Australian Storm 1876

  Chapter 840 Salvage Acquisition

  Compared to the relatively empty Daming Palace, Li Fushou prefers to live in a dream castle. From here, he overlooks the splendid and magnificent Red River Valley City, and he feels a strong sense of accomplishment in his heart.

  The Daming Palace, which was built with huge amounts of money, has a large area and numerous halls. It has become a place to house a large number of treasures, calligraphy and paintings and antiques from China. In addition to holding the ceremony of the dynasty, another function is more like a museum.

After the Eight-Power Allied Forces breached the city of Peiping, the Normandy Commercial Bank in Peiping City opened its doors to purchase all the treasures, porcelain, paintings and calligraphy, jewelry, jade, and rare books of ancient books that were looted by the coalition officers and paid directly to hard currencies such as British pounds, marks, rupees, and Japanese yen. , The good things received are piled up into mountains.

These coalition soldiers don’t know what’s good. Anyway, a porcelain bottle robbed by a royal family is a pound, a painting is 5-10 shillings, and a book is a shilling. It is increased or decreased according to the size and amount. As for antique furniture In terms of volume, the fully matched 2~3 pounds, the unmatched few pennies or one or two shillings, are basically the same as the ragged price.

  Allied soldiers also don’t want to bring so many things back to the country. This kind of Qing Dynasty antiquities is not popular in Europe. Of course, it is better to change into banknotes, which is convenient and easy.

   Therefore, more than 90% of the antiques and treasures robbed by the officers and soldiers of European countries such as Britain, France, Germany and Russia were bought by Normandy firms and replaced them with piles of banknotes. Everyone smiled and made a fortune.

  In this aggressive war

The Eight-Nation Alliance soldiers were more like bandits and porters who worked tirelessly, traveling between the palace and high-ranking mansions, scouring countless antiques and even furniture, books, and everything that could be sold. More than 90% of them were sent to the Normandy firm. Exchange into banknotes.

A few military officers will leave some valuable items to take back to the country. As souvenirs of the Eastern Expedition, the ones that are too big and bulky are sold out. The distance between Europe and Asia is tens of thousands of miles, and the transportation back and forth is too costly and expensive. It's troublesome.

The only difference is the Fusang Army. As a member of the Eastern cultural circle, they know that the value of Chinese antiquities is much higher than that of scraps, so a small number of them are sold to Normandy firms, such as antique furniture, books, and Buddha. The head, Buddhist scriptures, large-scale porcelain and astronomical instruments, most of which were brought back to China as trophies.

  More than two consecutive months

  Normandy firm employs a fleet of fleets to travel between Beiping and Tianjin Port. Every two days, a 5,000-ton freighter is sent out, and the final destination is a military base in the city of Red River Valley in Australia.

Here, all items will be re-registered and screened by categories, some are used to improve the collections of the Imperial Museum, some are used to enrich the collections of the Daming Palace, most of them are stored in the warehouses of military bases, and some of the low-value items flow into the market, driving Australia. The local antique shops, large and small, flourish.

  The materially rich middle and high-level groups have begun to pursue a higher cultural level, collecting rare books of ancient books, and tasting treasures, which is an inevitable trend of social development.

  In recent years, wealthy aristocrats have been frequent visitors to antique shops, and they are also frequent visitors at various large and small auctions.

  They did not hesitate to spend huge sums of money for their favorite lot, and they promoted the development of collections in the local Australian market and formed a big market.

  Li Fushou knew that in the decades to come, social turmoil in mainland China, warlords fighting, frequent wars, so-called treasures of the flourishing age, gold in troubled times.

   Therefore, for the purpose of protecting the heritage of history and culture, the rescue acquisition of a large number of antique treasures is indeed a last resort.

After the Gengzi National Disaster War, Normandy firms set up antique purchase shops in the concessions of Peiping, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Weihai and other countries on the mainland. As a normalized business existence, it served as a source of the local antique market in Australia. Constantly provide items.

Instead of flowing into the hands of Europe, America, Japan and other countries, these antiquities should be imported into Australia. Only the descendants of Yan and Huang know the value of these antiquities. Each item inherits a heavy history and brings together the wisdom and creation of the sages. It is an inseparable Chinese culture. The essence part.

In 1905, Li Fushou was also 45 years old. He basically laid down the vast territory of the Ocean Empire and realized the grand blueprint in his heart. At the same time, he was also full of descendants. There were twelve princes and nine princesses in total. There will be more in the future. The emperor's grandson.

  With more children, fatherly love will inevitably appear weaker.

  During the growth of these princes and princesses, many people usually rarely see the Lord. Most of them gather together on holidays to send greetings to your majesty, so that you can see the holy face and have more awe than family affection.

  According to the rules of the imperial family, the adult princes must go to the fief after marriage, and shall not leave the fief without a valid reason.

  As of the end of 1904

There are Li Siyuan, Duke of Palawan, the eldest prince, Li Sihan, Duke of Wright, the second prince, Li Sirui, Duke of Beibao, the fourth prince, Li Sipu, Duke of Sulu, the fifth prince, Li Siwei, Duke of Basila, and Li Sixuan, the seventh prince, Duke of Hawaii. The dukes are all vassals.

  In addition, the eighth princes, Duke of Duluo, Li Siqi, and the nine princes, Baohe, Duke of Li Siwei, have all reached the age of sixteen.

There are only three princes in the palace now, namely, the tenth prince Li Sixi, the Duke of Cebu, 13 years old this year, and the eleventh prince Li Sidi, the Duke of Ban Nai, who has just turned 10, and the youngest prince Li Sizhen is only 5 years old. It was born of Italian favorite concubine Sophia, because she was not knighted at a young age.

Among the 12 princes, except for the crown prince Li Siyuan, Duke of Shangri-La, and the youngest twelve prince Li Sizhen has not been nominated, the other 10 princes are all duchess. The tenures of the eight dukes are in the Visayas. The fief of the duke with the grand prince is on Palawan Island, which is also very close to the Visayan Islands.

  Only the second in line to the throne, Li Sixuan, Duke of Hawaii, ranked seventh, and the Duke’s territory is enshrined on the islands in the East Pacific region 8,000 kilometers away.

  Many of the nobles of the Ocean Empire can smell a different kind of taste from the measures taken by the princes of the sage to divide the princes.

  The entire Luzon Archipelago belongs to the royal territory, with a total area of ​​about 300,000 square kilometers and more than 7,000 islands, which are divided into three parts;

  One, Luzon and its affiliated islands in the north, Mindanao and its affiliated islands in the south, and three, Visayan Islands and its affiliated islands in the middle.

  The Visayan Islands are located in the middle of Luzon, between Luzon and Mindanao. From the Visayan Sea, the Samar Sea and the Camotes Sea, there are seven large islands including Samar, Wright, Cebu, Negros, Panay, Bohol, Masbate, and Romblon, as well as hundreds of It consists of six small islands with a total area of ​​61,077 square kilometers.

  The hills and plains on the island are staggered, and the altitude is mostly below 1500 meters. The climate is hot and humid, and the annual rainfall on each island is about 2000 mm.

  The rainfall is about one and a half times that of southern Jiangsu. The tropical forests are dense, the land is fertile, and the minerals include gold, manganese, copper, coal, oil and gypsum. The resources are relatively rich and occupy an important position in the Philippine Islands.

  Agricultural products include rice, sugar cane, corn, tobacco, abaca and coffee, etc., suitable for the development of large orchards. After years of development, industries such as coal mining, sugar making, textiles and dairy production have been developed.

  The main ports include Cebu, China Sea, Iloilo, Bacolod, Panay, etc. The natural environment is good, and most of the offshore navigation is between several kilometers to tens of kilometers. Shipping is the main mode of transportation for the islands.

  If you get used to it, it is actually more convenient than the existing land transportation.

Among the princes’ fiefs, the large area is about 13,000 square kilometers, and the small area is about 5,000 square kilometers, totaling about 100,000 square kilometers (including Palawan, Sulu, Hawaii) .

  In the vast territory of the empire of more than 10 million square kilometers, this accounts for about 1% of the handicap ratio, and its influence is minimal.

  From the geographical point of view

The Misaya Islands are surrounded by the arms, with Luzon in the north, Mindanao in the south, Sulawesi, the imperial trusteeship to the south, Shangri-La Island to the east, and Borneo to the southwest. All sea passages are Within the territory of the empire.

  Each prince encloses a large island. There is no territorial border between each other, so naturally there is no territorial dispute. Maritime rights and interests are divided according to the principle of half and half, which is clear and clear, which eliminates unnecessary disputes.

  If it grows into a duchy in the future, it can only be attached to the Ocean Empire and become a solemn brother, with wings around him, and the Ocean Empire provides military and diplomatic protection. This is obvious.

  As for the second in line to the throne, Li Sixuan, Duke of Hawaii, ranked seventh, the Duke’s territory is limited to the Hawaiian Islands, excluding Oahu and the most important East Pacific port of the Pacific Fleet-Pearl Harbor.

  This kind of arrangement is quite thoughtful and basically prevents accidents from happening. It's really well-intentioned.

  The three sons of Queen Gu’s family are Crown Prince Li Siyuan, second in line to the seventh prince Li Sixuan, and third in line to the heir...Ten prince Li Sixi.

  It can be seen from Li Fushou’s fiefdom arrangement that the Seventh Prince Li Sixuan was assigned to Hawaii, 8,000 kilometers away, and sent away far away, so as not to cause unnecessary influence on the crown prince Li Siyuan.

  Although the island of Hawaii is so good, it is also a lonely island overseas. It has almost no influence on the mainland of Australia. It is very troublesome to go back and forth, and naturally it can't be talked about competing for favor.

  The reason for this

  Because as a new dynasty, stability is more than everything, and compliance is more than everything. The monarch is only a symbolic symbol in the years to come, and the ability to govern the country is not important.

   Therefore, the "Eight Kings Contending" has no market in the Ocean Empire, and this is never allowed.

  The tenth prince Li Sixi was lucky. He was 12 years younger than his Royal Highness. He is still underage. Therefore, it is a gratifying blessing to be entrusted to the prosperous Cebu Island with the plea of ​​Queen Gu.

Cebu is the island where the Spaniards first landed 300 years ago. It is the most beautiful pearl of the Luzon Islands. It has a world-class beauty of blue sea and silver sand. It has a long history of development, numerous castles and abundant output. It is the most populous of the Visayan Islands. Island.

   Therefore, among the princes' fiefdoms (excluding His Royal Highness), the Duke of Cebu ranks first, which shows that the current saint’s preference for it, other people can't keep up with it.

  The second prince, Duke Wright, worked hard to build Zhonghai City for several years, and invested a lot of resources with outstanding political achievements. The city has a population of 260,000, which is second to none among the princes, but it is still inferior to Cebu. This explains the problem.

  It's not that you don't work hard, but that people are inherently too strong.

  (End of this chapter)