My Daming New Empire

-------------Chapter Dividing Line---------------

When the nine-foot-long sandboat sailed away from Yuejianglou Wharf, Ji Gang, who was sitting in the cabin, couldn't help but let out a long breath, feeling a lot more relaxed.

Since Yongle six years ago, when he realized that his life had entered a dead end, in the past seven years, he has never been so relaxed as he is today.

A person is inherently mortal, and in his life he was born at the bottom of the stream, hit the middle of the boat, and became the top of the world.Enjoy all the glory and wealth, and sleep with all the beauties in the world, it can be said that there is no regret in this life.

He is not afraid of death, he is only afraid that after his death, all traces left in this world will disappear.

That is to say, his descendants will be cut off accordingly.

At the age of 30, he had already figured it out.A person's life is just a passerby, as long as you live it to the fullest, you will live up to this life.

But at the same time, leaving your own traces in this world is a shackle that every passer-by cannot break free.

Ordinary people spend their lives in a busy life, and they value the inheritance of their bloodlines, because only when their bloodlines stay in this world can they prove that they have been here.

Great Confucian scholars have been cautious all their lives. Their motivation comes from their pursuit of fame and fortune. To establish morality, meritorious service, and reputation. In fact, they just want to integrate their lives into history so that the world will remember him.

He, Ji Gang, is not that talented, but just a layman.What I want now is to make my life more exciting, and then leave my blood.

Since he took refuge in Taisun, the dead end of his life has been opened up.No matter what is behind this door, it will always be better than the current situation.

And according to his secret observation for more than a year, Taisun is a man who acts with reason and evidence, advances and retreats in a lawful way, and does not feel sad for himself or happy with things.

Such a person is born to be a master of others, with the world in mind.Don't change your ambition easily because of one person or one thing.

On the road to reach the pinnacle of life, as long as Ji Gang does not fall behind and does not go against the grandson's goal, then Ji Gang is safe.

Therefore, he was able to abandon the King of Han without hesitation and follow Taisun's command, and now he can devote himself to contributing to Taisun's plan for Japan.

Shi Jian Yinshan has been discovered by Jin Yiwei's spies, although it is not yet known whether the reserves are as large as Taisun said.

However, as long as it is a large silver mountain, he, Ji Gang, has mastered the production of the silver mountain.This benefit transmission line occupies an important position, so the Ji clan will not be in danger of being wiped out, but will be prosperous and rich, enjoying endless enjoyment.

These five sand boats are the fleet of the inner prison, responsible for transporting some ironware to Ningbo, and another blessing boat escorts them.

Although it was a cargo ship, the inner eunuchs and eunuchs were all famous for their extravagance. The cabins on the ship were as luxurious as the flower boats on the Qinhuai River.

Only Ji Gang and a dozen of his close subordinates lived on this ship, and the others were on several other ships.

And this time there were more than 1000 people who followed him to Dongpu, plus more than 1000 people who had been arranged to Dongpu in advance.These more than [-] strong and well-trained soldiers and generals can gain the upper hand even if they encounter some small princes in Japan.

The boat set off from Yingtianfu and went down the river, but in one day and night, it had already left the mouth of the Yangtze River.

Turning to Ningbo, due to the headwind, the speed of the ship was a little slower. Although the journey was nearly halfway, it took another two days to arrive at Zhenhai.

As one of Ji Gang's most loyal subordinates, Pang Ying has been in Ningbo for more than two months, specializing in the preparations for Ji Gang's trip to Japan.

Picking up Ji Gang at the pier, everyone scattered into various resettlement sites without much fanfare. Only Ji Gang and his bodyguard lived in the Shibo Department.

Today's Ningbo is the busiest time of the year. Daming has two trade seasons to Japan in a year. Because it follows the monsoon, the two trade times are arranged at the beginning of summer and the turn of summer and autumn.

When going there, go with the wind, and when you come back, it just turns to the north wind again, which can save a lot of manpower and material resources.

Most of the Japanese pirates from Dongying started from Dongying in autumn and winter. Although the coastal farmers were rich in autumn and winter, the main reason was to take advantage of the wind.

Also because of today's trade season, Ningbo has now become a large commercial market.From Zhenhai to Haishu, merchants from all over the Ming Dynasty and even overseas gathered.

Also because of the existence of these people, the bustling market in Ningbo is not weaker than that of Ying Tianfu.

In the shipping department of Ningbo City, Yu Xian, who was just in his early thirties and had already become a guardian envoy, and who had a lot of power, was now very energetic.

In the palace, he was always beaten by Zhu Zhanji, but here the sky is high and the emperor is far away. Even Liu Tao, the prefect of Ningbo who took office last year, did not dare to treat him, the celebrity in front of his grandson, slowly.

Especially after Zhu Zhanji took over the navy, the sailors, water villages, and guards who hadn't paid much attention to Yu Xian immediately made a 180-degree turn and flattered him.

Although Yu Xian likes to engage in false phoenixes and phoenixes, he is not greedy for money, and as long as it is Zhu Zhanji's order, he will definitely complete it with his heart and never neglect his duties.

It is also because of this that Zhu Zhanji is quite satisfied with him, otherwise, he would have taken him back to the palace long ago.

Yu Xian and Ji Gang are also old acquaintances, knowing that Ji Gang probably holds far more weight in Zhu Zhanji's heart than him.In addition, Ji Gang was notorious, so he didn't dare to take university in front of Ji Gang.

In order to avoid people's eyes, he did not greet him outside the government office, but he personally greeted him at the second gate, and after entering the house, he invited Ji Gang to sit up.

Although Ji Gang would not provoke this close minister who rose due to Zhu Zhanji's favor, he would not be afraid either.Because in this position, there is a pile of shit that can't be cleaned under anyone.

Seeing that Yu Xian is still sensible, and he is not defiant just because he is now a guardian envoy, Ji Gang is still very upset.

Since Sai Hazhi took over the affairs of Jinyiwei Academy, although Ji Gang's post of commander has not been removed, all the officials think that Ji Gang has lost power.

As a lone minister, "falling out of favor" in front of Zhu Di, Ji Gang has actually had a hard time recently, and the memorial to his impeachment is almost full of papers in front of Zhu Di.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Ji Gang took a sip of the tea brought by the maid. "Is this the oolong tea from Anxi? I ​​don't think it's comparable to Biluochun, Longjing tea."

Yu Xian said with a smile: "This tea has a strong fragrance, which is different from Biluochun and Longjing. Because His Highness Taisun listed this tea as a tribute tea, the sales volume has been increasing steadily in the past few years, and it is a good source of income."

Ji Gang didn't come to talk about tea with him, so he changed the subject and asked, "Is everything ready now?"

Yu Xian nodded and waved his hand, and the maids serving in the hall retreated one by one.Only then did Yu Xian say: "All arrangements have been made for the internal supervisor. From today onwards, Commander-in-Chief is no longer Commander-in-Chief, but the leader of the guards who come from a tea family in Gwangju and want to find mountains in Dongying to grow tea. .”

Although the words were a bit awkward, Ji Gang understood the meaning of his words.For this survey and cooperation trade, the Ming Dynasty sent a trade team of more than [-] people, and a diplomatic mission of more than [-] people.

After the fleet arrives in Nagasaki, it will stay there for two months. On the one hand, it will conduct trade. On the other hand, the diplomatic mission will go to Kyoto to conduct diplomatic negotiations with the Muromachi shogunate.

Although Ashikaga Yoshichi didn't obey Da Ming's words like his father did, and secretly bewitched those warriors who lost their land to go to Da Ming to plunder, but he definitely didn't dare to offend Da Ming openly.

Ji Gang is going to Dongpu secretly, so it is not easy to use the official link of the imperial court to arrange his identity, so he needs to arrange a suitable identity for him from the internal supervisor.

The identity of the descendant of the tea family is currently the most popular in Japan.Because they have always wanted to develop their own tea plantation, there have always been Dongying people who have tried their best to learn tea plantation techniques in Daming.

However, due to Daming's strict household registration management system, it was difficult for them to move an inch in Daming. Although they spent a lot of money, they had little effect.

Ji Gang used this identity to go to Dongpu, followed more than 100 warriors, and was active in Dongpu, so he would not be too conspicuous.

At this time, Pang Ying smiled flatteringly and said, "My lord, this official is now Lu Zhong, a tea merchant from Guangzhou, and I hope that my lord will not think that this official is overstepping."

Ji Gang looked at his somewhat stern face, shook his head and said, "You are not suitable either, it would be best to find someone with the appearance of a wealthy local gentry to pretend to be."

He looked around, pointed to one of his guards and said, "Feng Tian, ​​you will be Lu Zhong from now on. These days, you should learn how to distinguish soil quality, tea fragrance, and common sense of tea planting for me." .You don’t need to grow tea, at least you can’t reveal your secrets.”

Feng Tian is about 35 years old, has a round face and long beard, and looks very rich when he smiles, but he really looks more like a wealthy businessman than Pang Ying.

Hearing what Ji Gang said, Pang Ying felt a little embarrassed, looked at Feng Tian and said, "It's cheap for you, boy, you can't use me like a master in the future, otherwise I want you to look good."

Feng Tian said with a smile: "Don't you dare? It's just socializing in front of others. At other times, the lower officials naturally listen to the adults."

After everyone laughed and laughed, Yu cleared his throat first and said: "After entering Dongying, my inner supervisor arranged six tea merchant associations in Kyoto, Izumo, and Edo to contact you adults. In addition, His Royal Highness also A fleet of 400 warships from the Shineguchi Navy has been dispatched, and [-] people will accompany the fleet. After your lords arrive in Nagasaki, the fleet will continue northward and temporarily station at the port of Oki. The fleet is damaged Because of this, I can stop here for half a year. Then go to the exiled island (Zodo Island) in the northwest of Dongying, which is a deserted island where Dongying was exiled, and the fleet..."