Looking at Xi Sheng who was smiling in front of him.
Xu Yun's brows furrowed slightly.
When he was writing novels in his previous life, Xu Yun once heard a reader say:
Generally speaking, few Easterners who can be remembered and praised by the West are good people.
Although this sentence is a bit extreme, strictly speaking, the accuracy is not high.
But at least it is true for Xi Sheng.
'Xisheng' is actually not the real name of this little old man, this word is the abbreviation of Mr. Xi.
Similar to the "Chen Sheng" and "Wang Sheng" often seen in Cantonese opera, they are unique titles of Guangdong Province.
Now more than a hundred years have passed.
Xisheng's real name has long been impossible to verify, but some of the things he has done are enough to make him infamous for eternity.
Xi Sheng appeared on the scene around 1845. At that time, everyone knew that the comprador industry was very developed due to Yi Crow.
In Guangdong Province, compradors are even divided into two categories according to their functions: "merchant compradors" and "merchant ship compradors".
The former is mainly responsible for the internal affairs of foreign merchants in the commercial hall, including business dealings and personal projects, etc.
The latter is mainly responsible for the entry of foreign merchant ships into China and the life of merchant ship personnel, and is somewhat like a cross-border intermediary.
At the same time.
During that period, although the East passively opened its borders, there were still many things that were extremely mysterious in the eyes of foreigners.
A very typical representative is the Eastern ship.
At that time, the Qing government strictly prohibited the sale of ships to foreigners. Chinese sailing ships had only gone as far as Java and Sumatra, and had not even entered the Indian Ocean.
So for the remote British Peninsula, Chinese sailing boats are a very attractive new object.
So.
At that time, four British people purchased a large Chinese-style sailing ship in the name of Guangdong businessmen, recruited 30 Guangdong sailors, and started heading towards the Eagle.
The businessman from Guangdong Province was Xi Sheng, and the ship was the famous Qiying.
The Qiying later arrived at the Eagle Land and was exhibited as a theme park. The four British people made a lot of money.
So they went to London in 1848, becoming the first Oriental ship to reach Britain in history.
From Queen Victoria to ordinary people, they rushed to board the ship to visit.
Xisheng wore the fourth-grade official uniform he had customized when he left his homeland, and made friends with British dignitaries everywhere.
And eventually, he took a very front position at the opening of the first World Expo, and was even recorded in an oil painting.
at the opening ceremony.
"Xisheng" wore Chinese official uniform, put on the air of "Chinese Master", and stood on the left and right of Queen Victoria together with envoys from various countries.
According to a report from the Pittsfield Sun that year.
When the live choir sang "Messiah".
"Master Xisheng" could not restrain his excitement. He walked up to the Queen among foreign envoys and dignitaries, saluted the Queen gracefully, and praised the prosperity of London. He even said that the sun in Britain is brighter than that in the east.
Does this scene sound familiar?
Yes, a few years ago there was also an Oriental student who said at the graduation ceremony of a certain university in the United States, "The air here is so sweet."
The Erjiizi thing has never disappeared.
Later, Xisheng was rewarded by the Queen and allowed to trade freely in London.
So for the next long period of time, Xisheng has been doing one thing:
Sell the treasures of the East to the British.
At present, there are more than 600 cultural relics known to have passed through Xi Sheng's hands, and more than 400 of them are stored in the British Museum. The British shamelessly wrote "Purchased from Xi Sheng" and so on.
Introduction. (Britishmuseu can be found, there are 423 items marked with keywords alone)
In this current timeline.
Although Xisheng was just an entourage who came with the ship, he was not able to hide the truth like in the original history.
But Xu Yun still didn't like him very much.
However, his current identity is that of a translator, so even if he is dissatisfied, Xu Yun cannot express it.
I saw him walking quickly in front of Xi Sheng, and bowing his hands towards him expressionlessly:
"Luo Feng, a student from Cambridge University, has met your Excellency."
Hearing this, Xisheng waved his hands quickly, with a very kind expression on his face:
"I'm exaggerating. I'm just a traveling businessman. I can't afford to be called an adult. If I'm willing, please call me Mr. Xi."
Xu Yun's eyes flashed with a hint of disgust.
The more you understand what Xi Sheng has done, the more you will feel disgusted by the smile he puts on.
be honest.
It is true that Xisheng may not have actually harmed anyone's life, but the crime he committed was much more serious than simple murder.
However, Xi Sheng did not notice the change in Xu Yun's face, but continued to trick him:
"Brother Luo Feng, I wonder when you came to Britain?"
Xu Yun raised his eyelids and glanced at him, saying:
"Mr. Xi, the younger generation has settled in the continent of Europa since our ancestors, it has been more than a hundred years ago."
Xi Sheng said softly, "Oh", and quickly glanced at the back of Xu Yun's head:
"I see. No wonder I haven't grown my hair... Then I wonder where my ancestors are from. Have you ever returned to the East?"
"My ancestors were from Fujian Province, but unfortunately the mountains are high and the roads are far away, so I have never returned to my hometown."
"In that case, I wonder what I do for a living now?"
"This junior has no outside income and is currently studying at Cambridge University."
"No outside work?"
Xisheng was stunned when he heard this, and subconsciously blurted out:
"If there is no outside business, where will my food and clothing expenses come from?"
Xu Yunyao glanced at him:
"The rich woman reimburses her."
Xi Sheng: “????”
Looking at Xi Sheng who was full of questions, Xu Yun did not explain in depth.
Regarding comprador people like Xi Sheng, he has always believed in one truth - these people may be bad, but they will never be stupid.
Quite the opposite actually.
This kind of people often have far more subtlety and sensitivity in seeing people and things than ordinary people. If they are not careful, they may fall into the trap preset by the other party.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The historical crow outbreak had already occurred in 1850. The British at that time were the absolute bosses in the country and would flip the table if they were slightly dissatisfied.
However, Xisheng was able to deal with these invaders with ease, and his emotional intelligence was definitely much higher than ordinary people.
So in front of him, Xu Yun would rather disturb the water than fall into the opponent's rhythm.
Seeing that Xu Yun didn't seem to be interested in chatting, Xisheng stopped trying to get close to him, and instead changed the subject and said:
"Brother Luo Feng, to tell you the truth, this time I gained the attention of the Shangguan and got a job of handing over some of the goods."
"So, can you please send me a message, saying that the exhibits numbered 35 to 70 need someone to proofread them, and please ask the British Empire to send a steward to help?"
Xu Yun did not refuse this time, after all, this was his duty.
So he turned back to Big Ace and told him these words.
"Thirty-five to seventy..."
Big Ace flipped through the notepad in his hand a few times, then turned and waved to a fat middle-aged man beside him:
"Kleon, just let him go. Remember to take pictures with the code."
The man named Klein nodded, pointed at the camera on his chest and said:
"clear."
Points are collected, and the goods are photographed and saved.
This is an important link that both parties agreed upon when signing the exhibition agreement.
After all, the UK doesn't know much about the East these days. In order to avoid wrangling, it is extremely important to count the goods before unloading them.
After getting the promise.
Xu Yun led Klein and walked to Xisheng. After briefly introducing their identities, the three of them walked towards the three-masted wooden sailboat.
The ship that Xisheng and his companions boarded was fully fifty meters long and nearly fifteen meters wide. It was entirely made of wood and was larger than the Qiying in history.
According to Xisheng, the ship is called "Hongze".
Like other large sailing ships.
There are two wooden steps distributed in the shape of the Chinese character "eight" on each side of the hull of the "Hongze", with a width of about 1.5 meters.
One is used for loading and unloading people, and the other is responsible for loading and unloading cargo.
When Xu Yun and Xisheng walked to the deck, a burst of chants happened to be heard in their ears:
"One, two, three, lift up!"
"Left left, okay, forward, forward!"
Xu Yun and Klein looked at the situation at the same time.
The ones who spoke out were more than a dozen Oriental people wearing braids and white coats.
These were the coolies who were the first to board the ship and unload the cargo. Tian Caiming came forward to recruit them, and the number of them was said to be thirty or forty.
However, the Easterners these days are just like that after seeing a lot of them, so Xu Yun just took a quick glance and prepared to continue following Xi Sheng.
However, just as he was about to look away, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of one of them.
It was a man who looked like a leader, tall and with a very noticeable scar on his face.
This is also the second time Xu Yun has seen this scar.
That's right.
This person was the Oriental man Xu Yun met on his way back to the hotel in London who slapped Tian Hao.
According to what the driver said.
The pronunciation of the other party's name should be siyuepiao, but there is a high probability that it is different from the actual name.
Therefore, what Xu Yun cares about now is not the other party's name.
But...
Is it a coincidence that Scarface appears here or is there another reason?
Although according to what Galao said at the time, Scarface was a labor leader who transported goods at the dock, so it was reasonable for him to be recruited here.
But judging from Scarface’s performance back then.
His identity should be more than just a coolie leader, and he should at least have some involvement with the British police.
At the same time, Xu Yun thought of Tian Caiming's identity.
Mentioned earlier.
As an Oriental, the only possibility for Tian Caiming to become a member of the City Council in 1850 was to cling to the lap of a certain force and become a white-glove horse boy.
So is there some other relationship between him and the scar-faced man?
Xu Yun felt that he had touched the edge of some mysteries, but he was still several chapters away from the truth.
lingdian.
Just when Xu Yun was lost in thought.
Suddenly, Xi Sheng's voice sounded in his ears:
"Brother Luo Feng, what's wrong with you?"
Only then did Xu Yun come back to his senses, glanced at Klein beside him, and shook his head gently:
"It's okay, I've just never seen a sailboat of this style, so I was a little surprised."
"Mr. Xi, please."
Xisheng didn't have too much doubt about Xu Yun's explanation. When he was in Guangdong Province, he encountered many unscrupulous people:
"please."
Then he led Xu Yun and Klein to the other side of the deck.
The three-masted wooden sailing ship is a typical strong-carrying ship. As the word implies, it has three masts on the ship and can use the wind within an angle of 65 degrees to travel.
And in terms of internal structure.
The hull is divided into two large areas, upper and lower, with the deck as the dividing line.
The upper part is called the sleeping cabin.
It is mainly used for the crew to rest. If it is an official ship, there will be multiple official cabins.
Below the deck is the cabin.
The ship's hold is divided into a water tank hold for storing fresh water, a sacrificial hold for storing food and occasionally used for sea sacrifices, and the most important cargo hold.
The length of Xisheng's and his group's ship was a full fifty meters, so the interior cabin was divided into four exits. Xisheng and Xu Yun's group arrived at entrance C located at the ship's position.
At this time, people were shouting slogans at entrance No. C and carrying goods from below.
There are cloth pads on both sides of the exit. The pad on the left has many sealed boxes of goods, while the pad on the right is empty.
There are also a few coolies squatting in the corner, not transporting goods, and they seem to have other responsibilities.
Xisheng took Xu Yun and Klein to the cloth mat on the left, took out a form from his body, and said to Klein:
"Mr. Klein, the goods that need to be counted are placed on the cloth pad on the left. You can ask the coolies to help you open the lid."
"If the number is correct, please stamp it and the coolies will move it to the right side and hand it over to the British workers to disembark and send it to the Crystal Palace."
Translated by Xu Yunguaiguai:
"Aba Aba..."
After listening quietly, Klein nodded slightly:
"No problem, let's get started."
Soon, a coolie opened the sealed box at the front.
Xu Yun stepped forward and looked at the label and said:
"A pair of Liao Sancai pottery bowls."
Klein checked the form given to him by the reception team for a few seconds, then observed it with a magnifying glass while wearing gloves.
After making sure there were no cracks, I took a photo:
"Next."
The coolies sealed the box again and placed it on the cloth mat on the right side.
Then comes the second box.
"A handful of jade Ruyi, length 26 centimeters..."
in the coming time.
Xu Yun performed the role of translator perfectly, and Xin Yada translated Xisheng and their exhibit items one by one:
"A white horse jade sculpture..."
"Four strips of fine silk..."
"A bronze statue of Thousand-Hand Guanyin, 2.4 meters high and 1.3 meters wide..."
"A picture of "Little Heizi Vivian snatching a chicken"..."
However, Xu Yun's brows furrowed slightly as he reported.
As a member of the reception group, there are also news channels such as Lao Tang and William Whewell in the school. It can be said that he can receive the latest news of the World Exposition at all times.
As far as he knows.
This World Expo arranged three booths for the Qing Dynasty. The dimensions of a booth were approximately 12 inches wide and 7 inches long... which is about 84 square meters.
The total area of the three booths, even including some open space around them, is only 400 square meters at most.
In this way...
The quantity of cargo on this sailing ship seems to be a little over 100 million?
In the original timeline.
Although the Eastern exhibitor group also arrived in London on such a sailing ship, there was actually not much cargo in the cabin:
The Qiying in history was more like an 'Oriental theme park' than a ship - it was open to the public and charged 2 pence for a visit.
But now, looking at the depth of the ship's draft, it is obvious that it cannot be empty.
Could it be that Xisheng is planning to sell cultural relics?
That's not right either.
This ship is a real official ship. Xisheng is just a comprador businessman and does not seem to have enough ability to do such a thing.
Even in the original timeline.
Xisheng only followed four Englishmen who bought a ship to the United Kingdom, and then relied on his own ability to deceive Queen Victoria, and finally became a generation of cultural relics resale maniac.
What's going on...
And just when Xu Yun was confused.
Suddenly a figure walked up on the deck not far away, and it was also an Oriental that Xu Yun had been paying attention to for a long time:
Tian Caiming.
At this time, Tian Caiming was still wearing a gentleman's uniform that bound his hands and feet, as if he didn't care about the hot weather at all.
After coming to Xisheng.
Tian Caiming glanced at Xu Yun and several coolies who were translating, and said to Xisheng:
"Mr. Xi, can we talk somewhere else?"
Xi Sheng calmly shook his head:
"Brother Bo Lun, we are currently counting the goods. I'm afraid it will be inconvenient for us to leave."
When Tian Caiming heard this, he immediately frowned:
"What should I do? My time is limited, how about we make an appointment again?"
Xi Sheng waved his hand towards him again, nudged Xu Yun with his chin, and spoke in Cantonese:
"Don't bother me. I asked Qu Ga if this guy is not from Cantonese. If you and I speak Cantonese, there will be a problem."