Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 391: Southeast Asian Chinese: With the Tang Dynasty coming, we have a backer!
However, Kong Hao did not accept Alfonso's bribe.

He simply threw the deposit ticket with a face value of one thousand silver dollars on the ground, and then said expressionlessly.

"The commander only gave you 24 hours to consider."

"Now, the 24 hours are almost up."

"If you cannot give the Tang Dynasty a satisfactory answer, then you will bear the consequences yourself."

"The last shelling was an accident. I'm not sure if it will happen again next time!"

Kong Hao's meaning was very clear.

I just fired just one shot, and it was a threat.

But if you Dutch people delay any further, what you will face next will not be just simple threats.

Alfonso opened his mouth and spoke in a somewhat dry voice.

"Okay... okay!"

"Regarding the conditions proposed by the Tang Dynasty, our Batavia authorities will accept all of them..."

Kong Hao's originally cold expression softened a little after hearing this. He raised the teacup beside him and spoke.

"It would be great if it were like this earlier!"

"Cheers to the friendship between Tang Dynasty and the Netherlands."

Alfonso felt humiliated when he heard this, but he could only continue to smile apologetically.

……

The sound of cannon fire startled Weng Tong, who thought a fight was about to break out.

But just as he was anxiously waiting for the follow-up, the sound of artillery fire did not sound again.

It was not until noon that someone came to the outside of the Weng family's granary.

It was the same man from yesterday. He came again on behalf of Weng He to convey a message to Weng Tong.

"Boss, good news, good news!"

"My master has received the latest news that the Dutch have given in and the war can no longer be fought. My master asked me to inform the shopkeeper not to worry."

Upon hearing this, Weng Tong was visibly relieved.

"That's good, that's good!"

"It's better not to fight!"

Weng Tong turned around and said to the guys behind him.

"Did you hear that, boys?"

"The Dutch have given in. The war is over. We are all safe now."

Upon hearing this, all the guys cheered in unison.

"Long live!"

"Long live the Tang Dynasty!"

"Hahaha, these ghost guys are no good either!"

"..."

Weng Tong continued.

"Although the war is over, the bonuses I promised to everyone will be paid as usual."

"It's a year's salary, not a penny less."

"Can everyone agree?"

Weng Tong understood that if his family wanted to do business overseas, relying solely on Weng He's connections would not be enough.

It also requires the subordinates to be willing to help!

So, even though it was just a false alarm last night and nothing serious happened, he still gave the bonus he had promised in advance.

Just like what happened in the past two days, it was fortunate that there was no fighting and no major chaos in the city of Batavia.

What if a fight breaks out?
If there is any trouble in Batavia, if the Weng family wants to keep the food in this warehouse, won’t they have to rely on the help of their subordinates?

It is easy for him to go back on his word now.

But if we encounter such a thing again next time, it will be difficult to get our guys to help.

By then, if there really is any loss, it will be too late for Weng Tong to regret.

The guys heard this and shouted in unison.

"The shopkeeper is wise!"

"The shopkeeper is so generous!"

"Thank you for the reward, shopkeeper!"

"..."

At this moment, there was another commotion outside the warehouse, and Weng Tong stepped out of the warehouse to check.

Then we saw a huge crowd of people coming to the streets and heading towards the Batavia port.

"Hurry up, move faster!"

"The imperial court has sent troops to Batavia to wipe out the natives. The army will land soon. Let's go and watch the fun."

"I heard that those who came here are all elite soldiers in the army, and they are very powerful..."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Weng Tong also became interested. He turned around and told his men to take good care of the warehouse, while he followed the crowd to the port of Batavia.

Soon, the group arrived at the port.

From a distance, we could see several large ships approaching the port.

After the ship completed docking, soldiers lined up to land through the steps.

A group of people quickly completed the landing and then lined up at the dock.

"Everyone, stand at attention!"

"Look to the right!"

"..."

After arranging the formation, these Tang army soldiers began to march in neat formation, carrying their muskets, towards the Batavia Concession.

These soldiers were dressed in uniform gray-black uniforms, with helmets, leather shoes, belts, and carrying rifles with bayonets, looking very majestic.

Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow!
Their footsteps were unusually orderly, accompanied by the sound of the advance call.

The steel helmets reflected the metallic luster under the sunlight.

The bayonets on the muzzles of the rifles they carried were pointing diagonally to the sky, forming a neat forest of bayonets.

At the first glance, one can feel a mighty military might rushing towards them. It makes one's spirits tremble!
Weng Tong looked at the scene in front of him, but he did not feel fear. Instead, his heart was filled with pride and honor.

Because he understood that the reason this army appeared here was to protect the interests of Tang people like himself.

With such a powerful army as a backer, no one can help but be proud.

However, the Chinese who had lived in Southeast Asia for generations reacted even more strongly to this scene than Weng and others.

Many people even had tears in their eyes as they watched the scene before them.

They went to Southeast Asia to make a living, but over the years, because they had no support, they were either discriminated against by foreigners or bullied by the natives.

They were even oppressed, taxed heavily, slaughtered and robbed...

The history of the expansion of the Chinese in Southeast Asia is a history of blood and tears.

Now, the imperial court is finally going to intervene in Southeast Asia, and they finally have a backer.

It is impossible not to be moved and inspired by these Chinese people.

With the arrival of the Tang Dynasty, we have a backer.

Now that the Tang Dynasty has arrived, no one will dare to bully them!

This is really a great thing for these Chinese in Southeast Asia.

I dare not say more, but at least, since the Tang Dynasty's forces entered Batavia, these Southeast Asian Chinese can clearly feel that those foreigners dare not act so arrogantly in front of them anymore.

This is really a great thing for them!
I don’t know who took the lead, but suddenly someone in the crowd shouted.

"The Tang Dynasty is victorious!"

"Long live your Majesty!"

Soon, the shouting spread among the crowd like a virus.

Shouts began to rise one after another on both sides of the street.

"The Tang Dynasty is victorious!"

"Long live your Majesty!"

"..."

Amid the loud shouts, the Tang army soldiers marching on the streets held their heads high and chests puffed out, with a hint of pride in their expressions.

This feeling of being truly supported makes them feel happy from the bottom of their hearts.

……

The sound of horse hooves rang out.

After receiving Li Yi's order, Zhang Lexing immediately selected the elite troops in the army and headed north from Anhui.

The cavalry marched quickly, and with supplies along the way, Zhang Lexing's troops marched very quickly.

In just over half a month, he led his army all the way to the outskirts of the capital.

The troops were placed in a military camp outside the capital city, and Zhang Lexing was brought to Beijing to meet the emperor.

Riding outside the capital, looking at the tall city walls in front of him, Zhang Lexing's eyes were full of shock.

"This is the capital!"

"This city wall and this gate tower are really magnificent. It is worthy of being the best place under the feet of the emperor."

The secretary of the secretariat who was responsible for leading Zhang Lexing on the way urged him.

"Master Zhang, please follow me. His Majesty has already prepared a banquet in the palace. We must not keep His Majesty waiting for too long."

Zhang Lexing withdrew his gaze from the city wall of the capital and nodded.

"That's right, that's right!"

As he spoke, he urged his horse forward again.

Soon, they passed through the gate of the outer city of the capital and headed towards the inner city.

Walking on the streets of the outer city, Zhang Lexing couldn't help but ask when he looked up and saw many buildings under construction around him.

"Brother, why are there so many construction sites in the outer city of the capital?"

“It looks really busy!”

Upon hearing this, the secretary did not keep Zhang Lexing in suspense and began to explain the confusion to him.

"Master Zhang doesn't know."

"After the Tang Dynasty recaptured the capital, we discovered that there were many low, dilapidated buildings in the outer city that were no longer habitable."

"Then, His Majesty personally approved a city construction project plan, preparing to carry out large-scale demolition and reconstruction of the outer city, demolishing those bungalows and rebuilding them into five- or six-story buildings, or even taller high-rise buildings, in order to tidy up the appearance of the capital..."

Of course, there was actually a lot of criticism about this in the court.

In the eyes of the Tang Dynasty's court officials, the Tang Dynasty had just been established and many things were in ruins, with a lack of financial and food resources everywhere.

At this time, Li Yi invested a lot of resources to rebuild the outer city of the capital. In the eyes of outsiders, this was a typical case of being ambitious.

You are wasting national funds on face-saving projects. Emperor Yang of Sui is waving at you.

In the eyes of many court officials, this behavior is unacceptable.

If they had not been intimidated by Li Yi's prestige as the founding emperor and his frugal character, they might have been willing to die in order to see the emperor.

However, Li Yi does not think so.

Because the reason why he invested a lot of resources to rebuild the outer city of the capital was not for the sake of face-saving projects.

But it’s for real estate!

As the Tang Dynasty established its capital in Beijing and prepared to build an industrial park and develop industry in the capital, population urbanization became an inevitable trend.

The capital, Beijing, will inevitably be the first to bear the brunt.

And once the population gathers, they naturally need a place to live.

Whether you rent or buy, you must have a house.

It was a sure win for Li Yi to order the reconstruction of the outer city of the capital at this time.

Moreover, it is a sure win with profits that can be multiplied at least several times or even dozens of times.

Every penny Datang invests now will earn several times or even dozens of times the return in the future.

How could Li Yi refuse the money he got for free?
In addition, Li Yi also wants to use the development of real estate to absorb wealthy labor, provide jobs, and thereby alleviate social pressure.

In today's Tang Dynasty, there are many people and little land, and the land's capacity has reached its limit.

A considerable number of people have no stable income or source of livelihood at all.

These people are all hidden destabilizing factors.

If Li Yi wants to ensure the stability of the Tang Dynasty's rule, it is very necessary to provide some jobs for these people.

Only with employment can one have a family; only with a family can one have concerns; only with concerns can one settle down.

Just be his slave and do his bidding!
(End of this chapter)