Lu Ming

Page 267

Saltpeter is an extremely important strategic resource.Not only the Ministry of Commerce, but also the Ministry of Agriculture, the military, and the chemical industry were all concerned about the information about saltpeter, so the stack of parchment was quickly taken away.

"good."

After looking at it for a while, Li Hao first expressed his appreciation for the content on the parchment: beautiful English cursive characters, clear entries, and detailed records of saltpeter production in Indian states.

If the content of this information is true, it will have an important impact on the "government" in formulating the saltpeter plan in the future.

"William, do you have a sample?"

Old William replied respectfully: "In the cabin of the Lady Jacob, there are 4 Rusters of saltpetre. According to the instructions of the Ministry of Commerce, they are classified according to the place of origin."

"Very well, William, it seems that you have copied again this trip! This report is very important!"

"Gentlemen, it's all thanks to my English nephew Crawley. Old William, as you know, is a poor fellow from the Luxembourg countryside who never learned to write."

Crowley, who was cleverly introduced by Old William, could only forcibly put away his surprise at this moment and face the Eastern nobles—he was dumbfounded before, because the few people who got the parchment were all serious. Looking at the English cursive characters written by himself.

Crowley swears, they're not pretending!

God, when did English become so popular?Or in the far east?

Chapter 604 Crowley's Fantasy Journey ([-])

"Gentlemen, Robert Crawley of Yorkshire, England, it is an honor to meet you."

Taking off his hat with his left hand and behind the back of his right hand, bending over, Crowley immediately stood up and saluted the banquet hosts after being introduced.

"Yorkshire? Crawley?"

Seeing the aristocratic self-introduction, Li Hao, who had the most communication with Old William before, shook the fruit wine in the glass with a playful smile on his face: "The castle of the Crawley family will not be called Downton Castle. Bar?"

At the same time as Li Hao's words came out, there were several cheerful chuckles beside him.

Crowley was a little confused. He didn't know what the other party was laughing at. He had never heard of Downton Castle since he was a child.So Crowley replied honestly: "In fact, the castle passed down by the family has always been called Fort Crowley by the people."

"Yes, I know." Li Hao's face showed a bleak taste of nostalgia for the old days: "I was just joking."

After the somewhat weird meeting procedure, the next step is to get on the right track.Crowley and old William got the chairs as they wished, and they were able to hold up the wine glasses on the long table and wish the great Earl good health.

After this, Crowley joined the table chat.But this time, Crowley confirmed that these Orientals had learned English systematically.Because whenever he talks to an Englishman like him, several people at the table start English directly.

How should I put it, although it is impossible to take the liberty to find out who the private English teacher behind the big man in the East is, but as time went by, Crowley still heard some differences: the English of the Orientals is not only similar to Crowley's standard London accent There are differences in grammar, and there are some new terms that have not been used before.

The only explanation for this, Crowley guessed, was that the other party's English teacher had added a variant of his own ethnicity to the class.

He had a rough idea of ​​this: the English teacher for the Orientals must not be British, but most likely a priest from a small European country... maybe a Jewish businessman.That nation is always traveling around the world, and they speak multiple languages, changing flavors and adding vocabulary to suit their living environment.

The only question now is: Why do these big men in the East collectively spend time learning a language that is of little use?

However, at the next moment, Crowley interrupted his speculation about the mysterious teacher.Because someone asked him another question, he had to concentrate on responding to the inquiries of the big shots.

"Mr. Crawley, according to your family background and age, you should have the opportunity to hear Shakespeare's operas in London, right?"

No doubt, this was another question that surprised Crowley secretly.Although Shakespeare's name is powerful and influential throughout the world in later generations, it is now 1632, only 16 years after Shakespeare's death.

In the 17th century, when the transmission of information was extremely slow, Shakespeare was only a playwright sought after by the British, and his influence did not cross the English Channel or even London.

Even the French, who are our nearest neighbors, will not learn about Shakespeare and his works until the next hundred years, in the middle of the 18th century, after being recommended by the great writer Voltaire.

Suppressing the surprise in his heart, Crowley recalled and said: "In fact, I got my first job out of the house in the London performance industry. Based on this, I was fortunate to be a theater scriptwriter a few months before Mr. William died. Assistant, went to Stratford to observe some of his exchanges with theater managers about theatrical texts."

"Wow, this is interesting! Come on, tell me, what did Shakespeare die of?"

The traveler who asked the question was obviously a cultural person.This gentleman seems to be very interested in the cultural evolution of various countries during the Renaissance, and then a series of questions were thrown over.

Crowley felt extremely miraculous and excited to meet someone who liked the culture of his homeland in a foreign country thousands of miles away, and who was also a powerful person.

He quickly immersed himself in one-on-one interactions.

Probably because it is rare to meet foreign businessmen who can explain things clearly in the cultural world, or because the arty shows that Lao Tzu is also a member of cultural people. Next, Crowley needs to talk to more than one person and overcome various accents and word barriers.

The exchange turned into a cultural salon.

Crowley was suddenly a busy man.He answered various questions with a clear and slightly fast speaking speed.

These issues are very complicated, not only about the virtualization of the British cultural atmosphere in the seventeenth century, but also about a series of practical issues about the theater, scripts, poetry, and social inside stories of the aristocrats, which can be called complicated and chaotic.

However, Crowley's eyes were shining now, and he would not refuse anyone.

God knows how long it has been since he stepped on the ship, and he has not come into contact with the words of nobility and literature.And during this long time, how many times did he lie in the dim hammock, listening to the obscene singing faintly coming from outside the deck, and lost his mind, whispering the elegant opera that he was once proud of.

The atmosphere in the salon is very warm.As time went on, Crowley became more involved, fueled by beautiful round glasses and good wine.

He gave full play to the excellent etiquette and education of noble origin, and demonstrated his profound knowledge of poetry and stage plays over the years.

In the end, Crowley, who had forgotten his identity, even scolded an oriental figure who "pretends to understand" and despised the eight-handed script that the other party copied from nowhere.

The next moment, Crowley stood up, lunged and stretched his arms in a posture, looked at the sky with his eyes, and with a strong stage drama style, he recited aloud elegantly and affectionately: "Blow, wind! Burst! Thy cheek, blow violently! You, cataract-like downpour, though it pours down, drowns our steeples, drowns the weathercocks on the roofs! You, quick-thinking brimstone electric fire, split The Herald of the Shattered Oak Thunder, burn my white-haired head...!"

After someone improvised extremely professionally, he himself was the first to wake up.Sensing the silent scene around him, Crowley cried out "Damn" at this moment, and then hurriedly bent down, ready to apologize to his master.

However, at the next moment, a burst of applause mixed with whistles interrupted what Crowley was going to say next.

One of the most enthusiastic participants in the cultural discussion before, Li Hao from the Ministry of Commerce stood up at this moment, said "COOL" in his mouth, and at the same time gave Crowley a glass of white wine: "Professional, this is called professional! I like professional people, no matter what era."

Looking around and finding that everyone was nodding in agreement, Li Hao pointed to the bearded old William and said with emotion: "As far as I have seen in the past few years, all people who come to East Asia, except for illiterates, are thugs, gamblers, Desperadoes... Up and down, inside and out, men and women, big and small, all returned to the pile, all fucking bastards!"

Speaking of this, Li Hao laughed and put his arms around Crowley's shoulders: "This is the only one, talented!"

"Come on, true noble gentleman, brothers toast to you!"

Although he couldn't understand the previous paragraph in Chinese, Li Hao said the next two sentences in English.Crowley, who had figured out the situation, realized that he had inadvertently been appreciated, so he raised his glass and said, "Please call me Robert, Dear Lee."

With this episode, the follow-up Sharon Crowley is more relaxed.Putting aside his identity as a businessman, Crowley, who is purely in a state of "cultural exchange", then solidly popularized some real London performances in the [-]th century to the hosts.

In fact, just like the Chinese saying of "lower class", the so-called art performances in this era are also an industry that is used for entertainment and despised by high-level people.

At the end of the 16th century, theater acting was far from being a respected profession.This industry is full of all kinds of "thieves, horse thieves, whores, liars and rebels", and the quality of the practitioners is low. The reason why London theaters are built in groups in Southwark on the south bank of the Thames happens to be because it is under the jurisdiction The blank area, the so-called three no matter zone.

And Crowley also sincerely told fans: Shakespeare included, when they entered the industry, they had to start from the most humble occupations, working for those notorious theater owners.

In this era, opening a theater was not much different from opening a brothel, both of which were places where people from the middle and lower classes of society sought out flowers and flowers.Punks, pimps, and whores roam the theater, and the audience is minimally interested in the stage performance.

After this sincere conversation, Old William, who had been unable to intervene for a long time and only knew how to drink heavily, found that Crowley had become the most popular person in the salon.

This surprised Old William, and he kept talking about Lord God.

Of course, there is no permanent banquet in the world.When it was getting dark, this wonderful salon party finally came to an end.

But it's not over yet.

After the show ended, Li Hao from the Commerce Department first asked Old William when he would return to Batavia.After learning that the Dutch will stay in the Ming Dynasty until the monsoon season in the second half of the year before setting sail, Li Hao nodded: This is not unexpected. Most of the European merchant ships coming to the Ming Dynasty follow this rhythm. .

The next moment, Crowley finally received the most precious invitation in the first half of his life.

Before leaving, Li Hao patted Crowley on the shoulder, and told him meaningfully: "Don't spend all the money. Before leaving Ming Dynasty, come to the Ministry of Commerce to find me. I have a business that is very suitable for you."

……

The ecstatic old William, after returning that night, opened his treasured tin barrel of rum, and took Crowley to drink all night: no one knows the "special invitation" of the boss of the Ministry of Commerce better than old William What a great business opportunity lies behind it.

In the end, Old William fell drunk with the barrel in his arms, but he kept chanting a sentence: "Crowley, you lucky bastard...no matter what business you receive, you have to let Old William get a share. I deserve it!"

Chapter 605 Crowley's Fantasy Journey ([-])

Old William stood on the slipway of the Lady Jacob, with his beard dancing in the wind.

The next moment, old William touched his arms, and a flat, molded and carved sterling silver vial appeared in his hand.After taking a sip of the "authentic" Taiwanese rum in it, the old William pointed forward in the sea breeze and shouted: "That's Macau, see that, Crowley boy!"

The time is already the beginning of April in 1632.

After the banquet at Hongji Port before, the Lady Jacob stayed in Hongji Port for another half a month.

The reason why he stayed for such a long time was because old William relied on his status as a prostitute to "catch" an important insider news: Guangzhou's door is open.

In other words, for things like opening the door, being smashed open by others with naval guns is an operation, and actively opening up to attract investment is also an operation.

For the Chinese, both operations have deep experience.The former will turn the country into a "semi-feudal and semi-colonial" sick man, while the latter will turn the country into an old hooligan with the second largest GDP in the world. The contrast is extremely stark.

In short, it is no good to close the country.The decline of China's modern history actually laid the foundation as early as the sixteenth century: when foreigners knocked on the door across the barriers of the ocean, it already indicated that the indigenous civilization was falling behind.

Otherwise, why do all science fiction films assume that alien civilization is advanced?It's very simple, because crossing time and space itself represents the leading technology.

In this plane, when the time came to 1632, the transmigration forces entrenched in the southeast coast of Daming finally began the process of guiding the people under the rule and actively opening the door.

This time the door was opened, although it was because the imperial court finally made acquiescence in the latest decree.But to be honest, for some people who are well prepared, the court will not acquiesce, and they all plan to act according to the existing timetable.

It's nothing more than a question of how much face to save for the court.

Fortunately, the imperial court now has a well-informed and stable presiding officer, so they did not get entangled in such side issues.

As a result, the Lady Jacob reserved one of the first positions to participate in the opening of the door by virtue of the shareholder status of the old William.

Next, in late March, the large fleet, which had been settled, finally departed from Hongji Port in Annan and returned to the court.The long-awaited Lady Jacob also entered the formation and set off together with the transport fleet.

Since the total number of ships exceeds a hundred, the formation of the large fleet is spectacular, and it has drawn a long trajectory of more than ten nautical miles on the sea.

On this day in early April, the Grand Fleet arrived off the coast of Macau.

Arriving at the three-way intersection in Macau, the previously well-organized large fleet immediately parted ways.A large number of transport ships and some frigates scattered away, some continued northward to Taiwan, Fujian and Zhejiang along the coastline, and some disappeared in various water systems in southern Guangxi.

The remaining main ships of the Grand Fleet anchored on the same day.

The Lady Jacob was among them, and instead of entering the inner harbor of Macau like the European ships that came with her, she honestly dropped anchor in the open sea.

Early the next morning, four new ships joined the fleet from the inner harbor of Macau.Immediately, the large fleet pulled anchor and began to sail up the vast Pearl River, sailing directly outside Guangzhou.

Of the four ships that joined later, three of them were European-style soft sailing ships, with the flags of the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal flying on their masts.The only hard sailing boat is the red single boat from the Wa Kingdom.

At this point, the truth is revealed.These "foreign" ships are the icebreakers used to respond to the "open door" policy this time.

Unlike the temporary stoppers like the Mrs. Jacob, the latter ships are undoubtedly prepared diplomatic ships.

These include the Dutch, who have always had a relatively high degree of cooperation, and the Spaniards, who have had a good life in the past two years.

In addition, there are Japanese samurai standing on the bow of the red single boat, looking greedily around the banks of the Pearl River, with Tsukidai haircuts.

Historically, as early as the "tributary dispute incident" in the early years of Jiajing, the Ming government officially banned trade with Japan.

But this time the Japanese trade ships entered Guangzhou, which implicitly contained a hidden meaning: the Ming government officially lifted the ban on trade with Japan... At least under the protection of a certain force on the southeast coast, the Japanese can freely enter and exit the port.

So the Japanese are in a very happy mood this time.

If there is a happy mood, there will naturally be unpleasant ones.

In a bad mood, it was the Portuguese ship that was at the end of the big fleet.

Originally, since the Jiajing Dynasty, the Portuguese were the only foreign businessmen authorized by the Ming government to come to Guangzhou City to purchase silk and porcelain at designated times every year.The Portuguese took advantage of this advantage, and with the help of Macau, an excellent transit point, they have earned countless trade profits for decades.

Now, Franji's days are over.

First, the city of Macau was forcibly breached, and the Frangji people lost their core trade base.And this time the door was opened, and the Frangians lost their trade privileges in Guangzhou, and fell to the same trade status as their sworn enemy, the Dutch.

Everything that the Portuguese had established in the trade with Ming Dynasty in the previous decades was wiped out.

Of course they were in a bad mood.

But no matter how bad the mood is, the Portuguese still actively participated in the opening of the door this time.They don't have the capital to be arrogant now, if they don't understand the situation clearly, they won't have their share in the sea trade in the future.

……

In this way, the fleet, led by two mighty and domineering ships that suppressed sea power in East Asia, traveled all the way up the main channel of the Pearl River that was newly cleared and planned. Finally, on the evening of April 1632, 4, it was berthed outside Guangzhou. In the White Swan Pond.

Feeling the oppression of Guangzhou City in the dark night, looking at the brightly lit fireworks in the night, and even the bright lights of the new district in the distance, the Dutch and Spaniards including Crowley were extremely excited.Due to the desperate efforts of the Portuguese for many years, the former did not get the opportunity to enter the interior of the Ming Dynasty, and this time he finally got his wish.

When the sun rose at the beginning of the second day, the scheduled grand ceremony began.

First of all, there were bursts of roars on the White Swan Pool, which was another salute from the fleet.

Next, the eight gates of Guangzhou City were opened together, and a large number of standard inspectors escorted Xiong Wencan, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and a group of government and county officials to rush out of the city.

Next came a large number of ordinary people who got the news and came to see the excitement.

The scene is in good order.In the past few years, Baietan has often staged similar dramas, so everyone knows where to stand now.

Before Xiong Wencan's brigade arrived at the pier, Zhongyong Bo Cao Chuan (false), wearing a red earl's robe, disembarked from the Zhenman first, and brought his generals to the pier ahead of time to wait.

The two sides met cordially at the pier.

Next comes standard procedure.

Master Cao first reported the outline of the expedition to Governor Xiong in his capacity as the deputy commander of the Guangdong Military Region: "Fighting endlessly against the enemy depends on the hard work of the soldiers, and we have won all the merits."

After simply listening to a few words of the report, Governor Xiong returned his congratulatory speech: "A mere Samoyed jumping on a beam, even if I think about it, I can't stop General Taishan's blow. I am also prepared for today's scene."