gnovel Chapter 122 Lü 4
Chapter 122 Lü 4
The wind was quite strong on the sixth day of the eighth lunar month, causing the willow branches along the street to sway wildly.
After lunch, everyone filed out.
Kong Tie was the first to leave.
This lean man was neither particularly handsome nor skilled, nor particularly talented. In fact, you might not even notice him in a crowd. However, he was a senior figure with considerable seniority, and Yu Yuan had a deep impression of him because Kong Tie often asked him how to write or pronounce certain characters, and he had practically worn out a rhyme book.
Kong Tielu paused slightly as he passed the counter and said, "Yu She, Xiao Hu is, after all, the inn's accountant. If anyone asks about him during your trip to Tongzhou, please conceal it a little."
"Okay, okay," Yu Yuan replied.
Kong Tie said no more, clasped his hands in a fist salute and stepped out, the iron sword at his waist clanging.
Wang Huadu picked his teeth and swaggered out.
Jiang Sanbao followed closely behind, with an iron sword at his waist and an anchor axe on his shoulder, with two bundles hanging from the axe tips on the left and right.
"Yu She, I've taken the pistol. You have a new one anyway," Wang Huadu said with a grin.
Yu Yuan nodded and said, "Yeah, don't stuff too many bullets in. Brother Shao said four is too many, two or three is best."
"I'll only put one or two in; they'll shoot farther," Wang Huadu said. "Keep a close eye on the shop and don't wander off."
As he spoke, he had already stepped out the door, his nonchalant manner startling a person who intended to enter the shop to buy porcelain.
Upon seeing this, Yu Yuan immediately stepped out from behind the counter and said warmly, "Please come in, guest."
The guest hesitated for a moment, but after Yu Yuan's enthusiastic persuasion, he went in and picked out two pieces of Quzhou white porcelain before leaving.
Yu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief; this was the only customer to buy porcelain today. If the shop owner hadn't been involved in maritime trade, he would have gone out of business long ago, and there would be no room for a group of people to eat and drink here. However, today's meal wasn't a free lunch; some of the porcelain was being moved to the warehouse, so they naturally needed to recruit people, and it just so happened that they were Brother Shao's young men.
The third person to leave was Cheng Ji.
His gaze was somewhat unfocused, as if he were afraid to see any familiar faces.
"Master Cheng," Yu Yuan called out to him.
Cheng Ji stopped, paused, and then turned around, asking, "What is it?"
Yu Yuan took something from under the counter and handed it over, saying, "Brother Shao got you an extra stringed instrument."
Cheng Ji silently took it and asked, "Where did you get this?"
"I got it from the patrol and inspection department," Yu Yuan said.
Cheng Ji hummed in agreement, took the bowstring, and quickened his pace.
Li Fu and Wei Erdi walked out side by side.
Upon hearing Yu Yuan's greeting, Li Fu forced a smile and left first.
Wei Erdi, with a slightly ingratiating smile, said, "Yu She, I'll be going now."
"Did you bring the equipment?" Yu Yuan asked.
"On the ship, we tested the long spears sent by Dadu this morning, and they're much heavier than bamboo spears," Wei Erdi said. "I was afraid they'd laugh at me, so I didn't dare say anything."
"Second brother, don't worry, Brother Shao is a very good person," Yu Yuan encouraged. "As long as you work hard, you'll make money."
Wei Erdi's face lit up with joy, and he solemnly said, "Yu She, you are a good person."
After saying that, he hurriedly followed Li Fu and headed towards the dock.
Finally, Shao Shuyi and Liang Tai came out.
The two walked and whispered to each other.
Yu Yuan heard phrases like "behave yourself" and "don't cause trouble" from afar, so he lowered his head and only greeted them when they got closer.
Shao Shuyi gestured for Liang Tai to leave first, then leaned close to Yu Yuan's ear and whispered, "That house is nice, and ten strings of cash isn't expensive. Pawn it for a year first, and don't tell anyone."
"Okay," Yu Yuan replied softly.
"After the transaction is completed, put some grain, cured meat, salted fish, and salt inside. Not much, just enough for ten days' worth of food and drink," Shao Shuyi continued. "Should we arrange for people to stay there on weekdays?" Yu Yuan asked.
Shao Shuyi pondered for a moment, then said, "Yes, we need to. Otherwise, it would be too abnormal. Do you have a suitable candidate?"
"I...no," Yu Yuan replied.
"Then let Baijianu arrange for a younger brother or sister to stay there." Shao Shuyi nodded, then patted Yu Yuan on the shoulder and said, "We're counting on you here."
"Brother Shao, you might be fine going out before June, but it's August now, we can't afford to delay too long," Yu Yuan reminded him.
"I understand," Shao Shuyi smiled and said, "He'll probably be back in six or seven days."
Having said that, he turned and left, his voice still echoing in the distance: "Hesitation and indecision will lead to nothing. A quick step leads to a quick step always, a slow step leads to a slow step always. Goodbye."
Amidst the rippling water, Feng Shao boarded the Wind-Drilling Sea Loach.
As a seasoned businessman, this was not outstanding among the ships he had traveled on; it was merely average.
This spring, five thousand-ton ships were used to transport grain to Changguo Prefecture, carrying more than 4,300 shi of grain. This single trip earned Madam Shen more than 300 ingots.
In his early years, he sailed with the Ye family's fleet, riding in ships of up to 5,000 liang (a unit of weight), and arrived in Tuta (southeast India) amidst raging waves. He is an old "sea dog" now, nearing forty. With his parents getting old, he no longer sails the ocean. Instead, he works for the Shen family, traveling between Changguo Prefecture and Lüsichang to buy dried seafood and sell rice and wheat.
This trip to Lüsi was just another familiar journey for him.
However, the three ships, one large and two small, still have some interesting aspects.
"May I ask, Mr. Shao, did you bring so many weapons with you when you went to sea?" Feng Shao pointed to the spears, swords, axes, and even muskets under the ship's hold and asked with great interest.
"Not only are there storms at sea, but also pirates. What do seafarers do if they go out to sea without any equipment?" Shao Shuyi said, standing on the foredeck and watching the sailors raise their bamboo sails.
"That's not necessarily true," Feng Shao shook his head and said, "The imperial court prohibits seafarers from carrying weapons."
Shao Shuyi hummed in agreement and replied, "We have to bring them, otherwise we'll be doomed if we encounter pirates."
Feng Shao didn't quite believe this explanation.
There were more than thirty sailors on the three ships in front of him, and more than forty weapons of all kinds, which was really too many. So much so that Feng Shao wondered what Shao Shuyi and his men were up to.
Moreover, he saw that there were many sacks and wooden barrels inside the cabin, all empty, but he didn't know what they were meant to be put in. He actually guessed a little, but he was too lazy to say it out loud.
That's it, what does it have to do with me!
After leaving Qianjia Boat Factory, the three boats headed north along the Loujiang River and entered the open waters of the Yangtze River estuary.
Almost without anyone's instruction, the three ships adjusted their formation at sea again.
They used a long, single-line formation to navigate through waters with numerous underwater sandbars.
They then practiced charging into the enemy in a triangular formation.
They also practiced flanking maneuvers using an inverted triangular formation.
In short, unlike typical merchant ships in a hurry to get to their destination, they seemed to be using the opportunity of going to sea to conduct a series of training exercises.
Feng Shao watched with great interest, seemingly lost in thought.
His uncle told him privately that Shao was brave and fearless, full of vigor, completely different from those hesitant and lethargic people in the large family. If you befriend him, you will reap endless benefits in the future.
Feng Shao initially didn't believe it, but now it seems that, putting everything else aside, this Brother Shao truly "has great ambitions." Otherwise, who would be so idle as to practice such a fierce military formation at sea?
"Brother Shao, although you only have three ships, you're already showing some skill. If you had more, a dozen or so, you'd be a big shot at the mouth of the Yangtze River, no doubt about it." After watching for a while, Feng Shao turned to Shao Shuyi, who was directing the raising of the flags, and said.
"Oh? Is that so?" Shao Shuyi laughed and pointed ahead, saying, "I've heard that the Ye family of Chongming can mobilize dozens of large ships. Aren't they more powerful than me?"
Feng Shao shook his head and chuckled, saying, "Pirates usually don't have many ships, just a few or a dozen, but their reputation is often greater than that of the Ye family of Chongming, the Yang family of Chepu, and the Fei family of Shanghai, who own dozens of ships. Why is that? Because they are daring, fierce, and warlike. Officials are officials, and merchants are merchants; they are ultimately different from bandits."
Shao Shuyi smiled.
This statement is as if it's referring to a wild tiger and a tiger in a zoo, which are completely different things.
"Brother Shao, why don't you take another look ahead?" Feng Shao pointed to the outline of land that appeared not far away and said, "That's Chongming Sansha, where the Ye Clan Ancestral Hall is located. There are over a hundred houses and thousands of acres of fertile land on the island, mostly owned by the Ye Clan of Chongming. They were once heroes of the sea, but now they are more like landlords and merchants, having lost their passion and ambition."
Shao Shuyi looked at the sandbar that was gradually approaching.
From Liujiagang to Chongming Sansha, with the strong southeast wind, it only takes half a day to get there; it's practically next door.
This is also a necessary route for transporting grain northwards.
As early as the nineteenth year of the Yuan Dynasty (1282), Zhang Xuan and Zhu Qing, pirate leaders who had been recruited by the government, led sixty ships northward to explore the route to Zhigu. At that time, they sailed close to the coastline and it took more than a month to travel from Liujiagang to Chengshanjiao (the eastern end of the Jiaodong Peninsula). They also spent the winter on Liugong Island and arrived at Zhigu in March of the following year. The entire voyage took several months.
Ten years later, Zhu Qing re-explored the shipping route. He carefully studied the patterns of monsoons and ocean currents, making full use of them. He first traversed the long, narrow coastline, then "set sail on the open ocean" (Qingshuiyang), entering the deep sea. He reached Chengshan Cape in five days, and finally arrived at Zhigu in thirty to forty days. A year later, Yin Minglue, a maritime commander, explored a new route: after arriving at Chongming Sansha, he directly entered the deep sea, sailing with the wind all the way from Liujiagang to Zhigu in no more than ten days.
This is also the route most of the time today, demonstrating a huge cost advantage. It won a complete victory in the comparison between sea and river transport for more than ten years in the late Yuan Dynasty, establishing the sea transport grain policy that has continued for more than sixty years to this day. To be fair, the Mongols especially like to make comparisons. In the past, there were monks and Taoists debating scriptures face to face. Later, there was a competition between canals and sea transport for more than ten years. Who was right and who was wrong can be seen from the results.
That evening, the three ships anchored in the anchorage on the east side of Sansha.
The sailors rested on the ship and were not allowed to go ashore.
On the morning of the seventh day, the Drilling Wind Sea Spinner took the lead, guiding two canal boats northeastward, and arrived at Huanglian Sandbar at noon. The fleet adjusted its sails at sea, and propelled by the southeast wind, turned northwest, sailing along the coastline into the Wanli Changtan sea area.
On the morning of the eighth day of the lunar new year, the Lvsi fishing grounds, with a large number of fishing boats moored, were already in sight.