Chapter 186 Temple Street
It was still that same sloop, still with Wang Yushi, the half-baked captain, and Qing Ning, the lone sailor. Perhaps they were addicted to sailing, or perhaps they felt this was the best way to keep things secret, because the high-ranking official had come alone, without any entourage.
On the return journey, after weighing anchor, both women looked at Qin Mo simultaneously. Wang Yushi was waiting for the usual large wooden chest, while Qing Ning was waiting for the cloth bag filled with stones. But even though the sailboat was already several feet from the shore, Qin Mo still hadn't thrown the gifts over.
Seeing the hopeful looks in their eyes, Qin Mo was speechless for a moment, so she could only say loudly, "I put the gifts in the hold last night. Take care on your journey and have a safe trip!"
The two women were immediately satisfied and nodded slightly to Qin Mo. Qin Mo looked at their self-satisfied expressions and was speechless.
The sailboat nimbly turned a corner, the sails were quickly adjusted, and the speed immediately increased. The whole set of movements was smooth and fluid, without any hesitation. Even Qin Mo couldn't help but praise it. It seemed that Qing Ning had mastered the essentials of sail handling, and the two of them and one sail were enough to navigate the nearshore waters.
"Your Highness, news has arrived from the north. They're increasing the quota for ironware this year," Aiya whispered to Qin Mo as she approached. She had been waiting nearby, but Qin Mo had been standing on the shore for half an hour, so she had to come and disturb him.
"Hmm? What about them? There must be some reason!"
“The local indigenous tribes have united to resist these outsiders. The situation is much more severe this year. It would be best to give them some armor.”
"Oh! Give them a thousand battle axes and three thousand spearheads. They don't have iron armor, but give them plenty of food and sugar!"
"Yes, Aya will arrange it right away."
Masayoshi Morishita was a "long-term contract" laborer sold to Tainan by his uncle. Because his deceased father was a fisherman, he was selected to enter the sailor training camp and became a member of the Fusang team.
The arduous training did not make Morishita pessimistic and desperate; on the contrary, it excited him. Whether it was climbing the mast, sensing the wind direction, or even the complex "manipulation" of the sail, he was always the best performer. The scattered rewards he received accumulated were higher than the money he earned from selling himself into servitude.
Batch after batch of qualified sailors were selected, but Morishita Masayoshi was repeatedly left in the sailor training camp. He did not ask why; good obedience was Fusang Rao's greatest advantage.
Finally, someone chose Morishita, took him to a secluded place, asked him many questions, and then asked him if he would be willing to take on a "special" job. Morishita agreed without hesitation. Little did he know that if he had refused, death would have awaited him.
Morishita underwent several more months of training, the content of which made him glad he made the choice, otherwise he would have regretted it for the rest of his life, because the purpose of the training was... to teach him to be a wealthy Japanese merchant.
Morishita and his two companions arrived at Hirado Port in Fusang, and then, acting as if they had made a fortune at sea, began to gather sailors, seemingly preparing to continue making a living at sea.
Fat meat will attract hungry wolves wherever it goes. Hirado was one of the gathering places for pirates and smugglers. Morishita Masayoshi, who spoke with an Edo accent, brought trouble upon himself by recruiting sailors in a high-profile manner. Two groups of pirates coveted his property and planned to double-cross him and take his life.
Morishita was remarkably resilient. When nearly a hundred corpses lay scattered on the streets surrounding his residence, even the daimyo Matsuura Takanobu was alarmed and sent men to inquire about the matter. Morishita didn't say much, only that he was a maritime merchant and that he would pay his taxes on time. The Matsuura family's retainers then declared that Morishita Masayoshi... was a good man.
The laws of Hirado Port are very simple: whether you are a pirate or a smuggler, you cannot cause trouble when you come ashore. If you do, you will be fined. Of course, if you pay taxes on time, then you are a legal merchant and a law-abiding citizen.
A powerful maritime merchant can easily recruit manpower, and people soon learned Morishita's true identity—a smuggler, because he had prepared three ships loaded with a large amount of goods. Pirates don't need to buy goods; they only go out to sea to rob.
"Morishita, is the cargo all loaded?"
"Hi! Don't worry, everything is ready, and we can set sail tomorrow."
“Great, let’s set off as soon as possible and come back before the typhoon season.”
"Hey! I'll get ready right away!"
If anyone saw Masayoshi Morishita looking like this, they would be astonished. In the past two years, Morishita's business has grown bigger and bigger, with hundreds of people and more than a dozen ships under his command. He is a veritable maritime merchant. But now he is extremely respectful to his subordinates and listens to their every word.
Everyone knows that Morishita has two formidable "mute" guards. The hundreds of pirates are obedient because of those two. Anyone who dares to cause trouble is thrown into the sea to feed the fish.
In reality, those two were high-ranking officials sent by Qin Mo to assist Morishita Masayoshi in managing his subordinates. Otherwise, how could a fisherman's son have built up a fleet capable of navigating the open ocean in such a short time?
Sailing north from Hirado Port along the west coast of Japan, after passing the Korean Peninsula, one enters the "Whale Sea." The "Whale Sea" is the name given to this vast sea area by the Great Xia Dynasty, meaning...the sea.
The Whale Sea is connected to the surrounding area by six narrow straits. The northernmost one is the Mamiya Strait. Beyond the Mamiya Strait, on the western continent, there is the mouth of a large river. The name of the river is... the Heilongjiang River.
Like the North Sea, this land was once part of the Great Xia territory. During the hundreds of years of war with the orcs, the Great Xia gradually retreated to within the Great Wall, handing over the vast wilderness outside the wall to others.
Compared to the vibrant North Sea, this land appears even more desolate. Perhaps the Great Xia Dynasty believed that the barren wilderness was not worth the manpower to defend, and that it would be better to devote all manpower to the battlefield north of Ulan City!
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