The two medium-sized wooden sailboats of the Li family fleet, Chunshen and Huachang, returned to Hangzhou successfully within a few days, and after submitting the more than 20 Japanese pirate captives to the Ming government, they were commended by the government.
Of course, rewards are just a few words of verbal praises. Rewards or other substantial rewards are not even thought of!
Because the current Ming Dynasty government has not focused on the Japanese pirates at all. In addition to only focusing on making money and benefits themselves, they are more troubled by the barbarians outside the barriers and the trespasses in the northwest. Where can I have time to take into account the barbarians outside the sea, the Japanese pirates and business travelers?
The Li family fleet's unauthorized attack on Japanese pirates and other matters are even more unrelated to their business.
Anyway, the Ming government on the coast will not pay money, people or ships. If the Li family is willing to fight, they just fight. If something happens, the Li family will take the blame. They have no responsibility. If they get the benefits, they will catch a group of Japanese pirates and other things like this. If they report the victory, they will be the achievements of their Hangzhou government office. Why not do it?
"Admiral!"
"We're back!"
In the private house of the Li family with Suzhou garden style, Li Huamei, who had been on the harbor for two days, finally waited for the return of her foreign employees (followers).
“!!”
"James, it's still a long time to go. Are you back?"
"And Yi'an..."
"Thank you all for your hard work, sit down first and have a cup of tea!"
Seeing the subordinates coming back, Li Huamei couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and then reached out to signal everyone to sit in first.
"how?"
"How are you dealing with the goods and the Maritime Department brought back?"
That's right, this is what Li Huamei cares about the most.
Because they are armed caravans, cargo is the prerequisite for her Li family fleet to survive and develop!
If the goods cannot be processed, then they will have no money. If there is no money, no one will be willing to go out to sea with their Li family to fight against Japanese pirates, go south to trade, etc., let alone want to travel around the world.
The reason why Li Huamei is determined to fight against Japanese pirates and even takes risks to do dangerous tasks such as private entrusting sailors, private casting (purchasing) artillery, purchasing weapons, etc. is not completely without a reason.
She was born in the Central Plains and grew up in the army in her early years. Her father was originally a captain of the Ming local fleet (Navy Division), but she had been killed in the battle with the Japanese pirates many years ago. It was from that time that she had formed an irreconcilable hatred with the Japanese pirates!
It was precisely because her father was killed and the destruction of the navy, who was resentful of the inaction of the government, that she resolutely took over the burden of her father. Even though she was not recognized by the Ming government, she stubbornly organized the Li family fleet, personally served as the admiral, and took on the responsibility of fighting against Japanese pirates.
So far, she has two medium-sized armed merchant ships (fortune ship type) that are usable. On weekdays, they not only need to travel around the sea to do business and make money, but also need to be ready to fight against Japanese pirates who invaded the Ming Dynasty's sea. What she relies on is just the like-minded men in front of her who are willing to follow her.
In addition to James Rudwi, Shiraki Shiraki, Yian Dukov, there are also adjutants Yang Xien and Charlie Huisen who have been standing by.
Yang Xien was her father's former comrade-in-arms, and now she is the housekeeper and her adjutant of the Li family. She has always taken good care of her and has always guided her to the sea combat and the relevant skills of her commander.
Of course, the above things are not important. What Li Huamei wants to know more now is the problem of goods taking action, because the sale of goods cannot avoid the government and the Maritime Bureau. If the handling points are not done, their fleet will have been in vain in the past few months.
"fine!"
"all the best!"
"Don't worry, Admiral, I said it earlier, bribery has a very great effect!"
"We have now dealt with Hangzhou, and the goods can be taken normally in the future. I just agreed with the officials that three percent of the transaction volume will be paid on time as a special 'tax', and the fleet only needs to ensure that every time they come back, they disguise themselves as foreign ships. Those officials, including the navy, will turn a blind eye."
Seeing Li Huamei looking at him, Yian Dukov said carefully little by little while speaking fluent Chinese.
"Brief?"
"It's true that it's the same as I thought..."
"well!"
"Now, the Ming Navy has been dead in name only and has long lost its combat effectiveness. However, the northwest and Central Plains have been famine and military disasters for years. It is said that the thieves are about to fight to the capital. At present, the Ming Empire is worried about domestic and foreign troubles, but those people are not enterprising and are only concerned about asking for bribes from us..."
"What's wrong with this court?"
As he spoke, Li Huamei couldn't help but feel sad, and she sighed and lowered her head, not knowing what to say.
She has been in contact with the world and knows that countries around the world are now busy fighting for maritime hegemony and develop and strengthen themselves with maritime trade and plunder. Ship technology, artillery, musket and other technologies are constantly improving. However, the Ming Empire still insists on the sea ban, prohibiting Chinese people from doing business overseas, and private private people are still not allowed to go to sea. In addition, Japanese pirates are rife in the sea ban, the maritime ban policy is strict, and the coastal defense is becoming increasingly abolished...
To be honest, even if Li Huamei herself, if she had not been to Yi An, James, Charlie and other foreigners as cover, disguised her Li family fleet as foreign ships to pay tribute to trade, and also promised heavy bribes to the government and the Maritime Bureau, would she be afraid that her ship would not even be able to enter the dock?
“Admiral…”
"Don't think too much. Now we can travel freely with just a little money, which is already very good."
"Your Ming Empire has such a large territory, and some things cannot be easily interfered with by you and I."
"Don't worry, as long as they don't interfere with our business, it won't take long. With the convenience of maritime trade, I will surely grow and grow quickly. At that time, expelling Japanese pirates will be just a trivial matter."
Seeing Li Huamei's sad expression on her face, Yian Dukov, who had a lot of research on Central Plains culture, hurriedly advised him.
"Oh!"
"I know..."
Nodded, Li Huamei quickly calmed down.
After all, no matter whether she could figure it out or couldn't figure it out, it would have no effect. Although the Ming Dynasty once flourished for a while, after these years of natural disasters and man-made disasters, after eunuchs' power, chaos in the court, and riots' riots, the chaos in the current court is probably going to become more and more serious, and all she can do is adapt.
That is, the coastal areas have not been poisoned by thieves. The places where thieves in the northwest are now probably already barren. Once the thieves rage to the coastal areas, then, let alone doing business, they are afraid that they can't even sell the goods or buy them. That is what Li Huamei doesn't want to see the least.
"Forget it! I'll stop thinking about those things. As long as the transaction is successful, let them go!"
"By the way!"
"Where is that little guy Annie?"
At this time, Li Huamei remembered the blonde little girl they brought back.
She investigated that the little guy seemed to be called the "witch" by the Japanese pirates? Moreover, were the three leaders of the Japanese pirates burned to death by her?
Li Huamei was actually not willing to believe that kind of thing. In her opinion, that little guy was just a weird little girl with superb swordsmanship, magical marksmanship and some tricks.
As for where the other party came from and which country it was from, she didn't know.
Because, although she had been together for a few days and asked several times, she couldn't understand what the other party said every time. In Li Huamei's opinion, she might not even understand it. After all, she was just a child. Perhaps, when they traveled around the world in the future, it might not be necessary to find some clues elsewhere?
At that time, I just sent the other party home directly, and it seems that it is no big deal.
"You ask Annie?"
"I saw her fishing for our koi in the backyard in the morning. At this time, maybe she had already run out to eat and drink, right?"
"I heard that the little guy is in the restaurant every day these two days. Manager Liu from Zuichun Tower has sent someone to tell me two or three times, asking us not to give the children too much money, and don't let her go out and run around alone. Maybe one day he will be abducted!"
"I don't know where her money came from..."
As he said that, Yang Xien kept looking at Li Huamei, who was slightly surprised, with suspicious eyes.
It is obvious that in Yang Xien's view, there will never be a second person in this huge Li Mansion who can make decisions and squander the little girl a lot of gold and silver except for Li Huamei, the eldest lady of the Li family and the admiral of the fleet.
These days, the little guy lives with his own lady. Not to mention how many relationships are there, maybe when will the lady get her dowry and spend it?
"Uncle Yang..."
"I promise you that I didn't give Anne money!"
"She always seems to be able to make money..."
"Is it really the kind of spell that turns stones into gold?"
As he was talking, Li Huamei couldn't help but feel a little suspicious again, and began to ponder and think about it randomly.
"Miss, what did you say?"
Yang Xien didn't hear Li Huamei's next words clearly, and then asked hurriedly.
"ah!"
"No! Nothing!"
Shaking his head, since he couldn't figure it out, Li Huamei simply stopped thinking about it, but looked at James Rudwi and Yujiu Shiraki on the side.
"James, I'm still here for a long time. It's not good to let Anne run around. Who can find her?"
"If she gets lost, it's a problem."
Shaking his head, since today's business has been handled and learned that the goods have been dealt with normally, Li Huamei did not plan to stay on the shore for too long, and they will go to sea tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, so it would be better to find the little guy back as soon as possible.
"Can't lose it!"
"Miss, you're afraid you don't know?"
"It didn't take long for the little guy to come to Hangzhou. He had already touched all the food restaurants, such as Zuichun Tower, Lanting Pavilion, Gulixiang or Doulaofang. She had already eaten all of them. She found the places that I didn't know about, so how could she get lost?"
"When she gets full, she will naturally come back by herself."
Before James and Xujiu could speak, Yang Xien on the side said with a smile.
"But……"
"It's not good for her to be alone outside, and there are many gangsters and gangsters in the city. If she doesn't take any action at that time, it will be a problem."
Yes, given that Anne had subdued a whole ship of Japanese pirates alone, Li Huamei was not too worried about the little guy's safety, but she had to think more about others. If someone provoked that little guy at that time, God knows what would happen!
Now it's in the city, not at the sea!
Although the world is a bit uneasy at the moment, the Ming Empire looks a little shaky and may collapse one day. But no matter what, there are royal laws in the city. Even bad people and gangsters must not be beaten to death and thrown into the sea like they do at sea. What they have to consider needs to take into account all aspects.
“Um…”
"That's right!"
"For this reason, James and Xunjiu don't need to go there. They are not easy to talk to, so I'll just go and find her in person."
"Don't wait for me for lunch. I found the little girl and had a meal with her!"
After saying that, he felt that there was nothing important to do at home now. Thinking about it, if he could have a big meal when he went out to find someone, it would always be better than staying in the Li Mansion and eating the clear soup that had been tired of eating long ago. His eyes lit up and slapped his high-high, and directly rejected Li Huamei's proposal to ask James and Xingjiu to go out to find someone. He took the initiative to wave his sleeves and walked out of the hall.
“…”
"The old man is so cunning!"
"Yeah! Agree!"
"Hey! I've been around for a long time. I heard that those Japanese pirates will be beheaded in Caishikou in a few days. It doesn't matter, right?"
"Well? James, why do you ask that?"
"It's nothing, after all, they are your tribe members..."
"No!"
"They are pirates who plunder the coast, and they are despised by our warriors!"
“…”
"alright!"
"Everyone will prepare. Since Annie and Uncle Yang are not back, let's have lunch early!"
Before James and Xujiu continued to talk about the bloody things, Li Huamei interrupted them. Then he saw that everyone had nothing to say, nodded and walked towards the backyard of Li's mansion first, leaving only a faint fragrance like peony flowers to everyone in the living room.
...
At this time, a little girl was slapping the table hard in a restaurant in Hangzhou.
ψ('～ｲ)o: The shopkeeper! Let’s have a few good dishes, they are not short of money!
Σ(°△ °)︴: Also! Take out all the buns, steamed buns, rice, etc. of your house and share them with the beggars. After counting them on their accounts, they let them take them away. They are dirty and smelly, which prevents me from having a meal!
(ˉ▽￣～～)True: People don’t care whether they are refugees or beggars…
?(?~?,)?: By the way, why is the spicy 'Dongpo Pork' not yet ready?
(?╭╮?): Then go to West Lake vinegar fish first... If you dare to fool others with fish from other places, they will burn the West Lake here, so that you will never be able to eat West Lake fish!!
Chapter completed!