It cannot be said that there were no women leading the way in the Ming Dynasty, but most of them were brothels and prostitutes.
This was really the first time Jiang Wei had heard of a caravan being headed by a woman.
Han Du's eyes were blurry and he said thoughtfully: "Besides, this woman's identity seems a little unusual."
Jiang Wei recalled that this woman was indeed not as submissive as a woman should be. Instead, she had the aura of a superior. He guessed: "Maybe, she is an important figure in the Hosokawa clan."
"Maybe." Han Du didn't go into details. After all, it was the first time he met this woman. He knew very little about her, so there was no point in guessing.
Afterwards, Jiang Wei turned the topic to business. "Sir, what should students do next?"
Mr. Jian did not speak, but looked at him lightly. Jiang Wei said what he was thinking, "The student thinks this way. Since you need to sell a large amount of grain to the Japanese country, you can just use the Hosokawa family to sell the grain there."
Han Du nodded lightly and said with a smile: "Of course we have to use the Hosokawa family to sell the grain, but we can't let them get it too easily. If they get it too easily, they will wonder if there is a fraud here. You Say so?"
Jiang Wei lowered his eyes and nodded subconsciously. After all, a smart person like him would never believe that pie will fall from the sky. In his eyes, the sky will only rain and hail. One of them will make people soaked in water and make them miserable; the other will smash people. The nose was bruised, the face was swollen, and the pain was heartbreaking.
Hosokawa and the woman were not fools. He believed that they had the same thoughts as him.
"What do you mean, sir, let's raise the price a little more?"
Raising the price is the most direct and easiest way to make Hosokawa no longer suspicious. Sometimes people are so strange. If a large amount of grain was sold to the Hosokawa family at a low price, it would most likely arouse their suspicion. But if they raise the price and pretend to be unwilling to sell, then the Hosokawa family will think that they have made a lot of money. There is no doubt that there is anything weird in this.
Han Du shook his head slightly and said with a smile: "If we can sell grain to the Hosokawa family at double the price, we will already make a huge profit. If we raise the price any further, it will only make the Hosokawa family shrink back and buy It’s not much food. You know, the food we want Hosokawa to buy this time is worth millions of dan.”
Jiang Wei nodded secretly, and suddenly felt that what he thought was a bit simple. He looked up at his husband and asked, "Then what should we do so that we can sell these grains to the Hosokawa family without arousing their suspicion?"
Han Du stretched out a finger and said one word, "Drag!"
"Drag?" Jiang Wei's eyes lit up.
Han Du smiled and nodded, "The one who is anxious to buy food now is the Hosokawa family. As long as we delay it for a few days and arouse their anxiety, then there will be no problem."
"What a great idea. Sir, you really have a high-level view on the problem and hit the nail on the head." Jiang Wei quietly complimented the gentleman.
"You don't have to say such lies in front of me. I don't know you yet?" Han Du sneered and stared at Jiang Wei with interest.
Jiang Wei suddenly smiled awkwardly. He had been in the officialdom for many years, and he had long developed the instinct to talk to people when he saw them. It was precisely because of his glib temperament that he chose to pursue an official career.
...
The next day, Hosokawa Noriyuki came to see Jiang Wei early in the morning, but was stopped by the guards guarding the gate.
"Standing, what are you doing?"
Hosokawa Noriyuki was stunned for a moment, and then said with a smile: "This military master, I have made an appointment with the Governor-General, and the Governor-General wants to come down. Please be accommodating."
It's okay if Hosokawa Mochiyuki didn't say so. When he said this, the guards guarding the gate became even more confused, and their suspicious eyes kept looking back and forth on him.
He asked tentatively: "Who are you, the Governor-General will meet you?"
"I'm..." Hosokawa Noriyuki was about to speak, but he suddenly realized something in his heart, so he hurriedly changed his words and said, "I'm a businessman."
The palace soldier sneered and said disdainfully: "There are not even a hundred but eighty merchants who come to the Governor's Mansion every day to see the Governor. If you want to see the Governor, just go over there and line up obediently."
Hosokawa Noriyuki followed the line of sight of the fu soldiers and saw dozens of Ming Dynasty merchants in brocade robes standing opposite, waiting politely. The reason why these people are queuing up here is because they all want to see the governor and try to see if they can find some opportunities to make a fortune.
Of course Hosokawa Mokiyuki refused to queue. How long would it take for so many people to queue?
"General, please be accommodating. I am indeed here at the invitation of the Governor." As he said that, Hosokawa Mochiue took out a piece of silver cake from his arms and quietly placed it in the hands of the soldiers.
As soon as the silver came in, the soldiers took a quick look and saw that the silver was dazzling like snowflakes, and they knew it was a good thing. I weighed it casually and found that it was at least twenty taels. With a flick of his wrist, the silver in Fu Bing's hand disappeared instantly.
Seeing that the other party accepted it, Hosokawa Noriyuki immediately felt relieved and bowed again and begged: "General, please be accommodating."
Seeing that the other party was so generous, Fu Bing's attitude towards Hosokawa became a little better. Said: "For the sake of your knowledge, I will tell you the truth. The Governor is not in the house at all. He went out early this morning and has not come back yet. Even if I want to inform you, It has no effect.”
"This, this..." Noriyuki Hosokawa was dumbfounded when he heard Fu Bing's words.
He reluctantly glanced at the empty palms of the soldiers and asked unwillingly: "Then, may I ask when the Governor will come back?"
The soldier shrugged his shoulders and said, "How do I know this? How can I, a small soldier, know the whereabouts of the Governor?"
You don’t know anything, how dare you take money from me? Hosokawa Mochizuki's heart was bleeding. He had spent so much money just to hear the news. This was a big loss.
The fu soldiers ignored the ugly-looking Hosokawa Mochiyuki, politely asked him aside, and then ignored him.
Hosokawa Mokiyuki stared at the door of the Governor's Mansion with an ugly expression. Before he said anything, a person behind him said in Japanese: "Master Shaosuke, these Mingren are really arrogant. They dare to despise you so much. If it hadn't been for your order, , I will kill him now."
Hosokawa Mokiyuki turned around, glared at the speaker fiercely, and cursed in Japanese: "Shut up, you pig. We are here to bring back food for His Majesty the Emperor, and other people's things are not important. , you know? Also, don’t call me Mr. Shaojie outside in the future, even if you are talking about us, do you understand? "
"Yes, I understand." The man immediately lowered his head and admitted his mistake, but his face was still unconvinced, "But what the Ming man did was really too much. He actually knew that the governor was not here, and deliberately accepted your money."
Hosokawa Mokiyuki immediately laughed when he heard this, shook his head and retorted: "No, you are wrong. It is precisely because he is willing to take money that this is our opportunity."
"Master Gaoming, what should we do now? Should we just wait here?"
Hosokawa Noriyuki shook his head slightly and said, "No, since the governor is not here, let's go back and wait until tomorrow."
...
Just when Hosokawa Mochizuki asked to see Jiang Wei, Han Du was walking alone on the port streets. The port is not big and there are only two streets. The two streets are not parallel or intersecting, but are two lines extending from the port and pointing straight to the land. The Governor's Palace is in the middle of these two streets.
The shops on the street are very simple, and the most common ones are inns and warehouses. The inns are occupied and the warehouses are stocked. And many times the two are completely integrated. An inn is also a warehouse, with people living in the front building and inventory in the backyard.
Moreover, these inns and warehouses are almost all properties of the Governor's Mansion, and very few other businessmen would choose to open shops here.
After all, most of the people who come here are maritime traders. These maritime merchants came here to do business, not to eat, drink and have fun. Their only needs are accommodation and inventory. Apart from this, maritime merchants have almost no other needs. If they wanted to join in the fun and buy something, wouldn't it be better to go to the capital? How could they come here?
They were just two streets less than a hundred meters apart. Even though Han Du was not very fast, it didn't take him long to finish them. Feeling a slight heat on his back, Han Du looked around and saw a relatively high inn at a glance.
After walking up a dozen steps, Han Du walked in with his hands behind his back.
When the waiter at the inn saw it, he quickly stepped forward and asked sharply: "Is it objectively a hotel stay or a meal?"
Han Du took a look at this man and saw that the hooks on his hands were very rough. It seemed that they were caused by frequent pulling of ropes on ships at sea. Take another look at this person's feet. They are widely spread apart and his knees are slightly bent unnaturally. Han Du immediately understood that this man must have made a living at sea.
I don't know where Jiang Wei found such a person and put him here as a waiter.
Han Du only glanced at it and then withdrew his gaze. He snorted twice, cleared his throat and said, "What good wine and food do you have in your store?"
The waiter immediately gave Han Du a series of orders like firecrackers. The most popular dishes were all kinds of seafood, and the rest were only a few kinds of game. As for the original dishes of Goryeo, there are none here.
You don't need to ask Han Du to know what's going on. The Koreans probably can't afford the prices of the dishes in this store. Moreover, the people who come here are all merchants from the Ming Dynasty. If the store does not sell Ming Dynasty dishes, what business is there?
Han Du randomly ordered an octopus, a sea cucumber, an oyster, and a mutton. Yes, I read that right. Han Du ordered a table of dishes, but it was all meat, not even a vegetable leaf.
