A huge fleet of ships slowly arrived and finally moored at the port dock on the Nile River.
Liu Yangzheng stepped off the boat and stepped onto solid ground. He couldn't help but let out a slight sigh of relief.
He didn't like taking a boat, he was a bit seasick, and the boat was walking on the sea, so he always felt insecure. Only the real feeling of stepping on the ground could make him feel more at ease.
After getting off the boat, he couldn't help but look around.
Although it is already the twelfth lunar month of winter, you can feel the coldness of winter here at all, and the tropical plants that can be seen everywhere bring people into the scorching summer.
Date palm trees can be seen everywhere, as well as mosques and minarets under the trees, all of a variety, blending the colors of various regions. There is also this port, which is very large, and ships from all over the country are flying flags of various countries.
.
Here at the dock, you can see a large number of slaves loading and unloading goods, and you can also see slaves coming out of a ship.
You can clearly see the origin of these slaves. Many slaves are still wearing thick and tattered sheepskin jackets. At this moment, they are using a pair of curious eyes to carefully observe the strange world in front of them.
“The changes here are so big~”
"When I came here a few years ago, it was just a small port that couldn't accommodate many ships. Now it has become a large port that can accommodate hundreds of large ships."
Next to Liu Yangzheng, Zhou Jingming couldn't help but sigh.
As the Minister of Household Affairs of Ningguo, he is responsible for the business and transactions of Ningguo. He has traveled to many places, including Egypt. He even has many friends in Egypt.
"It seems that the Egyptians have made a lot of money by doing transit trade."
Liu Yangzheng immediately smiled and said.
"Isn't that right~"
"The Egyptian route through the Red Sea is the closest route to the Mediterranean and the safest route."
"If you want to go around Africa, not only do you have to walk a long way, but the storms in the transition area between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans are extremely terrible, and ships often get into accidents. No one is willing to take that route."
"So now, when our merchants from the Ming Dynasty go to the Mediterranean and Europe, they always go to Egypt. It is safe and saves time. Naturally, it also allows the Egyptians to make a lot of money."
Zhou Jingming nodded and said: "In addition, their transit trade is also very profitable. For this slave, they go to the Mediterranean to buy slaves, and then transport them to the Red Sea and sell them to us Ming people. In this way, a slave will make a profit
Almost ten taels of silver."
"We can make a lot of money by selling the Ming Dynasty's spices, silks, porcelain, etc. to the Mediterranean. Every time we come back, we can easily make huge profits."
“The location here in Egypt is really great, it’s the core of the Three Continents!”
While the two were chatting, there was a man with a big belly, wearing luxurious silk products, an jade ring on his hand, a thick gold necklace around his neck, and a large gold belt around his waist, with many Sri Lankan inlays on the gold belt.
The gem merchant came over.
When he saw Zhou Jingming, Liu Yangzheng and others, he immediately laughed happily.
"Prime Minister Liu, Minister Zhou, I didn't expect it to be you. I'm so happy to see you here."
Redding opened his arms happily as he walked. The scarf on his head was a little unstable, and his neatly combed beard was shaking constantly.
"Redding~"
"It's so nice to see you."
When they saw the person coming, Liu Yangzheng and Zhou Jingming immediately started laughing.
The visitor's name is Redding, a slave trader from Egypt.
In the past, because I sold some slaves to the Ning Kingdom of Tianzhu, I met King Ning and reached an agreement on the slave trade with King Ning.
King Ning earned huge wealth by selling slaves from the Mediterranean, and became a famous businessman in Egypt.
In the beginning, life in Redding was very easy, and they made a lot of money through slave trading and other businesses. However, life has become difficult in the past two years.
Because more and more Arab merchants were involved in the slave trade, and the Ming Dynasty people began to directly enter the Mediterranean and cross the Arabs to do business, this also made their life even more difficult.
Lei Ding, who knew this well, heard that Liu Yangzheng and Zhou Jingming were passing through Egypt, so he waited here early to see if he could find new business opportunities.
"Prime Minister Liu, Shangshu Zhou, you are really not friends enough. You didn't even say a word to me when you came to Egypt. No matter what, when you get to Egypt and my territory, please let me fulfill my friendship as a landlord."
Reading's Ming Dynasty speaks very well, and his handwriting is smooth. He can even write a good calligraphy poem. He likes to read Ming Dynasty's books and newspapers, and he is very aware of the huge strength of this powerful Ming Dynasty.
"Haha, I came in a hurry, so I didn't bother you."
Liu Yangzheng smiled and replied.
As the Zuo Prime Minister of Ning State, his status is naturally very high. He is a guest wherever he goes in the Middle East, Persia, Tianzhu, and East Africa.
"Let's go, let's go, I've prepared a banquet for you~"
Lei Ding enthusiastically invited Liu Yangzheng, Zhou Jingming and others to his mansion and held a grand welcome banquet for them.
Businessmen in the Middle East have a very high status, and they also like to show off their wealth.
Redding is no exception. Not only is he covered in jewels and gold, but his mansion is also the same. The walls are covered with gold sheets, which shine brightly, and the floors are paved with silver bricks, which shine silvery.
Gemstones, jades, pearls, corals, jade, etc. can be seen everywhere for decoration, making the entire mansion so resplendent that Liu Yangzheng, Zhou Jingming and others couldn't help but sigh.
In terms of suspension, the people of Ming Dynasty are indeed too low-key.
The welcome banquet was also very grand. Wine, food, and beauties were all indispensable. After some banquets, we slowly talked about some serious matters.
"Prime Minister Liu, Shangshu Zhou, the slave trading business is getting harder and harder now. The slaves I can get recently are not even one-tenth of what they were before."
"If this continues, I'm afraid there will be no way to continue the slave trading business."
Redding sighed. To be honest, he really couldn't bear to trade slaves. The profits were too high.
But now all the slaves in the Mediterranean have been basically sold out by the merchants of the Ming Dynasty. There are really too few slaves in his hands. For example, King Ning directly sent people to set up an office on Xihai Island to do the slave trade.
Business.
The Ottoman Empire and the Mamluk Kingdom of Egypt have always had a grudge. The Ottoman Empire, the largest source of slaves, refused to sell slaves to them. You can imagine this day.
Now we can only make some money by doing transit trade, which is far less than before.
The transit trade business is also not easy to do, because the Ming Dynasty has fully opened up the trade routes to Europe. You can reach Europe from Golden Continent, you can also reach Europe from Nanyun Province on land, and you can also go to the Middle East.
On the other side, the Persians, the Ottoman Empire, the Arabs in the Middle East, the Spaniards, the Portuguese, etc. are competing for business.
Unlike before, the Egyptians relied on their geographical advantages to specialize in selling and make a lot of money.
"I also know that you, my friend, are in trouble, but there is nothing we can do. You also know the situation. Not only is your business affected, but our business in Ningguo is also affected."
"This time I went to the West Island in the Mediterranean in person for the slave trading business. You saw it when I got off the ship. This time I brought back tens of thousands of slaves."
Liu Yangzheng nodded and said, he also deeply understands that business is not easy to do.
"I also know that His Highness Prince Ning's business has been affected, and I also want to help His Highness Prince Ning."
"I don't know if there is any way to get rich here, Prince Ning. If you can use me, Lei Ding, please feel free to give me your orders."
Redding nodded. He knew the situation in the Ming Dynasty very well and even went to the Ming Dynasty once.
The Ming Dynasty was very big. There were many, many merchants in the Ming Dynasty. Competition in any industry and business was extremely fierce. There were many extremely powerful firms and merchants in the Ming Dynasty.
The financial resources, manpower, material resources and influence used by these firms and merchants far exceed those of Ningguo. Once they get involved in certain fields, they will soon occupy an important position in these fields and impact the original order.
After hearing what Lei Ding said, Liu Yangzheng began to think deeply, and then thought about where he wanted someone to get a map.
"Actually, there is a hugely profitable deal now~"
"Currently, the only way from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea is by land. If you need to transfer the goods, if you want to take the waterway, you need to go around Africa."
"If we can build a canal in Egypt to connect the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, then we will be able to eat and drink just by collecting tolls."
Liu Yangzheng pointed to the location of Egypt on the map, drew a line on it and said.
This trip to the West Island made him realize the importance of Egypt, and he was able to make a lot of money just by relying on transit trade.
To be honest, he really wanted to suggest that King Ning send troops to attack Egypt and turn Egypt into a colony of Ning. As long as he occupied Egypt and relied on its geographical advantages, he could live a good life even if he did nothing.
If another canal is built to connect the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, then one can really just sit back and collect money.
"Build a canal to connect the Mediterranean and the Red Sea?"
When Lei Ding heard this, he couldn't help but slightly widen his eyes. He was deeply shocked by Liu Yangzheng's unconstrained idea. Then he looked at the map and it seemed that it was really a good idea.
