Even though many people don't spend money to buy newspapers at all, they prefer to spend this money on drinking tea, watching plays, and listening to books. Teahouses are everywhere in China, and in China's teahouses there is a profession called 'Doctor Bao', that is, a specialized newspaper reader.

Their profession is to find interesting anecdotes that the people may be interested in from the newspapers, and then read them to the guests of the teahouse in a more vivid and interesting tone, so as to attract and attract customers, which is a variation of the storyteller. An ordinary Chinese only needs to spend the money of a cup of tea, and he can sit in the tea house and listen to the interesting anecdotes that have happened in the whole world recently.

However, this phenomenon did not curb the development of newspapers, but to a large extent guided the Chinese people's recognition and love of newspapers.

What's more, a newspaper is not cheap, the price is low, it is five and eight cents, and the more expensive ones are more than a dime, for example, when the "Global Times" is at its highest, you can buy a dime and five copies, this price is definitely not cheap, and it can even be said to be a little expensive.

If a family buys a newspaper every day, it costs three or four yuan a month, and with these three or four Chinese dollars, even in a big city like Shanghai, they can still cut a few catties of fresh meat to improve the life of their family.

People who are willing to buy newspapers in China either have a long-term and stable middle and high school job, these people are in contact with a high level of society, they need to know as much as possible about some current affairs, which is helpful for their social interactions, these people are generally more powerful in purchasing power, and their social influence is greater, but they are also the most important source of customers in the newspaper industry; Either they have a low social level but a little spare money in their hands, and these people buy newspapers not only to read the information on them themselves, but also to recharge their batteries so that they can go to the dragon gate array.

Here, as in London, when a group of people get together to laugh and chat, whoever is well-informed and knows more will inevitably become the center of the group. Chinese especially enjoy this joy.

Robert, who was not in a good mood, was no less likely to 'see' the two laborers from a bad point of view.

"Haha, dear Robert, it's a pleasure to see you again." Winston, the British East India Company Taipan who accompanied the Tulip, was an old friend of Robert's, and the two immediately greeted with a warm hug.

Thirty years, they have known each other for thirty years. When they first joined the East India Company, they were two young men in their prime, but now they are both old.

"Alright, Winston, let's sit down." After the renewal, Robert was the first to let go of his arm, and he still held a copy of the "Global Times" he had just bought. "Tell me, Winston, what's going on in India?"

Robert cares about this. Recently, he was talking to representatives of several Chinese banks about buying British government bonds, and although China's finances are also dangerous, this does not mean that China has no money. The money just isn't in the hands of the Chinese government.

The interest rate on the national debt of the Kingdom of Great Britain is not high, but it is also higher than the interest rate on the deposits of the Bank of China, which has large reserves of gold and silver in their coffers.

If he could, Robert would be able to get a sum of £2 million to £5 million from China, and the funds would not be all shipped to Europe, but would be sent directly to India for the ongoing war in India, which would certainly alleviate the East India Company's military spending constraints to a great extent.

Anyway, the East India Company already owed more than 3 million pounds, and it would not be a problem to add 100,000 more, as long as it could keep Bengal.

"Haider has fallen, and his son has taken his place and continues to cause problems for the company?"

"You must have seen the analysis in this newspaper, so is the analysis correct?"

Yesterday's news, Winston has confirmed the correctness of the report, which is ridiculous, the dignified East India Company, in the matter of delivering news, is no more than a small newspaper that has only been established for a few years, although there is a behemoth behind this newspaper to support it, but this is really ridiculous.

You must know that this is a critical moment, the Kingdom of Great Britain is in a dangerous situation, and China is the only country that can pull London out of the quagmire. Here, the speed of message delivery is very important, a message even a day early, in some critical moments have an irreplaceable role.

It was only after a night of buffering that Robert had come to terms with this reality, and now what he wanted to know most was whether the analytical comments in the newspaper were correct.

Winston pursed his lips, and the joy he felt at seeing Robert had dissipated somewhat, and an air of meanness and aggression emanated from him.

Winston's temperament carries the label of 'difficult to deal with'.

Although he is older, the temperament that he had when he was young has not weakened at all, but has become stronger.

His lips were a little thin, his eyes were slightly raised, his eyes were bright and sharp, and although his forehead was occupied by deep wrinkles, when Winston pursed his lips, the lines of his jaw were tightly tensed, and with his sharp eyes, that glance could clearly make people feel the arrogance and stubbornness in his bones. His temper gave Robert a headache even when he was young.

Now that Winston smells of this, it is clear that the actual situation in India is not as good as it is in this newspaper. Robert's heart sank a little.

Winston's exquisitely crafted three-piece suit, which is very suitable for Westerners, makes Winston look a bit gentlemanly at first glance, but now it makes him wear the gloomy atmosphere of London, but fortunately he wears a black round hat many times, which makes his cold and solid feeling fade a little.

Speaking of which, Robert could not but praise the genius of the Chinese Emperor, an old friend of his who looked down on the European men's clothing of this era, and thought that the knee-length coat was too fancy, and the lace and high white socks on the clothes reminded him of women.

Therefore, His Majesty the Emperor took the time to design such a set of men's clothing for Perrier, Robert, as well as the Swedes, the Dutch, the Portuguese, etc., which is now widely spread and very in line with the men's body shape and aesthetics of the Western world.

In just a few years, this kind of clothing has spread widely in the Western world, and Robert himself likes this kind of clothing very much, and feels that it is indeed much more decent than before. But all along, there is still a pimple in his heart, that is, the brand name given by the Chinese emperor to this suit - called Jinlilai.

Is this kind of clothing for Westerners, and the West came to China to represent money and interests, so the Chinese emperor gave this clothing a very cheesy and inappropriate brand name - Jinlilai.

That's how Robert felt. He didn't like the name very much, and always felt that it had an ambiguity that could not be described in words.

But now there are many other brands of this kind of clothing, and almost every port on the eastern coast of China has a tailor who makes this kind of clothing. But the most authentic and best-crafted tailor shop is still Jinlilai located in Guangzhou.

Winston's three-piece suit, both in fabric and handwork, is absolutely first-class, with fine stitching, neat lines, and just the right cut, which decorates his own aggression into a kind of solemnity and reserve.

The topic is far away. Let's focus on India.

"Tiep was a tough man with strong anti-British tendencies. The main thing is the source of his arms. ”

"China has sold a lot of arms to India. The muskets and artillery that we captured were obviously second-hand goods eliminated by the Chinese. ”

"They earn a lot of gold from the second-hand munitions they have eliminated in their own ports in Jinghai, or through the French."

"With the replenishment of arms, the quality of the Mysore army has dropped a lot compared with the beginning of the war, but the total strength has increased instead of decreasing."

"Our negotiations with the people of Matala are not going well either. God knows exactly how many arms the Chinese sold to India. The second-hand guns that could be used not only provided an ample supply of arms for Tiepu, but also hardened the attitude of the people of Matala. ”

Warren Hastings, the viceroy of British India, had hoped to take advantage of the disintegration of India's feudal states and the internal discord of the Maratha princes themselves to break up Haider's anti-British alliance, co-opt the most powerful of the Maratha states, and sign peace treaties with the other states. Thus the war between the East India Company and the Matara was dissolved.

But this action did not have much effect.

Because the French and Dutch were still fighting against the British, the Mysore army was always strong, which gave the Marathas hope of a complete victory over the British and the recovery of Salset, which had been occupied by the British.

In the previous war, both the British and the Marathas suffered considerable losses. As mentioned earlier, Hastings took strong measures to restore the reputation of the East India Company in India, despite the obstruction of his colleagues. He sent a strong army from Bengal across Central India and captured Ahmedabad and Basen successively, but the British army suffered a serious failure in its attack on Pune and was forced to retreat.

However, this did not mean that Maratha was victorious, and another British army sent by Hastings took Gualiol by means of ladders and ladders, and the British army in Cypri also won the battle. The results of these victories enhanced the reputation of the British and prompted a short-term ceasefire between the British and the Maratha government in Pune.

If Haider abdicated and his successor Tiepp could not defeat the British and revive Mysore, the cease-fire between the British and the Marathas would not have turned into a real armistice. But in the battle of Goodlaure, the British were defeated, and they were badly defeated. More importantly, the British chose to continue fighting on the issue of war in North America, which kept the French and Dutch on the battlefield in India under tremendous pressure on the British navy.

So Mahdaji Syndiya, the Indian maharaja who had distinguished himself in the Maratha War, saw hope of recovering Salset and striking a blow to the majesty of the British.

"Mahadaji Sindia?" Robert frowned, he had not been back to India in all these years and was very unfamiliar with the name. There was only a faint impression that I had heard from the East India Company when I was drinking and partying with the East India Company's Taipan and staff.

Ten years ago, the Maratha kingdom had placed the Mughal emperor in Delhi under their control, threatening him with a number of privileges and promising to escort him back to the capital. However, soon after, the kingdom was invaded by the succession to the throne, and the British took the opportunity to send troops to north-central India, thus breaking out the Anglo-Maratha War, which continues to this day.

The purpose of the British East India Company, in order to consolidate the position of Mumbai by acquiring certain coastal territories adjacent to Bombay, proposed to the Marathas to cede Salset and Bassein, and to transfer a part of the tax revenues of the counties of Broch and Surat to the British, and sent 2,500 troops to form an alliance with Peshwa, and the coalition army defeated the Maratha government army in Pune at the Arras Plain.

But it was only an early victory, and the 4,000 Anglo-Indian army suffered a humiliating defeat when attacking Pune, the capital of the Marathas. Then there was Warren Hastings' insistence, and the bilateral war was interrupted, and a stalemate has reached the present.

"Robert, you should feel lucky."

"The analysis in this newspaper is generally in our favor. I hope you will send the gold to Bombay and London as soon as possible, and if you can do so, His Majesty will not hesitate to give you a knighthood. And I have a request from the company here, and you must help. ”

As he spoke, Winston took a piece of parchment from his bosom.

"What is this?"

"Battleship Ordering Agreement."

Winston answered Robert's question, his face even more grim, "The company is in dire need of warships. ”

"The Indian fleet suffered heavy losses in successive battles with the French and Dutch, and is in dire need of replenishment. Mumbai's shipyards lacked good dry timber and were under-employed; The production there alone will simply not be enough to replenish so many warships in a short period of time. There is no way, now we have to turn to the Chinese for help. The Chinese are not bad in ship-building technology, and the quality is not bad, although they rarely use oak. ”

"But the important thing is that their naval guns are quite good, cheap, and have their own characteristics in terms of embalming of the bottom of the ship."

Robert nodded in agreement. In India's dire situation, if the mainland cannot send a fleet to support, they can only rely on the Chinese.

Although the proud Chinese have always held on to the old Chinese sailing boats, they are still investing huge manpower, material and financial resources to study how to reasonably match the Chinese hard sail and the Western soft sail, so that the two completely different things can be perfectly integrated, so as to achieve the goal that all the ships with the wind and headwind can sail perfectly. However, they have many medium-sized shipyards that can manufacture Western-style sail merchant ships of more than 1,000 tons, and large shipyards do not need to say more, so naturally they can also manufacture sail warships.