Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 257 A Trip to Macau ([-])

"Oh, I'll go right now."

How did Sheyang Lake get in touch? How many days have they been landing?Zhao Xin was a little irritable. When he arrived in the communication room, he just heard a familiar voice on the intercom asking eagerly: "Is your lord here? Please hurry up again."

Zhao Xin was stunned for a moment before he realized that it was Xu Dayong who was speaking to him.He walked to the table, picked up the communicator and said: "Xu Dayong, is your skin itchy? Are you okay making fun of me?!"

Xu Dayong at the other end of the line seemed to be stunned, and after a while he asked excitedly: "My lord, is it really you? My lord, are you all right?"

Zhao Xin was feeling annoyed, so he said angrily, "I can't die! Tell me if you have anything to say!"

"My lord! Don't be angry, listen to me first. Well, that Master Shen, Miss Shen, and Brother Shoushan brought over twenty men, and they went south to Guangzhou by boat overnight!"

"Ah?!" Zhao Xin was taken aback, and quickly asked, "What happened?"

At this time, I only heard Xu Dayong's voice from the opposite side: "My lord, is there anyone around you? Brother Shoushan told me about this before I left, let me tell you alone."

As soon as these words were said, the two correspondents in the room couldn't sit still immediately, and quickly got up and went out. After the two of them closed the cabin door, Zhao Xin said: "There is no one now, you can tell."

Xu Da used this to tell Zhao Xin what happened.

Yesterday afternoon, Shen Jingdan brought Shen Xuan to the Zhuangzi of Sheyang Lake suddenly, which surprised Lu Shoushan and Xu Dayong.It's only been a few days?Why are the father and daughter of the Shen family back again!

Unexpectedly, as soon as Shen Jingdan saw Lu Shoushan, he said that something might have happened to Zhao Xin, and asked him to take the best hands in Zhuangzi with him to Guangzhou to find Zhao Xin.When Lu Shoushan and Xu Dayong heard it, they were frightened and stupid on the spot!Quickly asked what happened.

Shen Jingdan couldn't talk nonsense about such a big matter, so he talked about something that Shen Xuan had felt a few days ago.

Lu Shoushan and Xu Dayong were dumbfounded, how could such a thing be used as an excuse?If there is nothing wrong with Zhao Xin, people like myself will not talk about it for nothing.

Just when the two were hesitating, Shen Xuan, who was disguised as a man, actually knelt down for them with a plop, which scared Lu Shoushan and Xu Dayong half to death.Both of them knew about Zhao Xin and Shen Xuan's engagement, and the future mistress begged both of them to be in this position, so don't talk about it, just bite the bullet!

Afterwards, the two made up their minds, and Lu Shoushan decided to bring someone to accompany Shen's father and daughter to go south to Guangzhou, and Xu Dayong stayed at Sheyang Lake.In addition to the two of them's original subordinates, Lu Shoushan also brought along Chen Jishan brothers and sisters and more than a dozen masters recruited by Zhuangzi.The reason why I brought Chen Jishan's younger sister was to serve Shen Xuan on the way.

Because the Shen family's father and daughter were in a hurry, Lu Shoushan summoned good people and left immediately; they boarded a sandboat that night, and it is estimated that they are almost in Shanghai County now.

When Zhao Xin heard Xu Dayong talk about Shen Xuan's feelings, he was very surprised.Something happened to me, how did Shen Xuan react?Besides, Yupei should have nothing to do with Shen Xuan.This is so weird!

Although the speed of traveling by boat is faster than that by land, according to the speed of sand ships in this era, it will definitely not arrive within ten and a half months.

It is said that ancient Chinese navigation was not calculated by speed per hour, but by "change", even in the Qing Dynasty.According to the "more" algorithm, the speed is 6.75 knots.The ancient nautical charts all told you how many times to go in which direction to get there, and then change the direction to go how many times to get there.As for the speed of the boat, it all depends on the weather and the experience of the bow (captain).

Zhao Xin and the others went all the way south from Sheyang Lake, excluding the stop at Flower and Bird Island, the total journey was nearly 1100 nautical miles.Relying on the nautical radar, the Thor also traveled at a speed of 20 knots for more than three days.This should be replaced by the turtle speed of the sand boat, it will be fast for ten days!
Do I have to wait here for half a month?But if you take the initiative to look for it, the sea is vast, who knows that Shen Xuan and the others are sitting on that boat?Could it be that when you see a sand boat, you go to check it?
Thinking of this, Zhao Xin couldn't help complaining to Shen Xuan, honestly, it would be great to buy a dowry in Yangzhou, what are you fussing about!

His eyes turned to Liu Sheng and the others.A group of people set off from Tanzai Island on a watermelon boat in the morning, and it was almost five o'clock in the afternoon before the boat sailed into Macau.

"Mr. Liu, Captain Ding, we will arrive at Nanwan Wharf soon." Matos smiled and introduced Liu Sheng and the others.

The area of ​​the Macao peninsula in this era was 2.78 square kilometers, much smaller than the Macao of later generations.The mountains on the entire peninsula are not high, and the highest Guia Mountain is only 91 meters above sea level.
In the Qing Dynasty, Macao was still called Haojing Macao among the Chinese population; among the Portuguese and other Western populations, it was called "Majiao Port of China", or "Majiao Port" for short.As for the word Macau in later generations, it comes from the homonym of the Mazu Temple on the island.

Liu Sheng and Ding Guofeng walked out of the cabin, stood on the deck and looked towards Macau. They saw beautiful houses that looked quite Italian in later generations. Surrounded by breakwaters with low walls, the scenery is very beautiful.Looking north from the direction of the pier, the famous Dasanba Temple is in sight (St. Paul's Cathedral, Sanba is the transliteration).And the hill next to the Ruins of St. Paul's is where the Fort of St. Paul's is.

In addition to the fort in the center of the peninsula, Liu Sheng and Ding Guofeng also noticed that there were two forts at the east and west corners of the Macau peninsula.

"Big Liu, do you think there is a casino at this time?" Ding Guofeng asked Liu Sheng beside him.

"Perhaps. I've been here once before."

When Liu Sheng came to Macau in another time and space, he was working as a bodyguard for the rich. Although his salary was high at that time, most of the money was sent home to his ex-wife, and he lived frugally.At that time, Macau gave him the impression that food was too expensive, and it cost 70 yuan to order a mapo tofu.

"Hehe, Da Liu, if you want to eat mapo tofu in Macau, you can't eat it now." Ding Guofeng is right. The dish of mapo tofu will not be available until the Tongzhi period, which will take about 90 years.

"At worst, let's invent it ahead of time. I'll let Chef Hu figure it out when I get back. From now on, I'll call it Fatty Hu Tofu!"

While the two were talking and laughing, the watermelon boat came ashore.

Nanwan is called the South Ring by the locals.The reason why it docks here is because according to the requirements of the Guangdong Customs of the Qing court, all foreigners who come to Macao must disembark from this place, and they can enter the country after being inspected by the Nanhuan Tax Office of the "Macau Customs Office".

The tax hall is located on the edge of the Nanwan Pier, just two steps away from the shore.This place is a small house, surrounded by a wooden fence outside the door, and there is a porch with a sunshade at the door.Under the wall on the west side of the tax hall, a dozen or so guys were sitting, watching Liu Sheng and his party pointing.

As soon as the watermelon boat touched the shore, a middle-aged man in a blue cloth gown came out of the house.Liu Sheng had seen this man before, he was the man surnamed Zhou who boarded the ship and had a secret conversation with Wang Ping, an aide to Governor Tusab of Guangdong.

And following the man surnamed Zhou came out were two inspectors, with the words "Macau Guanbu Xingtai" written on the livery on their chests.

When the man surnamed Zhou saw Wang Ping walking onto the pier, he winked at him.Wang Ping, who was dressed as a soldier from Beihai Town and wore a thunder hat, nodded indiscernibly.The man surnamed Zhou saw him, turned around and went back into the house.

One of the leading yamen servants came over and asked the boatman driving the watermelon boat, "How many people are these?"

The boatman looked back at Liu Sheng and the others, bowed and replied: "Not counting the director and his entourage, there are seventeen foreigners in total. They are all here."

"Yeah. Let them all in, we're going to check the luggage."

Liu Sheng frowned when he heard this, and was about to speak when someone pulled his sleeve.He turned his head and saw that it was Wang Ping. Seeing that the other party winked at him and nodded, he stopped talking and strode towards the tax hall.Ding Guofeng waved to his subordinates, and the group arrived at the gate of the tax hall.

The man surnamed Zhou was sitting behind a desk in the room before, and when he saw that Liu Sheng was leading a group of people to enter, he quickly shouted, "It's not proper to come in one by one!"

At this time, Liu Sheng and Wang Ping had already entered, while the two inspectors were standing outside the door and guarding.

"Three days? Don't pass?" The man surnamed Zhou seemed uneasy about the secret conversation on the boat before, so he asked again in a low voice.

Wang Ping nodded and said in a low voice, "Don't worry!"

The man surnamed Zhou stopped talking, picked up the brush, lowered his head, and began to write on the booklet on the table.Liu Sheng carefully read what the other party wrote in the brochure, and was almost not happy, thinking that this is okay?

"Today, a crew of 16 from the United States came ashore, and their ship was moored at the wharf on the outer island. The name of the ship was Clayton. The Yi people did not bring any cargo, and each of them only carried a backpack. The luggage tax was charged one tael and five dollars per person."

That man surnamed Zhou finished writing in the booklet, and said to Liu Sheng with a straight face: "Pay the money!"

Just after landing, more than 20 taels of silver were gone, which made Liu Sheng very unhappy, thinking that this is too expensive!
Seeing Liu Sheng's look of dismay, Wang Ping said in a low voice, "Master Liu, that's the rule. Guangzhou accepts more than Macau."

Liu Sheng took a silver bar from Beihai Town from his bag and gave it to Zhou, and when he opened the receipt, he said to Wang Ping, "Boss Wang, will you come with us later?"

Wang Ping hurriedly said: "Don't bother Mr. Liu, I will go with this one in a while."

Liu Sheng nodded and stopped talking. He took the tax payment certificate issued by the surname Zhou, turned around and went out.At this time, Wang Ping quickly entered a small room in the tax hall. After he changed his clothes inside, he could leave with Zhou.

When Liu Sheng walked out of the tax hall, he was about to talk to Ding Guofeng, when suddenly several guys in green cloth long gowns surrounded him, bowed their waists and whispered a lot to Liu Sheng. Roll your eyes.

"I'll go! What are these guys talking about!"

At this time, one of the people who came up suddenly showed surprise, and said in a broken official language: "Master, I really didn't expect you to speak our official language! We are all general staff in the department, sir, you There are so many people, let’s find a few more.”

Liu Sheng asked: "We will stay in Macau for more than two days, how do you calculate the money?"

Another officer quickly replied: "It's not expensive, five cents a day, plus two cents for fire consumption."

"Invite someone to count as fire consumption?" Ding Guofeng didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Ah! This master can also speak official language." A few passers-by wondered why this foreigner's official language was more slick than mine. "This is the court's rule, please accommodate me, sir."

At this time, Matos on the side said to Liu Sheng in Cantonese: "Liu, you can only invite them. This is the regulation of the Haiphong Yamen."

"Oh, thank you so much." Liu Sheng said to the staff again: "All of us can speak Mandarin, two of us should match each other, and we need to invite eight people. There are not enough of you."

"Enough is enough!" As soon as the words were finished, a few guys stood up from the bottom of the tax hall wall, their clothes were not as good as those in front of Liu Sheng, and their clothes were all patched.

Liu Sheng and Ding Guofeng looked at each other, then nodded again, which means that's it.
At this time, outside the entrance of the Ruins of St. Paul's Church, the welcome team headed by the Macao Municipal Committee had been waiting for a long time.These people are all in gorgeous European formal attire, and several Portuguese women in European-style long skirts and veils are also chatting.

Behind them, there is a group of Portuguese soldiers with guns. They gather together in twos and threes; all soldiers are wearing European-style military uniforms, with a white cloth wrapped around their heads.

When Matos led Liu Sheng and others over, the captain ordered the soldiers to beat the drums, and the others stood in line.At this time, five salutes were fired from the Sanba Fort to show welcome.

Seeing Liu Sheng walking beside Matos, several Australian and Portuguese women couldn't help turning their heads and exclaiming: "What a tall man!"

When Liu Sheng and others approached, these Australian Portuguese looked at the visitors in snow-white uniforms and strange-looking big-brimmed hats in front of them, and they were all dizzy.

A leading municipal official stepped forward and said, "Gentlemen, on behalf of the Macao Municipal Council and all residents in Macao, welcome to come!"

Liu Sheng and the others were also taken aback by the situation in front of them, so he ordered his subordinates to line up to salute to show their solemnity, but he did not expect this movement in Beihai Town to startle a group of Australian Portuguese.

The sixteen people were all dressed in white and straight navy uniforms, lined up horizontally and vertically, and saluted uniformly, which made the soldier captain and his subordinates wearing the turban extremely ashamed, wishing to find a mouse hole to get into and count.And the eight translators were standing aside, watching Liu Sheng and the others line up with a smile on their faces, pointing and pointing.

The tall Liu Sheng and Ding Guofeng wore captain's uniforms with ribbons on them, and they looked even taller and mightier, with extraordinary heroic looks, which made a few Portuguese women be very nervous and wink at them non-stop.

After the welcome ceremony of the Municipal Council, there will be a grand welcome dinner.The banquet was held in the home of a wealthy municipal official. There were long tables covered with snow-white tablecloths, and a variety of Portuguese dishes were served.

From fish to pork, beef and mutton, they are served with fresh vegetables and high-quality olive oil, accompanied by mellow red wine.However, because of Liu Sheng's warning before, the soldiers did not let go of eating and drinking; and most of them were not used to drinking red wine at all.

A group of officials and female relatives couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when they saw that Liu Sheng and the others had tasted many dishes.They put a lot of thought into this meal, but they didn't expect the other party to be dissatisfied.

Matos hurriedly said to Liu Sheng: "Your Excellency, I want to apologize for our poor greeting. I ignored that you are all from the East."

Liu Sheng shook his head and said, "Don't mind. Because of the cold climate, my subordinates are used to greasy and heavy food. They just feel that these Mediterranean dishes are too bland."

After dinner, when Liu Sheng was about to leave and go back to his residence to rest, Matos suddenly told him that the Governor of Macau, Sir Faria, would receive Liu Sheng and the others tomorrow morning.

Because Zhao Xin didn't come, Liu Sheng and Ding Guofeng were a little overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of the Portuguese. They thought that this time was just a simple business investigation, and they didn't buy anything. Why are the Portuguese so enthusiastic? !

What he doesn't know is that the Portuguese in Macau are actually doing pretty badly now.

The so-called "people who are not of our race must have a different heart", the Manchu Qing Dynasty seemed to take care of these Portuguese in Macau, but in fact they were very wary.In order to curb the influence of the Portuguese, the Guangdong Customs stipulated that foreign businessmen could not live in Macau for a long time, people of the Qing Dynasty could not live in Macau, and Portuguese were not allowed to go to Guangzhou for trade, etc.; and foreign businessmen who came to China could go directly to Guangzhou after completing the inspection abroad. Coupled with the gradual decline of Portugal itself, it has seriously affected Macao's foreign trade.

The current Australian and Portuguese authorities often condone smuggling, and some Portuguese have also become opium smugglers.That's right, of the more than 2000 chests of opium flowing into the Qing Dynasty every year, [-] chests were smuggled in from Macau.

If Zhao Xin knew about this, he would blow up all the forts and Ruins of St. Paul's churches in Macau.

　The ancients said that one day and one night are divided into ten shifts, that is, every two hours, twenty minutes and four minutes is one shift.The time is calculated by the number of incense sticks lit, the wood chips are thrown into the sea, and the people run quickly from the bow to the stern of the boat. If the people and the wood chips arrive at the same time, the calculated number is more standard.For example, if a person arrives first, it is called "not to be updated", and if a piece of wood arrives first, it is called to be updated.One is a 4-kilometer voyage.This allows the speed and range to be calculated.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)