Mount Fort Canning, commonly known as "Mount Royal" or "Penang Hill". This hill covering an area of 19 hectares and about 50 meters high was once the residence of Sir Raffles. In 1819, Sir Raffles landed at the mouth of the Singapore River
Later, he took a fancy to the hill overlooking the mouth of the Singapore River and built his Governor's Palace on the top of the mountain.
In any corner of this white stone Victorian-style Government House, you can feel the luxury of the British in this era. This Government House located on the top of Mount Royal represents the authority of the British Empire in Southeast Asia and is also a symbol of the British Empire.
A symbol of empire in Southeast Asia.
Watching the golden-red sunlight shining through the snow-white linen curtains onto the wool carpet of the same color, Sir Ward picked up the Guangcai tea cup with gold rim and took a sip of the richly fragrant black tea.
Black tea is produced in the Wuyi Mountains. Although the British introduced tea trees to the Darjeeling Plateau in northern India more than ten years ago, compared to the inferior Indian black tea, the real upper-class British society still drinks black tea from the Wuyi Mountains.
Well, this is quite the difference between the original genuine English product and the pirated Prussian product. The latter is basically garbage. The same is true for Darjeeling black tea.
Since being appointed by Her Majesty the Queen as the new Governor of the Straits Settlements four years ago and arriving in Singapore, Sir Ward has sat on the grass in front of the Government House every afternoon, enjoying the cool breeze from Malacca and eating some local desserts.
Drinking a cup of fragrant black tea can help him temporarily forget about the busy government affairs and relax his mind.
However, Governor Ward's mood at this time was not as relaxed as before.
He is very annoyed!
Ming Dynasty established a consulate here. Originally, he didn't think it was a big deal. Setting up a consulate was a normal thing.
But now Ward feels that he has made the biggest mistake in his life.
"Your Excellency, in the past two days, more than 5,000 Qing people have become Ming people and have received Ming passports. Now the Ming consul has protested to us many times to protest against the Indian police randomly beating and bullying their expatriates...
"
"What are their expatriates? Sir, you know, those people are from the Qing Dynasty. They have long been used to being beaten by the Indians. They..."
Police Chief Henry, who was standing by the side, had not finished speaking when Harred, the Director of the Foreign Affairs Department, said.
"Chief Henry, we all know that they are from the Qing Dynasty, and we also know that we could blackmail them casually in the past, but now, they are from the Ming Dynasty! Their consul will stand up and speak for them!"
"It's just a bunch of yellow people!"
Henry said with some disdain. He was already used to being arrogant and had long been accustomed to discrimination against Chinese people.
"This group of yellow people is different. They can send troops to fight in Europe, Henry!"
Ward said a little helplessly.
"Even Britain needs to buy airships from them. Although they are all yellow people, there are differences between yellow people, just like..."
When Ward didn't know how to describe it, Harred echoed from the side.
"Just like Europeans and Turks, they are both white, but so what? Europeans under the rule of the Turks have long forgotten civilization and were shrouded in barbarism. Under the rule of the Tatars
, the same is true for the Han people, who have completely degenerated into barbarians. Am I right? Your Excellency!"
Harred's explanation made Ward laugh.
"It's true, the Turks...are indeed a bunch of savages, but they are also white."
Shrugging his shoulders, Ward ordered to Sheriff Henry.
"Henry, when you go back, tell your subordinates to treat those Chinese who have cut off their braids. No, Ming people, treat them more politely. They may not be white, but the country behind them can be regarded as a civilized country!
"
Sometimes, people always have to face reality. Ward does not want to cause diplomatic disputes due to the greed of the Indian police and some low-level police officers. He does not think that a country that can send troops to fight in France will ignore its own citizens abroad.
If he is bullied, even if they don't bombard Singapore, it will definitely cause a diplomatic dispute, which will inevitably affect his future promotion.
This is not a good thing.
However, what Ward did not know was that it was precisely because of his differential treatment that in the next few years, almost all overseas Chinese in the Straits Settlements applied for Ming Dynasty passports at the consulate and cut off their braids.
The same is true for places like the Dutch East Indies. After all, the difference between the two is visible to the naked eye!
"Okay, Hared, you can reply to him now and tell them that we will definitely protect the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese people, and..."
Just when Ward thought things could end perfectly, Harred said again over there.
"But Your Excellency, the special envoy is waiting for your summons now. He seems to have more important things to discuss with you in person."
"Discussing in person? What is it? Is he there?"
After learning that the other party had arrived at the Governor's Mansion, Ward stood up and said a little irritably.
"Hared, I tell you, never deal with an upstart. Do you know what they are like?"
As he walked towards the reception room of the Governor's Mansion, Ward said in a specially emphasized tone.
"They all look arrogant, afraid that no one will see their arrogance!"
But a few minutes later, Ward regretted it. He even regretted why he didn't leave the matter to Harry. As God can testify, what he faced was not arrogance, but unreasonable entanglement.
"Mr. Governor, you must give me a reasonable explanation for the large number of casualties among the Chinese in the conflict in the Kedah Sultanate. They are being killed every day, people die every day, their property is plundered, and their lives are not safe.
Without guarantees, Mr. Governor, is this the so-called safe environment provided by the Straits Settlements?"
Almost as soon as they met, Zhao Yongfu immediately protested loudly. While protesting and asking for an explanation, he asked directly.
"Mr. Governor, I hope you can send your troops there immediately to maintain local security, prevent conflicts, and protect the safety of the Chinese..."
Chinese, Chinese, are Chinese people from the Ming Dynasty?
They all came from the Qing Dynasty, and several of them came from the Ming Dynasty. Your Ming Empire was obviously in South America, so why did you come to Southeast Asia to trouble the Chinese people? This period of time, this person has long been
Ward, who was troubled by the special envoy's questions about protecting the rights and interests of the Chinese people and treating the Ming people equally, said it straightforwardly.
"Mr. Special Envoy, please believe that I have great respect for you and your country, the Ming Empire. From beginning to end, I have been talking to you with the greatest patience. But you must know that my patience is limited.
limited."
Ward's tone was no longer so-called polite, but full of boredom.
"You have to know that the conflict in the Kedah Sultanate has nothing to do with Britain, nor does it have anything to do with the Straits Settlements. It does not belong to the Straits Settlements. Although we have mediated the local civil war out of humanitarian considerations,
, that is an area controlled by the Malay princely states, not an area managed by the Straits Settlements. We do not need to give you any explanation for any events that occurred there! Now!"
Ward took a deep breath, stared at the messy Zhao Yongfu and said.
"If you have nothing to do with Straits Settlements affairs, then please get out immediately!"
He has really had enough of this guy's nonsense. Are those people from the Qing Dynasty people from the Ming Dynasty?
Is it interesting for him to mess around here?
Facing the governor's anger and dissatisfaction, Zhao Fuyong seemed to be really overwhelmed. He was silent for a while, and then said.
"Okay, Your Excellency, as you wish."
This chapter has been completed!