Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 46

Baldy Li and Xu Dong died one after another, but their descendants did not die.Their descendants continued to cooperate with the Fujian gentry to carry out overseas trade, of course in a more covert manner, and basically no longer engaged in the business of killing people and selling goods.

In this way, it was passed down for three more generations, and Li Dan and Xu Xinsu became the heads of the family.According to the traditional division of labor between the two companies, Li Dan is responsible for running ships overseas, while Xu Xinsu is responsible for organizing the supply of goods.The two men, one smart and capable, the other a good dancer, quickly built a business empire in the East Asian waters.

Moreover, the Li and Xu families have cooperated for many years, and they are not better than real brothers.Especially in the generation of Li Dan and Xu Xinsu, the two have been in love with each other since they were young, and they have been so good that they can wear a pair of pants since they were young.

When Li Dan was in trouble in the Philippines, Xu Xinsu broke his family to rescue him.Even though he never went to sea because of seasickness, he actually took the risk to go to Luzon in person after the Manila Massacre, and tried many ways to fish out Li Dan. Although he failed, his sincerity was real.

A few years ago, the Fujian authorities directly imprisoned Xu Xinsu in order to force Li Dan to take action when the red barbarians invaded the country.At that time, people around Li Dan were also worried that the government was setting up a trap to arrest him, but Li Dan went to Minhai in person without saying anything, mediating between Ming and He, and finally rescued Xu Xinsu.

It can be said that these two people have a head-to-head friendship, and they are willing to go to each other's expense.To say that Xu Xinsu would betray the Li family might be as outrageous as Zhang Fei betraying Liu Bei.

After listening to Li Guozhu's story, Shi Bi finally felt relieved.The next night, the Bowang arrived at Zhongzuo Suo, which was later known as Xiamen Island. At this time, Xiamen was only the name of the city of Zhongzuo Suo, and the island was called Jiahe Island.

Jiahe Island controls the estuary of the Jiulong River and is the maritime gateway to Zhangzhou and Quanzhou. Therefore, in addition to the soldiers guarding Qianhusuo in the center and left, there are also town troops led by the generals of Quannan guerrillas and Wutong guerrillas stationed on the island. Guard the camp.

Xu Xinsu has been operating in Fujian for many years and knows both black and white. His smuggling base is located on Jiahe Island. He can be said to be a thief under the eyes of the government.Today's Xiamen can be said to be the most prosperous trading port in the Ming Dynasty besides Macau, even surpassing the legal Zhangzhou Yuegang.

Lin Hai transferred to a sampan and went to Jiahe Island. He gave Li Guozhu's finger directly to the big soldier who was guarding the gate of Xiamen City. He asked to see Xu Xinsu by name and threatened him: "You have delayed the big business of shopkeeper Xu. You can't bear to eat and walk around." ."

The head soldier did not dare to neglect and reported to his superiors quickly.After a moment of burning incense, Xu Xinsu hurriedly came out of the Yuecheng gate.

Lin Hai took a look at this legendary businessman whom he had heard about for a long time, and saw that he was about fifty years old, with a pale face and a thin body. He wore a square scarf on his head and wore soap boots. Although his steps were hurried, his behavior was still elegant. Occasionally, he would stroke his sparse goatee out of habit.

Except for a pair of pink phoenix eyes that reveal a bit of businessman's shrewdness, this person looks like a scholar and elegant scholar.It has to be said that this temperament is very different from the wealthy merchants at sea that Lin Hai imagined.However, considering that this person has been dealing with Fujian officials and gentry all his life, this is unexpected, but it is reasonable.

Xu Xinsu glanced at Lin Hai up and down, held her goatee between her two fingers and said, "Who is your honor? Why is there this ring in your hand?"

Lin Hai clasped his fists and said, "I would like to teach Mr. Xu the shopkeeper to know that my surname is Lin Minghai, and this finger ring belongs to my sworn brother."

Xu Xinsu asked suspiciously: "Why have I never heard of your name?"

Lin Hai replied: "My sworn brother asked me to bring a message to Shopkeeper Xu. If you still want to remember the four-generation friendship between the two families, I would like Shopkeeper Xu to come next." There are many people who know the origins of the Li and Xu families. Little, except for the direct descendants of the two families, almost no one knew about it. In order to put Lin Hai at ease when he went to see Xu Xinsu, Li Guozhu confessed the family secrets and told him how to speak to Xu Xinsu after meeting him to win his trust.

Sure enough, Xu Xinsu was immediately moved when she heard this and said quickly: "Please lead the way."

Lin Hai then took Xu Xinsu back to the Bowang.In the official hall, as soon as Xu Xinsu saw Li Guozhu, she grabbed his arm and choked up, shouting repeatedly: "Official... my dear nephew, how pitiful is it that you are still alive!"

Li Guoshu asked anxiously: "Third uncle, how is my father?"

Xu Xinsu cried even more sadly when she heard this, and said sadly: "Your father... he passed away more than a month ago, and the coffin has been transported back to Hirado."

Although he had been mentally prepared, Li Guozhu still felt dizzy after hearing the exact news. If it weren't for Xu Xinsu's support, he could hardly stand still.Lin Hai felt sad for a while when he heard this. The miracle still failed to happen after all. Next, he was bound to face a life-and-death battle with Zheng Zhilong. Unless this person got rid of him, his ambitions would not be realized.

He said in a deep voice: "Uncle Xu, what do you mean when you said that my eldest brother is still alive? Did someone say that my eldest brother is no longer alive?"

Xu Xinsu calmed down and said, "That's it, Nephew Lin. About two months ago, when Yiguan's father was still alive, he sent a message saying that several corpses were found at Dongfan Beach, and they all followed Yiguan there. Brother of Hao Jing. Let me keep an eye on the coast of Fujian to see if there is any news about Yiguan."

He took a breath and continued: "He himself was also sick and was looking around in Dongfan. Who would have thought that a few days later, the ship sank inexplicably. Leader Yan was heartbroken and sent many brothers who were good at water into the sea. It took a lot of effort to find it. dead body."

Li Guozhu had also calmed down a little. Hearing this, he sneered: "A cat cries and a mouse pretends to be compassionate. My father is really blind! Do all the brothers in Dongfan listen to Na Yan's orders now?"

Xu Xinsu was surprised when he heard this and said: "Yiguan, where do you start talking about this? Your father has been in poor health in the past two years. He has already made it clear to the elders in the gang that in a hundred years he will respect leader Yan and ask your father to serve him. He, you know this."

Li Guozhu was already quite dissatisfied with Li Dan's arrangement. He felt that his father was despising his ability. Hearing this, he sneered: "My father trusted that man surnamed Yan so much, but in the end, he and his good son-in-law couldn't be trusted." Killed."

The man Xu Xinsu and Li Guozhu talked about was named Yan Siqi, who was from Haicheng, Zhangzhou. He was angry and killed after being bullied by the slaves of a wealthy family. He went to Pingdo to make a living as a tailor.Somehow he caught Li Dan's eye, and he has been treating him as a confidant for more than ten years. He often managed the fleet on Li Dan's behalf, and promoted him to the second boss of the gang along the way.

This man is extremely brave, courageous, generous and righteous, quite like Li Dan, and he is very popular among the gang.In order to woo him, Zheng Zhilong took advantage of his advantage as a handsome man to hook up with the daughter of the Yan family. Even after divorcing his first wife, he wanted to become Yan Siqi's son-in-law.

That's why Li Dan made such an arrangement. The person he trusts most in his heart may be Xu Xinsu, and the person he loves the most is of course Li Guozhu, but the only person who can really protect his foundation and allow him to take care of him with peace of mind is Yan Siqi.

(End of this chapter)