The arrogance started from Chinatown

Chapter 523 Qing Dynasty, Fighting Human Trafficking

Qing Dynasty, Zongli Yamen.

Dong Xun sat in a chair with a look of surprise on his face.

"You're going to provide us with telegraph technology?"

"That's right, we are different from other countries. The United States is willing to develop together with the Qing Dynasty, and we are also willing to help you and provide you with assistance!" George Fulton Seward, the American Minister to the Qing Dynasty, said with a smile on his face.

"Telegraph technology, railways, manufacturing, and other industrial technology..."

"We can also help you improve your international status!"

Dong Xun fell into deep thought after hearing this. The technologies of telegraph, railway and manufacturing industries are very important.

But what he valued most was helping the Qing Dynasty improve its international status.

He knew that this was what the Queen Mother valued most.

After a moment he asked, "What do you want?"

“You must take strong measures to control human trafficking in the South!”

"Today, all civilized countries have abolished slavery and cracked down on human trafficking! However, the human trafficking situation in the Qing Dynasty was very serious, which also affected your international image. You must change this."

"What benefits will this bring to you?" Dong Xun asked directly.

"Because of the human trafficking in your South, a large number of people were sold to the United States." George Seward said with a bit of arrogance.

"They have never been to school, have no skills, are dirty and weird, and the safety of the cities they go to will drop sharply! In fact, the United States has considered deporting all Chinese and banning Chinese from entering the United States."

A hint of realization flashed across Dong Xun's eyes, and something flashed through his mind.

His face showed no sign of it, but his words were merciless and sarcastic:

"Then why don't you do it? It's not impossible?"

George Seward paused for a moment, thinking of the mission he was responsible for, and then he said angrily, "This is for our common good!"

"I hope to meet your emperor soon! It will be of great benefit to you!"

"I will report this matter to the court! As for when I can see you, I don't know!" Seeing George Seward's urgency, Dong Xun was not anxious at all.

Although the specific situation is still unknown, these ministers of the Qing Dynasty are all shrewd when it comes to intrigue and trying to figure out people's hearts.

Especially since the United States has offered such huge benefits this time, it can be imagined that the other party attaches great importance to this matter.

"Perhaps in the future, the federal president will change his mind. In my opinion, as long as we block the route from Hawaii to the United States, we can prevent the Chinese from setting foot on American soil!" George Seward threatened vaguely.

After George Seward left, Dong Xun handed in a memorial.

The next day, Cixi summoned Dong Xun to the East Warm Pavilion.

"I pay my respects to the Queen Mother!"

Cixi picked up the memorial on the table, looked at it for a few seconds and said:

"Minister Dong, the United States of America wants to give us benefits and ask us to fight human trafficking. What exactly do they mean by that?"

"Your Majesty, do you still remember that at the end of last year, the United States Army was defeated and signed an agreement with our country's workers?" Dong Xun looked up and asked.

"Now that you mention it, I remember it. The United States of America was defeated by our Chinese workers!" Cixi smiled.

She then sent a new minister to the United States of America and a consul to San Francisco.

However, the San Francisco Consul died on the way.

She didn't take it seriously.

The decision to send the consul to San Francisco was originally a spur of the moment decision on her part.

If one dies, just send another one.

As a result, I forgot about it after a while.

Unexpectedly, the envoy of the United States came again and offered some benefits, just asking the Qing Dynasty to strictly control human trafficking in the South.

"That's right. I guess it's those workers who have caused a lot of trouble to the United States. Especially since there are workers going overseas every year to supplement the number. Therefore, the US government wants to cut off the source of the problem. As long as no one goes to the United States anymore, the number of workers there will be reduced, and the problem will naturally be solved." Dong Xun said.

"The current American minister is..." Cixi thought for a while, but couldn't remember the name of the American minister.

After all, although being an envoy abroad is not exile, it is still far away from the court.

"Ouyang Ming!" Dong Xun reminded.

"Didn't Ouyang Ming send a telegram back?" Cixi asked.

"Your Majesty, there is no telegram from Ouyang Ming. I guess either nothing major has happened in the United States recently, or the telegram is still on the way," Dong Xun replied.

Cixi nodded, and after a moment she said, "You can agree to it, but we need to discuss the conditions!"

After the Ma assassination case, several provinces in the southeast became increasingly disobedient.

Even the imperial court could not move easily.

However, if the imperial court issues stern orders and asks them to strictly control human trafficking, they will still do so. There is still some control.

The Qing Dynasty had the Fujian Navy, the Nanyang Navy and the Guangdong Navy, so it was easy for it to crack down on human trafficking.

If they fail to do their job well, they can use this opportunity to get benefits first, and then use this as an excuse to replace some officials.

Therefore, Cixi made up her mind after just a little thought.

"I'll leave this matter to you! If there is anything you don't understand, you can discuss it in the court, or send a messenger to ask the Governor-General of Zhili as soon as possible!" said Cixi.

Cixi had great confidence in Li Hongzhang's abilities.

"Send another telegram to Ouyang Ming, asking about the current situation in the United States of America."

……

With Lieutenant Governor Joseph D. Sayers as acting governor, reorganized volunteer regiments and Rangers were also sent to various places to fight the KKK.

In addition, the state legislature proposed the "Anti-KKK Act", which greatly increased the crackdown and sentencing on the KKK.

For a time, the whole of Texas was in panic.

In particular, the reward for reporting and arresting KKK members has been expanded to the entire state of Texas, and some security company members have gone to major cities.

In a short period of time, a large number of KKK members were killed or arrested.

More than 4000 people were killed in one week, and more than 3 were arrested and thrown into prison. Chen Zhengwei also took this opportunity to contract several prisons, and then rented these KKK members to his company and sent them to California to build railways and roads.

These KKK members are lucky if they can survive a year there.

The entire Texas KKK, and even former KKK members, were in a panic, and many fled to other states.

These people were originally farmers in the countryside. Apart from farming and using violence, they had almost no other skills and did not have much savings.

As a result, public security in several surrounding states began to deteriorate rapidly in a short period of time.

When Chen Zhengwei returned to the hotel, several black people were loitering not far from the hotel gate.

I saw a line of carriages stopped at the door of the hotel. A tall Chinese man got out of the carriage, followed by a beautiful white woman holding Chen Zhengwei's arm.

When the black men tried to get closer, they were immediately stopped.

"We want to thank Mr. Chen... We'll say a few words to Mr. Chen, express our gratitude and then leave!" One of them, a thirty-year-old black man wearing a shabby gentleman's suit, put on a smile on his face and looked past the thugs at Chen Zhengwei who was walking inside.

Seeing that the other party was about to enter the hotel, he couldn't help but shout: "Mr. Chen, Mr. Chen!"

Chen Zhengwei turned his head to take a look, and walked into the hotel without stopping, saying to the henchman beside him: "Go ask what's going on."

Soon, Ma Zai came back with a strange look on his face and said, "Brother Wei, they said they came to thank you!"

"Search him and bring him here!" Chen Zhengwei thought for a while and said.

Let Cicely go to the restaurant first, and Chen Zhengwei sat down on the sofa.

A moment later, three black men wearing obviously worn and ill-fitting clothes and torn shoes were brought in front of Chen Zhengwei.

The three of them were quite reserved, with a mixture of nervousness and excitement on their faces.

This is a Chinese leader who fought against the KKK and helped all black people in Texas. He is a real big shot.

With his own strength, he sent the entire KKK in Texas fleeing in panic.

The KKK has been cracked down on everywhere recently, and even people in the countryside have heard the news.

Black people in Texas suddenly have more expectations for the future.

After seeing him, the three of them could brag about it for half their lives.

"Mr. Chen, thank you for your help!" The three of them swallowed their saliva secretly and bowed their gratitude bravely.

Chen Zhengwei's aura was so astonishing, and coupled with his tall stature, even when he was sitting there he gave the impression that he was taller than an ordinary person standing.

It's like a tiger sitting there.

"I didn't help you!" Chen Zhengwei waved his hand.

"No, your crackdown on the KKK has given us a glimpse into the future..." the three said hurriedly.

"I don't like people interrupting me!" Chen Zhengwei said lightly, and the three of them suddenly felt a terrifying sense of oppression coming towards them.

Much more terrifying than those cruel KKK members who are armed.

They had all been beaten and threatened by the KKK, so they came to thank Chen Zhengwei.

"No one can help you! You have to rely on yourself, and the only one who can help you is yourself! If you don't work hard, no one can save you!" Chen Zhengwei said casually. He let a few people in just for these words.

He doesn't mind lighting fires everywhere.

"I drove away the KKK, the Red Shirts, the White Covenant, and the Knights Kraft (all white supremacist organizations in surrounding states). They didn't dare to target me, but that doesn't mean they don't dare to target you!"

"If you don't want to be bullied by them, then fight them! Beat them until they are scared and hurt, then they won't dare to bully you!"

Chen Zhengwei leaned forward slightly: "No race can suddenly improve its status by luck! The only ones who can help you are you!"

The three of them were a little confused. They didn't expect Chen Zhengwei to say such words to them.

But they all understood that Chen Zhengwei was right.

Soon he came to his senses: "Mr. Chen, we also thought about resisting..."

"It's not enough! The force of resistance is not enough, and the blood shed is not enough! You should still remember how you gained your freedom!"

"But I can indeed provide you with some help. I have some industries in Texas and I will hire some black people. At the same time, I will provide you with channels to purchase guns... You can go back and tell your fellow tribesmen!" Chen Zhengwei did not have a friendly expression. He has never been a friendly person.

Violence and arrogance are his most common attitudes.

However, the three of them did not care about this, instead they showed surprise: "Thank you, Mr. Chen. We will always remember your help to us!"

Chen Zhengwei's attitude was not friendly, but he really helped them, and it was a huge help.

This is truly rare and precious.

"That's it! From now on, you can find my people in Houston and Austin. Through them, you can get in touch with channels to buy guns!" Chen Zhengwei waved his hand.

"Wait a minute, Mr. Chen, this is for you to express our indescribable gratitude to you." A black man carefully took out a wooden cross from his arms.

Chen Zhengwei asked his men to take it over, and then the black men were taken away.

"Boss, what should we do?" the henchman asked, holding the cross.

"Find a place to throw it away!" Chen Zhengwei said nonchalantly. He could tell at a glance that it was a cross carved from ebony.

It's a good thing for black people, but that's all.

Chen Zhengwei stood up and walked into the restaurant and sat down. Cicely put her hands on the table, supporting her chin, and kept smiling sweetly at Chen Zhengwei.

"You are a warrior, you have helped many people!"

"No doubt!" Chen Zhengwei said casually.

……

Two days later, Chen Zhengwei took some people and left Austin.

That afternoon, more than a dozen horse-drawn carriages headed from the Galveston train station to the port, and then a group of Chinese surrounded the port tightly.

The group got off the carriage and boarded an iron steamship.

Then the Chinese also boarded the ship and left.

The news spread quickly and telegrams were sent to Washington.

(End of this chapter)