Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 415 "Qinhuai River" Immigration Ship

Ten days later
Pontianak Port

The sixth fleet of the Congo River Company consists of a total of 8 ships, including 5 immigration ships carrying 7231 passengers, and three iron-hulled cargo ships with a displacement ranging from 5500 tons to more than tons. They sailed out of Kunjiang Port one after another and headed towards the estuary.

Li Jingxi and a dozen high-spirited young colonial officials stood on the side of the ship, looking at the distant city and the prosperous port with ships coming and going, and a sense of ambition to conquer the world arose in their hearts.

They were on the leading 10,000-ton cruise ship, the Qinhuai River. This huge iron-hulled cruise ship had three tall sail masts and two thick chimneys. It was a typical dual-powered ship with sails and steam.

The large immigration ships of the Chu State with a tonnage of more than 5,000 tons were all named after rivers, such as "Huangpu River", "Pearl River", "Nujiang River", "Lancang River", "Haihe River", "Liaohe River", "Huaihe River", etc. You can tell at once that they are large immigration ships, or cruise ships.

The difference between
That is, the immigration ship has more densely packed cabins, generally with three or even four berths, which can provide more immigration berths within the limited cabin area.

Take the Qinhuai River as an example. This long journey carried 2375 passengers. Except for the cargo cabins on the bottom floor, the entire ship from the first floor to the fifth floor were living quarters, densely packed like a honeycomb.

There are 7 kitchens on this huge immigrant ship. Only the first and second class cabins have dining rooms, while the third to sixth class cabins all have kitchens.

After more than two hours at sea, the fleet was still sailing on the vast ocean. The monotonous repetition of the azure scenery of the sea and sky made the passengers lose their sense of novelty, and they all returned to the cabin to rest and prepare for dinner.

After saying goodbye to his friends, Li Jingxi returned to the second-class cabin on the 4th floor. It was a long and narrow separate cabin with two fixed bunks facing each other, a total of four beds, and an aisle in the middle of only centimeters.

Above the four bunks are large wooden hanging cabinets that are the same length as the beds. All luggage can be stuffed inside, and those that don’t fit can be stuffed under the beds.

There is a small table between the two bunks, which is about as long as an adult's forearm. Two people can sit opposite each other and eat without bumping their heads.

"Master, you are back."

"Master, please sit here and have some tea."

"Uncle Fu, please stop busying yourself. Uncle Qiang, Ade, please sit down too. Stop making arrangements."

Li Jingxi waved his hand gracefully, walked to the bed and sat down, asking the other three to sit down as well.

In the Marquis's Mansion, the formal title should be "Young Marquis", but in order to keep his identity confidential during this trip, he was only addressed as Young Master.

In order to prepare for this long journey, the Marquis's Mansion also made careful preparations. Not only did they have supplies, but they also brought more than 20 capable servants with them.

But they were all in fourth class. There were ten bunk beds in two levels in a large cabin, which could accommodate twenty people.

These capable servants of the Marquis's mansion who were accompanying them booked a fourth-class cabin. There were more than twenty such fourth-class cabins on the third deck of the ship, which could accommodate more than 500 people.

There were more than 2,000 immigrant passengers arranged in the fourth, fifth and sixth low-class cabins alone. Their meals consisted of fixed porridge, pickles and dry biscuits, with no other food.

When it is time for meals, a dining cart will be pushed over and passengers from each cabin will line up to get their meals. Whether they eat or not, the cost of the meal is already included in the fare.

If you need a snack or something delicious, you need to go to the department store on the ship to buy them. There are tea eggs, egg cakes, mung bean cakes, honey three-knife, various preserved fruits, dried fruit snacks, and even roast chicken and braised meat. Of course, the prices are much more expensive than those sold on shore.

Whether they like to eat or not, there will always be customers.

According to his position, Li Jingxi could only enjoy fourth-class treatment. He was a young official sent by the Colonial Office to the Congo River Company for training. The ship ticket worth 4 silver dollars was paid for by the Colonial Office.

Being able to stay in the second class cabin means that the Li family spent money to upgrade.

Including Li Fu, Li Qiang, Li De and other servants who were traveling with them, all of them had their boat tickets bought by the Li family, and the government office did not have this extra expense.

Li Jingxi was sent to the Congo River Company to take up a post, and only one boat ticket could be reimbursed. A low-ranking official like him had no right to bring attendants with him, and his expenses would not be reported.

With his distinguished status as a young marquis, he could definitely stay in a single first-class cabin. There were only 12 cabins on this large ship, and they were decorated comfortably and luxuriously, but the space was still very small.

Li Jingxi didn't want to be too conspicuous. The journey was only about 40 days, so he could get through it by gritting his teeth.

When it was time for dinner, Li Jingxi and his group came to the small restaurant. There were already dozens of people dining there, and the tables were full of people.

"Here, young master, the food has been ordered." Li De waved and called out among the crowd. This is the advantage of having so many servants.

At dinner time

Without being asked, Li De went to the restaurant first to queue up for a table, ordered a few meals and dishes, and waited for the young master to come and enjoy them.

This small restaurant is reserved for first and second class guests. Senior crew members such as the captain, first mate, second mate and boatswain also dine here.

Li Jingxi responded and walked over. He saw that today's meal was quite rich, including braised beef with radish, stir-fried bean sprouts, braised yellow croaker, sweet and sour pork with pineapple, vegetable and meatball soup and rice, as well as smoked sausage and pickles that he brought with him.

Although it is not as good as the exquisite food served in the Marquis's mansion every day, it is still very appetizing when you are hungry.

"Uncle Fu, come and sit down to eat together," Li Jingxi greeted him and sat down first. Li Fu was an old man in the Li Mansion who had served Li Hezhang for over twenty years. He was also a member of the prominent Li family in northern Anhui. When he was young, he followed the young masters to school and studied with them. He was proficient in poetry, calligraphy and painting.

It was just that they were limited to the status of slaves for generations and had no chance to pass the imperial examinations.

However, during Li Hezhang's military service, Li Fu was one of the old servants who always followed him. He had served as the captain of the personal guards and the commander of a thousand soldiers. Later, he followed Li Hezhang to resign and return home.

He totally deserves the title of "Uncle Fu".

The two men sat down and began to eat, while Li Qiang and Li De stood behind them to serve them. However, not all servants could eat at the same table with the young master.

They can only use the leftovers after the young master has finished his meal, but this is the rule of the wealthy families in northern Anhui.

"Haha...Brother Zhongxian, have you already started eating?"

"Hey, Brother Yingyuan, come over and add some chopsticks, we've just started."

"No, we've also ordered food, and Brother Fan is here too, so please help yourself."

The ones who took the initiative to say hello were Lieutenant Tang Yingyuan and Second Lieutenant Fan Yong. Both of them were graduates of the Manila Advanced Infantry School. They had served in the army for many years and were now assigned to the Congo River Company.

It is not excessive for a colonial company to have an army.

The small restaurant was bustling with people. This small restaurant was responsible for providing meals for the first and second class cabin passengers as well as senior crew members, a total of about a hundred people. The area was only about 7 square meters, with small tables crowded together.

These small tables are all fixed to the floor and will not move when the ship tilts. They can accommodate thirty or forty people for dinner at the same time.

Latecomers can only wait.

This is the biggest difference between the Chu State immigration ship and European cruise ships. The immigration cabins are arranged with high density and maximum carrying capacity, and try to ensure that each passenger has a berth.

Although it was cramped, at least there was a comfortable bed.

There are not many crew members on the entire immigration ship. Before each voyage, strong immigrants will be temporarily recruited to perform various services in order to discount part of the ticket price and save costs.

Many Chinese immigrants were eager to apply for the hard and tiring jobs of boilermen, porters and deckhands, because these jobs not only offered discounts on ship tickets but also provided two meals a day.

These two meals are either rice or flatbread, and there is also a big pot of stir-fried vegetables.

The food was good at the beginning of the voyage, with plenty of oil in the dishes. But when we were sailing across the Indian Ocean and on the final leg of the journey, after the fresh supplies had run out, the only things left were pickles.

Every long-distance shipping company in the Chu State is doing its utmost to reduce costs and increase efficiency.

Common tactics used by these ocean shipping companies include maximizing the number of cabins for immigrants, temporarily hiring immigrants as laborers, bringing goods on the return journey, and selling some white slaves.

Take the ocean route from Pontianak to Cabinda in West Africa as an example. The average ticket price is about 135 silver dollars. The 2375-ton cruise ship "Qinhuai River" carries 30 passengers, and the freight for one trip is more than silver dollars.

A round trip takes three months, and the company can carry out four voyages of immigration passenger transportation a year, with a total income of over one million and twenty silver dollars.

Add to that the goods brought on the return trip, or the white female slaves brought in from North Africa, Arabia or the Near East, and the profits would be considerable after deducting the costs.

After about a year of operation, the capital can be recovered and it will be pure profit from then on.

Many famous nobles and powerful figures in the military and political circles of the Chu State took the initiative to invest money in ocean shipping companies and receive generous dividends.

The Marquisate of Cavite was no exception. It owned shares in various Chinese shipping companies, the Nanyang Telegraph Company, banks and other large enterprises, which were an important part of the Marquisate's income.

This is considered an investment dividend, not a bribe.

Because of the profitability, shipping companies of all sizes in the Chu State developed very rapidly, and the immigration fleet and cargo fleet expanded rapidly, becoming an important player in the world's ocean shipping.

Among them, large ships and iron ships are particularly prominent, and most of them are new ships of 3000 to 5000 tons or above. The number of Western-style sailing ships is relatively small, which is a typical latecomer advantage.

The booming shipbuilding and steel industries in the country strongly supported the large-scale immigration and shipping needs of the Chu State, enabling it to develop into a maritime power and an emerging transportation power.

The Qinhuaihe immigration ship is the main type of ocean-going immigration ship that has emerged in recent years. Its displacement ranges from 12000 metric tons to 16000 tons, and it is a new favorite on ocean routes.

The ship is large, has a long range, is comfortable to ride, can carry a large number of immigrants, and has significant economic benefits.

Excluding the "Great Eastern", the largest immigration ship of the Chu State is the "Nujiang", which was launched in June this year. It has a displacement of up to 6 tons and can transport more than 2.68 passengers across the vast Pacific Ocean when fully loaded. Its transportation capacity is extremely amazing.

(End of this chapter)