"Then I have no choice but to inform you with regret that according to the order of the Senate, a trade blockade is currently implemented on the areas surrounding Xiamen, Kinmen, Anping and Weitou Bay, and all trade ships are prohibited from entering the area. [Full text reading] You don't know This order, without penalty this time, go to other ports immediately. Otherwise, if you intercept it for the second time, the cargo will be confiscated." He looked at the navigation certificate, "It has been many days since you received the navigation certificate, and there is nothing wrong with it. Records, you should know the rules of the Senate.”
Liu Deshan had no choice but to admit it, and his hope of making a small fortune in Weitou Bay was shattered. However, selling salt was also a convenient thing to do. If he could do it, it would be good. If he couldn't, it wouldn't be a problem.
The patrol officer gave a few more instructions and returned to the deck of the patrol ship. The sailors on the ship were about to withdraw the cables when suddenly an officer in gray uniform came out of the cabin and whispered a few words into the ear of the Australian Navy officer. , the officer nodded, went back to the deck of Dongshanju, and took them to the stern cabin.
"You can go to Weitou Bay to trade." The officer said to the suspicious Liu Deshan and Chen Huamin, "But-"
"I don't dare, I don't dare..." Liu Deshan quickly said, "I don't dare to disobey the Senate's will..."
The officer smiled and said: "Go if you are told to go. What are you afraid of? It's just that after you go, you have to go to the Maritime and Trade Bureau in Hong Kong to report what you saw and heard."
Liu Deshan's legs went weak. He wanted to be a spy by himself! He secretly hated that he should not be greedy for small profits and thought of going to Xiamen to sell salt and buy foreign goods. If the Zheng family found out about this, not only would they not be able to save the ship's cargo, but they would also lose their lives - and maybe it would also harm their cousin and his stewards and sailors. That is really a sin.
He was so anxious that he was sweating profusely and could not speak coherently: "This. This, the little one is not going... not going..."
"Don't want to go?" the officer said, "What a pity. As long as you are willing to go, I will extend your navigation license for twelve months for free or upgrade it to a Class A license for free."
Currently, Dongshan Juhao is applying for a Class B certificate. You can only sail and trade at various ports along the coast of China. The furthest you can go is Taiyuan, Kaohsiung, and Jeju Island. If you want to go to Japan, Ryukyu, Manila, etc., you have to apply for A certificate, and the usage fee is naturally much higher.
When Liu Deshan heard that he could upgrade to Certificate A for free, he immediately became energetic. His speech suddenly became clear: "Since it is an order from the Senate, I will serve you wholeheartedly, even to the death!"
Manager Liu was secretly worried at the side, how could he get involved in such a job as a spy! Just as he was about to say something to stop him, Chen Huamin pulled him back.
Chen Huamin saw that the two of them had finished talking. Then he asked: "If people from the Zheng family ask about the various deeds of Australians..."
"Whatever you see, just say it. There is no need to hide it," the officer said.
After watching the inspection ship sail away towards the south, the Dongshanju raised its three main sails again and continued to sail towards the north.
Manager Liu kept complaining in the cabin: How can such a thing be done? Liu Deshan also felt that he disliked Meng Lang, but Chen Huamin disagreed:
"The Zheng family is now divided. It's unclear whether the situation in Weitou Bay can survive until next year. Let's do business, and we don't need to inquire about anything. Just listen and watch. Free upgrades are a small matter, now help the Australians With a little help, business at sea will be even greater in the future."
"That's true. Australians are the most honest in handling things!" Liu Deshan nodded repeatedly, "I will definitely not suffer any loss if I serve the Senate."
Manager Liu was worried, so he discussed it with Wang Chengqi and told the crew to keep it strictly confidential.
After sailing north for more than two hours, the Dongshanju finally arrived at Weitou Bay.
Chen Huamin stood beside the boat. He stared blankly at Weitou Bay and was speechless.
In the past, ships came and went frequently, and sail shadows could be seen everywhere. There are many ships and oars in every port. Now there is only an empty sea, except for a few fishing boats still fishing. After sailing for a long time, we didn't see a big ship coming or going. There were no ships moored on the shore.
Wang Chengqi asked: "Captain... where should we anchor?"
This is a question for Chen Huamin. In the past, ships engaged in coastal trade all sailed to Zhongzuo Suo or Anping. But now the situation is completely different. He has already learned from the Australian "Boat Paper" that the original Zheng family's power in Weitou Bay is divided. Anping, Kinmen, Zhongzuo Suo and other places are controlled by the original Zheng family's generals and relatives. There was no communication between them. Although they did not attack each other at the critical moment, it was obvious that their relationship was not harmonious.
Liu Deshan, however, had everything in mind and planned a direct flight to Kinmen Island - he was going to do business with Zheng Zhifeng.
Zheng Zhifeng is still the most powerful faction in the Zheng family, much stronger than brothers Zheng Cai and Zheng Lian, and even stronger than Zheng Sen. However, Zheng Sen has the support of the government. Zheng Lian and Zheng Cai brothers sit on Xiamen Island and control the Jiulong River estuary area. They can more easily obtain various goods supplied by the inland. In contrast, Zheng Zhifeng only controls the big and small Kinmen Islands. It is quite difficult to obtain goods: in order to expand financial resources and suppress opponents, all parties in the Bay have not blocked each other's trade routes, but they have set up checkpoints on the traffic arteries in the areas they control, and they have blocked their own sides. Those who buy and sell goods that are only passing through are charged 10 cents.
Fujian has many mountains but little land. There are limited roads that can carry bulk goods, and land transportation is blocked. The cost of Zheng Zhifeng's trade goods is much higher than others.
Since his current strength is limited and the Australians outside are eyeing him, it is not a good idea to fight each other. Zheng Zhifeng focuses on coastal trade to obtain goods. For this reason, he does not hesitate to send people to various places to publicize that he is willing to pay high prices to attract ship owners engaged in coastal trade. Heading to Kinmen.
As the Dongshanju gets closer and closer to Kinmen, the desolate and depressed atmosphere in Weitou Bay becomes more and more obvious. The small islands it passed by used to be inhabited, but now they are all in rubble, with only the charred ruins of the houses remaining. , almost all the trestles were burned down, leaving only charred wooden piles standing alone in the undulating sea water.
The tragic situation in Liaoluo Bay is even more shocking. It was originally the main berth of the Zheng family's fleet. It was mainly attacked by the fleet during the battle of Weitou Bay. The fire lasted for 48 hours before it was extinguished. Hundreds of ships were moored here. All ships, large and small, were burned. Although nearly half a year has passed, the remains of burned and sunk ships can still be seen on the water, with countless charred and twisted remains.
Several people witnessed the scene in front of them and couldn't help feeling awe: This is really devastating.
While sighing, I saw a small boat flying the flag of Zheng Zhifeng sailing out from one side of the island to divert water for berthing. The Dongshanju dropped most of its sails and followed it at a low speed until it anchored next to the newly built pier.
It can be seen that the pier is completely new, and both the houses and the trestle are built hastily. Zheng Zhifeng re-fortified and built the Kinmen Islands. Liaoluo Bay was completely abandoned because there were too many sunken ships and it was inconvenient to clean up.
The wharf looked like it was in a state of exhaustion. Bricks, tiles and timber were piled high. A row of warehouses were under construction. Workers were coming and going. It was very lively, which added a bit of vitality to this deserted and lonely bay.
But there are not many ships in the harbor, only about a dozen ships are moored. Most of the flags flying were not the Zheng family's flags. After chatting with the leader of the Zheng family who came aboard, I learned that in order to prevent sudden attacks by the Australians, most of Zheng Zhifeng's ships were anchored in the northern waters of Kinmen Island, where only foreign merchant ships were allowed to anchor.
"There are not many merchant ships..." Chen Huamin said deliberately.
"There used to be a lot of people coming. Recently, the Kun thieves are sealing the sea. It would be good if one out of ten ships can come in." The leader said with a bitter face, "You haven't encountered any of the Kun thieves' patrol boats?"
"We have encountered them before. We said we were going to Shanghai to do business, and they went."
"That's considered lucky." The leader said, "If you can come to Kinmen, you can make a small fortune. You can make a lot of money from just these salts!"
After the war between the Australians and the Zheng family, the original salt trade has completely stopped. Coupled with the recent maritime blockade, southern Fujian was originally a salt-scarce area and had to rely on imports from outside. As a result, the price of salt has skyrocketed.
The salt price offered by Zheng Zhifeng was quite good. The salt Liu Deshan bought was from the Haibei Salt Farm controlled by the Australians. It was originally cheap "private salt" that did not pay official tax. When it was shipped here and sold, the gross profit increased by 400% - although table salt The unit price is very low, and the profit is limited, but the profit is enough to cover the cost of the voyage, and all subsequent transactions will be net profits.
Liu Deshan laughed so hard that his mouth was about to burst from his ears: This deal is really worth it! At that moment, he said good things about the truckload. In addition to the benefits that the leader deserved, he also gave red envelopes to various related people on the dock as usual: "the scale man", "the signer", "the warehouse level"...
After selling the salt, the leader of the Zheng family inspected all the goods on Dongshan Ju. But when he saw the various goods loaded on Dongshan Ju, the leader couldn't help but look disappointed: the main cargo on the ship was sugar, and Fujian was originally sugar. In the place of production, Zheng Zhifeng has a large amount of sugar products in his hands, and there is no shortage.
When Liu Deshan found out, he immediately offered to buy the Fujian sugar products here. The leader was overjoyed and immediately expressed his willingness to give a preferential price. The sugar products on Kinmen Island are mainly coarse products such as brown sugar, brown sugar and black sugar. Fine products such as white sugar and rock sugar are limited, but the price is not very cheap. The average price of coarse sugar is about the same as the lowest-grade Leizhou white sugar in Australia. . White sugar and rock sugar are much more expensive, and the quality is far inferior to the Leizhou candy sold by Australians.
But even at this price, it is still profitable to transport it to Jiangnan. At the worst, you can make a profit by transporting it to Daguang and selling it to Hongmao. The salt on Dongshan Jushang has been sold out, so it is convenient to use the cargo space to carry extra sugar cargo. (To be continued)
