Chapter 916: Outside the Cannon Foundry

At that, the man in the shop spoke again: "Out of respect for Uncle Li and the Anping Firm, we won't try to make much profit. A one-pounder cannon is one hundred fifty taels, a three-pounder is five hundred taels, a six-pounder is one thousand four hundred taels, a twelve-pounder is three thousand two hundred taels, and an eighteen-pounder, if we had one, would be six thousand taels. If that's not enough, we'll talk when the time comes. But this firm guarantees the goods are all from foreign ships—we'll never palm off Ming pieces to fool you."

Xu Housheng listened very carefully, then nodded and said, "One of each type."

The room fell quiet. The men in the shop and that Li Laohai all looked at Xu Housheng. The one who had been doing the talking spoke up: "Sir, that's nearly six thousand taels of silver. If there's an eighteen-pounder, it'll be over ten thousand. Our modest firm requires half in advance. If it falls through, it will be refunded."

Xu Housheng nodded again and said, "The silver will be delivered this afternoon. We're staying at the Anping Trading House—send word there if there's any news. If you can get an eighteen-pounder cannon, let us know as well. I'll pay in ready silver up front."

To produce several thousand taels of silver just like that—such extravagance was truly no small thing. A greedy glint instantly flashed in the eyes of the men in the shop, but after catching Li Laohai's somewhat chilly expression, they all turned eager and courteous again. If nothing else, this was a major client.

"Young Master Yu the Second hired this guarantor—his silver certainly wasn't wasted." After they stepped outside, Nie Hei muttered to Yu Ou. An old hand in the rivers and lakes like him could naturally read the shift in those shop men's eyes.

Anyone who could deal in cannons was certainly a power on the foreign seas, or at the very least had reliable local backing. And Xu Housheng, not knowing the rules well, had already flashed his wealth. Being able to pull out several thousand, even ten thousand taels of ready silver in one go meant he was likely carrying it on him. That was already inviting disaster. But with that Li Laohai sitting in, everyone had to think twice.

Yu Ou naturally saw it clearly too. Hearing Nie Hei speak, he just gave a dry laugh and said, "The guarantor's silver is a trifling sum. My family's young master's boatload after boatload of salt—that's what really matters."

Without that massive amount of salt shipped out to Fujian every year, without all the conveniences the Yu family held in canal transport, this Li Laohai might well have been tempted to murder them himself. With genuine gold and silver right before one's eyes, who still cared about so much else?

After saying this, Yu Ou suddenly remembered something. He went up to Xu Housheng and said, "Young Master Xu, these few cannons will likely weigh around ten thousand catties. If we load these, we'll probably have to sell off our ballast cargo at a loss, or we simply won't have room."

"Load the cannons. We must load the cannons." Xu Housheng spoke with absolute finality. Yu Ou did not argue, merely nodding in agreement.

While these words were being spoken, that Li Laohai had been quietly listening outside the whole time. Though his face was expressionless, he was somewhat surprised. Recognition flags made without regard for cost, a guarantor paid a heavy sum, and now, for the sake of buying cannons, he was actually putting out ten thousand taels in one go, heedless of the loss on the ballast cargo. Over twenty thousand taels thrown away, inside and out—truly extravagant.

In truth, when sea lords and foreigners bought cannons, even an eighteen-pounder was no more than two thousand taels. But onshore deals were at this price. That shop was making quite a profit, yet it was also the open market price for doing business aboveboard—nothing to be said about it.

"When you exchange silver, just go to the Anping Firm. They'll give you the fair rate. Here in Macau, if you find the right channels, trading gold for silver is far more favorable than in the Ming." Li Laohai merely said this lightly, then deliberately walked farther away.

Hearing this, Xu Housheng nodded with satisfaction. He had brought quite a bit of gold himself, and Yu Zhiyuan had also prepared a large sum for him, but saving where possible was certainly best. On the ship, he had heard this Li Laohai say that the Franks shipped over boatload after boatload of silver and traded it for all sorts of Ming specialties. Macau was a port for this, so silver was presumably abundant, and gold was naturally more valuable.

Nie Hei and Yu Ou, however, looked somewhat embarrassed. They had brought gold aboard their own ship, storing and guarding it in great secrecy. They had never imagined it still hadn't escaped another's notice.

Coming out of that shop, they asked the shop assistants and learned the location of the cannon foundry. The assistants led them over. Though it was on the edge of Macau town, it wasn't some remote place. The scale was very small—it looked like nothing more than a workshop surrounded by high walls. But the guard was fairly strict. There were Frankish soldiers and black slaves patrolling. On this matter, the white men of Macau were deeply wary of the Han people of the Ming.

As soon as they drew a little closer, they were shouted at to leave. The assistants hurriedly urged everyone to move away. In tiny Macau, there were no restrictions on Ming subjects anywhere else, but this place was an exception. Many figures, both on sea and land, had designs on these cannons. Most of these people were lawless criminals, and if anything happened, it would be extremely troublesome. The local Franks had received warnings from the Ming, so their guard here was extremely tight. Incidents of them opening fire on intruders were not just once or twice.

Xu Housheng and his party were all outsiders, so they naturally dared not be stubborn about this. They all moved farther away, but found a teahouse with a view of the foundry and sat down. They waited and watched, and at the same time invited the assistants to sit and have tea while they asked about various things.

The assistants were quite attentive, and after receiving a tip, became even more courteous, answering Xu Housheng's questions without holding anything back.

There were no Ming subjects inside this cannon foundry. It was entirely Franks and their black slaves, with the occasional man from India seen. Though it seemed quiet here, business was actually quite good. Men from foreign ships often came to buy cannons or have them repaired, and the local fort had needs as well. It was said that the cannons in Luzon also relied on supplies from here.

"They say the cannons the imperial court uses are all cast by foreigners. Do the cannons here get sold to the Ming too?"

"The Ming's demand is so huge—how could this tiny foundry possibly be enough? The cannons here are never sold to the Ming. But we've heard people say that the cannons the foreigners make for themselves are all top-quality goods, while the ones they sell to our Ming are a grade inferior. These foreign devils sure know how to work an abacus."

Keeping the best for oneself and selling the inferior goods abroad—it was an utterly natural principle. The assistants showed no indignation on their faces. Everyone did share one sentiment, though: Macau was truly small; no news could be kept from anyone.

Li Laohai ordered a snack for himself and sat off to the side drinking tea. When an assistant from the Anping Firm tried to go over and attend to him, he waved him away. Not long after, the main gate of the cannon foundry opened, and several burly foreign men walked out, chatting and laughing. From the grime on their bodies, Xu Housheng, familiar with such trades, recognized them as blacksmiths or the like.

It seemed these few men lived nearby. They hadn't gone far from the foundry before turning into a courtyard house. The assistants didn't know the details, but the workers at the teahouse did. As it turned out, the craftsmen from the foundry often came here to eat and had even picked up the Ming way of drinking tea.

However, the men from this foundry always moved in groups. People had tried to approach them with schemes before, but they usually couldn't be reasoned with. The craftsmen knew they had no way of getting cannons out of the foundry themselves. Then the ones doing the persuading would often try to feign force and pressure them, and once things turned sour, there was no more room to talk. If anyone actually tried to use force, the soldiers guarding the foundry would come. On Macau soil, after all, the Franks were in charge, so no one had ever succeeded.

As Xu Housheng and his group kept asking questions, they discovered that the people in the teahouse had also pegged them as men looking to buy cannons. For the sake of the tips, they held nothing back.

They stayed until nightfall, then all went to the Anping Trading House. After exchanging gold ingots for silver, the trading house assistants became even more warm and attentive. They were, however, all very deferential toward Li Laohai, though it seemed this was also Li Laohai's first time here.

The silver was delivered to that shop that could procure cannons from foreign ships. Their own ship also began unloading. All those foreign goods and Guangdong goods had to be offloaded and sold cheap. The manager and assistants at the trading house also knew the style of these northerners and discussed it among themselves in dialect, marveling at the group's extravagance and, incidentally, sneering at them as easy marks.

They ordered Frankish dishes from an outside restaurant and brought out some foreign liquor. Everyone ate it for the novelty, but none found it to their taste. The trading house, very obsequiously, then presented a Guangdong-style banquet. Li Laohai still sat off to the side, fixing a few small dishes and drinking alone.

"Getting into that foundry is easy, but doing it without raising an alarm is impossible. And Macau is too small—once the alarm is raised over there, you can't run far before you're blocked." Nie Hei said in a deep voice.

At first, someone naturally suggested recruiting them with a heavy sum. But the trading house assistants told them it wouldn't work. The foundry craftsmen always moved in groups, and as soon as they made contact with Ming subjects, spies would be watching. Moreover, the craftsmen here all had families. To leave, they would have to take their families with them. It wasn't about keeping the family together—it was that those family members might leak word or raise the alarm.

Since money couldn't make this work, everyone, following familiar habits, began pondering the use of force. Unfortunately, it was truly inconvenient to make a move here. Macau was too small; if they alerted the Franks, there would be no getting away. Compared to the foreign cannon-casting craftsmen, Xu Housheng's safety was the most important.

Though Xu Housheng was introverted, his stubborn temper was much like Xu Zhenzhen's. Listening to Nie Hei and Yu Ou discuss, he grew somewhat agitated and interjected, "Don't worry about what happens to me. My brother-in-law really wants these foreign craftsmen. First, figure out how to get them."

No one took up that remark. Nie Hei merely gave a dry laugh and said, "If it were just a matter of spending silver, that would be best."

"If it were just spending money, any amount would be convenient. But right now, silver is useless." Xu Housheng's voice rose slightly.

This was the young master's temper flaring up. After all, he was a young lord raised in a wealthy house. Nie Hei and Yu Ou exchanged a glance; neither intended to argue.

"Any amount of silver will do?" Li Laohai suddenly spoke up from the side.

After the day's experiences, Xu Housheng and his party all knew this guarantor's capabilities. He had casually defused the extortion attempt by the Macau thugs, and people all around clearly held him in respect. A man like this surely had ways. They had asked before, but this Li Laohai simply wouldn't engage.

Before Nie Hei and Yu Ou could speak, Xu Housheng spoke first: "As long as we can get reliable craftsmen, any amount of silver will do."

As he spoke with such finality, Nie Hei and Yu Ou grew anxious. Speaking like this—wasn't this putting themselves in a position to be fleeced, letting the other side name any sky-high price?

Thanks to the two friends "bogato" and "Wu Liulang" from Chuangshi for their tips, and thank you all for your subscriptions and monthly tickets. Thank you, everyone.