After all, Zhu Changhui had been a high-ranking cadre. He quickly woke up from his gaffe and said with cupped hands: "Easy to say, easy to say. My surname is Ma Dahai. May I ask your surname?"
The Westerner said: "Brother Ma, you are very polite. My surname is Drake, and my first name is Francis. He is an English sailor. I am very happy to meet Brother Ma."
The Westerner wore a white silk robe, a sword with a gauntlet hanging from his wide belt, a pair of well-polished leather boots, a black hat with feathers on his head, and a black silk
The cloak looked like a black curtain stolen from someone's funeral. Seeing such nondescript dressing, Prince Ning secretly laughed in his heart like a Western barbarian. However, this man's swordsmanship was really good. Prince Ning always liked to recruit people with strong martial arts skills.
, would not look down on him just because he was a barbarian, so he extended an invitation very politely: "Brother De is good at martial arts and has a sense of chivalry and courage. I really admire him. Why don't we find a restaurant to have a few drinks? I wonder if Brother De
Enjoy the glory."
Francis said boldly: "I got what I asked for." He swung his black cloak and followed King Ning to the restaurant next to him. It was already afternoon. Afternoon tea was popular among Guangzhou people. King Ning followed the local customs and called the waiter over.
Without asking about the price or looking at the menu, he simply said: "Take two portions of everything your store specializes in." The waiter saw that he was so impressive that he didn't dare to neglect, so he hurried to get there. After a while, there were siomai, shrimp dumplings, and fresh shrimps.
Intestines, durian cakes, soup dumplings, and custard buns were served at two each, and four or five kinds of tea came, served in excellent porcelain pots. Francis was dazzled by the sight, and said with emotion: "In
In England, during tea time, we can have a pot of high sugar and brown sugar, and a few snacks, which is considered a luxury. I really feel sorry for Brother Ma to spend so much money."
Ning Wangxin said that when I was in the palace, I had more than ten times more food than this. This barbarian was shocked when he saw this small scene. It seems that he is a young boy who has never seen the world. It is better to accept him as a righteous man.
He was convinced, and he made up his mind, so he tested it and said: "Brother De said that he works as a seaman. This job is very hard. He is thousands of miles away from home, and there are strong winds and waves. He may not be able to return home once in many years. I don't know that the two elders in Brother De's family are very hard."
How is your health?"
Francis also lived in the Ming Dynasty for many years. He knew that asking about each other's family situation as soon as they met was a sign of concern for the Han people, so he told the truth: "My family is kind and my family is in good health, and my brother is following me."
My cousin came to the far East to make a fortune. To be honest, the East is much better than my cold and damp hometown. There are many young men from England who have the same idea as me. Every year, hundreds of people set out from my hometown of Portsmouth to come here.
Follow my brave cousin to the rich and mysterious East."
Prince Ning wondered: "Who is your brother? He is so wise and powerful?"
Francis said: "My cousin is Sir John Hawkins, a knight of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. He is also the governor of Hong Kong appointed by Her Majesty the Queen and the executive officer of the East India Company."
After Francis proudly introduced his cousin's title, he leaned up reservedly, waiting for the compliment from his new friend across from him, but Prince Ning, an old man, didn't know anything about Queen Elizabeth, let alone heard of it.
The famous Sir Hawkins, even if he had heard of his deeds, how could a humble barbarian nobleman who was not even ranked as a second-class baron come under the discernment of the mighty Prince of the Ming Dynasty.
However, the mention of Hong Kong by Francis made King Ning's heart move. He knew that there were two Western strongholds along the coast of Guangdong, one was Macau and the other was Hong Kong. In the early years of Wanli, they were leased to the Portuguese and the English respectively.
Man, this young man turned out to be the cousin of the Governor of Hong Kong. Zuo Menggeng and the others were thinking about how to buy a boat to go to sea. It was better to get on this line, so he said: "Brother De, I have a business that I want to do with you."
I don’t know if your brother can take on such a big business."
Francis' eyes lit up and he said, "Let's take a look."
Liu Ziguang returned to Wuchang. It was already the end of August. The floods in the Yangtze River had subsided and the stagnant water in various places had slowly receded. The victims living in Luojia Mountain in Wuchang had begun to return home one after another. This was the beginning of the highlight of the disaster relief work.
At that time, the victims needed masonry and wood to rebuild their homes. There was no time to sow this year. All the sowing in the next spring would require the court to distribute seeds. During this period, the people's rations relied entirely on the government's relief. Of course, they did not eat food for free to build river embankments.
The main force is the victims. This series of actions involves the allocation of a large amount of money and food. It would be very convenient for corrupt officials to profit from it.
Liu Ziguang's duty is to supervise the military affairs of the four southwest provinces, and he does not have the responsibility to investigate corruption. However, he is so powerful that he conquered all of Huguang and Jiangxi. If he really wants to interfere in anything, no one can stop him.
Half of the officials in the Huguang system were drawn from various places, and the other half were promoted from the local area. Liu Ziguang took the opportunity to install many middle and low-level officials such as prefects and counties. He often brought truckloads of supplies to the grassroots to express condolences to the victims, and personally delivered rice to the victims.
, soybean oil, and salt were distributed to the victims. When the victims saw Lord Zhenwu, who was wearing a python robe with a jade belt tied around his waist, coming to the hut of his home to express condolences, they were moved to tears and burst into tears. They thought about the past in Zuo Liangyu.
The miserable life under the rule, everyone couldn't help but kneel down and shout: The Marquis is a thousand years old, a thousand years old! This frightened Liu Ziguang to death. A thousand years old is the title of the prince. He, a first-class marquis, did not dare to overstep his bounds, so he quickly stopped the people.
They shouted indiscriminately and said sternly: "If you want to thank my fellow villagers, please thank the imperial court and Long Live Lord. I am just doing errands for the emperor."
The Xunhe Censor's Yamen was located in Hankou City, occupying Zuo Liangyu's former Navy Yamen. Lin Ruhai, the new official, took office with high ambitions. Within a few days of the new Yamen moving in, several bribery guys were kicked out of the Yamen.
The banknotes were also thrown out in public, and everyone was impressed by Lin Yushi's integrity. The businessmen who were trying to make a profit during the construction of the river embankment had to renegotiate their strategies.
The first thing they thought of was the Marquis of Zhenwu. Now, in the three-thirds of an acre of Huguang, the most influential person besides Governor He Tengjiao was the Generalissimo who oversaw the military affairs of the four southwest provinces. Moreover, the merchants all gave gifts to the Marquis of Zhenwu.
After receiving the red envelope, I also knew that Marquis Zhenwu was a very loyal person, and he would definitely do things for others after taking the money. So Liu Ziguang was surrounded by people again at his camp by the East Lake, and all the guards blocked him. However, the merchants were indomitable and continued to work every day.
Surrounded by the door, Liu Ziguang held a wait-and-see attitude towards how Lin Ruhai would conduct the bidding for the river embankment. Although Lin Ruhai did not deal with him, he had a reputation for integrity. If he could handle it impartially, it would not be a bad thing.
, Liu Ziguang had nothing to do with the merchants at the door. They came to visit with gifts, so they couldn't send troops to beat them with sticks. It was annoying to have so many people blocking the door, so he simply changed into casual clothes and slipped out through a side door to wander around.
, he hasn’t visited these three towns in Wuhan much yet. He heard that the business district in Hankou is very prosperous, so he just took the opportunity to visit it.
After the flood peak passed, the ferry boat between Hankou and Wuchang has been reopened. It only costs one copper plate to cross the Yangtze River. The boat is a steamboat produced by Wuchang Shipyard. It goes back and forth every half an hour. There are traders and footmen, officials and farmers, and people carrying burdens traveling between the two sides.
People leading horses, dragging children and girls, all kinds of people waited for the ferry to dock and swarmed aboard. Liu Ziguang, wearing linen clothes and a hat to protect him from the sun, followed these people on the ferry and headed towards Hankou.
.
Hankou is rather peculiar. There are very few buildings in the city. Instead, there are many shops, restaurants, and banks along the river outside the city. During Zuo Liangyu's occupation, Huguang was relatively independent, so merchants under the Manchu Qing Dynasty could operate without restrictions.
When they come to do business, merchant ships and passenger ships from upstream and downstream from Sichuan and Nanzhili always have to berth and rest in Hankou to pick up and disembark passengers, load and unload goods. Hankou's economic status is very important. The annual ship toll fee alone is no less than 100,000 yuan.
Two giants.
Now that the war has subsided, the ships that had stopped sailing have begun to sail again. There are densely packed sailboats docked at the riverside pier. The masts alone are as dense as a jungle. They are like coolie ants carrying large bags walking on the steps of the riverbank, heavy.
The backbone weighed heavily by cargo is like a bow, and countless ships are coming and going in the middle of the river with sails of various colors, creating a busy scene.
There are many tall and majestic buildings along the river. They are not government offices, but various banks and banks, including Rishengchang in Zhili, Dadexing in Shanxi, and Xining bank opened by people who lived in the Song Dynasty. Zuo Liangyu himself
In addition to the Zuojia Bank, there are many bustling businesses, with merchants holding banknotes and cash and copper coins waiting to exchange needed things. Under the awnings on the street, vendors selling jelly, watermelon, and herbal tea are everywhere. Liu Ziguang
He randomly picked a restaurant and sat down, and said, "Boss, bring me a bowl of jelly." He took off his bamboo hat.
"Why is it you?" A charming female voice suddenly came to my ears.