Chapter 40 – The Immigrant Army Returns Home

Chapter 40 – The Immigrant Army Returns Home

The Battle of Lissa had ended, but for Ernst, it had little impact.

Right now, aside from stepping up supply shipments to both sides of the war, Ernst's main focus was accelerating immigration from East Asia and Europe.

Even though the Coastal District had cleared large tracts of land, there still weren't enough people to develop it. Aside from a few new settlements with sparse populations, most of the area was left idle.

To absorb more settlers, Ernst issued urgent instructions to the East African colony: immigration efforts had to ramp up. Whether through persuasion or coercion, they needed to bring in more people from the Far East.

…

July 4, 1866 – Jiaozhou Bay

A Dutch fleet en route from East Africa docked at Jiaozhou Bay. This time, however, they weren't just dropping off Hexingen Consortium agents. They also brought back a group of Chinese immigrants who had spent nearly a year living in the East African colony.

These were among the first batch of migrants sent to Africa. Before their departure, they had been emaciated and starving—barely clinging to life. Lured by the promise of food and work from the Germans, they had boarded the ships without hesitation.

Now, after nearly a year of rest and nutrition, they were completely transformed—healthy, broad-shouldered, and glowing with pride.

Though they once again stepped on the soil of their homeland, they no longer saw themselves as Qing subjects. They were now registered as Germans, complete with official East African colonial IDs.

Before, they might have cowered before local elites. Now, backed by the Germans, they had confidence.

They even carried rifles, joining German officers in negotiations with Qing officials.

Since Germany had not yet unified, the Hexingen Consortium couldn't act under the banner of the German Empire. But to intimidate the often cowardly and corrupt Qing officials, these returning immigrants—now East African soldiers—came fully armed.

They had been trained by German officers and looked the part: disciplined, coordinated, wearing brightly colored Prussian-style uniforms, and wielding flintlock rifles—new, not surplus—produced by the Hexingen Armory.

To the Qing officials at the port, these troops looked far more professional than the Qing army itself.

The local official at Jiaozhou Bay had already heard rumors of a so-called "German trade mission." Thanks to past troubles stirred up by the British, French, Dutch, and Portuguese, even average Europeans were feared. No one wanted to be the one who caused a diplomatic incident.

A few years earlier, foreigners had stormed the Forbidden City. Compared to that, Jiaozhou Bay was defenseless. The foreign ships' cannons alone were enough to flatten it.

So up until now, local Qing officials had largely turned a blind eye to the Hexingen Consortium's activities—avoiding trouble at all costs. They even helped with paperwork from time to time, hoping to stay on the foreigners' good side.

But today was different. No matter how incompetent or spineless they were, they couldn't ignore the fact that armed foreigners had just landed with a private army.

Alarmed by the dockside informants, the harbor authority quickly reported the news. The top official refused to appear and instead sent his deputy—Wang Qiangu—to investigate.

Wang cursed his luck but had no choice. With a few guards, he went down to the docks.

"Mr. Anthony! May I ask what your company's intentions are?" Wang asked cautiously.

Anthony, an agent of the Hexingen Consortium, pulled Wang close and laughed. "Ah, Wang, you're just in time. This is our company's private security force. We're here to help expand our recruitment network across North China!"

"Mr. Anthony," Wang said carefully, "while we are indeed 'friendly nations,' your military presence makes our superiors very uneasy."

Wang had already sized them up—he knew these weren't just guards. This was a military unit in disguise. The uniforms, the posture, the discipline—no band of bodyguards could compare.

And he wasn't wrong. Many of these East African returnees had seen real combat. Colonists had to take the fight to resistant tribes.

The colonial administration always prioritized veterans for its immigrant army. These men weren't just healthy after months of care—they were also tested and trusted.

Though silent, they stood in neat rows behind Anthony. Yet even in silence, Wang could feel their barely concealed aggression.

Anthony smiled and said, "I understand your concerns, Wang. But Germany comes with goodwill. We heard your country has a large population—especially of idle workers. We're simply here to recruit, like always. You don't want these surplus mouths to feed, and we need labor. Send them to us, and everybody wins, right?"

Wang didn't care about jobs or overpopulation. He was just a minor bureaucrat, scraping by on his salary and some classical texts.

"Mr. Anthony, it's not that I want to be difficult," Wang stammered, "but if your soldiers cause even a minor incident, I'll lose my job—and my family depends on that salary! Please, be reasonable."

When soft talk didn't work, Anthony hardened his tone. "Then let me make this clear, Wang: if you refuse our request, you should prepare for war."

It was a bluff, of course. Aside from the men behind him, Anthony had no reinforcements.

But Wang paled and backed off immediately. "Mr. Anthony, please—there's no need for this. I'm just a low-ranking official. I can't make that kind of decision. Wait here, I'll report to my superior at once!"

He barked orders at his aides to stay behind and sprinted toward the yamen.

…

"Sir! You have to handle this personally! If these German barbarians start a fight, how will we answer to the emperor?"

"Tell me everything about them," the overweight, red-faced official said.

Wang resisted the urge to roll his eyes and explained, "Sir, these Prussians are a real power in Europe. Just below Britain, France, Russia, and Austria. Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands are in the same league."

After hearing all that, the official concluded one thing: we can't beat them.

"And what do they want this time?"

"They say it's for labor recruitment, same as before."

"Then why are you panicking? Peasants are a dime a dozen. Send them off and be done with it. Just make sure they don't come to the yamen. If they're truly here to recruit, let other provinces deal with them. If not—well, as long as things don't get too serious, we'll stay out of it. If they do march on the yamen… report it immediately. I'll flee to the capital and get help. Until then, you handle things here."

And so, the immigrant army and the Consortium's recruiters marched inland.

Along the way, local officials didn't dare stop them—in fact, they often helped them recruit.

After all, the people being taken were just barefoot peasants. Who cared?

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