"Sent away?" Liu Heng looked at Zhao Wu who returned to the side hall.
Zhao Wu said respectfully: "Send him off. My subordinates watched him get on the carriage and leave Xujiazhuang with his own eyes."
"It seems that he is in a hurry to return to Xuan Mansion." Li Shuheng said.
Liu Heng said: "Regardless of whether the Tian family agrees to establish a chamber of commerce or not, the convoy we send to the grassland must start preparing. Without a chamber of commerce, at best we can work harder and spend more time, and we can still start business on the grassland."
Li Shuheng frowned and said: "I'm worried that the Tian family will try to establish a chamber of commerce and win over Shanxi merchants from Xuanfu and Zhangjiakou to do it together, excluding our Tiger Flag. In this way, we will have another opponent on the grassland. .”
"Don't worry." Liu Heng picked up the bowl and took a sip.
"Do you have an idea?" Li Shuheng said doubtfully.
Liu Heng said with a smile: "The vast majority of Shanxi merchants only work in small groups on the grasslands. The convoys going to the grasslands rarely form a large scale. Even if they are robbed once or twice by horse bandits, the losses will not be big. But if a few Shanxi merchants If a convoy united by merchant companies goes to the grassland and is robbed once by horse bandits, the losses will be huge. If such a convoy is robbed several times, any chamber of commerce will have to disband."
"That's true." Li Shuheng nodded in agreement and said, "In addition to horse bandits on the grassland, there are also herdsmen who will plunder the convoys on the grassland. Without force, the safety of the convoys on the grassland cannot be guaranteed."
"So, even if the Tian family uses our method and establishes a chamber of commerce, there is no need to worry. It will be difficult for such a chamber of commerce to last long." Liu Heng picked up the tureen and took a sip of tea.
Li Shuheng did not relax his brows, but said: "There is still a Fan family in Zhangjiakou. If the Fan family sets up a chamber of commerce, it will be a greater threat to us than the Tian family setting up a chamber of commerce."
"The same goes for the Fan family." Liu Heng waved his hand and said, "With the little force the Fan family has, it is simply not enough to be seen on the grassland."
Li Shuheng said: "The Fan family has deep connections on the grassland. If the horse bandits on the grassland don't rob the Fan family's fleet, they might really allow the Fan family to expand their business on the grassland."
"He can't do it big because my tiger-character flag doesn't allow it." Liu Heng said with a sneer at the corner of his mouth.
The trade in the grassland has been regarded by him as the fat in his own pot. How can he allow a fleet of vehicles as large as the Fan family to sell grain and iron to the grassland.
It doesn't matter if the horse bandits on the grassland don't rob the Fan family's motorcade. Their Tiger Character Banner also has a horse team of several hundred people, who can leave the border fort at any time and transform into horse bandits on the grassland.
……………………
On the vast sea, a lucky ship slowly approached the port.
"There are more red-haired barbarians here than there in Hirado." Zheng Tie stood on the boat, pressing his hands on the side of the boat.
The several large ships docked at the port were all red-haired merchant ships. There were many red-haired barbarians standing on the deck, pointing at Zheng Tie and the people on the lucky ship with smiles on their faces. From time to time, jeers were heard. like laughter.
Several subordinates brought by Li Guozhu on the Fu boat walked to the side of the boat, took off their belts, took out something, and sprayed water jets in the direction of the red-haired barbarians.
When the red-haired barbarians on the boat saw it, they all screamed and made the same move not to be outdone.
There was some distance between the two ships, and neither could hurt the other. Except for some water on the side of the ship, most of the water column fell into the sea.
Zheng Tie, who noticed this scene, said, "These red-haired barbarians are much more arrogant than they were in Hirado."
Zhang standing aside explained: "Pingdo is Mr. Li's territory. The red-haired barbarians dare not be too presumptuous. This is Xiangshan Ao, which is nominally the place of the Ming Dynasty. It is actually controlled by Fo Langji and some maritime merchants." , if they arrive in Luzon, these Franji people will be even more rampant."
It seemed that the flag of the Li family hanging on the boat had an effect. After the red-haired Yi on the opposite boat finished unbuckling his belt, he stopped provoking, and both sides became quiet.
When they arrived at the shallow water area, Fuchuan stopped and put down two small boats. Li Guozhu and Zheng Tie each took their people ashore in the small boats.
Standing on the shore, Zheng Tie cupped his hands towards Li Guozhu and said, "I'll have to trouble the eldest son with the next thing."
Li Guoshu said with a smile: "Don't worry, Shopkeeper Zheng, my Li family still has some people available here in Xiangshan'ao. Let's go to the inn to stay first, and I will arrange for someone to find Huang Cheng."
"Thank you, young master." Zheng Tie clasped his fist towards Li Guoshu.
The group left the port and came to a restaurant on the outskirts of the port.
It is different from Heitu. Most of the buildings in Xiangshan Ao are Ming Dynasty buildings, and the restaurants are also opened by Ming Dynasty people. However, in addition to Han people, there are also many strange-looking red-haired barbarians among the diners coming in and out of the restaurant.
"Brother, bring some of the good wine and food you have here." Zheng Chao slapped a silver coin on the table.
The waiter on the side put away the money and said with a smile: "I will let the chef prepare the food now. Sir, please sit down and wait for a while."
The waiter wiped the table with the rag on his shoulder and then left.
The restaurant has three floors, the upper two floors are guest rooms, and the lower floor is used to entertain diners.
Zheng Tie, Li Guozhu, Zheng Chao and Zhang sat at one table, and the rest sat at the table next to them, filling both tables.
The waiter quickly brought the food and put it on the table.
Most of the dishes are fish and shrimp, with vegetables only accounting for a minority. Even so, they are much better than what is on the ship.
When everyone had almost eaten, the subordinate Li Guozhu sent to find Huang Cheng returned to the restaurant, and there was a young man who came back with him.
"Where's Huang Cheng!"
Li Guozhu frowned when he saw that the people he sent came back but did not see Huang Cheng.
The young man who came back with the Li family noticed the dissatisfaction on Li Guoshu's face, took two steps forward in a hurry, and said with a smile: "I have seen the eldest young master before."
"You know me?" Li Guozhu frowned.
He didn't remember ever meeting the young man in front of him.
The young man smiled and said, "I often hear my uncle mention the eldest son at home."
"Who is your uncle?" Li Guozhu asked curiously.
The young man said respectfully: "The villain's uncle is Huang Cheng, working under Master Li."
Li Guozhu's face sank and he said: "Since you know who I am, why didn't you see your uncle coming by himself, but sent you here instead?"
"Eldest Young Master, please calm down." The young man said, "The villain's uncle went to Luzon half a month ago. He didn't know that the Eldest Young Master was coming. He still hopes to see the Eldest Young Master Haihan."
After hearing this explanation, Li Guozhu looked much better.
The young man continued: "Although the villain's uncle is not at home, when the eldest son comes to Xiangshan Ao, there is no reason to live outside. The villain has prepared a place at home, and I also ask the eldest son to move to the villain's home."
Li Guozhu looked thoughtful.
Thinking that Huang Chengren was not in Xiangshan Ao, his promise to shopkeeper Zheng might be delayed for some time.
"Eldest Young Master, why don't we stay at this little brother's house first?" Zhang said in a low voice, "This is not Pingdo after all. Huang Cheng's place is safer than living outside."
Li Guoshu nodded and said, "That's fine, let's stay at his home first."
Seeing that Li Guozhu agreed, Zhang looked at the young man and said, "I wonder what I call my little brother?"
"The villain Zheng Yiguan."
The young man saluted Zheng Tieyi.
