The bird boat sailed all the way to the depths of the sea of Xiguo, and there would be no complicated landmarks along the way, and Chongwen planned to have a good chat with Chai De about the Dakang maritime merchants of Hirado. To really open up the situation of the country, he needed these Kang merchants' fleets, but now he knew almost nothing about them.

Chai Demei, who is a member of the Dragon King Island, is also a Hirado Kangshang, and Chongwen really needs to talk to him.

Following the life and death of the people on Longwang Island, Chai Demei now has less calmness in the wind and waves, and more generosity and heroism of Dakang sailors. These outlaws at sea know very well that their lives depend on their brothers, but why do they want their lives? Naturally, they want to have fun in time and be happy with revenge, and there is no need to worry about life and death every day.

Messing around with these guys every day, it's impossible for Chai Demei to stay the same. Lao Chai's shrewd calculation is less, but his fortune comes unexpectedly, are the people of Longwang Island still afraid of lack of money? This makes Chongwen a little disappointed, he does not lack loyal and heroic brothers, what he lacks is precisely a calculating philistine, and the aesthetics of this mother are too fast.

"Tell me about the Kangshang merchants in Hirado. Chongwen took a sip of Fangjin Yaki and handed the wine cup to Chai Demei, the drinking method of Longwang Island is not so elegant, and there is no clean paper to wipe the rim of the cup.

Chai Demei took a big sip and didn't put the wine cup down, just holding the wine cup for a long time, as if she was thinking about where to start. "Speaking of Hirado, there is one person who cannot fail to mention that without him, Hirado Port would not have played a pivotal role in the country. ”

Chongwen nodded and said, "I know this person, Wu Zhi." ”

Chai Demei nodded and said: "Yes, Wu Zhi, the owner of Wufeng, it is he who opened up the route from Ningbo to Pingdo, just like the great sea opened up the route from Zhangzhou to Sakai, and I don't need to say more about the hardships." ”

Chongwen sighed: "On the sea, whoever enters the mother knows what lies ahead, it is purely the luck given by the three mothers-in-law, and under every route, there are many white bones of sailors. ”

Chai Demei poured a glass of soju, drank it dry in one gulp, and said: "This Wu Zhi is from She County, Zhili. The people here are good businessmen, ashamed of their poverty, and they are more likely to go out to do business after the scholars bundle their hair, and they are unwilling to return to their hometowns if they do not make a fortune. But the Wu family is poor, and Wu Zhi has no capital and no experience in business, how can this be good?"

Chongwen snatched the wine pot and wine cup, poured a glass of wine himself, and said: "What else can I do, go to Shuangyubei, what kind of capital do you need to do the sea business of killing the head and dying." ”

Chai Demei said: "Exactly, I understand when I go to sea." Emperor Gao forbade the sea, but the people wanted to buy it, the Kangmin wanted to sell it, and the people wanted it, even the emperor's edict couldn't take care of it. Ningbo is rich and has a collection of department stores, so it is natural to look for buyers, but where are the buyers? Of course, it is the smuggling ports of Shuangyu and Lieyu off the coast of Ningbo.

At that time, the Fujian pirates Deng Liaolao, Li Guangtou and others were pursued by the government and went to Shuangyu, Damao and other islands. The pirates colluded with wealthy merchants in Ningbo to start a smuggling business, who thought that the business would become bigger and bigger, and Shuangyu became a small Suzhou and Hangzhou. In fact, most of the smuggling ports along the coast of Dakang are similar, they are all pirates opening ports, and they are all in the mainland. ”

Chongwen said with a smile: "Among those rich businessmen in Ningbo who colluded with pirates, there is your Chai family." ”

Chai Demei said: "Yes, the white wine red face, the wealth is moving, there is this financial road, who cares about their lives? Emperor Gao forbade the sea, all civil sea ships were levied, and the sea chart needle road was also seized and burned, the so-called three generations of Chai maritime merchants, to my father's generation has actually been extinct, and the Chai family has also declined. If I want to revive my family business, where else can I go if I don't go to Shuangyu. ”

Chongwen took another sip of wine and asked, "Wu Zhi arrived in Shuangyu at about that time, right?"

Chai Demei said: "It is precisely that with the increasing prosperity of Shuangyu, the big pirates and maritime merchants along the coast of Dakang have come to start a smuggling business. There are four brothers, including the Fujian Golden Paper Guy and the Sheren Xu Dong, and Wu Zhi is the fellow villager Xu Dong.

At that time, he was literate and hyphenated, elegant and intelligent, which was rare in those rough billets in Shuangyu. Because of this, he was very trusted by the Xu brothers, first as a treasurer in charge of goods, and then as a sentinel in charge of the fleet. It was also during this period that Wu Zhinan sailed to Zhangquan Nanao, and Beihang Zhili to Shandong, making friends with countless maritime heroes and accumulating prestige.

But after all, this is a smuggling and killing business, how can it last long. Zhejiang Patrol Sea Patrol Li Kun ordered to clear the open sea, after several battles, Shuangyu and other Aokou gradually decayed, the Xu brothers fled, and most of the cargo was destroyed. When the dragons were leaderless, the people of Sheren recommended Wu Zhi as the red head sentry, moved to Lieyu, and continued to play hide and seek with the government, and Shuangyu was left to Li Guangtou and others in Zhangzhou. ”

Chongwen sighed secretly, if he fled to Shuangyu at the beginning, it would also be the result of being chased and killed, and he didn't want to die of old age begging for food on the sea. He handed the wine cup to Chai Demei and asked, "Then why did Wu Zhi come to the country again?"

Chai Demei took a sip of wine and said: "If there is a way, who will leave their hometown and live in a foreign country? Wu Zhi does not want to be a good citizen, he is in the sea off Zhejiang, and he has also disregarded his life and tried to beg for thieves, but what did he get?

The pirate Lu Qi attacked Jiangtou, Xixing, and Bayan in Hangzhou, plundered women's property, and docked ships and horses. Wu directly attacked Lu Qi, killed 1,000 people, captured 7 people, rescued the captured women, captured more than 13 ships, and sent Dinghaiwei to command Li Shou. The pirate Chen Sipan was rampant outside Zhejiang and stationed in Henggang, and the government could not ask for it. Wu Zhi attacked Chen Sipan again, destroying 7 of his boats and 20 boats, capturing 160 Chen Si and more than 20 women, and sending them to the Patrol Navigation Bureau.

Wu Zhi thought that Jinghai had meritorious, and the government would loosen the sea ban and allow the exchange of markets. But when he detained the customs and offered Jiejie and begged for the market, the imperial court secretly ambushed thousands of boat divisions, preparing to capture him in one fell swoop. Wu Zhi broke through with a rocket, so far the two sides of the official and thief have offended him all over again, and there is no place for Wu Zhi to live in the sea off Zhejiang. ”

Chongwen sighed: "It was also in a desperate situation that he opened up the Pinghu route, and this person is really the person favored by Mazu Niangniang." ”

Chai Demei said: "This bless... It's just his Wu Zhi's life, and everything else is blood and tears. There were hundreds of ships, thousands of troops, officers and soldiers encircled and hunted down, storms at sea, and injuries and illnesses of sailors, and when they arrived at Wudao, there was only one ship left, with dozens of crew members, no goods and no money, and the difficulties at that time can be imagined. ”

Chongwen said with a smile: "I'm afraid that the coastal area of the country is going to be unlucky." ”

Chai Demei said: "If he plunders the coast of the country, the country will have an army of great health from now on, but there will be no prosperous flat households. ”

Chongwen became more and more interested in this strange man, and he asked, "How did he do it?"

Chai Demei said: "He told Matsuura Nobuyi that he had found a direct route from Ningbo to Hirado, and as long as the Matsuura Party gave him a loan, he would be able to make everyone rich." ”

Chongwen shook his head and said, "The servant is not a three-year-old child, how can you believe him?"

Chai Demei said: "The Songpu Party naturally doesn't believe it, but Wu Zhi's adopted son Mao Haifeng and the captain Xu Weixue voluntarily stayed in Hirado as hostages, and if the ship does not come back, it will be disposed of by the Songpu Party." Matsuura Nobuwei admired the righteousness of the Chinese sailors, so he really gave Wu Zhi a loan.

Wu Zhi returned to Dakang with this gold, not only bringing a full ship of Kang goods, but also more than 10 Kang ships, all of which were solid Dakang maritime merchants. Since then, this route has become more and more prosperous, and it has become a golden route, and Kangshang and the Matsuura Party have also become unbreakable allies. ”

Chongwen smiled: "Unbreakable?

Chai Demei said: "If it is just to open a route and attract Kangshang trade, it is not enough to be surprised. Wu Zhi also persuaded the Matsuura clan with kind words, telling them not to collect sails and other money, not to loot wantonly, to protect the Kang merchants, and to build a flat house. Matsuura Nobuwei listened to his words, and for more than 20 years, countless Kang merchants opened stores in Hirado and took root in the country, and it was difficult for Hirado not to prosper. This is all due to the fact that the Matsuura Party trusts Wu Zhi, and it can be said that the port of Hirado was built by Matsuura Nobuwei and Wu Zhi, and they have long been one, and they have gone to sea to think... Is it possible for them to turn against each other?"

Chongwen silently took a sip of soju, feeling a fire from his mouth to his abdomen, and his whole body was hot. This Wu Zhi is really a far-sighted hero, but unfortunately Dakang forced him to become a thief because of his short-sightedness, and he also enriched and strengthened his neighbors, and harmed Dakang, what a hardship.

If you return to Nanjing one day...

He took another big sip of wine, threw away these unrealistic thoughts, and the thing in front of him was to use the new route to gain a foothold in the country and save the lives of these people on Longwang Island first. If the predecessors were able to do it, why couldn't they do it themselves? But the new route will inevitably conflict with the old one, and the prosperity of the city means the decline of Hirado, so how can I convince Wu Zhi and the Matsuura Party?

After a long time, he then asked Lao Chai: "The Kang Shang of Hirado... Are they all Wu Zhi's party?"

Chai Demei said with a smile: "Because the owner of Wufeng opened up the Hirado route, saved countless maritime merchants, and also saved countless weavers and silkworm farmers, of course he has the highest prestige." However, it is impossible for the businessman to be profitable, and it is impossible for the owner of the only five peaks to look forward.

The Pinghu merchant group is roughly divided into four groups, one of which is, of course, the Shexian Gang, most of whom are the old brothers who followed Wu Zhi in the early years, Wu Zhiyi's son Mao Haifeng took care of his business, and the rest also included Ye Zongman, Wang Ruxian, Wang Wei and his son, Xu Weixue and so on. ”

Chongwen asked, "Is this Xu Weixue Ah Hai's uncle?"

Chai Demei said: "Exactly, I talked to Ah Hai, at that time, the Xu family was poor, Ah Hai was lonely, and his uncle Xu Weixue followed Wu Zhihai to earn his life, and he really couldn't raise him, so he could only send him to Hangzhou Hupao Temple to become a monk." Today, Xu Weixue is also a well-known figure in Hirado, with a huge fortune, but I don't think Ah Hai is willing to take refuge with his uncle. ”

Chongwen said: "That's true, I mentioned to him that he would be in Hirado to run the Nanban goods for Longwang Island, and he also has this heart." I'll talk about this later, who else are there?"