The end of the rainy season begins with the dispersion of clouds in the middle of June in the Song calendar. The gray clouds that had been almost pressing down on the treetops began to fade, and in the next few days, the clouds would be cleared and the sun would shine again.

The sky was still gray when the clouds were dissipating, and with this cover, several people slipped through the back door into the Pu family's mansion in Quanzhou in early June. Pu Shiwen met them in the annex hall with a dark face.

The pirates of the Japanese Kingdom were about to step forward to speak, but Pu Shiwen pointed at the pirates of the Japanese Kingdom: "Shut up first!" Then he turned to the Champa pirates and asked in Champa dialect, "What the hell is going on?" ”

The Champa pirate also asked with a dark face, "Young Master." We had four big boats besieging two small boats. but was destroyed by two small boats. Who the hell are you asking us to deal with? ”

Hearing this news, Pu Shiwen was also shocked in his heart. According to the small leaders of his subordinates, one of the two ships had about 1,500 materials, and the other looked like only 800 materials. By the standards of the Song Dynasty, these were all small boats. Medium-sized merchant ships were about 3,600 materials. The ship that went to deal with Zhao Jiaren was at least a ship of 2,000 yuan.

However, Pu Shiwen did not panic because of this, he said indifferently: "I know that the ship carried a lot of money, if it weren't for that, how could you have destroyed four ships by two ships." ”

When the Champa pirates heard this, their eyes widened, and the leader said loudly in the local dialect of Champa: "Is it possible that our four ships have been lost in vain?" ”

Watch the pirates get emotional and show their fierce faces. Several high-nosed and deep-eyed swordsmen beside Pu Shiwen pressed their hands to their waists, and the Arab scimitar was pushed out of the scabbard by half an inch.

Seeing the light of the sword, the ferocity of the pirates was even stronger, and they also pressed their weapons in their hands, with the intention of eagerly trying. With a wave of his hand, the hand of the swordsman beside him left the weapon and took a few steps back. Stopping the provocation of his own side first, Pu Shiwen stood up and asked loudly: "You know best how you got those boats." Without the help of my family, would the ships of Champa be comparable to those of the Great Song Dynasty? ”

After hearing this, the arrogance of the Champa pirates also subsided slightly. Their big ship was also taken from the maritime merchants of the Song Dynasty, and the Pu family bribed spies and reported the news on the attacked ship. It can be said that at least 50% of the ten successful labors have to go to the Pu family.

Despite this, the ferocity of the pirates has not been curtailed in the slightest. Pu Shiwen looked at the angry faces of those pirates, and he sneered: "Since you are not convinced, then let's start to rob them again in Fujian." What's the use of being ruthless with me? ”

Half an hour later, several pirates slipped out of the Pu family's mansion and disappeared into the dim streets of Quanzhou. Pu Shiwen walked to the door of the annex hall and looked up at the gray clouds that appeared higher and farther outside the window, and couldn't help but smile on his face. Since the Pu family arrived in Quanzhou, every few years, no more than ten years, a large number of pirates will plunder on the sea. Every time pirates run rampant, the Pu family will do their best to assist the government to clean up and pacify. After accumulating credit again and again, the Pu family's fleet became stronger and stronger.

Now, the opportunity for meritorious service has come again!

The rain clouds cleared, and the blue sky was once again revealed. After a few days of sunshine, the ground in Fuzhou City is basically no longer muddy. On the banks of the Min River, laborers began to dig in the ground. Not only on the banks of the Minjiang River, but also next to the port of Fuzhou is in full swing.

Xu Yuanzhi, the governor of Fuzhou, stood on the city wall and looked condescendingly at the construction site, if the plan can be successfully implemented, a 20-zhang high lighthouse will be erected here. Smoke during the day and light a fire at night. At least Zhao Jiaren assured Xu Zhiyuan that with the three 10-zhang high lighthouses along the Minjiang River and the two 20-zhang high lighthouses in Langqi Town, on the outer island of the Minjiang River, the ships could easily enter and exit the Minjiang River at night with their lights hung.

His gaze crossed the construction site and landed on the ship inside the dock. Xu Yuanzhi could clearly see that Zhao Jiaren's ship was mixed in. Unlike other ships, the hull of the Zhao family ship is not necessarily larger than other ships, but the mast is higher than that of other ships. The ropes on the ship's mast are densely covered like spider webs, which is a clear difference from the Zhao family's ships. At this time, I saw the Zhao family's ship raise its sails, and the ship sailed out of the port briskly, heading east along the Min River.

Can things really be as Zhao Jiaren thinks? Xu Yuanzhi subconsciously tightened his lips, very suspicious in his heart. It's just that what if he doesn't agree, Xu Yuanzhi can't see what benefits opposition can bring, and he can only choose not to confront.

The end of the rainy season means that Fuzhou is active. From June to September, the southerly winds bring a large number of ships from south to north. When the north winds came together in September, a large number of ships carried a large amount of cargo south. Fuzhou will enter a comfortable and soothing winter.

It was determined that Zhao Jiaren was not talking in vain, but really started to build the lighthouse. Xu Yuanzhi, who had inspected the city, went back to his yamen. It is not easy to get rid of Zhao Jiaren completely, and those pirates who are caught are locked up in prison and need to be tried quickly. There is so much work to do in order to catch up with the autumn queen.

After another half a month, the trial of more than 40 pirates was finally completed. According to the laws of the Great Song Dynasty, piracy was already a serious crime, and attacking and attempting to kill an official of the imperial court was an unforgivable crime. The pirates were all sentenced to death. However, the one-time collusion of so many pirates requires the consent of Dali Temple. It doesn't seem too appropriate to send the thick paperwork to Lin'an by land. Xu Yuanzhi had an idea and invited Zhao Jiaren over.

I heard that I wanted to send the official document to Lin'an on my ship, and Zhao Jiaren readily agreed. His ship was a sea vessel, which was not suitable for entering the canal, and the destination of the ship was Qingyuan Province. Just enough to send his letter to his eldest brother Zhao Jiaxin. The eldest brother had already mentioned in the letter he had planted 30 acres of cotton, and this time he could send someone to see the cotton harvest.

After the matter was agreed, Zhao Jiaren felt that there was something wrong. He has always relied on his own strength to do things, Zhao Yong is Zhao Jiaren's confidant, and there is probably no one else who can make Zhao Jiaren feel at ease. He also needs to expand the size of his right-hand men. Thinking of this, Zhao Jiaren went home to see his mother.

When Mrs. Zhao saw her son rushing in, she opened her mouth and asked, "Are you going out by boat?" ”

Seeing his mother's stern expression, Zhao Jiaren hurriedly explained: "I didn't want to go out." I just remembered that my mother said that someone in the Chen family wanted to find some errands. I need someone to do things now, as long as it's not like that cousin of the county magistrate. ”

Hearing her son mention her nephew, Mrs. Zhao recalled all the things she saw in Fuqing County, and she was directly angry. "San Lang, it's your luck to see such a ......" Mrs. Zhao didn't want to criticize her nephew too much, but she felt like a fish in her throat, and she didn't vomit unpleasantly.

"It's so strange to see!" Zhao Jiaren replied casually.

Mrs. Zhao listened to her son's evaluation, was stunned for a moment, and then laughed loudly. In the midst of laughter, she tried her best to calm her breath and said in a loud voice: "Wonderful! You can say that again! You can say that again! ”

Laughing and laughing, Mrs. Zhao knew that her son was willing to agree this time, and she probably really moved her mind. She saw her father as an official in her mother's house, and she saw more after marrying an official. knew that his son should have had his own group of staff a long time ago. However, the son was indecisive at this time and refused to choose. At this time, he finally got his senses, and Mrs. Zhao replied, "I will write to your grandfather, and ask him to find a few clever people from the clan." ”

Zhao Jiaren nodded again and again, but he was a little disappreciative in his heart. If you're really smart and smart, you'll probably go to school. The one who can be sent here must not be able to study, so he wants to find another way. Thinking of his cousin in Fuqing County, Zhao Jiaren had no confidence in the Chen family's level at all.

When the ship was sent out, it also brought a letter from Mrs. Zhao and learned that Zhao Jiaren's ship was going to go away. Many businessmen came to Zhao Jiaren in the hope of bringing more goods on board. There is no tax on the entry of official ships into the port. Zhao Jiaren was even more dissatisfied with the fact that his ships were too few and the tonnage was too small. If there is a large ship that claims to be 5,000 materials, it is said to be able to carry 200 tons of cargo.

However, the original meaning of "material" refers to materials and materials, so it is used as a unit of measurement for load. In ancient times, the design of ships was mainly based on the number of stones loaded, and then according to the actual needs of navigation on the river, the length, width and other data were calculated, and the "ship sample" (drawing) was drawn.

Shen Kuo of the Song Dynasty said: "Today's people take the weight of one hull of japonica rice as one stone, and those who use stones take ninety-two and a half catties as the law." At that time, the load of the ship, "all in meters", a stone of rice is 92.5 Song Jin, about 110 city catties, which is the load capacity of a material.

Therefore, the "material" at that time could not be directly converted into the current metric ton calculation, and the size of the thousand materials was different for different ship types.

For example, if it is a ship with 1,000 materials, it is about 17 meters long, 6.5 meters wide, and 6.5 meters high, according to archaeological results and data from professional papers. Its light displacement is around 250 tons.

If it is a ship of 1,000 materials, according to the archaeological results and the data of professional papers, it is about 27 meters long, 8 meters wide and 8 meters high. The light displacement is around 600 tons.

Recalling this complicated knowledge, Zhao Jiaren just wanted to have his own shipyard as soon as possible, and then build ships according to his own hearts and set standards.

The days passed like this, and Zhao Jiaren did not wait for the relatives of the Chen family, but waited for an urgent official document. Kumon is not by sea, but by land. From the beginning of the seventh month of the Song calendar, many pirates suddenly appeared near Quanzhou and continued to expand northward. Many ships along the route were either robbed or almost robbed. Quanzhou asked Xu Yuanzhi, the governor of Fuzhou and the pacification envoy of Fujian Road, to inform the Left Wing Army and let the Left Wing Army participate in the suppression of bandits.

The Left Wing Army, the official armed forces stationed on the Fujian Road, had a low opinion of the army, which they might be able to suppress bandits on land, but they did not have enough strength at sea. Letting them go out is just talking.

More importantly, for Zhao Jiaren, who lacked ships, the dispatch of the Left Wing Army undoubtedly hindered his great cause of getting ships from pirates.

This wave of pirates will be harvested no matter what. Zhao Jiaren didn't have anything to discuss, he used his brains to find ideas to solve the problem by himself.