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He Yi's mother is the daughter of a Tanhu in Wangxia Village, and in the early years, the family coveted her father's silver so that her mother was suitable for her father to be a concubine. Among the Tan people who come and go to Haibo on weekdays, they are the most despised by the officials and the people, and there is often no marriage contract when they intermarry with the Yi people, in fact, they can only be regarded as cohabitation, not even concubines, so women from such families are often spurned.

He Yi's mother later found a man from this village to marry, and the white fat man He Xin was born to his mother. His stepfather was silent, he was also a poor man, he had some wealth by marrying his mother, he fished for a living on weekdays, or helped clear goods when the monsoon rose, and also took some short distances such as Qizhouyang and Zhangzhou Yuegang, and he had to serve when the government had something to do, but in fact, his livelihood was still heavy.

Therefore, in addition to fishing, the Tan households in Wangxia Village gradually found another way to make money, when encountering merchant ships anchored in the ocean, they only need to use small boats to and from the offshore to respond, and the Tan people then use small boats to transport the goods prohibited by the sea, although the Tan family boat is small, a transfer is not too much, but it is better than more people and more ships, and the efficiency is not low.

Gu Zimin soon discovered the road when he entered the village, this Wangxia Village is different from other places because of the convenience of being within the gate, as long as it avoids the patrol ships at sea, it can directly communicate with the Portuguese, and their bulk He Yi at this time did not hide it, in fact, it was the grain smuggled by Fujian maritime merchants.

If the Portuguese do not obey the discipline of the government, most of the localities will be punished by cutting off grain, and after the grain is cut off, the contradictions will often be transferred to the Portuguese, and it can be regarded as a soldier who surrenders without a fight.

However, Fujian's maritime merchants were keenly aware of business opportunities in it, and at this time, Fujian's maritime merchants mostly took the routes of Nagasaki and Manila to trade raw silk and silver. However, there are also those who take short distances along the coast, and Fujian itself relies on imports of grain, and it is not easy for Fujian merchants to purchase rice from the coastal areas of Guangdong to arouse the vigilance of the government, and as long as they transport grain to the fishing port near Wangxia Village, they can make huge profits, while the Portuguese are only afraid that they will not be able to buy grain, and there is no shortage of silver. The Tan people of Mong-Ha Village relied on the dual status of Fujian villagers and clans to earn intermediary benefits, and when the Fujian maritime merchants left, they were able to get cheap spices from Goa and Nanyang, and the government did not suffer a loss, because such a transaction was originally prohibited, and perhaps this could also make some extra money for the officials guarding Macao, which was a happy situation.

In fact, although he didn't like it, He Yi and his stepfather did not have any conflict of interest, his Portuguese biological father died on the ship to Goa a few years ago, and he did not even leave a corpse, he was only fourteen at the time, and he has been following the church to do things and doing this business since then. He fed the whole family by himself and was not hungry, and he had church help, plus he also spoke several Chinese, he was also a compound talent, but because of his mother, he still had some knots.

"I don't know if you can buy Guangzhou Railway here." After seeing the scene of the private port in Wangxia Village and listening to He Yi's diligent introduction, Fu and Gu both had a general understanding of the situation in Wangxia Village, and most of them had social activities in the evening, so they did not delay time and asked directly about the topics they cared about.

Then Second Uncle He just smiled, it seemed that there was more than one one past who asked him this, and calmly explained: "This Guangzhou Railway is mostly from Foshan Town, and it is usually not good to bring Xiangshan from Guangzhou, and the two proprietors have the road of Haopan Street, so why should they come to our rural places to ask." ”

"Looks like I really have to go to Yuyuzhou."

Gu Ziming thought about the way he was exalted, but he always wanted to try other channels, the so-called cunning rabbit three holes, and the senate would not be too little in the iron thing, not only guns and armor, even if it was really excessive, it could be used to build railroad tracks, and the overcapacity was still very early, not to mention that now the senate itself can't talk about production.

"However, ......" Second Uncle He considered his words, but he still couldn't resist the drive of interests, "Min Tie is some, I don't know how much the two proprietors want?" ”

Fujian iron is also the iron material produced in Fujian iron smelting, mostly in Longxi County, Zhangzhou Prefecture, Fujian, where there are forty or fifty private smelters that are recorded in the official and without the record, and it is very close to the Yuegang of Haicheng County, and the government is not strict in checking, and it is very convenient to come to Guangdong. Speaking of Fujian iron also has the distinction of raw and cooked, only in terms of pig iron, Guangzhou iron fine, Fujian iron coarse, pig iron in Guangzhou iron because it is more easy to melt cast, so the price is higher than Fujian iron, but wrought iron and steel is better than Fujian iron, and Fujian iron wrought iron is also used to build agricultural tools and weapons in the southern interior. In general, the quality of Fujian iron is on par with that of Guangzhou Railway, but it is better than that of Northern Railway.

Because many trees in the north have been cut down, Zunhua and other places use more coal for iron smelting, while the south has many mountain forests, and carbon is used for iron smelting, so the iron is better. At this time, not only Fujian iron has been quite famous, but the steel produced in Suzhou is the same, but because of the complex technology, the output is not as good as Guangdong and Fujian.

"I wonder how much Wangxia Village can supply?"

"I wonder how much the two proprietors want?"

Both sides were not polite, and the possibility of cooperation was established, and they both went straight to the point as soon as they came up.

"The total amount of 500,000 catties of pig iron needed, if you have it, you won't be in trouble."

"So much?" Second Uncle He gasped when he heard this, in fact, Gu Ziming was just as surprised as Master Gao when he mentioned this number that day, but he had covered it up well after a long time in the shopping mall.

"If it's not enough, how much pig iron we want, I heard that saltpeter and sulfur can also be bought here in Macau?"

Second Uncle He's heart moved, but he was also embarrassed: "Saltpeter is not easy to find, and there is still some sulfur, but it is only a few thousand catties, but it is not difficult for the nobles to get this thing if they want it." The total number of families in the pig iron village is only 20,000 or 30,000 catties, and there are other goods ordered by other families, but the two owners are much more, so it doesn't hurt to give them all to you. If it's too little, at the end of the month, there will still be 20,000 catties, so I can make up to 50,000. But Zunjia came all the way from Foshan, and now it is approaching the winter moon, and you should also know that almost all the iron smelting furnaces have been sealed, so I don't know if the two of you will do long-term trading. ”

"This deal will naturally be done for a long time, but 50,000 catties is indeed less, but we can pay some money for what you have here, but you have to spare some more."

"Naturally, if the two of you can be trusted, you will do it according to 50,000 catties this year, and you will see it next year."

"How much silver do you have for this Min iron?"

"Pig iron is two cents and nine cents of silver ......"

…………

He Yi didn't get to see his mother after all, but fortunately, a deal was negotiated, with him and two villagers as a guarantee, a fixed amount of one hundred taels of silver was also given, and his tooth money Gu Ziming also paid the preferential price in advance, so as to be more attentive to the two proprietors and their companions.

When he came out of Wangxia Village, Fu Xiaofei had not yet realized that another business channel had been established so simply, and he walked in front and gossiped with Gu Ziming.

"You're so confident that you'll establish a foothold in Macau?" Fu Xiaofei's heart was a little bottomless, and he asked Gu Ziming, and when he saw Gu Ziming opening his mouth, he seemed to be confident.

Gu Ziming smiled: "Old man, do you have any other concerns?" ”

"I'm worried about how long Macau's maritime trade can last."

"Is it because of the forts along the way?" Gu Ziming felt that it was probably the arrangement of the Guangdong government that made Fu Xiaofei have such an impression, the deployment of the officers and troops along the way changed the concept of Macao as a colony in the minds of the elders in the past, at least after this trip, Macao, a foreign place, does not seem to be so far in the hands of the imperial court, at least the lack of grain alone in Xiangshan County is enough to pinch the Portuguese on the peninsula, it is not surprising that Fu Xiaofei is worried, after all, the stability of a port is more important, In comparison, the place where the birds don't poop in Sanya is not very noticeable, and it can develop secretly.

He thought for a while and said with relief: "You have also seen the virtue of being an official, but I don't know if you have seen the past recitals?" ”

"What's the note?" Fu Xiaofei knew that Gu Ziming liked to read history, and after arriving in Guangzhou, he had read a lot of copies of Di Bao and Song Shu that could be collected on the market, so he should have some hints.

Gu Ziming looked at Fu Xiaofei with a smile and explained, "The former governor of Liangguang, Zhang Minggang, made a note four years ago, the sun and the moon are needed, and you look up to me, you see how beautiful this is, let Langyi drift at sea, the trade is not easy to manage, and it is easy for traitors to take advantage of it, and if you put foreigners ashore, you can strictly control it, if this Zhang Governor confiscates the silver of the Portuguese, I will have your surname." ”

‘…… It is said that the waves that should be moved to the white ocean, on the ship traders, it is difficult to move lightly, and the mirror is in the interior of Xiangshan, the officers and soldiers are guarding the sea, and the sun and the moon are needed, and they look up to me. If it moves to the ocean, the huge sea is vast, and the treacherous is peaceful? It seems that it is better to affirm the constraints, not to let a traitor go out, not to let a traitor enter, no provocation, no relaxation, and no peace and harm......

This is the original text of Zhang Minggang's recital in the forty-first year of Wanli, the meaning is simple and clear, that is, to take the initiative to settle the Portuguese in Macao, in order to be able to control it, in fact, those who understand the situation of maritime trade can know, this is basically equivalent to fart, the Portuguese go thousands of miles to the country to seek a stable trade port, so why can the Portuguese ask, but the Dutch can't? I'm afraid that the various transactions behind this cannot be humane to outsiders.

Fu Xiaofei still had doubts, "Are you saying that just based on the content of this note, you can determine the attitude of the Ming Court towards Macao?" ”

"It's not the Ming Court, it's the officials, you have also seen the situation in Macao, do you really think that the scale of trade here alone is only worth five hundred taels of land rent and silver per year? At the beginning, Li Feng made a lot of chickens and dogs in Guangdong, most of them were looking for money for the emperor and the country's financial plans, but as a result, from Guangdong to Beijing, how many people joined forces to impeach other, is it just because they hate eunuch looting? I think it's because of the cake that moved these people. ”

"Besides......" Gu Ziming didn't feel any pressure, "You have to have confidence in what the history textbook says, it's still very early for the ninety-nine to be one." ”

Just now, He Yi came out and kept looking after Ye Yiwei and his party, Ye Shopkeeper didn't walk fast, Wang Ge didn't let go of his steps, and let Fu, Gu and a few elders talk in front of him, but He Yi still felt that the opportunity was rare, and hurriedly came up again.

"I just listened to the words of the two proprietors, I think they want to make firearms?"

"Huh?" Fu Xiaofei and Gu Ziming turned back together when they heard this, "How do you know?" ”

He Yi said with a smile, "The Franc cannon is mostly cast with copper and iron, and saltpeter and sulfur are also used for ignition. ”

"It's rare for you to be so thoughtful." Being able to immediately judge the shipper's intentions from a few goods, others may not have such a quick reaction, so the two of them looked at this matter again.

"But if the two proprietors want guns, they will be sold in Macao, and there is no need to transport pig iron back to Nanyang to make them, and the guns from Goa will also come to Macao."

In fact, He Yi thought clearly, if these people wanted to buy iron materials and go back to Nanyang to cast cannons, a few families in Wangxia Village, with 500,000 catties of iron materials, would not be able to make up the plan, rather than cheapening the big households on Haopan Street as Gu Ziming said, it would be better to lose another single tooth of money.

But he heard that Gu Ziming was a little impatient, "When you say this, we should also go to see the cannon factory, but it's getting late today, how about we go early tomorrow morning?" ”

"That's good, I'll let the gun factory carry two soft sedan chairs to pick it up early tomorrow morning, and the two proprietors don't have to walk because they're so tired that they want to come."

Fu Xiaofei said in his heart that this cannon factory still has such a service, and hurriedly asked, "Is that cannon factory far away?" ”

"Not far." He Yi saw that the business was going to be successful, and did not forget to add, "The cannon factory is at the end of the bamboo room village at the foot of the Guia Mountain, the old owner of the gun factory is dead, and now the proprietor is his son, and he has a business on the road by the sea outside the northern foot of the Guia Mountain, which specializes in the trading of guns from all over the world, called Wan Nu Xing." ”