During the Yuan Dynasty, the transportation of grain by sea was normalized and never stopped. The scale of the grain transported by sea reached 3.6 million shi per year, and even completely replaced the grain transport. This eloquently proved the feasibility of sea transport.

Moreover, the Mongol Yuan Dynasty stipulated that "for every 10,000 dan of rice transported, the government and civilian ships were given 4,000 dan of rice as a freight fee, and private goods were allowed to be brought back as salt as a reward for their labor." That is to say, the court only had to spend an additional 40% of the cost to transport one dan of rice. However, the cost of grain transport in the Ming Dynasty was as high as 200% to 300%. It was clear at a glance which was better, sea transport or grain transport.

According to Zheng Ruozeng's research, there were three shipping routes for the Mongol grain transport.

"The first route was opened the earliest. It enters the sea from Liujia Port in Taicang and basically runs along the coast. The advantage of this route is that it is close to the land during navigation, which makes it convenient for replenishment. In case of bad weather or pirate attacks, you can enter the port in time to avoid them." Elder Niu said in a deep voice:

"But the disadvantages are also obvious. First, it is a long and winding journey along the coast. Second, there are many islands and reefs along the coast, so you have to be very careful when sailing. In addition, the offshore water flows southward all year round, so the speed is the slowest of the three routes - the whole journey takes more than a month."

Zhao Hao nodded. The coastal areas of East China and North China are affected by the southward cold current all year round, so the ocean currents are always southward, and there is a natural countercurrent going northward.

"The second route was opened later. It also sailed from Liujiagang, entered Laizhou Ocean from Chengshantou and reached Tanggu. The difference is that this route does not sail along the shore. Since the waterway is relatively straight, it shortens the voyage and avoids the shallows near the coast. It can also get the help of wind and tide during the voyage, and it can arrive in half a month."

"The third route is also the last one to be opened. It is similar to the second one, but the route is more offshore, so that more use can be made of wind and tide to help the northward. Although the voyage is a little longer, it can greatly save time. As long as the weather is suitable, it usually takes about ten days to reach Tianjin from Taicang." Elder Niu said in a deep voice: "In the late Yuan Dynasty, shipping mainly relied on this route."

Zhao Hao nodded. Although the ancients did not know what the Kuroshio Current and trade winds were, the unchanging tides and winds were there. It was natural for them to master their laws and use them to navigate.

"We have already traveled through these three routes." Elder Niu continued, "From the perspective of navigation alone, the third route is naturally the most labor-saving and quickest, but..."

"Just what?" asked Master Zhao.

"But this route is far from the mainland. The farthest point is more than 700 miles away from the mainland. It's not very safe." Elder Niu said softly: "First, if you encounter a storm, there is nowhere to hide. Second, such a far place is easy to attract pirates."

"Hmm." Zhao Hao nodded and asked, "Then the first one is safer?"

"It's not safe either." Elder Niu said with a wry smile: "In addition to what I just reported to you, the coastal guards are also a big problem."

The Ming Dynasty did not have a dedicated navy, but rather the coastal garrisons were responsible for coastal defense. From Shanghai to Tianjin, one had to pass through more than a dozen coastal garrisons, all of which had large and small ships. They would intercept civilian ships in the coastal waters all day, intimidate and extort them, and show off their power. If they were really asked to fight pirates in the open sea, they would be dumbfounded.

"Those garrison naval forces are even more hateful than pirates." Elder Ma said angrily, "We in the Sand Ship Gang would rather deal with pirates than run into government ships."

Zhao Hao couldn't help but laugh. He knew that this was because the Sand Ship Gang had a large number of people and was very powerful. Small pirates didn't dare to provoke them, and big pirate gangs didn't want to make enemies with them. But the government army didn't care how many sailors and ships you had, as long as you were a good citizen, they would dare to blackmail you. That's why Elder Ma said this.

"What about the second route?" Young Master Zhao asked without comment.

"The second route is actually similar to the third one. It also requires escort, but when you encounter pirates, you can escape danger faster." Elder Niu replied.

"Hmm." Zhao Hao crossed his arms and thought.

You could hear a pin drop in the meeting room as everyone was waiting for his decision.

Soon, Zhao Hao made up his mind. He looked at everyone eagerly and said firmly: "This voyage is to take the lead. We must complete this voyage in the shortest time possible and make the first voyage of our Jiangnan Group!"

"Yes!" Everyone responded loudly without saying anything more.

"Of course, the more daring the action, the more careful the planning." Zhao Hao turned his gaze to Jin Ke and said, "Has your security company done a good job of assessment and planning?"

"Sir, it's ready." Jin Ke stood up straight and answered quickly, "After preliminary intelligence collection and analysis, the security company has made a basic assessment of this voyage. If you choose the third route, the risk may be 'medium'."

"Medium risk?" Zhao Hao's brows relaxed, looking quite happy.

In the regulations he made for the security group, "medium risk" means "there is a risk, but it can be overcome and it can be treated with caution." Above that, there is "high risk" which is very risky, and "very dangerous" which should not be attempted.

Therefore, Master Zhao was already very satisfied with the assessment that was second only to "low risk".

Then Jin Ke explained in detail: "The reason for this assessment is that there are no established pirates in this sea area. Big pirates like Zeng Yiben, the Lin brothers and Zhu Liangbao are all active in Fujian and Guangdong and never go north. So in the first few voyages, the possibility of encountering pirate gangs that we can't deal with is very low."

Guangdong had the Maritime Customs Office and Macao, and Fujian also opened up to the sea, with merchant ships shuttling back and forth and a bustling scene. The north was still under a maritime ban, and although there were small boats plying the coast, they could not sail far and had little profit, so the big pirates simply disdained them.

In addition, the current major pirates are all from Chaozhou and Zhangzhou areas. They are accustomed to operating in the waters of Fujian and Guangdong and rarely set foot in the north.

Of course, there are still many small pirate groups in the north. Especially those sea merchants who were originally attached to the Nine Great Families, now forced to make a living, either went south to join Zeng Yiben, Lin Daoqian and other gangs, or transformed themselves into pirates and robbed everywhere to make a living.

But the flag of the Sand Ship Gang and the large fleet of fifty 400-ton sand patrol ships are enough to intimidate these small shrimps.

~~

"However, the danger level will increase significantly with the number of voyages. We will adjust the risk to 'high' starting from the third voyage," Jin Ke added cautiously.

"Of course." Zhao Hao nodded. Those big pirates were the most well-informed. The company's fleet would be targeted by them after a few attempts.

"It seems that we still need a strong military escort." Young Master Zhao sighed in a fake manner and asked Wang Rulong: "Brother Wang, how is the training of the Coast Guard going? Are all the equipment in place?"

ps. This is the first of three consecutive updates. Please give me your monthly votes!