After the fleet returned to the old port to rest, they did not wait for Han Du to find Zhu Biao.
Zhu Biao took the initiative to find Han Du and asked, "What happened to the three pirates you caught and the Western businessman?"
"Your Highness, you mean Hard?" Han Du was stunned for a moment, and then replied: "He has nothing, his goods were robbed, and now he is not only penniless, but also owes a lot of debt to his hometown. He has been pestering me these past few days, asking me to lend him a sum of money so that he can purchase a batch of goods from the Old Port and return to pay off his debt."
"As for the three pirates..." Han Du frowned, "The leader was a bit stubborn and refused to tell where they hid the goods even if I beat him to death. But the other two were lured by the minister. Instead, I confessed where they hid the goods.”
"Oh? Are their words credible?" Zhu Biao seemed to suddenly be interested in those pirates.
Han Du looked at Zhu Biao and nodded: "It's credible. I specially separated the two for interrogation. They confessed in the same place, so there should be no problem. And I still keep them, if they dare to tell lies , you can throw them into the sea to feed the fish at any time.”
"You're not interested in these pirate things?" Zhu Biao asked with a smile.
Han Du was stunned for a moment and immediately understood Zhu Biao's plan. After lowering his head and pondering for a while, he looked up and shook his head with a smile, "At the time, I really wasn't that interested in this."
Zhu Biao widened his eyes curiously and asked, "Oh? Why is this?"
Han Du had no choice but to explain: "Your Highness, please don't listen to Hard talking about how powerful these pirates are, but in fact they are just a group of rabble. Your Highness, you can think about it, they can only rob businessmen like Hard. Hard has only one Ship, how much cargo can he carry each time? Even if these goods are worth tens of thousands of dollars in the Western Ocean, to us, it is just that, and it is not worth our effort. Besides, the Western Ocean is thousands of miles away, and our country I’m afraid these pirate things can’t make up for the cost of one trip.”
The Ming Navy has eighty warships and forty other large ships, with a total of more than 50,000 men. With such huge strength, it would really be a joke if he traveled thousands of miles away to search for the so-called treasures of dozens of pirates.
Seeing that this reason was not enough, Zhu Biao found another reason, "But, didn't you say that we can't allow pirates to overflow in the Western Ocean? If there are too many pirates and block the shipping route, it will also be a huge loss for us. ah."
"There is no need to go to war to eliminate the pirates. I am planning to send ten warships to the west to eliminate the pirates. Your Highness has also seen the pirate ships. They are not big, and there are not many cannons. Ten warships are enough." Han Du has already seen it. He somewhat guessed Zhu Biao's plan and didn't want to go to the West, so he quickly blocked Zhu Biao's mouth with words.
Zhu Biao glanced at Han Du with a complaining look, but faced with Han Du's words, he really couldn't insist on going to the West.
He coughed twice, turned to look at Tang Ding, and asked, "What do you think?"
Tang Ding naturally understood the differences between Han Du and the prince, but in this case, no matter how close he was to Han Du, he did not dare to stand on Han Du's side.
Tang Ding's origin and identity were determined. At this time, he could only speak for Zhu Biao. Giving Han Du an apologetic look, Tang Ding nodded with a smile and said: "Your Highness, I thought that since there are many Western kingdoms, and it is also a huge world. I am afraid that many of them are people who do not know the reputation of our Ming Dynasty. If it is urgent, If we send ten warships there, I'm afraid there will be unnecessary trouble. I think that only if the entire naval fleet goes to clear out the Japanese pirates can we ensure that nothing goes wrong."
Zhu Biao looked away from Tang Ding with satisfaction, looked at Han Du, and said with a smile: "Did you hear that? Those Kingdom Yelangs are used to being arrogant, can you guarantee that they will not attack the fleet you sent? Gu Ye I think Tang Ding is right, it’s better to go with them all.”
Of course it is safe to send out all the naval forces. Fifty thousand naval forces are enough to run rampant.
However, I promised Anqing...
Han Du saw the expressions of the two people and naturally knew what Zhu Biao was thinking. He smiled bitterly and said to Zhu Biao: "Your Highness, if it were any other time, I would not object to the navy going there. But this time, I promised Anqing..."
Zhu Biao waved his hand casually, "Don't worry about this. Just go back and explain to her in person. I think Anqing won't embarrass you if Gu speaks for you."
Anqing would not make things difficult for me when you were here, and would even smile at me, but what happens after you leave? Don't you want me to face her cynicism?
"But..." Han Du still spoke unwillingly.
Zhu Biao directly waved his hand and interrupted Han Du's words, saying: "No more, it's settled. After the navy has made corrections, it can go to the West to eliminate pirates and ensure the shipping route."
Seeing that Han Du still looked reluctant, Zhu Biao's face darkened and he said, "Of course, if you really don't want to go, I won't make things difficult for you. You can just go back to Beijing."
You have already gone to the West, how can I return to Beijing? Even if I return to Beijing, I'm afraid I will be hung up and beaten by Lao Zhu! If Zhu Biao made a mistake, Han Du would die to make amends for his crime. Han Du glared at Zhu Biao complainingly, reluctantly handed over his hand and replied: "I am willing to go to the West with your highness."
"Hahaha, isn't that right~" Zhu Biao laughed happily, and even stood up and patted Han Du on the shoulder.
Now that he decided to follow Zhu Biao, Han Du no longer hesitated and started thinking about going to the West.
After pondering for a while, Han Du said to Zhu Biao: "Your Highness, since the navy is going to the West, I think we should just open up this route to the West."
Zhu Biao motioned Han Du to sit down again and asked in confusion: "Isn't the sea route ready? Didn't those Western merchants come to the old port through this sea route? We just need to clean up the pirates. .”
Han Du shook his head and said: "I have learned from Hader that the route used by these Western merchants is not mature at all. They just sailed into the sea and then sailed towards the east. As for where they sailed, it all depended on God's will. . They didn’t even have a decent supply point along the way. It can be said that the Western merchants were risking their lives.”
"And the shipping route I'm talking about is a shipping route from the capital to the old port. There are various ports along the way that allow merchant ships to dock for supplies, and there is a governor's palace to guard one side and eliminate pirates."
"Of course this is the best, but is it feasible to set up ports along the way? If there are other kingdoms' territories, then..." Zhu Biao was still a little embarrassed.
Han Du snorted and said: "Where is the territory? It's just some unclaimed land like Nanyang. Since it is an unowned land, whoever occupies it first will belong to whoever." Speechless.”
If it's possible, Han Du can have a good argument with him if he stands within the shooting range of the naval warship. Otherwise, Han Du would be too far away to hear.
"What if there is a land with an owner?" Zhu Biao asked worriedly.
Han Du said calmly: "That's easy, let's just borrow some from them."
"Borrow? How?" This was the first time Zhu Biao heard that even territory could be borrowed.
That's territory. Who can lend it to you, and who is willing to lend it to you?
"Didn't Liu Bei also borrow Jingzhou? We can borrow whatever he borrows." Han Du said lightly: "Of course, even if someone refuses to lend to us at first, I believe that when he sees the naval warship When the time comes, they will agree to borrow it without hesitation.”
"Hahaha..." Zhu Biao was immediately amused by Han Du's words and leaned back in laughter. The meaning of 'Liu Bei borrowed Jingzhou' is simply not too straightforward.
If it were the past, Zhu Biao would definitely decide that Han Du's move was suspected of bullying a small country and had the tendency to be a great country. But now, Zhu Biao doesn't think so. A Nanyang can bring countless wealth to the Ming Dynasty, and this golden waterway in the West will not be bad either.
Since Zhu Biao knew the importance of land to the people, and the people were related to the stability of the Ming Dynasty. Then Zhu Biao would naturally place the most important priority on opening up new territories. Just like Nanyang, although there are not many people coming here now, most of them are exiled criminals, Zhu Biao can already think that one day in the future, when the land within the Ming Dynasty cannot satisfy the people's survival, there will be A large number of people chose to come to Nanyang for life.
The same goes for the West. Although no people will go there yet, it is good to prepare some things in advance.
After Zhu Biao stopped laughing, Han Du suggested again: "Your Highness, since the navy is going to the Western Ocean, why not ask first to see if there are any maritime merchants willing to follow us."
"Oh? Why is this?" In Zhu Biao's opinion, this was to eliminate pirates and fight a war. What was he going to do with the merchants?
Han Du smiled and explained: "When I came to the old port, I also brought the merchants with me. The merchants would naturally become familiar with the waterway after running with the navy, and they could go there on their own."
Zhu Biao pondered for a while, then asked after a few breaths: "Well, do you think there are maritime merchants willing to take the risk and follow?"
What kind of adventure is it to follow the navy? Not to mention that there were 50,000 navymen on the side. When Han Du came to Old Port, there were only a few thousand navymen. Wasn't there a large group of maritime merchants following him?
And now, which of those bold and adventurous maritime merchants back then made overseas trade prosperous? He has already made a fortune.
"Your Highness, the Ming Dynasty's goods are priced at one price when shipped to the old port, and another price when shipped to the West." Han Du said with a smile: "As long as we promise to ensure their safety, I think there are still some enterprising maritime merchants who are willing to cooperate with us. We went together. After all, for them to follow us is not just to get a head start. Just being able to familiarize themselves with the route in advance will give them an advantage over other maritime merchants and make a lot of money. Full."
7017k
