Zhuang Shilin was speechless when he heard this. This year, His Majesty invested in several major projects to form an inland water army and build new warships; expanded military weapon workshops to improve the ability to produce firearms; repair stations in various Jiangnan, purchase horses and increase personnel; invest in and build insurance institutions, occupying part of the funds; and then expanding the maritime caravan, and the ship money is still mortgaged by the salt tax in the warehouse.

At present, Zhuang Shilin only had less than 200,000 yuan of cash in cash that could be transferred. This was the only way for the empress dowager to stop the construction of the tomb for Emperor Jingyan, otherwise he would have to borrow money to survive. The young emperor's wedding was put on the agenda again. This time, it is conservatively estimated that the first five concubines would marry at the same time. Not to mention the silver and money spent on the ceremony and purchase, even the bride price was not a small amount.

Zhuang Shilin knew that the emperor would give some money to subsidize the emperor's wedding, but even so with the financial resources of the current warehouse, the only way to support the marriage is to be. At this moment, the little emperor was half complaining and half joked and crying poor, which made him very frustrated. After all, he was in charge of the warehouse and managed the audit of various expenses of the court. It can be said that he was half an official in the Song Dynasty. He also knew that if there was no little emperor, he would be a small merchant until now. Such a great kindness was helpless when His Majesty used the money, which made him feel very guilty.

"What are you doing? I am not asking you to cry for the poor, but I have a lot of money to make. As long as I succeed, I can reverse our financial difficulties!" Zhao Bing looked at Zhuang Shilin and Shangguan Hong with a sad face, and looked at Zheng Yongyan, who was still confused and confused, and said.

"Your Majesty, please speak, but if you have a driving force, my subordinates will not refuse!" Zhuang Shilin's eyes lit up. He knew that the little emperor was a boy who gathered money. When he was almost out of ammunition and food, he took Guangzhou and solved the temporary needs and laid the foundation for gaining a foothold in Qiongzhou. After moving to Qiong, he was also poor. His Majesty obtained huge financial resources by drying salt, which not only solved the financial crisis in one fell swoop, but also accumulated the needs for counterattacking Jiangnan.

"Your Majesty, just give me orders!" Shangguan Hong also politely said.

"You two have worked as maritime merchants, do you know what is the most profitable thing to sell?" Zhao Bing asked.

"Of course it's an incense medicine!" The two of them said almost in unison.

"Yes, we have thought of one thing. The most profitable one is fragrant medicine!" Zhao Bing nodded and said. This thing has caught up with the profits of modern drugs. It seems that everyone has a consensus.

"Your Majesty, although the incense and medicine is made money, they are all here to help those foreign merchants. We can only buy it from them and then transport it back to the country. Sometimes we can't buy it even if we have money!" Zhuang Shilin said, and Shangguan Hong on the side also nodded and said yes.

"It's good to say that, the incense medicine business is monopolized by the big food merchants. They rely on knowing the source of incense medicine, so that they can control the supply, control the price, and obtain huge profits from it, right?" Zhao Bing asked the two again.

"Well, what Your Majesty said is that the source of those incense medicine is regarded as the key point. Whether it is a large amount of money to buy it or a forced confession, they are unwilling to disclose any of them. Even if you tell you, they are still those illusory places, either they can't find a place or they are powerless to get involved." Zhuang Shilin agreed with the little emperor, but it is not easy to find a source of goods.

"This is their treasure pot, of course it will not be easily leaked, otherwise it will be their turn to make money." Zhao Bing smiled with a smile.

"Did Your Majesty know where the incense medicine grow?" Shangguan Hong heard the trick and asked in surprise.

"You guessed it right!" Zhao Bing nodded, asked Zheng Yong to bring the chart over, and asked the three of them to gather together. He clicked on the chart.

"Your Majesty, can the incense and medicine be produced in the Three Buddhas Kingdom?" Zhuang Shilin looked at the location where the little emperor was instructed, and could not believe it. The Three Buddhas are the only place to go to the Great Food, and are relatively closer than the Great Food.

"There are many islands here, and I cannot determine which island it is, but the general direction cannot be misaligned. Those cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, agarwood and cloves are produced in this area. Two of them have a lot of production and are unknown to outsiders and are extremely cheap." Zhao Bing said.

"As Your Majesty said, as long as we find these two islands, we will find two treasure islands full of gold and silver." Shangguan Hong said unhappily.

"Those big-food merchants are really cunning. After purchasing incense and medicine here, they transported it back from thousands of miles away, and then sold it with us to return home, making it difficult for people to know the origin. If His Majesty had not seen the mystery, the world would not know when they would be deceived." Zheng Shilin sighed. The transaction between the two parties has been at least hundreds of years, and they have been deceived until now. It is sad to think about it.

"Don't be too optimistic. Let's talk about everything after you find it. But only a few of us know about this matter. We must not disclose a word to outsiders. Otherwise, if we lose the opportunity, we will lose all our money." Zhao Bing asked them to lower their voices.

"Yes, yes, if it is known to outsiders, then we cannot monopolize the benefits of incense and medicine!" Zhuang Shilin nodded quickly.

"Well, follow Your Majesty's arrangements, and there is no other word!" Shangguan Hong replied. They all realized that as long as they could find a place, it would be like discovering a gold mine. As long as they kept the secret, they would continue to gain wealth.

"Your Majesty, the meal is ready." Wang De came in and reported.

"Send it up, we eat and talk, but there is no wine to cheer up." Zhao Bing said.

The food was delivered, and the three of them had a lot of appetite after getting such good news or the vegetarian flavor in the temple, but they had eaten a lot of food. Zhao Bing also introduced his plan first. He asked Zheng Yong to lead 50 warships, carrying 2,000 infantry troops to go out to sea with the caravan in the name of escort. After arriving at Sanfoqi, they first negotiated with the local government in the name of setting up a supply base. Whether it was bought directly with money or renting money, they had to strive to find a good port to establish a permanent base at the eastern end of the Malujia Strait.

At the same time, warships and merchant ships were sent to find the origin of the incense medicine according to the location shown in the chart. Once discovered, they would trade with local local people in barter, obtain the needs, and establish long-term cooperative relationships, and keep secrets to prevent them from being known to the outside world. The established bases can be used as a turnaround for spices, part of which will be sent back to domestic sales, and most of them will be sold along the Western routes.

Zhao Bing actually wanted to try to open a route to the Cape of Good Hope in the southern end of Africa to Europe, but he knew that this route was the most dangerous route in the world. The strong westerly winds caused by the storm waves are constantly coming year by year. In addition to the harm of storms, there are often "killing waves". The front of this wave is like a cliff, and the back is like a slow hillside, with wave heights generally ranging from fifteen to twenty meters. It occurs frequently in winter and is sometimes accompanied by rotating waves caused by polar winds. When these two waves are superimposed, the sea conditions are even worse.

There is also a strong coastal current here. When the waves meet the current, the entire sea surface rolls like a pot. The ships sailing here are often in trouble, so they are also known as the Storm Corner. Therefore, this place has become the most dangerous sailing area in the world. Zhao Bing feels that it is extremely dangerous to use the current ship's seaworthiness ability and imperfect sea chart. If it is not done well, it will be lost in both people and wealth, so he temporarily put this idea. He can only continue to trade with the port of Alexandria, which borders the two states of Asia and Africa, in exchange for the real money and silver needed in China, but he still has to endure Arab merchants to continue to fetch the sheep.

"Your Majesty, what if we find Xiangyao Island, they refuse to sell it to us, or if there is any state interference?" Zheng Yong ate all the dishes and couldn't stop asking for more food until he was half full before putting down his chopsticks.

"Di Zheng Dutong doesn't have to worry. There are countless islands of all sizes there, and many of them are uninhabited. The local governments cannot figure out how many grounds they have under their jurisdiction. Therefore, the remote islands are all independent, and the government lets them fend for themselves and no one interferes at all!" After all, Zhuang Shilin was a man who had worked as a maritime businessman and walked this line. He waved his hand and smiled.

"In this way, it is similar to those original slangs in Qiongzhou. They have lived in seclusion in the mountains for generations, and do not pay food or pay taxes, but they are also extremely xenophobic and difficult to deal with." Zheng Yong took a sip of soup after hearing this.

"I lure him with money and threaten him with guns and cannons. Is it rare for me to let you take the warship to play?" Zhao Bing got angry and pointed at him with chopsticks.

"Did Your Majesty mean that his subordinates want to capture those islands?" Zheng Yong was a little confused. He was going to do business, but why did it become an invasion?

"What's wrong? Those are all unparalleled lands. If you want to plant my Song Dynasty imperial flag all over the newly discovered lands, it is the territory of my Song Dynasty!" Zhao Bing said.

"Sir, obey the order!" Zheng Yong quickly stood up and saluted.

"You have to know that the business path is related to the economic lifeline of the Song Dynasty. It is the same as our conquering Jiangnan and trying to attack the Central Plains. When necessary, we must use guns and cannons to compete for our interests. This is like the trade path between the countries that blocked our westward journey, but one day, we will let them make the trade path for the Song Dynasty so that the merchants of the Song Dynasty can travel the world freely." Zhao Bing said with great enthusiasm.

Zhao Bing naturally knew that with the awakening of Western maritime power consciousness, wars between countries will no longer be limited to land, but will turn to sea. By opening strong ports and establishing colonial rule to usurp wealth and population, whoever controls the key points of the sea will take the lead. At that time, he took the lead in occupying those seemingly useless lands, which not only helps control maritime trade routes, but also provides excuses for future generations to compete for these islands. It can be said that it is a major event that "benefits in the present and for the future."

"Your Majesty's intentions, I understand." Zheng Yong was also excited when he heard this and said politely.

"Do you really understand? What do you think if those foreign merchants find out the source of our incense and medicine, try to insert it, or even forcefully seize it?" Zhao Bing asked.

"If he dares to make ground on our Song Dynasty, his subordinates will definitely drive him away. If he attacks with force, let him taste the power of our army." Zheng Yongyan said.

"Well, it's not bad. But when doing business, you should make money with kindness. You should also be polite first and then soldiers when doing things. Don't lose etiquette, which will damage my reputation as a country of etiquette in the Song Dynasty." Zhao Bing nodded with satisfaction.

"Yes, I understand!" Zheng Yong hesitated and said. At this moment, he couldn't help but complain in his heart that the little emperor was a bitch and a archway. He wanted to be a face-saving person, but he was just troubled by his own affairs.

"Your Majesty, merchants are pursuing profits. If those merchants learned that we had also obtained the secret of incense and medicine, they would definitely be as Zheng Dutong said that they would not be willing to give up such a generous benefit. After the defeat in the South China Sea, they would make trouble after entering the West, or prohibit us from docking transactions, or force buying at a low price, what would happen?" Shangguan Hong thought for a while. In the past, in order to obtain the things that the little emperor urgently needed, he often searched outside the island, but when he went out, he had to bow his head under the roof. Even though he knew he was suffering a loss, he dared not speak out and endured their exploitation.

"Your worries are not unreasonable. This is also the reason why I want to set up a base in the Malacca Strait. If they dare to do anything bad, we will block the strait so that they can't transport it back. And they can only come north to our Song Dynasty to trade. Who has the final say?" Zhao Bing smiled.

"Although what Your Majesty said makes sense, if we block the strait, it will inevitably damage the interests of the countries along the way. They will definitely be deeply dissatisfied and will be extremely unfavorable for our business!" Zhuang Shilin frowned and said.

"Haha, it seems that you have been in the court for a long time and are not suitable for doing business." Zhao Bing pointed at Zhuang Shilin and smiled. "You must know that the most lacking in the business road is robbers. Their ships were robbed by pirates and people were killed by pirates. What does it have to do with us? If you have to blame them, you can only rely on those countries to clean up the problem!"

"Yes, Your Majesty said so much, but he just aggrieved Zheng Dutong. The dignified official army is going to play a thief!" Zhuang Shilin immediately reacted. The pirates can be said to be enemies with the caravan and are with each other, and some caravans are even business and thieves. It is difficult to distinguish between true and false. With the current strength of the Song Dynasty's naval army, no small country around is an opponent, and it is impossible not to dominate.

"Pirates are rampant. Those countries that have suffered deeply will leave their money alone, and the two can only ask for help from the strong. But there will be no need to help, and they will always pay some price." Zhao Bing sneered, "But I think even if there is a dispute, it will be resolved quickly. After all, everyone is for making money. Both sides are not what they want to see. The two sides will quickly reach a compromise and will not fight to the death!"

"What Your Majesty said is reasonable. When we blocked the Qiongzhou Strait, the Otu merchants of the Tatars could not bear it. They secretly reached agreements with our dynasty and were willing to sell the interests of our dynasty." Zhuang Shilin nodded and said that he was.
Chapter completed!