Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 78 Black Horn and Flame Salt

The roosters were singing outside the window, and Shen Shikui got up early again. In the past few years, he seemed to be getting younger and younger, and he had endless energy every day.

The Korean maid on the bed was awakened by the sound of him getting up. She quickly got up and helped him dress. She said softly in her throat: "It's still early. Master, why don't you sleep a little longer before leaving? It hurts to see the slave who works so day and night." In my heart.”

"This is called daily labor..." Mr. Shen said with a smile: "I have such a hard life. The two angels are about to return. These days, I am so busy that my feet are hitting the back of my head. You little prodigal is still not satisfied. Is it possible that I still can't feed you enough?" ?”

After Shen Shikui left, the maid also got up and dressed.When it was three o'clock in the morning, she also left the gate of Dusi Mansion and went straight to the market outside the city.

Half an hour later, in the back room of a herbal medicine shop in Pidao, Shen Shikui's Korean maid was lying on the same bed as a handsome young man. She said to the man in Korean: "Oppa, when are you going to see that Japanese man?" businessman?"

The man was silent and looked worried. The Korean maid suddenly turned her head and stared at him: "Oppa, do you dislike me?"

The man asked in shock: "Su Yan, what are you talking about?"

It turned out that the name of this Korean maid was So Yan. She sat up suddenly and said loudly: "You must dislike me. I came to Liandao not just for you. What else do you want me to do to be ruined by that old Ming Dynasty man?" when?"

"Su Yan, it's not like that." The man stood up in a hurry to explain. Thinking that the lover in front of him was first shamelessly occupied by the master, and then was given to the capital of the Ming Dynasty by himself, his heart hurt as if it had been scratched by a wild cat.

But what can we do otherwise?Although he is well-read in poetry and can speak fluent Chinese, in the final analysis he is just a domestic servant who was chosen as a scholar because of his good looks since he was a child.

The world of North Korea belongs to the two classes of masters, and people like him will never be able to get ahead.But he still wanted to fight against fate, at least to get rid of his status as a lowly public and private person and join the ordinary class below the yangban.

The man said softly: "Suyan, I didn't mean that. You know, when I asked the master to come to Liandao, my only request was that after the matter was completed, we would become equals. The master agreed to me, and now This is our only chance, so we must not screw it up.”

Su Yan's face softened a little: "But isn't this businessman named Lin the most suitable candidate? He is from the Japanese country and can definitely buy black horns. Moreover, he has brought a lot of flame salt this time. The master needs it. He has everything.”

The man nodded and said: "You are right, but it is a pity that this man named Lin is not only a businessman, but also an official of the Ming Dynasty."

Suyan's expression changed. Her lover once told her that the reason why the master wanted the black horn and flame salt was not to make money by reselling them.If this is the purpose, he can buy black horn from Busan Japanese Museum and flame salt from Phidao. With the family's status in North Korea, this is not a difficult task.

However, the master wanted to buy it secretly, which was difficult to do.After all, the trade of the Japanese temple in Busan is carried out under official supervision, and the saltpeter of Phidao can only be purchased from Shen Shikui. Dongjiang Town is inextricably linked to the big shots in North Korea.Suyan seemed to have been poured cold water on her head, and murmured: "What should we do? You have met several saltpeter dealers in the Ming Dynasty, but none of them dared to sell black horn. It was not easy to meet this one. Lin, do we have to wait any longer?"

A wry smile appeared on the man's face. He knew that the most strictly controlled export product to North Korea in the Ming Dynasty was black horn, followed by flame salt.After Dongjiang Town was ordered to open up trade, the Ming Dynasty basically relaxed its export controls on flame salt, but it did not relax at all on Black Point.

In fact, he initially planned to go to Busan and look for Japanese businessmen willing to smuggle from the Domopo Japanese Museum.But he soon changed his mind, because there was only one target for Japan's trade, and that was the Zong family, the lord of the Tsushima domain. The Zong family had been vassals to both Korea and Japan for hundreds of years, and had very close ties with the Korean court.

As for the smuggling trade between Japan and Japan, it cannot be said that there is absolutely no smuggling trade, but it is extremely secretive.North Korea even reluctantly agreed to official trade with Japan, and it was even more strict about smuggling between the two countries. Where could he find those smugglers who could not even be discovered by the imperial navy?
For him, the only opportunity is on Pi Island. There is a mixed bag of merchants in the Ming Dynasty, and there may be all kinds of people.Thinking of this, a flash of light suddenly flashed in the man's mind. For him, this is the only chance to gain freedom. For the master, isn't it the only chance to obtain a large number of black horns?

"Suyan, we can't give up this opportunity. I'm going to see that shopkeeper Lin right now." The man hurriedly got up from the bed.

Suyan hugged him from behind: "Oppa, let's be more patient and continue to look for other people. After all, this shopkeeper Lin is a general of the Ming Dynasty. If you take him to the master's private port, the master may Kill you."

The man turned around and smiled: "I will invite him to come to Pi Island next year, and then report his situation to the master. Everything will be decided by the master. If everything goes well, we will be free next year."

In the afternoon of the same day, Lin Hai met So Yan's lover on the Ganfu and agreed to his invitation.After seeing off this uninvited guest, a glint flashed in his eyes.

The so-called black horn is actually buffalo horn, which is what the Koreans call it. It is the core raw material for making high-quality horn bows.North Korea has been a country good at shooting since ancient times. Many villages on the Gaima Plateau have not completely broken away from the fishing and hunting economy. These people are all natural archers and have always been an important source of troops for North Korea.

Unfortunately, North Korea is not suitable for buffaloes to survive, and high-quality buffalo horns mainly rely on imports from China.Although North Korea has always regarded Daming as its father, he is not his biological son after all. As North Korea's most important military supplies, Daming has always strictly restricted its export of buffalo horns and bow noodles made of buffalo horns.

Because of this, almost every North Korean envoy had an important mission when they went to heaven, that is, begging the Ming Dynasty's father to sell more horns, bow noodles and flame salt.But most of the time this was in vain. Only during the Wanli period due to the war to resist Japan and aid Korea and the defeat of the Saarhu Army, Ming's father was unusually merciful several times.

Now there is a North Korean who wants to buy black horn from him at five times the price. At the same time, he also offers a high price to buy flame salt. This thing can obviously be purchased in large quantities from Shen Shikui, but this person just comes to him and does not hesitate to pay for it. High price.

Obviously, this man was working for the dissident forces of the Korean King, or in other words, the Korean rebels were standing behind him.

"It's really a worthwhile trip." Lin Hai looked thoughtfully at the land of North Korea on the Ganfu.

(End of this chapter)