After Zhu Qingyi and others set off from the Yangtze River Estuary, things went smoothly at first. Both ships were new, and the sailors on board and the masters at the helm were all newly recruited in Nanjing. They had not gone to sea for many years, and this time they went to sea.
Everyone is very excited and motivated.
As the boat headed south, the wind and sun were beautiful all the way, the sea was vast and the sky was blue, and everyone was in a good mood.
However, half a month after setting off, when we arrived at the sea south of Qiongzhou, a hurricane hit us. The wind was high and the waves were strong, and it goes without saying how terrifying the sea in the hurricane was. Everyone on the ship was terrified.
Even the sailors and masters of the ship
They were also panicked. Although they were veterans of boating, they were on the Yangtze River, at most offshore. The Ming Dynasty had banned seas for many years, and sailors who could sail across oceans were very rare. In this situation, they did not have any
Situations encountered.
Fortunately, they had done some work beforehand and knew that they had to find a place to take shelter when the hurricane hit. So when the hurricane hit, they immediately turned to find a place to take shelter.
So in order to avoid the hurricane from south to north, the two merchant ships had to turn to the southeast to find a sheltered port. There were strong winds, heavy rain, and big waves. In fact, they could no longer tell the direction in the end. Fortunately, the big ships were newly built and had strong wave resistance.
, but it did not overturn or break. A few days later, they saw land, so they hurriedly approached the land to avoid the wind and waves.
They found a port and entered. The people on the shore were also surprised. They never expected that such a luxurious ship would arrive in the wind and rain. They saw that the clothes and appearance of the people on the shore did not resemble those of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Qingyi, etc.
People knew they had arrived in an overseas country. They didn't dare to act rashly, they just parked outside the pier and didn't dare to dock.
After a day like this, a group of soldiers and horses came to the dock the next day, which made people even more nervous. Zhu Qingyi thought about it and decided to order people to raise the dragon flag of the Ming Dynasty to see how these people would react. If it is a hostile country
, then sail away immediately.
What I didn't expect was that after the dragon flag was raised, someone on the shore actually cheered and looked cheerful. Soon after, someone shouted to the boat, and they actually spoke in Ming Dynasty Mandarin. Zhu Qingyi sent the escort captain to take a small boat.
Negotiating with them. Soon after, Zhu Qingyi learned a piece of news that was unknown whether it was good or bad. They arrived at the port of Manila in Luzon.
Everyone was dumbfounded. According to the chart, Luzon was in the southeast direction, seriously deviating from the previously established route. The original route was all the way south from Qiongzhou Island, crossing the South China Sea and heading towards Manchuria. Now it’s good, for
To avoid the hurricane, the channel was diverted to the southeast, which was a thousand miles away.
But the good news is that the Luzon Kingdom has a very good relationship with the Ming Dynasty. It was a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty at that time. During the reign of Emperor Taizu, the Luzon Kingdom sent envoys to visit the Ming Dynasty several times and established a friendly alliance. It was one of the countries that the Ming Dynasty did not attack.
In the third year of Yongle's reign, Zheng He's fleet arrived in Luzon and was ordered to announce the appointment of Xu Chailao, a local wealthy man, as the governor of Luzon, taking charge of the military, political and financial power. This Xu Chailao was actually a Ming Dynasty man who came to Luzon during the Hongwu period. He
He served as the governor of Luzon for twenty years. During this period, the officials and people of the Ming Dynasty and Luzon had close contacts, and there are still a large number of Chinese people on Luzon Island.
It can only be said that they were lucky among misfortunes. They arrived in Luzon, a country that was traditionally friendly to the Ming Dynasty. If they went further south, they would be Sulu and Medan. Those island countries now believe in the Green Religion of the Western Regions, which is extremely
The country is anti-foreign. The country is governed by religious laws and is extremely strict. If Zhu Qingyi and others arrive there, they will be caught and stoned by the locals based on their dress and appearance of women.
The people on the shore were also very excited when they learned that the ship was coming from the Ming Dynasty. Soon, Han people led the prime ministers and ministers of Luzon State. Zhu Qingyi did not dare to show up and asked the old shopkeeper of the invited trading house to talk to them.
After the other party learned that the Ming Dynasty had opened the sea ban and that they were merchant ships from the Ming Dynasty doing business, they were very happy. You must know that maritime trade between them and the Ming Dynasty has not been carried out for many years.
As a result, officials from the other side asked to see the goods on Ming ships. When they saw a large amount of silk, porcelain, tea and other Ming products, the Luzon officials were overjoyed and immediately said that they had bought all these goods. These were the best-selling Ming products in their country.
Commodities were obtained through smuggling in the past and were in short supply in the country.
As a result, Zhu Qingyi, who was engaged in maritime trade for the first time, achieved great success in a muddle-headed way. In order to obtain these goods, the people of Luzon used gold as the price, and the price they gave was five times higher than the previous purchase price before going to sea.
So many.
The purchase price of the two shipments of goods in the Ming Dynasty, including transportation and shipping costs, cost 36,700 taels. After the two shipments of goods in Luzon were delivered to the local merchants, the gold received was 18,000 taels. Based on the Ming Dynasty
The domestic price of one tael of gold for 11.2 taels of silver can be converted into nearly 200,000 taels of silver. It is simply a huge profit.
Of course, after taking into account the depreciation and depreciation of personnel and ships, the money earned exceeded one hundred thousand taels. I was so happy. Who would have thought that it was a blessing in disguise that I could complete such a large amount of business in such a muddle-headed manner.
After being delayed in Luzon for more than half a month, Zhu Qingyi ordered to continue heading south. It didn't matter whether he made money or not. For Zhu Qingyi, the purpose of this trip was actually to find Zhang Yanling. So the two ships returned from the original route.
It took seven or eight days to get back on the right track.
After that, we went south all the way and experienced two minor storms. Because we were not familiar with the sea route, we could have gone south directly, but ended up going to the coast of Champa State. We found something wrong and turned back, which delayed us for another half a month.
It was supposed to take a full month to sail from the Yangtze River Estuary to Manalajia. However, Zhu Qingyi and his party took a long detour and traveled for two and a half months before arriving at the port of Manlajia.
When they arrived at the port of Manlajia, they heard from the Ming Dynasty defenders at the port that the Duke and the others had crossed the ocean west to fight on the island of Ceylon. Hearing that there was a battle going on, Zhu Qingyi and others naturally did not dare to move without permission. In addition, they did not know Ceylon at all.
The island was there. Fortunately, a few days later, he met the official ship of Zhang Zhong and others. Seeing them heading west, Zhu Qingyi judged that they must be looking for the troops of the Ming fleet, so he followed them.
During this period, Zhang Zhong sent someone to ask them about their identities. The shopkeeper gave them some gifts and explained their identities, so Zhang Zhong and others ignored them. Unexpectedly, they encountered another storm and hid on a desert island for three days.
It took half a month to arrive at the Port of Coulombo in Ceylon Island. It took three months of back and forth.
In the boat hall, Zhang Yanling listened to Zhu Qingyi softly describing her experiences along the way. It was really heartbreaking and funny. This confused and courageous woman actually found her way here in such a muddle. She suffered so much on the way. It was heartbreaking.
What is speechless is that he actually made a big deal.
"I really have nothing to say. What a long way you have spared me. Oh, this is a lot of hardships. The hurricane is certainly terrible, but how can you break into a hostile country like this? On the sea
Not all countries have good relations with me, the Ming Dynasty. I heard that there are cannibals living on the islands of the sea. It is simply too dangerous." Zhang Yanling said partly with pity, but usually with a joke and threat.
Zhu Qingyi said: "Don't say this, I'm scared when I think about it now. This sea trade is really dangerous, but the profits are indeed huge. I made a big business and made one hundred thousand taels of silver. Why don't you praise me?"
?”
Zhang Yanling laughed and said: "Not bad, awesome, awesome. The first bite is always the most delicious."
Zhu Qingyi asked: "What do you mean?"
Zhang Yanling said: "We have been banned from the Ming Dynasty for many years. All countries can only obtain our goods from the Ming Dynasty through smuggling. The route is controlled by the Folangji people, which makes it extremely difficult. Therefore, the silk, tea, porcelain and lacquerware that the countries need are waiting for our products from the Ming Dynasty."
, the shortage is extremely high, and the price must be high. After the trade routes are opened and sea trade is opened, the first batch of goods
When the goods arrive, they must be extremely popular and have the highest price. This is the first bite and the most delicious. After that, the trade will continue and the goods will come in a steady stream, and it will become normal. If you think of such high profits, you will definitely
It's impossible. If you can make a profit of 70% to 80%, that's already great. If you make a huge profit of five times, you can never think about it again."
Zhu Qingyi suddenly said: "So that's it, I thought I knew how to do business."
Zhang Yanling chuckled and said: "You are lucky. I originally wanted to do this first business by myself. My business was going to make this first trip, but you tasted it first."
Zhu Qingyi said angrily: "Isn't mine yours? Do you treat me as an outsider?"
Zhang Yanling said hurriedly: "I didn't mean that, I meant..."
Zhu Qingyi smiled and said: "That's all, I have taken advantage of your father-in-law. This hundred thousand taels of silver should be regarded as the money that your father saved for your son."
Zhang Yanling burst out laughing and said: "That's true. We actually don't distinguish between you and me. You can continue to take this first bite and earn more. On the one hand, you can pay for Chi'er's milk, and on the other hand, you can save it for yourself.
dowry."
Zhu Qingyi glanced at Zhang Yanling gracefully and said angrily: "You are just making an empty favor. It will all be yours in the future, right?"
Zhang Yanling laughed, hugged Zhu Qingyi and wanted to kiss again. Zhu Qingyi said to each other: "According to this, the goods from foreign countries must be sold at high prices in our Ming Dynasty, right? For the same reason, our overseas goods in the Ming Dynasty are also very rare and expensive.
Very.”
Zhang Yanling said: "Of course, so trade has to come back and forth. Purchase local goods and return to the Ming Dynasty. This time you will make double profits. Otherwise, if you take such a big risk to trade by sea, you will lose a few people every time you go.
Who is willing to do this for half a year?"
Zhu Qingyi smiled and said: "Fortunately, I am smart, I am really good at doing business. I bought half of the cargo in Luzon Island. They also stopped me and refused to let me buy it. Now it seems that what I did
Right."
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "It's really amazing. What did you buy?"
Zhu Qingyi proudly led Zhang Yanling to the cabin to see the cargo. When Zhang Yanling saw the cargo, Zhang Yanling almost fainted.
That is the local specialty of Bancang Luzon Island: tobacco leaves. Moreover, they are all tobacco leaves.