Chapter 81: Journey to Guangzhou (III)

Xiao Zishan ordered Sun Chang to prepare mule carts and sedan chairs to pick up people at the wharf. The others hurried to cook and clean, and the empty house was suddenly in a flurry of activity. Sun Chang said that there was no need to worry about the mules and carts, just find the Qiwei Escort Agency—because of the need for escorts, the escort agency generally had an “outer counter” for mule and horse carts, and everything was ready-made.

On the one hand, he arranged to pick up people, and on the other hand, he ordered a sedan chair to be prepared to visit Gao Ju. On the way, he asked Sun Chang about the movements of various parties in the past year. Sun Chang said that since they left, Gao Ju had often sent people to send some things, asking if there was any news of the Australian sea merchants. The neighborhood was quiet. Except for the fact that Liu Laoxiang was making a lot of trouble at the Pearl River Estuary, and the market was slightly disturbed, there was nothing major. He didn’t know much about officialdom. He only knew that a high-ranking official in the palace in Beijing had fallen, and there had been some changes in the officialdom of Guangzhou. He couldn’t say anything else.

Xiao Zishan knew that this so-called high-ranking official in the palace was Wei Zhongxian. History had not changed its trajectory in this time and space: the once powerful “Nine Thousand Years” had committed suicide in a hotel in Nangguan, Fucheng County, Hebei Province on the sixth day of the eleventh lunar month last year. From December last year to the first half of this year, the Chongzhen Emperor was thoroughly investigating the remnants of Wei’s party, so it was not surprising that the officialdom was shaken. To a certain extent, the transmigrators should be grateful for this situation: everyone was in a state of panic, and no one had the heart to deal with a pirate invasion on Hainan Island.

Xiao Zishan’s sudden visit made Gao Ju both surprised and happy. At that time, when he was building the living shrine for Wei Zhongxian, he had no other choice but to use the “delay” tactic taught by Shopkeeper Wen. At that time, this shopkeeper had also clearly stated that there would be a major change in that month, and it turned out to be true: Eunuch Yang was originally stationed in Guangzhou and urged him almost every day. Gao Ju did not dare to delay too much, but only prepared slowly, and it took him almost twenty days. Suddenly, Little Eunuch Yang came to say goodbye, ordered the suspension of the construction of the living shrine, and hurriedly returned to Beijing with the various Australian goods that had been prepared. This left Gao Ju dumbfounded. After another ten days, he received a letter from Beijing and only then learned that on May 18, the emperor suddenly fell ill and his condition was very serious. This time, Gao Ju was not just surprised, but felt a chill in the back of his head and goosebumps all over his body.

“On May 18, there will be a change in the capital, and the matter can be delayed.” This was what Shopkeeper Wen said when he left. Now, in comparison, this group of sea merchants, who were already a bit mysterious, made him feel even more unpredictable. He hurriedly sent people to inquire everywhere, asking if anyone had seen a strange foreign ship, but there was no news. He had no choice but to give up and wait for the sea merchants to come to him—after all, there were still two hundred thousand taels of silver for the goods here. He waited and waited for more than a year without any news. Just when he was feeling hopeless, he heard some rumors in the past month: it was said that an unprecedentedly huge ship had appeared in Qiongzhou. The sailors on the ship all had their hair cut short and wore short clothes, and were very fierce. He couldn’t help but wonder: could this be the ship of the Australian sea merchants? He was just thinking about whether to send someone to the local area to inquire.

Gao Ju ordered a banquet to welcome him, and at the same time asked about his well-being. He also brought out the sales list of the goods and told him that there were fifty thousand taels of silver available for withdrawal now, and the rest of the silver could be collected in ten days.

“Don’t worry about the silver, you can deposit it with Shopkeeper Gao for now.” The transmigrators were not short of silver at the moment, but of materials. Xiao Zishan did not waste too much time on pleasantries and told him that the purpose of this trip was to purchase goods. Because the types of goods were complex, he also asked Shopkeeper Gao for a lot of help. Gao Ju thought it was still the same porcelain, spices, and hardwood as before, and readily agreed. But when he opened the list, he was dumbfounded. The things listed on it were completely unexpected: pig iron, graphite, fluorite, chalcanthite, alum, melanterite, saltpeter, mirabilite, soda ash, sulfur, arsenic, realgar, orpiment, cinnabar, borax, gypsum, tin, lead, copper, mercury…

Gao Ju himself did not recognize most of these things. He knew some of them were used in workshops, and some were simply medicinal materials. Saltpeter and sulfur were controlled by the government. He asked for ten thousand shi of pig iron at the beginning, which was not a big deal. It just required running to more ironworks. But he also wanted ten shi of mercury—even if all the mercury in Guangzhou was collected, there might not be one shi—what did they want these for? Could it be that some emperor or nobleman in Australia had died and they needed mercury for preservation?

While he was lost in thought, Xiao Zishan saw that his face was changing and asked, “Is there any difficulty with these?”

“All the things can be found,” Gao Ju put down the list. “But isn’t the quantity a bit too much? For things like chalcanthite and mercury, it would be good if there was one shi in the whole city. Where can we find so much?”

“Then I’ll have to trouble Mr. Gao. We’ll take as much as you can get.” Xiao Zishan didn’t know what these things were for, but since they were specifically requested, they must be very important.

“Brother has entrusted me with this matter, so I will do my best,” Gao Ju suddenly changed his address and said in a low voice, “But there are many prohibited items among them. It’s not that I can’t handle it, but I have to ask about everything so that it’s easier to grasp the propriety when handling things.”

Xiao Zishan was stunned for a moment. He knew that things like saltpeter and sulfur might be controlled by the government, but he hadn’t thought about the others: “I don’t know which are the prohibited goods?”

“Iron, this item is not allowed to be exported. But this is still easy. Copper, arsenic, saltpeter, and sulfur are a bit difficult, especially since the amount you want is particularly large—”

“These are all raw materials for Australian goods.” Xiao Zishan had already learned from Sun Chang that Gao Ju had made a fortune on Australian goods and had become a “wealth myth” in Guangzhou. Using the raw materials for making Australian goods as a reason, he would definitely do his best. But this was also the truth: the Ministry of Industry urgently needed these things to start modern manufacturing.

Sure enough, Gao Ju immediately fell silent, as if he was weighing something. After a while, he seemed to have made up his mind and said, “Since brother wants it, I will definitely help. But it takes time to prepare the goods. How long can you wait?”

“Fifteen days.”

“It’s a bit tight. I’ll have my shopkeepers go out to purchase separately. I’ll do my best to arrange it! I don’t know where the goods will be transported to? Is it still—”

“For this matter, I have to ask for your advice, brother.” Another purpose of Xiao Zishan’s trip was to establish a transportation line from Guangzhou to Hainan. In the future, there would be large-scale procurement in Guangzhou, and a suitable transshipment point was urgently needed. The city was crowded and it was inconvenient to move large quantities of goods in and out. Therefore, a warehouse outside the city was needed as a place for transshipment of goods.

He told Gao Ju his request. Gao Ju said that this was easy. He had his own warehouse and wharf on Youyu Island at the mouth of the Pearl River—that was the territory of the fishermen who specialized in smuggling, and they were all half-civilian and half-bandit figures. The officials in the city did not dare to go in easily, and it was almost a lawless world. The transmigrators’ ships could dock there. He would also set aside a warehouse for the turnover of goods.

“That’s very good.” Xiao Zishan was quite satisfied with this arrangement. Then he told Gao Ju that their purchase of these goods was long-term, and as long as they could be purchased, they would take as much as they could get.

After the discussion was over, Gao Ju asked if they had brought any new Australian goods to Guangzhou this time. Xiao Zishan just smiled slightly, “Those are just some small things. In a few more months, you will know, brother.”

These words gave Gao Ju infinite room for imagination, but also left him with some fear. From a personal point of view, he was not afraid of the kūnzéi man in front of him, but the faint and powerful force behind him made him uneasy. This group of Australian sea merchants was by no means as simple as merchants.

The next person Xiao Zishan visited was Sun Kecheng, the shopkeeper of the Qiwei Escort Agency. The escort agency had the ability to transport large quantities of goods over long distances and was a good helper in establishing land transportation lines.

On the way, Sun Chang had already told the owner the details of the escort agency. This was an escort agency composed of family, fellow villagers, and master-disciple relationships. From the chief escort Sun Kecheng down to the small clerks and grooms at the counter, they were either of the same clan, from the same hometown, or from the same school of master and disciples. The geographical, blood, and patriarchal relationships between them were extremely close. They specialized in the route from Guangzhou to Nanchang, Jiangxi, and also did short-distance transportation within the province. They had several branch offices along the way and had some connections in all aspects of Guangdong province. Xiao Zishan calculated that if he could control this escort agency, it would be of great benefit to the trade and intelligence activities in Guangdong.

Shopkeeper Sun was very happy about his visit—the Australian sea merchants were really a group of people who valued friendship. Xiao Zishan also sent some gifts, and the two sides had a pleasant conversation. Xiao Zishan took the opportunity to ask about the business of the escort agency.

Sun Kecheng sighed repeatedly, and his face darkened a lot.

The business of escorting was not bad. It was just that the road was becoming more and more unsafe. In the past, there were many bandits on the road, but they were still figures with a reputation in the martial arts world and more or less abided by the rules of the martial arts world. In the past two years, it has become the world of wandering bandits and roving rebels. They are either desperate farmers or deserters who cannot get their pay. These two groups of people don’t care about your reputation or rules. They rob whatever they see and kill whoever they see. In the past, bandits only wanted valuables, gold, and silver. Now, the roving rebels they encounter simply want everything, including the goods and the cart.

With bandits rampant, the villages and towns along the way all built up their defenses and set up stockades everywhere. When passing through villages and towns, they were questioned and guarded everywhere. For an outside escort agency like them, if it weren’t for the fact that the masters and disciples were basically from Jiangxi and had some personal connections, it would be difficult to find a place to rest. They barely made a few trips. Although they didn’t lose the goods, more than a dozen brothers were killed or injured. Everyone in the escort agency felt that the future was uncertain.

When Xiao Zishan proposed to fund them by buying shares and at the same time opening a new escort route, Sun Kecheng’s mouth fell open—since the beginning of the escort business, the escort agency had never been a profitable business. A few brothers could start a business by joining forces. They earned money by selling their strength and risking their lives. At the end of the year, everyone could live a moderately prosperous life. It was impossible to say that there would be a large dividend, so no one had ever invested money in the escort business.

“We don’t want dividends.” Xiao Zishan then put forward his idea, “Now we want to do business and open a shop in the Ming Dynasty. We can’t do without sitting in the shop and transporting goods. For this matter of land and water transportation, no one is more familiar with it than your line of work. For this money, we don’t want the escort agency to pay dividends, and we won’t interfere in the internal affairs of the escort agency. It’s just that in the future, wherever our business goes, the escort agency’s route will also go there!”