Chapter 1319: Full of ambitions, opening up the port and connecting the city
In the 31st year of Jiajing's reign, at the beginning of winter, Zhoushan Ligang was completed! The extremely wide port, the fortress with artillery, the rows of trade bazaars, the churches of the Flemish people, and thousands of houses.
Everything is even more glorious than the original Shuangyu Port.
On the day when Ligang was built, Wang Zhi, the overlord of the sea and the uncrowned king of the Japanese pirates, hosted a banquet for the leaders of the Japanese pirates in Ligang. Regardless of whether they were Japanese pirates directly under Wang Zhi's command, indirect Japanese pirates under Wang's direct control, or Japanese pirates who were not under Wang's direct control and were not unified with each other, almost all the Japanese pirate leaders with honor and dignity attended the banquet. Even those who were hostile to the Japanese pirates were very considerate and sent people to attend. For example, Xu Hai, although he did not attend the banquet in person, he sent Saburo Tobayashi to celebrate with generous gifts.
The banquet venue was placed in the open space in front of Ligang Pier. It was covered with red carpet and several tables were placed.
There were hundreds of Japanese pirate leaders, big and small, and they were seated in order of strength.
Wang Zhi sat at the most distinguished head of the banquet, displaying the honor guard of his "King of Hui" to the fullest. He wore a gilt embroidered gold python scarlet robe, a jade belt around his waist, and a gold-topped five-eaves yellow umbrella. There were four beautiful maids beside him, and fifty sturdy guards in gold and silver helmets arranged in a fan shape behind him.
"Everyone, today is the day when Ligang is completed. It is a day of great joy for us, so I invite you all to a banquet to congratulate me."
Wang Zhi raised the golden bottle, laughed happily, and addressed everyone The Japanese pirate said.
“Thank you to King Hui. It’s all thanks to King Hui’s planning that we have a place like Ligang.”
"The alliance leader is mighty, we are honored."
"Congratulations, king."
"Congratulations to leader Wang."
All the Japanese pirate leaders at the banquet stood up one after another, respectfully Toast, their names for Wang Zhi are not consistent. Some call them King Hui, some call them Alliance Leader, some call them Great King, and some call them Wang Leader. From the inconsistent titles, we can also see that the Japanese pirates are not monolithic.
“Today we drink this glass of wine together, and in the future we will share the glory and wealth of sea trade.” Wang Zhi looked at the Japanese pirate leader with satisfaction, raised the golden bottle with high spirits, raised his head and drank the wine in the glass. And done.
"Share the glory and wealth." A group of Japanese pirate leaders shouted, raising their glasses and drinking down the wine in one gulp.
"Everyone, please take a seat. Come and let the dancers come on stage to add to the fun." Wang Zhi asked all the Japanese pirates to take their seats and asked them to pass on the dancers.
Soon, a group of graceful Japanese girls appeared on the stage, twisting their waists like Liu Fufeng during the banquet.
A group of Japanese pirates who were fooling around were so excited that some of them boldly pulled the dancer into their arms and raised and lowered their hands. Wang Zhi laughed and did not stop her. The other Japanese pirates also followed suit when they saw this.
In an instant, the banquet became heated.
"Leader, our Ligang will not suffer the disaster of Shuangyu Port again, right?!" There was a Japanese pirate leader at the banquet who had experienced the disaster of Shuangyu Port. The disaster of that day was still vivid in his mind, and he couldn't help but said to Wang Zhi with some worry.
"He Laosan, you are overthinking it. Now, whether it is Ningbo Prefecture, Shaoxing Prefecture, or Hangzhou Prefecture, no one tacitly approves our private market, and the government turns a blind eye to it. Close one eye.”
“The day before yesterday, I took my subordinate Erlang to the streets of Suzhou Prefecture to do some shopping. Even if you buy a hundred pieces of cloth, the Suzhou government officials don’t care.”
“It’s just that you think too much! The older you get, the less courage you have. It’s really funny.”
The banquet was in full swing, but He Laosan poured a basin of cold water on it, and all the Japanese pirates couldn't help but laugh.
"No, once I was bitten by a snake, I was afraid of the well rope for ten years. I experienced the Shuangyu Port disaster, and it was really a river of blood."
He Laosan shook his head and said with a bitter smile.
The other Japanese pirates laughed even more when they heard this, "Now the government is acquiescing to the private market. I heard that many officials also proposed to impose a sea ban. The common people in Fujian and Zhejiang are even more I am interested in the private market. As the saying goes, sea trade is the general trend. ”
"What He Laosan is worried about is not unfounded. I also experienced it personally at Shuangyu Port. If I hadn't escaped by luck, I would not have the chance to sit in front of you today."
Wang Zhi waved his hand to stop the chaos in the field, stretched out his finger and tapped He Laosan, and said leisurely.
The place fell silent for a moment.
"Private markets are always small and small, and it is difficult to achieve success. Only when the Ming Dynasty opens the port and connects the market can we be able to develop our ambitions."
Wang Zhi slowly glanced at the group of Japanese pirates. Then he looked at the sea in the distance and said firmly.
“Open the port and connect the city?!”
All the Japanese pirates looked at each other, but they didn’t expect Wang Zhi’s ideal to be so grand.
"That's right! It means opening up the port and opening up the market! For today's world, it is a world of maritime trade! Fo Langji's merchant ships traveled thousands of miles to all the barbaric lands in the ocean, and they have already made a lot of money. What is the Ming Dynasty worth? The center of the world, its population and wealth are far superior to those of the barbarians Billions of times more than the land, there are huge business opportunities and wealth here. As long as the port is opened to the market, we will enjoy endless prosperity and wealth!"
Wang Zhi said to the Japanese pirates in high spirits, describing it to them. A grand plan for a prosperous maritime trade.
The Japanese pirates couldn't help but be jealous.
He Laosan and some calm Japanese pirates are cautious about the grand plan drawn by Wang Zhi.
Sea prohibition is a national policy of the Ming Dynasty. Can the opening of ports and cities be allowed? !
"Haha, He Laosan, although your worries are not unfounded, you are too pessimistic! As they said, sea trade has been driven by the general trend! You just said Shuangyu Port, haha, yes, he Zhu Wan is Shuangyu Port was destroyed and Li Guangtou and others were killed, so what? Zhu Wan was ignorant of current affairs and enforced a strict sea ban, but he was killed by the scholar-officials of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Xinxiang Sea Trade. The ministers are no longer established, and no one inside or outside the court dares to mention the maritime ban anymore. Moreover, look at Zhang Damao and He Dapao around you. They are the Fujian Navy who destroyed Shuangyu Port in the first place. At Shuangyu Port, when Zhu Wan was disbanding these pirate ships, the imperial court did not pay them, which caused a mutiny in the Fujian navy. Most of the warships went directly to the command of Zhang Damao and He Dapao. A few of us are members of the Navy, and we are now ours! There are also many officials who have written letters to advise that maritime trade is the general trend!”
“Not to mention, the year before last year! I cooperated with the Jiangsu and Zhejiang officials to capture the notorious pirates Lu Qi and Shen Jiu. Last year, I was entrusted by the Haidao Yamen to capture and kill Chen Sipan, making great contributions to maintaining order in the sea area. "
"So, it's time. I decided to ask the Ming court for trade tomorrow and open the port to the city!"
"Everything will be legal after the port is opened to the city. The disaster at Shuangyu Port will never happen again! Our prosperous age is here!"
Wang Zhi raised his wine glass and spoke impassionedly to the Japanese pirates, as if he were a god. (End of chapter)