Li Dan said slowly: "Firstly: Nowadays, the inspections by the officers and soldiers on the sea surface of Fujian and Zhejiang are extremely strict, and the wealthy families who went abroad from Yuegang will not let you go easily. They are more hateful than those officers and soldiers, and they will not let outsiders participate easily. Go to overseas trade, otherwise we and other small merchants and hawkers will not come to this dangerous harbor to take shelter; in addition, your Portuguese ships are different and can be easily recognized by officers and soldiers, making it difficult to sail into the offshore sea."
He took a sip of wine and raised two fingers: "Secondly, in the area south of the Yangtze River, the emperor's mine supervisors and tax envoys are out in all directions; for the two Zhejiang provinces, there was the eunuch Cao Jin in the past 25 years, and now there is the Zhejiang mine supervisor Liu Zhongzheng. Mining tax; last year, Liu Cheng, the tax superintendent of Jiaxing in Hangzhou, questioned the tax; now in Suzhou, Sun Long, the weaving eunuch of Hangzhou, is collecting taxes in Suzhou and Hangzhou! Hao Long and Liu Chaoyong, the garrison eunuchs of Nanjing, collect mining taxes in Ningguo, Chizhou and other places; in the case of Fujian Province , the tax imposed by the eunuch Gao Cai alone caused chaos throughout Fujian!"
Yin Feng discovered that this Li Dan was indeed not simple. Not only did he have a certain understanding of the Western world, but he was also very concerned about domestic affairs. He was also literate. His conversation revealed that he had a certain cultural quality and was not a simple Jianghu. Man. For ordinary businessmen at that time, it was unlikely that they would know so much about the situation of the imperial mine supervisor. After all, there was no news media at that time, and things like the Dibao were only circulated among the scholar-bureaucrats. Now he is just an insignificant seaman. Shang, but he must also have close contacts with certain officials of the Ming Dynasty government, otherwise these sources of information would not be available.
From this point of view, Li Dan did have some talents. His ability to become the king of the sea in East Asia after 1618 did not just rely on the relationship with the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan.
"Last year I went to Jinling to collect goods. I saw that there were many checkpoints, bridges, gates, and tax cards in the areas of Zhejiang, Suzhou, and Hangzhou. Luggage, boats and carts, houses and cottages, rice, wheat, millet, pigs, chickens, donkeys, and mules, all had taxes. Hexi Wu arrived Zhangjiawan is only a hundred miles away and has jurisdiction over three officials. Every shipment of goods has to be taxed several times. Yizhen is only separated from Jingkou by a river, but it is only a mile or two, and taxes have to be paid twice. Sailing on the Yangtze River, from As you go down the river from Wuhan, you have to pass five or six tax stations in one day."
The more Li Dan talked, the more excited he became. He grabbed the wine glass and drank several glasses of wine. He patted the table and continued: "The imperial court collects taxes, and we, the common people, pay taxes. This has been the case in all dynasties. But in today's world, the imperial court wants to drain the lake and fish." , does not give me and other business people a way to survive. We are just forced to go to Liangshan to make a living in a place far away from the emperor!"
Such rebellious words, uttered in this anarchic pirate tavern in Yingang, did not have any special effect. The drinkers around him were doing whatever they were supposed to do, but Zeng Jingshan, who was behind Yin Feng, frowned. He frowned, lowered his head and covered his head to drink.
Li Dan continued: "It can be seen that when Brother Yin goes to Zhejiang and Zhejiang to collect goods, it must be difficult to do so. There are checkpoints and taxes everywhere. The most important thing is: how do you plan to transport the goods from the place of origin to your ship?"
Yin Feng did not expect the negative consequences caused by the Mine Supervisor, which had directly threatened his business plan. Most of his influence on the Mine Supervisor came from books of his time, although he had personal contact in Yazhou. The reality is still far harsher than he imagined; it is possible that the Goa cannot approach the coastline at all; the greater possibility is that even if they can acquire enough raw silk cargo in the south of the Yangtze River, they will still face the problem of being unable to transport it to the coast smoothly.
Yin Feng thought for a while, nodded and said: "Brother Li's words have benefited me a lot. I am indeed too hasty in going to sea this time. At this moment, it is really hard to get off the horse. I am going to sea this time in partnership with a Portuguese businessman in Macau.
Only a very small amount of goods were imported in Guangzhou. We could have waited in Macao for Fujian and Guangdong merchants to come to trade, but the purchase price would have been twice as high as the original price in the place of origin..."
Yin Feng suddenly had an idea flash in his mind and remembered that Lu Shitou was doing business in partnership with Li Dan. He turned to Lu Shitou and said, "Brother Lu, does your ship named Li have a place to go now?"
Lu Shitou was confused and said: "I'm just circling the nearby coast to try my luck. My boat is too broken and is still being repaired. I can't go to Luzon this year. Brother Li's boat is trading goods in Manila.
When his ship comes back, we will join forces to run the Luzon route."
"Since you have no other place to go for the time being, can you lend me your boat? Your boat is the same as the civilian boats along the coast of Fujian and Zhejiang. It should be no problem to hide it from the officers and soldiers."
"Going to Zhejiang? It's a trivial matter for the officers and soldiers of the navy. I'm familiar with the coastal waterways. I can just go around without disturbing them. The worst thing is to use money to open the way." Lu Shitou's eyes lit up and he shook his head: "It's just that my boat is probably too small.
, can’t transport much cargo.”
Zeng Jingshan raised his head from the wine glass and said slightly excitedly: "It doesn't matter, just run a few more times."
Everyone looked at him strangely, as if they had just discovered his existence. Zeng Jingshan had always insisted on dressing up as a scholar, which made him look very dazzling in this pirate den. Previously, everyone saw him just covering his head and drinking, and they knew that he was a member of a noble family.
They all deliberately ignored his existence.
Li Dan couldn't help laughing and said: "The key is not the size of the ship, how will you get the cargo out?"
"As long as Brother Lu transports us ashore, we will have our own way to transport the cargo to the seaside." Zeng Jingshan said proudly.
This "third young master" of the Zeng family is not an incompetent person; he has been traveling with the Zeng family merchants since he was a child, and is a veteran in the business world. Yin Feng knows that he has a lot of self-esteem because of his status as an adopted son.
Seeing everyone looking at him, Zeng Jingshan pretended to take a sip of wine and continued: "My Zeng family is guarding the eunuch office in Nanjing, and there are people who can speak to it."
After hearing this, everyone looked at each other in confusion, but no one said a word. Zeng Jingshan understood that they were suspecting that he was telling lies, so he couldn't help but blush and said: "The ancestors of the Zeng family also served as officials in Nanjing, and some of their close friends are also here.
of……"
Yin Feng was worried that he said too much, so he hurriedly came out to smooth things over: "You are all of the same kind of people, and you are all making a living on this sea. As long as you help us this time, no matter when, I will remember it..."
"Brother Yin, what are you talking about?" Lu Shitou interrupted Yin Feng, patted his chest and said, "Originally, when Lord Jiao broke up with me, he told me to find an opportunity to repay the Zeng family for their help. Even without him,
, I saw Brother Yin’s deep sense of loyalty, and I was very attracted to him, so I decided to help him with this job.”
That night, Yin Feng, Li Dan, and Lu Shitou agreed on a cooperation plan; Lu Shitou's ship would transport them to Jiangnan, Zhejiang, to purchase raw silk, and then in August of this year, Lu Shitou's ship would go to Zhoushan to meet Yin Feng.
If everything goes well, I can start trading in Macau in September.
Moreover, Yin Feng and Li Dan agreed to join forces to trade in Luzon in the coming year. The Manila route is the main route for overseas trade in Yuegang. The Zeng family has always hoped to join the merchant fleet that goes to Manila every year, but they are suffering from not having their own ship.
It is also difficult for the ship to obtain the ship's overseas license issued by the government.
The Goa was being repaired at the pirate ship repair yard in Yingang. The captain and more than a dozen injured people would recuperate in Fanhan Street in the port until Yin Feng and the others had all their goods ready. The next day, they discovered that there were other Westerners in the port.
Taking shelter here: a Macau merchant ship "Maria" headed to Japan privately. The owner of the ship was also a member of the New Christian family, and there was also a Jesuit missionary on board who was going to Japan.
Bernardo temporarily decided to take the Maria to Japan to inspect the business, and entrusted Yin Feng with full authority to purchase raw silk.
By the beach of Jingang, Lu Shitou's boat was disguised as a common civilian ship carrying sea cargo along the coasts of Fujian and Zhejiang, and was ready to travel.
In the past few days, Yingang Port has become more and more lively; fishermen from the other side are arriving one after another, and various smuggling merchants are also arriving with goods loaded with goods, including several Japanese ships. On the beach and throughout Fanhan Street, various transactions are going on in full swing
There are countless people crowding inside and outside Yingang. Here there is no tax collection by the government, no extortion by subordinate staff, no need to bribe officials, and no exclusion by the influence of aristocratic families. It is a completely free transaction.
Of course, the law of pirates is that the strong is king, but as a pirate den, every smuggling merchant or pirate who comes here consciously maintains a balance, and no one will do anything too outrageous. However, drinking too much
It is inevitable to kill and injure others with knives and guns. Li Dan and several other ship bosses are the order maintainers of the anarchist Yinggang, and their daily business is to deal with some disputes.
When Yin Feng crossed the sea to Zhejiang, of course Zeng Jingshan and the servants of the Zeng family had to follow him; Li Dan also sent Yuan Jin to him to go to Jiangnan to purchase goods. Magaro insisted on going to Nanjing to find his master's brother, so he could take him with him
It was too shocking and too eye-catching for such a black man to go to Jiangnan. Yin Feng had no choice but to change Magaro into a set of Chinese clothes and trousers, and put a headscarf on him before letting him board the ship.
In April of the 28th year of Wanli, farmers in the sericulture producing areas in the south of the Yangtze River were worried about their livelihood. Since the previous year, the number of vendors coming to buy raw silk and silk silk began to decrease. The surrounding ferries in Suzhou, Hangzhou, Jiaxing, and Huzhou were all crowded.
There are more and more tax checkpoints at intersections, and tax inspectors are everywhere. Vendors have even disappeared in the Songjiang area since the beginning of the year. Most of the local farmers grow mulberry and raise silkworms, and the income from mulberry and silk silk is the main source of the family's livelihood.
Partly. Many local silk shops have stocked up on raw silk and silk that could not be sold last year. Naturally, they will not be in the mood to buy the newly produced sericulture from farmers.
The key is that in previous years, merchants would have come to order and receive goods at this time. However, this year, there were not many merchants at all. From sericulture farmers to local silk shopkeepers, everyone was frowning. Especially the farmers.
, many of the taxes they pay to the government every year are derived from the income from sericulture cultivation. Moreover, the mine supervisory tax has added more and more additional tax items. At that time, the government tax will not be paid, and they will have to go to the government office again.
butt.
Tangqi Town on the edge of Hangzhou is a town famous for its silk production and hemp cultivation. It is the silk trade center of Hangzhou Prefecture and northern Zhejiang. It produces so much silk that it can be found in one town, and its wealth is concentrated. It is the place where big businessmen from Huizhou gather.
The place.
In mid-April of this year, a Fujian trading house suddenly came here and purchased a large amount of various silk products. The price of silk that year was only half of previous years due to the large amount of goods stocked by various silk shops. This well-known trading house made a generous purchase
The goods were traded in cash, and the warehouse of Hangzhou businessman Zhang Yuyu was rented in the town to store the purchased silk goods. Before long, a large number of packages began to pile up.
This good news immediately spread throughout the sericulture producing areas in northern Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu. In May, a large number of silk goods were transported to Tangqi Town. Legend has it that the head of the Fujian trading house was a young man originally from Hangzhou who had returned from the West.
.
The Hangzhou Prefecture Silk Guild was built in Zhongqing Lane in the east of Hangzhou City. It was the Tongsheng Temple built in the Song Dynasty. It was dedicated to the ninth generation of Chu Suiliang and Sun Chuzai as the ancestor of the silk industry. Later, the temple collapsed during the war. In the 21st year of Yongle reign of this dynasty,
The same industry donated money to rebuild it, and it was called Tongsheng Temple.
At this time, more than a dozen big Hui merchants gathered in the lobby, surrounded Zhang Yuyu, a big local businessman, and asked all kinds of questions.
"Executive member Zhang, if you can be accommodating, please accept more of my goods."
"Brother Zhang, where does the Fujian Zeng family come from? Are they reliable?"
"Master Zhang, are these Fu guys trying to get into Japan? Don't try to implicate us in the serious crime of crossing into Japan!"
"Yes, Lao Zhang! How do those Fujian guys get their freight to Fujian Yuegang these days?"
"..."
A middle-aged man surrounded by everyone finally couldn't resist. He stood up and spread his hands and said: "Comrades and gentlemen, I, Lao Zhang, only know a little bit about the details. I am only involved in important matters and it is inconvenient to do anything. Don't you think so?
Even I can’t believe it?”
A middle-aged businessman with a strong Fujian accent walked out of the back hall and said with a big smile: "If you don't worry about Lao Zhang, you have to trust me."
Everyone gathered around him. After greeting him, they were about to ask. The businessman said proudly: "I, Yang Caifu, have lived in Hangzhou for more than ten years. Have you ever made any mistakes in the goods you shipped through me?"
All the merchants shook their heads together. Yang Caipu continued: "The shopkeeper Yin of the well-known trading company who came to Hangzhou to collect goods this time is indeed going to do foreign business. But they are not going to Japan or Yuegang, but to Macau.
"
All the merchants were surprised. Some people couldn't help but said: "Macau? Are you going by sea? You are not afraid of the officers and soldiers."