Wickham looked at the red-faced Evan in front of him, and scolded with a smile: "You kid looks pretty good, it seems that there has been a lot of good food and drink to serve you here in the past two days." If that's the case, Barnett and I won't have to rush over and get you out. ”

Yesterday, Wickham and Barnett broke into the room where Evan was being held and brought back a dozen or so Marines. The two soldiers on guard still wanted to stop it, but they were smashed in the face by Barnett with an unsheathed sword, and they were honest, the officer class was not something that ordinary soldiers like them could offend casually.

Ai Wen touched his head and said with some embarrassment: "Sir, I caused you trouble. But when I brought people over, we hadn't done it yet, and the army gang of miscellaneous people actually did it first, so we couldn't stand and be beaten, right? Before we could kick the two men, we were caught back by a large group of army soldiers who had come to maintain order. I still haven't figured out what the hell is going on. ”

After being locked up overnight, Evan also felt aggrieved, and it was a great shame for a dignified United Kingdom officer to be taken away and imprisoned without trial.

Bert, this kid was afraid that things would not be a big deal, so he muttered: "Aven, if I were you, I would these dogs and mothers on the spot, and still let the army gang of mud legs give it to me?" "Bert's personality is like this, he always shouts and kills, and he has to suffer a little in the future before he knows to change his personality.

Wickham waved his hand to stop Bert's continued shouting: "Forget it, this is the end of the matter." That Henry Saglio was going for me, and you just accidentally hit the muzzle of the gun. ”

This Henry Sario knows how to do things to a certain extent, and they don't embarrass Evan too much, anyway, he just wants Wickham to make a fool of himself in front of his two bosses, and it doesn't mean anything to embarrass Evan and them.

It's just that this one got into trouble with this Henry Sario for no reason, and Wickham also has a headache, this guy is ruthless, and his means are not bad, last time Wickham was almost planted in the Manor of Magnon, and I don't know if he will be so lucky next time.

was knocked on the door, and Wickham naturally had no reason not to fight back. To be precise, Wickham has always been a retributioner, both in his past life and in the present. It's just that now he is just a petty officer who is not in the stream, and his ability is very limited, and it is not realistic to take the initiative to find trouble with Henry Sario.

As if guessing Wickham's thoughts, Barnett spoke, "Sir, this Henry Sario has nothing to fear. Their Sario family has long since declined, and now they are only barely gaining a foothold in the army by relying on the distant relatives of the Marquis of Cornwallis. When Bert and I return to London, will he dare to trouble you, sir?" ”

Thinking of Barnett's appearance in the army barracks, Wickham couldn't help laughing: "Barnett, I didn't expect you kid to have that side, live like a gentleman, you won't be like this in London, right?" ”

Since returning yesterday, Wickham has been curious, but he just didn't find a chance to ask. If Barnett played on the spot, it would not be an exaggeration to award the Golden Rooster Award for this acting skill.

Bert's eyes lit up, and he said with a wicked smile: "Sir, don't you know, Barnett used to be a famous gentleman in London, and his relationship with the wives of several members of the House of Commons was unclear. To be honest, when I was in London, I envied this guy the most. ”

In the past, Barnett was indeed as described by Bert, a well-known gentleman in London, who lived a life of spending money every day, which is somewhat similar to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Wales today. Because he is the second son of the family, the responsibility of the family is not on his shoulders, so the family turns a blind eye to what Barnett did.

It was only later that some changes occurred in the family, and Barnett, who was greatly stimulated, changed his temper and even ran away to join the army. Wickham didn't expect Barnett to have an unknown side, and he didn't expect that yesterday's appearance in the army barracks was actually his true colors.

It's just that seeing Barnett's expression of not wanting to talk more, Wickham also put out his intention to continue asking, he is not a long-tongued woman who loves gossip, who hasn't clicked on it, it doesn't make much sense to hold on.

It was at this time that a treasurer in the Governor's Palace sent Wickham a cashier's check of the Bank of Bahrain for five thousand pounds. The treasurer said that the Viceroy, His Excellency the Marquis of Cornwallis, had taken into account that Wickham would leave Calcutta to-morrow, and that the money would not be divided after the auction of the estate, but would go directly to the East India Company's books.

Wickham accepted the cashier's check from the Bank of Bahrain and thanked the finance officer again. After waiting for the financial officer to leave, Bert walked over with an envious expression: "Sir, now you have money among the four of us, plus the loot from the last time on the Gold Coast, how can you have 35,000 pounds in your hand now?" ”

Wickham also had a headache, and now he had a lot of good things in his hands, more than 34,000 pounds in cash alone, and with 200,000 pounds worth of diamonds and ivory from the Xhosa tribe, he was now a small and small rich man. It's just that those diamonds, Wickham didn't dare to show them, "the husband is not guilty of his jasper", and it is better to be low-key.

"Don't pretend to me here, you guys didn't take it less last time in Ghana, did you?" Wickham scolded with a smile, then frowned and said, "Bert, do you know what goods are popular in the East?" "Instead of putting this money away, it is better to take it out for a maritime trade, and only the money that flows can be called capital. Wickham's major in his previous life was international trade, although this major was a bit weak in his previous life, but now he has the capital to try it.

Barnett is also interested, he still has some money in his hand that he can't spend idle, and it's not bad to be able to run a sea trade, who would think that he has more money in his hand? After organizing the language, Barnett said, "Sir, you want to do maritime trade?" The most famous in India is Indian cotton, which has a delicate texture, good breathability, and is not expensive. Maybe we can buy some cotton cloth in India and ship it to China, just along the way. ”

Because of Lord Margarny's connections, Barnett was well-informed and knew that the East India Company's greatest business was to sell Indian cloth back to Europe.

Bert was a little interested and disagreed: "I'm afraid this is a bit difficult, right? Wasn't India's trade monopolized by the East India Company, and how could we possibly buy Indian cloth at a low price in Calcutta? ”

The East India Company had a charter from Queen Elizabeth I of England and had a complete monopoly on trade between India and England, making it difficult for other merchants to intervene.

Barnett paused, and continued, "Bert, that's two hundred years ago! To put it mildly, the current East India Company is even more corrupt than the imperial government of the Ottoman Empire, and who of the employees of the company has not done some smuggling business of their own? Indigo, copper ore, cotton cloth, these in-demand commodities, which one they don't have their hands on? If we can afford it, we can buy 20,000 pieces of Indian cotton cloth in Kolkata at any time. ”

The corruption scandal of the East India Company had long been known in London's high society, and even some parliamentarians and aristocrats were involved in bringing what was once the most profitable company to pieces. This kind of digging at the foot of the wall is not digging, anyway, no one thinks that there is more money in their hands, right?

Listening to Barnett's words, Wickham nodded: "Barnett is right, we will traffic Indian cotton cloth!" But we don't buy in China, we ship to Myanmar or Batavia. ”

In this day and age, no one knows better than Wickham how powerful China's smallholder economy is! If they really dared to transport the cloth to Guangzhou, they would definitely lose so much that they vomited blood. China's traditional economy has always been a man ploughing and a woman weaving, cloth can be completely self-sufficient, and China's Songjiang cloth is not uncompetitive, unless now there is a big killer of steam weaving factories in the UK, or Indian cotton cloth plus freight will, in terms of price is not the opponent of Songjiang cloth at all!

Southeast Asia, on the other hand, is a huge cloth consumer market, but it does not produce cotton cloth itself. After the Qing court implemented the policy of closing the country to the outside world, except for a small amount of smuggled cloth, the Southeast Asian market was completely blank! Of course, this way of making money was not conceived by Wickham, and many European smugglers have long seen this opportunity, and there are not a few people who have made a fortune. After Wickham explained these words to the trio, they all agreed.

Wickham proposed £10,000 per person for a total share capital of £40,000. Originally, with Wickham's financial resources, he could do it alone, but these are his subordinates and good friends, and it is impossible to say that he has the wealth and does not bring them with him.

Moreover, Barnett's uncle, Lord Margarny, had some connections with the East India Company and had the opportunity to get cheap cotton cloth from the East India Company. Bert, on the other hand, came from a family of big merchants in London and was familiar with the process of maritime trade. It would be a shame if Wickham didn't take advantage of it.

After the discussion, the three of them couldn't stay in the barracks, because they were going to leave tomorrow, and the time was really tight. Barnett took advantage of Magarny's connections with the East India Company and went directly to the East India Company's warehouse at the wharf to contact the source of the goods. Bert and Aven went to the tavern on the docks to see if they could hire two sailboats to transport goods to the East.

Wickham, on the other hand, became a hands-off shopkeeper, and he didn't understand the maritime trade process of this era, so he simply didn't interfere. It's just that Wickham didn't expect the efficiency of these three people to be so high, and when the mission was about to leave the port, the fleet was already followed by two ocean-going merchant ships with a displacement of about 800 tons.

"Today is a good day to go to sea." Wickham looked at the blue sky and muttered to himself. In the past six months of wandering life, I still feel a little booed when I think about it. At the beginning, he listened to the encouragement of Viscount Bernard, and stepped on the thief ship of joining the army with a little care, followed by a series of thrilling lives from birth to death, which made him understand that the traverser is not omnipotent, and there is a danger of hanging up at any time.

If she is unfortunate enough to hit the street, Alice's life will return to the way it used to be, and the thought of this possibility makes Wickham inexplicably panicked. So Wickham found a lawyer in Calcutta yesterday and wrote his will, stating that if he was killed, Colonel Brandon would become Alice's guardian and all the property would be left to Alice. When it comes to Colonel Brandon's character, Wickham is completely trustworthy.

"Come aboard, sir." Bert was a little excited, and this guy couldn't hide his excitement at the thought of being able to make money independently outside the family.

As before, Wickham and Burt led a platoon to the cruiser "Caiwolf" commanded by Major William, after all, everyone was good friends, and they could be more comfortable together.

Wickham nodded, ready to board the ship. At this moment, a familiar voice came: "George, you guy is not like me to say goodbye, so ready to slip away?" ”

Wickham turned his head and found Colonel Brandon walking slowly towards him, supported by a soldier, his face still as pale as before, but in good spirits. And next to Colonel Brandon is Miss Cornwallis, whom she hasn't seen for a few days!

Miss Cornwallis had a little resentment in her eyes, and she mustered up the courage to walk over to Wickham, and said to Wickham, "Captain Wickham, you didn't even say goodbye to me, aren't we friends?" ”

Facing Miss Cornwallis with a forced smile, Wickham didn't know what to say for a while, and the atmosphere became so delicate. Fortunately, at this time, Colonel Brandon interjected at the right time: "George, you are really not a friend enough. Forget that, we'll see you in London next year. ”

Wickham was still very touched by Colonel Brandon dragging his sick body to the dock to see him off, although the two had a short relationship, they both formed a deep friendship with each other, to paraphrase the Chinese saying, "the friendship of a gentleman lies in the heart". But listening to Colonel Brandon's words, is he going back to London?

With questions in mind, Wickham asked, "See you in London?" Are Christopher going back home? ”

Colonel Brandon nodded and explained, "That's right, after this injury, I don't want to serve in India anymore. Anyway, with military merit and a lot of money, it's time to return home. Yesterday, on the occasion of the visit of the Marquis of Cornwallis, I made this thought known. The Marquis of Cornwallis promised me that I would be relieved to go back and find me an errand at the War Office. ”

There was also a big reason why Colonel Brandon hung up on his adopted daughter, Eliza, but he was too embarrassed to say it in front of Miss Cornwallis. The Marquis of Cornwallis admired Brandon, and this was well known in the Doge's Palace. This time, the Marquis of Cornwallis was transferred back to China, and I am afraid that he is also willing to go back with his old subordinates.

"Well, I'll go to the War Office to find you when I get to London." The War Office is a powerful department in the British government, and Wickham is happy that his friend can be transferred to this department.

Major William leaned against the side of the ship and shouted to Wickham, "George, it's time to get on board, the fleet is about to leave." ”

"I'll come up now." Wickham tugged at the brim of their hats, turned around, and strode toward the gangplank.

Miss Cornwallis looked at the back of Wickham's departure, and could no longer suppress the feelings in her heart, so she suddenly ran over, put a handkerchief in Wickham's hand, and instructed: "When you return to London, remember to come to me, or you will die!" With that, he ran away with a gust of wind.

Wickham was a little stunned, he didn't expect Miss Cornwallis to be so bold. Holding the handkerchief with the girlish fragrance in his hand, a wry smile remained on Wickham's face.

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