His ancestors can be traced back to Huang Yuanfang, the founder of Fujian. Huang Yuanfang's twelfth generation grandson Huang Dian migrated to Guangdong and spread his branches in Guangdong.
Huang Lun was born in the Huang family of Nanhai, but his family was already in decline.
In the past few years, Guangzhou's sea trade has become more and more prosperous, and there are constant rumors of someone going to sea to make a fortune.
Huang Lun was so aroused that he couldn't bear it. When his father passed away and his brothers divided the property, he finally couldn't hold it in anymore. He mortgaged all his property to banks to obtain loans, and also borrowed money from his father's former friends.
, finally collected more than 300 strings.
This guy entrusted his wife and children to his brother to take care of him, bought goods, rented space, and went out to trade without knowing anything else.
Huang Lun came to Jambi by boat. At that time, the Governor's Office had just moved to Jambi, and the Jambi Exchange had not yet been set up, so he had to rely on his own contacts to buy and sell goods.
Because he was unfamiliar with the place, Huang Lun did not find a buyer immediately. By the time he found a buyer, the price of the relevant goods had dropped, and the selling price was only slightly higher than the price he paid for it in Guangzhou.
How much money is this?
Renting a cabin requires money, as well as eating, drinking, and having sex. He also rented a warehouse in Jambi for a month. After he sold the goods in his hands, he could only buy a very small amount of spices to go back, because he had to rent a cabin on the return trip.
Eat and drink.
When he returned to Guangzhou, he sold the spices at a high price. In total, he still lost more than 40 yuan, not counting the interest on his loan.
But Huang Lun did not give up. He thought that he had gained experience. Moreover, he got a lot of relevant information from the small businessmen on the same ship, and he also heard that Jambi was also going to set up an exchange.
So he bought goods and went overseas again the next year.
But the news of the establishment of the Jambi Exchange spread back to Guangzhou, and the number of merchants who rushed there immediately doubled. Many Fujian maritime merchants who did not travel to Nanyang routes also joined. Moreover, at that time, many Nanyang maritime merchants went to Guangzhou.
He was not forced to switch to the Indian route.
As you can imagine, the result is that there are many sellers and few buyers in the Jambi Exchange. It is no longer a problem of selling at reduced prices, but that it is difficult to find buyers even at low prices.
Huang Lun lost all his money and was unable to pay the rent for the warehouse. The day before the warehouse was about to be cleared, he sold all the goods half-sold and half-gifted.
He got some funds back, but he couldn't buy goods in Jambi and returned home. Because there were too many merchants doing the same thing as him, they bought up all the spices and other in-demand commodities, and the prices of those Nanyang commodities were extremely high.
He finally returned to Guangzhou with some money. The bank learned that he was losing money again, so he sent people to collect the debt every day, and finally filed a lawsuit to take away all his mortgaged property.
Huang Lun also borrowed money from his late father and old friend, but he was simply unable to repay it.
He could only apply for a job as a crew member, rely on his ability to write and do calculations, and pay off his debts while working.
He always felt that he could still make a comeback, so he did not settle in Jambi, nor in Jiaozhi and Nanyu. Because in those places, although he could directly divide the land and get a settling-in allowance, he still had to settle down in a short period of time.
He cannot repay his debts and will be tied to the land.
His wife and children have always been watched by creditors. Unless the debt is paid off, the family will not want to go anywhere.
Are there gold mines in Australia?
I'm going to go gold hunting!
…
The smell in the crowded cabin was particularly unpleasant.
Fortunately, the shipowners were afraid of widespread illness and did not stuff the gold diggers as if they were sardine cans.
Although it's uncomfortable, it's okay.
"Huang Sanlang, are you willing to join the hometown association?" Chen Youfang, who was in the same cabin, asked.
Huang Lun asked: "Do I need to pay the membership fee?"
Chen Youfang said: "You must pay a membership fee. It's not much, just a few dozen cents per person. If a member gets sick, it will be withdrawn from the membership fee. When we get to the gold mining area, those who have joined the hometown association will live together, and they will help each other and not be ignored.
Bully."
Huang Lun thought for a while, nodded and said, "Then I'll join."
Not only are there hometown associations for those who go out to sea to pan for gold, immigrants from all over the country also form their own hometown associations. Large and small hometown associations are found everywhere from east to west, from south to north, and there are similar organizations even in Kashgar.
When you are in a foreign country, you must stick together for warmth!
A few days later, the fleet arrived in Coconut City (Jakarta).
Today, there are three states in Java.
West Java is the Sunda Kingdom that split from Srivijaya and believes in both Theravada Buddhism and Brahmanism.
Central Java is called the Kingdom of Mataram, and East Java is called the Kingdom of Kediri. They both believe in Brahmanism and Buddhism.
The port of Coconut City (Jakarta) was just a small port when Srivijaya was not destroyed. Now it is developing rapidly. By collecting port entry taxes, the Sunda country is fat and fat, and it is developing its own army crazily, and running away from time to time.
To invade the country of Mataram.
When the fleet entered the port for supplies, Huang Lun and other gold diggers were allowed to disembark for fresh air.
Most of them are poor people who definitely have no money to spend, so they can only sit near the pier and feel the stability of the land.
The daily attire of the foreign people here is greatly influenced by India, but in recent years it has been increasingly influenced by Fujian and Cantonese culture. Combined with the local traditions of Java, the superposition of various elements looks very weird.
Huang Lun was used to running boats all year round, but many gold diggers who were going to sea for the first time sat there and watched inexplicably excitedly.
Especially the fellow countrymen from Shanxi and Huainan who were recruited by Wang Chongdu, Li Zuqia and others. Where have they seen such a scene?
The humidity and heat in Yecheng are also very uncomfortable for people coming from inland areas.
It's the rainy season now, the temperature is below 30 degrees, but the humidity is frighteningly high.
After a one-day resupply stop at Coconut City and a few days after setting sail again, dozens of people fell ill one after another. This was mainly caused by a lack of adaptability to the climate. The doctors and apprentices on each ship were extremely busy and arrived at the northern coast of Australia.
By then one person had died of illness.
For fear of affecting morale, Wang Chongdu did not abandon the body, but landed specifically for cremation.
Before lighting the fire, Wang Chongdu said to everyone: "When you go to sea to make a living, you may encounter anything, and it is common for you to be acclimatized. If you want to survive, you should listen to the doctor honestly. If you can drink hot water, don't drink raw water.
Water, if you can eat cooked food, don’t eat raw food. When you go to the mining area, wash your hands and bathe often. Don’t think that washing and bathing will delay your gold mining..."
In addition, everyone can also receive mosquito repellent supplies every day. These are given to the gold diggers on credit. They are recorded in the account and have to be repaid together with the boat tickets and food.
From the north coast of Australia to Jinshan (Melbourne), except for docking to replenish fresh water, the fleet made no other stops and sailed at full speed with smooth winds all the way.
"This is Jinshan, and His Majesty personally gave it its name!"
Huang Lun and some fellow Guangzhou residents got off the boat one after another and lined up.
But I heard Li Bin shouting: "Who knows how to shoot an arrow? Come forward and get the crossbow first!"
Several people from Shanxi ran to get crossbows.
Then, another pile of knives and spears were brought from the ship and placed there.
Li Bin said: "These weapons are given to you on credit, and you will repay the debt when you find gold. Take the weapons with you anytime and anywhere, who knows when the natives will attack. After you settle down, you will take turns to practice, and each person will do it every month.
It will take at least two days of training. All those who have read the book should come out!"
Huang Lun quickly stood up.
Li Bin shouted again: "Those who have served as soldiers, including militiamen, all come out." More than twenty people stood out.
Soon, these more than a thousand people were divided into ten groups, and each group was divided into ten small groups.
Those who have read books serve as "military" clerks.
Those who have served in the military serve as temporary officers. If there are not enough people, they will be elected again.
They did not go to the mining area immediately, but camped on the shore to rest and began basic military training the next day.
After practicing for five days in a row, Wang Chongdu finally led everyone to set off.
During the drill, the natives discovered them and were frightened by the military training to become even more vigilant. They did not even send anyone over to conduct transactions.
They headed northwest along the river, and the nearest indigenous tribe sent people to observe from a distance. It was not until they left the tribe's territory that they finally felt relieved.
Since we were carrying a large amount of production and daily necessities, our journey was slower this time, and we finally arrived at the mining area after six days.
It's all flat land, with no mines.
You can pan for gold directly in the river, or you can dig up the nearby soil for mining. Anyway, the surrounding land is full of gold. With the current mining efficiency, 150,000 people can continue to mine gold for ten years.
More than a thousand people chose to camp by the river.
The next day, we went to cut down trees together and build our own house first. It doesn’t have to be very formal, at least there should be a shack for transition.
Just as they were cutting down the trees, the tribe here finally couldn't sit still.
The chief personally brought his people over to negotiate, and he made a speech, which probably meant that he asked Wang Chongdu to take his people and leave.
Wang Chongdu took out a lot of cloth, salt, and even a few iron pots, and then pointed to the nearby land, trying to buy this piece of land with goods.
The chief was furious and yelled at Wang Chongdu.
Both sides broke up unhappy.
Three days later, Huang Lun had built his own shack and was learning to make gold mining tools.
Suddenly a military bugle sounded, and several sentries rushed back from the north.
Wang Chongdu, Li Bin, Gao Wenbao and others hurriedly picked up their weapons and shouted: "Form up to defend against the enemy, form into formation to defend against the enemy..."
Huang Lun hurriedly ran to his shack. He bought a waist knife on credit and threw it in the shack useless.
There were more than a thousand gold diggers, all running around in a mess, having long forgotten the training content of the previous days.
Fortunately, the treasure-hunting trio had private armed forces, many of whom had retired from the regular army. They quickly formed a formation, leaving some to protect the gold diggers, while the rest all went to kill the natives.
Those natives seemed to have recruited allies to help. There were more than a thousand young men, and they were not just from one tribe.
The main weapons of the indigenous people are spears, bows and arrows, and slings. A few also carry V-shaped darts that can fly back. Their bows and arrows are the most deadly because they are soaked in venom.
"Bang bang bang bang bang!"
Forty flintlock muskets fired freely, and several native warriors fell instantly.
As they rushed closer and closer, the Han armed forces had reloaded their ammunition. This time they got closer and fired more accurately, killing and wounding more than 20 people one after another.
The natives were inexplicably horrified, and most of them stopped and watched.
There were also a few brave natives who continued to charge forward, and then threw their spears violently - using the spears as javelins.
As for the poison-quenched bows and arrows of the indigenous people, they have not yet found a chance to shoot because their range is too short.
Three rounds of musketry had been fired on the battlefield, and the gold diggers on Huang Lun's side finally managed to complete their assembly. Even though they had formed a military formation, the gold diggers still did not dare to step forward and stood cowering and watching.
"It's just a group of savages, you are afraid of nothing! Listen to my order and step forward!"
The instructor responsible for training them forced the gold diggers to join the battle.
Huang Lun went forward with a sword in his hand. He didn't go far when he found that the formation was out of order. The instructor didn't bother to care about this and continued to lead the people forward. Anyway, he didn't expect the gold diggers to kill the enemy.
"Bang bang bang!"
There was another burst of gunfire, and the natives finally retreated.
"Kill with me!"
When Huang Lun heard the instructor's shout and saw the natives defeated, his blood surged and he picked up the knife and rushed forward.
As he charged, his mind went blank.
When he regained consciousness again, he was already sitting somewhere. The knife in his hand didn't know when he saw blood. He only felt sore all over and his hands and feet were weak.
"Wealth can be found in danger, wealth and honor can be found in danger..." Huang Lun muttered repeatedly to comfort himself.
However, Wang Chongdu pursued them all the way and destroyed the nearest tribe. All the houses were burned, all the food was taken away, and hundreds of natives were captured and brought back to dig for gold.
For a while, no more natives came to kill them.
Huang Lun did not stay with his fellow villagers, and was divided into groups according to the training teams. They were a group of more than 100 people, divided into ten groups, and gathered in a large area to mine gold.
At first, I mined everything in the river because it was the most efficient.
However, the river upstream of the residence is set as a no-mining zone to avoid contaminating drinking water.
After half a month of continuous mining, Huang Lun has become numb and no longer thinks about anything. He just performs various actions mechanically. It is boring, boring, and his back hurts.
Especially my waist, after working for a day, I can't straighten it up.
At this moment, he stepped on the river water with his feet, scooped up the sand with a gold sieve, and stretched out his right hand to wipe it back and forth in the sieve.
When he touched a small pebble, which could not be sifted out, Huang Lun subconsciously wanted to throw it away.
Before throwing it away, I looked at it casually.
Yellow stone?
yellow!
Huang Lun, whose mind was already numb, suddenly became energetic, and then his breathing became rapid. After being stunned for a long time, he finally yelled: "Golden dog head!"