The two medium-sized wooden sailing ships of the Li family fleet, Chunshen and Huachang, returned to Hangzhou smoothly within a few days. After submitting the more than 20 Japanese pirate prisoners to the Ming government, they received commendations from the government.
Of course, awards and such are just a few words of verbal praise, and there is no need to even think about monetary rewards or other substantial rewards!
Because the current Ming Dynasty officials did not pay attention to the Japanese pirates at all. In addition to making money and benefits for themselves, they were more troubled by the barbarians outside the customs and the intruders from the northwest. Where do you have time to take care of the situation of barbarians, Japanese pirates and business travelers beyond the sea?
As for the Li family's fleet's unauthorized attacks on Japanese pirates and other matters, it is none of their business.
Anyway, the Ming government along the coast will not provide money, people or ships. If the Li family is willing to fight, they can just fight. If something happens, the Li family will naturally take the blame. They have no responsibility at all, and if anything happens, the Li family will take the blame. Once they get a benefit, such as catching a group of Japanese pirates or something like this, the success is the merit of their Hangzhou government office, so why not do it?
"Admiral!"
"We're back!"
In the Li family's private residence with a Suzhou garden style, Li Huamei, who had been in port for two full days, finally waited for the return of her foreign employees (followers).
"!!"
"James, Xingjiu, are you back?"
"And Yi An..."
"Everyone has worked hard. Let's sit down and have a cup of tea!"
Seeing the subordinates coming back one by one, Li Huamei couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief, and then stretched out her hand to signal everyone to sit down first.
"how?"
"How are you handling the goods you brought back and the Shipping Department?"
Yes, this is what Li Huamei cares about most.
Because they are an armed caravan, cargo is the prerequisite for the survival and development of her Li family fleet!
If the goods cannot be processed, then they will have no money, and if there is no money, no one will be willing to go to sea with the Li family to fight against Japanese pirates, go south for trade, etc., let alone want to do things like traveling across the world.
The reason why Li Huamei was determined to fight against the Japanese pirates, and why she had to do such dangerous work as privately recruiting sailors, privately forging (purchasing) artillery, purchasing weapons, etc. that carried the risk of beheading, even at the risk of taking risks, was not entirely non-existent. reason.
She was born in the Central Plains and grew up in the military in her early years. Her father was originally a captain of the Ming Dynasty's local fleet (navy), but he had been killed in a battle with Japanese pirates many years ago. It was from that time that she He formed a mortal feud with the Japanese pirates!
It was not long after her father was killed in battle and the navy was destroyed that she, dissatisfied with the inaction of the government, resolutely took over her father's responsibilities. Even though she was not recognized by the Ming government, she stubbornly organized the Li family ship. The team, personally appointed as the admiral, is responsible for fighting against Japanese pirates.
So far, she has two usable medium-sized armed merchant ships (Fuchuan type). On weekdays, they not only need to travel around the sea to do business and make money, but they also need to be always ready to fight against Japanese pirates invading the Ming Dynasty. All she relies on are the like-minded subordinates in front of her who are willing to follow her.
In addition to James Ludwig, Xingjiu Shiraki, and Yi An Dukov who have just returned, there are also adjutants Yang Xien and Charlie Huisen who have been standing by.
Yang Xi'en was her father's former comrade-in-arms, but now he is the housekeeper of the Li family and her adjutant. He has always taken good care of her, and has always taught her related skills in maritime combat and commanding his subordinates.
Of course, the above things are not important. What Li Huamei wants to know more now is, of course, the issue of selling goods, because selling goods cannot bypass the government and the Municipal Shipping Department. If they can't get it right, what will happen to their fleet in the past few months? But it’s really all work in vain.
"fine!"
"all the best!"
"Don't worry, Admiral, as I said before, bribery is very effective!"
"Now that Hangzhou has been taken care of, the goods can be sold normally in the future. I just went and made an agreement with the officials that 3% of the future transaction volume will be paid on time as a special 'tax', and The fleet only needs to ensure that it is disguised as a foreign ship every time it comes back, and the officials, including the navy, will turn a blind eye."
Seeing Li Huamei looking towards him, Yi An Dukov spoke carefully in fluent Chinese.
"A bribe?"
"It's exactly what I thought..."
"well!"
"Nowadays, the Ming Navy exists in name only and has long lost its combat effectiveness. However, the northwest and the Central Plains are experiencing famine and military disasters for years. It is said that the intruders are about to reach the Gyeonggi area. At present, the Ming Empire is suffering from internal and external troubles, but those people are not If you want to make progress, you only want to ask for bribes from us..."
"What's going on with this court?"
As he spoke, Li Huamei couldn't help but feel a little sad. She sighed and lowered her head, not knowing what to say.
She who has been exposed to the world knows that now all countries in the world are busy fighting for maritime hegemony, relying on maritime trade and plunder to develop and strengthen themselves. Ship technology, artillery, muskets and other technologies are constantly improving. On the other hand, the Ming Empire still insists on sea bans and bans. Chinese people go overseas to do business, but private individuals are still not allowed to go to sea. In addition, Japanese pirates are raging in the coastal areas, the maritime ban policy is strict, and coastal defense is increasingly weakened...
To be honest, even Li Huamei herself, but for the cover of foreigners such as Yi An, James, and Charlie, disguised her Li family fleet as foreign ships to pay tribute and trade, and also attacked the government and the Municipal Shipping Department. If she pays a heavy bribe, I'm afraid her ship won't even be able to enter the dock, right?
"Admiral..."
"Don't think too much. Now we only need to spend some money to travel unhindered. That's already good."
"Your Ming Empire is so vast, there are some things that you and I can't easily interfere with."
"Don't worry, as long as they don't interfere with our business, in a short time, with the convenience of sea trade, I can definitely develop and grow. By then, expelling the Japanese pirates will be nothing more than a trivial matter."
Seeing the sad look on Li Huamei's face, Yi'an Dukov, who has done a lot of research on the Central Plains culture, hurriedly tried to persuade her.
"Ah!"
"I know……"
Nodding, Li Huamei quickly calmed down.
After all, it doesn't matter whether she can figure it out or not. Although the Ming Dynasty once prospered for a while, after these years of natural and man-made disasters, after the eunuchs came to power, the chaos of the court, and the riots of thieves, now The chaos in the imperial court is likely to become more serious, and all she can do is adapt.
That is to say, the coastal area has not yet been poisoned by intruders. At present, those places in the northwest where intruders are rife will have been wiped out for a long time. Once the intruders wreak havoc on the coast, let alone doing business, I am afraid that there will be no business. The goods cannot be sold or bought, which is what Li Huamei least wants to see.
"That's it! It's better not to think about those things. As long as the transaction can go smoothly, let them go!"
"correct!"
"Where's that little guy Annie?"
At this time, Li Huamei thought of the little blond girl they brought back.
She had investigated and found out that the little guy seemed to be called a 'witch' by the Japanese captives? Moreover, the three leaders of the Japanese pirates were burned to death by her?
Li Huamei actually wasn't too willing to believe that kind of thing. In her opinion, that little guy was just a weird little girl with superb swordsmanship, magical marksmanship, and some tricks to deceive others.
As for where the other person came from and which country he was from, she didn't know.
Because, although she had been together for a few days and asked several questions, she could not understand everything the other party said. In Li Huamei's opinion, maybe even the other party himself could not figure it out. After all, he was just a child. Maybe , when they travel far and wide in the future, is it not certain that they will be able to find some clues from elsewhere?
When the time comes, we can just send the other person home directly. It doesn't seem to be a big deal.
"Are you asking Annie?"
"I saw her fishing for our koi in the backyard in the morning. At this hour, maybe she has already gone out to eat and drink?"
"I heard that the little guy has been going out to restaurants all over the world in the past two days. Shopkeeper Liu of Zuichunlou has sent people to tell me two or three times, telling us not to give the child too much money and not to let her go out alone. If you run around, you might get kidnapped one day!"
"I don't know where her money came from..."
As he said that, Yang Xien looked at the slightly astonished Li Huamei with suspicious eyes.
Obviously, in Yang Xien's opinion, in this huge Li family, the only one who can make the decision and give that little girl a lot of gold and silver to squander, except for Li Huamei, the eldest lady of the Li family and the admiral of the fleet, will never There will be a second person.
These days, the little one is living with his own lady, not to mention how close they are to each other. Who knows when, even the lady's dowry will be squandered?
"Uncle Yang..."
"I promise you, I didn't give Annie any money!"
"She always seems to be able to conjure up money..."
"Could it be that it's really the kind of magic that turns stone into gold?"
As he talked, Li Huamei couldn't help but have some doubts, and began to ponder and think about it randomly.
"Miss, what did you say?"
Yang Xien didn't hear clearly what Li Huamei said, and then asked quickly.
"ah!"
"No! It's nothing!"
Shaking his head, since he couldn't figure it out, Li Huamei simply stopped thinking about it and looked at James Ludwig and Xingjiu Shiraki beside him.
"James, and Xingjiu, it's not good to leave Annie running around. Can any of you find her?"
"It would be a problem if she got lost."
Shaking her head, now that today's official business has been handled and she learned that the goods have been sold and traded normally, Li Huamei doesn't plan to stay on the shore for too long. They will go to sea tomorrow or the day after tomorrow at the latest, so they should hurry up and send the little girl to the sea. It would be better to find the guy back.
"Can't throw it away!"
"Miss, are you afraid you don't know?"
"That little guy hasn't been in Hangzhou for long, and she's already familiar with all the restaurants, like Zuichun Tower, Lanting Pavilion, Gulixiang or Doulaofang. She's already eaten them all. She has found all those places that I don't even know about, so how could she get lost?"
"She will come back naturally when she is full."
Before James and Xingjiu could speak, Yang Xien on the side said with a smile.
"But……"
"It's not good for a foreign girl to go out alone. There are a lot of gangsters in the city. If she doesn't take action at that time, it will always be a problem."
Yes, considering that Annie once subdued a whole boat of Japanese pirates by herself, Li Huamei was not too worried about the safety of the little guy, but she had to think more about others, in case someone provoked the little guy. , God knows what will happen!
Now we are in the city, not at the sea!
Although the world is a bit unstable at the moment, and the Ming Empire seems to be on the verge of collapse, and it may collapse one day, but no matter what, there are always laws in the city, and even bad guys and ruffians cannot be beaten to death like at sea. After being thrown into the sea and causing trouble, they need to consider all aspects of the matter.
"Well……"
"makes sense!"
"In this case, there's no need for James and Xingjiu to go. It's hard to talk to them two foreigners, so I'll just go and find her myself."
"You don't have to wait for me for lunch. I'll have a nice meal with that little girl after I find her!"
Having said that, I feel that there are no important things to do when I stay at home now, and I think that if I go out to look for people, I can have a big meal, which is better than staying in Li's house and eating those clear soups that I have long been tired of. Yang Xi'en, who was shy and strong-willed, his eyes lit up, and with a high-five, he directly rejected Li Huamei's proposal to let James and Xingjiu go out to look for people. He took the lead and walked out of the hall with a wave of his sleeves without hesitation.
"..."
"The old man is so cunning!"
"Yes! I agree!"
"Hey! Xingjiu, I heard that those Japanese pirates are going to bring down Caishikou and behead them in public in a few days. Are you okay?"
"Huh? James, why do you ask?"
"It's okay, after all, they are your clansmen..."
"No!"
"They are pirates who plundered the coast. They deserved their death and are despised by us warriors!"
"..."
"alright!"
"Everyone, go get ready. Since Annie and Uncle Yang won't be back, let's have lunch early!"
Before James and Xingjiu could continue talking about those bloody things, Li Huamei interrupted their conversation. Then seeing that no one had anything to say, she nodded and walked towards the backyard of Li Mansion first. Everyone in the living room was left with a faint fragrance like peonies.
…
At this time, in a restaurant in Hangzhou, a little girl was banging the table hard.
ψ(｀～′)o: From the shopkeeper! Here are some more specialty dishes, and you won’t be short of money!
Σ(°△ °|||)︴: And more! Take out all your buns, steamed buns, rice, etc. and give them to the beggars. Count them on their accounts and let them take them away. They are dirty and smelly, and it will prevent Benguliang from eating. Got it!
(ˉ▽￣~)Che~~: People don’t care whether they are refugees or beggars...
?(?~?,)?: By the way, why is the spicy Dongpo Pork not ready yet?
(?╭╮?): Then let’s go to West Lake Vinegar Fish first... If you dare to fool others with fish from other places, they will burn your West Lake to dry, so that you will never be able to eat West Lake. fish! !
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(???) Asking for a monthly ticket
