The young scholar in front of me was sitting in a chair with his legs crossed.
He seemed to have no formal appearance, but he was like Yue Linyuan, and his eyes were as deep as the sea. Chen Shuangxi felt that he was facing a fierce tiger.
It was obvious that he was in a den of thieves, that this was his home court, that this person was bare-handed and that he was holding a long knife, but Chen Shuangxi was still shocked by the aura.
Momentum is a very mysterious thing.
Murderous intent is even more mysterious.
An old butcher with decades of experience can scare vicious dogs into not even barking even with empty hands.
And Wang Yuan not only possesses the bloody and murderous aura, but also has the domineering aura of raising an army and destroying the country, the scholarly aura of studying hard in a cold window, and the aristocratic aura of being in a high position. When these temperaments are combined, it is the heroic spirit of taking life and death and looking down on all living beings.
The pressure instantly made Chen Shuangxi breathless!
"Qiang!"
Chen Shuangxi subconsciously drew out his sword, stood up and pointed it at Wang Yuan's forehead. After calming down, he said angrily: "You bird official, do you really think grandpa doesn't dare to kill you?"
Wang Yuan was still sitting on the chair and said with a smile: "I heard that your ancestor followed the giant bandit Yan Qisheng. When Yan Qisheng was in his heyday, Fujian and Guangdong were both his territories. How can you compare?"
Chen Shuangxi still raised his knife, not daring to cut it out or take it back, and replied: "Yan Zu was a hero of his generation, who can compare with him in begging for food at sea?"
Wang Yuan changed his posture to a better position and said: "In Fujian at that time, from the chief envoys to the capital commanders, from the gentry to the powerful, they all ignored the imperial court's maritime ban. Why was it that Yan Qisheng was conquered several times by the officers and soldiers, while other officials and gentry
You are so powerful but you don’t do anything?”
"Because you officials are colluding with the local wealthy families!" Chen Shuangxi didn't realize that he was being led around the entire process, and he answered whatever Wang Yuan asked him.
Wang Yuan laughed and said: "Yan Qisheng's strength has grown too fast and has blocked the wealthy Fujian gentry's financial path. Those officers and soldiers were recruited by the Fujian gentry on their own initiative and used the imperial court to eliminate their business rivals! And you, Chen Dana, are already in Zhejiang
The biggest pirate, if you dare to continue to grow in strength, Yan Qisheng’s fate will be waiting for you!”
Chen Shuangxi said: "I only have twelve boats, who will it interfere with?"
"Are you only satisfied with twelve boats in your life?" Wang Yuan asked, "I heard that Li Dana next door already has eight boats. In a few years, will he have more boats than you?"
Will they come to annex your fleet? Are you going to wait for death, or continue to buy ships and get bigger? When you get bigger, will you attract the government?"
Chen Shuangxi said: "I paid all the people in the Zhejiang Dusi Guard Office with money!"
Wang Yuan smiled and said: "Can you really trust the officers and soldiers of the Dusi Guard Station? You have become the source of wealth for the gentry and wealthy families. If they try their best to do whatever they want, do the officers and soldiers still dare not to take action? Yan Qisheng fled to Guangdong and fed the Guangdong officialdom.
The result? The imperial court directly issued an order to suppress the bandits within a time limit, and the military attachés who were afraid of the enemy were immediately beheaded. Those Guangdong officers and soldiers were as nimble as they were when collecting money, and they were as ruthless as they went to sea to suppress the bandits! Could it be that the money you fed was better than that of Yan Qisheng?
More?"
"I...Grandpa, I will probably run away to Japan!" Chen Shuangxi started to talk nonsense.
Wang Yuan asked: "Escape to Japan is useful, why doesn't Yan Qisheng go?"
Chen Shuangxi stared at Wang Yuan for a long time, his thoughts going back and forth. He wanted to chop the governor with a knife, or kidnap him and demand a ransom. But after thinking about it, he still didn't dare to do it, let alone kill a governor.
Even killing a governor is a serious crime and will trigger a frantic seizure by the court.
Before the Jiajing Dynasty, the relationship between pirates and the government and the army was delicate.
The military attachés of the Coastal Guard are all paid with filial piety. Under normal circumstances, they will not take the initiative to suppress bandits, and pirates will not rob coastal people.
Only when pirates became a way for the gentry to make money, and the officers and soldiers had no choice, would they be ordered to fight the pirates. If the pirates were captured by the officers and soldiers, they would break their vessels and rob them everywhere along the coast, forcing the officers and soldiers to run exhausted.
Normally, pirates can make money by doing business, while military attachés collect filial piety money while lying down, and they only act randomly when they are full and full.
During the Jiajing period, Japanese pirates were rampant precisely because the imperial court destroyed this balance. Suddenly the sea ban became stricter, and coastal residents found it difficult to make a living, so they turned to pirates to make a living. As a result, the pirate gangs had enough soldiers, and they were constantly cleared by officers and soldiers, so they simply pretended to be
The Japanese pirates burned, killed and looted.
If Wang Yuan was an official in the Jiajing Dynasty, he would never dare to go to the meeting alone. Those pirates don't care what kind of governor you are, even if the chief assistant comes, they will chop him to death!
"Let's go!" Chen Shuangxi put down the knife.
Wang Yuan turned back and said: "If I return to Hangzhou, I will definitely use Zhejiang's navy to suppress you!"
"How dare you!" Chen Shuangxi was furious and raised the knife again.
Wang Yuan smiled and said, "You can try it."
Chen Shuangxi was so angry that he threw the knife away and said depressedly: "What the hell do you want?"
Wang Yuan said: "I give you two choices. First, lead the people to the imperial court, and I will give you a military attache. Second, send me two ships, and you can use the remaining ten ships to do maritime business. The imperial court allows it.
Maritime businessman, I will issue you a sea introduction document, so that you and your subordinates can all settle in Shuangyu Island and become good citizens in a down-to-earth manner!"
"Really?" Chen Shuangxi obviously asked about the second option.
Wang Yuan said with a smile: "I risked my life to come here just to tease you? If I hadn't been temporarily short of a ship, I wouldn't have bothered to talk nonsense with you, a pirate!"
Chen Shuangxi asked: "Is the imperial court really going to contact the sea ban?"
Wang Yuan said: "Only open the sea in Hangzhou. If your ships want to do business in the future, they must go to Hangzhou to load goods, otherwise I will still treat you as a pirate and destroy you."
Chen Shuangxi asked again: "If I am a good citizen and maritime merchant, can I still have cannons?"
Wang Yuan said: "Of course it is not allowed in principle. I will issue a volunteer document for every sea sign. As long as you are at sea, you are a volunteer of the Ming Dynasty. You are allowed to have guns and cannons, but you are not allowed to bring them ashore. Also, you are not allowed to bring them ashore.
Attack merchant ships with sea lures!"
Chen Shuangxi asked again: "Is there any tax?"
Wang Yuan said: "The minimum sea tax is 50% and the maximum is 20%. Tea, raw silk, cotton, porcelain and other specialties of the Ming Dynasty are only levied 50% sea tax. Copper, iron, grain, etc. are prohibited from leaving. You can transport the goods back to Hangzhou.
, and there is also a sea tax, with a minimum of 10% and a maximum of 30%. If you can transport food back, it will be tax-free directly!"
Chen Shuangxi carefully thought about the pros and cons and found that by loading goods directly from Hangzhou, even if he had to pay taxes to the court, he would earn more than before. He immediately lost his temper, rubbed his hands and said with a smile: "Governor Wang, if this business is done, please don't coax me.
ah."
Wang Yuan said: "Believe it or not, I will only send out a hundred of the first batch of pirates for the time being. If you don't come, other pirates will naturally come. Don't regret missing this opportunity."
"Yes, I will definitely come." Chen Shuangxi had already made up his mind and headed for Hangzhou Bay in full force. When something went wrong, he ran away. Even when it came to leading the sea and loading the cargo, he only sent a few confidants to get off the ship.
Well, we have to recruit a few pirates to go with us. If the government and the army set up a scheme, it will be difficult to get out of the twelve ships trapped in Hangzhou Bay. At least thirty ships must be gathered to load the goods! Moreover, they cannot all go together.
When entering Hangzhou Bay, a few boats must be left on guard to prevent the officers and soldiers from making dumplings.
Thinking of this, Chen Shuangxi said: "Governor Wang, I can help you recruit pirates on the nearby islands."
Wang Yuan refused to accept anyone who came: "It's still the same condition. If you offer a boat, I will guide five boats. If there are not enough boats, you can pool money with several companies and give money directly according to the price of the boat."
Chen Shuangxi quickly asked: "Can I not give you the boat? I will give you the money."
"No, I am short of ships now, and you have many ships," Wang Yuan laughed softly, "Chen Da, you have to get some benefits as an official, and I also want to run ships to make money. You can donate two ships to me.
, including sailors and artillery, my ship will go to Japan with you. If you have money, everyone will make it, and I will definitely take special care of you in the future."
These words were straightforward and shameless, but they made Chen Shuangxi believe in Wang Yuan's sincerity even more.
Wang Yuan suddenly asked: "The largest maritime merchant in Zhejiang is the Xue family in Fuqing?"
Chen Shuangxi nodded and said: "The Xue family does have the most ships, and they have access to Fuzhou Nantai Shipyard. But in terms of the largest number of merchant ships, it is the Zhangzhou people. No one is the only one in Zhangzhou's maritime business. You have one ship, I have one ship, we are together.
Let's get up and go to sea together. You can go to Japan to the east, to Nanyang to the west, and they have access to the sea routes on both sides. Yan Zu (Yan Qisheng)'s old nest was located in Zhangzhou Yuegang. Anyway, whether it is the East China Sea or the South China Sea, it is
Fujian guys have the final say, who wants people to have ships? I have enough money in hand, but I have to wait to buy a ship. It would be great if Zhejiang can build sea-going ships."
Zhejiang can also build sea-going ships, but they are all offshore ships.
During the Yongle period, the number of sea-going ships built in Zhejiang was much more than that of other provinces combined! It is a pity that these ships cannot carry out ocean voyages.
Wang Yuan warned: "You try to help me recruit pirates from nearby islands. Come together before the Qiantang tide. You can do it any day, but it is best after mid-July. I have to help you find sources of goods. We must come together."
, and then we sailed to Japan together. I was afraid that Fujian maritime merchants would block the way and rob us at sea."
Chen Shuangxi smiled and said: "Don't worry, Governor Wang. Fujian maritime merchants are still very well-behaved. They go to sea to seek wealth, and they cannot provoke us pirates."
"That's not certain," Wang Yuan said worriedly, "When I open the sea in Hangzhou this time, I will definitely cut off some of the financial opportunities of Fujian maritime merchants. That's all, I'm leaving."
Chen Shuangxi personally took Wang Yuan to the dock. After Wang Yuan boarded the ship and left, a guy who looked like a master came next to him, and his position was the financial deputy of this group of pirates.
"Dah, do you really want to submit to the government?" asked the deputy financial officer.
Chen Shuangxi shook his head and said: "It's not about taking refuge with the government, it's about changing from a pirate to a good citizen, so that he can go to sea honestly in the future."
Vice Chairman Cai was surprised and said: "Can such a good thing happen? There must be fraud in it!"
Chen Shuangxi said: "I also think it's a scam, but the governor is here in person, so I have to give him some face to believe him. At that time, I will cheer up and go to Hangzhou to give it a try. When I see that the situation is not good, I will leave immediately."
."
"I think it's quite embarrassing. The government must be trying to lure us into the port!" the financial deputy thought.
"I have to take a gamble. My father is a pirate, and I don't want my son to become a pirate." Chen Shuangxi also has a pursuit. "If he can really become a good citizen, my great-grandchildren will probably be able to take the imperial examination."
When the time comes, I will pass the Jinshi examination and become a high official like this governor, wouldn’t it be beautiful!”