Chapter 5: Wealth and honor are in danger

The deep and deep sea, the waves sparkled under the moonlight, the ink-like sea surface trembled gently under the night sky, and the sea was slapped against a dark reef island.

The Garmin steamer was floating quietly on the east side of the reef island, and there was no trace of fire on the ship, just like a silent ghost ship.

On the deck, Ye Zhao was walking, the sea breeze was blowing, and it was cool and wet.

Ye Zhao knew that the small island not far away should be Sheshan Island under the jurisdiction of Shanghai in later generations, and it was the first post of Shanghai, the East China Navy Observation Communication Station.

The island is now bare, and the lighthouse built by the British twenty years ago has long been abandoned.

The sound of footsteps came from behind, and Davis slowly walked over, obviously, he couldn't sleep at all.

"Prince, where do you want to take me?" Davis asked a little uneasy.

Ye Zhao smiled, took out a cigarette, handed one to Davis, lit another one, then threw the match to him, and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Davis, I won't hurt you."

"Then, what do you want me to do for you?" Davis looked puzzled. He could know what the general of Guangzhou came to Shanghai for and why he approached him. However, his whereabouts were exposed and he escaped to the sea. He really didn't know what else he could do to him.

And, why take Mimna on the boat?

This steamship disguised as a merchant ship was full of live ammunition sailors. Yes, but after all, it was just a ferry without artillery weapons. If it was attacked by gunboats, it would not be able to fight back at all.

"Mr. Davis, have you made a decision?" Ye Zhao looked at him with a smile.

Davis smiled bitterly, "Dear General, do I have any choice?"

Ye Zhao smiled, took two steps closer, and whispered to him.

The look of surprise in Davis's eyes became stronger and stronger.

...

The distant sky gradually turned white.

The steamer also slowly sailed out of the island range and circled in the waters of this area. If you didn't pay special attention, you would definitely think that this was an ordinary merchant ship that sailed out of Shanghai Port or headed to Shanghai Port.

But at this time, on the ship's mast mail tower and on the deck, there were more than a dozen sailors each with a thousand-mile mirror, and they were searching around nervously.

In the lounge of the building, Gao Heer stood in front of the glass window, holding a telescope and looking into the distance.

Ye Zhao leaned on the sofa and savored the tea, and smiled and called him: "Tom, don't be too nervous, let it go. The sentries each have an observation area. If you can find it, they can naturally find it."

Gao Heer knew that he was a little nervous, but he had to be nervous. The plan to hand over the waters near the dock was failed. Now there is only one way, which is to stop the gunboat halfway, but he could not drive too far from Shanghai. Otherwise, it would be difficult to find the route of the other side's fleet.

In the Circle of Shanghai's Offshore, it is naturally full of dangers. I can imagine that although the Wanguo Merchants are just civilian armed forces, they made such a fuss last night, and the request of the Qing imperial envoy, they would definitely hire steamships to intercept suspicious ships. If they could not find those gunships and were entered into the Shanghai Wharf, all the efforts made would be flowing.

Gao Heer was not very concerned about whether the general Wang could accomplish anything. What he was worried about was that if the artillery ship entered the Shanghai wharf, the Chinese powerful man would lead the sailors to rob him. At that time, everyone on the steamer would be in great danger and might have lost his life.

"The so-called wealth and honor are in danger, Tom, you have to remember these words, the most reasonable saying." Ye Zhao put down the teacup and walked to the window.

What should I do if the three gunboats were really taken away by the Six Kings?

Looking into the distance, the sea and the sky were the same color, Ye Zhao thought silently.

The metal hatch door of the lounge creaked open, and the guard made a gesture of invitation. Mimna, wearing a sexy snow-white gauze dress, walked in with coquettish steps.

She ignored Gao Heer and walked straight to the window, Ye Zhao wrapped his arms behind Ye Zhao's waist, his pretty face embedded on Ye Zhao's shoulder, and said in a slight voice: "Dear, do you miss me?"

Obviously, Davis did not tell her about Ye Zhao's identity, and she was also ignorant of her current situation.

Ye Zhao smiled and asked, "Mr. Davis has gone to bed."

Mimna gently bit Ye Zhao's ear, feeling the fresh smell of Chinese men, and her body gradually became a little hot, "We, where are we going?" Her voice was charming, soft and thin.

Ye Zhao asked her to coax Mr. Davis to rest in order to accumulate strength, so as not to see the flaw when the gunboat handover was found. Mimna obviously had a wrong idea and thought Ye Zhao wanted to have an affair with her.

Before Ye Zhao could speak, Gao Heer suddenly changed his face and said, "It seems to be a patrol ship of the Wanguo Business Group."

At this time, the sentries dressed by merchants, workers, etc. on the deck put away the thousand-mile mirrors, and a paddle wheel slowly arrived not far away. The paddle wheel of the Wanguo Merchants Group blew the flags on the paddle wheel, which asked the Jiaming to stop the ship for inspection.

"What's going on?" Mimna also saw something was wrong and asked Ye Zhao again: "We, aren't we going to Guangzhou? Why are we going around in circles?"

Ye Zhao waved his hand and held his chin to consider the situation in front of him.

Mimna was good at observing people's colors. When she saw Ye Zhao's expression, she slowly let go of her hand that was surrounding Ye Zhao, and looked down in front of the glass window.

After the meal, the two boats gradually moved closer. The Wanguo Merchants Group put down the boat on the paddle wheel, and several sailors boarded the boat and rowed over.

...

Mr. Roberto's villa in Jardine Hotel is extremely luxurious and magnificent, like a small palace. It is said that this three-story western-style building, plus decoration, spent more than 20,000 pounds to purchase decorations, is truly the first house in Shanghai.

The villa study house is filled with persian velvet couches and solid ebony desks, hardwood carved low bookshelfs, gorgeously bound books, and the whole furnishings are solemn and coordinated. Two silver-gray tapestries of faded French famous Coberin cover the four walls, and the shepherds and trees on the tapestries are vivid.

Mr. Roberto sat on the sofa and knocked his pipe with a relaxed expression, and said with a smile: "Dear Du, are you too worried?" As a senior member of Jardinea, he spoke very well in Chinese, and he was also the President of Dong on the board of directors of the seven-member board of the Works Department Bureau.

Du Han, opposite the coffee table, looked solemn, frowned and put down the coffee, bitter and hard to swallow, just like his current mood.

"Du, I promise you that I will definitely be there when I receive this fleet. Don't worry, there will be no accidents. Although you have lost the certificate of the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, I can guarantee you with my credibility. No one in the British who do business in China does not know me, and no one will doubt my reputation. I am still very confident in this."

Du Han shook his head and said, "I feel relieved with your guarantee. What I am worried about is that the person who stole the seal of the guard seal yesterday was instructed by Jing Xiang. Maybe Jing Xiang will come to Shanghai. You also know that he has many Western friends, so he will definitely do everything possible to destroy our handover plan."

Roberto nodded in agreement: "You are right. Jing Xiang is not a simple person, so I have communicated with Mr. Max, the merchant group. The merchant group hired patrol ships to check the docks and suspicious ships near the sea. Even if he cannot be expelled, he will not have time to play with small tricks."

"Thank you, Mr. Roberto." Du Han's smile was still a little bitter. Whether the handover could be smoothly handed over was one thing, but after losing the seal of the guard and the emperor's personal letter, he returned to Beijing, the emperor must have been responsible for the punishment. He said he would be fined for the better, but he thought about it but didn't know what to do with him.

Du Han picked up the coffee cup, suddenly, his hand shook, and the coffee cup fell to the ground. He stood up suddenly and said in a trembling voice: "Jing Xiang, will Jing Xiang intercept the bells on the sea?"

"Stop the Hu?" Mr. Roberto was a little confused.

"That's it, it's just to intercept the gunship purchased by the emperor at sea and accept it as my identity!" The more Du Han thought about it, the colder his back became.

Roberto's face gradually became severe.

...

"No, it seems to be those three gunboats!" Gao Heer, who was holding a thousand-mile mirror in front of the glass window, changed his face drastically.

On the deck, the mercenaries of the Wanguo Merchants had boarded the Jiaming roster and were talking to the "merchant" who was approaching. In the distance, the faint black dots in the thousand-mile mirror gradually showed their majestic power, and the towering cannons were vaguely visible.

This is the worst situation. The mercenaries of the Wanguo Merchants Group are not easy to pass. But at this time the gunship fleet arrived. How could such a situation behaved as an imperial envoy and hand over to people? I could only watch the gunship fleet pass by.

"Sir, what should I do?" Gao He'er's heart was beating as he asked, afraid that Ye Zhao would fight to the death with a wave of his hand.

Ye Zhao's face was gloomy and in a moment, he suddenly turned to Mimna, took out a ten pound and a thousand pounds banknote from his sleeve and gave it to Mimna, and smiled and said, "You go down and drag them down!" He pointed to the Wanguo Business Group employee who came up to check on his fingernail, and said, "This is the hard money for you."

Mimna smiled and stuffed the ten pounds into Ye Zhao's hands, "Dear, I can't ask for your tips. Don't worry, I'll send them away now."

Ye Zhao stuffed the ten pounds back and smiled and said, "That thousand pounds are yours, and these ten pounds are for them. Remember, it is to delay, not to send them away." Tipping a thousand pounds for the merchant group employees is really a sign of overwhelming excitement.

Mimna was stunned and immediately screamed in surprise, without saying that she would not give up. She grabbed the thousand pounds and kissed Ye Zhao on the face, and then walked out quickly.

Ye Zhao turned his head and a guard opposite the door and said, "Notify the whistle, whisper, and ask the gunship fleet to stop the ship!" He said to another person: "Go and notify Mr. Davis, and then bring the first-grade official uniform and cloak."

Gao Heer was stunned and said in a trembling voice: "Sir."

The two guards were already walking away quickly.

Gao Heer felt dizzy and said hurriedly: "Sir, it's too risky."

Ye Zhao smiled slightly: "Don't remember what I told you? Wealth and honor are so dangerous, you are too eye-catching, so stay here and don't go anywhere."

Gao Heer knew the temper of this Chinese powerful man, so he had to smile bitterly and nodded. When Ye Zhao left the door, he slowly took out his revolver and wiped it gently. It was already like this, so he could only leave it to fate and wait for a while to fight in chaos and find an opportunity to save his life.

In the captain's office of the Wanguo Merchant regiment, Mr. Wenger stood in front of the glass window with a coffee cup. He was the manager of Wanlunxing and the commander of the merchant regiment on the ship. He led the team to board the suspicious steamship to inspect Brown, an employee of Wanlunxing. He had a very good relationship with him. The two often worked together to handle private goods.

In fact, the Wanguo Business Group was originally composed of foreign business staff volunteers.

Looking at the deck of the steamship, Brown was joking with a blonde woman, and Wenger shook his head, which turned out to be a European merchant ship.

I don’t know why Mr. Roberto asked them to lose their work and come to the sea to check for suspicious ships. Why did he? The merchant group was originally composed of employees voluntarily, and the staff of his Jardines Train were the least active. The merchant group was used to protect the security of the concession and prevent the Taiping Army and other governments from resisting the concession, rather than to come to the sea to inspect. Roberto was not the commander of the merchant group. What qualifications do he have to ask the members of the merchant group to perform their duties that should not be performed by them?

The battleship cruiser purchased by the Qing Dynasty? What is the joke? What does it have to do with the merchant group?

However, although Wenger was very dissatisfied, he could only mutter in his heart. If he offended Roberto, no one could survive in Shanghai.

"Mr. Wenger, it's strange that the Garmin is chanting the flag and is asking the gunboats coming from the south to stop the ship." A member of the business group who was observing with a telescope was full of confusion.

Wenger was startled and looked at the deck of the Garmin again.

At this time, on the deck, a group of people were walking past Mimna and Brown.

Ye Zhao was stuck in his beard and looked extremely mature. He was wearing a crane replenishment of a first-class civil servant and holding a ruby ​​top in his hand, but he could not tell if he had a cloak on his face. The group behind him were all in the middle and Western style, and Davis was mixed in it.

When passing by Mimna and Brown, Ye Zhao stopped, smiled and reached out to shake hands with Brown, and said, "Mimna is my English teacher."

Brown shook hands with Ye Zhao in a daze. He didn't know what Ye Zhao meant. Ye Zhao smiled and said, "I am Mimna's Chinese teacher."

Brown even felt that this person was ignorant.

Ye Zhao whispered a few words to Mimna. Mimna giggled and leaned over to Brown. Under the gauze skirt, he touched Brown's arm intentionally or unintentionally, and his red lips whispered in Brown's ears: "This is a madman, please send him away and salute him. He is the most proud of this."

When Mimna threw her eyes, Brown was fluttering in confusion and actually bowed to Ye Zhao. Ye Zhao smiled and walked to the deck behind the stern building, and a few small boats were about to be placed down on the deck, but Wenger and the others could not see it through the stern building.

Wenger saw this scene in the paddlefish captain's room and was a little puzzled when he saw the pedestrian walking to the side of the ship. Brown put on a red hat to the Chinese man who was doing the sailor's salute.

Wenger then suddenly realized that it was an official from the Qing Dynasty. I wanted to come to Brown to meet him. No wonder he talked and laughed.

Is it an official from Shanghai Road? sent by an imperial envoy?

Brown was not sure about the difference between the various gemstones of Qing officials.

...

The gunship fleet was sailing in the front of the battleship "Princess Anna". In the lounge of the battleship stern building, Brand held a thousand-mile mirror and observed the two steamships in front of the small fleet, Garmin and Wesley. There were white men holding guns on the decks of both ships. It seemed that they should be ships of the Wanguo Merchants.

But why did the merchant group send two steamships to intercept their fleet?

Brand was a foreigner who helped the Qing Dynasty to promote the purchase of gunboats. He gained tens of thousands of pounds from it and became the upper class in London. He wanted to make a fortune with the Chinese emperor in the end, but he didn't want to make any mistakes.

"Mr. Brand, the Weasley sent a signal for inspection." A sailor hurried into the lounge to report the message.

Brand was relieved. The flag was short, and sometimes it depends on how to understand it.

"Catch someone up." Brand ordered the sailors beside him.

When Chen Yong stepped onto the deck of "Princess Anna", he couldn't help but touched the shiny metal railing a few times. He was inexplicably happy, but when he turned around, the master was still calm. He hurriedly suppressed the excitement in his heart and lowered his head to follow the team.

Brand personally went down to the deck to greet him, and saw a red-top official. Brand put his hand on his chest and saluted him in a gentleman's manner: "Sir, I am the special envoy who was responsible for the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty."
To be continued...