Within two days, the British merchants in the harbor were circulating the alarming news that all the officers of the Separate Company of the Marine Corps had made a fortune in the war with the Moshees! The total value of the gold and diamonds that were looted and looted was no less than 200,000 pounds, and in addition to thousands of strong black slaves!

Many people are skeptical about this news. For they felt that the three hundred men of the marines and Hessian mercenaries were not enough to defeat the barbaric Mossi and take their royal city. Those who heard the news reacted merely, because in their opinion, what if the Marines grabbed a million pounds of treasure? It doesn't have anything to do with them anyway.

But more people were full of undisguised jealousy and eye fever for the officers of the four Marine Corps. If it weren't for the fact that Wickham and the other officers were accompanied by guards when they came and went, maybe the people who would have been blinded by money would have taken the risk of tying them up! In any case, the marines who participated in this campaign became the hottest topic in Ghana, and even compared the United Kingdom of Britain's mission to the Qing Empire.

At the tavern of the English Ghanaian Fort, a captain dressed as a big nose, picked up a glass of beer, poured it down, and then said to the person sitting next to him: "Hey man, is there any big news on the Gold Coast lately?" ”

The man glanced at the big-nosed captain with some contempt, and asked, "Mr. Captain, you have only recently come to Ghana, haven't you?" ”

Captain Big Nose gave the man a blank look, and his tone was slightly puzzled: "That's true, my ship and I are going to Calcutta, Indian cotton cloth is very popular in European countries, I want to try my luck in the past." What's wrong, is there anything wrong with that? ”

"No wonder you don't know anything about the biggest news in Ghana right now, and now no one in Ghana knows that the Marines who followed the mission to China made a fortune, and it was said to be gold and diamonds worth up to 200,000 pounds." While chatting with Captain Big Nose, the sailor slapped the tavern's buttocks and laughed lewdly. The hostess winked at the sailor in a charming manner, then walked away with her plump ass.

"My God, man, you're not kidding! I can't imagine how much £200,000 is a fortune to buy the whole of Jacomes' Palace. I heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Wales has an annual annuity of only 50,000 pounds. The captain shook his right hand in fright, and the beer in his cup spilled over the table. Two hundred thousand pounds, my good boy, can buy twenty-five ocean-going merchant ships!

"Sir, what do you know most of the Gold Coast?" The sailor, who was in the know, did not directly answer Captain Bignose's words after hearing Captain Bignose's questioning words, but asked rhetorically with some displeasure.

"Slaves?" Captain Big Nose replied tentatively. In the whole European trading circle, who did not know that Ghana was the cheapest "source" of black slaves, and many Liverpool slave traders liked to "buy" here before traveling to the New World of America.

"It's silver, gold and diamonds! Otherwise, how could this place be called the Gold Coast? To tell you the truth, the officers of the Marine Corps have emptied all the palaces of the Mossi, and the gold and silver treasures of the Mossi Tuwang alone are enough to load dozens of carts! The sailor triumphantly described to Captain Bignose the return of the army to the fort as if he were the one who had made the fortune. The sailor was glad he was able to see that scene at the time, and it was enough for him to relish, many years later.

"Oh my God, these damn butchers, I don't know how many people they killed to grab these gold and silver treasures!" Captain Big Nose was a little indignant, why is it that these days of serious business, the speed of making money is often not as fast as these damn robbers! Damn pirates, slave traders, and colonial officers are in the business of nothing, and often a penniless guy becomes rich in money after a round in the colony.

"Come on, man. Who wouldn't want to be a robber if they had the chance? Judas could have betrayed the Jesus he had followed for a few gold coins, let alone 200,000 pounds! If Satan can afford to pay £200,000, I don't mind being Satan's servant. The sailor drank too much wine, and began to speak boldly. But how many of the people who go overseas to earn a living are devout believers?

Captain Big-Nose shook his head and sighed at the decline of the world, which caused a burst of laughter from several prostitutes and drinkers next to him. A scantily clad girl, smiling and sitting on the lap of the big-nosed captain, said with a coquettish smile: "Mr. Captain, it is the duty of the monks to purify the world for God, we just need to enjoy this happy time." ”

Captain Big Nose put down his wine glass and groped his hands dishonestly on the girl's body: "Or the beauty is right, who cares about that damn Marine and two hundred thousand pounds, anyway, it doesn't matter if I'm fine, hehe......"

Of course, these tavern jokes are exaggerated versions, and in this age when there is no Internet and television, people are also happy to process what they hear and then tell others about it, which is also a kind of entertainment. In fact, the things that the Marines grabbed in King Moxie this time were not as many as 200,000 pounds, and including those small diamonds and ivory, they were sold for a little more than 160,000 pounds.

Wickham didn't want to take the heavy stuff on the road, so he sold the gold and diamonds to the Royal African Trading Company at a price of 20% below the market price, which was considered a good sale for Fritz Mellon.

Remembering the dumbfounded look of Director Fritz Mellon when he heard the news, Wickham felt the urge to snicker. At that time, Director Fritz Mellon promised Wickham that all the spoils of the operation would go to the Marine Corps Independent Company. He must not have imagined that a temporary motley army would be able to break through the royal city of the Mossi people and move the treasury of the Mossi Tuwang to the bottom!

But Fritz Mellon, a member of the board of directors of the Royal African Trading Company and one of the wealthy businessmen in London, did not bother to talk for the money. So Mr. Mellon was very happy to help the independent company of the Marine Corps and dispose of some of the trophies. In response to Fritz Mellon's kindness, Wickham gave the 800 newly captured slaves to the Royal African Trading Company for free, and he did not have the leisure to auction off the slaves.

After Wickham got the money, Aven, Bert, Barnett and Captain Stanley each received £15,000. As the supreme commander of the coalition forces and the initiator of the operation, Wickham received £30,000. The Marines and Hessian mercenaries who participated in the war each received ten Gini gold coins, which was already a huge amount of money for ordinary soldiers, enough to cover their salaries for more than a year.

In addition, Wickham gave the captains of the four ships of the fleet, five hundred pounds per bank cashier's check from the Bank of England. Those naval officers didn't expect Wickham to think about them, and they had a better impression of this young Marine officer, and even their attitude towards the Marine Corps, who they didn't want to see, improved. In particular, the captain of the "Encouragement" originally treated Ensign Ai Wen with a face and a nose instead of a nose, but now his attitude has changed a hundred and eighty degrees, and he has become polite to Ai Wen. Evan H, this kid is secretly refreshed, and he admires Wickham's behavior even more.

The remaining 60,000 pounds, Wickham took the initiative to give to the **oss Lord Magalny and Baron Stedon from the mission. In fact, Wickham is also quite painful, these guys have not even been on the battlefield, and they have to divide nearly one-third of the entire money, which is really unreasonable. However, Lord Magalny is very influential in domestic politics and is a direct boss of Wickham, so naturally he has to share in the benefits.

Lord Margarny didn't really care about the £30,000 profit, but Wickham's move undoubtedly showed his attitude, which made him feel very comfortable. After all, most superiors want their subordinates to be under their control, and Lord Magalny is no exception.

Of course, the benefits of this are obvious, and Lord Magalny has promised Wickham that he will recommend to the Admiralty an early promotion of his rank in a report sent back home. Because a lieutenant officer commanding a company is really a bit unjustifiable. At that time, because there was really no one to find, Colonel Aldrich asked Lin Zihan to form a company with the rank of lieutenant.

Although Lord Margarny was very polite, Wickham knew that Lord Margarny was not only for the sake of the pound, but also because of his nephew, Barnett Burke. Because only Wickham's rank was promoted, Barnett, as a subordinate, had enough reason to be promoted.

For future promotion, Wickham is still a little excited, after all, Chinese have a kind of official-oriented thinking, and Wickham is naturally not exempt from vulgarity. Moreover, in Britain at this time, a well-educated young man who did not belong to the aristocratic class could only join the army or run for parliament if he wanted to achieve a high social status.

If Wickham can make a name for himself in the army, he may also be able to get an audience and an award from His Majesty the King, which can be regarded as stepping into the upper class of London. For example, more than ten years later, Viscount Nelson and the Duke of Wellington relied on their outstanding performance in the anti-French war, which was knighted by King George and entered the upper class.

The mission has been in the port of Ghana for more than a week, the ships of the fleet have been overhauled and maintained, and the time has come for the mission to depart. If you delay too much time here, the currents and wind direction will be very unfavorable for the rest of the voyage.

Sitting in the officers' lounge of the barracks, Wickham decided to write a long letter to Alice, who was still studying at St. Margaret's College. For the little girl who has always relied on and trusted him, Wickham has a certain amount of guilt. Although Wickham was nominally Alice's guardian, he came to the East alone, leaving Alice alone in England, and he was not a qualified guardian.

Thinking of Alice, who has been pestering him to tell stories, Wickham's heart has also become soft. He picked up his pen and wrote a long letter, and insisted that if Alice had any problems, she could ask Georgiana Darcy from the same school as her for help.

After thinking about it, Wickham enclosed the envelope with a cashier's check from the Bank of England for three hundred pounds, and "Alice in Wonderland" that he wrote on the boat to pass the time, which must be very attractive to a twelve-year-old girl.

After writing the letter, Wickham held a thick stack of Fritz Mellon's Bank of England cashier's checks, and only felt that life was impermanent. When he first came to this world, he was still a penniless ** silk youth, and in the blink of an eye, he had such a fortune of 30,000 pounds!

You know, even the Darcy family, who own most of Derbyshire, earns about £10,000 a year in rent. In this way, he is now a rich man who is not too big or small. Perhaps, after returning from the Celestial Empire, Wickham will be able to buy a manor in the southern countryside of England, and then take Alice over and hunt and fish every day, which is really desirable. Of course, it would be better if there was a mistress in the manor, so that Wickham would be considered a meritorious person in this world.

It's just that why the imaginary hostess turned her head to be Georgiana Darcy, who she hadn't seen for a long time! Wickham felt a chill in his gut, this body is twenty-two years old, and Georgiana is only fifteen years old, could it be that his heart has always been a lolita?

Wickham shook his head, shaking the strange thought out of his head. It's just that what he didn't realize was that under the influence of his predecessor's body memory, Gao Yuanyuan's impression in his mind became weaker and weaker, and the image of the innocent, romantic and stubborn Georgiana appeared more and more in his mind.

Wickham thought to himself that since he had asked Georgiana to take care of Alice, it made sense that he should write a letter to greet him and express his gratitude. Of course, this was just an excuse that Wickham had come up with to write to Georgiana.

Thinking about it this way, Wickham can be regarded as having crossed the hurdle in the hearts of the two, no longer having the previous entanglement, picked up the pen and wrote a long letter, and then rattled the bell to a soldier to deliver the letter to the captain of a merchant ship that was about to return to England. In the days when there was no radio, cell phone, and the Internet, communication was based on thin pieces of stationery. Especially overseas, if you want to carry a letter to the country, you have to run into a ship that happens to be returning home.

Just then, Bert, dressed in military uniform, walked in and said to Wickham, "Sir, the fleet will depart in two hours. ”

Wickham got up, put on his triangular hat, and nodded, "Well, let's go." ”