Yuegang, located in Zhangzhou, Fujian, is a famous foreign trade port in the middle and late Ming Dynasty where "sea ships gather and merchants gather", "agricultural trade is miscellaneous, the ocean is like a market, the sea is day and night, and the remuneration is drunk".

From the end of the 15th century to the middle of the 17th century, with the development of foreign trade along the east and west coasts of China, Yuegang once became a foreign trade port of "sea ships and scales, merchants and merchants gathered", and Fuzhou Gantang Port in the Han and Tang dynasties, Houzhu Port in Quanzhou in the Song and Yuan dynasties and Xiamen Port in the Qing Dynasty, and called the "four major commercial ports" in Fujian.

In 1567, Emperor Longqing ascended the throne and decided to implement a new policy. Tu Zemin, the governor of Fujian, hoped to "eliminate the law of trafficking" and give the green light to maritime trade activities, allowing the shipping tycoons at that time to "allow the sale of goods from the east and the west". Initially, Zhao'an Meiling was selected as the opening of the Ming Customs, and later changed to Haicheng. Since then, Yuegang has become the only legal port of departure for maritime trade in the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Empire of Nuoda used her huge production capacity for foreign trade through only one port, and you can imagine the extent of its wealth.

Approaching the Moon Port, Yan Changwu noticed that it is located at the mouth of the Jiulong River, and its harbor road is "connected to the sea tide outside and the mountain stream inside", which resembles a crescent moon and gets its name.

Uncle Zhang, who was traveling with him, pointed out: "The water there is shallow, and the big ships must be towed at high tide to enter the port. This place is an easy and difficult place for pirates to defend and attack, and the pirates do not dare to rush into the Moon Harbor Pool, because the tide of entry is too strong, they can ride the tide and enter it, but they cannot retreat when they need to. ”

"Moreover, the owners of many moon harbors are pirates themselves."

Interestingly, this month the port protects them from the invasion of their kind.

When Yan Changwu entered the port, he saw hundreds of huge transoceanic ships bustling among them, and his own lucky ships were like mosquitoes passing through the giants.

Manila galleon!

These ships are as tall as city walls, and their masts are raised to the sky!

The general carrying capacity is from hundreds of tons to thousands of tons, the ship is tall, they mainly traffic the cheap and high-quality raw silk and silk of the Ming Dynasty, and transport the Ming Dynasty goods from the port of the moon to the port of Acapulco in Mexico, Mexico, when the galleon arrives at the port of Acapulco in Mexico, it will hold a grand market in the local area to sell in exchange for silver in the Americas.

To each his own, the transaction volume is huge!

A port can control the flow of more than 30-40% of the world's newly issued currency (silver coins), which is the world's trade center!

There are more than a mile of ports on the riverbank, there are a total of 7 wharves, the east bank is a subsidiary of the Governor's House, the wharf of the levy of commodity tax, and the west bank is the six commercial wharves for ships to dock, namely the head and end of the road, the middle stock wharf, the Rongchuan wharf, the shop tail wharf, the brother wharf, the Xiwei wharf, of which the Brother Bo wharf is also a military wharf, and the water division is stationed, but when it comes to the water division, it has long been rotten to the point of becoming slag, and it is useless.

There are many commercial markets (Port City, Jiuqiao City, Xiamei City, and Xiankou City) in the Haicheng County area, which are unusually busy and developed.

How so?

Walking in the commercial market, there are locals, outsiders, all Chinese, as well as high-nosed and deep-eyed red-haired fans (this is a standard title, there is absolutely no mistake, but their clothes and accents are different), dark-faced black slaves and Baotou Ah San, and a large number of Wu people swaggering through the market, many of them, who speak Chinese and smooth, make people deeply doubt their nationality.

But don't get to the bottom of it, there's everyone in Moon Harbor! It's an adventurer's paradise, filled with maritime merchants (sometimes part-time pirates), pirates (who often appear as maritime merchants when they come ashore), villains, and crooks!

It is difficult to describe the abundance of goods and the variety of goods, and the streets are full of dazzling goods from various countries.

The goods of the Moon Harbor, only you can't think of it, you can't find it without it!

Seeing this situation, Yan Dashao's previously proud tail was put away: "This is the big scene!" My own pattern is still too small! ”

……

He is not in a hurry to find any three major silver numbers to settle accounts, but wanders around to see the scenes of the world's big commercial ports, but he is not aimless, mainly looking for cane sugar, wine and arms!

As a result, he whistled with satisfaction!

At the grocer in Old Bridge City, the grocer there gives the price code.

Hongmaofan collects a large amount of sucrose, mainly white sugar and rock sugar (sucrose products), how much is collected, and the price is preferential. (There is a reference here, in the tenth year of Ming Chongzhen, the British East India Company purchased 13,028 quintals of white sugar and 500 quintals of rock sugar (one load of 100 catties) in Guangzhou)

The red hair is used for re-export and personal use, and it is not worried about sales.

Wine, the world's common commodity, there are many drunkards, the Yuegang shops say that they will accept any wine, liquor to Chinese drunkards, and wine to Hongmaofan!

Not to mention the arms, the profiteering goods, good arms are in short supply, he just said a little bit, saying that he wants artillery, and the two groups of red-haired fans are ready to duel to get his order!

One was Captain Baker, an Englishman, and the other was Mr. Burke, a Spanish merchant, and the two looked at each other angrily like cockfights!

Don't blame them for being in a hurry, it's definitely the local tyrants who dare to order cannons.

At that time, the Chinese people often called the Western cannon Hongyi cannon, also known as the red-coated cannon, a kind of artillery made in Europe in the early 16th century, which flowed into China at the end of the Ming Dynasty, with a long barrel in the design, a thick tube wall, and gradually thickened from the muzzle to the tail of the gun, which can be called a big heavy weapon, a front-loading smoothbore gun, 3 meters long, weighing more than 2 tons, with an effective firing range of 1500 meters, and a distance of up to 2500 meters.

Such a weapon can be called a great weapon of the great power at that time, you can imagine its high value, the business of selling artillery, commercially can be said to be "three years not open, open for three years!" ”

Seeing the two red-haired fans behaving like this, Yan Changwu snorted, and Uncle Zhang stepped forward and talked to them in Spanish and English respectively!

"Our honorable young master said that he needs artillery, who can provide him with high-quality artillery, as well as artillery casting technology, the business is his!"

"Our honorable young master said that he needs a battleship, who can provide him with high-quality warships, as well as battleship construction technology, the business is his!"

Hearing his words, the two ghosts said in unison: "Oh God! ”

They trembled with excitement, if this wasn't big business, what else!

The two red-haired fans had red eyes, and their eyes were not kind to each other.