C3421 Poor Baron of the Saigon (1/2)

Just as Zuo Zongtang was advancing westward into the Guizhou, in the distant South China Sea, where there was no winter, a small ceremony that could change the geopolitical structure of East Asia was quietly going on.

Vietnam, called Annan by the Qing state, is in the midst of a modest ceremony in a small commercial town known as the Saigon, at the southernmost tip of the long country, the Mekong River, which rushes the plains.

The Saigon was a commercial city that had been opened since the arrival of the French. Due to its excellent geographical location and relying on the Mekong's shipping facilities and the fertile soil that impacted the plains, the small town had become a famous rice market in South Asia.

Yes, the entire Mekong River basin is the main rice producer in South Asia, and rice from Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia is transported upstream and downstream along dense water systems.

Since ancient times, human society had always been relatively rich in areas near the water system. On one hand, the impact plains brought by the water system were suitable for agricultural development and for human survival.

On the other hand, water transportation was the most cost-effective means of transport!

As for a river, the closer it was to the downstream entrance to the sea, the richer it was. This was because it was close to the harbor, close to the sea trade.

The sea trade was the true powerhouse of the traditional business world. Whoever controlled this area would be the one to control the wealth!

The Saigon was a small business city that had been developed with the help of the French. In just a few years, it had taken control of the rice business in the Mekong Basin.

Right now, this small city had a resident population of over 30,000 people. In Southeast Asia, it could be considered a bustling city!

There were not many troops in France who were stationed in Annan, and since there were no wars, there were only a total of five thousand soldiers. This was because the army had been increased the year before in order to guard against retaliation from the Chinese, and at first, there were only two thousand French soldiers controlling South Vietnam.

However, they never expected that Xiao Letian would personally lead his troops to Europe to fight against France. However, in the Asian French colonies, the Chinese never sent a single soldier.

The French governor, who guarded Annan, spent more than two years in terror. His most important task of the day was to stand on the roof of the palace of Norodom and look through binoculars.

There were many times when this French Old Baron had hallucinations and always felt that a tide of blue uniformed Chinese Army appeared in the direction of the ocean.

The five thousand lone soldiers toiled day after day in Annan. Although they lived a very rich life, they were able to eat the most fragrant rice and drink the most cold wine. Through the caravan, they were able to enjoy all the goods in Asia.

Of course, there were also beautiful Annan women to enjoy, but none of this could calm the fear in their hearts!

These people were not the arrogant large nose s from Europe, they could only watch as the Chinese slowly grew stronger in Asia!

The South China Sea was filled with Chinese merchant ships. They were selling valuable goods from China one ship at a time. This was not because they were impersonating Western merchants, but because the Chinese themselves had organized a fleet of ocean-going ships to start their own businesses.

They sell tea, silk, porcelain... However, what came back was ships after ships of silver, copper, tin, weapons, rubber … Of course, there was also Nanyang's grain.

The Chinese people were selling handicrafts and luxury goods, but what they got in return were all the necessary raw materials for industrialization. This kind of unstoppable trend was very clear to the Old Baron.

In the beginning, these Chinese merchants were very polite. They were more or less fearful of the Western Battleship, but as time passed, Old Baron discovered that these Chinese people's waists were getting harder and harder.

Until one day he discovered that the Chinese merchant ships had cannons installed on them, and they were very advanced rifled guns, and that each of the merchant ships had an advanced rifled gun.

The Chinese ocean-going caravans actually began arming, and quickly as well!

This was what everyone thought! The news that the Old Baron obtained from many of his eyes and ears shocked him. It turned out that Xiao Letian had used all sorts of evil tricks to develop the Chinese navy.