lady, please calm down

The seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, Quanzhou Port, Fujian Road.

At this time of year, the northeast monsoon that facilitates sailing southward is about to end, and the bustling port is also welcoming the last few busy days of the year.

After the first ten days of the month, the port will be temporarily closed. Only after the southwest wind starts in the spring of next year will the ships returning from Southeast Asia and merchant ships heading north to Goryeo and Japan be welcomed.

Yang Bi, a local sea merchant, stood at the dock, looking out at his three large ships that were about to depart. What was being loaded onto the ships were not common commodities such as porcelain, silk, and tea, but instead mostly items with low added value such as grain, oxen, and horses.

"Father, those guests from yesterday are here again."

While he was thinking about it, his eldest son Yang Jian, who was on the ship, came up to him and whispered.

Yang Bi turned his head and saw that more than ten people were looking forward to the person in front of them, about a hundred steps away. The man was about forty years old. Although there were fine lines on his face, he was well maintained and it was obvious that he was used to a life of luxury.

The man following him was only in his sixties. Although his beard was white, it was trimmed very neatly. His every move exuded a sense of majesty without even being angry, unlike an ordinary butler.

The seven or eight followers behind the two men deliberately wore cloth clothes, but they looked alert and had strong bodies, and were much more capable than the ordinary servants and guards.

Seeing that his father remained silent, Yang Jian continued, "Just now the steward has raised the boat fare to ten taels of gold per person. There are sixteen of them in total. That means a total of one hundred and sixty taels of gold."

Yang Bi could naturally hear that his son was obviously interested in taking these people out to sea on a large ship, taking a few merchants with him, and earning some extra money, which was not uncommon.

But this time, Yang Bi frowned and said in a low voice: "They have no goods, no sea pass, and there are many martial artists among their entourage. Who knows whether they are officials or bandits? If we take the wrong people for such a small profit, wouldn't it be like picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelons?"

Seeing his father was unhappy, Yang Jian dared not say anything. After a salute, he turned around and went to the guests. But he heard his father calling him back and whispered, "Be polite when speaking. Don't offend others for no reason."

"Yes."

Yang Jian responded and walked over.

Yang Bi looked over from afar and saw a look of disappointment and anxiety on the other party's face when he heard that Yang Jian politely rejected their request to take the boat.

The attendant behind him seemed to be angry and scolded Yang Jian a few words. At first, Yang Bi was worried that his son could not control his anger and had a conflict with the other party, but he saw Yang Jian bowing and apologizing repeatedly.

Seeing this, the other party was helpless and temporarily returned to the city under the persuasion of the butler who did not look like a butler.

Only then did Yang Bi feel relieved. He had been sailing for half his life and had a keen eye and sense of smell. He could tell at a glance that the other party was no ordinary person.

Now that the old dynasty has just gone and the new dynasty has just been established, the whole of Jiangnan is in a state of panic, and various forces have resurfaced. Although Yang Bi, as a local tyrant, is not afraid of trouble, in the end it is better to have less trouble than more.

At 9:00 p.m., Yang Bi, who was staying at the dock, suddenly saw a group of officials from Quanzhou coming from behind. They had not had time to change into their blue official uniforms, and were still wearing black clothes.

In the entire Quanzhou area, only the officials of the Taxation Police Corps of the Maritime Customs Administration wore sea blue as their official uniform color.

The other party was the direct management department of Yang Bi and other maritime merchants. Yang Bi immediately straightened his robe and stood up to greet them.

When they were still dozens of steps away, Yang Bi could see clearly that the man in the lead was Zhang Bao, captain of the Tax Police Corps. His two deputies, Guo Lin and Shi Liulang, were also there. Wang Baocai, captain of the detachment who had the most dealings with Yang Bi, was walking in front to lead the way for his three superiors.

Hey, the big guys are all out in force!

Yang Bi could not help but quicken his pace, but before he got close, Duan Bing, the leader of another maritime merchant family, hurriedly passed Yang Bi and arrived first.

As soon as they met, he knelt down with a plop and said, "Duan Bing greets Master Zhang!"

Zhang Bao, who had a full beard, laughed and said, "Get up, get up. Kneeling is not allowed in this dynasty. Even in front of His Majesty, people are not allowed to kneel. If you kneel to me, what will I do if someone bullies me in the future?"

Duan Bing got up from the ground and wiped his eyes. "I am not kneeling for Lord Zhang's official uniform, but for Lord Zhang's righteousness!"

Yang Bi, who had walked closer, did not interrupt, but looked at Duan Bing with a smile. He had heard about the latter's affairs.

In August, two merchant ships of Duan Bing loaded with porcelain and silk were robbed near Fushuizhou, southwest of Qiongzhou Island. His son and more than a hundred boatmen were taken hostage.

The Fushuizhou Island was originally a traditional shelter for fishermen in the southeast, but after the Great Zhou Dynasty migrated south and weakened, the island was occupied by Jiaozhi.

The ships were looted by the Jiaozhi garrison on the island.

At that time, after Duan Bing heard the news, he immediately sent his household steward to Fushuizhou with generous gifts and a large sum of money. The cargo on the ship could be lost, but the merchant ship, his son, and the boatmen had to be redeemed.

Unexpectedly, the Jiaozhi garrison asked for a huge ransom of two million taels. Yang Bi, Duan Bing and others were all insignificant small sea merchants in the past. A few years ago, the Pu family, a wealthy merchant in Quanzhou, went crazy for some reason and cooperated with the Zhou army to invade Huaibei.

Afterwards, the Zhou army was defeated, and the Pu family naturally suffered the consequences. Together with the other three top maritime merchant families involved in the incident, they were uprooted by Captain Zhang.

The scene in which the Pu family members were taken outside the city and lined up for execution was Captain Zhang's famous work. Yang Bi still remembers the scene vividly.

As the saying goes, when a whale dies, all things come to life. After the top maritime merchants such as the Pu family were wiped out, second-rate maritime merchants such as Yang, Duan, Zhu, etc., who were originally not well-known in the local area, had the opportunity to rise.

At that time, they lacked large ships suitable for ocean voyages. After confiscating Pu's ships, Zhang Bao established the Nanyang Merchants' Steam Navigation Company, using ships as shares and setting up joint ventures with upstarts such as Yang and Duan.

This is why several of these companies are thriving today.

Back to Duan Bing, at first he only thought that the extortion of Fushuizhou was related to the newly established Da Chu, and he would never make enemies with Jiaozhi because of a businessman like him.

In order to raise the ransom, I had to shamelessly ask my colleagues for help and loans.

But everyone is a nouveau riche, and being nouveau riche means that they are in a state of rapid expansion. They do not have much money available for spending at any time, and they really cannot gather that much money in a short period of time.

Later, this matter somehow reached Zhang Bao's ears. At that time, Zhang Bao went straight to Duan Bing and scolded him: "Why didn't you say it if you had something to say?"

"This is a matter concerning both countries. Duan doesn't dare to damage the friendship between the two countries for the sake of one family's affairs."

"pedantic!"

After scolding Duan Bing, Zhang Bao disappeared for a month.

It was not until September that Zhang Bao reappeared in Quanzhou, bringing back not only the Duan family's boat, his son, the boatman, but also all the cargo on board.
After Duan's son returned home, the news gradually spread that Zhang Bao led the ship south and did not go to Fushuizhou at all, but went directly to the east coast of Jiaozhi, went up the Red River, and bombarded Thang Long City, the capital of Jiaozhi.

His Majesty also ordered someone to deliver a letter, severely reprimanding the King of Jiaozhi for using both his civil and military power to put pressure on Jiaozhi, which resulted in the other king personally ordering the Fushuizhou garrison to quickly release the Duan family fleet.

At this point, the crisis of the Duan family, which had once faced the risk of ruin, was resolved.

You know, at that time, the remnants of the Zhou army had not been completely eliminated and the city of Lin'an was still in a turbulent atmosphere. Your Majesty still had the energy to deal with such a small matter under such circumstances, which shows that he took it very seriously!
This was also the first time that these maritime merchants felt the power of the country.

As he was talking, the major maritime merchants guarding the dock gathered in front of Zhang Bao. After a round of flattery, the manager of the maritime merchant Zhu family tried to test him, "Master Zhang, His Majesty encourages us to go out to sea for business, but to go to India, we must go through Srivijaya. Srivijaya is not polite, not only often imposes heavy taxes on maritime merchants, but also makes it difficult to distinguish between officials and bandits, and often robs privately. If this place is blocked, the route will be blocked."

"Don't worry about this."

As Zhang Bao spoke, he pointed to the merchant ships anchored on the sea, loaded with grain, cattle and horses, and said, "This time, the court rented your ships to transport grain and livestock to Luzon for the soldiers and civilians led by Chen Gong, the governor of Nanyang. Within five years, the court will open up a route to the west for everyone. No matter whether they are officials or bandits, anyone who blocks our merchant ships will be our enemy!"

"it is good!"

"Long live His Majesty, Lord Zhang is mighty!"

They travel the seas all year round, so they naturally understand the value of ocean routes. Just starting from Quanzhou, they can make a hundred times the profit by transporting porcelain, silk, tea and other goods to Srivijaya. If they return to a place further west, how much can they earn?
His Majesty once said in an interview that people in the far west of Europe regard our porcelain silk as something used by gods and value it as equivalent to gold. They are really stupid and have a lot of money.

If there is national power to back them up and open up shipping routes for them, that would be like opening the door to treasure.

Although the Tax Police Corps punishes tax evaders extremely harshly, they will really do their job after receiving the money!
Zhang Bao raised his hand and slowly pressed it down to calm the excited sea merchants. Then he smiled and said, "Your Majesty has already said that everyone should not only focus on the few acres of thin land that farmers use to make a living! If you want to make money, you can look at the world. Those who can operate in the five oceans and sell goods to four continents and make money from foreigners are the role models of merchants who do not compete with the people for profits! As long as everyone abides by the law, even if you are rich enough to rival a country, Your Majesty will not let others plot against you."

"Thank you for your care, Your Majesty"

Everyone looked towards the south with solemn expressions and bowed.

Lord Zhang's words are still very credible. After all, his background is not difficult to find out. Your Majesty has been good friends with Lord Zhang since he was young. According to gossip, it was Lord Zhang who brought Your Majesty to the brothel for the first time.

In this case, Lord Zhang is still your Majesty's guide.

"Oh, by the way, don't forget His Majesty's instructions. Whenever you come across a new crop, try to bring back the seeds."

The two sides talked for a while, and Yang Bi finally saw an opportunity to approach and chat: "Master Zhang, Master Guo and Master Shi are here today, is there anything important?"

This time Zhang Bao smiled but said nothing. He looked up at Wang Baocai, who received the signal and said, "In August, Zhou's army was defeated in the southwest of Fujian Road. There are still a few remnants who have not been brought to justice. Your Majesty has sent a special order to ask Lord Zhang to keep a close eye on the southeast coast to prevent the remnants from escaping overseas!"

Oh, so it was because of this incident. Although the main force of the Zhou army had been defeated and the three families of Qian, Cui and Zhang had been escorted to Lin'an, there were rumors that the whereabouts of Zhou's treacherous prime minister Qin Huizhi and the false emperor Chai Ji are still unknown.

It is always bad to cut the grass without removing the root. No wonder Lord Zhang took it so seriously and personally brought his deputy to inspect. Guo Lin, who was standing behind Zhang Bao, was a registered student of the current emperor. He naturally took this matter seriously. He smiled and looked at everyone, "There are no suspicious people on board the ships that are going out to sea, right?"

Everyone shook their heads and said, "Master Guo, please send your subordinates to investigate. There is no one on our ship without a badge."

This is a very rigorous statement. It does not say that there are no "suspicious people", but only that there are no "people without tokens".

Having a seagoing token means that one has passed the identity review of the Maritime Customs. Recently, because Chen Bokang led his people to Southeast Asia, a large number of doctors and supplies were needed.

For this reason, many people, in order to seek huge profits, went to Luzon by ship to see if they could find some business opportunities.

Therefore, there were passengers on every ship. They had no way of telling whether these passengers had any problems or not. As long as they had tokens, they would collect money and let them board the ship.

If the person who possesses the token still has problems, it is not the maritime merchants' fault, but the Maritime Customs' fault for not keeping a good check.

Seeing everyone's sincere faces, Zhang Bao wanted to smile and skip the inspection, but Guo Lin said first: "Okay, then I will let the brothers go on board to take a look. It's all for official business, please don't blame me, masters."

After saying that, Guo Lin waved his hand and said, "Captain Wang, take the men up."

Wang Baocai was Zhang Bao's old subordinate when he was a soldier in Tongshan in his early years, and Guo Lin was His Majesty's registered disciple. The former did not speak but the latter spoke. Wang Baocai could not help but look at Zhang Bao with an embarrassed look.

Zhang Bao laughed, "If Lord Guo tells you to go, just go. Why are you still standing there?"

After receiving Zhang Bao's order, Wang Baocai hurriedly took his brothers to board the ship for inspection.

Although Zhang Bao is courageous, he has strong gangster habits and is sometimes easily careless due to loyalty and face. Guo Lin just makes up for this character flaw.

Others did not notice the checks and balances of power within the Tax Police Corps, but Yang Jian, who was following behind Yang Bi, looked at his father with fear!
Fortunately, Daddy had foresight and did not take those people without badges!

If he did, he would be in trouble if he was caught. In Yang Jian's view, being fined was a small matter, but the good relationship of mutual trust that his Yang family had worked so hard to establish with the court would be damaged.

Once his family was excluded from the maritime merchant community by the imperial court, it would really be like what his father said, 'picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelons'.

In front, Yang Bi seemed to sense something and turned around to meet his son's admiring and fearful gaze, and then he felt alert in his heart.

After hearing what Zhang Bao said, Yang Bi suddenly thought of those people who wanted to take the boat this morning. Could it be that they were really the defeated army of Zhou State who wanted to escape overseas?
This is very likely. Among the soldiers and civilians that Chen Bokang brought to Southeast Asia, there were many old people from the previous dynasty. The ministers of the Zhou Dynasty who escaped the fate of being wiped out in the battle of Fujian Road ran to Luzon. Maybe they could find someone to secretly take them in.

Yang Bi, who always believed that less trouble is worse than more trouble, thought seriously for a few breaths. Whether it was the opportunity for his Yang family to rise after the demise of the Pu family, or the actions of the new dynasty endorsing maritime merchants and confronting Jiaozhi, Yang Bi could not think of a reason why he would not stand on the side of Da Chu.

Finally, Yang Bi stepped forward and whispered something in Zhang Bao's ear.

Zhang Bao raised his eyebrows and said "Oh?" with interest.

That night, at midnight.

After a busy day, the city of Quanzhou gradually fell asleep.

Quanzhou has a developed maritime trade, with frequent merchants coming and going, and luxurious inns are everywhere in the city.

The owner of Renfengmen, Hao Lilai, was suddenly invited to the government office by an old friend who worked there half an hour ago.

After the prefect personally inquired and learned that a group of merchants with Central Plains accents had indeed stayed in the Lilai Inn a few days ago, the prefect could not help but look at the bearded man who did it.

The man nodded to the prefect and said, "Leave it to me."

Then he took Manager Hao out of the government office.

The prefect was a little unhappy. Normally, law enforcement in the prefecture should be done by his subordinates, but Lord Zhang looked like he was ready to take on the responsibility. However, thinking of the other party's background, the prefect could do nothing.

When they arrived outside the government office, Manager Hao noticed something was wrong and hurriedly said to Zhang Bao, "Sir, is there a bandit living in our inn?"

"Hehe, maybe he's more powerful than the bandit."

At this time, Zhang Baozhi still believed that the person staying at Lilai Inn was an official from the Zhou State who had escaped.

Shopkeeper Hao was terrified when he heard this, and trembled, "Sir! I don't recognize those thieves. I thought they were just ordinary businessmen!"

"How could Zhang be the kind of person who would take advantage of the opportunity to frame someone and blackmail him? Don't worry! You can quietly help me open the courtyard where that person is staying."

After pacifying Hao Lilai, Zhang Bao returned to the Tax Police Corps headquarters in the city, picked out fifty good fighters from among his brothers, equipped each of them with a sword and a crossbow, and sneaked towards Lilai Inn in the dark.

With the guidance of Shopkeeper Hao, everyone easily found the courtyard that was suspected to be that of Official Zhou.

At a glance from Zhang Bao, the brothers immediately spread out in battle formation and stood outside the door in full alert.

But then, just as Wang Baocai reached into the crack of the door with his dagger to pry open the bolt, he heard a low shout from inside the courtyard, "Who!"

Wang Baocai's movements were so slight that even Zhang Bao, who was standing next to him, could not hear them if one did not listen carefully.

But the people in the hospital noticed it so quickly even though it was the middle of the night. The other party was so alert, which further confirmed that there was a problem.

Zhang Bao acted decisively and changed his strategy from clever attack to hard attack. He pulled Wang Baocai away and kicked the door panel with his leg.

The door bolt in the inn was made of ordinary wood after all, and it broke into two with one kick.

The two door panels hit the wall heavily, making a loud bang.

It is especially clear in the middle of the night.

Inside the courtyard, six or seven strong men rushed over with swords drawn, and one of them even shouted into the house, "Enemy attack! Protect the master and leave!"

Zhang Bao hadn't fought with anyone for a long time since he came to Quanzhou. He was itching to show off his skills, so he rushed up with several brothers to fight with the others without using his crossbow.

But Guo Lin in the back couldn't help but frown. The other party was attacked late at night, and their first reaction was to shout "Enemy attack!"

Judging from the reactions of the men in the army when they were attacked, the man on the other side was not a civilian but a general in the army!

However, the battle reports received in the past two months have already stated that all the senior generals in the Zhou army have been executed, either dead or captured.

So who is the other party?
In front, Zhang Baogang started fighting with his opponent and realized something was wrong. Every one of his opponents was a skilled fighter!

Seeing a brother beside him having his right arm cut off by a knife, Zhang Bao couldn't help but get anxious and shouted, "This is a tricky trick. Brothers, fight together!"

"."

You are a legitimate fifth-rank imperial general, but you shouted out the bandit jargon. Who is the soldier and who is the bandit?

Seeing several more people jumping out of the house, Guo Lin could no longer care about anything else and immediately shouted, "Load the crossbows! Be careful not to hurt Lord Zhang and the brothers!"

Just as he finished speaking, there were a few "bang~bang~" sounds of strings. The next moment, the man who was fighting with Zhang Bao was hit by five or six featherless short arrows on the head, neck and chest.

At a distance of more than ten steps, the silent and invisible crossbow was unavoidable. In addition, Zhang Bao and his men fought in close combat. After a few breaths, most of the men who were accidentally pricked by the crossbow were killed.

As soon as the fight in the courtyard ended, Guo Lin led his men into the main room.

However, an old man in his sixties had just put on his clothes. When he saw everyone coming in, he slowly sat down on the chair as if he had accepted his fate.

The other middle-aged man with an elegant appearance and a pale face was still putting on his coat, but his trembling hands made it difficult for him to tie the armpit ties of his coat.

Seeing this, the old man sighed, stood up, stepped forward, stretched out his hands and slowly helped him tie it up, and then whispered in his ear: "Now that things have come to this, Your Majesty, please pay attention to your manners."

A few steps away, Guo Lin looked at the two men who did not look like military generals in confusion, and was a little bewildered for a moment.

But then, Zhang Bao walked into the main room angrily. Because his brother was injured, he snatched the crossbow from Shi Liulang and pointed it at him, "You bastard, pay for my brother's life!"

With a roar, the middle-aged man shuddered.

Under the torchlight, the middle-aged man who had been trying to stay calm was so frightened by the crossbow pointing at him that he sat down on the bed, waving his hands and saying, "Don't kill me, don't kill me, I am the emperor of the Great Zhou, he..."

The middle-aged man who claimed to be the Emperor of the Great Zhou stretched out his trembling arm and pointed at the old man, "He is the treacherous minister Qin Huizhi who is wanted by the Emperor of the Great Chu! It was he who assassinated the Emperor of the Great Chu without my knowledge, and it was he who planned the invasion of Huaibei in the past. It has nothing to do with me." (End of this chapter)