The facts proved that life mattered more than money. The richer a person was, the more they cherished their life. After weighing the pros and cons, everyone decided that this protection fee had to be paid.
To build up an estate in a hostile foreign land, whether from scratch or inherited from one's forebears, was no simple feat.
Waving Austria's tiger skin could not only see them through the immediate threat; more importantly, it would spare them from having to choose sides in this war.
Compared with being robbed by the Japanese army, political alignment was the truly fatal matter. After all, in the South Seas, where anti-Chinese movements frequently erupted, being robbed was hardly a once-or-twice occurrence. Everyone had experience dealing with it.
Even if they were robbed by the Japanese army, they would lose only a portion of their visible movable wealth. Political alignment was different. Place the wrong bet, and it meant death and the extermination of one's clan.
Without a powerful nation to support them, overseas Chinese were mere grass beneath men's feet. Honorino wanted money and political achievements; did the people present not also want someone to lean on?
With the precedent of the Lanfang Company, Austria enjoyed an excellent reputation among the Chinese of the South Seas. They took money and got things done; when they said they would not interfere in internal affairs, they truly did not interfere. There was simply no second great power that played by the rules so faithfully.
The deal was struck, and a diplomatic note representing the Austrian Government soon appeared before General Yamagata Aritomo.
If the homeland had not repeatedly instructed him to avoid clashes with the great powers, and if the navy had not been watching from the sidelines, Yamagata Aritomo truly would not have wanted