"I don't want iron, I want ore." Yu Guozhen said: "I am going to open a furnace in Xinxiang to smelt iron, and I need a lot of ore, can you find ore for me?" ”

"Yu Gongzi...... Want iron ore? Hu Jingshui was stunned for a moment, and then laughed: "Yu Gongzi is in Baoshan and I don't know?" ”

"Oh?"

"The villain just said that he was kind to everyone in Foshan Zhusmelter, not to deceive the son, the villain also thought of supplying them with iron, so he got a news that there is an iron mine in Qinzhou."

The Qinzhou iron ore mentioned by Hu Jingshui was in Nali Town and Rhino Horn Town in later generations, among which the iron ore in Rhino Horn Town and even ilmenite were not known at this time, and they were collectively referred to as iron and stone. This news made Yu Guozhen feel very surprised, Huang Shun is a local, and he didn't know that there was an iron mine in Qinzhou, but Hu Jingshui, who was rescued from Haikou, knew about it!

He originally thought that the famous Hainan Shilu Iron Mine, the largest open-pit iron mine in Asia, was easy to mine and of high quality, with reserves of 400 million tons and a quality of more than 50 percent, that is to say, enough to smelt 200 million tons of steel, which is enough for China to use for a hundred years. But he also inquired about the fishermen who often traveled between Qiongzhou and Qinzhou, but no one knew about this place, and sent people to look for minerals, and he didn't know when he would find out. And he also remembered that in later generations, this iron mine was excavated by the Kou during the invasion of China, and it was more than 60 kilometers from the mining area to the seaside, and it was an extremely difficult mountain road, so it was necessary to wait for the opportunity to really completely reform this mining area.

Now that we know that there are iron mines in Qinzhou, there is no need for this trip to Hainan. Yu Guozhen thought of this and said with a smile: "Since you know that there is iron ore in Qinzhou, why didn't you mine it in the first place?" ”

"The villain calculated the account and felt that the mining was not cost-effective, so he transported it to Foshan to sell, and he couldn't make a lot of money." Hu Jingshui hesitated slightly: "Presumably Yu Gongzi didn't want iron ore for the sake of selling iron materials." ”

"Did you find someone to prospect for minerals?" Yu Guozhen asked again: "Can you introduce this prospector to me?" ”

"Nature, that's nature!" Hu Jingshui was very settled in his heart, and secretly became happy, at least his surname was saved.

Yu Guozhen himself also knows a little about some prospecting techniques, at least some commonly used ores, he knows, from kaolin to glass quartz sand, so that he has to test them one by one. However, near Xinxiang, he didn't see any quartz sand.

Yu Guozhen asked Hu Jingshui about the situation in Hoi An, Hu Jingshui did not dare to hide it, he knew everything, Yu Guozhen originally knew something about Hoi An, and now he knows it even more clearly.

"At this time, the Annan forces are divided into three parts, the weakest is the Mo clan who is entrenched in Gaoping under the protection of the Ming Dynasty, and its lord is Mo Jingkuan, although he is quite ambitious, but the place is narrow, and his ancestor Mo Dengyong usurped the country and seized the throne, and he was bound to my Ming Dynasty, and he was quite ashamed of his country's sergeants, if there was no protection of my Ming Dynasty, the clan would have been wiped out."

"The other two forces fought in the north and south, and the one in the south was the Nguyen clan, and its lord Nguyen Phuc Yuan, Hoi An was under the control of the Nguyen clan."

"The one in the north is the Zheng family, its main name is Zheng Zhuang, and Li Weiqi is the emperor, but he is actually a puppet, the authority of a country, and the Zheng family is in the hands."

"Between Zheng Mo and Zheng Ruan, there have been wars for many years, almost endlessly, so the people's livelihood has withered and the people are poor, although they are sitting on fertile soil, they are thousands of miles of waste, and no one cultivates. Therefore, the Ruan family held a meeting in Anfu, the Zheng family opened Xing'an, and I Ming trade, solicit sea passengers, sit on the customs collection, all foreign ships, according to the distance and relatives to collect the port tax, I Ming Guangzhou to ship, is each ship into the tax of 3,000 guan, out of the tax of 300 guan, Macao, said the original ship, into the tax of 4,000 guan, out of the tax, 400 guan...... The annual tax income is hundreds of thousands! ”

"To the south of the Nguyen clan is the Champa state, which is ignorant, so that it can take the gall of the living to bathe, and the courage of the Chinese is especially superior."

Hu Jingshui is worthy of being a very curious figure, and in the midst of his chatter, he introduced the situation of the coastal countries of the Southeast Peninsula to Yu Guozhen. There are some things that Yu Guozhen has never heard of before, and the chaotic situation in Annan, Guangnan, and Zhancheng also made Yu Guozhen's heart move slightly.

At this moment, Luo Jiuhe came to report: "Little officials, the interrogation has come out, and they are indeed the remnants of Zhang Da Scarla." Other than that...... We have also found the cellar of Zhang Da Scarla, and the number of counted is more than 37,000 taels in total. ”

Because of Yu Guozhen's gesture, Luo Jiuhe did not avoid Hu Jingshui when he reported the seizure, and Hu Jingshui's eyes suddenly lit up when he heard this number.

He exhausted his savings and borrowed from all sides, and this cargo cost 10,000 taels of silver, and the profit from this trip was about one and a half times, and Yu Gongzi just swept the lair stronghold of a pirate, and he got nearly 40,000 taels!

Sure enough, it's a gold belt for murder and arson...... He secretly slandered himself in his heart, but he never showed it on his face, although he was curious and chattering, but he was not a fool without a heart.

"Well, it's worth the trip...... Yu Guozhen laughed: "The cost of the Battle of Xinxiang can be regarded as earned!" ”

After cleaning up, Yu Guozhen invited Hu Jingshui to go with him, Hu Jingshui dared not obey, and after getting on the boat, he saw that the fleet was heading southeast. At this time, it was the northeast wind season, and although it was not a positive wind to the southeast, it was also a tailwind, and it was only two days before they arrived at Qiongzhou Island. After sailing along the coast for a while, they went around to Le'an City.

"Young Master Yu is here...... What's the point? Hu Jingshui asked many times along the way, but he never got an answer from Yu Guozhen, and now he saw Yu Guozhen observing the beach around Le'an City, and couldn't help but ask again.

"Huh...... Mr. Hu, there is a big deal here, I don't know if you dare to do it. Yu Guozhen pointed to the continuous tidal flats.

"What's the deal...... I heard that Yu Gongzi is good at planting beads, Yazhou small beads, but the world is well-known, could it be that Yu Gongzi wants this kind of beads? ”

"It's not beads, it's salt, and it's just right for salt here!" Yu Guozhen said with a smile: "I heard Haike say that the sunshine here is very strong, but the precipitation is small, and there is not much fresh water around the sea, so the sea water is very salty. ”

Hu Jingshui's eyes widened, but his lips were a little pale, Yu Guozhen was not talking about anything else, but drying salt privately!

Yu Guozhen looked at him like this, and said with a smile: "Mr. Hu dares to brave the danger of thousands of miles of smoke and waves, and go to other countries to seek profits, but he dare not sell salt?" ”

"People's hearts are like iron, official laws are like furnaces, villains are not as good as Yu Gongzi, it's really ...... I really don't dare to do it. ”

"Well, that's it, then there is only another way to find a way to make money for Mr. Hu." Yu Guozhen said this, and then turned around and said: "Okay, this cruise, so far, let's go back to Xinxiang!" ”

According to Yu Guozhen's plan, the shipping route from Hainan to Qinzhou must be kept unimpeded; Hainan is a treasure island, and its resources cannot be developed at present, but the inspection of the sea route must be grasped now. In later generations, he had traveled far and wide, and was familiar with route mapping and channel exploration, and these skills could barely be used with the simple navigation tools he bought when he passed through Guangzhou. Taking advantage of this cruise, he passed on these skills to the young guards who came on board.

In the future, such voyages will be made at least once a month except for the summer typhoon season, regardless of whether Yu Guozhen himself is there or not. Although the frequency of such sorties is a bit larger, and it also increases the number of dangerous people, it is necessary in order to train a navy in a short period of time.

"This, this...... The villain also wants to return with Yu Gongzi? Hu Jingshui asked with a smile.

"What about the prospector you promised me?" Yu Guozhen said: "I used a ship of 200 materials, plus 30,000 taels worth of goods to exchange with you." ”

Although Hu Jingshui wanted to say that the ship and the cargo were originally his, but under Yu Guozhen's gaze, he could only smile and say: "Yes, yes......"

"You told me that these shipments will be sold until January of the next year, and then they will be transferred back to Guangzhou...... You can afford to wait, but I can't. Yu Guozhen was not polite to him, he really couldn't wait: "You go back to Qinzhou with me, when the person you promised arrives, when you set sail, in addition, I am in Qinzhou, and there are some good things, maybe you will be moved when you see it, and take it to Hoi An to sell together." ”

Hu Jingshui secretly complained in his heart, the reason why he set sail at the end of August was to arrive in Hoi An before everyone else, but now that he is delayed, he is afraid that he will be the last to arrive in Hoi An, and at that time, the goods in his hands may not be able to sell at a good price.

But in the face of Yu Guozhen, can he refuse?

"That being the case...... I will repair a letter and ask Yu Gongzi to send someone to Guangzhou Mansion, now it is a tailwind from Guangzhou to Qinzhou, if it goes well, it will be there in two days, plus the time for the return and the delay on the way...... Eight days or so. ”

Although he said it reluctantly, Yu Guozhen didn't care.

The boat turned around in the north, and as soon as it turned around, I saw a group of white dolphins playing not far from the fleet, and when I saw the fleet set sail, this group of white dolphins actually followed the sail for half a day.

This scene made everyone extremely happy. Even Hu Jingshui couldn't help laughing: "It seems that this trip must be smooth sailing!" ”

Because the wind was blowing from the east to the north, the return speed was actually not as fast as it was when it came, but there was no need to patrol the islands on the way back, and it was all straight all the way, with almost no pause in between, so it only took five days, and they could already see the shadow of Longmen Island in the distance.

As they approached Longmen Island, more sail shadows appeared in their sight, and more than a dozen fishing boats were fishing near Longmen Island, all of which were flying flags embroidered with white dolphin motifs.

"Little officials, it seems that they have done a good job, and now our flag has been hung out!" Seeing this scene, Luo Jiuhe was a little excited.

"Well, the food problem has finally eased a bit, and it will be better when their chickens are raised." Yu Guozhen said.

Guangxi itself produces rice, so Yu Guozhen is not worried about the problem of rice, but if he wants to expand the scale of Xinxiangzhai and train troops and industry here, he must be able to supply food and clothing for thousands or even tens of thousands of people. Especially animal protein, good soldiers, must have a good physique, even ordinary people, should also be well nourished, only in this way, generation after generation of people can be healthier and smarter.

"Yu Gongzi's strategy of raising worms with cow dung and raising chickens with worms is a different opportunity, and the villain is greatly impressed." Hu Jingshui next to him praised it playfully.

(To be continued)