"Rosewood? You're talking about rosewood, the kind of wood used to make furniture? Wickham exclaimed, who doesn't know the famous Ming Dynasty rosewood furniture in later generations? The auction price of a complete set of Ming Dynasty rosewood furniture can't even be beaten at 50 million! In addition to the fact that Ming Dynasty furniture is a collectible antique, because the raw materials used to create this furniture have been cut down in the Ming Dynasty, there is no possibility of new wood appearing at all.

The main production areas of rosewood are the Malay Peninsula and the Philippines, and a small amount of production is also produced in Yunnan and Hainan in China. This type of wood is quite dense, so it will sink immediately when put into water, and it is not ideal for shipbuilding. However, because rosewood has a purple-black tone, is slightly aromatic, deep and quaint, and has beautiful backlines and stripes, it is an excellent raw material for making high-end furniture and carving.

In the Ming Dynasty, the royal family favored this kind of furniture made of wood, so the large-scale harvesting of rosewood began, and in just a few decades, the rosewood in China was cut down. In order to ensure the supply of the imperial family, the Ming Dynasty began to send officials to Nanyang to purchase rosewood, which also led to a devastating blow to the rosewood trees in Nanyang. Later, the Qing court also sent envoys to Nanyang to purchase rosewood, but they basically returned empty-handed.

"Brother Zihan, this big deal is indeed rosewood." Zhang Mingxia was also taken aback by Wickham's reaction, thinking that even Yi people knew rosewood, which was really strange. Although rosewood is very valuable in China, in the eyes of most Europeans, it is just a special kind of wood, and it is not precious at all. And Wickham's reaction is obviously to know the value of rosewood, which is also the strange thing about Zhang Mingxia.

Wickham shook his head and said in a skeptical tone: "Didn't the rosewood in Liangguang, including the entire South Seas, have been harvested in the Ming Dynasty, how can it still be now?" ”

The growth cycle of red sandalwood is very long, only about three centimeters thick every 100 years, and it takes nearly 1,000 years to reach maturity. Now it is only more than a hundred years from the fall of the Ming Dynasty, if you want to become a talent in the red sandalwood of Nanyang, you have to wait at least until 2600 AD, where is there any red sandalwood business to do now!

Faced with Wickham's questioning, Zhang Mingxia was unimpressed and said, "Brother Zihan, what you said is too absolute. A few years ago, the dog had sent envoys to Burma to look for mature rosewood forests, but unfortunately there was no gain. In order to curry favor with the Qing court, the Sultan of Kelantan, Longyonos, began to search his territory for mature rosewood forests, and found a small patch. When Sultan Longyunos excitedly transported this batch of timber to Burma, he found that the envoys of the Qing court had been gone for more than two months, so this batch of rosewood was temporarily stored in Burma. ”

This Sultan Longyounos is really unlucky, but according to the tributary system of the Qing court, Longyounos can offer rosewood as a tribute when paying tribute in the coming year, is this rosewood still there?

As if seeing Wickham's question, Zhang Mingxia did not continue to sell Guanzi, but said bluntly: "Later, the Yiren on Penang and Burma broke out several wars, and the Burmese army was beaten to the point that they lost their armor, and those rosewood became part of the spoils of war, and was transported to betel nut for sale by the Yi people. Slowly, the governor of Penang did not care, and sealed a whole hundred and fifty rosewood in the storehouse. ”

Hearing this, Wickham felt a burst of ecstasy in his heart, this is simply the kind of pie that smashes on his head, and he can pick up money on the ground by bending down.

"There won't be pie in the sky!" After Wickham secretly recited this sentence in his heart a few times, he said to Zhang Mingxia: "After these rosewood trees are transported to Guangzhou, it is a huge wealth that is insane. With all due respect, there are a lot of merchant ships in Penang, and if you can contact the overseas Chinese in Nanyang, it is not difficult to send these things back to the Qing Kingdom. But such an easy and profitable business, Brother Mingxia, why do you want to hand it over to me, in other words, why do you Hongmen want me to take such a benefit? ”

Zhang Mingxia was very surprised by Wickham's rhetorical question, because Wickham did not look jubilant under the heavy profits, but was old and serious, and saw the essence of the problem.

At this time, Zhang Mingxia no longer regarded Wickham as an ordinary Yiren, and said solemnly: "Brother Zihan is really fast-talking, what you said is really good, this business can be eaten by ourselves with our Hongmen's power in Nanyang." But we Hongmen would not do such a thing on our own, for three reasons. First of all, Brother Zihan is the benefactor under him, without your rescue, I am still a slave without personal freedom, Hongmen has always taken the word 'righteousness' first, and it is not my Zhang Mingxia's character to repay kindness. ”

Hongmen was famous for his righteousness during the Republic of China, but Wickham did not doubt this, and asked directly: "What about the second?"

"This is the second time, no Chinese can afford this business. The Qing court's customs office in Guangzhou had long been rotten to the roots, and most of the goods transported to Guangzhou by overseas Chinese in Nanyang would be troubled by the officials of the Guangdong customs. If these rosewood trees are transported back by overseas Chinese, they may be intercepted by Guangdong Customs and sent directly to the palace. But you Yi people are different, the current imperial court regards face as more important than anything, and will never do anything to rob the goods of Yi merchants. ”

This is a bit similar to the later generations of China, those red second and third generations in the capital, they will meddle in whatever industry makes money, and many private enterprises have to let these vampires take shares in their own enterprises in order to protect themselves. But these second and third generations are also arrogant to the Chinese, and never dare to go to foreign companies to play prestige, ask for benefits, and even send a lot of preferential conditions to those who give foreigners. This has caused most national enterprises to struggle in domestic operations, while foreign companies are crazy to make money in China, which is really strange.

"Third, Ming people don't say secret words, this is also for the sake of Brother Zihan's identity." Zhang Mingxia can say it so bluntly, it can be seen that his attitude towards Wickham is also very frank. "After coming to Penang, I found that your guns are sharp, especially those big ships of two or three thousand materials, with more than sixty red-coated cannons on them, and the tattered guns of the Qing court sailors are completely incomparable to yours. Brother Zihan, since you are this Franco...... Oh...... British officers, there must be a way to get some guns, guns and artillery. With these things, we will definitely be able to get twice the result with half the effort when we do things in Guangzhou City! ”

Wickham shook his head with a wry smile and said, "Brother Mingxia, you think too highly of me. Let's not say that I am just a captain officer in the UK, which is equivalent to a commander of the green battalion of the Qing court, and I don't have the energy to get weapons for you at all. Secondly, the British army had a complete system of management for firearms, and it was impossible to say that one or two guns were to be resold in large quantities. ”

It has been half a year since he joined the army, and Wickham also has a certain understanding of the British army at the end of the eighteenth century, and if he wants to work on ordnance and materials, only a logistics officer can possibly do it. In the case of combat troops, unless they are in a combat state, they will not be able to explain the whereabouts of the ordnance that has been corrupted by ink. He doesn't occupy any of them now, so he doesn't even think about such a 'business'.

Zhang Mingxia looked a little disappointed, but still said politely: "So that's the case, but I'm embarrassed by Brother Zihan." In that case, we will not mention the matter of armaments, and this transaction will be run by you, and it can be regarded as my reward for your salvation. ”

Wickham is not hypocritical, and agreed without prevarication, after all, it is a fool not to make money, he is not the kind of saint who has money like dung, and he can take the money with peace of mind.

Remembering Zhang Mingxia's plan to raise an event in Guangzhou, Wickham decided to persuade him: "Brother Mingxia, I am not optimistic about your plan to raise an event in Guangzhou, even if you have artillery and guns, it will also fail. ”

It's not that Wickham is troublesome, it's that he doesn't want the righteous people in Hongmen who insist on opposing the Qing Dynasty to make senseless sacrifices. Wickham was a nationalist at heart, and he also wanted the Han people to stand up and overthrow the Manchu rule. But the current Qing court is not the empty shell that lost control of the local area later, and its control over the local area is quite powerful, and now to rebel can only be to send it to death.

Listening to Wickham's words, Zhang Mingxia was a little unhappy: "Brother Zihan, you have never been to China, how do you know that we will definitely fail." "Except for a few missionaries working for the royal family, few foreigners today are able to go to the heart of China, and they do not know much about the local conditions. But Wickham is a full Chinese, although he has not been to the Qing Dynasty two hundred years ago, but he has read the history books.

Clearing his throat, Wickham persuaded: "Qianlong just put down the rebellion in Xinjiang two years ago, and his prestige is high, and the army's combat effectiveness is also strong. How many people can you muster, and how much combat power can you have? Guangzhou is an important place for the Qing court, if you succeed in capturing the city of Guangzhou, the Qing court will definitely mobilize a large army to suppress it, can you resist the counterattack of the Qing army? ”

It's not that Zhang Mingxia hasn't thought about this, it's just that the high-level leaders of Hongmen are determined to start an incident in Guangzhou, how much weight can he say with a red critic from an outer hall? "Brother Zihan, you're right, our current strength is not enough to shake the rule of the Qing court. But even if the result is a failure, we don't regret it. I hope that the blood of our Hongmen can arouse the awakening of more Han people and dare to resist the rule of foreign races. ”

Wickham sighed, disagreeing with Zhang's idea. Tan Sitong, who changed the law in later generations, also once said that he hoped that his blood could awaken the people's consciousness of changing the law and trying to become stronger, but unfortunately this was just the wishful thinking of just an intellectual. The same problem exists in China under Qianlong's rule now.

After more than a hundred years of continuous slaughter and enslavement, whether out of fear or practical considerations, the Chinese have developed the mentality of submitting to the rule of the Qing Dynasty, and even some intellectuals have begun to regard the Manchurian Tatars as orthodox and willingly defend them. Moreover, because of the promotion of high-yield crops, the Chinese people can at least have enough to eat, which is doomed to the lack of a popular base in the Hongmen uprising.

Suddenly, a bold idea appeared in Wikeham's mind, which was much more feasible than rebelling in Huaxia, and said: "Brother Mingxia, I have an idea, I don't know whether to talk about it or not. Through the conversation just now, Zhang Mingxia had initially agreed with Wickham, so he said: "Brother Zihan can say anything directly." ”

Wickham paused and said, "Instead of staring at the Central Plains, Hongmen should shift his gaze to Nanyang." There are also many Chinese in Nanyang, especially Manila and Batavia, who are not only numerous, but also control the lifeblood of the local economy, and mobilizing these people is a considerable force. If you can establish a real Han country in Nanyang, then the Han people's clothing and Chinese etiquette, which have disappeared for more than 100 years, can also be fully restored. ”

During the Qing Dynasty, the Chinese once established the Republic of Lanfang in Southeast Asia, but later lacked weapons and ammunition and was jointly exterminated by several European colonial powers.

Zhang Mingxia hesitated a little: "Brother Zihan, I'm afraid this is impossible." In a country like yours, which is a newcomer to England, has such a strong army and sailor, not to mention the Francois who have been entrenched in Manila and Batavia for more than two hundred years, Hongmen simply does not have a strong army to seize these places. ”

If there had not been a large-scale war in Europe, then Zhang Mingxia's analysis would have been correct. Now that the European powers have reached the first anti-French alliance, no one knows that this will be a protracted war that will last for more than two decades, with the old colonial empires such as Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands severely weakened and their control over the colonies much less than before.

"Brother Mingxia may not know much about the situation in the Europa continent, so let's solve the confusion of Brother Mingxia. Now the continent of Europa is in chaos, and most European countries are busy besieging France's revolutionary exports. And the Netherlands, which controls Batavia, is too close to France to even have problems surviving in the next year, so how can it take care of this colony thousands of miles away? After the Netherlands is occupied by France, it will be your chance to conquer the gates. ”

"Luzon, which is under the control of Spain and Europe, is a bit tricky, but it's not without opportunities. This war in Europe will definitely affect Spain, and your task before the chaos in Spain is to gather strength in Batavia and wait for the right time. After you take control of Luzon and Indonesia, and then develop for a few more decades, your strength is not necessarily worse than that of the Qing court. ”

It's just a rough sketch, and Wickham hasn't had time to refine the details, so it's a bit rough. In 1794, the French defeated the anti-French coalition and brought the revolution to the Netherlands, and the newly formed Dutch Republic became a vassal state of France, and its control over the East Indies would be reduced exponentially.

As for Spain, when Napoleon's army entered the Iberian Peninsula, everything would be solved, and the mainland would be too busy to take care of itself, and who would care about the colonies in the Philippines?

After listening to Wickham's analysis, Zhang Mingxia's eyes lit up: "If Brother Zihan is Chinese, I must pull you to join Hongmen." But I don't understand one thing, Brother Zihan is a British officer, why do you want to give advice to my Hongmen? If we succeed, the benefits of your maritime trade in the South Seas will definitely be harmed. ”

This is also where Zhang Mingxia has always been puzzled, but now that he has said it openly and honestly, he is relieved.

Because I'm also Chinese! But Wickham didn't dare to say this, and no one believed it, so he had to explain from another angle: "At present, our British energy is mainly focused on Tianzhu, and our interest in Nanyang is not very large. Moreover, trade in the South Seas had been monopolized by Spain, the Netherlands, and Portugal for three hundred years, and the more chaotic the South Seas, the easier it was to break such a monopoly. To put it mildly, Britain needs you-stirring sticks to confuse the water in the South Seas. Wickham believes that only the more straightforward and utilitarian he is, the more likely Zhang Mingxia is to trust him.

As soon as Wickham said this, Zhang Mingxia really relieved: "Although Brother Zihan, you persuaded me, let's talk about this matter later, after all, Hongmen is not my final say." ”

Wickham breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and Zhang Mingxia's relief showed that there was a drama in this matter!

PS: At that time, with the strength of the Chinese in Batavia and Manila, it was completely possible to take advantage of the decline of the Netherlands to be occupied by the French, and establish a real Chinese state in Indonesia and the Philippines.