Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 497 Escort Ship at Sea
Cangzhou is known for its outstanding martial arts, and there are at least 20 to 30 escort agencies. Many of them are headquartered in Cangzhou, but in fact, the escort agencies are expanding north and south along the canal. But among so many escort agencies, the one recognized as the best master is Cao Wu in front of him!
Mr. Hua Si has always believed that Confucianism can disrupt the law with literature, and knights can disrupt prohibitions with force, so when he learned that the strong man in front of him who was obviously hostile to him was Cao Wu, he subconsciously took two steps back, and then he remembered that this was a sign of cowardice. However, he reacted very quickly, and after standing firm, he immediately smiled bitterly and laughed at himself.
"When I and other merchants from Suzhou Guild Hall were planning to set sail from the future Cangzhou Wharf, we were wondering what to do if we encountered pirates. After much thought, we decided to do the same as the merchants who traveled all over the canal and on land, and hire an escort agency to escort the ship. They all said that the Cangzhou Shunhe Escort Agency was very powerful, and Chief Escort Cao was feared by all, so I sent someone to contact them."
"Now it seems that it's not that hearing about you is not as good as meeting you in person, but meeting you in person is worse than hearing about you. Chief Escort Cao, you are so imposing that I, a weak man, am frightened by you."
This was the first time Cao Wu met Hua Siye, the richest man in Suzhou. He did not expect that he was not strong but rather weak. He looked down on him. But the next moment, Hua Siye suddenly became serious and asked directly, "But Chief Escort Cao has not given a clear answer before. Since we meet today by chance, I would like to ask you what you think?"
Seeing Zhang Shou just smiling but not saying anything, Cao Wu immediately asked in a stern voice, "Master Hua, have you ever been to sea before? Do you know how pirates hijack ships? Do you know about the Linhai Camp robbery and killing of merchant ships in Tianjin a few years ago? Did you know that there were experts from the escort agency on board the ship, but they died without any success?"
Fourth Master Hua was stunned for a moment. He glanced at Zhang Shou subconsciously, and then hesitantly said, "I have heard of pirates, but they are just thieves who ride small sampans on the waves to do some unprofitable business. As for the incident at the Tianjin Linhai Camp, didn't the emperor send Liu Zhiyuan to kill all the soldiers involved as a warning to others, or exile them?"
"I heard that after the Linhai Camp incident, the Emperor took strong measures and cracked down on the situation. Not only Tianjin, but all the military camps along the coast were also cracked down. There shouldn't be another major case like the robbery and killing of merchant ships that shocked the court and the public."
"Is that all you know?"
Cao Wu's eyes widened in disbelief. Seeing that Fourth Master Hua finally showed a puzzled but alert expression, he simply told him all the risks at sea that Zhang Chen had described vividly. Sure enough, he saw Fourth Master Hua's face gradually change color, and finally his brows twisted into a "川" shape.
Zhang Shou understood the situation as soon as he saw it. This richest man in Suzhou, the head of the Hua family, who was very familiar with the business world, had once copied his experience on land and on the canal to the sea. Just like Cao Wu, he completely ignored the completely different risks at sea, on land and on rivers.
Of course, this should not be the mistake of Mr. Hua Si alone, but it is very likely that someone has been misleading them.
After understanding this, he smiled and said, "Master Hua, you helped me solve the trouble of Mr. Song and Mr. Fang. I have nothing else to thank you for. In addition to dinner, I will invite Chief Escort Cao to come so that you two can have a face-to-face chat. Well, it's already dinner time, so you can talk while eating."
Seeing Zhang Shou's expression as if he was just trying to act as a matchmaker, not to mention Fourth Master Hua, even Cao Wu... would definitely not believe it!
However, since Zhang Shou was willing to invite them to dinner, they certainly would not be rude and agreed immediately.
After Zhang Shou sat down, Cao Wu saw two obviously rough-handed servants coming in to serve the dishes instead of Ah Liu or Xiao Huasheng. He said something else: "If my brothers knew that I had the honor to eat Dr. Zhang's meal today, they would definitely envy me to death. My escort agency is full of rough people. If you want to send anything in the future, no matter where you are, just let me know."
When Fourth Master Hua saw Cao Wu, he started to fawn on him. Although he could make more and bigger promises, he had started his business experience when he was a teenager. Now that he was in charge of Hua Corporation, he certainly could not be as blatant as Cao Wu.
Moreover, he had a vague feeling that Zhang Shou had brought him and Cao Wu together today not just for matchmaking. In addition, he had just sensed something was wrong, so he said sincerely, "Dr. Zhang, although the merchants of Jiangsu are the richest in the southeast, if they don't go out to sea, they will inevitably make a fool of themselves in maritime affairs. To be honest..."
He paused and said bluntly, "It was Mr. Song's uncle who suggested that I ask the escort agency to serve as a guard on the sea ship. The Hua family in Suzhou has many descendants, and marriages are not limited to the southeast. In addition to the Cangzhou Jiang family that you know, Dr. Zhang, the Guangdong Song family is the same. One of Mr. Song's aunts is my aunt, and one of my sisters-in-law is Mr. Song's cousin."
"However, Suzhou is too far from Guangzhou, and the rivers and waterways are blocked, so using the Guangzhou port to go out to sea is undoubtedly a far-flung way to quench thirst. Since we are relatives, and there is no conflict, Chairman Song gave me, a layman in shipping, an idea, so I naturally went to Chief Escort Cao."
There were many marriages among the martial arts circles in Cangzhou, so Cao Wu was not unfamiliar with what Hua Siye said. At this moment, he quickly wondered in his mind whether Hua Siye's words were a hint that the Guangdong Song family was secretly misleading him, but then he heard Zhang Shou laugh.
"In fact, I think that there is nothing wrong with the suggestion that Ah Liu made to Chief Escort Cao. And Zhang Chen said that the two escort agency experts not only failed to protect the merchant ship, but also died at sea. But we can't blame them. After all, no one thought that the Tianjin Linhai Camp would dare to risk the world's condemnation."
He paused, then said with a smile: "But I also agree with Zhang Chen. If you only accompany the ship for escort, even if you are a master who is proficient in water and can fight on a bumpy ship as if it were flat ground, you still cannot be said to be completely confident when you really encounter danger. Because the pirate ship is full of pirates, but how many escort agency masters can a ship carry?"
Cao Wu was speechless. But Mr. Hua Si keenly heard Zhang Shou's hidden meaning and asked quickly, "Then Dr. Zhang, what do you mean..."
"The escort agency has a team of horses to escort the escort vehicles on land, so why can't it have its own escort ship to escort it on the sea?"
After hearing these words, Mr. Hua Si was horrified, and Cao Wu looked happy, but then both of them frowned at the same time.
Compared to Cao Wu, who was only worried that he had no money to buy a ship and did not have so many people, Hua Siye obviously thought more deeply. He sighed and shook his head.
"Dr. Zhang, you are right. If there are real armed ships directly following the merchant ships as escorts, then of course it would be the safest. But the court will definitely not allow it. After all, even if it is a escort agency, they are civilians, not soldiers. They usually carry knives, sticks and many other weapons, so we can turn a blind eye. But if there are even escort ships... Is this a rebellion?"
"Yes, many people in the court would say so. But what if we use another name? For example, militia? For example, reserve force?"
Zhang Shou casually threw out two pure concepts, and then said with a smile: "After Emperor Taizu, the court's official ships often sailed in the South Sea, East Sea, and West Sea. But for many years afterwards, some people always thought that the cost was too high, and all the countries overseas were small. Therefore, except for the occasional envoy ship, the court's official ships have not been out for many years."
"But this goes against the ancestral teachings of Emperor Taizu. Emperor Taizu dreamed of the Emperor of Heaven and made a globe. After that, when the official ships went out to sea, most of the things they saw were consistent with this globe. Now this globe is still hidden in the Military Equipment Bureau."
Having said that, Zhang Shou paused. Seeing that Cao Wu was obviously confused, and although Fourth Master Hua looked surprised, he felt that the surprise was a bit fake. He couldn't help but secretly guess in his heart that the secret that Weinan Earl Zhang Kang had identified might have actually spread out over time.
Even a maritime merchant family like the Song family in Guangdong may have had corresponding physical objects as navigation maps.
"Since the imperial court's official ships won't go out, and they don't want to spend so much money, why not give a name to a vibrant social organization in the private sector? Then the imperial court can just make plans in the tent and win the battle thousands of miles away, and collect the intelligence gathered by the other side?"
As soon as Zhang Shou said this, he realized that he had used the same teasing terms that he had used when talking to Ah Liu in the past, but he simply didn't bother to change them. And since he had already said it, he went straight to the point.
"From ancient times to the present, no matter which dynasty or generation, the most important thing is to have a legitimate name. But the court is willing to confer titles on the rulers of small countries thousands of miles away, and sometimes even unheard of. Why not also give a light title to let the people of our country have the confidence to explore the world?"
"You know, this is not the time when the country was founded and we can rest and recuperate, with more land and fewer people. After a hundred years, the population of the Ming Dynasty has increased by three or four times compared to before, and there are still many hidden households that evade taxes and labor service. There are still wastelands in the world, but if we don't broaden our horizons, in another hundred years, the world will be peaceful and the population will be several times that of now. What will we do then?"
The population explosion was something that Hua Siye, the leader of the Suzhou merchants who lived right by the canal, and Cao Wu, the tyrant of Cangzhou, were naturally aware of. If the land was not owned by someone and did not need so many people to farm, how could there be so many people doing all kinds of work to survive in Suzhou?
If there were no population that the land could not absorb, the Hua family would not be able to hire so many people to reel silk and weave silk, and Cao Wu would not be able to bring so many apprentices to travel around the country to escort goods for a living. But if the population continues to double, it will be really bad.
Cao Wu was still shocked by Zhang Shou's bold proposal, but Fourth Master Hua couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly and quickly thought about what Zhang Shou said.
Just like when he contacted many Suzhou officials and their allies to advocate for the construction of Cangzhou Port, did Zhang Shou also want him to stir up some momentum in the court this time? Moreover, the Duke of Zhao's Mansion, the Duke of Qin's Mansion, and even the Lu family, as well as the families of Zhang Shou's students, seemed to have no relationship with maritime merchants, and there was no sign that Zhang Shou was seeking any profit.
But if he said that this was purely for the sake of the Hua family, he felt that no one would be so noble.
After being shocked, Cao Wu couldn't help but speak hesitantly: "If what you said is true, Dr. Zhang, the court will give us the title, but we will have to raise the money to buy the boat. Our Cangzhou escort agencies may seem famous, but they all feed many mouths to feed. Even if we put everyone together, I'm afraid we can't afford half a boat."
"And if there is business in the future, a merchant ship will need a escort ship to protect it. Isn't the cost too high?"
Zhang Shou then laughed and said calmly: "Your escort agencies together cannot afford to buy half a ship, so you can form a maritime escort agency with others providing the money and you providing the labor. And it's not like your ship can only protect one merchant ship. If they have several ships traveling together, you can just have one escort ship to follow and provide protection. And..."
After a pause, Zhang Shou continued casually, "You know, when you are away from home and unfamiliar with the place, it is easy to be bullied by the local natives. If there is a ship with a strong enough force, it will naturally support our people and spread the reputation of the court. As for these troops that do not want the court's salary, they can actually be under the Ministry of War."
Seeing that Fourth Master Hua was already staring at him with his eyes wide open, Zhang Shou said with a half-smile, "If the court is worried, they can send civil and military officials to accompany him as supervisors, rotating them every one or two years."
At this point, he sighed as if talking to himself: "In the past, when merchants sailed abroad, they were harassed by small countries. The imperial court was far away, so many things could only be swallowed by the parties involved. But this kind of thing happened again and again, and some small countries inevitably became more and more daring. If the method I mentioned is feasible, then maybe it can change this situation."
"Just like when the Emperor Taizu traveled on his official ship, his prestige spread throughout the world, if there is no deterrent power, then in the eyes of foreign nations, they may really think that our Ming Dynasty is old and no longer prestigious."
As a businessman, Mr. Hua Si had no interest in expanding territory, but he was very interested in intimidating foreign countries to expand markets. At this moment, he thought of the current emperor from Zhang Shou's words, and then... he suddenly had a wrong idea. Could it be that the emperor wanted to bring up old scores?
The current emperor ascended the throne at a young age. Not to mention that when he was still young and had not yet taken charge of the government, there were often all kinds of incredible rumors circulating. After he took charge of the government, he even launched severe attacks on certain civil officials. This was not until the Rebellion of King Ye that things calmed down for a while.
But in recent years, with the retirement of the oldest Prime Minister Jiang Gelao, most of the civil officials who were so powerful in the early years of Yongchen have died or retired. Most importantly, the civil officials who once gave the previous emperor the temple name Ruizong, although their sons and nephews have served in the court through imperial favor or imperial examinations, as far as he knows, no one has exceeded the fourth rank. This shows that the current emperor is the most vindictive!
