On September 25, 1792, the 57th year of Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, Portsmouth Harbour, England.

Not long after the fog in the early morning port had dissipated, the red sun slowly rose from the sea level, full of vigor and vitality like Great Britain, a maritime empire emerging around the world. Flocks of white seagulls, from time to time, hovered back and forth between the towering masts, and let out a cry with the smell of the sea.

On a stone trestle in the harbor, a fleet of five ships, large and small, is moored. The flagship of the fleet was the third-class battleship "Lion" with 64 guns, and the other two warships, "Encouragement" and "Jackal", were fast cruisers with only one gun deck. The "Hindustan" and "Clarence" are ocean-going merchant ships under the East India Company, which are responsible for loading the birthday gifts from King George III of England to Emperor Qianlong, including the planetary orbiter of the latest astronomical achievements in Europe, and the Watt steam engine, which represents the most cutting-edge industrial power equipment in Britain.

On the trestle, Lin Zihan looked up at the nearly fifty-meter-high mast of the "Lion" and the dense gun windows on the side of the ship, and couldn't help but be deeply shocked by the war monsters of this era. A warship of this level should be regarded as the strongest warship in the Far East at this time! And there were almost forty such third-class battleships in Britain, and even more large and small cruisers and frigates. What is ridiculous is that the current Qing Dynasty is addicted to its own fantasy of the "prosperous era of Kangqian" and cannot extricate itself, and it has never imagined that the other side of the earth is taking place a major change in production with the most profound impact in human history.

The sailors on the docks were busy going back and forth, loading the five ships with ammunition, fresh water, and supplies, among other things, the officers' large bags of luggage and personal collections. It is said that the life of middle and senior naval officers in this era is really not ordinary luxury.

Take the "Lion" as an example, the captain's quarters, officers' dining room and lounge at the stern are all inlaid with large carved glass windows, and the abundant light makes the entire cabin space look very bright. In the exclusive area of these officers, the floors are covered with ornate Haussmann carpets, the furniture is in the latest style of Rococo in Paris, the walls are adorned with paintings full of the idyllic taste of the English countryside, and even in the captain's quarters of Colonel Aldrich, there is a small library! This is simply not a service at sea, but a vacation at sea!

In stark contrast to the squalid and crowded living conditions of the sailors. They didn't even have a bed, they just hung an uncomfortable hammock in the lower cabin, and really "slept with the cannon", and even the usual meals were on the small table next to the cannon.

The most nobleman of the Magalny, he unceremoniously led important members of the mission to the flagship of the fleet, the Lion. Colonel Aldrich was very knowledgeable and immediately gave up his captain's quarters to Lord Margarny, and he himself lived in the ordinary officers' quarters.

Lin Zihan's company was deployed separately, with Barnett leading a platoon to the "Lion", Evan on the "Encouragement", and Lin Zihan and Bert on the "Jackal". After all, it would be very crowded to stuff an additional 200 people into a ship, and besides, each warship would need to jump or suppress the infantry firepower of the jump gang when fighting, so this arrangement is quite reasonable. Originally, according to the usual practice, Lin Zihan should stay on the Lion as the company commander, but considering that Bert was more impulsive and lacked command experience, Lin Zihan stayed with Bert on the "Jackal", so that he could rest assured.

Looking at a Marine soldier in front of him carrying a bag of extremely marijuana, Lin Zihan told him with some unease: "Soldier, be careful of what you have in your hand, don't spill it." "This sack didn't contain anything valuable, but some cheap soybeans and some cinchona bark. In this age of medical care and underdevelopment, the real danger to sailors who sail the seas all year round is not only the raging sea, but also the scurvy that makes people talk about discoloration!

After the beginning of the Age of Discovery, experienced navigators discovered that after a long voyage at sea, some sailors suffered from an incurable disease. All those who suffer from this disease will have a terrible blue-gray skin underneath, and the joints of the whole body will be painful, as if they had been sorcered by witchcraft. In addition, if you suffer from this disease, your teeth will slowly become loose, your gums will rot, and eating will become an excruciating ordeal.

In fact, this disease is slowly formed due to the lack of vitamins caused by the sailors who sailed for a long time and could not eat fresh vegetables for a long time. It's just that Europeans have never understood what the reason is, and the officers of the British Royal Navy even think that this is because of the symptoms caused by the turbid air and poor living conditions on board.

In the seventeenth century, several naval officers and scholars discovered that fresh fruits and vegetables could alleviate this terrible symptom, so they recommended that the ships on the voyage prepare some lemon juice and beer soaked in pine branches. Unfortunately, these discoveries and theories were not taken seriously by Admiralty officials, let alone extended to the real nautical world. It was not until 1912 that the discovery of vitamin C completely solved this problem.

Lin Zihan didn't want to die on the route to the east for no apparent reason, so he asked the soldiers to purchase a batch of soybeans and put them on the ship. This was a great discovery by the Chinese ancestors, and as long as you sprinkle some water on these soybeans during the voyage, ensure the humidity and temperature, you can quickly get vitamin-rich sprouts. This was a life-saving technique at sea at a time when fresh vegetables and fruits could not be stored on board for a long time.

The bark of those cinchona trees was bought by Lin Zihan Tobanette from a Spanish merchant who had been in the colonial business for a long time a few days ago, and it cost him twenty-five ginis! After all, the fleet will definitely pass through the hot and humid rainforest area, and malaria is a very troublesome disease at that time, so it is always right to be prepared.

The effect of this cinchona in treating malaria is already well known in Europe, as far as Lin Zihan knows, many officers of the fleet have bought cinchona bark powder, after all, people are life-saving, even if the price is a little expensive, in the eyes of these officers, it is still worth the money.

It is said that in 1638, a Spanish count brought his wife to Peru in South America to take up his post. But soon after, the countess contracted malaria, and the colony's doctors were helpless, declaring that his lady would have to wait for God's call.

But the Spanish count did not give up the treatment, but secretly inquired about the bark of a local tree called cinchona, which can prevent the disease. So he peeled the bark of the tree and took it back to make soup for his wife. After a few times, the countess miraculously recovered.

Since then, the cinchona tree has become famous and worth a hundred times. Naturally, this important discovery has also aroused great interest in the medical community around the world, and many scientists have traveled to the Americas to investigate and study. The news quickly spread to Europe. The Europeans were shocked to hear this, so they tried in every possible way to get their hands on the cinchona. After many twists and turns, they finally got their wish, and the Dutch colonialists made a windfall because of it.

Realizing the huge economic value of the drug, the Spanish authorities wanted to monopolize the cultivation of cinchona. However, before the ban could be issued, British scholars had already smuggled out a batch of cinchona seeds and established plantations on the Indonesian island of Java. Perhaps the natural conditions were too suitable for the growth of cinchona trees, so it soon flourished and soon became the main production area of cinchona trees in the world. Of course, that's another story.

The soldier listened to Lin Zihan's advice, and weighed the sack in his hand a little strangely, but he didn't feel that it was anything valuable, why did the company commander tell himself so solemnly? The soldier couldn't figure it out, so he stopped thinking about the strange habits of the officers, which ordinary big-headed soldiers wouldn't understand, maybe this bag was the lieutenant's "special collection...... Inadvertently, Lin Zihan was once again thought of as a "pervert".

Lin Zihan didn't know that the soldier had already labeled him as an "officer with a collection of quirks", and he was boarding the boat along the gangplank. The deck of the "Jackal" was already extremely busy, and some sailors were doing all kinds of thrilling maneuvers on the high mast, retracting and manoeuvring the heavy sails with ease. Some of the low-ranking sailors lay on the deck, laboriously scrubbing the already spotless deck with bristle brushes. In addition, the sailors pushed the large winch together and retracted the large iron anchor, which weighed several tons.

Just as Lin Zihan was curiously looking at these scenes that he had never seen before, a short and somewhat blessed middle-aged naval officer came over and lifted the brim of his tricorneal hat: "You are Lieutenant Wickham, right?" Allow me to introduce myself, William Blair, the captain of the Jackal, and hope that we will leave each other with a wonderful memory on our voyages. ”

Lin Zihan hurriedly stood up and gave a military salute, although it was not a system, but this unsightly captain was a major in the ranks, theoretically his superior: "Good day, Captain William Blair." In the following voyage, I also asked Mr. Major to take care of him. If nothing else, Lin Zihan will take William Blair's warship all the way to the Qing Kingdom, and the two will not look up and see each other on the same ship, and it is still necessary to have a good relationship.

William Blair nodded, and the expression on his face did not fluctuate from beginning to end, and it could be seen that he was usually a very serious person: "I won't repeat the rest, I hope Lieutenant Wickham can restrain your subordinates, abide by the rules of the Jackal, and don't clash with my sailors." I have some business to attend to, Lieutenant Wickham, please. With that, he walked away with the nautical charts in his hand.

Seeing the figure of Major William Blair disappear behind the stern helm platform, Bert, the hot mom, came over and said jokingly: "Sir, I said you owe Mr. William Blair 10,000 pounds and have not paid it back?" Look at his emotionless face just now, he can ignore the tropical climate and freeze the entire Ivory Coast! ”

Ever since Bert, this kid became acquainted with Lin Zihan, his attitude began to become very aggressive, and he was always out of shape. Lin Zihan felt that he had to establish his authority, so he kicked Bert's ass hard: "Boy, seeing that you are so idle, or you will hand over all the guns today to you to wipe them."

Hearing Lin Zihan's such a "vicious" punishment, Bert immediately jumped up: "Sir, won't you?" I'm an officer in the Marine Corps of the United Kingdom of Britain, how can I do the work of a soldier. No, I won't do it if you throw me into the ocean. ”

Lin Zihan was just joking, he didn't expect Bert to react so much, it seems that the concept of hierarchy in this era is very deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and you have to pay more attention to it in the future. After joking, Lin Zihan said with a straight face: "Bert, you have to restrain your little rabbit cubs in the next time, after all, this is the territory of the navy, don't stir up trouble!"

The captain of this era has absolute authority on the ship, and the attitude of Major William Blair just now is not friendly, Lin Zihan doesn't want his own people to commit crimes in his hands.

Bert lifted his military hat and said, "Sir, don't worry, if any pig makes a mistake for me, I will definitely make him look good!"

After the signal flag for sailing was raised on the Lion, the warships began to slowly sail away from the trestle, and with the "Jackal" as the head, they formed a vertical formation and sailed towards the English Channel.