Twenty miles outside Donghai City, there is a nameless port.
"Who's coming?" After several hours of boring driving, the awning boat Kang Lin and others took finally arrived at its destination, the deserted port in the weapons cemetery where the Ming Navy's naval camp parked the "scrap" ships! This desolate little port is not marked on the map. There are no heavily guarded military camps, no towering forts and arrow towers, and no strong and durable brick and earth walls around it. All it has is farmland, ditches, old trees, and dirt roads. , a barking guard dog, a bare-chested little kid, an old trestle that looks quite old, and dozens of simple earthen houses with yellow mud walls and thatch roofs, it’s like, it’s like a world away from the world. Isolated Taoyuan Village!
Yes, Kang Lin and the others guessed right, this is really a village, a village dominated by Xia people! It was precisely because of the remoteness of the place that no matter what they did, the big shots in the palace or government would notice it, so the Navy officers transformed this small village with only about twenty households into a place for them to sell. A trading ground for military supplies and ships. In this place, as long as you can afford the money, you can buy anything, even the latest equipment of the Ming army: Lumi Gun, Thunder Gun, Big and Small Folang Machine, Ye Gong Shen Gun, Weiyuan Cannon, and Hongyi Cannon. , double-decker warships, centipede ships, and the brave camp gentlemen also bought them without fail. Who made the Ming Dynasty court default on their wages for nine months? They want to eat, and their parents and children even more. If they don't sell the weapons and ships they have to eat, is it possible to ask their wives, sisters, and daughters to work as a half-closed door to earn money to support their families?
Therefore, the camp soldiers who are suffering from unpaid wages act more unscrupulously than the guard flag soldiers. After all, they do not have flag fields to farm like the guard soldiers to support their families. They are professional soldiers who are paid to fight and fight. Once the salary that they depend on for survival is owed, they will have greater social destructive power than the peasant-like flag soldiers. They sell ordnance and the ships are light. When pressed, they will even raise the flag to rebel, attack cities, and seize Gold, silver, food and grass to survive!
Faced with this situation, ordinary local officials have nothing to do and no troops to mobilize. They even have to worry about whether the rebel soldiers who have returned from plundering will completely disperse and take their children and young people with them to join the Xia people, thus strengthening the The fighting power of Can Xia's forces! According to the peace agreement between the Han and Xia tribes two hundred years ago, the Ming government and the army controlled cities and towns and had unquestionable judicial power, military power, diplomatic power, taxation power, and corvee power, while the Xia court remained The officials, troops, and landlords who came down were renamed by the Ming Dynasty. They established strongholds in remote areas in the name of chieftains and enjoyed certain economic, political, and military privileges! Therefore, the Ming court was unwilling and did not dare to offend its own basic force base too much. As long as these soldiers were not too excessive, most of the time they would choose to close their eyes and pretend they saw nothing!
As a result, smuggling distribution centers like Zhujiawan appeared openly! The low-level officers of the battalion colluded with local powerful people. Taking advantage of the general trend of confrontation between Ming and Xia, they sold weapons and warships in places that were difficult to reach by the Ming Dynasty. They did not care whether these things would fall into the hands of lawless people. Coming to attack the towns of Ming Dynasty, they only care about how much money they can earn and how much production materials they can exchange with the money they earn!
Therefore, the black-hearted businessman Qiao Si of the East China Sea Chamber of Commerce came with the rich man Kang Lin! However, their luck seemed a bit bad. As soon as they approached the simple dock in Zhujiawan, they were spotted by the secret sentry placed outside by the camp soldiers. Several thin men wearing civilian clothes jumped out of that corner. , holding a waist knife and a short crossbow in each hand, the vigilant look on their faces could not be blocked even by the thick beard. The shortest man in the lead took a step forward and pointed the waist knife in his hand at the wupeng. Ship, "This is a strategic military location. If nothing happens, please leave quickly!"
"Hahaha! Are they the brothers under Mr. Hao? Please let me know that Chi Nan's old friend is coming to visit, so he must take the time to see him!" Looking at Fu Lujun who looked wary, shopkeeper Qiao Siqiao He signaled the servant to lift the bamboo curtain on the boat canopy, and without getting up, he just arched his hands outwards, shocking the short man in the lead into a cold sweat! Because he knew the man saluting, it was Uncle Qiao Siqiao, the big shopkeeper of the East China Sea Chamber of Commerce, a big shot who even had to be polite to his own boss, Mr. Qian, when they met him. Fortunately, he had dared to show his sword to him before, regardless of life or death. , It’s like the old man is eating arsenic and frost and is impatient to live!
"It turns out to be Uncle Qiao. I'm sorry for my poor eyesight. I didn't see you just now. Come on, come on, come on. Please sit here for a while. I'll send someone to report to the General Manager! You, you, and Why are you so stupid? Come here and build a springboard for Uncle Qiao so that he can go ashore!" Thinking of the East China Sea Chamber of Commerce and the power behind them, the leader of the Voluntary Army did not dare to neglect at all, and sent out his legs and feet. His subordinates ran back to the village and reported the general news to the battalion soldiers who stayed there. At the same time, he directed the other subordinates to lay a springboard so that Qiao Si and his party could go ashore to rest more easily and decently. The old veteran who wanted to hook up with the East China Sea Chamber of Commerce and take the opportunity to gain some benefits for himself even offered his own sleeping blanket to Shopkeeper Qiao to stay, so as to save this delicate person from the big city from having to deal with it. The clothes are stained with mud, which affects the subsequent mood.
"Then it's time to work!" Seeing the leader of the Fulu Army being so polite, he said, Qiao Si nodded with arrogance, and with the help of the servant, he slowly got off the awning boat, and his ally, Kang Lin, the leader of Kangda was also following him step by step, and came to a group of ambushes. Next, in order to reward these guys for being aware of current affairs and knowing how to advance and retreat, the wealthy shopkeeper Qiao casually threw out a one or two weight silver pick, while their leader, the short man holding a sword on his waist, frowned. If you don't see it, quickly reach out and catch it! He is not a rotten old master who thinks there will be a psychological burden on accepting the food he has received. On the contrary, this guy who has been deducted from his salary by the court for several months wishes that someone would throw a few silver coins at him every day to humiliate him!
"Commander, Commander, I would like to invite the General Manager. I would like to invite Shopkeeper Qiao. Shopkeeper Qiao will come to the meeting hall to speak..." It didn't take long for the Army of the Army who went to report to the meeting to pant and bring the General Manager. The order came back, and the results were as expected. To the expectations of the two Qiaos, the General Manager, who was well aware of the East China Sea Chamber of Commerce and the power behind it, did not dare to neglect, and hurriedly sent his own soldiers to follow the ambushes to welcome the arrival of the rich man. , this guy had previously asked Qiao Si to be a middleman and help him get rid of a batch of weapons and ships. It seems that Shopkeeper Qiao found his opponent and brought him over to him!
"Okay, brother, please lead the way!" After drinking tea and resting, and Kang Lin was eager to see the warship, Qiao Si could only stand on the horse. Get up and follow the general's soldiers quickly into the village controlled by the camp soldiers! Looking at the bumpy dirt road, the low yellow mud thatched houses, the fields overgrown with weeds, and a group of old and weak women and children in ragged clothes and green faces, the shopkeeper Qiao, who was a little germy, couldn't help but frown, and the man leading the way The camp soldiers also seemed to realize something was wrong, so they immediately waved away the Xia people who were surrounding them and took Kang, Qiao and their entourage to a courtyard surrounded by blue bricks. The general manager, Hao Datong, is waiting for them!
"Hahaha, let me tell you why I keep hearing magpies chirping this morning. It turns out that Brother Qiao, a distinguished guest, is here. Come on, come on. Don't stand at the door. Please come in. I have ordered the kitchen to prepare some wine. , let's eat and talk..." Before seeing the person, they heard his voice first. Here, Kang and Qiao had just entered the small courtyard with green bricks and black tiles with their entourage, and heard a cheerful sound coming from inside. Then a man in his thirties wearing red cotton armor and no helmet quickly came out of the back room with two soldiers.
"No, no, Boss Hao, I won't drink wine today. Qiao will introduce someone to you, and maybe I can handle the matter you asked me to do..." Looking at Hao Datong, who was smiling all over, Boss Hao said, Qiao Si just casually bowed his hand to him, which was regarded as a greeting. Then, the guy let Kang Lin in front of Hao Datong and introduced emphatically, "Kang Lin, the shopkeeper of Kang Da, the person in charge of the Chiyang Chamber of Commerce, he We can help you solve some of your boat problems, as long as the price you offer is fair enough!”
"Fair, fair, absolutely fair, a bird ship with 200 materials is worth 132 taels of silver each, a sea cabin ship with 300 materials is worth 270 taels, and a sentry ship with 400 materials is worth 270 taels...Brother Qiao, Brother Kang, take a look, at this price, where can you find such high-quality and low-priced goods?" After hearing Qiao Si say that the unattractive fat man surnamed Kang in front of him can solve his troubled problems, Mr. Hao Datong and Mr. Hao Immediately, as if he had been given a shot of chicken blood, he rushed to Kang Lin's side, instantly started buying and selling mode, and strongly recommended the ship he had on hand to him.
"Wait a minute, I can't just listen to your words about the quality of the ships and their prices. Take us to see them. If we like them, my brother will buy five or six of his ships for you. This guy can make a small fortune!" Seeing Guo Datong talking non-stop, Qiao Si was afraid that this guy would steal his agency fee, so he changed the subject and asked him to take a few of him to the boat. Go around and check out the condition of the boats to decide which boats to buy next.
"Easy to say, easy to say. Since the guest has requested it, then come with Hao. Brother, I will take you to see the best and most sophisticated warships of the Ming Dynasty!" Hao Datong was very generous when he learned that Kang Lin was interested in buying a ship. Qiao Si agreed to Qiao Si's request to see the boat, and then led them to the small river behind the village. There were more than ten sailing boats that had been eliminated by the camp were parked there, including bird boats, sand boats, Haicang boats, sentinel boats, and even There is also a ironwood ship transferred from the south!
