1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 770
On August 1660, 8, Guangling.

A group of fur merchants including Liang Yun'an stayed in Weihai for five days. Here, they bought wool and cowhide worth 1 Hanzhou silver dollars, and some of them came from Gonggong Island (now New Zealand's North Island), Jingwei Island (now New Zealand's South Island). Island) and other islands, as well as printed cotton cloth and denim cloth (denim) of more than [-] Hanzhou silver dollars.After storing the purchased fur and cotton cloth in a warehouse in Weihai, they continued south by boat to Guangling, another important coastal town in Weihai Prefecture.

During his stay in Weihai, in order not to let the businessmen in his company doubt his identity, he also reluctantly bought hundreds of pieces of wool, more than 40 pieces of seal skins, and [-] bolts of cotton cloth with a few companions, spending a total of [-] Hanzhou silver dollar.You know, he originally wanted to run away with the money, but now it has turned into piles of supplies that are in short supply in the market.

Although, if he brings these materials back to Jianye City, whether it is handed over to the local workshop or sold on the market, he will definitely make a lot of money.But he was a little afraid to withdraw and return, fearing that he would fall into the hands of Qi's army and police.It's better to hide far away in the eastern region like this to avoid the limelight.

Sometimes, I think that if I am not a loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty, a child of the Eight Banners, or an ordinary person walking in the mainland of Hanzhou, as long as I have some capital, relying on Qi's excellent business environment and strong industrial productivity, It is also possible to live a rich and affluent life by trafficking some commodities and handing over some supplies.At that time, choose a place with a suitable climate and beautiful mountains and rivers, and bring your children and grandchildren to live a lifetime without any worries. How carefree and comfortable it is.

Now, touching the few acceptance bank notes issued by the big Hanzhou bank in his arms, Liang Yun'an couldn't help but sigh, feeling grateful for the good fortune.However, I regained my strength later on, and I was charged with the mission of revitalizing the Qing Dynasty. How can I be saddened by these things about the love of my sons and daughters, and thus kill the ambitions of my Eight Banners?

In other words, the bank in Hanzhou is really convenient.When they set off from Jianye Mansion, they deposited cash in the Hanzhou Big Bank in the city, and then obtained several deposit certificates as needed.In the cities and towns along the way, when buying furs, you can exchange the corresponding amount of coins at the local Hanzhou big bank, completely eliminating the trouble of carrying a large amount of gold and silver with you.This is like the precious banknotes in the early Ming Dynasty, which is extremely convenient.

According to the merchants in the same trade, the operation mode of Hanzhou Big Bank is actually not new. As early as the Song Dynasty, this kind of gold and silver acceptance bills appeared, which was called Jiaozi.In addition, in distant Europe, many Western countries also have such bills for depositing gold and silver and then accepting silver money in different places.

They also said that this kind of foreign currency acceptance bill service can be realized in the mainland of Qi and all overseas territories. Even in the Nanyang region, this method can still be used when doing business with Dutch red-haired ghosts.However, you need to deposit the corresponding gold and silver in the Hanzhou Export-Import Commercial Bank designated for this business, and you can easily do business with them just by bringing the bills.

These Qi people really spared no effort in order to facilitate businessmen to do business.Aren't you afraid that there will be counterfeit and counterfeit bills, and someone will take them to the Hanzhou Big Bank to cheat some real money?

By the way, in order to facilitate business exchanges around the country, in addition to vigorously developing shipping, so that the country's growing maritime power has been created, their government also likes to enlist and mobilize local people during the slack season to build and maintain Roads leading everywhere.Although many businessmen complained that because of the increase in heavy carriages, the roads often became bumpy and bumpy.But in Liang Yun'an's view, the quality of roads between towns in Qi is still far superior to the existing roads in Qing Dynasty.

The various roads in Qi State are not only spacious, but also straight. The road surface is covered with small stones and cinders, and some are also paved with a layer of dark gypsum-like substance (coal tar pitch), which makes the road even more difficult. smooth.Shade trees were planted on both sides of the road, and temporary rest and docking stations were built every [-] to [-] kilometers in places where there were no settlements.

Fur merchants in the street once enthusiastically discussed the newly-emerged steam locomotive as a means of transportation, saying that in the future, railway tracks between various towns will be built in Hanzhou, and it will be extremely convenient for both cargo transportation and personnel exchanges in the future.The so-called steam locomotive is very powerful. It is said that it can pull hundreds of people on the rails at a time, and it can move like the wind. Even goods can pull the weight equivalent to dozens of horse-drawn carts.

Liang Yunan scoffed at this.Big guys can brag and chat, but don't blow the cowhide!It can pull hundreds of people, and the goods can carry dozens of carriages. Do you really think there are ancient strongmen like Pangu and Gonggong in this world?
However, the bragging businessman looked unconvinced. He claimed that he had seen that kind of steam locomotive running on the rails with his own eyes, burning and smoking, and pulling seven or eight carriages behind him. There were passengers and goods. Running like flying on the rails.It is said that our king of the state of Qi once took a ride and announced that within one year, a railway from Jianye City to Kaiyuan City (now Humpty Doo, Australia) will be built, achieving the goal of reaching the two places in two hours.

Later, another partner in the same industry echoed his statement, saying that he also heard that the steam locomotive had undergone an open on-site inspection between Heishan City and Jianye City, and it will be officially put into operation in the near future. .At that time, after you have purchased the fur and returned to Jianye, you might as well go to experience it for yourself.

Faced with this situation, Liang Yun'an was a little dubious.If this country of Qi can really manufacture that steam locomotive that can transport hundreds of people at a time, if it wants to transport troops, wouldn't it be possible to quickly transport hundreds of thousands of people to one or two hundred people in one day and night? inside and outside.In case, in the future, the Qi State resorts to tricks to get this thing over in the coastal areas of my Qing Dynasty, wouldn't it make my Eight Banners elite soldiers hard to defend against!

This country of Qi, even though it has produced so many strange and ingenious things, is also extremely powerful. It is really the most terrible enemy of my Qing Dynasty.

Guangling County is the most populous county in Weihai Prefecture, with a population of more than 40, distributed in the county seat and more than [-] towns and settlements under its jurisdiction.

In addition, Guangling County is also the most important agricultural and sideline product production base and animal husbandry base in the region.The vast plains around and south of the county seat, because of the strong sunlight and humid climate, are planted with a large number of sugarcane fields, which provide nearly half of the raw materials for several sugar factories and sugarcane wineries in Weihai Prefecture.

In the area west of Dadongshan (Great Dividing Range), the climate is hot, the sunshine hours are long, and there is a relatively abundant Jincheng River (now the Bodekin River in Australia), which is very suitable for cotton planting.Therefore, in this vast area, there are more than 100 cotton-growing farms established by the local government. In addition to thousands of Han Chinese immigrants here, there are more than [-] Nanyang natives and Hanzhou natives working tirelessly. Working hard, silently making due contributions to the development of the cotton textile industry in Qi State.

Of course, as a few businessmen who went all the way south to buy furs, these situations can only be learned from the residents of Guangling City, but not the whole picture.

Liang Yunan traveled all the way, and after asking a little bit along the way, he felt extremely desperate in his heart.Leaving Jianye City does not mean escaping possible government pursuits in Qi State.If you want to hide all the places under Qi State's jurisdiction and live in seclusion in a certain corner, it is really unrealistic, and it is impossible to avoid the control of Qi State's local government.You must have the corresponding certificates or someone familiar with the local area to guarantee you before you can do business, stay, or travel around.Otherwise, any patrolman or guard on duty can take you down for interrogation without any identification.

Although Hanzhou is vast and the population seems to be very sparse, unless you want to hide in no man's land or an indigenous tribe, and be a savage.Otherwise, as long as you are on the territory controlled by Qi State, you will not be able to get rid of your whereabouts, and you will be found out sooner or later.At that time, just a little questioning will definitely reveal his identity.

Then, the only way to escape from Qi State may be to secretly take a barbarian merchant ship passing through Hanzhou, and then follow them to leave Qi State, and then find a way to return to our Daqing territory.

Therefore, when the fur merchants who came with them were actively looking for local sources of goods, thinking about buying more furs at a lower price, Liang Yunan used the lack of funds as an excuse to stay in the inn near the dock outside the city, secretly Pay attention to whether there are barbarian merchant ships arriving at the port.

When docking at Beikou, Haijiao, Weihai and other places, he did not encounter any barbarian ships, which made Liang Yunan extremely anxious along the way.If there is no chance, after they stay here for a few days, they may not continue to go south to Yunyang, but rent a large ship here, load the fur, cotton cloth and other materials temporarily stored in various warehouses, and then return to the original road Jianye City.

After going back, I don't know what fate awaits me.Get caught by the military and police of the Qi State, and then get shot, or continue to live in fear.

This afternoon, an armed merchant ship flying the flag of the Dutch East India Company sailed into the wharf of Guangling Port.Seeing the tall-nosed, deep-eyed, blond and blue-eyed Western sailors stepping off the boat, Liang Yun'an suddenly felt that his chance had come.

Liang Yun'an followed a group of barbarian people into the city, and then in a restaurant, his heart sank, he found an opportunity, and went up to them and had a complicated "you say, I guess" negotiation.

After spending a long time, the sailors of the East India Company probably understood what the Hanzhou man meant.He actually wanted to leave Hanzhou on their merchant ship, and also hinted vaguely that he needed their help to cover and sneak into their ship to avoid the inspection of the port staff on the pier.

What a joke!Most of the Hanzhou people committed crimes in their country and wanted to smuggle out to sea through the ship of the East India Company to escape the pursuit of the Hanzhou government.If the Hanzhou people caught this, not to mention the risk of the ship being detained, it might cause unnecessary diplomatic disputes between the two sides.

The head mate was about to get up and greet the patrolling police on the street, and arrest this villain who might have committed serious crimes in Hanzhou mainland and wanted to smuggle out to sea. By the way, he could please the local Hanzhou people.

However, when Liang Yunan took out a bag of Hanzhou silver dollars and put it gently on the table, the eyes of several East India Company sailors including the chief mate suddenly became straight.

In this bag of silver dollars, there are also a few golden gold coins, plus dozens of silver coins, worth at least 100 Hanzhou silver dollars, which is equivalent to more than 400 Dutch guilders (1 Hanzhou silver dollar = 1.3 taels of silver, equivalent to 4.5 Dutch guilders) shield).

That's more than a year's salary for an experienced captain at sea!
In the end, Liang Yun'an expressed to these barbarians that if he could bring them to Batavia, he would pay a large amount of extra money.

Several East India Company sailors were moved.They looked at each other and nodded in agreement.Didn't people come all the way to this far east just to earn more gold and silver, and then return to Europe in a beautiful way to enjoy a good life?

As long as you help this Hanzhou man escape from the country, you can easily get a generous reward. Although it is shared equally among the few present, it will be almost half a year's salary for them.Smuggling people onto a boat can be difficult, but not impossible.

In the afternoon of August 8, several fur traders from Jianye City were surprised to find that Liang Yunan, who was traveling with them, disappeared.At first, I thought he was staying in an inn in the city because he was greedy for the excitement in the city, or because he met a fellow countryman.

However, after waiting for two days in a row, Liang Yun'an was never found returning to the inn near the pier.Only then did they realize that something might be wrong.Immediately, he reported the matter to the patrol police in the city, claiming that his companion might have encountered an accident in Guangling City, and implored the local government to investigate in detail.

Just when Liang Yunan's disappearance in Guangling City caused the government to go to war and conduct a city-wide search.However, Liang Yun'an was on a merchant ship owned by the Dutch East India Company, and was in an endless pain, wanting to cry without tears.

Less than two days after the Dutch merchant ship left Guangling, several sailors who secretly brought Liang Yunan on board changed their faces immediately.They stripped him clean and started looting all his belongings. More than 60 Hanzhou silver dollars, three gold coins worth ten silver dollars, and several acceptance banknotes were all found one by one.

Just when several sailors felt that he was completely worthless and were about to throw him into the sea, Liang Yunan pointed hoarsely and pointed to several registered acceptance banknotes on the deck, and kept begging for mercy, claiming that he could take out the silver and give them all , as long as he is left alive.

The chief mate who took the lead carefully looked at the acceptance banknotes. The numbers marked on them aroused his interest.After some communication, several sailors understood that those acceptance banknotes could be used to withdraw cash from Hanzhou Big Bank, and the amount was as much as 800 Hanzhou silver dollars.

However, this kind of bank note requires the bearer to provide the password and mark given by the Hanzhou Bank. After the verification is correct, the cash will be accepted unconditionally.However, in view of the fact that the money was Liang Yunan's last resort to save his life, when the sailor tried every possible means to force him to reveal the password and signs, supported by his desire to survive, he gritted his teeth and resisted all kinds of beatings from the other party. torture.

Seeing this situation, the leading mate discussed with several sailors and decided to save Liang Yun'an's life temporarily and take him to Batavia, and then try to get him to withdraw cash there and finally pay them.When he comes to our East India Company territory, he can be eaten alive no matter what.

(End of this chapter)