Chapter 53 Conspiracy (Thanks to all the big guys for your support!)

To the west of Zhangjiacheng, near Andapa in later generations, there is an indigenous town. Many tribes live in this large area with a population of about 20. At that time, the total indigenous population of Madagascar was less than 500 million.

In a large house in the center of the town, which is the administrative center of the town, several well-dressed officials are meeting in the hall.

The middle-aged man sitting in the first seat wore a white hat made of Karakul lamb skin.

"Now the Meihua Company has occupied a lot of our arable land, which has seriously threatened our survival. Let's all talk about what we should do." The official in the first seat coughed lightly and then said.

Due to the increasing number of immigrants from the Meihua Company, the demand for arable land for growing food has also increased dramatically. The current reclaimed area is far from enough. The Meihua Company directs the immigrants to continue to expand outward and reclaim land across borders.

This resulted in the occupation of a lot of the indigenous people's land. Although the Meihua Company also gave some symbolic compensation, for the indigenous people this was far from making up for their losses. Moreover, compared to money, what they needed more was land that could continuously produce food.

"Kill them and take back our land." A fierce-looking and sturdy man shouted angrily. His name was Lak Lumanana, and he was the highest-ranking military officer in the Kingdom of Madagascar.

At the end of the 16th century, the Imerina people established the Imerina Kingdom in the central part of the country. In 1794, it developed into a centralized feudal state. In the early 19th century, it unified the entire island and established the Kingdom of Madagascar. In 1896, it became a French colony.

"No, we have been defeated by the French many times before. We cannot defeat them. I think we should move somewhere else, where we will be safe," said another official, who was obviously a surrenderist.

"Yes, we should send someone to negotiate with the Meihua Company and ask them to stop. Let's draw a line and not invade each other in the future," said another peace-loving official.

"They don't look or behave like French at all. The French would never seize our land like this. Maybe they are barbarians from somewhere," analyzed a rational official.

The natives here have always believed that the Meihua Company belongs to the French, so they dare not act rashly against its shameless behavior. However, now that the Meihua Company has threatened the farmland on which they depend for survival, some people still want to resist.

"Well, let's send someone to the French city, Antalaha, to find out the origins of the Meihua Company. If it is a French company, we will report it to the kingdom and we will follow the king's arrangements. If it is just a group of barbarians, we will kill them and take back our land."

The official sitting at the head finally decided.

Since he had spoken, naturally no one else had any objections. The hierarchy of respect and inferiority in the feudal dynasty was still very strict.

The natives at this time were still very brave, and they thought they were invincible except for the French. They had seen the soldiers of the American-Chinese Company, but they were very few in number, had poor riding skills, and the weapons in their hands were also very ordinary, not much different from theirs.

The army of the Kingdom of Madagascar fought against the French, and after being colonized, it obtained a large number of weapons eliminated by the French. Over the years, it also bought a lot of more advanced firearms through trade with the French.

Compared with the new recruits who have only been trained for a short time at the Meihua Company and have never fought in a war or seen blood, they do have capital to be arrogant.

In the mayor's office in Antalaha City, Ed was discussing the affairs of the Meihua Company with Captain Sean. Both of them were frowning at the moment. On one side was the national interest, and on the other side was money and their own future. The two discussed for a long time, but still could not find a good solution. After all, they could not stop the behavior of the Meihua Company.

Sean originally wanted to send troops to drive away all the people from the Meihua Company, but it was too late now. Not to mention that many of his men had been bribed by the Meihua Company.

Even if he didn't have any, he only had more than 100 soldiers under his command. He had already found out that the escort team of the Meihua Company was close to 2000 people, and there were also cannons. Their weapons and equipment were almost the same as theirs, so they couldn't win at all. Unless the governor dispatched troops, but then they wouldn't have a good ending.

The two were drinking and looking at each other in silence.

"Mr. Mayor, there's an indigenous man from the inner city who's trying to inquire about the origins of the Meihua Company. Do we want to arrest him?" At this time, Ed's secretary Abby hurriedly knocked on the door and came in to report.

He also knew about the transaction between the two adults and the Meihua Company, and he also had a share of the money, so he was naturally worried that the natives would find out and complain to the governor, and he would be implicated in that case.

"Oh, the natives? Why are the natives trying to find out about the Meihua Company? Don't be anxious. Find out their intentions first, and then we'll make a decision." Ed was also a little flustered, but he quickly calmed down and gave the order immediately.

After listening to this, Abby didn't say much and hurried to carry out the mayor's order.

After Abby walked out of the office building, he quickly found the native under the guidance of a civil servant. At this time, the native was asking questions to the white people passing by, but no one paid attention to him, so he had been here for a long time and still got nothing.

The French here also discriminate against the indigenous people and would not pay any attention to him. Previously, an official from Zhengfu was approached and felt that something was wrong, so he reported the matter to his secretary Abby.

Seeing that his intelligence work was so amateurish, Abby pretended to be a passerby and walked towards him. Sure enough, when he was less than five meters away from him, the native walked over and asked, "Frenchman, let me ask you something. Is the Meihua Company owned by you French people?"

"Why are you asking this? What are your intentions?" Abby asked back.

"The Meihua Company has occupied our land. We want to know whether the Meihua Company belongs to you French. If not, we will take it back." The native stated his purpose in one go.

Abby was slightly surprised when she heard this. She didn't expect this to be the case.

"Oh, that's right. I'm not very clear about the details of Meihua Company. Please wait here for a moment and I will ask for you." Abby couldn't make the decision and had to delay.

Not long after, he returned to the mayor's office and told Ed and Sean what had happened.

"This is a good opportunity. I can unite with the natives to drive out the Meihua Company, so that no one will know about us." Captain Sean said excitedly. He was quite patriotic, so he was very tormented during this period. It was all his fault for his greedy wife. He always comforted himself like this.

"No, we can't openly fall out with the Meihua Company. We just need to reveal the news to the natives. If they win, that would be a good thing. If they lose, it won't affect us." Ed immediately refused and put forward his own ideas.

"Well, this is better. Although I can't do it directly, I can also secretly sell our weapons to the natives to strengthen their strength." Captain Sean agreed.

"Okay, let's do this, but you have to keep it confidential. Abby, you go and tell the natives about the Meihua Company and reveal to them what we know about the strength of the Meihua Company. Do you understand?" Ed said finally.

"Understood, Mayor," Abby responded.

(End of this chapter)