"Gun on the shoulder, walk in unison."

Under the command of the British instructor, the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty in full British military uniforms lined up in a neat queue and marched in line to the sound of the snare drums, initially showing the demeanor of a strong army.

Richard was wearing the uniform of a British major, and stood on the edge of the training ground with a serious expression, supervising the training of a group of officers and soldiers.

There was no expression on his face, but he had to admit it from the bottom of his heart; After changing into a unified British army uniform, this Datang Armed Force really has the appearance of an army.

After all, they had a very good foundation and had experienced the baptism of battle, and after the training in the past few days, the queue has gone in good shape, and the morale of the officers and men is high, showing the strong and sharp spirit of an army.

At this time

A herald ran to the front, stood upright, and saluted; "Report sir, the Bay Area Marina has sent the latest news; The first batch of two ships of Central American Chinese immigrants transported by Pacific Cruises in the United States, a total of 557 people, has arrived in Hong Kong, please instruct? ”

"Oh, it's been delivered so soon?"

Richard raised his brows when he heard this, a hint of surprise appeared on his serious face, and then he commanded with a straight face; "Inform the logistics team of the relevant matters related to the preparation of receiving personnel, and order the personal guard cavalry team to go to the Bay Area dock to pick up people in 10 minutes."

"Yes, sir." The herald stood again, saluted, and then quickly turned and ran away to deliver the order.

Richard reached an agreement with the British forces behind Ronald Evenson, led by the British, to send a large number of Chinese immigrants from Central and South America to the San Francisco region in order to strengthen the population base of the region and expand the size of the army.

In more than two weeks, the first batch of Chinese immigrants arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area, and it has to be said that the British are still very effective in matters related to their own interests.

The Panama region of Central America is less than 2,000 kilometers away from the province of Alta California, and it takes about 4~5 days to sail at sea using a new steamer, which is not a long distance.

There is only one city in the entire Panama region, Panama City on the Pacific side, and more than eighty percent of the population in the area lives in Panama City, which means that the vast majority of Chinese laborers are stranded in the city.

According to the British method, as long as a job announcement with a promise salary of $15 can attract the vast majority of Chinese labor, saving time and effort.

This group of Chinese laborers came at the right time, and with these laborers, brick kilns, water-powered sawmills, water-powered gold panning troughs, mills, and oil mills could be opened to solve the imminent labor problem.

After a simple preparation

Richard personally led people to meet him first, and he may not participate in this kind of thing in the future, so he just left it to his subordinates to do.

But this was the first batch of Chinese immigrants from Central America, and Lee felt the need to go out in person to show his seriousness.

Bay Area Marina

When Richard and his crew arrived, they saw hundreds of dark-skinned Chinese laborers in tattered clothes, braids, and melon skin hats, and their numb and helpless eyes pierced his heart.

This choked on the words he had prepared for him, and finally turned into a soft sigh.

After more than two years of hard work, many of them lost their lives in the dangerous rainforest, but they did not earn much money under the pressure of the local construction company.

When I first arrived, the enthusiasm and impulse in my eyes were tempered by heavy labor, and now all that remains is heart-wrenching numbness and helplessness.

All they need now is food and hot water, and then they can rest and talk about anything in two days.

Richard beckoned to Gaiwang Mountain and commanded; "Put down the dried meat and patties, find a way to cook a few pots of hot soup, feed these compatriots, and then set off back to the Grape Valley. Remember not to arrange anything in these two days, and focus on recuperation and recovery. ”

"I understand the young master, let's arrange it." Gai Wangshan nodded, and hurried away.

Richard walked up to the group of refugee-like Chinese laborers and immediately caused a commotion.

Many people saw that Richard's identity was extraordinary, and one person immediately greeted him and said; "Fan Zhiyuan, a foreigner and a grass man, relies on the love of the Chinese workers and brothers, and is the foreman, may I ask if this noble son is the owner?"

"Well, if you want to say that the owner is right, I asked the English to hire you here......"

"We, grass people, meet the owner." When Fan Zhiyuan heard that it was indeed the main master, he directly knelt on his knees and bowed.

Behind him, a group of Chinese laborers all knelt down in black, and the formation was quite amazing.

Richard didn't expect this to happen, and hurriedly stepped forward and stretched out his hand to pull Fan Zhiyuan up, and then said to everyone;

"Brothers, please get up, and if you are at home here, you don't have to do this great gift.

On this acre and three points of land in San Francisco, I, Richard, regard you as a blood-related clansman, and regard you as my own brothers, and I will never shout and scold you at every turn, and drive you like cattle and horses.

As long as I have a bite to eat from Richard, I will never let you go hungry.

Now that the big guy has just arrived, he may still have doubts. We don't need to say any sweet words, everything depends on action.

Brethren, it would be good to see how Richard behaved and did things in the future, whether he was a deceitful person.

These days have been toiling on the sea, and after a while, I have to walk back to the Grape Valley, and the big guys will help to cook some hot soup together, and the food will be distributed to everyone immediately, and they will have the strength to hurry when they are full.

Remember one sentence;

Within a radius of hundreds of kilometers in North America, we Chinese must straighten our backs and behave, whether it is a ghost or a Mexican, no one dares to bully you.

I, Richard, said this, and from now on, the brethren will see with their eyes and remember with their hearts, and see if this is not nonsense.

When I get here, as long as the brethren work together to do things with me, I Richard promises;

Everyone here will have a bright future, they can build a house here, marry a wife and have children, they can soar here, and they will be respected.

Don't talk about it too much, just look at the action and it's over. ”

Richard's simple words touched all the Chinese present, and they couldn't help shouting;

"Childe is so gracious, we should serve as death."

"If this can be the case, I will wait for the overseas grass people to take a cheap life, and I will sell it to Li Gongzi in the future."

"Thank you for your kindness, please accept our worship."

"To be valued by nobles is enough in this life! Li Gongzi has no send, although he orders, we will go to the soup and fight the fire, and we will not give up. ”

"Li Gongzi ......"

The simple country sound echoed in their ears, and Richard saw the flame of hope in their eyes again, no longer the stinging numbness and helplessness, and his heart was very relieved.

He raised his hands and pressed down, and after the voices of the crowd were boiling with emotion, he said loudly;

"The brothers have eaten their stomachs first, and there is still a long way to go, so when they get to the grape valley, they will rest for two days and walk around, which is the homeland of our Chinese.

As for what we want to do in the future, we will talk about it, and it will depend on the opinions and tendencies of each person.

Those who are willing to join the army can be in the army, just like these soldiers behind me, after training, they will become the backbone of our Datang Society.

Those who are willing to work can work, and many factories will be established in the future, and there will always be a business that you like to do.

Those who are willing to farm can do farming, and we have a large area of fertile land here, which is just right to show what they are good at.

Those of you who can read and write, including those who can understand foreign languages, and those who specialize in blacksmiths and carpenters, do not forget to report to your home when you register.

When the time comes, I will try to arrange suitable errands for you.

Alright, let's eat something to cushion our stomachs, and if there is anything, we will go back to the Grape Valley and talk about it in detail. ”

Richard waved his hand enthusiastically to everyone, and a reserved English voice came from his ears, saying; "You can tell they like you."

Richard turned to meet a tall, thin white ghost with a hooked nose, high cheekbones, and thin lips, looking at him with scrutinizing eyes.

In terms of physiognomy, this is a rather mean person.

Richard took the initiative to say; "Let me introduce myself, Richard, the president of the Datang Association, is currently the vice president of the federation."

"It is a great pleasure to meet you, dear Lee, I am Ben Johnson, Director and General Manager of Pacific Cruises in the United States of America, of English descent from Oxfordshire, England. Besides, I don't have a good feeling for the United States. ”

"Me too."

After saying this

The two laughed out loud, and Ben-Johnson politely made a "please" gesture and offered to invite Richard to visit his ship.

Two ships docked on a wooden trestle, a three-masted schooner and an iron-hulled steamship with a displacement of 760 tons, symbolize the products of the two Age of Sail.

On the three-masted galleon, the white sailors on board were busy washing the decks, a common sight on both the east and west coasts of North America, and a dozen sailing ships were moored in the bay, which of course did not attract Richard's attention.

What caught his attention was a new iron-hulled steam paddle wheel, with a large round paddle wheel on the left and right sides of the ship, a high sail mast in the bow, and a propeller in the stern.

This is the thing that can be called the top level of shipbuilding technology in the world today, and the "Great West" sailing in the Atlantic Ocean is also driven by this way.

Compared with sailing ships, iron-hulled paddle wheels can cross the Atlantic Ocean in 14 days with their own power, regardless of wind direction and speed, and carry more goods with fewer people, which is undoubtedly an era ahead of sail cargo ships.

The iron-hulled ship had two cargo holds, which contained most of the half of the cargo holds, and a thick layer of straw was laid on the coal pile, which was where the Chinese laborers slept.

When the sea conditions were good, the Chinese workers were able to go up to the deck to breathe fresh sea breeze, eat normally, and were not abused, so they were in good health.

In the captain's room behind the iron-hulled paddlewheel, Ben Johnson entertained Richard with coffee and plum biscuits, and behaved with great hospitality.

As far as Ben Johnson knew, the elegant young man across from him was a big customer.