Black slaves were chained around their necks and stood in stone pits two meters wide and one meter deep, surrounded by huge stone walls like an arena, and within the stone walls, Arabs, whites and Orientals searched for their favorite slaves and bargained with slave traders.

Ye Zhao was in the largest slave trade market on the East African coast, witnessing the scene of black people being bought and sold as livestock, if he said it in his heart, curiosity was more than pity, perhaps, the environment can also change people.

The authorities of the Imperial Maputo Overseas Province had already informed the Sultanate that "all the countries of the East are determined to put an end to the slave trade, and the Arabs should submit to this supremacy and renounce the slave trade." Continuing to insist will only bring them financial losses and all sorts of evils.

They should engage in farming and innocent, legal trade as soon as possible. ”

But in fact, at the scene of the slave trade, Ye Zhao will not be indignant, he will do what he should do, but he will not be as nosy as a young man who is righteous and courageous, his solution to the problem is to solve it from the root, which is the difference in the position and the different ways of thinking about the problem.

This is the capital of the Sultanate of Zanzibar, Zanzibar City, located on an island off the east coast of Africa, Zanzibar is an island country that was occupied by the Arabs of West Asia Omanis thousands of years ago, and these Omanis established the Sultanate and began the earliest slave trade.

With the abolition of the slave trade in European countries, Britain, France and other countries sent patrols on the west coast of Africa to seize slave merchant ships, and the once prosperous trade on the west coast of Africa began to decline, but because of the needs of some manor owners in the southern United States and Arabs, as well as the large landowners of the emerging Eastern countries to develop overseas farms, the slave trade market gradually shifted to the East African coast.

Zanzibar is now the busiest centre of the slave trade in Africa, with thousands or even tens of thousands of slaves traded each month.

Ye Zhaolai came to Zanzibar to meet with the Egyptian Pasha, and the two will sign several documents related to the stake in the Suez Canal, from which more than 40 percent of the Suez Canal will be transferred to Taihe Bank, which will also become the largest shareholder of Suez Canal.

Egypt Pasha originally did not want to sell the mortgaged shares to Taihexing, but in recent years, the financial situation has become worse and worse, and the business has suffered setbacks again and again, so they have reluctantly cut their love, and both sides agreed to conceal the secret transfer of shares from the shareholders of Britain and France.

Fortunately, Ruwa has returned to China with a domestic cruise ship, and after Ye Zhao has done this, he will not go north as originally planned, but rush back to China as soon as possible.

The British's parliament has approved additional troops to the Cape Province, whether it is to intimidate the Boers or really prepare to teach the arrogant Boers a lesson, it is still unknown at this moment, the sky over South Africa is covered with a thick cloud of war, and Ye Zhaozi will not risk it here again.

Saiganu repeatedly asked to accompany Ye Zhao to the distant Eastern Empire for sightseeing, and inquired about Ye Zhao's tone several times, hoping to visit the imperial family members, it would be great if he could be received by the prince, as for the emperor of the Eastern Empire, he naturally did not have this luxury. Meeting with members of the imperial family' instead of worrying that Ye Zhao would not be able to reach him, he was talking about this matter in a roundabout way, so as not to anger Ye Zhao.

Segnucha is also very adventurous, but his ambition is not only to rule his own tribe, if the trip to the East goes well, he can get acquainted with some Eastern officials and nobles, he may not be able to lead his tribe in the future to establish a kingdom like Zulu in South Africa, of course, it would be good to be canonized by the Chinese royal family, but this idea can only be struck by chance when he is dreaming, and he himself knows that this is impossible. …,

At this time in the trade market, Saiganu was more curious than Ye Zhao, and soon disappeared, his relationship with Ye Zhao became closer and closer, but Ye Zhao was not angry and arrogant, and his subordinates were respectful to him in every way, and after getting along for a long time, Saiganu was more and more like Ye Zhao's followers.

"Master, it's time for dinner." The butler in the cyan robe took out his pocket watch and looked at it, and then walked up a few steps to remind Ye Zhao that this butler was naturally the great eunuch Wan Dequan.

Zheng Aqiao and his wife have also returned to China on the same cruise ship, and now Ye Zhao's most intimate person is this big eunuch.

Ye Zhao bowed slightly, although he was separated from Segnucha, this seaside city is extremely small, and even the Sultan's Palace is on the beach, if Seganucha is not a fool, he can find his way back to the merchant ship.

"There's nothing to eat in this floor, sir, do you want to go back to the ship and fire?" Wan Dequan looked at Ye Zhao's face cautiously, as a eunuch, the honor and disgrace of his life lie in this "look at his face"

Zanzibar was recorded in the Song Dynasty's "Records of the Domains", called "Tieba Country", but the current empire has already revised the geographical maps, and overseas countries mostly use concise transliteration. Named after the slave trade, Zanzibar means "black coast" in Arabic, and the empire continued to use its transliteration, although some old ministers still preferred to use the old name.

Ye Zhao also didn't like the local food, so he got on the ship and fired, in order not to be noticeable, the accompanying small fleet will arrive in Zanzibar a day later, and then set off to return home together, Ye Zhao is on an armed merchant ship with a little protective ability, but the so-called "slightly protective ability" is compared with the main warship of the empire, if it encounters pirates, the merchant ship is more than enough to deal with.

In the afternoon, the envoy of the Egyptian Pasha arrived in Zanzibar, and Pasha finally did not keep his promise, although the envoy brought a statement on the transfer of Pasha's equity, and several Western lawyers accompanied him to witness, and the shares of the Suez Canal had long been mortgaged in Taihe Bank, but Pasha himself did not come forward, and there may not be no reason to regret it in the future, Ye Zhao couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed.

Wan Dequan is one of the few who knows the purpose of the emperor's trip, but he is angry enough, but isn't it, the emperor has come here, and a small Egyptian governor has not kept his promise, which is simply unreasonable.

In the study, Wan Dequan muttered that he wanted to give Egypt a little power, and Ye Zhao just laughed it and said, "Dequan, that Mr. Pasha didn't know that I came to Zanzibar." ”

Wan Dequan didn't dare to speak again.

Ye Zhao flipped through a few newspapers, and suddenly raised his head and asked, "Hasn't Seganu returned to the ship yet?" ”

"Yes, the minions have already sent someone to find it." After returning to the ship, Wan Dequan resumed his title in the palace.

Ye Zhao frowned and said, "Send more people to find it." "The law and order situation in Zanzibar is acceptable, but how can the slave traders get along? Seganucha is not a person of peace, if he is killed here, then he is really sorry for him.

Wande hurriedly agreed to quit.

More than an hour later, there was finally news of Saiganucha, but he was arrested by a local slave trader, and it is said that he had a quarrel with this British merchant in the slave market.

Despite the presence of Chinese merchants, the British slave traders demanded a ransom of five hundred pounds, which is worth only a few dozen pounds for a healthy black slave in the prime of life.

In the evening, when the merchant ship was in charge of the lamp, Saiganu was picked up, but he was beaten and dying, and his ribs were broken. …,

Ye Zhao did not come forward from contact to negotiation, which is also reasonable, but at this time, he couldn't help but regret that if he was more attentive, Saiganu might not have to suffer from flesh and skin.

The electric lights hanging high on the side wall of the cabin were slightly dim, but the emperor's face could not escape Wan Dequan's gaze, Wan Dequan's head was sweating slightly, and he said in a low voice: "It's all old slaves who are stupid and have done a bad job." ”

Ye Zhao said lightly: "No wonder you, but there must be a law for everything, and there is no law for the foreign state?" ”

Wan Dequan said in a loud voice: "Yes, yes, the slave will find someone to reason." ”

Ye Zhao waved his hand and went back to his room to rest.

In the middle of the night, Ye Zhao was awakened by a faint sound outside the cabin, got out of bed in his clothes, opened the cabin door, and the two guards and Wande in the aisle outside were all shocked to their knees, and even said damn it.

Ye Zhao asked, "But there is an emergency military situation?" ”

Wan Dequan kowtowed and said: "It's a little thing, the slave came to see if the master was resting, I don't want to disturb the holy driver, the slave should die, damn." ”

Ye Zhao asked, "What's the matter?" ”

Wande hesitated, but didn't dare not say, and said: "It's the fans who are here to ask for someone." ”

"Someone? Who do you want? Ye Zhao was even more strange.

"Yes, it was the minions who caught the British who injured Big Brother Sai, and the fans favored the British and came to ask for someone." Wan Dequan hung his head, not daring to look at Ye Zhao.

"You! Spontaneous in case of trouble, how can such foreign-related matters not be discussed with Jiang Peitong? Ye Zhao complained.

Wan Dequan even kowtowed again and again, and said: "The slave should die, the slave should die, the slave originally thought that such a trivial matter did not need to bother Master Jiang." ”

Jiang Pei is also the master of the accompanying imperial study, and he is a calm and capable middle-aged official, as for Kang Youwei, although he is a young talent, he is only an ordinary member of the accompanying clerk, and it is never his turn to make up his mind when he encounters trouble.

Ye Zhao said: "Forget it, I'll go see the British, and you will discuss with Jiang Pei to see how to deal with the aftermath." ”

Everyone has been arrested, Ye Zhao is interested, and dealing with such a small African country is not in the interests of the empire, Ye Zhao will not bow down to everything, and he has already been relieved to hand over to his subordinates.

The British were placed under house arrest in a cabin on the first deck, a steamship with a displacement of more than 5,000 tons.

On the wooden bed in the cabin sat a fat Englishman, rosacea, with a hairy face and a beard or a very rough skin due to heavy drinking. Seeing that he stood up and wanted to go out, he obviously thought that the coming man was to release him.

The attendant on Ye Zhao's side stretched out his arm to stop him, and said coldly, "Stand up!" ”

The British guy didn't understand Chinese, but from the Chinese's expression, he also knew that he was not here to release him, slightly startled, he looked at Ye Zhao, and asked arrogantly: "Are you their leader?" Do you know what the consequences of illegally detaining a British citizen are? ”

Ye Zhao smiled and said, "What consequences?" It wouldn't be worse than beating my friend, would it? ”

The British's small eyes rolled and said disdainfully: "It turns out that Chinese like to be in the company of wild beasts, do you know who I am?" The Speaker Wiggins of the British Empire is my brother, but I don't think you know his energy, so you should ask your diplomat who my cousin is. ”

Ye Zhao couldn't help laughing, he had the most dealings with the British, and the arrogance of many Britons was inevitable, but it was mostly a kind of arrogance in his bones, and even arrogant and very gentlemanly, who called it the world of the British Empire today, but it was like the vulgar slave trader in front of him, and it was really rare, it seemed that there were many people, and their behavior was the same, and this little Wiggins was also a headache for Mr. Deputy Speaker. …,

The slave trade was illegal in Britain, but his younger brother, the deputy speaker of parliament, defended the law and became even more arrogant to scare people by taking out his brother's identity, but he was really used to running rampant overseas.

"Speaker Wiggins......" Ye Zhao nodded slightly with interest, and said that he couldn't complain, to say that the Sultan Bagassi of the Sultanate of Zanzibar today is also a monarch who has made a difference, and at the beginning of his reign, he built the water pipeline of Zanzibar City, solved the problem of drinking water in Stone City, and in 1872, he ordered the opening of the motor ship mail service between the capital and Aden, and five years ago, the submarine cable between the two cities was laid, and it was connected to the cable network of the East African coast. This small country can send telegrams to all parts of the world, and he is also working to abolish the privileges of chiefs, which can be regarded as a monarch who works hard.

And Wiggins Jr.'s arrest and beating of Lao Sai has violated the laws of any country, but Zanzibar officials are obviously biased in favor of Wiggins Jr., except for the difference in influence of the two empires in Zanzibar, Zanzibanians obviously know the identity of Wiggins Jr. to a greater or lesser extent.

"Don't be hard for him." Ye Zhao gave an order, since he was a loser who relied on his brother's power, Ye Zhao was not interested in talking to him anymore, but wondered if Wiggins Jr.'s identity could be used, you must know that with the current British national political structure, if what Wiggins Jr. did was publicized in the UK, Deputy Wiggins was so well connected, I am afraid that the position will no longer be so stable.

However, Wiggins, who is a moderate to China, wants to have a trade dialogue with the eastern countries, and it is really not good to bring him down.

Ye Zhao went back to his room and lay on the bed tossing and turning, thinking about Lao Sai for a while, and thinking about various British dignitaries, Sino-British relations, and the recent movements of Germany, France and other powerful countries.

It was almost noon on the second day, Ye Zhao woke up, and when he got up to freshen up, Wan Dequan said while waiting: "General Zhang is waiting outside." ”

General Zhang in Wan Dequan's mouth is naturally the Imperial African Straits Naval Association (Vice) Overseer, Royal Navy Rear Admiral Zhang Yunzong, he accompanied Ye Zhao to the east coast of Africa, and when he returned, he also undertook the escort mission, to send the emperor to the Great Yaqi in the Strait of Malacca, so that he would hand over with the Imperial South China Sea Fleet and return to the east coast of Africa again.

Ye Zhao smiled: "He arrived early, how did the negotiation happen yesterday?" ”

Wan Dequan said cautiously: "You, you still ask General Zhang, right?" ”

Ye Zhaoqi said: "Ask Zhang Yunzong? What does this have to do with him? ”

When he came to the study for breakfast, Zhang Yunzong and Jiang Peitong were waiting, Ye Zhao sat down, the dining table was set, Ye Zhao stretched out his hand and motioned for the two of them to eat with him, and said, "Let's talk about it after eating." ”

This is naturally a rare honor, Zhang Yunzong and Jiang Peitong knew the emperor's temper, so they sat down cautiously, even if they were not hungry, they reluctantly stuffed some dishes into their mouths.

Ye Zhao looked at Zhang Yunzong and smiled, and said, "You are suffering from a crime, get up, talk about things!" ”

"Yes!" Zhang Yunzong looked like a gentleman, but his voice was extremely loud, he stood up for a moment, bowed and said: "Your Majesty, Fanbang Zanzibar has already asked for surrender, and the Imperial Navy occupies the entire territory of Stone City, please ask Your Majesty to show me." ”

Ye Zhao was stunned for a moment and said, "Asking for surrender? What do you ask for? ”

Jiang Peitong also stood up at this time and said: "Fanbang is a small country, sitting in a well and watching the sky, and when negotiating with his subordinates, he brazenly declared war on our country. ”

Ye Zhao glanced at the few purple leather pieces on the desk, smiled dumbly, and said, "Zanzibar declared war on our country? ”

I couldn't eat it for a while, so I returned to my desk, opened the fold and looked at it, it turned out that since last night, Jiang Peitong had negotiated with officials in Zanzibar, proposing to punish Wiggins Jr. and his subordinates in accordance with Zanzibar law, and apologized for the behavior of Wan Dequan and others, and said that he was willing to defend Wan Dequan and others in accordance with local laws. …,

The officials of Zanzibar were iron-hearted in favor of Wiggins Jr., and finally mobilized soldiers to forcibly board the ship to arrest people, and the merchant ship had no choice but to leave the port, but Zanzibar sent the only warship "Gulasg" to pursue, but it was said to be a warship, but it was a big wooden steamship, equipped with a few guns, that is, this merchant ship Lingshan was afraid that it would not be pleased, just in case, after all, there was a great emperor on the ship, Lingshan did not entangle with it, relying on the speed advantage to get rid of its pursuit at full speed, And it happened that at this time, Zhang Yunzong led a small fleet to arrive, and without saying a word, he sank the Gulasg, and then shelled the Zanzibar palace, hundreds of Zanzibar soldiers dispersed in a hurry, and the marines landed and captured Sultan Bagassi, who immediately announced his surrender.

The war, which lasted only three hours before Zanzibar announced its surrender, was the shortest war between the two countries in the history of world warfare.

Ye Zhao looked at the Zhang, crying and laughing for a while, China rarely shows strength in Africa, although it showed its muscles in the first war against the Zulu Kingdom not long ago, but after all, it is just beginning to show its fierceness, in North Africa, it seems that it is not as terrible as the Europeans, the little Zanzibar, for the British nobles to dare to deal with the Chinese is also here, and then suffered a catastrophe in a blink of an eye, which makes people helpless.

Since it has happened, it is necessary to think about how to deal with the aftermath and how to make proper use of this "war", and the east coast of Africa in the north is the battlefield where Britain and Germany wrestle their wrists.

Thinking about this battle again, it was carried out in his sleep, and he didn't hear the sound of gunfire at all, thinking that Wan Dequan and the guards had a lot of thoughts.

To be honest, I was very worried yesterday, I was afraid that no one would pay attention to me, but today I finally got the courage to look at the book review area and saw a lot of messages......

Reading the comments, there are also friends who are worried about eunuchs, this is not at ease, there is no habit of eunuchs in the army, but often tired in the later stages of writing, like the last book, and finally it became a month of a watch, this book also took a long break for a while, the first book may not have this phenomenon because of the short length, but after I finished writing, I also took a year off before opening the second book, so there is no need to worry about eunuchs. This break is actually equal to four or five months, this book should also be able to write smoothly, of course, because the concubine is pregnant, many things need to be busy, and there may be occasional breaks, but in the future, an average of three or four thousand a day will definitely be able to do it, and there will be no longer a long-term break, write a book with feelings, and I want to know the end, it is impossible not to finish it well.

Thank you friends who are still supporting me, and now those who are still watching can be said to be unconditionally supporting joining the army, thank you very much, and I will try my best to write wonderful at the end. [To be continued.]