On September 15, 1646, Mo San stepped onto the solid ground of Istanbul with a pale face. One of the Ottoman transports he was aboard called the Sayik had just weathered a storm and nearly sank in the Black Sea. Of course, he was fortunate that the other two merchant ships that were sailing with him sank, much to the tears of the owner of the three ships, a Jewish merchant from Smyrna.

The Jewish businessman's name was Moreno. Martinez, from Portugal, well, to be precise, it should be ancestral Portugal. When he was young, his family was expelled by the locals, and in desperation, he moved to live in the Ottoman Empire, the only country in all of Europe that welcomed Jews. His father made many new friends here, most of them Jewish, and business soon flourished. At present, their family is a well-known tax-inclusive merchant in a certain region of Syria, and as a member of the family, Moreno, who went to the Crimean Khanate alone when he was young, is now a well-known rising star in the Kaffa slave market with the help of his family and friends.

Mo San is a big customer of these slave traders, plus he knows many upper-class figures in the empire, and his background is very hard, so he has been tied up by many slave traders. No, this time, he had just gone to Kaffa and Odessa to inspect the markets, and met with Mader, who recruited Tatar herders there, and Moreno, whom he met on the way back, warmly invited Mo San and his entourage to return to Istanbul by boat. It's just that I don't know if it's his luck or what, but on the way back, he encountered a big storm and almost drowned in the sea. This still makes him feel a little frightened to this day.

experienced this event. Mo San's perception of the Ottomans, small merchant ships with two skewed sails (derisively referred to as "rabbit ears" by Europeans) plummeted. In his heart, he completely crossed this kind of boat off his future list. But thinking of this, out of the instinct of a businessman and diplomat, Mo San mentioned to Moreno the matter of ordering some advanced "modern" transport ships produced on the east coast.

Moreno immediately cried when he heard this: "My dear friend, you don't know how much money I lost this time, I'm bankrupt!" Mo, I'm bankrupt, you know? I can't afford anything anymore, not even a slice of bread. ”

Mo San sighed and took out a two-cornered silver coin minted from the East Coast from his pocket. He spread his hand on the palm of his hand and said, "This silver coin is enough for you to buy enough bread in Syria for a week's worth of bread alone, and now tell me if you are interested in buying our ships." Our ships are cheaper than the Dutch, we trade a lot, and you can see how unreliable these rabbit-eared ships can be, and one day a storm will sink the ship and carry cargo or passengers. Your governments have all started ordering such transport ships from the shipyards of our country, what else do you have to hesitate about? Don't think I don't know, the Black Sea trade has always been very profitable. As long as one of your three ships can reach its destination safely, it will be able to return to its original capital. Now, you've paid back and made a little money. Isn't it? ”

The territories along the Black Sea coast of the Ottoman Empire (including the vassal state of the Crimean Khanate) were at this time known as the "nurses" of Istanbul, and almost all of the necessities of life in the core of the Ottoman Turk enclave came from these places - mostly by sea. These regions supplied the empire with wheat, barley, millet, salt, beef, sheep, chickens, fish, poultry eggs, fruits, Turkish butter, honey, cured meats, and other foodstuffs, as well as raw materials for production such as flax, iron, copper, wood, and coal, and almost single-handedly supported half of the Ottoman Empire.

The importance of the Black Sea region was such that it was only natural that the Ottoman government completely forbade the activities of Western merchants or ships, especially those of the Latin countries. This began in 1609, when the British tried to capture Trabson, and the Ottoman Empire completely eliminated the coveting of this vast sea. The ships of the Eastern Republic were excluded from certain special ties, and their merchants and ships were free to sail in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, and to dock at designated ports along the coast, such as Kaffa and Burgas, for supplies or trade. And this, naturally, also made those French merchants who had "traditional interests" in the Ottoman Empire very angry.

At the beginning of this month (September), the Ottoman government proposed to Mo San about ordering ten large three-masted sail carriers, and Mo San was crazy with joy when he heard the news. After thinking about it, Mo San could only attribute it to their own private money, or they robbed a lot of things in the newly conquered Crete and parts of the Caucasus, otherwise where would they get the money to pay for the ship. Of course, these ten ships are not in place all at once, but are purchased in two years, but this is enough to bring more than 100,000 yuan of profits to the East Coast Republic every year.

Encouraged by this order, Mo San continued his efforts and began to move around, encouraging the Ottomans to import some more passenger ships from the east coast and start regular flights between some cities on the Black Sea and the White Sea (as the Ottomans called it, that is, the Aegean Sea). Moreover, cotton, wine, olives, lemons, citrus, rice, etc., produced in the Greek region; horses, leathers, wheat, silks, spices, precious stones, perfumes, etc., in the rich Levant; Cotton and wheat from Alexandria and Cairo, Indian goods and coffee from the ports of Suez and Mocha on the Red Sea are all in urgent need of transportation.

The Ottomans, on the other hand, relied on small, old-fashioned "sayik" transport ships and oars to transport supplies, which were not only inefficient, but also less resistant to wind and waves, had a high rate of wrecking, and were more vulnerable to robbery by Christian pirates everywhere. Supplies needed in the capital Istanbul and Smyrna, the economic center, are often in short supply due to transport delays, causing price volatility and undue shocks. The role of these transport ships is somewhat similar to that of the Ming Dynasty at this time, and the purpose is to transport materials from rich areas to the densely populated political and economic centers where dignitaries and nobles gather. If the "Cao Yun" is not timely, it will of course cause social unrest. Therefore, Mo San tried his best to sell the so-called "modern" transport ships on the east coast to the Ottoman government and private merchants.

His efforts were not without fruit, and a number of Greek, Armenian, and Jewish merchants placed odd orders with him for a total of five ships. This guy doesn't care whether the country has the ability to build it or not, he just eats the order first, and as for other issues, he will talk about it later. These merchants were all interested in developing the Ottoman shipping market, and they were quite dissatisfied with the French controlling a considerable part of the shipping business in the White Sea, so they were ready to increase their transportation capacity first, regain the lost shipping market little by little, and drive the French out of the Ottoman market.

Moreno is also a potential customer for Mo San, who has a large slave business and is now also involved in the transportation business, that is, transporting ore from the Kafa iron ore mine to iron-smelting workshops in Istanbul, Bursa and other places to make a profit. Especially now that he has just sunk two small transport ships, it is precisely when he urgently needs to order new ships to carry out business, and he is even more interested in customers.

It's just that Moreno's guy looks really picky, and after he and Mo San have a false relationship, they say goodbye to Mo San and then go to his warehouse on the dock with a sad face.

Mo San exhaled heavily, and said in fluent French: "Stingy Jew! ”

"The Jews of every country are misers, Ottoman's, and French." The man with a Latin face, who had been following Mo San, took off his hat and said suddenly. This person had been following Mo San before, and Mo San also said that he was his servant when he introduced him, but judging from the current situation, this person's identity is obviously not so simple.

"But these Jews control such a big business and influence many rich areas, even I am jealous when I see it. Didier, although your business is big, it is still slightly inferior to them! Mo San looked at Moreno's distant back and said in a tone of envy.

"Who's to say it isn't." The man named Didier spread his hands and said, "Who called them the most dynamic group of merchants in a country of 30 million people?" The Ottoman government's financial constraints did not mean that the nobility and merchants did not have money. Haven't you been discussing with those businessmen about issuing small bonds, and I think it's feasible. If your country is at war with the Spaniards, it may be necessary in the long run to issue some bonds to raise money, and these people are excellent buyers who have too much money to spend. ”

"Don't talk about that." Mo San waved his hand, ending this sensitive topic very wisely, and then saw him turn around and say: "Mr. Flores, I have taken you to the rich Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the White Sea region, and you have also visited the big cities of Kaffa, Odessa, Burgas, Istanbul, Smyrna, Thessaloniki, etc., I don't care if this is beneficial to your trade, in short, I have done my duty." So, as we agreed beforehand, are you ready to fulfill your own obligations now? ”

"Of course!" Didier. "As a gentleman of stature," affirmed Flores, "I will certainly fulfill my obligation to introduce you to the great men of Paris." But I'm only in charge of introductions, and I don't care if you're doing business with them or doing diplomacy. ”

"Deal, Mr. Flores, you're a cheerful man, and now I can't wait to go to Paris." Mo San suddenly smiled and said happily. (To be continued......)