Liu Mingshan shook his head and said, "It's not as simple as you think, in the extreme east of the East China Sea, there is an island country. This country is a small barbarian state, silk, silk cotton, cotton silk, splendor, fine porcelain, cotton cloth, lacquerware, iron pots, iron needles, mercury, licorice, Chuanxiong and so on are nothing, the people need to buy from my Dakangcai.

Although the country is not rich in products, it is rich in gold and silver, and silver is extremely cheap. For thousands of years, the Chinese people have floated to the west and bought the products of our Chinese people with silver, and the coastal merchants have made a lot of profits, and some have become very rich because of the sea trade with the people.

Emperor Shenwu founded the country, took agricultural warfare as the foundation of the country, and did not like the treacherous people of Jia. I was also worried that the Chinese would be strong and prosperous, and colluding with the Chinese rebellion would become a danger to our great well-being, so we forcibly banned maritime trade, moved all the coastal islanders into the interior, and punished all those who passed through the sea.

Prices in the country suddenly soared. Lake silk 1 stone 5, 6 hundred taels, silk cotton 1 stone 200 taels, red line 1 catty 70 taels, Chuanxiong 1 stone 60 taels, 1 big iron pot 1 tael 1 tael. 1 iron needle costs 7 cents of silver, iron is more expensive than silver, this is the people who enter the mother's life. In this way, there will naturally be extremely vicious people who will risk their lives to come to our Dakang trade. ”

Liu Guan said with a smile: "Then aren't they here to send them to death, although Emperor Shenwu strictly forbids the sea, he has not relaxed the coastal defense." Every spring, the left and right guards of our Dakang Naval Division, Guangyangwei and Henghaiwei naval forces will patrol the sea, and they will not return until autumn, and the coastal guards will also go to sea at any time in autumn and winter to clear out the pirates, where is their way to live. ”

Liu Mingshan said: "You are in Nanjing, and you don't know the truth on the sea. If it is just a few gangsters, it is natural that there will be no return, and they are afraid that there will be collusion with traitors in the mainland. Emperor Shenwu strangled the servants, but he also suffered the people along the coast. As the saying goes: rely on the mountains to eat the mountains, rely on the sea to eat the sea. There are many mountains and little land on the seaside, and the fishermen do not know how to farm, so even if Emperor Gao allocates land to the fishermen, it is difficult to make a living. As for the rich merchants, if they cut off the sea and make money, how can they sit and eat empty.

Therefore, the poor fishermen went to sea to make a fuss, and the wealthy gentry colluded with the government, all trying to keep the silver brought by the servants. When the thieves and traitors colluded, they formed a large group of pirates, and it was difficult for the officials and soldiers to catch them. The East China Sea is so vast, with countless islands, reefs, and islands, if someone reports and provides food supplies, where can they be found?

When the officers and men went out to sea to suppress them, they had already fled. If they are forced to be ruthless, they will go ashore to plunder, and if they rob them, they will run away, and if the officers and soldiers cannot help them, the commander-in-chief who leads the troops will suffer military law. Officers and soldiers go to sea in vain, and they will be retaliated by pirates and lose their officials and lose their lives, who still has the heart to fight with pirates?

If you are at peace with pirates, you will be filial and respectful, and you will have nothing to do with the sea. If there are intruders, the pirates themselves will clean up those who break the rules, without the help of officers and soldiers. It is better for the officers and men to turn a blind eye, and everyone will be better.

Over time, there are several smuggling ports on the islands off the southeast coast of Dakang, which are of course also pirate dens. The big ones are Nanao in Guangdong, Meiling at the junction of Fujian and Vietnam, Yuegang and Zhelin in Zhangzhou, and the most famous is Shuangyu in the sea off Ningbo, because of the huge amount of money and goods, it is called small Suzhou and Hangzhou, and as for the small smuggling Macao, it can be said that there are countless mouths.

These Australian mouths are the real foreign places, and the king's law is not as good as that. My Liu family was originally a family on the sea, and if it is strong, it will sit on the state and county, and compete in the Central Plains, and if it is weak, it will lie dormant in the corner of the sea, and it will be the king overseas. The world is so big, where is there a better place to hide than Shuangyu?"

Liu Guan was dumbfounded, and he didn't know what to say for a while. It turned out that after Emperor Gao forbade the sea, the sea did not become a wild place for bandits, but a sea of wealth and goods, the sky is high and the water is wide, this is not an escape, but a place of great promise.

Liu Mingshan felt his brother's excitement, pointed at Liu Guan with chopsticks and said: "I'm thinking nonsense again, don't forget Emperor Chongwen beside you, if you accidentally reveal his identity, King Yan will use the power of the world to kill the sea, how can you resist?" He put the chopsticks on the bookcase and continued: "You are going to flee, the deeper you hide, the longer you live, the more chances you have." ”

Liu Guan suddenly came to his senses and returned to reality. He silently gnawed on the chicken leg for a long time before he asked angrily: "Since you don't let us occupy Shuangyu and live a happy life as a mother, then what are we going to do there?"

Liu Mingshan said lightly: "Incognito, to be a smuggling maritime businessman, with me in Zhenhaiwei, I can always protect you, you will lay a foundation in Shuangyu, etc." ”

Liu Guan asked puzzledly, "What are you waiting for?"

Liu Mingshan drank all the wine in the cup and said: "It's like Emperor Gao taking root in Yingtianfu to wait for the changes in the world." The army of King Yan went south to Zhongzhou, and he was killed in the sea of fire in the sword mountain for three years, the north was empty, and the black Tartar in the north of the desert was resurrected, how should he deal with it?

In fact, he is already trapped both internally and externally, and he is like a salary under his ass that will become a prairie fire at any time, and that is the day when we will emerge. The premise is that we are still alive, if you act rashly and expose the identity of the deposed emperor, God will not be able to save us at that time. ”

Liu Guan said: "I understand, then when will you see Emperor Chongwen?"

Liu Mingshan sneered and said, "What did I see him doing? You remember, in the past, we were Emperor Gao's pawns, but now the times have changed, and Chongwen is our pawn. Do you really think he can return to that position? This world is not reserved for stupid uncles, he is a yellow-mouthed child, and he is qualified to take charge of the Chinese people and command the heroes of the world?"

Liu Guan no longer expected the eldest brother to say this, and was stunned.

Not far away, across the courtyard, the moonlight is like water, the shadows of the trees are swaying, and Liu Guan's partners are chatting on their knees.

Li Qiqian said fascinatedly: "It seems that there is no endless road to the sky, and the sea is the home of the desperate people." ”

The chief soldier said coldly: "The sea is high and the waves are high, the strange rocks are chaotic, and the demons are rampant, and no one knows if they can live until tomorrow." Inside the half-inch board is the mother's room, outside the half-inch board is the king of Hades, you are a raw melon and tender date, you can't live for a month at sea, it is not your home, it is your grave. ”

Li Qiqian's heart was cold, and he had an indescribable awe for the old man who had experienced the vicissitudes of life in General Bingshun. After a long time, he mustered up the courage to say: "I am young and strong enough to withstand the wind and waves." ”

The chief soldier said disdainfully: "Which of the guys who died in the belly of the fish is not strong?" After a pause, he continued: "If you want to survive, you can only live with the same boat, and with the blessing of Mazu Niangniang, don't do anything that angers the gods and ghosts." There are so many rules and taboos on the ship, you better not talk much, if you are not careful, you will be thrown into the sea without hesitation. ”

Lin Yanghao said: "Uncle Shun, tell us about the rules of the sea." ”

Chief Bingshun said in a deep voice: "There are some things that I really have to explain to you clearly, so as not to know how to die in the future, they are all raised by your parents, and I also hope that you will live longer." ”

Li Qiqian said with a smile: "If you are not desperate, who will let go to sea? Anyway, our lives are also picked up, and one more day of life is to earn one day, maybe we will live a long life and die of old age." ”

The chief soldier Shun also laughed, his smile gradually faded, and he said slowly: "Blowing the snail out to sea is to survive in death, the first layer is the largest captain of the world, as long as it is on the ship, the captain will do whatever he wants." ”

Li Qiqian said: "What if the owner is wrong?"

Chief Bingshun said: "You remember, the captain of the ship is never wrong, it is only you who is wrong." ”

Lin Yanghao said: "We are originally soldiers, if it is just this layer, it will be too easy." ”

The general soldier said: "The rules at sea are much stricter than the military laws. For example, it is taboo to wear wet clothes on the ship, avoid going to sea to wash your hair, wet water is a sign of a shipwreck, and the waves and rain wet your clothes, so you must change your clothes immediately. Only barefoot and shirtless are allowed at sea, and they cannot be barefoot, which is disrespectful to Mazu Niangniang.

It is forbidden to swing your feet out of the side of the ship at sea, so as not to be dragged into the water by sea ghosts. Do not put your head on your knees and hold your feet in your hands, because it is bad luck to cry. Do not hold your hands on your cheeks or hold your knees, that is a sign of worry, unable to catch the fat sheep. As you are now, if you are at sea, you will be whipped and tied to a mast, or thrown into the sea to feed the fish. People eat fish alive and feed fish when they die, which can be regarded as the fairness of heaven to enter the mother. ”

Lin Yanghao and Li Qiqian were suddenly silent, and hurriedly sat down.

The chief soldier nodded and said, "Don't whistle on the sea, that will alarm the Yaksha and invite wind and waves." Don't clap your hands, that's empty-handed, and you can't meet the ship's wealth. However, there are exceptions, when encountering strange rocks and reefs, you have to applaud and cheer, which is to please the dragon and mock the wind, otherwise he will make waves. ”

Lin Yanghao said: "Legend has it that the mocking wind likes danger, likes to praise, is there a mocking wind on the reef?"

Chief Bingshun said: "Whoever enters the mother knows whether there is a mocking wind on the reef, and it is better to worship God more than not to worship insurance." ”

Lin Yanghao nodded and said, "I see... Are there any other rules?"

The chief soldier nodded with satisfaction and continued: "You are not stupid, if you are willing to listen to my old helmsman's nagging, maybe you can really live longer." There are rats on the boat, and the rats cannot be allowed to run away from the boat, because the rats can pinch and calculate, and predict good luck and evil. If you can't get the rats back into the boat, you can't sail the boat.

It is not allowed to sleep on your back on the ship, nor is it allowed to lie on your stomach, because it is a dead person, unlucky, and you can only lie on your side. If fish or shrimp jump on the boat and are not edible, they should be returned to the sea immediately and given a handful of rice. Because the fish and shrimp are all the descendants of the dragon king, jumping on the boat is begging, if you don't disrespect the dragon queen's descendants, how can the dragon king keep the boat safe.

All the utensils on the ship, buckets, pots, bowls, fish baskets, and so on, cannot be put upside down, because to put them upside down is to turn over, and to turn over is to capsize the boat. It is best not to let women on board, and if you have to get on the boat, you should also stay away from the aft cabin, because there is a sea god Niangniang, and you must not be disrespectful.

If you spread a net to catch fish at sea, the bones of large fish, animals, and especially human bones must be preserved and enshrined in a temple by the sea after returning home. If the water snake is at sea, the boat should speed up and surpass the snake is the best. Because the boat is a wooden dragon and the snake is a water dragon, if the wooden dragon can't fight the water dragon, can the boat still be safe?

If the net reaches the sea monks, turtles and other rare sea objects, they must be released. If you encounter a dead body at sea, you must pick it up and take it to the shore for the family to claim, if no one claims it, you must also bury it well, which is called fishing ingots. Mazu does good deeds to save people, and hates evil deeds, and the descendants of the sea must respect Mazu's teachings in order to be blessed. ”

Li Qiqian laughed loudly: "What you are doing on the ship are all murder and exceedance, kidnapping tickets and harming people, and what kind of deeds do you have to do to save people?"

The chief soldier said with a straight face: "We are all people hated by the sea god, if he is not guilty, Mazu will bless him, and we can't harm him if we want to." ”

Lin Yanghao nodded and said, "Is the sea god Mazu Niangniang?"

The chief soldier was silent for a long time, and finally said: "The sea is full of man-eating demons, and there are also gods who save the suffering, and Mazu Niangniang is the most benevolent one. But those of us, the ship is dedicated to the god of the three women, she is the third sister of Mazu Niangniang, so we are called by the official army... Grandma thief. ”