Xiong Wu looked at Su Ze in surprise. If those words had been spoken by a maritime merchant from Fuzhou Prefecture, Xiong Wu would have thought it was unusual. People who have been making a living at sea for many years will naturally understand this approach.
If a businessman in Nanping County said it, Xiong Wu would think that this person is knowledgeable. There are also people in Nanping County who have such knowledge. He must be a smart person.
But Su Ze, who was nestled in the rundown guardhouse of Changning Guard, was able to tell the truth about this set of sea trade routes, which was enough to surprise Xiong Wu.
Su Ze sneered in his heart, Xiong Wu, an Arhat from Nanping County, actually knew so much about the southeastern Japanese pirates. His origin was indeed not simple.
There was a very famous triangular trade in the Age of Discovery, in which slave traders set out from Europe and exchanged industrial products such as salt and cloth for slaves in Africa. Then they passed through the Atlantic Ocean through the Central Sea Route and were sent to the Americas to be exchanged for sugar, tobacco, gold and silver. Return to Europe.
In Northeast Asia, there is actually a triangular trade.
This triangular trade can also be said to be the underlying cause of the Japanese rebellion in Southeast Asia.
The Francois, also known as the Portuguese, were the first to arrive in Northeast Asia. Along the way, the Portuguese occupied the "Spice Islands" in South Asia and obtained the origin of spices.
From then on, the Portuguese began to transport their own industrial products, the spices produced in the Spice Islands, to Northeast Asia and sell them to Japan and the Ming Dynasty.
After exchanging silver in Japan, silk, tea, and porcelain were purchased from the Ming Dynasty and shipped back to Europe. The profits of this route were quite huge, and all the maritime merchants along the coast of the Ming Dynasty were involved.
Xiong Wu cupped his hands and said, "My little husband is so talented, Xiong is showing off."
Su Ze continued: "Can this sea tiger get Cochin candy?"
Xiong Wu looked at Su Ze and said doubtfully: "My young husband wants to sell sugar? Although this Cochin sugar is cheap, the people of Fujian and Guangzhou still prefer Fujian and Guangzhou brown sugar. If you want to make money, you have to transport it to the north."
Xiong Wu didn't say the rest. If it was just local smuggling, Changning Wei could still get involved due to its geographical advantage.
But smuggling Cochin sugar to the north is not something that a little Chang Ningwei can do.
With the opening of trade routes and various unstable factors along the way, even local wealthy people would not rush northward to do business.
Su Ze certainly understands this truth. Today's Ming Dynasty is more like what it was before Prussia established the Customs Union. Each province and every government has local business, and it is extremely difficult for outsiders to get involved.
After entering modern times, there are still local chambers of commerce united by township parties that monopolize certain local industries.
However, Su Ze didn't want to go north to sell sugar. He just wanted to turn the black sugar syrup into white sugar and sell it.
"I'm just asking you, can I get Cochin candy with this sea tiger?"
Xiong Wu said: "This is not difficult. Cochin Sugar Folangji will bring some with the ship. Zhang Haihu has a ship guide to and from Yuegang. It is not difficult to buy sugar."
Yuegang, this name is not unfamiliar to Su Ze. This is a famous smuggling center in the southeast region!
"Funeyaki?"
Seeing that Su Ze finally had something he didn't know, Xiong Wu finally straightened up and said:
"Ships entering and exiting the Moon Harbor need to be piloted. Every year, the Moon Harbor only issues three hundred pilots. If a ship docks without a pilot, it will be expelled by the guards of the Moon Harbor. If it enters by force, it will be sunk by the guards."
"How can I get this ship's guide?"
"This is not easy. There is a boat meeting of thirteen people in Yuegang. They are composed of the largest maritime business leaders in Yuegang and the leaders of the most famous Japanese pirate gangs in the southeast region. These thirteen people meet once a year and decide on a meeting. How will I distribute these three hundred quotations?"
Su Ze was stunned. Is Yuegang still the territory of the Ming Dynasty? Has this kind of autonomous committee been created?
Xiong Wu felt relieved when he saw Su Ze like this. He continued to show off:
"This ship's bow is a rare item. One can be sold for thousands of taels of silver. The Yuegang Boat Club used the money from selling the ship's bow to train local warriors to defend Yuegang. They also purchased Folang cannons from Folangji and built them. Gun towers defend the harbor.”
"The Moon Harbor Boat Club said that no matter whether the enemy comes from the sea or land, Moon Harbor can defend it for a hundred days without falling!"
Su Ze suddenly asked: "Do you think you can still buy Folang machine guns in Yuegang?"
Xiong Wu was stunned for a moment. He looked at Su Ze doubtfully and said, "My young husband wants to buy cannons?"
Su Ze laughed and said: "Changning Guard has been invaded by Japanese pirates all year round. I heard that the power of this Western artillery is unparalleled. I also want to see it."
Xiong Wu looked at Su Ze with suspicious eyes, but did not continue to ask, but said:
"These Western barbarians are also greedy for profit. Important military weapons such as the Fo Lang machine gun are also openly sold. As long as you have money, you can buy anything in Yuegang. Even the black Kunlun slaves are sold by a lot of people. Not to mention just a cannon."
"However, the price of this Fo Lang machine gun is extremely high. Each one costs twenty taels of silver. Does Chang Ning Wei have the money to buy it?"
Twenty taels of silver, Su Ze felt distressed for a while, thinking that he had paid thirty-two taels of silver as a fine for fighting. If he had known that, he would have been more gentle during the fight!
Su Ze asked again: "Are there any guns for sale?"
"Of course there is. In addition to the local ones in Folangji, there are also those made by our Ming Dynasty. There are also merchants who can make a lot of money by transporting gunfire to the Japanese country! Japanese pirates are rampant along this road, which is really too dangerous. .”
"A bird gun plus gunpowder costs seven or eight taels of silver. The one made in the Ming Dynasty is slightly cheaper, but it is easy to explode and misfire."
A Franco machine gun costs twenty taels of silver, and a musket costs seven or eight taels of silver. Su Ze couldn't help but sigh, the arms trade is indeed robbery.
But this thing is the best-selling product in the world today!
And Su Ze was even more surprised at how quickly the Ming court followed up on technology. How quickly could a gun made by the Ming be sold?
In fact, during the Jiajing period, the imperial court had begun to pay attention to the manufacture of bird guns. In "New Book of Jixiao", Qi Jiguang ridiculed the traditional side guns and rockets for being too weak and far less accurate than bird guns. He preferred bird guns as the first firearm.
During the Wanli period, the imperial court further devolved the right to cast muskets, allowing military and political offices in various places to manufacture them on their own. The proportion of firearms installed by the Ming army was actually not low.
It's just that the firearms of this era are still weak and short-range, and are not very effective when facing cavalry charges.
In fact, in this era, firearms were inferior to cavalry. For example, in the military books written by Napoleon, the troops were divided into infantry, cavalry and musketeers.
These three arms have a rock-paper-scissors relationship, with musketeers restraining infantry in formation, infantry in formation restraining cavalry, and cavalry restraining musketeers.
How about making arms? Su Ze quickly gave up this idea, not to mention that selling arms to death was a capital crime, and it also violated his agreement with Lin Baihu.
A workshop that can make muskets requires various supporting workshops for manufacturing parts. Changning Wei definitely does not have this condition at the moment.
Forget it, let’s make sugar, make money to fill our stomachs first.
In the next few days, Su Ze spent time farming and teaching in the health center, or giving lectures to the Arhats and Saltmen who were opening up wasteland.
The imperial examination has been raised to Lv3, 45/300, the calligraphy has also been raised to Lv2, 105/200, and the Kaimeng has been raised to Lv5, 30/500.
During this period, he also went to the military camp to show his face and watched Lin Mojun train his soldiers.
It's a pity that Lin Mojun was wearing a veiled straw hat. Su Ze didn't see her face, but after seeing Chang Ning Guard's soldiers training, Su Ze felt that his military training skills were just superficial, and his experience in military skills had increased. Some have reached Level 2, 65/200.
The days passed, and it was the day when the ghost market opened at the end of the first ten days.
