My eunuch godfather

Chapter 29 The Sea Route Business

After traveling for six days from Hejian, Zhang Kun met up with Chen Jizong, Zhou Zhong and their group in Qingxian.

During this period, of the thousand river workers recruited in Hejian, only a few dozen left the team for various reasons.

Six days later, they reached Tianjin. There were 3,800 people from Linqing, Dezhou, Cangzhou, and Hejian who had persisted in their journey there.

Zhang Kun plans to recruit 700 people in Tianjin and another 500 people in Yangcun Shuiyi, Wuqing County.

It doesn't matter if we don't have 5,000 people when we reach the capital; leaving some vacancies might come in handy later.

After setting up the river work camp in an open space outside the city, Zhang Kun and Chen Jizong first went to pay their respects to the governor, the general, and the military commissioner.

These individuals held official positions and actual status far exceeding those of the Prefect of Linqing.

In addition, the river work camp only recruited 700 people, and the prefect of Linqing did not care about the river work camp as much.

After paying his respects to the higher-ups, Zhang Kun handed over the recruitment work to his trusted confidants who were already familiar with the process.

He took Sun Jing from the Sun family and wandered around the city and beyond, searching for a new residence for both families.

As I wandered around, I came across the foreign goods store where I had previously bought a musket.

The waiter at the door, who remembered Zhang Kun, changed his expression drastically, then forced a smile and greeted Zhang Kun:

"Sir, sir, it's been a long time... "

"Call your manager over here."

Zhang Kun waved to the waiter, and when the manager arrived, he continued:

"I want to buy a hundred muskets."

"Sir, our shop doesn't have much stock. We only have twenty-nine muskets of all kinds in our warehouse."

The shopkeeper wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with the corner of his robe and said to Zhang Kun with a forced smile:

"If you're willing, I'll sell it to you at the same price as last time?"

"This is the deposit."

Zhang Kun waved his hand, signaling Xu Xin to take out a fifty-tael silver note and slip it into the shopkeeper's hand, then continued:

"I want to order a hundred of them, and I also want to meet your supplier."

The shopkeeper hesitated. The owner of the shop was actually in Tianjin, but he didn't know whether he should tell the truth.

Sun Jing noticed that the shopkeeper's expression was a bit off and immediately pressed him for an explanation:

"That person is in Tianjin, isn't he? This is none other than Supervisor Zhang of the River Works Battalion!"

The more than four thousand men who arrived outside the city yesterday were all subordinates of Supervisor Zhang!

The shopkeeper, having been seen through by Sun Jing, quickly agreed.

"Yes, yes! I will report to the master immediately!"

He then ordered the waiter, "Please invite these officials to a private room and serve them tea!"

The group was invited into a private room and seated. Sun Jing dismissed the waiter who had served tea and asked Zhang Kun:

"Is Commander Zhang planning to get into the overseas trade route?"

"good,"

Zhang Kun nodded and asked Sun Jing with a smile:

"What does Master Sun know about the overseas trade?"

"I've never even left Zhili (Hebei province) by sea, let alone by canal."

Sun Jing smiled wryly at Zhang Kun and said, "What insights do I have? I would appreciate your guidance, Commander Zhang."

"The overseas trade can be broadly divided into two categories,"

Zhang Kun asked Xu Xin to fetch a map hanging on the wall of the shop and pointed it out to Sun Jing:

"One type is along the coast, taking the coastal transport during the Hongwu and Yongle periods as an example."

The Huai River flows into the sea at Huaikou, while the Yangtze River flows into the sea at Taicang. They pass through Shandong and connect to the Grand Canal in Tianjin.

Taking the voyages of Zheng He (the Three Jewels Emperor) to the Western Ocean as an example, the journey started from Taicang and passed through Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong.

Then came Annam, Champa, Malacca, India, and as far as the Abbasid Caliphate.

This map was likely influenced by the "Complete Map of the World".

Although there are many problems with size, shape, etc., it already has five continents and four oceans, and the orientation is fairly correct.

"Commander Zhang is truly knowledgeable and has a remarkable memory."

Sun Jing was surprised by Zhang Kun's extensive knowledge. After praising him, he continued, "So, how do we get to the second category?"

"The second category is going overseas."

Zhang Kun pointed to the Yellow Sea and explained to Sun Jing:

"The Huai River and the Yangtze River carry a lot of silt into the ocean. The ancients used the shades of color to distinguish between near and far."

They were respectively called Huangshuiyang, Heishuiyang, and Qingshuiyang, and the one that went out to sea was Heishuiyang.

Perhaps due to the wind direction, the Blackwater Ocean has a very rapid current, allowing ships to travel with the current.

Starting from Taicang at the mouth of the Yangtze River, it only takes thirteen or fourteen days to reach Tianjin!

"So fast!?"

Although Sun Jing was unfamiliar with maritime trade, he did have some knowledge of river transport:

The fastest journey from Taicang to Tianjin will take about forty days.

In other words, going overseas is three times faster!

"Do you have a needlework diagram?!"

Hearing Zhang Kun say this, the middle-aged man who had just reached the door of the private room was taken aback.

The middle-aged man strode towards Zhang Kun, but was stopped by Xu Xin and his men, who said urgently:

"If you sell me the needlework diagram, I'm willing to pay three thousand taels of gold!"

Realizing what had happened, he quickly knelt down and kowtowed, apologizing to Zhang Kun:

"It was my recklessness, please forgive me, sir!"

"Get up."

Zhang Kun gestured for the middle-aged man to stand up, and asked with a smile, "You also know about this overseas route?"

"I know a little bit about it."

The middle-aged man respectfully said to Zhang Kun:

"I've heard that traveling along this sea route not only allows for a fast northward journey, but also provides access to Japan and Korea!"

"Unfortunately, I do not have a detailed diagram of the needlework."

Not to mention specific routes, Zhang Kun couldn't even remember much about ocean currents, and asked with a smile:

"Are you the supplier for this store?"

"In reply to your question, sir, I am the owner of this shop, and I own a fleet of ships."

The shop owner introduced himself to Zhang Kun:

"The fleet frequently traveled between Tianjin and Dengzhou, and sometimes also went to Liaodong to purchase goods."

Zhang Kun was somewhat disappointed; it turned out he was just a middleman. He continued to ask the shop owner:

"Did your supplier in Dengzhou travel overseas?"

"Your Honor, the suppliers I use won't leave either."

The shop owner replied to Zhang Kun:

"They also source their goods from Zhili in the south, and I heard that their suppliers are from Zhejiang and Fujian."

"Alright then."

Zhang Kun nodded and instructed the shop owner, "I need to buy one hundred muskets. Get it done as soon as possible."

"Yes, please rest assured, it's guaranteed to be the best quality!"

......

That evening, shortly after Zhang Kun returned to the post station, Xu Xin came to report:

"Master Kun, someone is requesting an audience, saying he has the best musket in his possession."

"Let him in."

A short, middle-aged man entered the room, knelt down and bowed to Zhang Kun. His accent was quite strange, and he said respectfully:

"My name is Song Anxin. Greetings, Supervisor!"

"This guy's accent..." Zhang Kun frowned and questioned the middle-aged man who called himself Song Anxin:

"You're Japanese!?"

"Yes,"

Song Anxin admitted to Zhang Kun:

"I am from Japan. Please rest assured, I am not a Japanese pirate or spy. I am just here to do business."

Zhang Kun sneered. These days, maritime merchants who travel the ocean routes can seamlessly switch into pirates at any time.

However, after the monkey and the old raccoon unified Japan, and the old raccoon's grandson closed the country off from the world, the number of Japanese pirates who plagued the southeastern coast did indeed decrease significantly.

"Do you have the best musket?"

"Yes, the muskets you bought from that shop were all sourced from me."

Song Anxin respectfully said to Zhang Kun, "You want a hundred muskets; I'm the only one in Tianjin with that many."

Zhang Kun stroked his chin and asked Song Anxin, "Do you have a surname? Which fiefdom do you come from?"

When Song Anxin heard Zhang Kun ask this question, he was taken aback. The other party actually knew what the Miao character was.

After realizing what was happening, he quickly replied, "My surname is Matsuura, and I come from the Matsuura family of the Hirado Domain."

The Matsuura family is the lord of the Hirado clan.

Before his transmigration, Zhang Kun had played several generations of Koei Tecmo's Nobunaga's Ambition, and had some knowledge of the Sengoku period of Japanese history.

Zhang Kun had seen the Matsuura family on a game forum; it seemed to be related to Zheng Zhilong.

Thinking of this, Zhang Kun continued to ask Matsuura Yasunori:

"Among the Fujianese merchants who frequently visit Hirado, are there any families surnamed Zheng?"

"......No,"

Matsuura Yasunobu thought carefully for a moment, then shook his head at Zhang Kun and said:

"Among the Fujianese merchants who frequently did business in Hirado, the one with the largest business was surnamed Yan and named Yan Siqi."