Brocade clothing as the country

Chapter 294
Ten taels of silver can last a year for a middle-of-the-road family, but 500 taels of silver will not worry about it in this life, not to mention that people are not at home now, and they are always busy with something.

Those who run on sea ships have a little savings in their hands. If they are put back like this, they will live comfortably for a lifetime, or live happily for a few years.

In the sinking ship, except for those who were killed by the cannon, there were still 45 people left. The surname Tang who was selected was called Tang Shan, and he was the head of the sail on the ship. Fifth position.

When Tang Shan registered as an officer, he said he was 36 years old, but the life at sea was brutal, and he looked like a 40-something in the dark.

They were different from the other two ships. The attitude of the survivors on this ship towards the Tianjin Jinyi Guards was like that of their own ancestors towards the sharks in the sea.

The thunderous cannon sounded, the shells whizzed and flew, watching my companions being beaten to pieces, and the flesh and blood splashed everywhere, it was really powerful like heaven and earth, and if they survived, it would be a manifestation of the queen, as soon as Cai Nan went to pick someone, these Everyone dared not take a breath.

This Tang Shan bowed and walked out of the place of detention. He first glanced at the river, and he probably had a clue in his heart, but then he looked at the dozen or so forts by the river, thinking about the promise Cai Nan made with him. Those conditions, but the pace is a little slower, thoughtful.

After walking two steps, Tang Shan suddenly stopped and said:

"Master, don't blame me for talking about something young."

Cai Nan naturally didn't care about it, and nodded with a smile, but Tang Shan knelt down with a plop, kowtowed and said:

"Master, I don't want the little money anymore, and I don't want to be put back. I just want to see the elder."

500 taels of silver is not a small amount anyway, and it is indeed hard to refuse to give up the reward of 500 taels of silver and the freedom that is easily obtained, but to see Wang Tong.

When he arrived at Wang Tong's side, Wang Tong was at the fort closest to the sea, which is equivalent to the throat. Yesterday, he used artillery with gun carriages to block it. After blocking the boat, he built craftsmen, labor, and a large number of All the materials were transported here, and a small fortress was to be built here, with at least four cannons set up here.

Cai Nan led the people, briefly explained the situation, and led Tangshan up. Tangshan was slightly shorter than Wang Tong, but he was very strong. When he saw Wang Tong, he knelt down without saying a word, and knocked ten times. several heads.

Wang Tong narrowed his eyes and said:
"What do you want to see me for?"

"Master, I don't want the 500 taels of silver, and I don't want to go back. I just want to do business with the master. I got on the boat when I was 14 years old, and I have been on the sea for 22 years. I am proficient in the sea and understand the boat. North and South I’ve been everywhere, and I’ve seen that the Grand Master lacks people in this field, and although the young ones are not very capable, they are always useful to the Grand Master, and they are willing to work with the Grand Master and work hard for the Grand Master.”

After finishing speaking, they bumped and kowtowed again, with such great force that even Cai Nan beside him felt his forehead hurt. Wang Tong glanced at Tangshan for a few times, and saw blood on the other's forehead, so he didn't stop.

Wang Tong looked at the river surface, the mast of the sunken ship was still exposed on the water, and a group of people were dealing with it there, otherwise the ship would be a disaster for Haihe in the future.

Three ships hoisted their sails and fled, and one ship was sunk by a cannon. This person was on that ship. It would not be such a coincidence. He would specially arrange such a person to be his eyes and ears.

Moreover, Wang Tong has a different feeling about this Tangshan. This person has a burning desire to climb up and an ability to seize opportunities.

There is indeed a lack of people who understand shipping on my side, and I don't know anything about ships or shipping routes. However, Daming has been banned for many years, and Tianjin is a military port. It is almost impossible to recruit people who understand this.

Otherwise, to inspect these ships yesterday, the captives would have to go together. Tianjin is a seaport, and there are many places where such talents can be used, whether it is economic or military.

Ambition is not afraid, what is afraid is incompetence, maybe this Tangshan made up his mind to seek refuge after he analyzed something yesterday, Wang Tong appreciates such a person.

"Get up, let's finish the errands first, Xiao Cai, get him a brocade and guard robe and change into it."

Wang Tong said lightly, Tang Shan immediately stopped kowtowing, his forehead was already bleeding, but his face was full of excitement, Wang Tong took him in.

After being tormented like this, Wang Tong also became curious, and simply explained a few words about the fort, and went to the ship with Cai Nan and others to inspect it.

The boss and several leaders of the sea-going ship that asked to take the initiative to pay taxes and fines were called out. Their ship was lucky, and the shells opened a few holes in the ship's hull, and they still had time to get to the shore.

When Wang Tong and a dozen people around him came here, they could still see the shipbuilder mending the boat. Several people on the boat were surrounded by Jin Yiwei's soldiers, but they still laughed and said:

"My lord, I offended my lord's prestige yesterday. The young ones didn't know about it. Today, I am willing to make up for it. The young ones are really deceived by lard. The big lord is so fair, and the young ones want to run away, my little one." After discussing with the others, even if this business does not make any money, we must follow the old master's rules."

Wang Tong stepped onto the board, and when he heard this, he turned around with a smile and joked:
"Nothing to be courteous, adultery or robbery, if you really tell me your suspicions, dismantle your ship, and see what tricks you can hide!"

After saying this, the faces of the people on the ship turned black immediately, Wang Tong turned his head, and said in a low voice through Tang Shan, who was separated by two people:

"My lord, look at this boat, how deep the draft is."

Wang Tong glanced at the hull, and there was indeed a long distance, Tang Shan said:

"My lord doesn't know, after passing through Haizhou, that is to say, the Haihe River in Tianjin Wei can draw so deep, it's because there is enough rain, and there is no sand in the river."

There were actually two small cannons that were as thick as bowls on the deck, which surprised Wang Tong. When he got closer, he found that the inscriptions on the cannons should be Western characters. According to the experience of the cannon maker, such cannons even It can't weigh more than a catty, but it can take more than a hundred steps to reach the sky. I don't know where to use it.

That Tang Shan really understood, and quickly explained:

"My lord, this is an eagle cannon. When the sea is on fire, it is very useful to rely on this cannon to sweep the people on the other side's ship."

The boss of this ship also went to the deck. Seeing Wang Tong watching the artillery with great interest, he couldn't help but let go of what he just raised. This is obviously someone who has never been on a ship. I am afraid that he will do something, so I just say less Just two sentences.

When I got off the cargo hold, I could see that many poplin rolls were battered to pieces. It seemed that they had been hit by shells, but the others were easy to say. They were covered with tarpaulins and tied very close together with ropes.

"There are [-] horses in total. The old man cut the ropes and inspected it. If you say something offending, even though it was beaten to pieces, the rotten ones belong to the villains. Taxes and fines will be based on the [-] horses. The amount of tax to be paid by the elders is low, and it is a chance for the little ones to make a fortune. If you don’t know how to count, then the little ones will be ashamed.”

What he said was indeed impassioned, but what he said made Wang Tong even more disbelieving, but Tang Shan stepped forward and said in a low voice:
"My lord, there's something down there."

This kind of structure is similar to the modified Fuchuan ship, and Wang Tong has also learned about it in the past two days. Generally, there are one to two floors of cabins, and the bottom is the bottom cabin.

The structure of the bilge is similar to boxes put together one by one. The walls of the boxes connected to form a grid are the brackets that support the upper cabin. Although there is room below, it is less than three feet high and is quite humid. A ship is at sea every ten days. After months of tossing, the goods will become damp when placed there.

And because the sea is not small, the ship is bumping and shaking. In order to keep it stable, some big stones are usually placed there, called ballast stones.

This is also the experience Wang Tong heard after yesterday's inspection. Hearing what Tang Shan said, he also became curious, and turned around to give some instructions. This time, he clearly saw the expressions of the people on the boat who had been talking generously change.

After opening it, it was very dark below. Light a torch and look down. The wide-mouthed wine jar that is higher than the calf is completely sealed with oiled paper and mud.

"Master..."

As soon as those people yelled at the top of their voices, Wang Tong waved his hands impatiently, and several soldiers immediately started to put them on the deck.

"what is this?"

Wang Tong asked in surprise, could it be gold and silver treasures? Seeing that his judgment was not bad, Tang Shan relaxed and said in Mandarin with a strong Fujian accent:

"Master, you can guess, go down and move it."

Since this ship can't hide private information, Wang Tong is also relieved. Hearing this, he simply jumped out of the bottom cabin, hugged the wine jar and used his strength...

Wang Tong has been working hard all day, his strength is really not small, he can move this wine jar so much that he hangs his waist, and it has not moved a little, which shows how heavy it is
"Could it be gold and silver in it?"

In Wang Tong's impression, gold and silver are the only ones that can have such a weight. Looking at Wang Tong's puzzled face, Tang Shan said with a smile:

"My lord, the Japanese have more gold and silver than Daming, so they will definitely lose money if they are transported there. What is in this wine jar is mercury."

Mercury...Wang Tong's first reaction was the silver column in the thermometer. What is the use of this thing being transported across the ocean to the country of Japan?

"There are many gold mines and silver mines in the country of Wa, which require mercury to be refined, so the price is high. Do you know how much you can earn from a catty of mercury? If you bring fifty catties of mercury, it is only 45 taels if you ship it from Shaanxi, but you can sell it for 700 when you transport it to the country of Wa. Two, sometimes it can even be sold for 850 taels. Shipping mercury and oxtail medicine to the Japanese country is a huge profit. The mercury in this ship is estimated to be no less than two thousand catties. The master calculates..."

Wang Tong was good at calculating silently, but the result made him gasp. Not counting the double poplin, the profit from mercury alone was more than 2 taels.

If you want to take [-]% of the huge profits and add [-]% of the fine, that's such a cheap thing.
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Regarding mercury, Hu Zongxian once said in his notes during the Jiajing period that the price of mercury in Japan was ten times that of Ming Dynasty, and if 500 catties of mercury were trafficked there, you could get [-] taels of silver.
(End of this chapter)