Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 261: Nanyang Incident
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In late August 1878, the Nanyang intelligence officer sent to contact the Dutch colonists reported that the Dutch Governor was willing to reach a compromise with the Han Dynasty on the pirate attack. The two sides would not hold each other responsible. The Dutch colonists promised that they would no longer support other forces in launching hostile actions against the Han Dynasty's immigrant fleet. At the same time, Mei Dongxing, on behalf of the Han Dynasty government, recognized the Netherlands' absolute sovereignty over the East Indies. The Han Dynasty government would restrain the Nanyang troops and their affiliated Taiping Society forces, and ensure that there would be no conflict with the local natives and colonists unless the Dutch provoked them.

The Dutch colonists were willing to make a small effort to resolve the dispute with the Han Kingdom in the Southeast Asia region, so the remaining issue regarding the ransom of the Chinese Kapitan would be much easier to handle.

On August 8, after successfully collecting a ransom of 22 million taels from the East Indies, Mei Dongxing, Li Han and the British businessman Kirby, who changed his mind and agreed to work for the Han government, boarded an ironclad ship purchased from France and set off with a fleet of three other ironclad ships to visit the British-controlled Malay Peninsula.

The Malay Peninsula has a superior geographical location, backed by the Strait of Malacca. In the 1830s, the British snatched away port cities on the Malay Peninsula, such as Singapore and Penang, from the Dutch. However, compared with the British emphasis on coastal port cities on the Malay Peninsula, inland areas such as Kuala Lumpur were not effectively developed until the end of the 19th century. Before the British directly controlled the inland areas of the Malay Peninsula, areas including Terengganu, Perlis, Kuala Lumpur and others were controlled by local local kings and Chinese communities that mined tin.

The influx of Chinese gold diggers into the Malay Peninsula was due to the development of the tin mining industry. In the mid-nineteenth century, Chinese who had gone out to sea to make a living discovered a large amount of high-quality, easy-to-mine tin mines on the Malay Peninsula. As a result, mainland Chinese who got the news through word of mouth from their fellow countrymen flocked in, and took advantage of the Chinese's advantage of sticking together and having a large number of people to quickly gain a foothold in the Malay Peninsula, and then divided their spheres of influence according to different regions and forces.

The prosperous mining period of tin mines in the Malay Peninsula basically coincided with the surging peasant uprisings in the mainland. Groups of peasant armed forces that failed in the mainland or gang forces that were attacked by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Qing government withdrew from the mainland one after another, and used the armed forces with rich combat experience trained in the melee in the mainland to defeat the indigenous forces that originally occupied the tin resources. Within a few decades, they became the two major armed forces on par with the indigenous forces in the Malay Peninsula.

The Malay Peninsula was the British sphere of influence. Although most areas were not directly under British rule, the development of the Taiping Society in the Malay Peninsula was not smooth compared to other regions due to the land threat from British colonists to Songkhla and the resistance of the local Chinese Kapitan.

The Taiping Society has seven branches under its jurisdiction, and each branch generally has seven to eight branch halls. However, the Malay Peninsula branch has only five branch halls under its jurisdiction. Among them, the only branch hall with more than a thousand people is the Selangor branch headed by Huang Ping. The other four branches have as many as eight or nine hundred people, and as few as three or four hundred people. As a result, the overall strength of the Malay Peninsula branch is quite different from that of the other branches.

The Songkhla region in central Malaysia is a Chinese autonomous force that is given priority support by the Han Kingdom. At the same time, the large number of Chinese in the Malay Peninsula are also potential immigration targets that the Han government cannot give up. Therefore, taking the opportunity of visiting the Malay Peninsula colony, Mei Dongxing and others plan to use the four Chinese Kapitans in the Malay Peninsula who are willing to cooperate in their hands to strengthen the strength of the Malay Peninsula branch and expand the Taiping Society's sphere of influence in the Malay Peninsula.

At noon, in Perak, Malay Peninsula, the sky was clear, hot and windless. In the tin mining area of ​​more than ten miles in radius, a group of female workers wearing red headscarves on their heads were mixed in with the dense Chinese coolies, standing out from the crowd.

In the early days when mainland Chinese went to Southeast Asia, all the laborers in the mines were middle-aged Chinese workers. Later, as more and more Chinese forces participated in the tin mining industry, competition in the tin mining industry became increasingly fierce. At the same time, in order to reduce the operating costs of the mines, the Chinese gang leaders who controlled the tin mining areas intensified the exploitation of ordinary Chinese workers and increased the daily working hours of Chinese workers. Moreover, after the Chinese workers completed the prescribed mining tasks, the Chinese leaders in the mining areas also introduced opium from foreigners, and then cooperated with the casinos and brothels opened in the mining areas to induce Chinese workers to smoke opium and participate in gambling and prostitution, and then earn the wages earned by the Chinese workers back into their hands.

On the other hand, in order to directly reduce the wage expenses of Chinese workers, gang leaders targeted women and children who followed their families to Southeast Asia. They recruited Chinese female workers and underage children with wages far lower than those of adult male Chinese workers, and then arranged for the female workers and children to work together with adult Chinese men. They did not reduce the workload of the female workers and children because of their meager wages.

The primitive accumulation of capital was bloody. Constrained by the corrupt and decadent feudal system of the Qing government, the abundant young labor force in the mainland became a burden, which led to large-scale peasant uprisings. However, the cheap labor force in the mainland became a valuable human asset in the eyes of Western powers and Chinese gangs in Southeast Asia. The British, Americans, Dutch and even Peru, which had just gained independence in South America, all introduced a large number of Chinese workers from the mainland, and then squeezed them out of huge profits like livestock.

The abundant labor force or demographic dividend has become a bloody benefit for other countries, and the Chinese gangs in Southeast Asia have also taken the opportunity to earn bloody benefits from their compatriots. Then, with the capital they earned, they completed the change of their identity class and became the monopoly comprador class above ordinary Chinese - the Kapitan.

Nanyang Kapitan or Nanyang tycoon, from the perspective of national sentiment, whether it is Kuala Lumpur Kapitan Yap Ah Loy or Perak Kapitan Zheng Jinggui, they are all cruel gang leaders who oppress their compatriots.

The first was Perak Kapitan Zheng Jinggui, who surrendered after being captured. He directly controlled an area of ​​about 170 miles in Perak, and controlled four tin mines of various sizes, a plantation area of ​​more than 400,000 acres, more than 20 brothels, casinos, and opium dens, and nearly 2,000 thugs.
It is the second most powerful armed force in Perak after the Sultan of Perak.

Nearly two thousand thugs and gang members are the core force of Zheng Jinggui's control over the Chinese in Perak. As a strong armed force, no less than a hundred Chinese die directly or indirectly at their hands every year.

Of the more than one hundred Chinese deaths each year, excluding gang infighting, a small half are attributed to Zheng Jinggui and his thugs.

Although Kuala Lumpur Kapitan Yap Ah Loy had a better reputation in later generations, in the early days of his career, he also accumulated capital by opening casinos and opium dens.

Zheng Jinggui and Yap Ah Loy had deep influence in the Malay Peninsula. Although their actions were not in line with the Han government's philosophy, out of consideration for the interests of the National Defense Force in the Nanyang region, Mei Dongxing still accepted Zheng Jinggui's surrender and chose Perak as the second destination of his visit.

A middle-aged Chinese woman wearing a red headscarf was carrying mud on her back. Behind her were two child laborers, a boy and a girl, about twelve or thirteen years old. The three of them walked towards the tin mining area, bending over with every step.

This was the scene Mei Dongxing saw when he entered the tin mine accompanied by Zheng Jinggui.

The middle-aged Chinese woman carrying cement was not the only thing to say, but when he saw two children, only twelve or thirteen years old, carrying wooden boards several times longer than their bodies with their skinny bodies, Mei Dongxing, who had experienced the hardships of the mines in Australia, could not help but feel a surge of anger in his heart: "Sir Zheng Kapitan, what's going on with these two? I hope you can give me an explanation."

"This must be a misunderstanding." Zheng Jinggui's life and property were in Mei Dongxing's hands. Seeing that the other party was about to get angry, he hurriedly explained, "Master Mei, please listen to my explanation.
I, Zheng, have been working in Southeast Asia for 20 years. If you had seen child laborers in the mines a few years ago, I would never deny it. But since I became the Kapitan of Perak, I have one or two thousand brothers under me and four or five tin mines. I don't need to hire child laborers to save a few dollars and be scolded by my fellow villagers behind my back. Don't you think this is reasonable?"

The Chinese in Southeast Asia have strong traditional values. After accumulating a fortune or becoming wealthy in Southeast Asia, they usually donate money to charity or set up hospitals to repay the sins they committed in their early days, in order to gain psychological comfort and accumulate merit for future generations. Therefore, according to Zheng Jinggui's status and position, he really does not need to employ child labor to make money.

After temporarily accepting the other party's statement, Mei Dongxing ignored the other party and gave instructions to the people around him. A few minutes later, a middle-aged woman wearing a headscarf and two Chinese children came to Mei Dongxing and his companions.

"Madam, the two children are still young, why do you let them do such heavy labor?"

Mei Dongxing asked with a hint of blame in his tone.

"Master, allow me to explain."

After learning about Mei Dongxing's identity, the middle-aged Chinese woman said nervously, "The parents of these two children just left a few days ago and left nothing for the two children. I felt sorry for them and took them to do some odd jobs.

The mine does not keep idle people. If the woman does not take them to work and earn money, the two children may not be able to survive here.

"Master, I heard that the masters of Han are all good people. If you feel sorry for these two children, please take them in as servants. They are very sensible and will not cause you any trouble. Please take them in. Otherwise, if they stay in the mine, I don't know when they will follow the same fate as their parents. I beg you."

The middle-aged woman was a little scared at first, but when they talked, she found that Mei Dongxing was not as cold and ruthless as the Qing officials. Gradually, the middle-aged woman let down her guard and took the initiative to ask Mei Dongxing to take in her two children.

"How did their parents die? Is there anyone trying to harm the two kids?"

Mei Dongxing frowned and asked seriously.

"I dare not say it."

The middle-aged woman raised her head and looked at Zheng Jinggui carefully, saying fearfully.

"Mr. Sun, just say what you want to say. From now on, Lord Mei will be in charge of all matters in the mine. You don't have to be afraid." The middle-aged woman's behavior did not escape Mei Dongxing's eyes. Zheng Jinggui was worried that Mei Dongxing would misunderstand him, so he immediately expressed his opinion.

"It was Foreman Zeng. He had taken a fancy to the mother of the two children. Six days ago, news came that something had happened to the Kapitan.

Zeng the foreman led his men to rob Ma's wife. When Ma heard the news, he went to rescue her, but was beaten by Zeng's men. He died the next day. Then Ma's wife was so angry that she hanged herself on the hill behind the shed, leaving the two children alone with no one to take care of them. The woman then took them with her to take care of them.

"Mrs. Sun, how did you know about my accident?"

Zheng Jinggui's face changed and he asked.

"Foreman Zeng said that the Kapitan had committed a crime and was killed at sea by the Han navy. He also said that the foreign master planned to appoint him as the new Kapitan and asked us to listen to him."

"Okay, okay, what a great Zeng Delin. He's still thinking about my family business before I die. If I really die, wouldn't that be what he wants?"

Zheng Jinggui was furious. Thinking of the trust he had placed in him before, he became angrier and angrier. He turned to Mei Dongxing and asked, "Sir, there is a thief among my men. You don't need to do anything about this. I will give you an explanation!"

"Brother Zheng has been away for the past few days. Your subordinate may have already contacted many people. Do you want me to send Brother Huang to support you?"

"Thank you for your kindness, sir. I have been doing business in Nanyang for most of my life, and I am not afraid of a kid like Zeng Delin. Lord Mei and Lord Huang, please wait for a while. I will come to meet you two sirs after I have dealt with the traitor under my command."

"Brother Zheng, go first. Brother Huang and I will be waiting for you here."

"I'll take my leave first."

After Zheng Jinggui finished speaking, he led dozens of his released men toward the center of the mine.

"Sir, will Zheng Jinggui regret it?"

Huang Ping, the leader of the Xuelan'a branch of the Taiping Society, asked.

"No, Zheng Jinggui has no one else to rely on except us."

Mei Dongxing looked at Zheng Jinggui walking away and said with a smile, “More than a thousand of Zheng Jinggui’s men are in our hands. Without these people, he can’t suppress other hostile forces, so he can only surrender to us.”

After talking about Zheng Jinggui, Mei Dongxing turned his head to look at the two skinny children standing aside and asked with a smile, "Which of you two is older?"

"I'm the older sister, and this is my younger brother."

The little girl, with dirty cement dust on her head and wearing tattered clothes, answered in a low voice.

"Well, you are such an obedient child."

Mei Dongxing didn't mind the dust on the two children. He reached out and touched the little girl's head, then continued, "I used to have a child as old as your brother, but he died of a serious illness ten years ago. Now I have no relatives like you. Are you willing to treat me as your father and let me take care of you when you grow up?"

Mei Dongxing's attitude towards them made them feel flattered for a moment. Both children did not speak, but looked at the middle-aged woman next to them.

"Silly child, call me daddy quickly. Master Mei will be your daddy from now on. After you follow Master Mei, you must respect him well."

“Dad…Dad.”

After getting the middle-aged woman's approval, the two children started shouting one after another.

"Good kids, follow the uncles to change your clothes first, and I will take you away later."

Mei Dongxing smiled comfortingly and ordered several servants to take the two children away. Then he asked the middle-aged woman for her opinion. Finally, he decided to take the middle-aged woman back and let her be responsible for taking care of the two children.

After going out and adopting the two babies as his own, Mei Dongxing felt much better. Even Huang Ping, who was standing beside him, couldn't help but recall his trip to Southeast Asia ten years ago when he saw Mei Dongxing's expression.

Ten years ago, Huang Ping took his family to Southeast Asia. During the voyage, his daughter Huang Youlan was molested by foreign sailors. If Huang Ping had not discovered it early, his daughter might have suffered a disaster. Huang Youlan ten years ago was about the same age as the girl adopted by Mei Dongxing. Although Huang Youlan was young at that time, she was more sensible and was loved by Huang Ping. However, Huang Ping's wife died of illness four years ago, and his daughter observed mourning for three years, so her marriage was delayed. Seeing that his daughter had become a 21-year-old old girl and had not yet married, Huang Ping couldn't help feeling anxious.

Huang Youlan was lovely when she was young, and she became even more beautiful when she grew up. She was a famous beauty among the families of the Nanyang National Defense Army. Therefore, when Mei Dongxing saw Huang Ping's absent-minded look, he quickly guessed what he was thinking.

"Master Huang, according to our age, I should call you Brother Huang. Your daughter is not young anymore, so find a good family to marry."

"Several adults in Nanyang have already started families and careers. There is no suitable candidate. I am also worried about Youlan's marriage."

Huang Ping waved his hands helplessly.

"Brother Huang, why don't you let Youlan follow Miss Wu back to her home country? There are many young talents there. Maybe Youlan will meet the right person soon. In this case, you don't have to worry about it alone."

"Master Mei is right. I will talk to You Lanshang about this when I get back."...

(End of this chapter)