"Ten to fifteen Anglo-French cruisers, escort ships, or armed merchant ships, and probably the same number of armed Chinese merchant ships. In addition, there are many Chinese commercial banks in Honolulu, mainly engaged in sugar and grain business, and HSBC has also opened a branch in Honolulu, with at least two or three million dollars worth of cash deposits! ”

Matthew. Perry spoke eloquently, telling Colonel Ushakov everything he knew about Hawaii, and specifically mentioning the large amount of cash stored in the vaults of the Hawaii branch of HSBC. It is clear that he did not want Ushakov to go to HSBC to deposit money......

"Two or three million dollars! Are there so many? "Colonel Ushakov's eyes showed a look of greed, in the middle of the 19th century this was a real huge sum!

"Of course! It is not only Chinese businessmen in Hawaii who deposit their money with HSBC, but also businessmen in Europe and the United States, as well as the Hawaiian royal family, trust the bank. ”

"Well, that's true, there are also HSBC branches in St. Petersburg and Moscow, and the bank is doing a really good job of international exchange." Ushakov nodded, HSBC's business in Europe is also very large, basically a monopoly on the capital exchange business in Europe and East Asia - although there are many banks engaged in the same business, but no one has a large number of outlets in Europe, South Seas, and East Asia at the same time, and has also opened branches in the Ottoman Empire, India, the New World, and Australia. Even the prestigious Rothschild Bank and the Bank of Bahrain could not have as many branches as HSBC, let alone become the multinational central banks of six countries: Daming, Korea, Ryukyu, Japan, Lanfang and Siam.

Relying on these advantages, coupled with the increasing scale of East-West trade, HSBC can naturally absorb a large amount of low-cost capital - in this era, international capital transfer is not a matter of a few clicks on a computer keyboard. You want to exchange money between Europe and Asia. It often takes months to complete. In the meantime. Funds deposited with HSBC do not receive a penny of interest! Even if HSBC uses the funds to buy bonds from countries with very low yields, it can still earn high interest on a small amount.

Therefore, HSBC has naturally become a holy place in the hearts of bank robbers in the world!

"The Chinese merchant houses also had a lot of cash in them, and their goods were necessary for the Russian Empire to hold on to Alaska...... At least tens of thousands of tons of grain and tens of thousands of tons of cane sugar! There are also ships from Britain, France and Ming in the harbor. Of course, those Chinese themselves are also wealth! If they could be transported to Alaska, they would be forced to help Russia build forts and ports. ”

Hear Matthew. Perry's words, Ushakov couldn't help but laugh loudly. The cash in the Hawaii branch of HSBC is certainly a very good war trophie, but the grain stored in the Chinese commercial bank in Hawaii and the Chinese themselves are more valuable war resources! With labor, it was possible to build forts in Alaska. With food, the Russian army in Alaska will be able to cope with a long siege by the enemy!

"Haha When the war is over, I will report to the Tsar and ask him to give you a title of nobility. Ushakov smiled heartily, and then looked at Matthew with interest. Perry, "But after we Russians committed the crimes of robbing banks and kidnapping peaceful residents in Hawaii, are noble Americans going to stand up for justice and save Hawaii from Russian robbers?" If I'm not mistaken. General Perry, you're the savior of the Hawaiian Kingdom, right? ”

Matthew. Perry also didn't say anything in front of Mingren, and nodded with a smile: "You're right." The U.S. Navy does have a duty to defend the Kingdom of Hawaii from violation! And...... The US ambassador in Petersburg will also lodge the strongest protest to the Russian Empire on this matter! ”

"Well, it's time to protest, and to strongly condemn the invasion of Hawaii's peace and neutrality by the belligerents, right?" Ushakov took a long sip of wine and smiled playfully.

"Of course." Matthew. Perry replied with a smile, "And, in order to prevent similar incidents from happening again, the United States will also defend the neutrality of the Kingdom of Hawaii with arms." He glanced at Ushakov, "After the Russian robbers fled from Hawaii, of course." ”

"Oh, aren't you worried about me staying in Hawaii?" Ushakov suddenly asked rhetorically.

Matthew. Perry shook his head: "No, you will definitely go, because China, Britain and France have deployed at least twenty battleships in the western Pacific region, and there are also six steam ironclad ships!" Maybe they're a hundred nautical miles behind us, so there's not much time left for us! Be sure to hurry up ......"

……

At the same time that the ships of China, the United States and Russia were chasing each other in the North Pacific, Zhu Jishi had already ended his short-term vacation in Xiangshan and returned to the Qinzheng Qinxian Hall in the Old Summer Palace with Zuo Zongtang, Weng Tongyi and others.

At this moment, Zheng Hong, the right prime minister and minister of colonial affairs, Luo Zenan, the military advisor, Lu Siyuan, the secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Liu Jiong, the chief of the general staff, and Wang Dehu, the secretary of the Admiralty, are already waiting in the palace of diligence and pro-sage.

As soon as Zhu Jishi sat firmly on the throne, he asked repeatedly: "How is the Hawaiian Kingdom?" How much strength does Daming have there? If something is urgent, can you do something? ”

Although the Kingdom of Hawaii is nominally a sovereign and independent state, in the Ming Cabinet, Hawaii's dealings with Hawaii were jointly managed by the Ministry of Colonial Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Obviously, the Ming Empire did not regard the Kingdom of Hawaii as a truly independent state.

"Your Majesty," replied Zheng Hong first, "it is King Kamihameha III of the Kamihameha dynasty who now rules Hawaii. He ascended the throne after the death of his brother King Cami Hamiha II in England (measles), when he was only 10 years old, and was successively regent by his mother and sister, who came to power in 1833, and is 39 years old this year. As a king, this man was also considered enlightened, following the constitutions of Western countries to open parliaments, and also appointed Westerners as advisers, and in 1842 and 1843 successively obtained diplomatic recognition from the United States, Britain and France, which is regarded as an independent country. Our Ming Dynasty also recognized the Kingdom of Hawaii in the third year of the Restoration. However, Britain, the United States and France did not give up their ambitions for Hawaii, but were afraid of each other and could not exercise colonial rule over Hawaii. At present, the United States, Britain, and France all have garrisons and fleets in Hawaii, but there are not many of them.

As for my Ming Dynasty, there are 50,000 expatriates in the Kingdom of Hawaii, mainly engaged in sugar cane cultivation, sugar production and trade. Most of the ancestral homes are Guangdong and Fujian, and about 5,000 of them are from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Yang Xiuqing's lineage, and Yang Xiuqing's younger brother Yang Fuqing is also currently doing business in Hawaii, and also serves as the host of the Hawaiian Mormon Church......"

"What? Yang Fuqing in Hawaii? When did it happen? Zhu Jishi's eyes suddenly lit up, "Are his people armed?" ”

Luo Zenan took over the topic and said: "Back to the emperor, Yang Fuqing ran away from Hong Xiuquan in the third year of his recovery, and did not take refuge in us, but went directly to Hawaii. may have met Yang Xiuqing there, and then became the head of the Hawaiian Mormon Church, which is very prestigious among the Hawaiian Chinese. Moreover, the Kingdom of Hawaii does not prohibit private ownership of firearms, so most of the overseas Chinese who have industries in Hawaii have guns and ammunition, and Yang Fuqing also has hundreds of thugs in his hands, and everyone is armed. ”

Speaking of this, he paused for a moment, frowned, and said: "Your Majesty, in fact, Yang Fuqing and the branch of the Mormon Sect in Hawaii are somewhat similar to the Qinghong Gang here of ours, and they have never done anything less to oppress their compatriots......

"Oh, you're in the underworld!" Zhu Jishi shook his head, "Our Jinyi Wei also has dealings with them, right?" ”

Luo Zenan replied: "There are contacts, and Jinyiwei has long been laying out Hawaii, and Zhang Zegen, the minister, is now in Hawaii, serving as the minister of the Ming Dynasty in the Hawaiian Kingdom, and he also has a minister guard of 100 people in his hands." If the matter is urgent, Zhang Zegen and Yang Fuqing can mobilize at least 600 people, and Britain and France can also mobilize at least 600 people. By the way, there are 1,000 Japanese who traveled to Patagonia and may also be in Hawaii. (To be continued......)