"What's happened to the Ming army these days? Why do they come to fire cannons every day? Why don't they fire? They just fire cannons indiscriminately."

"Who says it isn't? That cannon is so terrifying. If this continues, the city wall will collapse."

"Do you think we can beat the Ming army? Look at their cannons and the warships at the harbor last time. You didn't go there at the time. It was too scary, especially the fastest one, which was black and had a golden dragon painted on it.

Wen's warship, with its seven or eight cannon muzzles, was bombarding the shore indiscriminately. If it hadn't been for running fast, I'd probably have stayed there with its life."

"Do you think we have a chance to win this battle?"

The Le Dynasty rebel soldiers guarding the city in Thanh Hoa sighed as they watched the Ming army slowly retreating on the somewhat broken city wall.

Ever since Zhu Zhanzhen arrived, he has been using this kind of firepower coverage style. There is no direct contact with you at all. If you want to counterattack, you must first go through the firepower network woven by more than a dozen cannons.

Moreover, once the rebels want to fight you at all costs, the Ming army will retreat, and the rebels will not dare to pursue you for fear of a trap.

In the past few days, the Ming army lost artillery and ammunition, but there were almost no casualties, but some people died on the rebel side.

But does the Ming army care about this ammunition and artillery?

The weapons workshop of the Guangdong vassal has been put into production, and it can fire thirty or forty cannons continuously every day, and there will be no problem if it continues for several years.

We fight for supplies, which cannot be spent without the support of strong national power.

The current defender of Thanh Hoa City is Le Li’s clan brother: Le Hung.

This was a man who was not tall but had fierce eyes. At this time, he was scratching his head. Facing the Ming army's offensive mode, he scratched his head and sighed that there was nothing he could do. The strength in Qinghua City was not enough to organize a counterattack.

The battle at the port a few days ago cost him hundreds more people, and now he had no choice but to hold on.

"Damn the Ming army." Li Hung cursed. He was still waiting for Li Li's reinforcements to launch a counterattack against the Ming army when the reinforcements arrived.

The rebels in Cochin have been fighting back and forth for almost a year now. The people of Cochin are suffering terribly, and conflicts occur frequently in various places. It is certain that they will not be able to send a large number of troops for reinforcements for a while.

At this time, his younger brother Li Youmin walked up to him with a smile: "Fifth brother, the Guangdong family that used to trade with our Li family has sent someone again."

"Why can we send someone here now?" Li Xuan was extremely surprised.

"The Nan family is very capable in the Guangdong vassal. It's not easy to think about it." Li Youmin and others didn't know that Guangdong had changed.

The two countries were at war, and Zhu Zhanzhen strictly controlled smuggling in Guangdong, so they had no channel to learn about these things.

Li Hungry laughed evilly: "We have been disconnected for so long, why are we in touch now?"

"People from the original small port came to report that the Nan family had landed and brought us food."

When I heard about the food shortage, my eyes lit up. Because of the war, the farmers could not grow food well, and because there was basically no shortage of food in Jiaozhi, the people did not have the habit of hoarding food. It only took a year for them to grow food well.

Cochin has actually fallen into a certain food crisis.

In addition, due to the war this year, Le Li had no choice but to collect excessively, which made the people unwilling to hand over their food to the rebels.

Large grain-producing countries are now experiencing internal food crises.

The Nan family suddenly appeared and brought food, which was an unexpected surprise for them.

In the past, Li Youmin and the Nan family had done a lot of smuggling trade and made a lot of money every time. Their appearance now solved an urgent need.

Li Hung's originally happy face suddenly flashed with gloom: "Send them away. The two countries are at war, and collaborating with the enemy is a serious crime."

"Brother, we now have enough food to sell to the people in the city, and we can make a lot of money."

Li Xuan, who frowned slightly, waved his hand: "No, not now."

He and Li Youmin often talked about these things in the past. Li Youmin was smart and had many ways. He still followed Li Youmin back then. However, after the rebels rebelled, Li Youmin's character could not lead the army. On the contrary, Li Youmin was good, so Li Li put him in the position.

.

"Youmin, we are no longer small businessmen, we are rebels. In the future, if we defeat the Ming Dynasty, we will become relatives of the emperor. We can no longer be tempted by such petty profits."

"How could the Ming army retreat immediately?"

"The battle between the two armies must not damage our ambition."

Li Youmin and Li Xing broke up unhappy and walked to the door and spat: "Bah, isn't he just the son of a domestic slave? He dares to point fingers at me because he is older. Do you really think he can defeat the Ming army?"

There are many people in the rebel army who have the same ideas as Li Youmin. It is the same in any country. There will always be some doves, some hawks, some optimists, and some pessimists. In fact, these categories have no essence.

You just have to make the right choice at the right time.

When it's time to fight, it's time to make peace.

Li Youmin took his two followers and rushed to the small port that night. He didn't care about the money, he would definitely make the money.

In the dark port, the boat was swaying in the waves. The wind and waves were a bit strong tonight. Shopkeeper Li of the Nan family was waiting a little anxiously by the small port.

A fire flickered not far away, and Li Youmin came with people.

The two met with great enthusiasm: "Shopkeeper Li, I haven't seen you for a long time. I thought you wouldn't come to do business anymore."

"How could it be possible? How could it be possible? My father died of illness some time ago. The family was busy with this matter, and everything else was delayed. Why didn't the new head of the family ask me to come as soon as he took office?"

"Oh, that's it, but it seems that other businesses in Guangdong haven't come here for a long time."

"Isn't this also a war? I'm afraid, I'm the only one who's brave." Shopkeeper Li chuckled.

Li Youmin put his arm around his shoulders and said, "Only those who are brave can make a lot of money. Those who are timid will starve to death. It's good to be bold. I like you to be bold."

The two exchanged some pleasantries: "Brother Youmin, I originally planned to come over and buy some food from you, but I didn't expect that as soon as I landed, I heard the contact person say that you don't have enough food now, so I thought no matter what

I have to bring you some, so I went back to the big ship and brought some grain to you."

"Thank you, thank you so much. A friend in need is a friend indeed. Our relationship is definitely better than that of real brothers."

Shopkeeper Li continued: "By the way, I forgot to tell you. Now that the Ming Dynasty has imposed a sea ban, our Nan family no longer has to smuggle secretly. We came here in a fair and just way on merchant ships, but the merchant ships are too conspicuous. After all, Jiaozhi and Ming Dynasty

The war is still going on, so I don’t dare to go to the shore. If someone finds out, I can’t explain how to report it to the government.”

"Did the Ming Dynasty impose a sea ban?" Li Youmin looked in disbelief. If a sea ban was imposed, trade would be much more convenient.

Although Jiaozhi was a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, it turned out that the Ming Dynasty's taxes on Jiaozhi were much stricter than other places, and maritime trade was not allowed, so it could only go inland.

"Yes, I plan to go to Palembang this time. I have transported a lot of silk and ceramics, and I will definitely be able to sell them at a good price." Shopkeeper Li smiled so happily that he couldn't be more happy.

"It's a pity that Jiaozhi and Ming Dynasty are still at war, and normal trade cannot be carried out. Otherwise, if this east wind takes advantage of it, Brother Youmin will definitely make a lot of money based on your connections and the port."

Li Youmin became interested immediately. He took shopkeeper Li's hand and said, "Well, you can go to sea at any time now. How about you bring some grain to me and I'll buy it from you?"

"Oh, it's not that I won't transport it to you, brother. My voyage has been decided. What if I turn around now? I can't just take it back without selling it. Then I will be punished to death.

Yes, these grains were cobbled together by my brother because I heard that you don’t have enough grain here, so you don’t have to give me money, just use it as my support for you.”

Li Youmin first ordered his men to move the grain. As much grain as a small boat could carry, it only amounted to about ten dan, which was not enough.

Li Youmin fell into deep thought. Since the Ming Dynasty imposed a sea ban, this route must be taken up. If he didn't take it up, someone else would take him up, and he would regret it.

"Shopkeeper Li, please send someone back here. I need a lot of food and iron ore to make swords. I can pay you to buy them. I will never treat you badly."

"This...this..." If you don't say that a good businessman must be an actor, Shopkeeper Li's awkward and hesitant look was really real.

"This, this, this, our relationship, can we still trick you?"

"That's definitely not the case. I'm not worried about you cheating me. It's just that I can't decide on this matter. I have to go back and ask my boss. The boss is on the big ship. You allow me to go back and ask him what he means."

Li Youmin was an impatient man, and he trusted Shopkeeper Li very much, so he said, "Well, I'll go with you to your merchant ship, and I'll also meet your boss."

Shopkeeper Li naturally couldn't "decline", so he had to take Li Youmin on a small boat in the direction of the steam warship.

On the steam warship, Zhu Zhanzhen looked at the dark sea. Xiaosheng asked curiously: "Your Highness, will that Li Youmin come?"

Zhu Zhanzhen shook his head: "I don't know either. I have never met him. I only heard about this person from shopkeeper Li. If he is described by shopkeeper Li, then he is greedy and obsessed with money. Then he will definitely come."

I won’t miss this opportunity.”

"If he comes, we can try the strategy. If he doesn't come, we won't try it. We will continue to land on the south bank of Jiaozhi as planned and attack from both ends."

While he was talking, a small boat came in front of him, lowered the ladder and picked him up.

Zhu Zhanzhen gave Nan Zhanzhi a look: "According to the instructions." He hid his figure.

After shopkeeper Li climbed up the ladder, he reached out and pulled Li Youmin up.

Li Youmin looked at the merchant ship curiously. Only two cannons were left on the warship, and the others were temporarily pushed into the cabin, making it look more like a merchant ship.

"Your Nan family's merchant ships are really impressive." Li Youmin sighed that the Ming Dynasty deserved to have a rich country and a strong people.

Nan Zhi walked out in a graceful manner, holding a fan in his hand and pretending to be cool. It was a very cool and suave look for a teenager.

"Tsk, tsk, you really know how to put on a show." Zhu Zhanchen sighed from behind.

Xiaosheng said in a low voice: "Your Highness, you have to put on a show, and don't be too casual."

"Why?"

"People depend on their clothes. People in the world always like to be more elegant. Others will respect you more when they see you."

"But I'm more handsome than him."

"If His Highness wants to say so, it is true."

…

When Li Youmin saw such a young Nan Zhi, he felt that young people must be easy to fool, let alone such a young man who looked like a scholar.

According to his experience, most young scholars are not good at being businessmen. They are self-proclaimed and full of literary talent. They are not capable of the intrigues and intrigues in the business world, and they are not willing to bow down for a few taels of silver.
To be continued...