The Immigrant Army Returns Home

The Battle of Lissa had ended, but it had no impact on Ernst.

Now, in addition to accelerating the supply of materials to both warring parties, Ernst's main concern was to speed up immigration from the Far East and Europe.

Although the coastal area had been cleared of land, such a large area lacked sufficient manpower for development. Except for a few newly developed strongholds with a small population, the vast land in between remained abandoned.

To absorb more immigrants, Ernst sent instructions to the East African colony, ordering them to increase the pace of immigration this time, whether by deception or by force, they had to bring more people from the Far East.

July 4, 1866. Jiaozhou Bay.

A Dutch fleet, en route from East Africa, docked at Jiaozhou Bay. Unlike before, this time, along with the staff responsible for the Hohenzollern Conglomerate's immigration affairs, there were also some Chinese who had lived in the East African colony for a long time.

They were the first batch of Chinese immigrants to the East African colony.

Before going to the East African colony, most of them were sallow and thin, unable to even get a meal, and on the verge of starvation. After the Germans recruited them, they set sail without much hesitation.

Now, after nearly a year of recuperation in East Africa, they were no longer emaciated. Their faces were ruddy, their physiques were strong, and especially in their eyes, there was an indescribable sense of pride.

Stepping onto their homeland again, they were no longer citizens of their former country. Now, they were all registered Germans, holding household registration from the East African colony.

Things were different now. Perhaps before, they would have feared the local officials and dignitaries. Now, with the backing of the Germans, they had gained confidence.

At this moment, they were carrying firearms and negotiating with Qing officials.

Germany was not yet unified, so the Hohenzollern Conglomerate could not operate under the banner of the German Empire. Therefore, to deter these bullying Qing officials, this Chinese immigrant army from East Africa, which carried a mission, was armed.

Trained by German instructors, the Chinese immigrant army responsible for negotiating with foreigners at Jiaozhou Bay looked quite impressive.

Although the firearms were all outdated muzzle-loading flintlock rifles, on a global scale, only the Prussian army had recently extensively replaced them with breech-loading rifles. And these were not second-hand Prussian surplus but new guns produced by the Hechingen Arms Factory.

Paired with brightly colored custom-made Prussian military uniforms, they looked like a Prussian East African detachment. To the Manchu diplomatic officials who came to negotiate, they indeed seemed formidable. Compared to the Qing army at this time, they were disciplined and resembled the "Royal Army."

This Manchu official was a port manager in Jiaozhou Bay. He had previously known that a so-called "German trade caravan" had arrived here for trade.

Because of the troubles caused by Britain and France, and even the Netherlands and Portugal in recent years, Qing officials dared not offend merchants or even ordinary people from Europe too much.

What if it caused a diplomatic incident and gave these foreign devils an excuse to declare war? Would the Emperor spare them?

A few years ago, the foreigners had invaded the Forbidden City from the sea. Jiaozhou Bay was even less secure than the palace where the Emperor lived. The cannons of foreign warships were enough to cause trouble.

Therefore, in the past, Qing officials had turned a blind eye to the actions of the Hohenzollern Conglomerate's companies, fearing to provoke trouble.

The way of being an official lies in adaptability, not seeking merit, but avoiding mistakes. Normally, Qing officials would even assist the staff of the Hohenzollern Conglomerate, for fear of the foreigners causing trouble.

But today was different. No matter how incompetent or weak they were, they could not turn a blind eye anymore. Today, the foreigners who landed brought an army of over a hundred men. What were they doing?

After receiving reports from informants at the dock, the dock management did not dare to delay and directly reported to the government. The highest official in Jiaozhou Port dared not come forward and sent his deputy, Wang Qiangui, to investigate.

Wang Qiangui cursed inwardly but dared not disobey his superior. He gathered a few constables and went to the dock to understand the situation.

"Mr. Anthony! May I ask what your company is doing?" Wang Qiangui asked cautiously.

A staff member of the Hohenzollern Conglomerate named Anthony pulled Wang Qiangui, who looked disgusted but pretended to be flattered, and said, "Hahaha, Wang, you've come at the right time. This is our company's private armed force. We are mainly here to assist our company in recruiting workers throughout North China!"

"Mr. Anthony, although we are 'friendly nations,' we have our own difficulties. After all, your country's army will make our government's higher-ups difficult to handle!"

Wang Qiangui immediately saw through the "conspiracy" of these Prussian barbarians. They claimed to be private armed forces when they were clearly an army? Their uniforms, their posture, their spirit – could a bunch of hired thugs exhibit such qualities?

Wang Qiangui's guess about their spirit was not wrong. Many immigrants in the East African colony had seen combat, as the natives would not surrender willingly, and they had to take the initiative.

The colony prioritized recruiting immigrants who had lived there for some time into the Chinese immigrant army.

Besides being physically stronger after a period of recuperation, the main reason was that the colony's high command was cautious about new immigrants, while these older immigrants were "their own people" who had been tested by time.

Although the Chinese immigrant army did not speak, they stood neatly behind Anthony, but Wang Qiangui still felt a faint sense of killing intent.

Anthony explained, "Wang, I understand your concerns, but we Germans come with good intentions. We've heard that your country has a large population, especially idle people, so we are here to recruit workers as usual! After all, you don't need these unemployed people, and we need people to develop land. If we send your surplus population to our Germany, won't that also reduce some of your hidden dangers?"

Wang Qiangui was not worried about this. What employment, what overpopulation – did he know about these things? He was just making a living in the government, at most reading the Four Books and Five Classics and looking at official gazettes.

"Mr. Anthony, it's not that I'm making things difficult for your country, but this army is problematic! If your army causes some accident with our unruly citizens, my hat will be lost! My family depends on it for food! Please be considerate of me."

Seeing that Wang Qiangui was neither yielding nor aggressive, Anthony became angry. Did he think he could get away with it?

"Wang, I now solemnly warn you, if you cannot agree to our demands, then be prepared for war!" Anthony's opening was a threat of war. In reality, he was just trying to scare Wang Qiangui. In fact, apart from the soldiers formed by these Chinese immigrants, Anthony couldn't mobilize anyone else.

Even so, Wang Qiangui still caved in and quickly said, "Mr. Anthony! Don't get excited, don't get excited. Things are not that serious. It's just that my position is low and my power is limited, so I cannot make the decision. Please wait a moment. I will notify my superior immediately. I absolutely won't keep you waiting for long!"

With that, Wang Qiangui instructed his subordinates to stay put and then hurried back to the government office.

"My Lord, my Lord, you must make a decision! Otherwise, if those Prussian barbarians really cause trouble, will the Emperor spare us?"

"Tell me in detail about Prussia's background, and I'll think of a solution!" said the portly official.

Wang Qiangui, inwardly despising his incompetent superior, said, "My Lord, these Prussian barbarians are considered a strong nation in Europe, second only to Britain, France, Russia, and Austria. I heard that Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and Prussia belong to the same tier..."

After listening for a long time, the superior understood: they couldn't defeat them.

"Then what is the purpose of their visit this time?"

Uh...

Wang Qiangui still said, "It's the same as before, they say they are recruiting workers to work overseas."

"In that case, what are you afraid of! A few unruly citizens are worth how much? Send them away first. Remember to send someone to keep an eye on them. Don't let them come to the government. If they are really recruiting workers, other local officials should worry about it. If they are not recruiting workers but have other intentions, as long as it's not too serious, don't interfere. If they come to the government... you must report it promptly, and then I will return to the capital to ask for some help. You will temporarily take charge of affairs on my behalf."

Thus, the colonial immigrant army and the liaison staff responsible for recruitment swaggered inland. The local governments along the way did not dare to stop them and even assisted them in their recruitment work in the interior.

After all, they were only after common laborers, who were not worth much.