Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 253 Sirius
More than half an hour after the Raytheon stopped, the British merchant ship Trust finally dispatched a small boat; the leader was the captain Marquis, and the others included the ship's doctor Higgins and five strong sailors.

As for the captain on the Eliza, he was already frightened by the Thor.After using the semaphore to communicate with the Trust, the Eliza sailed to the wharf of Tanzai Island, one kilometer away, to repair the damage and treat the wounded.

Zhao Xin, Liu Sheng and the others were still the same. After receiving the boarding request from the small boat, they set up the white awning again. Inside the shed was a table covered with a light blue tablecloth. On it lay a pot of coffee, a pack of cigarettes and a box of matches.

After waiting under the gangway for nearly 10 minutes according to the guidance of the Thor, Captain Marquis, who was already somewhat impatient, walked up the gangway wearing a standard British captain's uniform and a black tricorn hat. .

Before he stepped onto the deck, Marquis held on to the cold railing of the gangway and reached out to touch the shell of Thor.Higgins and others behind him were also very surprised when they touched the hull.

"It's really iron! I just don't know how thick their shells are. The 18-pound shells hit it with only a piece of white paint off."

When the seven of them held their heads high and led their companions onto the Thunder God, they were taken aback for a moment.Between the tall white ship building and the bow, except for the two huge monsters covered with colorful canvas, the field of vision is open.

Looking at the tall ship building, Marquis and his men immediately felt dizzy. They couldn't figure out why the ship building was built so high.

In the open space in the middle of the deck, there was actually a snow-white awning. Three Tatar men in strange clothes were standing at the table. One of them looked at him with a smile on his face, while the other two looked at him. serious face.

At this moment, a sailor behind Marquis suddenly lost his voice: "Tartar?"

Zhao Xin shook his head and said, "No, there are no Tatars here. We are Han people, the Han nationality!"

"Han?" As the most knowledgeable person on the Trust, Dr. Higgins was taken aback suddenly, he had never heard of it.

Zhao Xin thought about it for a while, and then said: "Sinae."

Now Higgins understood, because Zhao Xin was speaking in Latin.

"Are you from Siris? My God!" Higgins said in disbelief.

Seeing Higgins' reaction, Marquis quickly asked, "Doctor Higgins, what's the matter with the Siris people?"

In the second century A.D., the Roman scholar Claudius Ptolemy, in his masterpiece Geography, recorded that Macedonian merchants arrived in Luoyang, the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty.Contrary to this, in the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty Hedi Ji", it is recorded that "In the 12th year of Yongyuan, in the winter of November, the two countries of Mengqi and Doule in the Western Regions sent envoys to enclose them, and bestowed their kings with gold seals and purple ribbons."

"Captain Marquis, Sinae, and Seres are the 'Country of Silk' recorded in Ptolemy's writings. Their history is longer than our British Empire, and can even be traced back to the ancient Greek era."

"Ah?" After listening to Dr. Higgins' introduction, Captain Marquis was stunned for a moment.He pouted, turned around and bowed slightly, and said to Zhao Xin and the others with a solemn expression: "Gentlemen, I am very glad to meet you here, although some unpleasant things happened to us before. Let me introduce myself, I am the East India of the British Empire Richard Marquis, the captain of the Merchant Ship of the Company's Trust. The gentleman next to me is the ship's doctor of the Trust, Mr. Brad Higgins; as for the few behind me, they are all on my ship companion."

Zhao Xin took a step forward and stretched out his right hand; this surprised Marquis, only to hear the other party say in a strange English tone: "Hello, Captain Marquis. My name is Zhao Xin, and you can call me Zhao. The one on my left is the captain of this ship, Mr. Ding; and the one on my right is the head of the Navy Department of our country, Victory Lau. What needs to be specifically explained to you is that Mr. Lau is also a direct descendant of the Seres royal family. "

Liu Shengxin said that Zhao Xin is your uncle!Randomly give Lao Tzu a name and make up his life experience.But it seemed too late to change his words at this time, so he could only nod with a sullen face.

And Zhao Xin's heart is naturally "hehe".When he was in Tlin Shiji, Liu Sheng told Sahalian that Zhao Xin was a descendant of the previous emperor, and he would always keep this account in mind.

After introducing each other, everyone sat down. A Miao, who was dressed in Ming Dynasty Hanfu, came with two plates of snacks, and then poured a cup of iced coffee for everyone.This scene made Marquis and the others blink, wondering why there were women on board?

But after taking a sip of cold coffee with honey, Marquis' hot heart finally calmed down.At this time, Zhao Xin opened the pine wood cigarette case again, and distributed a cigarette to everyone.

As I said before, at the end of the 18th century, cigarettes had not yet been invented.So Zhao Xin lit a cigarette for himself first, and then lit a cigarette for Marquis and the others.

The small white paper roll exuding a strong tobacco aroma, the small wooden stick that can be wiped easily, and the coffee pot on the table with a bright shell that can reflect the figure, all of which surprised Marquis and others.

Is this the Sirisian?But they look no different from those Qing people in Macau and Guangzhou.

Do not!Marquis suddenly realized that people like Zhao Xin didn't have braids, and their hair was cut very short; moreover, the three in front of him were much taller than those from the Qing Dynasty, and Victory Lau, who claimed to be a descendant of the ancient royal family, was even more so. As strong as a lion, he even has to look up to see the other person's face.

There are no such people in the Qing Dynasty; even if there are such tall people, no one will cut their braids.

In other words, coffee is like cigarettes, happy like a fairy.In such a strange but relatively pleasant atmosphere, the captain of the Trust, Marquis, said that the shelling incident that happened not long ago was just a misunderstanding. The Eliza just wanted to fire a cannon to wake up and signal to stop the ship, but it missed your ship. .Fortunately your ship was not damaged.

However, in view of the multiple damages to the Eliza's hull and casualties caused by the return of the Thor, Marquis, on behalf of the East India Company, filed a claim for compensation from the three of Zhao Xin.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xin asked with a smile, "Mr. Marquis, how much compensation do you want?"

Marquis thought for a while, and he felt that the other party was too rich, and he would feel sorry for himself if he didn't blackmail him.So he replied with a serious face: "A thousand pounds."

How much was a pound worth at the end of the eighteenth century?

In 1717, Sir Newton, who was almost killed by an apple when he was young, fixed the price of gold per ounce at 3 pounds, 17 shillings and 10.5 pence during his tenure as director of the British Mint, so one pound corresponds to 7.28 grams of gold at this time.

When Liu Sheng heard that more than 7000 grams of gold would be compensated, he sneered and said in his heart, I will give you seven thousand big mouths!
Zhao Xin shook his head and said, "If our ship wasn't strong, then we would be the ones who lost. Captain Marquis, in the territorial waters of the Qing Dynasty, which is also the homeland of our Seres, you bombarded our ships for no reason. I didn't kill Yili. The sinking of the Shah is already a kindness."

Marquez argued: "That's what you tried to crash into the Trust!"

Zhao Xin asked calmly, "Did I bump into it?"

Marquis's face turned ashen, and he said angrily: "Your Excellency, you are making sophistry! Everyone in this sea can testify for me."

"I'm sorry! Our ship is too big to see you, and if you're frightened by it, I'll give you twenty packs of cigarettes and a bottle of wine as an apology. As for the Eliza, I'm sorry, they deserve it."

"You!" Marquis stood up with clenched fists, as if he was about to pounce.But when Liu Sheng on the opposite side of the table also got up, Marquis immediately withered.

When Dr. Higgins saw it, he got up quickly and persuaded: "Gentlemen, calm down, please calm down! Mr. Zhao, many crew members on the Eliza were injured. But you must know that our ship is full of cargo, and we have not entered the port. Before, the wounded could not receive effective treatment. Under such conditions, it is difficult for us to heal, and we must give some compensation to the injured crew.”

Zhao Xindao: "Cure the injury? It's a trivial matter. You can send the injured crew over, and I will treat it."

Marquis and the others were extremely surprised, and Higgins asked, "Mr. Zhao, are you a doctor?"

Zhao Xin nodded and said, "That's right, some people said I was a Mongolian doctor before."

Higgins thought it was all a mess!Why did it involve the Mongols again?

Two or 10 minutes later, under the coordination of Dr. Higgins, the two parties finally agreed that the injured crew members on the Eliza would be sent to the Thor for treatment; at the same time, Zhao Xin's party would provide some medicines as compensation.

After the two sides negotiated, Marquis immediately sent his men to row to inform the Eliza.But an hour later, the Eliza sent back a message that their captain did not agree to send the wounded over, and asked Zhao Xin to board their ship for treatment accompanied by Higgins.

Zhao Xin thought about it, and finally agreed, but he asked to bring some guards with him.Marquis and Higgins both nodded and agreed to this request.

A Miao heard that Zhao Xin was going to treat people, so she said that she would follow.However, when Zhao Xin heard from Dr. Higgins that it had been three months since the Eliza set off from Bangladesh, Zhao Xin did not agree.The main reason is that the cabin must be smelly, and there may be some hidden infectious disease.

In view of the slow speed of Marquis and their wooden boat, Ding Guofeng, as the captain, used two rubber assault boats.Zhao Xin, Marquis, Higgins, two sailors on the Trust, and five Beihai soldiers set off soon.

Several Brits were taken aback when the motor started.But then when they saw the rubber boat gliding on the water at a speed of 22 knots, and it took only two to three minutes for a distance of one kilometer, they were really frightened!At this time, Marquis and the others could no longer tell whether these Siris were using mechanical power or magic.

On the Eliza, Captain Ravi and others looked at the speedboat coming from the Thor, and they also looked at each other in blank dismay. Several sailors took out their muskets and put them on the ship's side and began to aim.But when Ravi used the binoculars to see Marquis and Higgins among the people sitting on the boat, he hurriedly stopped them.

After some negotiations, Zhao Xin and his men followed Marquis and boarded the Eliza.The sailors on the ship looked at these people with oriental faces, apart from anger, there was also a bit of surprise on their faces.Zhao Xin didn't talk nonsense with the captain Ravi, and asked directly where the wounded were; then, he followed Dr. Higgins and the two captains, and led his men into the lower deck.

At this time, the mess in the gun deck had been cleaned up, but when Zhao Xin just walked into the lower cabin, a thick smell of urine with a hint of ammonia immediately filled his nostrils.

"I'll go!" Zhao Xinxun was almost stumped by the smell.He hurriedly took out the mask from his pocket and put it on his face under the surprised eyes of several British people.

Behind a canvas curtain at the bow was a long bloodstained table, on which a wounded Englishman was lying, and three helping sailors held the wounded arm and leg firmly; and Yi The ship's doctor on the Lisa held up a small bow saw and was about to amputate the opponent.Because of the light problem, Zhao Xin, who was standing behind Higgins, couldn't see the man's injury clearly.

Seeing the captain bring someone in at this time, the doctor looked up and said indifferently: "Gentlemen, the light here is too poor, please go out immediately, so as not to affect my work!"

Then, under the order of Captain Ravi, a sailor took Higgins and Zhao Xin to the cabin below.The smell of urine became stronger here, and Zhao Xin couldn't help complaining to Higgins: "Mr. Higgins, isn't there a toilet on this boat? Why is everyone urinating in the cabin? It's too unhygienic!"

Higgins looked back at Zhao Xin and said, "Mr. Zhao, no one urinates here. This is just the smell of opium. It must be that the wooden box containing opium has fallen apart."

When he heard the word "opium", Zhao Xin was stunned and couldn't help but stop.Because of wearing a mask, no one noticed that Zhao Xin's eyes had changed from curiosity to anger.

This word is too sensitive for the Chinese of later generations!And it was a British ship!Zhao Xin suppressed his inexplicable anger, took a few deep breaths, and said nothing.

More than a dozen injured sailors were lying on hammocks in the cabin. Some of them were stabbed in the face by flying sawdust, some were injured by falling objects, and several were blown away by .50 bullets. arms and legs.Thanks to the 30-inch thick oak hull of the Eliza that blocked most of the kinetic energy of the bullets, otherwise, not to mention broken arms and legs, the whole person would be blown up directly.

Due to the relationship between opium, Zhao Xin just looked at the injuries of these people, and then asked the other party to take him out before talking.After several people returned to the upper deck, Zhao Xin took a few bottles of Yunnan Baiyao with the label removed from the medical kit carried by his subordinates, and told Higgins how to use it.

"The little red pill inside is life-saving. If someone has a festering wound and a high fever, you can take it; as for the powder, you can apply it to the wound."

Higgins held up a medicine bottle suspiciously and looked at the sun for a long time.In this era, there are not many ways to deal with wound inflammation, except to use a red-hot iron to burn, or use a scalpel to cut off the rotten flesh, you can only rely on your own physique to carry it, and God bless you.

"I'm curious, Mr. Higgins. Why do you still have opium on board?"

Higgins said disapprovingly: "Mr. Zhao, as a doctor, don't you know that opium is also a good medicine besides smoking?"

Zhao Xin's eyes flashed, and he didn't ask again, but said to Higgins: "Doctor Higgins, I would like to invite you to dinner on our boat. I wonder if I can honor you?"

Higgins said: "I personally am very willing, but this matter needs to be agreed with Captain Marquis and Captain Ravi."

(End of this chapter)