Yun Zheng understood Fang Jiannan's excitement, but he still shook his head slightly: "Now is not the time." Seeing Fang Jiannan's raised eyebrows, he was about to retort, so he stretched out his hand to stop him, and continued: "We have too few warships at the moment.
It’s too late to escort the merchant ships, how can we occupy other places? It’s better to wait until the battleships in Sheyang are completed - it won’t be long.”
Fang Jiannan moved his mouth, but finally held it back. Yun Zheng's decision was not something he could influence.
Nangong Wuyu thought for a while and asked: "Where are the copper mines mined from... and where are they transported to be manufactured? Huai'an is directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court after all, but if it is transported to Hebei, it would be too far."
Yunzheng nodded approvingly: "Wuyu is really smart." He stood up, took the sketch, and started to draw again. After he quickly sketched a few strokes, he pointed to the big island off the coast of Fujian and said: "
This is Liuqiu (Taiwan). There are very few Han people on the island, and most of the residents are indigenous people. However, the population is not large, but Liuqiu has at least four large deep-water ports: Kaohsiung, Keelung, Taichung, and Hualien. We can choose one.
As a trade transfer station, not only the seaport can be built, but also the city can be built. At that time, you can consider all the coinage matters. Of course, the final destination of transportation must be Hebei. The journey from Liuqiu to Tianjin is still a bit long, so
...Look here, this is Tamna Island."
In its original history, Tamna Island was a country of its own in ancient times. Sometimes it fell to Silla, and sometimes it fell to Japan. Now it is its last days. It will not be long before it will completely submit to Goryeo and become the Tamna of Goryeo.
County (later the king was deposed and renamed "Jeju Island")
Tamna was a colonial state established by Japanese immigrants during the Three Kingdoms era in China. The king was appointed by the Japanese king as "Star Lord", which means "colonial governor" - at that time, the Japanese did not have writing, and they wore tattoos on their bodies as clothes.
The Song Dynasty, which was basically the same era as the Wei Dynasty, was the peak of Tamna Island's prosperity. Then the Mongols came, killed most of the men on the island, and made Tamna Island their direct jurisdiction - because of this
It is very convenient to go to Japan. You can swim there with a gourd on your waist. It can be used as a base to attack Japan.
It is said that the surname Park in North Korea means "the Japanese who came from the sea with a gourd on their waist". "Park" means "ladle" and the meaning of gourd. In this sense, South Korean star Park Ji-hyun, etc., can also be called
"Piao Zhixian", "Gourd" Zhixian also
The prosperity of Tamna Island began after Song Shenzong built the "Floating Sea Divine Boat" to visit Goryeo. Since it is independent of Goryeo and Japan, it is extremely convenient to travel to these two countries. Tamna has the best of both worlds.
The Japanese nation was a vassal state, and for a while it considered itself a vassal state of Korea. This was a benefit to the merchants on the island. The merchants could obtain Korean or Japanese envoy certificates from the Lord of Tamna as needed, and blatantly pretend to be envoys of the two countries and do business in various countries.
As a result, Korean and Japanese merchants, including Chinese merchants, quickly gathered on the island, and Tamra collected taxes from them and prospered rapidly.
Nangong Wuyu frowned and hesitated: "But there is a king on Tamluo Island..."
Yunzheng blinked: "How many people are there in the entire Tamluo Island? Only 20,000. But our Wei Dynasty has 100 million, and even I, Hebei and Shanxi, have about 18 million to 20 million... Wuyu, for this
What do you think about numbers?”
"But Tamluo Island is poor in products, and that small island can only support so many people." Nangong Wuyu naturally knew what Yun Zheng meant, but she raised another question
"I know this, but I also know one thing. When the imperial court established the Shipping Department in Dengzhou, in addition to trading with Koryo, Dengzhou was trading horses with raw and mature women. This horse-trading route was one of the few that the imperial court had.
One of the horse routes, I think it is impossible for the court to abandon it. Moreover, Tamna Island is very close to Waguo, Goryeo, and Deungju. It has a suitable climate and can be used as a cargo transfer station. It is really ideal. By then we will have Liuye Island and Liuqiu in the south.
, but there is still a lack of a base in the north and Liuye Island is too far away, and Liuqiu is too close to Fujian... After all, under the nose of the navy of the Wei Dynasty, some things must be paid attention to. Tamluo Island is different. It is now
It is still an independent country and their kingdom is very weak. Although we cannot attack it directly, it is feasible to spend some money to buy a piece of land and then gradually encroach on it... We have the status of the Celestial Dynasty, and I am the heir apparent of the Yun family. Even if there is
In the event of an accident, the Koreans and Tamluo people will not dare to provoke us. When I return to Yanjing, I will transport tens of thousands of people from Hebei to take over Tamluo Island just relying on the population advantage..." Yun Zheng smiled and looked at
The Tamna Island on the map in front of me is like a weasel seeing a chicken...
Nangong Wuyu had to admit that this plan was very likely to succeed, but there were still variables in it. She asked: "Will the imperial court and Goryeo just sit back and ignore it?"
Yun Zheng waved his hand: "The imperial court has too much time to take care of itself. How can it have time to care about the life and death of such a small country of 20,000 people? Moreover, this small country is still known as a vassal state of Koryo. As for Koryo... Lao Zheng is currently busy resolving internal conflicts. Once he knows
The person standing behind the hand that took Tamna Island is our Yun family, and we will never act rashly... He dare not move now, but I will find a way to prevent him from moving in the future - I am afraid that by then he will no longer be able to move."
"So, the young marshal has already made up his mind? In this case, what else can Wu Yu say? But according to the young marshal's instructions, it is no more than the young marshal. Now our cargo ship has left the port, and we don't have much cash on hand.
, the three-island plan that the young marshal mentioned, Liuye Island, Liugu Island, and Tamna Island, requires a large initial investment. Where will the money come from?"
Yunzheng was stunned for a moment, thought about it, and suddenly laughed: "There is another place we can think of. The silver there is as much as the copper on Willow Leaf Island... But this still requires a certain cost, um, um,
Let me think about it... In this way, you can estimate how much capital is needed to start the project, and then I will consider where the money will come from based on this amount."
Nangong Wuyu nodded: "That's all we have to do" and suddenly said: "Oh, I almost forgot, this time I found two businessmen who often cooperate with our Nange. They are currently in the business. They have some good ones.
Things can be traded, young commander, do you want to go and have a look?"
Foreign businessmen, okay, then go and see Yunzheng, so he nodded in agreement. His "extensive knowledge" has no place to use.
When Yunzheng and Nangong Wuyu arrived at Chengfeng Trading Company, they heard a man with a strange accent telling a story. The story sounded familiar to Yun Zheng. It seemed to be a story from "One Thousand and One Nights"
The story tells that there was a beautiful female shopkeeper who ran a hotel. She had a magical mill, and when she chanted a spell, the mill would automatically produce flour. The cakes made from the flour were particularly sweet, and guests from far and near liked to stay at her place.
There was a young and handsome young man who was known to stay in the girl's shop of the beautiful female shopkeeper. At night, he was going to touch the female shopkeeper's bedroom to steal the fragrance, but he found that the female shopkeeper was chanting a spell to activate the magical mill... The handsome man quietly left.
, he discovered the next day that all the tourists who had eaten the magic flour had turned into donkeys and worked for the female shopkeeper.
Later, the female shopkeeper invited the handsome man to eat some noodles. The handsome man secretly exchanged the noodles he brought for the ones sent by the female shopkeeper. By cheating, the female shopkeeper ate his own noodles. The romantic female shopkeeper suddenly turned into a donkey and the handsome man
Traveling around the world riding this donkey...
When Zhao Xing entered, the story was reaching its climax. The businessmen inside saw Yun Zheng in white casual clothes and were a little surprised at his height. However, these people were listening intently and did not see Nangong Wuyu behind Yun Zheng.
, so I don’t know who Yun Zheng is. What’s strange is that Yu Qinggao, the prefect of Huai’an, is actually here at this moment. He was very excited when he heard about it. When he saw Yun Zheng, he didn’t even bother to say anything. He just bowed slightly, cupped his hands, and pointed.
Pointing to the empty seat next to him, he asked Yun Zheng to sit down by himself, while he listened intently to the story. Yun Zheng did not make a sound, and pulled Nangong Wuyu, who was about to speak, to quietly find a seat and sit down. He turned around and looked at the storyteller.
, and the audience who listens to the story
Most of the businessmen present were yellow-skinned, but the storyteller was obviously a white man. There were several businessmen sitting around the white man, some of whom wore money-rat tail hairstyles and looked proud of themselves.
With their proud and foolish hairstyles, no need to guess, they are Jurchens
In the fourth year of Xingping reign of Emperor Mingzong of the Wei Dynasty, the Wei Dynasty began to conduct "inspection" on raw and mature women, and traded horses, Dongzhu, furs and other goods with them. The trading port was initially in Dengzhou. Later, the Yun family became more and more powerful, and the court felt that Dengzhou
The state was too close to the Yun family, which was a bit unfavorable, so they canceled the trading port in the north and moved it to Huai'an. So they also came to Huai'an in pursuit of profits.
While Yun Zheng was observing, the white man's story was finished, the romantic female shopkeeper was rescued, and the handsome man handed over the donkey... Then, everyone listening exclaimed in unison. Yu Qinggao took the opportunity to apologize to Yun Zheng, saying that it was
Just now, he was rude. Yun Zheng waved his hand and said it didn't matter. Yu Qinggao pointed at the businessman and introduced to Yun Zheng: "Young Marshal Yun, this is Suo Ke, a businessman from the Zhongli Kingdom. He knows a lot of interesting overseas stories, from the Layer Kingdom to the Young Master from the Zhongli Kingdom.
Does Shuai know?"
Zhongli State was the name of the Jin Dynasty, and is called Somalia in modern times. The area now belongs to the Aksum Empire. According to the original history, this empire was about to be destroyed by the Arabs. The Layer State was also a small country near Somalia. In this era, this
The title is also used to refer to Somalia.
Yun Zheng nodded and replied: "Master Yu, in fact, we have already recorded the Zhongli Kingdom that Suoke talked about in ancient times. The earliest record should be the place during the time of Dayu's flood control. Although I have not been there, I have
Know something about it”
Yun Zheng's words undoubtedly dropped a heavy bomb. Yu Qinggao was horrified and asked in surprise: "Young Commander Yun, what are you talking about?"
“The Classic of Mountains and Seas!”
"The Classic of Mountains and Seas? People say this book is absurd and unruly. How could it record Suoke's country...?" Yu Qing asked in shock.
"The Classic of Mountains and Seas records the story of Yu's killing of Gonggong. Hexu, where Gonggong's minister Xiangliu lived - the local people pronounce the word Hexu as 'Egyptian' and 'Xiangliu', which may also be the pronunciation of the ancients.
No, it's a mispronunciation. The local people's pronunciation is closer to the word "Pharaoh". "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" records that Yu killed Xiang Liu and built Emperor Yaotai, Emperor Kutai, Emperor Dan Zhutai, and Emperor Shuntai for the public.
In this passage, Gonggong's Terrace is called the Pyramid of Khufu by the locals. The platform is to the east of it. On all sides of the platform, there is a snake in the corner, tiger-colored, facing the south - the tiger-colored one next to Gonggong's Terrace.
As I once saw in an ancient book, it has a lion body and a human face. It is a stone statue. The locals call it the Sphinx. Shouma in the Classic of Mountains and Seas is the Zhongli of the country where Suoke is located. According to the local pronunciation, it is
Somalia; and the locals of Buzhou Fuzi country in the book call it Mozambique..."
The series of words Yunzheng used that were close to the local pronunciation made Suoke understand what Yunzheng was talking about. He asked in a strange tone: "My lord, have you been to Mozambique? How do you know this?"
Yu Qinggao understood. Suoke's rhetorical question was equivalent to confirming what Yun Zheng said. He was so shocked that he couldn't speak. He muttered a series of emotional words in his mouth. Even Fang Jiannan had never been to such a far place. He was also moved by Yun Zheng.
He was shocked by what he said, but the old man still heard a few words in Sok's question clearly, and quickly asked: "Young Marshal, what is going on in the country of Mozambique he mentioned? What ancient book actually has such a record?"
Yunzheng directly skipped his question and asked Sok instead: "As far as I know, the Arabs are getting closer and closer to your king's palace. What else is produced in your country? Now that you have come to our country, what are you selling?
goods?"
Yun Zheng asked this question in Chinese, and Yu Qinggao answered for Suok: "Mr. Suok's goods are inseparable from the word black. What he sells is ebony, black iron and black slaves."
Yunzheng was very surprised when the word "black slave" appeared in this era. He turned to Sok and asked him to confirm. Sok nodded quickly and said he was right.
Yun Zheng didn't know that the word "black slave" in the Wei Dynasty was first spoken by Yu Qinggao. In a memorial, Yu Qinggao mentioned this merchant from the east coast of Africa who specialized in selling black slaves to China.
, instead of Kunlun slave
Yunzheng once again asked for confirmation: "What you are selling are authentic African slaves, not slaves captured from South Asian islands?"
"Of course they are African slaves!" Skoll, translated into Chinese as Soko, replied with some dissatisfaction.
Next to Yu Qinggao sat Zhang Lisheng, the Prime Minister of Huai'an Prefecture. Seeing that Yun Zheng seemed to understand these things very well, he wanted to compliment him and deliberately interrupted and asked, "Young Marshal Yun, what's the difference between the two?"
"Height!" Yunzheng replied without hesitation: "African blacks are tall and South Asian (Malay) blacks are short; African blacks are good at running with heavy loads, and South Asian (Malay) blacks are good at archery and mountain climbing... By the way, you
Are there any African slave girls for sale?”
Zhang Lisheng showed an ambiguous smile, and the other businessmen also showed smiles that all men understood. Nangong Wuyu poked Yun Zheng hard with his finger behind his back. Yu Qinggao frowned slightly. Yun Zheng quickly explained: "The women from Zhongli are more than six feet tall, and they can
A female slave who can carry a load weighing two stones for a hundred miles without taking a breath can be hired in the backyard to do many jobs that men cannot do."
Only then did Yu Qinggao realize what Yun Zheng meant. He let out an ooh and blurted out: "Wouldn't this save eunuchs?"
"More than that!" Zhang Lisheng smiled with a smile that can be understood by men: "In this way, this Chinese woman has a strong body and strong muscle contraction. Such a strong woman is also gentle and obedient. If she is placed in the boudoir, she will definitely have a good taste.
Indescribable”
"Dirty!" Nangong Wuyu murmured in a low voice behind Yunzheng, but in order to take care of Nange's affairs, she had met all kinds of people, so when she said this verbally, she could not help but immediately roll her sleeves.
Leave
At this time, even Yu Qinggao showed a longing look and asked: "Soko, do you have any female slaves for sale?"
Sok twisted his body uneasily and replied: "Slaves like African blacks are of higher quality and are more expensive..."
Yunzheng glanced at Suoke, his expression a little cold.
For merchants like Sok, there is no record in Chinese history, but foreign history records their business behavior. Generally speaking, they sailed to the Arab world with full cargo, and then carried a batch of luxury goods from Arabia to Vietnam. After unloading the cargo in Vietnam,
They will buy a group of slaves and local specialties such as tortoise shells, ivory, and spices in Saigon, which the Chinese call "Kunlun" and go to China.
Most of the slaves they purchased were Malay blacks, and modern archaeology believes that the reason for the demise of the Malay black nation was due to their slave trade that lasted for thousands of years. In other words, most of the Arab ships coming to China were captured
Slave ships - in history, they also prided themselves on their cleverness: if half of the cargo left the port, they would stop at some small islands along the way, and grab some people to fill the cabins, they could exchange for the most precious silk and tea leaves of the Song Dynasty.
and porcelain…
Skoll felt that Yun Zheng looked at him with a murderous look. He was ignorant of Yun Zheng's anger and continued to explain: "Those tall slaves want to go deep into the jungle of Mozambique, the country of Bu Zhou, and the jungle never sees the light of day..."
"
Maybe he found it a bit difficult to explain such a complicated matter in Chinese, Suoke immediately
