Looking at Ao Canghai with disdain, Li Xiao skillfully took out the cigar cutter from the cover of the box. He cut the cigar bit by bit! I've smoked this thing before, and it cost a damn two hundred yuan a piece.

, very expensive!

Old Washington's eyes lit up, and he felt that there was something right about today's matter.

When he first arrived in Daming, he discovered that Daming was a country that consumed a lot of tobacco. But the tobacco in Daming was all a kind of cigarette. This kind of cigarette didn't seem to be pure tobacco, but contained some unknown spices. Although it was smoked

It tastes good, but it's not as rich as an authentic Cuban Havana cigar.

Old Washington lit a match with a wink and helped Li Xiao light the cigar.

"Authentic Havana cigars are made manually by workers." Old Washington accompanied him with a smile.

Li Xiao took a sip. At this time, he wanted to look in the mirror and see if he looked like a big shot in Hong Kong movies. The only drawback was that it would be even more awkward if he had a pair of sunglasses.

"Yeah! Very good." Li Xiao picked up one, cut it and handed it to Ao Canghai. This old smoker had long been salivating at Li Xiao's appearance.

"Because both ends of this thing are sealed with tobacco leaves, it needs to be cut before smoking. Here is a trick. If the round head has a flat tail, cut the round head. If the round head has an opening or a hole in it, you don't need to cut it.

If you don’t want to smoke half of it, you can cut off the burned part. The taste will be similar next time!" Li Xiao explained to Ao Canghai while cutting.

Ao Canghai did not take the one from Li Xiao, but got one by himself, and started cutting it like Li Xiao. This guy cut it very seriously, more seriously than learning to maintain firearms.

"I didn't expect you, Generalissimo, to have smoked Havana cigars!" Washington was a little surprised. As far as he knew, there were no cigars in the Ming Dynasty. He had never seen anyone smoking cigars in the Ming Dynasty. When he came, he asked Ai Husheng specifically, and he got the answer in the affirmative.

Answer.

This is strange. Since cigars have never appeared in the Ming Dynasty, why... does this commander know so much about cigars?

A lot of question marks flashed in Old Washington's mind, but this did not delay him from selling this local product to Li Xiao.

"This stuff is made in Florida, where the sunshine...!"

"I said John, you are being dishonest. Cuba should be in the Caribbean. That place is close to the Atlantic Ocean and has a hot climate all year round. Havana cigars are a specialty of Cuba. Why do you say it is Florida? Besides, Florida is your country now.

The territory of the empire? Why didn’t I know!”

"Uh...!" Old Washington was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect Li Xiao to know so clearly about the North American territory. He even knew exactly where Havana was. This was a bit scary!

Not many people know about this in the West, let alone in this remote and isolated East.

"Speak directly! What do you want to do?" Li Xiao looked at Old Washington while smoking a cigar.

"Dear General Marshal, I just want to do business with Ming Dynasty. The products produced in our North American territory...!"

"I know that you are a villain. You took out a large area of ​​land from the Indians! But I am not an Indian, and I have no intention of helping them. If this is your product, I am sorry that Ming Dynasty cannot trade with you.

But if your product is different, we can talk about it."

"What do you want?" Old Washington's eyes lit up, as long as he is willing to do business. As long as there is demand, there is no need to worry about business. What a huge market Ming Dynasty is, as long as he captures this market, he can build a city on the west coast.

, a city that belongs to his Washington family.

"It's simple, gold!"

"Gold?" Old Washington was a little dumbfounded. Gold is a hard currency, and its market value is better than the British pound.

"Yes! Gold! If you think so, we can provide you with weapons. That kind of rifle, and bullets. If you want grenades and mortars, we can also discuss it!" Li Xiao pointed to the big eight pills held by the guard.

rifle.

"Rifle? What do we need that thing for?" Old Washington was a little confused. On that desolate continent, there were only some extremely stupid Indians. These people are still using bows and arrows to fight against their traditional flintlock guns.

The battle can be solved. There is no need for such a rifle, although the old Washington also admitted that this rifle looks very advanced.

"As far as I know, India now pays very little tax to the British mainland. Wu Sangui has his own army there, and Governor George is also on his side. The Queen can't do anything about this guy in the Far East. In fact, Wu Sangui has become India's

king.

The reduction in India's tax revenue directly caused the local demands to be unmet. Then the Queen's Prime Minister set her sights on you. The "Stamp Duty" bill was ultimately rejected due to the strong resistance of your North American territories.

Now the "Tea Tax" bill has been introduced, and perhaps more bills will appear in the future. The Anglo-Saxons are a martial nation. Could it be said... that you are willing to be exploited by them for the rest of your life?

The thirteen territories in North America are all autonomous territories. You have certain autonomy! The reason why you are exploited by the British Empire is because you are unarmed and not strong enough.

In this world, there are winners and losers. A great man once said that political power comes from the barrel of a gun!

You bring the gold, and I will provide you with weapons. Let me remind you that there is a place called Jinshan on the west coast. There are rich gold mines there. If you can find it, you can come and trade with me. As for the others,

Sorry, I'm not interested. If you dare to sell duck slices to Ming Dynasty, I will hang you on the city wall."

After Li Xiao finished speaking, he was minding his own business smoking a cigar. I'm afraid I won't have a chance to smoke such a good thing in the future!

"Is there a gold mine on the West Coast?" Old Washington's eyes lit up, but then he became suspicious. How did the commander know that there was a gold mine on the West Coast?

"You and I ask the Indians who have lived there for generations, and they will tell you the answer. Don't even think about buying arms from Wu Sangui. He has a longer journey to the west coast than I do. Moreover, his ship cannot pass through the area under my control.

.

I know what you are thinking about, build a city on the west coast to avoid taxes! Because of the long distance, it will become a haven for tax avoidance. Of course, you also know how to get rid of the native Indians.

This is the answer I give you, go back and think about it yourself." Li Xiao waved his hand to see off the guests.

Watching Mr. Washington walk away, Ao Canghai asked: "Can they agree to your conditions?"

"This old Washington is a miser and a bad guy. He defrauded the indigenous people of a lot of land, but there is one good thing. He can help us and put a fire behind the British. As long as the North American colonies are independent, the British Empire will

This will reduce taxes by more than 30%.

Think about what you will do if your family doesn't have enough money. If Wu Sangui wants to use money to hire a doctor, or to build arms or warships, the Queen of England won't be used to it."

"So at that time, Wu Sangui will either obey the Queen of England or raise a rebellion and declare his separation from the United Kingdom."

"Yo! You've actually become smarter."

"Huh! It's not easy to learn with you." Ao Canghai leaned on the wicker chair and smoked a cigar very comfortably.

************************************************************************ ＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

The Indian Ocean is still rough in summer, and the blue sea is like boiling water. Waves of undercurrents emerge from the bottom of the water, and there are waves everywhere.

A fleet sailed in the rough waves. The violent waves would sometimes lift the ship to the top of the waves, and sometimes smash the ship into the bottom.

Li Xiu held the handle with his hand and watched the large curtain of rain hitting the huge glass screen. This kind of weather is really not suitable for sailing, but there is nothing we can do about it. We need to sail the ship to the place called the Middle East as soon as possible and find it as soon as possible.

Li Hu and Li Xiu were very worried about this brother. According to his temperament, he would definitely cause great trouble in the Middle East.

He just hoped that before he arrived, Li Hu had not been quartered by the locals. If that were the case, Li Xiu vowed to kill everyone there and bury him with Li Hu.

The three ships that went out to sea were Jingyuan, Laiyuan and Zhiyuan. The huge wind and waves caused many old sailors to vomit.

Li Xiu stood on the bridge of the Zhiyuan ship and looked at the dark sky outside, feeling sad in his heart. The weather in the Indian Ocean in August was unpredictable, with violent storms coming quickly. The huge Zhiyuan ship was like a leaf in front of the power of God.

One moment it was pushed to the top of the wave by the huge waves, and the next moment it slid down the deep valley. Even at full power, the Zhiyuan ship still seemed to be drifting with the current.

Deng Yongchang tied himself to a pillar with an iron bucket hanging around his neck, and vomit continued to spurt out of his mouth. Chen Laohu's face turned pale, but he did not vomit. People who grew up by the sea were not prepared for a storm of this scale.

He was not unfamiliar with it, but what he was worried about was whether the Zhiyuan ship could survive such a big storm.

What made Chen Laohu even more frightened was... whether the fleet would get lost.

The sea was pitch black, with two bright spots floating in the distance like will-o'-the-wisps. These were the signal lights of Jingyuan and Laiyuan! The three ships struggled to maintain visual contact at this distance. At this time, the ships could not get too close.

Close. Who knows if the turbulent undercurrent will push the two ships together!

If a ship crashes in this kind of weather, it will definitely be a disaster. It is estimated that no one will survive.

"Second Master! We have left the center of the storm. The course is slightly wrong now. There are clouds in the sky. The star-finding technique cannot be used. The compass can only point to the correct direction. I suggest not to make corrections now until we get out of the storm. We must

Stay away from the coast. If you accidentally hit a reef, the entire fleet will be doomed." Chen Laohu knew that these three ships were the basis for Ming Dynasty to defend the straits and navigate the Indian Ocean, and there was no room for loss!

"Bang!" Li Xiu punched the table, and the hard walnut wood broke Li Xiu's hand.

Why didn't he know that such weather was very dangerous. But Li Hu's place was even more dangerous. Maybe he could have rescued Li Hu if he arrived a day earlier. The family had suffered a disaster, but he didn't dare to lose another brother.

"Crack" a thunder exploded in the sky, the distance was so close, the purple electric fork hit the sea, and a puff of white smoke came out. Deng Yongchang actually saw a few sparks on the sea.

His whole body trembled. He couldn't imagine what it would be like if lightning hit the ship.

"Afraid of a ball! There is a lightning rod on our ship. As long as lightning hits the ship, the lightning rod can pour the electricity into the sea." Chen Laohu glanced at Deng Yongchang.

This guy is a real lucky guy, because he came up with an idea when Drake led the British fleet to attack Singapore. He suddenly became a popular person in Li Xiu's eyes, and now he has become the acting captain of the Zhiyuan ship.

.You know, the Zhiyuan ship is now Li Xiu's flagship.

Xingjin's boy just lacks some training, at least Chen Laohu won't be frightened by this kind of lightning.

As the storm got further away, the sea finally calmed down and was no longer so bumpy. When dawn came, countless sailors poured out of the hatch and began to repair facilities damaged by the storm.

The situation is better than expected. Only some surface facilities were slightly damaged, which did not affect the combat effectiveness and navigation. This is already a blessing among misfortunes. If this was not an ironclad ship, but a wooden sailing ship, it would have been torn apart by the storm by now.

fragments.

The sun has not come out, and there is only a patch of light in the sky. But the sky is still gloomy and terrifying. It is obvious that another storm is brewing. August is the month that is least suitable for navigation in the Indian Ocean. God seems to want to destroy all the monsters and monsters.

They are released during this month to look for food, and the food is those who wander on the sea.

Standing on the Jian Bridge, no matter which way he looked with his telescope, he could not see the coastline. Li Xiu knew that he was already in the deep sea. The advantage was that there was almost no chance of running aground here, but the disadvantage was that it was easy to get lost.

God knows where I will be when I see the coastline again.

In the telescope, he saw two other warships. Li Xiu felt relieved and contacted them using lantern language when the sky was dim. The two ships were pretty good, except that a few sailors broke their heads after falling down.

.

After experiencing such a big storm and such a loss, it was God's help. Li Xiu thanked the Sea Dragon King sincerely in his heart, although he didn't know which Dragon King controlled the sea under his feet.

Chen Laohu stood in front of the slipway, holding a compass in his hand and looking at the chart. He kept gesturing on the chart with his hand, and from time to time he would outline it with a pencil.

"How far off?" In this case, it must deviate from the course. Li Xiu just begged not to deviate too much.

"The yellow-haired man said that there doesn't seem to be much deviation. According to our current route, it is estimated that we will arrive at Jeddah Port in three to five days." Chen Laohu pointed at the guy opposite with the yellow hair on his head.

This was the guide specially hired by Li Xiu. Although he was considered an old navy man, Li Xiu had never sailed so far in the Indian Ocean.
Chapter completed!