Wang Yuanfang and Lu Qi didn't know yet that the "Discovery" among the two British ships opposite was the ship that the famous "Captain Cook" sailed on, and George Vancouver was once a trainee officer under Cook. .
To put it briefly, after some tentative contact, Vancouver finally confirmed that the other party was the mysterious "Serris people" he had heard about in India. However, he immediately realized that the sudden appearance of this group of people would have a major impact on the situation in the northwest region of the North American continent.
Starting in the sixteenth century, Spain claimed long-term sovereignty and navigation rights over the Pacific Northwest of North America. When the famous "Captain Cook" came to North America for exploration fifteen years ago in 1778, the Spaniards who learned the news quickly sent a ship north to Nootka Island in the northwest of Vancouver Island. Fort San Miguel, a permanent stronghold, was built. Later, British merchant ships coming here for fur trade were seized many times, which almost led to war between the two countries.
In order to resolve the dispute, Britain and Spain signed the Treaty of Nootka three years ago, and in February this year signed a claim treaty on the seizure of ships.
In the first treaty, Spain agreed to cede all islands and related buildings in Nootka Sound to Britain. The two sides also agreed that neither party would establish new institutions on any islands off the east and west coasts of South America occupied by Spain. Both parties reserve the right to land and erect temporary structures on the coast and islands for fisheries-related purposes. Furthermore, the above provision is valid only if there are no institutions established by subjects of any other country in the coastal area concerned.
In the history of another time and space, it was the signing of this treaty that paved the way for the century-long dispute over the Falkland Islands between Britain and Argentina. You must know that Argentina is currently only the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata under the rule of the Kingdom of Spain.
The British extended their tentacles into the northwest region of the North American continent and promoted the maritime fur trade in the Pacific. This is a huge triangular trade network connecting the Pacific Northwest Coast, China and the Hawaiian Islands; it provided sufficient capital for the transformation of New England from an agricultural society to an industrial society, made Hawaii famous, and also made Guangzhou a leader in international maritime trade. Its position in the country has become increasingly prominent.
Let's put it this way, the purchase price of a complete sea otter skin in northwest North America is 6 pence, and a pound is 240 pence, which is equivalent to 0.0445 taels of silver; when it comes to Guangzhou, the purchase price jumps to one hundred pieces. Mexican silver dollar - 72 taels of silver, or even 85 taels if the quality is good.
More than 1,600 times the profit, the profits of the Pacific fur trade are so high!
Otherwise, why would the Russian businessmen in Eastern Siberia be willing to betray the queen and become loyal to Beihai Town? And the British would rather risk war with the Spanish to get the Nootka Island stronghold?
However, for the Manchus, the fur trade not only allowed the emperor and dignitaries to obtain more sea otter skins, but also allowed the Guangdong Customs Department, which was called the "Emperor's Southern Treasury", to receive more tax money. After all, the Qing Dynasty "The treasury is abundant and the world is rich"...
On the northwest coast of North America today, Spanish, Russians, British, and Americans come and go. Well, now the Seris people have suddenly put a foot in and even forcibly occupied the Golden Gate Strait.
Captain Vancouver really wanted to ask the other party's commander, are you not afraid of Spanish revenge if you act so recklessly?
Although the Spanish Empire has declined, their power in the Americas is still huge, and even Britain does not dare to provoke them easily. The huge financial expenditure caused by the war alone is not in line with their interests. Furthermore, there are too many places without flags in northwestern North America. If we can negotiate, there is no need to use force.
But little did he know that Beihai Town was already prepared to go to war with Spain if he dared to come to North America. As long as Zhao Xin, the "Transportation Brigade Captain" is here, no matter how many Spaniards come, it will be in vain!
What's more, as soon as the war starts in North America, Zheng Wenxian's fleet will immediately bombard Manila and impose a naval blockade on it!
When the North Korean navy captured Bacheng, due to insufficient estimation of the situation of the Chinese in Southeast Asia in advance and the huge power of the VOC still existing, Zhao Xin and Deng Fei had to suspend the plan to send troops to Manila after repeated discussions.
At that time, Manila
After Governor Maquina learned the news, he was afraid that Beihai Town would fight because of their massacre of the Chinese thirty years ago, so he immediately sent a special envoy to offer an olive branch, not only bringing an compensation of 100,000 Mexican silver coins, but also to He verbally apologized for his behavior back then and categorically stated that he would protect the legitimate rights and interests of the local Chinese people.
However, Deng Fei did not ask for compensation at that time. He felt that if he accepted it, he would be sorry for the souls of the 100,000 Chinese people in heaven. You must know that since the 31st year of Wanli, the Spaniards have carried out five massacres of Chinese people in Manila. This debt must be recovered!
He calmly warned the Manila envoys to let them behave themselves. If there was another oppression of the Chinese, the Northern Navy would bombard the city of Manila.
Things are different now. The Dutch are gone, West Borneo is nominally obtained, and Europe is at war because of the French problem. There will be a transition period of two or three years. When the situation in West Java and India stabilizes, the Northern Navy will have enough troops to occupy the Luzon Islands and completely drive the Spaniards out of Asia!
Of course, the Tampakan gold-copper composite mine that Zhao Xin has coveted for a long time must also be obtained.
One day later, the Discovery and Chatham arrived at Monterey. George Vancouver immediately asked to see California Governor de Arrillaga. The main task of his trip was to implement the territorial transfer issue in the Treaty of Nootka with the other party. Unexpectedly, the arrogant interim governor not only did not see them, but also refused to allow them to go ashore. The reason was that the official responsible for handling the matter was not available and I had no time... Oh, no, we will wait until next year.
Faced with Spain's prevarication, George Vancouver's nose was so angry that he felt that the treaty was still being delayed after it was signed for two years, and he did not take the British Empire seriously. In a fit of anger, he deliberately caused the Spaniards to suffer a big loss. He did not mention the encounter with the Thor. After completing the supplies, he took the fleet to Hawaii to spend the winter.
Two more days later, Governor de Alila finally met Lieutenant de Solar and Brother Verez, who had rushed back from Santa Clara to report. When he learned that San Francisco had been invaded by a group of Orientals, , was suddenly shocked. He immediately summoned the army and decided to personally lead the army on an expedition, marching both by land and water, to drive away the group of unknown origins.
On the other side, on the seventh day when Lucci and the others arrived at the Golden Gate Strait, his "good deed" of releasing the Indians began to ferment. In order to save trouble, Li Shitu issued outdoor emergency blankets to all the Indians who were released. They returned to the tribe with their bodies covered in silver, which immediately aroused great interest among the Indians.
When the Spaniards came in the past, the most common thing they did was to use necklaces made of glass beads to fool them. As time went by, the Indians were no longer so easy to fool.
But this thing is different! Not only is it shiny when you put it on, it's thin and warm, and you'll start to sweat after standing in the sun for a while.
So the nearby Miwok tribe came to the fortress one after another, bringing animal skins and various prey. Some even brought torn pieces of blankets, babbling and gesticulating, asking for this by roll call. In fact, since the Spaniards have colonized here for more than ten or twenty years, many people in these tribes can speak Spanish.
In fact, simple communication between different groups of people does not necessarily require proficiency in each other's language. Especially in business, you can often understand what's going on with a little gesture.
"Sinae! Sinae!"
Facing a dozen Miwok people wearing animal skin or feather cloaks, conical sea otter skin hats, and shell necklaces around their necks, Rucci, who was wearing a mask, first pointed to the red flag of the Northern Navy on the flagpole. , then patted his chest, and gestured to the people from the overseas corps, indicating that we are Seris people.
"Choaytush! Raytush!" Katata's tribe also came, including her father.
"Taen! Taen!" This is a tribe from the Santa Clara Valley.
Although there are only three tribes in total, each tribe is divided into dozens of villages, which means that almost all the Miwok people around the Kinmen Strait have come.
Seeing the piles of furs brought by the Indians, Rucci grinned and almost stopped laughing. Fortunately, he was wearing a mask. He thought he would make a lot of money now
Okay, let alone the silver ones, we have both gold and silver ones! Gold protects you from the heat, and silver keeps you warm.
Let the tribal chief and his family each get a gold one. When they step out of the tent, they will be gleaming with gold, which will show their identity and status.
Although the outdoor emergency blanket is useful, it can be easily scratched by branches, weapons, etc., or it will dissolve if it is stained with salt-alkali water. You will have to buy it again when the time comes, which is a huge profit. The price he finally negotiated with the Indians was five sea otter skins or one bison skin for a silver emergency blanket, and double the price for a gold one.
In order to make up for the slight uneasiness in his conscience, Rucci decided to invite all the Indians to have a free meal in the open space outside the fort, with sea fish stewed in an iron pot, casual greetings, and rye flour steamed buns.
Since there were not many utensils, the people in the cooking class decided to dig a field stove in the open space, then bring the pot over and cook directly. Unexpectedly, an Indian made a chirping sound after seeing the iron pot, and then a group of people gathered around him. Everyone's eyes widened when they looked at the big iron pot held high by the cooks. Some even reached out and touched it a few times, and their eyes suddenly shone.
The cooking soldiers who were surrounded were confused and asked, "Do you still want to eat?"
Several Indians wanted to see Rucci immediately, and they decided they wanted this too!
Lu Qi talked and gestured for a long time, and finally made these people understand that if you want to buy this, you can just finish eating first, and the price will be discussed later.
So a group of Indians squatted by the earthen stove and stared at the cook as they cooked, fearing that the iron pot would get lost. However, they were soon swallowed by the aroma of the fat, and watched with great curiosity as the cook added a handful of green onion and ginger to the left and a handful of pepper to the right.
After the large pieces of salmon were put into the pot, the cook poured a few bags of homemade dried vegetables from Beihai Town and a pot of cut potatoes into the pot. He flipped it a few times with a large wooden spoon, then closed the lid and started cooking.
As the old saying goes, stew meat on low heat and stew fish on high heat. The fish meat is mixed with spices and vegetables, and soon becomes fragrant, making the surrounding Indians salivate.
Katata's father Bai Bai finally couldn't bear it anymore. His name is "woodpecker" in Miwok language. This person got up and walked to the stove, raised his hand to lift the lid. The cook was well prepared, stretched out his hand to hold it firmly, and then shook his head at him.
Bai Baixin said that I would eat all the raw fish, but the cooked meat would be rotten, so he nodded and made the eating gesture again.
Unexpectedly, the cook still shook his head. He had no other reason for it. The potatoes were not yet ripe, and eating them raw would be poisonous. If something happens then, he will be in big trouble.
One of the two kept shaking his head, and the other kept nodding. The other Indians thought that these two people were really interesting, and they all laughed.
On the other side, Lu Qi was also thinking about what price the iron pot should be sold for. You must know that large iron products are relatively expensive in this time and space, not to mention that the items brought this time are for personal use and spare, and there is not much inventory. So how to price a firewood pot with a diameter of 60 cm?
After thinking for a while, Lucci, who had been dazzled by the high profits, finally decided.
More than twenty minutes later, when a group of Indians devoured the steamed buns and scooped up the remaining meat and vegetable residue in the iron pot with their hands, Rucci appeared.
He pointed to the iron pot with a little vegetable soup left, stretched out his hands, and then turned it over twice - thirty otter skins, and there were only two bites - the two bites used to cook food for the Indians. Take it away quickly, no need to wash it!
After completing transactions with Indians from several tribes, Rucci asked Li Shi to announce something to his men. In order to reward everyone for their hard work, Rucci decided to give each person five furs from the traded furs. Sea otter skin; those who are willing to discount it can also have it sent to their subsidy account according to the CIF price in Guangzhou, which is 1,750 Beihai silver dollars. Now all the soldiers in the overseas corps were smiling, and they had earned several years' salary at once.
When the "Jaguar" left two months later, the cabin was filled with more than 2,000 sea otter skins and more than 500 bison skins, but the smell of disinfectant was overwhelming!
When Zhao Xin learned about the incident from the telegram, he thought it was really shameful that the stuff he bought wholesale for eight yuan a piece was actually turned into a huge profit. It seems that letting Rucci go to North America was the right move. I didn’t say anything.
Yes, another 100,000 pieces will be shipped over, plus a thousand iron pots of various sizes!
The news spread among the Indian tribes at the speed of the wind. In the spring of the next year, Rucci simply opened a market east of the Golden Gate Fortress.
In the years that followed, this thing, hailed by countless people as the "Chinese Magic Carpet," spread throughout almost all regions of North America. Chiefs of all major Indian tribes were proud to have a golden "Magic Carpet." The most outrageous thing is that a fur merchant actually took this thing to Guangzhou, sold it for a high price of three hundred taels, and successfully exported it to domestic sales.
In this process, Beihai Town, apart from hunting animals for meat, almost never fired a shot, and unknowingly became the largest fur trader in the Pacific.
