The tax cut policy is a great temptation for maritime merchants. Although it is only a 5% gap, it is really in the hands of individuals and the amount is also very large. If it can be exempted from tax, it will be even more tempting. n∈n∈, relying on this price advantage, you can set the price of the same product lower, and you may reach a partial monopoly on a certain product, so that your business will flourish and knock your competitors to the ground.

Are there any tempted maritime merchants? There must be, merchants are born to pursue profits. If such a big cake falls on their heads, there will always be people who can't hold back and want to take a fight. So soon, the maritime merchants invested under Wen Hao and began to form a fleet to march towards the South China Sea. However, these maritime merchants are all small maritime merchants, and there is not even a medium-sized maritime merchant. Why? The answer was quickly revealed.

The fleet went out for a month and returned to Guangzhou Port. When they left, there were more than ten ships, and only three came back. What about the other ships? According to the people who came back, the fleet encountered pirates, large-scale pirates, and pirates equipped with artillery at the entrance to the east of the Strait of Malacca. Then the fleet was dispersed. The three ships fled back because they were at the end of the fleet and caught up with rainy days and had poor vision on the sea.

These pirates are definitely not from the Jinhe Kingdom, nor are they like the Dasong Maritime Merchants, because they never use such large side boats. The type of ships in Southeast Asian countries is accustomed to using, but they are several times larger than before, and are equipped with small cannons. Although these ships are much smaller than merchant ships, they are numerous, and they are dozens of ships, just like locusts, and they are still fast. They can run away with one shot. Merchant ships are not their opponents at all.

What followed was the official letters of the several countries around the South China Sea. Although the words on it were not in a language, the basic meaning was the same. It was said that a large number of pirates came from Java Island, roaming the waters near various countries, specifically robbing passing merchant ships. The courts of various countries had no choice but to tell the Song Dynasty that they did not have so many warships, so they had to tell the Song Dynasty that they should not let the merchant ships of the Song Dynasty dock at their ports. It would be fine to learn from the Jinhe Kingdom, use warships to escort, or learn from the sea merchants that had stopped, buy cannons and put them on the ships, and go together.

In addition, these countries also said that if the Song Dynasty navy had free time, they could go around these countries. They were willing to provide supplies and expenses and invited the Song Dynasty navy to wipe out these damn pirates. Of course, if they were defeated, don’t blame them. There were too many pirates and too cruel. It turned out that there were also merchant fleets of the Song Dynasty, driving away all these pirates. Now the merchant fleet is gone, so the pirates naturally took advantage of the opportunity.

"This is a conspiracy! Jinheguo intervened, and our merchant ship was sunk by their warships. What pirates! I haven't heard of so many pirates in this sea area for more than ten years. Why did our fleet come as soon as it set sail?" In the Tongzong Mansion in Guangzhou City, Wen Hao was holding a stack of paper and roaring at the table. Compared with Wen Nan, he was taller and bigger, and he looked a little like it carefully.

"Dexin, according to the people who escaped from the ships, the attack on them should not be the Jinhe Kingdom warships. The ship shape is wrong, and the sailors on the ship are not similar. I carefully found the painter to draw a picture according to the details they described. Maybe they were really Javanese. Their country is fighting, and it has been without results for many years. The coastal fishermen are suffering. It is indeed possible to be bandits." At this time, there were five people wearing the Song Dynasty official uniforms sitting in the house. They are tall, short, fat and thin. The only thing in common is that they are not old, and this person should be considered the oldest, and he looks less than forty years old.

"This is a bad statement. Jinhe Kingdom has unparalleled shipbuilding. I heard that the new ships they built for the emperor were already 40,000 yuan. In their words, it is more than 2,000 tons. It is definitely not a problem to build a few small boats. It is easier for those sailors. These countries that have written to the letter are nominally regarded my Song Dynasty as the upper country, but in fact, they are all under the control of Jinhe Kingdom. It is not difficult to borrow some sailors. In fact, Jinhe Kingdom doesn't need to borrow them. You find someone to draw pictures.

I have seen it. It’s true that it looks like Javanese, but I think it’s more like Ceylon. It’s not difficult to transfer some sailors from Kalamba Port to come back to Jinhe Country. I think Dexin’s judgment is very correct, that is, Jinhe Country directly intervenes in the matter. It’s better to jointly write to the court and ask the court to send a navy to clear the court to see where they are!" After hearing this statement, a younger man immediately spoke. His opinion was the opposite and his emotions were even more excited.

"The imperial navy is not reliable. I went to see those new warships, which look very similar but are far from the inside. When I was in the Navigation School, I followed the students of Jinhe Kingdom to board their Jiaosha-class warships. Although I was just circling on the deck and listening to the teachings explaining rigging, I still remember their rough appearance. Compared with the real Jiaosha-class warships, our shipboard plate thickness is more than half the thickness, and the mast is not as tall as theirs. Most of the people here have been to school in Navigation Schools, and they should be very clear about what the thickness of the shipboard plate means in naval battles. In my opinion, the new ship of the Song Dynasty Navy is only stronger than the Mongolian Navy warships, and is far from catching up with the Jinhe Kingdom warships." As soon as his companion suggested that Wen Hao write a letter to the court to ask for a navy, a short man immediately stood up and refuted the other party's speech in terms of the quality of the warships.

"Wen Zhong is right. At this time, the imperial naval commander was still at a disadvantage and it was not easy to start a war. You may still remember what the emperor and principal said in school. He attached great importance to the sea, even more than land, and regarded the sea as the land of the country. If the imperial naval commander rashly went south and once he mistakenly entered the sea of ​​Jinhe Kingdom, according to his nature, capture was the most basic reaction and might sink. On the sea, the court was far from being a rival of Jinhe Kingdom. And once he turned against Jinhe Kingdom, all the ports of the imperial court would face the attack of Jinhe Kingdom warships, but we could not find their ports, which was a loss." The short man's speech was nodded by the other two people, and one of them also compared in more detail in terms of sea strength comparison.

"Dexin, we didn't plan to compete with Jinhe Kingdom at sea, so why not forget it. We have seen the emperor of Jinhe Kingdom since we were young. How to say, it basically doesn't work to deal with officials of the Song Dynasty to deal with him. He is... a... a..." The older man spoke again. This time he simply advised Wen Hao not to pursue this matter. He also wanted to describe Hong Tao's characteristics to Wen Hao, but he didn't find any suitable words for a while.

"Robber! This person is comparable to a rogue on the street! When he was giving lectures, he often said that he could treat the people of other countries without reason, and even human nature was not an exaggeration. No matter how shameless the means were, I had a fight with other classmates at that time, which was one of the reasons why I finally dropped out of school. In that school, I felt that I was a people of other countries and had no trace of benevolence, righteousness and morality." The one who just shouted that the imperial navy wanted to clear the pirates took over the straits and helped the previous one describe Hong Tao's characteristics. It can be seen from his words that he had a great opinion on the Jinhe Empire. He had even reached the point of hatred.

These five people are Wen Hao's core group in Zhiyin Society, and are now colleagues in the court. The older one is Xu Yan, whose courtesy name is Gaizhi, and currently serves as the governor of Guangzhou; the short one is named Zhao Yan, whose courtesy name is Wen Zhong. He is currently the commander of Quanzhou Shibo. He is also very hostile to the Jinhe Empire, and his surname is Zhao Yong. He is in the Secretariat of the Secretariat of the Secretariat of the Secretariat of the Secretariat of the Secretariat. The two other people are brothers of the Wu family, whose elder brother Wu Xiuyan and younger brother Wu Xiuxing, both of whom work served in the Ministry of Works, and are specialized in the construction of the new warships of the Navy of the Song Dynasty.

"Zigui, now we are not in Zhiyin Society, so we can give up any point of view. Now we are all officials of the court and we cannot take action easily. Otherwise, if we have a handle for political enemies, we will not be able to stand in the court. At this time, Zheng Xiang's faction is in the limelight. If we want to fight the Northern Expedition, it is impossible to convince him to fight with the Jinhe Kingdom. The reason why we can do this today is entirely due to taking advantage of the momentum, and the maritime business cannot be rushed. It turns out that when we were in Zhiyin Society, we didn't think that Emperor Hong had a strong ship and a powerful cannon.

What is so great about it? Now it seems that we are despising him. If we want to continue to take advantage of the situation, we still need him to push it. The maritime business is our bargaining chip. We originally planned to delay this matter for a long time and gradually show our abilities so that the court can give us more rights. But now it seems that we can't delay it. The more we delay, the worse the situation will be. This matter must be achieved as soon as possible." Wen Hao was very calm. After listening to everyone's speech, he expressed his own opinion. This is also very similar to Hong Tao, who knows how to brainstorm.

"Dexin, will the court be disappointed with us in this way..." Zhao Yong took the lead in expressing his concern when he heard that Wen Hao was going to give in to Jinheguo. He was not happy in the navigation school and even left school halfway. These experiences made it difficult for him to have a good impression of Jinheguo.

"Disappointed? In fact, the court did not expect us to persuade the maritime merchants to turn back. They just wanted to use us to make up for the gap left by Shi Song's faction and restrain Zheng Qingzhi and the others. As long as they find a suitable replacement, they will kick us away." Wen Hao laughed disdainfully.

"Then, where should we go!" Zhao Yong is not only a petty person, but also an official fan. He is nostalgic for this position and does not hide it at all.

"Hmph, the court has plans for the court, and we have our plans. In fact, our biggest enemy is not the Jinhe Kingdom, but the court. The Jinhe Kingdom is just a bargaining chip used to play with the court. If it is well used, the court will have to reuse you and me. Think about it, if the maritime merchants really control Guangzhou and Quanzhou cities, and we are the initiators of this strike, and then they will become their help to achieve their goals, will they choose to cooperate with other imperial officials or choose us?" Wen Hao had already had his own plans. Maybe all of this was what he had expected long ago. Compared with his age, his cunning was disproportionate.

"Brother Dexin is saying that we will help the maritime merchants to make these two cities autonomous! But in this way, will the Jinhe Kingdom take advantage of the opportunity and squeeze us aside? Those maritime merchants should believe in the Strait Company and the Jinhe Kingdom more, right?" This time it was Xu Yan's turn, and he was a little worried. Some of Wen Hao's words agreed, but some aspects were not accurate.

"This danger is not without, but I think it's very low. As early as when I was the editor-in-chief of Zhiyin Newspaper, I carefully studied the principles of Emperor Hong's behavior. He is a very strange person, and seems to be not keen on power. Being an emperor should not be his original intention, but just a helpless act. In his country, the emperor's rights are very, very small, and even worse than that of me, a political affairs officer."

"And he doesn't seem to be interested in the Song Dynasty, nor does he want to get involved in any position in the court. If he wanted to plan for the Song Dynasty, he wouldn't have to wait until now. It would be no more difficult than now. But he didn't, and I couldn't understand what he was doing to help the Song Dynasty court in this way. Is it true that the Mongolian country occupied his hometown and was he using the Song Dynasty to revenge on Mongolia?"

If Hong Tao heard Wen Hao's words, he would definitely regard him as a confidant; if he could win his ambitions and not use the country and the people as bargaining chips like this, Hong Tao would also treat him as a friend. It's a pity that Hong Tao and Wen Hao are too different on this fundamental issue. Even if Wen Hao can understand himself, Hong Tao would not put a poisonous snake around him that can be fatal at any time.

"People's hearts are separated from their stomachs. What if he suddenly becomes interested again? Or what if he is interested in the future? If I were asked to choose one between the court and the Jinhe Kingdom as an enemy, I would rather choose the court. The people in the Jinhe Kingdom are too difficult to deal with, and we can't handle the classmates in the school alone." Zhao Ying also stood on Xu Yan's side at this time, not very confident about Wen Hao's choice, and even told him the main issues he was worried about.

"Hehe... You can rest assured about this. I have known several students in the Navigation School. They are indeed powerful. It is not an exaggeration to describe them as knowledgeable in astronomy and geography. They are all cruel and ruthless, have a decisive style, and do not have too many moral ties. However, they have a very fatal flaw, which has a lot to do with the emperor. Everyone in his system is very compatible, but once they leave his system, these students will not be so difficult to deal with. What they are

They are not superstitious, they only believe in success. As long as they can provide them with a stage of success, these students do not mind whether they succeed in Jinhe Kingdom or in the Song Dynasty. This is not a bad thing for us. Once they join, it will be difficult for Emperor Hong to completely control the situation in the Song Dynasty. Unless he really sent troops to the Song Dynasty, the possibility is still very low, and we are worth taking a risk." Wen Hao is really planning to do it. Not only did he plot Hong Tao, but he did not let Hong Tao go, but even Hong Tao's students go.
Chapter completed!