By the time we arrived at Nanhai Mansion, it was already nine days later.
After entering the South China Sea and driving along the coastline for half a day, I saw a huge sailing ship in the distance, which was indeed much larger than Daqian's ship.
Seeing his ship, Benjamin looked excited: "Your Royal Highness, that is our ship!"
Li Changfeng nodded: "Yes, I saw it."
Not only did he see the ship, but he also saw a group of troops stationed on the shore. It was obvious that Emperor Qianwu had conveyed the imperial edict early and had done a good job of protection.
"It seems that my father attaches great importance to sweet potatoes."
Looking at the stationed troops and his intact cargo ship, Benjamin looked thoughtful.
Soon, the group of people arrived near Benjamin's merchant ship.
Because Daqian's boat had a very shallow draft, he moved directly to it and Li Changfeng boarded the boat smoothly.
As soon as he got on board, Benjamin shouted excitedly at the sailors on the ship.
"Everyone, please come here. This is the Prince of Daqian. Come quickly and salute. Who dares to neglect me and throw him into the sea to feed the fish?"
The sailors were a little surprised. They did not expect that His Highness the Prince would come in person, so they quickly ran over and saluted respectfully.
"Oh, your distinguished prince, it is our honor to meet you!"
Li Changfeng smiled and waved his hand, signaling them to get up.
Benjamin shouted to First Officer John: "Hurry up and get our gold, silver and jewelry, and let His Royal Highness see our purchasing power!"
John nodded: "Okay, I'll be ready soon!"
With that said, John called on the sailors to take action.
Benjamin asked someone to bring a chair and asked Li Changfeng to sit down.
"Oh, Your Royal Highness, you will see our ability to pay right away. I think this will be a very pleasant cooperation."
Li Changfeng smiled slightly: "I have no doubt about this."
At this moment, a ship rowed over quickly, and standing on it was a burly general wearing heavy armor and holding a long sword, with a beard on his face.
"His Royal Highness the Ninth Prince is on board?!"
Li Changfeng stood up, took a look, nodded and said, "That's right!"
The general saluted on the boat: "The last general, Zhou Jianbo, pays homage to His Majesty, and is here to obey His Majesty's orders!"
"Return to camp and stay where you are."
"The general will obey your orders!"
Zhou Jianbo did not board the ship, but bowed respectfully and led the people back to the shore.
Benjamin had been secretly observing the general, and when he saw that his expression was respectful and not fake, his eyes couldn't help but light up, and he secretly marveled at Li Changfeng's authority.
After a while, nine large boxes with big bellies of adult cows and covered with iron sheets were salvaged. Benjamin strode forward and took the keys from the first mate's hand and opened them one by one.
"Your Royal Highness, please take a look!"
Benjamin made a gesture of invitation, and Li Changfeng stood up and went to check, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
Each huge box was filled with gold nuggets, gold and silver vessels and various gemstones, all of the finest quality.
He even saw a few walnut-sized diamonds, which were refracted by the sun and exuded an alluring light.
Li Changfeng smiled.
"Yes, I am very confident about your ability to pay."
He secretly made up his mind that after returning to Beijing this time, he must persuade Emperor Qianwu to end the no-sea policy and engage in transnational trade.
There are so many good things in Daqian, there is no reason to leave them alone and not make money.
Benjamin laughed loudly: "Your Highness, don't worry, I will be your best partner!"
With that said, Benjamin pointed to one of the boxes and shouted to the sailor: "Take this box to His Royal Highness's ship."
Li Changfeng was a little surprised: "What does this mean?"
Benjamin bowed to Li Changfeng, with a grateful look on his face: "Dear Your Highness, if it weren't for you, we might all have froze to death in the capital. You gave us gold and arranged the best accommodation for us. Serving the best food is our reward for you!”
Li Changfeng chuckled: "Why are you so embarrassed?"
Benjamin said seriously: "This is as it should be, we hope to gain your friendship!"
As an adventurer who walks on the edge of life and death and dares to cross the ocean for cross-border trade, Benjamin knows how to assess the situation and is extremely smart.
Li Changfeng saved him, but that was not enough to make him repay him with so much property.
The underlying reason is that he saw in the capital that Li Changfeng's property was astonishing, and now he saw from thousands of miles away that the garrison at that time was so respectful to him.
This made him realize Li Changfeng's huge influence in Daqian.
He needs a protective umbrella in Daqian.
Li Changfeng is undoubtedly the most suitable candidate.
This time he only has one cargo ship left, and he will definitely bring more next time. The amount of cargo needed will be even more staggering, and it will need to dock at the dock for a long time.
It won't work without someone with a strong background to provide protection.
Another point is that he hopes to obtain the exclusive trading rights of Daqian, because no one knows whether other caravans will come to Daqian.
However, it's not time to mention this yet, let's establish a friendship first and mention it next time we come.
Li Changfeng probably guessed Benjamin's intention and said with a gentle smile: "Of course, you have gained the friendship of this prince."
Then he reciprocated the favor and ordered to the people behind him: "Bring over ten barrels of beer, as well as meat and vegetables, so that my prince's friends can eat enough."
These supplies were not worth much money, and Li Changfeng didn't care.
Benjamin was overjoyed and kept saying words of gratitude.
Soon, the supplies were moved over, and the sailors cheered again.
Li Changfeng was thinking about the sweet potatoes and asked Benjamin to move them out.
Seeing that the sweet potatoes were not frozen or soaked by sea water, Li Changfeng was in a good mood and sent someone to transport them back to the cabin and put them away carefully.
Then Li Changfeng said he wanted to disembark and arrange for ship repairs. With Benjamin's gratitude, he left the cargo ship and landed.
General Zhou Jianbo had been waiting on the shore for a long time. When he saw Li Changfeng coming ashore, he quickly came to see him again.
"General Zhou Jianbo pays homage to His Highness!"
This time, Li Changfeng personally stepped forward to help Zhou Jianbo up and said with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work, General. Please get up quickly."
As he spoke, he waved to the people behind him: "Come here, bring the wine and meat to reward the soldiers!"
Seeing Benjamin's cargo ship stranded, Li Changfeng had the idea of building a large dock and was preparing to build a fleet of his own.
He even wanted to build a shipyard to build bigger and stronger cargo ships and warships.
A local coward like Zhou Jianbo will be useful in many places in the future, and he must have a good relationship with him.
Coercion with authority is not the best. Relationships tied with interests are the most long-lasting and stable.
Li Changfeng has always been very generous in spending money in this regard.
Zhou Jianbo was overjoyed and thanked him profusely.