On January 1629, the ship "Qingde" on which Yu Xianke was riding slowly anchored on the trestle bridge of Xiamen Port.

"Qingde" is a new 400 material ship, and the ship is in good condition. Since Yu Xianke was going to go to both Dayuan and Fuzhou this time, he had to have a good ship.

After he and Liu Xiang made up their minds that day, they loaded the Qingde with some gold, silver, jewelry, rare gifts, and all kinds of miscellaneous goods, and then selected a few pirate retinues that looked good, and then set sail north.

As for Guangzhou in the south, it was Hu Shishi, the deputy military division, who was responsible for finding the way.

Yu Xianke set off from Chaoshan 10 days ago, and did not want to encounter strong winds on the way, so he had to delay for a few days before arriving in Xiamen.

On this way, the ship was not checked, because now the ship to Xiamen has a fixed coastal route. All ships on this route will eventually be inspected in the port of Xiamen, so many times the patrol ships of the people just pass by. So the Qingde followed a merchant ship far behind and swaggered to Xiamen.

For a traditional Ming person like Yu Xianke, this point in time is just an ordinary day on the eve of the Lunar New Year. However, for a certain force, the spirit of the congress has just been conveyed to the grassroots level, and the whole country is in a vigorous and upward atmosphere of opening a new chapter.

Therefore, when the Fuchuan docked at the port, what I saw was a more prosperous scene than before.

The original wharf has been turned upside down: the broken wooden trestle is gone, replaced by several wide and long stone trestle bridges that plunge into the sea.

These trestles are high-end trapezoidal structures, with neat rectangular blocks of rock stacked in geometric shapes, and grayish-white cement colors are revealed in the gaps, which can ensure that the boat can be parked on three sides and passengers can be picked up and dropped at the same time.

The big orange tree, emitting black smoke and shining with a metallic sheen, was busy, constantly hoisting the cargo in the cabin onto the flatbed.

The roar of the machines was accompanied by the mechanics who were barearmed, shouting trumpets and pushing carts in the cold northern monsoon.

Since the Qingde is not here to trade, there is not much cargo to unload. And when Yu Xianke faced a few port attendants wearing a pair of cyan short coats and training hats, and came on the ship to inspect, he also generously showed his identity, and took out a silver pair and tried to stuff it to the other party, "Please also pass on your honor, and someone from Liu Xiang and Liu's shopkeeper will come to visit." ”

Yu Xianke was also forced to do this: since Li Kuiqi lost the battle that day and the Cao family occupied Xiamen, it didn't take long for the semi-public "NSN" left by the various shopkeepers in Fuzhou City to be devastated.

After Xiong Wencan inspected the true achievements of the traversal, he immediately ordered that all the people in Fuzhou City be arrested for the crime of gangsters, all the shop title deeds were seized, and all the goods were confiscated from the officials. As a result, the big and small officials and officials in Fuzhou City made another profit, and because of the suddenness of the incident, the silver of the pirate selling orders in these shops did not have time to be transferred.

This trend soon spread throughout Fujian: anyway, Wu had Cao's soldiers and horses, and Wen had the support of Lao Xiong, so in the past, they were arrogant and domineering, and they were almost openly sitting in shops selling order flags, and these people were taken down by the local government overnight and thrown into prison.

Now half a year has passed, and the local governments that originally held a wait-and-see attitude have found that General Cao is really not covered: even a small group of pirates along the coast of Fujian have now been strangled. So everyone didn't hesitate anymore, and the gang of people who went to prison were all pulled out and beheaded.

From this moment on, the pirates who had been arrogant for many years were completely broken. No one dared to claim to be the subordinate of the shopkeeper of so-and-so, and an atmosphere of "striking hard" had formed in the whole of Fujian, and all the activities of the pirates on the shore had gone underground.

In this situation, there is no need for Yu Xianke to contact the local secret agents: anyway, he has to find the door of the man, why not be above board?

So today, after Yu Xianke showed his identity, he handed over the silver.

However, the "dukes" in front of him brought him a different customer experience: the one who took the lead saw the outstretched hand, and pushed Yu Xianke's hand back with a smile: "I don't need the silver, and I don't need to help you report it." ”

Speaking of this, the port attendant turned and pointed to the city in the distance: "If it is official business, you can go to the city by yourself to ask for a meeting with the general." ”

Seeing Yu Xianke nodding stupidly, several dukes checked the cabin as usual, and did not do anything with those belongings during the period.

After the inspection, since the Qingde did not need to be unloaded, the port conductor asked for the berthing time, and then simply issued a bill for the diversion fee and berthing fee, and then pointed out the payment point on the shore.

After the incident, the leader kindly pointed out the location of the local hotel to the guest, and then they left neither as if they were facing a great enemy, nor threatening or intimidating, as if the name "Liu Xiang" was smoked, which made Yu Xianke, who was holding the bill, not slow down for a long time.

While sighing that Cao's rule was well-organized, he ordered someone to carry the goods and gifts, and after Yu Xianke explained a few words to the captain who stayed on the boat, he took his entourage off the ship.

After stepping off the trestle, a few people who were familiar with this place lost their way for a while.

The muddy coastline has long since been replaced by polished concrete roads and rows of long brick buildings. If you look into the distance, you can see the Huandao Road, which is extending little by little, and is under construction.

The dock is full of people and wheels. Merchants, laborers, carriages, and sedan chairs are flowing endlessly, but they are neat and clean, which makes the "first" Yu Xianke and his party inexplicably have a strange feeling.

Yu Xianke and his entourage, while walking slowly on the side of the street in the direction pointed out by the duke, while secretly observing, it didn't take long for him to really see some doorways.

He found that pedestrians, cars, and horses on the street were separated according to the speed of travel.

Pedestrians like him have to walk on the red brick pavement that rises one step above the street on both sides of the street. Under the steps next to it is a sedan chair, lifting poles and other slow-moving things, and then to the middle of the street, is the galloping road of horse-drawn carriages and carts.

On the wide street, I don't know who drew the grid with white paint, and there were people on the left and right who were holding short sticks and wearing red NS ridges to patrol in the middle of the street, but if there were pedestrians and vehicles who did not press their right hands to move forward, they would be driven back by the tolerance.

In addition, there are garbage bins and street sweepers on the road every other section to clean up the garbage at any time, and the dirty mess, thieves, beggars and lingering stench of the traditional docks are not found here.

"The advance and retreat are well-founded, and the rule is orderly, it seems that this General Cao is a person with a big pattern." After Yu Xianke understood the traffic rules here, he couldn't help but nod secretly, and his evaluation of General Cao was even higher.

The planning of Xiamen Port is very advanced compared to this era. The wharf not only has well-equipped roads, residences, warehouses and various machinery and equipment, but also has various functional areas planned in advance according to the common practice of later generations. For example, fish docks and cold stores that don't taste good are located away from commercial areas.

After walking about half a mile along the sidewalk, Yu Xianke and his party arrived at the business district.

Since it is a commercial area, the architectural layout is better than the office area just now: the office area is without exception warehouses and two-story long buildings, the lines and colors are very dull, except for the large pieces of glass on the windows and the beautiful cement floor, there is nothing to see.

The business district is different. Although the pavement facing the street is also a two-story brick and concrete building, the merchants from all over the country who bought this piece of land are not poor ghosts, so all kinds of glazed tiles, all kinds of hanging corners and cornices, all kinds of interior fine decoration, the whole commercial street is dressed up and those antique streets in later generations, the combination of ancient and modern, antique, very tasteful.

Yu Xianke and the others soon opened a room in a high-end inn in the business district. After enjoying a surprising hot bath and a non-smelly toilet, Yu Xianke specially invited the shopkeeper of the inn and took out the silver to verify what the dock officials had just said.

The innkeeper naturally knew everything when he saw the silver, and besides, many of the guests who lived here were originally here to do all kinds of official business. Therefore, the shopkeeper told Yu Xianke very familiarly: If you want to see General Cao, you don't need to go to the door, you can go to Zhongzuo City tomorrow to register and make an appointment.

When Yu Xianke heard this, he was relieved.

Early the next morning, he took his entourage and some gifts, chartered a carriage, and followed the lonely cement road leading to the city of Zhongzuo, and soon came to the front of the city.

The city before it was made of stone. And now the outer wall of the city has been renovated, not only covered with bricks, but also plastered with a layer of cement, and the four corners are also set up with watchtowers and nests, which is obviously a posture of a military place.

Naturally, there was a group of guards in front of the city gate.

After informing him of his intentions, Yu Xianke saw a deputy wearing a strange large-brimmed hat and a handcuff stuck in his waist turn around and enter a small cabin. Soon after, he was allowed to enter the city, and his retinue and carriages, including gifts, were stopped at the gates of the city.

After following a small soldier through the gate of the city, Yu Xianke couldn't help but be stunned again: the interior of the city had all changed.

All the buildings he was familiar with had been demolished and replaced with the red-brick two-story buildings and concrete floors outside. In addition, the legendary pier where the "Lord Lei" was placed stood in a corner of the city, and Yu Xianke really saw a silver pot that was constantly turning on an iron tower.

The next moment, a large number of soldiers who were training on the playground shouted slogans, and the loud and neat sound made Yu Xianke hurriedly lower his head, and silently followed the soldiers to a small building next to the city gate.

After being searched by the guards at the door, Yu was able to enter the small building and sit down in a room that looked like a reception room.

After a while, a tall, fair-skinned man in a blue shirt walked in through the door. 11