【Asking for Tickets】

The room was as bright as day, and Quark had no idea how the lamps hanging on the roof could emit such dazzling light, a hundred times brighter than any lamp he had ever seen before, and it seemed to be isolated from the vast darkness outside the window, and looking out of the building while waiting, it was more like there were thousands of beasts about to burst out of it, which inevitably made people feel uneasy.

Fortunately, the interior of the house is simple and bright, just like the town in this place makes people look comfortable, I don't know whether it is an illusion or a real feeling, the temperature inside the house seems to be much lower than the outside. Quark naturally does not know that the wet curtain refrigeration technology being experimented here is also a newly tested project of the Great Song Academy of Sciences, the idea from the nineteenth century was put on the table two centuries in advance, although the air conditioning effect is much worse than that of Freon refrigeration, but at this time it is an excellent enjoyment, and the household department has high hopes that this system will be used as a commodity to earn foreign exchange for export before the bulk of copper supply is solved, so both the effect and the method of intensive production are being explored, but Quark is the first to enjoy.

The chair is close to the back, the frame made of bamboo and wood is breathable and cool, and the indoor temperature is not too high, so I don't feel unbearable heat when I lean on it. But Quark did not choose a more comfortable sitting position, but straightened his body and was sincerely afraid, and there was a sense of discomfort up and down, even if the fragrant drink poured in the fine porcelain cup inlaid with gold thread lace in front of him failed to impress his attention, and the specially prepared milk tea and snacks did not move at all. Quark actually thought that if the cup was filled with locally produced wine, he might as well have a drink to relax, but this point had already been taken into account by the Strategy, and in view of Quark's partner's obsession with Lang's mother wine, he didn't take care of it so 'thoughtfully' for the sake of serious conversations.

It has been nearly half an hour since I was invited into this house alone, although there was no malice in judging from the other party's hospitality, and the women serving in the room were also extremely cultured, and the slim black skirt with white cloth lace made people's hearts ripple when they looked at it.

The time of coming here is not short, and the local indigenous ladies have also suffered a few times, but it is only a necessary adjustment after a long voyage at sea, and such a woman will not be tempted if she is still in Euroquark.

But the two women in front of them are different, and there is a heroic spirit in their gestures, which is obviously trained by great force. It's just that the language barrier, no matter how the questions are asked, the women don't answer, which seems to mean that they just want him to be calm. When I came before, there was a general to translate, but the general only spoke Spanish, and the two sides could only barely communicate, probably knowing that it was the local officials who decided to meet the British merchants, but in the meantime, even the local officials who could barely speak a few words before did not know where to go, so even with Jia Pin in front, Quark also looked restless.

Time passed quietly, and after another half hour, just as Quark was becoming sleepy, the door finally opened with the sound of footsteps from far and near.

The two men who came in were dressed strangely, but they could still tell the difference between a man and a woman. The man was tall and thin, a head taller than quark, with a beard under his chin that seemed to be deliberately trimmed, and short hair that looked clean and crisp. The woman on the side is not short, she is comparable to Quark in terms of height alone, and her dress is as revealing as that of a native woman, and her fair skin is particularly eye-catching. Just looking at the behavior of the two of them, Quark immediately judged that this was most likely the elder of the Song people who had heard about it for a long time in Hong Kong.

"Mr. Quark Jean, there are some things that have delayed you for a long time."

The man who came stretched out his right hand. "Liu Jinqiu, now I am in charge of local trade affairs."

"Sang Zirui, I'm Minister Liu's deputy." The woman then added, "It should not be easy for Quark to understand the meaning of the dispatch of Nanyang commerce, so both of them changed their words.

Quark was thinking about who he was, and he even forgot to shake his hand, but when he came to his senses, he immediately realized what the problem was.

These two actually spoke fluent English, and although the pronunciation was a little strange, they could roughly understand it.

It must be known that England at this time was just a small foreign state, although it already had a place on the route to the East, but it was not well-known compared to the earlier maritime overlord Portugal, the Western Two Kingdoms, and even the later Netherlands, and English is not a prominent language in Europe at present, the European continent is the world of French and Latin, and even the Dutch Low languages are much more common than English on the eastern sea.

It was an unforgettable scene tonight to hear the language of his hometown in the east, and the unexpected surprise came suddenly, but Quark had seen a little of the world, and he had already had a premonition from the time he was invited to come here that he and his companions might be on the move.

But reason told him that he needed to be calm, and merchants who did not have a city government were the most likely to be looked down upon.

"We already know about your situation through customs." After a simple salute, the two sides sat down again, or Liu Jinqiu asked, the work rhythm since the crossing was tense, so that he developed the habit of speaking directly.

"We have expressed our admiration for the seafaring career that Mr. Quark and your companions are engaged in, so there are some businesses we would like to talk to you about."

Quark said, "If you are talking about my fellow shipmates, then you are right, Mr. Bauces and Mr. Walsh are excellent scholars, and every man on the Adventurer is as natural adventurer as the name of this ship, and we are happy to serve for God's sake." ”

Liu Jinqiu said: "Since it is a business, we will only find you, Mr. Baucus is good at naturalism, Mr. Walsh likes to observe the stars, and even William Jr. can draw a good watercolor ......"

He talked about every member of the quark ship like a few treasures, in order to demonstrate the investigative ability of the Great Song intelligence agency, and then changed his words, "But ......"

"We don't need scholars or painters for our business, what we're missing now is a collaborator, or...... You can call it a careerist, sir, and you should know that this is not meant to be an offense. ”

"Well, since Your Excellency said so, I will be relieved." Speaking of business, Quark's eyes are shining, but he has to restrain himself, at least the other party is not like a good thing to greet each other late at night, otherwise the town will be very lively during the day, and it is okay to talk about business and find an elegant restaurant or even directly in the public hall, after all, Brunei is not the same as in the past, and there are many restaurants in Sili Harbor, so the mystery is uncertain, not to mention why do you wait so long? The arrival of the Adventurer was not a matter of two or three days, and the Chinese obviously observed and considered it for a long time.

"But I don't know what we can do for Da Song?"

Seeing that Quark's appetite was aroused, Liu Jinqiu began to deliberately guide: "The Adventurer is Si Li who arrived before the rainy season, what do you think of here?" ”

The words of compliments do not need to be taught, not to mention that Quark likes it here, "To be honest, Your Excellency, from Europe to Asia, I have never seen a good place like here, and the governance of this place by the Great Song Dynasty is really impressive." ”

"So, do you think there's anything else wrong here?"

Quark thought for a moment and said cautiously, "If Your Excellency has to say that there is something missing here, I think it may be that there is less manpower available. ”

In a word, Liu Jinqiu couldn't help but think highly of Quark, thinking that he could come to the East thousands of miles away, at least his knowledge would not be bad, or he still had too many prejudices against Western colonists.

The population problem that Quark talked about is the most headache for the Senate at the moment. The construction of the industrial system is changing day by day, and the population growth is actually too slow, and it can be said that the government hall has racked its brains to attract immigrants, but the local naturalized people, the small ones have to go to school to learn cultural knowledge, and they will not be able to work for three or five years. The larger ones have been given priority to the military and police system, after all, without reliable armament, all construction is in vain. Although the Han immigrants to the south are more than one day a day, the boat is small and the distance is not urgent, and it is obviously not a reliable plan to expect a shipload of people from the mainland.

Moreover, there is another argument that adds to the anxiety of the Senate, that the immigrants who chose to come to the South Seas were originally to get rid of the dependence of the productive forces on the mainland, and that they came to Borneo without restraint in mining and farming, and that the current imperial regime was bound to conflict with the interests of these immigrants if they wanted to gather manpower to develop industry. Fortunately, the coastal fishermen said that the navy of the Great Song Dynasty provided them with a safe production environment and more efficient means of production, and they had to pay taxes to recognize their submission to the imperial regime due to the technical bottlenecks of coastal navigation.

However, Borneo is different, and although Borneo is indeed barren compared to the mainland, because of the vast land, immigrants actually have more options, and in the past, they could choose to venture deeper inland in the face of powerful regimes, and this is now beginning to be seen.

It is this view that the centralized regimes in East Asia are not interested in colonization, because the migration of population to new lands with more resources on average does not help to stabilize and expand the foundation of rule, but rather leads to the dilution of the most important resource, man.

Fortunately, the Senate still had a clear understanding that the industrial population was not treated with simple primitive accumulation-style exploitation, but with better treatment and technological advantages to improve the efficiency of production. But the safest way is to quickly increase the population concentration of the new land, and when the means of production become scarce relative to the population, the naturalized people can more consciously take on the task of screwing the imperial machine.

"We didn't see the wrong person." Liu Jinqiu put down his thoughts and said what he thought.

Quark said: "But with all due respect, with the contemptible view of your country's development in Brunei, I believe that the scale in three or five years will be extremely considerable." ”

"Slow down, and I'm afraid you know that the Spaniards have ruled Manila for nearly fifty years, what is the population there?"

"But what can we do?" Quark was a little anxious to confirm what he really wanted to know.

"We need some slaves." Liu Jinqiu did not hide the decision of the Senate and added, "No, it should be said that it takes a lot. ”

"Slave trade?"

"Yes, this kind of business is more suitable for adventurers like Mr. Quark, and we need someone to help with some of the dirty work."

"But Your Excellency, this matter is very risky, if it is discovered by a warship of another country, my crew and I will definitely be hanged in a certain port."

Quark had earnestness in his eyes, but he was thinking about what price he should offer.

"Twenty times for a slave, you can choose the silver coins and banknotes, and the goods of the household department can also be directly discounted to you, and you can choose the payment method as you like."

"How many people do you need?"

Things went unexpectedly well, and the gentleman from England, lured by the lure, did not even bargain.

Liu Jinqiu did not hesitate at all, and said: "The more the merrier, but there is one rule, the Chinese are not allowed to touch, we only want the natives of the South Island." ”

"Then we will get the territory of the princes or the Dutch, and go and arrest people." Quark is so difficult.

"That's something you should think about how to arrest people, but if there is a shortage of arms, we can help, and we can remind you that the price of artisans among the natives can be doubled."

Quark couldn't contain his excitement any longer, and all he wanted now was how to turn the conversation into an executable contract as soon as possible.

"Allow me to repeat once more Your Excellency, that as long as I can transport the slaves needed by your country to Port Sili, your government will promise to supply my merchant ships with refined salt, sugar, Lang Mu wine, and even clairvoyant mirrors without limit?"

"Of course, there is more to it than that, I believe that the detailed product catalog has already been obtained by Your Excellency at Customs. However, all the slaves were not transported here. Liu Jinqiu added.

"Not here?"

"Yes, here to be exact." Sang Zirui finally spoke, he did the job of the deputy very well, quickly opened a map of Borneo and the surrounding area, and pointed to the southernmost tip of the big island of the South Seas, the port across the sea from the Java Islands - Ma Chen.

"You have a port there?" Quark almost exclaimed, the main landmarks were marked with maps in English, so that he could quickly find the location of the island of Java, and the location of the port of Machen was indeed excellent.

"I think we're going to have a port there." Liu Jinqiu added.

The news has just come from Kuching that after the three rounds were pacified, several big clans in Pontianak have sent people to contact Liao Yun, and I believe that the entry into Pontianak will not be too long, and the work after entering the city should be better than expected. In this way, the last worthwhile stronghold in Borneo, Ma Chen, appeared in the eyes of the Senate. Located at the southernmost tip of Borneo, Mazen was the capital of the later Indonesian province of South Kalimantan. In addition to its geographical location, the resources are not bad, not only the production of oil and coal, but also the vast hinterland plains, and in terms of building plantations of rubber, spices and sugar cane, the conditions of Machen are much better than anywhere else in North Borneo, the only thing to worry about is that the great powers are not blind.

"Don't worry, the Dutch will figure it out."

In 1606, when the Dutch and the Portuguese began to fight for the spice trade in the Banda Islands, they had already established a number of strongholds in Mazen, which could not be compared with the small walled forts in the mountain pass in terms of military strength. But the competition for Ma Chen is already overwhelming for the crossing group that is now coming with the prestige of a hundred battles.

Liu Jinqiu finally gave Quark a reassurance, "Okay, this is not something you should worry about. ”

"But if I'm going to hunt slaves, I'll need to build an army, and at least two more big ships." Quark has clearly focused on the preparation of specific matters.

"I think that's what you need."

Sang Zirui handed over a piece of paper again, it seemed to be a document, the sixteen-carat paper was beautifully printed, and if you looked closely, the text on it was printed in multiple languages, representing the authorization of the Great Song Senate to Captain Quark on privateering at sea, except for the Han Chinese and merchant ships that paid taxes to the Great Song Dynasty, all other sea ships and land ports could be attacked indiscriminately, as long as Quark's fleet was fully armed.

Seeing the endorsement of the Great Song government, Quark finally felt at ease, and it was enough to check the seal and signature on the privateering permit.

Captain Quark's excitement was palpable.

"Your Excellency should know that with this proof I can go to Banten or Old Port to raise enough shares, and I think business will go more smoothly."

Liu Jinqiu said with a smile: "Then I wish our captain good luck, goodbye Ma Chen." ”

"I look forward to seeing you again."

At this moment, Sang Zirui was calling the woman who was listening to the errand in the house to give a few words, and then said to Quark: "There are just two friends who want to meet the captain." ”

When the door opened again, two unfamiliar European faces were ushered in.

"Let me introduce you, these two are Mr. Shu Teng and Mr. Jaco, I hope you can cooperate happily in the future."