It is extremely convenient for ships to sail southward with the wind.
Captain Wei An stood on the bow of the ship, feeling the sea breeze, and smiled, "The trade wind has risen, raise the sails, and set sail!"
In the port of Guangzhou, a fleet dropped anchor and set sail. This fleet of six large ships was about to head to Batavia.
The leading flagship is the Canton, a sail-armed merchant ship sold to the Ming Dynasty by the Portuguese in Macau. It can carry thirty-two cannons and has a displacement of more than 500 tons. The ship is fully loaded with raw silk, silk, cotton, porcelain, tea, etc., and many more.
A businessman going there.
As the imperial court fully lifted the sea ban, in the past, Chinese people secretly went to sea to do business and even dared not return to the country. Now it has completely changed. As long as you apply for a sea-going permit from the government, get your passport and apply for a visa, you can leave the port. It is not even compulsory.
It is required to return within one year.
The cost of applying for the certificate is not high.
The only restriction is that women are not allowed to go abroad, and men under the age of 18 are not allowed to go abroad.
In addition to the Chinese businessmen on the ship, there was also a group of Dutch people who had surrendered in Taiwan before. The Dutch East India Company first picked up the company's employees, mercenaries, etc., while some slaves and low-level employees from the stronghold were left behind.
Because of the cost of evacuation, the East India Company simply sold many slaves directly to the Ming Dynasty to offset part of the compensation.
The remaining staff were gradually evacuated to Guangzhou and boarded merchant ships in batches to go south.
On this voyage, Wei An was the fleet commander. He was an official of the Guangzhou Shipping Department. This trip to Batavia was also an official trip to trade and diplomacy on behalf of the Shaotian court of the Ming Dynasty.
There are six ships in the fleet, and the Canton is the official ship. The guns and guards on it are from the Navy.
There are also official goods on board.
As for the remaining five large ships, two of them belonged to the Royal Nanyang Trading Company of the Ming Dynasty, and their cargoes all belonged to the Royal family.
The remaining three ships are the ships of maritime merchants, and the goods on board belong to many maritime merchants and cargo owners.
There are three boats, two of which are Zheng's boats.
Chen Weiru was a Huizhou merchant. He had traveled to Nanyang several times in the past, always taking the Zheng family's ship, so he was familiar with the roads. His family members, mother, brothers, wives and children were all in his hometown of Huizhou, but he was near Batavia.
In Wandan Port, he also bought three local concubines, a house and a piece of land, two locally hired servants and four maids.
She even gave birth to three daughters in Bandan.
He had not returned to China for the past three years, but only sent money home regularly. He was afraid that he would not be able to go to sea again after returning home. In the summer, he heard that the situation in Jiangnan had changed greatly, and Jiangnan was stable. Especially after the imperial court's maritime trade policy changed, he finally couldn't help but go to sea.
In May, he took a merchant ship of the Dutch East India Company to go north and purchased a lot of grain, cotton, cane sugar, and returned to China. He first arrived in Guangzhou and then entered Jiangxi via Daquling. He transported it all the way along the Gan River to the Yangtze River, and then returned to his hometown in Huizhou smoothly.
He didn't stay in his hometown for long, so he purchased a batch of Keemun black tea from his hometown, and then went to Guangzhou. When the wind picked up in November, he finally embarked on the road to Nanyang again.
Only this time, he still had his passport and visa in his arms, and although the ship he was traveling on was still the Zheng family's ship, it was the imperial merchant fleet. Not only had the freight for the goods been reduced, but the safety was also better guaranteed.
Guo Pei, the captain on the Zheng family's ship, is an old acquaintance of Chen Weiru.
They used to call Guo Pei Taipan, and merchants who went to Southeast Asia used to call those ship owners this way. However, generally speaking, Taipan was not the real ship owner. Sea-going ships were risky and profitable, but if they sank, they would lose all their money.
Therefore, businessmen are accustomed to forming partnerships. For example, ten merchants each own a ship and cross-shareholding. In this way, even if one ship sinks, as long as the other ships are safe, their profits are guaranteed.
They also tend to hire some experienced captains and give them a certain share of stock dividends. Although these captains are not the real shipowners, they have the final say in everything at sea. They are responsible for the navigation of the ship and the order and safety on the ship.
There is often an armed escort.
Guo Pei is such a big class, and he is under the name of the Zheng Group. He used to travel from Xiamen to Batavia, but this time he also went from Xiamen to Guangzhou first, and then went south together.
Guo Pei's ship has many shareholders, including Zheng Zhilong, the Duke of Ping, Zhu Chenggong, the Duke of Yanping, Yan Keying, the boy of Fuqing, and dozens of others. Guo Pei himself also owns a share, and he also has an additional share.
He was very optimistic about this voyage.
Chen Weiru also met two friends he met in Batavia, brothers Yang Ying and Yang Ke. They were both Chaoshan people and had traveled to Nanyang very early. Both brothers married women of Chinese descent in Batavia.
, and had children. This time the brothers also heard about changes in the country, so they came back to worship their ancestors and purchased a batch of tea.
They purchased Fujian Wuyi tea, and fermented black tea is more popular overseas.
The Yang Ying brothers did not have much capital, and each of them only purchased three hundred taels of Wuyi tea. This time they also brought several tribesmen with them to go to sea, and the tribesmen also purchased a batch of tea. This was their first time to go to sea, and there is no sea ban now.
So that they don't have to go to sea secretly, they all look forward to going to sea to make money.
Six boats were loaded with cargo.
The bottom of the bilge is filled with heavier porcelain, which is stable and can be used as a ballast. The top is filled with tea leaves in baskets, which can also protect the porcelain. The top is filled with silk and other goods.
Many merchants who take ships to go south mainly carry tea. Tea is becoming more and more popular overseas, with huge demand and high profits.
It is said that the British like black tea very much.
Daming tea is now exported to Guangzhou, Ningbo and other places. Black tea costs 26 taels per load, and green tea costs 24 taels per load.
Maritime merchants like Chen Weiru and others who directly purchase and export goods are different from ordinary foreign merchants. The imperial court's new regulations opened port trade and allowed foreign merchants to trade directly. However, they must sell and purchase goods through foreign trade firms.
Those commercial firms must obtain ministry licenses and business licenses granted by the imperial court.
The trading houses act as intermediaries, such as when buying tea. The trading houses are responsible for dealing with the tea house instead of directly dealing with the mainland tea merchants. The advantage of this is that it is centralized and convenient, and even if there is a problem, the tea house can be directly responsible.
Mainland tea houses sell tea to tea shops, and tea shops then ship goods to foreign merchants through trading houses. This adds a few more steps, including commissions, toll fees, box breaking fees, customs declaration fees, tariffs, etc., which add up to at least
There is 10% of tea leaves.
Teahouses have warehouses, guest houses, and their own translators at major ports to sell tea to merchants on behalf of tea merchants and provide various conveniences.
Nowadays, trading houses in major ports all have official backgrounds. They are either royal properties, government-run, or controlled by nobles and senior officials.
For example, the teahouses at various docks were actually established or controlled by these trading houses.
In this way, it is actually quite beneficial for tea exports, as it can expand the scale, especially the bargaining power, and after-sales, quality, etc. are also guaranteed.
Of course, there are also many retail traders like Chen Weiru. They all go directly to the place of origin to purchase tea. For example, Chen Weiru purchases Keemun black tea directly from his hometown in Huijia, rather than going through tea sellers, tea houses, tea shops, tea shops, and tea stores.
Waiting for one procedure after another reduces a lot of costs.
He directly purchases it himself and then pays the freight to the port. He can either find a commercial bank to declare it on his behalf, or he can declare it himself.
The tariff on tea is 10%.
A load of black tea costs 26 taels, and the tax is 26 taels.
It is actually much cheaper than purchasing at the dock for foreign businessmen. When all the steps are added up, the final cost of putting the tea on the ship and leaving the port is 26 taels, and the various commissions, tariffs, etc. add up to more than 30 taels.
Of course, as long as the tea leaves are successfully transported to the next stop, such as Batavia, they can double their profits after deducting the sea freight.
But compared to those British guys in India, this is nothing.
It is said that tea in the UK is now a favorite of the upper class. Most people cannot afford to drink it. It is as expensive as spices.
The British were even more crazy about the tariff on tea. In the Ming Dynasty, the tea exported was 26 taels per load, but in London they dared to impose a tariff of 52 taels per load, an additional tax of 200%.
Of course, from Ming Dynasty to London, you have to go through several middlemen, and the Dutch are the most famous second-hand dealers among them.
In the past, the Dutch had to buy it from the Zheng family.
Therefore, a load of Wuyi black tea had to go through dozens or twenty changes of hands from the Wuyi Mountain origin to the hands of the Zheng family, then to the hands of the Dutch, then to the hands of the British, and then to the hands of the London aristocrats, so the price was naturally high.
Black tea worth twenty-six liang per quintal may have been sold in London for more than 50 taels per quintal, and the British still levy a tax of more than 50 taels. In fact, the tariff is 100%.
When Chen Weiru heard about this before, he was very envious, but the Ming Dynasty merchants only went to places like Malacca, Banten, and Batavia, and even Ceylon and Goa rarely went.
The main profits are still in the hands of the Zheng family in Fujian, the Dutch East India Company, and the British East India Company. They only make a small amount of money.
With three hundred taels of tea, as long as it is safe, you can earn hundreds of taels or even thousands of taels of silver in Batavia. Although it is not easy to go to sea, the profit is indeed good.
Chen Weiru also discovered a business opportunity when he returned to China this time, which was to sell rice and cotton back to the country. The profits were not small. This way, he could go back and forth once a year. Although it was hard work, the profit was good.
The fleet slowly left the port.
Before departure, Wei An took everyone to worship the Dragon King and Mazu. It was indeed smooth sailing after leaving the port. Starting from Guangzhou Port, walking along the coast, we soon arrived at Leizhou Peninsula, crossed the Qiongzhou Strait, and arrived at Bailongwei Island in one day.
Wei An specifically ordered the fleet to dock at Bailongwei.
He took the navy to board the Bailongwei by boat, summoned the fishermen on the island, and erected a monument on the island to establish the Ming Dynasty's territory and clarify its sovereignty.
They also appointed village chiefs to the fishermen on the island and awarded them the Great Ming Sun and Moon Flag.
Then he continued south and arrived at the mouth of the Baiteng River in Annan a few days later. He specially summoned the local Annan people. Wei An also erected a stone tablet at the mouth of the river to commemorate the Ming Dynasty's Annan Capital Commander's Office.
One thing is engraved in stone.
After that, we continued southward along the coast, arrived at Champa City, and then arrived in Siam after seven days and nights.
After passing through the Malay Peninsula, they also erected monuments and inscriptions on the Wanli Shitang Islands in the Nansha Islands to declare their sovereignty.
Continuing southward to Zhanghai, Wei An ascended to Qitou (Natuna Islands) and Dazhiqitou (Natuna Island), where he offered sacrifices, erected monuments, raised flags, summoned the natives, conferred officials and gifts, and declared his sovereignty.
And left a team of people to build a business store here and stay and operate it for a long time.
After resting there for three days, we set sail and continued southward until we arrived at the Port of Batavia in the Sunda Strait.