Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 603 Bloody Black Triangle

At noon that day, Gu Lihuan was the host, and booked a few banquets at the "Taibailou" restaurant in Chinatown for He Xiwen and his subordinates.There is no "Bak Kut Teh" in Penang cuisine these days, seafood fried kway teow is the most commonly eaten by Chinese.

After drinking for three rounds, He Xiwen saw that it was almost time, so he revealed the truth and his true identity.Gu Lihuan couldn't help being surprised when he heard this. You must know that Beihai Town's actions in Annan and Bacheng in the past two years have already spread throughout Southeast Asia, greatly boosting the aspirations of the Chinese people.Now those Westerners and native sultans no longer dare to regard the Chinese as lambs to be slaughtered at will, for fear of giving Beihai town an excuse and end up like the Dutch in Bacheng.

Although Gu Lihuan has been hanging out with the British in George Town these years, he can also hear a little about what happened in Bacheng from the British population who passed here.By the way, some products produced in Beihai Town will occasionally appear in the market in Penang. Gu Lihuan's heart moved, and suddenly thought of something-cooling oil!
About three or four months ago, a kind of thing called "Seres ointment" by Europeans began to appear in shops in Bacheng, and both local settlers and passing sailors regarded it as a miracle medicine.Although this stuff has a pungent smell, it can not only repel mosquitoes and relieve itching, but also refresh the mind when rubbed on the temples. It is also very effective in clearing away heat and expelling toxins.When he visited Chief Wright last month, he was lucky enough to see the real thing, and because of this, he saw the words "cool oil" written on the box cover.Don't look at a small box that is only as big as a thumb's knuckle, but the price is as high as half a thaler (note), and it is extremely difficult to buy.

If he can use He Xiwen's relationship to get the agency right of this medicine from Bacheng, relying on the relationship of several Sudans around him, why not worry about not developing in the future?What's more, he learned from He Xiwen that the imperial court that Beihai Town has been fighting frequently these years has no power to fight back. In a few years, Jiangshan will change masters!

After hearing He Xiwen's words, Gu Lihuan wanted to hug the big tree in Beihai Town even more.You must know that he is an anti-thief in Tiandihui, and it would be useless to donate an official under the Manchu Qing rule, but it would be different if he changed to a Han nationality.For businessmen like them wandering in Nanyang, earning money is not enough, if they can donate an official position, then life will be perfect.

Thinking of this, he held up his wine glass and said to He Xiwen: "Brother He, I dare not say anything else, the land in Penang is still a bit thin. From now on, if the elder brother wants the younger brother to help you, you don't have to come in person, send someone Just send a message, and the younger brother will definitely handle it properly."

Seeing that the other party spoke beautifully, He Xiwen drank the wine in his glass first, and then said: "To be honest, I am here this time, and I am looking for my virtuous brother to help."

"But I don't know what the elder brother wants to do?"

"This time I'm not here to buy goods, but to buy land."

"Buying land?" Gu Lihuan was stunned for a moment, wondering if Beihai Town would also get involved in the spice business?
Seeing this, Huang Zhongtong explained: "That's right. I heard that Brother Gu and the Sultan of Aceh have an extraordinary friendship. We want to buy a piece of land in Sumatra and Johor in the south, and we can also rent it!"

"Oh!" When Gu Lihuan heard this, he suddenly realized that he already had a calculation in his heart. "Brothers, if you can trust me with this matter, I will let you handle it. But I don't know where the exact position that Brother He is looking for? What will I do in the future?"

He Xiwen pondered for a while, and decided to tell the truth, so he asked Huang Zhongtong to take out a map of Java made by the Dutch, on which two areas were circled with charcoal pencils.Gu Lihuan looked at it and thought it was not a big problem, so he agreed.

From the beginning to the end of the whole banquet, Gu Lihuan didn't mention a word about cooling oil.In his opinion, what he asked for from Beihai Town was far more than two pieces of wasteland, so he planned to go to Bacheng with He Xiwen after the land purchase was completed, and meet the legendary Lord Wang. At that time, there will be a meeting ceremony, and it will be easier to talk later.

The next morning, Gu Lihuan went to the city hall to ask for the leave of Captain Wright, and confessed that someone from Bacheng had entrusted him with errands and would go to sea by boat for a few days.When Wright heard that Beihai Town was looking for him, he couldn't help feeling vigilant, and quickly asked for details.A few days ago, he received a letter from the Governor of Madras, ordering him to pay attention to every move of Beihai Township in the Java area, and to report any major situation immediately.

Don't look at Beihai Town's current territory in South Asia is not very big, but it can get involved everywhere, which makes the Europeans-especially the British and the Dutch very nervous.In view of this, Captain Wright agreed to Gu Lihuan's request, but ordered him to report to him every detail of the trip when he came back.

On the other side, the fleet of Beihai Town stayed at Bourbon Island for five days, sold three pirate ships at a very low price, and completed the supply of fresh water and food, and then continued to head south.Seven days later, the fleet arrived at the rough Cape of Good Hope.

At this time, the Cape of Good Hope was covered with dark clouds, the westerly wind was blowing hard, and the strong westerly torrent set off stormy waves.The surging and roaring waves on the sea collided with the side of the ship from time to time, and the bursts of roar shook everyone's soul.

Thanks to the fact that July, when the storm is strongest, has passed, otherwise you will definitely have an accident when you encounter a "killing wave" with a height of 7 meters.Deng Fei made preparations before entering this sea area. All the machine guns and cannons on the deck of the Raytheon were dismantled, and members of the ship were strictly forbidden to move on the deck; For reinforcement treatment, sailors must also tie safety ropes to operate outside the cabin.

Although the sailors of the Beihai Navy have all seen the storm in the Tsushima Strait and the typhoon in the South China Sea, they are completely insignificant compared with the current sea conditions. None of the people on the three ships vomited.Several sailors on the Beihai No. [-] were knocked unconscious by the huge waves rushing onto the deck during the process of untying the cables. Although they tried their best to rescue them afterwards, two of them still died of choking.

The worst thing was the [-] members of the special warfare battalion on the Thunder God. When these Saurons and Daurs lay on the portholes and saw the tens of meters high waves on the ocean, their faces were all pale. It seems that the lower body is usually stable, but now each of them can't even stand firmly, kneeling in the bathroom of the cabin, holding the toilet and spraying wildly.

Zhao Xin was also very tossed, taking seasickness medicine was useless, he didn't want to stay in the cabin, so he held a plastic bucket and Deng Fei in the cockpit, staring at the radar above.

After the fleet spent almost a whole day passing the Cape of Good Hope without any risk, most of the people felt as if they were seriously ill, and didn't eat much for two days.

Eight days later, Beihai Town's fleet finally arrived at the French stronghold in West Africa - Goree Island in Senegal, which caused a great commotion.

Zhao Xin looked at the sailboats coming in and out of the port, as well as the sailboats parked in the port that were loading and unloading "cargo", and couldn't help showing a sneer at the corner of his mouth.

He casually said to Deng Fei beside him: "See, this is the black triangle trade."

"Black triangle?" Deng Fei held a telescope and didn't realize it for a while.

"Negroes, the slave trade. That's what the sailboats come here for."

"So many?!" Deng Fei was taken aback, and his mouth couldn't help opening.At this time, he did not know that as of 1790, there were 100 French slave ships here, and more than 4 black West Africans were sold to the Americas every year.

The core of the "Black Triangle Trade" in the North Atlantic that began in the 16th century was the slave trade and the plundering of gold, ivory and pepper in West Africa.The Portuguese, the English, the Dutch, the French, the Spaniards, and the Americans all have the same virtue, and no one is cleaner than the other.They transported blacks from Africa to the Americas, in exchange for cotton, sugar, tobacco and minerals to Europe, and then used processed light industrial products to continue to exchange blacks from Africa, and so on.

Don't talk about the democracy and freedom of Westerners, European capitalism completes primitive accumulation through these.Some modern people mourn the death of an old queen of England, not knowing that her ancestors made their fortunes in the slave trade with blood on their hands.

We must know that Britain's economy has developed rapidly only by relying on the unprecedented slave trade and slave system.Relying on the huge profits brought by the slave trade, it accumulated enough funds for the first industrial revolution, rich and cheap raw material production areas, convenient transportation, and a vast commodity dumping market, thus changing the original social industrial structure .

When the accumulation is almost done, then put on a look of compassion and shout about "abolitionism", why did you go so early?Isn't the God of the 16th to 18th centuries the same as the God of the 19th century?The Bible is not the same? !

Furthermore, was the British abolition of slavery really a discovery of conscience?What a joke!The main reason is that the plantations in Central and North America have become the raw material base and commodity dumping point of the British. There are still tens of thousands of slaves there, and they are still transfusing blood to the British!

This is the same as later generations saying that China is a "sweatshop". First, the industry is transferred to lower the price of basic products, and then it puts on a condescending, compassionate face.Without this, do you think he still talks about "democracy and freedom" with you?
Like other ports everywhere, the Thor could only stay a mile out on the sea because the water was not deep enough.Leaving the guard on duty, Zhao Xin, Deng Fei and other entourages transferred to Beihai No. [-].Then lead by the pilot boat sent by Goree Island Customs, go to the port to berth.

As the boat got closer to the pier on Gorey Island, the blacks who were escorted aboard by whips and muskets became more and more clear in the field of vision of the telescope.Zhao Xin couldn't help but think at this moment that if there was no Beihai Town and the Europeans sold out the blacks, they would start selling the Chinese in the next century.Countless Chinese will become "piggies", either sold to Southeast Asia or the American continent.So, he finally couldn't help but utter a curse.

Deng Fei on the side also sighed helplessly. Beihai Town can't take care of African affairs, and he doesn't have the energy to take care of them. He can only sympathize with this.

　The Maria Theresa silver coin issued by the Habsburg Dynasty was once widely circulated in the colonies of the world as a trade silver dollar. It was called the "Austrian Dollar". price.In Southeast Asia in the 18th and 19th centuries, 240 Dutch copper coins were exchanged for one thaler or one dollar.In addition, the U.S. dollar in the 18th century was divided into silver coins and gold coins. 2640 Dutch copper coins were exchanged for one U.S. dollar gold coin, which was equivalent to 10 Spanish silver dollars.In short, there were all kinds of currencies in Southeast Asia at the end of the 18th century, and the exchange system was extremely complicated.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)