Guangzhou.
A large foreign cargo vessel drew up to the dock, and before it had even come to a full stop, a crowd of people came surging aboard with arms full of silver.
"I want a hundred taels' worth of opium — serve me first!"
"Five hundred taels here — everyone else stand aside!"
"Foreign lordship, it's me, Little Song — we've drunk together, remember? Please, I beg you, serve me first, serve me first."
The foreign lord James stood on the ship's deck, gazing down at the land below with cold indifference.
A few decades from now, when the people of this place had smoked themselves boneless on opium, that would be the moment to conquer it.
He turned his head abruptly. Somewhere in the distance, it looked as though something was being built. The distance made it impossible to see the workers clearly, but whatever was being constructed was large enough that traces of it were just barely visible.
"Send someone to ask what they're doing over there."
After a while, the Chinese man he'd sent came running back and answered in slightly awkward foreign speech.
"Mr. James, those are people from Dragon City building a new settlement."
"I made a point of asking a few more questions. This Dragon City appears to be an inland city, rather far from here."
"Word has it there aren't many of them, but they're formidable — and very wealthy."
"Apparently they've defeated the armies of the imperial court."
"Hard to say what they're doing building out here near us. They might as well have gone straight into Guangzhou city."
James gave a nod, paying little mind to intelligence so riddled with words like "apparently" and "word has it."
In his view, this land was vast. It had split into three parts — four now, it seemed.
But every one of those parts was far larger than his own homeland.
That the imperial court here had been defeated came as no surprise to him. If they wished, he believed his country could easily defeat any faction in this land.
But they had not come here to defeat anyone. They had come for profit.
More precisely, they wanted money. Gold, silver, jewels — anything of value that could be carried home would make him a hero. No need to concern himself with the means.
If a shipload of cheap opium could be exchanged for a fortune in return, why go to the trouble of making war?
Perhaps war would come eventually — but that was a matter for the distant future. Better to wait until opium had hollowed out this nation's will and backbone.
This country was too vast, its people too numerous. Conquering it would be easy enough; the real problem was how to hold it, how to make its people willingly generate wealth for you.
…
The construction of New Guangzhou, near Guangzhou city, was a matter the Dragon City government took very seriously.
Since this place would in all likelihood become a bridgehead for dealings with foreigners, once the development plan was confirmed, it received a level of attention that surpassed even that given to the three courts' imperial capitals — second only to Dragon City itself.
And so the top man, Zhao Mingcheng, was dispatched. The area was designated at the county-district level, with Zhao Mingcheng serving as district chief with an elevated rank. The place was named Xinguang District — the New Guangzhou urban district. If growth went well, it could be elevated directly to New Guangzhou City.
Jinyi had practically wrung the lord dry. No sooner had the New Year barely passed than she emptied out the small private treasury he had managed to scrape together.
Ten large trucks carried the first and most critical batch of personnel, making the journey from Dragon City to this place in a matter of days.
Two hundred people in all: besides Mingcheng as district chief, half were administrative personnel and the other half were high-level construction specialists.
The administrators were tasked with recruiting laborers and organizing them — under the direction of the various experts — to build housing, open mines, and procure coal, iron, and cement.
They were to construct a power plant and install electrical equipment.
And install elevators.
Follow-up supplies would come by water, which was slower, but the support would be substantial.
Mingcheng led his people and began scattering silver and paper currency in large quantities. Paper currency had filtered through to this area, but only in very small amounts — only a tiny fraction of people carried it, and not all of them knew how to use it.
"District Chief, someone's here to see you!"
A staff member led in a large, rotund man dressed like a wealthy landowner.
The fat man bowed with comical formality. "This humble one, Jin Dahai, pays his respects to the District Chief."
"Mr. Jin, what brings you here?"
"To answer the Chief, this humble one has a modest family fortune. Upon hearing that Dragon City intended to build a new city here, I came forward to present myself, hoping to offer some small assistance."
"Why would you be willing to help Dragon City with its construction? What do you hope to gain?"
"My intentions are sincere — I ask for nothing in return. Perhaps only that my daughter, who is in Dragon City, might receive a little looking-after, and not be mistreated."
"Your daughter? Oh! Could you be Jin Shanshan's father?"
"You know my daughter?" Jin Dahai asked, his face lighting up with astonished delight.
"Of course I do. Shanshan is a delightful girl. She and my younger sister Jinyuan get along wonderfully — Jinyuan even invited her over to the house."
Jin Dahai's delight only grew. The house — didn't that mean the fabled residence of that legendary lord himself?
"My daughter has a carefree spirit, though she can be a bit heedless of propriety. If she's caused any trouble, I do hope the respected ones there won't hold it against her."
"Mr. Jin, please don't stand on ceremony. Have a seat."
Mingcheng actually stepped out from behind his desk and invited Jin Dahai to talk in the reception area — which only heightened Jin Dahai's pleasant surprise.
"District Chief Mingcheng, the Jin family has operated in Guangzhou for generations and has built up a decent fortune. If you need financial support, you need only say the word."
"You should know well enough that Dragon City doesn't lack money. What we lack is manpower."
"Of course, of course — I wasn't thinking clearly. No household in the world has pockets as deep as Dragon City's."
"Since you need manpower, what if I deliver three thousand workers within half a month?"
"And if that isn't enough, I'll do my best to send another two thousand within the following month!"
Mingcheng's eyes lit up with an almost startling brightness. When the lord had invited the most elite young ladies from across the Central Plains to Dragon City, what had been the point?
The most important reason, surely, was to find suitable matches for the children — young women of good family whose character and worldliness could be counted on to some degree.
And the second reason — wasn't it exactly this?
"Then I thank you, Mr. Jin. To be frank, what I need most right now is manpower — the more the better, so long as it doesn't disrupt your own business affairs."
"I understand completely, District Chief. In that case, I'll gather a thousand workers and bring them here within three days."
"Then on behalf of Dragon City — on behalf of my lord — I thank you for your help, Mr. Jin."
Mingcheng rose and extended his right hand solemnly. Jin Dahai startled, then quickly stood and grasped it with both hands, bowing slightly.
"Mr. Jin, that's not quite how the greeting goes — but never mind. If you're free in a little while, I'd like to invite you to dinner. We can talk more over the meal."
"Of course, of course — please give me just a moment. Let me speak to my attendants so they can start gathering the workers right away."
"Then I'll leave it in your hands, Mr. Jin. As for your daughter, there's no need to worry — she's doing very well in Dragon City, and no one can bother her there."
"And I'll write to my younger brothers and sisters at home shortly. I'll make particular mention of the help you've given us today."
"Truly? That means the world to me — thank you, thank you so much. You have no idea — she's my only daughter, and I've always — oh, listen to me rambling on. Please wait just a moment, I'll go tell the attendants to head back and round up the people!"