"In the Wanli year of the Ming Dynasty, Jiannu rebelled. Occupy Fushun Pass first, and then fight Salhu, rob my property and take my land, plunder my wife, daughter and brother as slaves, miserable! ”

In the early morning, when children of different colors and appearances are carrying different styles of schoolbags and even small bamboo baskets on various roads from towns to villages, singing recently learned songs and calling friends to go to the school, a new day begins in this song.

It was an ordinary morning in the old Nanzhong area.

In areas such as Manraka and other regions that have recently been formally included in the formal management system, such a scene has begun to quietly appear.

Let's take our eyes back to the half month before Liu Guidan's ascension to the school grounds, when the Taoist master of Li Huamei was still ordering the soldiers to practice thrusts and footwork.

On the same morning of singing, Weddell, the commercial representative of the East India Company of England, and several of his captains watched the shopkeeper running by with a dazzling array of food in a teahouse on the streets of Hue.

Those almost transparent shrimp dumplings, the pink body of the shrimp inside can be faintly seen from the thin dough; Those buns that have a lot of soup flowing out when you bite into them, I don't know how to wrap that lot of juice in?

All of this overwhelmed the English, who are still famous for their dark cuisine hundreds of years later. Compare that to their chocolate aubergine, which is famous in the dark culinary world (presumably steamed eggplant topped with chocolate sauce). Chocolate-coated bananas, feta cheese with chocolate chips, Breton-style crepes and other famous dishes come from the world, whether it is color, flavor and shape. None can be compared.

The only thing that seems to be comparable to it is the chicken feet steamed with tempeh juice, but from the state of people eating deliciously, it doesn't look so unpalatable!

Sir Weddell looked at it for a while, and simply ordered the general to call the shopkeeper, pointed to the dozens of refreshments and snacks on the table next to him, and gestured, just have one!

"Another group of nouveau riche seafarers!" After a long time, the sharp-eyed shopkeeper couldn't be more familiar with the actions of these Western seafarers, and greeted warmly. I can't help but feel contempt in my heart. Disdain to contempt. He will not be unhappy with the silver dollars of the white flowers, and generally this group of seafarers will be rewarded with silver dollars when they eat beautifully.

He didn't look bad at all.

As the commercial representative of the East India Company of England, Sir Weddell led six armed merchant ships in India to purchase large quantities of wheat, cotton, saltpeter, and twenty pairs of stallions from the Mughal kings. Drive all the way east along the coastline. After Lingjiawei Island registration and declaration. Entrance.

Ye Qi, who was stationed here at the time of the entrance and was in charge of trade with the West, signed a trade agreement with him, and these goods in Hue would be purchased by Governor Lee's factories and firms, and the price would be very satisfactory.

But. The customs duties paid at the time of import are also quite astonishing.

"O my God! These guys are even more greedy than the Jews! His accountant took the tax stamps and watched as boxes of silver dollars were carried to the customs ship by the men of the Customs and Excise Department, in exchange for a small flag hanging from the top of the mast, and cursed incessantly in the native language of Albion.

"The tax stamps are collected, and your goods are the amount we encourage to import according to the regulations, and they will be implemented according to the standard of five percent of the value, and they will be collected first and then refunded. After the delivery is completed in Hue, you can take the consignee's paperwork to the customs for tax refund. This flag is to prove that you have paid the customs duties and belong to the protection object of our Ming Southern Chinese Army. You messy artillery can be put away first! On this stretch of sea, there is no one who does not have long eyes and dares to move a ship flying the protection flag of the sailor! ”

If it weren't for the fact that they encountered several waves of patrol ships of the South Central Army Naval Division along the way to inspect the passing ships, this commercial trip would have been dull and boring to the extreme.

However, it turned out that the official of the tax department was not lying, and there was no sign of the pirates who used to be seen collecting money for buying roads or robbing the roads on this stretch of water. Occasionally, a few strange-looking native-looking boats wandered on the sea, and when they saw the sailor's protective flag fluttering on the top of the mast, they immediately set sail away.

When they arrived in Hue, they had delivered the goods to the owner of the goods, and had delivered two ships of cotton, one shipload of saltpeter, two ships of wheat, and twenty pairs of stallions to the shippers, and everyone was about to prepare to receive their share of the payment, and the thought that in a short time there would be boxes of silver dollars and gold coins in their pockets and cabins, and the gentlemen, who had the salty smell of seawater, could not help but dance a little.

"Do you still want to buy in Nanzhong and then trade in Guangdong, Fujian, or Japan?"

The salesman of Longshengxing, who was in charge of their single business, raised his eyes and glanced at them, and scolded in his mouth, "Foreign plate." ”

"Yes, we plan to purchase porcelain, cloth, sugar, silk, ironware, etc. from Nanzhong, and sell them to Guangdong and Fujian, and then buy local tea and other tea in Guangdong and Fujian, and then trade with Japan."

"That's it." The salesman shouted to the cashier sitting in the high counter behind him, clamped the slip in his hand to the clip on the wire, and flew towards the cashier with a strong wave of his hand.

"Seventy percent bills, three percent cash!"

The clerk explained to him how the bills and receipts were paid at the sight of the various firms in Nanzhong, and then handed over the formalities for tax refund to his accountant.

"It's really tax-free!"

Everyone hugged the returned silver dollar, as if they were reunited with their relatives who had gone through twists and turns after separation. This was an unexpected fortune, and the accountant had already listed this expenditure as the cost of this trade trip to the East, but he did not expect that the five percent tariff would be returned to him.

"In addition, the twenty pairs of stallions you have brought belong to the goods that our South Chinese Army has been rewarded with imports, and not only are there no customs duties. On the contrary, there is an allowance of three percent of the value of the goods, and you point a little, which is six hundred silver dollars. ”

Amid the cheers of the crowd, Sir Weddell made an even more exciting decision.

The 600 silver dollars were distributed to each sailor as food expenses during their stay in Hue, and the accountant took out a bonus of about three months' salary from the tax refund according to the individual's salary, so that everyone could have a good time in this rich eastern city.

(In the language that everyone likes to see, it is to eat, drink, prostitute and gamble!) ）

Naturally, sailors could take a few dozen silver dollars to the casinos, brothels, taverns and taverns of the same Spain, and the daughters of Fuso. The Vaishya women from Tianzhu got together. The prostitutes gambled and spent all the money. Sir Weddell, on the other hand, was a thoughtful merchant, and he felt for the soft leather wallet in the velvet robe, which was in it except for two gold coins for good luck. It's just a few neatly folded slips. He plans to exchange these documents for the best-selling goods and sell them in Guangdong. Then exchange for more goods to go to Japan.

In Japan, it was exchanged for gold and silver. If you go back here and change it to armor, knives, guns, gunpowder, guns, guns, etc., in addition to making a lot of money in Tianzhu, you still have to get the big head in Europe. There is a war there. These military supplies are urgently needed to serve as fuel.

He even drew up a detailed plan for the business plan, and spent the next few days surveying various shops to see which goods were best suited to sell on the mainland.

He was somewhat surprised to find that in this city, merchants from almost any country on the European continent were in full swing. Spaniards, Frenchmen, Dutch, Danes, and Swedes greet each other in a friendly manner, and even provide information or convenience to merchants from enemy countries.

He had seen two Dutchmen sell five boatloads of rice and 2,000 barrels of gunpowder to their enemies, and they agreed to deliver the goods after they had been inspected and released by Ling Ka Wai's customs.

A French merchant and a company with Habsburg concessions reached an agreement on the order of the queue for the transfer of artillery trade and pick-up in the prestigious firms that prevailed in Long, and the Habsburg licensees exchanged three ships of Indian cotton for the French merchants' qualifications to withdraw fifty six-pounder guns and one hundred large franc machines in a month.

These guns were to provide effective fire support to the Habsburgs and their supporters on the battlefields of Europe, killing and injuring the anti-Habsburg army. These guns were far more powerful than the three-pounder guns that were now heavily used in Europe.

As a member of the senior management of the British East India Company, Weddell was naturally aware of England's attitude in this war, not only opposing the Habsburgs' strengthening of power in northwestern Germany and the North Sea region, but also not wanting the anti-Habsburg allies to be strong; Because England's interests in Europe and the Near East, including relations with the Ottoman Empire, conflicted with those of France.

"We are also going to be prepared to buy military equipment and food from here, and ship them back to Europe, and sell them to our king, and his friends and enemies." This was the consensus reached by him and several captains in a secret meeting. to earn more money!

As he spoke, the shopkeeper brought the same refreshments and snacks one after another, shrimp dumplings, dry steamed siu mai, steamed pork ribs, shrimp and vegetable dumplings, mara cake, and the first porridge, preserved egg and lean pork porridge, raw rolling fish fillet porridge, beef sausage, pork sausage, fish fillet sausage and shrimp sausage, boat porridge, radish cake, lotus leaf glutinous rice chicken, etc., all crowded a table of eight immortals, so that this group of "country visitors" from England looked at it wide-eyed.

"A few slow users, if you need to add anything else, you can call us." The shopkeeper greeted these guys who had already moved their fingers in half-baked Spanish, and turned to leave.

Behind him came the clatter of cups and plates and the sigh of his tongue being burned by the hot soup.

"Gentlemen, can you be sure that the middleman is going to be this teahouse?"

A plate of shrimp dumplings was poured into his stomach, and two cups of tea were poured into his stomach, and Mr. Weddell tilted his head back in the back chair, and it suddenly occurred to him the idea that he might as well transport some of these magical oriental leaves back to England. Maybe you can sell it for a good price.

The so-called middleman is a recent industry in Nanzhong, which is generally played by people with various relationships in various firms, and they will provide all kinds of business information, such as which firm has what goods. The shipping company has the shipping schedule of several cargo ships, and what businessman intends to sell the contract for the delivery of goods because he does not have a position for a while, and sell this information in exchange for a share of the Chinese money.

This social role is known as a broker in Chinese society. It's not legal, but it's definitely not illegal. After Shouhan learned of the appearance of this kind of character, he had to smile bitterly and give them a new title, "Scalper." ”

The scalper that Sir Weddell wants to meet is not just as simple as privately redeeming huàn industrial vouchers. The news he brought was about an order from a Jiangxi merchant. Because the merchant's payment in Guangdong was robbed by the bandits, he could not deliver it for a while, so he had to postpone the contract first.

"This contract, if you snatch the hat. It is possible to leave at least a month early. Think about it. One month. You can all add from Manora to your Europa! ”

The scalper's eyebrows danced and he was selling the information in his hand.

A rhythmic sound of gongs and drums came from under the teahouse, interrupting the scalper's speech, and he looked out. I don't know when, at the corner of the street under the teahouse, a performing man was there selling his own set of rivers and lakes.

"All the lakes and the four seas are friends, the south is accepted by the south, the north is collected by the north and the north is traveled, the north and the south are not collected, the spring and autumn on both sides of the Yellow River, not our family boasts of the sea, and the two cattle in the countryside."

The performer played with the knife in his hand twice, put on a few postures, and when he saw that there were many people gathered around, he ordered a girl on the side to come out and sing a tune to the spectators, so as to ask for a few pennies to eat and buy a flower to wear.

"It's strange, such a person is playing tricks on the street, why didn't he come over to bomb people? These people from the north should have been sent to various places to be resettled, why are there still people performing on the streets? The scalper didn't care to brag about his way for a while, and he only thought about this strange street scene.

"Everyone, it's not early this day, and there are a lot of people, let's follow the lord all the way south from Gyeonggi to this Nanzhong. Although we voted for the lord from Gyeonggi, unfortunately, we are from Yongpyeong Province, and we were also plundered all the way to Gyeonggi by the Tartars! Fortunately, our ancestors accumulated virtue, and we were saved from the Tartars by the lord. That's when I was blessed to come to this Nanzhong. ”

"To sing or not to sing? If you don't sing, we'll go! Some of the onlookers in the crowd made some impatient noises.

"Good! Just talk about it, don't practice fake tricks! Let's start singing! Those who have money help money, those who don't have money, as the old saying goes: rely on your parents at home, rely on friends when you go out, everyone has to help! ”

The sound of strings sounded, and the girl began to sing the tune in her childish voice.

"The sorghum leaves are green and green, and the Jianzhou soldiers came during the Wanli period. Occupy Fushun Fort first, and then occupy Shenyang City, adultery and plunder are really fierce, and adultery and plunder are really fierce. The Ming army was hundreds of thousands, and they were chased all over the mountain, and they were chased all over the mountain. ”

After singing a few words, the girl suddenly lost her high note and coughed.

The crowd shrank outward, and over the years, Nanzhong has become aware of contagion, and the people who live here have a deeper understanding of things such as coughing and urinating.

"My voice is not good, and I have no confidence after singing a few words." Someone in the crowd commented on it.

"I'm afraid it's not my throat, it's not good to eat. I remember when I first arrived, I couldn't walk a few steps before I broke out in a sweat. But then again, I was hungry and sang, and I ate too much, but I couldn't do it. Another voice retorted.

"Forget it, don't look at it, don't delay work."

"Huh! Huh! Don't go, we've got something else to deliver. ”

The man of the rivers and lakes greeted the people around him urgently.

However, it seems that the momentum of people to leave cannot be stopped, and three or five people have left this small circle one after another.

"Alas! Those who have never been hungry will not understand what it is like to be hungry. You know, when you're hungry, you're crazy! The little girl sat down on a battered cage and muttered a sentence that seemed to be addressed to the people around her.

"Who do you say hasn't been hungry?" The man who said that he couldn't walk a few steps and was sweating profusely replied dissatisfiedly in the crowd.

"This big brother, I don't know if you are working in the workshop or in the shop, maybe outside this city, there are dozens of acres of your dry land. But do you know where we are? The little girl's weak and immature voice answered the man unhurriedly.

"Before the Tartars from Liaodong came, I didn't know what hunger was, although the family was not very wealthy, but the family was still well fed and clothed. But since the Liaodong Tartar came and broke Yongping, I don't even have a pair of chopsticks left at home! Both parents, brothers and sisters were taken captive to the camp by the Tartars and followed them all the way to Gyeonggi. ”

"In the Tartar camp, I ate thin gruel like water, gnawed the young shoots on the trees, and for these few young shoots, my father was whipped a few times by a second Tartar, saying that it was for the horses of the masters of Jianzhou."

In the tone of the girl's eyes with some tears, everyone couldn't help but think of the situation before they came to Nanzhong, why not take a risk to eat in order to eat a bite and be able to keep the family's old snacks full and warm, and come to this legendary miasma and damp Nanzhong to do things?

Not far from the ever-thickening crowd, in the second-floor window of a shop, someone held a telescope and carefully observed the scene in front of him.

From the expressions, words, and movements of the man and the girl, to the faces of the onlookers around them, they were all taken into the eyes of the woman holding the binoculars one by one. From time to time, he turned around and whispered something to a few people beside him.

"Madam, we all remember what you said, and when we go back, let the people in the drama troupe polish the book again, and we will never miss the master's big event."

A person who looked like a steward whispered his attitude to Li Muhua, who was holding a telescope and watching the effect of the performance.

"If you miss the lord's big business, be careful of your skin!"

Li Muhua didn't look back and threw a sentence to the people around him. (To be continued......)