Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 44 The Road of Frankincense

On September 17th, the sun shone brightly. A carriage stopped at the dock diagonally behind the Tianfei Palace.

The port was filled with ships, their masts forming a forest that stretched to the distant horizon.

Starting yesterday, the Spring Festival travel rush fleets began returning one after another, filling the vast Liujiagang Port to capacity. Before them, the fleets from Shenyang and Yezhou, which were heading to Sanfoqi for trade, had just set sail. Liujiagang Port is truly bustling with activity, with a level of activity that is astonishing.

Zheng Fan, Shao Shuyi, Liang Tai, and Yu Yuan got off the carriage and instructed Cao Tong to wait at the dock. After some inquiries, they finally found the location of the "Frankincense Road" ship.

However, the boat is anchored in deep water some distance away, and a small boat is needed to get it ashore.

There are ship owners in Liujiagang who specialize in this kind of business.

Their boats were very small, the larger ones holding only a few dozen people and the smaller ones only a few people. They traveled between the large ships and the docks, picking up and dropping off passengers and transporting goods.

After Zheng Fan gave them some money, the four of them boarded the boat, but the boatman showed no intention of rowing and just craned his neck to look at the shore.

"Boatman, have you paid enough money?" Zheng Fan asked impatiently.

"Coming, coming, sir, please wait a moment." The boatman bowed repeatedly and said with a smile.

As they were talking, two oxcarts appeared at the dock. The men accompanying the carts unloaded the cargo on the spot without saying a word and carried it into the ship's hold.

"The boat that you were on was still a little short of its destination. We rushed here, and it only arrived today," the boatman explained. "They told me last night to transfer you to the larger boat."

"Then why are you bringing guests?" Zheng Fan was speechless.

The boatman smiled "honestly" and didn't answer directly, only saying, "You have to be careful with the red silk you're sending to Mindoro (Mindoro Island in the Philippines)."

Zheng Fan was amused and asked in a condescending tone, "Does the boatman also know that the people are so intelligent?"

"I know," the boatman said as he helped. "I've been doing this docking for thirty years, and I've heard of quite a few foreign ports."

"Tell me about it," Zheng Fan said.

The boatman gently placed a tube of red silk at Shao Shuyi's feet and said to Zheng Fan, "This is red silk. If it's a small red silk, send it to Dingjialu (Tenkara state, Malaysia)."

The red silk was delivered to Batu Ma (a port in southern Myanmar, where the Salween River flows into the sea).

The colored silk was usually sent to Srivijaya (Palembang area of ​​Sumatra).

If it's five-colored silk, it's sold in Tuta (Nagarpatinam, Tamil Nadu, India, across the sea from Sri Lanka).

The boatman spoke while moving swiftly. In no time, the cabin was piled high with tubes of silk.

Zheng Fan and Shao Shuyi exchanged a glance, both somewhat surprised.

"Boatman, with your insight, you could go out to sea and trade with other countries," Shao Shuyi said with a smile.

"I've only heard about this from people who go to sea over the past thirty years, on and off. Aren't they all working on the boats? But I haven't seen many of them become ship managers," the boatman said.

Zheng Fan laughed heartily and said, "That makes sense."

Shao Shuyi smiled and asked, "Boatman, do any people from the Central Plains go to these foreign ports you just mentioned?"

"There's plenty," the boatman, who looked to be about fifty years old, replied without even breaking a sweat as he carried the cargo. "A few days ago, I even shipped some silk to the Zhu family's big ship. They're going to Wenlaogu (the Maluku Islands) to buy spices."

"I see," Shao Shuyi nodded.

According to his understanding, maritime trade has flourished since the Yuan Dynasty, reaching an astonishing level on the basis of the former Song Dynasty, with the number of people going to sea and the size of the fleet reaching new historical heights.

However, most Chinese merchants still prefer to do business in the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia.

There are far fewer merchants traveling westward through India and Sri Lanka.

As for those that reach the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Aden, and the East African coast, there are even fewer—the furthest being Wang Dayuan, who sailed to the Mozambique Channel (Mozambique and Madagascar on either side, and South Africa to the south).

But this magnificent scene is still breathtaking.

Getting money out of the pockets of high-ranking officials, wealthy gentry, and ordinary people was no easy task, yet they were also the main consumers of overseas goods. The imperial court, on the one hand, directly profited from maritime trade through the official ship ownership system, and on the other hand, collected taxes through the Maritime Trade Office, indirectly extracting money from their pockets. This greatly supplemented the treasury and simultaneously cultivated a large number of merchants, ship managers, and high-ranking sailors who became wealthy through maritime trade, making it easier to exploit them later…

A group of people quickly unloaded the goods. The oxcart on the shore turned around and left, and one person boarded the boat, sitting silently in a corner without saying a word.

Zheng Fan, Shao Shuyi, and others naturally had no interest in paying him any attention.

"Let's go!" The boatman rowed the oars and headed into the deeper water.

People would occasionally greet them from the sidelines, and the boatmen would usually respond in a loud voice, asking questions like, "How's business?", "How many cargo boats did you transport today?", "How many passengers did you carry?", and so on.

Before long, the towering hull of the "Frankincense Road" came into view.

This ship is very unique.

Each of the three masts has a short bar suspended from it, with a sail hanging from it in a triangular shape. It looks like it can rotate very flexibly to catch the changing wind direction.

"Is this an Arabian ocean-going junket?" Shao Shuyi stared in disbelief, thinking to himself, "It's really different from the riverboats built by Zheng's shipyard. When will I ever own a real ocean-going ship? Will I ever have that chance in this lifetime?"

"We've arrived," the boatman said, wiping his sweat.

******

In the largest room of the "Frankenstein Road", Ali sat in the center, with five or six other people sitting cross-legged on the floor to his left and right.

When Zheng Fan, Shao Shuyi, Yu Yuan, and Liang Tai entered, they all turned their gazes toward them.

A moment later, one person stood up, took four small bags from behind him, and threw them at the feet of the crowd with a "thump".

"Language is the leaves, actions are the fruit." Ali first said this in his native dialect, then switched to Wu dialect, pointed to the four bags, and said, "Guests, open them."

Zheng Fan and Shao Shuyi exchanged a glance, then sat cross-legged and opened the small bag.

"Frankincense." He gently weighed the bag and found that it weighed about four or five pounds, so this gift was not light.

Shao Shuyi also opened the bag, which contained frankincense, but with a few glittering objects mixed in. He immediately looked up at Ali.

"Don't get complacent at the source of your glory, young man." Ali winked at him and said, "This is a small reward for you because you helped me."

After saying that, Ali clapped his hands.

A servant behind him opened the cabin door and brought over a thick stack of parchment.

"Hand them to the guests," Ali said.

The servants bent down and approached Zheng Fan and Shao Shuyi, spreading the parchment sheets one by one on the deck.

"The first few pages are noble coats of arms; if I can make them, I can sell them," Ali said. "The following pages are the items I need you to make."

Zheng and Shao stared intently at the screen.

Leaving aside the family crests, most of the other items are common artifacts from foreign lands.

For example, there is an object that looks like an oil lamp, which is very exotic: traditional Chinese oil lamps are mostly shaped like bowls or plates, or have high feet. The style with a long spout that can be held or hung is really rare. Moreover, it has patterns on it, which is not Chinese style.

For example, there is a tall, open cup with intricate curved patterns, depicting a group of foreigners sitting cross-legged at a gathering, along with a proverb in a foreign language (A person without friends is like a lone goose separated from its flock).

For example, Shao Shuyi once mentioned an ink bottle, which also had an Arabic proverb written on it (Do not adorn your clothes, but enrich your wisdom).

For example...

In total, there were more than ten kinds of vessels, each with its own purpose, which were required to be fired according to the drawings.

"I'll leave two people here; you two can talk to him," Ali said, gesturing to the two men on his left and right. "As for the deposit that needs to be paid in advance, that's a problem..."

Zheng Fan accepted the parchment.

The foreigner before him seemed rather self-absorbed, which slightly displeased him. However, in business, personal likes and dislikes were unimportant; making money was the top priority. Since Sanshe felt that while venturing overseas to trade with foreign lands was important, he couldn't neglect his old profession and should pursue both paths simultaneously, then this matter had to be addressed.

Moreover, he also felt it had great potential and was a good business opportunity. Xiao Hu always had some ingenious ideas that were truly amazing.

"To be honest, I don't have any extra wealth to pay the deposit," Ali said somewhat helplessly. "I've basically sold all the goods I brought, and then exchanged them for your porcelain, silk, and brocade. However, I still have some goods that the Maritime Trade Office calls 'fine goods,' which I plan to take to Quanzhou (Zaitun City), which I missed on the way, to sell. If you'd like—"

As he spoke, he clapped his hands again, and several servants entered, each carrying a piece of cloth, which they showed to Zheng Fan and the others.

Zheng Fan stood up and carefully checked each item.

Shao Shuyi also got up.

Gibe cloth, quilted cloth, camel wool cloth, kapok cloth, sock cloth, shoe cloth...

"Decades ago, basil was all the rage..." Zheng Fan whispered in Shao Shuyi's ear, giving a brief introduction.

Shao Shuyi understood.

According to Zheng Fan, thirty or forty years ago, a large number of cotton textiles from overseas flooded into the Yuan Dynasty, with about a dozen varieties, all of which were popular for a time. Now, the situation has gradually reversed, with cotton cloth occupying a considerable share of the Yuan Dynasty's export commodities, its ranking rising rapidly, showing a sudden and unexpected rise.

Zheng Fan even suspected that, in the field of cotton textiles, the Yuan Dynasty was already exporting more than importing, so the cotton cloth brought by the foreigners was not selling well.

However, these fabrics were not unsellable. The Zheng family had shops that specialized in selling fabrics. They were also engaged in maritime trade, with silk as their main product and cotton and linen products as a supplement.

"If you're not satisfied," Ali said, taking a wooden box from beside him and opening it with a clang, "let's get an estimate."

Shao Shuyi looked in the direction of the sound and saw a wooden box containing over a hundred silver coins. The quantity wasn't large; they were probably for rewards along the way. The fact that they had taken them out showed that the person was indeed quite sincere, and also quite—anxious.

"How much fine cloth do you have?" Zheng Fan asked, looking at Ali.

Ali held out a hand and said, "One tube at a time, five hundred tubes in total, slightly more than your five hundred bolts of silk."

Zheng Fan frowned in thought.

"If that's not enough, take these too." Ali took off two swords and threw them over.

The scabbard and hilt are adorned with jewels, making one dizzy with envy.

"Take this too." Ali then had two pairs of ivory ornaments hanging in the cabin taken down.

After doing all that, Ali sat there calmly and said, "The last deposit I paid was for my friendship."

Zheng Fan and Shao Shuyi both looked at him.

"The tax collector Sun Chuan asked me not to buy your porcelain and silk, and I agreed," Ali said. "If you accept my friendship, when my fleet arrives at Liujiagang next year, I will give priority to purchasing your goods."

"Next year?" Shao Shuyi was somewhat surprised.

Traveling between Basla and Liujiagang every year, that's incredibly efficient.

"I grew up in Basra, and my first voyage also began from Basra, but my home is not in Basra now." Ali smiled and said, "I live in what you call 'Lowe' (Johor), and I will be back soon, my child."

So that's how it is. Shao Shuyi understood. No wonder so many Southeast Asian countries later adopted Islam; it turns out it was all brought there by Arab merchants.

The Southeast Asian region is basically an area where the three major cultural spheres of China, India, and Arabia have interacted and influenced each other, along with the local indigenous people. The four sides have blended together, with one side gaining and the other losing.

"Now—" Ali looked at Zheng Fan one last time and said, "The one who holds the seal should make a decision."

"Okay." Without much hesitation, Zheng Fan agreed.