Chapter 195 First time in Guangzhou

August 19, 1627, the ninth day of the seventh month in the seventh year of the dawn of tomorrow.

After staying in Port Victory for more than ten days, the fleet of "Furuifeng" finally set sail and embarked on the return journey. Schneider and He Xi also boarded the ship as passengers as a matter of course. This time they really

They were traveling alone, not even bringing a single servant with them. Schneider thought that they would just hire people when they arrived in Guangzhou, but Li Nai thought that this was a sign of their free and easy behavior, as they were relatively busy with him all day long.

These servants, who are constantly asking for instructions on big and small matters, are actually a little envious of their unrestrainedness - at least that's how it seems on the surface.

The fleet stopped and stopped all the way, and its speed was not only comparable to that of fast sailing ships such as the "Speed", but even the training ships of the Maritime Department. The reason was that Li Nai was on board.

Your noble man, your first priority is to ensure the safety and stability of navigation. The fleet only travels along the coastline at dawn every day. When it gets dark, it will stop and rest. If the wind and waves on the sea are slightly stronger, the speed of travel will be slowed down.

The two-hundred-nautical-mile journey from Victory Port to Qiongzhou Fucheng alone took three days, which made the two travelers who were accustomed to tight schedules very uncomfortable.

The fleet stayed in Qiongzhou Fucheng for a day as usual, mainly to replenish supplies, load some local specialties to fill the vacant cabins, and also leave some of the newly purchased goods to the local "Furuifeng" branch. Schneider also

I was lucky enough to go ashore and visit the Qiongzhou capital city in the 17th century. He Xi had already been here once before, so he acted as Schneider's guide.

As the political and economic center of Hainan Island at this time, the area and population of Qiongzhou Fucheng greatly exceeded that of Yazhou. Among the more than 200,000 people on the island, nearly one-third of the population lived in Qiongzhou Fucheng and its surrounding areas.

In the surrounding area, the commercial prosperity brought by the huge population base is also unmatched by places of exile like Yazhou. Schneider initially estimated that the consumption power of Qiongzhou’s capital city is at least five to seven times that of Yazhou, but currently

The trade volume between here and Victory Port has obviously not reached the passing level.

However, this situation will definitely change quickly with the gradual import of Haihan products. The products produced by Victory Port are constantly enriched. In addition to glass products and salt, industrial products such as soaps and matches will soon appear in the market.

In the market here, smart merchants will take the initiative to purchase the materials needed to cross the group and send them to Victory Port for trade - a free port without tariffs. For merchants engaged in maritime trade, it is absolutely irresistible.

temptation.

After inspecting the local branch offices, Li Nai also gave instructions, asking the shopkeeper here to try to recruit some local manpower to make preliminary preparations for the investment and transaction of "Furuifeng" in Shengli Port. In addition to the need for some more important management positions

In addition to being sent from Guangzhou, Li Nai believed that grassroots positions could be recruited locally, which would also save "Furuifeng" a lot of transportation and placement costs. Li Nai even thought of recruiting people directly in Shengli Port, but when

He gave up this plan after learning about the remuneration paid by the Haihan people to the people - the wages paid by the Haihan people seemed not high, but food, clothing, housing and transportation were all included, so the operating costs were very high.

"Ruifeng" has no such precedent.

The fleet then went directly north from the Nandu River estuary and slowly moved along the Leizhou Peninsula. After arriving at the sea outside Zhanjiang, it turned east, passing through Maoming, Yangjiang and other places, and finally arrived at Haojing'ao at the Pearl River Estuary a few days later.

This is the Macau of later generations.

In 1553, the Portuguese fleet arrived here and began to settle here. In 1557, the Portuguese asked the Ming Dynasty for the right to live in Macau, but this place was still nominally a territory of the Ming Dynasty, and there was a local government and a designated area.

It is directly under the jurisdiction of Guangdong Province. However, it was not until 1590 that it was named Haojingao because of its oyster production. The description of foreign merchants in the dramatist Tang Xianzu's "The Peony Pavilion" originated from his experience in Macao at the end of the 16th century.

Travel journey.

However, at this time, Macau was still just a small trading port. It was completely different from the bustling gold-selling caves of later generations. It could not be called a city at all. Apart from a row of stone warehouses beside the pier, it looked like nothing.

Outside, there are low wooden huts and taverns, where sailors and sailors passing by basically spend their time. Schneider, who has a keen eye, also saw a cross erected on the roof in the distance, which should be

A small church.

The docks on the shore are not even as complete as Victory Port's current port facilities. There seems to be no one in charge coordinating the cargo loading and unloading areas of these ships. Miscellaneous cargo is piled everywhere, and from time to time, crew members who are blocked in the way are yelling angrily.

The sound. However, there were many more docked ships than in Port Victory. There was even a three-masted Spanish galleon among them. Its towering bow and stern and long mast made it stand out among the ships in the port.

.

"This Galen ship must have a displacement of more than three hundred tons, right?" He Xi murmured, being very interested in this exotic ship.

"I'm afraid it's more than that. I estimate it is between 400 and 500 tons." Schneider guessed: "This ship probably came from Manila."

"This ship has a tall hull and powerful guns. It is very powerful at sea. I heard that this kind of ship can easily escape even if it is attacked by pirates." Li Nai heard them talking about the ship and joined in.

Schneider shook his head and said: "This ship is an old-fashioned 'Karak' type sailing ship. The forecastle and stern are too high and will attract the wind. This will definitely affect the center of gravity of the ship, and it is also not conducive to the operation of the ship when the wind is against the wind. The British have already

This kind of ship has been improved, the height of both ends has been lowered, and the seaworthiness is better. The new ship type has now been widely adopted in Europe. This old ship type is probably only found in Manila and Macau in the Far East."

"Oh? Mr. Shi also researched the sailing ship of the Folangji people?" Li Nai asked in surprise.

"I know a little bit, I know a little bit." Schneider responded very reservedly. Before departure, he went to the Shipping Department to find a lot of information and supplemented his knowledge on navigation. But he did not do it to defeat the West on the sea one day.

The Great Powers, that was the responsibility of the Military and Police Department, and he was not interested in getting involved. The main reason why Schneider did this was because he was worried that if there were some accidents in Guangzhou and the Guangzhou Office needed to evacuate urgently, he could at least hire a boat.

Know how to escape all the way back to Port Victory.

Schneider originally thought about whether he could also go ashore here for some sightseeing, but this time Li Nai disappointed him. The fleet only stayed at the dock for more than an hour, and after loading and unloading a small amount of cargo, it set sail and left.

He Xi breathed a sigh of relief at this small harbor, because this place was really smelly. Although there was inevitably a smell of fish in the air in the harbor, the harbor here really smelled like fish.

With that kind of smell, He Xi would really worry about problems with his respiratory system if he stayed there any longer.

What He Xi didn't know was that the vast majority of ports under European control in this era had such a smell, because Europeans had no interest in establishing a public health system in places like ports. Local officials believed that there was no need to spend money on

Those smelly sailors tidied up a clean environment - no matter how well they tidied up, these guys would immediately make the place smelly after they arrived. So almost all ports became garbage dumps, and this kind of

Management habits were also brought to Macau by the Portuguese.

To the north of Macau was the city of Zhuhai in later generations, but at this time Zhuhai was still deserted. Looking from the ship, there was no sign of prosperity in this land, and even small fishing villages near the sea were rare.

Schneider also found this very incomprehensible: "Guangzhou is a major trading port in southern China. Logically speaking, these places located at the mouth of the Pearl River should be prosperous, but why do they look like wilderness?"

Li Nai explained this. It turns out that the islands outside the Pearl River Estuary have always been occupied by pirates. These pirates occasionally come ashore to plunder. The Zhuhai area was the hardest hit area. Most of the coastal residents spontaneously moved inland.

.

"This place is so close to Guangzhou, why doesn't the Guangzhou government send troops to destroy the pirates?" Schneider continued to ask.

Li Nai shook his head and said: "When the government sends out troops, the pirates hide. When the government withdraws, the pirates come back. When the officials and soldiers move, it really mobilizes the troops and mobilizes the people, and the money is used for external purposes. After several efforts, it is still in vain. Who is willing to bear this responsibility?"

?”

"So the pirates should have deployed many informants near Guangzhou. As soon as the officers and soldiers move, they will get the news." Schneider immediately figured out the reason.

"Then the existence of these pirates will not affect ordinary merchant ships?" He Xi asked.

"Of course there is some influence, but merchant ships generally travel in groups, and there are more or less connections between local big businessmen and pirates." After Li Nai finished saying this, he pointed at himself, meaning "Fu Rui

"Feng" is also included, but there is no specific explanation of what this so-called "connection" actually consists of.

But even if Li Nai refuses to say it explicitly, Schneider and He Xi can probably deduce one or two based on the experience of later generations. The connection between maritime merchants and pirates is nothing more than a few routines, or they have to pay protection fees to the pirates to ensure safe entry and exit.

, just like what Zheng Zhilong did on the coast of Fujian; either he colluded with the pirates, helped sell the stolen goods and purchased materials from the land to provide them to the pirates; or even worse, he directly went to the land to do business and went to the sea to piracy, and owned both at the same time.

an identity.

"Furuifeng" had already shown that they had sales channels when ordering ordnance in Victory Port. In fact, at that time, the Executive Committee was almost certain that there might be trade relations between "Furuifeng" and the pirate gang.
Chapter completed!