When Xie Hong led the fleet back, it was already mid-June of this year. 【Reading.com】

The voyage did not take much time after a few battles, but it took a long time, especially the journey along the Korean coast after starting from Lushun.

However, the journey back is much more time-consuming. The charts of the maritime merchants in the south of the Yangtze River fell into the hands of Xie Hong, some of which were drawn by the maritime merchants themselves, and some of which were passed down from generation to generation, covering a wide range.

With these charts, combined with the memories of later generations, Xie Hong can even roughly mark the coordinates of various places in the East China Sea.

Therefore, when he returned to the voyage, he did not plan to repeat the same route he had come, but set sail from Fukgang Island, transited on Jeju Island, and then went straight to Dengju Weihaiwei, which would save a considerable amount of time.

Brother Ke returned to Lushun before the harvest, standing on the bow of the Black Pearl, Xie Hong was in a good mood, especially when he thought that he would be able to see Qing'er and them again soon, it made his heart itch even more. After the crossing, he was used to having a little girl by his side to ask for warmth, and there was no one around him, so it was really a little lonely.

"Master Hou, the preparation has been completed, just waiting for your order." The second eldest Lu Renyi stayed to assist Ma Ang, and the captain of the flagship was also replaced by a somewhat taciturn boss, although this person has few words, but his style of action is very solid, Xie Hong is quite satisfied with him.

The saplings have been planted, and they will soon grow strongly, retracting his gaze from looking around the sea, Xie Hong waved his hand vigorously.

"Set sail."

With Xie Hong's order, outside the port of Fujiang Island, thousands of sails were competing, and the scene was extremely spectacular, and even the port of Nagasaki, which was hundreds of miles away, was alarmed, and countless people crowded on the beach, looking west with various moods, and they couldn't tell what it was like in their hearts.

Most of the ordinary people of the Wa Kingdom were relieved, but Matsuura Konobu and Yinrong, who had come over on purpose, were in a somewhat complicated mood.

After taking refuge in Lord Ming, he will lose his independent status, of course, he will be a little lost, and if he cuts off the trade of Ming maritime merchants, his income will also be greatly affected.

However, if the promise of Lord Ming comes true, these things will be nothing, and by relying on a strong backer, they will become the daimyo who dominates Kyushu, which is what makes them the most excited.

Therefore, the two of them also made up their minds to cooperate well with the Governor Ma, and strive for more meritorious contributions, so that Lord Mingguo can value themselves more and take the lead in next year's leap.

Of course, the most complicated mood is still those maritime merchants. Although these people have some family businesses in Nagasaki, they are all used for other jobs, and they don't have much nostalgia, and now they are forced to stay in Nagasaki, and this sadness in their hearts is gone.

"The plague god is gone, do we have a chance to go back?" A lot of people are muttering.

"Don't be stupid, not all the people have withdrawn, there are still ships stationed there on Fukue Island, besides, the cowards of the Songpu Party have also taken refuge in the plague god, and they are happy to be lackeys these days, in vain since the good friendship before, hum, damn the widow, this is called a face-turning ruthless."

The injustice of the maritime merchants against the Matsuura Party was particularly deep, and they knew that they could not afford to provoke them, and they could not help the plague gods, so this evil breath had to be sprinkled on the Japanese people.

"What do you mean by saying that the plague god threw us at this Nagasaki and left it alone? Let us fend for ourselves, or will we be hostages and wait for the lord's family to pay for ransom? "There are those who are old, but they are planning for the future.

"The plague god has always been difficult to figure out, and even the adults in the court can't figure it out, and it's useless for us people to think about it, Lao Liu, don't bother with that."

Most voices are complaining and lamenting, but others are taking a different approach.

"I don't know anything else, but we are definitely not hostages, Brother Liu, you touch your heart and think about it, in your master's heart, is the ship and cargo important, or are you important? If you lose the ship and the cargo, even if you go back, eighty percent will not be able to end up, let alone now? What kind of strategy is the champion Hou of the people, would he do such a senseless thing? ”

"That's right, but when are we going to be here?" It makes sense, but Lao Liu still sighed, seeing the shadow of the sail in the distance, gradually disappearing into the sky, he was really sad and miserable in his heart.

"Alas!" Everyone sighed, and some even shed tears.

"Actually, I have a thought...... "The man who denies the hostage theory has an idea, and while everyone else is sighing, he says mysteriously.

"What? Brother Zheng, my brother is a stupid person, his head is not bright, but you are a smart person, if you have an idea, don't sell it, and everyone on the left and right can't guess it, hurry up, tell us quickly. As soon as he heard this, the eyes of all the maritime merchants lit up, and Lao Liu was even more impatient to urge.

"Brother Liu, don't worry, listen to me slowly." The man surnamed Zheng pointed to the west and asked, "Who is the sailor on the Fu ship, everyone should know it, right?" ”

"You know, North Korean sticks."

"Then let me ask you, why did Master Hou use a North Korean stick as a sailor?"

"This ......" Xie Hong's subordination with the North Korean Navy was seen by everyone before, but the situation was critical at that time, and no one had time to think about it. ”

"Ahh The merchant surnamed Zheng clapped his hands and said loudly: "Actually, I know a little Korean, and when the ship was handed over that day, I heard the whispers of those sticks...... Do you know, it turns out that these guys were also beaten by Hou Ye first, and then they softened, and you are all well-informed, so you don't know where Hou Ye should be now, right? ”

"Sizzle...... I see. The maritime merchants first gasped, and the sea flat was stunned and then subdued, the situation of the stick is indeed very similar to that of everyone.

As for where the champion Hou is now, does it need to be said? The governor of Liaodong, the royal gift traveled and got married, this matter is known to the world, how can they not know about it?

"What kind of place is that in Liaodong? In the wilderness, there are few people, and there must be fewer sailors! In my opinion, it was the shortage of people in Liaodong, so he caught the strong man with the stick. Otherwise, no matter how honest the stick is, it will still be an alien race after all, how can we people be easy to use? What's more, I've also heard that Hou Ye has always hated sticks. ”

"Brother Zheng's words are reasonable." Everyone nodded in agreement, since Hou Ye is short of people, but he intends to open the sea, then these people are old sailors, and of course they are of great value in the eyes of the other party.

With the idea of taking refuge in their hearts, and driven by the maritime merchant surnamed Zheng, everyone unconsciously changed their titles, from the plague god out of fear to the Hou Ye who expressed respect.

However, there are also people who have doubts, Lao Liu is like this, he raised his hand and pointed to the south, and said, "But, since Master Hou wants to recruit sailors, how can he let those people go?" What's more, we've been hanging here for half a month, and I haven't seen anyone say anything, or post a notice or something? ”

"Hmph, Brother Liu, it's not that you are a brother, but what kind of identity is the Hou Ye, what kind of thing are you, is it possible that you are still waiting for the Hou Ye to come to the door to visit the thatched house in person? Do you remember why we were left behind? Sincerity, remember? Sincerity! There is also a need to take refuge. ”

"But...... If we really take refuge in Master Hou, what will we do on the master's side? Don't talk about it, our family is ......" is really not good to hear, but Lao Liu's mind is completely out of it.

"This is also the reason why Hou Ye let those people go to the south, those who go, the masters behind them are all big people, and the enmity with Hou Ye is also deep, even if they take refuge, Hou Ye is not at ease. But we are different, our master family was originally a small shrimp that followed the trend, where did the grudge come from? ”

Haishang surnamed Zheng sneered: "Hmph, besides, even if they are determined to fight against Hou Ye to the end, what can they do with us?" Hou Ye's backer is the emperor, and he has the means to reach the sky under his hands, didn't you see the modified car and ship? From Hou Ye leaving the capital to today, how many days has it been? If it's another year and a half, you think, what will it be like? ”

“…… Brother Zheng said yes. There are all kinds of imaginations, but everyone's faces are the same, and they are all a little pale, obviously having full recognition of Xie Hong's ability.

"I don't know others, but our own master's thoughts, I Zheng Long can still guess a few points, several major families in Jiangnan have proposed several times, and they have made trouble with Hou Ye a few times, but every time they have touched a nose of ash, and the master is also depressed. If you want to say that we businessmen, what we pay attention to is to make money with harmony, and this hard means of resistance is only used as a last resort. ”

He spread his hands, "As a result, now, several major families have brought the set in the court to the business field, whether it is to boycott Zhenbao Zhai or to restrict the luck of Liaodong, who has benefited from it?" The price of grain in the capital has risen, but the Xie family and the Tu family have prepared a large number of goods in advance, so they naturally have money to make, but what about the others? ”

"Well, who doesn't say? My grandfather has been complaining about it all year round. ”

"No, what a sin."

"The Liu family's annual income is less than fifty percent, fifty percent!"

His words were just in the hearts of everyone, and this time the echoing voice was louder, attracting a lot of curious eyes, so those who were originally in the distance also gathered around.

"The current situation is even more obvious, Hou Ye sent someone to Nagasaki to cut it off, without his nod, who can still do it as a sea trade? Regardless of those great families, what choice will the rest of the families make? Seeing that there were more listeners, Zheng Long was also more energetic than what he said.

Everyone was silent, but they all had a definite idea in their hearts, on the one hand, the so-called dignity of scholars, and the price paid was the loss of real money; On the one hand, it is soft, and everything will be the same after that, and even go to the next level.

Even if he can really defeat the champion Hou, those who benefit and take the lion's share are those who have someone in the center of the family, and the rest can only share a small profit; On the contrary, they would have to suffer the catastrophe together, and if it weren't for the ruthless means, the champion Hou would not have won the name of a plague god.

It's not hard to guess what the old man will choose.

Isn't it stupid if everyone at home is soft, but you are stiff here? Who will award themselves an award for their fame and background?

"Brother Zheng is right, taking refuge in Hou Ye is the clear way, Brother Zheng, you have a lot of knowledge and ideas, you give everyone an idea, you want to take the initiative to take refuge, what kind of charter should it be? After passing the current difficulties, everyone will remember your benefits in the future. ”

"Yes, we'll all listen to you."

Zheng Long glanced at everyone and asked, "Everyone has made up their minds, don't have two hearts?" You know, if you go overland to Minami Kyushu now, you might be able to catch a boat back to Gangnam. ”

"The Cotai Boulevard is right in front of you, and you are back to Jiangnan? When Zhenbao Zhai was first set up, if it wasn't for Li Ge Lao's resistance, our Sun family would have been able to seize the opportunity, but it turned out that a group of broken households would have taken the lead, a bloody lesson! Like today, who doesn't know? Take refuge in the champion Hou, the sooner you take refuge, the more profits you will get, and the fool will return to Jiangnan. ”

"That's it, that's it, besides, there's chaos here in the Wa Kingdom, don't look at the small island of Kyushu, from Hizen Country to Satsuma Country, there are really a lot of checkpoints to pass on the way, whether you can go to the place alive or not is a matter, what else to talk about going back to Jiangnan?"

"Yes, they all listen to Brother Zheng, who dares to have two hearts, hum, the knife in Lao Tzu's hand is not vegetarian!"

Zheng Long's rhetoric came first, coupled with the clamor of others, the last doubt in the hearts of the maritime merchants was also dispelled, and finally they all shouted in unison, saying that they wanted to abandon the dark and turn to the light.

"Since the brothers said so, I, Zheng, naturally can't hide it, everyone be quiet, I'll tell you." Zheng Long hugged his fists and made a quartet, but he had a bit of a posture of performing in the rivers and lakes.

"Don't make any noise, listen to Brother Zheng." Everyone was anxious, and when they heard this, they immediately fell silent.

"It's easy to say, we are stuck in the country because of the word sincerity, blessings and misfortunes depend on each other, if we want to soar, we still have to focus on this sincerity."

"We all have sincerity." Someone patted his chest and shouted.

Zheng Long stretched out a finger and shook it, and said in a slurp: "Tut, whether there is sincerity or not, it is not enough to just rely on words, the key is to do something." ”

"How?"

"Hou Ye's current posture is obviously going to do a big job in the Wa Kingdom and even the East China Sea, but no matter how powerful Hou Ye is, he is not an immortal after all, and he probably doesn't know much about the situation in the Wa Kingdom. And what about us? We're familiar with the Wakoku country, and although we don't have a big ship in our hands now, we can't say that it's too far away to say, so it shouldn't be difficult to go from Nagasaki to Kai Town, right? ”

"Brother Zheng means ......"

"Yes, before you take refuge, you have to hand over a letter of nomination, this is the right reason, this letter of nomination is the relationship and intelligence of the Japanese state." Zheng Long laughed and announced the ultimate goal.

"I see, this is easy, I often go to Kaimachi, don't rob me."

"I'm familiar with Satsuma, and the Shimazu family's family governor Katsuhisa and I are brothers......"

"Then I'll go to Shimonoseki Port......"

These people are all old maritime merchants, who have been running for decades, and the important ports of the Wa Kingdom are all Qingqing, and they have shouted for a while, counting all the large and small ports in the west of the Wa Kingdom.

Zheng Long waved his hand in high spirits: "That's good, Zheng still has some friendship with the Songpu Party, find him to be accommodating, and it must not be difficult to get some relatively large ships and goods, as long as we work together, next year will be the time to soar." ”

"Okay, that's it." Everyone responded with a bang, and the atmosphere was extremely warm.

(To be continued)