Section 16: Hegemony in the Qiongzhou Strait
No one in the Li family knew about the decision to leave for Lingao except for a few close friends. Li Luoyou estimated that the court would launch troops against Lingao sooner or later, so the less people knew about it, the better. [Read the latest chapter] Apart from Quark, he only took Gu Baocheng, his personal servant Sao Ye and a few capable family members to follow him.
Although the matter was settled, it was already the end of the year. The New Year for the third year of Chongzhen came in a blink of an eye. The affairs of the new year were cumbersome and there were many social activities. All official and private matters were taken care of. In the blink of an eye, the day when the second dragon raised his head in February passed. Luo You was finally free to start arranging his trip to Lingao.
The most convenient way to go to Lingao is of course to take a boat from Gaoguang Boat Company in Guangzhou. Although this ship mainly carries cargo, it also takes passengers, and the fare is extremely cheap. However, the environment is noisy, and it is very uncomfortable to have people and goods mixed together. It would be too arrogant to use your own special boat, and the sea is not very peaceful. While he was thinking about it, Saoye reminded him that Yang Runkaitang in Foshan had business dealings with Lingao, so why not go with them?
"Master, do you still remember? Last time Mr. Lin from Foshan invited Mr. Lin to have a drink, and there was Mr. Liu from Lingao at the table. He said he was the shopkeeper of a medicine shop in Lingao. His family seems to be related to Mr. Yang of Yang Run's family. If you take this route, you’ll be safe and have people taking care of you, isn’t it the best of both worlds?”
After Jing Saoye said this, Li Luoyou also thought about it. Please bring your diary here. He has a habit of keeping a diary in detail. Of course, his diary is not about trivial life matters such as being in a bad mood today, so-and-so being a bastard, which concubine owes discipline, etc., but about business matters, what business he did that day, who he met, and what he talked about Things, any new ideas.
This habit he learned from local Portuguese merchants when he was doing business in Macau. He feels that this method makes it easier to forget things, which is why he has developed such a habit. No matter how busy you are every day, write it down before going to bed.
After looking through the diary, I found more details than what Sao Ye could tell. In this way, Runshitang Pharmacy in Lingao is a channel that can be used.
At that moment, he called Master Feng, who was in charge of him, and asked him if there was a branch of Runshitang in the local area?
"Runshitang doesn't have a branch in Guangdong," Master Feng Bo Wen remembered clearly. Anyone who had done business with Liaohai Bank and had contact with all the shops and people knew it clearly, "but they have one in Foshan." The accounting room is responsible for communicating with Yang Run and buying and selling drugs. The person in charge is called Liu Benshan."
"If you want to go to Lingao, you can ask Mr. Yang Shiyi to help you." Master Feng said, "Runshitang in Lingao and Yangrunkaitang in Foshan are two branches of the same family. The owners of the two families are direct cousins."
Although going to Lingao is a confidential matter, and the fewer people who know about it, the better, Yang Shiyi does not need to be taboo - this person is reselling Liaodong goods with him, and is connected with Lingao, so he will never dare to talk nonsense outside.
At that moment, I made up my mind to ask another boy next to me who specializes in handling confidential matters to go to Foshan to handle this matter.
Li Luoyou was going to Lingao, so Yang Shiyi certainly did not dare to neglect this "God of Wealth" and immediately contacted Liu Benshan. Within a few days, the boy came back from Foshan and said that the matter had been settled.
Because it was a matter of confidentiality, when Li Luoyou left Guangzhou, he only announced that he was going to Foshan Branch for inspection - he was a well-known big businessman in Guangzhou, and people came to visit him every day. It was impossible for him to disappear secretly for ten and a half months. After arriving in Foshan, Liu Benshan arranged to go to Lingao.
Yang Shiyi flattered the God of Wealth and chartered a two-masted fortune ship - which originally traveled to Lingao. The boss of the ship is familiar with it. He also carefully arranged the cabin and sent family members who could be used in his house to serve on the ship. Li Luoyou declined - he didn't want to make too much noise. Yang Shiyi had no choice but to send a lot of food and wine for the road.
The boat was silent all the way. It was a sunny and windy day. Li Luoyou left the cabin to take some fresh air on the deck. He saw that the sea area here was extremely narrow, with green hills, trees, cottages and farms all in sight. He felt strange and asked:
"Where is this?"
"We have arrived at the Qiongzhou Strait, where is Leigong Island." The boss of the ship looked very relaxed and pointed to a small offshore island in the sea to the left of the ship.
"This is the junction of Lingao and Chengmai. After Leigong Island, you will reach the coast of Lingao County. It will take less than two hours to reach Bobu Port."
Li Luoyou nodded. He had never been to Qiongzhou and had no idea about this big island. His property covers all over Guangdong, but he has never set foot in Qiongzhou Prefecture. This place is sparsely populated and has poor products. Except for wood, coconuts, betel nuts, red and white vines, etc., there are no large quantities of native products for export, and nothing can be sold.
What on earth do Australians rely on to make a small, desolate and remote county prosper? Li Luoyou is very interested in this.
Quark also came out of the cabin. He was dressed in Ming Dynasty clothes, except for a black square turban to cover his head. His blue eyes gave him away though.
The boss of the ship also saw foreigners on weekdays and was not surprised by this.
"God, what a beautiful scenery," Quark said. He breathed the fresh sea air a little greedily - he had been afraid to show his face in the past few days, and now he came out.
"The captain said we will reach Lingao in a few hours."
"Really?" Quark said excitedly, "I really want a big iron ship."
As they were talking, they saw a dhow sailing through the waves on the coast. Li Luoyu immediately realized: This was not a Chinese ship - it could be seen from the ship shape and sails - but rather a Western sailing ship.
"What kind of ship is this?" he instructed Quark.
"This is a triangular schooner." Quark was no less surprised than Luoyou Li. This is a typical triangular schooner, which looks exactly like the one he saw on the seaside of his hometown in England. But he has never seen this kind of ship in Asia - this kind of ship usually only sails along the offshore coast and does not engage in long-distance trade.
"This is an Australian patrol boat." The boss of the boat interjected, "From here to Lingao, it is Australian territory."
"Australians are patrolling here?" Li Luoyou was a little surprised. He was really upright. "The navy doesn't care either?"
"The navy also has to see if it has the ability to take care of it, right? The navy will ask for money. How dare you interfere in the Australians' business after seeing a few pirates running faster than rabbits?" The words of the ship boss were full of contempt for the officers and soldiers. "Australians patrol here every day, destroy pirates when they encounter them, and are willing to rescue ships when they are in trouble. This is unequivocal - since the patrol boats have been patrolled, the strait has been much peaceful - pirates dare not Enter the strait.
"This boat is so beautifully sailed," Quark shouted, "God of tack sailing," he screamed again. It turned out that the boat tilted so much that it felt like it was about to capsize.
"Australians are really first-class sailors." Quark took out a large handkerchief and wiped his sweat. "Even in my hometown, they are just like that."
"They can sail across the vast oceans in a big iron ship, so they are naturally better than a boat." Li Luoyou paid attention to the movement of the triangular ship. It was fast and flexible. If the heavy and old ships of the imperial navy did not have cannons, I'm afraid it will be difficult to even protect myself.
The patrol boat slowly approached, so close that he could already see the sailors running back and forth on the deck to lower and lower the sails. On the sloping and bumpy deck, sailors wearing blue cloth jackets can still run quickly and work. Pieces of fishing nets were hung from the mast to both sides of the deck. I don't know what they were used for. Everything on the deck was in order, and the most eye-catching thing was the long tubular object wrapped in oilcloth on the fore and aft decks. It's probably the Australian cannon.
"Hurry up and raise the flag," the captain of the ship ordered the crew. After a while a pennant fluttered on the mast. The dhow seemed satisfied, and the ship moved away on its outward side.
"What does this mean?" Li Luoyou was very interested.
"My ship is registered in Bopu," the ship boss said, "so if you hang it with a flag, you can sail directly to Lingao without inspection. If the ship is not registered, you may be asked to stop the ship and wait for inspection."
"Interesting." Li Luoyou thought to himself that Australians have very organized management. They don't behave like businessmen, but more like officials.
"What if we don't stop the ship?" Quark suddenly asked.
"What do you, the red-haired gentleman, say?" said the ship's boss. "Not stopping the ship? Not to mention that the gods can't handle the cannons above. Even if you are given a row of blunderbuss, it will be enough. Besides, you won't be asked for inspection. Money and goods, why bother with this?"
The boss of the ship added: "The Australians in Lingao are very nice. The errands are very polite and don't ask for money randomly. Recently, ships do not pump water when entering and leaving the port, and everyone doing business agrees."
"Import and export are tax-free, which is attracting businessmen to trade there." Quark was very excited. From this point of view, Australians welcome businessmen to trade. If you want to set up a business store there, you have a high chance of success.
Although Macau is good, it is the territory of Catholics after all. If he had not been protected by Li Luoyu, he would have been deported by the fanatic believers long ago. If he did not make trouble, his life would be at stake. His compatriots were killed when they were smuggling black slaves in the Americas. Quark knew exactly what would happen if the Spaniard caught him. As for being in Guangdong, I could only stay in the Li family's mansion and try not to go out. My life was quite comfortable, but it was a bit too boring.
If you can set up a warehouse in Lingao, you can do business with the mainland through this stronghold, buy silk, sugar and porcelain. After storing it in Lingao, you can then choose an opportunity to take a boat back to Surat for resale. When you have more If you have more money, you can simply buy a ship for trafficking. If you are stronger, you can negotiate with the Australians and ask them to allow the establishment of a British business office. If more British businessmen come to high trade, you can use the business office as an agent. The benefits of people's identity activities are immeasurable...
jn?qurThe businessman's heart was beating violently, as if there were countless gold flashing in front of his eyes. He was almost impatient.
Quark couldn't help but swallowed his saliva and asked, "Are many people going to Lingao to do business?"
"It wasn't much in the beginning, but it has become more and more in the past six months." The boss of the boat smoked a cigarette. "Almost everything can be sold. Besides, you can bring back a lot of good-selling Lingao goods on the return trip. You can make money every time you come back." Would anyone be willing to pay double the money?"
"I see."
"You two are also going to Lingao to do business, right?"
"How can you see it?" Li Luoyou asked.
"If you don't do business, who would go to that place?" The boat owner said with a smile, "Besides, there is this red-haired man. Red-haired people can't afford to get up early. As long as there is a place to make money, they will go through mountains and seas of fire. , the money in the frying pan must also be fished out.”
Quark Qiong laughed loudly and said that he was right. At that time, mercantilism was popular in Europe. To the Chinese, these words sounded derogatory, but to him, an Englishman, they sounded like a compliment.
Li Luoyou found it interesting and chatted with the captain of the ship for a long time. He went back to the cabin when he saw that the storm on the sea was getting stronger.
"Pack up all the things, we'll be here soon." Li Luoyou ordered Su Ye and frowned, "Where's Bao Cheng?"
"Replying to the master," Saoye said carefully, "he is still seasick today and can't get up in the cabin."
"Really delicate" Because of his seasickness, he was asked to rest in the cabin when he boarded the ship. Li Luoyou thought to himself that it had been five or six days and seasickness was not bad. This child is about to start a family, but his body is still so weak. I wonder if the only bloodline of his wife's family has the ability to rebuild the family business? Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel sad.
Of course, I am doing my best for him while I am alive, but my health is getting worse and worse. If there are any shortcomings, it will be difficult for Baocheng to find a stable position in the Li family, let alone being able to stand on his own and revive the family. Li Luoyou knew that quite a few close relatives in his clan were annoyed with him for taking such good care of and promoting a person with a foreign surname.
There are people from the tribe who are constantly asking people to come to his father or other elders in the tribe, and want to put their nephews under his hands, saying that they can "learn some skills". Gu Baocheng's existence has repeatedly become evidence that he does not want to get close to his tribe.
"Huh, I'm not good at work, but I'm all good at greed." In the past few years, there are quite a dozen people from the clan who have defected to Guangzhou. Except for a few, most of them are planning to rely on the benefits of an ancestor. Blessed. This is pretty good. What's even worse is that he is extremely obsessed with trying to "serve" him, so that he can get a "shopkeeper" or "manager" who handles a lot of money.
"If you can't write two characters "Li" in one stroke, if your nephew doesn't take care of your uncle's affairs, who else will?"
Li Luoyou almost vomited after hearing such words. Facts have proved that people of the same clan are less reliable than hired guys with different surnames - they are even more confident when it comes to making money: It's all the Li family's money, why can't I use it? Li Luoyou was very helpless towards this group of people, and it was inconvenient to drive them away. I had no choice but to make arrangements to provide him with food and drinks to avoid any trouble.
Li Luoyou felt bored when he thought about the people in these clans. To relieve his boredom, he took out a book and read it. This is "Nine Chapters of the Book of Numbers", which is the work of Qin Jiushao of the Song Dynasty. e! ~!
