Jiangdu Yangtze River Wharf, where the main dock is the large sea ship with a load of more than 3,000 stones. With the discovery of the Mingzhou continent and the expulsion of the Arab maritime merchants east of Malacca, the life of the Ming maritime merchants became more prosperous. In order to open up farther and more profitable routes, maritime merchants have built larger and stronger ships. The 3,000-stone ship-carrying ship can only be regarded as a light sea ship now.

A large fortune ship with a load of 5,000 stone leaned on a berth at the Yangtze River wharf, and looking at the neatly arranged square gun doors on the hull, you knew that this was an armed merchant ship - according to the "Maritime Law" of the Ming Empire, the Imperial Admiralty could grant some merchant ships "armed licenses" in wartime, so that they could be loaded with artillery, participate in logistics transportation or directly participate in the war. This wooden ship has a sturdy hull and a new wood color, and it should have been a specially armed merchant ship that had only recently been launched and was specially used to carry out dangerous maritime trade.

On the docks, some coolies in padded jackets, shouting the horn of labor, were carrying goods to the armed merchant ship.

The sailors also came one after another, all carrying armor and horizontal swords, looking a bit like naval officers and sailors. Under the pedals below, a middle-aged man with a fierce face and a big beard was talking in a low voice with a customs officer in a navy blue uniform.

"Lei Tou, why are all your people dressed in army equipment? Are you going to take them to Tianzhu to rob? ”

"The army equipment is relatively strong, this trip is to the war zone, but it is dangerous, of course you have to buy strong armor."

"You won't sell it in Chittagong, will you? This is suspected of smuggling! ”

"Li Guanren, you can scare me, I, Lei Batian, am a good person who abides by the law. How could the gentry of the Ming Dynasty do such an illegal thing? ”

"Good, good. You're a good person...... I can't take care of this steel armor, who gave you a 'license to arm'. ”

"I put steel armor on the people below for the sake of the country. I'm going to the war zone to transport goods, and all the goods I transport are military products, and if the enemy robs me, I have to fight hard with my brothers! ”

"Hehe, you are really loyal and patriotic!" The customs officer shook his head.

This Lei Batian was originally a maritime merchant who ran the Ming - Japan - Goryeo route, but was fined tens of thousands of yuan by Jiangdu Customs on suspicion of smuggling saltpeter to the Kamakura Army of Japan.

Originally, the ship's license and gentry license would have been revoked, and most of them would have to go to prison, but this matter was not under the control of the customs. Instead, it is for the Jiangdu Magistrate to decide. As a result, the goods found a good lawyer, took advantage of the loophole, and took advantage of the fact that the ship's license and gentry card were still there, and accepted the "head-killing business" from the Admiralty, and also received an armed license.

According to the "War Mobilization Law" of the Ming Empire, civilians mobilized by the army, unless it is a murder and rebellion, all other lawsuits and lawsuits are postponed, and they will be said after the war - otherwise the people who are pulled will commit some small things. Can't you just get away with a lawsuit?

"Are you all together?" The customs officer surnamed Li was not interested in arguing with Lei Batian anymore, "When everyone is ready, apply for a passport, and after you finish it, set off to be loyal to the monarch and patriotism." ”

Chen Dexing's Ming Dynasty allowed people to move freely, and no one cared about the local area. However, you still need to apply for a passport to go abroad and enter the country. However, this passport is not issued by the place of household registration, but by the customs office where the country enters and exits. It is mainly to record when and where someone went abroad or entered the Ming Dynasty, and at the same time, it is also necessary to register the person's ethnicity, nationality, identity, belief and place of household registration. After arriving in the Ming colony overseas. You can use this passport to prove that you are a citizen of the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, there are all kinds of things registered on the passport. It's all my own conscience, and it's hard to judge whether it's true or false - the Ming Empire now only issued parchment ID cards to nobles, gentry and naturalized Han Chinese that they could carry with them. Ordinary Han Chinese only have household registration books and do not have identity cards.

"Are you all there?" The bow of the ship roared.

"Two less." Immediately the ship's little steward answered.

"Who hasn't been on board yet?"

"Two surnamed Lai," said the little steward, "these two goods are reluctant to spend money to buy good armor, and they have chosen two broken armor and are repairing them." ”

"Armor Piercing? Do they dare to save this money? Lei Batian shook his head again and again, "What's wrong with dying?" Did you tell them what we're going to do? ”

"Say, go to Tianzhu."

"Didn't say anything else?" Lei Batian raised his eyebrows.

"No," the steward laughed, "they won't dare to come!" ”

Then there was a burst of laughter. The customs officer, surnamed Li, only shook his head when he heard this. His judgment was basically correct, this is a thief ship! I didn't want to go to Tianzhu to pull goods for the army at all, most of them wanted to go to the sea or the ground of the Tianzhu people to rob and make a windfall!

But he couldn't do anything about it. Such merchant ships that have received "armed licenses" could have gone to the Navy to receive combat missions. This also included robbery at sea and harassment of the enemy's rear.

……

"Okay, it's the same as new, wear it on your body to keep it invulnerable!"

At the same time, the two surnamed Lai, Lai Toad's father and younger brother, had already obtained their steel armor - two armors that had been stabbed with a big hole in their chests from before! It has now been patched up with iron sheets.

"Ah Fu, we've saved a lot of money now!" Lai Bao took the cuirass of his steel armor and took it in his hand and looked at it again. I was so happy that I couldn't do it, the workmanship of the steel armor was very fine, and there were patterns carved on the surface, as if it were three triangles, which was a good thing at first glance - if Lai Toad was present, I would have to die in a hurry to see this scene!

There is definitely something wrong with the material of this cuirass! The authentic cuirass made of Nanfen steel, the thickness of the front is all apart, so the thick medium carbon steel plate is heated, forged and quenched, how can it be worn by someone as soon as it is stabbed? Nanfen's steel armor is so unstrong, he has already died ten times before the toad!

Moreover, the blacksmith used to mend the armor was not Nanfen steel, but wrought iron produced by Nanfen Xing, and there was no carburizing, so it burned red and knocked on it. This wrought iron sheet is so soft that a bow and arrow can shoot through.

When Lai Toad joined the army, the officer in charge of training them told them this over and over again - a good pair of armor is worth a few lives, no matter what, you can't save this money, you must show your tricks and choose carefully. It's best to go to a few famous armor shops and buy their original products, even if it costs a little more. These famous stores are all about long-term business, pay attention to credibility, and will not cut corners.

But Lai Bao and Lai Fu don't know, these two traffickers who are about to go abroad to sell white slaves have now met profiteers who are careless of human life, and they will soon be on a thief ship!

Bought two pairs of armor from the profiteers - the Japanese had a great demand for armor during the civil war, but they did not have enough financial resources to buy Nanfen steel armor, so they could only buy inferior carburized iron armor. However, the carburizing process is not easy to master, so it is often bought that is not up to standard, and sometimes it is returned. These two pieces of broken armor are two of the unqualified iron armor returned by the Kamakura shogunate, and now they have been repaired casually and given to the greedy Lai Bao and Lai Fu.

I bought shoddy steel armor because I was greedy for cheap, and I got on a thief ship because I wanted to make money. The passenger boat ticket to Tianzhu was expensive, and the Lai family father and son took out all their savings just enough to pay for the journey. Of course, Lai Bao was reluctant, so he chose another way to go to Tianzhu - to be a sailor!

Not only do you not have to pay for a ticket, but you can also earn a salary. Normally, an adult man with no sailing experience would earn eight months as a sailor, including food and lodging. However, the Tiger of Lei Batian offered twenty-four monthly money, and it could also be advanced for twelve months, on the condition that it must prepare a pair of steel armor and a horizontal knife.

If you are an old sailor who has run across the sea, of course you know that this is a killer business! But Lai Bao and Lai Fu were blinded by lard, thinking that they had good luck and found a good job with a high salary.

……

"Selassie. Solomon, this is a letter of appointment from the Colonial Ministry, and you are now the vice president of the Atlantic Chartered Trade Chamber of Commerce. ”

In the Jiangdu Daming Palace, Chen Dexing handed a letter of appointment to Selassie with a smile. Solomon.

This slave trader is really lucky this time. Master Chen Dexing had a large number of people, and he didn't care about the fact that he regarded Baoyin as a white slave. also made a difference for him - vice president of the Atlantic Chartered Trade Chamber of Commerce.

The Atlantic Chartered Traders Chamber is a newly opened government-run chamber based on the Atlantic Chartered Trade Act signed by Tran Tak Hing. Of course, this bill has not yet been approved by the Council, but is only provisional. However, in the current Ming Empire, the advisory council is just a rubber stamp and a supervisory organ. None of the legislators dared to say no to the decree that Chen Dexing was going to pass. They only dare to make trouble with the cabinet, and they definitely don't dare to get along with the emperor.

The Founding Emperor, the King of Demigods, and the King of the World, is not something that the Council dares to resist!

Therefore, the Atlantic Chartered Traders Chamber of Commerce was quickly established, with the president concurrently serving as the secretary of the Ming Ministry of Commerce, and four vice presidents, nominated by the Ministry of Commerce, the Colonial Department, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Navy. Selassie. Solomon occupies a spot in the Department of Commerce.

In addition to its headquarters in Gangdu, the Atlantic Chartered Traders Chamber will also have four chapters in Zama in the New World, Macau and Hong Kong in Europa, and somewhere off the coast of West Africa. Both the General Assembly and the Chapters are eligible to grant the Atlantic Chartered Trade Certificate.

Merchant ships without a trade licence are not allowed to sail in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Europe and on the European-Greenland route, and the Atlantic Fleet can capture or sink them if they violate this provision!

And in order to enforce this Atlantic Concession Trade Act, the Atlantic Fleet naturally needs to be equipped with more "New World" class capital ships. At the same time, of course, the Ming Empire had to interact with African countries (tribes) along the Atlantic coast and sign an agreement to "emancipate slaves". Solomon's work. (To be continued......)