Zhang Yanling said in shock: "Then you asked me to guess?"
Chen Shi said: "The ship is not a merchant ship from the country of Fan, but the goods are from the country of Fan. There are three ships full of goods, with boxes stacked and neatly packed. There are also a large number of carriages and horses rushing to the dock to pick up the goods. As soon as the goods get off the ship,
Load it into a truck and drive away immediately."
Zhang Yanling said in a deep voice: "Are you sure it's overseas goods from the country of Fan? Have you seen what the goods are?"
Chen Shi said, "I didn't see that. However, I saw more than a dozen white-skinned pigs who arrived with the ship. Didn't you say that those white-skinned pigs were people from the Franji Kingdom? They followed the ship.
Come, I talked with the person who picked up the goods at the dock for a long time. Finally, I moved a few boxes and left by boat. Lord Marquis, doesn’t this mean that the goods are from the country of Folangji? "
Zhang Yanling laughed and said in a deep voice: "So that's the case, that should be right. If I keep talking, you will definitely follow this batch of goods, right?"
Chen Shi nodded and said, "That's right. We immediately followed the loading convoy, thinking that they would enter the city. Who would have thought that they did not enter the city at all, but went west along the pier outside the south gate, along the
We walked along the road along the Pearl River. We followed the table for about ten miles and arrived at a manor. The motorcade entered.
We went into the manor. There were many sentry guards next to the manor, and we were almost discovered when we approached. I originally planned to go in to find out, but when I thought about it, it was better to come back and report to the Marquis, so as not to alert the enemy. So I didn't.
Take risks. Take people back to the city gate. As soon as the city gate opens, we will come back."
Zhang Yanling nodded slowly and said: "You did a good job. You can't act rashly or alert the enemy. Brother Chen, you did a great job this time."
Chen Shiyi smiled and said, "Thank you, Lord Marquis, for your compliment. Lord Marquis, do you think these goods are imported goods from other countries?"
Zhang Yanling said in a deep voice: "Ninety percent of it is true. Being so sneaky and rushing to transport goods in the middle of the night is naturally a shameful smuggled goods. I don't want people to know that there is such a deal. I finally understand. No wonder there are not a large number of foreigners in the shops in the city.
The goods were sold, but it turned out that their goods were not transported into the city, but hidden elsewhere outside the city."
Chen Shiyi said: "It's strange, why do they do this?"
Zhang Yanling pondered for a moment and said: "I guess these smuggled foreign goods just come in from the dock and are then transported directly to the various states in the Ming Dynasty and even the capital for sale. In Guangzhou, they are not put on the market in large quantities."
Chen Shiyi frowned and said, "Could they be doing this to cover up smuggling?"
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "Exactly. If a large amount of smuggled marine goods were put on the market in Guangzhou and even in various prefectures in Guangdong, and became the source of smuggled sea goods in various parts of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court would easily know about it and arouse suspicion. They would transport foreign goods directly to
If these smuggled goods are sold in mainland state capitals, there will be no such smuggled goods in Guangzhou, which can greatly avoid the risk of discovery. You know, our Daming coastal seaport can
It’s not just Guangzhou. There are dozens of large and small seaports in Hangzhou, Quanzhou, Ningbo, Yantai, Liaodong, etc. If the imperial court wants to trace the source of smuggled goods from foreign countries, it will have to search all the places. How much energy, manpower and time will it take?
Time may not always reveal the reason. Only a small amount of overseas goods appear in Guangzhou, so it will not arouse special suspicion. This is a cover-up."
Chen Shiyi suddenly understood, smacked his lips and cursed: "Damn, what a scheming plan. Turns out it was just trying to cover up the truth."
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "That's right. It's just a plan to cover up the truth. It seems that they have already become extremely proficient in this smuggling business. Based on what you saw last night, I guess they are a smuggler.
boat going to sea
The admiral transported the goods to the port and traded them directly at the dock. The group of people from the Franji Kingdom you saw came with the ship to hand over the goods and get the money. Didn't you say that they carried a few big boxes and took them away?
?It’s probably all gold and silver inside.”
Chen Shi thought for a moment and nodded: "That's right. No wonder those white-skinned pigs smiled happily, opened the box and took a look. Damn it, it turned out that they paid with one hand and delivered the goods with the other."
Zhang Yanling sighed: "These guys are really hateful. It's just smuggling, but they pay directly with gold and silver. If they exchange goods such as silk, ceramics and tea leaves of the Ming Dynasty, at least they can promote the production of the Ming Dynasty. With gold
Money is used to buy smuggled goods. Apart from making money for themselves, it does no good to our Ming Dynasty. The gold and silver of our Ming Dynasty are constantly flowing out, which is really an abominable silverfish."
Chen Shiyi said in a deep voice: "Master Hou, what should we do next?"
Zhang Yanling said: "Since you have found the place where their goods are stored, we should go and investigate. Find out who is cooperating with the Ban people to smuggle. This vine has been touched, and we have to find the melon on the vine.
.”
Chen Shi nodded and said, "Okay. I think so too. Without further ado, I'll go wash my face and have something to eat, and we'll set off immediately."
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "You're not busy at all. You guys didn't sleep all night, so you should take a good bath, eat something and sleep. There is no need to rush into this matter. Let's do it slowly. We have found the nest.
Are you still worried that they will run away? Let’s go there again in the afternoon.”
Chen Shi nodded in agreement, got up and left to eat and rest.
After Zhang Yanling washed up, he wandered out with two personal guards. He wanted to see if there was any movement in the city today. Whether what happened in Haiyun Tower yesterday had already spread in the city, so as to judge himself.
Is there any risk of someone else’s identity being exposed?
As a result, what surprised Zhang Yanling was that yesterday's incident did not spread in the city. Zhang Yanling went to several teahouses to drink tea and eat, and her ears were perked up to catch the news in this regard, but she did not hear anyone talking about it.
This made Zhang Yanling feel very strange, which was inconsistent with his previous judgment. He thought that there was a high probability that this matter would spread throughout the city quickly. But it turned out to be silent.
How did Zhang Yanling know that after he left yesterday, two French sailors, Figo and Oliveira, turned around and threatened everyone in Haiyun Tower, intimidating them not to tell anyone about what happened today. If they dared to tell the truth, they would be punished.
Come to burn buildings and kill people.
Naturally, the two sailors were just threats with fierce looks and a soft heart. In fact, they had no confidence that they could suppress the people in Haiyun Tower. However, for the people in Haiyun Tower, this was a real threat. The red-haired ghost was not to be messed with.
, they have the protection of the government, and they have done a lot of outrageous things in the city. If Haiyun Tower does not want to cause trouble, it is natural for the people above and below to keep their mouths shut.
So after Figo and Oliveira left, the boss immediately called everyone to lecture and told everyone to keep their mouths shut, otherwise everyone would be harmed. Although everyone was happy that the two red-haired ghosts were punished,
But I also understand that they are still not easy to mess with. It is better to do less than to do more, and it is better to talk less.
Maybe in the end this matter cannot be kept secret, but in recent days everyone has been able to hold it in. Because of this, it has not spread on the street.
As for Figo and Oliveira, they were so humiliated that they naturally pinched their noses and remained silent. They left Guangzhou directly and went back to Tuen Mun Island that day. I am afraid they will never tell anyone about this matter in their lives.
mentioned.
Zhang Yanling felt relieved after not hearing any news about this. However, in a teahouse, he heard another news that surprised him.
"Have you heard? Another young man disappeared from Dongcheng Dustpan Street last night. He was fine in the evening. He went out at night and never came back."
"Ah? Is there such a thing? And you can't see people alive or dead or corpses?"
"Isn't that true? I'm afraid that the Dragon King appears again. The Dragon King is angry. These unscrupulous descendants destroyed his Dragon King Temple, so they punished us."
"That's right. The Dragon King Temple and the Mazu Temple on Tuen Mun Island were all destroyed. What kind of church was built to worship the evil gods of other countries? Can the Dragon King not be angry? Can the Mazu Queen not be angry? What's going to happen if this goes on?"
"Hey. But doesn't the Dragon King know that the Dragon King Temple was not burned by the common people in Guangzhou? It was those red-haired ghosts who did it. If you want to catch them, you have to catch the red-haired ghosts. How can you catch us people from the Ming Dynasty?"
"Hey, isn't it the fault of the government for not stopping us, or the local people for not stopping us? Lord Dragon, Mother Mazu protects us locals. When outsiders come to harm others, we receive favors but do not stop them, leaving those red-haired people alone.
If a ghost comes here, don't we have to be punished first? Besides,
Those red-haired ghosts believe in their gods and have taken over the land of the Dragon King Temple and the Mazu Temple to build their temples. This is even more offensive. Can you not be angry? How can it go on like this? Just let the government ignore it. I heard...listen
He said... he even got along with the red-haired ghosts, and I heard that the government also..."
"Shh, don't say it. Please don't say these things. I still want to live for a few more years. If you say it again, I have to leave."
"..."
Zhang Yanling listened intermittently to what the two old men were saying in the corner while drinking tea and snacks. Although it was local slang, Zhang Yanling had some basic knowledge of the Cantonese language. Even though the Lingnan dialect at this time is very different from that of later generations,
I can still distinguish four to five points if I carefully distinguish them, and understand the content of their conversation.
Hearing the news that someone was missing again, Zhang Yanling's heart tightened. Such a thing happened again in the city last night. This is simply unbelievable.
Zhang Yanling wanted to talk to these two old men, but as soon as he approached them, the two old men, perhaps feeling guilty or afraid, immediately stood up and left. Zhang Yanling followed a few steps, and the older man ran quickly.
, almost fell to the ground out of breath.
Zhang Yanling had no choice but to stop. Even if he asked, he might not be able to make a name for himself. Don't frighten the old man, and he would be doing something wrong if he fell out of control. The most important thing now is to explore the manor where the goods arrived last night.
Find out whose property the manor belongs to, and further verify whether the goods are smuggled foreign goods. Let's put this matter aside for now, and look for opportunities to find out more later.
After lunch, Zhang Yanling and Chen Shiyi were ready to set off.
In order to attract as little attention as possible, the two of them did not bring any personal guards. They found a car dealer in the city and rented a mule cart. Chen Shiyi acted as the driver and drove Zhang Yanling out of Nannan.