The secret conversation with the third brother, Dong 'Men' Qing did not tell anyone, including several of his henchmen. He was keenly aware that this storm might be an opportunity for him, but he knew too little about its content to come up with a plan to use it out of thin air.

"But the way back is always to be found."

As the preface to the East 'Gate' says, either wash your feet and go ashore, or go far away to Japan, of course, going to the South Seas may also be an option. Dong 'Gate' Qing also thought that if the storm was not as exaggerated as described in the East 'Gate' preface, perhaps staying in the Penghu area would be enough to dodge.

For this reason, during Yang Zhizhong's trip to South Australia, he sailed to inspect the Penghu Islands, and the work of this inspection could not be stopped as soon as it was carried out, and then he crossed the Penghu waterway and came to the south of Dayuan (that is, Taiwan, in Hokkien, Dayuan and Taiwan are close to each other, which can be regarded as two written expressions of the same place name), and landed and inspected for several days. The expedition of Dongmen' Qing was really not deep enough, but after landing on the shore, he returned to the ship after walking for half a day. The impression given by this inspection to Dongmenqing was that most of the products here overlapped with those of southern Fujian, the population was sparse, the degree of development was very low, and the fishermen said that the miasma was very serious and unsuitable for human habitation. To put it simply, one word is enough to sum it up: desolation!

Dongmen' Qing felt that no matter how deep the investigation would not get a surprising discovery, he gave up, sailed around the island for a week, and returned to Penghu to spend a year without a family by his side.

Penghu has been near the Tropic of Cancer, belongs to the first belt, the winter is very short, the snow is invisible, occasionally there is a warm wind blowing, even if the temperature will warm at any time in the three or nine days, so this winter, in the east 'gate' Qing here is actually more of a psychological winter: before the goods have not landed, before the good news comes to Wuping, the people of Qinghuaxiang always feel empty and unsteady, just like the seeds sown in early winter have not yet germinated, which makes people worry about the harvest of the coming year.

Soon after the beginning of the 'spring', Li Guangtou, Xu Yuanliang and Lin Bichuan in the north respectively sent him news that Xu Dong and Wang Zhi had arrived in Shuangyu. The east 'gate' Qing couldn't sit still, so he said goodbye to Lin Guoxian, led his subordinates, with a lighter sail oar and a three-masted boat as the main ship, first crossed the sea to Huyu, followed by the eight-sided wind boat technique plus the rocking oar, and slowly marched towards Shuangyu. The big ships with more than four masts stopped in Penghu, and Tang Xiuji was left behind, and he agreed with him that Nanfeng would lead the fleet to the north to rendezvous.

When we arrived in Shuangyu, the weather had warmed up significantly, the last snow in Shuangyu had melted, and the whole market was completely different from the last time the East Gate Celebration arrived! It turned out that Xu Dong and Wang Zhi had already arrived last winter, and this year's new 'spring', Shuangyu opened under the auspices of the two of them, and all kinds of merchants became active in a timely manner, and a large number of commodities from all over China first entered Ningbo, Zhejiang by land, and then crossed the shallow waterways into Shuangyu in an endless stream. This 'smuggling' center is like a greedy stomach, endlessly devouring all the goods that pour in. Compared with the hungry markets in Japan and Europe, the raw silk, tea, and ceramics that have been shipped to Shuangyu are not enough to stuff the gaps.

Although it is still some time before the real prosperous market, no experienced businessman will wait until then to start a business! This is also the reason why Dongmenqing came in a hurry - he didn't want to wait for him to arrive, and the goods he wanted were divided up.

However, after the East Gate Qing went to the island, he found out that he actually missed some important things!

As a rule, the directors of the Tokai Chamber of Commerce must first report to the hall of the Tokai Chamber of Commerce after they go to the island. After reporting to the party, Dongmenqing learned that as one of the eighteen directors, he will enjoy the right to live in the next villa on Cuiping Mountain, the highest peak of Shuangyu, which is a new policy after the beginning of spring this year.

On the day when Dongmenqing came to report to Hong Kong, Xu Dong and Wang Zhi were not in the hall, so the only acquaintance he met here was Xu Yuanliang, who was on duty. But when he arrived at the foot of Cuiping Mountain, which was actually not very high, he realized that this newly built villa complex was inhabited by acquaintances! Eighteen of the twenty or so houses are owned by the 18 members. The east 'gate' celebration of the most remote location, the construction also seems a little sloppy, although it can still live in people, but it is really not enough! Not to mention that it is on a par with Xu Dong and Wang Zhi's houses, even compared with the houses of 'Mao' Haifeng, Wang Qingxi and others, it is dwarfed.

"We seem to be late." Yang Zhizhong said: "Or we seem to have missed it." ”

If you review it from the aspect of Qinghuaxiang, it seems that you can say: "If you want to blame, blame us for not staying in Shuangyu and waiting for Xu Longtou to come back." But Yu Buci, Yang Zhizhong and others all know that things will not be so simple! If the person who presided over this pig 'meat' division really had a heart for Qing Huaxiang, he should also inform the East 'Gate' to celebrate before dividing the pig 'meat'. Now that this situation has appeared, it is actually releasing some information to the outside world that is enough to make businessmen think.

"Actually, it's nothing." Anthony said that the optimistic *** smiled and said, "There is actually no difference between the golden 'door' and the rough 'hairy' straw hut in the eyes of God." The most important thing is actually within us! ”

"Yes." Yu Buci said: "After all, we also have a place of our own in Shuangyu. This is always a good start. ”

These comforting words could not soothe the unhappiness in Dongmenqing's heart.

Shuangyu is just a place to do business, but the house is the 'door' side, and many times you have to rely on the 'door' side to do business! Speaking of the inside, how much is the inside of his East 'Gate' celebration?

In terms of financial resources, all the money in his hand is borrowed! It's a negative equity! In terms of the tonnage of ships, the number of sailors, and the firepower of guns and guns, Qing Huaxiang at this moment cannot enter the top five in the East China Sea Chamber of Commerce. Qing Huaxiang's team of less than 1,000 people, in fact, is only a very small part of the tens of thousands of maritime merchants, when he was able to 'mix' in Japan, relying on the creation of the current situation and the 'door' surface, is the weakness of the Kitakyushu daimyo, reflecting his strength. But as soon as he returned to China, as soon as he was snubbed by the bigwigs, he was quickly beaten back to his original form.

"I wasn't as great as I thought." Higashi'mon Kei was very unhappy to face himself, and at the same time he had a stronger *** than when he was in Japan: he wanted more power, more ships, more people, more guns! But to get more power, more ships, more people, more guns, you have to make more money! The best place to make money is, of course, Japan, and the premise of earning the Japanese silver is that he must ship the goods over as promised this time. However, in order to buy enough goods at the right price, it also requires Dong'men Qing to have enough contacts, good enough reputation, and enough timely information in Shuangyu - and these are just another expression of "powerful enough".

Last winter, Zhang Wei gave advice to Dongmenqing here, saying that he should establish his own power first, and then do business, which was correct in principle. However, when it was really put into practice, Dongmenqing found that it was by no means simple to establish its own power from scratch. Although the offshore power of Yuegang can now maintain the food supply of the Qinghuaxiang caravan, its function is limited to this for the time being, and if there is no strong force to promote it, the power of Zhang Wei's family will not want to have a breakthrough in a year and a half. As for building new ships and guns, Dongmenqing only learned about it after getting involved, and in the short term, it was not more cost-effective than buying directly from Franco! And if he can buy it, others can buy it. The East China Sea is capable of producing many people, and it is not only Dongmenqing who knows the importance of guns and ships. In the case of not being outstanding, development is not enough to surpass peers.

"What else can I rely on?" Higashimen Qing pondered, "When I was in Japan, didn't I also start from nothing?" ”

It's just that at that time, he developed smoothly from scratch, but now every step is very difficult. Why is this happening? Could it be that some aspect of the condition has changed that he has not yet noticed?

He suddenly thought of the storm that might come! He had thought about taking advantage of the storm before, but now he had questioned the idea itself. If it was an incident that Xu Dong and Wang Zhi could defuse, it probably couldn't be called a storm that swept the East China Sea; If it was a terrible disaster that even Xu Dong and Wang Zhi couldn't resolve, could he use the little strength he had in his hands now?

Taking advantage of the 'chaos' robbery is a truth that everyone understands, but most people in the world can't do it, there is only one reason: the strength is not enough! A three-year-old child is strong with a hundred-pound knife, even if he can pick it up, he must be injured in the end!

"The Boss! The old shipowner has affection! ”

Xu Yuanliang sent someone to say.

The old shipowner, that is, Wang Zhi.

The day after the East Gate Qing arrived in Shuangyu, Wang Zhi held a banquet to wash his dust. The directors of the Donghai Chamber of Commerce in Shuangyu at the moment are all present except Xu Dong, including Li Guangtou, Xu Gui, the Four Heavenly Kings, 'Mao' Haifeng, Xu Yuanliang, Wang Qingxi, Hong Dizhen, in addition to a Captain Franco, two big businessmen. Although it is to wash the dust of the East Gate Celebration, the East Gate Celebration is one of the eighteen directors, and Shuangyu is the nest of the East China Sea Chamber of Commerce, so this banquet is more suitable than a dinner. In terms of seating, the east 'gate' Qing is ranked after 'Mao' Haifeng.

This seat is actually the same in Japan, but after the first war of "fat", no matter inside and outside Qinghuaxiang, everyone feels that the east 'gate' Qing has been directly 'forced' Wang Zhi, and it is too aggrieved to continue to rank behind 'Mao' Haifeng, but at this time Shuangyu reunited, and the east 'gate' Qing sat on the 'Mao' Haifeng's hand, but it seemed very natural.

"How so?" Higashi' said, "Is it because I had an inflated opinion of myself when I was in Japan, or is someone pressing me?" ”

He ate this meal very depressed, silent because of depression, which did not match the image of the two-headed koi fish as eloquent. However, the two returning businessmen talked loudly, and at first Dongmenqing didn't have the heart to listen, but later they suddenly caught a few important words: the ninth village!

Dongmenqing knows that in addition to the most advanced public market and public port, there are still eight large and small villages in Shuangyu.

The first village was opened up when Deng Fang landed 20 years ago, the location and the port, the town into a full trend, the back of the mountain and the sea, with an independent bay in the bay, is the largest area of Shuangyu, the most important water village in the geographical location! The village set up by Deng Fang was destroyed in a conflict, and the Golden Paper Elder rebuilt it on its site, which was later inherited by Xu Dong. Now the main forces of Xu and Wang are gathered here.

The second village and the third village, one in the east and the other in the west island, are the places where the Franco merchants and the Hui merchants gather.

The fourth village to the eighth village is the 'private' village of Li Guangtou and the four heavenly kings, and the scale is small.

In addition to the public domain and these eight villages, there are still some wastelands in Shuangyu, and Dongmenqing listened to the discussion of the two Hui merchants at this time, and it seems that the elders plan to carve out one of the wastelands and become the ninth village in Shuangyu.

Shuangyu is the most important stronghold of the 'smuggling' trade in the East China Sea at present, and owning a territory here is far more meaningful than having an entire island on the periphery! Dongmenqing understands that what the elders of the Chamber of Commerce released this time is not a small piece of land, but a 'handover' chair - a 'handover' chair that has entered the core decision-making level! Whoever can get this ninth village will become a new member of the core of the decision-making level!

Dongmen' Qing couldn't help but look at Li Guangtou, but Li Guangtou was drinking soup with his head down, he turned the corner of his eye, glanced at Xu Yuanliang, Xu Yuanliang was also looking over, after the two looked at each other, Xu Yuanliang swept his gaze over 'Mao' Haifeng, and then lowered his head to eat. In the corner of Dongmenqing's eyes, he seemed to feel that Wang Qingxi was also looking at himself, but when he looked over, Wang Qingxi had already looked away.

Some self-evident things are conveyed in these seemingly unintentional talks and these seemingly unintentional glances. After the banquet, the directors dispersed, and after the East Gate came out, Xu Yuanliang caught up a few steps and said in a low voice: "Qingguan, this ninth village, you must fight!" If you let 'Mao' Haifeng go, you will have a sad life in the future! ”

Dongmen' Qingye said in a low voice: "Isn't this kind of thing already decided?" ”

"This shouldn't be settled yet!" Xu Yuanliang said: "I think you should still have a chance!" But there's going to be action! Otherwise, it will fall into the wind. ”

Action, action, what to do?

'Mao' Haifeng is not as good as the dragon building the temple, he can't fight, and he has no business contacts, what can he do in the east 'gate' celebration? Dongmenqing felt like a person who couldn't swim and fell into the water, grabbing his legs with both hands, but he couldn't catch a straw and couldn't find a fulcrum, even if he wanted to make a difference, he couldn't start.

Just then, a message came from the south - no! It should have been bad news for Dongmenqing that Wu Ping's fleet encountered strong winds in the South Seas and was sunk.

——————

The notebook was broken, and it took an afternoon to 'wave', and it was a little late to come back in the evening to start coding.

Please continue to support the ten-year inventory of "East China Sea Massacre", Sunday is the last day of the week, although it looks like the crane is at the end, but I also hope to be able to advance.