"Master Balabu, please save our big brother!"
On a small island where Sri Lanka belonged, there was a large palace-like manor on the entire island, where Balabu usually lived.
"Who is your eldest brother?" Balabu frowned and looked at the man kneeling below. He had many properties in Srivijaya, and there were many people to help him take care of them.
If whatever happens to a cat or a dog, you have to save it yourself, then why do you have such subordinates?
"My eldest brother is Dong Li. This time I helped your caravan go to Ryukyu Kingdom's Tamsui Port to buy supplies. However, I encountered pirates and my eldest brother was detained by them. This is my eldest brother's letter to Lord Balabu."
"Pirates? Where did the pirates come from? Just ask someone to destroy them!"
Balabu did not accept the letter written by Dong Li at all. Of course, he still had some impression of Dong Li, and robbing his own people in his own territory was also a provocation, so he planned to send a few casually. Just go to the ship and clean up those pirates.
As for whether Dong Li was alive or dead when dealing with the pirates, he didn't really care. Those who worked for him had as many as they wanted, and it wasn't worth worrying about at all.
"Master Balabu, no, they, they are very strong!"
"Very strong? How strong can it be?" Balabu smiled disdainfully: "Last year a Great Wei Navy arrived. Are those pirates stronger than the Great Wei Navy?"
"It's not as strong as the Wei navy, but it still has sixty warships."
"Cough cough cough..." Balabu coughed for a while and asked incredulously: "How much?"
"Sixty warships."
In this era, the combat power of a fleet mainly depends on whose ship is bigger and who has more ships. Number and tonnage are the key factors that determine the victory of naval battles.
"Is there really that much?" Balabu sat up straight. If it is true, then this power is really not small.
After all, the other party said that they were pirates, and they were different from the Wei navy.
Although the navy of the Wei Dynasty was powerful, they had to do business with Srivijaya, and they had to abide by the rules, so they would not easily attack Srivijaya's merchant ships or the like.
But pirates are different. These guys are like locusts on the sea. They have no rules. For them, they will not let go of anything they can grab.
Such large-scale pirates have entered their own sphere of influence. If the other party is unfavorable to Srivijaya's merchant ships, it will definitely cause huge harm.
"Give me the letter!"
At this time, he had to see what was written in Dong Li's letter.
"The Straw Hat Pirates? Captain Jack Sparrow? I've never heard of them. Do you know their specific origins?"
The messenger nodded and said, "I inquired privately and heard that they are originally from Qian Laosan and Luo Siye in the north."
These two people have been traversing the North China Sea for more than ten years. The former pirate leader Brother Huzi was also a famous pirate, so Balabu had really heard about these two people, but because they were far apart, he only heard a few things about them. Rumor has it that everyone can't even get into the water without touching the river, because they can't touch it at all.
I just didn't expect why the other party suddenly appeared in this sea area.
"Why do their bosses want to talk to me in detail?" Balabu stretched his fat body. The opponent had such a strong lineup and even wanted to see him in person by name.
He definitely had to meet, but he also had to think about his own safety.
"This little guy doesn't know, but they did say they came with friendship." "Come with friendship?" Balabu's fat face grinned: "Where in the world can friendship for no reason come from? ?」
After speaking, he slammed the table so hard that the silver tableware on the table bounced and jingled.
"Okay, since we are here with friendship, let's invite them to Da Ma Island to meet us, but make it clear to them that only five boats can come!"
If the other party wants to see you in this way, then he must have an agenda. Since it is the other party who has an agenda, then the initiative lies with you.
hands.
Let the other party bring five ships, and the place is still on your own territory, Malaysia Island, so you don't have to worry about the other party playing any tricks.
Then he called a civil servant to write a reply for him, to the effect that he was not in good health recently and was recuperating on Malaysia Island. If the other party wanted to see him, he could come and wait by himself.
Then he handed the letter to Dong Li's younger brother who came to deliver the letter: "Go and bring the person back to me."
"yes!"
This younger brother also knew that the other party wanted to meet Lord Balabu. Now that Balabu has agreed, he should not embarrass his elder brother.
In fact, Tang Ping and the others didn't really embarrass Dong Li. Tang Ping just asked Dong Li if he was really strong since he called him Dali.
In order to express himself, Dong Li personally picked up a bag of sandbags and walked around in front of Tang Ping.
Then Tang Ping clapped his hands and sent Dong Li to the construction site.
That's right, it's the construction site.
Dong Li's younger brother went to deliver the letter. According to him, it would take almost a month to come back and forth. Tang Ping and the others couldn't just sit idle here in Tamsui Port.
So Tang Ping and Shang Sixian discussed it and decided to build a pier in Tamsui Port that can accommodate large ships.
Because Datang now has access to East Vietnam, it means it has its own coastline. Maritime trade has always been Li Shimin's heart. Now that the conditions are ripe, maritime trade will be the focus of development in the next part of Datang.
The location of Tamsui Port happens to be at the midway point to Nanyang. If a dock is built here, not only can goods be transferred, but also supplies can be carried out. At the same time, it can also add a huge amount of income to Shang Sixian's Ryukyu Kingdom. It can be said that it kills several birds with one stone.
Tang Ping came out this time with a lot of money. He paid for it, hired people from the Ryukyu Kingdom, and then used local materials to start building a dock at Tamsui Port.
After completion, Datang Merchant Ship will enjoy tax-free rights for thirty years, and Datang will also enjoy 50% of the income in the first thirty years.
Although the Ryukyu Kingdom did not contribute any money in the early stage, they are responsible for the maintenance and management of this pier. They will not be able to enjoy all the benefits of this pier thirty years later, but the ships of the Tang Dynasty will always have priority at Tamsui Port Terminal. .
At first, Tang Ping thought it would be difficult to build a large wharf here. However, after conducting on-site inspections, he discovered that Tamsui Port was originally a natural deep-water bay where large ships could enter. All they had to do was to build the land base of the wharf, and then Just extend it to the seaside.
For the Ryukyu people, the climate here is unique, and they can get a lot of harvest without spending too much effort on growing food.
So in this off-farm season, there are quite a lot of idle people. When I heard someone hiring people at a high price, a lot of people came at once.
In addition, Ryukyu is actually relatively flat in the west of the island. There are a lot of mountainous areas in the middle and east of the island, with abundant forests. There are as many straight trees as there are people hugging each other.
So the construction work of the pier started quickly.
"Brother Tang, thank you so much!" Shang Sixian looked at Tang Ping with a grateful face. Not only will this pier benefit the entire Ryukyu Kingdom a lot in the future, but right now, it can be said that one-third of the entire Ryukyu Kingdom Families are making money from this.
After all, for such a large project, in addition to workers, there are also logistical supplies, etc. The entire Ryukyu Kingdom has been mobilized.
However, because Tang Ping said that dozens of merchant ships may pass by and dock here every day, the Ryukyu Kingdom will be happy to eat this pie.
This is not Tang Ping's bragging. There are a lot of good things here in Nanyang. All kinds of spices and precious wood can be bought at a good price when shipped back to the Tang Dynasty.
Now in Chang'an City, those special spices are worth more than gold.
As long as there is such a way to make money, there is no fear that businessmen from the Tang Dynasty and East Vietnam will flock to it.
"Brother Sixian, you're welcome. Since Ryukyu recognizes Tang Dynasty as its suzerain, we are one of our own. You have to know that Tang Dynasty has never treated its own people badly!"
This was not done on a whim by Tang Ping.
, in addition to the special feelings for this island, it is also because Datang’s future strategy is not to colonize all surrounding countries, but rather hopes that the other countries will regard themselves as suzerains, and then Datang will set up military bases or call them protectors there. control and influence in the form of government.
Therefore, it is necessary to let those countries see that the countries that are dependent on the Tang Dynasty have meat to eat.
It is said that there are no eternal enemies between countries, and interests are the best bond among them.
"Sir, Dong Li's men have returned and brought a reply from Balabu. The other party agreed to meet, but put forward a few conditions."
"It's normal to have conditions." If the other party came to meet him without mentioning any conditions, that would make Tang Ping feel strange.
After opening Balabu's reply, Tang Ping asked Shang Sixian: "Where is Da Ma Island?"
"Daima Island? It's not far to the southeast of Ryukyu. If you leave Tamsui Port, walk east, follow the coast of Ryukyu Island to the southernmost point, and then go straight south. It will take about a few days to arrive."
Tang Ping opened the map and looked at it. It was probably an island among the Batan Islands on the Bahrain Strait between the Philippines and the Philippines.
I didn't expect that the first time I walked out of the border of China in the future would be in this way.
"Okay, since the master has extended the invitation, let's go and visit him."
"But Brother Tang, isn't it too risky to only go on five boats?"
Shang Sixian said with some worry, he didn't know that Tang Ping's fleet also had an armored ship, and that the entire Taihao fleet had such powerful weapons as artillery.
So if it was just five boats, it would be too risky in his opinion.
"Don't worry, don't say I'm only going to five, even if I'm only going to one, if I want to leave, they can't stop me." Tang Ping asked Shang Sixian to relax, and then said: "But the rest of me will continue to bother you here. Brother Si Xian."
"What did Brother Tang say? Since you guys came, we have felt an unprecedented sense of security. Let me tell you, I wish you were here all the time!"
"Hahaha, brother Si Xian, don't worry, we will come to bother you often in the future."
It has been several months since they came out. Both Tang Ping and Wang Qingluan miss Tangtang at home very much, so they just want to resolve the matter here as soon as possible so that they can return to Chang'an.
Tang Ping bid farewell to Shang Sixian and directly ordered his troops. Except for the Taihao ship and Donghai No. 1 to No. 4, the others stayed near Tamsui Port and continued to pretend to be pirates.
