The tax reduction policy is a great temptation for maritime businessmen, not to mention that it is only a 5% gap, but it is really in the hands of individuals, and the amount is also very large, if it can be tax-free, it will be even more attractive. Relying on this price advantage, you can set the price of the same commodity even lower, and if you don't do it, you can achieve a partial monopoly on a certain commodity, so that your family's business will flourish and your competitors will be knocked to the ground.

Are there any maritime merchants who have been tempted? There must be, businessmen are naturally profit-seeking, and when such a big cake falls on the head, there will always be people who can't hold their breath and want to fight. So soon the maritime merchants threw themselves under Wen Hao's banner and began to form a fleet to march to the South Seas. However, these maritime merchants are all small maritime merchants, and there is not even a medium-sized maritime merchant, why? The answer was soon revealed.

This fleet went out for a month, and then returned to the port of Guangzhou, when it went out, there were more than a dozen, and only three returned. What about the other ships? According to those who returned, the fleet encountered pirates at the entrance to the eastern side of the Strait of Malacca, very large number of pirates, pirates armed with artillery. Then the flotilla was scattered, and the three of them fled back because they were at the back of the flotilla, and they caught up with a rainy day and a bad view on the sea.

These pirates certainly weren't from the Jinhe Kingdom, nor did they look like the Great Song Dynasty maritime merchants, because they never used such large side-frame boats. This type of ship is the one used by Southeast Asian countries, but it is several times larger than the original, and it is also equipped with small guns. Although these ships are much smaller than merchant ships, they are numerous, dozens of them at a time, just like locusts. It's fast. Shoot and run. Merchant ships are no match for them at all.

This was followed by the official letters of several countries around the South China Sea, which were not in one language, but basically had the same meaning. It is said that a large group of pirates came from Java Island, rampaging in the waters near various countries, specializing in robbing passing merchant ships, and the imperial courts of various countries did not have a problem, they did not have so many warships, so they had to tell the Great Song. Try not to let the merchant ships of the Great Song Dynasty dock at their port. If you have to go, it's better to learn from the Jinhe Kingdom, escort with warships, or follow the example of the maritime merchants who have gone out of business, buy cannons and put them on the ship, and go together.

In addition, these countries also said that if the Great Song Sailors had spare time, they could go around these countries, and they were willing to provide supplies and expenses, and invited the Great Song Sailors to exterminate these damn pirates. Of course. Don't blame them if they are defeated, there are too many pirates and too vicious. It turned out that there was also the merchant fleet of the Great Song Dynasty coming and going. After driving these pirates away, and now that the merchant fleet is gone, the pirates naturally take advantage of it.

"It's a conspiracy! The Jinhe Kingdom intervened, and our merchant ships were sunk by their warships. What pirates! It's been more than a decade since I've heard of so many pirates in this area, so why are pirates coming as soon as our fleet sets sail? In the general judgment mansion in Guangzhou City, Wen Hao was holding a stack of papers, slapping the table and roaring. Compared to Wen Nan, he is taller and has bigger eyes, which is a bit like it when you look closely.

"Dexin, according to the people on the ships who escaped back, it should not be the Jinhe State warship that attacked them, the ship is not the right shape, and the sailors on board are not like it. I carefully followed the details they described and drew a portrait of the artist, maybe it was really Javanese. Their country is at war, and it has been fought for many years without results, and the coastal fishermen are miserable, and it is really possible to come out and be bandits. At this time, there were still five people in the room wearing the official uniforms of the Great Song Dynasty, tall, short, fat and thin, the only thing they had in common was that they were not very old, and the one who spoke should be regarded as the oldest, and he did not look to be forty years old.

I heard that the new ship they built for the emperor has been 40,000 yuan, in their words, it is more than 2,000 tons, and it must be effortless to build a few small boats. It's easier for those sailors, these countries that are on the book nominally regard my Great Song Dynasty as the **** kingdom, but in fact, they are all under the control of Jinhe Kingdom, and it is not difficult to borrow some sailors casually. Actually, you don't have to borrow it, I've seen the graphics you asked someone to draw, it's right to look like Javanese, but I think it's more like a Ceylonese, and it's not difficult for Jinhe to transfer some sailors from Kalamba Port to come back. I think Dexin's judgment is very correct, that is, Jin Heguo directly intervened in this matter. Why don't we jointly write to the imperial court, and let the imperial court send a sailor to clear the surrender and see where they are! Immediately a younger man opened up, with the opposite opinion and more agitated.

"The imperial navy is unreliable, I have seen those new warships, which are very similar in appearance but far from in nature. When I was in the navigation school, I followed the students of Jinhe Kingdom on their Jiao Shark-class battleship, although I only walked around the deck at that time and listened to the rigging explanation, but I still remember what they looked like. Compared to the real Jiao Shark-class battleships, our planks are more than half thick, and the masts are not as tall as theirs. Most of you have attended a nautical school and should know very well what the thickness of the planks means in naval warfare. In my opinion, the new ships of the Great Song Dynasty Naval Division were only a little stronger than the Mongolian naval divisions, and they were far from catching up with the warships of the Jinhe Kingdom. As soon as he heard his companion suggest that Wen Hao write to the court to ask for a sailor, a short man immediately stood up and refuted the other party's statement in terms of the quality of the battleship.

"Wen Zhong is right, at this time, the imperial court sailors are still at a disadvantage, and it is not easy to start a war. You may remember when you were in school, the Emperor Principal said that he valued the sea very much, even more than the land, and regarded the sea as the land of the country. If the imperial navy sailors rashly went south, once they strayed into the waters of Jinhe Country, according to his temperament, capture was the most basic reaction, and he might be sunk. On the sea, the imperial court is far from being the opponent of the Jinhe country, and once it turns against the Jinhe country, all the ports of the imperial court will face the attack of the warships of the Jinhe country, but we can't find their ports, which is a great loss. The short man's remarks were met with a nod of approval from the other two, one of whom made a more detailed comparison in terms of the comparison of power at sea.

"Dexin, we didn't plan to compete with Jinhe Country at sea, so let's forget it. We have seen the emperor of Jinhe Country since childhood, how can we say it. Dealing with him in the same way as dealing with officials of the Great Song Dynasty basically did not work. He's a ...... It's a ......," the older man spoke again. This time, he simply persuaded Wen Hao not to pursue this matter. I also wanted to describe the characteristics of Hong Tao to Wen Hao, but I didn't find any suitable words for a while.

"Scoundrel! This man is comparable to a scoundrel on the street! When he was lecturing, he often said that it is okay to treat the people of other countries without any reason, even human nature, and no amount of shameless means can be excessive. At that time, I had a fight with other classmates about this, which is one of the reasons why I finally dropped out. In that school, I felt that I was a citizen of another country, and there was not a trace of benevolence and morality. The one who had just clamored for the imperial sailors to clear the pirates picked up and helped the previous one describe the characteristics of Hong Tao. It can be seen in his words. He has a very big opinion of the Golden River Empire, even to the point of hatred.

These five people are Wen Hao's core group in the Bosom Friend Society, and they are now colleagues in the imperial court. The older name is Xu Yan, the word has been changed, and he is currently a general judge in Guangzhou; The short man's name is Zhao Yao, the word Wenzhong, and he is currently the Bosi Tisi of Quanzhou City; The one who was very hostile to the Jinhe Empire was also surnamed Zhao, called Zhao Yong, who was in Zhongshu Province with Wen Hao and was a subordinate official of the governor's political affairs; The two are samurai brothers. The elder brother Wu Xiuyan and the younger brother Wu Xiuxiu both served in the Ministry of Industry. Specialized in supervising the construction of new warships of the Great Song Naval Division.

"Zigui, now that I'm not in the Bosom Friend Club, I can throw out any opinions. Now we are all officials of the imperial court, and we must not act lightly, otherwise we will get the handle for our political enemies, and we will have no place to stand in the court. At this time, Zheng Xiang's faction was in the limelight, and ******** wanted to go on a northern expedition, and it was impossible to persuade him to fight with Jinheguo. The reason why we can have today is all by taking advantage of the situation, and the maritime business cannot be rushed. Originally, when I was in the Bosom Friend Society, I didn't think that Emperor Hong had anything outstanding except for the strength of the ship and the gun, but now it seems that we despise him. If we want to continue to take advantage of the situation, we still need him to push it, and the maritime business is our bargaining chip. Originally, we were going to put this matter off for a long time, gradually show our ability, and let the court give us more rights. But now it seems that it cannot be delayed, the more it is delayed, the worse the situation will be, and the result of this matter must be reached as soon as possible. Wen Hao was very calm, and only after listening to everyone's speeches did he express his position, which is also very similar to Hong Tao, who knows how to brainstorm.

"Dexin, will the imperial court be very disappointed in us in this way......" Hearing that Wen Hao was going to make concessions to Jin Heguo, Zhao Yong took the lead in expressing his worries, he did not have a good time in the navigation school, and he dropped out of school halfway, these experiences made it difficult for him to have a good impression of Jin Heguo.

"Disappointed? In fact, the imperial court didn't expect us to persuade the maritime merchants to turn back, they just wanted to use us to make up for the vacancy left by Shi Song's faction, and then contain Zheng Qingzhi and them. As soon as we find a suitable replacement, we will be kicked away. Wen Hao laughed disdainfully.

"So, where do we go from here?" Zhao Yong is not only a person with a small belly, but also an official fan, who is more nostalgic for this position than anyone else, and does not hide it at all.

"Hmph, the imperial court has the plans of the imperial court, we have our strategy, in fact, our biggest enemy is not Jinhe Kingdom, but the imperial court. Jinheguo is just a bargaining chip we use to play with the imperial court, and if we use it well, the imperial court will have to reuse you and me. Think about it, if the maritime merchants really controlled the cities of Guangzhou and Quanzhou, and we were the initiators of this strike, and then became a help for them to achieve their goals, would they choose to cooperate with other court officials or would they choose us? Wen Hao had already had his own plans, maybe all this was what he had expected a long time ago, compared to his age, his city was disproportionately deep.

"Brother Dexin is saying that we will help the maritime merchants to make these two cities autonomous! But in this way, will the Jinhe Kingdom take advantage of the situation and squeeze us aside? Those maritime merchants should trust the Straits Company and the Golden River Country more, right? This time it was Xu Yan's turn to be a little worried, and he partially agreed with what Wen Hao said, but he was not sure about some aspects.

"It's not out of the question, but I think it's low. As early as when I was the editor-in-chief of the bosom friend, I carefully studied the principles of this Emperor Hong. He is a very strange person, he doesn't seem to be keen on power, and being an emperor should not be his original intention, but just a helpless move. In his country, the emperor's rights are very, very small, and not even as good as me, the governor. ”

"And he doesn't seem to be interested in the Great Song Dynasty, and he doesn't want to get involved in any position in the imperial court, if he wants to plot against the Great Song Dynasty, he doesn't have to wait until now, he can do it a few years ago, and the difficulty is not higher than now. But he didn't, there is one thing that makes me wonder what he is doing to help the Great Song Dynasty so much. Could it really be as Zheng Xiang said, Mongolia occupied his hometown, and he was using the Great Song Dynasty to take revenge on Mongolia? ”

If Hong Tao heard Wen Hao's words, he would definitely regard him as a confidant; If he can put away his ambitions, don't use the people of the country as bargaining chips like this, Hong Tao will also treat him as a friend. It's a pity that Hong Tao and Wen Hao are too different from each other on this fundamental issue, even if Wen Hao can understand himself again, Hong Tao will not put a poisonous snake that can be fatal at any time by his side.

"What if he suddenly becomes interested again? Or is he interested in the future? If I had to choose one between the imperial court and the Jinhe kingdom as my enemy, I would rather choose the imperial court. Those people in Jinheguo are too difficult to deal with, and we can't handle those classmates in the school alone. Zhao Yao also stood on Xu Yan's side at this time, not very confident about Wen Hao's choice, and also said the main problem he was worried about.

"Hey, hey, hey...... I can rest assured that I have met several students in the navigation school, and they are indeed very powerful, and it is not an exaggeration to describe them as knowing astronomy and geography, and all of them are ruthless, and their style is very decisive, and there are not too many moral fetters. But they have a very fatal flaw, which has a lot to do with the emperor. These students are very difficult to deal with under his system, but once they leave his system, these students are not so difficult to deal with. They are not superstitious about anything, only superstitious about success, as long as they can provide them with a stage for success, these students do not mind whether they succeed in Jinhe Kingdom or in the Great Song Dynasty. This is not a bad thing for us, once they join, it will be difficult for that Emperor Hong to completely control the situation of the Great Song Dynasty, unless he really sends troops to the Great Song Dynasty, this possibility is still very low, and it is worth taking a risk. "Wen Hao really calculated home, not only calculated Hong Tao, but also Hong Tao's students.

(To be continued.) )