C1678 Andreevs Travels (1/2)
Andreev did not come directly from the Far East to the Amami Oshima. Instead, he took a detour from the Bulbus Glazed Island, rested for three days, and then left to persuade them to surrender.
Maybe it was the CIA's intention, or maybe Andreev was just a countryside bumpkin. The shock from this trip to the Ryukyu was extremely strong, and it was recorded in the memoirs prepared by his descendants.
”I have never seen such a rich and polite country. Although everyone says that Britain is the richest city in the world, in my eyes, Englishman might have earned a lot of gold from the sea, but that country isn't the happiest one …”
”As Dickens's Fog Orphans depict it, the gloomy and foggy City of London cannot hide the social divide between rich and poor: thieves, orphans, prostitutes, handicaps... There are countless beggars hiding behind the beautiful carriages! ”
”But this city is completely refreshing for me. If there is a heaven in this world... ”Although I am very unwilling, I still want to resolutely vote here …”
”This can be said to be the most bustling port of the Chinese people. Mercantilism has stimulated Na Ba to become the largest trading port in Asia. Merchant ships from all over the world have docked at the docks in an orderly manner. Chinese silk, tea leaves, porcelain, medicine, handicrafts and so on have been transported to all parts of the world …”
”Not only that, I've discovered that the city's light industry is abnormally developed. All kinds of exquisite industrial products are not inferior to second-rate European products, such as lamps, matches, leather goods, iron nail s, metal components, and mass-produced weapons …”
”It's clear that the Chinese economy led by Xiao Letian has already started to taste the sweetness of industrialization. Since these mass-produced industrial products can be sold outside the ship, it means that they already possess a certain degree of competitiveness …”
”According to the old sailors on the dock, the trading volume of the coal and iron gradually increased. I heard that in the distant northern Tanggu Port, a larger heavy Industrial Zones had already started large-scale production. Other than local digestion, a large portion of the various steel and iron ore had also been transported to the Ryukyu.”
”The entire Ba City, the area near the east coast, is the light industry area of the Ryukyu, where there are all kinds of smokestacks, large and small workshops filled with hardworking workers, and the whole street is filled with the tired faces of uniform workers. These people are the ones who supported half of Ba's economy …”
”Maybe you think that the Ryukyu is just a big factory, and people only earned a little bit of the difference, but you are wrong. The old sailor at the dock also revealed an important piece of information, and now, besides the ships that transport the coal and iron industry, there are also many mail ships passing by the Naha Harbor …”
”The large cruise ships are filled with the rich mega-merchant from all over the world, the first stop for these merchants who come to the east to look for business opportunities is definitely here. The road from Naha Harbor to Shouli City is filled with streets and blocks, all the most beautiful places have been occupied by banks …”
”All the famous banks from different countries have branches here. HSBC, Citigroup, Standard Chartered, France, Germany …” ”Almost all the banks in City of London have set up outposts here …”
”Of course, there is also a large number of banks that belong to the Chinese. I heard that Xiao Letian is about to carry out a financial reform, and the late Chinese Central Bank is about to merge with the currency distribution right of the Letian Firm. However, the Letian Bank is currently going through a complicated job of swapping shares.”
”Unfortunately, my understanding of finance is very shallow, so I am unable to understand what's going on. However, from the words of the surrounding people, I can feel the rich strength of these Chinese Bankers s …”
”I heard that the Four Seas Bank started out as a foreign trade bank in the Tanggu. I heard that the Mi Shi Bank was opened by a grain merchant in the Ryukyu, and the Fukang Silver Company opened by the rich people of Qing Kingdom also does banking trade. There are also dozens of different names in the forest, and the smallest transaction between these banks and the Letian Bank is worth more than a million silver coins …”