Five thousand-man battalions took turns to fight, or two teams attacked together, or three teams encircled. In just fifteen days, they swept through the Honolulu Islands, defeated nearly 40,000 natives, and captured 2,000. The reason why there were so few prisoners was Because Wan Lei had no intention of accepting prisoners. If it were not for the manpower needed to build a military port, I am afraid that these two thousand people would not be alive anymore. w w. vm)
After conquering the Honolulu Islands by force, Wan Lei did not immediately lead his army eastward. Instead, he asked the army to rest on a large island called Honolulu while replenishing supplies. Although the Honolulu Islands are not large, they are rich in taro and pineapples, and there are many other things in the mountains and forests. There are some wild animals that can be gathered together to provide food for ten days and a half.
Food supplies are actually secondary. After all, there are hundreds of tons of food in the cargo hold of the Dadong, enough to feed five thousand people for the first half of the year. Wan Lei wants to inspect the archipelago and choose a "feng shui treasure" to build a holiday camp. Isn't it the purpose of human life to enjoy life? Wan Lei really has plans to spend his whole life on this paradise island.
In addition, the Honolulu Islands are located in the center of the North Pacific. They are a relay station connecting Zhongzhou and Dadongzhou. After Dadongzhou is developed, it will inevitably establish a country. The two major countries will always have exchanges, and there will inevitably be friction between them. In the middle zone!! The Chinese Alliance was established on the Honolulu Islands, so that conflicts between major countries could be resolved through peaceful negotiation.
No, after Wan Lei's on-the-spot investigation, he focused his development on Honolulu Island south of Kauai. This large island has an easy-to-defend but difficult-to-attack bay, which is most suitable as a military port, as well as a vast riverside plain. Sugar cane and rice can be grown, and it can easily develop into a land of fish and rice comparable to that of Jiangnan.
Although the Honolulu Islands lack mineral resources and it is difficult to develop heavy industry, the climate here is pleasant and the scenery is beautiful. It is an excellent place for the development of scientific research, education and tourism. Wan Lei has long made Honolulu the most livable, civilized and most popular place in the world. An open city makes it easy to come to this paradise on earth to enjoy retirement life in the future.
While Wan Lei was making various preparations for the development of Honolulu, a major political earthquake was brewing in Nanzhou. On April 10, with the support of the Republic of China and the efforts of technical personnel headed by Fang Zhongzhe, Nanming's first An ironworks was completed and put into operation. This was originally a great event, but instead a bomb was planted.
Since Nanming still followed the previous management methods, classifying iron-smelting workers and mining workers as craftsmen households, and their status was still lower than that of military households and civilian households. It was fine that workers had a low status. Zhu Yunwen also put his brother-in-law Ma Desheng in the foundry bureau. When you become governor, the problem becomes serious.
The bad thing happened to Ma Desheng. This guy had more than a few characters and no skills. He just liked to make money. In the past, he used to claim that he was a relative of the emperor and kept occupying good land in Nanzhou as his own pasture. Now asking him to take charge of the Foundry Bureau is like asking a weasel to look after the chicken.
No, after Ma Desheng took office, he began to find ways to make money. He withheld the rations given to the iron-smelting workers and used the pensions to supplement the families of the miners who died. He just made money. In order to make meritorious service in front of the emperor, this guy, They constantly increased production targets for the ironworks, and even made the ironworkers work day and night. Some workers couldn't stand it and died of exhaustion in the factory, which made the workers who had been angry for a long time collectively explode.
On April 26, the iron-smelting workers who had been bullied by Ma Desheng intolerable launched a collective strike. Hundreds of workers sat in silence outside the iron-smelting plant and allowed themselves to be beaten and kicked by the foreman who oversaw the work. They refused to enter the factory to work. When Ma Desheng saw that the situation was serious, he immediately reported to the palace that the iron smelting workers were going to rebel.
As soon as Zhu Yunwen heard the news about the iron-making workers' strike, he was so angry that he threw the table. You must know that steel is an important strategic material related to the national economy and people's livelihood. If the iron-making plant stops working, many departments that use iron will The industry has to take a break, which makes Zhu Yunwen not anxious and worried.
In order to settle the strike issue, Zhu Yunwen continued to adopt the tough attitude he had had in the past few months. Regardless of the situation or the reason for the strike, he directly sent Jin Yiwei into the factory. He first arrested and punished those who led the trouble, and then who else? Anyone who dares to cause trouble will be arrested as well.
That afternoon, hundreds of ferocious Jinyiwei rushed into the ironworks and captured dozens of people. The remaining workers were frightened by the power of the Jinyiwei and had to return to work. However, these workers had no intention of working at all. They cheated on the feeding, turning and heat control. As a result, all that was smelted that day was scrap iron, which was of no use at all, and a lot of raw materials were wasted.
Ma Desheng looked at the newly-minted scrap iron and became very angry. He called the workers together and scolded them harshly. He also threatened that the workers would suffer the losses of the foundry. After that, he ran to the palace to complain, saying that these workers were all A group of unruly people conspired to destroy the ironworks and deliberately opposed the imperial court.
One wave after another, the strike had just been settled, and the work slowdown started again, with the intention of not making people feel comfortable. Zhu Yunwen was so angry that he immediately sent people to call the officials of the foundry bureau. First, he He was reprimanded, and then issued an explicit order that if the iron smelting plant could not produce normally tomorrow, all officials of the Foundry Bureau would be demoted.
Fang Zhongzhe, as the chief engineer of the foundry bureau, was also being punished, but his dull face showed a hint of unnoticeable joy. He waited until the eunuch Si Li, who was scolding the emperor on behalf of the emperor, finished scolding him before he came out. Said: "Your Majesty, I have something to report!"
"What's the matter? Tell me." Zhu Yunwen suppressed his anger and said expressionlessly.
In fact, since Fang Xiaoru was deposed, Zhu Yunwen did not want to use the Fang family, and Fang Zhongzhe was involved in a rebellion case, which made Zhu Yunwen even more worried. However, Fang Zhongzhe is the only engineer in Nanzhou who can design and build steel plants. , and have to use it.
"Your Majesty, the workers are on strike and causing trouble mainly because of low wages. As long as Your Majesty has mercy and improves workers' wages, they will definitely work hard to repay His grace!"
"The treatment is low." Before Zhu Yunwen could say anything, Ma Desheng jumped out, "What do you mean by Master Fang's words? He wants to slander the Holy Emperor and the imperial court!"
"I'm just a scholar. How dare I talk about government affairs? I just can't bear to see the workers in the ironworks working hard all day long but living in poverty. The saint is worthy of heaven and earth, so naturally he can't bear to see his people living without support." Fang Zhongzhe said calmly.
"What a person who can't bear it. I was originally wondering why those workers who were otherwise peaceful would suddenly rise up and cause trouble. It turns out that someone was secretly instigating it." Ma Desheng glanced at Fang Zhongzhe with a sneer, "Your Majesty, someone is spreading rumors. It’s deceiving people’s minds, please ask your Majesty to investigate clearly.”