Many years later, when Renault returned to the African continent on a merchant ship from Beihai Town, he had mixed feelings in his heart. He was facing a place that was both familiar and unfamiliar.
Familiar because of his skin color, this continent is his hometown. Everything has remained the same as when he left. Diseases still spread in hot and humid areas, droughts still regularly lead to famines, and kings and local tribes start wars for various reasons.
, thousands of prisoners of war or kidnapped blacks were immediately exchanged for guns, gunpowder and textiles after being marked with the buyer's mark with a red brand.
In other words, Renault was wearing a Northern Navy uniform with the rank of major, otherwise he would probably have been slapped and put on a sailboat bound for the Andes.
However, for Renault, who has lived in China for many years and is married and has children, this land seems so strange. Since he was only seven years old when he left, he can't remember the location of his hometown at all, and more importantly,
He no longer understands Yoruba, and the only thing he can remember is his real name - Lamin labake.
However, when Renault spoke fluent French and asked many slave traders and even black slaves but found nothing, he had no choice but to come to the outskirts of Saint-Louis, kneeling on the bank of the Senegal River with tears on his face, facing the east, and humming
The song that his mother used to put him to sleep kissed the land and took away a bag of soil.
All the memories began on that gloomy and drizzly afternoon. Going forward, whether it was his family, his hometown village, or the hardships he experienced during the long journey to St. Louis, Renault's memory has become...
A blurry shadow...
On October 7, 1792, when Zhao Xin and the others arrived in Saint-Louis by boat from Gorée Island, it was already the day after they arrived there. Because he learned from his fellow translator De Guigne that this place was the most important place in West Africa.
It is a trading center for gold, ivory and gum arabic, so while replenishing fresh water and some fresh food, I wanted to go ashore and have a look.
In the late eighteenth century, although European thinkers had turned from blind worship of classical China to contempt and criticism, there were no thinkers in places like the colonies. Everyone who came here had only one purpose - money. Since the East
It is too far away, so China, which is rich in tea and silk, looks like gold to those who have never been there.
When Zhao Xin and his party walked onto the port, they quickly became the target of onlookers and even caused a traffic jam. If the accompanying French officers had not shouted loudly and chased them away, the scene would have been even more chaotic.
To the surprise of the white people who were watching, Zhao Xin and his group did not look like the Chinese with shaved heads, pigtails, and long shirts as in the album or rumors, but instead wore strange hats (baseball caps).
), with beardless cheeks, wearing dark green clothes, and a belt around his waist; except for a few people who looked a little thin, the rest were all strong and strong. The most conspicuous among them was Zhao Xin, who was 1.8 meters tall.
, that head is rare even among Europeans in this era.
"Hoff, why do I feel like these guys don't look like Chinese?"
"Oh, Mr. Carrington, I haven't seen any Chinese either. I've only heard of them from people who came back from the East. Maybe just like the Scots and the English, there are different races in China."
"Hey~Taylor, I remember you went to the East with a boat a few years ago. You should have met a lot of Chinese people, right?"
"Yes, but I have only been to Macau. There are many Chinese people there, and they all have pigtails. They are completely different from the people in front of me."
"So you mean these are not Chinese?"
"I can't say for sure. Just like Mr. Hof said, there may be many kinds of Chinese."
"Look, there are a few Frenchmen in their team. Maybe you can meet them in the pub in the evening and you can ask them about it then."
Afterwards, Zhao Xin and his party met the local police chief under the recommendation of Degene. When they learned that Zhao Xin and his party were going to Paris, the guy from the declining aristocracy looked haggard and depressed. Compared to the distance,
Due to local governance, Senegal receives news from the European continent much more timely.
"Mr. Deguigne, I advise you not to go to Paris. The current situation there is really terrible."
"How to say?"
"This is the news I just received the day before yesterday. It was brought by a merchant ship from Le Havre. Take a look." After the Sheriff said, he took out a letter and a few expired newspapers from the drawer and handed them to
Gave it to Deguine.
"Oh my God! They attacked the Tuileries Palace! Princess de Rambala is also dead... They actually plan to depose the king?! Oh my God, this is crazy!"
The Sheriff said helplessly: "Yes sir, this is all too crazy and hard to accept."
Deng Fei on the side heard the conversation between Degene and the Sheriff, and then whispered a few words to Zhao Xin beside him. Zhao Xin nodded silently after listening, knowing that what the other person was talking about should have happened on August 8.
The "Tuileries Massacre" on September 10 and the subsequent "September Massacre".
Don't look at the newly released "La Marseillaise" which cheers for freedom and resistance, but the first thing the revolutionaries did when they sang this song was to invade the Austrian Netherlands, and the result was that they were beaten in the face by the Austrians. The French
They were completely defeated and even killed their general Dillon during the retreat...
By September 2, with the fall of Verdun, rumors of threats from the Prussian-Austrian commander reached Paris, and panic intensified. A massacre began after Marat's two-hour inflammatory speech.
"The Prussians have occupied Verdun! The nobles, clergy, traitors and conspirators are all in prison awaiting the arrival of their foreign masters! This will lead to a mutiny! They will incite the people to join the Prussian army!"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Execute these traitors! Kill them all!"
The so-called "revolutionaries" armed with axes, pitchforks, and spears broke into all the prisons in Paris and carried out extremely cruel lynchings on all prisoners suspected of supporting the king. Compared with those who were directly hacked to death, stabbed to death
, male prisoners who were thrown from towers and fell to death, or even had their heads smashed while being carried, and female prisoners who suffered all kinds of abuses ended up even more miserable.
The most unlucky among them was Queen Mary's best friend, the 43-year-old Princess de Rambala. The "revolutionaries", both men and women, tore her clothes, opened her mouth, and kept hitting her with sharp weapons.
teeth, forcing her to wake up. Then he forced her to stand up, and in turn humiliated and tortured her in various ways; even while she was still awake, they chopped off her limbs, disembowelled her and took out her heart, and held her head up and imprisoned her in a holy place.
The queen in the castle looks...
Marat, a skin disease patient, proudly attributed the massacre to himself afterwards. However, less than a year later, he was killed in the bathtub by Charlotte Corday, who was born in a declining aristocracy.
Unhappy retribution!
Thinking of this, Zhao Xin couldn't help blurting out Mrs. Roland's famous last words: "Freedom, how many crimes have been committed in your name!"
Although Degene had stayed in Guangzhou for several years, the people he interacted with were all businessmen from the thirteenth industry. They usually communicated in Cantonese and was not familiar with northern Mandarin. At this time, when he heard Zhao Xin's emotion, he became curious.
asked: "Mr. Zhao, what are you talking about?"
After Zhao Xin boarded the Thor on Bourbon Island, he did not reveal his identity. He only said that his surname was Zhao. He was a good friend of Deng Fei for many years. He had been staying on the Beihai 2 before. Did Beihai Town come this time?
There were only a few people, and it was impossible for Deguigne and several French officers to know everyone, so there was no doubt about this.
Deng Fei explained in French: "O Liberté, que de crimes on met en ton nom!"
Several French people present were stunned when they heard this. Degeigne murmured and repeated it several times, then found a piece of paper to record it, and exclaimed: "Mr. Zhao, what you said is so good!"
Zhao Xin smiled slightly and said in his heart that if one family and the world fell, another family and the world would rise up ten years later. Although this "great revolution" is a historical necessity, in the end, the so-called revolutionary leaders walked to the guillotine one by one.
, has also become a bloody human farce. It is a pity that Mrs. Roland died.
Ouch! Zhao Xin suddenly reacted at this moment and thought to himself that I had told someone else's famous saying. What would Mrs. Roland have to say if it were reported back to Paris?
After leaving the Sheriff's Office, Zhao Xin and his party, accompanied by local officials, went to the market in the city. After visiting several shops, he purchased fifty pieces of ivory and ivory from one of them.
One hundred and ten bags of gum arabic.
After the shopkeeper negotiated the price with Deng Fei, he asked: "What do you plan to pay with? EUR or British pounds? Or Maria Theresa silver coins?"
Deng Fei smiled and said: "Do you want tea? Pure Wuyi BOHEA thé, the quality is very good."
The shopkeeper looked happy and said with a smile: "Oh, I almost forgot that you are from the East. Let me do the math... you can exchange fifteen boxes of tea."
"Our ship is docked at Gorée Island. I will have someone deliver the tea later, and we can complete the transaction at the port."
"Okay!" The shopkeeper was very happy. Ivory and gum arabic were not very valuable locally, but tea was different. As he was talking, he saw a familiar face walking into the shop, so he smiled and said: "Hey,
Mr. Carrington, I just made a big deal, fifteen boxes of the best Wuyi BOHEA thé, I can make a fortune by bringing it back to England, do you want it?"
Carrington's eyes lit up after hearing this, and he came over and said, "This is a good deal, but I don't have much cash. I just acquired more than a hundred slaves. How about I hand over the slaves to you?"
When the shop owner heard this, his face drooped, and he shook his head and said: "I'm just a shop owner, what's the use of having slaves..."
He paused for a moment, turned to look at Deng Fei, who was talking to Zhao Xin, and then walked over. Taking advantage of the pause between the two of them, he said in a kind tone: "Sir, I have something to discuss with you. No.
Do you know if you would like to listen to my chatter?"
"you say."
"That's right. I'm very grateful that you can give me tea. But I am just a small businessman and I don't have a ship to my name, so I just want to sell the tea to this Mr. Carrington. Oh, he is British.
, the British have a special liking for Eastern tea, you know this."
"Go on."
"Mr. Carrington told me that he just acquired a batch of good black slaves. Are you interested in this? I can guarantee that Mr. Carrington's goods are all very good. Take them back and train them a little, whether they are
Whether you work as a farmer or as a servant, your requirements will be met."
The shopkeeper was very calculating. He saw that Zhao Xin and the others were not short of money, so he acted as a middleman. If the Chinese were willing to buy slaves, he could earn an introduction fee.
After hearing this, Deng Fei's face was filled with astonishment. He thought to himself, "I just bought some ivory, why did it suddenly involve black slaves?" After hearing the explanation, Zhao Xin on the side jumped slightly, and then said to Deng Fei: "Why don't you go and take a look first?
, it’s also a long experience.”
In this way, more than half an hour later, Zhao Xin and his party arrived at the outskirts of Saint-Louis, on a river bank near the mouth of the Senegal River, where the "warehouse" mentioned by the shop owner was also located.
"This, is this a warehouse?"
When Zhao Xin, Deng Fei and his party saw the low, dark, damp semi-underground huts, they were all stunned. However, when Carrington's men opened the door of a narrow house, there was a mixed feeling.
The stench of moisture hit his face, almost knocking Zhao Xinxun off his feet. When he took the flashlight handed to him by his subordinates, covered his nose with his cuffs, and shined it into the house under the surprised eyes of several white people, Zhao Xinxun was covered in blood.
My hair is on fire!
What a scene this is! All the black slaves in the house, regardless of gender or age, are squatting naked in the filth. They all wear an iron cuff around their necks and are connected two by two with iron chains.
They were tied to each other, and their feet were also wearing heavy shackles. Everyone's faces were full of fear and extreme despair!
At this time, Deng Fei was still looking around, and saw several square stone piers about one and a half meters high under several watchtowers on the river bank. Next to the stone piers, several slaves were lying in the recesses of the table.
They lowered their heads to drink water. Since their hands and feet were firmly locked on the iron rings on all sides of the stone pier, they could not move their hands and feet, so they had to stretch their heads like cattle and horses to drink.
Jiao Xun and Huang Chengji, who were accompanying them, looked at each other in astonishment when they saw such a scene. Although there were people in the market under the Qing Dynasty who were used to buy and sell people, no one would treat their "goods" like this. The two of them observed carefully.
Looking at everything around him, including the shape of the building and the miserable condition of the black slaves, I prepared to record it in the book when I returned to the ship.
Since the room was not big, Zhao Xin soon saw a child huddled in the corner as the flashlight light moved.
"What's up with him?"
Hearing the tall Oriental speaking in English, the slave trader Carrington was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: "So you can speak English. What is that thing in your hand? I have never seen anything like this. I
I can give you three, no, five slaves in exchange."
While he was talking, he covered his nose and walked to the door of the hut. He looked at the light of the flashlight and felt that something was wrong. Then he rushed to the men behind him and said: "Go and take a look at the little thing in the back. It seems to be sick. Damn it."