Chapter 1108: Europe, Oh Europe

"Put your backs into it! Over here, over here!"

"Come on, pull together, all together! One, two, three, heave!"

"One, two, three!"

At this moment, the construction of the Suez Canal was still in full swing.

Ling Chen watched the progress here quietly.

The progress was quite good.

With a steady stream of financial support coming from Liangzhou, it could be said that the entire East India Company had absolutely no need to worry about funding issues. And as for the workers participating in the project, that was even simpler.

The Indian Continent.

There was simply too much cheap labor here.

In the past, these Indians in the Mughal Empire couldn't even get enough to eat... once they heard about a monthly wage of five taels of silver, they signed up like madmen. Moreover, they worked extremely hard once they arrived. This made Ling Chen sigh involuntarily; these Indians were truly playing themselves to death...

Why say it like that?

The land of India was not just ordinarily fertile.

The Mumbai region alone was a massive granary. If this place were developed well, not only would the entire India not lack grain, but it could also potentially become a grain-exporting country.

However...

Just because the Indian Continent had been plagued by war and severe ethnic strife, large-scale famines and refugees fleeing everywhere had appeared.

Only then did these people living at the bottom of Indian society get such an opportunity, and they were so eager to throw themselves into the work that they would exhaust all their strength every single day for you...

They were also a simple-hearted group of people...

Ling Chen sighed slightly.

It seemed that in this world, any distinction of groups or races was actually at its most pure when facing the threats of nature and the problems of hunger and satiety.

It was society.

The emergence of this collective unit was what made those intrigues and deceptions become intense.

Only then would various differences and disparities under the influence of various religious beliefs appear.

In fact, including the Islam mentioned by the young master, it was all the same. Human nature was something that changed slowly, through long-term edification and different reactions to environmental changes, which led to the differences between human races.

Ling Chen knew how important the Suez Canal was to the young master.

Otherwise, hearing that Tsarist Russia had invaded Longyan, he would have long been itching to sharpen his blades and lead a large army back to Longyan.

"Hehe, Lord Ling, how is the progress today?"

"Lord Ling, we exceeded our target today! Could you do us the honor of having a drink with us?"

As Ling Chen was thinking about these things, a group of Indian governors nearby came crowding around, fawning over him.

"The progress today is indeed quite good. Looking at it like this, in at most a month, the Suez Canal can be officially opened!"

Ling Chen nodded with satisfaction.

The group of governors continued to be jubilant, watching Ling Chen cautiously.

They were currently making a fortune by following Ling Chen... these laborers working here were all cheaply scraped together by them.

Ling Chen knew what they meant and gave a cold smile: "I don't care how much you squeeze them, you must ensure the workers receive real, tangible benefits! Do you understand? If I find out you are exploiting them beyond the company's regulations, I will absolutely not show you any leniency!"

This sentence scared the governors so much that they nodded repeatedly, cold sweat trickling down.

The East India Company had various commercial regulations, which were customized by Liu Zheng based on the "Commercial Law" of later generations; for example, there were strict rules regarding anti-monopoly, protection of Intellectual Property Right, and the profit margins and profit control of employing units. Liu Zheng did not want to see overly predatory phenomena; of course, he would also let these governors make money.

A true international company should enter a healthy development process.

This was Liu Zheng's definition of the East India Company.

"What about the armed groups I wanted? How is their training coming along?"

Ling Chen chatted with them for a while and suddenly asked.

In another month, the Suez Canal would be officially opened. Although there was still a lot of follow-up work that needed to be perfected, at the very least, the shipping lane of the Suez Canal could already accommodate ships! This was a major event; how could Ling Chen not know that all those European powers were staring at them right now!

It was said that the French fleet was already getting impatient!

Furthermore...

Britain was also stirring.

Poland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria—these European powers were also eyeing them covetously...

Ling Chen could not guarantee what would happen here when the Suez Canal truly opened.

But he still sent a formal Han to these countries in the name of the East India Company.

But clearly.

Europe was not that welcoming to the arrival of the Longyan people.

Except for some small countries, those major powers that had experienced being hegemons simply ignored his Han.

Ling Chen seemed to have already caught a whiff of gunpowder, an inevitable scent of gunpowder that was currently brewing.

The governors, upon hearing this, vied to claim credit.

This one had trained five thousand...

That one had trained ten thousand!

That one, twenty thousand!

In any case, on the Indian Continent, the thing least in short supply was people, was cheap labor!

Ling Chen then smiled with satisfaction.

With so many troops, plus his own fleet, he was very much looking forward to seeing if he could bring some deterrence to these European powers.

The young master was right...

This Europe was truly a world of magnificent variety.

Britain.

London.

Buckingham Palace.

Palace of Westminster.

Inside this famous Gothic Revival building, there is once again a chaotic uproar.

William IV listens to these people's Bitter Remonstrance with a splitting headache.

"We must take back Australia!"

"Send Luojinsi to a military tribunal!"

"We must find a Method to recover our investments in Australia!"

"Your Majesty... absolutely not! Recently, the French military maneuvers have been somewhat frequent; we must consider the security of the Mediterranean Sea..."

"Speaking of the Mediterranean Sea, go look at that Suez of the East India Company! How should we deal with it!"

Today's topic is no longer just two factions, but several.

Everyone is stating their own viewpoints, different viewpoints, different stances, different expressions, and different opinions.

William IV feels like his head is about to explode from listening.

"Quiet!"

"Everyone be quiet!"

The drawback of a constitutional monarchy lies right here.

That is, when opinions are not unified, the mobility and executive power of the entire state apparatus will fall into a state of stagnation; as long as there is a parliament, there are factions, as long as there are factions, there are political parties, as long as there are political parties, there are differences in numbers, and with differences in numbers, various contradictions will naturally arise.

For example, Australia was lost over a month ago...

Yet they still haven't managed to come to any conclusion regarding this matter.

Of course.

Regardless, constitutional monarchy is already the most advanced system in the world at present.

"Your Majesty, what are your thoughts?"

"Your Majesty..."

A group of people, once again aggressive, look at William IV.