Jensen and others from New England, in order to reach the Tang Republic, can be said to have gone through a lot of hardships, they experienced a lot of difficulties, such as the ship encountered a storm, was attacked by unfriendly locals, encountered the extortion of Mexican colonial officials, etc., but finally went through more than five months of sailing, sailing, across the east and west coasts of Mexico, arrived at the legendary smuggling port of Vallarta to the Tang Dynasty. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Jensen was also visiting this West Coast port for the first time, which was obviously a busy port, and due to the increasing unilateral smuggling between Datang and Mexico, a large number of Mexicans who wanted to make a fortune flocked to the port of Long Beach.

"Is this boxy sailboat a sailboat made by the Tang people? Sure enough, it's very different from the man-made ships in Europe, and it looks like a strange sail? Are these sailing ships all Tang Chinese? Jensen asked a Mexican Lifu in the harbor with some curiosity.

The Mexican said, "That's right, we call this kind of boat a flat-headed boat, and it was made by the Tang people." However, in Vallarta, not all flathead boats are Don owners. In Vallarta, many smugglers made a fortune, and many of them made a lot of money by relying on a single business, and then they rented flat-headed ships of varying tonnage in the Tang Republic, although these ships were not fast, but they were easy to learn and operate, and required very few people. I heard of a Mexican family with eight men in two generations renting a two-masted sailing ship, and it was enough for the whole family to go into battle to steer the sailboat, and there was no need for dozens or hundreds of sailors. The family did two trades in Datang, each time to sell some local products, occasionally sell some ores and dyes or something, and then brought back all the strange things of Datang. The family quickly bought the boat, and also bought a manor in the inland provinces, planning to grow coffee beans or something to sell in Datang! ”

Jensen, who was already a businessman, was surprised by the staggering profits of the trade between the Tang Dynasty and Mexico, but he had ample opportunity to learn the inside story of the Tang trade, and he asked, "Then why don't the people who make money buy faster European sailing ships, such as the Galen?" ”

"You're a foreigner and you don't know what it's like in New Spain," said the Mexican. The entire colony of New Spain where ships could be built was concentrated on the east coast of Cuba and Mexico, and it cost a lot of money to build a ship, and it was even more troublesome to buy a ship by a private person, and it was impossible to buy a sailboat in Vallarta. Of course, I think there are many reasons why smugglers buy China's sailboats. The price of selling ships in the Tang Dynasty is relatively favorable, and they are all existing ships. In addition, although the flat-headed boat of the Tang people sailed slowly, it had a large belly, a lot of loading, and there were fewer people who needed to control it, which was more labor-saving. It's not a long distance from Vallarta to Long Beach, and there are no big winds and waves, so a flathead boat is the most suitable. ”

Dearborn also asked curiously: "So do the Tang people have a lot of sailing boats for sale and rental?" ”

The Mexican, who had taken Jensen's advantage and said everything, said: "Yes, there are a lot of them, I once had the privilege of following a merchant to Long Beach, where I saw at least a hundred flat-headed sailboats, which are said to be brought by the immigrants when they came to Jiazhou, and now they are not very useful, so I want to find a use." Smugglers have little capital, and they usually buy smaller ones, and I have seen galleons with a tonnage of more than 1,000 long tons in Long Beach, like warships, and there are a lot of them, but no one can afford them. I heard that Silva and several other bosses are pooling money to buy a 1,000-ton galleon to use for business. ”

John Jay asked, "What is the origin of this man named Silva?" ”

The Mexican, with the expression of the right question, said: "Boss Silva is the richest and most powerful smuggler in Vallarta." In fact, Vallarta's situation today is all due to the creation of this boss. A year ago, he was just a shabby and didn't have much money, but then he got a boat and ran to the port of Long Beach to do business with the Tang. There was no official trade between the Tang Dynasty and New Spain, and the Tang people were eager to do business with neighboring New Spain, so they were very supportive of smugglers. As the first person to eat crabs, Silva also received help from the Don, and even the Don lent him a sum of money, and the boss ran a few trips of business, earning at least hundreds of thousands of livres, and now has two more sailing ships under his name. ”

John Jie nodded and said, "So this Silva has something to do with the official Tang people?" ”

"That's what it should look like."

John Jay said to Jensen and Dearborn: "It seems that we should contact this guy named Silva, if they are willing to help us, we may be able to contact the upper echelons of the Tang Republic more easily." ”

Jensen nodded, and at this time, Dearborn pointed out the window of the inn and said, "That one looks like an Indian, but he is dressed a little strangely, isn't it a Tang man?" ”

It was an Oriental of medium stature, wearing a shirt and a pair of jeans.

The Mexican took one look and said, "That's right, it must be the Tang people, look at the clothes they wear, the cut is simple, and most of them are sturdy and used, and they have short hair." ”

"I thought they wore braids like women," said Dearborn. ”

The Mexican laughed and said, "It's all rumors." ”

"Then let's just go to this Tang man and explain what we mean!" Dearborn shouted.

John Jay was a little calmer, and he asked the Mexican: "Do you know this Tang man, and what is his identity?" ”

Mexican: "How can I know so many Tang people, but it seems that he should be from the Tang people's own smuggling fleet." It is said that the fleet of the Don people had an official background and was supported by the government. ”

John Jie said: "Then look for him, even if he is at a low level, he can find his superiors again." ”

The three chased them outside the inn, and Jensen greeted the Tang man in Spanish, but soon they found that the chicken was talking to the duck. This Don doesn't speak much Spanish, and he doesn't know any other foreign languages. Jensen and the others could only make difficult gestures, he took out a bag of silver coins, pointed to the sky, and seemed to want to say that he should help find some superior.

The moment Jensen took out the money, the Tang man's face seemed to change, not excited, but frightened. Jensen was puzzled, and the Mexican next to him hurriedly explained: "You can't use money to bribe the Tang people, it is said that the Tang people have very strict laws in China, and accepting money from foreigners for no reason, or receiving benefits from others within their positions, will be arrested and imprisoned." When I was in the port of Long Beach, a businessman tried to bribe the tax officer of the port, but he was directly reported, not only was he blacklisted, but the tax rate on all goods was increased punitively, and the Tang people are very serious! ”

In fact, the employee of this international trade company also wanted money, but if such a bag of money was withdrawn like this, it would definitely be discovered, and he couldn't understand what the other party meant. The international trade company belongs to the type of public target, up and down I don't know how many eyes are staring. The cost of accepting bribes is too high, and once someone is found to have taken bribes or engaged in favoritism, they will be immediately dismissed and held accountable. In fact, the international trade company is definitely the most profitable company in the Tang Republic, even if most of the profits are handed over to the state, but the salary of each employee is extremely high. Losing your job for a little bribe is obviously not cost-effective.

There was no way, Jensen and the others could only follow the employee all the way to the port, where there was a merchant ship of the International Trade Company, and Jensen also met a person who could communicate.

"I heard you're from the Thirteen Colonies?" The head of the merchant ship was a man in his thirties, with glasses and a somewhat bloated figure, but he had a good aura.

The three of Jensen were pleasantly surprised, and Dearborn said, "Do you speak English?" ”

Guo Shuda, a middle-level cadre of the International Trade Company, used to be a small businessman who went to Africa to do business on the Changmao Ship, and his expression was as usual, and he said: "This is nothing, we Tang people have been in contact with people from many countries at sea. ”

John Jay said: "But we have not heard of any rumors of people meeting Orientals at sea. ”

Guo Shuda didn't care, and said: "That's not something I know, okay gentlemen, you have come all the way from New England to Vallarta, there must be something important, please tell me, if you can, I am willing to help you." ”

Jensen and the others felt that although Guo Shuda looked very bland, he was still very enthusiastic, and this attitude was satisfactory.

"Yes, sir, the New England colonies have always been oppressed and bullied by the British government, and our people are finally royal, but in exchange for only the treatment of slaves, when our people fight for their legitimate rights, the British have brutally aimed guns at us. For our survival, the people of the Thirteen Colonies took up arms, fought against the brutal British army, and fought for our rights. It's just that our people are not well armed and do not have much military experience, so they suffered a lot when fighting the British. We have heard that on the west coast of the continent, immigrants from the East have established their own republics, which makes us envious and admire. Moreover, the Tang Republic has advanced weapons and a strong army, we hope that the Tang Republic can help New England and help us fight the British, the people of New England are willing to establish a deep friendship with the Tang people, and we will not forget the help and kindness of the Tang Dynasty. ”

When Guo Shuda heard this, he was both surprised but not particularly surprised, when he saw the "Americans" coming from afar, he already had a general guess, so Guo Shuda said: "I am very sympathetic to your situation, so let's go back to Los Angeles with me and report your situation to our government, and our government should be very willing to help you." ”