Deng Fei had no other intentions. He just wanted to give these people freedom and let them go back and reunite with their families. Zhao Xin doesn't want these black people either, but he doesn't agree with letting them go home now.
Based on his impression of the map of Africa, the distance from Saint-Louis on the westernmost side of Senegal to Nigeria would probably be several thousand kilometers by land; but if they were to sail to the northern Gulf of Guinea to disembark, it would take many days to go back and forth.
What's more, the situation in Paris has become increasingly turbulent, and time has become urgent. According to the historical trajectory, Louis XVI's family should have been sent to the Temple Tower and imprisoned. If they didn't hurry over and make plans, it would be too late!
He thought for a moment, then asked Deng Fei to translate for him, and said to Mbate: "Now you have two choices. First, I will give you a release document, and then I will give you enough food to eat for a period of time. Louis walked home. But I have to remind you that this journey is not short. You will not be able to walk in less than a few months, and it is easy to be caught again. Second, take a boat to Europe with us, at most You can come back in two months. At that time, our fleet will pass through the Gulf of Guinea, and you will disembark from the southernmost part of the Oyo Kingdom near the sea. This is faster and safer on the road."
"Europe?" After hearing this, Mbate's expression became solemn and he asked: "Sir, are you really not going to sell us?"
"Mbat, we are not those white people. We come from the far east, and there is no slave trade there." After Deng Fei said this, he raised the middle three fingers of his right hand upwards, with the palm of his hand facing outward. Bart said: "I swear to all the gods on this continent! I will never traffic a black person! I will definitely send them back to their hometown! Otherwise, they will be punished!"
Seeing that Deng Fei was like this, Mbat's inner doubts subsided, thinking that maybe these oriental people were really different from those white-skinned demons.
Zhao Xin added: "During this period on the ship, you can clean the deck and help move things. I will pay you a salary and take care of your meals. In addition, I will not chain you anymore, but you must obey Order, there are some places on this ship that are not allowed to be entered. You go and discuss it with your people first, and you must tell me the result before going to bed tonight, because we will leave St. Louis tomorrow."
"Okay, sir. I will discuss it with everyone and let you know as soon as possible."
Zhao Xin immediately stood up, walked two steps and then turned to Deng Fei and said, "Let them put on their clothes, especially the women. Every one of our people's eyes are about to burst into flames!"
Perhaps because of Mbathe's previous identity, the black people finally obeyed his decision after a fierce dispute. At dinner time in the evening, Mbathe told Deng Fei that their choice was to follow them to Europe. Deng Fei then asked the sailors to vacate two cabins and place the women and children here. The others either went to the restaurant to make floors or were placed in the bow cabin.
Of course, there is no "zero dollar purchase" for black people in these days. Although they are very curious about everything on the Thor, they are very honest. The crew in Beihai Town had to teach them how to use the toilet, how to take a shower and a lot of tedious things. When the black people saw that they ate and dressed exactly the same as the crew, they felt a lot more at ease.
After dinner, Mbate and others went to the medical room under the leadership of Deng Fei. They saw that the child's condition improved, the fever also subsided, and most of the precautions against the people in Beihai Town were gone.
Through questioning, Deng Fei learned that the child named "Lamin Labake" was only seven years old and was kidnapped by slave traders. As for where his hometown is, Lamin himself can't tell, let alone other black people.
As a former cavalry captain of the Oyo Empire, Mbate was well-informed and had even used European muskets, but he was curious about everything on the Thor. He was extremely shocked by the steel that could be seen everywhere on the ship, and even his eyes widened when he saw the iron railings on the side of the ship and the stairs.
You must know that iron is still a very precious resource on the African continent in these days. If an average person wants to buy a slave, he will need ten iron bars for men and nine iron bars for women. It doesn't seem like much, but to them, it's a huge sum of money.
When he heard Deng Fei talk about the ancient continent in the east with a population of 300 million, like the stars in the sky, the black people opened their mouths in surprise and could not close their mouths for a long time.
By noon the next day, the fleet that had completed its supplies left Gorée Island. Before setting sail, the Thor blew its whistle three times to say goodbye. As a result, everyone on Gorée Island was frightened, and they all ran to the beach to see the strange thing.
In the following days of sailing, black people would gather on the deck when they had nothing to do, and sing and dance in a circle, making it like a party every day on the ship.
On October 21, 1792, after 11 days of sailing, Zhao Xin and the others finally arrived in Le Havre in northern France. Compared with the more famous Port of Marseille in later generations, Le Havre was the largest and busiest port in France in the 18th century, and the distance from here to Paris was only 200 kilometers.
De Guigne, who was accompanying him, proudly said that thanks to the large-scale road network construction that began in the era of Louis XIV, France's traffic conditions are the best among European countries. If nothing else, it would only take ten hours to get to Paris by carriage.
When the Thor with a displacement of more than 5,000 tons and two 1,000-ton sailing ships appeared on the ocean one mile outside the port of Le Havre and blew their whistles in greeting, the French in the port were immediately shocked. There was a great deal of excitement in the port. At the urgent call of the bell, the local National Guard quickly dispatched, and various forts were put on alert.
Later, when the National Guard in red, white and blue uniforms sent people to the boat to contact him, Deguigne appeared wearing a wig and top hat. He falsely claimed that he was the consul of the French Consulate in Guangzhou. With his great mediation, the great Chinese Emperor sent this unparalleled fleet and traveled thousands of miles to develop friendly relations with France. He then showed the other party a document he had made up himself and stamped with the official seal of Beihai Town.
The so-called official seal of Beihai Town was actually processed by Zhao Xin at a roadside photo agency in another time and space. It was made of resin material and engraved with the "Seal of China" in four large seal scripts. It was a temporary seal. nature.
Although none of what Deguigne said was true, how could the French people in Le Havre understand the fishiness behind it? In addition, just before he left India, Wei Ya, who served as deputy consul in Guangzhou, also resigned. So in this sense, there is nothing wrong with him claiming to be the Consul General of Guangzhou.
The captain of the National Guard and his men were so shocked by De Guigne's words that they forgot to ask him whether he was a royalist who supported the king or a republican who supported democracy. They looked around the huge and empty Thor deck with curiosity and surprise, thinking that this ship was too big! How much stuff must be packed! Now those businessmen are going to make a fortune!
Regarding the cargo carried on the ship, Degene submitted a list of more than 20 kinds of goods including tea, raw silk, silk, porcelain, and spices, as agreed with Zhao Xin in advance, with a total weight of up to 4,000 So many tons that the captain of the National Guard almost dropped his jaw to the ground after reading it!
In order to show friendship, Deng Fei presented each of the National Guardsmen who boarded the ship with a small jar of beautifully packaged tea and a beautifully woven silk handkerchief, making these guys go back to report the news with a smile on their face.
Sure enough, when the local mayor Jacques Ambrose Rial and a group of businessmen-turned-city councilors learned of the situation, they all beamed with joy and cheered. Although the French have always wanted to vigorously develop trade with China, since the beginning of the Great Revolution, there have been few trading ships returning from Guangzhou. The chaotic situation in the country has also prevented many wealthy people from taking care of Eastern trade.
Well, now, the Chinese themselves are here!
The mayor of Rial immediately ordered the garrison on the fort to lift the alert and fired a salute. At the same time, he sent customs personnel to guide the ships into the port. Unexpectedly, when the customs officers saw the Thor, they were immediately dumbfounded, thinking that if this guy entered the port, other ships would have to make room and get out. After some negotiation, the fleet finally stopped in deep water one kilometer away from the port, and then sent a brig to pick them up.
When Deng Fei and the others got off the boat in their snow-white navy uniforms, they immediately won the cheers and applause of the crowd on the pier, and they became even more enthusiastic. Zhao Xin thought that these people were welcoming visitors from the far East, but he did not know that it was because all the people in Beihai Town wore long trousers and leather boots, a proper "sans-culotte" - that is, long-trouser men.
You must know that at the end of this year, lower-class citizens and craftsmen wore tight trousers or straight trousers. Knee-length breeches were worn by nobles, lawyers, and big businessmen. Since the Revolution, the sans-culottes have represented the most radical populism; many public officials have put on trousers to show that they have nothing to do with the aristocracy and sincerely support the First French Republic.
The next day, a signed article titled "Let us welcome the revolutionaries from the far East" appeared in the locally published "France Patriot". The author even said that ancient China was "socially equal, economically... The birthplace of the ideas of equality and direct civil rights.”
As the news continued to brew in the newspapers, three days later, even the National Convention in Paris heard about the matter. After some deliberations, the members decided to immediately send a National Guard to escort the special envoy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to boost the morale of the Paris people. Go to Le Havre and invite the Chinese delegation to visit Paris.
The main reason why the French did this was that the newly established "First French Republic" started fighting on all fronts from south to north starting in September. From Austria to Prussia, from Hungary to Bohemia, it can be said that it is surrounded by enemies on all sides.
In August last year, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II and King Wilhelm II of Prussia signed the "Pilnitz Declaration", calling on all European sovereign states to act in concert to restore the royal power of Louis XVI. Austria and Prussia then formed a military alliance and, after defeating the French army that invaded the Austrian Netherlands, are currently besieging Lille.
In July of this year, the commander of the coalition forces, the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, issued a declaration that if the Parisians showed even the slightest violence to Louis XVI and the queen, they would attack Paris and execute all the rebels; thus, This led to the storming of the Tuileries Palace in August and the massacre in September.
Also economically, Paris was suffering from severe famine at this time. Bread shortages had existed since before the Revolution. On the day of the storming of the Bastille, the price of bread in Paris rose to 16 sous (3.6 grams of pure silver, 20 sous to one livre, 20 livres equal to one gold louis coin), almost the highest price in the past twenty years. record. Although the subsequent bumper harvest alleviated the food shortage and hunger, and the market was finally stable for two years, famine came again in the spring and autumn this year, and food shortages returned.
The Girondins were determined to defend the rule of law and commercial freedom. De La Salle, who became Minister of the Interior, was based on the philosophy of the Physiocrats and emphasized that the "invisible hand" would automatically adjust the contradiction between supply and demand without administrative intervention. Therefore, he did not intend to implement martial law to calm it down. prices.
So you understand what the arrival of Beihai Town means to the First Republic, right?
We have friends too! Although it may be a bit far away, it is a superpower after all!
In addition, the Chinese brought a lot of in-demand commodities. Although they cannot be eaten as food, they can be sold to the British in exchange for food!
Well, as the news continued to spread among the citizens of Paris, all Parisians began to eagerly await the arrival of the Chinese mission. Businessmen hope to make several big deals with the Chinese to enrich their wallets; the government hopes to collect a large amount of tax from large transactions; citizens hope that the arrival of Chinese goods will promote market prosperity and bring more food to alleviate famine; philosophers and thinkers hope to discuss Eastern and Western civilizations with the Chinese and show how advanced and great the democratic ideas of the First Republic are; socialites hope that all Chinese people will be rich and bring Gorgeous silks and spices would make them more attractive, while also earning some money from the Chinese.
However, until this time, the people in charge of foreign affairs and trade affairs in the National Convention had no idea about the relationship between the "Beihai Town" mentioned in the newspaper and the Qing Empire. The only ones who could understand clearly were the remaining staff at the Russian Embassy in Paris.
"My Holy Mother! Those yellow-skinned devils entrenched in the Amur River Basin have actually come to Europe!"
When the embassy secretary who stayed behind saw what was in the newspaper, he jumped up from his chair. Not long ago, Ambassador Ivan Simolin had just been recalled to the country. There were only a few staff left at the Paris embassy, and their task was to report the situation in Paris to Vienna at any time. The secretary of the embassy paced back and forth in the room and thought for a moment, then walked to the desk and wrote a letter, and then pulled a rope in the room.
Not long after, a muscular man walked in, bowed and said, "Sir, are you looking for me?"
The secretary of the embassy folded the letter, dripped some wax oil on it, stamped it, and then ordered: "Petnovitch, please send this letter to Vienna immediately and hand it to Dmitry Mihay personally. His Highness Prince Lovich Golitsin!”
"Yes! I will definitely hand it over to His Highness the Prince myself!" Not long after the man left, the sound of horse hooves and rolling wheels could be heard in the embassy yard, and he soon disappeared on the street.
On the morning of October 27, 1792, Zhao Xin and Deng Fei, who had been warmly entertained for several days in Le Havre and negotiated several large deals, took ten black men disguised as slaves and two hundred men disguised as crew members. He and the accompanying special operations battalion soldiers arrived in Paris in carriages sent by the National Assembly and the Le Havre City Council, escorted by more than a hundred National Guardsmen.
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