prosperous age

Chapter 988 1079 Maritime Merchants

On the sea, twelve ships lowered their sails and two Ming merchant ships were surrounded in the middle.

"Ask the person in charge on your ship to come out and speak."

On the large ship, the officer with the loudest voice shouted at the two merchant ships opposite.

When they shouted like that, the people on the other side became even more nervous.

Not to mention that the military uniforms they wear may reveal their identities. Nowadays, there are many soldiers who become robbers. When businessmen see soldiers, they become even more nervous.

You know, during the Longqing period, the Ming navy was truly both a soldier and a pirate.

After all, at that time, many of the navy formed by the government were recruited from maritime merchants, and many of these people engaged in piracy.

Now that the South China Sea Navy has been formed, most of these people have been dismissed by Yu Dayou, and soldiers are directly selected from coastal garrisons, so there are fewer news about soldiers and bandits.

In particular, many people followed Zeng Yiben to become pirates, and he took many of them away.

Of course, these people were eventually wiped out by the Ming Navy.

"Boss, this is not good. This place is far away from the Ming Dynasty, so there shouldn't be a navy here."

In the cabin of a large Fu ship, two people were looking at the fleet outside through the porthole.

The ship that intercepted them looked like a navy warship. Most of the people on board were wearing military uniforms, but there were also many who were not.

After all, where they are now, there are no clear four seasons.

Not only was the temperature high, but the air was also very humid. It didn't take long for everyone to start sweating. Many people had already taken off their clothes and were shirtless.

"We've never met anyone here before. We should have thought that Lin Feng would go to Luzon and we shouldn't have come here."

The boss sighed, feeling extremely regretful.

Li Jin, a businessman from Fujian, spent a lot of money to get a boat charter when the Ming Dynasty opened up the sea, and then partnered with others to start a maritime business.

Originally, he was not going to take the Luzon route, but he learned about Manila from the foreign merchants who came to Yuegang two years ago, and they warmly invited them to trade there, so he tried to make the trip.

This happened two years ago.

But after this trip, Li Jin couldn't stop.

The profit of this route is really too high.

The foreigners in Manila bought all kinds of Ming Dynasty goods he brought at high prices, making him earn a fortune.

Once you see the benefits, who can stop?

As he has made more trips in recent years, he is not as worried as before, because there are really not many colleagues traveling through Manila.

It was he who brought back the news that Lin Feng led his men to attack Manila City.

Although he had hesitated before setting off, worried that he would encounter Lin Feng's pirate ship.

Although he would give some tribute to the Japanese pirates at sea every year, they might not acknowledge it when they knew that Lin Feng had suffered heavy losses in Manila.

Moreover, this should be the time when Lin Feng needs money the most.

It is too easy to kill and rob at sea.

As long as you do it cleanly and leave no trouble, who knows whether you were robbed by pirates or a shipwreck occurred.

The more Li Jin thought about it, the more frightened he became. His face turned even paler and his lips had already lost their color.

He is also very rich and has made a lot of money from sailing in recent years, so he values ​​his life even more.

"What should I do? Give me an idea."

Just as Li Jin was about to tell his manager to think of a solution, the cabin door was pushed open by a sailor, who shouted inside, "Boss, the people outside asked the boss to go out and talk."

"What are they going to do?"

Li Jin was so scared at this moment that he shouted hurriedly.

"Who are they and where are they from? Can you tell?"

The manager managed to remain calm. In fact, he was very nervous when encountering such a thing on the sea.

However, he is just a manager after all, not the boss.

Of course, it doesn't mean that they can survive if they hand over the supplies on the ship, but at worst they can join the gang to save their lives.

The boss’s fate may not be saved.

But at this time, he could only take care of himself first.

"They don't look like they are trying to make a living on the sea. They look more like real government troops. I have seen their gunboat in Yuegang before. It is the latest warship of the South China Sea Navy."

the sailor replied.

"Government troops? You said there are government troops outside?"

When Li Jin heard the sailor say this, he immediately asked.

"Yes, sir, it should be the government troops."

the sailor answered immediately.

"Then I'll go out and take a look."

When saying this, Li Jin glanced at the manager, and seeing him nod, he walked out with trembling steps.

He was in front, and the person in charge followed closely behind.

All sea merchants who go out to sail have some background, and they definitely have connections in the officialdom.

Otherwise, the boat would have been taken away long ago.

In fact, most of the sea merchants just follow the ship at the beginning, and then hand it over to a manager like him, or they can ask the manager to be in charge, and they just count money and enjoy themselves at home.

Li Jin thought it was nice to stay on the sea, and because Manila was a new city, he would come here every time to see what the city built by the barbarians looked like.

Perhaps, because there are not many ships sailing here, he feels it is safer.

However, after this incident, Mr. Li is afraid that he will not go out to sea easily again.

When Li Jin came out and stood at the bow, he saw a small boat lowered from the opposite side coming quickly towards this side. The people on the boat were all wearing naval uniforms.

"May I ask the officer on the other side, why are you blocking our way?"

Li Jin's trembling throat let out a slightly hoarse shout, which was in stark contrast to his usual loud voice.

But at this moment, the men were actually all scared and no one noticed.

"Are you the owner of these two ships? What's your name?"

A voice came from the opposite boat. It was a man in the official uniform of a centurion at the bow who was asking questions.

"Li Jin from Fuzhou, is the officer opposite us from the South China Sea Navy?"

Li Jin introduced himself and asked bravely.

"Yes, can't you see our flag?"

The other party said unhappily, and then asked the person behind him: "Yes, yes, let's see if it's right."

Soon, the person on the other end started mumbling something, but I couldn't hear clearly what he was saying because the distance was too far.

However, it is true that the Ming navy would stop and question ships encountered at sea, which is to prevent smuggling.

The Ming Dynasty did not have a proper customs, so the anti-smuggling work was handled by government officials on land, and by the navy at sea.

"Li Jin, right? Bring your shopkeeper to our ship. My general has something to ask you."

As soon as the other party finished speaking, not only Li Jin, but also the manager beside him turned pale.

"Boss, we've all gone over here, so we can't leave anyone behind."

The manager looked at the boat getting closer and closer and said fearfully.

"Uncle Chen, it's not that I don't want you to stay here, but the other side asked us to go over. Don't be afraid, I know a lot of people in the Fujian government, as long as they are officers and soldiers, they shouldn't dare to mess around."

Li Jin had no choice but to say.

He didn't even dare to go there alone.

Having someone familiar following you can give you some courage.

Soon, the boat came closer, and Li Jin and Uncle Chen followed them onto the boat reluctantly.

Soon, the two men boarded the Ming army's Dafu ship. The captain at the bow took them to the top floor of the ship, where they finally saw an armored general.

Li Jin had a lot of contact with officials and was familiar with judging the rank of officials by their clothing, but if they were wearing armor, he really didn't know how to tell.

Therefore, although Li Jin was rude to these generals when he was in the Ming Dynasty, when he came here, he still took the initiative to salute them with a respectful look.

"Li Jin from Fuzhou, I already know that you only have the pilot's guide for one boat. Whose is the other one?"

The general on the opposite side ignored him and asked directly.

In fact, this is a problem common to all maritime merchants. One ship's pilot may be used by two or even more ships.

As for the officials, they have also been informed, so as long as they are not caught in the act, nothing will happen.

Even if you get caught, you'll be fine as long as you give him some money.

As for meeting them at sea, you would naturally give them money.

The South China Sea Navy will impose the same tax as Yuegang, that is, additional tax and a fine of twice the tax silver.

As for how the silver is divided, the merchants don’t care, as long as the money is given.

In fact, this money eventually went into the private account of the South China Sea Navy. After all, the navy was huge, and even with Wei Guangde's connections, the money was not enough.

Therefore, it would be a good idea to make some money from the maritime merchants to supplement the navy's finances.

Wei Guangde turned a blind eye to this matter and pretended not to know.

Anyway, the maritime merchants won’t tell anyone. Even those with backgrounds will never make this public.

However, Li Jin was still afraid that this group of real soldiers had part-time jobs, which would be bad.

After all, this is out in the vast ocean.

"Sir, we have prepared a lot of cargo this time, so for the sake of safety, we have prepared an extra boat."

Li Jin did not answer, but the manager behind him stepped forward and spoke.

"and who are you?"

Deng Zilong looked at him and asked.

"I am the steward of the ship, the steward of the Li family. My name is Chen Zhenlong."

The steward replied hurriedly.

"You are wearing a scarf. Do you have any achievements?"

Deng Zilong looked at his clothes and asked curiously.

"The student was a poor student and only passed the examination to become a scholar. To make a living, he worked as a steward in the Li family."

Chen Zhenlong spoke.

"The road to the imperial examination is like a thousand troops crossing a single-plank bridge. I have heard about the difficulty of the provincial examination. My Lord Admiral also stopped here."

Deng Zilong waved his hand indifferently and said, "However, the tax payment must not be less than a cent."

"Yes, yes, it's time to make up for it. I'll go back and bring the tax money over right away."

Li Jin replied hurriedly at this time. He was eager to finish the matter here as soon as possible, hand over the silver and continue on his journey.

At this time, Li Jin had already made up his mind that after this trip, he would just stay at home and never go out to sea again.

"Not urgent."

Deng Zilong waved his hand and said, "Boss Li, and Manager Chen, do you often go to Manila for business?"

“I go there twice a year.”

Chen Zhenlong replied.

"Then you should be familiar with the place. Tell me about the situation in Manila."

So through the questions and answers, Deng Zilong soon learned about the deployment of the barbarians on Luzon Island. He knew that small strongholds had been established in various parts of Luzon, which they used as a basis to force the local natives to surrender and work for them.

The barbarians on Luzon Island not only collected products, including food, timber, spices, etc., but also asked them to help build the city.

Although Manila was not built for a long time, the city was built quickly because a large number of local people were recruited.

The inner city wall has been built, and the outer city wall is still being planned. Many artillery batteries have been established.

However, because these artillery batteries were not in place, they could only serve as garrison points and become outer support points for the city of Manila to assist in defense.

The barbarian navy had only a small number of ships in Manila city, and a dock was built on a nearby island, which was the barbarian’s water fortress.

When the barbarian warships arrived in Luzon, they mostly stopped at nearby islands instead of directly at Manila city. Only their treasure ships would stop there to facilitate the transportation of goods.

Deng Zilong learned about the current situation of Manila City, and naturally asked about the approximate number of foreigners there and the situation of the treasure ships.

As for the Spanish treasure ship, Li Jin and Chen Zhenlong had only seen it from afar. They only said that it was very big, but did not elaborate on other details.

After all, they couldn't get close and could only see truckloads of goods being moved in and out.

"Do you know where Lin Feng is?"

After asking the concerned questions, Deng Zilong suddenly asked.

"Lin Feng? Sir, we are merchants, but we have no connection with the Japanese pirates. We don't know them."

Li Jin said hurriedly.

"I didn't say you were in the same group. I just asked. Since you travel between Ming and Luzon, you should know about Lin Feng's attack on Manila."

Deng Zilong asked.

"We know about this, but we really don't know where Lin Feng went after leaving Manila."

Chen Zhenlong hurriedly emphasized that he would try his best to distance themselves from the Lin Feng Pirate Group.

This is indeed the case. Although you give someone money as bribe, it does not mean that they have a connection. Giving money is just to protect safety at sea.

As he spoke, the worry on Chen Zhenlong's face had eased. Perhaps he had gradually calmed down during the conversation just now, and had some guesses about the purpose of the Ming Dynasty navy fleet they encountered.

"I think you should have thought of our purpose."

Sure enough, in the next sentence, Deng Zilong spoke clearly.

"Yes, sir, you are tracking down the Japanese pirates, but we really don't know where Lin Feng ran off to."

Chen Zhenlong said hurriedly.

"Well, I've remembered your names. I'm going to tell you something. This one is to keep an eye out for any traces of the Lin Feng Pirate Group along the way. If you find any, send someone to notify me.

Our fleet will anchor in the north of Luzon Island. When you know the news, please send someone to inform me immediately.

Secondly, pay attention to the situation in Manila, especially the strength and deployment of the barbarians in Luzon, and try to find out as much as you can."

Having said this, Deng Zilong paused.

"Yes, yes, we will do as you say. If we find any pirates, we will report them to the authorities immediately."

Chen Zhenlong replied quickly.

"There's one more thing."

Just when the two thought the matter was over, Deng Zilong spoke again.