Chapter 913: The Macau Journey

"That Squad Leader also mentioned they originally wanted to buy grain in Jining, but the price was far too high and the quantity insufficient. After all, it's right after a major disaster, so they had no choice but to come here," Geng Mancang added from the floor.

It seemed coming to South Zhili to procure provisions was a last resort. Everyone spoke up one after another, voicing their analyses and suspicions, but the final judgment still fell to Zhao Jin to make.

"Sell it to them," Zhao Jin said decisively.

Everyone in the room was taken aback. Geng Mancang, below, hastily acknowledged the order. Ruhui added a reminder: "Transfer all the old grain from the various depots over to them, and put the new grain into storage."

"Big Brother, the Smelling Incense Sect is about to stir up a massive rebellion," Wang Zhaojing warned in a low voice.

"Sell it to them," Zhao Jin repeated without explanation. Wang Zhaojing shook his head and said no more. Geng Mancang, below, acknowledged the order.

After Geng Mancang hurriedly took his leave to carry out the task, a silence fell over the room. Zhao Jin then spoke: "Perhaps Shandong knows that we know, but they also know that even knowing we know, we will still sell the grain to them."

This tongue-twister of a statement did not stump the others in the room, but no one spoke. The atmosphere grew heavy. Zhao Jin, however, smiled and said with a rather intrigued tone: "This Xu Hongru is quite confident, isn't he!"

Zhao Jin's words sent Wang Zhaojing and Ruhui into thoughtful contemplation once more, but Zhao Jin did not continue speaking in riddles. He patted the armrest of his chair and said: "Send word to Dasheng. Have him bring his team back now. Once he returns, I will lead a team to visit Stone and Ice Peak."

Wang Zhaojing hastily acknowledged. In the past, Zhao Jin had alternated his oversight between Xuzhou and Qingjiangpu, but after the river was cut off last year, he had been permanently stationed in Xuzhou ever since.

As someone went to make the arrangements, Zhao Jin suddenly said something completely unrelated: "I wonder how Housheng is doing over there?"

Regardless of Xu Housheng's relationship with Zhao Jin, or the nature of the assignment he was on this trip, the Yu family had to treat this person with the utmost importance.

For Xu Housheng's journey from north to south, Second Young Master Yu Zhiyuan personally made the arrangements, not daring to allow the slightest oversight or mistake. The entire Yu family also understood how critical this was, and no one dared to be negligent in the least.

Originally, Xu Housheng was to travel south along the waterway, enter the Yangtze River, and then reach Songjiang Prefecture. After that, under the Yu family's arrangements, he would directly board a seagoing vessel and continue south to reach Macau.

Seafarers knew there were many places where the foreigners congregated, but the only one that was truly part of the Great Ming's sovereign territory was Macau. Other places like Manila or Batavia were lands beyond civilization, where the foreigners' influence was too great. In those places, if any trouble arose, it would be difficult to immediately pull strings or work through connections.

Yu Zhiyuan dared not let Xu Housheng take any risks whatsoever, so he only arranged for Xu Housheng to go to Macau. Although the Franks there had a governor and troops, that place was still under the jurisdiction of Xiangshan County, Guangzhou Prefecture, Guangdong, and Great Ming officials could still exercise authority there. This, after all, provided an extra layer of security.

If Xu Housheng had set out immediately upon reaching Songjiang Prefecture, he could have arrived in Macau by the first lunar month, and might even have been able to celebrate the Lantern Festival there. But after arriving in Songjiang Prefecture, Xu Housheng was detained and entertained as an honored guest, only boarding the ship and departing at the end of the first month.

Traveling south along the coastline, there was no need to worry about wind and waves. If anything did happen, one could usually take shelter in the ports or mudflats along the coast. The real danger was pirates.

In the past, when the Yu family's ships sailed south to transport goods, they were mostly safe and uneventful. The major powers on the Fujian and Guangdong seas all knew that the Yu family could continuously supply salt to Fujian and also possessed decent ports in the north, capable of receiving and distributing goods. Such a capable figure naturally commanded some respect. Still, there were occasional instances of ships being plundered by pirates, with both lives and goods lost. But on the whole, the losses were worth bearing, far more economical than constantly paying silver to buy recognition flags at sea.

The practice of recognition flags was not limited to land. Back in the day, Kong Laohu of Kong Family Village had grown rich by collecting payments through these recognition flags. At sea, the practice of water flags began during the Jiajing era with the great pirate Wang Zhi. Civilian and merchant vessels would buy recognition flags from the sea lords and powerful magnates, renewing them annually and paying several hundred or even several thousand taels of silver each year in exchange for safety at sea. Once the relevant flag was flown, the pirate faction that issued that recognition flag would not touch you.

But this method was not foolproof. The forces at sea were numerous and chaotic. You might buy from one major faction, but the others wouldn't recognize it. You might buy from the big ones, but the small ones wouldn't acknowledge it. If a single sea route was monopolized by one power, it was fine, but if several factions were fighting over it, buying all those flags was truly unaffordable, and one could only take the risk and gamble.

At other times, one could afford to take risks, but not this time. Yu Zhiyuan dared not allow the slightest mishap on this occasion. He simply sent ships south first to purchase all the recognition flags from every faction. This item alone cost several thousand taels of silver. Beyond this, Yu Zhiyuan also spent five thousand taels to hire a guarantor. This guarantor was, in another sense, a kind of recognition flag. This man would accompany the ship for the entire journey. If anything truly happened to the people on board, he would pay with his life, and then the clan he hailed from would avenge him.

The man hired this time was surnamed Li, originally surnamed Zheng. He later became the adopted son of a certain great magnate and took the surname Li. He was in his forties, his left arm already crippled. Whether handling sails and oars or fighting, he was no longer fit, so he could only do this business of being a guarantor. His reputation was highly effective across the seas of Fujian, Guangdong, and the South Seas. He was well-connected, and several peers of the Li family and juniors of the Zheng family were all extraordinarily formidable, with resounding names on the seas. Few dared to provoke them lightly.

With so many flags hung on the ship, and such a figure acting as guarantor, and with the Yu family selecting the most reliable shipwrights and sailors, safety was finally assured.

Yu Zhiyuan and Xu Housheng were very close. They were around the same age, and both came from wealthy merchant backgrounds, so they had more in common and got along very well. Yu Zhiyuan did not treat Xu Housheng as an outsider and did not hide the expenses. Upon hearing that nearly ten thousand taels of silver would be spent before he even boarded the ship, Xu Housheng was immediately shocked and felt deeply apologetic.

However, Yu Zhiyuan's reply surprised Xu Housheng even more: "Worthy Brother, there's no need to worry. Having bought so many flags, we'll just make a few more trips this year. With a bit of luck, we'll earn it all back. Doubling it isn't out of the question either."

In the past, the Xu family had dealt in coal and iron and had already thought the profits were quite high. He never imagined that maritime trade could be so wildly profitable, which truly astounded Xu Housheng.

Once everything was fully prepared, he finally boarded the Yu family's sand ship. This time, aside from cargo serving as ballast, the Yu family's ship carried nothing else. Firstly, this kept the draft shallow, so the various heroes of the sea would see at a glance that there was no profit to be had. Secondly, it was to make Xu Housheng's life at sea as comfortable as possible. On a normal voyage, sailors either slept on the deck or lay among the cargo, and the food and drink at sea were utterly foul and rotten. How could a rich young man like Xu Housheng endure such conditions?

Because the waiting period in Songjiang Prefecture was so long, Zhao Jin specifically rotated Xu Housheng's guards once. Boarding the ship with Xu Housheng were Nie Hei and five elite inner guards. The Yu family also made their own arrangements, sending six of their own men along. One of them, named Yu Ou, was a former pirate taken in by the Yu family. His martial skill was excellent and his experience rich, more than enough to handle many situations at sea.

Everything that could be prepared was prepared, yet the sea voyage still made Xu Housheng, Nie Hei, and the others suffer immensely. When the weather was clear, it was naturally wonderful—calm seas and blue skies, a pleasure aboard the ship. But whenever there was wind and waves, the vessel would pitch and roll, and Xu Housheng and Nie Hei's group would vomit until the world spun, their suffering unbearable. It was only as they were about to pass Fujian that they barely managed to adapt somewhat.

By the time they entered the harbor at Macau, Xu Housheng and everyone on the ship had become quite familiar with one another. Chatting about it, none of them felt the journey had been arduous; instead, they found it relaxed and pleasant.

"We didn't encounter any major storms, nor any situations where we had to draw blades and board ships. This was truly smooth sailing, all thanks to Young Master Xu's good fortune." Yu Ou's words gave Xu Housheng a deeper understanding of life at sea.

The ship dropped anchor in the port of Macau. They unloaded the cargo they had brought, all the best-selling specialties of Jiangnan, then loaded goods of roughly equivalent weight into the hold. After that, they sealed the hatches, leaving only a few men on board to stand guard. The guarantor from the Li family still had to accompany the ship on its return journey, so he disembarked together with Xu Housheng and his group.

This guarantor from the Li family only gave his name as Li Laohai, which was likely not his real name. Still, everyone could gauge the weight this guarantor carried. Yu Ou had a rather unruly and arrogant streak, but before Li Laohai, he was extremely respectful, entirely adopting the manner of a junior and a latecomer.

"Young Master Uncle, be careful. Although Li Laohai doesn't say much, he's been watching you the whole time. He's probably trying to guess your background."

The guards sent by the Yu family naturally knew Xu Housheng's identity, and they also knew upon whom the Yu family's current prosperity depended. They dared not be negligent, and the same was true for Nie Hei and his men.

Li Laohai was a perceptive man. Although the Yu family was not yet a top-tier maritime power, their reputation was considerable. They had their own port near a crucial canal hub, could export large quantities of salt to Fujian, and possessed a large fleet. A force like that commanded respect from all the sea lords.

For such a Yu family to lay out such a grand spectacle for this introverted young man—spending over ten thousand taels of silver just on recognition flags and a guarantor—and for the guards accompanying this young man to be no ordinary men either, men who had not only seen blood but possessed a stern and imposing bearing rarely seen in the underworld, Li Laohai even began to suspect the other party was a descendant of some noble or high official, with guards of the official constable class.

But later, he dismissed that judgment. The descendants of the wealthy and noble would not be so unpretentious. The men who came with Xu Housheng were all guards; there wasn't even a single personal attendant to serve him. Every day, Xu Housheng clumsily took care of himself, eating and using the same things as everyone else on the ship. It was clear he was very unaccustomed to it.

These contradictory observations, however, made Li Laohai somewhat curious. Moreover, introverted as Xu Housheng was, he never put on airs. He liked to ask about everything, and his manner was always polite. Li Laohai had grown accustomed to telling him a few tales of the sea.

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