More than half an hour after the Thor stopped, the British merchant ship Trust finally dispatched a small boat; the leader was Captain Marquis, and others included the ship's doctor Higgins and five strong sailors.
As for the captain of the Eliza, he had been frightened by the Thor. After some contact with the Trust using semaphores, the Eliza sailed to the Tanzai Island Pier one kilometer away to repair the damage.
, treat the wounded.
Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng were still the same. After receiving the request to board the boat from the boat, they set up the white awning again. Inside the shed was a table covered with a light blue tablecloth.
On it lay a pot of coffee, a box of cigarettes and a box of matches.
After following the Thor's instructions and waiting under the gangway for nearly thirty minutes, Captain Marquis, who was already a little out of breath, walked up the gangway wearing a standard British captain's uniform and a black three-cornered hat.
.
Before he even stepped onto the deck, Marquis held on to the cold gangway railing and reached out to touch the hull of the Thor. Higgins and others behind him were also very surprised when they touched the hull of the ship.
"It's really made of iron! I just don't know how thick their outer casing is. The 18-pound shell hit it and only scratched off a piece of white paint."
When the seven of them held their heads high and walked onto the Thor with their companions, they were immediately stunned. Between the tall white ship building and the bow, except for two behemoths covered with colorful canvas, the field of vision was wide.
.
Looking at the tall ship building, Marquis and his men immediately felt dizzy. They couldn't figure out why the ship building was built so high.
In the open space in the middle of the deck, there was a snow-white awning. Three Tatar men wearing strange clothes were standing at the table. One of them looked at him with a smile, while the other two looked at him.
The face is serious.
At this time, a sailor behind Marquis suddenly lost his voice: "Tatars?"
Zhao Xin shook his head and said: "No, there are no Tatars here. We are Han people, the Han nationality!"
"Han?" As the most knowledgeable person on the Trust, Dr. Higgins was suddenly stunned. He had never heard of it.
Zhao Xin thought about it for a moment and then said: "Sinae."
This time Higgins understood, because Zhao Xin was speaking Latin.
"Are you from Siris? Oh my God!" Higgins said in disbelief.
Seeing Higgins's reaction, Marquis quickly asked: "Dr. Higgins, what's going on with the Seris people?"
In the second century AD, the Roman scholar Claudius Ptolemy recorded in his masterpiece "Geography" that Macedonian merchants arrived in Luoyang, the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Corroborating this, in "Book of the Later Han Dynasty"
In the "Records of He Di", it was recorded that "in the twelfth year of Yongyuan, in the eleventh month of winter, there was a strange event in the Western Regions. The two countries of Doule sent envoys to enclose their envoys and gave their king a gold seal and a purple ribbon."
"Captain Marquis, Sinae, and Seres are the 'Land of Silk' recorded in Ptolemy's works. Their history is older than our British Empire and can even be traced back to the ancient Greek era."
"Ah?" After listening to Dr. Higgins' introduction, Captain Marquis was stunned for a moment. He curled his lips, turned around, bowed slightly, and said to Zhao Xin and Zhao with a solemn expression: "Gentlemen, I'm glad to meet you here.
You guys, although we have had some unpleasant things happen before. Let me introduce myself, I am Richard Marquis, the captain of the British East India Company merchant ship Trust. The gentleman next to me is the ship's companion of the Trust.
Doctor, Mr. Brad Higgins; as for those behind me, they are all my companions on the ship."
Zhao Xin stepped forward and stretched out his right hand; this surprised Marquis, who said in a strange English: "Hello, Captain Marquis. My name is Zhao Xin, you can call me Zhao.
The person on my left is the captain of this ship, Mr. Ding; and the person on my right is the head of our country’s navy, Victory Lau. What needs to be mentioned in particular is that Mr. Lau is also a direct descendant of the Seris royal family.
"
Liu Shengxin said, Zhao Xin, you uncle! You randomly named me and made up your background. However, it seemed that it was too late to change your words at this time, so he had no choice but to nod with a sullen face.
Naturally, Zhao Xin felt "hehe" in his heart. When he was in Trinshiji, Liu Sheng told Saharian that Zhao Xin was a descendant of the former Emperor of Heaven, and he would always remember this account.
After mutual introduction, everyone sat down. A Miao, who was wearing a Ming Dynasty Hanfu, came with two plates of snacks, and then poured everyone a cup of iced coffee. This scene made Marquis and others blink, wondering what happened on the ship.
And women?
However, after taking a sip of cold coffee with honey added, Marquez's hot heart finally calmed down. At this time, Zhao Xin opened the pine cigarette case again and handed out a cigarette to everyone.
As mentioned before, at the end of the 18th century, cigarettes had not been invented yet. So Zhao Xin first lit one for himself as a demonstration, and then lit cigarettes for Marquis and others.
The small white paper roll exuding the strong aroma of tobacco, the small wooden stick that can be wiped clean, and the coffee pot on the table with a bright shell that can illuminate people's shadows, all of which surprised Marquis and others.
Are these the Seris people? But they look no different from the Qing people in Macau and Guangzhou.
No! Marquis suddenly realized that people like Zhao Xin did not have braids and their hair was cut very short; and the three in front of him were much taller than those Qing people, and Victory Lau, who claimed to be a descendant of the ancient royal family,
He is as strong as a lion, and he even has to raise his head to see the other person's face.
There was no such thing among the Qing people; even if there were such tall people, no one would cut off their braids.
It is said that coffee is like cigarettes, and happiness is like a fairy. In such a strange but relatively pleasant atmosphere, Captain Marquis of the Trust said that the shelling incident that occurred not long ago was just a misunderstanding, and the Eliza just wanted to fire a cannon to alert and signal
We stopped the ship and hit your ship by mistake. Fortunately, your ship was not damaged.
However, in view of the fact that the Elisa's hull was damaged in many places and there were casualties caused by the Thor's counterattack, Marquis, on behalf of the East India Company, made a compensation request to Zhao and Xin.
When Zhao Xin heard this, he smiled and asked: "Mr. Marquis, how much compensation do you want?"
Marquis thought about it and felt that the other party was too rich. He would be sorry if he didn't blackmail him. So he replied seriously: "One thousand pounds."
How much was a pound worth at the end of the 18th century?
In 1717, while serving as the director of the British Mint, Sir Isaac Newton, who was almost killed by an apple when he was young, fixed the price of gold per ounce at 3 pounds, 17 shillings and 10.5 pence, so at this time, one pound corresponded to 7.28 grams of gold.
When Liu Sheng heard that he would be compensated with more than 7,000 grams of gold, he sneered and said in his heart, I will give you 7,000 grams of gold!
Zhao Xin shook his head and said: "If our ship is not strong, then we will be the losers. Captain Marquis, in the territorial waters of the Qing Dynasty, which is also the hometown of our Seris people, you bombarded our ships for no reason. I did not attack Yili."
It would be a mercy to sink the Shah."
Marquez argued: "That was your attempt to hit the Confidence!"
Zhao Xin asked calmly: "Did I hit it?"
Marquez's face turned livid and he said angrily: "Sir, you are making excuses! Everyone on this sea can testify for me."
"I'm sorry! Our ship is too big and I didn't see you. If you were frightened by this, I can give you twenty boxes of cigarettes and a bottle of wine as apology. As for the Eliza, I'm sorry, they deserve it."
"You!" Marquis clenched his fists and stood up, as if he was about to pounce. But when Liu Sheng across the table also stood up, Marquis immediately withered.
When Dr. Higgins saw it, he quickly stood up and advised: "Gentlemen, calm down, please calm down! Mr. Zhao, many crew members on the Eliza were injured. But you must know that our ship is fully loaded with cargo and has not entered the port.
Previously, the injured could not receive effective treatment. Under such conditions, it is difficult for us to treat, and we must provide some compensation to the injured crew members."
Zhao Xindao: "Treat the injury? It's a trivial matter. You can send the injured crew members over and I will treat them."
Marquis and others were extremely surprised. Higgins asked: "Mr. Zhao, are you a doctor?"
Zhao Xin nodded and said, "Yes, some people used to say that I was a Mongolian doctor."
Higgins was thinking that it was all nonsense! Why did it involve the Mongols again?
Twenty minutes later, under the coordination of Dr. Higgins, both parties finally agreed that the injured crew members on the Eliza would be sent to the Thor for medical treatment; at the same time, Zhao Xinfang would provide some medicines as compensation.
After the two parties reached an agreement, Marquis immediately sent his men to row a boat to notify the Eliza. However, an hour later, news came back from the Eliza that their captain did not agree to send the wounded over and asked Zhao Xin to wait in Xi'an.
Jeans was accompanied aboard their ship for treatment.
Zhao Xin thought about it and finally agreed, but he asked to bring a few guards with him. This request did not require sending someone to summons. Marquis and Higgins both nodded in agreement.
When A Miao heard that Zhao Xin was going to treat people, she said that she wanted to follow. However, when Zhao Xin heard from Dr. Higgins that it had been three months since the Eliza set out from Bangladesh, she did not
Agreed. The main reason is that the cabin must be smelly, and there might be some hidden infectious disease.
Since Marquis and his wooden boat were too slow, Ding Guofeng, the captain, activated two rubber assault boats. Zhao Xin, Marquis, Higgins, two sailors from the Trust, and five Beihai Town soldiers
Set off soon.
When the motor sounded, several British people were startled. But then when they saw the rubber boat gliding on the water at a speed of 22 knots, and it took only two or three minutes to cover one kilometer, they were shocked.
It was really scary! Marquis and others could no longer tell whether these Siris people used mechanical power or magic.
On the Eliza, Captain Ravi and others looked at the speedboat coming from the Thor at high speed. Several sailors took out their muskets and placed them on the side of the ship and began to take aim. However, when Ravi used his binoculars to see people sitting on the ship,
When there were Marquis and Higgins among them, they hurriedly stopped them.
After some negotiation, Zhao Xin and his men followed Marquis and boarded the Eliza. The sailors on the ship looked at these people with oriental faces, and their faces were not only angry, but also a little surprised. Zhao Xin did not follow
Captain Ravi said nothing and directly asked where the wounded were; then, he followed Dr. Higgins and the two captains, and led his men into the lower deck.
At this time, the mess in the gun deck had been cleaned up, but when Zhao Xing just walked into the lower cabin, a strong smell of urine with a hint of ammonia immediately filled his nostrils.
"I'm going!" The smell almost made Zhao Xinxun turn around. He hurriedly took out the mask from his pocket and put it on his face under the surprised eyes of several British people.
Behind a canvas curtain at the bow was a long table stained with blood, on which an injured British man was lying. Three helping sailors were holding the injured man's arms and legs tightly;
The Lisa's ship's doctor held up a small bow saw and was preparing to amputate the man's limbs. Because of the light problem, Zhao Xin, who was standing behind Higgins, could not clearly see the man's injuries.
When he saw the captain bringing someone in, the doctor looked up and said indifferently: "Gentlemen, the light here is too bad. Please go out immediately and don't affect my work!"
Then, under Captain Ravi's order, a sailor took Higgins and Zhao Xin to the cabin below. The smell of urine here became stronger, and Zhao Xin couldn't help complaining to Higgins: "Higgins
Mr. Kings, is there no toilet on this ship? Why are everyone urinating in the cabin? This is so unhygienic!"
Higgins looked back at Zhao Xinda: "Mr. Zhao, no one would urinate here. This is just the smell of opium. The wooden box containing the opium must have fallen apart."
When he heard the word "opium", Zhao Xin was stunned and couldn't help but stop. Because he was wearing a mask, no one noticed that Zhao Xin's eyes had changed from curiosity to anger.
This word was too sensitive for later generations of Chinese people! And this was a British ship! Zhao Xin suppressed his inexplicable anger, took a few deep breaths, and said no more.
A dozen injured sailors were lying on hammocks in the cabin. Some of them were pricked in the face by flying sawdust, some were injured by falling objects, and a few were shot away by .50 bullets.
Arms and legs. Thanks to the 30-inch-thick oak hull of the Eliza, which blocked most of the bullet's kinetic energy, otherwise the whole person would have been blown up, let alone the arms and legs.
Due to the relationship between opium and opium, Zhao Xin just looked at the injuries of these people, and then asked the other party to take him out before talking. After a few people returned to the upper deck, Zhao Xin took some medicine from the medical box carried by his men.
Several bottles of Yunnan Baiyao with the labels removed, and Higgins was told how to use them.
"The little red pill inside is life-saving. If someone has a suppurating wound and a high fever, you can take it; as for the powder, you can apply it on the wound."
Higgins held up a medicine bottle suspiciously and looked at the sun for a long time. In this era, there was not much that could be done about wound inflammation. Apart from burning it with a red-hot iron or cutting off the rotten flesh with a scalpel,
I rely on my own physical strength to survive, and I ask God to bless me.
"Mr. Higgins, I'm curious. Why is there still opium on your ship?"
Higgins casually said disapprovingly: "Mr. Zhao, as a doctor, don't you know that besides smoking, opium is also a very good medicine?"
Zhao Xin's eyes flashed, and he did not ask any more questions, but said to Higgins: "Doctor Higgins, I would like to invite some of you to our boat for dinner. I wonder if you can do it for me?"
Higgins said: "I personally am very willing, but this matter needs to be agreed with Captain Marquis and Captain Ravi."