Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 41 Arriving at the chicken coop for the first time
"Formosa, beautiful Formosa." Miguel stood beside the side of the Bowang, admiring the central mountains with strange peaks on the coastline.

"Master Marquis, what you are saying does not make sense. If I remember correctly, Formosa in Portuguese refers to the beautiful island." Lin Hai was standing next to Miguel, chatting with him.

"Damn it! You're right. Sometimes I really doubt that you made a deal with the devil. Otherwise, how could you know so many things?"

Lin Hai smiled and said: "Master Hou, really don't think that way. There are a lot of things I don't understand. Our next stop is the chicken coop. I heard that several busy shipping routes pass through there. Have you ever been there?"

Miguel replied: "Of course, I have been there several times. Whether you are going from Haojing to Nagasaki, or from Nagasaki to Manila, the chicken coop is a must-stop. By the way, there are also Ryukyu, and the chicken coop is also It is a must-stop place on the way to Ryukyu, but Ryukyu’s trade is no longer as prosperous as it once was.”

Lin Haidao: "Look, isn't this where you know more than me? I've never been to a chicken coop."

Chicken Coop, later known as Keelung City, is located in the hilly area of ​​northern Taiwan, not far from Taipei.The Bowang only stayed in Hualien for half a day before continuing north, and then stopped in Yilan for another day. Now it has passed San Diaojiao and is sailing towards Jilong.

The gold sand in Hualien looks very attractive, but in fact the gold content is very low. A whole bag of gold sand cannot produce much gold.In addition, the people of Sakilaya often do business with outsiders, and a relatively stable trade situation has been formed here. There is no way to drive up prices.

After Lin Hai and Chen Yaozu's estimation, based on the gold withdrawal rate of the gold sands here mentioned by the team leader, the gold sands and deer skins exchanged in this half day are worth about 2000 taels, and the purchase price of the goods sold is as high as 400 taels, which is almost five times the profit. .

Moreover, the Sakilea people were far less enthusiastic about trade than the Ami people, and they released all their needs in just half a day.Obviously, because of the gold produced here, many maritime merchants would stop their ships to trade here. If the Sakilea people couldn't catch up with this trip, they would still be able to catch up with the next one.

The trade situation in Yilan is slightly better than that in Hualien. The indigenous people here are the Kavalan people.According to the old man, no matter whether they were Chinese or Japanese, they had never heard of any maritime merchant stopping their ships for trade here.

This statement made Lin Hai and others very excited, thinking that they could make a fortune like they did in Taitung.At the beginning, things were exactly like they were in Taitung. Lin Hai led people to the island and captured a few natives on the boat. He expressed his trading intentions by exchanging items with them.

However, when the Kavalan people came together, they were not as crazy as the Ami people. Instead, they were familiar with most of the goods brought by Lin Hai.

They had no gold sand in their hands, and the goods they traded were mainly deer skins.For most of the goods brought by the Bowang, every Kavalan person seems to have a steelyard in his mind. How much deerskin is worth an axe? If the price exceeds this, they will not buy it.

"These people must have had experience in trading with outsiders." Miguel asserted.

"But these people are not like the previous wave of natives who came directly to exchange their things when they saw our ship." Shibi asked doubtfully.

Miguel had a puzzled look on his face: "You're right, this is really puzzling."

"This is nothing to explain." Lin Hai thought for a while and said, "The natives here do have no experience in trading with outsiders, but this does not mean that they have never done business."

"Are you talking about the business between the Dongfan natives?" Miguel said suddenly, "The chicken coop must be the chicken coop people. The people here must have done business with the chicken coop people." Lin Hai puzzled: "Why It must be a chicken coop, because it’s not far from a chicken coop?”

Miguel smiled pretending to be mysterious: "No, no, I'm not so sure just for this reason. When we get to the chicken coop, you will naturally understand."

The Bowang sailed into Keelung Port on a rainy morning. At this time, there were more than 2 deer skins on board.Among them, the Amei people in Taitung contributed more than [-], the Kavalan people in Yilan contributed nearly [-], and the remaining [-] Sakilaya people from Hualien contributed.

Although the Kavalan people do not have gold sand in their hands, for Lin Hai, the trade situation in Yilan is better than that in Hualien.Based on the market price in Nagasaki, the profit margin of Bowang products in Yilan is as high as ten times, which is much higher than that in Hualien.Considering that the Kavalan people have no shortage of trading experience, this profit rate is a bit exaggerated.

If Miguel is right and the Kavalan people’s trading objects are indeed chicken coop people, then this group of people must be profiteers.

"The weather in the chicken coop is always so annoying. It rains constantly every time I come here." Miguel complained dissatisfiedly.

Lin Hai smiled knowingly. Keelung Port is a famous rainy port. It rains most of the year, but this does not prevent Keelung from being known as the best port in Taiwan in later generations.

Lin Hai smiled and said: "Don't just complain, my dear Marquis. From your perspective, what are the conditions of Keelung's port?"

Miguel also had a smile on his face: "You are right in asking this. I don't know how many ports I have been to in my life, but to be honest, I have never seen a port as good as the chicken coop."

He looked around and said: "This place is surrounded by mountains on three sides. Only the northeast faces the sea, and this only gap is blocked by the three small islands we just passed. Look at the largest island, it's called Sheliao Island The peaks on the island are enough to block the northeast wind, so storms from any direction cannot reach the port."

"Also, the water in the port is deep enough and there are no reefs. No matter how deep the draft is, you can park here at will. As long as you park here, you don't need to worry about the big waves." Miguel Tsk-tsk exclaimed, "This must be God's work. I can't imagine a better port in the world than a chicken coop."

Lin Hai completely agreed with Miguel's evaluation of Keelung Port. He continued: "I'm afraid it's more than that. If this is used as a base for the naval fleet, what do you think?"

Miguel has been a maritime businessman for [-] years, and his first reaction was not to look at Keelung Port from a military perspective. However, this does not mean that he does not have the corresponding military qualities. After all, he has served in the Portuguese regular army for nearly ten years. , and also served as a naval captain.

"This place is impeccable as a military port. Looking at the mountain on Sheliao Island, if a fort is built on the mountain, the range of the cannon will be enough to cover the channels entering the port on both sides of the island. Then build a bastion at the foot of the mountain, which will be enough for garrisoning. If we have enough troops to protect the fort, then the warships anchored in the port can be said to be foolproof."

Miguel pointed at Sheliao Island and talked eloquently. Suddenly he stopped, turned to stare at Lin Hai and said: "When you said you wanted to build a colony in Dongpan, did you mean chicken coops?"

(End of this chapter)