I was the Founding Father of the United States

Chapter 90 Cruel Empire

Upon hearing Diana's words, Chen Wenbin was speechless.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to study anymore?"

Diana tilted her head and advised, "Darling, Latin and French are the common written languages ​​of European scholars and nobles. Your father said it would be best if you mastered one of them, so that it would be easier to establish correspondence with scholars from other countries."

With your learning ability, you'll master it in a few more months.

"I see……"

Chen Wenbin sighed and looked at her, saying, "I wanted to talk to you about Mary!"

To his surprise, Diana simply replied, "...She finally told you?"

"...You know?!" Chen Wenbin looked at her in surprise.

"Don't forget, I'm pregnant too!"

Diana rolled her eyes at him, then pointed to Betty, who was standing to the side, puffing up her cheeks.

"...Even Betty found out three days ago. I didn't know what you were thinking, which is why I didn't let her tell you..."

She shook her head and asked, "Darling, it seems you've made up your mind?"

Chen Wenbin took a deep breath and nodded, saying, "Yes, Diane, I'm sorry for what I did, but I can't abandon my child! I also have a responsibility to Mary!"

"...I didn't refuse to let you take responsibility!" Diana sighed, then looked up and carefully examined her man.

"Robin, I know I can't expect you to be childless; that's unrealistic. How many men in the nobility are childless?"

Mary is still someone I know... but I hope you understand that if a family wants to continue its lineage, it can't give too much hope to illegitimate children who have no right to inheritance!

As she spoke, she gently patted the copy of "On the Republic" and said in Latin, "Liberas sine ordine chaos est. Freedom without order is chaos!"

Seeing this, Chen Wenbin breathed a sigh of relief. This hurdle was over. All he could do was get rid of the troublesome Betty and then show his love for his fiancée through his actions.

……

The next morning, after breakfast, Chen Wenbin planned to go look at houses.

James Hawley brought a middle-aged man, probably in his forties, with a typical Germanic face, blond hair, and blue eyes, to visit him. The latter was Eric Lovelat, a former employee of the East India Company who had been to Guangzhou.

The immigrant ship heading to the East was crucial to his foundation in the New World, so Chen Wenbin had no choice but to postpone his plans and interview this German.

In the reception hall on the right side of the first floor of the mansion, after James Hawley gave the two a brief introduction, the middle-aged foreigner bowed respectfully to Chen Wenbin and began by saying:

"Thunderous monkey! Thunderous monkey! Mr. Chen! Dog Itch's name is famous!"

Mr. Chen was taken aback by his words, then said with a wry smile, "Eric! I'm actually not very good at Cantonese, you'd better speak English with me!"

"All right!"

The blond foreigner looked regretful and said, "Mr. Chen, I'd like to practice my rusty Chinese with you!"

After saying that, he took a closer look at Chen Wenbin, who was dressed as a British gentleman in a white shirt, gray waistcoat and riding breeches, but without a wig, and said with emotion: "To be honest, you are unlike any other Chinese person I have ever met!"

Whether they were officials or business employees, they all liked to wear hats, and they wouldn't take them off even in the hot summer. I guess it was to cover up their strange and ugly braided hairstyle.

I heard that the Tatar Empire killed millions of people who refused to submit in order to promote that hairstyle in China. What a brutal and barbaric empire!

And your ancestors were those nobles who refused to submit to their rule, weren't they?

This guy did a lot of research beforehand!

The persona of Chen Wenbin as a descendant of exiled nobles from the late Ming Dynasty was something he couldn't deny, so he nodded slightly and said:

"It is precisely because of the Qing Empire's brutality that I hope to rescue some of my people from the East to live in North America... Mr. Lovelat, you have been to Guangzhou and are familiar with the situation there. Can you help me achieve this goal?"

Strictly speaking, I've never actually been to Guangzhou!

Eric shook his head and said, "I only worked for three years in the foreign trade quarters of Guangzhou... which is basically a cage of less than a quarter of a square mile!"

He explained with a hint of anger: "The Qing government and monopolistic trading companies required all foreign merchants to operate only in that small area and to trade only with fixed trading companies. They were absolutely not allowed to go out or have private dealings with local citizens outside the trading area!"

Otherwise you will be expelled!

This is utterly humiliating, treating us like prisoners, but for the sake of the huge profits from silk, porcelain, and tea, all foreign merchants have no choice but to endure it!

For Guangzhou citizens who violated the ban, the Qing imperial government's punishment was direct and cruel; they simply beheaded those who violated the ban!

Furthermore, they absolutely forbade any citizen under their rule to leave on a foreign ship, and violators who were caught would also face the punishment of beheading!

Can you imagine the horrific scene of a dozen heads being impaled on spears and then lined up in a row on the riverbank, attracting flies to swarm around them?

I saw it with my own eyes!

I still remember it all to this day…

James Hawley, sitting next to him, seemed to be hearing this for the first time and exclaimed in surprise:

"My God! So this is what trade in the East is like! Does that mean the tea we drink comes from a huge prison?"

Why didn't the East India Company publish this information?

Eric glanced at him, then pointed to the steaming teacup on the coffee table in front of him and said calmly, "The reason is simple! Tea merchants need to exaggerate the value of tea in order to sell it at a better price!"

Therefore, Qing Dynasty tea could only be a specialty of a noble Eastern empire, not from a cruel empire ruled by barbaric Tatars!

"...This is absolutely insane!"

James Hawley made the sign of the cross on his chest and silently uttered the name of the Virgin Mary.

Chen Wenbin sighed deeply and said to Eric, "...Mr. Lovelat, you've lived in Guangzhou for a long time and speak Cantonese. I think you should know how to complete my request, right?"

"certainly!"

Eric lowered his head slightly, then smiled confidently: "The Qing Empire did indeed strictly restrict the departure of its population, but like all empires, its laws, though seemingly rigorous, were enforced by a group of corrupt and incompetent officials."

You can achieve almost anything if you're willing to spend the money!

The poor people I just mentioned were also victims of intimidation because they didn't pay enough money.

Moreover, the Qing Empire's navy was weak and backward, and it was simply unable to protect the long coastline. In fact, many people along the coast would choose to leave their hometowns and go to the East Indies to make a living by sailing their own hard-line sailing ships.

Therefore, we can also achieve our goals by using force when necessary.

However, I strongly suggest you choose to resolve the issue with money, because the East India Company does not want to damage its trade relations with the Qing Empire, which involves hundreds of thousands or even millions of pounds in trade. Nobody wants to stand against the East India Company!