Negotiation (4)

Within his authority, Major Qiaosen made the greatest concessions possible, so much so that his own kickback was half of what he had originally expected, finally persuading the four captains to take their ships to Cape Town.

Of course, the reason these captains eventually agreed was because Major Qiaosen assured them that they could take some cargo and smuggle it to the France or the Netherlands.

"They definitely need something, and as for us, as long as you're not smuggling weapons, we mean we don't see it; we mean we don't hear it."

"What kind of thing can they sell there?" a captain asked.

"I imagine you've had your fair share of dealings with the Netherlands from Cape Town before. Don't you know what they need?" Qiaosen asked, puzzled.

"Ah, Major, do you know what they used to sell most to us?" the captain said.

What kind of goods?

"First, there's the India saltpeter. They have a lot of conflicts with the natives, so they need this stuff. And I've heard that quite a few Britain immigrants have come to Cape Town in recent years. They need to eat and live a good life too, but land in the Cape Town Valley is limited. We can't let those Netherlands live a good life there while we Britain fight with the Zulu for land, can we? So, the governor has been using various means to force the Netherlands to leave the Cape Town Valley and vacate the land for us Britain. Which of those Netherlands who are leaving doesn't need guns and saltpeter? Guns are durable goods, but saltpeter is a consumable. So, saltpeter is the most common item in the trade with the Netherlands in Cape Town."

Saltpeter is the most crucial ingredient in gunpowder. Sulfur is produced in many places, and charcoal is even more readily available.

"But can we sell saltpeter?" the captain asked sarcastically. In his view, saltpeter was practically equivalent to gunpowder, and certainly not something that could be sold.

"Gallery, you know what, they actually need it," Qiaosen nodded. "Considering their cannons—well, the France army's new cannons are indeed incredibly powerful, but their logistical requirements are equally unparalleled. Their shells are so sophisticated that ordinary workshops simply can't produce the projectiles that fit into their cannons. Every single shell they fire is transported all the way from France. And the propellant they use is specially made, although it certainly includes gallery—because the France import a huge amount of gallery every year—but their propellant is definitely not just a simple mixture of gallery and sulfurous charcoal. So, selling gallery to the Netherlands isn't a big deal. Besides, you can sell it to others along the way, like the Portugal."

"The Portugal? They can't consume much cargo; there are too few of them," the captain shook his head. "And even if you allow us to sell saltpeter to the Netherlands, we don't have enough on hand. You may not know, but a series of warehouse fires have occurred recently, making saltpeter a scarce and sought-after commodity even in India."

"So, besides saltpeter?"

"Tea, porcelain, and spices, of course," another captain interjected, "But unless we ship the goods to Europe — Cape Town can't handle that much cargo."

After some discussion, they decided to first load the fleet with various common and easily sellable miscellaneous items, sail to Maputo, and then assess the situation before making a final decision.

So, after another half month, the fleet finally set sail. They sailed south along the east coast of Africa, and after another month, they reached Maputo, a Portugal territory. Several ships entered the harbor, anchored, and the sailors went ashore to find their own enjoyment. Even Major Qiaosen disembarked, intending to go to a tavern for a drink and, incidentally, to inquire about the situation in Cape Town during his absence.

Maputo Port had good conditions, but due to the limited resources of the Portugal, the port was not large in scale. There weren't many berths in the entire port, and correspondingly, there weren't many taverns in the port area either; there was only one tavern called "Sailor's Home."

Major Qiaosen walked into the tavern and sat down at the dimly lit bar.

"Sir, what would you like?" a waitress asked as she approached.

"A beer, please," Qiaosen said. Most of the drinks sold in these pubs are counterfeit, and the more expensive ones are the most likely to be fake. It's better to just order the cheapest one; it might be a little more authentic.

The waitress turned and left, and after a while, she returned with a large glass of beer, placing it in front of Qiaosen with a "thud".

"One rials," the waitress said.

"What? Last time it only cost two pesos," Qiaosen said.

The rial is a silver coin popular in Portugal and Spain, with one rial equivalent to eight pesos. In Europe, a beer like this would cost at most one peso, but here, this unscrupulous tavern is asking for one rial.

"Last time was last time. Who told you Britain to drink almost all the wine?" said a guy drinking nearby.

After shouting something at Qiaosen, the man picked up his glass, took a sip, and then put it down, saying, "Isabella, your wine is watered down too much. Those damned Britain drank it all. I can understand raising prices, but you can't add this much water. Is this still wine?"

"Come on, José, if there's something wrong with our wine, why are you talking nonsense after only having a little?" the waitress said with a laugh.

"What business is it of ours, the Britain?" Qiaosen asked.

"Look how many Britain are in this tavern. It's you guys who have driven up the prices of the drinks," said the guy named José.

Qiaosen looked into the tavern, and many people inside looked up at him. Some even stood up excitedly, overturning their chairs in the process.

"Major, you're back? How did it go?" the man called out as he walked towards him.

Qiaosen recognized the man as a judge from the Cape Colony Court and said, "Judge Anderson, what are you doing here? Could it be... could it be..."

Upon seeing Qiaosen's expression, Anderson knew he was mistaken and quickly said, "No, at least for now, Cape Town is still in our hands. Of course, I think we're not far from losing it... Well, let's sit down and talk."

Anderson then pulled Qiaosen to sit down at their table. Their table was by the window, offering a view of the harbor and the sea.

Qiaosen sat down in his seat, about to speak, when he suddenly saw two plumes of smoke approaching from outside the harbor.

"Look, there it is, there it is a steamship! The France have attacked!" Qiaosen suddenly stood up.

"Now that the sailors are all ashore, it will take a long time to find enough men to get the ship moving. We're definitely stuck and can't get out!" he thought.

"It's the France! We're trapped!" Qiaosen exclaimed. "I was so stupid, so stupid! I only knew that France warships might attack our ships near Cape Town harbor, but I never imagined they could get all the way here!"

"No, don't panic, Major Qiaosen. These aren't France warships, just France transport ships. They're here to bring more Britain here. Actually, we all got here from Cape Town by taking their ships. Of course, we paid for the tickets, and those damned France have absolutely no business ethics. The price they charged for just a ticket from Cape Town to here is enough for me to normally travel from Calcutta to London and then London —they're a bunch of Calcutta!"

"Wait, wait... Judge Anderson, the more you explain, the more confused I get. Could you please explain it more clearly?"

Judge Anderson then recounted in detail what had happened after Qiaosen left.

"So, we've reached an agreement with the France to evacuate the peaceful residents out of the war zone first, and we have to use their ships?" Qiaosen asked.

"Yes, they used the excuse that they were worried our own ships might be smuggling war supplies and non-peaceful personnel. So they insisted that if we wanted to evacuate the residents, we could only use their ships. Of course, that was all an excuse; they just wanted to use this opportunity to swindle money from us! We would also have observers on each ship to monitor whether they had safely delivered us to Maputo. They would only get paid after the ships that brought us to Maputo had safely arrived and returned to Cape Town, and after confirmation from the observers on board. Otherwise, who knows if they would just transfer us to some Portugal fishing boats halfway there— the France are capable of doing that," Judge Anderson replied.

"So what's the situation in Cape Town now?" Major Qiaosen quickly asked again.

"It hasn't fallen yet, but it won't hold out for long. Hmm, the France have sent reinforcements. There's a whole regiment of France troops outside Cape Town now! And tons of artillery... Last time we had a little disagreement with them, well, we thought their shipping costs were too high, so they launched a shelling attack, and then we were forced to accept their ticket prices. And then... they raised the prices again, because they included the cost of that shelling attack in the ticket price. This is truly, I've never seen such shamelessness from Rome."

"So now..."

"At least when I left, the peaceful residents had basically all been evacuated, and the civil servants were also leaving. After this batch arrives at the port today, Cape Town will basically only have military personnel left. And, when I left, the final agreement hadn't been reached yet, but I think we have no other choice but to cede Cape Town. After all, the disparity on the battlefield is too great now. If we really fight, it will only be pointless for our young people to die. Perhaps the two sides have already reached an agreement on our peaceful withdrawal from Cape Town. Of course, the specific situation, well, once the France ships dock and the people on board disembark, you can ask them."

With that in mind, Major Qiaosen was relieved. However, he still decided to go to the dock to wait, and at the same time reassure the sailors still on watch on the ship—they must have been terrified when they saw those plumes of smoke.

Sure enough, as soon as Major Qiaosen arrived at the dock, he saw a number of panicked sailors, including the captains of several other ships who had also gathered around.

"It's alright, it's alright, don't panic, don't panic." Qiaosen then explained what he had just learned to everyone. Of course, in front of the captains, he naturally wouldn't mention the France's outrageous ticket prices. So his crew calmed down, but the captains were a little panicked.

"Damn it! We thought we could get a good price for the cargo in Cape Town, but now it seems Cape Town can't go there?"

"What about all the cargo on this ship? Sell it here? Where can we sell so much? We'll definitely lose money! Oh dear, Major, look at this, we came here to help, you can't let us lose money, can you? Look at the cost of the tickets..."

"Don't panic, everyone!" Qiaosen shouted. "We can still sell our goods. We can sell them to the France. The France have sent a lot more troops to Cape Town, and they definitely need a lot of supplies. Besides, think about it, their ships will bring people here and then go back empty, right? Going back empty is such a loss, but what can they buy from the Portugal? Baobabs? I think we've come at the perfect time; we can sell them everything on our ships."

So everyone quickly considered what they had brought. Indeed, many of the items were likely of interest to the France and could be sold to them, such as tea, spices, and porcelain. There were also some items that the France might not be interested in, but the passengers might be willing to buy them. As a result, the captains' gazes towards those plumes of smoke were no longer filled with worry and fear, but rather with a hint of eager anticipation.

Amidst this mix of trepidation and anticipation, the two France transport ships gradually approached the port. Port officials dispatched pilots to guide them into the harbor, where they docked at the berths prepared for them. Then, a large number of Britain disembarked from the two ships.

The evacuation was now in its later stages. Those fleeing on France ships were primarily officials and businesspeople—in other words, people of higher status and relatively wealthier. This wasn't because the Britain were particularly chivalrous and prioritized the poor over the poor. Rather, when the France were initially entrusted with transporting the Britain, the France were concerned about their business ethics. Therefore, the initial evacuation consisted mainly of the poorer individuals; one reason was that if the France acted unethically, the losses would be relatively smaller.

After hiring the France to transport personnel several times, people generally had a positive impression of the France business ethics. It's said that Governor Prima remarked, "In a sense, the France are a bit like the Jews; they're both shameless money-grubbers, single-mindedly focused on making money. However, once they sign a contract, they are generally quite trustworthy. Of course, like the Jews, they like to tamper with contracts, leaving loopholes for them to exploit. But this trick won't work on us, because we're just as adept at it..."

Since the France had decent business ethics, at this point, those Britain of standing could board France ships and evacuate.

As soon as the France ship docked, Qiaosen, along with his captains, went to the France, hoping to discuss a business deal. Although the two countries were currently at war, war was war, and business was business. After all, both the Britain and the France recognized the value of gold.

After understanding the Britain intentions, the France were also very interested in Britain proposal. Just as Qiaosen had predicted, the France couldn't buy much worth taking back from Maputo. So, when their ships returned, although they managed to fill the cargo holds to a minimum to avoid empty ships, the goods they brought back wouldn't generate much profit. Although these transport ships had been requisitioned by the French Army, they were, in essence, merchant ships of the "Europa Shipping Alliance."

The France immediately expressed his interest, saying, "We want to go aboard your ship to see the goods. If they are good, we can discuss the price in detail."