A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1001 Kissing and Kissing
The fleet sails along the coast,

The Guangzhou Fuxu Outer Harbor, which stood at the estuary of the Pearl River, has long disappeared, and the Hong Kong Island Port outside is also far behind.

Before leaving, there was a very solemn ceremony in front of the Nanhai Temple at the Hong Kong Port Pier to pray for a smooth journey to sea.

I also visited the Dragon King Temple in the inner harbor of Xi'ao, Guangzhou, and the Dragon King Temple in the outer harbor of Fuxu.

"The weather has changed,"

"Alang,"

The sky was clear just now, but suddenly the weather changed. The weather at sea is really changeable.

"Fortunately, we are almost at Enzhou Yangjiang Beijin Port. Speed ​​up and enter the port."

Ships mainly rely on the wind for navigation, but they are most afraid of strong storms and rough waves.

Wu Huaiyu's fleet this time was mainly composed of Guangzhou ships. This kind of ship is narrow at the bottom and wide at the top, shaped like two wings. It is mainly supported by iron wood. Although it is extremely strong, it is faster than the Fu ship.

Yangjiang, Enzhou Administrative Office,

Green glazed porcelain from the Gongyi kiln in Luoyang, white glazed green colored porcelain from the Xing kiln in Hebei, Yuejiao celadon from Cixi, Mingzhou, and jade porcelain from the pottery kiln in Changnan Town, Jiangxi, known as fake jade, various green and white, etc. Colored porcelain was fired from the famous porcelain kilns of the Tang Dynasty and transported to Guangzhou Port by water and land.
These are then transported to various places for sale.

Yangjiang has been the seat of Gaoliang County for several dynasties, and has always been the core of Feng Xian.

In the age of European colonization and navigation, those giant sailing ships were still amazing. Although those large soft sailing ships in offshore and inland rivers were no better than China's hard sailing ships, these soft sailing ships still had many advantages when sailing on the ocean.

The boat master said there would be a storm soon and he needed to speed up.

Some were merchant ships from the Wu family, traveling together, and some were other maritime merchants.

It’s safer to sail together,
Besides, following Wu Gong's inspection tour, there must be many conveniences for them to trade along the coast.

The sailors on each ship immediately and skillfully operated the ropes and sails. The sails of the towing sailboat were huge. The nearly ten-foot tall mast and the big sails were all raised and opened. After adjusting the direction, , the ship speed increases again.

Wu Huaiyu stood on the deck and watched the sailors operating the sails and cables as nimbly as monkeys in the jungle.

Porcelain is very suitable for ballast. When ships go to sea, they generally like to bring porcelain with them. It can be used as ballast and is easy to sell.

There are many ships in this fleet. In addition to the officials and soldiers who follow the patrol, this fleet also has many merchant ships following them.

"The fleet comes into port,"

It's just that Gao'en is now separated, and Gaozhou's administrative office has been moved further northwest to the upper reaches of Maoming Water near Yunkai Mountain. This is also related to the fact that several generations of the Feng family expanded northward.

Porcelain, silk, tea, pots and kettles and many other commodities were stored in the cabins of merchant ships.

These are all hard sails. Wu Huaiyu feels that if you sail on the ocean, you should study soft sails.

Fortunately, they were traveling along the coast and could immediately take shelter in the harbor if there were storms.

But this ship is stable in the Caspian Sea, but unstable in the ocean. It is also very afraid of strong winds and waves.

Some ships belong to some wealthy and noble families, and the ships and cargo are theirs. Some merchants rent the ships from the shipowners. There are big and powerful businessmen who charter the ships directly, and there are also many businessmen who charter the ships in partnership.
Most of these ships only sail along the coast with Wu Huaiyu and trade in the coastal ports of Lingnan Road. A few will continue south to Annan Jiaozhou, and some even go to Linyi.

The order was passed down.

Originally belonging to Gaozhou, it was still the seat of Gaoliang County and Gaozhou even in the Qi, Liang and Chen Dynasties of the Southern Dynasties. The Tang Dynasty divided Gaozhou into Yangjiang and other places to establish Enzhou, Chunzhou, etc. After the imperial court consolidated Lingnan, the Feng family was dismissed The Gaozhou Dudufu was created, and the eight states of Gaofu were merged into the four provinces of Engaohualei.

"This time we will stay in Yangjiang for at least three to five days."

Said the boat master.

On the Wu family's ships, each ship is equipped with a boat master. These people are the ones who master the art of holding stars. They are a group of people carefully trained by the Wu family. When running a boat on the sea, there will be a boat master who specializes in navigation.

They are the helmsmen of the sea, watching the stars at night and the sun during the day.

When sailing on the sea, many ships run a fixed route, and the route is also the most precious secret of the captain. They will pass the route from generation to generation, constantly observing the conditions of improving the route, rocks, undertows, and even different changes in each season. All will be recorded to make the route safer.

The star guides on the Wu family's ships can be said to be more powerful than the traditional boat masters, because they have the navigation compass studied by the Wu family and the star guide board. Even if the weather is cloudy, they can't see the stars, the moon, or the land reference objects. You can also use a compass to determine the direction at sea.

As a qualified star guide, they are first of all an excellent traditional boat master. They must understand the traditional skills of stargazing, sungazing and predicting the weather.

Wu Huaiyu liked to chat with the boat master on the boat.

This towing sailboat is Wu Huaiyu's ship, so it is luxuriously equipped. There is a traditional old boat master, a young boat master, and two star pilots, one old and one young.

The old boat master has been running on the sea all his life, and now he has mastered the compass and the star board.

He looked up at the sky, and based on the changes in the clouds, he could accurately know whether there was a tailwind or a headwind blowing next.

By looking at the clearness of the water, you can tell whether it is close to land; by looking at the waves in the distance, you can tell whether there is a hurricane threat.
You can even judge whether you are close to a reef by looking at whether there are fish gathering under the water. If necessary, you can stretch out your long pole and take a piece of mud from the seabed. If you smell the bromine smell, you will know if there is a port nearby where you can replenish fresh water... ····
Chatting with the old boat master on the deck was very rewarding.

I gained a lot of serious navigation knowledge, well, and a lot of informal knowledge, such as where the wine is good in the coastal ports, where the girls are charming...

The old boat master also admired the Wu family's compass and star-pulling skills. He felt that with these things, even if he was blown into some unvisited areas by the storm, he would not be lost. An old house where a treasure.

In the sea, the older the captain on the ship is, the more powerful he is, and the higher his status on the ship. The captain can even be called the soul of the ship, and his importance is even greater than that of the captain, who is called Tsunasou. .

To all the sailors and guards, the boat master is the founder of the ship.

Navigation on the sea depends entirely on him. Without the captain, navigation is like going through hell.

Yangjiang City is located in Beijin Bay, near the mouth of Moyang River.

The old boat master is very familiar with this city.
"Since the Southern Dynasties, Song, Qi, Liang and Chen, and then the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Yangjiang's sea trade has always been prosperous,"

Yangjiang is surrounded by mountains and the sea, and its customs are quite unique. They are brave and commit suicide and do not follow etiquette.

Now the largest wealthy family here is the Feng family. Back then, the Feng family crossed the sea from the north to the south, and later came to Gaoliang to serve as officials. Since then, the family has settled here, and has been married to the Xian family, the chief of the Lingnan slang people for generations.

The Feng family married the Xian family, and through the coastal convenience of Yangjiang, they conducted maritime trade and made huge profits. The Feng family used the money they earned from trade to recruit soldiers and horses, build equipment, unite with the Xian family to conquer the surrounding barbarian tribes, establish prefectures and counties, and collect taxes, thus increasing their strength.

Yangjiang, after several generations of operation by the Feng family, was built into a coastal trading port and an important military fortress.

Living by the sea and relying on maritime trade are the talents engraved in the bones of Gaoliang people.

"Yangjiang is the main road between the five states, and merchant ships from Guangling and Kuaiji follow the southeast sea. Therefore, the products produced by Wu and Yue can often be seen here."

What the old boat master talks about most is the girls from the south of the Yangtze River in Yangjiang City, especially the girls from Yangzhou. The old man likes them the most.

Wine from Jinling, girls from Yangzhou,
The old boat master is old, but his income on the ship is very high. In many ports and terminals along the coast, there are old acquaintances of the old man.

Wu Huaiyu knew that the history of maritime trade in Yangzhou was actually earlier. When maritime trade was opened in the Han Dynasty, Xuwen Port was very busy and prosperous in Lingnan at that time. Yangjiang was not far away and was between Xuwen and Guangzhou, so it also prospered with it.

"Yangjiang is old and old, with five ports."

Although Gao'en is now divided, King Feng An of Lingnan has also been in the dynasty for many years, and Feng Gongzi Xian Zhidai still died young, but after all, this has been run by the Feng family for several generations.
Even though the Enzhou governor is no longer named Feng, the Feng family's ubiquitous influence can still be felt in every aspect of the city.

In addition to the benefits of maritime trade, Yangjiang also has two major industries: fishery and salt industry, especially the salt industry. This was vigorously developed by the Feng family with the full support of Wu Huaiyu during the Zhenguan period. It adopted new salt-drying technology and opened up Several new salt fields were built, and the annual salt output was also amazing, which brought huge profits to the Feng family, the Xian family, the Wu family, etc. Enzhou and the imperial court also received a lot of tax profits from these salt fields.

Yangjiang is surrounded by mountains on three sides, giving birth to the unique Moyang River. Its birthplace, the Yangchun Yunwu Mountains, has also begun to vigorously develop tea cultivation in recent years, and its Yangchun Yunwu tea market has received good response.

Yangjiang's soil is self-sufficient, and it has the advantages of fishing, salt, mountain and sea trade, and has always been the base camp of the Feng family. It has been relatively stable for many years, so there are no very poor families.

There is also a large wealthy family in Yangjiang, that is, the Xian family, generations of in-laws of the Feng family. They are indigenous people from Lingnan for generations. The marriage of the Feng and Xian families has formed a super strong and stable alliance.

Before the storm comes,

The fleet finally sailed into Beijin Port,
Wu Sanlang stood on the deck, looking at this place with some curiosity.

"Alang, someone from the Feng family and the Xian family is here to greet them at the pier." the guard reported.

Wu Huaiyu nodded,
"The Feng family, is it the Feng family of Duke Geng? Sister Jinyu's fiancé's family?"

"Yes, Sixteenth Mother's fiance, the Feng family."

At that time, Feng Ye, the ancestor of the Feng family, returned to the Southern Song Dynasty with 300 people and settled in Xinhui, Guangzhou. From Feng Ye to Feng Rong, three generations of the Feng family served as governors of prefectures and counties in Lingnan.
The Xian family was the leader of the South Vietnamese slang people.
The Feng family married the Xian family, and since then they have subdued all the Yue people, and the Feng family has become one of the most famous wealthy families in Lingnan.

Wu Huaiyu had been married to Feng Ang very early, and Wu Liuniang was engaged to Feng Junhao, Feng Ang's eldest grandson.

It is a pity that although Huaiyu's in-law Feng Zhidai was extremely brave and reached the rank of governor of Gaozhou, he died young due to parasite infection due to his love of eating sashimi, raw snake gallbladder, etc. His son Feng Junhao, son of Songkang County, was favored by the emperor to be the Duke of Gaoliang County. He was granted the rank of Chaosan Dafu and was brought to Chang'an and raised in the palace.

Feng Junhao's prospective son-in-law is pretty good. Now, like his three sons, they are all being raised in the palace by Li Shimin. Uncle Lang is quite familiar with them.

"Sanlang, since you have come to Yangjiang, Enzhou this time, how about I choose a young lady from Feng and Xian families for you to be your concubine?" Huaiyu said to his son with a smile, and he looked at the dock. , where many people from the Feng and Xian clans came to greet him, which was a great honor to this relative.

Wu Huaiyu was very aware of the influence of the Feng Xian family in Lingnan.
"Ah, Aye, I'm only ten years old. It's too early to take a concubine." The third child replied with a smile.

"Don't worry, I'm just checking to see if there's a suitable family to order one from, and I'm not asking Na to accept it now."

Sanlang was neither hesitant nor shy, "It's all up to Aye's arrangement."

Wu Huaiyu nodded.

In the future, the third son, the Marquis of Luzon, will establish a branch of the Wu family in Luzon. He will have to deal with Lingnan, so the Feng and Xian families will definitely not be able to avoid it.

The third child was given a marriage to two families, and each took a daughter as a concubine. This was to build an alliance of interests for him.

He believed that the Feng Xian family would not object.

The two families had been married to the Wu family before. Feng Ang's eldest grandson was betrothed to the sixteenth daughter of Wu Huaiyu, and Wu Huaiyu's nineteenth son was betrothed to the daughter of Xian Zhichen, the head of the Xian family.

Now let’s kiss one more kiss, and it will be even better.

(End of this chapter)