Speaking of which, the man called "Brother No. 1" by the pirates is the young gang leader of the Red Gang, Zheng Yi, whose name is Zheng Wenxian, one of the four "Dan Family Bandits" in the Pearl River Estuary.
After Kangxi regained Taiwan, some of the remaining soldiers of the Zheng family in Taiwan fled to the Pearl River Estuary and became pirates. Gradually, the Dan family bandits in the Pearl River Estuary evolved from the four surnames in the late Ming Dynasty to six gangs: red, yellow, blue, white, black and purple.
Zheng Yi's father, Zheng Lianchang, was the leader of the Red Gang. He was a man of mediocre talent and intelligence, but rarely caused trouble; but his son was a master unwilling to be ordinary. He had determined to be the most powerful pirate on the surface of the South China Sea since he was a child; at the age of fifteen, From then on, Zheng Yi, who had mastered his skills, led a group of minions to rob small merchant ships that were alone in the Lingding Ocean, and gradually gained some "fame" on the waters outside the Pearl River Estuary.
When the two single-masted wooden boats approached the Thor, looking from a distance, they saw that the Thor was completely dark, with no light at all. And wait for the two wooden boats to reach the position of the bow anchor chain. Zheng Yi then took out a lantern from the cabin. With the faint light, he saw that the thick anchor chain was dark. When he touched it, he found that it was cold to the touch.
"Iron!" Zheng Yi was shocked, what a guy! How rich you must be to be able to afford such a long and thick chain! I'm really going to make a fortune today.
He waved fiercely at one of his men, and a lean pirate carrying a bundle of hemp rope on his back and a short knife in his mouth climbed up along the anchor chain with his bare feet. When he climbed to the anchor hole, the tilted hull could no longer climb; the pirate took out a flying tiger claw made of fine iron from his back waist, estimated the height of the ship's side, and with a "swish" Throw it up.
There was only a soft "dang" sound, and the flying tiger's claws had firmly hooked the edge of the ship's side. The man grabbed the rope on the flying tiger's claws, pulled it hard a few times, then swung it gently and climbed up.
After a while, two hemp ropes hung from the side of the ship. The pirates were overjoyed when they saw it. Two people were left to watch the ship, and the others lined up to climb up the rope.
Zheng Yi was the second one to board the boat. When he climbed over the railing and stepped on the deck with his bare feet, he couldn't help but be stunned. He touched it with his hand in disbelief, and found that the deck was actually made of iron!
He hurriedly leaned against the railing and reached out to touch the hull of the boat outside. Oh my God, Mazu! The hull of this ship is actually made of iron!
"How can iron make a ship? It can actually float on water. This is too weird! Can this be done by humans?!" At this time, Zheng Yi was really scared.
what to do? Just when Zheng Yi was hesitating, his men had climbed up quickly, squatting on the deck with weapons in hand, looking around.
At the bow of the Thor, the tall mast is surrounded by two anchor windlass surrounded by railings and a cable car wrapped with thick cables; these cables are used when docking; in addition to the bow, there are also sterns. The pirates looked at these big dark things in front of them with fear. Could these be monsters? Several guys have lost the courage to stand up.
A brave guy reached out and touched it, and whispered: "It's an iron block."
Iron, iron is everywhere! Zheng Yixin said, is there anything on this that is not made of iron?
"Brother Yi, what should we do next?" A subordinate called Xiao Qi came over and asked.
Zheng Yi bit his back teeth and took your mother's piece in his mouth! Fight!
Thinking of this, he turned around and whispered to the men who were approaching him: "Find the cabin door, rush down and kill him first! You can't stop until I tell you to stop!"
The pirates all nodded regardless of whether Zheng Yi could see it or not. Then they all got up and walked forward in the dark, taking advantage of the faint moonlight on the sea. Unexpectedly, just after walking more than ten steps, the sky suddenly brightened above their heads. Everyone looked up and saw that the top of a tall white mast was emitting an extremely dazzling light, which dazzled the pirates and could not open their eyes at all.
"Mother!" The pirates, including Zheng Yi, immediately screamed and fell down on the deck, so frightened that they peed. These people were so frightened that their limbs were stiff and could no longer move. Including the guy named Xiao Qi, the crotches of several pirates were already wet, and the liquid flowing out was flowing on the deck.
Immediately afterwards, the lights on the deck and on the poop more than a hundred meters away were bright, illuminating the surroundings of the Thor as if it were daytime. Under the dazzling light, seven or eight figures suddenly appeared from behind several windlass and cable cars; more than thirty people lying in the middle of the deck also got up and ran over, holding guns and surrounding the pirates.
Zheng Yihe and the other pirates were horrified. They looked around and saw that these people were all wearing shorts and trousers, short boots, a semicircular green helmet on their head, and a strange gun in their hands. A musket, and the short spear at the head of the gun was illuminated by the silver light from the overhead light.
"Be honest! Put down your weapons! Put your head in your hands!"
On the sea, the two pirates who were waiting on the wooden boat saw a sudden bright light above their heads, illuminating every detail in their surroundings. They were also frightened out of their wits, and their upper teeth were knocked straight to the bottom. I heard someone shouting above me: "Those two on the boat, I'll shoot you to death if you dare!"
The two pirates didn't dare to raise their heads. They knelt down on the deck and said in a tearful tone: "Don't move, don't move."
At this time, Liu Sheng separated from the crowd and stood more than ten steps away from Zheng Yi and his group. He laughed and cursed: "Fuck your mother! What a group of people who don't know how to live or die. Tie them all up! Shoot anyone who dares to run away and resist." kill!"
"Yes!" Seven or eight soldiers came up with plastic bundles and began to tie up the group one by one. When it was Zheng Yi's turn, he only felt a tightening on his feet. Except that his ankles were already tied tightly, he couldn't break free at all. Then his hands were pinched behind his back, and no matter how tight his wrists were, he couldn't break free. move.
Zheng Yiyi fell to the deck and shouted: "Are you humans or ghosts?!"
Liu Sheng laughed and teased in Cantonese from another time and space: "Who do you think I am?"
Only then did Zheng Yi realize that he had fallen into a trap and was outmaneuvered. He couldn't help but cursed: "What kind of hero are you! If you can, let me go and let's fight again!"
"Do you think I'm as stupid as you?" Liu Sheng mocked in Mandarin, and then said to his soldiers: "Take them all into the forepeak cabin!" (The forepeak cabin is a cabin under the windlass, generally used as a warehouse. .)
The Thor's bow cabin is divided into two compartments, an inner one and an outer one. Some tools are placed in the innermost one. The hatch has been locked at this time; while the outer room has been vacated in advance. In order to prevent these water thieves from jumping into the water and escaping, the sailors on the Thor took ropes and tied these people up first, then strung them into a string with ropes, and finally wrapped these people around a pillar in the cabin and made each other skin to skin. , extremely intimate.
At the same time, several soldiers had descended to the two sloops through ropes and controlled the last two pirates. These two guys were in the worst situation. After being tied up, they were tied up with ropes that fell from the boat, and then they were lifted up little by little.
After everything was ready, everyone on the Thor came over to watch the fun, even Wang Ping came over. Facing Zheng Yi who kept yelling and scolding, Wang Ping pointed at him and cursed: "You are a thing that can kill a thousand swords! When we get to the shore, I will send you to the government. No one will survive this autumn!"
Zheng Yi glanced sideways at the other party and sneered silently.
Everyone watched for a while and saw that these people were just begging for mercy or swearing in a language they did not understand. In the end, they lost interest and returned to the cabin to rest. In the end, only one squad of soldiers was left to guard them.
Early the next morning, before the Thor was about to weigh anchor, Liu Sheng took people over to take a look again. Seeing that more than twenty pirates were listless due to thirst, and they were all standing drowsily close to each other. Liu Sheng ordered people to splash sea water to wake them up.
When Zheng Yi and his cousin Zheng Qi woke up, they didn't know what had happened. They heard a loud bang above their heads and were shocked and dizzy. After a while, he felt the hull of the boat move slightly. Zheng Yi couldn't help but stare outside with his eyes wide open. This boat could actually sail!
At 11 o'clock in the morning, the Thor stopped in the ocean five miles southeast of Wailingding Island. Following several whistles, a three-masted boat, one large and two small, sailed out from the east of Wailingding Island. On the upper part of the mainmast, an apricot-yellow flag with a red edge of flames fluttered slowly.
Dozens of people on the Fortune ship looked at the Thor not far away, and they were all dumbfounded, especially the guys dressed in silk.
"This, this is the big ship of the rebels from the north?! Oh my god! Who are these people!" On the deck, a middle-aged man who looked like a wealthy businessman murmured to himself. After speaking, he urged the sailors on the ship. : "Quick, come closer!"
When the ship was only two hundred meters away from the anchored Thor, the crew on the deck began to operate the equipment to lower the gangway. The people on the Nafu ship were far more knowledgeable than the pirates like Zheng Yi. The young man at the head listened to the rumble of the motor on the opposite ship and watched the end of the gangway gradually approach the water. The expression on his face became wonderful. extremely.
"This is a Western machine!"
"Master, let's get on the firewood boat and go there." The servant behind the middle-aged man said quickly.
After a while, a firewood boat rowed out from behind the blessing boat. The middle-aged wealthy businessman and several of his men sat on the boat. The wealthy businessman looked at the big boat in front of him intently and urged the boatmen: "Hurry up. Row quickly!"
Heshen's domestic slave Wang Ping was already waiting on the deck, while Liu Zheng standing aside was a little nervous and his palms were sweaty.
When the middle-aged wealthy businessman came up from the gangway, Wang Ping stepped forward with a smile and said, "Mr. Cai, we haven't seen each other for several years!"
The wealthy businessman surnamed Cai retracted his wandering eyes, stepped forward, flicked his sleeves, gave Wang Ping a slap in the face, bowed and said: "Wanhe Xing Cai Shiwen, please give your regards to Mr. Wang."
Wang Ping chuckled, stepped forward to help him up and said, "Mr. Cai is too polite! Wang really doesn't dare to accept it. This time, the master of the central hall sent Wang here, sorry for disturbing you!"
Cai Shiwen was all smiles and even said he didn't dare.
Wang Ping brought Cai Shiwen to Liu Zheng and introduced him: "Mr. Cai, this is... Oh! Mr. Liu Zheng Liu, the trade representative of the Great Ainu Kingdom."
Wang Pingxin said that this group of rebels had such a weird name. How could anyone remember it? I had recited it dozens of times and almost got it wrong!
Liu Zheng raised his hand to Cai Shiwen and said loudly: "My Excellency, Liu Zheng, is currently the trade representative of the Great Ainu Kingdom in Guangzhou. I have heard about Boss Cai for a long time, San, I'm glad to meet you!" He was still nervous and almost said "Sansheng" "Fortunately" all came out bald.
Cai Shiwen smiled slightly, cupped his hands and said, "Mr. Liu's official words are so good! I'm glad to meet you!" Cai Shiwen thought to himself, do you think I'm a fool? I know everything about the situation in the north! That bullshit Ainu is just a group of rebels under the banner of Qianming!
This Cai Shiwen was a merchant responsible for Western trade under the Guangdong Customs of the Qing Dynasty. His English name was Munqun, which means "civilian".
Agents like Cai Shiwen, who are agents for foreign trade, have actually existed since the Ming Dynasty. Qu Dajun, a Guangzhou poet from the late Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty, once wrote: "Officials and merchants competed for foreign ships; the cross gate opened to the ocean; five or eight silk silks were fine, and thirteen rows of money were piled up."
The so-called "Thirteen Industries" is just a name, but in fact there are more than thirteen. Since Qianlong's reign, the highest number was 26 (the 22nd year of Qianlong's reign), while the lowest number was only 4 (the 46th year of Qianlong's reign). As for now, there are a total of 20 "Thirteen Banks" in Guangzhou City. The general manager of the Prime Minister's foreign trade business is the Pan family of Tongwen Bank. As for the most famous Yihe Bank in later generations, it ranks sixth.
The Cai Shiwen in front of Liu Zheng, his family's business name is Wanhe Hang, ranking second among all business firms.
The most bizarre thing about the Manchu Qing Dynasty was that the Guangdong Customs did not deal directly with foreigners, and all orders to foreign businessmen coming to Guangzhou were conveyed by Thirteen Lines of Merchants. The original intention of the Manchu Qing Dynasty was to use the merchants to directly manage foreign merchants, and in case of trouble, directly blackmail the thirteen merchants, and use this to control foreign merchants.
It is said that this method has been implemented well since the 23rd year of Kangxi, until the rise of large-scale opium trade...
On the compass deck, Liu Sheng and Ding Guofeng were looking at Cai Shiwen below with binoculars while listening to Zhao Xin's explanation of the thirteen lines. Just listen to Zhao Xin's last words: "The water here is too deep. If I want to explain it clearly, it will take three days and three nights to finish it."
Liu Sheng put down the telescope and asked, "Then what do you think is going on below?"
"He is Heshen's lackey in Guangdong. In fact, Guangzhou Customs also has another name, Qianlong's Nanku. These people actually work for the Ministry of Internal Affairs."
Liu Sheng said: "That counts as a professional manager?"
"No." Zhao Xin shook his head and continued: "When they are good, they are extravagant and licentious. When they are unlucky, they confiscate their homes and send them into exile. They are just the emperor's servants, and they will fall on their will."
At this time, on the deck, Liu Zheng's guard platoon was ready to go, and the two communicators were also on standby carrying backpacks containing radio equipment. The guards were all dressed in all-terrain camouflage training uniforms and had bonny hats on their heads. In the large backpacks they carried, in addition to personal daily necessities, there were bags of gunpowder bullets. They all wore a black holster on their backs, which contained a "Type 84" revolver produced in Beihai Town.
Next to them, there were a dozen one-meter-square boxes on wooden shelves, all wrapped in a layer of canvas, making it impossible to tell what was inside.
Cai Shiwen looked at the thirty-two people in front of him and was secretly shocked. In his eyes, the unsmiling guards all looked murderous, which was frightening. He hesitantly pointed to the boxes on the deck and said, "This, these are all going to be taken on board?"
Liu Zheng nodded and said: "This is already the minimum supply."
Cai Shiwen's butler said: "Mr. Liu, how long will it take for you to transport so many things on our firewood boat?"
"Don't be rude! Don't back down yet!" Cai Shiwen glared and scolded him sternly. He Shen's master sent him a letter in May, which emphasized that this group of people must not be neglected. If something goes wrong, Cai Shiwen is the only one to ask questions.
Liu Zheng smiled and said: "Boss Cai, don't worry. You can bring the ship over and we will use the ship's crane to send the supplies down."
"Crane?" Cai Shiwen's eyes lit up and he quickly raised his hand and said, "Mr. Liu, to be honest, Cai has been doing business for many years and has seen many ships of all kinds traveling from south to north. But your big ship is really rare in the world. Can you take Cai to see it?"
Liu Zheng smiled slightly, raised his hand and said: "Please."
After a visit on the deck, they learned that the entire Thor was made of steel. Cai Shiwen and his men were so surprised that they wanted to stuff ten eggs into their open mouths. He kept asking Liu Zheng how iron could float on water. Liu Zheng explained to him the relationship between buoyancy, density and acceleration of gravity. Cai Shiwen was amazed and nodded; in fact, he didn't understand a word.
Afterwards, while the lucky ship was approaching and the crane was moving the cargo, Liu Zheng took Cai Shiwen to visit the first and second floors of the poop. As for the third and fourth floors, he was absolutely not allowed to go. However, Cai Shiwen was so shocked on the first and second floors, especially when he saw the huge portholes in the restaurant on the second floor, his eyes almost popped out! And Cai Shiwen's housekeeper wanted to take a carving knife and cut out all the large glass.
Seeing Cai Shiwen yelling when he didn't move, or gasping and speechless, Wang Ping, the servant of the Hefu, showed a look of contempt on his face from time to time, thinking to himself that they are really a bunch of ignorant bumpkins!
At this time, Wang Ping seemed to have forgotten that when he first boarded the Thor, he was so frightened that he peed his pants on the spot.
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