Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 234 Jeju Events
In Nagasaki Bay, the mainmast and foremast of the Bowang towered into the clouds, standing out like a crane among chickens among the numerous masts in the harbor, and was very eye-catching at first glance.

When Lin Hai was in charge of the modification of Dingyuan, he also modified this meritorious ship. The rudder was replaced with a steering wheel, and the mast was changed to a three-section spliced ​​type, which was much higher than before. Of course, the sail rig was also changed to a Western-style full sail rig similar to Dingyuan.

The Bowang was originally a Western-style ship, but it did not have the double hull of a large galleon. Its displacement was more than 800 tons. After the modification, its speed and maneuverability were greatly improved.

Zheng Tingqiu used the modified Bowang when he went to Japan and Korea this time. Half of the sailors were natives of Luzon transferred from the Dingyuan, and the other half were Chinese sailors. They were training while sailing.

At the end of the peak season for Japanese maritime trade, there were actually more than 20 ships of similar tonnage in Nagasaki Bay, but the masts of the hard sailing ships were not as high as the modified Bo Wang. As for the masts and canvas of the Western ships with soft sails, they were all seized by Japan.

This was a common occurrence for Portuguese ships. They would face such a situation every year when they came to Nagasaki. The cargo on the ship would be sealed immediately, and they would only be able to retrieve the masts and canvas and return home after the transaction under the framework of the Silk Cutting Symbol was completed.

But the situation this year was a little different. Due to the Hamada Yahei incident, the Dutch suffered the same fate as the Portuguese. Several merchant ships of the Hirado Trading House and William Janssen's ship were seized by the shogunate, and it was unknown whether they would be returned to their original owners in the future.

If the shogunate does not return these ships to the Dutch in the end, Lin Hai would be interested in two of the Ahat ships weighing more than 600 tons. After all, he is now in need of galleons that can fight a decisive battle with the VOC.

Lin Hai had done what he could in this matter, and the next step was to see how Jindiyuan Chongchuan performed. After meeting Zheng Tingqiu at Wuzhen Temple, he brought him to the Bowang for a secret talk to avoid any eavesdropping.

Lin Hai had already learned about the trade situation of this trip from Zheng Tingqiu at Wuzhen Temple. The sales revenue from Tamsui to Japan exceeded 700,000 taels. The main goods were silk, followed by deerskin, and the average gross profit margin was more than double.

The second half of the cargo from Korea to Japan has not been sold out yet, and it is estimated that there are nearly 300,000 taels. The main goods are ginseng and sable skins. The cost is calculated based on the prices of ginseng and sable skins in Korea and Pi Island, and the gross profit margin is more than twice as high.

If calculated based on the buffalo horns, saltpeter and other items exchanged for ginseng and martens, the total gross profit margin reached an astonishing ten times, mainly because the price offered by the Korean rebels was too high.

Lin Hai called Zheng Tingqiu to the official hall of the Bowang just to talk about the Korean rebels.

Zheng Tingqiu took out a piece of paper from his bosom and handed it to Lin Hai, saying, "Boss, this is what Zhang Yong gave me on the Qingdao. Take a look for yourself."

Lin Hai took the paper and asked: "Did you talk to him this time?"

"No." Zheng Tingqiu shook his head. He was illiterate. He continued, "I, Zheng, have never shown this piece of paper to anyone else. Boss, what's written on it?"

There was not much on the paper. Lin Hai read it and replied, "Park Jeong-hwan's master is Liu Xiaoli, the nephew of the wife of the former King Gwanghaegun of Joseon."

Zheng Tingqiu had been traveling to Korea for three consecutive years, so he knew who Gwanghaegun was. Hearing this, he asked, "So, this Liu guy wants to restore Gwanghaegun to the throne?"

"It's hard to say... Zhang Yong's letter also mentioned a man named Inseong-gun Lee Gong, who is the younger brother of Gwanghae-gun and the uncle of the current Joseon king. He is said to have frequent contacts with Yoo Hyo-il and his younger brother Yoo Doo-il."

Lin Hai had never heard of Rencheng Jun Li Gong, nor had he heard of Liu Xiaoli and Liu Douli. He felt that this group of people would most likely not cause any trouble in the end, and would most likely be put down before they could start a rebellion.

"Brother Zheng, please sell the remaining cargo here. I plan to go to Jeju Island..."

Lin Hai bid farewell to Zheng Tingqiu and boarded the Sloop ship to Jeju. It was the north wind season, but fortunately Nagasaki and Jeju were at similar latitudes, so they could sail with a crosswind, and Lin Hai's ship could reach the destination in one day.

The next morning, the Sloop ship flying the black dragon flag stopped at the coast seven or eight miles north of Jeju City, and the towering Halla Mountain was clearly visible in the distance.

Although Jeju Island is quite large, it has a regular shape and the terrain near the coastline is flat, lacking good ports. The place where the sloop is anchored is actually an open anchorage. Once the north wind suddenly turns strong, the anchor cable may be blown off and smashed on the rocks on the shore.

Yuan Jin's naval base was located in Seongsanpo Port in the east of the island, while Liu Xiang's naval base, which surrendered to Lin Hai a few months ago, was based in Seogwipo Port in the south of the island. These were the two best ports on Jeju Island, with Udo Island and Mosquito Island protecting them respectively, and they had a certain degree of resistance to strong typhoons in the north and south wind seasons.

However, the water areas of these two ports are very small and far away from the northern coastline which requires intensive patrols. This is one of the reasons why Jeju's defense requires more manpower. This problem will be more prominent during the north wind season.

Shortly after landing on the island, Yuan Jin received the news and sent Zhang Daniu out of the city to greet him. Lin Hai's public identity here was the red-haired envoy, so the dignified King Jinghai would naturally not come to greet him in person.

Lin Hai saw Zhang Daniu riding a tall horse from afar. This guy had been playing in the sea since he was a child, and now he had learned to ride a horse after arriving in Jeju Island.

Zhang Daniu also brought a carriage, and his entourage were all old brothers from the Navy Department. Each of them rode a Jeju local Mongolian horse. These old brothers all knew Lin Hai's true identity.

"General, please get in the car. Yuan Ba ​​Lao and Brother Hai Ye are waiting at the Jeju Governor's office."

"Don't call me the General Manager. I'm the Red-haired Special Envoy." Lin Hai said, "No need for a carriage. I can ride a horse now."

Zhang Daniu immediately ordered his younger brother to give up his mount, and Lin Hai climbed on. The horse was more than thirteen hands high at the shoulder, which was obviously taller than the Jinjiang horse that Lin Hai rode in Tamsui, but far inferior to Wu Guoyi's Andalusian horse.

Horses are very intelligent animals and can quickly sense the riding skills of their riders. Lin Hai had little experience riding horses, and the horse was a little unconvinced and did not obey him. It took him a long time to get better.

After the two sides got used to each other, Lin Hai clearly felt that this horse was lighter and more agile than the Jinjiang horse. He was considered a big man in the Ming Dynasty. If he rode an ordinary Jinjiang horse on the battlefield, he would not be able to wear armor. The load-bearing capacity of the Jeju Mongolian horse was still much stronger than that of the southern horse breeds.

“How many horses are there in Jeju now?”

"There are about 30,000 of them in total, all kept around Halla Mountain."

Lin Hai and Zhang Daniu walked side by side. Lin Hai was very happy after hearing the latter's words. Huiyou Company had spent a lot on Jeju, and the only gain at present was these horses.

According to the current horse prices in the Ming Dynasty, these 30,000 horses would cost at least 600,000 taels of silver. The key point is that there is no demand for so many horses, not to mention that a good horse farm is also included.

Raising horses on islands has an advantage, which is that the cost of replenishing salt for horses is low. At the same time, most islands lack fresh water resources, so agricultural conditions are average, and there is no competition between horses and people for land. Therefore, many dynasties have a tradition of raising horses on islands. Pingtan Island and Yangma Island were once horse farms for grazing military horses. "Who is in charge of the horse farm now?"

"My brother is watching over there. We mainly rely on the people from the original stables. We pay the stable staff relatively well."

"Very good!" Lin Hai nodded when he heard this. He had repeatedly emphasized that the biggest purpose of capturing Jeju was to obtain war horses. At the same time, he required that Yuan Jin, Kaino Sabei and Zhang Daniu must be together in order to implement the three-person collective decision-making system. Therefore, Jeju sending Zhang Erniu to be in charge of horse affairs was already the highest level of personnel arrangement.

As they were talking, Lin Hai followed Zhang Daniu into Jeju City. Yuan Jin and Kaino Sabei were waiting at the Jeju Governor's Office. This was a solemn and simple palace, built more than 300 years ago. As early as the Tamra era, it was the ruling center of the island. It looked more magnificent than the White House of the Jinhe Kingdom.

Lin Hai rode his horse to the governor's office and saw a large flag with the word "Yuan" flying high in front of the door. The flagpole support was obviously old. It should have been the yellow flag of the Jeju governor.

The plaque on the lintel of the office has been changed to "Jinghai Palace", but the dismounting stone still retains its original appearance, with the words "All officials below the rank of governor must dismount" engraved on it.

Lin Hai and Zhang Daniu rode their horses straight in and came to Guandeokjeong, a place for training soldiers and also the archery range of the Jeju governor. Koreans are good at archery, and both civil and military officials from the Yangban class enjoy archery, which is in line with the tradition of the Confucian Six Arts.

"Master Lin!" Yuan Jin and Kaino Sabei both came forward and saluted Lin Hai. Neither of them was on the roster of the Huiyou Company, so they were not called the general manager.

"Eighth Elder, Brother Kaino, thank you for your hard work!" Lin Hai smiled and walked forward to greet the two of them.

After the greetings, Lin Hai asked the Jeju trio about the island's affairs in detail, and finally asked, "Do you have any other difficulties?"

All three said no. Zhang Daniu patted his chest and said, "With us here, the CEO can rest assured."

"Although North Korea has not made any moves for the time being, you must not be careless. I will provide you with another batch of ships and guns during the south wind season next year. You must ensure that everything is foolproof." Lin Hai said, "In addition, I will also send a batch of stallions to breed new horse breeds in Jeju."

The three of them nodded in agreement. Yuan Jin, who was more mature, asked, "Lord Lin, we are completely clueless about warhorse breeding. I don't know if the Koreans at the horse farm know anything about it."

"It's okay. I will send someone to take care of this matter." Lin Hai planned to send Valdes, who is now a cavalry instructor of the Vanguard Bureau and also has experience in horse breeding.

"There is one more thing..." Lin Hai talked about the North Korean rebel again, and then said, "Three of you, I want you to send someone to contact Liu Xiaoli to see what his attitude is towards Jeju Island today."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Jin said, "Master Lin, we don't have this channel. Besides, if we contact this person rashly, will it arouse his suspicion?"

"It's okay. This man built an arsenal on Daqingdao, and there are people guarding the island all year round. You can just send someone over there, show the name of King Jinghai, and then say that you have captured Zheng Sige's fleet. You learned that someone in Daqingdao bought a large amount of black horn and saltpeter at a high price, and King Jinghai is willing to trade with them..."

Lin Hai continued, "The large amount of stockpiling of military supplies is obviously a sign of rebellion, so you might as well be frank. Just say that King Jinghai wants to do arms business with Daqingdao, and at the same time hopes that the other party will provide Jeju with intelligence about the court. If the other party wants to rebel in the future, King Jinghai is willing to work with them to gain wealth and glory, and see how the other party reacts."

Yuan Jin and others agreed, and Lin Hai suggested that he would go to the horse farm near Hallasan tomorrow to take a look. At the same time, he sent someone to call Liu Xiang to the horse farm to meet him.

Liu Xiang has his own system on Jeju Island. If Lin Hai goes to Seogwipo Port, there is a risk of being kidnapped as a hostage, so it is more appropriate to call him to the territory of Yuan Jin and others.

Two days later, Lin Hai saw Liu Xiang on the grassland at the foot of Mount Halla. He was short and dark-skinned, and looked no different from when he saw him from afar at sea a year ago.

However, it was the first time that Lin Hai met Liu Xiang at close range. This person had a pair of triangular eyes like a viper, and a hint of cunning flashed in his cold eyes from time to time, which made people feel very uncomfortable.

"Mr. Liu meets Mr. Lin." Liu Xiang saluted with his fists. It was the first time he met Lin Hai, and he was also looking this new big brother up and down.

"Thank you, Mr. Xiang." Lin Hai smiled and replied, "Are you used to living on this northern island?"

Liu Xiang had just arrived in Jeju Island not long ago. Hearing this, he replied: "Liu is a rough man. He can get used to living anywhere..."

He paused and continued, "The only thing is that I'm used to being barefoot, but I have to wear shoes here."

"It's better to wear shoes. I am most afraid of people who go barefoot. After all, those who go barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes, and those who wear shoes are definitely afraid of those who go barefoot." Lin Hai replied slowly. In fact, the temperature in Jeju Island is still relatively warm, but it is still too cold in winter for Liu Xiang, a Hong Konger.

"Since Mr. Lin has agreed, then I will also wear shoes next summer..." Liu Xiang was startled when she heard this, and obviously understood the implication of Lin Hai's words. Although this man is not well-educated, he is undoubtedly a smart man.

"Don't be restrained. I was just joking. It's better for Master Xiang to remain true to himself." Lin Hai continued, "Next year during the south wind season, I hope Master Xiang can send a group of Korean slave workers to Dongfan. Don't provoke Japan for the time being. They have the help of the foreigners."

"Since Master Lin has given the order, I will naturally obey." Liu Xiang is quite well-behaved.

That night, Lin Hai hosted a banquet for Liu Xiang, and the two of them chatted with Yuan Jin and others while drinking. During the banquet, Lin Hai took the trouble to ask about the detailed recent situation of Zheng Zhilong's troops.

Liu Xiang also told him everything he knew without reservation, and finally said: "In short, this guy is now focusing on training soldiers. As for how the training is going? I can't say for sure..."

Lin Hai listened very carefully, his expression slightly solemn.

At this moment, Zheng Zhilong was on Jiahe Island, more than 2,000 miles away, and the jumping flames reflected in his eyes.

In the night, the flames stretched like a dragon all the way to the opening of Xiamen City. It was the scene of the pirate marines he had trained so hard entering the city.

(End of this chapter)