Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 256 Zhao Xin's Secret

The Haiphong yamen's boat left, but the two Australian and Portuguese officials stayed on board the Thunder God.Because Zhao Xin couldn't speak Cantonese, Liu Sheng was handed over to deal with them, and Zhao Xin was just as a companion.

Matos led his men and looked around in surprise, then sat under the awning and began to ask Liu Sheng.Their main questions include which country the Thor is, where it comes from, what its purpose is, what cargo is on board, how many people are on board, what weapons and equipment it has, and so on.

For these questions, Zhao Xin had plans before, but these answers made Matos and the two of them roll their eyes.

What is the Great Ainu Kingdom, what is the string of bright pearls in the North Pacific Ocean and so on. Finally, Liu Sheng said that he came to Macau this time to do a preliminary business investigation and purchase a batch of cotton, medicinal materials and hardwood.

Matos nodded in satisfaction and said: "Gentlemen, since you have already negotiated with Mr. Chen, I will send someone to report your situation in writing to Haiphong Tongzhi Yamen and Xiangshan County. As the municipal government of Macao Members, on behalf of my colleagues in the Macao City Hall, I welcome your arrival. I, Governor General Faria, will also welcome your visit."

Liu Sheng said: "Mr. Matos, can our ship sail into Macau Pier under your leadership?"

Matos shook his head and said: "Your Excellency, your ship's tonnage is too large, and the draft is too deep. The pier in Macau cannot berth such a huge boat. I will lead you to the Tanzai Island pier in the south, and we will take the boat from there. Sailboats have entered Macau. Gentlemen, during the mooring at Tam Tsai Island, I hope you will abide by the laws here and not cause any more incidents."

Liu Sheng shook his head and said, "You should tell the British about this, you can't tell us!"

Matos was choked by Liu Sheng's tough attitude, so he could only say: "Okay. We will greet the British."

The seafood dinner at noon was eaten on the deck instead, and Matos and his men were also invited to join.Seeing a table full of dishes all made in Chinese style, and Liu Sheng and the others all use chopsticks to eat, Matos was a little strange.However, considering that the other party had no braids and was driving such an iron ship that the Qing people could not have, he suppressed his doubts for the time being.

When lunch was in progress, Zhao Xin went to the bathroom once and came back, his face suddenly became ugly; he didn't sit for a while, he said he was not feeling well, and left.At that time, Liu Sheng was busy talking with Matos, so he didn't pay much attention.

Afterwards, the Raytheon raised anchor and set sail, and under the guidance of Matos's men, entered the port on the north side of Tanzai Island.According to the regulations of Guangdong Customs, all ships coming to Macao must berth here, and the crew members are not allowed to enter Macao without inspection; once found, they will be expelled immediately.The arrival of the Thunder God caused a commotion in the port. Considering the lack of water depth in the port, it finally had to stop at sea 500 meters away from the port.

The only thing to do now is to wait for the Macau side to send a ship.Originally, Liu Sheng wanted to hire a Chinese fishing boat at the port, but Matos reminded Liu Sheng that the fishermen here usually look very honest, but if they have the opportunity, they will become pirates.He had asked people from the Haiphong Yamen to help spread the word, and it is estimated that the Macau City Hall will send a boat to pick him up early tomorrow morning.

Matos mentioned the pirates, which reminded Liu Sheng that there was still a gang imprisoned on the Thor.Since idleness is idleness, let's have a surprise interrogation to find out the situation.

Matos was very surprised when he heard about this. He didn't expect these Seres people to capture so many pirates, so he asked to hand over these pirates to Macau, but Liu Sheng flatly refused this request.

"The man was arrested off the coast of Wailingding Island, what does it have to do with you?" Liu Sheng said in a blunt manner.

Matos had no choice but to take a step back and asked to attend the trial.He said that pirates have often appeared in the Pearl River Estuary recently, and maybe these people are one of them.Liu Sheng thought about it and agreed.

The interrogation was carried out under the awning on the main deck. Besides Liu Sheng, there were two soldiers in Beihai Town, and a correspondent was in charge of taking notes.Mattos and two of his men were present to listen.

Because Zhao Xin had thought of recruiting this group of people before, the soldiers guarding Zheng Yi deliberately didn't give them food.Today, Zheng Yi, his cousin Zheng Qi, and the others are all starved of hunger, and it is impossible to get angry.

"Tell me. Name!"

"Zheng, Zheng Yi." Zheng Yi pursed his chapped lips, speaking weakly.

"I'm asking what your name is!"

"Zheng, Zheng Wenxian."

"how old are you?"

"21."

Seeing that the other party was so hungry, Liu Sheng ordered his men to go down and bring Zheng Yi half a bowl of fish soup to drink.Zheng Yi smelled the aroma of the fish soup, took it without caring about burning his mouth, and finished it in two gulps, then took a long breath, and said: "I won't say anything if you ask any more questions, at worst, I will be a good man again in 18 years !"

"You are a sneaky guy, what kind of a hero are you!" Liu Sheng chuckled disdainfully, and continued to ask: "Tell me, where is your lair?"

Zheng Yidao: "If you want to kill or cut up casually, if you want me to confess, don't even think about it!"

At this time, Matos looked at Zheng for a while, and suddenly asked, "Is your father's name Zheng Lianchang?"

Zheng Yi shrank his pupils, glared at Matos viciously, turned his head and stopped talking.

Matos nodded at this time, and said to Liu Sheng: "Mr. Liu, I think I know the origin of their group."

"Oh? I wonder if Mr. Matos can talk about it?"

According to Matos, at the end of Ming Dynasty and the beginning of Qing Dynasty, one of the subordinates of Zheng Zhilong, the leader of the pirates in the southeast, was named Zheng Jian. Belt, become a pirate.These people occupied the Lei Yue Mun area in the southeast corner of Hong Kong Island as their lair, and worshiped Zheng Jian as the main one; they also built a Tin Hau Temple there, and charged diversion fees for passing ships.Zheng Jian's son is Zheng Lianchang, and Zheng Yi is Zheng Lianchang's son.The current Pearl River Estuary pirates are divided into six gangs: red, yellow, blue, white, black, and purple. Zheng Lianchang is the leader of the red flag.

After listening to Matos' explanation, Liu Sheng chuckled and said, "So it's a family of pirates!"

What Liu Sheng didn't know was that in the history of another time and space, the most famous group of pirate leaders during the Jiaqing period, such as Zhang Baozai, Xiangshan Er, Zheng Guohua, Guo Podai, etc., all came from Zheng Yi's sect.As for Zheng Yi's later wife, she was the famous Mrs. Zheng Yi; but the woman named Shi Xianggu was only ten years old this year.

Liu Sheng spent the whole afternoon interrogating all the prisoners.Basically, apart from the name and age, there is nothing else to ask.He guessed that because the family members of these pirates were all on Hong Kong Island, if they were all recruited, they would not be able to escape in the future.

After that, Matos was taken to rest, and Liu Sheng came to Zhao Xin to discuss how to deal with Zheng Yi and others.Unexpectedly, after he knocked on the door, he saw Zhao Xin's face was a little pale.

Liu Sheng then asked with concern: "What's wrong with you?"

Zhao Xin shook his head and said, "It's uncomfortable to eat at noon, and my stomach feels uncomfortable."

Liu Sheng was surprised and said, "You're on the wrong track this time! You just got a cold, and now you're having a stomachache?"

Zhao Xindao: "I'll find some medicine and I'll be fine. What do you want me to do?"

Liu Sheng saw that his expression was very relaxed, and he didn't look too seriously ill, so he told about the situation of Zheng Yi and the others.

Zhao Xindao: "At first I thought they were some petty thieves, so I thought about subduing them. I didn't expect that they were from a family of pirates. Even if such people were brought back, they would be an unstable factor."

"What are you going to do?"

Zhao Xin leaned on the table, lit a cigarette, and didn't speak for a long time.After a while, he said: "Put the two minions back and let them report to Zheng Yi's father. Let them tell Zheng Yi's father that if they don't come to Tanzai Island in two days, they will never see his son again."

"what do you mean?"

Zhao Xin poked his eyebrows with his index finger and said, "We have to have a meeting with that old Hongqi boss. If this move is done well, it will be of great help to Liu Zheng, and the ship repair craftsman we want may be there." It’s also gone.”

"That's daring!"

The two British three-masted sailing ships that they captured in Sakhalin Island are still parked in the port of Beihai Town.The main reason is that both ships needed repairs, but there was no suitable hardwood and craftsmen in Beihai Town, so they were dragged down like this.Zhao Xin's plan is to use these two ships to transport coal in Ezodi and Beihai Town for a long time.

Zhao Xin continued to say to Liu Sheng: "You and Guofeng will arrive in Macau tomorrow. Apart from dealing with the Portuguese, you have to check the price of oak or iron wood, and buy a batch if it suits you; in addition"

"Wait!" Liu Sheng interrupted hastily: "Let Xiao Ding go, won't you go?"

Zhao Xin shook his head and said: "I want to test the communication network of various places on the ship, and I can't finish it in a while. In addition, if the boss of Hongqi comes, I have to deal with it. Guofeng is busy all the way, you take him to Macau Let’s go around, it’s a celebration of the end of his internship.”

"But is your body okay?" Liu Sheng asked suspiciously.

Zhao Xin made a look of disdain, and said to Liu Sheng: "Go to 'ma', it will definitely work! Besides, counting the round trip, you can stay in Macau for two and a half days in total, and there are many things to do. "

After Liu Sheng left Zhao Xin's cabin, he immediately went to the cockpit to meet Ding Guofeng.As soon as he came up, he asked: "Zhao Xin said that he will not go to Macau, and asked you to follow me. Do you know about this?"

Ding Guofeng said: "I know, he said a few words to me this afternoon. What's the matter?"

Liu Sheng nodded, turned around and left without saying a word.
Shrimp Ball Boy was the guy under Zheng Yi who first saw the Thunder God. He didn't expect that he would be let go!Before getting off the boat, Liu Sheng had someone serve him a big bowl of rice and the leftover fish soup from lunch.Shrimp Ball Boy ate voraciously, while listening to Liu Sheng say to him: "Did you write down everything I said?"

"Master, let's remember it all!" Xia Qiuzi drank a big mouthful of fish soup and said with a smooth chest: "In two days, Master Chang will definitely arrive!"

Several fishing boats surrounded the Raytheon from Tanzai Island on the post road, trying to sell their goods.Liu Sheng gave two silver dollars to the boatman of a fishing boat and asked him to send the shrimp balls away.The fisherman was also from the Dan family, so he naturally knew that Hongqi was helping the pirates.Now that I have money to take, I am naturally more happy.

As for Zheng Yi and the others, they didn't know what Liu Sheng was planning when they saw their companions being let go.

Liu Sheng walked up to Zheng Yi viciously and said, "Boy, your father will be here in two days, just wait for your ass to be boarded!"

Zheng Yi also returned Liu Sheng's vicious look, and said in his mouth: "What's the air! If my father arrives in two days, you have to beg the uncle to go!"

Liu Sheng laughed out loud when he heard this.

Since Shrimp Ball left, the soldiers in Beihai Town did not make things difficult for Zheng Yi and the others. They first untied the ropes and let them have a full meal; then they took some bedding and put them in the bow cabin for Zheng Yi and the others to use.After eating the white polished rice and covering them with soft and comfortable bedding, Zheng Yi and the others, who had been boiled like eagles for two days, fell asleep soundly.

Early the next morning, the boat sent by the Macau City Hall arrived, and it was a flat watermelon.This is a single-masted ship with a low bow and a high tail, and a protruding deck at the bow, which is convenient for berthing on the side of a large ship or loading and unloading goods at the dock.In addition to carrying goods, this kind of watermelon flat boat is also often used to transport foreign businessmen between Guangzhou and Macau, so it is also called "Biangui Xiaao Flat Boat".

Liu Sheng and Ding Guofeng followed Matos with fifteen soldiers.Each of them brought two pistols, one 84 revolver and one M1911.Before departure, everyone disassembled the M1911 into parts and hid them in the backpack together with the bullets; as for the 84 revolvers, they were loaded to prevent accidents at sea.

As for the gifts brought to Macao and Portuguese officials, they chose cigarettes, matches and lanterns.In addition, they also prepared a few cheap electric razors and a few batteries as gifts to the Governor of Macau and the Haiphong yamen Chen Tongzhi.Of course, all outer packaging for items from another time and space has been removed, replaced by pine boxes made by the ship's carpenter.

Liu Sheng was wearing a snow-white captain's uniform, standing on the deck of the watermelon boat, looking at Zhao Xin and A Miao who were waving at him, and murmured while waving: "No, this kid must be hiding something from me!"

Zhao Xin did have something to do.He left suddenly at lunch yesterday to say goodbye because he found a crack in the jade pendant.After returning to the cabin for the experiment, the result almost knocked him out of his wits!

For almost an afternoon, Zhao Xin wondered what happened.He thought carefully about his actions for the past few days, and finally found out in despair that he escaped from the jade pendant and put it on the table before going to bed with a bad cold that day.

"But it didn't fall on the ground!" Zhao Xin was puzzled, and finally he resorted to the ultimate method, drawing blood.

But the result is just like what Liu Sheng saw yesterday afternoon, even if Zhao Xin made his face as white as paper, the jade pendant no longer had the same effect as before.

"It's a mess!" Ten minutes before Liu Sheng knocked on the door, Zhao Xin was already desperate.Don't say that I can't go back anymore, even Yu Peili's things can't be taken out!
So, taking advantage of Liu Sheng's proposal of how to deal with Zheng Yi and the others, Zhao Xin thought a lot, and he thought he should not go to Macau, and first calculate what he had at hand.After the stocktaking is over, let's see what they have to say to Liu Sheng.

Right now, he feels that Liu Sheng and the others are the most troublesome, but those from the education gate of Beihai Town. Now, these old men have been screwed!
"A Miao, if I. I mean if."

"Huh? Master, what do you want to say?" A Miao also felt that something was wrong with Zhao Xin since noon yesterday, but she didn't dare to ask if Zhao Xin didn't say anything.

"If I can no longer make things disappear, and can no longer give away as much food as I want, what will you think of me?"

A Miao Xin said this, why did it take so much effort to listen to it!She blinked her eyes, thought for a long time before saying: "Master, what do you mean, you will not be a god in the future?"

"Well, that's pretty much what it means."

"That's great! Then the master won't suddenly disappear for days, and A Miao will be able to follow you all the time!"

Zhao Xin's eye sockets suddenly became a little moist, he snorted at A Miao's hair twice, and walked back to the ship building with a forced smile.After that, he took a pen and paper in the cockpit and began to count the existing inventory in Beihai Town, such as rifles, cannons, bullets, tractors, generators, several boats, etc.
In the end, the material list was filled with more than ten pages of blank paper. He felt that even if he couldn't go back, the current things could be used for several years.In addition to medicines and consumable parts for some equipment, there may not be enough.

"Hey, let's go back and see what Zhao Liang can do." Zhao Xin thought so, and this is the only way he can do it now.

While he was sighing, the intercom rang suddenly, and it was the telegraph room on the third floor calling him.

"My lord, can you come down immediately? The communication over Sheyang Lake has been connected!"

　About Chen Xinhuai and Matos: In September of the 52nd year of Qianlong (1787), a black slave drank too much in a Chinese hotel on Camp Street and refused to obey the Portuguese control, so Australian and Portuguese officials blamed the shop owner for selling alcohol to black slaves.The Chinese merchants in the neighboring shops defended the shop owners and had disputes with the Portuguese officials.Councilor Felipe Matos seized the opportunity to launch an attack and supervised the black slaves to demolish hundreds of Chinese merchants’ shops including Guo Nanquan on Camp Street, and then demolished three new houses built by Chinese in Wangxia and Shalitou. A group of Chinese residents.Then "the black slaves were allowed to steal and cause trouble in Wangxia Village", and "the cargo ships did not report when they arrived in Australia".Immediately after the incident, it aroused the anger of Chinese traders in Macau and caused a riot.Chen Xinhuai, the then acquaintance, immediately led the general soldiers to station to maintain order on the scene, and quickly reported the situation to Fukang'an, Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.Afterwards, Peng Zhu, the Prime Minister of Xiangshan County, set up a case on Tongqu Street. Sheng clothed Yiwei, summoned Tongshi and "Yimu" again, and demanded that the murderer be handed over.Seeing that Felila and others were extremely aggressive, Peng Zhu rushed to Guangzhou to meet Fu Kang'an, Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.Fukang'an ordered that the officers and soldiers of the Xiangshan Association under the jurisdiction of Tongzhi Chen Xinhuai be transferred into the customs gate and stationed in Wangxia Village, and "order Zhang Daoyuan from Guangzhou Prefecture to Macau to close the customs, and prohibit residents from selling utensils and food".Seeing that the situation was not good, Felila hurriedly asked the council to mediate.The council convened a public meeting, replaced the director of the incident, Matos, and let the next director, Machado Camero, take office ahead of schedule, and decided to restore the "old system" under the jurisdiction of the Qing government.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)