Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 1022 Anping's Transaction

When Zheng Zhilong and the Dutch were on alert, a two-masted Cantonese ship, which is common in the South China Sea, was slowly entering Weitou Bay.The boat is in excellent condition, the tung oil on the board is shiny, and the yards and canvas of the two sails are as good as new.It has a clean look.

The sailors on the ship are wearing uniform indigo cloth clothing, which is the sailor uniform of Big Wave Shipping. At the stern, a company flag of Big Wave Shipping is flying: three wavy water patterns, embellished with a morning star.

The draft of the ship is very heavy, and it is obviously full of cargo. In this unsettled coastal area, such a cargo ship will attract the attention of many people, but the dark muzzles of the cannons on the deck are enough to dispel the delusion of many people. There are also large fishing nets hanging on both sides to prevent jumping.

At this time, however, the ship's cannons were covered with guncoats—indicating that its purpose was peaceful.After the ship entered the harbor, it anchored in the deep water of the bay, and several small boats of the Zheng family quickly leaned up.A small boss boarded the deck of the Dabo Shipping Wenchang.

After a brief conversation with the people on the deck, he quickly climbed down the rope ladder on the side of the ship.The boat hastily turned its bow and rowed away to Anping City.

Half an hour later, Lin Baiguang had already sat in the Xiaosi Hall of Zheng Zhilong's private residence.

The handsome boy servant has already delivered new tea. Lin Baiguang doesn't need to drink it, he just smells the aroma and knows that it is a high-quality Dahongpao. When he was in the county office, a leader was very fond of tea. Pass.

Going to see Zheng Zhilong certainly has certain risks, but Lin Baiguang and others believe that the possibility of encountering personal danger is very small: the two sides have not entered a state of hostility, and secondly, with the current strength of the Senate, any force must fight to launch hostilities. Weigh the consequences.

Zheng Zhilong, who was confronting Liu Xiang, would never be stupid.

Zheng Zhilong was willing to take out his big red robe to entertain guests, so he was a little more confident in this trip.

It was not Zheng Zhilong who came out to meet the guests, but his brother Zheng Hongkui.

Representatives of the two major maritime powers in the South China Sea, or in other words, the entire East Asian waters, met in this way.It is unknown whether the wheel of history has rolled forward again, but the two have a strong curiosity about each other.

Lin Baiguang realized that the other party was a young man—it was unbelievably young. Zheng Hongkui was a few years younger than Zheng Zhilong. The Senate itself was a group of young people, but in Daming, almost all people with a slight status were middle-aged or above.

Zheng Hongkui talked a lot about this Australian envoy—he has long admired his name: Although the Zheng family brothers have been struggling in the turbulent waves almost every day since they were recruited, and they hardly care about others.But all kinds of Australian goods known for their katakat skills also flowed into their hands, which left a deep impression on them.

The opponent has jumped from an unknown and entrenched small group to a maritime tyrant that controls the Pearl River Estuary and occupies most of the Guangdong Ocean.Liu Xiang, his biggest opponent, left the Pearl River Estuary to go north. Of course, he had the consideration of competing for trade with Japan, and the fear of the growing strength of the Australians was obviously also a reason.

The man in front of him, wearing a square scarf on his head, wearing straight lace, and mille-soled woolen shoes on his feet, at first glance looks like a wealthy local businessman, but his skin is dark and his body is lean.

Now that the other party has taken the initiative to come to visit him, the "landlord", the Zheng family can also treat him with courtesy. This is the tone set by the eldest brother-Zheng Zhilong does not want to provoke a new opponent for himself for no reason.

Zheng Hongkui waited for him to put down the tea bowl, and then asked: "Sir, you are here, what can you tell me?"

There is no need to be polite in the dialogue between the strong, let alone repeated trials and tribulations.Lin Baiguang smiled slightly: "There is a big deal, I wonder if General Zheng is interested?"

Zheng Hongkui immediately became interested, the other party wanted to do business with him!Since the Zheng family is a large sea merchant, as long as it is a sea business, they have somewhat dabbled in it.They are also quite envious of the popularity of Australian products.

Now the Australians are actively asking for cooperation, which is obviously a recognition of their influence in Fujian.

Since there is such an intention, the Australians will not have any hostility at present.

Of course, Zheng Hongkui's thinking is not as simple as this. In history and in reality, there are countless cases of using various courtesies to paralyze opponents and then killing them with surprise attacks. Australians landing in Taiwan are already dancing swords in Xiangzhuang. Showing goodwill to one's own side at every point, anyone who doesn't feel so good about himself will be suspicious.

So he replied very slowly: "I don't know what kind of business it is?"

Lin Baiguang beckoned, and a servant came in from the door, carrying a few small bags.

Zheng Hongkui opened one out of curiosity: inside it was snow-white powder, which shimmered slightly.

He was taken aback for a moment, and immediately understood: "This is salt!"

Take a little bit and taste it, the taste is pure, with a slightly sweet aftertaste, no bitter taste at all, it really is a good salt!The Sichuan well salt, which is more expensive than the one used in the mansion now, is no less expensive.

"That's right, it's salt." Lin Baiguang nodded.

Zheng Hongkui opened all the small bags one by one, and they were full of salt, but the thickness and color were different, probably of different grades.

The Australians turned out to be selling private salt!
Zheng Hongkui felt normal when he thought about it—there are many salt farms in Hainan and Haibei where they have power, and it is not a problem to get some salt. Guangdong is not a province short of salt, and the market for private salt must not be good.

Fujian is a place short of salt.The salt supply of the whole province of Fujian is imported from other places, especially from Guangdong and Zhejiang.Fujian does not produce salt and is a mountainous province with difficult roads. Therefore, Fujian is the province with the highest official salt price in the country, and illegal salt trading is very rampant.

So far, the Zheng family has not included selling salt in their agenda.The Australians actually came directly to them and asked them to buy and sell illegal salt!Zheng Hongkui couldn't help but refuse the huge profits.

The Executive Committee decided to sell the salt to Zheng Zhilong based on multiple considerations: firstly, to relax the other party’s defenses and avoid accidental fire due to tense situations, and secondly, to use the empty tonnage of the northbound ships to obtain profits.Salt is now the most affluent material under the control of the Senate, because it is produced in large quantities and the cost is extremely low.As long as it can be sold, even one tael of silver for a stone of salt is a good deal—originally, those cabins are all empty.

"Offer a price that he can't refuse." Skade said this when communicating with Lin Baiguang.The profit of salt can make people break the law or even beheaded in this time and space.As the Zheng family is a tyrant in the coastal area, there is no risk in engaging in this kind of trade.Skade believes that it is difficult for them to resist such a temptation.

If we sum up all the actions of Zheng Zhilong from his attachment to Li Dan to his captivity by the Manchus, we can see that he is a typical businessman who always considers problems with a businessman's mind and considers everything with interests.

As long as the Senate can give him enough benefits, it is not a problem to win his temporary cooperation or acquiescence.

This kind of business is a "win-win" situation, which is not only beneficial to oneself, but also has an effect on reducing Zheng Zhilong's wariness - if the benefits are too large, Zheng Zhilong will inevitably become suspicious of their motives.

Zheng Hongkui hesitated a lot. Under normal circumstances, he should keep a respectful distance from Australians.But the conditions offered by the other party made it difficult for him to refuse.For a moment he didn't know how to respond.

"The third master naturally wants to discuss this matter with General Zheng." Lin Baiguang smiled and said, "I'll come to visit another day." As he got up, he was about to resign.

This time, taking the initiative further into his hands, Zheng Hongkui couldn't help but feel a little at a loss. He had to put aside his idea of ​​coping with a few words, and immediately put Lin Baiguang and his party into the post house and entertained them well.At the same time, they sent people to deliver fresh fruits and vegetables to the sailors on the Wenchang.

Afterwards, he immediately took the samples sent by Lin Baiguang and went to see his brother.

Zheng Zhilong folded his arms, and after hearing what Zheng Hongkui said, he said after a while, "Interesting."

The Australian's move puzzled him.If it was just for selling private salt, why did it suddenly land in Taiwan?If it is said that it is for the purpose of selling private salt as a transit point, this is too exaggerated--the consumption of salt in Fujian has not yet reached the point where it needs a transit station to collect salt. Taking a step back, even if there is a transit station, Taiwan is not a country suitable location.

The fact that the Australians ended up in Taiwan made him both confused and thorny.I always feel that there must be some conspiracy hidden in it.

However, no matter how suspicious he was, he was faced with a choice: either he refused to cooperate and turned a blind eye to the existence of the Australians; or he immediately took armed action to expel the Australians; in the end, he chose to cooperate and make a lot of money in the private salt trade a sum.

If he chooses one and three, he will have to sit back and watch the presence of the Australians in Taiwan. If he wants to expel the Australians, he must use force-since the Australians have spent a lot of time sending a fleet to Taiwan and building a fortress, I will never leave easily.It is definitely not something that can be driven away by threats of a few words from one's own side.

Choosing to use force, the Zheng family has no certainty of victory, let alone Liu Xiang watching.

What kind of choice to make between one and three is not difficult for those who understand his thinking mode to guess: since Australians cannot be driven away, why not do business to make money?
To take a step back, Taiwan is not his domain at the moment—it belongs to the Dutch.The Dutch would only be more worried about the presence of the Aussies than he was.Even if you want to do it, it is better to let the Dutch do it.If the Australians really have plans for Taiwan, then as their power in Taiwan expands, sooner or later they will conflict with the Dutch.

At that time, it will be much more beneficial for him to enter the battlefield as an ally of the Dutch or Australians.

"This deal is done." Zheng Zhilong made the final decision.

(End of this chapter)