Returning Home in Splendor

July 13, 1866, Far East.

Wang Dazhi was an old member of the Chinese immigrants in the East African colony and was now part of the Binhai District Chinese Immigrant Army.

Just a month earlier, the higher-ups at the East African colony's Chinese immigrant office had approached Wang Dazhi to discuss using his identity as a Chinese man to return to Qing China and recruit people.

The Qing government had only recently put down the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The south, long ravaged by war, had seen its conflict between population and land greatly eased. Since the Song dynasty, China's economic center had shifted southward, and the south had become densely populated. Although the mutual campaigns of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Qing government had left vast tracts of land vacant, once the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom ended, the populations of surrounding regions could swiftly fill those gaps.

In the north, the rise and colonial expansion of Tsarist Russia directly threatened the dragon-rising homeland of the Qing people. They had once feared that Chinese immigrants would damage the Qing people's dragon veins and ancestral land, but now the Russians were practically at their doorstep. There was no longer room to distinguish between Qing and Chinese. To consolidate the border through immigration, the Qing government loosened its restrictions on migration into the northeast. Vast numbers of Chinese poured into the region—this was Chuang Guandong.

In the relatively northwestern regions of Shanxi and Shaanxi, there was another migration route: heading into Inner Mongolia to farm for princes and nobles, known as Going West through the Pass.

The East African colony's primary option for recruiting immigrants at present was the north. They could send them through northern ports and transport them by ship back to East Africa.

The northern common folk currently had two choices: go northeast or go to East Africa. Compared with a foreign land, their own land was naturally the first choice. Thus, when choosing, most immigrants chose to take their whole families and venture northeast.

That was why the East African colony had brought back old immigrants already living in East Africa this time. Otherwise, even if these Chinese saw tangible benefits, who would believe the words of foreign devils?

Recruiting people in the south was no easy task either. Aside from the new room for survival created after the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement, the locals had two other paths to choose from. One was to travel from the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta to the Americas. Germany could not compare to the United States' current advantages, and even the British and French would take in some Chinese to serve as thugs in their colonies.

The second was the south itself. Especially along the southeastern coast and southwestern frontier, people could venture to the Nanyang region to build businesses and seek development on their own. Thanks to convenient sea travel or proximity to the frontier, countless people had headed south to Nanyang or Southeast Asia to make their fortunes since ancient times.

Moreover, the south had always been thick with clans. Their self-organized hometown associations also recruited people in the south. Therefore, recruiting in the south was the hardest task for the East African colony. Not only were there many competitors, but the terms they offered were hardly enticing.

How could these Chinese willingly head to the East African colony? Other than truly distributing land to them, there was nothing that would make them take their families to East Africa to open up the wilderness.

But Ernst would not simply give land away for free. East African land was Ernst's private property and would have great use in the future. If he gave it away directly, what he received might not be tearful gratitude; he might instead raise a pack of ungrateful wolves.

Only when the time came to distribute land would Ernst grant these Chinese immigrants land ownership.

That time would be war. Only those willing to risk their lives, those who had offered a pledge of allegiance, would receive land from Ernst in the form of military merit.

If he distributed East African land now, then when Britain, France, and the others began eyeing Africa's land in the future, what would Ernst use to win people's hearts? Land, still.

Furthermore, in Ernst's vision, East African agriculture would be intensive rather than based on self-sufficient smallholder farms. You risked your life for House of Hohenzollern, and he gave you land. The harder you fought, the more land you received. In this way, countless large-scale farms would emerge in East Africa.

If everyone truly could receive two or three mu of land, then the Chinese would dare to have children. It would be fine while the colony lacked people in the early stages, but what would happen once it no longer lacked people? By then, no matter how quickly East Africa developed, it likely could not keep pace with the explosive population growth.

Thus, Ernst had carefully considered both immigration and the way immigrants would live after arriving in East Africa. In any case, he could not be too aggressive. East Africa was right there; it was not going anywhere.

Even if Britain, France, and the others began carving up Africa, Ernst estimated that East Africa would still have a population of five million by then. Forget five million—even with only three hundred thousand people and the German Empire's support, Ernst would dare wage a great war in Africa against the British.

Mopan Village, an utterly ordinary little village in North China.

The village was exceptionally lively today, not because of any festival, but because Wang Dazhi, who had left a year ago, had returned.

There was nothing remarkable about Wang Dazhi returning. What truly struck the villagers as strange was that he had returned with foreigners, with several soldiers behind him carrying genuine weapons.

At first, when the villagers saw a group of men arriving at the village entrance with Western rifles, none dared show their faces. These were chaotic times, with war everywhere. Who would dare rush over to join the excitement—were they tired of their necks being itchy?

Fortunately, everyone knew Wang Dazhi. Carrying a loudspeaker, he went all over the village spreading the word.

"Fellow villagers, don't be afraid! It's me, Wang Dazhi! Don't you remember me? I've made it big now, and today I've come to take everyone to a better life."

Wang Dazhi wore a military uniform and looked every inch the important man. With his chest thrust out and head held high, he proclaimed his message all around the village. When he reached the deeper part of the village, several old acquaintances abruptly dragged him into a house.

"Dazhi, it really is you! Heavenly God, you've gotten so fat I almost didn't recognize you."

Wang Dazhi nearly failed to recognize the dark, skinny stalk of hemp standing before him.

"Aren't you Old Xu from the end of the village? How have you been? Your brother has made it big now—I've come to take you all to a better life."

Old Xu circled Wang Dazhi twice, left and right, and said in amazement, "You really have made it big, kid. Even your clothes have patterns now! Don't tell me you went off to become a soldier dressed like this?"

Though Old Xu did not recognize the Prussian military uniform, those soldiers behind Wang Dazhi when he entered the village could not fool anyone. The things on their backs were real weapons.

Wang Dazhi grinned. "Not at all, not at all. I am now the deputy captain of the 25th Squad, Binhai District detachment, Chinese Immigrant Army of the East African colony." As he spoke, his face brimmed with smug pride.

Old Xu asked curiously, "You really became an official? Not bad! But what sort of thing is this East African colony and this Binhai? How big an official are you?"

The moment Old Xu asked about him, Wang Dazhi beamed from ear to ear. "Your brother is no longer what he used to be. My rank isn't that high—I only command five or six men. But don't look down on this small post; there are great mysteries within it. I'm not an ordinary official. I'm an official serving the Germans. You have no idea—in this outfit, I walked several hundred li from Jiaozhou to here. Every big official I encountered along the road had to courteously see me out of his territory."

Wang Dazhi continued boasting, "You know Mayor Li from our town, right? Before I returned to the village, he was bowing and scraping before me!"

Old Xu exclaimed, "Serving as a soldier for those Germans carries that much weight? Even officials have to lower their heads before you!"

"Old Xu, that just shows how little you know. You know about how foreigners broke into the Forbidden City a few years ago, right?"

"Of course I... heard people talk about it."

"Exactly. Even the emperor is afraid when he sees foreigners now, let alone foreign soldiers. Look at me—I used to be an old farmer in this village who could not afford food. After Landlord Wang reclaimed my land, didn't I go to Jiaozhou to beg? I heard the Jiaozhou docks paid a little money for carrying loads, so I went there. Then I ran into a German boss recruiting people, saying he needed workers to farm for them. I didn't think much of it at the time. I was nearly unable to afford a single meal, and I hadn't found work. I was so hungry I was skin and bones. The dock manager saw I was nearly done for and would not take me. Then, by sheer chance, the Germans were recruiting. Signing up got you a meal, so I signed up. After eating free meals for a few days, I boarded a ship."

Recalling those past days, Wang Dazhi could not help sighing. "On the ship, I was vomiting and having diarrhea like mad. Luckily, it was not long before we reached land. Later, I heard that place was East Africa. The German boss wanted to reclaim land and lacked manpower, so that was why I was recruited. At first, I just farmed. There was so much land over there, and none of it had crops planted on it. The local natives lived by hunting lions and wild beasts, leaving the land barren. So the German boss had us Chinese develop it."

"Later, more and more people came. At that point, the German officers in East Africa started selecting able-bodied men from among us to become soldiers. People like me were chosen."

Old Xu asked curiously, "Isn't that just like Great Qing? If you can't afford food, you join the army!"

"It's not the same, Old Xu." Wang Dazhi hurriedly explained. "Can serving as a Qing China soldier compare to serving as a German soldier? Tell me, do you know how many meals I eat every day?" His face was full of superiority.

"Two? That's pretty good."

Wang Dazhi looked at Old Xu with disdain. "You really dare to dream. Germans aren't that stingy. I eat three meals a day, and every week I even get to eat meat once. I wear Western cloth, and every month I receive a little pay."

As he spoke, he held his cuff out before Old Xu and the others. "Feel this cloth, all of you. What fine material—how smooth it is."

Old Xu and the others touched it, and it truly was so. Wang Dazhi was indeed living well. Back when he had been in the village, they could see his ribs through his clothes. Now he was not only fat, but his face glowed red. One look told them he had been eating well, and he was dressed like a proper man of standing.

Still, Old Xu cautiously asked, "These foreign masters treat you so well? They aren't making you risk your lives for them, are they?"

Wang Dazhi said disdainfully, "As if risking your life is something you'd even qualify for! Besides, you don't know this—over in East Africa, all we do is suppress the natives. Those natives carry wooden clubs, and the better-equipped ones hold stone spears. From far away, I can drop one with a single shot. They're weak as anything."

Hearing this, Old Xu and the others began pondering it. What Wang Dazhi said really made their hearts itch. Who did not want a good life? But who knew whether Wang Dazhi was only telling them the good parts?

"Brother Dazhi, if East Africa is so good, doesn't it have even one drawback?"

Wang Dazhi understood. This group still did not feel at ease, so he tried to reassure them. "A good life is a good life, but you certainly wouldn't believe me if I said it had no drawbacks. There really is one."

"Brother Dazhi, what is it?" they asked curiously.

"The drawback is that there are too many grown men there and too few women. But don't worry. Once you get there, you won't have to worry about wives in the future."

"Isn't that a contradiction, Brother Dazhi?"

"You're the confused ones! Think about it—is finding a wife easy in Qing China? Aren't there heaps of bachelors? Why? Because people think you're poor. Spend a few years in East Africa and you can at least save some money and restore your health. When you come back later, you'll be strong and have money. What family's daughter wouldn't fancy you?"

Wang Dazhi then lowered his voice and said to them, "To tell you the truth, I came back this time to solve the wife problem. My superior told me that when we sail back, he'll spend money to buy me one over in Nanyang. There are connections there, of course—but only if I work hard!"

"Look, I have money now, I have a livelihood, and I'm even about to have a wife. If that's not making it big, what is? So would I lie to you? Hurry and help me spread the word around the village, especially to those old bachelors. If they don't act now, they can stay single for the rest of their lives!"

Instead of calming them, those words made them anxious. They said to Wang Dazhi, "Brother Dazhi, how many people are you recruiting? If there are too many, will you stop taking them? You can't forget us first when there's such a good opportunity!"

Seeing how eager they were, Wang Dazhi waved his hand. "Easy, easy. You don't need to worry about anyone competing with you. There's land everywhere over there; all they lack is people. They'll take however many come. Here's the deal: if you can bring in more people from the village, I can put in a few good words for you before my superior and secure you a good place."

Upon hearing this, the group hurriedly assured Wang Dazhi that they would not disappoint him. Before long, this propaganda team went door to door throughout the village. Their boasts were even more outrageous than Wang Dazhi's, just short of declaring East Africa to be paradise. If they were late, they would not even get a hot meal.