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182 Chinese ships

The first thing Nanyang Foundation did was to invest in almost all the armed forces of Nanyang, not to invest in any plan, let alone to attract any outstanding Chinese people, but to receive a group of heroes who fought for the country - Chinese workers in the First World War.

Speaking of which, this is another sad story, so I won't go into detail here. In July 1917, in the bustling port of San Francisco, a luxury passenger liner full of 5,000 Chinese laborers, the Alexander, slowly sailed in.

It departed from Qingdao in northern China, and after a long sea voyage, finally reached San Francisco, where it was planned that after a short stay of three days, the men would continue their journey to Europe under the escort of the British and American navies.

Situ Nan rushed over deliberately, in fact, without the efforts of the Nanyang Foundation, the Alexander would not have been able to anchor in San Francisco.

The Alexander was not carrying the first or the last Chinese laborers, and the increasing fighting in Europe led to the death of a large number of people, especially in France, whose manpower was scarce after the consumption of millions of men at the front, and the factory farmland was increasingly in need of new labor replenishment.

As a result, the Beiyang government's proposal to build a war in lieu of work was welcomed by France, and more than 200,000 Chinese young men were to go to Europe to participate in a war that seemed to have nothing to do with them. For these simple Chinese peasants, they don't care about the country's righteousness, and they don't have a deep understanding of their own contributions, and they have only one starting point, which is money!

Foreigners give them high wages, and it's as simple as that to make them work hard, so it's a very simple group of people.

In Situ Nan's view, although it brought a lot of criticism, the Chinese workers' war in Europe was the only far-sighted decision made by the Beiyang politicians.

Although you don't get enough of the return for paying, there is absolutely no return for not paying. Although the Chinese politicians were rude at the Paris Peace Conference, this did not mean that the policy of Chinese workers to fight was wrong, in fact, it was the blood and sweat of these ignorant Chinese workers who exchanged a little dignity for the Chinese.

It's a group of people to be respected!

Two years ago, before the United States declared war, American politicians once opposed China's entry into the war because they were afraid of Japan's pressure. In order to show neutrality, Chinese ships from Asia were never allowed to dock at ports in the United States, so the first few Chinese ships generally disembarked from Canadian ports, then took a train, crossed the vast snow-capped primeval forests of Canada, arrived at a port thousands of miles away, and then re-boarded the ship through the dangerous Atlantic Ocean before arriving at the port of Marseille in France.

Now that the United States has entered the war, openly sided with Britain and France, and has become an ally of China, the request for Chinese ships to anchor in the port of San Francisco is not allowed.

Not long ago, a Chinese ship was sunk by a German submarine near the port of Marseille, and thousands of Chinese workers on board were killed, which made Situ Nan a little angry.

On the one hand, he ordered the Bethlehem Armament Company to speed up the production of mines and increase the blockade of German submarines, and on the other hand, he tried to let the future Chinese ships anchor in San Francisco, and only after a brief rest and recuperation did they pass through the Panama Canal to join the American fleet and sail to Europe in formation with American merchant ships.

The ship is coming! With a loud whistle, the Alexander finally landed firmly in San Francisco Bay.

"Young master, you see, they are all compatriots from China!" Lin Yimin reminded happily.

Only then did Situ Nan see that there were hundreds of Chinese workers standing on the deck, all with bronzed faces, some as expressionless as wood carvings, some with smiles on their faces, some with tense faces and some restrained.

The brown gourd hat has gray fur ears hanging from it, the bulging canvas rucksack is dyed red brick, and the blue cotton coat has become gray.

At this time, there was a sudden burst of warm applause from the port, and many Chinese people from San Francisco came to San Francisco, and today they all received news that some compatriots from China were going to come to San Francisco by boat, so they were welcomed spontaneously or by the organization.

Or perhaps the fear of the journey of thousands of miles to the sea disappeared with the arrival of land, or perhaps it was exhilarating to be welcomed by so many compatriots in a foreign land, and the Alexander suddenly erupted in bursts of laughter, laughter mixed with calls, and a big smile on every face.

"Knock knock knock??"

The harbor was carved out of an open space, and the Chinese in Chinatown prepared for a lion dance early in the morning, and the welcoming crowd waved at the Alexander with small flags in their hands.

At this time, the well-dressed Chinese workers walked down the Alexander in an orderly manner under the leadership of the judicial officer, and everyone walked off the ship with their chests puffed out and a proud face.

"Bangbang?"

It turned out that the Chinese workers on the ship also carried gongs and drums, and they proudly beat them as they got off the ship, echoing the lion dance in the port.

"Oh! Oh my God, is that a lion? Seems to be true, huh? A white man in the harbor asked in surprise, looking at his gray eyes, probably a newcomer from Eastern Europe.

"It is the most popular lion dance in Chinese, and there are two people shaking around in it, just like a lion jumping and playing, which is very interesting." The Italians next to him felt the need to give the newcomer Russia or some Hungarian some kind of advice.

"Young Master, are we going over now?". Lin Yimin asked.

Situ Nan was about to say something, but he saw the neat row of Chinese workers coming down from the port, and a neat and loud voice came: "Brothers, everyone listen: you and I went to Europe, there was zero in three years, and the time was fast, it was really like carving a feather." Everyone has, parents and brothers, husbands and wives and children, natural kindness, relatives and hometowns, hometown parties and guests, but how to work, foreign work, inner feelings and circumstances, twists and turns, and listen to me, from the beginning to tell clearly. The king of Germany, the country is rich and the army is strong, everyone is strong, the equipment is excellent, swallowing Europe, as early as in his heart, the trouble caused the Austrian crown prince, the Serbian youth party, secretly injured him, a monstrous disaster, and it has been a great disaster. The king of Germany, under the pretext of the Federation, suddenly transferred troops, rushed day and night, Britain, France, Russia, the three countries panicked, the German soldiers, gathered on all sides, peace of mind to destroy France, false way in comparison, the most pitiful, than people to die, the British legal person, desperately resisting the enemy, land and water marching together, non-stop. Because of the war, no one farms the land, please our country, help a hand, our president, there is no powerlessness, many civil strife, brothers like enemies, all compatriots, everyone knows, European and American civilization, is my friendship, the most should, send troops to relief, helpless, civil and military officials, lack of patriotism, more short-sightedness and greed for self-interest, no one cares about justice, I workers, take risks, one for all friends, two for themselves, Chinese, the most fond of reputation. ”

"It's in the vernacular, but it's magnificent! points out the sad and bitter state of mind of my Chinese children going abroad, and it makes people feel tragic. Forced to make a living, he left his hometown and parasitized in a foreign country, and it was difficult for this song to go to the country! ”

An old gentleman with a white beard stroked his long beard, shook his head and sighed, and there were two lines of turbid tears in his wrinkled eyes!

"What are they singing? Who wrote it? Situ Nan frowned slightly when he listened, and he felt uncomfortable, he was not infected by the majestic momentum rendered in the song, and there was a deep fear and uneasiness hidden under the plain appearance of these simple poor people.

"I don't know!" Lin Yimin shook his head, "But we can do something specifically for them!" ”

"Hmmm! Arrange the best accommodation for them, send them two sets of clothes and hats, and give them all according to the American soldiers' provisions, in short, a group of respectable people, and they cannot be treated badly. Situ Nan said.

"Is this the ship's commander, El? Major Raffarin, this is Mr. Situ Nan, the representative of the Chinese in San Francisco. Lin Yimin introduced.

Situ Nan lightly looked at the gorgeous legal officer standing in front of him, and said coldly: "Major Raffarin, I heard that you treat our compatriots very unkindly? ”

"No, sir, this is the Chinese is our precious friend, how can we embarrass them?" Raffarin replied hurriedly. Raffarin had already learned from his superiors that the young man in front of him was the richest man in the western United States, and he must not be offended.

Indeed, the Alexander was originally going to go to the Canadian port, but I don't know why the San Francisco politician suddenly sent a warm invitation to let the Alexander berth in San Francisco instead, and also said that she would provide sufficient supplies. It is said that it was influenced by a certain big figure in the United States.

"Oh! That's good! I wish you, Mr. Raffarin, a pleasant experience in San Francisco. Now I'm going to talk to my fellow citizens, okay? ”。 Situ Nan smiled, he was deliberately bluffing people just now.

In fact, the French treated Chinese workers fairly well, and after the war, all Chinese workers who participated in the war were given the right of abode in France, and many Chinese workers later settled in France.

"Okay! Mr. William, I think I'm going to love San Francisco. The French Major, who had received the hint, came happily, for he had been given a room in the most luxurious hotel in San Francisco, and that the best courtesans were waiting for him, which was a great attraction for him after a difficult journey in the Pacific.

When Zhang Bang walked into a luxurious room first, he was still a little confused, and it was said that a big man wanted to meet him. I thought to myself, how can a big man receive me with a small translator? It's a pity that Raffarin, who brought him, has gone to live happily on his own, and no one has told him about this problem, so he can only hold it in his heart.

"You are Zhang Bangxian, I heard that you gave up Tsinghua School and want to go to Europe to see advanced technology. What a young man! As soon as Situ Nan came in, he saw a young man with a childish face sitting on the sofa stiffly, his buttocks twisted and twisted, a little nervous, and he couldn't help laughing: "My name is Situ Nan, maybe you can call me Stoney?" William. ”

Seeing that Zhang Bangxian was still cold, Situ Nan smiled again: "A little surprised? Right? By the way, you haven't answered my question yet? ”

"Well, yes. I always want to go out and see why foreigners are better than us Chinese! My classmate said that Europeans were recruiting Chinese workers in Shandong and needed translators, so we signed up. And the salary is also very good, the salary is 120 yuan per month, and you don't need to pay for food, clothing and round-trip travel expenses. After the war, they could also be sent to university. ”

Zhang Bangxian said, I don't know why, when I saw this mysterious young man, I couldn't help but say all the thoughts in my heart.

"Oh! Very good! Not bad idea. This is Flange? Mr. Cove, he will accompany you on board to Europe, and I can ask him for any help. Situ Nan said.

Flange? Cove is an elite of the security consulting company, and this time for his brother-in-law Paul, Situ Nan decided to send him to lead the team, along with several Chinese.

(I'm sorry, I'm going to strive for full attendance today, make up for yesterday's word count, let's get some information first!) Let's make up for it later!

In exchange for China's status

China's development, prosperity, change and progress today owe first and almost entirely to the sacred Chinese workers......

It was the massive export of Chinese labor during World War I that led China to join the Allied side as a belligerent country.

Britain and France forced Duan Qirui's political wife to join the Entente so that they could justifiably and "legally" use a large number of Chinese laborers on the front line, and as a result, the Chinese laborers on the side of the Entente were pushed to the forefront of the hostile sides in World War I! This was the real purpose of Britain and France in forcing China to join the Entente. Prior to Duan Qirui's announcement of China's accession to the Entente bloc, Chinese laborers were mainly working in factories in the British and French rear.

Although the emergence of Chinese workers in Europe is a historical tragedy, after all, this is the first time that Chinese have gone abroad, and it is also the beginning of Europeans' zero-distance contact with Chinese. Although the Chinese laborers, who were at the bottom of the social ladder for the first time on the land of Europe, were so dumb-eyed, so unaccustomed to the unfamiliar environment, and so out of place with Europeans, their patience and endurance for the harsh environment they suddenly fell into quickly aroused the admiration of Europeans. Perhaps from this moment, they won the compassion of foreigners, and then, from acquaintance to recognition, this is the beginning of the integration of Chinese into the international community. This is to understand the phenomenon of labor in China during the First World War from the perspective of microscopic and folk evolution.

From the perspective of the country, although the Beiyang political woman at that time was a political woman who was not satisfied with the people, however, whether it was Yuan Shikai or Duan Qirui, it was also commendable that they could play the trick of "replacing soldiers with work" in World War I, and in the face of the complex international situation, they dealt with Japan, the United States and other powers, and after being blocked from sending troops to participate in the war many times, they still seized the opportunity to announce their participation in the war in a timely manner, and finally won a place to speak for the post-war peace conference.

China's participation in World War I not only demonstrated China's success in using diplomacy to enter the international community as an equal member and become an international member, but also set a precedent for China to systematically recover national sovereignty since the Opium War. By declaring war on Germany, China not only immediately announced the abrogation of the unequal treaty between China and Germany and Austria, recovered the German-Austrian concessions in China, and terminated the payment of German-Austrian fees, but more importantly, the extraterritorial rights of Germany and Austria in China were also abolished by China. The perseverance of the Beiyang political women to take advantage of the outbreak of the European war and strive to officially join the war group fully proves the pursuit of Chinese participation in the international community during this period. From a small point of view, China entered the war in order to deal with Japan and to secure a place at the post-war peace conference. But in the long run, it is for joining the international community, for internationalization, for having a voice in the new world order. As it turned out, this goal was achieved. In its unique way of getting involved in modern diplomacy, China has been extraordinarily skilled in extremely complex contests, advancing and retreating in an orderly manner, and tolerant and modest, which has impressed the Western society. The fact that China was able to participate in the post-war Paris Peace Conference is a successful example of China's World War I diplomacy, which truly achieved the goal of having China in place at the beginning of the establishment of a new world order. At the Paris Peace Conference, it was precisely because of the outstanding performance of the Chinese delegates that they broke the diplomatic pattern of "fighting from the beginning to the end" and finally brought the "China issue" to the world's highest forum, and won a moral victory.

In Paris, France, stands a "Monument to Chinese Laborers". This monument was built by a French politician in 1988. The inscription is engraved in Chinese and French characters: "From 1916 to 1918, 140,000 Chinese laborers participated in the Allied War of Resistance in France, and nearly 10,000 people sacrificed their precious lives for this." After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, 3,000 of them settled in France and formed the first Chinese community near Paris and Gare de Lyon. Xu Mingting, a European war worker in Weixian County, Shandong Province, opened a teahouse in the Chinese community after living in France, and provided a meeting and activity place for the ** group and Zhou Enlai and other comrades many times.

The outstanding performance of Chinese workers in World War I won high praise from Britain and France. French Marshal Foix, commander-in-chief of the Allied forces, praised the Chinese workers: "They are first-class workers and material for excellent soldiers." Under modern artillery fire, they can endure any hardships and complete various tasks with quality and quantity. The Times of London commented: "Modern warfare is a modern industry, and the Chinese workers are a new force in this new war, armed with pickaxes, crowbars, shovels and carts." ”

China is a country with large labor resources. Only on the basis of large-scale labor production and under the guidance of the labor spirit can China gradually become a big consumer. China's development, prosperity, change and progress today owe first and almost entirely to the sacred Chinese labor force and to the fact that China has the most precious and unrivaled resources of cheap labor in the world, which no other country can compete with.

Labor is sacred! ）

182 Chinese ships

182 Huagong ship,

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