At the same time that the Taiping Army was beginning to emerge in Jiangdong.

In a port full of exotic customs on the coast of West Tianzhu, it is crowded, bustling and chaotic. As the exclusive trade representative of the Taiping Army and the head of the foreign ship regiment, Fei Kong (Kong Liluo) also wore a loose cage cloth coat and sat under a pair of umbrella covers.

In his hands, he also held two orchids with different skin tones and light and exposed; I wiped my sweat while feeding the fruit. The path was opened by armored soldiers on tall horses, through the ragged crowd of kneeling on the ground.

As the dark-skinned Kunlun Nu in front, in addition to the Taiping Green Flag, there are several small flags with magnificent colors and different shapes; However, it was the local princes and city lords who specially gave this "official businessman" from the Celestial Empire courtesy and exclusive certificates.

It was also the westernmost point that the rebels had been able to reach after crossing the Peninsular Kingdom (near present-day Malay Peninsula) and the Lion Kingdom (Sri Lanka), but the rewards were also very rich.

Although the local Tufan State was extremely poor and destitute, as an upper-class person, he was quite rich and luxurious; Therefore, these products from Dongtu are for them, whether they are the monopoly of traditional silk porcelain tea paper, or the refined salt, frosting, and spirits as new products. Lacquerware, bronze mirrors, glass products... All are extremely popular and sought-after items.

In other words, all the novelties and luxury goods that were shipped from Canton, as long as they could arrive here safely, were like a bottomless pit where gluttony was, and there was little bargaining.

And he is just like the official identity he claims to be. Every time the huge fleet that comes across the sea is always able to provide a wide variety of Dongnzu products. As a result, most of the foreign merchants who had been suffering from the sea routes along the way were very unstable or exploited, and could not enter the Tang Dynasty safely.

Therefore, whenever he appeared in these ports, it would be a moment of carnival and maritime trade when the local merchants gathered; So much so that after several rounds of travel, his fame attracted merchants from the inland of South Tianzhu and East Tianzhu, and even the envoys of princes and state kings; They drove caravans and vehicles over the mountains and mountains to make a special trip to buy and sell large quantities.

He was also able to successfully establish more than a dozen exclusive trading bases with corresponding privileges and conveniences on the local coast from East Tianzhu to South Tianzhu and then to West Tianzhu; Of course, there were some discordant noises during this period.

But as the leader of a fleet of hundreds at every turn, he naturally has the corresponding confidence and support. In addition to the relatively sophisticated projection firearms on the ship and the Taiping sailors who used strong bows and crossbows; There are also those maritime merchant families, guilds, and societies that follow the ship group, and some of them are people who can drive and help.

At least driven by the motive of cutting off people's financial routes as if killing their parents, they don't mind showing a little bit of martial virtue from the land of central Fujian and Lingnan in these extraterritorial places where there is no king.

It's a pity that there is civil strife in the Great Food Country and the resting place further west, so that bandits at sea are rampant and unexpectedly frequent, otherwise it would be another matter to add some distance to the west.

Although he thought that he had the strength to suppress these small border states and city lords close to the eastern land, in the face of the local forces of a large extraterritorial power such as Shangdashi far away from his homeland, there was still a major risk that he would not be able to catch or lose his strength.

Therefore, if nothing else, this port city, which is called Koudo (near Candela), which belonged to one of the princes of Pratit's domain, will be the westernmost end of his future sea journey.

Of course, behind all this, he has another important task, which is to continue to collect all kinds of species and samples from outside the territory for the Taiping military regime or the leader outside the Ling. One of the key targets was the Sabbatical Horse from the Land of Great Food and the Sindh Horse (the ancestral origin of the Mawarima) from Northern Tianzhu (most of present-day Pakistan).

This will be in the big food merchant group belonging to the port city in the land of West Tianzhu, and the fat hole will be replaced with a dozen "royal offerings" of brocade to a dozen good horses that are quite miraculous, which can be regarded as an unexpected surprise this time.

It was not until he returned to his station that a warehouse had been temporarily converted, with a large wooden fence and a large guard tower; He put down the impatience and arrogance on his face, drove away the two orchids who were holding him as decorations, and solemnly listened to the reports of more than a dozen corresponding responsible persons.

Although he can only stop there at present, it does not prevent him from continuing to arrange and recruit manpower, and collect and compile news and rumors for a long time, as a reference and evidence before and after the routine sailing of several large and small groups every year, so as to obtain the corresponding benefits to the greatest extent under the adjustment of the existing gradually increasing sea carrying quota.

For example, the saltpeter and other designated resources used for ballast on the return journey must maintain a basic index that cannot be shaken; Then the remaining part is distributed from the inside to the outside according to the difference between relatives and distances and the degree of contribution and contribution along the way, and the large and small groups and families of Guangfu, Huzhou, Jiaozhou, Chaozhou, and Fujian maritime merchants who follow the ship group.

Therefore, as the general coordinator of the entourage, his responsibilities can be described as extremely important and busy. There is so much money and resources coordinated and deployed in his hands that as long as he leans a little bit to either side, he may become rich overnight.

He also enjoyed the feeling of being in charge of the future of others, and he cherished his responsibilities more and more. So after more than a dozen voyages, not only did he not recover his original big belly, but he was obviously emaciated.

When the round of things and summaries is over, the crowd disperses. In addition, there were notekeepers who copied the words and deeds of the present in several copies, and solemnly sealed them in a specially built large iron cabinet, along with the navigation charts, the records of the scenery along the way, and the accounts of the transactions handled by the ships.

The fat hole can be regarded as a moment of leisure, and light a refreshing dragon fragrance for yourself.

"Chief Kong,"

At this moment, a lean and dark man walked up to him and said

"The hands and tails of those rats who have just mixed up in the group have been disposed of. Some evidence has already been obtained. ”

"Then inform the people of the naval barracks to do it, you are responsible for pressing the formation and keeping an eye on the outside, so that no fish slip through the net."

The fat hole used a clean and new white stack, wiping the sweat that seemed to be endless on his body and said softly.

"This kind of collusion with outsiders to eat the goods inside and outside, even if the temporary loss is great, it cannot be tolerated and indulged. Otherwise, the basic rules will be broken from these details, and it will only cheapen these outsiders who are not of my race."

"As for the reaction and movement of the Tufan City Lord, I will negotiate and settle it myself."

As the saying goes, as long as there are people, there will be contradictions and strife, and there will also be corresponding selfishness and desires. Even under the general unanimity of demand, out of the profit-seeking instinct of human nature to be opportunistic and take risks to exploit loopholes, as we go deeper and deeper into the territory and are consciously constrained and limited, there will be endless problems and rights and wrongs in this group.

For example, some small and medium-sized shipowners and merchants secretly ship or buy property in order to unify the pricing and consensus standards for certain special products, so as to seek private profits by taking advantage of the general trend.

There are also people who can't resist the means of temptation and bribery, and secretly sell the inside information and situation of the ship's group; Even let some eyeliners and spies along the way give the opportunity to recruit servants on the ship, waiting for the opportunity to sabotage and trouble, and even steal skills and recipes

This requires his subordinates to discover in time, and kill one to set an example to stop losses and protect the collective interests.

However, seeing that the power is in hand and the scenery is in all directions, the number of people under his command is thousands and the team is gradually formed. It was not without someone with other thoughts who persuaded him whether to plan more for himself or to seek more.

For example, these groups of ships and men have been coerced to set up their own doors and territories, and with their former connections and belongings, they can be warmly welcomed regardless of which side they are attached to; It is not impossible to even return to the homeland of Western Qin with this honor, so as to become a great nobleman.

So, as a reward for his courage and brains, the man who said such things has been tied to the anchor of the ship and sunk to the bottom of the sea to find sharks to sell his ideas and advice.

It's not pure gratitude or outright loyalty. For the Lord had said to him meaningfully that all men in this world are of corresponding value; Especially in the absence of checks and regulations, the cost of betrayal is obvious.

And the reason for being able to remain loyal is that the price of betrayal is not greater than what loyalty can gain. It's just a heartfelt hope that his loyalty isn't so cheap.

Of course, even without this reason, he will not easily turn his back on all that he has so easily regained, as well as his expectations and investments in the future of this new regime. He is an idol of successful predecessors like Belisarius and Narciss, how can he easily succumb to and attach himself to some cat-like existence.

Not to mention that realistically speaking, as a naturalized person, he wants to take a boat group with the vast majority of backbones and cores of Tang people, abandon his family and business and follow himself to start anew; It's just not the truth of the fool's dream.

I'm afraid that as long as he shows a little dissatisfaction and abnormal movement, not to mention those armed guards who rotate regularly are not easy to mess with; Even those eyeliners and shadows that may exist around him and among his subordinates will be agitated and rebelled to quickly replace them.

At least among the people who accompanied him, including the three captains of the naval barracks, the chief planner of the South China Sea Flying Money Union, the captain of the foreign exploration team, and the sea and land patrol officers, all of whom could be more or less restrained by him.

As the lord had admonished, the last resort for those in power to maintain the loyalty of his subordinates was to never give him the opportunity to make mistakes and betrayals; For example, reasonable institutional checks and balances and corresponding means of supervision and restraint are indispensable.

Therefore, even if he is doing his best of pomp and extravagance outside this territory, and making a prodigal and unruly appearance, he is also a style that does not refuse to come to all kinds of benefits and temptations, and he does not recognize people and does not enter the oil and salt when he eats and wipes it out; However, the introspection and vigilance of self-knowledge in the heart are always forgotten and relaxed.

Fat Kong, who was immersed in infinite thoughts and memories, slowly walked into the wooden bath, called the two orchids back to wait, and put his hands up and down, and when Hu Tian got up; I heard hurried footsteps behind the hanging curtain.

"Principal. . . Master.. ”

But it was the voice of the half-breed guy he took in Guangfu.

"Send to find the clipper ship that is rumored to be an island full of incense, and word has come back."

"It is said that after a gust of wind, it was blown to the edge of an island overgrown with wild lilac trees and nutmeg forests."

"The local natives can't pick it up, and let it rot like mud. So with a few things, I got back about half a boat. ”

(End of chapter)