Yangtze River Estuary.

Large amounts of goods were constantly being loaded onto ships at sea.

These goods are the guarantee for this voyage. They will be sold to various countries, and then a large amount of goods will be purchased from various countries.

When we left, the goods were full, and when we came back, the goods were almost the same.

After the Ming Dynasty’s goods are sold, they will return home and sell other foreign goods.

This way, you can earn money twice, without making a wasted trip.

Chen Qizhi, accompanied by twelve strong guards, watched his goods being transported up continuously. For the first time, he felt happy in his heart.

According to the current division of shares, the Chen family owns 30% of the shares in this ship.

This is already considered a large share. Most of the shares only account for 10% or 15%. For just this one ship, there are about seven or eight families involved.

Chen Qizhi was able to bring people on board because he was a major shareholder.

The twelve guards were his bodyguards, and the sailors on the ship were also a type of guards.

They are usually sailors, but many of them are also good at using swords, guns and cannons. If they encounter any danger, they can naturally fight.

Making a living on the sea is no different from walking on the edge of a knife.

"Master, you must not be careless. Once you leave the Ming Dynasty, you will not be safe anymore. Especially those barbarians overseas, none of them can be trusted. They only care about money. When it is time to intimidate them, do not be soft-hearted."

"The master was going to come and see me off today, but he caught a cold last night and is now resting at home. Please don't misunderstand me. The master has specifically told me that the rise and fall of our Chen family depends on you."

The old butler kept talking.

When Chen Qizhi heard that his father had caught a cold, he looked a little anxious and asked quickly, "Is father okay? What did the doctor say?"

The old housekeeper replied, "The doctor told me not to go out for the next two days to recuperate. It's nothing serious, so the young master doesn't need to worry too much."

Chen Qizhi was relieved after hearing this and said, "It's good that father is not seriously injured. Please tell him that I will definitely fight for a better future for the Chen family when I go out to sea this time."

The old butler nodded heavily, and then said, "The master also said that money is external things, but life is your own."

"If there is any danger on the road, it is important for you to protect yourself and not sacrifice your life for a little money."

Chen Qizhi said: "Don't worry, father. I have gone to the Maritime Customs Office to inquire. Now, everything overseas is under the control of our Ming navy. Even if it is a large ship like ours, the overseas bandits would not dare to attack us even if they have ten times the courage."

The old butler took out a letter from his bosom, handed it to Chen Qi, and whispered, "There is a rich land in Nanyang. According to the special order of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, each family can enjoy the right to purchase overseas land."

"Some specific information is contained in the letter. You will know it when the time comes."

Chen Qizhi nodded heavily after taking the letter.

Soon, the cargo on the ship had basically been loaded, and Chen Qizhi was about to board the ship and leave.

At present, this new type of sea ship is generally not much different from the Fujian ship. The appearance is naturally different, and a lot of thought has been spent on the carving. There is even a dragon head carved on the bow.

Many parts have been modified, mainly to store some necessities of life in the ocean.

Originally, it should have had a load capacity of 800 tons, but because of the artillery and other supplies, the cargo on the ship was around 500 tons, or about 10,000 kilograms of cargo.

The composition of these goods can be divided into three main categories: silk, tea and porcelain.

These three categories are the most profitable things for the Ming Dynasty to export.

Especially in distant countries, silk is worth almost as much as gold.

Not to mention porcelain, which is currently the best-selling product in the world.

Tea is also a best-selling product all over the world, especially Ming Dynasty tea.

Just these three items can make you a lot of money through maritime trade, with profits often exceeding dozens of times.

If all the cargo on this ship is sold, plus the money purchased on the way, at least 500,000 strings of treasure notes can be earned.

Tens of thousands of strings of cash turned into half a million strings of cash in less than a year. This was an unimaginable profit for all the families.

The Chen family owns 30%, which means they can earn 150,000 strings of treasure notes on this round trip.

This money, which is the dividend after deducting taxes, really came too easily.

No wonder they all wanted to get involved, and even if there were many harsh conditions, they agreed without hesitation.

In just less than two years, the investment can basically be recovered, and every year thereafter, it will be a huge profit.

It is said to be a big family, but all this money is saved by generations of family members. It is considered very good to have 10,000 or 20,000 strings of cash every year. Now it is more than 100,000 strings of cash all of a sudden, and with the endorsement of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, such a good thing can't be found anywhere else.

In this regard, the key for Zhu Ying is to give full play to the power of Ming Dynasty's maritime merchants and carry out external expansion.

Chen Dalin gave a very detailed introduction in the letter to his son.

It is about the arrangement of wealthy areas on sea shipping routes.

Use money to buy fertile land from these wealthy small countries, and then leave personnel stationed there to manage and build your overseas territories.

On this point, Zhu Ying is subject to mandatory requirements.

In other words, every family involved in shipping must have manpower to manage and purchase.

In the future, a certain amount of food must be transported back to the country on all the trips of the ships, otherwise the shares of these families will be reduced.

Forcibly importing food from all over the world is also Zhu Ying’s current policy.

Food is one aspect, and a large amount of meat is also an important part.

Of course, it’s not fresh meat, but bacon that has been air-dried and cured can be preserved for a long time. Zhu Ying had this idea.

The prices of these meats and grains are purchased at a fair price and are not included in maritime trade. This is a requirement set for each ship.

On the ship, Chen Qizhi, who had already set off, stood at the bow, looking at the vast sea in the distance, feeling a sense of heroism in his heart.

There were eight hundred people on board the ship, and a total of more than two thousand four hundred people on the three ships.

The crew members here are all of strong build and look like they are not someone to be trifled with.

Coupled with the two rows of cannons on the ship's hull, this gave them enough confidence.

I had a vague hope that I might encounter pirates or something.

With the strength of this kind of ship, if they encounter pirates, they can just fight them directly without any worries.

The pirates' shabby ship is not even qualified to collide with this ship.

The seemingly clumsy sea-going ship actually has an extremely amazing sailing speed.

"Is this the sea? It's so magnificent. It's true that there will always be a time to ride on the wind and waves and set sail to cross the vast ocean."

Chen Qizhi stood on the deck without feeling any discomfort.

It seemed as if he was supposed to belong to this sea.

Of the twelve guards who came with them, ten were vomiting uncontrollably, and only two were still okay, but they did not look very good either.

These are all necessary processes for those who go to sea for the first time, and it is very likely that they will spend a month or two in such a situation.

Not every sailor can go to sea at the beginning. Everyone has experienced this.

When you stay there long enough, you'll get used to it.

It’s just like learning to swim, everyone will choke on water a few times.

Chen Qizhi, on the other hand, acted as if nothing had happened, just like a veteran on the ship with many years of experience.

"I thought Young Master Chen might have a lot of discomfort, but I didn't expect that he is a natural born sailor. This really makes me very envious."

"When I first went out to sea, I vomited so much that all my internal organs came out. I was unconscious for a month and a half before my body gradually adapted. During that period, I felt like I was living a life worse than death."

A burly old man, about fifty years old, walked slowly onto the deck.

He is the captain of this ship and the person in charge of the entire ship, Liu Chengping.

Liu Chengping said this not to flatter Chen Qizhi, he was truly envious and what he said was from his heart.

He has spent half his life making a living on the sea, and he used to do it secretly. Now that the court has issued new laws, he can finally do this business openly.

He is not from Jiangnan, but a native of Fujian. His family has been making a living on the sea since he was a child.

But later on, when the maritime ban was imposed, they took the risk of smuggling in order to make a living.

Now that he has been released, his reputation in the maritime trade circle is pretty good, and the big families in the south of the Yangtze River have paid a high price to hire him to take the helm.

"Master Liu, you must be joking. Although I have never been to the sea, I know Master Liu's reputation."

"This little bit of wind and waves on the sea is commonplace for Master Liu. I'm new here, so if there's anything wrong, please don't be disgusted. I'll need Master Liu to take care of me in the future."

Chen Qizhi smiled and bowed.

His father taught him since he was young not to look down on anyone, and not to control his temper.

As the saying goes, don't hit someone who smiles at you. It's always right to be more polite.

Seeing this, Liu Chengping felt relieved.

He came to the deck to meet Chen Qizhi, specifically wanting to test the other party and see what he meant.

No matter what, in terms of status and position, the two are not on the same level at all.

The way Chen Qizhi was dressed opposite him, it was obvious that he had the honor of being a scholar. However, his fame was only useful to ordinary people. In front of this young master from a wealthy family, it was nothing.

Before boarding the ship, the Chen family came to talk to him and asked him to take good care of Chen Qizhi.

If anything happens to Chen Qizhi, the Chen family's revenge will be no joke.

What Liu Chengping feared most was that Chen Qizhi knew nothing and gave blind orders, acting like a playboy.

Now it seems that the feeling of the first communication was quite good.

He is polite, easy-going and courteous. I think there won't be any unexpected incidents during your future trip.

Of course, Liu Chengping is not a good person. When he was engaged in smuggling, he had killed many people. Not to mention pirates from small countries, even Japanese pirates would be killed if he saw them.

It's a bit funny to say, but when it comes to dealing with Japanese pirates, maritime merchants are often more ruthless than coastal officers and soldiers.

They were very keen on seizing the pirates' ships.

There were even some people who engaged in smuggling without any capital, waiting for the Japanese pirates to rob the coastal areas, and then robbed the pirates and smuggled their property out.

This is why it is said that the threat posed by Japanese pirates did not only come from Japan, but more from smuggling itself.

The huge benefits involved are enough to make many people take risks.

Especially compared to here where food and clothing are already a problem.

Liu Chengping is not alone. All the boatmen under his command are not easy to deal with.

If we talk about their fighting strength alone, they might not be able to beat a few people, but when they are combined together, it is completely different.

But compared with the world-famous Ming Dynasty navy, it is still a dwarf.

The biggest difference here is the artillery.

The artillery of the ships is truly a terrifying existence on the sea. This is why Liu Chengping was willing to give up his previous smuggling business.

Firstly, he wanted to become a good person. After all, the prestige of the Ming Dynasty was growing day by day, and anyone with a little knowledge knew that smuggling could not last long.

In addition, now that the maritime ban has been lifted, although the profit will be less, it is safer.

After all, our roots are in the Ming Dynasty, and we are just living on the sea. If we are really caught, we will be finished.

The biggest key is the artillery that Liu Chengping is looking at with glowing eyes.

With these cannons, as long as we are out of the Ming Dynasty’s maritime territory, we can do whatever we want, right?

"Sir, we are all counting on you along the way."

Liu Chengping said respectfully to an old man.

The old man had big hands and was a little thin, but Liu Chengping was even more respectful to him than to Chen Qizhi.

There is no other reason, just because the old man is responsible for the technology of artillery.

That is to say, the maintenance, use, and repair of the artillery are all the responsibility of the elderly.

The old man smiled and said, "Don't worry, captain. I have been doing this job for most of my life. These cannons are all good cannons from the Gunpowder Department. We just need to store the gunpowder well, and there will be no problems."

"The old man doesn't have much to do every day. He will check it every day, so please rest assured, captain."

Hearing this, Liu Chengping felt relieved.

Then he stroked the cold gun body, which undoubtedly gave him great confidence.

If you want to survive at sea, there must be no problems with your artillery.

When it comes to the ship, the artillery craftsmen and the ship's doctors are the ones who need special attention, because they are the key to ensuring the entire journey.

Liu Chengping has been sailing at sea for most of his life, so he naturally knows the pros and cons of this.

Chen Qizhi looked around like a curious baby.

For him now, everything is new.

Especially since I don’t get seasick, I have enough energy.

He always kept his father's instructions in mind and was determined to make a name for himself overseas.