Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1698 Audio
"Crash!" A large bag of coins was poured into the bamboo basket.

This is not over yet, soon the second bag, the third bag...

After the customs order history recorded the name of the merchant and the port of departure, he looked at it casually, and asked the driving officer to select a batch of samples and melt them down for testing.And he is waiting for the result to determine a conversion ratio.

In fact, the fineness of Dashi silver coins is relatively stable.For many years, there has been no such bad coin doped with a lot of base metals, which is reassuring overall.However, the work that should be done still has to be done, and it cannot be sloppy.

When the driving officers carried large baskets of silver coins, they could basically keep the ancient well calm.Without him, it's numb.

Dealing with money and goods every day may be exciting at first, but they are all in their 40s and [-]s, have families and businesses, know what to take and what not to take, and they are very disciplined.Otherwise, Xuewozi in Liaodong, Rabbit Hole in the Western Regions or Lishui Town Jungle, which one do you choose?
"Ali, you're not dead yet?" Ling Shi was a little bored, looking at the big food merchant sitting opposite him, he asked with a smile.

They are actually old acquaintances.

There are not many Hu merchants who come to the north, and Ali can be regarded as a well-known and somewhat powerful maritime merchant.

Probably during Jianji, Ali bought land and houses in Chishanpu, and lived a semi-settled life for more than ten years.

In more than ten years, he has returned to Dashi three times, and this is the fourth time. His fate is really hard.

"The omnipotent Creator protects me." As soon as Ali opened his mouth, he was like an old man...

Ling Shi laughed loudly, and said: "The Creator only protects you. There used to be Musa who often came to do business. I heard that he was from the same town as you. He hasn't appeared for a long time. Didn't he get the protection of the Creator?"

"Musa..." Ali sighed and said, "He contracted an illness in the Land Below the Wind, and died within a month."

"It's a pity." Ling Shi also sighed.

He also drank with Musa.That man was not very old, he looked less than thirty, he inherited his uncle's property, and devoted himself to sailing, but he died of disease instead of shipwreck.

This also gave him a little understanding of the so-called "land below the wind": it is not a good place.

"Speaking of it—" Ali pondered for a moment, then suddenly said: "I heard some news about the mission when I went back this time."

"Mission?" Ling Shi asked subconsciously, a little confused.

"It's the mission, the mission sent by your country." Ali said.

Ling Shi was startled, and immediately asked, "What's going on?"

God is sorry, the three ships have been away from Guangzhou for three years, right?Maybe longer?As a result, there has been no news, and everyone thought they were dead. After all, sailing by sea is much faster and easier than going by land, provided that there is no shipwreck.

Now—according to Ali, they are still alive?

"When I returned, I heard that they were buying a boat on Jishi Island." Ali said.

"Remember Shi Dao?" Ling Shi was taken aback for a moment, but quickly realized.

He got up immediately, took out a booklet from a bookshelf, and after searching for a while, he finally found it.

It turned out that this was an island located east of Siraf (south of Shiraz, Iran), and many merchant ships set sail from here, but it was not as prosperous as Siraf.

"Have they been to Baghdad?" Ling Shi asked.

"I don't know about that." Ali said: "I only heard that they originally had three ships, but they encountered a storm on the sea and lost one ship. Then they encountered pirates in the land below the wind and lost another ship. .”

"Is there another ship? There are three of them." Ling Shi looked into Ali's eyes and asked eagerly.

"Unfortunately, it hit a rock and sank when it entered the port. A batch of cargo was snatched back, and the loss of personnel was not great." Ali said, and after he finished speaking, he added: "I heard the news from Siraf, not necessarily precise."

"Okay, very good!" Ling Shi laughed loudly and said, "Go, follow me to the customs office."

He knew that the opportunity had come.God also wants him to be rewarded for his meritorious service, haha!

******
Ping Haijun sent Zhao Zonghui to the customs office in a hurry.

"See Your Highness." He bowed and saluted.

The envoy of Hebei, Huaihai, and Huainan cities, Qi Wang Shao Guancheng visited Chishanpu, and reported to him after going around.

"Have you heard about it, General?" Shao Guancheng asked.

"I heard." Zhao Zonghui had an incredulous look on his face.

Old seals know what happens when they encounter bad weather when they go out to sea.

If you are lucky, only a part of the ships will be lost, and the rest will be miserable. Leaks, broken masts, and damaged sails are all commonplace, and there are not a few people who abandon the ship because of it. Some ships can't go.

If you are unlucky, it will really disappear without a trace in the sea.Perhaps after a period of time, some of the ship's boards will be pushed ashore by the waves, making people guess what kind of disaster the ship encountered and how the crew fought unyieldingly to the last moment-unfortunately, they failed in the end.

As for surviving and floating on a deserted island, I can only say that it is not impossible, but it is really too unreal...

The Ping Navy encountered a storm and only lost one ship, which is already good luck.There is a high probability that the ship did not control well, and did not sail in the direction of the huge waves, and ended up capsizing. Whether the control is good or not, you may not be able to tell it at ordinary times, and you will die at a critical moment. This is a very important item for sea-going ships. index of.

"How many pirates are there in the land below the wind?" Shao Guancheng asked.

"I've heard a lot." Zhao Zonghui said, "If your Highness wants to know more, you can send someone to Guangzhou to ask, they will know better there."

Shao Guancheng nodded.

The main berths of the Ping Navy are in the north. It is normal for Zhao Zongjie not to know the south. In fact, he probably doesn't know much about Guangzhou either. He has a dark eye on the outside world. After all, your ships don't go there often. sea ​​area.

For some things, it is useless to just read books like travel notes, you have to do field research.

"The storms on the sea are dangerous, and it is not easy for some people to survive." Shao Guancheng sighed: "I hope they can buy a ship and return home as soon as possible. By the way, where did they get the money to buy a ship?"

"Perhaps there is still a batch of goods on the ship that sank on the rocks at Siraf Harbor." Zhao Zonghui said: "If you can grab a batch, sell it slowly, and buy a small ship. It shouldn't be difficult. Just I don’t know if the big cannibal will sell it, and how many people survived.”

After hearing this, Shao Guancheng nodded again and said, "It's been four years. I reckon they have been to Baghdad, but I don't know if they have achieved any results. Most of the big cannibals will not sell the boat so happily, and they may even have detained them for a period of time, otherwise Why is this?"

"What Your Highness said is very true." Zhao Zonghui said: "On the way back, walk slowly along the shore to see if you are lucky. If you can buy a batch of goods from Dashi and sell them along the way, you should be able to earn back your expenses .”

It is impossible for a ship to not stop at the port all the time, especially when sailing near the coast, it is often necessary to go ashore to buy fresh water-this is also a stage of high conflicts, and it is often attacked by natives. After all, not everyone operates with integrity.

Going ashore for purchases naturally costs money, and sometimes you have to buy expensive food.When sailing from Siraf Port, if you buy some relatively cheap local frankincense, ambergris, pearls, glass, rhino horn, ivory, coral and other goods, you can cover the expenses along the way.

"If you can return home smoothly, everyone will be rich." A smile appeared on Shao Guancheng's face.

Although he is in charge of the Shipbuilding Department, he really doesn't like going out to sea by boat.He was afraid of the short distance between Yuzhou Island and Haizhou, let alone sailing into the real sea.As for the great feat of leaving the offshore comfort zone, sailing deep into the ocean, and even completing the great feat of crossing the ocean, I dare not even think about it—offshore navigation and deep-sea navigation are not at the same level of difficulty at all.

"Let's report to the saint as soon as possible, and you will handle this matter." Shao Guancheng said.

He is an envoy of the city, and theoretically speaking, he should not be involved in the affairs of the Peace Navy.There is no need for him to fight for some credit, wealth is enough.

"The last general will send someone now." Zhao Zonghui bowed and said.

******
Shao Shude had almost arrived in Puzhou when he received the news, which was the beginning of May.

On the other side of Puzhou is Weibo.

Shao Shude stood on the embankment and looked up.

In the current Weibo states, there should be few people who have objections, right?

During the Huangchao Rebellion, the town with a population of 300 million had gone through countless wars and was forced to emigrate later. Its population had long since fallen to less than 200 million, and it is still slowly declining.

Earlier, forced immigration and unrest.In the past ten years, the troubles have almost disappeared.

Shao Shude thinks this is not a bad thing...

The Silver Gun Efficiency Army will never appear again.

This new army, formed for the second time after the main force of Wei Bo was destroyed, dared to fight on the battlefield, gathered its formation when it was defeated, and repelled the enemy cavalry that came after it. Attack the top of the mountain and turn defeat into victory.

A group of recruits went against the sky!
It's a pity, but if it disappears, it will disappear.A unit like the Silver Spear Efficiency Army might be destroyed on the battlefield, but Nima's stamina is too great to bear.

From now on, the states of Weibo will develop agriculture and commerce by virtue of their superior geographical conditions.

In the Northern Dynasties, this place was originally a first-class rich place with great potential.After concentrating on farming and doing business, Wei Bo's evil place was "corrected".

"Your Majesty, the Chishan Puping Navy is here to report." Wang Yanfan hurried over and said with a low eyebrow.

Shao Shude took it over and took a look. Even at this age, there was no wave in Gujing, but he was still breathing heavily for a while.

"Very good." He put away the general report, smiled, and said, "It's my first mission at sea, and my luck is not too bad."

Four years later, I finally heard something.

Although I don't know what they have done in the past four years, I hope to return safely and complete the mission.

I don't know if they have gone to the Red Sea in the west, it was explained before departure...

(End of this chapter)