At the Huangpu River Wharf in Shanghai, dockworkers carrying goods, with hundreds of kilograms of stuff on their shoulders, hunched over, chanting in an eccentric manner, stepped onto the dock from the ship, or climbed onto the ship from the dock.
.Going back and forth, like an old machine, working numbly.
Workers in Shanghai work at the docks for more than ten hours every day. They endure inhumane treatment and do superhuman work, but the remuneration they receive is only a few coins. They really can’t afford food, let alone money.
They say they don’t get drunk anymore when they buy wine. Many of the dock workers are paid monthly.
Although it was only ten or eight yuan, they were very satisfied. What they ate every day was just a few bowls of coarse rice and some pickled vegetables. Occasionally, one or two pieces of meat were considered a full meal.
Compared with South America, this kind of life can be considered extremely miserable. The dock workers in Shanghai are used to this kind of life. They just want to endure it.
Waiting for one day to stand up and make the decision, or be lucky enough to get an ocean ticket to start a new life in the South American continent.
However, only a small number of people can stand up and make the decision, or immigrate to South America. For ordinary dock workers, they have to endure hardships no matter how cold or hot the weather is.
Wearing cotton-padded clothes, they went to do their hard work regardless of the wind and snow. In the scorching long summer, they did the same inhuman work under the high heat of 100 degrees Fahrenheit. When the day's work was finished
, they dragged their overtired bodies to find a place to rest. In Shanghai, a foreign market ten miles away, a paradise for adventurers in the eyes of foreigners, they were lucky enough to find a cleaner place, lay down their tired bodies, and enjoy the short rest time.
.If it rains or snows, the entrance to the alleys and under the eaves of high-rise buildings are temporary shelters. As long as the Chinese patrolmen who come to watch the night do not wake them up from their sweet dreams, they can spend the night peacefully.
, even if some people freeze to death in their sleep, they can escape from hunger and cold in reality.
The Chinese people and foreigners intertwined, and the lower-class Chinese people and workers supported the prosperity of the Shanghai city. Foreigners from various countries, and even white homeless people who were rejected by their countries because of their criminal records, swarmed into Shanghai, a place that hides filth and evil.
A place where treasures seek adventurers.
The procedures for disembarking in Shanghai are unbelievably simple. The foreign affairs yamen officials responsible for managing foreigners only briefly flipped through the passengers' passports. They only needed to have the signature of the Chinese consul stationed at the place of departure, and that was all.
The problems are gone.
But in fact, few of the Manchu and Qing government officials knew the languages of several European countries. The words in the passport were all in the language of the country that issued them. So, to put it bluntly, even if it contained a piece of nonsense, I’m afraid the person who checked it would not understand.
It may not be obvious. Such a passport and such entry procedures,
Essentially it's like useless paper, it doesn't matter if it exists or not.
With such convenience, foreigners who want to make a fortune in the Far East can get permission to enter the mainland by simply getting a fake passport and handing it over without spending any money.
Foreign garbage people in Shanghai and other parts of the mainland gather together, either to engage in smuggling or swindling, or to engage in some illegal trading activities by using their identities as foreigners. There are also some foreigners, including those affected by the South American War, who live in the Far East.
They are homeless people who rely on selling their armed forces to do some dangerous jobs for the intelligence agencies of the Han State or the intelligence agencies of various countries.
In the Shanghai Concession, foreigners opened many venues and bars.
Among them, the Shanghai Club opened by the British can be regarded as the earliest bar in the world and the largest in scale. It is known as the bar with the longest counter in the world. British businessmen and military officers in Shanghai
They would often visit the Shanghai Stock Exchange Club and spend their free time amid the feasting and feasting.
However, the Shanghai Club initially only allowed the British to enter, and citizens of other European countries were blocked. Later, the Americans and the French could not stand the exclusive rights of the British, so they built the Citigroup Club and
French General Assembly.
After all, the French are generous and humble, and they are worthy of being advanced representatives of the democratic republic. They have made the French general public to the international residents in the concession (the Chinese are not among the international) and their lovers. The white society in Shanghai
Many people from the upper class regard it as a daily place for eating, drinking tea, chatting and relaxing.
Bars and cocktail parties are the best places to collect intelligence. However, Chinese people are not allowed to enter the drinking venues opened by Britain, France, the United States and other countries. Even the South American country of Han, which has been at war with Western countries twice, is still despised and isolated by foreigners.
Therefore, in order to search for intelligence, Wu Tiaoqing and others could only hire and bribe a group of wandering white people. They relied on funding them to collect intelligence from all sides that was useful to the Han Dynasty.
It was getting dark, and the workers on the Huangpu River dock gradually dispersed. Several young and strong men with braids walked over from the dock and met Wang Shizhen, who was standing in the corner.
"Brother Wang, according to your instructions, I have selected twenty brothers who have heard of loyalty from the dock and are ready to set off at any time."
The leading dock worker named Qian Zhangrong said.
"Brothers, please keep your eyes open. You may encounter danger when you go out to do business this time. If someone from the government sees anything unusual, you will have to fight with the Manchu officers and soldiers."
Wang Shizhen said cautiously, "Tell the brothers who participated in the operation that no matter whether this operation succeeds or not, all the brothers and their families will be able to take a boat to live in South America. The adults above have made preparations for the brothers and will not give it to the brothers."
Leave nothing to worry about.”
"I thank Brother Wang on behalf of the twenty brothers on the dock."
Qian Zhangrong thanked him.
"We're all brothers, there's no need to talk to outsiders."
Wang Shizhen patted the other party's shoulder in a pretentious manner and encouraged, "There are tens of thousands of Youth Gang members in Shanghai. If they are as sensible as Brother Qian and don't touch opium, there are not many people in the casino. When this operation is over, I will
I personally ask for credit for Brother Qian and strive to find a formal background for Brother Qian."
"Thank you, Brother Wang, for your kindness. My brothers and I were originally from poor families. When we were working for a living on the dock, we were often oppressed by foreigners and gang members. Now with the help of several adults, we can lead the brothers
Working on the dock, I am not afraid of being bullied by foreigners and other people. I am able to live the life I have now. My brothers and I are very satisfied, and we are all grateful for your kindness."
"It is natural for compatriots to join hands and help each other, and there is no need to worry about small things."
Wang Shizhen waved her hand and continued, "You and I are almost the same age. When we are working hard to serve the country, Brother Qian cannot relax and lose his ambition to make progress."
"Brother Wang, don't worry. I have nothing but enthusiasm. I, Qian Rongzhang, will do it right away without any hesitation in whatever your lords ask you to do!"
Qian Rongzhang patted his chest to express his determination.
"Very good, wait for those foreign bastards Henry, Clerk, and Monfield to come over, rest for one night, and set off tomorrow."......
Henry Weiss, thirty years old, six feet three inches tall, used to be a butcher and sausage maker, and is now the owner of a small Western restaurant in Shanghai.
In the evening, in a secret room behind the kitchen of this small Western restaurant, a few desperate guys were holding an emergency meeting.
They were discussing a challenging matter.
Wei Shimeng was originally working in Honduras. His brave temperament allowed him to do some things that others did not dare to do there. When the giant hand of the law was waiting to catch him, he was treated to a few years of leisure and leisure.
At that time, he politely said no
I'm an excused guest who was honored. But he left in a hurry and didn't have time to prepare all the necessary documents. Should he go back to his motherland? No, the door over there is closed.
His body was too big, and even though there was a crack in the door, he couldn't get in. So he wandered around and came to this paradise for adventurers in the Far East. With some money left over, he opened a small Western restaurant.
They scraped some subsistence food from sausages and hamburger steaks, and at the same time used the opportunity of providing intelligence to the Han Dynasty to accumulate starting funds for the big business they envisioned.
"Gentlemen, everything is ready with the king. He promised to give us twelve breech-loading guns, forty grenades, and five short guns as reward after the matter is completed."
"Four Colombians and two French cowards have decided to withdraw from our group. They are afraid that something bad will happen. Now there are only eleven of us in total. But it doesn't matter, as long as each person bears more responsibility.
There are some responsibilities, and things can still be done. But you must listen to my command."
The speaker was the leader of the foreigners, Monfield. Monfield, also known as Melang, was a native of East Prussia. He was about forty-five years old, five feet seven inches long, and weighed two hundred pounds.
With his blue eyes, bull head and neck, and his majestic appearance, he seemed to be a master of murder and robbery.
He also regarded the Shanghai stock market as a safe haven or a place of last resort. He used to be a shipowner and worked in a British shipping company. However, the rocks and tides deliberately made things difficult for him. The ship he was in charge of was one day.
When he reached the deserted reef, the collision also sunk his position. He was stranded in the Shanghai Stock Exchange for some time.
With his wisdom and adventurous spirit, he became the leader of the crowd and established a relationship with the Han Dynasty.
He believed that things should be done decisively, so he persuaded Wei Shimeng to sell his Xiaoxi Restaurant.
"Are they afraid of me? Boss, please tell me your detailed plan."
The above courageous words flowed from Clerk's mouth. Clerk is a thirty-one-year-old, beautiful Austrian, but his travel passport is from Switzerland. He
A beautiful figure was flashing in front of his eyes. The lips like red cherry, the eyes like blue sea, and the waist like water snake were constantly biting his heart. Money, as long as you have money, everything is yours. Clark is here
Driven by the desire to make money, he desperately joined Monfield's adventure group.
"Yes, we must know in detail what tasks the Chinese have assigned us. Otherwise, we may lose our lives here."
A machinist who had no one to ask for advice, he was thirty years old, tall and powerful in appearance. In Berlin, he abandoned a wife and two young children and ran to the Far East alone.
"The task is very simple. We pretend to be German businessmen and follow their people to Fuzhou to bring back a group of people. After the task is completed, we will be able to get the rewards we deserve."
"It's just a matter of accepting a group of Chinese people. There's nothing to worry about. Boss, make your decision immediately. We are all willing to follow you."
"Believe me, there will be no big risks in this operation. Once we get those lovely muskets and exquisite grenades, we will immediately start a big plan in the Far East. Using the muskets and grenades in our hands, we will bring us huge amounts of money."
wealth."
"Yes, we are going to become the most legendary pirates in the Far East! I have already seen the beautiful French Consul's wife waving to me! Next time, I must wear a neat suit and dazzling gems to invite the Consul's wife to dinner!
