Several huge ocean-going merchant ships slowly approached the terminal of Ningbo Port. Today, Ningbo Port has expanded to later Beilun, which is now the east of Dinghai.

With the rapid development of Ningbo's commerce, the initial Ningbo Port was already unbearable and entered from the river. Although it was closer to Ningbo, the rivers and seas were different after all. With the construction of ocean-going merchant ships, these large sea ships were no longer suitable for entering the port from the river. Therefore, when Zhu Yicheng was restoring Nanjing, he began to build a new port in Ningbo, and Beilun was the most suitable place.

Beilun is no longer the same as a small fishing village before. When Shi Shipiao attacked Ningbo, he landed in Beilun. At that time, Beilun was basically covered with mudflats and wastelands except for a few dilapidated fishing villages. Although Beilun is not as prosperous as Shanghai, it also has the atmosphere of a big port.

Compared with the business community in Shanghai, Beilun is more of a storage area. New warehouses occupy a large area around the dock, and countless commodities are stored and turned around here, thus flowing to all directions.

With the rise of wharfs and the improvement of storage, Beilun naturally formed an emerging town. In addition, the number of residents in Beilun has continued to increase, and it has naturally flourished.

These ocean-going merchant ships belong to the Bao family in Ningbo. As one of the major merchants that existed before Ningbo, the Bao family is developing rapidly now.

Not to mention the Ming army defended Zhejiang or attacked Fujian before, the Bao family could be said to have ships and some people to ship. Especially after the Battle of the South China Sea, the Bao family relied on transporting military rations and supplies for the Ming Dynasty and assisting the Ming navy to defeat the Portuguese fleet, the Ming Dynasty gave great commendations to the Bao family who made contributions.

Nowadays, the Bao family not only has a title, but also has obtained the commercial rights in Hong Kong, becoming a great merchant who is on par with the Wang family and Ye family. Not long ago, the Bao family also helped the Ming Navy to carry out the transportation mission of the north attack on Tianjin Wei and Beijing. When Beijing was captured by the Ming army, the Bao family became even more powerful.

Of course, the head of the Bao family is still the old man Bao Yangsheng, but in fact, the Bao family has gradually been divided into two branches, one is the Bao family in Ningbo, and the other is the Bao family in Hong Kong. The head of the Bao family in Hong Kong is Bao Yangsheng's eldest son Bao Honghui. This young master Bao is a stolen figure in Ningbo. He is not only the next generation head of the Bao family, but also the founder of the Bao family branch in Hong Kong.

Bao Honghui was named the Xin'an Maritime Promotion Office after the Battle of the South China Sea. Now Xin'an has been renamed Hong Kong, and this name is given by Zhu Yicheng. Bao Honghui's status in Hong Kong is almost equivalent to the Ye family's status in Shanghai. Moreover, Bao Honghui had even had a good personal relationship with the Ming Dynasty's military minister and naval commander Wang Dong. In addition, Bao Honghui also has excellent relationships with Fernando in Macau, so in the South China Sea area, the Bao family's fleet is completely unimpeded and has a strong power.

With the construction and development of Hong Kong, Bao Honghui has gradually focused the Bao family on the South China Sea. As for the business he stayed in Ningbo, he handed over to his two younger brothers to take care of. In addition, Bao Yangsheng, the old man of the Bao family, has a good body. Bao Honghui rarely returns to Ningbo in recent years and has been in the south.

This time, Bao Honghui suddenly received a letter from his hometown and rushed back. The letter was written by Bao Yangsheng. The content in the letter was very simple, but it said that Bao Yangsheng was old and weak and sick. He has been missing Bao Honghui these days, and hoped that he would go back to his hometown Ningbo to meet him as soon as possible.

After receiving this letter, Bao Honghui immediately felt something seemed to have happened in his hometown. However, the content of the letter was vague, but it failed to state it. When asked the sender, the sender replied that Mr. Bao Yangsheng was in good health, which made Bao Honghui a little nervous. There happened to be a fleet going north to Ningbo. Bao Honghui immediately arranged the matter and took a few people to board the ship and returned to Ningbo.

"Young Master, you are back." As soon as Bao Honghui got off the dock, he saw Lao Xia coming up quickly.

Lao Xia is an old man from the Bao family. During the Battle of the South China Sea, Lao Xia led the fleet to deal with Portuguese warships, and was also the first person to bring back the news. Now, Lao Xia is old and no longer travels, and has given his son the errands. As for Lao Xia himself, he has been busy for most of his life and finally can rest.

Therefore, now Lao Xia is doing some management work on the dock for the Bao family in his hometown in Ningbo. This work is relatively leisurely and safe, which was arranged by Bao Honghui specifically considering Lao Xia's ideas.

"I haven't seen you for more than half a year. How are you in good health? Are you okay?" When Bao Honghui saw Lao Xia, he stepped forward and asked with a smile.

"Young Master, I have arranged the carriage. Please get in and go home as soon as possible." Lao Xia did not hesitate to Bao Honghui for the first time, but grabbed his hand and walked out hurriedly.

Seeing this, Bao Honghui's heart suddenly sank, but he did not ask immediately, but waited for the carriage. When the carriage drove out of the dock and headed towards Ningbo City, he asked about this matter.

"What happened to the family?"

"Oh..." Lao Xia shook his head and sighed: "Young Master, I don't know what happened to me, but the situation at home these days is a bit bad. I heard that it seems that the master and the second master did something. Just a few days ago, this commander came to Ningbo and visited the master in person. Then the master wrote an urgent letter to ask you to come back."

"Conductor Zhang? Which Commander Zhang?" Bao Honghui was stunned and asked quickly.

Lao Xia lifted the curtain, looked outside, then lowered his voice and said, "Zhang Ran, the Jinyiwei Command..."

"What!" Bao Honghui's face suddenly changed. How could Zhang Ran, the commander of the Jinyiwei, suddenly come to their Bao family? Could it be that his father and second brother did something big? No, Bao Yangsheng has always been cautious, and his second brother Bao Hongwei is not a bold person. He has been trembling in helping the family's business over the years and has no fault. What can they do?

But if nothing is done, how could Zhang Ran come to the door? You should know that Zhang Ran is Zhu Yicheng's loyal dog and the commander of the Jinyiwei. Although the Jinyiwei has become a pure intelligence agency now, the Jinyiwei still has great power. Moreover, Zhang Ran suddenly left the capital as the commander to Ningbo, it would be absolutely impossible without Zhu Yicheng's permission.

Could it be that Zhu Yicheng, the Emperor of Ming Dynasty, had a fancy to the Bao family's property and would not have to attack the Bao family? Just as he thought of this, Bao Honghui immediately denied it again. Now the Ming Dynasty attaches great importance to the status of merchants, and the entire court encourages business. As one of the rich merchants, the Bao family not only controls a large number of maritime trade fleets, but also has the right to trade in Hong Kong. If the Bao family is engaged, it will affect the national policy of the Ming Dynasty. You must know that the Bao family's maritime trade alone can bring tens of millions of taxes to the Ming treasury every year, which does not include upstream and downstream procurement and trade.

Furthermore, as the next generation head of the Bao family, Bao Honghui is not only the Hong Kong Maritime Commission, but also the Ming Dynasty title. If you want to move the Bao family, at least you should start with yourself first. How could you find Bao Yangsheng directly? Even if you use this method to lure yourself back, then when you get off the boat, it is not Lao Xia who will pick him up, but the Jinyiwei is waiting for him.

It can be seen that this matter is definitely not as simple as imagined. Bao Honghui didn't understand what was going on for a moment, but he vaguely felt that something must have happened.

"In addition to my Bao family, Zhang Ran also went to find that family?"

"I don't know this. Commander Zhang sneaked in with makeup before coming, and there are very few people who know about this. I only know about it because the master asked me to pick you up. And the master has taken care of you. Except for the master, you must not let others know about it." Lao Xia replied in a low voice.

Hearing this, Bao Honghui felt a little relieved. If this was the case, then everything might not be as serious as he imagined. Now, Bao Honghui only hopes to return home as soon as possible, find his father and second brother, and ask what was going on.

Beilun is not close to Ningbo City. Although the road from Beilun to Ningbo has been built, Bao Honghui and his carriage are also the latest Western four-wheeled carriage, which runs fast and comfortable.

But it was not until afternoon that Bao Honghui entered Ningbo City and finally returned to the Bao family's old house.

Bao Honghui did not make any big promises when he returned to the Bao family's old house, nor did he go through the main entrance. Lao Xia directly asked the car to go to the back door. After getting off at the back door, Bao Honghui entered the house, then asked his father where he was, and then hurriedly walked towards the backyard.

"Father, I'm back." When I arrived at the backyard, I saw Bao Yangsheng walking out of the house at a glance. Bao Honghui's heart, which had been hanging over, finally fell down.

"Hui'er, you're back." Bao Yangsheng looked a little haggard, but seemed to be in good spirits. When he saw Bao Honghui, he showed an expectant smile and hurried forward and took a few steps.

"Father, hurry up..." Bao Honghui hurriedly stepped forward and helped Bao Yangsheng's hand.

"It's good to come back, it's good to come back!" Bao Yangsheng looked up and down at his son who had not seen for more than half a year, his eyes felt a little wet.

"Father, you are in good health." Bao Honghui asked.

"It's okay, it's okay." Bao Yangsheng nodded, and his father and the others went into the house as they spoke.

After entering the house, Bao Honghui saw that there was no outsider and then asked him about asking him to come back. Bao Yangsheng sighed first, then asked Bao Honghui to wait for a while, and then called someone to call the second young master Bao Hongwei.

After a moment, Bao Hongwei came and was surprised when he saw his elder brother Bao Honghui.

"Father, brother!"
Chapter completed!