Chapter 1163: All Silver

Liu Zheng's fleet, when heading toward Suez.

In fact, the ships of all the Feudatory Kings and all the Chambers of Commerce throughout the Longyan lands were following along as well.

Fleet after fleet began to cross the oceans.

"Keep up, keep up!"

"Oh, don't follow too closely, don't follow too closely!"

"Keep some distance!"

"Whose ship is that in front? Whose family? Ah? The Prince of Jin's? My apologies, my apologies, let's exchange greetings..."

"Hey, brother, are you all heading to Suez, or to Australia? Ahahaha, I see, we're on the same path!"

The ocean had never been this lively before.

These ships were loaded entirely with gold and silver from Longyan, as well as various goods—fine wine, silk, ceramics, tea...

In any case, as long as it could be sold in Europe, they had it all.

Nowadays, the name of Chief Minister Liu could be said to ring throughout the world.

Anyone who has "opened their eyes to see the world" knows that Liu Zheng is the current world's weather vane; the places he targets are surely the future centers of economic storms!

Before, Liu Zheng only engaged in economic construction and attracted investment within the country; even if foreigners wanted to participate, they had no opportunity.

With the establishment of the domestic East India Company, the minds of these Feudatory Kings, scholar-officials, and Chambers of Commerce naturally became active as well.

Follow Chief Minister Liu!

And you shall have meat to eat!

Therefore, the current global situation is that everyone is staring at two places.

One is Australia.

Two is Suez.

As Liu Zheng's loyal followers, they naturally follow him blindly—invest, invest, invest!

Of course.

The East India Company was definitely in the first batch.

And when they heard that Liu Zheng was going to develop the New World, the capital of various countries could no longer sit still.

They, too, all wanted to follow behind Liu Zheng to reap a wave of development dividends.

Britain, France, the Ottoman Empire, Tsarist Russia, and other capitalists who knew of Liu Zheng's ability to make money, and even those pirates who had no permanent base and lived by the blade, all followed suit and invested in Australia.

At this time.

The superiority of this republican government of Xie Fang's became apparent.

Although Tsarist Russia was at war with Longyan, what does that have to do with me, the republic?

Australia is Australia, and Longyan is Longyan.

Therefore, even if Britain's relationship with Longyan was not good, or Tsarist Russia was invading Longyan on all fronts, Australia still opened its doors to welcome them.

War is war, business is business; battles should be fought, and money should be earned.

As a famous saying goes:

If you can't kill me with one shot, and I come back to life, we can still do business, provided the price is fair.

Liu Zheng thought exactly this way.

Moreover, in a situation where both sides make money, the Longyan side makes even more.

Xie Fang, naturally, did the same.

After all, when Tsarist Russia makes money, the funds ultimately flow into the hands of corrupt officials and landed gentry; only a tiny fraction flows into the government or the military.

But the Longyan side is different; although one cannot yet say the politics here are clean, the major shareholder here is Liu Zheng!

Once money flows into Liu Zheng's hands, it can be converted into productive forces to produce more guns and cannons to beat them.

Silver was carried into Australia box by box, which left Xie Fang, this Crown Prince, somewhat at a loss.

When he first welcomed these investors at the port of Tahiti, he was completely dumbfounded.

So many ships...

So many supplies.

So many people.

So much gold and silver...

This formation was, in fact, even more explosive in effect than Liaodong had been.

Back in Liaodong, there weren't this many investors, and certainly not this many foreign oligarchs.

Xie Fang felt that the twenty thousand people he brought today... might not even be enough to help move all these things.

Having been in "exile" for so many years, this was the first time he had seen so much silver.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome to all investors! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

Xie Fang became excited all at once.

These unique folk bands from Java Island began to play. Although they lacked the grandeur of Longyan's honor guards, Xie Fang still managed to provide the basic etiquette and protocol.

These investors also felt respected and smiled at one another; although they might not have been accustomed to the climate when they first arrived in Australia, they still saw the investment potential of this paradise—it was far better than the Liaodong of yesteryear, wasn't it?

Xie Fang came to welcome them, and they also began to enter the port.

"Silver! Silver!"

Facing the silver he had been parted from for so long, Xie Fang looked as if he were seeing his own wife; after shouting twice, he threw himself onto it with a look of infatuated enjoyment.

At this moment, Qin Zhangfeng, Su Qi, and the others on the side looked at each other in dismay.

If they weren't old acquaintances of Xie Fang, they truly wouldn't believe that this person with the look of a money-grubber before them was the former Crown Prince of the Longyan Dynasty.

Of course, they understood.

Previously, the Java Island that Xie Fang managed, while it did have natural resources, likely did not have much in the way of serious, hard currency reserves.

Xie Fang really had it too hard...

"Crown Prince, restrain yourself."

Su Qi gave a light cough to offer a reminder; even if Xie Fang did not treat them as outsiders, there were quite a few foreigners here, and this appearance was simply hardly befitting the status of an Australia State Lord...

"Ahem."

Xie Fang also realized he had been somewhat undignified, so he coughed once and straightened himself up.

"I, Xie Fang, on behalf of the entire Australian Government, welcome the arrival of all investors! I hope we can build Australia together, and I believe Australia will certainly become a world-renowned great power! Everyone, please make your arrangements; we will have designated personnel responsible for coordinating with you!"

Xie Fang was, after all, a former crown prince, so he still had his own ways when it came to receiving guests and handling affairs.

With so many people hearing these words, no one had any other comments, and the staff had already begun to take charge of coordination. The entire port of Tahiti began to bustle with activity.

Looking at it like this...

Just this first batch of investors would likely keep them busy for two or three days.

"General Qin, General Su, from now on, do not address me as Crown Prince."

Having just finished receiving a batch of important figures, Xie Fang rested for a moment before saying with a serious face.

Hearing these words from Xie Fang, Qin Zhangfeng and Su Qi could not help but exchange a glance.

Although the current crown prince no longer had any practical significance, those two words were a form of immense glory; could Xie Fang really let it go? Moreover, they were all Longyan, and the ideology of Heaven-Given Imperial Power still influenced them; there was nothing inappropriate about acknowledging a crown prince.

"The Crown Prince died in Liaodong not long ago, and a grand funeral has already been held. This matter was handled entirely by Chief Minister Liu. If the world were to know that I, this crown prince, am still alive, wouldn't that cause Chief Minister Liu to bear the stigma of a 'power-usurping sycophant'?"

After Xie Fang finished speaking, the two were shocked and exchanged glances once more.

Regardless of anything else, Xie Fang and Liu Zheng were previously mortal enemies; now, not only had the hatred vanished, but this Xie Fang had actually started thinking on Liu Zheng's behalf!

It seemed the speed at which this Xie Fang had matured was indeed quite fast.

The current political landscape of Longyan was, in fact, basically set. Even if Xie Fang claimed to be the crown prince, what could he do? Without money or troops, he could not stir up any waves at all. After all, Xie Ming—let alone being the crown prince—was already the emperor, so what of it?

Wasn't he just a canary trapped in the Imperial Palace?

Furthermore, Liu Zheng was now a major shareholder in Australia; in order to secure more economic benefits for himself in the future, selling a harmless favor was naturally profitable.

Secondly, although Liu Zheng's reputation was resounding, Liu Zheng had even more enemies. In the eyes of foreigners now, Liu Zheng was synonymous with Longyan. If some enemies were to mistake him for Liu Zheng's representative, that would be troublesome. Even though they were cooperating, he still had to draw a line with Liu Zheng.

Finally, he also had some thoughts of his own.

His time as crown prince had been truly too much of a failure. Looking back on the past, it was filled with humiliation and sorrow. He was already tired of others paying lip service while acting differently, and tired of that crown prince identity where he was treated as a puppet to be manipulated at will.

He wanted to bid a complete farewell to the past!

He was not the Longyan Crown Prince; he was Xie Fang!

He was the former master of Java Island and the current Spokesperson of Australia, Xie Fang!

Xie Fang was very happy; here, he felt an unprecedented sense of accomplishment!

This feeling was something he could never have experienced while he was the crown prince!

More importantly...

It was naturally that ever since he left Longyan, he had been following Liu Zheng, setting his sights on the world! The entire world! Compared to the whole world, what did a single Longyan count for?

"Haha, Crow... Young Master Xie, don't be in such a rush to be excited now. I'm afraid that in the coming days, there will surely be even more people coming to invest..."

Qin Zhangfeng smiled slightly.

"Ah?"

Xie Fang only then reacted and slapped his own forehead hard.

Wasn't that the truth...

This was only the first day Australia had opened its doors; what about the next few days?

"Quick, quick, hurry and mobilize troops over here!"

Xie Fang jumped up all at once.

"Absolutely not!"

Qin Zhangfeng, however, directly interrupted his idea.

"What?"

Xie Fang was stunned again.

Qin Zhangfeng gave a cold smile: "Young Master Xie, having seen this group of investors today, what are your thoughts?"

Thoughts?

Xie Fang was dumbfounded.

He had only been focused on the silver just now; what thoughts could he have?

These were all good people!

They were all here to invest, all here to help Australia; what thoughts could he have?

Qin Zhangfeng sighed.

Although Xie Fang had grown and matured, his vision was still far behind Liu Zheng's.

He said indifferently: "Aside from the gold and silver they brought, I only see two words."

Before he could even say it, Pei Yanran, who was beside him, had her eyes light up: "Mixed bag!"

Qin Zhangfeng chuckled: "That's right, a mixed bag of fish and dragons. Young Master Xie, from here on out, the issue of public security in Australia is the top priority..."

He looked at Xie Fang with deep meaning: "Young Master Xie, if this aspect is not handled well... this Australia will very easily become someone else's!"

"What?"

Xie Fang's face changed drastically upon hearing this.