Yuegang, also known as "Yuequan Port", is located at the mouth of the Jiulong River in the lower reaches of the Jiulong River Delta in Fujian, and is now Haicheng Town, Longhai County, Zhangzhou. The river surface is open, "the sea tide is open outside, and the mountain stream is connected inside", "a moat in the water, surrounded by the glaive", so it is called "Moon Port". It is one of the four major commercial ports in Fujian in ancient times. It has direct trade with 47 countries and regions such as Southeast Asia, the Indochina Peninsula, North Korea, Ryukyu and Japan, and takes Luzon (Philippines) as a transit to trade with European and American countries, and occupies an important position in the history of China's foreign trade.

Yuegang has convenient water and land transportation and a vast economic hinterland, including not only the Jiulong River Basin, but also Tingzhou, southern Jiangxi, southern Hunan, northern Fujian, Zhejiang, Jianghuai and other places. The hinterland is fertile and rich in products, rich in grain and fruits, and is known as the "hometown of fish, rice, flowers and fruits". Cash crops include sugarcane, fruits (lychee, longan, citrus, pomelo, banana), kapok, tobacco, tea, peanuts, jute, etc., which are well-known at home and abroad. In the Ming Dynasty, handicrafts such as mining and metallurgy, sugar making, tea making, textiles, ceramics, papermaking, and shipbuilding were relatively developed, especially textiles. At that time, the velvet, yarn, satin, velvet and so on produced in Zhangzhou were sold well in domestic and foreign markets. Other handicrafts such as iron and bronze ware, ivory carving and other handicrafts are also rare important commodities for foreign trade.

There are countless ships coming and going every day, and commerce is developed. The main goods exported by the port are: silk, cloth, porcelain, tea, sugar, paper, fruits, etc.; The inputs are: spices, treasures, rice, coconut, mung beans, quilts, rattan mats, straw mats, paper, clay bottles, mirrors, torches, coarse silk cloth, Western cloth, lacquer and leather goods, mineral goods, etc. Although the government does not encourage overseas trade, and sometimes there are policy restrictions, private foreign trade has not been interrupted since ancient times. Especially in the Ming and Qing dynasties, with the rise of Europe, the demand for purchases rose, and Chinese tea, silk, porcelain and other goods had a huge market in Europe.

In recent years, due to the invasion of Western colonizers to the east, all parts of the South Seas have been under their control, and the Chinese territory of the Penghu Islands and Taiwan have also been invaded, and have repeatedly invaded the coastal areas of Fujian, and the overseas trade of Yuegang has been greatly endangered and weakened.

A few years ago, Zheng Chenggong repelled the Dutch colonists and controlled the Penghu Islands and the Taiwan Strait to make Western merchants much more honest, but at this time, the trade between Yuegang and Hong Kong was sluggish, and the number of overseas merchants who came to trade in Yuegang was greatly reduced. Fortunately, the Qing court had not implemented the policy of banning the sea and moving the border at this time, otherwise there would never have been a single sea ship coming from the coast of Fujian.

"This is Yuegang, it's really prosperous, and it deserves to be called 'Little Suzhou and Hangzhou'!" Geng Jingzhong and his entourage traveled all the way, and he found that this place really has a strong commercial atmosphere, and the development of nearly two hundred years has made it comparable to the prosperous area of any big city in the mainland, and even surpassed.

Wandering around the street at will, leisurely looking at the busy scenery of the port city, most of the shops here are two-storey attic form buildings, the door face is very large, there are big plaques hanging on it, the side of the wall also hangs the guise indicating the business name looks very magnificent, but the general business of the goods is relatively single, next to a small river that is only more than ten meters wide comes and goes is a kind of pointed boat, or carrying all kinds of goods or carrying three or five guests, taking a small boat can also be driven all the way to the door of each store, very convenient. The streets on the other side of the river are also full of various guises, all kinds of shops are lined up, and the pedestrians on the streets are in a hurry, as if they are celebrating a festival.

Looking at the past all the way, raw silk shop, silk shop, porcelain shop, tea shop, wine shop, fruit shop, rice shop, rock sugar shop, medicinal herb shop, iron shop, etc., he was dizzying. It feels like Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, and he can feel the prosperity of Yuegang everywhere!

"Ah Hu, have you arrived at the place, it's time to rest after a few days of fatigue." At this time, the sky was gradually getting dark, and Geng Jingzhong turned his head to Ah Hu and asked.

"Master, it's just ahead, Steward Wu has already sent someone to charter a courtyard in advance, which is enough for us to live."

"Well, the errand was well done."

After a while, the group had already entered a large mansion, with a typical three entrances and three exits, and there were more than a dozen houses.

"Ah Hu, hurry up and send someone to the restaurant to order a few tables of banquets, gentlemen, rest well, and go to the Western merchants tomorrow to take a sea ship!"

"I'll do it right away!"

Not long after Ah Hu went out, Chunzhu, Xi's personal maid, hurriedly walked in, said a thousand blessings, and said softly: "Master, the princess sent her maid to ask, does you want to take a bath first?" ”

"Well, I'll be over in a minute." It turned out that when he learned that Geng Jingzhong was going to go on a long trip, he strongly asked to come with him. Geng Jingzhong considered that it was not a matter to lock his own woman at home all day, and everyone should enjoy freedom, so he took her out with him. Along the way, she was very happy, she was the daughter of Prince Su Haoge, she grew up on horseback when she was young, and what she longed for was freedom, but the Manchurians entered the Central Plains and learned the rules of the Han people.

Hearing this, Chunzhu couldn't help but be overjoyed, and hurriedly smiled: "The slave is going to sue Princess Sù." ”

A lot of mandarin ducks playing in the water, so happy. After bathing and changing clothes, Geng Jingzhong accompanied Huanxi to have a few drinks, and then hugged Huanxi and fell asleep.

Early the next morning, everyone washed up and rushed to the dock. Because the policy of banning the sea has been implemented since the Ming Dynasty, it is all Western merchants who take the initiative to come to China to trade, and there is a special Xiwei Wharf for Western merchants to anchor in Yuegang, which is full of merchants from European countries.

The situation in Yuegang was even more prosperous than Geng Jingzhong had imagined, and the ships passing along the waterway were dense like ant colonies, far from being comparable to the canals and the Yangtze River and the Yellow River. Most of the ships passing through are seagoing ships full of cargo, and most of them are Oriental hard-sailed sea vessels. Due to the influence of the monsoon, it was the peak season for maritime trade, and Western merchant ships came to China in large numbers to trade. This is still trade under the influence of war, and I really don't know what happened more than ten years ago.

Before Geng Jingzhong finished sighing, they had already arrived at their destination.

"Master, here, there are so many Westerners here, who should we look for?" Ah Hu looked at the crowd coming and going, and asked suspiciously.

"I often praise you for being smart, how confused now! The fleets here are all flagged, let's look for whoever has the largest Western fleet! ”

"That's right, it's still wise! Take a look, take a look! Hey, over there, the one with the red fork hanging in front of the left side of the master is the largest, I'm afraid there are not more than a dozen big ships! ”

"It was an English merchant ship, and it was flying their flag, like the dragon flag of the palace." Geng Jingzhong saw that the surrounding guards didn't know anything about the West, so he continued to explain: "Only the emperor or the Qin can hang the dragon flag in our east, and the others are either military flags or official plaques. And every country in the West has a unified flag that is the national flag, which represents their country. The next time you see a different Western flag, you have to know that it is a different country. ”

In Geng Jingzhong's impression, it was not until Mr. Sun Yat-sen founded the Republic of China that there was an official national flag, in fact, after the first ** war, Li Hongzhang saw that the Western countries solemnly hung the national flag, while China had no flag to hang, and felt deeply lost the "prestige of the Celestial Empire" in diplomatic activities such as negotiations, signings, trade, and exchange of diplomatic personnel with Western powers. He played the Empress Dowager Cixi, proposed the need to have a flag representing the Qing Dynasty in diplomatic occasions, and requested the issuance of the national flag. At that time, China's first national flag was established, which was the Yellow Dragon Banner.

"That's not right, master, the Western businessmen of that British country over there seem to be arguing with people!"

"Let's go and have a look." As he spoke, he took the lead towards the side where the British merchant ship was docked.