New Han Dynasty 1834

Chapter 25 The Han Dynasty is not a capitalist country

Liu Yulong would pause after saying a few words, then have Staunton translate for his companions.

As Liu Yulong explained in detail, the eyes of the five men, including Ba Maizun, lit up. This was exactly what they wanted most.

The vast potential market of the Han Dynasty is simply too tempting.

However, the distance between the two sides was too great, and only luxury goods could support such long-distance ocean trade.

Britain itself did not have many popular luxury goods, and in the past, it could only export some simple goods from India to the Han Dynasty.

British merchants could not make much profit from it.

If production can be carried out in the Han Dynasty, then ordinary goods in Britain can also generate profits.

The question is whether businessmen are willing to travel across the ocean to invest in the uncertain Han Dynasty.

In the late 18th century, Britain banned the export of steam engines.

At its most severe, smuggling steam engines could be punishable by death.

Macartney also gave Emperor Qianlong a model of a steam engine, not an actual steam engine.

However, after entering the 19th century, France, the United States, and the independent regions began to produce steam engines independently.

Although its technology lags behind that of Britain, it is already able to operate stably.

Therefore, the British Parliament lifted the ban in 1825, allowing steam engine manufacturers to export steam engines to foreign countries in order to compete with the steam engine manufacturers of Frans and the Independent.

The battle for the international steam engine market can be considered the first heartbeat of the era of free capitalism.

From then on, global trade competition became increasingly intense, and capitalists began to sell everything they could to anyone.

It wasn't until the era of monopoly capitalism that various forms of technology regulation reappeared.

This time, when the British came to present gifts to the new emperor of the Han Dynasty, they brought with them a complete set of steam locomotives produced by the Stephenson Company.

Liu Yulong said that the British could come to Dahan to build factories and produce goods, and that they would indeed be allowed to invest and build factories in Dahan.

However, the Han Dynasty was not a capitalist country, and it was basically impossible for it to become one, unless the royal family and the court became the biggest capitalists and entered the era of state capitalism.

Liu Yulong could not allow pure businessmen and capital to directly influence the highest power of the state; at most, he would allow small-scale free markets in the private sector as a supplement to state-run industries.

Capitalism and industrialization are not necessarily linked.

The Netherlands and Italy, the most capitalist regions in modern Europe, did not experience an industrial revolution; in fact, after entering the industrial age, they became relatively weak countries.

The period when the East came closest to capitalism was during the Southern Song Dynasty and the late Ming Dynasty.

In particular, land management in the Jiangnan region during the Ming Dynasty was fully capitalized, with a clear distinction between ownership and management rights. There were also farms that consolidated small plots of land for joint management.

Capitalism is not necessarily linked to dictatorship or democracy.

Eastern empires are naturally suited to a state-run planned economy, a situation that has existed since the state-run salt and iron industries of the Former Han Dynasty.

Industrialization can be proactively initiated through state-run industries.

Therefore, even if the British came to invest and build factories in the Han Dynasty, their biggest customer could only ever be the Han Dynasty itself.

The right to operate railways could only belong entirely to the imperial court and could not be opened to the private sector.

British businessmen and investors would be unlikely to accept this, so what Liu Yulong proposed was actually a false demand.

After Liu Yulong finished speaking and waited for Staunton to finish translating, he instructed Wu Qijun, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies beside him:

"Send them back, and the return gifts can be in accordance with the standards of the Taizu era."

Wu Qijun accepted the order and rose to step forward:

"The meeting is over. Please leave now."

Palmerston, Staunton, Napier, Davis, Elliot, and the others knew that there was nothing more to say now.

The Emperor has made it clear on multiple occasions that he will not continue to discuss other issues and will reject all of Britain's demands.

However, from another perspective, Palmerston, Staunton, and the others have accomplished their mission.

The Great Han is willing to import all kinds of British goods, including steam engines, but they must be produced in the Great Han.

Whether the merchants are willing to come or not is their own business.

The emperor's expulsion of the British merchants was an accident brought upon themselves by the merchants and had nothing to do with their mission.

His arrival even prompted negotiations on related issues to begin ahead of schedule.

There was no need to wait for the news to reach Britain before Parliament could send someone to negotiate, saving at least a year.

So Palmerston and the others bowed to Liu Yulong and took their leave.

Wu Qijun led them out of the Wanshou Palace and arranged for a carriage to take them back to the Libin Hotel of the Honglu Temple.

We also gave them return gifts from Liu Yulong and the big man.

Liu Desheng did not attach much importance to diplomatic affairs. Whether it was a vassal state paying tribute or other barbarian tribes visiting, the return gifts were very simple.

There was no gold or silver jewelry, only a few sets of clothes, a few packets of tea, a few sets of porcelain, and a few classic books.

These are all special products of China, but none of them are items used by the royal family.

These are all relatively high-end products sold in the general market, equivalent to items used by wealthy families.

Handicrafts of this quality would be considered top-tier in vassal states and Europe, significantly superior to ordinary civilian products that are normally exported.

Palmerston and his five companions each received a small portion, while a large portion was given to the King of Britain, and Victoria, the de facto Crown Princess of Britain, received a portion slightly less than that given to the King.

After distributing the return gifts, Wu Qijun demanded that the British delegation's governor and Feng Yi remain, as they were required to travel south to Shanghai to await favorable winds.

The British mission set sail from Tianjin as requested. Staunton translated Liu Yulong's reply into British and wrote it down for Palmerston and others to discuss on the way.

Since the Emperor of the Han Dynasty made it clear that the demands in the reply must be accepted in their entirety, with no room for negotiation.

Palmerston and others could only consider how to get Parliament to accept it.

After the fleet arrived at Shanghai, a treaty port, Palmerston and his crew finally had the opportunity to move around freely.

While arranging for the fleet to rest and resupply, Palmerston also sent people out to gather intelligence.

Palmerston and his entourage, as special envoys of the Kingdom of Britain, were originally prepared to make contact with British merchants operating in the Han Dynasty.

We can quickly obtain useful intelligence through them, and at the same time, consult their specific demands so that we can discuss them in parliament later.

They soon discovered that most of the European and American businessmen had already fled to Manila.

Only a few small business owners remain here.

It was also confirmed that the Han emperor had issued an expulsion order before they arrived in the Han Dynasty, and had not deceived or misled them.

However, trade between the East and the West did not cease.

The European and American businessmen hiding in Manila either hired people who had never been involved in smuggling before or acted as agents, or directly found local Chinese businessmen as middlemen.

Let them lead their fleets, under new names, to Shanghai and Bao'an, to find familiar trading partners and purchase goods.

After being shipped to Manila, they were then transported to the Americas or Europe via the merchants' old channels.

Palmerston and his crew waited in Shanghai for half a month until the fleet had finished its inspection and resupply before setting sail south for Manila, the Spanish colonial capital in the Philippines.

The relationship between Britain and Spain in Europe was far from good; in fact, it could be described as one of deep-seated animosity.

However, when Palmerston's fleet arrived in Manila, Philippine Governor Pascal Alcedo personally came to greet him.

Within the European political system, Palmerston held a high enough status, and crucially, this place was located in the East, where they were all strangers.

Moreover, a large number of British businessmen fled to Manila this year, which boosted the market with increased consumption.

After a brief meeting and exchange with Alse, Palmerston and his group quickly felt as if they had finally returned to the human world.

Even the Spanish, who were considered arch-enemies, respected them far more than the Han Chinese.

Through his conversation with Alcedo, Palmerston confirmed that most of the British merchants were still in Manila, and he quickly sent people out to find out what was going on with them.

The British businessmen gathered in Manila, and even businessmen from the United States and other countries, showed great respect and support to the British Foreign Secretary's delegation.

After three months of negotiations, the businessmen here have reached a preliminary consensus.

Although they disagreed on their attitudes toward the Han Dynasty, they shared the same demand for the Kingdom of Britain to mediate.

They have already written a joint letter to the British Parliament.

Three days later, at the governor's palace in Alcedo, Dindie, as the representative of the Eastern merchants, handed the joint letter to Palmerston.

Dindi also verbally explained the merchants' demands to Palmerston:

"In addition to canceling the emperor's expulsion order and restoring normal trade with the Han Dynasty, the most important thing is the emperor's pardon."

"As you know, merchants traveling between India and the Han Dynasty inevitably carried certain items."

"The key issue is that Zha Dian has been arrested, and he is likely to leak other information, which may lead the Han court to order the arrest of others."

"Therefore we hope that the Emperor will promise not to punish us for our past smuggling activities."

Palmerston and Staunton immediately recalled the situation in Jardine, and thinking of Jardine's twisted and inhuman form, Palmerston and the others felt a sudden chill of fear.

Having completely collapsed, Jardine would certainly no longer hide anything and has probably already told everyone he knows.

If the emperor orders their arrest, these merchants who have fled to Manila could be apprehended as soon as they return.

Palmerston naturally assumed that such a request for pardon was perfectly normal:

"We have already been to the capital of the Han Dynasty and met with the new emperor, but we have not heard of the court issuing an arrest warrant."

"However, just in case, before we reach an agreement with the Han Dynasty, everyone should refrain from returning to Shanghai or Bao'an."

"Stay here for now, or head to the Straits Settlements, just in case something goes wrong."

Immediately followed up with another question:

"What is the Emperor of Han's attitude towards us? When will we be able to return?"

Palmerston hesitated for a moment:

"The Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty demanded that the Kingdom of Britain cooperate in combating smuggling activities and required all foreign merchants to comply with the new regulations."

"The specific details need to be communicated to the King and Parliament first."

"As long as the parliament accepts the Han's demands and restores normal trade relations with the Han, pardoning everyone should be a minor matter."

Palmerston did not discuss the details of the management regulations with the merchants, including Dindi.

Palmerston felt that the merchants would find it hard to accept, but he had no power to find a way to work things out for them, and the Han emperor had not given him any room for negotiation.

Telling the merchants now would only cause him trouble, so Palmerston just gave a vague answer.

After all, it was nominally a letter from the Emperor of the Han Dynasty to the King of Britain, and it could not be directly disclosed to the common people before the King and Parliament reviewed and gave their permission.

Palmerston reassured the merchants, including Dindi, and after a few days of rest and reorganization in Manila, he set sail for home with their joint letter.

The merchants who remained in Manila, including those from Dindi, lamented the profits they had lost over the past two years while hoping that the British Parliament would accept the Han's demands as soon as possible and arrange for a delegation to return so that they could resume direct trade activities.

However, they would most likely not be able to wait for the British mission to reappear, because after the British mission left, the Han Dynasty's military operation against Luzon, which is the Philippines, had officially begun. All they could wait for was the fleet of the Han Dynasty's Naval Commandery.