November 18, 1682, Ryukyu, Zhongshan Port (now Naha).

A group of bare-chested and tanned workers were driven by supervisors, holding farm tools and stumbling forward in the drizzle. These workers included Ryukyus, Japanese, Koreans, and some Qin people.

Some Han Chinese and Japanese who arrived early have successfully escaped from the sea of ​​hardship, and now they have either become local farmers, or have become armed guards and supervisors in major sugar cane plantations or construction sites. In short, their lives are better than before.

, they are no different.

At this time, the seven or eight supervisors who drove the laborers to work were the Japanese immigrants introduced in the early days and are now residents of the overseas territories of the Daqi Empire. They are now the supervisors of a nearby sugar cane plantation, supervising the work of more than seventy workers.

.A few days ago, a typhoon passed through, causing heavy rains on the island in recent days. The plantation owners were worried that poor drainage in the plantations would cause waterlogging, so they went out to work in the rain to check the water supply and drainage systems and clean up the blockages.

of drainage ditch.

The supervisors all wore bamboo hats and waterproof raincoats, carried long knives on their waists, and held short sticks in their hands. They cursed and complained in a low voice about the damn weather. They followed the workers at a distance, occasionally looking up.

At one glance, I was not afraid that they would run away.

No one is stupid. From the vicinity of Zhongshan Port to Shuri Castle eight or nine miles away, except for large tracts of sugar cane plantations, they are all barren woodlands. There is nothing. In such a heavy rain weather, you can't find anything even if you go out.

There is no other possibility except starving to death, so management is very lax, as long as the workers finish their work on time.

Zhongshan City, with the increase of immigrants from various places, gradually formed a prosperous seaside port city. A few years ago, the Ryukyu Kingdom named it Zhongshan after consulting the people of Qi State, which meant to commemorate their former name of Zhongshan.

There is a large sugar factory in the city, which was jointly invested and built by several Qi businessmen and has more than 300 workers. The sugar factory purchased several steam engine-driven sugar pressing equipment from Hanzhou, with a total horsepower of more than 150 horses.

Various types of steam engines. At the same time, this sugar factory also spared no expense to build a horse-drawn wagon track leading to the deep-water dock of the port. The infrastructure is excellent, and these are undoubtedly the guarantee of its strong production capacity.

Throughout last year, the "Xiangruiji" sugar factory produced a total of more than 1,600 tons of sucrose. Although its production capacity is far less than that of the large-scale sugar companies in Hanzhou that can easily produce thousands of tons, it is the largest sugar factory in the country.

The region—including Qin, Japan, North Korea and other countries—produces sugar factories with the largest scale and the most advanced facilities.

Such a "huge" production capacity naturally benefits from the strong market demand in surrounding areas. In recent years, coffee, cocoa powder and other emerging products flowing out from Weiyuan (now New Guinea Island), Xuanhua (Timor Island) and other areas

The popularity of beverages has undoubtedly greatly stimulated the consumption of sucrose. The Ryukyu Governor-General, the Luzon Islands, the upper-class nobles of Japan, and the wealthy people in the Jiangnan region of Qin who like the above two beverages are all the largest consumers of sucrose.

Compared with the relatively poor food culture in the West, the food originating from the Chinese civilization is also more colorful. Many sweets that were only popular in a small and narrow circle in the Jiangnan region of Qin have become popular in Qi itself and some overseas territories.

Ordinary people's homes, which undoubtedly require a large amount of sucrose and spices, are an extremely huge consumer market.

Excluding overseas territories, millions of citizens in Qi alone consumed no less than 15,000 tons of cane sugar last year, averaging about two kilograms per person. This amount is extremely staggering and far exceeds the world's average consumption level.

The resources on Ryukyu Island are poor and the soil is infertile. The early agricultural development was extremely backward, and the rice produced could not meet the needs of the local people. Later, the Qi people gradually took control of the Ryukyu Kingdom and moved the governor's office from Hanxing Island (today's Hanxing Island).

Miyakojima) moved to Zhongshan Port and began to focus on the development and construction of this island of great strategic significance.

The yield of food crops such as rice on Ryukyu Island is not high, but the climate and environment here are very suitable for growing sugar cane, pineapples and other economic crops, which has attracted many investors interested in developing plantations.

In Qi State, cane sugar has always been a traditional bulk commodity exported to the outside world. It is not only sold to Europe through the Dutch East India Company, but also sold to India, Persia, Arabia, and the Ottoman mainland through its several international trading companies, earning a lot of money.

A lot of "foreign exchange".

The demand for cane sugar consumption in Qi is increasing, and the European region is also growing slowly under the influence of new drinks. At present, Qi is already the second largest coffee exporting region in the world, and as time goes by, it is quickly surpassing East Africa.

Arabia and other traditional coffee producing areas.

Just go to major cities in Europe and you will know that London, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Paris, Bordeaux, Madrid, Lisbon, Cadiz, Florence and other places are full of newly opened cafes, and more and more people like to drink coffee.

, the demand for sucrose is also increasing day by day.

You must know that Europe, with its huge population, is a super market that is more than ten times that of Qi. You can imagine how much stimulation it has for sugar cane plantations everywhere, and how many longing investors have brought it with them.

Capital went to the fertile Caribbean to open plantations.

Oh, that's too far.

The "Xiangruiji" sugar factory built in Zhongshan mainly caters to the huge market demands of Japan, North Korea, and Qin. It attempts to rely on large-scale industrial production to get closer to consumption.

Due to the distance from the market, there was a fierce competition for the market with many original sugar workshops in Yizhou (now Taiwan) and Guangxi.

Four years ago, after the sugar factory was put into production, the sales price of cane sugar in the area was immediately lowered to below 100 yuan/ton, and remained between 80-90 yuan/ton, which was close to the many cane sugar prices in Yizhou and Guangxi.

The break-even point of the workshop has caused countless main workshop owners to complain.

"Gentlemen, have you heard? The sugar factory in the city has increased wages for workers again." Jichiro Takeda looked through the thin rain curtain at the workers digging trenches in front of him and said softly: "Those workers can get a monthly salary increase."

If you earn four to five yuan, you can earn much more than us supervisors. It’s really enviable!”

"What is there to envy in this?" Noda Yuta tightened his raincoat and said with a wry smile: "You must know that those who can enter the factory to work are of national (Han) status. Moreover, every ten days

, we also need to undergo certain operational skills training. But we, who have been naturalized for less than three years and cannot even complete the most basic Chinese writing, are we qualified to work in the factory?"

"Those seniors who were naturalized in the early years once mentioned that our Qi State recruited a large number of warriors more than ten years ago and formed a non-staff army to follow the Qi Heavenly Soldiers to fight in all directions. After a few years of retirement, they can become

As a formal resident of Qi, you enjoy all the benefits and treatment provided by the government. You will be assigned fields, houses, and provided with cattle, horses, farm tools, and even

The country will even give you a caring wife to bear children and reproduce for you." Kanazawa Yoji said with longing: "It was really a beautiful era at that time. Unlike us now, we can only obtain residents of overseas territories.

If you want to go to Hanzhou mainland, you need to apply for special status. If you can't speak Chinese well, you can't write Chinese, and you can't even enter the factory."

"Why, Kanazawa-kun is not satisfied with your current life?" Noda Yuta asked coldly: "Think about how you lived in Kyushu eight years ago? And look at what kind of life you live now? What if?

Without Qi, we would be just like dust in the soil, humble and pitiful!"

"Noda-kun, how can I be dissatisfied with my current life?" Kanazawa Yoji immediately widened his eyes and hurriedly defended: "Whether it is food or clothing we have now, it is the same as when we were in Japan eight years ago.

It is said that there is one heaven and one underground! My gratitude to Qi Guo is... it cannot be described in words. For Qi Guo, I can dedicate my life."

"Yes, in order to defend our Qi country, we can all sacrifice our lives for it." Takeda Jiichiro said solemnly, holding the long knife under his waist tightly with his right hand.

"It's a pity that we, the brave men, can't go to the battlefield to fight and sacrifice our lives for our country!"

Several Japanese armed supervisors were impassioned in the drizzle, endlessly expressing their love for the country. On the dirt road not far from them, two soldiers from the Ryukyu Garrison Corps, their bodies covered with mud, held their horses and kicked them deep.

He walked slowly towards the plantation.

"Sir, do you need help?" The sharp-eyed Yuta Noda saw the plight of the two soldiers on the dirt road and stepped forward to say hello enthusiastically.

"Damn it, this damn weather, if I had known it, I wouldn't have ridden my horse. Now that it's over, I'll let the horse ride me!" Staff Sergeant Tan Husheng cursed softly and raised his head to glance at the fawning man.

The plantation guard asked, "Hey, how far is it to the mouth of Mingxi?"

"Sir, the Mingxikou is still two kilometers away from here." Noda Yuta said earnestly: "Sir, if you have trouble walking in the rain while holding the horse, you can temporarily keep the horse in our plantation. Please don't worry, sir, I will wait for you.

I will definitely serve them well."

"That's fine!" Tan Husheng and his companions looked at each other, nodded and said, "We will leave the horses in your plantation for now, and we won't disturb them again when we return."

"Sir, are you on urgent business at Mingxikou?" Noda Yuta walked closer and patted the horse that was soaked by the rain. "If you are not in a hurry, you two sirs can go to our plantation to take a bath first."

Take a shower and change into dry clothes. Otherwise, it’s easy to get caught in the rain in this weather.”

"Hey, you are very considerate of us!" Tan Husheng smiled and couldn't help but feel very fond of this thin Japanese plantation guard. "We don't have any urgent business, so we might as well rest in your plantation."

...Oh, by the way, we have with us a recruitment order issued by the Governor-General, mainly for laborers on major plantations, but I thought you might also be interested."

"..." Upon hearing this, Yuta Noda's eyes suddenly showed eager eyes.

"The Ryukyu Fleet Headquarters, under instructions from the Mainland Military Command, intends to cross the sea to conduct an expedition to the Spanish American territories." Tan Husheng said with a smile: "A large number of armed volunteers are now being recruited to go with the ship and launch a landing operation against the Western Yi port towns. After the war is over,

, all armed personnel will be selected into the Hawaiian Islands or the Americas

Overseas Territory Garrison Corps. If you are injured or disabled in battle, there is no need to worry. The country and overseas territorial governments will support them for life. Of course, if you do not want to join the garrison after the war, you can also obtain one hundred acres from the local overseas territorial government.

Land. Haha, one hundred acres, a proper small landowner!"

After several plantation armed guards and supervisors heard this, people were immediately moved. Although it is an unorganized force such as the Overseas Territory Guard Corps, the treatment enjoyed by the officers and soldiers is not much different from that of the Imperial Army. For immigrants who are interested in making contributions on the battlefield, there is still

It's very attractive. Even if you don't serve as a soldier, you can still get a hundred acres of land that can be passed down to future generations. What a beautiful thing!

The American War, which has lasted for several years, still shows no sign of stopping. Although the Spanish gathered more than 20 combat-effective warships from Europe and sent them to the Americas together with 1,500 elite Kingdom Army troops in order to completely

Drive the Qi forces out of La Plata and Gotabania

, to restore the territorial integrity of the Spanish Kingdom's American possessions. However, the Qi people seemed like money-grubbing robbers and were unwilling to return the captured land to the Spanish. They also sent several cutting-edge warships tit-for-tat to compete with the Spanish Navy in the Americas.

The east coast is constantly chasing and fighting for control of the sea.

In the past two years, Qi State has used the powerful maneuverability of several steam-sail warships to sink and damage more than ten Spanish ships. Although it has not yet fully controlled the sea control in South America, it has also made the Spanish navy difficult and cannot easily

Dare to leave the harbor and compete with Qi's warships.

The battle on land has been in a stalemate. Although the troops commanded by King Qing re-captured Buenos Aires in January last year, the Spaniards established a number of fortresses in the middle and lower reaches of the Paraná River and Uruguay River.

, stronghold, successfully prevented the Qi people from invading the wealthy Paraguay region.

It stands to reason that the Spaniards have spent such a high price and have never been able to defeat the Qi people. They should have sat down and talked with the Qi people long ago, and then ended the war between the two countries in a decent way. You know, the Spanish have

We don't have much money, and we don't have many big bucks in our pockets. How can we fight to the death with a country that claims to be the hegemon of the Indian Ocean in the Americas, which is a waste of national strength.

Then, in fact, the Kingdom of Spain just held on for a breath, cleaning out their empty treasury over and over again, and also levied war taxes on its American territories, struggling to squeeze out such pitiful military expenditures, and worked very hard to support this war.

The war continued. It seemed that those stubborn and stubborn Spaniards were very sure that the people of Qi would be the ones who couldn't survive in the end.

The cabinet and the military are obviously impatient with this endless state of war. Although the navy is happy to send cutting-edge warships to the Americas one after another to test their combat performance and continue to practice new ones,

Naval tactics, cultivating and accumulating practical experience of naval officers and soldiers. But after all, this consumes too much military expenditure, and it also greatly involves the limited energy and resources of the military.

In order to severely damage Spain, make it feel a real threat, and end this war that lasted more than eight years as soon as possible, the General Staff made a very bold and grand battle plan.

The Indian Ocean Fleet joined the South African Fleet to form an Atlantic Task Force, which sailed north along the west coast of Africa until reaching the Spanish mainland, launching a large-scale military attack on its coastal ports and towns.

The Ryukyu Fleet united with the navies of Luzon Kingdom (Zheng Clan), Wei Kingdom, Beiming and other vassal states and the Allied Powers to form a trans-Pacific task force to directly attack the core territory of Spanish America - the Viceroyalty of New Spain (i.e. Mexico).

In order to ensure the successful capture of the Spanish coastal ports, the Pacific Task Force, in addition to carrying more than 400 officers and soldiers from a mixed battalion of the Army stationed in Ryukyu, also recruited a large number of cannon fodder suitable for the battlefield in Ryukyu - this is also Qi's foreign war.

It is an old tradition. At the beginning of every war, the people of Qi will select personnel with certain military experience from the labor and guard groups in various overseas territories, and then organize them into the servant army to fight.

The labor workers in many overseas territories of Qi are also looking forward to such a thing, because it is a shortcut for them to quickly get rid of their hard-working "slave" status on the plantation and gain freedom. The premise is that you obey orders in battle.

And then survived successfully.

To be honest, this is actually not a difficult problem for the Qi State's servant troops, because the Qi State Army has established an undefeated reputation for decades. In every major war, the army's battle damage rate is very low, and the troops faced

Each enemy obviously cannot cause much casualties to them, so most of the plantation workers are eager to get rid of their embarrassing and miserable labor status through war, become overseas nationals of Qi in the shortest possible time, and live a full life from then on.

A good day to dress warmly.
Chapter completed!