The invasion of the abyss begins with the Laughing at the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 87 Pirate "Shi Ba Zhi"

It was just daybreak when a hint of pale sky quietly appeared in the sky. The salty sea breeze blew away the heat.

At the dock, the porter, wearing a coarse cloth shirt and tired after a night of hard work, wiped the sweat from his forehead, shook the copper coins in his hand, and smiled happily.

"Master, the goods that need to be purchased have been loaded onto the ship. There are 400,000 dan of grain, 100,000 dan of iron, and 100,000 dan of saltpeter and sulfur."

"If it weren't for the great help from Chen's company, it would probably take more than ten days to gather all the goods."

Dongmei smoothed her wet hair, flipped through the account book in her hand, and said seriously.

Iron, sulfur, saltpeter, grain and other materials are all in short supply. Fortunately, the Chen family business has been rooted in Yuegang for hundreds of years and has good relations with all parties, so it was able to gather all the goods overnight.

“We have to thank them very much.”

Hearing this, Shen Yuanliang nodded involuntarily, but there was still a hint of doubt in his deep eyes.

The Chen family business had never met Shen Yuanliang before. When selling oriental pearls, deer antlers and jewelry yesterday, the young master gave a very fair price, which was several percentage points higher than expected.

Now, the Chen family business has taken great pains to gather supplies for Shen Yuanliang. They are so enthusiastic that Shen Yuanliang cannot help but doubt it.

"Brother Shen, I'm sorry to trouble you this time!"

"There's an emergency at home, and I need to go home as soon as possible."

Half an hour later, Chen Qingwen, who was wearing a square scarf on his head and a moon-white round-necked Taoist robe, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, cupped his hands and said.

As the young master of the Chen family business, Chen Qingwen has stayed in Yuegang for many years, coordinating the Chen family's business. This time he borrowed Shen Yuanliang's ship to return to Fuzhou Prefecture. The meaning is self-evident.

If the Chen family was not in danger now and someone was secretly spying on them, Chen Qingwen would have recognized Shen Yuanliang long ago. Now he can only go back and announce the good news so that the elders in the family can be mentally prepared.

"Young Master, you're welcome."

If someone gives you a plum, you should receive a peach in return. Shen Yuanliang, who was dressed in dark green clothes and had a jade pendant on his waist, responded with a smile.

As the sun rose, thirty large Fu ships sailed along the predetermined route, like an arrow shot from a bow, riding the wind and waves, and gradually disappeared from people's sight.

"It's time to end the feud between our two families."

"After hundreds of years of fighting, our Qian family is ultimately superior and has a better chess game."

On the dock, a thin middle-aged man was watching this scene with his eyes narrowed, emitting a chilling light like a poisonous snake, and his fists clenched and unclenched.

In order to completely eradicate the Chen family in Fuzhou, the middle-aged man Qian Yin used a borrowed knife to kill someone last night and specially sent someone to contact the notorious "Shi Ba Zhi".

Calculating the time, "Shibazhi" should be guarding the road that Shen Yuanliang must pass. Facing the vicious pirates, they can't escape even if they have wings.

Thinking of this, the middle-aged man Qian Yin stroked his gray beard, took light steps, hummed an opera, and disappeared in the crowd.

……

On the sea a few hundred miles west of the Penghu Islands, there are hundreds of ships of all sizes floating, some weighing thousands of tons, some weighing only a few hundred tons.

The black pennant fluttered in the wind, with a huge "Liu" character standing on it, looking fierce and aggressive, just like the Liu Xiang pirate gang at this moment.

"Where's the fireboat?" "Is the kerosene ready?"

On the largest warship, Liu Xiang, dressed in black and wearing a black eye patch, carried a goose-feather knife on his shoulder. He pulled the corner of his mouth and scolded ferociously.

At this time, the "Shibazhi" had just begun to develop. There were only a few cannons and hundreds of muskets on the warships. In order to extort money, the fire ships came in handy.

The fireboat was small, flexible, fast and easy to operate. The damage it caused to wooden sailing ships was fatal. Once hit by it, the ship would be destroyed and people on board would die.

During the Battle of Red Cliffs, the Sun-Liu faction used fire ships to defeat Cao Cao's 800,000-strong army, causing Cao Cao to abandon his armor and flee in panic.

"Boss, everything is ready, just waiting for your order."

A thin young man in a brown short-sleeved shirt ran over hurriedly, patted his chest and said confidently.

"Brothers, cheer up. This is millions of silver."

"As long as we intercept their goods and money, we can have delicious food and drinks, and everything we want."

Glancing at his lazy brothers, the pirate leader Liu Xiang frowned, cleared his throat, and continued to paint big pictures for everyone to inspire their fighting spirit.

"Boss, it's already noon. According to the route, the big fat sheep should have arrived long ago. But now he is nowhere to be seen. Is the Qian family playing a trick on us?"

Two hours passed, and there was no sight of thirty large Fu ships, or even a small sampan, on the endless sea. No wonder everyone couldn't wait any longer.

Even Liu Xiang herself had some doubts, and she was just holding on by waiting until now.

"Humph! The Liang Qian family doesn't have the guts to play tricks on us. Let's wait a little longer, brothers."

With his right hand on his forehead, the pirate leader Liu Xiang probed the situation on the sea again and again under the scorching sun, and spoke while suppressing his irritability and anxiety.

How could Liu Xiang not understand what Qian Yinan, the head of the Qian family, was thinking? Wasn't it just to kill someone with a borrowed knife and take the opportunity to eliminate dissidents?
The pirate leader Liu Xiang didn't care about any of these things. What he cared about most at the moment was the money.

Whoever stands in his way of making money, let alone the Qian family, even the Fujian Navy, Liu Xiang would dare to go against them, all for money!
A red fireball hung in the sky, and the scorching sunlight hurt people's skin. Amid the pirates' repeated calls, Shen Yuanliang's fleet gradually appeared in their sight.

From the tall mast to the huge hull, the distance between the two was getting closer and closer and was about to collide.

"Brother Shen, something is wrong."

"They should be pirates, guarding here. It is very likely that someone has tipped you off. It seems that I have implicated you."

On the deck, Chen Qingwen looked at the many ships coming in front of him with ill intentions. Thinking of his experiences in the past few days, he frowned and said with some uneasiness in his heart.

Overseas trade is extremely profitable, but also extremely dangerous.

On the one hand, there was bad weather, and on the other hand, there were pirates like locusts. The careful ones would spare people's lives, while the unscrupulous ones would not only rob but also kill people.

As for how the pirates got accurate intelligence, it was because of their peers!
In the eyes of normal people, commercial competition is a back-and-forth battle between two parties, each with its own unique strategies, competing in terms of product price, quality, publicity, etc.
However, in fact, commercial competition uses every possible means, and the most effective method is to destroy the opponent physically, directly nipping it off at the source. It is simple, efficient, and impeccable.

　There are two more updates, which will be updated around 6pm.

　　Update notice: there will be two updates in the morning and two updates in the afternoon every day, so stay tuned!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)