The Xue family of Fuqing, whose ancestor is the grandson of Xue Rengui, has lived and multiplied in Fujian for more than a thousand years.
During the Chenghua period, the Xue family in Fuqing developed into the largest maritime merchant in Fujian!
Unfortunately, Yan Qisheng, the largest pirate in Fujian, used Yuegang in Zhangzhou as his home base at that time. Yan Qisheng's grudges with the government set off a massive sea ban, and the Xue family in Fuqing was also targeted by the court.
The ending is that the leader of the Xue family was arrested by He Qiaoxin, the deputy commissioner of Fujian Province, on charges of colluding with the Japanese and treason, and he was captured and killed.
Decades later, the Xue family rose again and owned countless ships.
Several big families in Ningbo were stalling for time, so Zhang Cong was too lazy to waste time there and went to Fuqing in person to contact the Xue family.
There is a private port in Fuqing, directly called "Xue Gang", which shows the great influence of the Xue family in the local area!
Arriving outside the Xue family's manor, Zhang Cong handed over the greeting card to the disciple and said: "Please inform me that Zhang Cong, a member of the Zhejiang Governor's Mansion, is here to see you!"
After a while, the disciple came back: "Mr. Zhang, what a coincidence, my master is not here today."
"Then I'll come back tomorrow." Zhang Cong said.
Menzi replied directly: "I'm afraid my master will not be at home these two months."
After being rejected, Zhang Cong could only leave in despair.
The person responsible for protecting Zhang Cong along the way was a Shenji camp flag officer named Mou Sheng. Mou Sheng said angrily: "Mr. Zhang, this Xue family is so rude. He has already stated that he is a member of the Governor of Zhejiang, but he dares to close the door.
I don’t see you, I simply don’t take Governor Wang seriously!”
"The Governor of Zhejiang cannot control the officials and people of Fujian," Zhang Cong looked back at the gate of Xue Mansion and said with emotion, "It seems that the water in Fujian Maritime Affairs is deeper than imagined!"
Mou Sheng asked: "Then look for someone else?"
"Don't worry, I'm going to visit an old friend." Zhang Cong said.
Although Zhang Cong failed to pass the imperial examination after eighteen years, he had many friends. Yao Rong, the right governor of Fujian Province, was his old friend - a fellow Zhejiang fellow. The relationship was not strong, but he could just talk to him.
After turning around and heading to Fuzhou, Zhang Cong handed over a greeting card and waited for half an hour before finally meeting Yao Rong.
"Zhang Cong, a late student, pays homage to Senior Yao!" Zhang Cong bowed his hands.
Yao Rong is ten years older than Zhang Cong. Yao Rong had a friendship with Zhang Cong when he was studying abroad. However, after more than 20 years, he had already forgotten about Zhang Cong, and it took him a long time to think about it after receiving the invitation.
Didn't even recall it.
After all, he is a scholar from the same hometown and he is also a civil servant. Yao Rong behaved very friendly and returned the courtesy: "Bingyong, there is no need to be polite, please take a seat!"
Zhang Cong chatted about the family affairs for a while, and when he talked about his friendship back then, Yao Rong finally had some impressions - it turned out that this person was an acquaintance of mine before I passed the Jinshi examination.
Yao Rong became a little more enthusiastic and asked: "Bingyong came to Fujian to study?"
Zhang Cong stared at Yao Rong for observation and replied: "Wansheng is now the governor-general of Zhejiang. He came to Fujian this time to find a sea ship and handle matters related to the opening of the sea."
Yao Rong's expression quickly became cold, but he did not chase them away directly. Instead, he offered advice: "With all due respect, you can't find a boat in Fuzhou. It's best to go to Zhangzhou and Quanzhou to have a look. You have to be careful, otherwise there will be dangers."
The fear of death!"
"Thank you, senior!" Zhang Cong said gratefully.
Yao Rong, an upright official, was famous all over the world.
It didn't matter whether he was true or false. He was an official in Fujian, and the governor of Zhejiang had no control over him. Yao Rong naturally had no need to offend Wang Yuan. He could even give some secret advice and help him as a favor, and he might be able to use him one day in the future.
Yao Rong smiled and said: "At the beginning of last year, I was still working as an envoy in Guizhou, and I was very familiar with the name of Governor Wang. No matter what position you hold, as long as you are an official in Guizhou, you must visit the Wang family, otherwise you will be disrespectful to the elders of Guizhou.
Disrespect. This is not because the Wang family is domineering, but because the officials and people of Guizhou respect and love the Wang family. The Wang family built bridges and paved roads in Guizhou, which benefited the whole country, and even the natives were convinced."
"That's it," Zhang Cong agreed, complimenting each other on Wang Yuan's behalf, "Senior Yao is famous all over the world, and he is also a role model for our generation."
Yao Rong was very impressed. He stroked his beard and said, "It's just a compliment from the people in the world."
Zhang Cong made some insinuations and inquired again, and finally understood that Fuzhou's maritime merchants and pirates had long been controlled by the Fuzhou Shipping Division and the Fujian Third Division!
Despite the large number of ships owned by the Xue family in Fuqing, they were actually tightly controlled by the Fuzhou Shipping Department. At least 60% of the profits from shipping must be divided between the Shipping Department and the officials of the Third Department, otherwise they would be exterminated!
Who allowed the Xue family in Fuqing to follow the tradition for thousands of years, but there were no Jinshi in the Ming Dynasty?
Decades ago, the Fujian Deputy Inspector-General took action and killed the Xue family chief, and accused him of being a traitor to the Japanese. A lot of Xue's family property was confiscated, and from then on, he was completely reduced to a wage earner for local officials.
Zhang Cong bid farewell to Yao Rong and immediately left for Quanzhou.
Quanzhou was once the most prosperous port city in Fujian, but it was very unpopular during the Ming Dynasty.
Because there was a large businessman Pu family in Quanzhou, who not only killed the Southern Song Dynasty clan in the late Song Dynasty, but also carried out an armed rebellion for ten years in the early Ming Dynasty.
By the Yongle period, Quanzhou City's Shipping Department existed in name only.
The eunuchs of Quanzhou Shipping Department appointed by Zhu Di did not go to Quanzhou to take up their posts, but directly built their residences in Fuzhou.
As a result, an extremely nonsense phenomenon emerged. Foreign merchant ships had to go through the tribute formalities in Fuzhou, then go to Quanzhou to register, and then return to Fuzhou to do business. This process lasted for nearly a hundred years before Quanzhou Shipping Department finally became Fuzhou City.
Ship Division (the Quanzhou Ship Division appears incorrectly in the previous article).
During the Zhengde period, maritime smuggling in Quanzhou was mainly carried out in Tong'an, Hui'an and Jinjiang counties. The smuggling ports were Wuyu, Pengcheng, Chongwu, Anhai and Anping.
Under the escort of flag officer Mou Sheng, Zhang Cong visited the five major private ports in Quanzhou.
With some promises, they successfully persuaded several maritime merchants and more than 40 large and small ships to secretly sail from Quanzhou to Hangzhou to contact Wang Yuan - Quanzhou had been robbed of business by Fuzhou, and it was a key target of the government. They had long been waiting for it.
It can be officially accepted.
Continuing onwards, you will reach Zhangzhou, which is a paradise for pirates.
In Zhao'an County alone, there are many smuggling ports such as Nan'ao, Zoumaxi, Meiling, Longxi, Haicang, and Yuegang. Here, it is difficult to distinguish pirates from maritime merchants. They are not a large family of gentry, but mostly merchants and thieves.
Several families often join together and go to sea together, reaching Japan in the east and Southeast Asia in the west. These people can be found everywhere.
These guys have no feelings for the government and are unwilling to provoke or submit to them.
Zhang Cong drank all his talk and finally convinced two maritime merchants to send a total of 18 ships to Hangzhou. This was to find out the market situation. If he can make a lot of money by going to Japan this year, more merchant ships will definitely follow next year.
Zhang Cong made a trip to Fujian and made outstanding achievements. He claimed to have sixty-one sea-going ships!
When Zhang Cong returned to Hangzhou, Wang Yuan personally welcomed him into the Governor's Mansion, and invited He Tang, Chang Lun, Gui E, Zhang Yue, Tang Bohu and others to accompany him to the banquet.