Late Tang

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In the first year of Guangming, Ji Xia.

Since Li Jing opened the sea to operate maritime trade, Qin Fan's maritime trade has become more and more prosperous.Dengzhou Port, located on the Shandong Peninsula, was originally one of the four major ports of the Tang Dynasty, and it was the first port in the north. After seven years of operation by Li Jing, the scale and weather are far from what they used to be, and it has become the busiest and most congested port in the Tang Dynasty. port.

Today, the top ten ports in Datang have become Dengzhou Port, Lushun Port, Dalian Port, Qinwangdao Port, Qingdao Port, Tianjin Port, Haizhou Port, Guangzhou Port, Hangzhou Port, and Mingzhou Port.The ports in the territory of the Qin Dynasty accounted for seven of the top ten ports.

Especially in the past two years, the domestic wars have intensified, and the domestic sales of Dengzhou's businesses have dropped significantly. Qin Fan had to strengthen ocean-going overseas trade, which made the coastal port cities more prosperous.Beginning in May, with the arrival of the summer monsoon, it also brings countless ships sailing northward with the monsoon. Dengzhou Port also enters the busy season earlier than in previous years. Countless ocean-going ships sail into the port every day. Day and night.

Many foreign merchants who came here for the first time from thousands of miles away were horrified by the scene here. For them, they had never seen such a port in their lifetime sailing experience.Just the guide boats waving flags to guide ships in and out of the port, their number, efficiency, and speed and dexterity like butterflies piercing flowers are amazing, not to mention the ocean-going fleets from all over the world.Some of them came from the east, some from Liaodong and Haidong, some from Silla, Dongying, and Bohai Sea, and some from many island countries in the South China Sea, and from the barbarian lands in the southwest of Jiaozhou. More are from as far away as Africa and the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea and even the more distant Baltic Sea.

These distant foreign merchants were amazed at the countless precious and exquisite oriental goods brought back to Europe by the ocean-going fleet of the Qin Dynasty and the ocean-going caravan of the Arabs, such as various glass products, ceramic products, perfume, silk, Tang Sancai, There are also clocks and watches with amazing craftsmanship, paper, etc., all of which can bring huge profits.After seeing the popularity and high profits of oriental goods, merchants from the western lands formed ocean-going caravans to follow them, waiting to go back with a full load of oriental goods and make a fortune.

Although they have seen a lot of seaports in Datang along the way, when they entered Dengzhou Port, they discovered that there are mountains as high as mountains, and that Dengzhou Port is truly the most prosperous port in the world.

I can't count how many Han men in short clothes are doing the loading and unloading work hard. I can't count how many kinds of goods, I don't know where they came from, and I don't know where they will go.What a grand and imposing place, the merchants shout loudly in all kinds of languages, almost no matter where the merchants come from, from the ends of the earth, from all corners of the world, it is not difficult to hear their familiar local accents from these noisy voices .Behind these magnificently dressed ship owners, surrounded by strong guards and servants in various attire, there are also many sea merchants who are preparing to leave their hometowns to seek wealth. Many of these people are from poor families, but they are already full of hope. Relying on the widely circulated legendary adventure of getting rich overnight overseas, they couldn't even afford to pay the cost of going to sea, so they had to bargain with the shipowners in order to act as sailors to pay for the travel expenses. On their faces, what they saw was nothing but determination , an adventurous heart full of hope.

Among the bustling crowd at the pier, the customs officials in blue official uniforms are particularly eye-catching. Countless pairs of eyes are watching their every move. For many people, their decisions are often of great significance, and because of this , their inspection process seemed more severe and critical, and all kinds of comedies such as fawning and sighing lingered in their ears, and they seemed to be completely deaf, with only that rigid expression on their faces.From time to time, their eyes would look at the marines in the fortress not far away and the naval warships moored in the port, and then the expressions on their faces became more and more awe-inspiring and inviolable.

All ships entering the port have to go through customs inspection, and then tariffs are levied according to the value of the goods.

Many Tibetan merchants who have been to Datang, or their ancestors have come to Datang, have discovered that in the past, they came to Datang under the banner of paying tribute, and did not need to pay taxes, or only need to pay a little tax to trade in Datang. The good thing is gone forever.Although compared with the past, today's Qin Fan customs officials will not ask for benefits, but this tariff is not less than a penny.

Such an unusually busy and lively scene often makes people wonder and whisper to themselves. Many newcomers can't help but look up at the sky in surprise.

"Didn't everyone say that now the Tang Dynasty is full of wars and wars? I heard that the strongest Qin Fan in the world is now fighting with troops and fighting people everywhere. When they came, they passed through Guangzhou Port, which was the first port of the Tang Dynasty. A seaport that used to gather more than [-] Tibetan merchants all year round is now very solemn and has not recovered from the destruction of the war several years ago. But in the north and Dengzhou, the prosperity here is hard to bear. Imagine that not far away, there are wars and wars everywhere.

But look at the countless ships in the port, such big ships with five sails and seven sails, as well as countless fanfangs and warehouses near the port, which confuse them. The tops of those buildings are still shrouded in the white mist in the morning, looming, but below But the city gate was already wide open and the lights were brightly lit, allowing people to see the mountains of goods piled up inside from a distance.

But today, these are not the most eye-catching things in the early morning during the peak season of the summer monsoon. The people who come and go to this port, while busy, can't help but look at the side of the port from the corner of their eyes today. Looking to the north of the city, groups of soldiers in blue and white navy uniforms of Qin Fan stood with guns, isolating that area from the busy commercial port.

The busy people there obviously revealed an aura of incompatibility with most people in the port here. They have a fleet of more than [-] ships moored in the port, and they are moored in the military restricted zone in a lonely and mysterious way. .Any ship approaching accidentally will be immediately chased away by the patrolling naval warships.

The sailors, chores, and water affairs that appeared on these ships were by no means like the sailors on ordinary merchant ships. They never made loud noises, and no one laughed wantonly. They stayed quietly in their respective positions, obediently obeying those who Conducted by a person speaking Mandarin with a Shandong accent.

Hundreds of fast-moving men are busy loading boxes after boxes of goods and unloading them. Some big men have scars on their faces. They walk neatly and rarely speak. The marines next to them are very similar, but they are taller and even have different skin colors. There are standard northern barbarians, lean Nanyang people, African blacks, and Tessie's blond hair with deep eye sockets. A Thai with high cheekbones.

It's hard to imagine how this group of strong men of various races gathered together and became so docile and obedient.

When some obviously very precious boxes were brought ashore, more big bags followed, which were obviously grain.

There are more than 300 ships loaded with too much cargo. They moved from morning to afternoon and are still moving.

Piles of goods were moved from the ship to the dock, piled up like a mountain, and then passed through the rail carriages on the dock, and then transported to the warehouse in the dock area one by one.

The most astonishing thing is that besides exquisite boxes and mountains of grain, they carried bundles of armor and flags, and even brought countless war horses to the pier.

If it wasn't for the soldiers of the Navy who were guarding at this time, with such cargo ashore, plus the group of people who transported the cargo, I'm afraid that some pirates were planning to rob the pier.

There are also some maritime merchants who have just come from the Silla Seaway in Bohai, and they faintly associate their identities with the men who carry the goods, and then by carefully identifying the flags in the floating mist, they can clearly see the identity of the scholar on it. A big "Zhang" finally vaguely guessed their identities.

This is undeniably more amazing.

The people in Dengzhou Port have seen countless fleets coming these days. Since it was reported not long ago that the King of Qin was going to lead his army to conquer the Hu people in the south, the three feudal towns of Tianping, Yicheng, and Xuanwu, which are closely related to the Qin Fan, first came. Each sent 12 soldiers and horses to Dengzhou Port to board a ship and head to Tianjin to reinforce and support the King of Qin to fight against the Hu people.Then, the No.13 and No.[-] disciples of the King of Qin, Yang Xingmi and Qian Liu, respectively led [-] and [-] troops to the north, and went to Tianjin through Dengzhou Port to wait for the dispatch of the King of Qin.

There is also news that even Yu Gui, the Jiedu envoy of the East of the Lingnan Road, Yu Qiu, the Jiedu envoy of the West Lingnan Road, the Fujian Observation Envoy, and Zhang Rui, the Jiedu envoy of the mighty army, are also preparing to send troops north to support the King of Qin.

The king of Qin personally conquered, and the towns responded and sent troops to support it. This made the people of Qin in Dengzhou Port very proud. This is the prestige of the king of Qin today.

However, the thoughtful officials and maritime merchants of Dengzhou Port knew in their hearts that the huge fleet in front of them would definitely not be the fleet of the southeast towns.

Those who are keen observers will notice that every summer, Dengzhou Port will actually welcome a large fleet under the flag of Zhang Zi, and there will be a shark flag on the flag of Zhang Zi.A person who used to be a member of the Zhendonghai Pirates who followed White Beard and the others, washed his hands and went ashore, and went to the port to become a small official still remembers that this flag represents a person, Zhang Yingying, Queen of the Sea.He also knows some more secret things. For example, Zhang Yingying, who now occupies the coastal islands and coastal areas in the south of Silla, now has a new name, Zhang Yingying, Queen of Qinghai. The queen of Silla, Jinman, who succeeded to the throne, was collectively called Silla Shuangjiao.And he also knew that this woman who had great influence in Xinluohai was actually Li Jing's woman, and there was even a six-year-old daughter between them.

Over the past few years, Zhang Yingying, who inherited the power of Zhang Baogao, the former king of the sea, has received strong support from Li Jing. With the islands of Qinghai Town in the south of Silla as his base camp, he openly opposed the king of Silla when the Silla Dynasty was decaying.After several years of operation, Silla is now full of civil strife. In a short period of time, the royal family has been in turmoil. Three kings have been changed. Cui Yingying's Qinghai Town has become more and more powerful. Princess Jinman, who has the title of Princess Mandala, officially took over the Silla throne. However, Zhang Yingying has already established the Joseon Dynasty in Qinghai Town, that is, the Queen's Throne, and established her six-year-old daughter as the Crown Prince, named Princess Qinghai.

The Queen of Silla and the Queen of Korea stood side by side, and the situation in the Korean peninsula was tense. At this time, Zhang Yingying's huge fleet appeared in Dengzhou Port, which made people puzzled.

In Dengzhou Port, the little official was still deep in thought when he heard a colleague pointing at the pier and saying loudly: "Look, Lao Hei, the ceremonial car of the Queen of Korea, and the ceremonial car of Princess Qinghai behind, my God, Is that Princess Qinghai really the daughter of King Qin?"

He looked along the direction, and sure enough, he saw a group of guards in brocade clothes holding banners, golden drums, and axes, and surrounded by a woman with a crown on a chariot, coming slowly.

"Is that the Queen of Joseon? So young and beautiful..."

"That's the queen of the sea, otherwise she's no match for the king of Qin..."

"What did she come for? She brought so many soldiers and horses with her. According to the sailors, the queen brought 2 people, even her sea army, which has made great achievements and defeated the Silla royal army several times. coming!"

The little official laughed lightly, and said proudly: "Of course I want to go to the north, to follow His Highness the King of Qin, to wipe out the barbarians. When the husband goes to the battlefield, the wife comes to help. Isn't that normal?" (To be continued.)