"Oh, oh, it turns out that this is the eldest cousin's car. Standing on the Silence of the Whole Domain, Gu Meng was as happy as an ordinary five-year-old girl. She looked around for a while: "Why can this ship go on its own without sailors?"

"When Yaoyao returns to the sea, it is like arriving at home, and the sea current will push the big boat to go by itself. Gu Yao folded her fingers and counted for a while, and then said crisply: "Yang Liu will take my sister and Yaoyao back to China." When the time comes, let Mom and Dad see the big ship I found. ”

Gu Meng patted the little guy on the shoulder and said seriously: "Stupid sister, didn't I tell you yesterday? According to Mengmeng's inference, this is not a world with us and parents. Even if I return to Tianyin City, I don't know how long it will be since my parents were born! Hey, when I set sail, I was in a hurry, and I actually forgot to ask about the current era. ”

"Today is January 1, 1861," Gu Yao replied immediately, "Yaoyao looked at the time when she went out. David Jones said that the East India Company was kicked away by the British Empire last year, and the shareholders of the East India Company, who were unwilling to lose power, wanted to use their eldest cousin's car to please the Empress. ”

"It's been more than 100 years since Mom and Dad were born. Gu Meng pondered for a while, and she said with some distress: "Well, in 1861, why was the world's science and technology still so backward? It was completely different from what Meng Meng saw in the book, it was no different from 1840. ”

"That's right, it's a credit to the eldest cousin. The eldest cousin ruled the maritime trade routes for nearly a hundred years, and the wealth collected could be piled up into dozens or hundreds of gold and silver mountains. It was she who severely constrained the windfall profits of maritime trade and slowed down the scientific and technological progress of mankind for a full twenty years. ”

The mystery has finally been revealed, and the cute history book is really not in vain. Gu Meng said happily: "Can my sister make the speed of the big ship a little faster?" Meng Meng wants to investigate what the Qing Dynasty was like, so as to obtain first-hand historical information. ”

---

Early in the morning, when James, Earl of Elgin, woke up from his sleep, the sun was already shining on him through the porthole.

The shaking of the sea voyage did not affect his normal rest.

As the leader of the Anglo-French alliance and the culprit of the sacking of the Old Summer Palace, James can be said to have returned with a full load this time - the ship is full of treasures from the "summer palace", each of which is priceless, and each one means that the Earl family will have no worries about food and clothing for several lifetimes.

Of course, this is not the happiest thing for him. The thing that pleased James the most was that Her Majesty's envoy said that because of his command, the Manchu government obediently ceded Kowloon and agreed to many conditions for trade.

His Majesty had considered sending him to India as Viceroy to take over power from the hands of the obnoxious, unruly, filthy East India Company shareholders who disgraced the Empress. This may be a bit difficult, but with the support of Her Majesty the Empress, he is confident that he will be invincible.

At the same time, James's immortal exploits in opening up British territory will forever be remembered in the history of the Elgin family.

This time, he led the fleet south to Hong Kong to witness the handover ceremony of Kowloon at the Hong Kong Governor's House.

After a hearty breakfast, James went out on deck to soak up the winter sun and say hello to the flagship's captain. Captain Powell was a descendant of Grant, the supreme commander of the British and French forces in this operation, and was responsible for returning a large amount of loot to the British island.

Because he is well aware of the weight of the burden on his shoulders, Powell has been doing many things himself since the day he set sail. For example, every morning to look at the direction of the wind and the weather, at night to look at the stars to calculate the position of the voyage, he never pretended to be a man.

This is also what James admires the most: the serious Powell, coupled with the serious face sculpted by the sea breeze, is as touching as Michelangelo's David.

As a duke, James sometimes can't help but be attracted to him.

"How's the weather going, my old fellow?" James greeted Powell very familiarly.

James couldn't laugh when he saw Powell's face: the old captain's expression was very serious, as if he had seen seventy or eighty illegitimate children calling him daddy, while his sister-in-law was hugging someone else's thigh and calling daddy.

"Could it be that the weather is bad today?" James looked at the blue sky, estimated the distance again, and relieved the captain: "Don't worry, even a little storm disturbance will not delay much - we will be able to dock at the Hong Kong pier the day after tomorrow at the latest." ”

"There's nothing wrong with the weather," Powell said, frowning, "The problem is the current under our feet, and I haven't seen such a weird current in almost twenty years." ”

The old captain's words made James's smile condense halfway, and he asked with some difficulty: "You are talking about Nanami-"

"Don't say it!" Powell interrupted him abruptly, "I beg your pardon for being rude, Lord Duke." That taboo name must not be mentioned on my ship! On the sea, the esteemed El Niño has an unrivalled keen hearing. Whoever dares to talk about her name at sea, she will immediately appear at whom. ”

"Especially when our ship is carrying such valuables, we can't even mention her name. ”

Of course, James knew the taboo of sailing at sea: twenty years ago, the name of the Empress of the Seven Seas would change the color of all maritime negotiations.

Her presence is always accompanied by two things, an unseasonal anomalous current, and a fleet of three giant ships that will never need to be operated by sailors.

There have always been various horror legends about the origin of the Empress of the Seven Seas. Some people say that she is deeply loved by the god of the sea, so she can live forever and maintain the appearance of a girl for a hundred years.

Some people say that the empress will draw strength from ordinary people and will eat a toddler every day to stay alive.

Regardless of whether the rumors are true or not, in short, when at sea, no one dares to mention the words Empress of the Seven Seas - whoever mentions it is unlucky. Therefore, everyone will be careful to avoid these words, and then choose other words.

For example, the term El Niño, which is used to refer to a strange current, is used to refer to the person whose name cannot be mentioned.

"Don't worry, my old fellow. James patted the captain on the shoulder, and he let out a hearty laugh: "That lady's prestige disappeared twenty years ago. Her king's Seven Martial Seas also vanished at the same time. ”

"All we met was a regular El Niño and had nothing to do with the gluttonous lady. ”

As soon as James finished speaking, the first mate hurriedly ran over: "Captain, the lookout found three unidentified ships directly ahead of the course. ”

Hearing this, the captain's face turned half pale, and he settled down before continuing to ask: "What kind of ship type? merchant ship or pirate ship?"

The first mate replied truthfully: "There are three very beautiful four-masted sail warships, and the main sail of each ship has a misty mountain painted on it. ”

Hearing this answer, Powell immediately foamed at the mouth, and lay down on his back to the sky with a wail: "My God, the Empress of the Seven Seas is back!"