Li Xian feels very bad now, the first pot of gold is earned, but the price is to form a mortal enmity with the only superpower at that time, which is not what he wants. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

However, at this point, it is useless to regret it, and can only find a way to gather resources, form allies, and prepare for a counterattack by the British that will come soon.

While everyone didn't know that the Mixed Yuan Sect was doing such a big thing, Li Xian decided to go to Macau to make the last purchase before the break.

If he wanted to go to Macao, the two large ships he had seized naturally could not be used, so Li Xian still took the sailing ship and two hard sailing boats he bought from Macao to Macao.

The two Chinese-style sailing ships in Li Xian's hands are both large ships captured from Hai Yan Luo and Zhu Jiu respectively, with a displacement of about 300 tons.

It is said that the flagship of the pirate Zhang Bao, who was rampant decades ago, was this kind of flowery butt ship, which was converted into a warship after being equipped with more than 20 guns.

Li Xian took people to Mong-Ha Village outside Macao, met with Qian Dafu, who lived there, and had a discussion, and felt that it was still safe to enter Macao, so he entered Macao.

Li Xian had not been to Macao once or twice, and some Western businessmen he knew found that some of these people were panicked and expressed great anxiety about the war situation between China and Britain.

This is different from the previous situation, these Western businessmen thought that the Chinese sailors had no countermeasures against foreign merchant ships, but now they have just woken up from a dream, thinking that with a big country like China, even if they are defeated, it is still easy for some merchants to suffer a catastrophe.

No one has ever raised China's status in the minds of foreign businessmen in this way.

"This damned war must be stopped, or I don't know how many tragedies will happen.

Since the outbreak of this war, many merchants have gone bankrupt, and after the Qing government began to carry out privateering of British merchant ships, the number of bankrupt merchants is likely to double. A well-respected Macau businessman, commonly known as Old John, complained to Li Xian.

"Yes, the trade routes are blocked, and it is difficult to do business, which is a problem.

I once visited the British consul and reminded him that blocking the mouth of the Pearl River and continuing the war would only bring terrible disasters to both China and Britain.

It's a pity that I'm soft-spoken, and no one cares about me. Li Xian sighed and said.

"In this regard, I agree with you that after the war there will be only losers, and no one will gain. Old John nodded and recognized Li Xian.

In the past, Macao was the only city in the Qing Dynasty where foreigners were allowed to live, and many ships that came to China to trade had to dock at least once in Macao to obtain various supplies or repair ships.

Modern people drive back to their hometown, and after coming back, they have to do a maintenance of the car, and the same is true for ocean-going merchant ships, whether it is after arriving in Chinese waters, or before leaving from Chinese waters, they must do a meticulous and rigorous maintenance.

For this reason, Macao's ship repair industry was very developed before the war, with seven or eight ship repair yards of a certain size, providing ship repair services for foreign ocean-going merchant ships to China, and at the same time building some of its own ships to sell to merchants.

Taking John Sr.'s shipyard as an example, at its peak there were more than 80 workers, with a fairly high level of technology, as well as steam engines, metalworking machine tools, wood cutting machine tools, etc., although slightly outdated, but still the most advanced metal and wood processing technology in the entire Qing Dynasty.

Compared with the advanced shipyards in the United Kingdom and other places, the technical level is about 20 years behind.

However, after the conflict between China and Britain, especially after both sides began to use warships and artillery, Macau's ship repair industry plummeted, and business was much bleaker than before, and many processing plants closed down, making it difficult to continue.

John Sr.'s shipyard did not go out of business, but it also laid off more than half of its workers, and it was just barely afloat.

After Li Xian extinguished the pirates in Leizhou, he seized a lot of ships, some of which were pulled to Macao and repaired in Old John's shipyard.

As a Portuguese who had lived in Macau for half his life, John Sr. was very unimpressed by the economic depression caused by the war, and believed that the war should be ended as soon as possible and peace should be restored.

Regarding the disappearance of the two ocean-going merchant ships that occurred during this time, Old John, like most people, thought that it was an act of retaliation by the Qing army, and there was not much blame for it, after all, the British sent warships to block the mouth of the Pearl River, and it was no wonder that the Qing did not retaliate.

I think that when European countries issued various privateer licenses, Old John also experienced it, and he didn't think there was anything bad about this kind of behavior.

John Sr. was genuinely concerned that this tension would have a further detrimental effect on his business.

"If this war continues, my shipyard will close its doors, and I will retire early and go home to see my grandchildren. Old John said with a sigh.

"That's not necessarily a good thing. The shipyard has been in business for decades, and the machines are aging badly, so there is no need to buy new ones.

However, now that the shipyard is sold, is anyone willing to take over?" asked Li Xian quietly.

"I built this shipyard for three thousand eight hundred pounds, and now I can sell it for more than two thousand five hundred pounds.

With this money, whether in Europe or in Qingguo, I can live a rich retirement life. Old John didn't suspect anything, he just wanted to say anything.

"Two thousand five hundred pounds, this broken shipyard can't sell it for that much money.

This shipyard covers an area of more than 30 acres, and in this time of chaos, the land and buildings are not worth much.

As for workers or something, now there are layoffs everywhere, and if you give you eighty or ninety percent of the salary you used to pay, you can hire hundreds of workers, and they are all first-class in technology.

Your shipyard is worth a little money, and some of the machines have been used for many years, and if you want me to say, if you can sell it for a thousand pounds, you will have to burn high incense. Li Xian said disappreciatively.

"A thousand pounds, how is that possible, this is the best shipyard in Old John's Shipyard, the whole of Macau, no, the whole Qing Kingdom.

If it weren't for this damn war, I would have earned more than five hundred pounds a year, how could I sell it, your estimation is not right..."Old John heard that Li Xian was trying his best to belittle his shipyard, and he couldn't help jumping up angrily, and he was so anxious that he wanted to duel with Li Xian.

It's just that Old John is also an old businessman after all, and after saying a few angry words, he suddenly understood that Li Xian's words had other meanings.

"My shipyard is still very valuable, Mister Lee, do you want to get involved in shipbuilding?

Oh, by the way, it is said that you are doing well in Leizhou, if anyone wants to build a ship at the time of this war, it is you. Old John suddenly understood.

"Oh, as you can see, I prefer traditional Chinese hard sailing boats, but soft sailing boats are not unacceptable.

If the price is right, it is also good to buy a Western-style shipyard. Li Xian said with a smile.