My British Empire

The Niger River, the third largest river in Africa, is like a full bow, full of strength and tension, cutting through the southern edge of the Sahara Desert, and finally flows into the Atlantic Ocean near the equator.

It connects West Africa and North Africa, and is the most important water source in the Sahara region of West Africa, as well as the fountain of life on which life depends.

And less than seven miles away from the Niger River, there is a city named Timbuktu. If the Niger River is like a long bow, it is the arrow protruding from the back of the bow, pointing to the vast hinterland of the northern Sahara.

It is a trade and cultural center, a necessary place for camel caravans in ancient West and North Africa, and a center for the spread of Chinese culture to Africa.

The one that ruled here, replacing the famous Mali Empire, was the Songhai Empire, which inherited the hegemony of the Mali Empire and was the overlord of the entire West Africa.

On this day, more than 100 whites suddenly came to Timbuktu, which is the economic and cultural center.

"Hey! Wilson, look, is this the economic center of the Songhai Empire? It really is very lively!" A young man with rough skin and skinny as thin as a monkey pointed at Timbuktu, where people come and go, and said happily .

Under the scorching sun, his face was black and red, like a baboon from the rainforest, anxious and irritable.

"That's right! In this legendary city of gold, the gold that flows every day is the annual income of the richest royal family!"

The man named Wilson was a middle-aged man. He was wearing a thin white hat, and his whole body was sun-drenched, as if he was about to fall down at any time.

"Look, they are wearing gold decorations. It can be seen that the gold here is very cheap, and there is a lot of it!"

Wilson stabilized his swaying body, looked at the city gates coming in and out, and the shining gold decorations, the smile on his face was extraordinarily bright, just like seeing a naked (luo) beauty, wretched and deep.

After tidying up his appearance and taking another look at his cargo, as the leader this time, Wilson gave orders calmly:

"Let's go, we spent half a month upstream and bribed the greedy river manager with a lot of wealth to get here, everyone must be calm! Act according to the established strategy!"

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone adjusted their appearance, led the camels, and carried the goods, and walked towards the city gate full of energy, confident and unrestrained.

Among the pedestrians, there are Arabs wrapped in robes, elegant scholars, girls in veils, and businessmen in a hurry.

And like all commercial cities, at all the city gates, there are always a few guards checking the goods, and they also collect city fees.

Wilson didn't mind queuing or anything, but the camels in front came one after another, and the smell was particularly unpleasant.

Wilson wouldn't have cared about it if time had passed by a few years, but since His Majesty the King launched the New Life Movement, bathrooms in the city have sprung up like mushrooms.

Every 100-household district has a bathroom, and you can take a hot bath with just a small penny.

Faced with such a strong smell at this time, Wilson naturally couldn't bear it.

Moreover, while queuing up, the group of black-skinned pedestrians cast strange glances one after another, and they continued to discuss in a low voice.

Wilson and the others are naturally used to this, and they have faced it since they came to the Gulf of Guinea and went up the Niger River.

"Crackling~" the guard glanced sideways, and then said cracklingly.

"Twenty-eight small silver coins!" The translator who was invited said immediately.

Enduring the pain in his heart, Wilson took out the silver coins, and then, under everyone's gaze, he came to this prosperous city of commerce.

Once entering the city, people are coming and going, bustling, although the whole city is yellow and rough.

However, everything in the city seems so orderly, clean and hygienic. The difference from London is that the customs are different.

If they hadn't seen this, they would still be unbelievable that the seemingly stupid and lazy blacks actually owned such a huge and prosperous city and established civilization.

Like a monkey being watched, Wilson and others squeezed their way out of the crowd, and headed to the busiest market in the city under the guidance of an interpreter.

The camels carried a large amount of goods on their backs, together with more than a hundred people, they formed a long procession, and under everyone's amazed eyes, they arrived at the most prosperous market—Xicheng.

This place belongs to a wide open space, and all the merchants sat on the ground, surrounded the camels in a circle, and began to yell and sell things.

From time to time, well-dressed merchants, with servants and bags containing a large amount of gold, would rudely buy what they looked like directly.

This approach made Wilson and others feel elated, and immediately displayed a large number of their own textiles, and increased the cost price by ten times, shouting.

However, it is strange that some people come to watch the cloth produced in England, and even if someone asks the price, they will shake their heads and choose to leave.

Confused, Wilson used the money to inquire, and then suddenly realized.

Here in Timbuktu, there is the largest sewing field in West Africa and the largest wholesale market for cloth.

In this way, Wilson and others quickly reduced the price of cheap textiles by two-thirds, and then sold them easily.

Although cheap textiles can be considered huge profits and have made some money, they are not the main business of Wilson and others.

On the ground, precious Italian silk and precious salt were soon placed.

As a result, a large number of businessmen came to watch with their servants and camels. After being surprised by the white faces of Wilson and others, they glanced at the sharp waist knives on their bodies, and then talked about the price.

"Salt, for every ten humps, one hump equals the weight of gold!"

Wilson pointed to the snow-white salt and asked the translator to talk about the price.

"And this smooth and beautiful silk requires gold as heavy as a camel to buy."

As soon as this remark came out, there was an uproar in the scene, and then Wilson was frightened by the cries of chirping.

In less than ten minutes, all the salt and silk were sold out, and the faces of the merchants were still full of regret.

And what did Wilson gain? Almost a thousand pounds of gold, equivalent to about one hundred thousand pounds of gold, a figure they had never seen in their entire lives.

It is not in vain that they broke their families and came here without fear of hardships and dangers. The gains and sacrifices are directly proportional.

"This city of gold should belong to England!" Looking at the city made of loess in front of him, Wilson suddenly thought of this.

Satisfied with wealth, he needs a noble status.

However, looking at the pedestrians around him like hungry wolves, he knew that at this moment, protecting wealth was the most important thing.

I don't know how many times I said that the writer's assistant is getting more and more rubbish, and when I send it out, it gets stuck! I need to repost