In the cloudy tavern, the smell of sweat mixed with the smell of alcohol, steaming along with the hustle and bustle throughout the tavern.

It is only known that Germans can drink beer, and it turns out that the British also like beer.

A pair of special characters in the corner, but they are drinking coffee, and the two need a clear consciousness to talk about things.

One of them was naturally Zhou Lang, dressed in a well-dressed suit, which was incompatible with the outfits of the sailors around him. The other person was Zhou Lang, who had just heard about it today, and immediately spent three pounds of gold coins to specially ask an English sailor who had lost all his gambling money to go to the city of Calcutta to invite him.

"Brother Xie, don't you want to be a captain and drive your own boat to travel anywhere?"

Zhou Lang lobbied in a passionate tone.

Xie Qinggao on the opposite side had a wooden expression, his expression was very consistent with his appearance, like all the low-level sailors here, he was wearing British-style burlap clothes, which were completely different from the standard British Navy in uniform, more like the dress of a Caribbean pirate, the only difference was that most of his head was bare, if you didn't look carefully, you would think he was bald, only a small braided chopsticks on the back of his head.

This is Xie Qinggao, a Chinese who lived in the Qianlong period, with a hair braid that is completely different from the yin and yang head of the Guangxu period, but an authentic Manchurian hairstyle known as the money rat tail.

"My own ship?"

Xie Qinggao was very confused, the wrinkles on his head, coupled with his black and red face, made him as confused as a farmer in his forties and fifties, but in fact he was only twenty-seven years old, but the long-term malnutrition and the hard life at sea made him much older than his actual age.

"Yes, your own ship, you can go east if you want to, go west if you want to go, go if you want to, stay if you want, you have the final say, you are the captain, you are the master."

Such conditions are like pie in the sky for an ordinary person who has worked on the British merchant ship for ten years as an ordinary sailor, and there is no reason to refuse at all, and the only worry is probably whether he will meet a liar.

Zhou Lang immediately saw this from Xie Qinggao's eyes, and immediately added:

"Brother Xie, here are the staff of the East India Company, you can inquire about this carefully. But I want to make a big deal, a big deal like the East India Company, so I want you to help me! ”

Zhou Lang dispelled Xie Qinggao's concerns and sincerely invited him.

Xie Qinggao nodded slightly: "Brother Zhou is talking about the British public office?" ”

Gongban Ya is the name of the Chinese in the South Seas in this era for the Western East India Company, whether it is the Dutch East India Company or the British East India Company, they are all called Gongban Ya, a "Ya" word, which fully shows the Chinese understanding of the East India Company with the color of government power. As for the word company, it has another meaning in this era, mainly used to refer to a gang-like social organization in southeast China, such as Lanfang Company, Dagang Company and other Chinese companies.

Zhou Lang said: "That's right, it's a British public office. The British can do the business of the public office, why can't we Chinese, how can we not have to go to the Yiren? ”

Xie Qing arched his hand: "Brother Zhou is so courageous." Brother Rong asked for advice or two. ”

Zhou Lang made a gesture of please, and Xie Qinggao said eloquently:

"As far as I know, the Western Zhuyi countries, the lord and the imperial court have vigorously supported their own public officials, and sent capable people to open up thousands of miles of waves for the country and fight for the country's benefits. But our Qing Dynasty was rich all over the world, and the imperial court not only did not support the people of the Qing Dynasty to develop overseas, but instead imposed a sea ban. I'm afraid that the business of this public office will not be able to be done. ”

Zhou Lang smiled: "It's precisely because it's difficult to do that you have a head, isn't it?" If everyone can do it, you and I don't have to do it. Although the Qing Dynasty imposed a strict ban on the sea, there was also a trade in Guangzhou. The Qing Dynasty court may not support us, but the people here may be accommodating, and the people will be profitable, but whatever is profitable, it will be able to be used by me. ”

Xie Qinggao sighed: "The sea ban is very strict, and the root is to prevent it, if it is clear, it will be a serious crime." The imperial court issued an order that 'merchants from the interior were strictly forbidden to build ships in foreign countries, and violators were severely punished'. If a Chinese ship is used, it is forbidden that the beam head shall not exceed one foot of a ruler, and the rudder shall not exceed twenty-eight people." Those who have a beam head of six or seven feet shall not exceed 24", and carry 'no more than eight shotguns, no more than 10 waist knives, no more than 10 pairs of bows and arrows, and no more than 20 catties of gunpowder'. ”

Strictly speaking, the sea ban of the Manchu Qing Dynasty is not an absolute prohibition of "plates are not allowed to enter the sea", but there are too many restrictions, and the building of ships can not be too large, and the Kangxi period is not even allowed to build a sailboat with a double mast, and the carrying capacity cannot exceed five hundred quintals, although it is allowed to build a two-masted sea ship, but the height of the ship's mast is stipulated, not more than six or seven feet of one zhang, and the crew is not allowed to exceed twenty-four, which greatly affects the development of China's shipbuilding technology, the treasure ships of the Ming Dynasty far exceed the Western sailing ships of the same period, but the Manchu Qing Dynasty is limited to two hundred years, The Chinese lost the ability to build large ships, and Manchu officials were amazed to see visiting Western sailing ships.

Not to mention the small ships, the Manchu court also restricted the carrying of weapons by merchant ships that went to sea for trade, which led to the extremely low self-defense ability of Chinese merchant ships, and Western pirates found that even with the smallest ships, they wanted to grab Chinese merchant ships, and the other side did not have any ability to resist at all.

Xie Qinggao raised the ship's self-defense ability, which just shows that he is really an expert, as an old seaman who has been a sailor on the British merchant ship for ten years, he really sees the crux of the problem. Because piracy in this era is indeed a thorny problem that cannot be avoided in maritime trade. After the British began to become the supremacy of the seas, they changed the previous official piracy and turned around and began to fight piracy, and the pirates of the Caribbean were not as rampant as before, but in other parts of the world, the problem of piracy was still serious.

Especially in the East, due to the Tay Son Uprising in Vietnam, the whole country fell into a chaotic state of war, which led to an imbalance in the power order in Vietnam and affected the order of the whole of East Asia. After the Xishan peasant uprising, a large number of Chinese sailors were recruited to form a naval division. Many Chinese pirates responded positively, and through the solid base of the Xishan Dynasty, they quickly grew and grew. Zhang Baozai, Cai Lian and other sea giants gathered thousands of ships and tens of thousands of pirates at every turn, and the naval forces of the Manchu court could not be suppressed at all. It can be said that the East Asian seas at this time were another glorious peak of piracy after the power of Zheng Zhilong at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhou Lang is naturally aware of this bad situation, and he has even established a plan specifically for this in his plan.

He replied very calmly: "Brother Xie." Naturally, he wanted to find Yi people to buy big ships and install cannons, so as to ensure that the ships were strong and the cannons were strong, so naturally there was no need to worry about the attack of the pirates. As for the imperial court, Brother Xie must also know that from the Guangdong Customs to the princes and ministers in the capital, there are many people who collude with the Yi people to make profits. Since these adults can make it convenient for them, as long as they are willing to use the silver, they will naturally give us convenience. Therefore, if Brother Xie works with Zaixia, he will have to deal with the adults in the court in the future. ”

Zhou Lang's answer was reasonable, and he directly told Xie Qinggao that he wanted to win over the Manchu elite and loyal ministers to participate, so that even if he could not solve the problem of the court's support, he would not let the government become an obstacle. He also told Xie Qinggao that he would deal with the Manchu elites in the future, which was a huge attraction for the low-level Chinese people at this time.

Sure enough, Xie Qinggao's eyes moved, and his heart moved.

Zhou Lang's heart was relieved, and he understood that persuading this person to do things with him was already nine out of ten. But he knew in his heart that what he said about winning over the powerful was actually a matter of no shadow at all. But he really couldn't tell Xie Qinggao the truth, and if he told Xie Qinggao that the ultimate means he used to solve official support was to replace the Manchu Qing, I am afraid that he would directly scare Xie Qinggao away, because that would mean rebellion for the Chinese.

Xie Qinggao was silent for a moment, and finally raised a question.

"Why does Brother Zhou value it? How can you take on such a heavy responsibility if you are just a handyman? ”

Heartbeat to heartbeat, Xie Qinggao is quite self-aware, he is an ordinary sailor on a British merchant ship, although there are not many people like him, but it is not unique, but in this era, the capture of fishermen as sailors has happened all over the world. During the Napoleonic Wars, the British also saw American ships and immediately requisitioned them with people and ships, which finally triggered the United States to declare war on Britain, and the British burned the White House in the United States.

Westerners came to China to trade, and the bad weather caused losses to seafarers, sometimes they would capture fools off the coast of China to act as sailors, and the Portuguese in Macau had been kidnapping and selling coolies for more than 200 years. Xie Qinggao fell for the Portuguese in the early days, thinking that he was going to the dock to do miscellaneous labor, but he was coerced to go to sea. Unlike ordinary coolies who are trafficked, Xie Qinggao has been working for ten years, except for the beginning, after which he voluntarily stayed on British merchant ships, not because he likes the sea, but because he likes overseas customs. He had traveled to all parts of the South Seas, to the Nordic countries, to the newborn United States, and he had not been tired of it at all.

Xie Qinggao really didn't understand why Zhou Lang took a fancy to him, because in his opinion, he really had no strength, he was not interested in navigation itself, and he had no foundation in natural science, it was difficult to master the skills needed in navigation, and after so many years, he had just learned a lot of his Chinese language. If you really want to master a sea ship, in his opinion, most of the sailors of Yiren do a better job than him.

Zhou Lang smiled mysteriously: "Because of your eyes." ”

Xie Qinggao was puzzled: "My eyes? ”

Zhou Lang nodded: "Your eyes!" Your eyes have seen the world. ”

He used a sentence that seemed mysterious and very connotative, but in fact, he didn't say anything and promised to deal with Xie Qinggao, and then ended this solicitation, and agreed with Xie Qinggao to let him think about it for three days, and still meet in this tavern three days later, and then paid the bill and left.

Zhou Lang's answer to Xie Qinggao's question was of course not purely perfunctory, but it is likely that Xie Qinggao did not understand. Zhou Lang's so-called eyes actually refer to Xie Qinggao's eyes to see the world, and he is more qualified than Lin Zexu to be the first person to open his eyes to see the world, but it is a pity that he is not as famous as Lin Zexu, and he is not as high as Lin Zexu, so he does not have this qualification.

It's just that what Zhou Lang didn't know was that Xie Qinggao's fate was really related to his eyes. Historically, after years of life at sea, malnutrition and lack of essential vitamins made his eyes invisible at the age of thirty-two, and as a result, he was dismissed by the British merchant navy, and finally reduced to Macao to make a living as a verbal translator. Fortunately, he met a fellow who was very interested in his experience, and recorded his experience, called "Hailu", this book recorded for the first time some Chinese forces in Nanyang, and the famous Lanfang Company appeared in the text for the first time, and it was in this book that Xie Qinggao himself visited Lanfang Company and met Luo Fangbo himself.

Xie Qinggao can dictate into a book, not only because he has good language skills, in fact, he is literate, although he didn't even pass the Xiucai exam, but he did go to a private school, which is already rare. He also knows English, Dutch and even Malay, some of the native languages of the Nanyang region. He has also traveled all over the world, to Europe and the United States, and this alone is enough for Zhou Lang to invite him.

If Zhou Lang wants to do big things, he naturally needs to have helpers and his own team. It is impossible for him to completely recruit a group of foreigners, and if he wants to find Chinese, it is really difficult to meet people like Xie Qinggao in this era.

But after he met for the first time at the wine table in an urgent mood, he promised to win over him because Zhou Lang was really satisfied with this person. Before, he only learned from a British sailor who docked a merchant ship that there was a fellow countryman of his own on their ship, so he paid for Xie Qinggao to come over. After a short interview, he immediately decided that Xie Qinggao was a rare talent.

It's not because of Xie Qinggao's knowledge, Xie Qinggao has traveled a lot of places and is well-informed. But this knowledge can also be learned from books, and if you open a few Westerners' geographical works, I am afraid that Xie Qinggao's insight is more detailed than Xie Qinggao's.

What he values is not Xie Qinggao's own ability, Xie Qinggao boarded the British merchant ship at the age of eighteen, and a full decade has passed, but a ten-year old sailor still has not learned to master the navigation ability alone, and can only be a handyman, which in itself shows that he does not have the talent of navigation.

But through communication, Zhou Lang discovered Xie Qinggao's inner quality, and he found that this person was a Xu Xiake-like character.

Chinese always give people a conservative feeling, lack of curiosity about the outside world, no adventurous spirit, this impression is generally good, most Chinese are indeed like this, indeed small wealth is safe, unwilling to take risks. But China is very big, there are many Chinese, there will always be some alternatives, they are by chance, or by nature, they have always been full of curiosity about the outside world. For example, Xu Xiake, who was born in a rich family, likes to travel, and finally traveled all over the three mountains and five mountains and wrote a famous travelogue.

Xie Qinggao is also such a person, after he strayed into the British merchant ship at the age of eighteen, he did not find out that he had been deceived like other coolies, and tried his best to escape, or wait for the contract to expire and return to China, but worked for ten years, and followed the British all over the world. He doesn't love sailing, he doesn't yearn for life on the sea, he yearns for the other side of the sea, in order to get to the other side of the sea, he is willing to endure the difficult drift, just like Xu Xiake can endure the hardships of trekking mountains and rivers for the scenery on the top of the mountain.

Zhou Lang is also such a person in a certain sense, he is not actually keen on wealth, but he has started a business countless times in his previous life, he enjoys the pleasure of successful entrepreneurship, as for how much money he really earns, he has no concept, and he is not masochistic to the extent of enjoying the hardships in the process of entrepreneurship.

I am such a person, so I can better understand the power of this kind of person who has a strong drive in his heart, once they are given the right platform, this kind of person can make achievements far beyond those who are simply for money or future.

Just Xie Qinggao's insight is already an ideal partner that Zhou Lang can't ask for, not to mention that this is still a special person with "energy" in his heart, so Zhou Lang couldn't wait to send him an invitation at the wine table.

And this recruitment was very successful, three days later, Xie Qinggao replied to Zhou Lang clearly, willing to follow Zhou Lang. As for what to do, Xie Qinggao did not ask in detail, saying that "only the horse is the first to look forward".

Zhou Lang didn't need Xie Qinggao to go to work immediately, so he resigned from the British merchant ship first, and then moved into his own villa. For the time being, Zhou Lang's plan cannot be started, and nothing can be done until the first investment is made.

As for the start-up plan, the basic ones that should be there are now, the plan is complete, the core team has also recruited Xie Qinggao, and it is impossible to find more suitable people in the short term, because it is difficult for him to meet a Chinese in India, so at first he can only rely on Westerners or Indians.

After that, it is time to start the plan, bring in investment, and then buy a ship and set sail.

But at present, he still lacks a suitable opportunity to throw out his plan, because his connections here have not yet reached the point of establishing a close and trusting relationship with those who can afford to invest in him, and the possibility of throwing out a plan out of thin air is zero.

Zhou Lang originally planned to slowly expand his network resources, he is now closer and closer to success, although he has not yet been able to squeeze into the high-level circle of the East India Company, but as he slowly socializes with the middle and low-level British staff, some middle-level aristocratic officials have begun to invite him at small gatherings, of course, mainly his special status as a Chinese, but continue like this, Zhou Lang believes that his excellent social skills will allow him to slowly get in touch with higher-level characters.

This was a long-term plan, Zhou Lang originally planned to use a year to expand his contacts, but he did not expect the opportunity to come so quickly, because just ten days later, there was a Chinese fever among the British throughout India, and news from London claimed that the British king had decided to send official envoys to China to open up comprehensive trade between the two countries in the name of paying homage to the Chinese emperor Qianlong.

This news is a shot in the arm for all the British who do business in India, because China, like India, is a country that fills the imagination of Westerners, and for those businessmen who have already made a fortune in rich India, they are very hopeful that the opening of China's trade will bring them new and huge wealth, and for those businessmen who have not found opportunities in India, China will become a hope for them to turn around.

In short, the British who are full of thirst for wealth, and spurred on by the legend of China, which has been popular in the West for hundreds of years, the British people throughout India talk about China.

This made Zhou Lang believe that his tuyere was coming, and the legend was that a pig could take off against the tuyere, and this was the perfect time to launch his plan.