Champa port, Caobang.

As the earliest gang established in Champa, the Cao Gang is naturally the most influential among many gangs.

The name of Long Dongqiang, the leader of the Cao Gang, is known to everyone in Champa.

"Brother Qiang."

"Brother Qiang."

"Brother Qiang."

Long Dongqiang walked slowly into his own restaurant, and everyone around him bowed respectfully.

This feeling made Long Dongqiang very satisfied.

Judging from his appearance, Long Dongqiang has regular features and a smile on his face, and does not look like a gang boss at all.

Only those who are familiar with him know that Long Dongqiang is a man with a kind face but a cruel heart.

The end of the month is the time to check the accounts in the middle of winter.

There are tens of thousands of Cao Gang members, and they all have to support their families, so accounts are naturally of utmost importance.

When I went up to the third floor, a man came up to me.

"Brother."

Brothers fight tigers together. The tall, thin and gloomy man is Long Dongqiang's second brother.

"Second brother, it is really unfair for you, a scholar, to follow me to this overseas place."

Every time he saw his second brother, Long Dongqiang felt a little guilty.

Back then, Long Dong forced Chai Bai, the commander of Zhenhai Guard, to be his adoptive father, and was able to become the leader of the Cao Gang. Although he was actually no different from a puppet, at least he was glorious in front of others.

The second brother, Long Chunsheng, is eight years younger than him and has been very smart since childhood.

Long Dongqiang, whose parents died early, has been supporting his second brother Long Chunsheng's studies.

Long Chunsheng did not disappoint his elder brother. At the age of 24, he finally achieved the title of scholar.

Listening to his elder brother's words, Long Chunsheng shook his head and said, "Brother, don't worry about it. Now that the Ming Dynasty has five years of compulsory education, there are more and more students from all over the country. The reputation of a scholar may have been good in the past, but as time goes by, there will naturally be more and more."

"With so many people, the title of a scholar is worthless. I know myself well. It is extremely difficult to pass the imperial examination. It may take most of my life, and I may not be able to get it even when I reach the age of knowing my destiny."

"Besides, I heard from my former classmates that the imperial court intends to lower the age of students. If you are over 35 and don't pass the imperial examination, you will not be able to enter the official career. Now, following my elder brother to Champa is not much more interesting than staying up late to study hard."

Long Dongqiang sighed, "Second brother, why do you belittle yourself? You should have brought honor to our family, but now you are reduced to the lowest class with me. How can we compare?"

Long Chunsheng didn't want to talk about this with his elder brother, as he already had his own ideas.

"Brother, yesterday the gang members at the dock reported that an angel from the imperial court had descended." Long Chunsheng changed the subject.

This was also something he was very concerned about.

Long Dongqiang frowned and said, "The angel's arrival should have little to do with my Cao Gang."

Long Chunsheng shook his head: "The Governor of the Port is the biological father of Crown Prince Na Fei. Now that the port is unstable, Na Fei will definitely ask the Crown Prince for mercy."

"I have already ordered people to investigate, and the eunuch who came is the one under the command of the Crown Prince."

"What I'm worried about is that if the imperial court wants to take action against the current situation in Champa, it will not be good news for my Cao Gang."

Long Dongqiang couldn't help but say, "Second brother, you are exaggerating a bit. Champa doesn't belong to the Ming Dynasty. No matter how chaotic it is, it is impossible for the imperial court to suppress it. The imperial court never intervened during the previous chaos. Now that it has stabilized, it is even less likely for the imperial court to intervene."

"I hope so." Long Chunsheng's guess was just in his mind. There was no concrete information at the moment, so he could only take it one step at a time.

The gang's accounts are basically managed by Long Chunsheng. When Long Dongqiang was a puppet leader in the Ming Dynasty, the gang's accounts had nothing to do with him. People from Zhenhaiwei were responsible for them.

Long Dongqiang himself had not received much education, and the so-called monthly account check was actually just a formality. When he really had to take the accounts to check, he just felt a headache.

"Report!"

Just as the two brothers were chatting, a group of people rushed up to the third floor in a hurry.

"What's the matter? Didn't I tell you that no one can disturb me when I'm checking the accounts?" Long Dongqiang frowned and scolded.

The gang members immediately replied, "Brother Qiang, the navy sent someone to tell you that you should go to the navy camp to attend a meeting tomorrow at noon."

"What?" Long Dongqiang's face changed, then he recovered.

"Thank you for your hard work. You go down first."

"It's Brother Qiang."

After the people left, Long Dongqiang said with some concern: "I'm afraid that the people who came here have bad intentions. Second brother's idea is probably right. The imperial court may really want to intervene in the Champa gang."

"You just arrived yesterday, and you're going to attack my Cao Gang today?"

"I'm afraid it's the Hongmen Banquet."

Long Chunsheng looked a little gloomy. After thinking for a while, he said, "Don't worry, brother. We don't know the news yet. Why don't we find out if other gangs have also been invited by the navy?"

Long Dongqiang immediately summoned his gang members to find out the news.

If all the gang leaders were summoned, the situation would naturally be different.

Obviously, the Cao Gang might be very famous in Champa, but in Jin Kaishan's view, these so-called gangs are nothing but a bunch of nomads and a mob.

The Champa government was somewhat helpless against them, but that didn't mean Jin Kaishan had any fear.

This is not on the same level at all.

Those gangs that got involved in the port had to pay tribute to the navy commander as a sign of safety.

At this moment, in the navy camp.

Jin Kaishan smiled and said to Li Youwei: "Don't worry, sir. I have already sent a notice to the larger gangs in Champa, asking their leaders to come to the military camp at noon tomorrow."

"When the time comes, we'll take a good look at these gang leaders. If there are any who know better, they can do something for me."

Li Youwei nodded slightly: "Thank you for your help, Commander Jin."

Jin Kaishan immediately said, "Don't bother me, don't bother me. It is our duty to serve the Crown Prince."

"I just don't know when the Chamber of Commerce manager will come. Please introduce him to me, sir."

From Li Youwei, Jin Kaishan learned about the Ming Ocean Trading Chamber of Commerce.

Jin Kaishan had heard of this chamber of commerce a long time ago, but there were many similar chambers of commerce, including those from the Ming Dynasty, Champa, and many other countries.

So I never cared about it.

Now that we know that the Crown Prince is behind the Ocean Trade Chamber of Commerce, this is naturally completely different.

A few days ago, the naval fleet heading to Malacca stopped at the port for supplies.

The navy is a family.

Besides the banquet, Jin Kaishan also got some information from Gan Ping.

Learned the news that the Crown Prince had personally arrived in Guangzhou Prefecture.

Judging from the meaning revealed in Li Youwei's words, how could he not understand the importance that the Crown Prince attached to the Ming Ocean Trading Chamber of Commerce.

If he had known that the Ocean Trade Chamber of Commerce was so powerful, he would have spared no effort to help.

According to the rules of the Ming army, under normal circumstances, the commander's office area is rotated every five years.

Whether or not he can be re-elected depends on the will of his superiors.

Except for designation by His Majesty or the Crown Prince himself, re-election may not exceed three terms, which is fifteen years.

Here is the Champa port.

At first, they used the excuse of missing soldiers to keep them, but everyone knew it was just a cover. Now they have a legitimate reason to be stationed there.

This is the commander-in-chief of the navy, which is a very lucrative position. Jin Kaishan has heard from Gan Ping that there are countless commanders in the navy who envy him.

They are all trying to come to the Champa port on a five-year rotation basis.

Jin Kaishan was the Champa in the 29th year of Hongwu. According to the rules, it would face the issue of change of leadership in the 34th year of Hongwu.

It is now the 32nd year of Hongwu, and there are less than two years left.

You should know that whether it is the navy or other garrisons, they are basically far away from the prosperous urban area.

Here in Champa, the port is the most prosperous place in the entire Champa. It is far inferior to the capital of the Ming Dynasty, but what kind of place is the capital? It is unique in the whole world.

At least 90% of the upper counties cannot compare with the ports of Champa.

The most important thing is that there is plenty of oil and water here.

Moreover, being overseas does not violate the laws of the Ming Dynasty, which is what I least envy.

If he had not made any contributions in the past five years and had not been particularly valued, it would be very likely that Jin Kaishan would leave when the term of office came to an end.

In terms of relationships and background, there are too many people in the navy who have strong backers.

Therefore, Jin Kaishan's best opportunity is to assist Li Youwei in doing a good job for the Crown Prince and do it beautifully to satisfy the Crown Prince.

This is the only way to continue staying here.

Li Youwei was very satisfied with Jin Kaishan. He felt respected here, so he was willing to reveal some information to Jin Kaishan.

"I will come in the evening. You must give me a good reception and don't neglect me."

"The manager of Champa is no small figure. Do you think he is some kind of businessman?"

"Before that, he was the Left Governor of Guangdong Province."

"I committed some crimes, and the Crown Prince valued my talent, so he arranged for me to be the manager of the Champa Chamber of Commerce."

Jin Kaishan exclaimed: "Master Guan!"

The Ming Dynasty’s naval organization was also a garrison system, which originated from the Chaohu Navy.

Now the navy was developing rapidly with the support of the Crown Prince, and naval garrisons were being established along the coast.

The three most famous navies are the Guangdong Navy, the Fujian Navy, and the Zhejiang Navy.

The training of these coastal naval forces naturally extended from the Chaohu Navy. As one of the earliest Chaohu Navy generals, Jin Kaishan naturally had to go to various places to train troops.

This is how he got his position as commander.

He had spent quite a lot of time in Guangdong, so of course he knew Guan Xianghai, the Left Governor of Guangdong Province.

Although the military and politics are separated and the army is no longer under the control of local governments, there are still places where they have to deal with each other.

Li Youwei smiled and said, "It's fine if you know him, but he has changed his name to Guan Zhongming now, you must remember this."

Jin Kaishan nodded somewhat awkwardly.

He knows Lord Guan, but Lord Guan doesn't know him, as he is a provincial governor.

The navy has a military system similar to that of the garrisons.

It is mainly divided into capital, guard and thousand households.

When Jin Kaishan was in Guangdong, he was the commander of the Wei Command Headquarters. The only one who could deal with Guan Xianghai was the Guangdong Navy Command Headquarters.

Although it seems that there is only a difference of one level, there is actually a world of difference in status.

Those who were able to serve as the commander-in-chief were generally marquises or earls who had made contributions to the founding of the country.

Jin Kaishan was able to serve as the commander of the navy entirely because of the current expansion of the navy. The value of this is completely different.

At this time, a soldier came to report.

It was said that the manager of the Ming Ocean Trading Chamber of Commerce wanted to see him outside the military camp.

"Please come in quickly." Jin Kaishan said hurriedly.

Outside the military camp.

Guan Xianghai looked calm, but he was actually a little anxious inside.

We have been developing in Champa for several months, but we haven't even built a stronghold yet. To some extent, this can be considered as a failure.

In fact, this cannot be blamed on him. When he brought his men here, it happened to be the time when a gang war broke out in Champa.

Although the Chamber of Commerce has hundreds of guards equipped with muskets, the Chamber of Commerce is here to do business, not to seize territory.

In such chaos, even if Guan Xianghai has great abilities, he can only wait for the gang war here to end.

Then the gang's territory was roughly divided.

But this also brought a lot of trouble to Guan Xianghai.

The Ming Ocean Trade Chamber of Commerce could not act under the banner of the Crown Prince, so naturally no one gave it face.

If you want to do business, you have to pay protection money to the gang.

If the news got out that the Chamber of Commerce under the Crown Prince paid protection fees to the Champa gang, wouldn't everyone be laughing?

Helplessly, Guan Xianghai could only report the affairs of Champa to the crown prince.

This led to Li Youwei's arrival.

"Lord Jin invites you in, please come in." The soldier on duty announced.

Guan Xianghai bowed to express his gratitude and followed the soldiers into the barracks.

His current identity is just a traveling merchant, so naturally he will not be treated with much courtesy.

Jin Kaishan and Li Youwei were not suitable to come out specially for the meeting.

After entering the big tent, Jin Kaishan hurriedly stood up to greet him: "I'm sorry for not coming to meet you from afar, Master Guan, please forgive me."

Guan Xianghai quickly returned the greeting: "I am now a merchant, so I am not worthy of being addressed as sir by Commander Jin. Just call me steward."

Then he greeted Li Youwei: "Greetings, Eunuch Li."

As a eunuch of Kunning Palace, Li Youwei naturally did not need to be so polite. He stood up from his seat and bowed to Guan Xianghai: "Manager Guan, you are too polite."

Jin Kaishan did not dare to neglect.

Don’t underestimate yourself because you have the highest rank and status in this big tent.

In fact, Li Youwei was a eunuch close to the crown prince, and although Guan Xianghai had lost his official position, he was still directly under the crown prince's command. He could not afford to offend either of them.

After taking their seats, the three began to chat.

The main part is Guan Xianghai telling about some of the difficulties he encountered in Champa, especially regarding the gangs.

Jin Kaishan immediately expressed his willingness to provide full assistance, and asked Manager Guan to rest assured.

Everyone worked together to complete the instructions given by the Crown Prince.

The navy camp was having a great time, and in the Champa gang, there was a huge wave of excitement.

Jin Kaishan's notice was not only sent to the Cao Gang, but to more than a dozen large gangs including the Cao Gang.

The smallest of these large gangs has more than 5,000 members, and their leaders are all from the Ming Dynasty. Gangs not under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty did not receive any orders.

Faced with the navy's order, the gang leaders all felt their scalps tingling and were in a dilemma.

No one knows what the Ming Navy means here, but everyone agrees that this is definitely not a good thing.

You didn't take care of it when it was at its most chaotic, so why are you taking care of it again now?

Many eyes of help turned to the three major gangs.

They are also the three most powerful gangs of the Ming Dynasty.

Among them, the Cao Gang is naturally one of them.

There are also Sanhetang and Qingbang.

The main business of the Cao Gang is naturally its traditional dock business.

For example, the porters at the port docks are all members of the Cao Gang. If you don’t join the Cao Gang, you can’t move goods at the docks.

No matter which country the maritime merchants are from, if they want to do business in Champa, they have to pay a protection fee.

Otherwise, not only will there be no one to move the goods, but there will also be no place to seek redress if the goods are smashed.

Sanhetang mainly operates a casino.

Almost every slightly prosperous place in Champa has a casino opened by the Sanhetang, and the huge profits made here are needless to say.

The Qing Gang is not the same Qing Gang of later generations.

The "Qing" in Champa Qing Gang refers to the Qing in brothels.

In addition to running a brothel business, the Qing Gang is also the largest gang involved in human trafficking in Champa.