"From the Mediterranean to the Pacific, I could not imagine the magnificence of the scenery along the way, and I am now beginning to believe in what a fascinating sight the rich Orient described by the Million Monsieur of Venice!"

On the board of Mr. van Basten, one of the members of the seventeen committee members of the Dutch East India Company and one of the richest people in the Netherlands, the mathematician and publisher Flac, holding a glass of mulled wine, sat on a rattan chair on the deck, looking at the sunset over the sea in the distance, and could not help but sigh with emotion.

Sitting with him to watch the sunset was another guest of honor, a Frenchman, Monsieur de Cartes. In order to escape the intensifying war in Europe, Monsieur Descartes traveled from France to the Netherlands, and at the invitation of the hospitable and generous Mr. Basten, he decided to travel with Flack, who was also a mathematician, to the legendary and mysterious East, in search of a quiet environment for his research.

Although Mr. van Basten's newly built ship is probably the best ship in the Netherlands, with a deadweight of almost 1,000 tons. But, like the galleons of the damned Spaniards, once the best ships are crammed with cargo, plus a company or two of soldiers, a group of guests who sail to the East in search of opportunities or pure travel, and a dozen priests who are on free boats to go to the East to preach the Gospel of the Lord, then the taste of the ship can be imagined.

However, Mr. Basten arranged for his guests to have the most privileged conditions on board, an area where the captain sent sailors to supervise them, and to prohibit unrelated persons from entering. Some of the best decks are located in this area.

Frank took a small wooden box from his coat pocket, took out two pills from it, and handed one to Mr. Descartes, "My friend, I think you're going to need this magic thing on your journey." ”

"What is this? Is it the magic marijuana? Or the Indian hibiscus (opium)? ”

Looking at the mysterious little pill in Mr. Frank's hand, Mr. Descartes asked his traveling companion with great interest.

"Neither. This is what I got yesterday from the first mate's hand for three silver coins. He told me that this was the destination of our travels, a small pill from the mysterious and rich East, which had a miraculous preventive effect on septicaemia that could easily occur during long journeys at sea. With such good things, it is natural to share them with good friends. ”

Mr. Descartes half-convinced and broke the seal on the surface of the pill. A sweet smell rushed to his nose. "Ahh It was as if I heard the birds singing in the Garden of Eden and smelled all kinds of fruits. ”

As they chewed, the sweet and sour taste filled their mouths, making Descartes and Frank yearn for the Orient even more.

In fact. What Descartes and Frank ate was nothing more than processed jam. Nanzhong is located in the subtropical and tropical regions. Fruit resources are extremely abundant. In order to give these fruits that were rotten in the ground in the past a high value-added opportunity, the people of the Maple Ridge Real Yàn Room researched the so-called Baotian Pill, in fact. To put it bluntly, it is a very simple job to make the fruit into jam first, then evaporate it once in a water bath, and then flatten it and throw it into the lime tank to dry, and finally honey, well, vitamin C big tonic pills Over, and finally use wax to seal the water honey pills similar to the size of longan lychee, box them, and take them to the dock to sell to the outside world.

It's not expensive, a box of twelve Baotian pills only sells for a hundred yuan. Compared with the so-called unlucky man who happened to meet the Dongting tangerines in Dongting Hongli, it is simply the gap between heaven and earth, and Frank's box was actually fried by the first mate to get three silver coins, this is a little too dark.

"Gentlemen, I have come to introduce you to a new friend who will be on his way with us to Nanzhong."

Mr. Basten went up to the deck with a cheerful expression, greeting the two gentlemen, and behind him a man who looked a little uneasy and flustered followed him.

After greeting Descartes and the others, Mr. Van Basten declined Mr. Frank's kindness, "No need, we will anchor in Ceylon tomorrow, and at that time, we will have to replenish a large number of fruits, fresh water, and meat, and this thing should be kept and used slowly!" ”

"Oh! The twenty horses you have in the bilge can go to the island for a ride? Monsieur Descartes teased Mr. Basten in a slightly sarcastic tone. In India, Mr. Basten filled the bilge almost with wheat and cotton, and miraculously stuffed twenty horses, all of them uncastrated, and both Descartes and Frank had some reservations about whether the narrow bilge could guarantee the safety of these noble lives.

"Oh! My friend, thank God and Poseidon, and the dragon kings of the East, that those beautiful horses are still in good health, and that Monsieur Galileo can testify that we will be in good condition for a few days of rest in Ceylon to restore their bodies. After Ceylon, it was not far from our destination. Then you'll know what it's all about me shipping these goods? ”

"Galileo?" As a publisher, Frank's pupils dilated a lot, and he looked at the old man in front of him with grass clippings on his beard and the smell of horse manure on his body, "You're the one who wrote, wrote," and in his eagerness he couldn't even remember the name of the book.

"A Dialogue on Two World Systems." Descartes added on the side.

That's right, the person who came was none other than Galileo.

A Dialogue on Two World Systems was written by Galileo in 1624 and published in 1632. Both Descartes and Frank were mathematicians who were familiar with the content of the book, and they defended Copernicus's heliocentric theory in the genre of a three-person dialogue, pointed out the errors of Ptolemy's geocentrism, and implicitly ridiculed the pope and bishops. For this reason, the book was ordered to stop selling six months after its publication. Galileo himself faced the arrest of the Inquisition and the Templars who had arrived from Rome.

Thankfully, however, when the Templars arrived at Mister Galileo's residence, Mister Galileo was out to visit one of his friends. And it was during this time that the small house in which he lived, because of the greed of a mouse, bit off the candle. A small fire broke out, which burned the house to rubble, affecting even nearby neighbors. ”

"In the aftermath of the fire, the Templars recovered the body of a man from the rubble. They decided that this was Mr. Galileo himself. He had set himself on fire in order to escape the Holy See's divine punishment, and they reported the result to the Inquisition and the Holy See authorities as the conclusion of the incident. ”

"And I happened to be a guest at a friend's house that he was visiting. Having learned of Mr. Galileo's fate and coincidence, I hid him in my carriage. Brought back to the Netherlands. And he went out to sea with the ship, and before we entered the Indian Ocean, the poor old man had been hiding in the bilge of the ship with the hamsters. ”

Although there is a gust of sea breeze blowing, but. Descartes and the two men sitting on the wicker chairs could still smell the strong smell of Galileo. Although the taste of Europeans in this era is very "strong". The famous Paris is also a place where all corners of the city are full of yellow and white things. However, the smell of Mr. Galileo has a blue feeling.

This made Descartes and Frank frown.

"That's it! Gentlemen. I think you are already familiar with it, then, Mr. Galileo, please go with my second mate to your cabin, where bathwater and a change of clothes have been prepared for you, and you will have your favorite dishes for dinner. ”

Galileo greeted the three gentlemen and turned to leave, the old man's eyes were already very poor, and under the guidance of the second mate, he still stumbled a little. Looking at Mr. Galileo's distant back, Mr. Descartes smiled mysteriously at Van Basten, "My friend, I'm curious why that mouse bit off the candle at that moment?" And why was that little house burned to the ground so quickly? Why, then, were the Templars so quick to conclude that Mister Galileo had died in a fire or had he #set himself on fire in fear? ”

Mr. Van Basten did not speak, but took a gold coin from the pocket of his ramie shirt and handed it to Mr. Descartes, "My friend, know that even a servant of God needs gold coins to maintain the church. I donated a huge statue of Our Lady made of Holy Porcelain to the church, and at the same time replaced the glass windows for the church. More importantly, the gentlemen of the court had obtained this friend of mine, so they decided that it was an accident that led to the death. ”

Weighing the heavy gold coin, Mr. Descartes suddenly understood, and he looked at the sun that was about to sink into the sea in the distance, and wanted to say something, but he seemed to have nothing to say.

"In the East, there is a saying that is called a big lawsuit, and the earth is a big silver." Mr. Basten took another gold coin from his coat pocket and threw it into the rough sea.

"This place should be under the jurisdiction of the Dragon King of the East. I used this coin to pray for a smooth voyage to our destination! ”

A beautiful parabola, splashing a tiny splash on the surface of the sea, and the gold coin became the dragonking's collection in an instant, a gesture that Frank, a merchant, envied.

"My God! Do you know that your actions threw the living expenses of a small Parisian citizen into the sea for almost two years? Mr. Basten, I wonder if you have found the treasure trove of Ali Baba or the treasure of King Solomon in the mysterious and rich East. Can you, dressed in the envy of the Pope's crown, cool and pleasant on the hot sea, and discard a gold coin as if it were a pebble?! ”

Although Frank's words are somewhat exaggerated and flattering, there is a reason for them. The ramie shirt worn by Monsieur Basten was enough to provoke a duel between the prince and the count in Paris and Rome, or to make many noble ladies and ladies willing to talk about the ideal life in their bedrooms or in the little drawing-room, with those who owned it.

As a plant, ramie is native to the southwest of China, and several main production areas of ramie are mainly the hemp area of the Yangtze River basin (including Hunan, Sichuan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Anhui and other provinces), the hemp area of South China (including Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Yunnan, Taiwan and other places), and the hemp area of the Yellow River Basin (including Shaanxi, Henan and other provinces and the southern part of Shandong Province). Among them, the hemp area in the Yangtze River basin is the main hemp producing area in China, and its cultivation area and output account for more than ninety percent of the total cultivation area and total output in the country.

Ramie in the Yangtze River basin can be harvested three times a year, and the ripening period is 50-90 days. It happens to be Ye Qi's area in charge. As a son of Nan Zhili, he knows the benefits of this thing, and the famous Liuyang Xia cloth is woven through guò tearing hemp, calculating hemp, winding yarn, combing, weaving, bleaching and dyeing, stepping on light and other procedures. The exquisiteness of the process can reach the weft warp about two feet wide, the warp yarn arrangement is as many as more than 1,200, and a tent cloth four or five zhang long is rolled up to a diameter of only an inch. Due to the fine weaving work, each farmer can only produce one or half a horse a year, and those who are extremely fine can only produce one horse in two years.

Thereupon. A large number of ramie tong guò salt gang and cao gang were purchased from the production area. After being sorted, sorted, and packed, it was transported south by sea and handed over to the textile mill to fill the appetite that Guoxia Mana seemed to never be satisfied. A large number of knock-offs were weaved. The basten was trafficked to the hot Mediterranean region. Immediately, it caused a strong reaction among the princes, nobles, gentlemen, and magnates.

One is that this miraculous oriental cloth is so expensive that two Spanish gold coins can buy one, (Monsieur Basten cries: "Damn it!"). That greedy Governor Lee. When he sold it to me, he asked for a hundred copper coins for one foot! I'll sell you two gold coins, and it's not too expensive! ”）

The second is the magic of this fabric, "light and soft, cool and breathable, easy to wash and dry, the more you wash, the whiter it is!" The East India Company and the employees of the shop, with whom Mr. Basten had dealings, shouted in unison. In Paris, in Marseille, in Rome, etc., it was found that it was even to the point where it was so-called hard to find.

"If a gentleman or nobleman can give me a magical oriental cloth, I am willing to spend the night with him."

The most popular prostitute at the Moulin Rouge in Paris let out such words.

As the initiator of the introduction of ramie cloth to Europe, Basten naturally made more money, and the trade in ramie cloth and porcelain, which was dominated by holy porcelain and lily porcelain, was the superficial reason for him to become the richest man in the Netherlands. The actual reason is that he is the largest arms dealer in Europe for the South China Army.

Of course, Mr. Basten would not tell Frank about the mystery, you know, Frank himself, as well as Descartes, with whom he discussed mathematical problems all the way, and Galileo, who was bought by him with money from the iron claws of the Templars, were in fact the goods of his fortune.

Mr. Van Basten's Fortune, which had been in Ceylon for a few days, replenished with fresh water, vegetables and fruits, and fresh meat, took his leave with the officers of the South Chinese Army and set sail.

On the surface of Lingjiawei Island, the ship began to retract its sails, and its speed slowed down.

Officials who are about to be at sea will board and inspect passing ships, register the type, quantity, and price of goods, and then collect taxes according to the type and value of the goods.

"Generally speaking, luxury goods such as gems and pearls have the highest tax rate, almost 40%, followed by various handicrafts in Europe, the Middle East, and India, but what good things can we sell to the East? It's more about gold and silver. For these imports, the tax collector in front levied a rate of twenty-five percent, or a quarter. ”

Mr. Basten talked with the passengers on board, especially the rookie merchants who had tried to make a fortune in the East, about the various tax rates imposed by the previous customs.

"Usually when the tax officer boards the ship for inspection, he will issue a proclamation informing you of the tax rates on all kinds of goods, and if you try not to pay the tax, or try to get away with overreporting and underreporting, then, if here you get lucky, then, at another exit of the strait, I hope you have better luck. For if you are caught doing these things there, you will be graciously invited by the tax collector and his men to disembark and have dinner with the sharks of the sea. ”

After listening to Mr. Basten's introduction, there was an uproar on the deck, people came all the way from Europe in order to make a fortune in the East, which is said to be full of spices and gold, but there are people who want to make their fortune, how can this be tolerated?

Could it be that the mighty Kingdom of the Netherlands, the mighty East India Company, was bullied like this without resisting? The glory of the coachman of the sea was thus tarnished?

After listening to Mr. Basten's introduction, there was an uproar on the deck, people came all the way from Europe in order to make a fortune in the East, which is said to be full of spices and gold, but there are people who want to make their fortune, how can this be tolerated?

Could it be that the mighty Kingdom of the Netherlands, the mighty East India Company, was bullied like this without resisting? The glory of the coachman of the sea was thus tarnished?

"Is it the swallow in Batavia? Petersson? Is Mr. Kun going to allow the infidels to collect such a heavy tax on us? Someone called the name of the Governor of the East India Company in an attempt to resonate.

However, his luck is not good enough, this Mr. Basten in front of him, although Tongyan? Petersson? Mr. Kun is very familiar, but he is not a friend, but a sworn enemy who has been fighting within the East India Company for a long time!

Seeing that someone was trying to suppress himself with the name of his opponent, Mr. Basten shrugged his shoulders with great dignity, and with a look of regret on his face, he turned back to his cabin.

"Send someone to keep an eye on that nasty fellow, and when the tax collector comes aboard, put a Ceylon gem or two in his cargo, and let the tax officer clean him up for us!"

In the cabin, Mr. Basten gave his right-hand man, an associate of the Company, a task in which no one should be allowed to challenge his authority, not even the Governor of the East India Company.

He was a member of the Council of Seventeen, and according to the company's bylaws, he was far higher in rank than the governor of the East India Company. From the forty-seventh year of Wanli, that is, in 1619, as the third governor of the East India Company, Yan? Petersson? Kun began to build a large number of settlements and trading posts and forts in Batavia, building settlements and forts for the Dutch.

However, the number and strength of the Chinese here far exceeded that of the Dutch, and with the gradual growth of the maritime power of the South China Army, the Chinese here also became stronger day by day and did not buy the account of the East India Company.

"If you offend our Southern Chinese Army, you and the Dutch ships will not want to go to sea, and the food in Batavia will not last for three months."

These are the words of a Chinese man when he refused to pay taxes to the East India Company, and his reason was that I had already paid taxes to the South China Army and was not obliged to pay taxes to you.

The lesser of two evils and the heavier of two benefits. After comparing the fact that once they turned against these Chinese in Batavia, then the navy of the South China Army, which was close at hand, could go south and use those small boats loaded with dozens of artillery pieces and rockets to harass and intercept Dutch ships coming and going to Java and the Maluku Islands.

Based on the above considerations, the company decided to take a tacit and tolerant attitude towards the actions of the Nanzhong army for the time being, even though they had snatched the already easily accessible city of Manraka from the company and imposed a large tax on passing ships.

The lieutenants and captains were well aware of the bullshit between the company's top management, but they were employees of the Basten family, not a salary from the company, so what did they really care about the loss of the East India Company? I wish that the interests of the East India Company would be further hit, and that the Basten family would be able to control this trade route between the East and the West!

The sails on the mast were lowered on two sides again, and the speed slowed down more and more, and on the sea in front of them, there were seven or eight boats moored large and small, all waiting for the tax officer to board the ship for inspection, inspect the goods, and collect the relevant taxes according to the type of goods and the standard of tax receivable.

The people on the ship became more and more panicked, some put Ceylon gems in their shoes, some stuffed diamonds into their trousers, and even more excessively, tied a bag to the woman's waist, covered it with a skirt, and did not know what valuables were inside. There were also the clever ones who simply stuffed some small valuables into the cracks in the wood of the cabin, trying to avoid the inspection of the tax collectors.

Looking at this chaotic scene, Mr. Galileo, who had nothing to lose, couldn't help but shake his head, "Alas, greedy people! ”

Descartes, on the other hand, was very calm, and as a philosopher, he had a deeper insight into the scene before him. (To be continued......)

PS: It is said that you should ask for a monthly pass, everyone, if you have a monthly pass or something, just vote, thank you!