Chapter 232: Prey Nokor

On the way, Ping Qiusheng patiently tried to make Quark understand his meaning: the slave trade was not limited to the area around Banten. As long as they were from Southeast Asia or were white-skinned, the Transmigration Group would accept them all. As for how to get more slaves, it was entirely up to Quark’s methods. Before they even entered the city, the refugees along the road had already become rolling silver coins and various valuable goods in Quark’s eyes.

Just then, a man wearing a square kerchief boldly approached, trembling, and asked in Guangzhou official dialect if the group was from the Great Ming. After receiving an affirmative answer, the man introduced himself, claiming to be from Guangdong. He said he had been curious and eager to learn since he was young, and having heard that the Western countries had strange skills and could make Red Barbarian cannons and telescopes, he had traveled thousands of miles on a merchant ship to the southern countries. He had been there for five years and now missed his homeland. Not long ago, he had taken a merchant ship to this place, but with the war in the north, the number of ships traveling north had gradually decreased, and he had not been able to find a ship to return home.

This man’s name was Feng Shengyue. Perhaps out of a desperate desire to return home, he spoke many flattering words, saying that he was not a useless person and would not be a burden on the merchant ship. Ping Qiusheng thought that having someone familiar with the local area was not a bad idea.

“Do you know all the customs of this place?” Ping Qiusheng asked.

“I have traveled overseas for five years. Although I dare not say I know everything, I know a little about the various countries in the South Seas. Not to mention the customs here, I also know the language. This is now the territory of the Kingdom of Cambodia. The residents here call us Great Ming overseas merchants ‘Chai Gun,’ and so this is the name of this place. There are many overseas merchants here, but with the war in the north, the sea trade has become difficult, so many returned home earlier. Recently, the fighting in the north has been fierce, and merchant ships are afraid of being affected, so they dare not go north. I just came from Malacca, and I can’t find a ship to go north from here.”

“We are not going north for the time being. We are going to the Kingdom of Siam.”

“After going to Siam, you will eventually return home. Why not take me with you? I have seen a lot on my way from Malacca, and perhaps you gentlemen will find it useful.”

Ping Qiusheng thought that there were probably no spies from the Great Ming in Southeast Asia, and it would be good to have someone familiar with the local area. He agreed to take him in. Feng Shengyue was overjoyed and quickly took his leave to pack his luggage. They agreed to meet at the city gate.

“If we don’t meet at the city gate, just go directly to the pier and find our ship. The one with the red, white, and blue flag.”

The colors of the “Nine-Dash Flag” were red, white, and blue, very conspicuous. Feng Shengyue would see it if he paid a little attention.

The destination this time was Siam. Besides trading for rice, he also wanted to recruit some local Japanese volunteers. Since the mysterious death of the powerful merchant Yamada Nagamasa, who had a close relationship with Edo, his Japanese immigrant and Christian volunteer corps had fled in fear of the king’s suspicion. If he could recruit some of these people now with the promise of returning to Japan, it would be a good choice for future trade with Japan on Jeju Island and other campaigns in Northeast Asia. Although Ping Qiusheng had some knowledge of Siamese history, the conspiracy theories were still confusing.

In the 17th century, Japanese people were scattered throughout Southeast Asia. The history of going to the South Seas did not begin in the 20th century. The dilemma of having little land and a large population had erupted in Japan much earlier and more severely than in China. A large number of Japanese had been flowing into Southeast Asia since the 16th century, serving as merchants, craftsmen, and mercenaries. Although they were no match for the Chinese in business, they were famous as mercenaries. The figures of obscure Japanese mercenaries could be found in many famous events of that time. The British, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, and even the small rulers of Southeast Asian countries had all hired them to serve them.

In a state of severe lack of military force, hiring Japanese as vanguards was obviously a good choice—not only in Southeast Asia, but also in Taiwan and Jeju Island.

It didn’t take long for the group to arrive at the city gate. The gate was built entirely of black stone, with a very Khmer-style architecture, reminiscent of the Angkor Wat he had visited. This place was still Lower Cambodia, and the residents were mainly Khmer. It would be several years before the Vietnamese extended their power here.

The city of Prey Nokor was of a considerable size—at least larger than all the county towns on Hainan Island. After all, this was the residence of the viceroy, the political and economic center of Lower Cambodia.

Why visit this viceroy? In Ping Qiusheng’s view, this was a strategic point in the Mekong Delta. Regardless of the future situation, this would definitely be a population center, otherwise the later Saigon would not have developed. With population comes various needs, and when it comes to dumping goods, no one in this era could compare with the Transmigration Group. Now, Lin’gao’s reach was not that long, and the Engine Project would take more than two years to basically complete. The business of these two years could not be monopolized by the Dutch, and even the Dutch transport capacity could not fully meet the needs of the Transmigration Group, so more trade was naturally better.

Feng Shengyue was already waiting at the city gate. His luggage was simple, just a bundle and a straw hat. Ping Qiusheng noticed that the straw hat on his head was made in Lin’gao. Could Lin’gao’s straw hats have been sold so far away?

He asked about the origin of his straw hat. Feng Shengyue was very surprised that Ping Qiusheng was interested in his straw hat. He had bought it in a Chinese shop on his journey and had been wearing it for over a year. Although it was not broken, it was dirty and worn.

“You should take good care of this straw hat. It is very meaningful,” Elder Ping said meaningfully.

Feng Shengyue was baffled and could only mumble a few random replies.

Passing through the bustling street, the group arrived in front of the viceroy’s palace. The palace did not look very large; by Chinese standards, it could only be considered a large residence.

The viceroy’s palace was both his residence and his office. Some of the external government offices were located within the palace. Feng Shengyue was very familiar with the situation here and quickly found an interpreter after going inside.

Ping Qiusheng watched him gesture and chatter with the interpreter for a while. The interpreter went inside. Feng Shengyue seemed confident and said with a smile, “Master Ping, the viceroy will receive us shortly.”

“So easy?” Although Ping Qiusheng had estimated that it was very likely to meet the viceroy, he had not expected it to be so easy.

“It’s nothing—the viceroy is very happy to receive merchants.”

It was not uncommon for merchants to request an audience with the viceroy, and His Highness the Viceroy generally did not refuse as long as he had nothing else to do. Regardless of their purpose, and whether the viceroy could satisfy them, the merchants would at least present gifts, which was a large source of income for His Highness.

After the report was made, the interpreter came out again and invited them in.

“Leave your swords and weapons. Only five people are allowed to enter,” the interpreter announced.

After some discussion, Ping Qiusheng went in with Feng Shengyue and three other special reconnaissance team members. The rest waited outside. Everyone unfastened their daggers, but their pistols were well hidden.

In this group, besides Feng Shengyue, everyone else had a pistol. The special reconnaissance team members used submachine guns. Even if something happened, with the sound of gunfire, the people outside would rush in, and they wouldn’t be afraid of an ambush of one or two hundred people.

Apparently, the hypothetical ambush did not occur. The talks between the two sides proceeded in a joyful atmosphere and were very successful. After receiving the exquisite gifts from the Australians, His Highness the Viceroy Chen Cai was very happy to provide various conveniences for the expansion of the Australian goods market here, including proposing the establishment of a warehouse. He even expressed his willingness to participate more deeply in this business—he was willing to provide all kinds of goods that the Australians needed and was also willing to underwrite all kinds of goods brought by the Australians, especially Chinese miscellaneous goods.

At that time, the handicraft level of Southeast Asian countries was generally backward, and daily necessities were completely dependent on imports from the Great Ming by Chinese merchants. Even for the Spanish from the “civilized country,” the daily necessities in Manila relied on the supply of Chinese merchants. If the Chinese merchant ships arrived late, the lives of the Spanish ladies would become unbearable.

The reason His Highness the Viceroy Chen Cai was so enthusiastic was actually out of desperation. With the influx of more and more Cham refugees and the Nguyễn sharpening their knives in the north, he didn’t know how long he could remain the viceroy of Prey Nokor. He understood that Champa could not resist the Vietnamese attack, and if Champa fell, the fall of Prey Nokor would only be a matter of time. So, he had the idea of making a quick buck and leaving. The Australian goods gave him hope of getting rich. If he could make a fortune in the trade with the Australians, he wouldn’t care about being the viceroy when he retreated to Phnom Penh. Anyway, there was as much rice and timber as he wanted in Prey Nokor. It was better to give it to the Australians than to the Vietnamese. At least the Australians were willing to pay with money and Australian goods.

And Ping Qiusheng also got what he wanted: a trade license, tax exemption for anchorage, approval for the Australians to buy land to build warehouses, and the freedom to hire workers.

His Highness the Viceroy also wrote a letter to the King of Cambodia at his request, asking to accommodate the Japanese who had recently fled into Cambodia and to send them to Prey Nokor for departure, completely solving the problem of the Japanese in the Kingdom of Cambodia at present.

Ping Qiusheng used the mirrors and daily necessities he brought to trade for two shiploads of rice. His Highness the Viceroy said that the rice stock was not large, but it was not difficult to collect. He could prepare some more when the fleet returned for supplies. As long as the Australian masters had a demand, there was no shortage of rice here. As for the various local products, as long as the Australians wanted them, he could organize them.

Things went very smoothly, so the fleet set off in a joyful atmosphere. The fleet, with ample supplies, turned to the northwest. Ping Qiusheng planned to go directly to Bangkok, not Phnom Penh. If he could complete the tasks of trading for rice and recruiting Japanese in Bangkok, then Phnom Penh would not be of much interest to him. It was neither a place with many trade resources nor a necessary route.