The two sentries looked at the bucket, and sure enough, there were crabs with teeth and claws, and then looked at the sampan, and there was nothing but fishing rods, buckets, ropes, and lanterns to lure fish, and looked at the dress of Lin Heshui, and knew that it was a maritime merchant who came and went, and the one at the head bowed and said with a smile: "No need, but you should go fishing in the bay, here the Dutch are forbidden to enter and exit casually!" ”

"Oh! We didn't know that there were many shallow beaches here, and crabs were easy to fish, so we rowed over before we knew it! Lin Heshui arched his hand with a smile and asked, "The two of you are from Kyushu with accents, how can you do things for the Dutch here?" ”

"Yes, both of us are from Fenghou, sir, have you been to Kyushu?" The two Japanese mercenaries couldn't help but feel refreshed when they heard this, it turned out that these two were originally samurai, but were retainers of the Otomo clan, and Kyushu was the area with the largest concentration of Christians in Japan at that time, and even some daimyo also believed in Christianity and were called Kishimidan daimyō. Otomo is one of them, and these two are no exception. After Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified Japan, in order to resist the invasion of Western colonizers and strengthen his dominance, he banned Christianity on the grounds that Japan was the kingdom of God, and then the Tokugawa family also inherited this policy, and in the 19th year of Keicho (1614), Tokugawa Hidetada, the second Tokugawa general, under the instruction of Tokugawa Ieyasu, issued the "Bantenren Chase Order", that is, "Keicho Prohibition Order", expelled all missionaries in Japan, and the samurai who believed in Christianity would be divided by the heavy burden of deprivation of territory and exile, Some were even executed and their names taken. Although they were not retainers of the Tokugawa family, they were forced into exile in the 10th year of Motowa (1624), and they had been away from their hometown for ten years, and they were naturally surprised to hear the news of their hometown.

"I haven't been there in years, I went there once five years ago!" Lin Heshui casually said something according to what he had heard from businessmen who had been to Japan, and a Japanese mercenary couldn't help but sigh when he heard it: "Yamada-kun, we have been away from home for ten years unconsciously, I remember that the mulberry tree in front of your house was only the thickness of a bowl when I left, and now I am afraid it is like a pavilion!" ”

"Yes! Ono-kun! The other nodded: "I miss the spring water of my hometown so much, if I can drink the tea made from the spring water of my hometown again, even if I am beheaded immediately, I will be blinded to death!" At this, he couldn't help but burst into tears.

"So, you haven't been back to your hometown for more than ten years?" Lin Heshui pretended to be surprised.

"Yes, after we left, Japan's ban on Christianity became stricter and stricter, and if we were discovered, we would not only be executed, but also implicate our families, and I am afraid that we will never have the opportunity to set foot on the land of our hometown again!" The samurai, Yamada, replied, his expression darkened and his heart ached.

"And you've been here all these years as soldiers for the Dutch?"

"How is that possible?" Yamada smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Those of us who have left our homeland are rootless duckweed, where can we live in one place for a long time?" The Dutch saw that we were of some use in spear skills and guns, and for a while we were going to leave as soon as the appointment came! There was a sad look in the conversation.

"And where were you before?"

"It's in Ayutthaya in Siam (the capital of the ancient Ayutthaya dynasty in Thailand)!" Ono on the side interjected: "The king of Siam treats us much better than the Dutch, not only paying us salaries on time, but also giving us land, allowing us to build our own communities, to be governed by our own chiefs, and trade concessions. There we have our own house, our own property, our wife and children! At this, his eyes lit up, clearly remembering the good old days in Siam.

"Then how did you get here, could it be that something happened?"

"Hey!" Ono sighed and poured out the bitter water in his stomach, it turned out that after Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu persecuted Christianity, many Japanese who believed in Christianity had to go into exile, and a considerable number of them came to Ayutthaya, the capital of the Kingdom of Siam at that time, the city is located north of today's Thai capital Bangkok, on a large island where three rivers converge, and convenient water transportation made it the commercial center of Southeast Asia, which is said to have a population of more than one million in its heyday. At that time, the Ayutthaya dynasty was engaged in a tough war with the Taungoo dynasty in northern Burma, and many of the Japanese Christians in exile were skilled Kyushu samurai, especially skilled in the use of firearms. A Japanese samurai merchant named Yamada Nagamasa organized them into an army, and won the trust of the King of Siam for his exploits in the battle against the Burmese army, and was named the Taishou of Ayutthaya for it, and obtained the monopoly rights of many goods for foreign trade, so he became extremely wealthy. In 1628, the then King of Siam died, and a Siamese nobleman, Palasai? Toshi tried to establish himself as king, and Yamada Nagamasa happened to be an envoy to Japan, and when he learned about it, he immediately rushed back. Spoiled the Parasai? The conspiracy of the East to succeed the son of the dead King of Siam. But two years later, Yamada Nagamasa was also poisoned and died in a conspiracy. Palasai? After the usurpation of the throne, he expelled all the Japanese expatriates from Ayutthaya, who eventually had to live in Manila to earn a living.

"I see!" When Lin Heshui heard this, he already had a measure in his heart, and said with a smile: "That Yamada Changzheng gathered compatriots for the army in a foreign country, made meritorious contributions to the king with martial arts, and had to be the Taishou of a city, and supported the young monarch, repaid the favor of the first king, and died and the society fell into disposition." What an amazing person! But Yamada-kun, your surname is also Yamada, aren't you the nephew of that Yamada-sama? ”

"No, no, he's Yamada from Sunfu, I'm Yamada from Bungo, it doesn't matter!" The Japanese mercenary named Yamada had a slightly red face and looked embarrassed.

"I can't say that, in the words of our Ming people, it was a family five hundred years ago!" Lin Heshui laughed heartily: "By the way, after this run, my boat is going to Manila once, do you have any message to bring to the compatriots there?" I can bring it for you! ”

"Really?" Yamada was overjoyed when he heard this, he had been in this place where birds don't for almost two years, and the Dutch and Spaniards were mortal enemies, and it was not convenient for him to send a message to his compatriots over there.

"That's natural, it's just a gesture, as the saying goes, 'all brothers in the four seas', not to mention that we talked so speculatively tonight, what is this little thing?"

"Thank you very much!" Yamada hurriedly bowed to Lin Heshui and said, "Mr. Lin, it's inconvenient now, I'll write a letter tomorrow morning after I get off duty, and we will meet at the tavern in Xiacheng at noon, I must thank Mr. Lin well!" ”

"Thanks for what!" Lin Heshui laughed, looking bold: "I'm going to Manila anyway, just by the way, what's worth it, as the saying goes, 'many friends and many roads', maybe there will be Brother Lao Shantian!" “

Hearing Lin Heshui say this, Yamada's face became serious, and he bowed down to Lin Heshui and said, "If Mr. Lin is useful to the place below, he will definitely work!" ”

"I'm just talking about it, how can Brother Yamada still take it seriously, it seems that I'm a villain who is good for the city!" Lin Heshui pretended to be angry, Yamada hurriedly explained that he did not mean this, and it was not long before Lin Heshui turned his anger into joy, and the two agreed to meet at noon the next day at the Lower Town Tavern in Geranza Castle, and Lin Heshui and the captain rowed towards the interior of the bay. Yamada and Ono stood on the shore and waved goodbye, and they rowed out the forest river for a long way before leaving.

"Mr. Lin, good means!" The captain said with a smile while paddling hard: "I'm panicking, I don't know what to do, thanks to Mr. Lin on the boat, otherwise I really don't know what will happen." I've heard of the Japanese people before, and I don't believe it, but today it's the first time I've seen it! ”

"Huh!" Lin Heshui smiled: "I'm also in a hurry, it's okay if I succeed or not, fortunately, we are lucky, we met two Japanese, if the Dutch lead the team, it will not be so simple!" ”

"This is also Mr. Lin's blessing!" The captain quietly patted Lin Heshui's ass: "Then are we still coming?" The depth of the water in this deer ear gate has not yet been measured. ”

"Of course we have to come, let's find a secluded place to hide, and come back to measure in half an hour, this matter is very important, we must figure it out, otherwise we will come in vain this time!"

"Yes, Mr. Lin!"

The two found a secluded place and waited for more than half an hour, until the bright moon gradually set, before re-rowing to the Luermen, this time it was lucky, until they finished measuring the depth of the waterway, and did not encounter any trouble, until the two returned to the shore, the sky was already cloudy, showing a trace of fish belly white, each returned to the room to cover their heads and sleep without mentioning. After waking up the next day, it was already three poles of the sun, Lin Heshui changed into clean clothes after washing, came to the tavern, occupied a table in the corner and sat down, asked for a glass of coconut water, just drank two sips and saw Yamada and Ono coming, Lin Heshui hurriedly stood up and said hello. Yamada and Ono hurriedly came over and sat down, the three of them exchanged a few words, and Lin Heshui knew that Yamada's full name was Yamada Yoshihiko, and Ono's name was Ono Ichiro, and it was not difficult to see from the name that Yamada Yoshihiko's background was much higher than Ono Ichiro, and he was considered an intermediate samurai in the domain, while Ono Ichiro was just a countryman. Yoshihiko Yamada was a minor leader under the Dutch, with more than a dozen Japanese gunners under him. Lin Heshui heard the origin of the two, hurriedly disrespected, called someone to bring wine and food, and the three of them chatted while eating.

Lin Heshui and Ono Ichiro touched the wine glass, drank it all, picked up the wine jug and was about to pour the wine, and suddenly found that the wine glass in front of Yamada Yoshihiko was still full, he noticed that the other party's expression was depressed, as if he had something to say, so he put down the wine jug and asked: "Yamada-kun, what's wrong with you, don't you have something on your mind?" ”

"Let Mr. Lin see it!" Yoshihiko Yamada nodded: "I do have a problem lately?" ”

"Oh, let's hear it, maybe I can help!"

"Hey!" Yoshihiko Yamada sighed and whispered, it turned out that the Dutch were mainly used for trade with China as a transit point, and they did not produce many goods, sulfur and deer skins were the bulk of them, in order to monopolize the profits, the Dutch stipulated that all the natives within their rule could only sell deer skins and sulfur to themselves at low prices, and were not allowed to sell them to overseas merchants without authorization. Yoshihiko Yamada and his group of Japanese mercenaries secretly got a batch of deer skins and sulfur on weekdays, and wanted to sell them to a familiar Chinese-Japanese mixed-race merchant for profit, but they didn't want to know what the reason was, after a long time, this merchant did not come to Dayuan Port, seeing that their employment period was about to end, and this batch of goods had no place to sell at hand, if it was found by the Dutch, not only would the goods be confiscated, maybe they would also be imprisoned, but if they were lost, it would be a pity, it was a dilemma.

"Mr. Lin, I heard that you came to the staff this time to purchase sulfur and deer skins, can you put our batch of goods under you, the price is good, as long as you don't lose capital, this money is the salary money left over by all of us, if something goes wrong, we don't even have the money to go back to Manila!" Yoshihiko Yamada pleaded pitifully, no wonder he was, the Dutch were very ruthless to those who dared to violate their monopoly commercial interests, and all the deer skins and sulfur shipped out of the port of Dayuan had to be certified by the Dutch officials, and if the Dutch found out, Lin Heshui himself would be unlucky.

"And how much do you want?"

"We only need a fifth of the price of the Dutch!"

"A fifth?" Lin Heshui was stunned when he heard this, and immediately scolded the Dutch for their black heart, Yamada The price of this batch of goods from the natives must be higher than the purchase price of the Dutch, otherwise those natives will definitely go to the Dutch to complain, that is to say, the Dutch have a profit margin of at least 400% in the trade of sulfur and deer skins, which is also an astronomical figure in ancient times.

Seeing Lin Heshui's expression, Yamada Yoshihiko had already guessed the other party's thoughts, nodded and said: "Yes, those Dutch are so domineering, within the scope of their control, every native village community must pay them deerskin and sulfur as a tax on time, if they don't pay, they will set fire to the house, and only the excess will pay to buy it at a lower price!" ”

"Hmm!" Lin Heshui nodded and asked, "Then why should the relationship between those natives and the Dutch be very bad, and why don't they resist?" ”

"Who said there was no resistance, but they just couldn't fight!" Ichiro Ono on the side interjected: "The Dutch hired us, in addition to dealing with the Spaniards and pirates, mainly to deal with these natives. ”

"Can't beat it?" Lin Heshui pretended to be puzzled and asked: "I see that this big Dutch don't have many soldiers, such a big island, how can the natives have tens of thousands of mouths, how can they not be defeated?" (To be continued.) )