Chapter 628: Shipwreck Salvage

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After cutting off the communication terminal connection, Wang Zheng turned around and went downstairs, standing on the steps in front of the villa, looking at the vast valley in front of him and the lush mountains in the distance, and after a moment of silence, "Uncle Zhong, this will be our main base in Southeast Asia in the future." Updates are fast and ad-free. I will leave a space door to connect this place with Taoyuan Villa, which is convenient to get back and forth. In normal times, you also take care of the management here. ”

"Yes, young master!"

Wang Zheng nodded.

"Let's go, it's about time, we should go back too!"

After returning to Taoyuan Villa for only four days, Wang Zheng left by plane again. This time his destination turned to the distant Mediterranean.

In this strategically located sea, in the soft belly of Europe, the 'Taoyuan' salvage ship has been cruising here for more than two months.

"These are the shipwrecks you've salvaged in the past two months?"

Looking at the four guslet ships of different sizes and shapes placed in the dimensional biochemical box, although they have been sorted out and maintained, they still look tattered, Wang Zheng asked.

"Yes, boss! The largest one on the left, the Royal Voyage, is a Spanish galleon, which we salvaged from the Indian coast, with a displacement of about 250 tons, mainly cargo, and there are no valuable artifacts on it. The most valuable is this shipwreck! ”

Qian Hai, a biochemical man on the Taoyuan who specializes in 'shipwreck salvage', replied.

After circling the Spanish shipwreck, which was about forty meters long and relatively well preserved, Wang Zheng looked at his companion next to it.

"What about them?"

"The third ship to the right from the Royal Voyage is a late 17th-century British shipwreck 'The Indian', a cargo ship of about 170 tons. Probably engaged in the transport of tea and spices from India to the United Kingdom. Some 300 rose gold coins with 17th-century English hairstyles were found, as well as 2,833 Indian silver 'Angina' coins, as well as a number of 'Kebolon' copper coins and 'Tieni' tin coins. … The remaining two ships have found no identification to identify them. According to the goods found in the salvaged goods, we named them 'Porcelain' and 'Japan' respectively. ”

"What do you mean?"

Wang Zheng said with interest.

"The 'Porcelain' was found 70 nautical miles east of Singaba and belonged to a Chinese shipwreck at the end of the 15th century, and most of its valuable items were 'Hailao porcelain' from the late Ming Dynasty. We counted about 53,788 pieces! ”

Hailao porcelain is a classification of export porcelain in Chinese history. At the end of the Ming Dynasty in China, porcelain was exported in large quantities, and the Strait of Malacca, as a maritime hub between Asia, Africa and Europe, became a place where Chinese merchant ships must pass.

Especially in the 16th and 17th centuries, Europeans considered it an honor to own Chinese porcelain. They collected a large number of Chinese porcelain, which led to the export of Chinese porcelain. The quality of export porcelain production at the end of the Ming Dynasty was very good. The overall picture of export porcelain is complex but not chaotic, and it combines the cultural atmosphere and artistic charm of the East and the West. On the one hand, there are very good craftsmen, and on the other hand, abroad, especially in Europe, the price of ordering is very high. With the best raw materials, the best craftsmen, the most refined technology for production, so the export porcelain can reach a very high level.

Historically, China's famous porcelain was sold to various countries through the "Maritime Silk Road", so this route is also known as the 'Ceramic Road' or 'Porcelain Road'. Due to the large loading capacity of the ship, usually an ordinary medium-sized merchant ship can carry tens of thousands of pieces of porcelain, so there is a saying in the cultural relics market that 'one ship has ten tombs'.

With the outbreak of domestic antique collection, the price of porcelain from the official kilns of the Ming and Qing dynasties was speculated, and fakes prevailed. Therefore, the 'Hailao porcelain' that can be authentic to a greater extent has become the new favorite of collectors.

There is no doubt that the more than 50,000 pieces of Hailao porcelain found on the 'Porcelain' contain a lot of value. It's a pity that in order to complete the task of the eighth ring of the 'museum', Wang Zheng will hardly sell these porcelain.

"The Nippon is a 17th-century Dutch shipwreck that we found off the coast of Yemen and was carrying a large amount of cargo from Japan. Mainly lacquerware and wood carvings, in addition, there are about 512 kilograms of gold, and 1,845 kilograms of silver. ”

After listening, Wang Zheng's gaze swept over the four sunken ships again.

"Now it seems that the Chinese shipwreck of the 'Porcelain' is the most valuable?"

"Yes! If we sell it on the market, more than 50,000 pieces of porcelain can bring us a profit of about 500 million Chinese coins. Of course, if the time to get rid of the sale is extended, the profit can be doubled or even more on this basis. ”

"Not bad!" After a moment of silence, "Has the situation of the 'Sussex' been clarified?" ”

Compared to these four wrecks, the 'Sussex' worth 3.5 billion euros is the real treasure. It is also one of the main reasons why Wang Zheng came to the Mediterranean Sea thousands of miles away.

Qian Hai nodded, "The exact coordinates, depth, and hydrological data of the wreck have all been investigated. However, because of the British and Spanish rivalry over the Sussex, warships from both countries pass by almost every day. It's a little difficult for us to salvage the Sussex before it's discovered. ”

Speaking of which, we have to mention the past of the 'Sussex'.

More than 300 years ago, King Louis XIV of France, known as the "King of the Sun", was ambitious in his maritime expansion, and Britain gathered Spain, the Netherlands and other countries to form an alliance with France and started a battle with France. The Duchy of Savoy, located on the southeastern side of France, was only a small country, but it was the gateway to and from Paris, so it was particularly important and became the object of competition between Britain and France. The Duchy of Savoy was very economically dependent on France, and if Britain wanted to pull it over, it would have to "know what to gain" and buy it with a lot of gold coins.

The King of England signed a document in 1693, and the following year sent a battleship called "Sussex" and 12 frigates to the Mediterranean to reinforce the British forces that were at war with France there. The warship also had an unknown mission: it was to give the Duke of Savoy, a generous gift from the King of England, 10 tons of gold, in order to draw him into alliance with England and stop Louis XIV's expansion plans.

Equipped with a crew of 550 and 80 cannons, the "Sussex" and the frigate sailed mightily to their destination. Unexpectedly, the fleet was attacked by a storm near the Strait of Gibraltar. In the stormy seas, the 'Sussex' and its frigate all sank, only 2 crew members survived, and all the gold coins worth 3.5 billion euros sank to the bottom of the sea and disappeared.

Historians point out that due to the sinking of the Sussex, the Duke of Savoy, who did not receive a generous gift, eventually fell to the side of France, which not only changed the outcome of the battle for naval supremacy between Britain and France, but also changed the history of the North American continent to a certain extent. After the fall of the Savoy dynasty to France, the Anglo-French naval battle for supremacy fell into an inextricable state, and had a chain reaction on the North American continent. Since Britain and France had no time to take care of their respective interests in North America, they provided a favorable environment for the birth of the North American Revolution, which led to the birth of the United States.

Of course, there are too many accidents and inevitabilities in history, and people today do not need to investigate the details. As far as the Sussex is concerned, it is too silent.

The Strait of Gibraltar is the choke point between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Spain, Great Britain and the United States all have their own interests here.

The United States is just that, and the 'Sussex' has nothing to do with them. But the wreck, laden with British treasure, sank into Spanish waters, but it caused a dispute.

Moreover, from the British and Spanish maritime rivalries in the 17th century, to the decline of Spain's global empire, and even now, the two countries have looked down on each other because of the 'Gibraltar territorial dispute'. The wreck of the Sussex is just a flashpoint in the political, economic and territorial dispute between the two countries.

However, Wang Zheng doesn't care about the pickled affairs between the two countries. All he wanted was the shipwreck of the Sussex and the treasures on it.

"How long will it take to salvage the Sussex if you go all out?"

"With the 'Hercules' deep-sea salvage device, as long as the location of the wreck is found, it can be safely salvaged in a day at most." After a pause, "But it's hard for us to stay there for too long, the Strait of Gibraltar is a militarily sensitive area, and the United Kingdom, Spain, and the United States have deployed a large number of radars there, as well as all kinds of high-tech weapons." The stay is too long, and it is easy to attract their inspection boats! ”

"Don't worry, I've already figured out how to solve this problem." Wang Zheng beckoned, "Let's go, let's go out." ”

After leaving the 'Dimensional Biochemical Tank' and coming to the upper deck, I happened to see the cyborg unloading a silver-white ball with a diameter of 3 meters from the 'Iron Ox Transport Vehicle' under the guidance of Wang Gan.

"This is the 'Pretender Scenario Mask' I brought from the lodge, and with it, no Spaniards, British, or Americans will want to spot us!"

"Boss, I'll give the order to sail immediately!" Qian Hai nodded and said excitedly.

"Don't worry, it's too early, wait until evening, we'll set off again!"

"Yes!"

……

"Boss, the fish bites!"

Even if Wang Qian didn't warn, Wang Zheng noticed the buoy that suddenly sank on the sea not far away. Quickly reach out and grab the rod and test the strength on it. A heavy feeling ran down his arm and into his brain. After a brief assessment, this prey that is very heavy for ordinary people and needs the help of fish and others to catch is not a difficult thing for Wang Zheng, who has now been transformed by the Warrior Type II Genetic Agent and has the strongest strength to break through four tons.