Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 318 The spring of the forty-second year of Qianlong’s reign, the key word is just one word~
Smith rushed to the bow of the ship, took a look through his telescope, and roughly judged the quality of the incoming ship—a pirate!
"There is an old saying in the Qing Dynasty: Guan Gong is playing with a sword in front of his gate."

"Gentlemen, prepare to fight!"

The sailors changed their laxity, carried the shells, rolled out the artillery, and fired the guns and knives in the cabin.

In most sea areas of the world in the 18th century, merchants and pirates actually meant the same thing. If you can trade, trade; if you can rob, rob.

In short, be flexible!
……

No one thinks this flexible switching mode is ungentlemanly!
Rather, it was a God-given authority and an act encouraged by the King.

Smith suddenly understood because of the old Manila sailing ship under his feet.

While in Jinshanwei, he sold the boat Annie Baby to Li Yu at a discount. The old-style Manila galleon at my feet was temporarily purchased from a bankrupt colleague. I thought it would be a while before the new ship was launched in the Manila shipyard before being replaced.

As a result, I was treated as a weak fat sheep by my peers~
Boatswain An Weiji came over. Although he was from Fujian, he was one of the core figures of this small group.

He asked in a low voice:
"Captain, could it be the guys from the Gentleman's Tavern~"

"of course."

And almost at the same time,

Hatred between peers needs no reason.

The distance is getting closer~
The captain of the Galen ship looked at the sailors on the deck of the Manila galleon and was secretly happy to find that they were all standing in front of the wooden box covered with canvas with bare hands.

Suddenly a plan came to mind:

Smith's eyes suddenly turned cruel, and he whispered to the first mate in a low voice:
"They are Saxons."

From this angle, there is no need to worry about being bombarded by the few cannons on the side of the Manila galleon, and at the same time, the armed sailors on the deck can easily join forces.

……

"Then start the show, paralyze them, and then blast them to death at close range."

"Although this possibility cannot be ruled out. However, I think the reaction speed is too fast. So it is more like a coincidence?"

"Aki, have you ever heard of pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger?"

The first mate was excited and asked as calmly as possible:
"Are you really sure about the two carronade cannons on the bow?"

If necessary, the artillery on the side of the Galen ship can provide timely bombardment support.

Dozens of Saxon sailors, armed with axes, swords, and muskets, stood on the side, ready to join forces and seize the fat sheep.

"on!"

The other party was a typical Galen ship with an advanced shape. The draft is very deep, indicating that it is also fully loaded with cargo.

Smith shook his head:

The main purpose of killing people and silencing them is to keep it secret. It is also important to avoid being seeking revenge by others in the future.

An Weiji looked gloomy:
"Captain, they are signaling for us to surrender."

"With this big-bellied artillery?"

Smith cursed under his breath.

"Aki, do we really look weak?"

"Thrown into the sea."

"We'll see."

"What about people?"

"Yes, although the Manila galleon is very capable of loading cargo, its firepower is weak by default, and the hull is not strong enough. The copper ingots installed in the cabin have a very deep draft. If it had been another ship, I would have felt like I had encountered a fat sheep."

"Yes, the legendary artillery presented to me by His Majesty King Wu."

Everyone stared at each other nervously and excitedly.

Half an hour later,

……

There is no leak, because the Saxons have already developed carronnons, but they have not been taken seriously by the Royal Navy.

……

The incoming ship finally stopped pretending and raised its skull and crossbones flag. The bronze cannons on the side spouted flames and water columns rose from the sea, which was a strong demonstration.

Smith had a question mark on his face and asked sideways:

And An Weiji stood on the bow of the Manila galleon waving a white flag. The sailors on deck also looked worried, trying their best to play the role of pigs.

The Galen ship flexibly approached from the front at an angle of 45 degrees.

He gave the order, and the armed sailors on the side immediately put several gangplanks with iron hooks onto the Manila galleon.

When Smith and his entourage left Jinshan Guard, Li Yu sent people to present 5 reduced version carronnons.

The two ships slowly approached,
Under Smith's instruction, the height of the main sail was lowered by one-third, which really paralyzed the Saxon crew of Galen's ship.

……

The Galen ship with the skull and crossbones flag 1 mile away,
In the highest stern cabin, the Saxon captain with a big beard and a wide-brimmed hat smiled happily:
"Try to seize that Manila galleon. I want the cargo and the ship."

Anweiji forcefully tore open the canvas on the bow of the ship, revealing two short, fat, ridiculously low-profile 2-pound carronade cannons underneath.

The sailor next to him immediately pulled the fusillator's rope.

Before the canvas fell to the sea, the sound of gunfire suddenly sounded.

The Saxon sailors who were queuing up to get on the gangplank and were about to join the gang to seize the ship were instantly met with a barrage of shotgun shells. The level of bloodshed was indescribable.

Gun smoke and blood mist mixed together and were blown away by the sea breeze.

The Saxon captain was cold all over, threw away his telescope, and roared:

"Keep your distance and fire."

On the side of Galen's ship, three artillery pieces fired one after another.

Two rounds hit the bow of the Manila galleon, sending sawdust flying everywhere. One of the shots even hit a target, mainly because the distance was too close and the power was too much.

Smith also drew his sword and shouted:

"Instead of solid bullets, hit their tail cabin."

The 4-wheel gun carriage of the carronage gun is easy to move and saves trouble. It also reloads more quickly than the long gun.

With two huge roars, accompanied by the heartbreaking sound of planks falling apart, Captain Saxon disappeared together with the two-story aft cabin.

……

"Yeah~"

"Quick, keep blasting them."

Everyone on the Manila galleon went crazy. The sailors hoisted the mainsail frantically, and the rest circled the carronade.

In addition to the 2 doors on the deck, there are 3 doors in the sides.

The two ships fired wildly at each other.

The Galen ship lost its fighting spirit and raised its white flag.

Because after the captain died, the first mate who succeeded him was a semi-finished trainee officer of the Royal Navy. After 6 years, he failed to join the formal officer establishment, so he joined the merchant navy.

He is extremely familiar with the power of various types of artillery, and he can extinguish everyone's stubbornness with one sentence:
"The opponent's artillery is no less than 40 pounds. This is not a merchant ship, and we are not opponents. Surrender."

As a result, the Galen ship gave up its resistance.

Smith hesitated for a while, then ordered to sail behind the stern rudder of Galen's ship and occupy the T-tactical side.

At the same time, he shouted to the other party to lower all sails.

……

"Captain, Saxon did as he was told."

"Keep shouting and ask them all to stand on the deck and line up. We are all gentlemen and need a small surrender ceremony."

The first mate of the Galen ship stood straight on the deck wearing a Royal Navy uniform without military rank.

He took off his military cap and shouted:
"Which country's warship are you from?"

Seeing more than 20 people standing under the broken mainmast of the Galen ship, Smith whispered to the gunner:

"I'll wave my hand later and you'll start washing the deck with cannons."

After all,

He strode to a conspicuous place, raised his right hand and shouted: "The Qing Empire's Nanhai Navy Commander, greetings to the son-of-a-bitch George III and his family. Fire~"

After 2 shots, the mainmast creaked and fell.

There was a pool of blood on the deck, and many bodies were knocked into the sea.

The power of the Caron Cannon at close range left everyone present dumbfounded and deeply impressed.

"Oh, God."

"It's really scary."

A group of sailors murmured and jumped excitedly.

Three fatally injured people, a ship's doctor, a chef, three goats, and two cats were eliminated.

……

Smith discussed with several senior crew members and decided to burn the Galen ship without leaving any trace.

If greed for money takes away the ship, it is likely to trigger revenge from the Saxons, who have done a good job in intelligence work in Southeast Asia.

The Manila galleon sailed away, leaving behind the burning Galen ship slowly sinking into the sea, as well as the wooden planks and corpses surrounding it that undulated with the waves.

I originally wanted to go to Malacca to sell treasure maps.

However, the hull had obvious shelling damage, and we were worried that it would arouse unnecessary suspicion.

After everyone gathered together, they decided to sneak back to their nest.

First go to Lanfang Pontianak for repairs, and then return to Manila to get a new Galen boat as soon as possible. The provincial ones are always treated as fat sheep.

The sailors were all given a good fortune, looted from the Saxon ship Galen.

Where there is gold, there is loyalty. A captain who can lead sailors to make fortunes is like a god-like existence.

on deck,
Smith sat on a chair with a golden sword, brandishing a short-handed blunderbuss to a group of people, and made a wish:

"When I become the governor, you will be the tax collector. You will be the commercial officer. You will be the priest. You will be the captain of the guard. The rest will be constables and will manage the land under my jurisdiction. Everyone will know how to do it. Owns a big house, hundreds of acres of land, and hundreds of indigenous slaves.”

A group of sailors smiled happily,

They cheered and grabbed Smith's boots to express their loyalty.

……

Half a day later, three merchant ships loaded with Siamese rice passed by.

The captain hesitated for a moment, but still ordered to avoid this area of ​​the sea and not to meddle in other people's business, not to mention searching and rescuing anyone alive.

This is against the ethics of sailors.

It's because he has an important responsibility, to deliver rice to Dagokou as soon as possible to earn money.

Behind them are businessmen from the Thirteenth Bank of Guangdong. As well-informed businessmen, they will not miss any potentially profitable business.

Moreover, it can also bring honor to Heshen, the master behind the scenes.

It's a good thing to kill three birds with one stone.

Also starting to stock up on food was Tiancheng Yuan Bank, headquartered in Pingyao, Shanxi. The owner received a secret letter from Liu Jinxin, his niece's son-in-law in the south.

It is an incredible feat to be able to preserve the property of a bank account from the flames of war.

Although, Liu Jinxin insisted that he had nothing to do with the false king of Wu, it was just a lie.

But among the seasoned stockholders, none of them have matured with age. There was no shady deal in private, so how could King Wu keep the money he put in his pocket?
On what grounds do you, Liu Jinxin, sell the goods? It’s not worth it if all the people in Pingyao have contributed millions of dollars in savings!
……

After the boss and a group of shareholders gathered together in the basement, they sent a secret letter to Liu Jinxin to pay attention to the risks, not to be caught by the court, and not to jeopardize the ticket number.

Everything must be based on the interests of the ticket account!

Now that the news is poor, he can make decisions freely.

then,

Going against the rest of Shanxi merchants, he began to hoard food.

Because of the Saxon mission's visit, well-informed Shanxi merchants were investing in hoarding tea and silk. These two are the bulk of purchases by barbarian merchants.

Coincidentally, the Chamber of Commerce under Li Yu was also frantically sweeping up goods.

The next season's raw silk in the Taihu Basin is all booked. Raw silk was already at a high level last year, and this year it is even more impressive, doubling again.

Tea prices have slightly increased by 2 times.

Merchants in the south of the Yangtze River changed hands with each other, and the tea leaves were kept idle in the warehouse!
The most outrageous thing is,
At first, Shanxi merchants were afraid of being detained and kidnapped by the Wu army, so they only dared to send their clerks to purchase in small quantities in batches.

Later, it was discovered that even though they themselves were sitting in a sedan chair, wearing big braids, and entering Raozhou Mansion to buy tea, Wu Jun turned a blind eye.

……

Shanxi merchants collectively realized that war would not destroy business.

They found a very familiar feeling. Hou Jin had the same feeling with Daming!
The front line of Liaodong was a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood, with tens of thousands of troops thrown into it. Shanxi merchants still had unimpeded access to the south of the Yangtze River. They were guests of the local gentry and government, and openly purchased military supplies and grain for Liaodong.

For the sake of free money, everyone tacitly ignored the embarrassment of their respective opposing camps.

After all, how can you let so-called righteousness ruin a great situation of making money?

Reasonable, very reasonable!

Especially when Vice Minister of Commerce Fucheng met with representatives of Shanxi merchants in private, his familiar mandarin jacket, familiar style, and familiar rhetoric made everyone present feel more cordial.

Correct!
Just like this, our Qing Dynasty is back again.

Fucheng complained on the spot:
"Old Hongli is too cruel. What does he think of our three-flag disciple in the Ministry of Internal Affairs? Is it easy for us to get some money? He is good. He will conduct a house raid in a few years. My eyes will be red from crying. "

"Everything in the world is nothing more than a matter of reason. Whatever happens to the Emperor, the Emperor must also be reasonable."

"Comments, you guys, if you do this to me, can I not rebel if I step on the horse?"

……

Although everyone present did not dare to criticize the emperor by name, they recognized Fucheng in their hearts.

Shanxi merchants also hated this rogue behavior of the Qing court.

The representative of the Rishengchang bank said with an embarrassed smile:
"Master Fu, let's talk about business, shall we? Don't worry, the rules remain unchanged, 1%."

Fucheng picked up the tea bowl and scraped the tea leaves:

"Brother, I also took a big risk. Your Majesty and I were sworn brothers. Now I am selling tea behind your Majesty's brother's back. I feel so sad~"

The Shanxi merchants could only smile.

Fucheng took a sip and put down the tea bowl:

"You have to pay more!"

"1 and a half percent?"

"The brother I betrayed is a majesty, at least 2%, otherwise I will not be able to forgive him."

Everyone wanted to pour tea on Fucheng's face.

I cursed in my heart, you guys, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, are the most shameless thing in the world. There are dogs everywhere who can't change their behavior, and their moral standards are worse than the worst watchers in Bada Hutong.

……

2%!
Fucheng did not ask for money, but withheld 2% of the tea in stock. This made the shrewd Shanxi merchants even more certain that tea prices would skyrocket!
Sure enough, it didn't take long.

Some of them made a lot of money as soon as they changed hands. They were all bought by businessmen from Guangdong.

The purchasing power of overseas barbarian businessmen is really strong.

Thirteen businesses are all racing to catch up with the money printing press.

Shanxi merchants were the best at speculating prices. They immediately united and stopped shipping and continued to buy. Prepare to make the market out of stock and earn three lifetimes of money in one year.

They set their sights on the Wuyishan area in Fujian. This is the other main tea producing area in the empire besides Wannan.

A large number of Shanxi merchants came swarming with banknotes, competing with the purchasers under the Guangdong No. 13 Bank, and grabbing tea leaves at high prices. Various retail merchants also joined the carnival with the main force!
quickly,

The tea industry throughout the Qing Dynasty ushered in abnormal prosperity.

In the spring of the forty-second year of Qianlong's reign, the key word was just one word: rising!

Tea prices rise! Silk prices rise! Food prices rise!

Even the cheapest human life has begun to rise!

The Qing court finally recruited troops in the Huaixi region of Guangxi! All prefectures and counties recruited soldiers on the spot, and they were full of sincerity. A large number of soldiers were given 2 taels of silver per month, plus 3 measures of white flour. They would not be in arrears or lose money.

(End of this chapter)