Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 69 Demon
The docks of Guangzhou Port were bustling with people and the noise of carriages and horses. Coolies shouted low slogans and carried bags of rice, taking turns to load them onto a large ship. Their linen clothes were soaked with sweat.

The sea breeze, with a salty and humid smell, blew across the dock piled with goods: cotton, raw silk, tea, porcelain, and spices from afar, extending from the berth to the warehouse.

Merchants of all sizes came from all directions, some carrying bamboo baskets, some leading mules and horses, their faces filled with desire for wealth.

Several vendors were shouting their wares, their voices rising one after another, interweaving with the shouts of the laborers, forming a unique symphony.

The Port of Guangzhou is not only the most important cargo distribution center in the south of the Ming Dynasty, but also the largest trading port in Southeast Asia.

Merchants from Japan, Luzon, Siam, Annan, Champa, Johor, Sulu and even India, Persia and Europe met here, and different languages ​​and cultures also blended here. Their costumes were different, and their faces were full of curiosity and yearning for this prosperous port.

As the sun gradually rose higher, the hustle and bustle of Guangzhou Port became more and more lively.

The ships coming in and out of the harbor swayed on the water, their sails and rigging creaking.

Transactions on the shore are even more frequent, with the clinking of silver and the noise of bargaining intertwined, forming a vibrant market scene.

In a corner of the port, some merchants were discussing and exchanging information from all over the world, looking for possible business opportunities.

"That ship is indeed huge, a giant beast on the sea!" Chen Zhongji sat by the window, just in time to see the giant ship from the South China Sea docked at the dock in the distance, with deep envy in his eyes.

"Longtou, such a big ship must be loaded with a lot of treasures." He Laosi's eyes were full of greed.

"Longtou, Chief He, we have been observing here for more than ten days. This ship is not only filled with various treasures, but also laden with gold and silver." Yang Yao said flatteringly: "If we can find an opportunity to seize it, we brothers will surely share a lot of the treasure."

"Full of gold and silver?" He Laosi glanced at him. "Could it be that you sneaked onto their ship and inspected it yourself?"

"Uh..." Yang Yao was suddenly speechless. After a long pause, he whispered, "I haven't had the chance to sneak aboard to see how much gold and silver they've taken. ... But my brothers and I have already learned everything about this group's movements. In less than a month, the people on this ship have carried out several silver chests, which must have at least 60,000 or 70,000 taels of silver. I figured there must be quite a bit of silver stored on board, perhaps 200,000 or 300,000 taels."

"What nonsense!" He Laosi scolded. "Which foreign merchant would bring hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to Guangzhou to purchase goods? ... You've probably never seen silver before! One hundred thousand taels of silver, do you know how much? ... Fuck you! A few years ago, when the head of the Yan family was in Dongfan Bengang (now Beigang, Taiwan), intending to establish a base and settle there, using it as a base for us, they could only offer a little over 80,000 taels of silver. How could a foreign merchant from Southeast Asia just bring a shipload of silver to Guangzhou to purchase goods?"

"What if they've mined a mountain of gold or seized a silver mine?" Yang Yao said nervously. "They've certainly brought many silver chests ashore over the past month, then brought back cartloads of goods to load onto the ship. Oh, and they've also bought quite a few people, hundreds of them, young and old, men and women, all kept in the cargo yard east of the dock. I'm wondering if these Southeast Asian merchants have also seized some deserted island, like Master Yan did a few years ago, holding their ground and building their own fortune."

"Tsk!" He Laosi sneered. "Do you think anyone can emulate Boss Yan, occupying a deserted island, relocating thousands of people, colonizing and reclaiming wasteland, and achieving great success? Humph, it must be that Boss Yan was destined to suffer a disaster and died early, which ultimately allowed Zheng Yiguan to gain power!"

"..." Yang Yao was very dissatisfied with the interruption, but the other party was the right-hand man of the leader, a close and trusted person, and his status was much higher than that of a small follower like himself who had just joined the team. So he kept silent, picked up the chopsticks, and kept putting food into his mouth.

"Youngest, how many people are there in this group of Southeast Asian merchants?" Chen Zhongji asked.

"About fifty or sixty people."

"Only fifty or sixty people?" Chen Zhongji was greatly surprised. "Only fifty or sixty people on such a big ship! ... Did you see it clearly?"

How can it be?

To operate this huge ship with a carrying capacity of tens of thousands of hu (the carrying capacity of a ship with a carrying capacity of tens of thousands of hu in the Ming Dynasty was approximately between 380 and 400 tons), it would probably require more than two hundred people!

Many foreign ships traveling on the sea are half the size of this ship, but they have fifty or sixty sailors at the helm. If you add the gunners, helmsmen, and those on rotation, there are almost seventy people on board.

Of course, due to the special craftsmanship and design of the Red Haired Barbarians' ships, there are fewer people on board, and many of their sailors are part-time gunners.

But no matter what, the three-masted sailing ship at the dock doesn't need only fifty or sixty people to operate it!

"Big Dragon Head, this ship is so huge, and its appearance is so strange. Look at its length, it must be thirty meters! It's hard not to notice such a dazzling ship."

"...Plus, rumors were circulating that they were extremely generous, purchasing goods worth tens of thousands of taels of silver. So, we kept an eye on it for over ten days. We discovered that the entire ship, including the sailors aboard, contained only about fifty or sixty people. Oh, and even if we didn't count them, there were more, but definitely no more than a hundred!"

"Hiss..." Chen Zhongji's eyes darted around after hearing this, his fingers tapping lightly on the tabletop as if he were pondering something. "Longtou, you're not planning on seizing this ship, are you?" He Laosi, upon seeing this, immediately understood his intentions and cautiously advised, "This kind of ship is definitely equipped with cannons, and the sailors might even have firearms. Furthermore, this foreign ship is so massive, it's not as easy to board as an ordinary Fuzhou or Haicang ship! If it were at sea, with its massive sails, it would surely be incredibly fast, and we wouldn't be able to catch up."

"If we can use this ship for our own purposes and equip it with more personnel and weapons, not only the red-haired barbarians, but even Zheng Yiguan will have to retreat when he sees us." Chen Zhongji ignored He Laosi's persuasion and was still coveting the big ship.

Chen Zhongji was from Haicheng, Zhangzhou Prefecture, Fujian Province. He had previously been in Fujian and Japan, doing some maritime business that was banned by the government.

In June of the fourth year of the Tianqi reign of the Ming Dynasty (1624), he swore brotherhood with Chinese businessmen (pirates) gathered in Nagasaki, Japan, including Yan Siqi, Yang Tiansheng, Zheng Zhilong, Li De, and Hong Sheng. They elected Siqi as the leader of the alliance and planned to take advantage of the unstable foundation of the Japanese shogunate's rule to launch an uprising and occupy Nagasaki as their base.

As a result, the matter was exposed and the shogunate sent troops to hunt him down, forcing him to flee to the sea.

Arriving at Zhouzaiwei, an island off the west coast of Kyushu, Chen Zhongji offered advice to Yan Siqi: "I've heard that Shuqiu is a desolate island on the sea, but it commands the southeast and has fertile land suitable for domination. We should first seize its land, and then invade the four directions. This way, we can achieve our goal of conquering Fuyu."

Everyone accepted his advice, and on August 23, they led the fleet across the bay and docked at Bengang (now Beigang, Taiwan).

Seeing the fertile land and abundant water on the island, with large areas of uncultivated wilderness, Yan Siqi decided to expand the territory and start a business there. He led his men to cut down trees, clear the land, and build huts.

Yan Siqi planned and built a crisscross camp with a large platform in the center, making it the central hub for organizing and directing the reclamation efforts. At the same time, he sent Chen Zhongji and Yang Tiansheng to lead a fleet to the hometowns of Zhangzhou and Quanzhou to recruit over 3,000 immigrants.

Yan Siqi divided the settlers into ten villages, distributed silver, oxen, farm tools, etc., and started the earliest large-scale reclamation activities in Yizhou.

Land reclamation requires capital investment. Yan Siqi used his existing thirteen large ships and the convenience of maritime transportation to develop maritime trade with the mainland. As a result, both people and wealth flourished, and his power gradually gained.

However, in September of the fifth year of the Tianqi reign (1625), Yan Siqi contracted typhoid fever and fell ill a few days later. He died young at the age of .

After Yan Siqi's death, the people elected Zheng Zhilong as the leader to continue the cause of land reclamation.

However, as a veteran, Chen Zhongji was unwilling to accept Zheng Zhilong, a young man who was still wet behind the ears, so he led his people away and formed his own faction.

However, no one expected that after they parted ways, Zheng Zhilong became even more prosperous. He not only monopolized the trade with Japan in Fujian, Zhejiang, Guangdong and other places, but also made his business in Dongfan flourish. The situation was getting better day by day.

Last year, Fujian suffered a severe drought, leaving thousands of miles of barren land. Zheng Zhilong recruited tens of thousands of starving people from Quanzhou to go to Taiwan to open up new land. Compared with the time when Yan Siqi was in power, his power increased by more than ten times.

It is said that Zheng Zhilong already had more than 700 ships of various sizes at that time, and he expressed a submissive attitude towards the imperial court and the Fujian local government, and was regarded as a maritime merchant.

This guy is hypocritical and kind to the people. Not only does he not kill people indiscriminately, he also helps the poor. His prestige is comparable to that of an official in the imperial court.

"Where they went, they were only ordered to report floods (i.e., inform the authorities of their whereabouts), but they never killed anyone. If there were any who were completely destitute, they would be given money and rice."

On the other hand, his life was getting worse day by day. Not only was he ostracized and suppressed by Zheng Zhilong in the coastal areas, but he was also not allowed to dock or stay with the Dongfan people. He could only wander around the coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong with a dozen ships.

Either they do some low-cost business at sea, rob a few isolated merchant ships, or they sneak into remote ports and engage in smuggling trade to barely make ends meet.

Comparing the two, his hatred became even stronger when facing Zheng Zhilong's ascendancy.

How could such a green boy suddenly rise up and become the overlord of the sea, and even ride on his own head!

I am so unwilling!

If he could seize such a large ship and use it as the core to build a powerful maritime force, he might be able to compete with Zheng Zhilong and become the overlord of a region.

Moreover, according to Yang Yao, the ship was loaded with gold and silver, perhaps worth hundreds of thousands. If they could take it for themselves, wouldn't they have enough money to recruit soldiers?

"After dinner, we'll go out to sea." Chen Zhongji threw his chopsticks onto the table and said in a deep voice, "Gather all the ships and brothers. We'll meet this big ship in the Lingdingyang!"

(End of this chapter)