"Overseer, you can't say that! Although there are not many ships in our fleet, the force is not too weak. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 Although it is not enough to deal with the pirates, it is more than enough to deter small groups of pirates and those with bad intentions. And once the reputation of our Jiaozhou fleet spreads, trading in Jiaozhou Bay can also avoid a lot of unnecessary troubles, don't you say? ”

Zhang Kun is also one of the cadets who graduated from the Navy Department of the Military Academy, and he probably knows a little about the temperament of his own principal, so he is not as cowardly as others, and he argues for himself in the face of Liu Fan.

Although Liu Fan had never gone to sea with the fleet, he still knew some of the dangers of maritime trade, and in this era, the fleets engaged in ocean trade not only had to fight against the wind and waves of the sea, but also faced ubiquitous pirate attacks and even threats between peers. In the sea, far from the mainland, the law of the jungle is pursued. Weakness is the original sin, and there is a danger of being swallowed up. No matter how powerful Liu Fan is on land, he is still a newcomer to the ocean, or even a novice who has not entered the industry, which is the main reason why Liu Fan has never let the fleet conduct ocean trade. But Liu Fan can't wait now, he has to let this young eagle go.

Under the guidance of Zhang Kun, Liu Fan led everyone to the deck of the "St. Martin". This battleship is not too new to Liu Fan, but it is a new experience for Zhang Yao and the girls. Zhang Yao and Tian Shuying are all from beautiful backgrounds, and little maids such as Lu'er and Shi'er have never gone far away, and when they saw this Western warship for the first time, they were almost unfamiliar and curious about everything on board. kept pulling Liu Fan to ask questions and questions, and several women took turns to entangle, and after only a moment of effort, Liu Fan couldn't bear it, and hurriedly grabbed Zhang Yao and said, "Yao'er, you take Ying'er and a few of them around the boat first, if there is anything you don't understand, you can ask Zhang Kun." Husband, I still have some things to deal with, so I won't accompany you! Just send someone to inform me when you're done! ”

After Liu Fan finished speaking, he said loudly without waiting for Zhang Yao to answer, "Zhang Kun, the safety of the ladies will be handed over to you to protect." By the way, by the way, I would like to introduce them to the "Saint-Martin"! Do they try to meet any of their requests? ”

"Yes, Overseer!" Zhang Kun was overjoyed when he heard this. As a smart man, he knew what a rare opportunity this was for him. These ladies are the wives of the Overseers, as long as they serve them well and leave a good impression on them, then with just a little pillow wind, he can soar!

Hurriedly explained a few words to Zhang Kun Liu Fan walked towards the bow of the ship with the escort, in fact, Liu Fan himself didn't know much about this battleship, Liu Fan's foundation was almost hollowed out in a few words just now, and staying behind would inevitably affect Liu Fan's tall image in the hearts of all women, so Liu Fan was very wise to slip away.

Liu Fan and the others hurried all the way to the captain's room, and the captain of the "Saint-Martin" was a retired Portuguese officer named Slade, who was hired by Liu Fan from Portugal and Macao. This person Liu Fan had met a few times, so as soon as he saw Liu Fan coming, Slade greeted him warmly, "Your Excellency General, why are you here?" ”

Liu Fan stepped forward and hugged Slade and said with a smile: "This official heard that Captain Slade has returned from Hangzhou, so I came to see you!" How is it not welcome? ”

Slade was also very excited when he saw Liu Fan and said, "Your Excellency the Admiral said that you laughed, this fleet belongs to Your Excellency the Admiral, how could Slade not welcome it, Slade just felt a little surprised!" ”

Slade has been in Jiaozhou for more than a year, and he has served in Macao for many years and is very familiar with the official language of the Ming Dynasty, so it is not difficult for Liu Fan to communicate with him. Hearing Slade's answer, Liu Fan said with a smile: "This time, the official did come here to ask Captain Slade for some advice!" ”

Slade was not too surprised when he heard this, and enthusiastically introduced Liu Fan into the captain's room, before he said with a smile: "Your Excellency General, if you have any questions, just ask directly, as long as Slade can answer, it will definitely solve your doubts!" ”

Liu Fan took the coffee handed by Slade, took a sip, and said straight to the point, "Captain Slade has served in Macao for many years, and you are also very familiar with the situation in the south of the Ming Dynasty in Macao, I want to ask about the trade between your Portugal and the Ming Dynasty!" ”

Slade hesitated for a moment and replied, "Your Excellency, Slade is just a soldier and doesn't know much about business matters. Maybe you should ask the merchants who come to trade in Qingdao, they must know more than I know! ”

Liu Fan didn't care when he saw this, and said with a smile, "This time it's just a small talk, so let's put it another way, I want to know what are the trade routes between your Portugal and my Daming?" Or where will Europeans sell after buying from the Ming Dynasty? ”

Hearing Liu Fan's words, Slade couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief. Their Portuguese role in the Ming Dynasty was not glorious, and Slade was afraid that Liu Fan would ask him to the bottom of it, in that case, once he answered truthfully, it would inevitably cause Liu Fan's hostility to Portugal and cast a shadow on the trade between Jiaozhou and Portugal. Such an outcome is something that Slade does not want to see. Now seeing that Liu Fan didn't ask those questions, he immediately relieved himself and replied in a happy tone, "After European merchants come to Daming, they generally buy raw silk, tea, porcelain and other goods in demand, and then transport them to Manila, and then sell them to Europe or America from Manila. And we Portuguese businessmen generally choose to transit in Macau and then ship the goods directly to the mainland! ”

Liu Fan nodded and continued to ask, "What are the commodities and routes for trade?" ”

Slade thought for a moment and replied, "Generally, European merchants would buy silk, ceramics, and tea from the Ming Dynasty, textiles, carpets, medicinal herbs, indigo, jewelry, and spices, pepper, cloves, cinnamon, and other goods from the South Seas. When returning home, some wool, woolen, metal, and glass products will be transported from the European mainland back to Daming! At present, there are three main routes from Europe to Daming, one is Daming-Manila-Mexico. One is Europe-Cape of Good Hope-India. The other is Europe - Cape of Good Hope - Lama Jia - Daming. These three routes are the busiest routes now, and European businessmen who want to come to Daming will choose one of them. Chinese merchant ships generally sailed from Goya to the Aegean Sea, and then to Lama Jia to Macao. (To be continued.) )