 years ago, when the State of Qi was founded in Hanzhou, it spared no effort to develop industry, advocate science and technology, and subsequently launched a vigorous industrial revolution.The rise of Qi lies in the fact that it has always had an extremely successful manufacturing industry and maintained the core competitiveness of "Made in Qi".Textile industry (mainly cotton textile industry, including wool textile industry, fur processing industry, silk weaving industry, linen industry, weaving industry, etc.), tool and appliance manufacturing industry (knives, furniture, utensils, ceramics, vehicles, jewelry, etc.) Machinery and equipment industries), primary product processing industry (wood processing industry, brewing industry, food processing industry, etc.), mining industry, metallurgy industry, construction industry, shipbuilding industry and repair industry, all continue to maintain a high and healthy development rate, promoting The domestic economy continues to move forward.

Among the above-mentioned industries, the textile industry is undoubtedly in a relatively important position.Although the share of textiles in total exports has been declining year by year, from 1680% in 68 to 36% currently, it still accounts for [-]% of domestic exports and is the largest export industry.The Indian market is the largest export destination for Qi's textiles. The region's hundreds of millions of people provide a steady stream of orders for the domestic textile industry and support nearly one million workers in upstream and downstream industries.

Since the end of the First Sino-Indian War, a large number of cotton textiles from Qi State have flooded into the Indian market, which has greatly impacted India's original cotton textile industry.You must know that the production cost of large-scale mechanized industrial products is much lower than that of time-consuming and labor-intensive artificial products. Therefore, as soon as low-priced industrial cotton fabrics from China entered India, they defeated the local manufacturing industry in India in a very short period of time. Industry.

The originally huge scale of India's cotton fabric exports quickly shrank, and most of the Indian textile factories that survived were controlled by Qi's commercial capital.Cheap labor allowed Qi's production costs to be extremely low and its profits to be quite astonishing, at the expense of countless Indian farmers and workers' blood and tears. With its powerful maritime power, Qi controlled almost all of India's coasts, ports, and shipping routes. In collusion with various local power groups, they maintain high export taxes on cotton fabrics and intentionally or unintentionally push up the purchase price of cotton and other raw materials, thereby stifling the development and expansion of India's local cotton textile industry.

Qi State is equivalent to using the money collected from Indians to pay for all import expenditures in India, and continues to feed back the development of the domestic cotton textile industry.

"India is like a plump 'cow' carrying endless treasures. It continuously imports wealth into the empire, thereby nourishing and expanding our national strength and enriching our people. To put it bluntly, India is our country. Together we can maintain the most solid foundation for hegemony in the Indian Ocean and even global hegemony." Gu Qingxian, the imperial envoy to India and the right minister of the India Department of the Ministry of Overseas Affairs of the Cabinet, stood on the third-floor balcony of the Governor's Palace, looking at the bustling streets in the city, and couldn't help but feel Said without emotion.

"So, the cabinet government unceremoniously canceled the franchise monopoly rights of several of our trading companies and directly intervened in the specific management of Indian affairs?" Qi Shaosong, the shopkeeper of the Bangladesh Trading Company in Fengyuan, said with a bitter smile and a slight dissatisfaction. : "Then our trading company's decades of investment and construction have made wedding clothes for your cabinet?" "Why, your trading company wants to continue this monopoly business in Bangladesh and the east coast of India forever?" Gu Qingxian sneered. He said: "It has been more than 60 years, and the 30-year franchise monopoly granted by Emperor Taizu to your trading company has expired long ago. If His Majesty and the Cabinet had not felt that our trading companies had made a contribution to the colonial development, they would not have delayed the franchise several times. You don't Look, the exclusive trade monopoly rights of Nanyang Trading Company, Luzon Trading Company, Annan Trading Company, as well as Jiangnan Trading Company and Northern Trading Company on the mainland were canceled more than 20 years ago, allowing all domestic trading companies to move freely. Furthermore, The major shareholders of several of your trading companies are from the royal family and the cabinet department of household affairs, so it’s not your turn to complain here!”

"You..." After hearing this, Qi Shaosong frowned and narrowed his eyes slightly. His usually bossy temper was about to break out, but seeing the awe-inspiring official authority of the other party, he immediately realized his identity and couldn't help but resentful Said: "Your cabinet may have been a little too hasty in getting involved in India's internal management affairs in such a hurry."

"Isn't there a three-year transition period? How could you be too hasty?" Gu Qingxian smiled brightly, "Is it possible that during the process of the cabinet government taking over Indian affairs, there will be huge changes in your family?"

Whether it is the early Indian trading companies, the Bangladeshi trading companies that were later spun off, or even the latest Burmese trading company, in addition to obtaining the exclusive trade monopoly granted by the government to engage in exclusive overseas trade, these trading companies also continue to cooperate with local governments. Establishing some degree of diplomatic contact, collecting political and military intelligence, exploring trade routes, and establishing port strongholds are in fact acting on behalf of the country.

Moreover, several trading companies have their own civilian managers, armed fleets, and sizable escort troops. Indian trading companies even have the power to mint currency, judicial trials, and military declarations of war, forming a business, political, military, A four-in-one judicial organization.They are no longer simply trading companies, nor are they entirely a government department, nor are they entirely a political power.

However, just as social relations in Qi have begun to transform, necessary changes are also needed in India.With the development of the new century and the changes in the Indian Ocean region, the nature of Qi's colonization of India has also undergone subtle changes.

Qi has dominated the Indian Ocean for more than 30 years. Whether it is at the royal family and government levels, military forces, or even civil society, Qi has shown incomparable confidence and pride with its strong national power.From the comments and narratives in various newspapers and periodicals, people can read that the Indian natives are waiting for the guiding light of Qi's advanced civilization, for the instructions of the gods and the salvation of the supreme arbiter.

Qi's colonial affairs in India came as a result of God's will. We can not only obtain sufficient benefits from this vast land, but also spread light and expand "benevolence and righteousness" among these people who have long been submerged in darkness, bad habits and suffering. "The generous power of the Qi State will shape their society into a well-regulated society, improve their lives with active industry and commerce, and thereby establish a ruling order that is in line with Qi's "values".

“Let us work together to gradually promote and establish our Qi country’s values, principles and perspectives, take root in their land, and build our laws, systems and lifestyles, so that our moral values ​​and Eastern civilization will also be here establish".

Well, stop pretending, our Qi country is going to start colonizing India in an all-round way.Under this situation, you several trading companies that are extremely pursuing trade interests will inevitably be unable to adapt to the colonial actions under the new situation. You can only withdraw from the dominant position in Indian affairs in the future and specialize in the trade affairs that you rely on.

India must be Qi-nationalized in the future. To achieve this ambitious goal, the best way is to use Qi's governance method, supplemented by the agent model, and then conduct comprehensive social education in Chinese - of course, this comprehensive only refers to those in India. Elites among the indigenous people and agents dependent on Qi.

Although India has a dizzyingly complex caste system, entangled religious conflicts, and incomprehensible land ownership, the people of Qi still firmly believe that the Eastern wisdom that has been passed down for thousands of years and the growing scientific rationality will never be defeated. Otherwise, the empire's roots will surely penetrate deeper into India, thus consolidating the empire's global hegemony.
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(End of this chapter)