Within his purview, Major Johnson made the greatest concession, so much so that the kickbacks he had left for himself were half as much as originally anticipated. Finally, I persuaded the four captains to take their boat and go on a trip to Cape Town.

Of course, the captains finally agreed, because Major Johnson had assured them that they could take some goods with them and smuggle them to the French or the Dutch.

"They definitely need something, and we, as long as you're not smuggling arms, we say you can't see it, you can't see it; When we say we can't hear, we can't hear. ”

"And what can they sell?" One of the captains asked.

"I think you've dealt with the Dutch people in Cape Town before, what do they need, don't you know?" Jossen said strangely.

"Ah, Major, do you want to know what they used to sell the most from us?" The captain said.

"What?"

"First of all, the Indian fire. They have a lot of conflicts with the natives, and this thing is useful. And I heard that over the years, there have been a lot of British immigrants who have come to Cape Town, and they also have to eat and live a good life, and the land in the Cape Valley area is limited, so we can't let those Dutch people live a good life anywhere, and we British people go to compete with those Zulu people for territory, right? So, the Governor has been using various means to force the Dutch people out of the Cape Valley and vacate the land there for us British. Which of the Dutch people who are leaving, who doesn't need guns and gunpowder? Guns are durable goods, but gunfire, that's consumables, so in the trade with the Dutch people in Cape Town, gunfire is the most numerous. ”

Nitrate is the most critical thing in gunpowder, and sulfur is produced in many places, especially charcoal.

"But can we sell this thing?" The captain asked, sarcastically. In his opinion, the thing of fire and gunpowder is almost equivalent to gunpowder, and it must not be sold.

"Fire nitrate, don't talk about this thing, they really need it." Jossen nodded, "Considering their cannons, well, the new cannons of the French army, the power is indeed incomparable, but their logistical requirements are also unparalleled. Because their shells are so delicate that ordinary craft workshops simply can't make projectiles that can be used in their cannons. Their cannons, every shell fired, were transported all the way from France. And their cannons, the propellants used, are actually specially made, although they must be indispensable - because the French import a large amount of gunpowder every year, but their propellants are certainly not the product of simply stirring fire nitrate and sulfur charcoal. So, it's not a big deal to sell it to the Dutch people. Also, you can sell them to other people, like the Portuguese, along the way. ”

"Portuguese? They don't have much to eat, they have too few people. "And even if you allow us to sell the gunfire to the Dutch, we won't have enough stock." You may not know that some time ago, there were a series of warehouse fires, so that even in India, fire has become a popular and rare thing. ”

"So, what about the other than the fire?"

"Tea and porcelain, of course, and spices." Another captain interjected, "But unless we're going to ship to Europe – Cape Town can't afford that much of it." ”

After some discussion, it was decided to load the fleet with all kinds of common and easy-to-sell miscellaneous items, and then make a decision.

So it took another half a month, and the fleet finally set off. They traveled south along the east coast of Africa, and for another month, reached Maputo, a Portuguese possession, where several ships entered the harbor, where they had anchored, and the sailors all went ashore to find their own pleasures. Even Major Jossen disembarked, intending to go to the tavern for a drink or something. By the way, find out how things have been going in Cape Town in the months since you left.

The port of Maputo is in good condition, but the port is not large in size because of the limited power of the Portuguese. There are not many berths in the whole port, and correspondingly, there are not many taverns in the port area, just such a tavern called "Sailor's House".

Major Johnson walked into the tavern and sat down in front of the dimly lit bar.

"Sir, what are you going to do?" A waitress walked over and said.

"A beer." Jossen said. Most of the liquor sold in this tavern is counterfeit, and the more expensive it is, the more fake it is. It's better to go straight to the cheapest, maybe a little more realistic.

The waitress turned to leave, and after a while, she took a large glass of beer and placed it in front of Qiao Sen with a "bang".

"A rial." The hostess said.

"What, it was only two pesos last time." Jossen said.

The rial is a popular silver coin in Portugal and Spain, and one rial is equivalent to eight pesos. If it were in Europe, a peso would be enough for such a beer at most, but here, this black-hearted tavern actually asked for a rial.

"Last time was last time. Who told you Englishmen to drink it all up? A guy who was drinking next to him spoke.

After the man shouted at Qiao Sen, he took a sip from the wine glass in front of him, then put it down and said, "Isabella, your wine is mixed with too much water. It's all drunk up by the damn British, and you raise the price, I can understand it. But you can't mix that much water. Is this still wine? ”

"Come on, José, if we have a problem with our wine, why did you start talking nonsense after drinking so little?" The hostess said with a smile.

"What's the matter with us British?" Jossen asked.

"Look at how many Brits there are in this tavern, it's you who have raised the price of wine." The guy named Jose said.

Qiao Sen looked into the tavern, and many of the people in the tavern also raised their heads and looked at him, and then some of them stood up excitedly, and even overturned their chairs at once.

"Major, are you back? How's it going? The man shouted as he walked towards him.

Jossen recognized the man as a judge of the Cape Colonial Court. He said, "Judge Anderson, why are you here?" Don't...... Don't? ”

As soon as he saw Qiao Sen's face, Anderson knew that he was wrong, so he hurriedly said: "No, at least for now, Cape Town is still in our hands. Of course, I don't think we're far from losing it...... Well, let's sit down and talk about it. ”

Anderson pulled Josson to their table and sat down. Their tables were leaning against the windows, looking out just in time to see the harbor and the sea.

Jossen sat down in his seat and was about to speak, when he suddenly saw two pillars of smoke approaching outside the harbor.

"Look, that's, that's a steamship! The French called? Jossen stood up suddenly.

"Now that the sailors are ashore, it will take a lot of time to find enough people to move the boat. We must have been blocked and couldn't escape! He thought.

"It's French! We're blocked! Qiao Sen said, "I'm so stupid, really! I only knew that the French warships might attack our ships near the port of Cape Town, but I did not know that they could still kill here! ”

"No, don't panic, Major Johnson, it's not a French warship, it's just a French transport, and they're here to get more Britons here. In fact, it was on their boat that we were able to leave Cape Town and get here. Of course, we paid for the tickets, and those damn French, without a bit of business ethics, sold tickets for just a ticket from Cape Town to here, and the price was enough to take me by boat from Kolkata to London and back to Kolkata from London on a normal day - what a bunch of vampires! ”

"Slowly, slowly...... Judge Anderson, if you don't say it, I still understand one thing, the more you say, the more confused I become? Can you be a little more explicit? ”

So Judge Anderson told him in detail what happened after Jossen left.

"So, we have made an agreement with the French to move the peaceful inhabitants out of the war zone first, and they must use their ships?" Qiao Sen said.

"Yes, they excuse themselves by saying that they are worried that our own ships will carry war materiel, as well as non-peaceful personnel. So it was determined that if the residents were to be evacuated, they would have to use their boats. Of course, it's all an excuse, and they're just going to take this opportunity to hack our money! We also have observers on each boat to monitor whether they have made it to Maputo safely. They were able to get their money only after the boat that sent us safely to Maputo and returned to Cape Town, and then after being confirmed by the observers who accompanied the ship. Otherwise, who knows if they would have turned us over to some Portuguese fishing boat on the way – the French could have done that. Judge Anderson replied.

"And what's going on in Cape Town right now?" Major Johnson hurriedly asked again.

"It's not lost yet, but it won't last long. Well, the French sent reinforcements over again. Now there is a full regiment of French troops outside Cape Town! There are even more cannons...... The last time we negotiated with them, there was a little argument, well, we thought their shipping was too expensive, and they started a round of shelling, and then we were forced to accept the price of their tickets. Then, they ...... They raised the price again, because they included the price of the previous shelling into the cost of the ticket. It's really, I've never seen such a brazen Rome. ”

"So now......"

"At least by the time I left, basically all the peaceful residents had been evacuated, and the public servants were also retreating. After today's arrival at the port, Cape Town is essentially left with only military personnel. Then, when I left, there was no final negotiation, but I felt that there was no other way for us to do it than to give up Cape Town, after all, now on the battlefield, the gap is too big, and if we really fight, there is no more point than to make our young people die meaninglessly. Perhaps now the two sides have reached an agreement on our peaceful exit from Cape Town. Of course, the specific situation, well, when the French ship docks, and the people on board come down, ask them and you'll know. ”

Since this was the case, Major Johnson was relieved. Still, he decided to wait at the docks, and at the same time reassure the sailors who remained on duty on the ship—they must have been terrified when they saw the columns of smoke.

Sure enough, Major Johnson had just reached the dock when he saw many panicked sailors, including the captains of several other boats, also surrounding him.

"It's okay, it's okay, don't panic, don't panic." Qiao Sen told everyone what he had just learned. Of course, in the presence of those captains, he naturally did not mention the unconscionable fares of the French. So his crew stopped panicking, but the captains were a little panicked.

"Damn it! We thought that the goods on the ship could be sold for a good price in Cape Town, but now that we say this, we can't go to Cape Town? ”

"And what about our ship's cargo? Shoot here? So where can you sell so much? That's definitely going to be a loss! Oh, Major, look at this, we're here to help, you can't let us lose money, can you? Look at the ticket money......"

"Don't be in a hurry, don't panic." Qiao Sen shouted, "There is still a place to sell our goods. We can sell to the French. The French sent a lot more troops to Cape Town, and they certainly needed a lot of things. And, you think, isn't their ship, which has brought people here, to go back empty? Returning empty-handed, thanks to that, but what can they buy from the Portuguese? Baobab? I think we're here at the right time to sell them everything on board. ”

So everyone quickly thought about it, and there were indeed many things that the French should be interested in and could sell to them, such as tea, spices, porcelain, and so on. There are also some things that the French may not be able to look at, but the travelers may be able to buy some of them. As a result, the captains looked at the pillars of smoke with no longer such worry and fear, and even some eager anticipation.

In the midst of such apprehension and anticipation, the two French transport ships gradually approached the port. The port sent a sailor, led them into the port, and stopped at the berths that had been prepared for them a long time ago. Then a large number of British people disembarked from these two ships.

Now the action of the evacuees has reached an advanced stage, and at this time, the people who retreated on the ships of the French are basically people related to official business, in other words, they are all relatively high-status and relatively wealthy people. It's not because of how gentlemanly the British are, something happens and lets the people who don't have money run first. It's because when the French were put in charge of transporting the British away, they were worried about whether the French would not be unethical. So when they first retreated, they were mainly relatively poor, and one of the reasons was that if the French did not pay attention to business ethics, then the losses would be relatively small.

After hiring the French to transport people a few times, everyone is still very sure of the business ethics of the French. Governor Prima is said to have said: "In a sense, the French are a bit like the Jews, they are shameless people who want money, and they are all focused on how to make money." But once they signed the contract, in general, they were very trustworthy. Of course, they, like the Jews, like to play tricks into their contracts, leaving loopholes for them to exploit. But this trick didn't work for us, because we are equally proficient in this set of ......"

Since the business ethics of the French are still good, at this time, those British with status can take the French ship and retreat.

As soon as the French ship came to shore, Jossen went to the French with the captains, hoping to negotiate a deal with them. Although the two countries are now at war, war is war, and business is business. After all, both the British, as well as the French, recognize the value of gold.

After learning about the English intentions, the French were also very interested in the British proposal. As Jossen judged, the French could not buy much worth bringing back in Maputo, so when their ship returned, although the cargo hold of the ship was barely filled in line with the principle that it could not run empty, the things they brought back did not make much money at all. If these transport ships were all requisitioned by the French army, in the final analysis, they were merchant ships of the "Europa Shipping Alliance" after all.

Then the French immediately offered with great interest, "We will come to your ship and see the goods, and if they are good, we will negotiate the price in detail."