In early June, the merchant ship "Butterfly", loaded with a large number of goods from the east coast, slowly docked at the Bordeaux dock. In order to maintain secrecy, the Pasquier family sent a large number of serfs directly from the country estate to the docks to unload their goods.

Four-pounder, six-pounder, and eight-pounder Army field light guns were an enduring export commodity of the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of the East Coast. The fame of this artillery, which was used by the Russians and made a name for itself in the Smolensk War, has now spread to the Rhineland and France, with the Pasquier family purchasing more than 20 guns at a time. In addition to these artillery, what remains are the other two items in the "old three" of military exports: sabers and armor.

In addition to this, the "Butterfly" was loaded with 250 tons of potatoes and some fur in its cabin. Of course, none of these goods were the focus of the Pasquier family, who focused on the other neatly stacked wooden boxes in the cabin.

The smooth-polished wooden chests reeked of pine, and the Pasquier family's serfs, under the command of their superiors, quickly transferred the boxes to the many small boats docked next to the larger ships, which then left the dock at a rapid speed and sailed along the harbour into a riverside warehouse made of large stone blocks, which was the warehouse of the family's textile factory.

At this time, in this warehouse, a large group of hired workers are priing open pine boxes one by one, and then sorting out the neatly stacked white cotton cloth inside the boxes and putting them on the shelves. No one spoke the entire time, and all that was left in the warehouse was heavy wheezing and stumbling footsteps.

Xu Xin and Julian stood in the corner of the warehouse, quietly watching the scene in front of them.

"Xu, I have to admit that both the speed at which you produce cotton cloth and the quality of the cotton cloth you produce are enough to surprise others." Julian turned his head to look at Xu Xin, blinked his eyes and said, "It's incredible that more than 20,000 pieces of cotton cloth have been produced in three months, and the quality is still as stable as ever." ”

Xu Xin smiled: "With the addition of the previous five thousand cotton cloths, we now have twenty-six thousand horses in stock. With this batch of goods, it is enough to leverage the market. ”

"What are you going to do?" Julian asked, breathing a little hard and standing up.

"Isn't it what I'm going to do, and you're all on the same page?" Xu Xin asked with some dissatisfaction, "I only met Baron Loris in Madame Pauline's salon last month, and he seems to be infatuated with that woman, and his mind seems to be completely unfocused on business, even the elderly Mr. Flores is more interested than him. ”

Julian was a little embarrassed because he also used to fool around in the salon that the woman held. "Yes, my father agreed with Mr. Flores, Baron Lloris, and they decided to unanimously support our 'war'. Yes, it is a 'war' in which the winner wins everything and the loser exits in disgrace. I can't wait to see Ludwig's disgusting, disappointed and frustrated face, and it's exciting to think about. ”

"It's better to think about all the difficulties before we do that. The old man Ludwig had a lot of money and had been in business in Bordeaux for many years, and although the textile industry did not account for a very high share of his wealth, he was not one to give up easily. Let's think more about his counterattack. Whether it is in his previous life or in this life, it is the first time for Xu Xin to preside over such a large-scale trade war, so his confidence is not so sufficient, especially on the eve of the imminent launch of this economic war, his heart is still full of all kinds of anxiety and uneasiness.

"That old fellow Ludwig may have smelled something unusual, but he couldn't tell anything more." Julian was quite optimistic, and saw him comfort Xu Xin: "Don't worry, my friend." We have as many as 26,000 horses of East Coast cloth on hand, which is a huge amount that can turn the textile market of Bordeaux unchanged for decades up in a short period of time. The quality of my cloth is so reliable that it far exceeds the shoddy goods produced by the Textile Association, and we have won. ”

"I'm not worried about a head-to-head matchup, Julian." "What I'm worried about is whether the leaders of the textile guilds, represented by Ludwig, will do anything against us. Don't forget, they have the ability to modify the rules of the game. ”

"Mr. Flores and my father are still able to speak within the Textile Guild, and they have co-opted some of their allies, and will not allow the Textile Guild to pass any decision that is unfavorable to us; And Baron Lorris, who was a frequent visitor to the palace of the Mayor and the Tax Collector, had unparalleled influence over them, and the Baron's uncle, who was the bishop of the land, was the embodiment of justice and mercy in the eyes of the Lord's people. Julian patted Xu Xin on the shoulder, signaling that everything was at ease.

"It's me who is too anxious." Xu Xin smiled at Julian and said, "Ah, that's right. Why didn't you see Michelle today? He's been helping me a lot lately, and I haven't had time to thank him yet. ”

"He went to the shop in front of the warehouse to preside over the situation, the cotton cloth will be sold tomorrow, and he has a bunch of things to deal with in front of him." Julian said, "Are you talking about the kids he helped you find a while ago?" Aha, I don't know what you're doing. Do you adopt a child with two large loaves of bread, and why only those under the age of 12 are needed? They couldn't do too much heavy work, and their bodies were emaciated. To be honest, Xu, in my opinion, this investment of yours has been a complete failure. Maybe you're really short of people on the East Coast, and next time I'll help you find some strong older kids. Or, are you interested in black slaves from Guinea? I know some businessmen in this area. No, no, don't get me wrong, my family is not involved in this business. Well, well, don't look at me like that, just as if I didn't say anything. ”

"Now there are more than 80 children in total, and after more than half a month of careful care, many of them are now in good physical condition. I intend to have Sun Bo take them back to the port of the East tomorrow on the 'Nightingale', which you are carrying cargo, and hand them over to my colleagues to manage, and they will all receive a good education and relatively good living conditions. Xu Xin said, "At present, there are still ten children who are either sick and need to be recuperated, or their physical foundation is too poor and they have not yet recovered." I'm going to leave them in the merchant station, and I'll teach them some basic math and language knowledge, and I'll help them in the merchant post in the future. By the way, Julian, I think I really need you to do me a favor. ”

"What's the busy?" Julian asked, surprised, "I can do whatever I can help, say, my friend, tell me what's going on." ”

"Actually, I need you to help us gather the Flemish shipbuilders, as well as some of the Dutch mirrormakers." Xu Xin thought for a while and said, "Of course, if you can still find some talents with special achievements in other fields, we can't ask for them." For all the talents we need, we can give them at least twice the salary at this time, as well as a good and stable living environment. ”

"In fact, I want to recruit these talents, too." Julian joked, "Okay, I'll keep an eye out for you." But let's be honest, you may not be able to find the talent you need, because these people are likely to have a decent standard of living in the Old World, and they may not be willing to travel far and wide to the unknown New World to start an adventurous new life. Perhaps, we can only find some unlucky people who are in trouble because of intolerance of religious beliefs, poor personal finances, or because of war, etc. Of course, it's not easy, but I'll find a way to help you inquire. ”

"Thank you, Julian." Xu Xin said sincerely, "You have helped me a lot. ”

"You've done me a great favor, too!" Julian used his mouth to nude the cotton cloth that was being loaded and unloaded in front of him, and said with a smile: "Tens of thousands of cotton cloths a year, which can make a lot of money, and by the way, disgust that nasty Jewish vampire of Ludwig, there is really nothing else that can make me feel happy." ”

The two chatted again, and then left the warehouse. At this time, Sun Bo, a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was sorting out his bags and handling handovers with several new staff members of the National Intelligence Administration. A total of six agents of the Directorate-General of Intelligence were dispatched by the Executive Committee to set up a solid intelligence-gathering station in Bordeaux.

According to the plan, Sun Bo will return to Vostochny tomorrow on the Pasquier family's armed galleon, the Nightingale. He was accompanied by 73 children under the age of 12.

Xu Xin and the others spent less than ten francs in total to get them, and they already had a full plan for the future of these children: study, labor, and training. Through the continuous inculcation of the way of thinking, culture and values of the Crossing Masses, supplemented by systematic cultural education and long-term training and learning of various skills (including military skills), it has become the most reliable force in the hands of the Crossing Masses and the most loyal to the Eastern Coast Republic.

In a sense, they are not much different from the half-grown children currently studying in the Dingyuan Army Military Academy and the Navigation School; But on the other hand, they are helpless in the Eastern Republic of China, and the only object they are close to is the Travelers. Therefore, their loyalty must be the highest. After graduating from many years of study, they are likely to enter the various branches of the civil administration and the military, and become the basic plate of the state through the control of the people, and become the executive committee version of the "Sultan's personal soldiers" (1).

(1) Sultan soldiers: The Turkish Sultan selects children under the age of 10 in Christian villages and provides them with education and training for many years. As adults, they fought bravely and strongly, and became the most reliable force in the Sultan's hands, and the Sultan's officials were generally selected from among them.

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