On the cargo ship "Asahi 98", the owner Zhao Hongli saw that everything was ready, so he ordered: "Start the ship!" ”

The ship's boatswain, the elder king, shouted: "Sail! ”

The bronze bell rang for "Dangdang Dang ......", and a row of ten sailors held bamboo poles hard to prop the ship away from the dock, and then using large oars, the cargo ship "Asahi 98" gradually sailed away from the No. 11 pier of Rising Sun Harbor.

From above, the Rising Sun Harbor is huge, capable of carrying thirty cargo ships and twenty cargo ships at the same time, and the port here runs almost day and night, like a huge heart, constantly swallowing people and goods.

The goods on the docks were piled up, cleared one day, and filled again the next day, unusually prosperous.

Zhao Hongli is thirty-five years old, a native of Quanzhou, young and capable, the time on the ship is longer than the time on the shore, he went on the ship to work at the age of fifteen, and at the age of twenty-five he owned a boat of his own, first a big boat, then a dhow, and now a brig, he plans to live three years, and take out a loan from the bank to buy a three-masted plywood boat to run the ocean.

Caught up with the good time, he got rich much faster than his father's generation.

The Asahi 98 is a 100-ton two-masted crosssail cargo ship that is very fast, and its main business is to transport sugar from the port of Rising Sun in the southeastern province to Kolkata, India.

Sugar is a big business exported from Southeast Province, and the white sugar of Southeast Province is particularly fine and white, and the quality of sugar is higher than that of other places. In recent years, the sugar squeezed from the sugarcane grown on the island of Java is sweeter than the sugar squeezed from the sugarcane of Taiwan and Guangzhou, and it is very popular with crooked nuts, and the market is to collect as much as you want.

In the beginning, the sugar transportation business was arranged by the Hongmao plywood ship, and from time to time there were Ah San's ships and ships from West Asia to transport sugar to the Rising Sun Port, but with the increase of Chinese ships, for business, shipowners like Zhao Hongli, loaded the sugar and sailed westward, crossed the Strait of Malacca, arrived in India, and even the Red Sea in West Asia, and the farthest Chinese ship arrived in Africa.

Chinese ships have completely restored the situation of Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean two centuries ago, and they are more frequent than Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean, and the number of Chinese ships going west has increased year by year.

The naval power of the southeast province has not yet left Malacca, has not yet reached the Indian Ocean region, and the sea route to the west is not calm, there are many pirates and thieves, but Zhao Hongli still has a little confidence in his heart.

His ship was equipped with eight six-pounder guns on the open deck, and the crew was armed with flintlock muskets for self-defense.

The crew members are trained in guns and cannons, and there is a government subsidy for the purchase of guns and training, but the government will not suffer in vain, and the government will recruit the crew to fight if needed, and the crew does not need too much training at this time.

In the face of the enemy, the Chinese ship is a hard bone for pirates.

He also bought "insurance" for his cargo, which is a business launched by the Southeast Government in recent years, mainly to provide protection for the safety of ships and crews, called "compulsory traffic insurance", ---- compulsory traffic insurance, which is responsible for "Ping An Insurance Company".

Yan Dashao didn't bother to think about it, and directly used those titles, anyway, I am the boss, and everyone has to listen to me.

All registered passenger and cargo ships are required to be insured, and the socio-economic development and the quality of personnel have reached the point where insurance can be implemented.

With insurance, the insurance company compensates for the damage incurred by the cargo ship in case of shipwrecks and pirate robbery.

On this sea route, there is no direct cruise of the Southeast Navy, but according to Zhao Hongli's understanding, sometimes I see some westbound ships full of sturdy Chinese men, in fact, they are ships with military backgrounds, responsible for cleaning up the waterway of lawbreakers, and even heard that some pirates robbed Chinese cargo ships, as a result, the crew showed 24-pound cannons, which made the pirates completely dumbfounded.

This must be the Southeast Province Navy loading pirates with slingshots, and it must be known that the people of the Southeast Province are not allowed to buy artillery guns with a caliber of more than six pounds.

Pirates who have killed Chinese are hanged if they are caught, and pirates who have not killed Chinese are all subjected to frightening labor reform.

Therefore, the sea route is still safe, but it is necessary to beware of licensed robbers ----- tax-collecting ships of countries and forces along the way.

They intercepted ships to collect taxes, and the navy of the southeast province avoided conflict with them, a tactic that has not changed for now.

However, Zhao Hongli is not too worried.

The wind and the currents were very suitable, and the boat moved quickly, and when the sun was about to set, the boatswain King came over and said, "Boss, the boat can reach Johor in five days at a speed of five nautical miles." ”

"Hmm!" Zhao Hongli responded.

"We're going to pay our taxes in Johor?" Lao Wang asked again.

"Yes!" Zhao Hongli replied.

What they are talking about is a new order issued by the Southeast Government since the beginning of this year, requiring all ships passing through the Straits of Malacca, regardless of the country, to dock, replenish and pay transit taxes in the ports of Johor, and not to dock in the ports of Aceh further west.

The order is issued, the owner who dares not to comply will be fined, and at the same time, the vessel holding the Johor customs tariff can get a 15% tax refund when it comes back!

In this way, everyone carried out, even if the supplies of Aceh were better and more advantageous.

Background: Aceh and Johor, the two countries are on the left and right sides of the Straits of Malacca, with Johor in the east and Aceh in the west.

Aceh, the name of the ancient country. i.e. the northwestern part of Sumatra, Indonesia. The Kingdom of MSL, which ruled northern Sumatra and parts of the Malay Peninsula from the early 16th century, was a trading center in the Malay Archipelago. Also known as dumb Qi. It was built by the Acehnesh people, hence the name. The capital was Kota Racha (present-day Banda Aceh). At the beginning of the 17th century, the reign of Sultan Iskandar Muda was at its peak. The influence extended to the entire west coast of Sumatra, as far west as Indrafura (present-day Minangkabau region) and as far east as Siak. It also conquered Pahang, Kedah and Perak to obtain pepper and tin in the Malay Peninsula. In 1613 and 1615, Iskandar Muda twice attacked Batu Savar. In 1629, he attacked Malacca, but was defeated by the combined fleet of Portugal, Johor and Pattani.

The ancient country of Johor is located at the southernmost tip of the western part of the Malay Peninsula, with the South China Sea to the east, the Strait of Malacca to the west, and Singapore across the Strait of Johor to the south--- there was no Singapore at this time.

Both countries choke the Strait of Malacca, and in the previous three years, ships from the southeastern province and most of the ships going to the Indian Ocean were mainly in Aceh for supplies, but since the beginning of this year, none of the ships have gone to Aceh for supplies, and they have all gone to Johor.

Four days later, in the evening, when I entered the port of Bengalan in Johor, I saw that there were already many boats lined up at the port.

The port of Bengaland is small, under construction and expansion, while the channel is closed, and even more, they enter the port very slowly, although there are work boats and dinghies in front of them, the crew of the "Asahi 98" still have to row with heavy oars, and they are so tired that they are panting, and the air in the harbor is filled with the fishy stench that spreads from the tanning factory, which makes the sailors want to vomit.

"What a disappointment this place is!" The sailors complained.

"I'll bear it!" Zhao Hongli endured it for the 15% tax refund!

At the port of Bengaran, they are expected to set sail the morning after tomorrow, so there is quite a bit of time.

The port is not good, but the tax collection is very diligent, and they saw the local official ships rushing towards them, and the tax was charged at 6% of the price of the goods!

Some of the dinghys approached, laden with fruits and vegetables, as well as live animals----- knowing that Chinese liked to eat greenery and fresh things.

They were helpful, but be careful, the sailors were on guard with muskets and shot people unceremoniously if they caught trying to steal!

Those people are very good at stealing, and if you are not careful, you will even remove the steering wheel for you, so you have to be very careful!

Only a few sailors went ashore in groups, and most of the sailors remained on board.

This is to save money, there are free meals on board, and everything is taken care of when you go ashore!

Chinese people generally have a strong sense of family, and they would rather suffer a lot in order to save a copper plate, so it is not easy to make Chinese money.

……

Leaving the port of Bangaland and continuing westward, on the morning of the third day, they spotted a galley approaching them at high speed, with some heavily armed samurai standing on it!

"It's an Acehnese!" Elder Sailor Wang shouted.

Genius one second to remember the address of this site:. Mobile version reading URL: m.