Although there was no rain, the sky was still a bit gloomy.
There was no wind, but there were slight waves on the sea.
Three cargo ships with their sails pulled down slowly rose and fell on the sea with the waves.
From a closer look, these ships seem to be somewhat different from the ships of the Ming Dynasty. They are a bit crude. The merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty, especially those of wealthy merchants, are all made of centuries-old wood. The wood is connected with iron nails and hemp tendons.
, tung oil seals the seams.
But at a glance, an expert would know that these boats in front of them are made of wooden pieces connected with iron sheets, which is very crude. Moreover, such boats can drift with the wind, but they are not good enough to sail against the wind.
However, this kind of boat also has an advantage. It is easy to maintain without fear of wear and tear, and it is fast.
On the bow of the undulating ship, a young man dressed like an ordinary businessman gently shook his folding fan and looked at the sea, his eyes deep and complicated.
"Ningbo, the greatest city in the world!" After looking at it for a long time, the man suddenly spoke, and what he said at first was not Chinese, but Japanese.
His tone was full of admiration, and his eyes were full of yearning, "It's been a long time since I've been to Ningbo! I really miss it! The Ming Dynasty is so rich in resources and treasures that it deserves its reputation!"
"Sir Aoi!" Behind the man, another man dressed as a businessman said, "Since we have the sea ticket bought for us by Ming Dynasty merchants, why don't we log in directly in Ningbo?"
The man named Aoi turned around and smiled, "Sasaki-kun, the Ming Dynasty now restricts our trade with them. There is a quota for ships approaching Ningbo Port every day. The tickets in our hands can cope with patrolling coastal defense ships at sea, but
You can’t fool the inspection officials at those ports!”
Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the Japanese country has actually not been very respectful. At that time, Emperor Hongwu repeatedly issued letters of credence to the Japanese country and severely denounced the Japanese pirates. But as for the Japanese country, it seems that you have the ability to fight against it.
If it hadn't been for the painstaking advice of Li Zhong and Liu Bowen, the previous generation of Dukes of Cao, I'm afraid Emperor Hongwu would have gathered a large army and crossed the sea.
Although there was no war between the two countries, the Ming Dynasty strictly ordered that the Japanese could only trade in Ningbo and the Ming Dynasty, and there were annual ship quotas that could not be exceeded.
If not, these Japanese would not have taken the risk and spent huge sums of money to buy these smuggled goods from those Ming merchants.
"Those Ming merchants are too greedy!" Sasaki continued, "The tickets for traveling by sea cost us ten thousand taels at a time! And those goods are more expensive than buying inland in the Ming Dynasty, and they only want pure silver.
,hateful!"
"Hey!" Aoi sighed, and said with a strange Chinese accent, "There is an old saying in the country, that's how it is to live under someone else's roof! After all, it's us who beg them for a bright future!" As he said this, he said to the man who had just walked out behind him.
The businessman who looked like he was from the Ming Dynasty said, "Zhou Sang, do you think so?"
The businessman surnamed Zhou was obviously taken aback, and he laughed and cursed, "That's what the hell is used for living under someone else's roof. Aren't you Japanese godsons of the Ming Dynasty?"
Although his heart was like this, he smiled on his face and said, "What Mr. Aoi said is that your Chinese studies have become more and more refined!"
"My ancestors studied with the envoys sent to Tang Dynasty for a period of time!" Aoi said with supreme honor on his face, "So, my family has quite a lot of experience in Sinology!"
"Search the temple!" The man surnamed Zhou nodded perfunctorily.
He is the liaison between the Zhou family and the Japanese for business, and he has to travel back and forth between the two places all year round. Not only does he have to bring the Japanese to come for contact, but he also has to keep an eye on the merchant ships that the Japanese have sailed back to Japan for the Zhou family, and he will keep an eye on them during the next transaction.
Come on.
"You haven't seen the fleet yet?" asked the man surnamed Zhou.
Aoi frowned slightly, "Yes, there is no news from the observation deck yet!"
But as soon as he finished speaking, a ghostly scream came from the observation deck of the mast, "The ship is coming!"
~~~
On the sea, three cargo ships came with full sails and faced the wind.
Looking from a distance, there seemed to be sailors running back and forth on the bow of the ship, shouting.
On the Japanese side, Aoi's face suddenly became solemn, "Fly the flag!"
With a whoop, the Japanese merchant ship completed the prepared joint flag and waved in the wind.
On the Zhou family's merchant ship, Commander He Guangyi, who was wearing ordinary civilian clothes, smiled when he saw the other party's sudden flag.
"Steward Zhou!" he said to the steward of the Zhou family's merchant ship, "it's time to make meritorious deeds!"
"The villain understands!"
The so-called loyalty has bargaining chips. Although the steward of the Zhou family is also surnamed Zhou and is deeply trusted by the master's family, he is after all a side child with folk medicine. He falls into the hands of Jin Yiwei. After seeing Jin Yiwei's methods, he treats the master's family
His loyalty has long been forgotten.
He who knows the current affairs is a hero!
If he doesn't cooperate with Jin Yiwei, it will be a trivial matter for him to die. I'm afraid that the family members will be like cows and horses for generations to come, and will never be able to stand up again.
"Flag the flag, flag the flag!" Manager Zhou shouted.
Later, the Zhou family's merchant ships also displayed flags to show their identity.
Then, the two cargo ships were far apart and began to stop.
The stewards on both sides of the ship have to transfer to a smaller boat.
This kind of transaction cannot be too cautious. The flags are opposite and the personnel can be verified before they can approach each other and the personnel can change ships.
Two small boats faced each other on the sea. On the Zhou family's side were Manager Zhou and Zhang Dabiao.
On the Japanese side were Aoi, Sasaki and others.
"Zhou Sang, long time no see!" Aoi said with a smile from his side of the boat.
"Long time no see, long time no see!" The Zhou family's merchant ship steward smiled, "Excuse me for waiting. The goods are all on the ship. Now that we have verified our identity, let's start the ship exchange transaction?"
"Why don't Zhou Sang board the ship to see the silver?" Sasaki suddenly said.
An important part of their transactions is to board each other's ships and inspect the goods.
"No need, we are all old acquaintances! Who can't trust the other?" Manager Zhou smiled and bumped his thumbs together, "Dom Big Chicken! Good friends!"
"Yo Xi!" Aoi was overjoyed when he heard this, "Zhou Sang speaks quickly!"
Manager Zhou was stunned, "Is this how you use the damn quick words?"
However, he didn't care about this at this time. He raised his hands and said with a smile, "In that case, I'll let the boat come over!"
"Okay, without further ado!" Aoi finally said the idiom correctly for once, and then his eyes caught sight of Zhang Dabiao, "Hey, this strong man looks amazing!"
"Oh, our master's newly recruited merchant ship guard is named Zhang!" Manager Zhou said quickly.
Zhang Dabiao looked at the Japanese on the opposite boat with an expressionless face, wishing he could jump over immediately and hit each of their heads, smashing them into rotten melons. But on his face, he still had to grin, making a kind of smile.
"Zhang Sang, what a majestic man!" Aoi exclaimed in admiration.
Zhang Dabiao grinned, "Yi Xiangyuan's sister said the same thing!"
Suddenly, Aoi didn't understand why.
"I said, that's what! All the girls I've slept with said that!" Zhang Dabiao shouted at the top of his voice, "Majestic!" Seeing that the other party was still a little confused, he continued to shout, "Energy and powerful!"
"Souga!" Aoi nodded, understanding.
Manager Zhou was sweating anxiously at the side. He took advantage of the gap between the other party's words and said to the sailor on the small boat, "Sign the flag and the big ship will come over!"
On the sea, cargo ships from both sides slowly started to move toward each other.
(https://.bqkan8./41379_41379500/11328154.html)
.bqkan8..bqkan8.
This chapter has been completed!