[Thank you for the "Dongdong" zongzi! You can eat \(^o^)/ more yourself~, and by the way, rob another ticket! 】

Shenjiazhuang, an ordinary small fishing village outside Guangzhou, is home to nearly 80 families who have been fishing for generations.

It wasn't until ten years ago that a young man gave up fishing, walked out of this fishing village, came to Guangzhou City to work, and became a boat owner's worker, and began a ten-year life at sea.

Ten years later, he returned to his hometown with the skills and insights he had learned for ten years. It's as poor as ever, and even fishing isn't as easy as it seems. So, he decided to use his knowledge and skills to create a new way to make money for his hometown fathers.

This person is Shen Hu, and the path he chooses is maritime trade. He used his savings for ten years, plus the money pooled by each family, to buy a second-hand ship, and began their ocean adventure with the young people of his people.

Although their first voyage was not all smooth sailing, they were relatively lucky, escaped each disaster, and successfully returned to Guangzhou with a boatload of spices. After they had paid their taxes, sold their goods, and repaired their ships, they returned home with a great fortune and achieved his heroic status among his people.

Not long after Shen Hu and his people returned to their hometown, Zhou Yaozu took his servants all the way to find him, and under the guidance of the villagers, he successfully found him.

"Hello Brother Shen! In the next week, Yaozu will come here, and please forgive me for the abruptness! Zhou Yaozu said to Shen Hu.

Shen Hu also arched his hand: "Where, where!" Brother Zhou is too polite, come on, please inside! The humble house is simple, please bear with me! ”

Zhou Yaozu: "Brother Shen, please!" ”

Shen Hu didn't tell a lie, his house was indeed relatively simple, he had just earned some money, and he hadn't had time to repair it.

After making a cup of tea for Zhou Yaozu, he asked, "I don't know what Brother Zhou's trip is about?" ”

Zhou Yaozu: "Brother Zhou, don't worry! Let's let the younger brother introduce himself first, the younger brother was originally from the capital, and he was engaged in river transportation with his father, and he had small assets. Recently, I heard that my maritime trade was becoming more and more prosperous and profitable, and my younger brother and my father were also a little tempted, so they moved their family to Guangzhou, hoping to get a piece of the pie. However, our father and son don't know anything about maritime trade, and we don't know where to start, but today I heard my brother-in-law mention that Brother Shen is proficient in this way, so I took the liberty to ask Brother Zhou for help! ”

Shen Hu: "Oh? I don't know who Ling's brother-in-law is? ”

Zhou Yaozu: "My brother-in-law's surname is Yang Sien, and he once had a relationship with Brother Zhou at sea, I wonder if Brother Shen can still remember it?" ”

Remember! How can you not remember! As a Song man with a temperament, how can he be ungrateful!

Regarding the ultimate move released by Zhou Yaozu, Shen Hu could only say that he would definitely bring his clansmen to help.

Shen Hu summoned the summoned clansmen to explain the current situation to them, and made simple arrangements for those young and strong, and then followed Zhou Yaozu back to Guangzhou with a few right-hand men.

……

"Father, we're back!" Zhou Yaozu shouted into the house at the top of his voice when he entered the door.

Zhou Dechang hurriedly walked out of the house and held Shen Hu's hand tightly: "Welcome, welcome!" Welcome Mr. Shen to the Humble House, it is really splendid! Hurry up, hurry up, inside please! ”

Shen Hu: "Master Zhou, you are too polite!" Just call me Xiao Shen! You please! ”

A few people habitually inked at the door for a while, and then they entered the house to serve tea and talk.

After Shen Hu entered the house, he deliberately looked around, but he didn't find Yang Sien's figure, so he had to ask, "Master Zhou, dare to ask where Lord Yang is?" ”

Zhou Dechang: "Oh, my son-in-law is too drunk, he will be asleep!" ”

Shen Hu: "That's it! Then when Lord Yang wakes up, I'll go and thank you again! Master Zhou, can we talk about business now? ”

Zhou Dechang smiled: "Okay! Let's get down to business! Let's get down to business! ”

Shen Hu: "I don't know if Master Zhou has any specific thoughts?" ”

"Hey, hey!" Zhou Dechang said with some embarrassment: "I'm not afraid of your jokes when I say it, in fact, the old man is still at a loss until now, and he is waiting for you to give advice to the old man!" ”

Shen Hu: "You are too polite, if you have anything to order, the kid will do his best to help you." ”

Zhou Dechang: "That's good! That's good! The old man also made it clear that although our father and son have been operating river transportation all year round, they are really not familiar with this sea thing. However, because of some reasons that cannot be explained, our Yanhuang Haimao Co., Ltd. must become the leader of the industry as soon as possible, oh, this Yanhuang Haimao Company is the company we are about to start, we are used to calling the company in the north, in fact, it is the same as what you shout "line" and "bureau". ”

Shen Hu nodded: "Kid understands, you go on!" ”

Zhou Dechang: "In short, the old man just said, you want money to give money, you want people to give people, if you need anything, just mention it, just help the old man build the company quickly." ”

Shen Hu: "Master Zhou, do you think this is okay?" Boy, I'll tell you what I know first, so that you can have a reference, and then we'll discuss the rest of the matter! ”

Zhou Dechang: "Very good! ”

Shen Hu: "As a boy, I went to Nanyang to do business in the Great Song Dynasty, mainly in Jiaozhi, Zhenla, Srivijaya, Japo, Lanli, Gulin, Dashi, Ma Liba and further away. The level of civilization of these regions and countries is far behind that of our dynasty, but they are rich in some valuable products. Therefore, silk, porcelain, tea, farm tools, ironware, paper, etc., all these ordinary things can be exchanged for valuable things from them.

For example, in the area of Srivijaya and Java, sandalwood, fennel, rhino horn, ivory, pearls, crystals, pepper and other things are abundant. These places are rich in ivory, sumac, white tin and other things. Dashi is rich in spices, medicinal herbs, rhino horn, pearls and jade. Ma Liba is rich in **, ambergris, rhino horn, ivory, myrrh and other things.

Think about it, just these things, which ones are not expensive in my dynasty! ”

Zhou Dechang heard him talk about so many treasures, and he was about to flow down, and said excitedly: "According to what you say, the business on this ocean is extremely profitable!" I used to be really lonely and unheard! It seems that as long as we start the maritime trade business, the rich will be just around the corner! ”

Shen Hu shook his head: "Master, I'm afraid things are not as simple as you think. Yes, these ocean-going businesses are indeed intimidating, but the risks are also high. Some of the people who do this business get rich overnight, and there are also those who lose all their money. ”

"Why?" Zhou Dechang asked: "The old man listened to what you said, except for the cost of buying a boat and finding someone, there is nothing else!" ”

Shen Hu: "My lord doesn't know, the situation on this sea is different from Caoyun, there are hidden dangers everywhere, and natural disasters ** are commonplace." And depending on the wind direction, you can only run once or twice a year. In the case of this Srivijaya, we usually have to sail at the beginning of winter, and it takes more than a month to reach the boat by taking advantage of the north wind all the way south. Moreover, we have to sell out the goods before the year and come back with the goods we bought, so that we can borrow the wind. Even if it was so smooth, it would take four months to make a round trip. ”

Zhou Dechang was still digesting Shen Hu's words, and Zhou Yaozu said in order not to be cold: "Brother Shen is high-minded, and the younger brother has been taught, it can really be said that listening to your words is better than reading for ten years!" ”

Shen Hu smiled: "Hehe! Brother Zhou is now my young owner, I'm ashamed of you to say that! ”

Zhou Yaozu waved his hand: "Brother Zhou, don't say that, you will see the outside when you talk about it." By the way, Brother Zhou only sees that in addition to buying a boat and recruiting people, what else do we need to prepare at present? ”

Shen Hu: "Ships and sailors are not important, but there are many shipyards by the sea, and sailors are easy to recruit, but the most important navigator is indispensable." Those who are experienced navigators, they are the core of a fleet, and their experience can save the fleet from many dangers. Therefore, the next thing we need to do is to determine which route to run first, and then find the corresponding ship boss to be responsible for piloting. ”

Zhou Dechang suddenly asked: "If we want to occupy all the main routes you said, how many ships and how many people do we need?" ”

"All!?" Shen Hu was a little surprised by Zhou Dechang's appetite, but he still thought about it seriously for a while before answering: "The main routes can be roughly divided into seven routes according to the distance. One is responsible for the closer places of Cochin and Champa; One is responsible for the vicinity of Srivijaya; One is in charge of Java; One is responsible for Ma Lipo; One is responsible for the blue lane and the old coming; One is responsible for the big food; There is another longer route that you can consider at your discretion. As for the number of ships and people, it depends on how large you want to go. ”

Zhou Dechang: "Then I don't know how big is the territory of Guangzhou now?" ”

Shen Hu: "Generally speaking, there are only one or two boats, some rich people will buy one by themselves, and some people like us raise money to buy boats, and everyone gets together to go to sea every time." The largest one in the local area is really my old employer, Xie Yuanwai's family, they have nearly 20 large passenger boats of 2,000 materials at the most, and there are hundreds of small boats of several hundred materials. Once upon a time, their family was in the limelight in this sea. However, the old club passed away, and his two unsuccessful sons also parted ways, and each occupied half of the family property and ate nothing, which is a pity for the old club's first lifetime of fame! ”

Zhou Dechang pondered: "Since his two sons are so unlucky, how about we buy their fleet directly?" ”

Shen Hu: "Master, that's a lot of money!" ”

Zhou Dechang: "Money is not a problem! Anyway, you know them well, so I ask you to talk to them about this matter, and by the way, find their original crew members one by one. Let's use these ships to build a fleet, run one route first, and the old men of other routes will let each shipyard step up production, and strive to have twenty or thirty large ships in each fleet. You see that our Yanhuanghai Mao Company has this scale, can we talk about it in this place of Guangzhou? ”

Forehead drop a good girl! Seven fleets are so big, how many ships do you need? How much does it cost?

Shen Hu's mind was spinning, his eyes were stunned, and his gaze lost focus.

"Brother Shen?" Zhou Yaozu touched him lightly on the side.

"Oh!" Shen Hu suddenly came to his senses and smiled awkwardly: "Master, if we really have so many ships, it must be the boss of this realm, I have nothing to say!" Don't look at the thousands of boats parked on the beach, not to mention that there are not many big boats there, even if they are small, most of them are retail, and no one dares to compare with you! ”

Zhou Dechang nodded with satisfaction: "That's good!" The old man officially hired you as the big shopkeeper of our Yanhuang Haihai Trade Company, and he will take office immediately! The specific things will be left to you, if you need anything, just tell Yaozu, and the old man will ask him to be your deputy. ”

"You let the young owner be your deputy, isn't it?" Shen Hu said with some hesitation.

Zhou Yaozu and his father hadn't spoken yet, he preemptively said: "Brother Shen is too worried, listening to you say so much, the younger brother admires it tightly!" If you have something to command, my little brother is willing to listen to it. ”

Shen Hu: "This ...... That kid might as well be respectful! After I think about it carefully, I will start preparing today! ”

Zhou Dechang: "Okay! Thank you very much! ”

A month later, the Yanhuang Sea Trade Company took over the fleet of Shen Hu's old club as he wished, and also found his old friends.

During this time, Yang Sien also found time to teach several key members of the fleet some simple and useful new knowledge, such as the legendary astrological status technique and the use of bean sprouts to prevent some diseases, and the other was to get him a few simple compasses. When it was over, he took his daughter-in-law and pulled two boats of supplies back to Qiongzhou.

In addition to the ships that were still rushing to work at the shipyard, the ready-made first fleet of ships soon after, with a full load of goods, took advantage of the winter north wind to rush towards Sriwijaya in the south. They will build their first transit station there, where they will be permanently manned to collect and sell goods, so as to shorten the stay of the fleet.

At the same time, there is also a Tianyou Haimao Company officially listed for business in Mingzhou.

Soon after, companies imitating Yan Huang and Tianyou Marine Trading Company sprung up all over the coast, and even those retail investors learned to play together. The imperial court also adapted to the situation and opened additional shipping divisions in major coastal ports, and the maritime trade of the Great Song Dynasty also moved towards a more prosperous era! (To be continued.) )