Lord Margarny poured Wickham a glass of wine and said, "Alcohol can sometimes soothe the nerves properly, so have a drink, Lieutenant Wickham." ”

When facing Lord Magalny, Wickham felt more of a pressure, a sense of embarrassment that was seen through. This feeling not only comes from the disparity in status and money between the two, but also from the rich life experience.

Wickham, who is well versed in history, knows that Magal Nico is an old fox who has been in British politics for decades, and that before he came into this world, he was just a young man who had just graduated and worked for less than two years. Even if he had an extra 200 years of knowledge, he was not necessarily mentally superior to Margarni.

After chatting for a while about the weather in Calcutta, Magalny brought back the topic: "Lieutenant Wickham, you have been in the South Xhosa tribe for a long time, tell me what you know, these things are very important for the kingdom to keep the shipping lanes open. ”

Wickham had been prepared for this, and hurriedly replied, "Your Excellency, I have compiled two identical written reports on this mission, one to Mr. Jeff, who is returning to London, and the other is here. With that, Wickham took out the written report he had with him and handed it to Lord Magalny.

Margarny glanced at the written report on the table with some surprise, obviously not expecting Wickham to be so careful and prepare a written report. Margarny did not hide the satisfaction in his eyes, and there was a hint of appreciation in his tone: "You are very attentive, Lieutenant Wickham. I think in two days you should be called Mr. Captain, for capable young men are always promoted in the kingdom. ”

Wickham lowered his eyes slightly, lest he look something he shouldn't have in front of the old fox. This report is just a test of Wickham's test of Margarny, and Margarny's performance just now confirmed his inner speculation.

Despite the instructions from the Cabinet, Magarny also seemed to be a little too concerned with the affairs of Cape Town, which was clearly beyond his duties. Thinking of the later Lord Magalny, who became the first governor of the British colony of Cape Town, Wickham seemed to understand something.

While the position of Governor of Cape Town was less oily and more of a desolate place than an Indian colony, Cape Town was a pivotal point in Britain's global colonial system, at least until the opening of the Suez Canal. Serving as Governor in such an important position will undoubtedly give Lord Margarny a lot of political capital and a greater say in British politics.

"All for the sake of Great Britain and His Majesty George, Your Excellency." Wickham raised his glass and drank the whiskey, trying to shake out the speculations in his head. He's just a small guy in the army now, and he's not qualified to participate in these political games, so it's not necessarily a good thing to know too much.

Lord Magalny stood up and looked like a send-off: "Lieutenant Wickham, after the bumps in the sea, I think you must need a good rest. In this way, my squire will take you to your room to rest. You know, there are so many rooms in this Belvedere Building, even I fainted the day I first came, hehe......"

With that, Magalny rang the bell and called in the servants who were waiting outside the door. Wickham saluted him, and then followed the servant out of the room.

The scale of the mission was relatively large, and there were also some people with status and status, and after these people lived in the governor's palace, the Belvedere Building, which was still a little empty, also became crowded. Low-ranking officers like Wickham only occupy the innermost room in the corridor on the second floor of the building, and of course, the location is the worst.

Wickham thanked Margarny's attendant and pushed the door open with his suitcase. Aven, Barnett and Bert were playing cards to kill time, and when they saw Lin Zihan who suddenly appeared at the door, they all opened their mouths in surprise, and then a look of surprise appeared on their faces.

Bert, the kid was the first to react, and a quick stride rushed up and gave Wickham a big hug: "Sir, you're finally back." Thank God, sir, that you are still alive. ”

Wickham is full of black lines, why does this guy have such a stinky mouth, what does it mean to "you are still alive". Wickham pretended to be angry, punched the kid, and said, "What did you kid say, are you so unhappy that I came back from South Africa alive?" "Wickham was happy to see some of the world's closest friends.

Wickham remembered Bert's injured leg in the last battle at sea, and asked with concern, "Bert, how is your leg recovering?" ”

The last time he was in Cape Town, Bert was still recuperating in bed, and he couldn't tell if there would be any after-effects. Wickham admired Bert's superb swordsmanship and did not want Bert to end his military career because of a leg injury.

"It's been long gone, sir." In order to increase the persuasiveness of his words, Bert also deliberately walked around the ground. Wickham watched Bert's walking carefully, and only after finding nothing unusual did he reassure.

Bert bowed solemnly to Wickham and said gratefully, "Sir, thank you so much for all that you have done while I am recuperating from my injuries!" After that battle, most of the wounded did not survive the doom of the wound inflammation and returned to the arms of the Lord, because you insisted on cleaning my wound with whiskey, and I avoided the inflammation of the wound. I owe you my life, sir! ”

Looking at the serious Bert, Wickham looked moved, sighed and said: "You also saved my life in that battle in Ghana at that time, and you don't owe me anything, Bert." All I know is that in battle, you are the brother I can give your back to! ”

Hearing this, Bert just grabbed Lin Zihan's arm tightly, and everything was silent.

Evan was a man of few words, so he silently walked up and brought in the two suitcases that Wickham had in his hand and welcomed him with a practical gesture. Wickham didn't refuse Aven's kindness, to be honest, the luggage was not light, and when he was carrying these things just now, he could clearly feel that the injured leg was still a little weak.

But at that time, Magalny's attendants had no intention of helping him carry his luggage, and he was too bad to speak rashly. Although the social status of these personal attendants is very low, to paraphrase an old Chinese saying, "the prime minister's door is a seven-rank official", people have seen a lot of big people, and there is no reason to look down on themselves as a small officer.

Wickham walked over to the table, glanced at the cards on the table, and quipped, "You boys are having a pretty good time, I don't know if the training has fallen." ”

Barnett noticed that Wickham's posture was a little unnatural when he walked, so he ignored the ridicule in Wickham's tone, but asked, "Sir, what's wrong with your leg?" ”

Wickham touched his left leg, which had not yet fully recovered, and remembered the tall Xhosa hoplite. The guy was surprisingly strong, the stick nearly broke his leg bone, but luckily the damn spear didn't hit the vital spot, and Wickham didn't have to worry about being crippled when his leg was healed.

"It's just a little bit injured, and it's good to recuperate for a while." Wickham didn't want Barnett to be psychologically burdened, so he just patted Barnett on the shoulder and said he was fine.

Barnett remembered that Margarny insisted on letting Lin Zihan replace him on the mission, and the guilt on his face became even stronger: "If it weren't for me, sir, you wouldn't have encountered so many dangers." At that time, I should have stood my ground and not been at the mercy of my uncle like an ostrich. ”

Wickham said sincerely: "Barnett, remember I told you before I left. If something does happen to me on my mission, it is indeed something you owe me, and my sister, who is studying in London, must be entrusted to you. But if I come back safely and get promoted, then I owe you. Now that I have returned safely, Lord Magalny has assured me that I will be promoted in the near future, and this is what I owe you, don't I? ”

It is impossible to say that there is not a little irritation in his heart, and Wickham thinks that he is not so noble. But even if you are angry, what can you do? Even in modern times, it is impossible to be fair, especially since it was the end of the eighteenth century, when class ideas were deeply rooted, and he benefited from it. In this matter, Barnett can express his apologies so sincerely, and Wickham is already satisfied.

Listening to the conversation between the two, Bert quickly understood what they were referring to. To be honest, he had seen a lot of these things in London, and fairness and justice were relative. Although their commander was recommended by General Bernard to join the army, it is undeniable that Wickham and Barnett do not belong to the same class at all.

In order to divert this heavy topic, Wickham simply told the three guys about his experience in South Cosa. Thinking of the thrill, Wickham sighed: "Thanks to the swordsmanship that Bert gave me, otherwise I would have died several times on the battlefield." ”

At that time, he was bored on the ship, so Wickham pestered Bert to give him swordsmanship, which was a life-saving skill, and he was very attentive to learning it. Although Wickham's hand-to-hand combat is very good, his swordsmanship is much worse, but fortunately, Bert did not hide his secrets and taught Wickham everything he knew, which benefited Wickham a lot.

Avan suddenly remembered something, and said to Wickham excitedly, "I have good news for you, sir. By the time we were in the port of Mumbai, we had recruited enough soldiers to not only make up for the losses we had suffered in the previous battles, but also to assemble a reorganized company! ”

What Evan didn't say was that they even fought with the Royal Navy sailors once in order to compete for supplies, but fortunately there were no casualties. Had it not been for the intervention of Colonel Aldrich, the commander of the fleet, the angry captains would have driven the Marines off their ships.

This is indeed good news! When he first set out from the mainland, Wickham's company was originally a dissatisfied company, and after several fierce battles, especially the tragic battle with the French Navy "Yingweihua", Wickham lost a lot of soldiers.

"That's great! How's the training going? The last time we fought with the French Navy, it was because of lack of training that we lost so many people. By the way, how happened to the soldier I rescued last time on the warship? ”

Seeing that Evan had inadvertently broken the strange atmosphere in the room, Bert secretly breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly replied, "The chief is talking about the private named Smith." It's a shame to say, because the shoulder injury left a sequelae, and Smith can no longer make a shooting motion. I think when he returns to China, I think he will choose to retire. ”

"So serious?" Wickham frowned and said, "There is still more than a year before returning home, how did you arrange for him?" ”

Bert shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'll let him do some chores to maintain the guns now, and that's all I can do." "This arrangement is very suitable, Wickham thought about it, maybe it would be a good choice to transfer him to his side as an orderly in the future.

Barnett took out his pocket watch and looked at it, stood up and said, "Sir, there is a party hosted by His Excellency the Governor tonight, let's prepare for it." ”