The Australian Revolution of 1828

On April 10, 1828, an armed merchant ship belonging to the Hanyang Prefecture Trade Office docked at the port of Denpasar.

Zhang Yuanyang, the stationmaster in charge of the Denpasar trading post, had been waiting for a long time. He personally went up to him and said, "Brother Wei, I just received the news from the fast ship this morning. I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly. Come ashore quickly, and I'll give you a welcome feast."

Zhang Yuanyang, the stationmaster of the Denpasar trading post in the Kingdom of Bali, was born on February 19, 1803, in Zhoushan Prefecture, Zhejiang Province. He was 25 years old at the time.

Wei Guochang, a native of Lianzhou Prefecture, Guangdong, was born on August 8, 1801, and is currently 27 years old. He is currently the captain of an armed fleet under the Trade Bureau, responsible for transporting cattle and horses from Hanyang to the mainland, and then transporting scarce goods such as cloth, ceramics, and tea from the mainland to Hanyang.

Honestly, you can make a lot of money doing this, it's just hard work!

Upon seeing his old friend in person at the port, Captain Wei Guochang was extremely excited. He gave Zhang Yuanyang, the trade war expert, a bear hug and said, "Yuanyang, you're too kind!"

"I sent a fast boat here so that you can quickly prepare some food and fresh water. Once these things are loaded onto the boat, we will be on our way to transport these supplies to Hanyang as soon as possible."

Zhang Yuanyang, the trade station manager, didn't take it seriously and insisted on keeping him, saying, "Brother Wei, there's no rush."

"Let some of you stay behind, the rest of you disembark. We'll go to the trading post to eat and rest first. Tomorrow, once the fresh water and food are on board, I'll see you off!"

"The next time we go ashore will be three or four days from now, and the conditions at Laiyang Port (Pidamara in the northwest corner of Australia) are far inferior to those at Denpasar."

Although time was indeed tight, Zhang Yuanyang was right about the trade war; the sailors were indeed exhausted.

After hesitating for a moment, Captain Wei Guochang couldn't resist the temptation of land and agreed to Zhang Yuanyang's suggestion, saying, "Alright, then I'll trouble Station Chief Zhang to prepare some hot water for the brothers. They can take a hot bath later to relieve their fatigue."

The two chatted and laughed along the way, and soon arranged a guest room for Captain Wei Guochang on the third floor of the hotel. As for the other sailors, they were housed in a three-story dormitory building, with eight people in one room.

As soon as Captain Wei Guochang entered his cabin on the third floor, he saw a familiar man. The man, with a serious expression, pointed to the seat next to him and said, "Guochang, please have a seat!"

Captain Wei Guochang was a bit confused and didn't quite understand the situation. He asked in a daze, "Director, what brings you to Denpasar?"

The news of Li Guochen taking over as director of the Trade Office had already been communicated to all trading posts, and Captain Wei Guochang was also aware of it.

The fact that the director, who was supposed to be in Hanyang overseeing the affairs of the Trade Bureau, unexpectedly appeared in Denpasar made Captain Wei Guochang wonder if he had come to question him.

Fortunately, Li Guochen from the Trade Bureau didn't want Captain Wei Guochang to speculate, and instead broke the tense atmosphere by saying, "There's no other way!"

"You know the Trade Agency has a lot of work to do!"

"Not only were cattle and horses from Hanyang transported to Southeast Asia, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland for trade, but the import of machinery, grain, cloth, ceramics, tea, and other goods was also handled."

"What will you guys do if I don't keep an eye on things?!"

When the topic of slacking off came up, Captain Wei Guochang panicked and quickly explained, "Chief, it was I who was indulging in comfort and pleasure. I'll organize the fleet to set sail immediately and return to Hanyang right away!"

In the end, Li Guochen of the Trade Bureau never intended to reveal the truth. Instead, he reassured Captain Wei Guochang, saying, "Guochang, I'm not the kind of person who doesn't understand his subordinates. It was just a joke, don't take it seriously!"

"Eat when you're supposed to eat, rest when you're supposed to rest, and just set off on time tomorrow."

Captain Wei Guochang was uneasy, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He said, "The director is right. I'll organize the crew to rest and eat right away, and we'll set off first thing tomorrow morning, aiming to reach Hanyang in seven days."

Everything that needed to be arranged was arranged. All that was left was to reassure Captain Wei Guochang. He said, "Alright, I'll stay in Denpasar for the time being. I'll come back to see you off tomorrow."

Having said that, Captain Wei Guochang had no choice but to put aside his desire for pleasure and tell the sailors who had already gone ashore to rest, and that the sailors who remained behind would be replaced later.

The trading post was gradually established by Hanyang Prefecture over five years and was an industry owned by Hanyang itself, so Captain Wei Guochang slept soundly. If the port were also under the management of Hanyang Prefecture, he would feel even more secure.

In this dream, Captain Wei Guochang slept soundly.

He was awakened in the middle of the night by a messenger who said, "Captain, something has happened. The brocade and other fabrics on board have been stolen by bandits in the vicinity."

After learning the basic facts, Captain Wei Guochang was furious. In his five years in trade, he had encountered many dirty tricks, but he never expected to be robbed by a group of scoundrels.

Moreover, the ship was loaded with cotton cloth, tea, and brocade, which were scarce resources in Hanyang Prefecture. These were important supplies for Hanyang, and the captain could not bear this responsibility.

I quickly got dressed and prepared to go to the port.

Just as he stepped out of his guest room, he saw that the door to the guest room opposite was open, and a man's voice came from inside, saying, "Guochang, come in!"

By the candlelight, Captain Wei Guochang recognized the man and said, "Chief, the ship's cloth has been stolen. I have to go check it out!"

Seeing Captain Wei Guochang's extreme anxiety, Li Guochen from the Trade Bureau, on the other hand, remained rather leisurely, speaking slowly and deliberately, and asked, "Is the ship alright?"

Captain Wei Guochang had already obtained the basic information from the messenger, and without hesitation, he said, "The ship is fine, but we lost a whole load of cloth and tea!"

A merchant ship, weighing nearly 500 tons, suffered a significant loss of cloth and tea.

However, Li Guochen of the Trade Bureau remained quite calm and did not get angry. He said, "Go to the port and check the situation. Come back and report to me with the results!"

At this point, the sailors of the merchant ships, disregarding any need for rest, hastily assembled with their rifles and rushed to the port. The sailors who remained on the cloth and tea merchant ships retreated to other merchant vessels.

Captain Wei Guochang inspected the robbed cargo ship and learned the truth.

Around 1 a.m., when the sailors were least alert, a merchant ship carrying cloth and tea was attacked by a group of people. By the time the sailors reacted, the robbers had already boarded the ship.

The sailors who remained to guard the cloth and tea, fearing the enemy's superior numbers, jumped overboard and fled to other merchant ships. Only after ascertaining the basic situation did they send someone to inform Captain Wei Guochang.

Captain Wei Guochang sensed the seriousness of the situation and instructed his subordinates, "Immediately organize the crew to be on alert. I'm going back to the trade war."

"If I haven't returned in two hours, set sail immediately back to Hanyang and report the unusual situation at the Danpasa trading post to the Governor's Office."