On the morning of February 10th, the twenty-sixth year of Yongli, a large Western-style armed sailboat flying the Union Jack flag was slowly sailing into the narrow Haojiang estuary and heading to the west pier of Dahao Commercial Port to dock.
This armed merchant ship belonging to the British East India Company has a very oriental name - the Great Eastern. It is an old-fashioned armed merchant ship launched in 1652. It is completely unable to adapt to naval warfare in Europe. However, in the east of the world, with its deadweight tonnage of more than 500 tons and as many as 36 guns, this "giant ship" is still the king of the sea!
Only the flagship of the Dutch East India Company can compete with this "giant ship"!
After the British East India Company acquired this large ship, it put it into the "Macau-Bombay" route, continuously transporting porcelain, silk, and sugar from China to India, and then transported some silver and saltpetre produced in India. , and some miscellaneous stuff to Macau.
It’s almost like leaving Macau with a full load and then returning with a light load. Although this unbalanced trade made the British East India Company, which operated the Great Eastern, very profitable, who could have too much money? If the Great Eastern can be fully loaded, wouldn't it be possible to gain more benefits?
So the captains of the Great Eastern, Smith and Taipan Jones, receive the same instructions every year - let them look for Indian or European goods that can open the Chinese market.
But where can they find such good things?
China is a vast country with abundant resources and abundant products. There is no shortage of anything! If it weren't for the small group of forces resisting the Tatar dynasty in South China who needed Indian fire salt and British arms, the Great Eastern would almost have arrived in Macau empty-loaded!
This time, when the Great Eastern was anchored in Macau, Smith and Jones got another piece of good news and a piece of bad news.
The good news is that the East India Company's business store in Dalhao discovered two more products that can make the company a lot of money-a Chinese rum with a very good taste and a kind of white sugar that is said to be particularly white!
The bad news is that the East India Company's Chinese partners have mastered the process of collecting saltpeter and making granular black powder!
Moreover, their craftsmanship level is surprisingly high, and the fire salt and black powder they produce can even be compared with British products.
So there is no need to transport Indian fire salt and gunpowder to Macau in the future... Even fire salt and gunpowder are not transported, what else can be transported in the future? Just ship some spices and gum arabic? Not even half the warehouse can be filled! Could it be that in the future, the British East India Company could only exchange silver for Chinese goods?
Just when Smith and Jones didn't know how to report to the company headquarters in London, Charlie Gough, the company's chief executive at the Taiwan Commercial Embassy, suddenly rushed to Macau and brought Smith and Jones a rather shocking news. News - Zhu San Taisun, the leader of the former Ming resistance army entrenched in the eastern coast of Guangdong, China, has gathered thousands of troops and is preparing to take advantage of the opportunity of the main force of the Qing army in Guangdong to march eastward to attack Guangzhou city by sea. He also wanted to ask the East India Company's armed merchant ships to escort them to avoid being attacked by the Portuguese fleet in Macau that supported the Qing Dynasty.
There is no doubt that this is a huge opportunity!
This is an opportunity for the British East India Company to gain a colonial foothold in China!
Although according to the treaty between Britain and Portugal, British merchant ships and warships can freely enter and leave the Macau port, Macau belongs to Portugal after all!
British ships can only enter and exit freely, and there is no way to turn Macau into a cash cow for them.
It would be ideal if the British East India Company could also get its own "Macau" on the coast of China!
And now, a God-given opportunity lies in front of the British East India Company - what the East India Company can provide to Prince Zhu is more than just a simple escort mission.
The East India Company could also recruit a powerful Western mercenary army for Zhu San Taisun. It could provide Zhu San Taisun with cannons, artillery and engineers that could break through the strong Guangzhou city wall. It could even lobby Macau for the Portuguese army to be led by Zhu San Taisun. Provide support!
So after receiving the news, Smith and Jones immediately led the Great Eastern to leave Macau and arrived in Chaozhou as if they were flying.
On the way to Chaozhou, the two of them studied the map with Charlie Gough - they had to see where it was more suitable for colonization!
It is of course best to build a piece of land at the mouth of the Yangtze River, but Zhu San Taisun's army will not be able to defeat it for a while. The most they can capture is Guangzhou.
So the three of them thought that they could build an island that could establish a port outside Lingding Ocean Port as the British East India Company's stronghold in China... The three imperialist bandits spent a long time choosing, and finally selected an island called Hong Kong Island. of small islands.
This island was once a distribution center for imported spices during the Ming Dynasty, hence the name Hong Kong. However, after the Qing Dynasty implemented a maritime ban on relocation, it was completely abandoned and became an uninhabited desert island.
I believe that the Third Prince Zhu and the Third Grandson Zhu would not care too much about such an uninhabited island, right?
In addition to colonies, these three foreign barbarians also want to obtain "monopoly free trade rights" - that is, the ships of the British East India Company can trade freely wherever they want. All ports under the control of the third prince Zhu and his grandson Zhu San will be able to trade freely wherever they want. Be open to the British East India Company!
In addition, extraterritoriality is a must!
The Chinese criminal laws were too harsh and were not in line with Christian teachings. Subjects of the King of England who violated the law in the land ruled by Prince Zhu could not be tried by Chinese courts but had to be tried by the consuls of the British Company.
Finally, there is the issue of the British East India Company renting land and opening commercial offices on the land ruled by Prince Zhu San. This commercial building should also have extraterritorial jurisdiction. Chinese officials cannot enter casually and must obtain the consent of the consul before entering.
The above requirements have been compiled into a draft treaty by Smith, Jones, and Goff, and they are waiting for Prince Zhu's signature.
As long as the Third Prince Zhu agrees, the British East India Company will assist him as much as possible in capturing the capital of Guangzhou.
If he doesn't agree... then I'm sorry. The British East India Trading Company is just a commercial company engaged in peaceful trade. How can it be involved in the escort business?
Moreover, the Governor of Macau was appointed by the King of Portugal and represented the Kingdom of Portugal. How could a commercial company conflict with the Governor and the army of the Kingdom of Portugal?
Standing on the stern deck of the Great Eastern, I looked at a group of people wearing "Confucius suits" gathered at the West Pier of Dahao. The three foreigners were very confident and felt that these Chinese people must be in great need of the British East India Company's help.
Without the help of the British East India Company, it would have been impossible for their ships with weak firepower to break into the Humen Gate, which was heavily guarded by the Qing army.
However, these three "warm-hearted" international friends would never have thought that at this moment on the West Pier of Dahao, the great grandson of Zhu San, who was theoretically stretching his neck and hoping for help from the British East India Company, was counting the Great Eastern The sailors on the deck of the No. 1 were estimating the dosage of Datura flower essential oil... That stuff is the main component of sweat medicine. It can be used to make wine and drink. It has a very hypnotic effect!
