Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 94 Tang Ship Trade
September is a time of crisp autumn weather. On this day, the sky and ground are clear, and the view of the sea is excellent.

The Ganfu sailed to Iojima outside Nagasaki Bay. Standing on the deck, you can even clearly see Mount Unzen in the distance.It is an active volcano more than a thousand meters above sea level on the Shimabara Peninsula, about a hundred miles away from Io Island.

Someone shouted: "Look, there are many boats over there!"

Lin Hai was talking to Li Guoshu on the deck. After hearing this, he looked towards Nagasaki Bay more than ten miles away and saw dozens of small boats rushing towards the Ganfu.

Li Guozhu explained from the side: "These are all Tang people who want to make money."

Lin Hai asked in confusion: "Money for money? What is that?"

After Li Guozhu's explanation, Lin Hai finally understood that after the Tang Dynasty ship arrived in Nagasaki, the Chinese businessmen were free to choose local families to stay, but they had to pay the host family an accommodation fee, which was approximately equivalent to one-tenth of the value of the goods.This is the so-called kouqian in the Nagasaki Tang Dynasty ship trade, also known as shukouqian, or shukou commission.

"Who made this rule? One-tenth of the accommodation fee... Then I have to pay 10 taels?" Lin Hai couldn't help being surprised when he heard this. Isn't this a money grab?The ten-star undersea hotel in Dubai in the future will not be so outrageous, right?

"Who else can it be? It's not the guy from Nagasaki who enforces Quan Liu." Li Guozhu saw Lin Hai's expression getting more and more ugly, and finally couldn't hold back his smile, "We live in Wuzhen Temple, no one will accept the money."

Only then did Lin Hai calm down: "Brother, if there are any other rules for Nagasaki trade, such as gauging and so on, please explain them clearly at once."

Li Guozhu shook his head: "No more, there are no rules except words."

Lin Haiqi asked: "So, there are no tariffs in Nagasaki?"

Li Guozhu said: "Not only does it not exist in Nagasaki, but it does not exist in all the ports of Japan."

Lin Hai was stunned for a moment, and then thought that Matsuura Takanobu of Hirado did not mention tariffs, but directly participated in the trade game as a local lord. It seemed that this was a common practice in Japan.

While he was talking, a rapidly charging sampan had arrived near the Ganfu. The people on board were dressed as Chinese.

Li Guozhu took a step forward and shouted directly in Hokkien: "I am Li Guozhu, Hirado. I am going to Wuzhen Temple. Please ask me to bring water." He took out two pieces of Qingchang Ding silver from his sleeves and threw them to the sampan to stand on. The one who is standing.The man was obviously a little disappointed, obviously because a big business deal went wrong.

However, Li Guozhu was also well-known among the Tang people in Nagasaki. The man also wanted to look familiar, so he crossed his hands and said, "Young man, He has great facial features. His ancestral home is also Quanzhou. I have met Mr. Li."

Li Guozhu nodded with a smile, and the sampan led the way, taking the Ganfu to Nagasaki Bay.Although this journey is short, there are many hidden reefs under the water. Ou Huayu's Zhuyin ship ran aground and sank here seven years ago. It would still be quite dangerous if there is no pilot boat to open the way.

As the Ganfu sailed into Nagasaki Bay, Lin Hai's first feeling was openness.This is a Y-shaped bay, more than ten miles wide.In comparison, Hirado Bay is much narrower. There is even a wooden bridge spanning it at its narrowest point, and its depth is not as long as Nagasaki Bay.

The right corner of Nagasaki Bay extends to the western open sea, facing Iojima, which is strong enough to withstand the westerly wind. The rest is surrounded by land, forming a wind-sheltered anchorage with very wide waters.The conditions of this port can be said to be quite excellent. No wonder it has endured for hundreds of years.

Houses built of camphor wood are everywhere on both sides of the bay, and warehouses and warehouses can be seen everywhere.There are all kinds of ships moored on the sea, including the Portuguese Galen, the Dutch Yahat, as well as various Japanese ships and Chinese-style ships. Countless sampans pass through it, and it is even busier than the inner harbor of Macau. One chip.

This is the power of trade. It has only been more than 4 years since Nagasaki opened its port. Half a century ago, it was just a cold mountain. But now it has gathered [-] to [-] people. There are thousands of Chinese people living in the houses alone. Every autumn, The migrant population is as high as nearly [-].

The thin monkey said to Xiao Zhou in the middle of the fight: "There must be a lot of Japanese prostitutes here. Brother Monkey, why don't you take you to have a try?"

Xiao Zhou murmured for a long time and said: "I... my wages haven't been paid yet, so I have no money." Shouhou laughed and said, "I don't have any money either. I plan to borrow it from Mr. Chen first. How about you borrow some too?"

Xiao Zhou hesitated and said, "Forget it. I haven't borrowed any money and I don't feel at ease."

These two people were originally crew members of the Bowang, but this time they were transferred to the Ganfu by Lin Hai.

Lin Hai had long noticed that Feng Yidao was brave and brave, and it was rare that he was very knowledgeable. He was very rare among the people on the ship, so he deliberately kept the dozen or so people under his charge beside him, preparing to take him to Zhoushan as a guide in the future. Follow me personally.

Not long after, the Ganfu was anchored at the pier deep in Nagasaki Bay under the leadership of the pilot boat. Several Japanese men carrying samurai swords rode over from a distance and shouted to the ship.However, the Japanese ponies are also short, and these warriors on horseback look a bit funny. No wonder the Portuguese say that they are monkeys riding dogs.

Li Guozhu said to Lin Hai: "This is the solidarity and unity of the subordinates of the town here, and they want to board the ship for inspection."

After that, he said to He Wuguan who was diverting the water: "Brother, please go to Wuzhen Temple to send a message."

The so-called town chiefs were roughly equivalent to district chiefs. In the Edo period, urban and rural grassroots organizations were different. Cities were managed by town chiefs, while rural areas were managed by acting officials.Youli and Tongxin are roughly equivalent to the police and urban management in later generations. The former is a bit more senior than the latter, and they are all filled by low-level samurai.

After the Japanese boarded the boat, Li Guozhu happened to recognize the leader, so he stepped forward to chat. He inevitably took out a few pieces of Qingchang Ding silver from his sleeve and handed them over.

Several Japanese city officials pretended to walk around the ship, without even looking at the people and goods, and announced that there were neither Catholics nor prohibited items on the ship. All the crew members were good citizens of the Ming Dynasty, not pirates, and they could be free in Nagasaki. Trade, and then leave with the money.

Li Guozhu said to Lin Hai: "I know this place very well. As long as Hirado cuts off contact with Zheng's thieves, he will never be able to sell a single piece of raw silk in Nagasaki."

Lin Hai realized that the so-called free ones were the most expensive ones, and the absence of rules often meant unspoken rules.

The shogunate did not impose any restrictions on Nagasaki's Tang Dynasty ship trade, which actually gave local officials a wide space to do whatever they wanted. This is why Nagasaki held a position that was always considered to be one of the most lucrative, and received gifts every year without mercy. .

However, Li Guozhu was obviously bragging. Even if he could get hold of Nagasaki officials, he would not be able to ban Zheng Zhilong from trading in Nagasaki.There are so many Tang Dynasty ships coming to Nagasaki every year, and most of them are small maritime merchants. Zheng Zhilong can get away with it by sending some random faces over.

However, the price of silk in Nagasaki is much lower than that in Hirado, mainly because of the existence of the silk cutting system.The shogunate in the early Edo period did not have any restrictions on the Tang ship trade, but it had a complete set of rules for the Nanman trade with the Portuguese, and the pricing power was entirely on the Japanese side.

In the current era, the Portuguese still occupy [-]-[-]% of the Japanese raw silk market, and in the shogunate's understanding, this proportion will only be higher.As a result, the price of silk in Nagasaki will naturally be lowered, so the Li family and the Dutch are more willing to trade with the Matsuura family.

This is why the Tang ship owners who came to Nagasaki were all small merchants, and many of them were simply poor pirates.The Leghang Tang people in Nagasaki often get into fights. Most of the locals who make money have green heads, and many of their wives and daughters are in trouble.

According to Dutch records, the price of silk in Nagasaki during this period was only equivalent to [-] to [-]% of that in Hirado.Cutting off Hirado trade is at least equivalent to cutting off half of the profits of Zheng Zhilong Group!
"As expected of the eldest brother, he has such a big hand in Nagasaki. There should be thousands of Zheng's men? Now, depending on how he makes a living, I'm afraid he will be disbanded soon."

Lin Hai smiled and flattered him. He had known for a long time that without Li Guozhu, a bastard like him, he would have faced many difficulties if he wanted to open the Japanese market.But after this trip to Hirado and Nagasaki, he finally had a concrete and personal experience of this.

"This is all the result of my brother's efforts. Without my brother's ginseng, how could the Matsuura clan agree to the terms of being a brother." Naturally, Li Guozhu did not dare to take credit. He pointed to the mountain peak on the left side of Nagasaki Bay and said, "My dear brother, please look at , that is Inasa Mountain, and Wu Zhen Temple is at the foot of the mountain."

(End of this chapter)