In the eleventh year of Ming Chongzhen, Zhejiang, Hangzhou Mansion, in recent times, whether it is a noisy tavern, a quiet tea shop, or a flower hall and study room of rich and noble people, they are talking about one person and one thing. Yang Hongzhang, the third young master of the Yang family, who had been admitted to Xiucai and later was stripped of his reputation because he offended Zhang Cai, the leader of the Restoration Society, returned from the West, and it is said that he robbed several Dutch ships and sailed tens of thousands of miles through the blockade to return to Hangzhou. Whether it is the few big ships moored at the Wangjiangmen Wharf in Hangzhou or dozens of Western monks, it is a clear proof. And the countless coral trees, amber, night pearls, Persian carpets, etc., which are constantly being sold, are really envious of others!

There are some even more outrageous claims behind this legendary story, saying that the third young master of the Yang family got the Dharma from Taishang Laojun and came back from the dead, and then led dozens of Yang family slaves to save the sailors of hundreds of merchant ships who were used as slaves, and killed more than 300 red-haired devils to rob their mixed fleet. And what kind of guns and ships this third young master wants, he only needs to tell Taishang Laojun.

For example, someone swears that the second nephew of his third aunt's brother-in-law is a sailor on the ship, and he once saw the third young master of the Yang family dying by the red-haired devil thrown into the icy sea from the ship, when the fleet had just passed through the Cape of Good Hope into the Atlantic, and there was still snow on the sea, they were still shivering when they stood on the deck wearing the thickest cotton jackets. But this third young master actually reappeared on the deck after being missing for three days, so that there were more legendary stories that happened later.

There is also this young master who actually held a flintlock pistol that was more advanced than the Dutch red-haired devil, and it is said that he later cooperated with a young son named Raphael Kestrow to empty the flintlock pistols and artillery of several Western countries.

Later, he robbed the harbor along the way, and was not afraid to encounter Dutch warships, and went up to shoot a bullet, and the Dutch pirates composed of professional soldiers were beaten and fled several times! It is said that when the third young master led the team from the Franco, it was a mixed fleet of the Dutch, and when it arrived in the Indian Ocean, it was replaced by an all-Arab clipper, and the Dutch warships could not catch up. When they entered Malacca, they were replaced by all Spanish warships, so that the Dutch navy stationed there was taken by surprise. What is even more surprising is that this Xiucai actually knows the language of Westerners, and there are almost no obstacles to communicate with those Western monks along the way, but no one has ever seen when this Xiucai has learned the language of Westerners.

The occurrence of such an incident in Hangzhou does not seem to be a big deal in the decaying Ming Dynasty, even if it is the Zhejiang Political Secretary and the Hangzhou Prefect's Yamen, no one pays attention to it. Because there will be merchant ships in Jiangsu and Zhejiang every day who venture to sea. In affluent Jiangsu and Zhejiang, silk, porcelain, and tea merchants are eager to go overseas to earn more money.

The third young master of the Yang family, Yang Hongzhang, returned safely, and there was too much information they needed. If Yang Hongzhang hadn't given a gag order, those who came back with Yang Hongzhang from sailors to domestic slaves would have already become the guests of these merchants.

As for the third young master of the Yang family, he is receiving a group of young talents from the Restoration Society at the moment, these people value Yang Hongzhang's former talent status more and want to know more about the customs of the West. Yang Hongzhang, who has not been seen for more than a year, has indeed impressed these pretentious students, especially Huang Zongxi, the cardinal archbishop of the Holy See, the physicist Galileo's iron ball experiment, and the operation mode of the East India Company's semi-militarized and semi-pirate operation have deeply attracted him, and this is the fifth consecutive day that he has come to visit with his two younger brothers.

"Brother Taichong, Hongzhang's biggest realization for more than a year is that the imperial court should immediately open the sea and ban the rebuilding of the water division. The Fujian Navy Division is a joke, think about how I was robbed by the Dutch, how much military salary the imperial court allocates to the Fujian Navy Division every year, but he Zheng Zhilong took the court and received the benefits of the Dutch at the same time, and turned a blind eye to the plundering behavior on the sea in Southeast Asia, and now even Dachen Island is entrenched by red-haired devils. The direct consequence of their embarrassment is that the merchants on the southeast coast of our Ming Dynasty have suffered! Give me ten years to kill this guy who is called the Admiral of the Fujian Naval Division, who is actually a big pirate in the southeast waters of the Ming Dynasty......" Yang Hongzhang faced the three brothers of Huang Zongxi, who were humble and studious, and after talking eloquently, he successfully turned the conversation to the Fujian Naval Division, and asked his subordinates to refill tea for a few people and prepare to send off the guests.

Huang Zongxi's brothers and brothers, whether they are Yang Hongzhang of the era or Yang Hongzhang of the harmonious future generations, are very respectful. You must know that Huang Zongxi put forward the democratic and progressive idea of "the world is the master, and the king is the guest". He said that "the rule of chaos in the world is not the rise and fall of one surname, but the sorrow and happiness of all the people," and advocated replacing the emperor's "law of one family" with the "law of the world," so as to limit the power of the monarch and ensure the basic rights of the people.

"In this way, Zheng Zhilong, who supports the army and is self-respecting, is no less troubled than the likes of Ancestor Dashou in Liaodong...... The fact that the Shilin brothers were fortunate enough to witness the life of Westerners and fought with them many times and came back alive really made Zong Xi envious. That's all for today, and I'm going to bother you in the future, hehe. If you want to say, don't go to sea all the time, it's good to organize and write a travelogue or something if you have time. Huang Zongxi said euphemistically, although he is already a relatively radical democrat in this era, but the idea that Shinong and industry are all inferior and only well-read is still deep-rooted, not to mention that Yang Hongzhang has changed from a showman to a maritime businessman. Huang Zongxi and others still hope that Yang Hongzhang will return to the ranks of scholars from the bottom of their hearts.

Sending away this group of Huang Zongxi and others, Yang Hongzhang smiled bitterly in his heart, although these young talents of the Restoration Society did not dislike themselves, but they knew in their hearts that before they crossed over, this Young Master Yang's knowledge was very ordinary, not to mention that he was also dismissed from his reputation. What does not do business rely on to gain a foothold in this troubled world.

Of course, as a soldier from the bottom of my heart, I will not reject being a businessman who is rich and armory. In fact, he has been thinking about this since he successfully crossed Malacca, he was inexplicably transported to this era, and he also has the memory of Young Master Yang, who is also Yang Hongzhang, which in itself can be regarded as a plug-in.

Of course, think about it calmly, the historical experience of harmonious later generations makes Yang Hongzhang not happy, on the contrary, the era in which he lives, especially the fate of the Ming court and the Han people, makes him worry as a member of the Han people, according to his memory, at this time the West has got rid of the darkness of the Middle Ages, is in the late Renaissance, the peak of the Age of Discovery, and the Western powers are frantically expanding their colonies. The Han nation is about to usher in the darkest two hundred years in its history...... So much so that there will be such a ridiculous thing as the Eight-Nation Alliance's army sending some pirates far away from the mainland to capture the city of Beijing.

"Third Young Master, Miss Xia is here." Just when Yang Hongzhang was stunned, Yang Sheng, a family member who went to sea with Yang Hongzhang, ran in with excitement.

Yang Hongzhang was unhappy in his heart, although he was different from the scholars of this era, but this guy was too disagreeable, you must know that during this time, his mansion can be regarded as a joke, there is no white Ding in the exchange of Confucianism, a house slave is so ignorant of the rules, in case someone looks at it, wouldn't it be a joke. But when he pretended to look at Yang Sheng viciously, Yang Sheng didn't seem to be aware of Yang Hongzhang's emotions in the excitement.

"Which Miss Xia family?" Yang Hongzhang shook his head helplessly, more than a year of birth and death, coupled with his approachability, seemed to really spoil these guys.

"Third Young Master, are you okay? Miss Xia of the Xia family in Huzhou? It's the third young grandmother in the future! Yang Sheng was slandered in his heart, this third young master is a very good person at sea, he has completely abandoned the red tape of the literati, how can he show his original form again as soon as he returns to Hangzhou, he can really pretend.

"Uh, please let her in. No, I'd better go and greet you. Yang Hongzhang woke up like a dream, and a beautiful and refined girl appeared in his mind.

"Hehe, Third Young Master, Madam knew that you were talking about things with a few scholars, so she personally picked up Miss Xia to chat in the side hall. This doesn't make me wait here, saying that as long as Huang Gongzi leaves, I will invite you over immediately. ”

"Oh, wait a minute." Yang Hongzhang worked hard to search for the memory of this Xia family lady, the Yang family is a big family in Hangzhou, and the ancestors and fathers are all engaged in the silk business. The Xia family is also a big family in Huzhou, and it is the main supplier of the Yang family. It is also the friendship of the fathers that there will be a marriage contract between Yang Hongzhang and this Miss Xia family, but before he went to sea, the Xia family didn't seem to be optimistic about this future uncle, not to mention that in this era of male and female defense, how could a woman easily go to the future in-law's house?

Although full of doubts, Yang Hongzhang quickly took a box from the bookshelf, took it out and hid it in his sleeve, and walked towards the side hall, no matter what his predecessor was, he always had to prepare some gifts when he met this person for the first time. When Yang Hongzhang came to the side hall of Yang's house, his eyes lit up, and there were several young women standing in Nana, and Mrs. Yang was chatting with a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl sitting next to her with a smile.

Seeing Yang Hongzhang come in, the maids all bowed and saluted, and Mrs. Yang beckoned to Yang Hongzhang: "Lin'er, come here, come here." Swallow has been waiting for you for a long time. ”

Yang Hongzhang smiled and nodded, and quickened his pace, and the girl next to Mrs. Yang also stood up at this moment, looked Yang Hongzhang up and down, and showed a trace of imperceptible surprise on her face, but when her eyes touched Yang Hongzhang's gaze and found that he was also looking at herself, she immediately lowered her face, and there was a hint of blush on her face.

Yang Hongzhang was about to bow down, but when he saw Mrs. Yang stand up, she pulled Yang Hongzhang down from the position next to him, and said to Miss Xia: "Yanzi, his fourth aunt asked me to play a horse hanging, so let Shi Lin accompany you first." Then she glanced at the maid beside her. Cui'er, Yanzi hasn't been to Hangzhou for a long time, you take a few of them to Daomao Lane to have a look, there are a lot of new goods recently, and by the way, help Yanzi bring some back. ”

Cui'er is Mrs. Yang's personal maid, she is very clever, and when she heard Mrs. Yang's instructions, she hurriedly pulled up the two maids of the Xia family and went out to Daomao Lane to buy rouge gouache.