In July 1854, the "Xinzhen" sailed in the South China Sea, which was a brand new four-masted skuna, this kind of sailing ship from North America because of the use of steam lifting devices, it took eight sailors to operate such a 500-700 ton four-masted skuna sailing ship. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info It can be used both for coastal transportation and for trade in various parts of the South Seas.

It was also the first large Western-style sailing ship built at the Whampoa Dockyard, and in the future it will sail on the South Sea route, transporting a wide variety of goods to Vietnam, Luzon, Java and other places, and then bringing goods from these places back to China, and the most important thing in Guangdong is rice from Luzon and Java.

In the wind and waves, the hull of the "Xinzhen" was like a drunk, swaying from side to side, and in the cabin, a young man who was only 21 years old was vomiting incessantly, and even his shirt was stained with vomit.

"My lord, I'll be in Singapore tonight......"

Listening to the sailor's words, Li Xu just nodded weakly, although the sea voyage for several days tormented his body, he was still full of confidence in the next journey,

"I'm sure I'll be able to start a career there......"

Li Xu muttered so in his heart, but in the next moment, as the hull of the ship shook, he once again lay on the head of the bed and vomited......

Brunei City is the capital of the Sultanate of Brunei, this small city is located right next to the Brunei River, forming a wide bay with a wide water surface, on this wide water, there is an area of 2.6 square kilometers of water village, the Italian traveler Anthony Darussalam who sailed with Magellan? Pagata called this place the "Venice of the East". And that small city on the riverside is the city of Brunei.

In such a small city less than a few hundred meters long and wide, who would have thought that at its peak it would be able to rule hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of Borneo, of course, more with the help of religion, for those barbarians in the rainforest of Borneo, although they knew that this land belonged to the Sultan of Brunei, but that was all.

As the consul in Nanyang, Li Xu, who came to Brunei again, could clearly feel that people's eyes on him had changed, although he only brought two attachés, but even so, the people here would still be extremely in awe of this consul, just as they were in awe of Westerners, because the rational ones knew very well that there was a fleet behind him that could defeat Westerners.

Last year, Li Xu came here alone and signed the "Treaty of Amity and Commerce" with Brunei, which was regarded as knocking on the door of Brunei, although he was no stranger to Chinese Brunei, and even in the blood of the Sultan of Brunei, there was also Chinese blood, but for these indigenous people who had not even dared to breathe in the shadow of China, they enjoyed this "equal" treatment for the first time, which made them feel quite flattered, and even together with the Sultan of Oma Ali Saifudin II, he was even more flattered to hold a banquet to celebrate this matter, For them, signing the "Treaty of Amity and Commerce" with China is of course different from that with Western countries such as Britain and the United States, and it even means that to a certain extent, they can be treated equally by China.

Although this equality, which is only psychological, is still a great honor for the Sultanate of Brunei. To their disappointment, however, the consul left Brunei soon after signing the treaty, and after that, the treaty did not seem to have any effect on Brunei, and just when Sultan Omar Ali Saifutin II was almost forgetting the treaty, the news of the defeat of the American fleet by the Chinese fleet came to him, and he was both shocked and taken for granted, after all, China has always been a formidable behemoth in his memory.

It was also in this situation that when Oma Ali Saifutin II received the eunuch's message that Li Xu was coming again, he immediately greeted him personally, which was extremely rare for the Sultan, who was also a religious leader.

"Li Xu, my friend, welcome to you,"

Although he was a little surprised by the personal welcome of Omar Ali Saifudin II, Li Xu still gladly accepted this courtesy, in his opinion, of course, he was not proud of this, after all, there is another matter to be solved in Brunei this time, and whether this matter can be solved is directly related to whether he succeeds in leading Nanyang.

"Hello, Mr. Consul!"

In the hall with an Arabic style, Omar Ali Saifudin II sitting on the throne nodded slightly to Li Xu, as the Sultan of Brunei, he did not step down from the throne because he was the Chinese consul, which is related to his somewhat self-righteous dignity.

"Hello, Your Majesty the Sultan!"

Dressed in a white military-style uniform, Li Xu bent down and bowed.

"You may be seated, Mr. Consul!"

Oma Ali Saifudin II pointed to the white Arabesque chair beside him, although as a sultan, in this day and age, he would not let him stand there and speak, let alone to the consuls of various countries, even to Western merchants.

"Thank you, Your Majesty Sultan!"

In this regard, Li Xu was not polite, although compared to the past "Heavenly Poor" arrogant is far away, but he knows that the kind of superficial arrogance is not beneficial to what he will do here, Western ministers and consuls seem to be polite, but it does not prevent them from smiling and asking for many benefits.

While thanking him, Li Xu's face showed a modest professional smile.

"Your Majesty has been busy for a day, and I'm really sorry to disturb me again."

"How so?"

Omar Ali Saifutin II hurriedly said.

"Your country has been in constant contact with Brunei for hundreds of years, during which the two countries have severed their relations for various reasons, and it is a great pleasure for the King to be able to resume their dealings, and it is a great pleasure to meet His Excellency the Consul......

"Indeed, it is indeed a very happy thing that the two countries can resume exchanges now."

Li Xu hurriedly smiled and said, after a simple politeness, Li Xu put forward his intention straight to the point, and his intention was very simple.

"Your Majesty, the reason why I came to meet His Majesty the Sultan this time is for one thing, and I need to rely on Your Majesty."

"Oh? What's up? ”

Omar Ali Saifutin II looked at the consul in surprise.

"Your Majesty already knows that I have just come from Sulu, where I have signed a treaty with the Sultan of Sulu, according to which the Chinese Nanyang Company will lease the region of North Borneo under its rule at an annual rent of 5,000 silver dollars!"

What the?

Looking at the consul in front of him in amazement, Omar Ali Saifutin II could hardly believe what he was talking about in his ears? Didn't he know that North Borneo belonged to him, at least nominally, to the Sultan of Brunei. Of course, the Sultan of Sulu broke away from Brunei's control decades ago, but North Borneo, at least nominally, belongs to Brunei, although its de facto ruler is the Sultan of Sulu.

"Now that you've signed the treaty, is it necessary to tell me again?"

Can Omar Ali Saifutin II be enthusiastic and immediately cold, with a thick dissatisfaction in his tone, which seemed to him to be some kind of disrespect. Or that the Chinese in front of him don't respect him at all.

"Your Majesty, I have been to Sulu to negotiate trade with them, and they have offered to offer us a lease of land as an anchorage for merchant ships."

Feel the dissatisfaction in the other person's tone. Li Xu's face did not change, and his heart continued without a beat.

"In view of the friendship between our two countries, I think it is necessary to inform Your Majesty on your return journey, and at the same time hope that Your Majesty will confirm this treaty that we have signed with the Sultan of Sulu."

What did he say to confirm the treaty?

Surprised, Omar Ali Saifudin II realized the meaning of the other party's words, and when he said that the confirmation of the treaty was actually the recognition of Wenlai's rule over North Borneo. Even the confirmation of suzerainty over the Sultan of Sulu is actually equivalent to giving him enough face. Where there is a hint of contempt.

"If I could, I would like to be able to sign a new treaty with His Majesty on the lease of North Borneo on behalf of the Nanyang Company, and of course we cannot give more in terms of annuities."

In fact, in the past few months, Li Xu has been learning from the British, how to be them, how to open up colonies, and how to deal with natives. This is something he has to learn, and the biggest characteristic of dealing with indigenous people is to take advantage of their contradictions. Now it's an attempt.

Li Xu did not go to Sulu at all, so it was naturally impossible to sign a treaty with the Sultan of Sulu to lease North Borneo. And the reason why he said this was to take advantage of the contradictions between Brunei and Sulu, and then achieve his own goal, which was to lease North Borneo. The reason why they dare to deceive like this is very simple, in addition to the inherent contradictions between the two, more importantly, there is not much connection between them.

"This ......"

In the face of Li Xu's request, Omar Ali Saifudin II could not help but hesitate, although in his opinion, the whole of Borneo was literary, but in fact, North Borneo has been ruled by the Sultan of Sulu for decades. But he didn't care about the Sultan of Sulu, he thought about another problem, now Borneo has the Dutch, the British took Kuching a few years ago, and now the Chinese are here again.

Should it be accepted or should it be rejected?

But can you refuse again? What can they do with the treaty they have signed with the Sultan of Sulu, since they do not have their own recognition? How could they stop them from entering North Borneo? At least now I saved my face.

Weighing it like this in his heart, Omar Ali Saifutin II looked at Li Xu and said with a smile.

"For the treaty you signed with the Sultan of Sulu. Of course, the king will not object, Brunei has been in contact with China for hundreds of years, and this friendship is naturally not measured by money. So this annual amount ......"

Omar Ali Saifutin II held out a finger.

"One dollar a year!" (To be continued.) )