On the streets of Mogadishu, Du Min'en, who had been here for two days, was wandering around very casually. This was his usual habit.
Every time you go to a place, you must first establish a good relationship with the local government. Basically, you can get it done by sending a set of glass products. You don’t need to worry too much, and there are very few people who are so greedy that they want to eat Du Mingen’s entire fleet.
people.
Of course, when I was in Tianzhu, I still met such a greedy local snake, who bluntly wanted half of Du Mingen's ship and cargo. As a result, Du Mingen naturally told him why the flowers are red.
The Miyun cannon on the ship was not made of clay. After a heavy bombardment, the other party surrendered honestly and paid Du Mingen a sum of gold as compensation.
After establishing a good relationship with the local government, I usually try my best to learn about the surrounding information from the local government, such as what specialties are available, what minerals are available, what powerful countries are around, what things are rich here, etc.
This information is very important, as it is related to future route trade issues.
Du Mingen came out to open routes not to do good deeds, but to prepare for subsequent overseas trade. In the final analysis, it was all about money, because only money can allow businessmen to travel thousands of miles on the sea. In addition, maybe
There are only the gods here who talk about it.
After getting some information from the government, Du Mingen would go and have a look around, shop around, and learn about it himself. However, this kind of understanding was often limited to local products.
"As expected of a place rich in frankincense and myrrh, the frankincense and myrrh here are of top quality and the price is extremely cheap!"
Du Mingen walked around casually, and the two things he saw the most were frankincense and myrrh, which are specialties here.
These two things are also a type of traditional Chinese medicine. They were first introduced to the land of China by the Tianzhu people during the Three Kingdoms period. They are extremely valuable traditional Chinese medicines.
Frankincense is a resin secreted by the olive plant Frankincense tree. It has many functions. It has the functions of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, reducing swelling and relieving pain. It also has a good effect on women's irregular menstruation and amenorrhea. In addition, it can also be used to treat rheumatic pain.
Said it has many uses.
It is an extremely precious Chinese medicinal material in the Ming Dynasty. Because only a small amount was introduced from the Western Regions, Nanyang and other places, the price is extremely expensive, and the price is comparable to gold.
Myrrh is also a resin secreted by the olive plant Divina. Its main function is to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis. It also has the effects of relieving pain, reducing swelling and promoting muscle growth.
Similar to frankincense, myrrh is also an extremely valuable Chinese medicinal material in the Ming Dynasty, and its price is very expensive.
"Yes, let's take a boatload of frankincense and myrrh and distribute them when we go back!"
Du Mingen was surrounded by followers who nodded and said.
The advantage of going overseas is that you can gain more knowledge here. Many things that are common overseas are so expensive in Ming Dynasty that they are worth gold.
When they were in Myanmar, they saw a lot of jade and jade. There are so many jade and jade in Myanmar, and even some bad jade and jade are used to pave roads, and the price is very cheap.
In Ceylon, gems are produced here. There are many kinds of gems. The quality is very good and the price is very cheap. A few glass beads can be exchanged for a bunch of gems.
Now when we come to Mogadishu, where the bones are tied, there is a lot of frankincense and myrrh here, and the value is very cheap. When these things are shipped back to the Ming Dynasty, they are almost as good as gold.
"I heard that after returning to Ming Dynasty this time, you plan to go overseas to do business on your own?"
Du Mingen looked at Pang Rulong and asked with a smile.
"Hmm~"
"Only after going to the sea did I realize that making money is so simple. It is nothing more than selling silk, porcelain, glass products and sugar from our Ming Dynasty overseas, and then selling overseas spices, jade, gems, emeralds, corals, and jewelry.
, agarwood, etc. were sold back to our Ming Dynasty."
"A round trip and a boat can easily earn hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, and you won't have to worry about money for the rest of your life."
"The funny thing is that we used to dig food in the ground, facing the loess all year round. We didn't even have enough to eat. If it hadn't been for Mr. Liu, we might have starved to death."
Pang Rulong couldn't help but sigh.
Like Tian Erniu, Zhao Houhou and others, he was born in poverty. Because he went to the capital during the winter, he was recruited into Xishan Coal Industry to make briquettes. Later, because he was willing to study hard, he entered the Maritime Academy to study, so his life trajectory changed so dramatically.
The change.
"It's good to have ideas. If you are short of money or need help or something, just ask, we are all brothers working in the sea, and we can make money together!"
Du Mingen smiled, nodded, patted his shoulder and said.
Affected by Liu Jin, he is very supportive of his brothers who want to pursue a solo career.
The same is true for Liu Jin. The First Bank of the Ming Dynasty even launched a special loan project to provide loans to these crew members to buy ships and go overseas.
"Thank you, Mr. Hou~"
When Pang Rulong heard this, he immediately thanked him. It is not easy to go overseas. The investment is huge. With Du Mingen's support, it will be much easier.
"Guests from the East~"
"Can you come and take a look at my goods and keep them to your satisfaction~"
Du Mingen was walking around casually, and everyone around him was looking at Du Mingen and his party, full of curiosity about the Ming people from the far east.
Some bold businessmen will even take the initiative to come forward to talk and sell their goods.
No, a businessman wearing a white robe and slightly dark skin came forward to talk with a smile on his face. His name was Faisal, his mother was a local Kunlun slave, and his father was an Arab from China.
"Yeah~"
Du Mingen smiled and said, it was okay anyway, so he followed him to an open and open place. The place was full of people, lively and noisy.
"My respected guest, I, Faisal, am also a very powerful businessman in Mogadishu. As long as you can tell me anything, I can get it for you."
As Faisal walked, he kept bragging about his great strength.
Du Mingen smiled at this. From Tianzhu to the west, the people in this area are very good at bragging. If you really believe them in everything, your crotch will be deceived.
However, this Feisal did have some strength. He quickly led Du Mingen and others to a place. After arriving here, he said to Du Mingen very proudly: "My distinguished guests, these are my products."
"Look, this is ivory from the prairie~"
Faisal picked up a big tusk and said very proudly.
"What a big ivory~"
When Du Mingen saw it, he couldn't help being slightly stunned. He had seen a lot of ivory, and there were a lot of them in Nanyang, but compared with the ivory here, the ivory in Nanyang seemed to be much smaller.
"This is the lion I bought from the Maasai people~"
Faisal smiled, then pointed to a cage next to him and said very proudly: "The lion is the king of the grassland. If the guest takes it back to the far east, it will definitely be very valuable."
Then he pointed to an iron cage next to him, where a male lion was sleeping, and then he knocked hard on the iron cage to wake up the male lion inside.
"Ouch~"
The lion seemed very unhappy and roared loudly, making Du Mingen, Pang Rulong and others suddenly change their expressions slightly.
"Is this the lion?"
"The King of Beasts?"
Du Mingen's eyes were shining as he came to the cage and looked carefully.
The land of China does not produce lions, but during the Tang Dynasty, food merchants paid tribute to lions, so stories about lions were also spread in China, and stone lions can be seen in many places.
After all, the stone lions are not as powerful as the live lions you see with your own eyes. The male lion is huge, the mane on its neck is very thick, and its bloody mouth is wide enough to bite off a person's head easily.
"Tsk, tsk, this is the lion. Seeing it is better than hearing it a hundred times~"
Du Mingen couldn't help but laugh after reading it.
"I want your ivory, but this lion is too far away for us to go back to. It will definitely die if we take it back."
Du Min'en looked at Feisal and said.
"Dear guest, look at these things again. This is diamond, the hardest thing in the world!"
When Faisal saw that Du Mingen was willing to buy his ivory, he immediately smiled even more happily. Then he took out a cloth bag from his arms and took out a few sparkling diamonds.
Diamonds are also commonly known as diamonds in later generations, and they are also abundant in Africa.
"Diamond?"
Du Mingen picked up one and looked at it carefully.
"Is this diamond very small?"
"They are not as big as the gems of Ceylon."
"What good can this do?"
Du Mingen looked at the diamond, which was only the size of a soybean, and couldn't help but shake his head and said.
This thing looks shiny, but its size is limited and it doesn't seem to be of much use.
"No, no, it's very useful. It's very hard. It's the hardest thing in the world. It can be used to cut things."
When Feisal heard this, he immediately started explaining again and again.
"Okay, take some back with you~"
After listening to his explanation, Du Mingen pondered for a while and decided to buy some back. It didn't take up much space anyway, so it might actually be useful.
"Distinguished guest, look at these slaves. These slaves are all strong and strong slaves. Buy some to help farm the land and work very well."
Faisal successfully sold ivory and diamonds, and then quickly pointed to the dark Kunlun slaves behind him and said, these Kunlun slaves were all tied up with ropes, basically without any clothes on their bodies, and they were just looking naked.
come out.
"Kunlun slave?"
Du Mingen had actually noticed these Kunlun slaves for a long time. Now when he heard Feisal's words and took a look at them, he couldn't help but be stunned. The slave trade here was so bare-bones, there was not even a fig leaf.