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James was an English merchant who was engaged in the textile trade. Unlike the opium merchants, he had nothing to lose when the Manchu government banned smoking on a large scale. However, because China's main economy is a subsistence small-scale peasant economy, his business has not been doing well. Fortunately, he could import some porcelain and tea from China to die in England, so that he would not be unable to make any money. After the Opium War and the defeat of the Manchus by the British, he quickly went to Beijing to open up business here. However, it still seems that it is still very troublesome.

After James went to the Jinluan Palace, he looked at this golden hall curiously. This was the ruling center of this ancient country, and the decoration and carving of pure gold around him made him stunned.

"This is indeed the richest country in the world. After fully opening up this huge market, you will definitely be able to make a fortune. James muttered. This is probably what European businessmen have always wanted to do.

"Mr. James, please salute the Emperor." An interpreter said sweating profusely. Among the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, no one knew the truth of the Xinhua Kingdom, so they specially sent people to the merchants to learn about the Xinhua Kingdom from their mouths. James claimed to be familiar with Xinhuaguo, so he was called. However, after this foreign devil arrived at the Jinluan Palace, he looked around stupidly, and he looked like he was about to drool. This frightened the interpreter, for fear that the emperor would be angry and then implicate him.

"Oh. I'm sorry. "James came back to his senses. He raised his head and looked at Emperor Daoguang, who was sitting in the main hall. In his eyes, this was an old man with a pale face, as if he was terminally ill, and looking at his weak appearance, it was as if he was about to die at any moment.

"Perhaps, this is the reason why such a powerful country would lose to us." James said secretly.

"Your Majesty. British businessman James sends you the sincerest respects. James bent down and saluted Emperor Daoguang. However, he only bowed, not knelt.

Emperor Daoguang frowned. However, it is normal to think that James is just a barbarian, and he does not know the etiquette. So he generously forgave James.

"Mr. James, could you please introduce us to Xinhuaguo? Tell me the truth, and Your Majesty will reward you when the time comes! Minister of Military Aircraft Wen Qing said. This is a suggestion he made. He didn't want James to mess it up. In that case. It will inevitably affect Emperor Daoguang's opinion of him.

"That's good, sir." James nodded, and began his speech.

"Xinhua is the most powerful country in the South Seas. Although this country has only been established for a few years, it has become the hegemon of the South Seas. Six years ago, when I was engaged in the silk trade from Singapore to Guangzhou, I had never heard of this country at all. But now, they have ruled the whole of the South Seas. Luzon. Vietnam, Borneo, Sumatra and Java. All of them became the territory of the New China Kingdom. They have the most powerful navy and army in the world, and even the Western countries can't defeat them! James said.

"Shhh The civil and military officials in the main hall all gasped after listening to the translated words. Especially Yucheng, the secretary of the military department, was even more pale. He also said before that Xinhua was just a small overseas country, but from the mouth of this British businessman, it was the overlord of the South Seas! They are no strangers to Vietnam, a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty. It's only in recent years that everyone has broken off contact. But now, even Vietnam has become the territory of Xinhua State. Then, this so-called Xinhua country is really not to be underestimated.

Emperor Daoguang's face also changed several times, originally he also thought that Xinhua was just a weak country, and dared to provoke the Qing Dynasty, which was completely looking for death. As soon as the heavenly soldiers arrived, it was enough to kill the Xinhua army, and the blood flowed like a river. But I didn't expect that the reality was completely different from what he looked like. Xinhua is not a small country, it is already a hegemon-level power. Although Nanyang is a wild land in the eyes of Emperor Daoguang, even foreigners can't help Xinhua Kingdom, which shows the strength of this country.

"Mr. James, is Xinhuaguo really that powerful?" Minister of Military Aircraft Wen Qing asked.

"Of course. Four years earlier, the Kingdom of Spain had sent a powerful expeditionary force to the east to recapture Luzon, which had been occupied by the New Chinese Kingdom. The expeditionary force consisted of a very powerful fleet of more than sixty warships, as well as more than twenty advanced battleships and even first-class battleships. The army also has more than 30,000 people. Such a powerful army is enough to sweep the entire East. With the support of the British, the Spanish Expeditionary Force and the Dutch-Indonesian colonial authorities united, and the two countries jointly attacked Xinhua. As a result, the two sides fought two major battles in the northern part of the Java Sea and in the western part of Borneo. In the Battle of the Java Sea, the Spanish expeditionary fleet was completely annihilated, dozens of warships were sunk, and the rest of the warships were also captured by the Xinhua State. In the Battle of West Borneo, more than 60,000 elite armies of the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of the Netherlands were all annihilated by the Xinhua Army. And Xinhuaguo's losses are minimal. Through these two battles, Xinhua officially became the overlord of Nanyang! James said.

In the main hall, up to Emperor Daoguang, down to the civil and military officials, their faces were a little unnatural. In the Opium War, they had a first-hand experience of the strength of foreigners. However, the two foreign countries sent more than 60 warships and more than 60,000 army forces, all of which were wiped out by the Xinhua State, which shocked and frightened them. It is important to know that during the Opium War, the British only sent more than a dozen warships and less than 20,000 troops from the beginning to the end. As a result, the Qing Dynasty has been beaten all over the ground looking for teeth. In contrast, Xinhua seems to be much more powerful than the Qing Dynasty.

"Mr. James, how is this possible? How can a country that has only been established for a few years be so powerful? Bingbu Shangshu Yucheng asked.

"My lord, I swear to God that what I say is absolutely true. The Xinhua Kingdom is indeed very powerful, and it is said that the total strength of their army and navy now exceeds 200,000. Even the mighty British Empire was reluctant to provoke Xinhua in the East. James said.

200,000 people is nothing for the Qing Dynasty, which has a population of more than 300 million. The Eight Banners and Green Battalions of the Qing Dynasty combined were more than one million. However, it is an army that even foreigners can defeat, and the army of the Qing Dynasty that was beaten by foreigners is completely different.

"Isn't even Britain an opponent of Xinhua?" Emperor Daoguang suddenly asked.

"How is this possible? The British Empire is the hegemon of the world, and a small Xinhua country is certainly not an opponent of the British Empire. It's just that the British Empire has to take into account the interests of the whole world, and there are too many places to defend to concentrate all its strength. Otherwise, the British Empire would have already destroyed the Xinhua Kingdom. James said hurriedly. Of course, this is just him deliberately saying big things. He was just a small businessman, and everything was just hearsay plus his own speculation.

Emperor Daoguang nodded, if even Britain was not the opponent of Xinhua, then the Qing Dynasty really didn't know what to do.

"Mr. James, doesn't Xinhuaguo have any weaknesses?" Minister of Military Aircraft Wen Qing asked.

"Weakness? Xinhuaguo's weakness may be industrialization. Their industrial development has only just begun, and although it is fast, there is still a certain gap compared to the West. James thought for a moment and said. Of course, he did not know that after several years of hard work, Xinhua has basically built a complete industrial system, but in terms of scale, it cannot be compared with Western powers.

"Industrialization? What is this? "In the minds of Emperor Daoguang and the ministers of civil and military affairs, question marks appeared one after another. They don't know anything about industry.

"Ahem, Mr. James, are there any other weaknesses?" Minister of Military Aircraft Wen Qing continued to ask.

"Others. By the way, the population of Xinhua is very small. Xinhua is a country composed of Chinese in Nanyang, and there are not many Chinese in Nanyang. According to our estimates, the total population of Xinhua is only two or three million. James said.

"Population? This is an Achilles' heel. Emperor Daoguang and the shrewd ministers of the military aircraft were all dazzled. But, at last, they thought of something that frightened them. Xinhua is sparsely populated, but their army is attacking Guangdong, if they take Guangdong, will they still lack population? Guangdong's population is in the tens of millions. If Xinhua recruits enough troops from among these people, it will be fine.

"Mr. James, you said it very well. Come and reward one hundred taels of gold! Emperor Daoguang commanded.

"Ah, thank you, Your Majesty, I swear that you must be the greatest monarch in the entire world!" James exclaimed, and then hurriedly slapped Emperor Daoguang's ass. One hundred taels of gold, which is more than five hundred pounds. In a short period of time, he made more than 500 pounds, which is definitely a good business! James hoped that Emperor Daoguang would be able to consult some other things, such as the situation in Europe, etc., and he was eager to tell everything he knew about Dao. It's just that he doesn't have a chance anymore. After inquiring about Xinhuaguo, he was taken out of the Forbidden City by the palace guards.

"Retreat. The Minister of Military Aircraft went to the study to wait for the drive. Remember, I don't want anything to happen at today's court meeting to reveal a hint of something wrong! Emperor Daoguang said viciously. (To be continued......)