1876

  Off the coast of Queensland, Australia

  The azure blue sea waves are undulating, and large groups of white seagulls dance and hover low on the sea surface, and the sharp screams rang into one piece.

A two thousand-ton German merchant ship Fleming from Hong Kong, with thick black smoke coming from the tall chimneys, leaping and galloping, cheerful dolphins jumping and galloping on the bow of the ship, and the reciprocating steam engine on the freighter made a huge roar of machinery. The pressure relief valve made of brass spouted a large cloud of white high-temperature steam from time to time, which filled most of the hull.

In the front warehouse where the cargo is piled up like a mountain, dozens of Chinese workers wearing melon skin caps and long braids flocked on both sides of the ship's gunwale, eagerly looking at the strange port city that appeared on the sea horizon, with hope, nervousness and anxiety in their eyes. look.

  They came with a dream of gold rush, wondering what their destiny was waiting for?

  Australia's gold rush started in 1851 and has lasted for more than 20 years.

  A large number of gold prospectors flooded into this undeveloped barren continent, including Chinese from the Far East and blacks on the Pacific islands, and they flocked all the way.

  In the early days of the Australian Gold Rush (1851 to 1854), there were not many Chinese in Australia. Starting in 1854, Chinese workers entered a stage of explosive growth.

In 1854, in the first census of Victoria, where gold was discovered, there were only 2,261 Chinese workers, but by mid-1855, the number had reached 19,300, and by the end of the year, it had exceeded 33,000, a sharp increase of 14 within a year. It has become the largest group of laborers in the gold mine.

  In 1857, there were 41,623 Chinese in the Victoria Gold Mine alone. At its peak, from 1858 to 1859, the number has reached 52,000.

  At the height of the gold rush in New South Wales, there were 26,300 Chinese workers, accounting for one-eighth of the local population.

In 1875, after the news of the discovery of gold in Queensland, the number of Chinese gold prospectors increased significantly. Every month, there were 600 to 900 Chinese workers who traveled across the oceans with dreams, hoping to make money in this remote foreign land. Dream.

The destination of the German merchant ship Fleming is Queensland, after a long ocean voyage, it is about to reach its destination.

  In the condescending cab of the freighter

Captain Ian Fleming was standing next to the rudder, with a briar pipe from Florence in his mouth, his black and red face blown by the sea breeze was hidden in the strong choking smoke, and his gray-blue eyes showed contentment. Light.

This trip was loaded with various goods from the Far East and arrived at the Queensland port smoothly. The goods included coffee, cocoa, milk and tea, as well as cloth, palm oil and aluminum ingots. This huge iron steam freighter was fully loaded. Bringing huge profits to the Fleming family of Mecklenburg.

  Oh, yes, there are also 179 Chinese workers on board, each of whom will contribute 240 golden marks for a one-way ticket.

  According to the price ratio of 20 German gold marks to one pound, the money is about 12 pounds, which is an extra income for the freighter.

  Looking at the port city in the distance, row upon row of taller spires are looming, which makes Captain Ian Flaming feel the long-lost European architectural features, and a familiar feeling rises in his heart.

  For this lonely continent overseas, his eyes had a contemptuous look of contempt.

  During the Second Industrial Revolution, for all Europeans, this remote continent of Australia was almost the same as the aboriginals. There were criminals and prostitutes exiled from the British Isles and Europe, and it was almost another world.

  Also...if it weren't for these **** Australians' anti-Chinese policies, Mr. Fleming would have been able to earn more.

a decade ago

In view of the rapid increase in the number of Chinese workers entering Australia for gold mining, which poses a serious threat to the European population of the Australian mainland, the Victorian authorities passed a restriction on Chinese immigration under the motion of the "Gold Mine Royal Commission" headed by British Faulkner. bill.

  The Act stipulates;

  The ship that comes to Australia can carry one Chinese per 10 tonnage, and each Chinese who enters must pay a head tax of 10 pounds. This is the first law to restrict Chinese workers in the history of Australia.

  On the blue sea

The German merchant ship Fleming sounded its long whistle, slowed down and slowly approached the pier. From the cabin, more Chinese workers with long braids and melon hats poured out, all young and middle-aged men.

  They were fifteen or sixteen years old, and their elders were no more than 30 years old. Seeing the beautiful and unfamiliar city outside the ship, everyone couldn't help cheering in unison.

  After more than 30 days of arduous sea drifting, I finally arrived at the place where I dreamed of producing gold. Everyone's eyes were full of expectation and excitement.

  In the mouths of the Chinese, the distant American continent is called San Francisco, and Queensland, which is isolated from the Australian continent, is called the New Golden Mountain.

  A tall young man stared at the looming city on the distant skyline, his black hair fluttered with the smell of the salty sea breeze, and complex emotions far beyond his age appeared in his eyes.

  He is Li Fushou, a young body with a mature soul from later generations.

  This ancient steam age, the time when China was sinking for a hundred years, this barren Australian continent, alas...

  Li Fushou let out a long sigh, with a hesitation and confusion in his eyes, and worries about the future on his face. Isn't it a sense of disappointment that there is no system blessing, and there is not much confidence in his heart.

  Under the interweaving of various complex emotions, he let out a long sigh.

suddenly

  Li Fushou turned his head in disbelief, and someone slapped him **** his ass.

  Extreme humiliation spontaneously arises, and he never thought that this would happen.

  This is a skinny man of medium build, Wu Zhanyuan, a green-skinned ruffian in the cabin next door, with several companions standing beside him.

  Wu Zhanyuan stared at Li Fusheng's childish young man's face and smiled unkindly. He stretched out his fingers and sniffed at the tip of his nose, and said with an obscene meaning;

   "Hey hey...boy, I don't see it is quite predictable, it feels good!"

  A boring and tasteless journey on the sea for more than a month, so that this group of vigorous men has nowhere to vent their energy, and it is really painful.

  At this moment

Li Fushou's evil fire surged into his forehead, he could not help but kicked out with a "rabbit kick on the eagle". In the middle of Wu Zhanyuan's soft lower abdomen, the strong force made him kick back a few steps, and he was holding his lower abdomen in pain and unable to stand. Woke up.

  Li Fushou gained power and did not forgive, and then caught up with two steps, slammed his upper hook on the door, and immediately opened the peach blossoms.

   "Hey, what are you doing."

   "Stop it."

  These few rabbits rise and fall very fast. Several of Wu Zhanyuan's neighbors from the countryside reacted too late, and immediately stopped shouting angrily. Someone rolled up their sleeves and was ready to come up and start their hands.

  At this moment, I saw Li Fushou taking off the one-handed hook from the warehouse pile, raising his arm high and slamming down.

  This change made everyone stunned.

  The one-handed iron hook used to load and unload cargo on the freighter is extremely sharp, the shape is the same as the captain of the iron hook, and is used to hook large luggage packages.

  Once it is stuck on the flesh and blood of a person, the consequence...

   "Don't wow!" Wu Zhanyuan was holding his nose with blood spurting in a panic expression, but it was too late.

  I saw the sharp iron hook exuding an icy light under the sunlight, and it struck down a very short arc.

   After a screaming scream, blood spattered out, and the sharp iron hook plunged deeply into Wu Zhanyuan's right shoulder, causing him to scream like a dead dog, lying on the deck unable to move.

The neighbors who were ready to help, and the Chinese workers not far from the bow of the ship were all stunned by Li Fushou's fierce energy. The original steps were quietly retracted, and the sleeves that were rolled up were put back. Go down.

  This kid is a ruthless person, not to provoke him.

  Going out, it is better to do more than to do less. It is not guilty to offend a cruel role for a green-skinned ruffian.

  Li Fushou wiped a handful of warm blood splashed on his face, and blood surged on the young face, revealing an expression of extreme resentment.

  He coldly glanced at the shrinking Chinese workers around him. These people invariably stepped back to make a large space.

   "The surname is Wu, I think women want to be crazy, why are your hands so cheap, did you use your right hand? Should I throw you into the sea to feed the sharks."

  "Lee...Master Li, please be forgiving!"

Wu Zhanyuan's nose and tears burst from the pain, and he prostrated on the plank of the bow and knocked his head a few times. He didn't expect that a bad hand would provoke an evil spirit. He was really scared to pee; The villain has eyes but no heroes, and offends Young Master Li, you are guilty of death. All you look at is the face of the people in your hometown. Forgive me this time, I will never dare again. "

   "Do you still want to have the next time?"

   "Oh, my mouth can't even speak clearly. I dare not...really dare not. I have lost my mind. I beg you to forgive me."

  For this kind of thing, it is not necessary to fight with fate.

  Now that he found the place, Li Fushou's anger was slightly calmed; "You should have been abolished, and I will spare you my life for the sake of my hometown."

   "Thank you, Master Li, oooooo..." Wu Zhanyuan was already crying bitterly.

"You shameless dog, I will scream Li Xiaoye again in the future." Li Fushou looked at Wu Zhanyuan who was lying on the ground in disgust. He was so polite to this kind of rogue, his hand twitched sharply. , Pulled the **** iron hook out amid the screams of the opponent, bringing up a large piece of flesh and blood.

  Wu Zhanyuan trembled in pain, lying on the deck of the ship weakly and unable to get up, just like a wounded dog.

  At this time, the noisy footsteps from the cabin behind, and the curse from the strong voice of Captain Fleming; "Damn it, get out of me. What happened?"

  The Chinese workers onlookers gave way. Captain Fleming came hurriedly with a few crew members armed with weapons. Seeing the **** scene in front of him, he became angry and shouted loudly;

   "Damn it, who is making trouble on my boat, this place looks like a slaughterhouse, is it you, brat, I will skin you and throw it into the sea."

   "You would definitely not do this, Captain Fleming." Li Fushou replied in a deep voice.

   "Why? I need you to give me a reason." Unexpectedly, the other party could speak English, and Captain Fleming was taken aback.

  The crew on the freighter were British, Spanish, German, and Dutch. Captain Fleming gave orders and spoke in general English. Li Fushou was highly educated in his previous life. Of course, he is no stranger to this.

Li Fushou looked calmly at the black hole muzzle in the crew's hand, trying his best to calm his tone; "It's just a lesson to a domestic slave. In our ancient empire, this is dealing with your own property. You don't want to interfere. Among them, please believe me, Mr. Captain..."

   Relying on his ability to use English proficiently, he is the only person on this ship who can speak English and Chinese. Li Fushou is confident of both sides, and is sure that Captain Fleming will not ask for trouble.

   "Gosh, this is really backward and stupid rules."

Captain Fleming looked at Wu Zhanyuan who was crawling on the ground. The blood had already reflected his clothes red, and his wrinkled bronze face showed a helpless look. He was not in the mood to understand the truth; "Young gentleman, you need to know this. It's my ship, and I can't tolerate making a mess here."

  Sure enough, Captain Fleming's tone eased. He traveled on the Far East route all the year round. He had a little knowledge of the ancient Eastern Empire and waved his hand to let the crew put down their weapons.

   "I'm sorry to trouble the captain."

   "This is not something that can be solved by a single apology." Captain Fleming had a sly look in his eyes, the meaning was obvious; he wanted to blackmail some benefits.

  Poor, Li Fushou's pocket is cleaner than his face at the moment, how can he squeeze half a penny?

  Solved the imminent crisis, Li Fushou put his heart back in his stomach, and he was more calm to deal with;

"Mr. Captain, I am teaching my domestic slave that outsiders should not intervene in accordance with the ancient Eastern rules, otherwise it would be an offense to my noble family. Most people on the ship have obeyed my orders. Now I have successfully arrived in Queensland. At the end, you don't want to cause any trouble at this time, do you?"

  Captain Fleming couldn't make up his mind, he looked at the people around him hesitantly, trying to see what on their faces?

  "The captain is asking you whether you still want to get off the ship?" Li Fushou silently translated a sentence.

  Hearing this, almost all the Chinese workers nodded in unison like pounding garlic, but this meant something different in the eyes of Captain Fleming, showing a clear look of jealousy.

  In his interpretation, most Chinese workers would follow Li Fushou's arrangement. This young man is obviously a noble person.

   With an order, once so many young and strong men get into trouble, these few smooth-bore rifles in their hands are useless.

  Captain Fleming is unwilling to have trouble with Jinmark, and even more unwilling to have troubles, so he thinks about it briefly;

"Ok, your matters are resolved by yourself. Our ship will not participate. You can leave after the gold mine has paid you the poll tax. Before that, I hope this young gentleman can stay with our crew. We will provide the necessary treatment so as not to grow out of the box and cause unnecessary disturbances."

  Captain Fleming finished speaking, and looked at Li Fushou with inquiry.

  After a long voyage, these foreign crew members are all stinking, full of pungent fishy smell, bad smell, and the language is vulgar, so ghosts are willing to stay with you.

  Li Fushou cursed secretly in his heart, and continued to translate calmly; "The foreigner captain said that if he continues to make trouble with Wu Zhanyuan, he will drive you down to the sea with a gun. Are you willing to bear such a price?"

  Of course he didn't want to. Why should Wu Zhanyuan make himself responsible for the things he provokes.

  All the Chinese workers shook their heads in unison, unanimously speaking in excuses. For a time, the noisy Nantong-North tune was clamoring, and they looked eagerly at Captain Fleming, but unfortunately no one could speak foreign languages.

  The chaos on the scene turned into a pot of porridge. Looking at the emotional Chinese workers, the crew could not help holding their weapons nervously, but they could not understand what the other party was saying.

  Many Europeans in this era don't know one big character, let alone an incomprehensible eastern language, which is absolutely hell-level difficulty.

  Captain Fleming looked at Li Fushou with similar confusion, waiting for him to translate the meaning of Chinese workers.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Captain, my people don't trust you." Li Fushou shook his head helplessly, watching the freighter slowly approaching the pier, and he was determined at the moment; "I hope that the ship will not arouse public outrage, knowing that we do. 179 people, it's better to ask your people to put away these front-loading muskets and keep them in a stable state until we leave the ship. I think this is the best solution."

   "Uh... OK then."

  Captain Fleming finally flinched in front of the opponent's strength. He didn't want any accidents on this journey, especially at the last moment; "You have to control these people and let them be quiet."

  Li Fushou nodded and said to the surrounding Chinese workers; "Mr. Captain, let me take care of you. Don't do things like Wu Zhanyuan again, otherwise, he will speak with a foreign gun."

   "That won't, we all listen to you."

  "Everyone is from the village, and they are by no means a troublemaker. Please Li Shaoye help us to tell the foreigners, don't wrong the good guys!"

   "Yes, that's..."

  The noise of Chinese workers around is resurrected, and it is more to argue for themselves.

Li Fushou stretched out his hands and pressed them down to stop everyone from saying; "Don't say any more, you guys helped Wu Zhanyuan back into the cabin and wound it. Whether he survives or not depends on his life. The others keep quiet. We can get off the ship after waiting for the people in the gold mine to pay the head tax. I will communicate with the captain alone if there is anything. He will not deliberately embarrass us, so let's all go away. Don't gather together. This is a strong request from the foreigner captain. The rules to follow."

  Using foreigners to suppress the Chinese workers, and conversely, using the Chinese workers group to negotiate terms with the ship. Li Fushou was so familiar with it, he solved a big problem in a few words.

  After finishing his assignment methodically, the Chinese workers immediately went their own way. The crowd gathered at the bow quickly dispersed for most of the time, and the effect was immediate.

  This makes Captain Fleming look more at Li Fushou. It turns out that this young boy on the ship is the hidden powerhouse among Chinese workers.

  Invisible, take a high look.

Captain Fleming took a fiercely snorted pipe, exhaled the strong smell of tobacco, and waved his hand impatiently; "Damn Bill, didn't you see that the beautiful ship deck has been soiled? The person who took you with you quickly rinsed it off to make it shine like a mirror, or I will cancel your plan to go ashore on vacation. Hell, I'm so fed up with this."

  The captain loudly drove his men to wash the deck, venting his dissatisfaction.

  Li Fushou could only pretend not to hear, and walked back to his cabin while everyone was whispering and paying attention. He needed to seriously consider what to do next.

  (End of this chapter)