The island of Ceylon is shaped like a drop of water and is known as the tear of the Indian Ocean.
The exchanges with China here can be traced back to the Tang and Song Dynasties, or even earlier.
Zheng He established formal relations with this place during his voyages to the West, and used it as a transit point to continue westward.
Its terrain is high in the middle and low on both sides. The Piduru Tallag Mountain is more than 2,000 meters above sea level and is the highest peak on the island.
The destination of Zhang Deshuai and his party is on this middle highland.
Compared with the jungle areas in the north, the highland environment here is more livable.
Moreover, the mountainous climate here is humid and rainy, similar to that of the Fujian region in China, and is very suitable for the growth of tea trees.
The British chose this place to try planting tea trees after careful consideration.
The purpose of Zhang Deshuai's trip was to destroy this manor and destroy all the tea trees secretly cultivated by the British here.
Zhang Deshuai knows that most of the people living in northern Ceylon are Tamils. These Tamils belong to the same tribe as the Tamils on the Indian mainland.
If he wanted to go to the central part of Ceylon, he could only start from the northern part of Ceylon where development was backward and the British power was relatively weak.
They secretly crossed the Palk Strait at night in a small Tamil dhow.
The British now had a complete blockade of the southern coast of India.
The original Tamil ships were sunk.
Only a small number of boats were dragged ashore by Taimu and hidden in the woods by the sea.
The British are not sure that they can monitor the sea 24 hours a day. The Palk Strait is not very wide, so Zhang Deshuai and others have a good chance of crossing the sea safely.
In order to conceal his whereabouts, Zhang Deshuai could not bring out too many people this time, so he asked the Tamil King to select several hundred people for him.
The main thing is for him to get in touch with the Tamil people in northern Ceylon. They are one family.
After five days of sneaking in the jungle, Zhang Deshuai and the others finally arrived at the edge of Markwood Manor.
This manor originally belonged to a white explorer. After the man died, his heirs were unwilling to go so far to Ceylon to run the business, so they sold the manor to the East India Company at a low price.
Later, because its geographical location was relatively secluded, and its terrain and climate were similar to the original areas of these tea trees, it was developed into a tea tree cultivation base.
Because this base is located in the hinterland of territory under British jurisdiction, it does not have much defensive strength.
There is only about one platoon of guards here, and more than thirty local servants are responsible for daily guard work.
The person leading these thirty or so people was a white man.
Zhang Deshuai and the others took advantage of the darkness to approach the manor.
Since it is a manor, the surrounding area is naturally relatively desolate and remote.
For the sake of confidentiality, it is understandable that the British chose this breeding base in a very remote place.
Zhang Deshuai first placed the team he brought in a hidden place two kilometers away from the manor.
Then he took a few people to touch it.
This manor is so large that it almost encompasses several hills.
The estate is unfenced, but sentries are posted at the main road entrances.
The guards at the sentry are relatively lax, maybe because they know there is no danger here.
Tea trees are planted on the mountains, and even local animals will not come to eat them.
The natives living around are even less interested in this.
If there were some fruit trees planted on the mountain, then these guards might be more attentive.
Seeing this situation, Zhang Deshuai felt happy.
After receiving such an operational mission this time, Zhang Deshuai was quite complaining.
What about a few tea trees? The level of the operation was set so high that he had to take action personally.
Previously, the Tamil king Powkili asked him to serve as the minister of state, but he did not agree.
Such a man who has made great changes in India has now come to the island of Ceylon to live in the woods.
He touched his face, which was covered with pimples from mosquito bites, and looked down at his calf, which had several holes bitten by locusts. Kong Deshuai shook his head.
Returning to the secluded place, Kong Deshuai found the Tamil officer leading the team and informed him of the manor's defense situation.
The ensuing battle against the manor was uneventful.
Zhang Deshuai asked people to gather all the indigenous workers in the manor.
String every five people together with a rope. The reason why these people are kept is because Zhang Deshuai needs people to work.
It is not easy to destroy the tea trees that grow all over the mountains and plains.
First, we need to dig them out and gather them together.
And Zhang Deshuai can't stay here for too long.
He asked his Tamil men to group up and guard these local workers to pull out all the tea trees and gather them together.
After so many years of cultivation, there are already tens of thousands of tea trees here.
At this time, Zhang Deshuai was sitting in the house of the original owner of the manor. In front of him knelt a short, fat Chinese with braids.
"Sir, I am wronged. I was really kidnapped by the British. I was originally a tea farmer in Fujian."
"Really, I used to be from Zhangzhou Prefecture. I followed my master's family to Xiamen for business and was kidnapped by these foreigners."
"Sir, if you don't believe me, you can go to the Tang family in Longhai County, Zhangzhou Prefecture and ask. The younger one's name is Tang Bao, and he is a slave of the Tang family." This short, fat Chinese kowtowed as if he were pounding garlic. He kowtowed while explaining.
Zhang Deshuai had just told him that helping foreigners secretly plant tea trees was a grave crime of betraying the nation, which frightened Tang Bao.
In fact, Tang Bao was not kidnapped, he was deceived. The British man who originally recruited him lied to him and told him to go to Hong Kong Island to plant tea trees and give him twenty taels of silver every year.
At that time, Tang Bao, who was obsessed with it, agreed.
But then he was taken to Ceylon.
After the sailboat sailed on the sea for five or six days, Tang Bao knew that he had been fooled, but he was a smart man, and he knew that he had been on the pirate ship.
If he makes trouble, they can just throw him into the sea and no one will care.
Fortunately, after arriving in Ceylon, they only asked him to help plant and take care of the tea trees.
The treatment given to him was not bad. Not only did he eat well, but he was also given several Ceylonese women.
In addition to having no freedom, Tang Bao lived a life like a master of his master's family.
In this way, Tang Bao worked here for five or six years.
He did a pretty good job. Except for the seeds and seedlings he brought over that were damaged on land, there were only a few hundred seedlings left.
He simply relied on his many years of experience in growing tea trees and multiplied them to tens of thousands.
"Tang Bao, have you ever thought about how many of our tea farmers in China will lose their jobs if you help the British plant the tea trees? Are you worthy of the elders in your hometown?"
"Sir, I really know that I was wrong. Please let me go. I want to go home. Wuwuwu..." As he said this, Tang Bao really started crying.
"Okay, stop acting in front of me. Believe it or not, I will chop you up right now." Zhang Deshuai's eyes widened and he said sternly. Tang Bao stopped immediately.
"Tang Bao, right? Now I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself and make meritorious service. If you do well, not only will I not kill you, but I will also be able to send you back to the past."
"My lord, you are really kind. Just ask me, and I will definitely do it. Tang Bao is willing to be a cow and a horse for you." Tang Bao quickly changed his face when he heard that he could not kill himself.
When he first saw Zhang Deshuai without braids, he thought he was a Chinese pirate at sea.
Later, after seeing what they were going to do, I finally determined that this person must be from the government.
Only people in the government would care about the leakage of tea trees.
It's just that he has been locked up in this place planting tea trees, and he doesn't even know that his hometown is no longer the Qing Dynasty.
"You should have a list of tea trees here. Go find it for me, and tell me where the tea tree seeds are stored."
"The tea trees here are all evidence of your crime. If there is only one left, you will never survive." Zhang Deshuai ordered.
"Well, yes, yes, sir, I'll go and get the little ones right now." Tang Bao said and stood up quickly.
Zhang Deshuai arranged for someone to take him to find the roster.
It seems that the British attach great importance to the tea trees here.
When he was outside just now, Zhang Deshuai saw that the tea garden was very carefully maintained, and there were hundreds of workers employed here.
Far more than the number of people needed to take care of such a tea garden.
So Zhang Deshuai thought that he would definitely make up a roster for Tea Tree.
Otherwise, in such a mountainous area, there would always be tea saplings left out one by one.
After the rise of the Renaissance Army, the smuggling of tea saplings has been stopped through various means.
Therefore, the tea garden where Zhang Deshuai is now has the largest number of tea trees flowing out.
After a while, Tang Bao came back with a pile of rosters.
He is now in the hands of this gentleman. In order to save his life, he will naturally not take the risk to help the British hide it. The British are his godfather at most, not his biological father.
Destruction is always faster than construction. Hundreds of workers, under the supervision of Zhang Deshuai's Tamil soldiers, worked all night to finally dig out all the tea trees.
Now they are piled in an open space.
Zhang Deshuai knew that it would be dawn soon, and someone would notice the situation here, so he had to speed up.
He asked people to divide the tea trees into piles, and then found dry firewood and put them underneath.
After a while, thick smoke billowed from the manor.
After it was over, Tang Bao saw that all the workers in the manor had their necks wiped by Tamil warriors, and almost urinated in fear. Naturally, Zhang Deshuai did not want to leave anyone alive, otherwise he would give others another clue.
Fortunately, Zhang Deshuai was not prepared to kill him. After all, he was also a Chinese.
Even if this person is guilty, he must go back and face trial.
What he said can be understood when you return to Fujian and go to the local area to investigate.
"Master, I will follow you when I am young. I will do whatever you ask me to do." On the way back, Tang Bao followed Zhang Deshuai to please him.
He knew that it was no longer the Qing Dynasty, so he was still a little worried about returning to China.
After all, he lied. When he saw Zhang De's handsome appearance, his thin skin and tender flesh, he thought he was also a rich young man.
So he used the same flattery tactics he used against the master's young master.
But Zhang Deshuai doesn't seem to accept this trick.
After three sentences, he was brushed aside.
As for escaping? It was just like when the British tricked him here.
Tang Bao never thought of escaping. There are jungles all around here, and there are dark-looking savages living in them.
If I run out alone, I will either be eaten by these savages or wild beasts.
Tang Bao touched his round belly.
He has eaten well here in the past few years and has gained weight.
Fortunately, the British seemed to be busy with the war on the northern mainland, and there were not many troops stationed on Ceylon Island, so they were unable to carry out a comprehensive encirclement and suppression of Zhang Desheng and others.
With the help of the Tamil people on the island, Zhang Desheng and his party selected a bayonet with the least number of people.
Then they rushed to the seaside, found their hidden sailboat and crossed the sea.
Thanks to the assistance of the Tamil people on the island, this mission was completed easily.
Zhang Desheng can add another stroke to his list of achievements.
Compared with the two breeding bases on the island of Ceylon, the two breeding bases on the Indian mainland are smaller and easier to destroy.
One area is even in Northern Alliance-controlled territory.
After the British colonial authorities on the island of Ceylon learned about the manor, the local British officials became furious.
Because they had just received an order from the cabinet, asking them to step up the cultivation of tea trees and put them into production as soon as possible.
Tea trees, porcelain and silk are the main export products of the Renaissance Army, and they are also an entry point for the Great Empire to suppress the Renaissance Army.
However, there are not many troops on Ceylon Island now. After all, this is an island. As long as the navy is there, the security of this island will not be a big problem.
But they can't control every place 24 hours a day using ships.
I just don’t know how Temple would feel after knowing that the tea tree cultivation base they finally built was destroyed by the Renaissance Army.
If they cooperate with the Renaissance Army in the future, will the nobles in the Great Empire have to go to other countries to buy second-hand tea?
Paris, France, Gao Ru just attended a concert here.
During the concert, Gao Ru wore a high-waisted pleated skirt made in the Song Dynasty. The exquisite embroidered fabric and wind-textured edging attracted the attention of all the audience.
People here are tired of seeing the palace-style clothes with corseted breasts and wide skirts. The elegance of Hanfu makes people feel relaxed.
Although now Napoleon III also wants to follow the Great Empire and cause some friction with the Renaissance Army.
However, the French people are still so romantic and undisciplined, and there is not much rejection of the Chinese.
Unlike the Great Empire, great-power chauvinism has penetrated deep into the bones of ordinary people.
Gao Ru has gradually gained some fame in Europe in the past two years and often goes out to perform.
With her elegant and refined appearance, classical and solemn outfits, unique singing style and solid skills in oriental musical instruments, she has become one of the most special and fresh among many European performances.
Many performances would appear to be lacking in quality if they did not invite Gao Ru.
Therefore, Gao Ru has been traveling around Europe this year.
However, this also brought great convenience to her in seeking information.
She now has no one in her life, and Gao Ru, who can speak 30,000 languages in German, French, and English, is undoubtedly a fresh and refined narcissus in the social circle.
He is not as showy as many European ladies, nor is he as arrogant as some women.
She was always polite to others but not flattering at all.
It makes people feel that even having a little blasphemous thoughts is a great sin.
After the performance, he was invited to attend a family dance of a Parisian dignitary.
Gao Ru met the daughter of this high-ranking official by "coincidence" after the performance.
And this girl happens to be a fan of Gao Ru.
So who is this senior official? He is the French Admiral Sewell.
All of this was planned by Gao Ru, because she received a mission, and the goal was to find out the true purpose of sending the fleet to the East.
To accomplish this purpose, the answer is most likely to be found from the home of a senior naval officer.
ps: The recent updates are relatively stable, but the more stable the updates, the greater the pressure on the author. Book friends, please help vote for some monthly votes and recommend votes to support it.