Chapter Eighty-Eight: The Grand Gathering

It was the height of summer, the port of Quanzhou was very lively, only to see the officials coming and going one after another, and there were many richly dressed people mixed in, compared with the situation of the coolies in the past, it was really incomparable.

"Hall Master, that person is Shen Chongming!" A person dressed as a master whispered to Serangjun on the side.

To say that Selangjun is also a talent, if it weren't for the slight evil charm in those eyes, with this outfit today, it would definitely be the posture of a rich son.

Shen Chongming was naturally recognized by him, even if Shen Chongming turned into ashes and mixed it in the soil, he could get it out little by little.

"Hehe, the famous Shen Caishen, this seat naturally knows it!" Selangjun sneered again and again, and the murderous aura in his eyes loomed, if it hadn't been for such a long time to endure humiliation, maybe Serangjun would have drawn his knife and stepped forward to put a green hat on his head.

"My lord, Master Wan is here!" Brother Erdan hurriedly came and whispered in Shen Chongming's ear.

Shen Chongming, who was talking happily with the officials, was stunned, got up and said with a smile: "Ladies and gentlemen, this official has some personal matters, so I am out of company for the time being!" With that, he hurriedly walked towards the distance with Brother Erdan's footsteps.

Wan Yulin is not good at stubble, thinking that when the imperial court banned the sea, he dared to risk killing his head to do some smuggling business, and now that the imperial court has opened the sea to trade, Wan Yulin, as a pioneer, will naturally not lag behind.

At the beginning of February, the maritime yamen officially issued an official document approving the private fleet to go to sea, and the Wanji fleet and dozens of fleets followed James's royal trading fleet under the escort of the sailor along the route of Zheng He's voyage to the Western Ocean, and went straight to the country of Dashi.

The road is too far away, this is half a year, there is no news on the way, if it were not for the imperial court sailors to accompany them, these merchants would have been frightened, after all, the vast sea route is also full of dangers, in addition to the elusive pirates, there are more mysterious storms, once encountered, the result is unimaginable.

Some time ago, many maritime merchants sent people to Shaoxing to inquire about Wan Yulin despite the long distance, and the relationship between him and Shen Chongming was naturally well known, and everyone did not have the courage to go to the maritime yamen to inquire, so they could only go to him to find out some inside information.

Wan Yulin was also anxious in his heart, but he knew that the most important thing at this time was to stabilize people's hearts, otherwise he would cause his aunt a lot of trouble, so he had always pretended to be confident to deal with these people who came to listen to the news.

Shen Chongming naturally knows this well. Although I think these people are too ridiculous, but he is also grateful to his father-in-law, in fact, he is also clear in his heart, no matter what it is, it must be based on stabilizing people's hearts, and the father-in-law doing this can be regarded as a great help to himself, after all, everyone knows that something happened to this fleet, and it is impossible for him to tell the truth, in this case, no matter how serious he is, others will not easily believe it, and even listen to it as a counterword, but when the father-in-law comes forward like this, it is different, They are all friends in the mall, and others can't trust themselves, but they can trust him.

A few days ago, James led the fleet to Nanyang, and took advantage of the time to rest and recuperate, and sent people back as soon as possible to keep it safe.

After receiving the news, Shen Chongming, who was in the capital, was very excited, and his heart that had been hanging for a moment was also steady, and he finally came back safely.

This is the first voyage since the opening of the sea to trade, Shen Chongming pondered and immediately entered the palace Chen Song Longqing Emperor, and planned to hold a grand welcome ceremony in Quanzhou, one to welcome the hard-working fleet, and the other to announce to the world that the first voyage to do business was completed.

Emperor Longqing was also very happy, and without waiting for Shen Chongming to say too much, he shouted that he wanted to drive Quanzhou Mansion to preside over this grand ceremony.

Shen Chongming, who was dumbfounded, naturally would not agree. Although it is already a public outrage to instigate the emperor to participate in business, this matter is not worth mentioning compared to letting the emperor tour the south, maybe the four old men of the cabinet, including the teacher, can eat themselves alive.

With a three-inch tongue, Shen Chongming finally agreed with Emperor Longqing that he would first go down to Quanzhou to welcome him, and then take James and other meritorious ministers back to Beijing, and then Emperor Longqing would come forward to hold a more grand welcome ceremony.

The fast horse rushed to Quanzhou, and the invitations stamped with the seal of the governor of the maritime yamen were also distributed to various places, and all the big people in the business world had a copy, and what Shen Chongming wanted was that everyone was absolutely optimistic about the sea trade.

The second rank of the imperial court is invited to the post. Although many people are too far away from Quanzhou, but the businessmen who received the invitation did not hesitate at all, and Baba took various means of transportation to come, and all of a sudden, the rich people in Quanzhou gathered, and the major inns were full, even the small inns that were only for small businessmen to stay on weekdays were also full, no way, for the grand event, wronged themselves should also be.

According to the news, James was able to lead a huge fleet to Quanzhou Port at noon today, so early in the morning, the wealthy merchants who lived in Quanzhou City rushed out of the city to the wharf, giving face to Lord Shen is one thing, taking advantage of this opportunity to make some business friends is another thing.

Wan Yulin was old, and according to Shen Chongming's idea, he would not let him travel so far to Quanzhou, but when it came to the end, he came by himself.

hurriedly greeted him, looking at Wan Yulin, who had just stepped out of the carriage, Shen Chongming strode forward and said, "The son-in-law has seen my father-in-law!" ”

"Hehe, the virtuous son-in-law is quickly excused, the old man is uninvited, so I won't trouble you!" Wan Yulin said with a smile, I haven't seen this uncle for more than a year, yes, I was busy with official business all day and never thought that I would go to Shaoxing to see, and I planned to go to Beijing to see my grandson several times.

Shen Chongming's face was stunned, and he hurriedly said with a smile: "Father-in-law, where is it, I didn't invite you this time, Shaoxing is really not close to Quanzhou, and my son-in-law can't bear to let you run around on the road!" ”

"Hehe, your old man knows, but if you miss such a grand event, it will be a lifelong regret!" Wan Yulin looked at the crowds on the dock in front of him, and said with some emotion, rich businessmen from all over the world gathered, this is a rare scene since ancient times, Han Yuzhi, we are married, the latest chapter!

Shen Chongming smiled, but he also understood Wan Yulin's thoughts, originally he just wanted to promote the benefits of opening the sea to trade, but he also inadvertently contributed to a grand event in the business world, after this gathering in Quanzhou, the tax of the imperial court will rise again.

"Father-in-law, please come inside!" Thinking about it, Shen Chongming stretched out his hand and said, there are too many people coming today, if the people are allowed to come and join in the fun, this scene will be chaotic, so in desperation, Shen Chongming had to dispatch people to impose martial law in Quanzhou Port, and those who did not have invitations were all forbidden to enter, so it was okay, and those who were plotting against each other would be blocked outside.

"Look, who is the person who came in with Lord Shen?" When Weng and his son-in-law walked into the port, they immediately caused a sensation, and many businessmen who had never seen Wan Yulin speculated that this person was a wealthy man with deep hiding, which made the court officials salute him.

"My lord, this is ......" Wang Zhen, who was dressed in a military general's robe, walked over, this time in Quanzhou is his territory, and the sailor who accompanied the protection of the caravan will also arrive in Hong Kong, Wang Zhen is a veritable host, and he is also in charge of today's grand event.

"Hehe, Lord Wang, this is this official Dongyue!" Shen Chongming introduced with a smile.

Shen Chongming's father-in-law, Wan Yulin, and Wang Zhen also knew. Although Shen Chongming's family has two wives, many people know that Yan Yumeng, who was once famous in the south of the Yangtze River, will naturally not have parents, so as long as Shen Chongming mentions his old father-in-law, it must be Wan Yulin, the richest man in Shaoxing.

"Oh, it turned out to be ten thousand people outside, and the lower official was rude!" Wang Zhen hurriedly saluted, his face full of humility was more real than seeing his superiors.

Seeing that this court official dressed in a third-grade official robe was so polite to him, Wan Yulin was also happy in his heart, and he was even more satisfied with his noble son-in-law.

"My lord, the fleet is about to enter the port!" Brother Erdan came running again, his legs have been thin in the past two days, and when he returned to the capital, he didn't know if Miss Yin'er was distressed.

"Oh, punctual enough!" Shen Chongming looked up at the sky, and with the experience he had accumulated in the past few years, he could see that it was around noon.

"Lord Wang, welcome the cannon!" With an order, Shen Chongming bowed down and invited: "Father-in-law, please come to the stands!" ”

With the sound of twelve cannons, the snow-white sails gradually appeared in the sight of everyone in the port, connected together, like white clouds, and it looked so magnificent.

James, who was on the deck, also held clairvoyance and looked at the scene on the shore, looking at the crowd, his body was trembling slightly, it was not that he was nervous, but he was too excited in his heart.

When he returned from Nanyang at the beginning of the year, the situation in Tianjin Port made James unforgettable for life, thinking that it would be worth it once in his life, but he didn't expect that when he returned from this trip, Lord Shen would arrange such a big formation, which made him not know how to express his gratitude to him.

"Mr. Bond, it's been a great journey!" As soon as James stepped off the ship, Shen Chongming hurried over regardless of his identity, these are his heart's words, the first voyage was completed, this is the greatest support for himself, from then on, those who have objections to the lifting of the sea ban and look down on themselves can only completely shut their mouths.

"Lord Shen, thank you!" James's face was full of gratitude, and he had a thousand words in his heart, but in the end, all he could say was the word thank you.

"Hehe, a banquet has been prepared in the city, say hello to everyone, and the official will pick up the wind and wash the dust for you!" Shen Chongming said with a smile, originally thinking of holding an open-air banquet at this pier, but now there are too many people to handle it at all, so he has to leave the banquet in the city, even so, the cooks in Quanzhou City are almost not enough,