guri.
King Shamid was a polite monk. He heard that the Ming Dynasty had sent a fleet to visit, preparing for large-scale trade, and hoped to stop at Guri Port to wait for the wind to change sail.
Shamid was very happy and agreed to Zheng He's request. When Zheng He's fleet arrived, he personally led his ministers to the port to greet him.
Along the way, Zheng He met many kings. King Manlajia was firm, King Majapahit was tyrannical, King Ceylan was cruel, King Kochi was weak, but such gentle, kind and peaceful kings as Shamid This is the first time I have seen the king.
Shamid looked at the treasure ship as tall as a mountain and was deeply shocked. In addition, the Ming Dynasty's sergeants were extremely disciplined. He believed that the Ming Dynasty was a country that was strong but not bullying and mighty but not hegemonic, and he was full of yearning for it.
Zheng He took out exquisite ceramics, tea, utensils, silk, etc. and presented them to Shamid and his ministers. He thanked: "Sakyamuni Buddha taught us to be kind and friendly to others. The ancient sage Confucius of the Ming Dynasty had Yunli Ren. For beauty. When I see the King of Guli acting like this today, I should respond with eight words."
"Oh, which eight words?"
Shamid heard Daoxiu's translation and asked with a smile.
Zheng He solemnly said: "If you realize the Dharma, wonderful wisdom will emerge."
Shamid burst out laughing and sighed: "Zheng Zheng is not like an ordinary general, but like a wise man. Don't worry, the people in Guli are friendly and kind. You can stay here as long as you want." , we welcome all friends.”
Zheng He thanked Shamid for the preferential treatment and proposed to open up a piece of land in the dense forest west of Guri Port to build a transit warehouse for navigation and store trade goods.
Shamid said to the two ministers Wange and Kuli: "The envoys of the Ming Dynasty have come from thousands of miles away and are kind people. We should help them. Let them run the warehouse. You are responsible for the trade. Just follow the rules."
Wange and Kuli quickly agreed.
Wange and Kuli are Hui people who are good at business. They were appointed as the king's plenipotentiary representatives and were responsible for trade with the Ming Dynasty.
Kuli went to inspect Daming's goods. Wange and Zheng He told Guli's trading rules: "It is agreed that trade will take place in five days. When the transaction begins, you will first lay out the goods that need to be traded, and the Guli people will discuss the price with you. Afterwards, a revolutionary official will announce the negotiated price, and the price will be determined and no repentance will be allowed."
Zheng He nodded repeatedly and promised to change the price without fail.
Wange praised Zheng He's sincerity and said: "After determining the price of goods in Ming Dynasty, it is time to determine the price of goods in Guli. Your fleet will send people to discuss the price with the Guli people. For example, if the Zhedi people are rich, they will bring out pearls, For agate, gemstones, coral, etc., you can negotiate the price.”
Zheng He was a little surprised. The transaction method in Qianguli was still somewhat different from that in Nanyang. Instead of directly setting the price, paying with one hand, and delivering the goods with the other hand, or bartering directly, all goods were negotiated for a price first. When do you want to discuss it?
Faced with Zheng He's doubts, Wan Ge gave an estimate: "Based on the Ming Dynasty's goods, the price negotiation should last one to two months. It's still early for a real transaction..."
Zheng He was speechless. If Daming said he would deliver the goods in a month or two, he would be beaten.
Later, Zheng He found out why negotiating prices in Guli was so time-consuming. Because of laziness, their negotiators only came for two hours a day and had to rest after finishing their work...
Not professional at all.
But there is nothing we can do. Guli is an important port. Benefiting from trade and geographical location, Guli has a very comfortable life from top to bottom. The people have no worries about food and clothing, and they have the initiative in trade. Two hours a day is enough to work. Too many, you have to go back to recite sutras after busy work, serve Allah, serve Allah, there is no need to invest all your time in trade...
The high level of living conditions made the people here become well-behaved and harmonious, and everyone they met felt like spring breeze. Zheng He completely fell in love with this beautiful and comfortable country, so after discussing with Shamid, he decided to build a stele pavilion. There is a sentence engraved on the stone tablet:
His country is more than 100,000 miles away from China. The people and things are as good as salt, and the prosperity is as bright as the wind. The stones carved here will be remembered forever.
This is a monument that shows friendship and peace.
Considering that Zheng He would need to stay in Guli for three or four months, he ordered the crew to be divided into two groups. One group stayed on the ship for daily security, guarding the cargo, etc., while the other group went ashore to teach the people of Guli advanced production and operation techniques. , such as making nets for fishing, the accompanying doctors brought advanced Chinese medicine to Guli to treat patients in Guli, and some Central Plains culture and books also entered Guli.
Luo Guanying and Shen Wei went ashore and took a dozen sergeants with them to teach the Guli people craftsmanship in civilian clothes. The Guli people were also enthusiastic and knew how to reciprocate. A citizen named Cunjier told Luo Guanying that coconut rope is a very good trade product. If you want to learn, you can teach them.
Luo Guanying and others would not refuse to learn technology, let alone trade goods.
Shen Wei always thought that coconut ropes were taken from the bark of coconut trees, just like hemp ropes, and then twisted into ropes, but this was not the case. Cunjier picked up a pile of old coconuts, pointed to the coconut shells, and told Luo Guanying and others Man, coconut rope is made from coconut heddles on the coconut shell. This kind of rope is the best navigation rope, strong and durable, and not afraid of seawater erosion.
Luo Guanying was very interested. After all, the ropes on Ming ships were all hemp ropes. Although there is a saying that the hemp rope will become more useful when it encounters water. However, the problem is that when the hemp rope encounters water, dries, encounters water, and dries, it is easy to cause problems after tossing it back and forth for several months. Breakage problems must be checked and replaced regularly.
If coconut rope can solve this problem, it will be a huge gain.
Cunjier taught very seriously and told Luo Guanying and others the details. First, take the coconut shell and place it in the mire of the swamp or the lagoon, and let it fully soak in the water. The soaking time is two months. Then dig out the coconut, smash the outer hard shell, grab the coconut palm, and then beat it with a mallet to separate the coconut palm from the coconut skin.
After obtaining the coconut palm, it needs to be cleaned and then completely dried. After that, it will be similar to the hemp of the Ming Dynasty. It can be formed into coconut ropes and coconut mats by spinning, hand-rubbing, etc.
Cunjier is very proud: "The coconut ropes in Guli can withstand ten years of seawater immersion and have outstanding tensile strength and toughness. Many Western sailors will definitely purchase a large amount of coconut ropes when they come to Guli."
Luo Guanying asked: "We want a large amount of coconut rope, is there any way?"
Cunjir shook his head and said: "Many of the Zhedi people have already found merchants. The coconut ropes have been negotiated and cannot be sold to you. However, if you need them, they can be made fresh, provided that you can find enough." coconut."
Shen Wei pointed to the coconut grove on the island and asked, "Isn't it possible now?"
Cunjir shook his head again: "There are coconut groves in Zhedi. Coconuts are also a good commodity during this season. Many ships sailing will pick coconuts as reserves. Even if you want them, you may not be able to find old coconuts."
Luo Guanying was a little depressed, and winked at Shen Wei. Shen Wei understood, reached out and took out a money bag from Luo Guanying's waist, took out a pearl, and handed it to Cun Jier: "You are a respectable person, your Help is important to us.”
Cunjier looked at the pearl, stretched out his hand to take it, and said with a smile: "It's not impossible. There is a string of islands five hundred miles west from Guli. Most of the islands are uninhabited islands, but they are covered with coconut groves. There you can Find countless coconuts.”
"Five hundred miles?"
Luo Guanying had a headache. The ocean current was from west to east. Although the treasure ship could go against the wind and the current, it still required a lot of manpower. Once the manpower could not keep up, it would probably advance three hundred miles and be sent back another two hundred miles.
"The ocean currents here will change at the end of September. If you want to go west, you need to wait a little longer."
Cunjier told Luo Guanying.
Luo Guanying had no choice but to do this.
Jiugang Xuanwei Department.
Li Xing looked at the fleet that was gradually returning, and after discussing with Zhu Zhi, Zhu Geng and others, he determined the return time:
The second day of June.
Shen Yiyuan and others did not continue the voyage with Zheng He. Opening up a new route was a risky matter. The Ming Dynasty navy was divided into two here. Li Xing took a treasure ship and the remaining Dafu ships to guard the caravan. Return home.
Time flies, and in a blink of an eye it’s the day of departure.
The caravan gathered in the old port in a mighty manner. Li Xing boarded the treasure ship and slowly left the port under the eyes of everyone seeing him off, embarking on the road back to the Ming Dynasty.
Du Yu and Shi Jinqing were very reluctant to leave, and the sergeants of the old port guard were also a little reluctant. After all, these people were familiar to them. Once they left, the place became much deserted and lonely.
Stationing in an overseas enclave and garrisoning in an old port is a great test for a sergeant's psychological quality. Going to a country far away, feeling homesick, surrounded by the sea, with no way home or homeland in sight, can easily make people collapse.
Du Yu did not disappoint Zhu Yunwen. While training the sergeants on a daily basis and preparing for battle at any time, he also set up some guidance personnel. Occasionally, he would get some seafood to improve the food. When he encountered wild boars, he could also make dumplings and arrange for the sergeants to stay awake when they could not sleep. Tell the story of your family in the summer.
This kind of guidance weakens the loneliness of these people.
In order to go to Nanyang again next year, the merchants set up many warehouses and reserved some clerks, and they became the targets of occasional "bullying" by the sergeants. For example, Zhu Zhi set up a large warehouse in the Xuanwei Department of Old Port. There were as many as 80 clerks left behind. These people were not idle and opened a store directly in Old Port...
As the garrison, merchants, and immigrants such as Shi Jinqing brought advanced technology and culture, local indigenous people were gradually attracted and became an important force in the construction of the old port.
Shen Yiyuan stood on the deck, enjoying the sea breeze.
The return journey was joyful. Many merchants were loaded with goods and sailing with full sails. The treasure ships were leading the way. No one would disturb the Ming caravans and fleets returning home.
Departing from the old port, after 25 days, that is, June 27, the treasure ship arrived at Xinzhou Port in Champa.
The officials in Champa were very happy when they heard that the Ming Dynasty fleet was coming. Li Xing was very surprised. The last time the Ming Dynasty fleet came here, he did not see the officials so excited.
Li Xing originally planned to rest in Champa for a while, replenish supplies and then return to Ming Dynasty. However, the Champa official told Li Xing earth-shattering news, and Li Xing immediately ordered: "Replenish fresh water within three hours and set sail immediately!"
The sergeant wore neat armor. This scene made the accompanying businessmen nervous, and it felt like a storm was about to come.
Shen Yiyuan felt the sudden change in the atmosphere, and relied on his relationship with King Zhu Zhi of Liao to board the treasure ship.
Zhu Zhi looked at Shen Yiyuan seriously and said: "Annan tore up the treaty, killed Chen Tianping, the queen of the Chen family of Annan who was sent back by the Ming Dynasty, and ordered the army to attack Guangxi and Yunnan in the Ming Dynasty! The war is probably about to begin!"
"What? The Annan traitor is so bold?"
Shen Yiyuan was shocked.
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