When sailing on the sea, if the wind is strong and the waves are strong, even if the two ships are close and shout loudly, it will be difficult to hear clearly what the other party is saying. Moreover, the ships will try to avoid being too close to avoid accidental collision. Therefore, when sailing on the sea, There must be a set of semaphores.
The Donghai Navy is the main combat force on the Chu Kingdom's sea, and flags are naturally indispensable. When the Jiang family's caravan was first established, it was escorted by the East China Sea warships, so there was naturally a dispute between the Jiang family's fleet and the Donghai Navy. Set of semaphores for communication at sea.
After a moment of exchange between the two sides, the Jiang family's fleet slowed down significantly. The sailor on the watchtower reported: "General, they are a caravan that has just returned from overseas trade. They are returning home. They ask the general to accompany them all the way."
Shen Liangqiu ordered: "Let them sail in front, and we can follow behind."
The sailor raised a flag and quickly said to Shen Liangqiu: "They invited us over to use some food, saying it was a rare item brought back from Nanyang."
When Qi Ning heard this, he said with a smile: "Is this fleet coming back from Nanyang?" He thought that if the Jiang family can expand their business to Nanyang, it is no wonder that the Jiang family is as rich as the enemy and makes money every day.
At this time, I could vaguely see that the Jiang family's merchant fleet was indeed huge, with as many as seven or eight ships. What was important was that these ships were huge, like a group of ancient beasts swimming on the sea. The one at the front was The ship actually seemed to be larger than the fifteen main warships of the Donghai Navy, and all the ships had flags flying on their bows and sterns.
Because Shen Liangqiu raised a flag to order the Jiang family's fleet to go ahead, the speed of the seven or eight behemoths increased. One after another passed by Qining's eyes. Qining saw it and saw Jiang. The two ships in the middle of the family's fleet have deep drafts, and the cargo they carry is obviously much heavier than the other ships.
"Is the Jiang family's fleet mainly trading in Nanyang?" Qining asked.
Shen Liangqiu nodded and said: "As early as when the Han family controlled the East China Sea, East China Sea had already begun to have trade relations with Nanyang. The Han family was able to dominate one side at that time, and its financial resources came from this. After the Jiang family reopened trade, it was According to the route taken by the Han family back then, we will continue to trade with Nanyang."
"I haven't seen many Nanyang people in the East China Sea. Do they have a fleet to come?"
Shen Liangqiu shook his head and said: "Master Hou, as far as I know, the Jiang family merchant fleet mainly trades with several small countries such as Johor, Temasek, Luzon and Java. Although I have never been to those countries, I heard that They are all small countries with few people, and they do not have the strength to form a strong merchant fleet. There have always been pirates on the sea. If you don’t have the strength and still think about sea trade, it is a sheep in the tiger’s mouth. It is said that Java and Johor once They organized a fleet and wanted to trade with Da Chu. They were intercepted and killed by pirates halfway through. After that, they gave up the idea. For trade between Da Chu and them, they could only rely on the Jiang family caravan. ”
Qi Ning secretly thought that if this was the case, then the Jiang family would have a complete monopoly on maritime trade without any competition. In this way, the Jiang family's caravan would be like a cornucopia, continuously generating wealth.
"Have the pirates ever had any idea of the Jiang family's fleet?"
Shen Liangqiu showed a faint smile: "Master Hou, everyone knows that the Jiang family's fleet is full of goods no matter how much they go back and forth. They are all good things. How can the pirates not make up their minds? It's just that they suffered a big loss that year. The bandits are now afraid of the Jiang family's fleet."
"Suffering a loss?"
"That was five or six years ago." Shen Liangqiu recalled: "At that time, the Jiang family had received favor from the court and could hire their own escorts. I remember that a total of six ships were sent out at that time. There is no Black Tiger Shark yet, and the pirates all fight on their own. That time, seven or eight groups of pirates joined forces to plan to rob the Jiang family's fleet...!"
"How is the result?"
"The pirates lost hundreds of people, and five ships were seized by the Jiang family." Shen Liangqiu sneered: "Two groups of pirates were wiped out and lost their names."
Qi Ning frowned and said, "Is the Jiang family's fleet so fierce in combat?"
"The Jiang family is not short of money and has hired hundreds of martial arts masters. In the early years of Donghai, there was a sword sect of the Huijian Sect. There were about ten masters and apprentices, and their sword skills were not weak. They were also famous in the world. Jiang Mantian persuaded them After that, all the sword sect defected to the Jiang family and became the escort of the Jiang family fleet." Shen Liangqiu pointed at the Jiang family's large ship sailing westward and said, "The people from the Huijian Sect should be on the ship."
Only then did Qi Ning understand. He thought that if this fleet had nearly a hundred warriors, that ragtag group of pirates would undoubtedly be suicidal if they had to fight hand to hand with the Jiang family's fleet.
"The Jiang family is so powerful, will it be too big to lose?"
Shen Liangqiu said: "The imperial court does not want the trade between the East China Sea and Nanyang to be cut off. Nearly half of the taxes in the East China Sea are paid by the three major families, and half of the taxes of the three major families are paid by the Jiang family. In other words, the entire East China Sea has two Cheng's tax is contributed by the Jiang family. Once maritime trade is cut off, these two per cent of tax will naturally be unable to be paid. Our country, Da Chu, is at odds with the Northern Han Dynasty. Although they are all recuperating after the Qin-Huai War, when the time comes, sooner or later there will be a duel. , the imperial court needs to recharge its batteries to prepare for war, and the Jiang family’s taxation cannot be cut off."
Qi Ning nodded, knowing that what Shen Liangqiu said was indeed the truth.
"In the past, every time the Jiang family traded, they had to send warships to escort the navy. Once or twice was enough. If it was done like this for many years, it was always inappropriate." Shen Liangqiu said calmly: "The navy is serving the great Chu, and it cannot be done for the Chu. A merchant followed the order. Later, the Ministry of Revenue reported to the imperial court, begging the imperial court to grant a special edict to allow the Jiang family to hire their own guards. The imperial court also approved the request of the Ministry of Revenue, but stipulated that the number of hired guards should not exceed 200. The Jiang family got the edict. , and soon hired martial artists. These people were all very skilled, and the Jiang family paid a lot of money. Coupled with the sailors on the ship, there were three to four hundred people in total. The bandits at sea were devastated by what they had done that year. If you lose, I will never dare to embarrass the Jiang family again."
Qi Ning thought that if the number of people was only kept at 200, it would not create a big problem. Even if the Jiang family was rich and powerful, as long as they did not have an army and were under the supervision of the Donghai Navy, they would not be able to make big waves. Come.
When it got dark, the two fleets had already merged into one. The six large ships of the Jiang family caravan were sailing in a straight line in front, while the three ships on Shen Liangqiu's side were following behind.
When a bright moon rose in the sky, all the ships slowed down. Qining suddenly heard someone shouting outside and came out of the cabin. He met Shen Liangqiu head-on. Seeing Qining coming out of the cabin, Shen Liangqiu cupped his hands and said: "Master Marquis, please send someone over there to invite us over for a glass of wine. What do you think of Master Marquis?"
"Water and wine?"
Shen Liangqiu explained: "The person leading the trade this time is Jiang Mantian's third brother Jiang Yishui. He is mainly responsible for leading the trade. Every year when the Chinese New Year is approaching, the Jiang family has to send something to the Navy. Jiang Yishui was sent there, but the governor didn't like to interact with them, so it was all lowly generals who dealt with them, and they were already acquaintances with Jiang Yishui."
Qining said with a smile: "Does he know I'm here?"
"Without the order from the Marquis, I would not dare to disclose the identity of the Marquis to him." Shen Liangqiu said: "Jiang Yishui sent a boat over, saying that he was bringing wine from Java, so... I don't know if the Marquis is willing to go there. Have a taste.”
Qi Ning thought for a moment, then smiled and said: "Since we have sent a ship to invite you, why should General Shen refuse? I also want to taste what the wine brought back from Java looks like, so I will watch it through General Shen's light. It doesn’t hurt to look.”
"I don't dare!" Shen Liangqiu said hurriedly.
When the two of them arrived at the side of the ship, they saw a small boat right next to it. It was naturally a small boat lowered from the big ship. Shen Liangqiu threw down the rope ladder and asked Qining to get off the boat first. After Qining got off, he followed. They also got off the boat. The two of them got on the boat, and the four sailors immediately rowed the boat. The arms of these four people were very strong, like machines. The boat moved forward through the waves. The fleet moved slowly at night, so the boat speeded up, but it was very fast. In just one stick of incense, they had already rushed to the edge of the front boat. They dropped the iron rivets from the side of the big ship. The sailors hooked the iron rivets to the bow and stern of the small boat. It seemed that they were convenient. The machine pulled the small boat up. In just a moment, it was already parallel to the side of the big ship. Qining stood up and saw the bright lights on the big ship. At this time, a middle-aged man in brocade clothes was waiting beside the side of the ship with a smile.
The man was probably in his early thirties, and he looked similar to Jiang Mantian. He looked more elegant and polite, with a gentle and friendly smile on his face. When Qi Ning and Shen Liangqiu got on the boat, the man stepped forward. After a few steps, he cupped his hands and said, "A wonderful guest has arrived, but I couldn't go far to greet him. I apologize for my sin!"
Qi Ning returned the gift with a smile, and Shen Liangqiu also raised his hands and said, "Young Master Jiang went to Nanyang. It's been a hard trip."
The man immediately smiled and said: "Don't dare, General Shen. The third young master was a joke used by others when he was young. I would never dare to be called that by General Shen." Looking at Qining, Qining had already smiled and said: "I am I have just been transferred from the capital to the Donghai Navy. I will train under General Shen in the future. My surname is Ning!"
"It turns out to be Brother Ning." Jiang Yishui said with a smile: "I'm very happy that General Shen can come. It's even more glorious for Brother Ning to be able to come. Please come quickly!" He raised his hand in a gesture of invitation.
Qi Ning glanced at it and saw that this merchant ship was very majestic. He smiled and said: "Master Shen, this place is so magnificent that it really can't be called a pengpi."
Jiang Yishui burst into laughter again, and the three of them went straight to the cabin. After Qi Ning entered, he saw that the cabin was very luxuriously decorated. Inside, it felt like he was in the elegant room of a noble man. There was a round table in the middle. The food and wine had already been laid out. Jiang Yishui seemed to understand Qining's thoughts and explained: "We are going to Nanyang to do business with them. Local dignitaries sometimes board the ship to take a look, so we sent this ship Arranged like this, it also shows them that we, the great Chu, are the king of heaven and have enough strength to trade with them."