In the 31st year of Jiajing's reign, at the beginning of winter, Zhoushan Ligang was completed! A huge port, a fortress with artillery, row upon row of trade bazaars, Franconian churches, thousands of houses...
Everything is more brilliant than the original Shuangyu Port.
On the day when Ligang was built, Wang Zhi, the overlord of the sea and the uncrowned king of Japanese pirates, hosted a banquet for the leaders of the Japanese pirates in Ligang. Regardless of whether they were Japanese pirates directly under Wang Zhi's command, indirect Japanese pirates under Wang's direct control, or Japanese pirates who were not under Wang's direct control and were not unified with each other, almost all the Japanese pirate leaders with honor and dignity attended the banquet. Even those who were hostile to the Japanese pirates were very considerate and sent people to attend. For example, Xu Hai, although he did not attend the banquet in person, he sent Saburo Toribayashi to celebrate with generous gifts.
The banquet venue was placed in the open space in front of Ligang Pier. It was covered with red carpet and several tables were placed.
There were hundreds of Japanese pirate leaders, big and small, and they were seated in order of strength.
Wang Zhi sat at the most distinguished head of the banquet, displaying his "King of Hui" honors vividly. He wore a gilt embroidered golden python scarlet robe, a jade belt tied around his waist, a gold-topped yellow umbrella with five eaves, and four yellow umbrellas beside him. Beautiful maids accompanied him, and behind him fifty sturdy guards in gold armor and silver helmets lined up like a fan.
"Everyone, today is the day when Ligang is completed. It is a day of great joy for us, so I invite you all to a banquet to congratulate us."
Wang Zhi raised the golden bottle, laughed heartily, and said to the Japanese pirates.
"Thank you King Hui. It's all thanks to King Hui's planning that we have a place like Ligang."
"The alliance leader is mighty, and we will take advantage of it."
"Congratulations, Your Majesty."
"Congratulations to Chief Wang."
All the Japanese pirate leaders at the banquet stood up one after another and raised their glasses respectfully. Their names for Wang Zhi were not uniform. Some are called Hui Wang, some are called Alliance Leader, some are called Great King, and some are called Wang Leader... From the inconsistent titles, it can also be seen that the Japanese pirates are not monolithic.
"Today we drink this glass of wine together, and in the future we will share the glory and wealth of sea trade." Wang Zhi looked at the Japanese pirate leader with satisfaction, raised the golden bottle with high spirits, raised his head and drank the wine in the glass.
"Share the glory and wealth." A group of Japanese pirate leaders shouted, raising their glasses and drinking down the wine in one gulp.
"Everyone, please take a seat. Come here and let the dancers come on stage to add to the fun." Wang Zhi asked all the Japanese pirates to take their seats and asked them to pass on the dancers.
Soon, a group of graceful Japanese women appeared on the stage, twisting their waists like Liu Fufeng during the banquet.
A group of Japanese pirates who were fooling around were so excited that some of them boldly pulled the dancer into his arms and raised and lowered his hands. Wang Zhi laughed and did not stop her. The other Japanese pirates also followed suit when they saw this.
Suddenly, the banquet became heated.
"Leader, our Ligang will not suffer the disaster of Shuangyu Port again, right?!" There was a Japanese pirate leader at the banquet who had experienced the disaster of Shuangyu Port. The disaster of that day was still vivid in his mind, and he couldn't help but said to Wang Zhi with some worry.
"He Laosan, you are overthinking it. Now, whether it is Ningbo Prefecture, Shaoxing Prefecture, or Hangzhou Prefecture, they all acquiesce to our private market, and the government turns a blind eye to this."
"The day before yesterday, I took my subordinate Erlang to the streets of Suzhou Prefecture to buy a hundred pieces of cloth, and the Suzhou Prefecture government officials didn't care."
"That's right, you old boy thinks too much! The older you get, the less courageous you become. It's really funny."
The banquet was in full swing, but He Laosan poured a basin of cold water on it, and all the Japanese pirates couldn't help but laugh.
"No, once I was bitten by a snake, I was afraid of the well rope for ten years. I personally experienced the Shuangyu Port disaster, and it was really a river of blood."
He Laosan shook his head and smiled bitterly.
When the other Japanese pirates heard this, they laughed even more, "At one time or another, the government now acquiesces to the private market. I heard that many officials also proposed to impose a sea ban. The common people in Fujian and Zhejiang are even more interested in the private market. There is a saying that the general trend is the general trend, and this sea trade is the general trend.”
"What He Laosan is worried about is not unfounded. I also experienced it personally at Shuangyu Port. If I hadn't escaped by luck, I would not have the chance to sit in front of you today."
Wang Zhi waved his hand to stop the chaos in the field, stretched out his finger and pointed at He Laosan, and said leisurely.
The place fell silent for a moment.
"The private market will always be a small business, and it will never become a reality. Only when the Ming Dynasty opens Hong Kong and connects the market can we be able to achieve our grand ambitions."
Wang Zhi slowly scanned the group of Japanese pirates, then looked at the sea in the distance, and said firmly.
"Open the port to connect the city?!"
All the Japanese pirates looked at each other, but they didn't expect Wang Zhi's ideal to be so grand.
"That's right! It means opening up the port and opening up the market! For today's world, it is a world of maritime trade! Fo Langji's merchant ships traveled thousands of miles to all the barbaric lands in the ocean, and they have already made a lot of money. What is the Ming Dynasty worth? The center of the world, the population and wealth are billions of times that of the barbaric land, and it contains huge business opportunities and wealth. As long as the port is opened and the city is opened, we will have endless glory and wealth!"
Wang Zhi spoke to the Japanese pirates in high spirits, describing to them a grand vision of a prosperous maritime trade.
All the Japanese pirates couldn't help but feel hot in their eyes.
He Laosan and some calm Japanese pirates were cautious about the grand plan drawn by Wang Zhi.
Maritime ban is a national policy of the Ming Dynasty. Can it be allowed to open the port? !
"Haha, He Laosan, although your worries are not unfounded, you are too pessimistic! As they said, sea trade has been driven by the general trend! You just said that Shuangyu Port, haha, yes, Zhu Wan destroyed it In Shuangyu Port, Li Guangtou and others were killed, so what?! Zhu Wan was ignorant of current affairs and enforced a strict sea ban. As a result, he was tortured to death by the scholar-bureaucrats who were interested in sea trade in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. From then on, the inspection ministers no longer set up , no one inside or outside the imperial court dares to mention the maritime ban again! Moreover, look at Zhang Damao, He Dapao and the others around you. They were the Fujian navy that destroyed Shuangyu Port. After they defeated Shuangyu Port, When Zhu Wan was disbanding these pirate ships, the imperial court did not provide food and wages, which caused a mutiny in the Fujian Navy. Most of the warships went directly to the king's command. Zhang Damao and He Dapao were among the 100 households of the Navy, and now they have become We are dead! Many officials have written letters admonishing us to impose a sea ban... Therefore, sea trade is the general trend!"
"Not to mention, the year before last, I cooperated with the Jiangsu and Zhejiang officials to capture the notorious pirates Lu Qi and Shen Jiu. Last year, I was entrusted by the Haidao Yamen to capture and kill Chen Sipan, making great contributions to maintaining order in the sea area."
"So, it's time. I have decided to ask the Ming court for trade and the opening of ports and markets tomorrow!"
"With the opening of the port and the city, everything will be legal, and the disaster at Shuangyu Port will never happen again! Our prosperous age is here!"
Wang Zhi was full of ambition, raised his wine glass, and spoke to the Japanese pirates impassionedly, as if he were a god.
