Aaron wouldn't take people on board the ship at all, he didn't want to lose anyone, and the orders given by Lee Zhaoji didn't allow it.

Not far away, the Jeju Island arrived, and a familiar Liaodi accent sounded on it, telling the people on board to surrender in the name of Xia Guoxiang.

"Aaron, thank you, you helped me recover my losses." Li Zhaoji faced Aaron who came on the boat, said with a smile, and as soon as he raised his hand, Zhao Changshui ordered someone to bring a cash box. Aaron didn't even need to open it to see it, and he knew that it was a thousand pounds, worth about five thousand five hundred taels of silver.

He was familiar with the box, because it was part of the payment that Aaron had paid for the goods that Aaron had paid for with the Oriental Merchants Society half a month ago, and the raw silk on the Oxford was purchased from it.

Aaron smiled and said, "There must be a lot of treasures on this ship, otherwise you wouldn't think so highly of her, and you would not hesitate to give me a thousand pounds." ”

"Yes, we can visit the boat later, it will be very enjoyable." Lee Siu Kee said.

The speed of persuasion was very fast, and the people sent by Xia Guoxiang were willing to go over as hostages, and they would get a ship under their control and go directly to Zhangzhou. However, the ship's belongings cannot be taken away.

Eventually, Lee and Aaron boarded the ship, came to the hold, and saw the neatly stacked large boxes. Aaron pried open one of the large boxes with an axe, saw a black metal bump, and asked, "What is this, iron, or something else?" ”

Li Zhaoji used the dagger to cut through the surface of the metal bump, revealing a silvery-white patch. Aaron exclaimed, "This is silver, O my God." ”

Li Zhaoji said: "This is called helplessness. ”

Aaron opened one box after another, which was full of gold and silver ingots, as well as jewelry, gold and jade, as for copper coins, silk and other things, there were no such things at all, they were not qualified to appear on Wu Sangui's treasure ship.

"How much money is this?" Aaron asked.

Li Zhaoji shook his head slightly: "I don't know about this, I need to count it, but this part of it is related to you." ”

"Me? You have already given me a thousand pounds, and the gold and silver in it have nothing to do with me. Aaron shook his head, he was a man who saw money, but the dozens of cannons on Jeju Island were enough to calm him down.

"Come on Aaron, before you sail away, we need to discuss future cooperation." Lee invites Aaron to leave the messy ship and return to the comfort of the Jeju Island.

Four hours ago, the fleet led by Li Zhaoji ambushed Wu Sangui's fleet in the area of Wenzhou Bay, as Li Zhaoji expected, Wu Sangui not only obtained two ships arranged by Shen Youlong, but also a fleet of sailors to escort them, this fleet has three bird ships and three lucky ships, which is already a strong sailor force.

Obviously, Wu Sangui's luck could not be so good, as soon as he arrived in Wenzhou Bay, he got a fleet, but it was deliberately arranged by the Xia Guoxiang of Fujian, and this fleet was one of the Zheng family's fleets that surrendered to the Xia Guoxiang. When Wu Sangui went south, he sent an envoy to Xianxia Pass to make a deal with Xia Guoxiang.

With 7,000 elite Liao soldiers, in exchange for Xia Guoxiang's assistance in escaping to Liaodong. Xia Guoxiang arranged this fleet.

This was beyond Li Zhaoji's expectations, originally thought to be just some merchant ships, but turned into a fleet with considerable combat effectiveness, fortunately, the fleet from Chongming Island sailed with the three ships of the British, still had the advantage of troops, Li Zhaoji intercepted all the treasure ships carrying wealth, and let go of the fast ships that transported people.

Because of this accident, Lee Siu Ki borrowed the British fleet for pursuit, and spent an extra thousand pounds for it, but it was nothing compared to the gain. Now Li Zhaoji didn't know how much wealth there was on the four treasure ships, but after two days of counting and sorting, the gold and silver alone were worth no less than 1.4 million taels, as well as a large number of jewels and jade.

Obviously, this harvest surpassed all the gains of the Northern Expedition.

"Aaron, are you heading to Surat?" Li Zhaoji asked as he made tea for Aaron.

Aaron nodded slightly: "Yes, I'm leaving."

When I participated in your company's activities around Japan, I have more than once declared that I want to experience the excitement of the Chinese New Year in Tamsui. This has deceived you and your men, and likewise, my men have been deceived. But be assured, that's not what I intended. ”

"I know, you're lying to the Dutch." Li Zhaoji said, he handed Aaron a cup of tea, and said: "I will not blame you, your fleet was supposed to conduct quiet trade in the East, and it was I who involved you in military operations and let the Dutch know the strength of your fleet." ”

Lee understood Aaron's approach, it was now November, and the trading convoys bound for Japan, Taiwan, and the Indochina Peninsula countries had returned to Batavia to prepare for the Christmas fleet's return, while Aaron was preparing to return to Surat through the dangerous Strait of Malacca after deception.

"Thank you for your understanding, in fact, I left you a letter in Tamsui, hoping for your understanding." Aaron said.

Li Zhaoji waved his hand: "Don't talk about this, in ten days, there will be a fleet from Tamsui, passing through Macao, Hong Kong, and Malacca, going to India and Duyang trade, this is a fleet formed by my trading company and my Guangdong partner, at least three Yahat ships, maybe more."

Specifically, it depends on how much my Guangdong partner invests, and the leader of the fleet is Chen Si'an, someone you are familiar with. He has reached a settlement with his original master, and has officially withdrawn from Guangdong and become a member of our trading company. ”

"Are you asking me to wait for them?" Aaron asked.

Li Zhaoji nodded: "I want you to wait, but it's not what you think, I hope you can wait for them in Surat." I heard that you are going back to Europe after a short stop in Surat this time? ”

"Yes, you sold me enough raw silk and silk, and a lot of precious goods, which were sent to Europe, and would have made more profit. The success of this trade opened up a trade route to the East, and I was ready to return to Europe, going back to London to ask for more support.

Maybe the next time I return, I'll be the speaker of the Gottin Federation. Aaron was ambitious and said loudly that he wanted to show his ambition in front of Lee so that he would get more in the future.

Li Zhaoji nodded: "I congratulate you on your success, and I hope you can take my fleet to Europe." Si'an will bring at least two ships to Europe for trade, this is the first time for a trading company, although there is help from the Portuguese, but compared to these interest partners, I care more about the friendship between you and I don't know each other. ”

"Of course, my friend, this is where I should be served." Aaron said loudly, he knew that Li Zhaoji was a good person, and he brought him a benefit, and he would definitely return three points, he was a person who never let his friends suffer.

Aaron then added, "But I want you to understand that I cannot guarantee that your fleet will be able to trade with England." Because there are many restrictions on foreign ships in our trade policy, not to mention that you and your trading company are not yet the same country, I think it will take some time for my home country to adjust to the relationship with you. ”

"It doesn't matter, the destination of the fleet is Lisbon, and the Portuguese have already made an appointment with me. What I wish for is more protection and navigation along the way. Li Zhaoji said.

"Then there will be no more problems!" Aaron said: "Is that what you mean by cooperation, and there is no doubt that I will not hesitate a little. ”

Li Zhaoji shook his head: "No, Aaron, there are more cooperation matters.

There is a problem with your trade with me, right, in fact, whether you start from your home country or from Surat, you can't get enough, the goods that the Chinese like, you can only ship a lot of silver to the East, and cash silver is difficult to prepare, which will greatly increase the difficulty of trade, reduce the amount of trade and profits, right? ”

Aaron nodded: "This time, I was taken care of by you, you bought all the goods I shipped, and hired me to do things at a high price, so I filled the ship with goods." I see, you want to order some more, right? ”

Lee laughed: "Yes, Aaron, you are really a trade genius. ”

The Celestial Empire is rich in products and has everything, and there is no need to communicate with foreign countries. This is not an empty phrase, and China, especially the handicraft industry in the Jiangnan region, was able to compete with European industrial products in the early industrial age.

As long as it does not happen again in the history of European industry to Chinese agriculture, the trade between the two sides can only be beneficial to China.

The handicrafts of Europe were only welcomed in the colonies and Africa, and could not compete with China at all, as were the products of India and the region.

Europe and India do not have the bulk commodities that China needs, such as India and India, which can be used as bulk commodities in Southeast Asia, but when it comes to China, it is just some novel foreign goods, and only people at the top of the society will buy some out of curiosity.

"So, what do you order?"

Lee Siu Ki said: "You see, Jeju Island is your country's original Triumph, and we only have such a ship, but I hope there will be more."

You should have received the news that your country is in the midst of a civil war, which has been waged between the royalists and the parliamentarians for more than two years. And it is clear that the parliamentary faction is at a disadvantage. They need to invest resources on the land battlefield, and the navy will get fewer resources. ”

Aaron nodded slightly: "I have visited your shipyard in Tamsui, it is beautiful, with experienced workers, scientific rules and regulations, and has received abundant capital investment, but it is undeniable that the technology is still backward."

The only mature product is the Yahat merchant ship, and schooners are also being developed, but I don't think a warship like the Jeju Island will be built in the short term.

And your career is at sea, so I think you need not only warships, but also the technology and talent to build ships. ”

"Yes, if Chen Si'an has the opportunity to enter England, he will also purchase and hire on my behalf. But I think it's up to you. You're still going to trade in the East, and I think you can buy or hire a few warships, plug the gun windows, and convert them into merchant ships.

Admittedly, such an armed merchant ship would still require twice as many or more manpower, significantly increasing costs, but also improving safety.

When you bring these ships to China, they are an expensive commodity in themselves, and the Jeju Island cost 60,000 taels of silver to buy, and the better and bigger ships are definitely higher than this price, we can take the Jeju Island as a standard, and the price of the warships brought to you can be increased, given that they are from Europe, the price can be increased.

Once these ships arrive, they can be sold to me, or exchanged for whatever you want, and I am in dire need of ships, so you can get trade priority for all kinds of goods. Li Zhaoji said.

Aaron nodded: "I understand what you mean, Your Excellency, but the question is, how do I get the goods back?" ”

"You can replace my Ahat ships, you have seen them, they are very good, and even better suited to long voyages than your merchant ships because of their improved sails and rudders. And the Ahat ship is cheap, and you still have enough money to buy goods after the exchange. Li Zhaoji said.

Aaron thought about it and felt that it made sense, everything in trade is for profit, as long as the profit is enough, anything can be done.

"In addition to the battleship, I need flint, high-quality flint from England."

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