novelSusiti Chapter 122 Bohai Bay Shipyard
Chapter 122 Bohai Bay Shipyard
Chapter 122 Bohai Bay Shipyard
After suppressing bandits and pacifying the Iron King, Zhang Kun became famous in Zhangjiawan, Hexiwu, and the surrounding areas.
Although Zhang Kun had already cracked a major smuggling case involving tung oil in Tianjin last winter, he did so under Xu Bengao's name.
Only those who have seen Zhang Kun in person, such as that guest just now, know that Zhang Kun is the one in charge.
Despite his rising fame, most people are unaware that Zhang Kun is so young.
Furthermore, since Zhang Kun and the Sun family deliberately kept a low profile, it was impossible for the Gao family to associate that young man with a third-rank official.
Inside the side courtyard, the two members of the Gao family were feasting and drinking.
Upon seeing Gao Ping and Madam Gao, he stood up, holding his wine glass, and said apologetically, "Second Sister, we were in the wrong just now. This glass of wine is for you and your husband..."
""
"Get them both out of here!"
Ignoring their apologies, Madam Gao sternly ordered the servants, "Take them to the guest courtyard and lock them up!"
The servants rushed forward, covered the mouths of the two men, and forcibly dragged them out of the side courtyard.
Cleared out of the side courtyard of the area.
Zhang Kun sat alone at a table with Bi Ziyan and Wang Xueshu, while their entourages were moved to other tables.
Gao Ping and Sun Jing personally served the guests, while Gao Ping entertained the other guests.
After exchanging a few pleasantries and sharing a drink with Gao Ping and Sun Jing, Bi Ziyan recounted the new news from the north:
Zhou Yin and Wang Sen's sons attempted to return north, launching a night attack on the Liangcheng garrison.
Zhou Yin failed to breach Liangcheng last time, and with reinforcements from Jizhou Town inside the city this time, it's even less likely he'll succeed.
Unfortunately, the Liangcheng garrison and the Jizhou garrison lacked horses and were unable to annihilate Zhou Yin and Wang Sen's sons.
But for Zhang Kun, Bi Ziyan, and Wang Xueshu, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing; on the contrary, it made them more likely to lure the Wenxiang Sect headquarters.
The news just came back this morning.
Because the Sun family was too low-key, unlike the Gao family who held a grand celebration, officials from the governor's and general's offices received invitations.
Bi Ziyan and Wang Xueshu thought this was a wedding banquet, but it turned out to be a homecoming banquet.
However, their main purpose in coming here was to see Zhang Kun; they didn't care whether it was a wedding banquet or a homecoming banquet.
After the homecoming banquet, Lady Gao approached Gao Ping and said softly, "My lord, my two younger brothers were somewhat disrespectful to our distinguished guests today..."
""
Gao Ping raised his hand to interrupt his wife, asking her to gather the Gao family over. With a stern face, he said in a deep voice, "My in-laws wanted to keep a low profile and didn't want to cause trouble by being ostentatious, so there were some things I didn't say."
On this joyous occasion, someone actually spouted nonsense about a live-in son-in-law and showed disrespect to the in-laws' important family!
Do you know the powerful merchant firm that controls the Tamburi market, the Liangjing Jinyun?
The Gao family members nodded in agreement. After the smuggling case involving tung oil last year, the Jin Yun ship had become a household name in Tianjin.
"The Liangjing Jinyun ship was founded by Zhang Kun, the guerrilla commander of the Tongwan River Affairs Bureau!"
Gao Ping said to the Gao family in a deep voice, "This Commander Zhang is a benefactor of my in-laws, who also participated in the founding of the Jin Yun ship and has a stake in it!"
"What!?" "A stake in the Golden Cloud Ship!?" "That's amazing!?"
The Gao family members looked at each other in disbelief, never expecting that the unassuming Sun family had such a powerful background.
"That's not all,"
Gao Ping picked up a bottle of clear glass Jade Ice Dew and continued to the Gao family: "The newly emerging Shaochunhao is actually my in-laws' winery business!"
The in-laws are just being discreet; they haven't changed the signboard in Tianjin!
Those members of the Gao family who had previously complained about the Sun family and Sun Shouqian wished they could disappear into a crack in the ground.
"Now you're not only criticizing my in-laws, but you've also offended their influential figures!"
At this point, Gao Ping slammed the wine bottle in his hand to the ground and said sternly to the Gao family, "Do you know that Commander Zhang is not only a young hero, but his godfather has an even more impressive background!?"
Zhang Hejian, the Imperial Secretary, served as the Attendant-in-Chief of the Directorate of Ceremonial and concurrently as the Director of the Imperial Horse Administration. He was also the Imperial Commissioner in charge of tax collection in Tongwan, Zhili, Xuanfu, and Datong.
As you all saw today, the Grand Commander and the Commander-in-Chief of Tianjin personally came to drink with Commander Zhang!
Those who do business in Tianjin may not know about the Jin Yun Hao or the Tongwan River Affairs Guerrilla.
But you must know that Zhang Ye, the tax supervisor of Tongwan, is the one who collects taxes for the Emperor!
"My husband,"
Upon hearing this, Madam Gao reached out and grabbed her husband Gao Ping's sleeve, her voice trembling as she asked, "Do you...do you have any good ideas to avert this disaster for our Gao family?"
"Oh dear!"
Gao Ping sighed and shook his head at the Gao family, saying, "I finally managed to negotiate a big deal with my in-laws and their benefactor, Commander Zhang!"
Commander Zhang plans to build a large ship in Tianjin, and intends to partner with his in-laws and several other families to invest in our Shengzhou!
He held up three fingers and explained to the Gao family, "Give us 20,000 taels of silver in exchange for 70% of our shares, and leave us 30% of our shares."
"If we invest another 80,000 taels to build a large ship, our remaining shares can be valued at over 40,000 taels!"
The Gao family members looked at each other, the asking price neither too high nor too low:
The reason it's not considered expensive is that the market value of the Shengzhou's more than twenty ships and other assets combined is approximately 30,000 taels.
It's not low because the operating costs of the Shengzhou were very high. If a ship sank in a storm, a year's work would be for nothing.
Please ask other companies to invest; a pure share cannot be sold for 30,000 taels.
"My lord, what do you mean?"
"How should we use this 20,000 taels?"
Gao Ping questioned the Gao family: "Are you going to divide it all up and use it for eating, drinking, and having fun? In my opinion, it should all be returned to the Shengzhou ship!"
In this way, the Gao family can both appease Commander Zhang's anger and make the remaining shares more valuable!
'
...Then I will do as my husband says!
After a moment of silence, Gao made up his mind and said in a deep voice to the other members of the Gao family: "Our Gao family's other farmland is all in Tianjin. If we cannot eliminate this disaster, we will all be finished!"
Besides, my husband and I have been diligently managing Shengzhou all these years, allowing you to enjoy the profits and have already made your share capital!
If the Shengzhou ship were to achieve a great leap forward, the benefits you all will only increase in the future!
Externally, there is the threat posed by the renowned Zhang Kun; internally, there is the support of the two pillars of the family.
The other members of the Gao family were powerless to resist and had no choice but to accept the solution offered by Gao Ping.
Thus, after Sun Shouqian's marriage to Gao Yueji, the Shengzhou ship was successfully reorganized, with 100,000 taels of silver lying in its accounts.
A new shipyard is planned to be built in Tianjin, named Bohai Bay Shipyard.
Many shipwrights from Portugal and other European countries will be present at the Bohai Bay shipyard at that time.
To minimize resistance, Zhang Kun decided to locate the Bohai Bay shipyard in the sparsely populated Dagukou area.
Just like Xin'anpingdu, where Qinglongwan Shipyard is located, a new town was built near Dagukou.
Like Matsuura Yasunobu before him, Zhang Kun secured Gao Ping a deputy commander position in Tianjin.
The appointment of Gao Ping as the assistant defense officer of Dagu Port enabled the formation of an armed force at the Bohai Bay shipping yard.
Bi Ziyan and Wang Xueshu supported this view:
What's wrong with Zhang Kun being willing to use his own money to help Tianjin Town strengthen its coastal defenses?
As for the Portuguese?
There was a famous general in that era named Liu Ting, whose troops included soldiers from his hometown of Sichuan.
There were also soldiers from various ethnic groups, including the Duzhang Barbarians, Miao soldiers, Burmese soldiers, Korean soldiers, Japanese soldiers, Siamese soldiers, and Indian soldiers...
Zhang Kun could easily keep some of his own troops under his command, given his powerful backers and the emperor's favor.