Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 345 Yamata Shoji
The management of Hakata Pier is obviously not as good as that of Yanpu and is somewhat disorganized.

There is no unified dispatch for the ships entering and leaving the port, so everything cannot be done in an orderly manner.

This place is like an intersection with neither traffic police nor traffic lights, and all cars squeeze in wherever they can.

Fortunately, Captain Gai and Captain Kao were very familiar with this kind of scene, because except for the Song Dynasty, the docks of all the countries they had been to were basically in this state.

So the "Sabaidi" was at the back, and the smaller "Shabai" was in the front. "Shufu" and "So Comfortable" squeezed in and, amid the shouts and curses in various languages ​​from sailors from various countries, they finally docked at the pier.

Taro Suzuki and Siamese businessman Kun Tai ran ashore excitedly and began to hire porters at Hakata Wharf to move building materials and contact vehicles.

Yang Yuan got off the boat accompanied by Mikami Chiya.

Wang Changsheng had never been to Japan and was very curious about the foreign country, so Yang Yuan asked Uncle Ji to accompany him.

Uncle Gou followed Yang Yuan consciously. He looked like a frail old servant and attracted no attention at all.

Mikami Chiya introduced to Yang Yuan: "I am not familiar with Hakata Port, but I know there are many Song Guo Gangshou here. We can ask them and should be able to find out where the 'Yaki Shoji' is."

"Yaki Shoji" is the merchant group to which Yang Yuan's share deed belongs, and it is clearly printed on the share certificate.

Yang Yuan nodded and said, "You ask someone to find out. Let's find Song Guogang first."

At this time, Jiangzhou Lie arrived at the dock on horseback.

He immediately spotted Yang Yuan, who stood out from the crowd, and he pulled the reins hard, leaned his leg, and jumped off the horse lightly.

Jiangzhou Lie was tall and sturdy, and was very conspicuous on the dock. In addition, he was riding a tall horse, making him a unique presence on the dock, so Yang Yuan spotted him at the first opportunity.

Jiangzhou Lie looked Yang Yuan up and down, grinned, strode forward, and asked in a bold and generous manner in Chinese: "Are you from the Song Dynasty?"

Yang Yuan was delighted. There was no need to look for him anymore. It was obvious that this person was the leader of the Song State Gang who was living in Bodo.

Yang Yuan bowed and said, "I am Yang Sanyuan, may I know who you are, brother?"

Jiangzhou Lie laughed and said carelessly: "So it's Brother Sanyuan. My name is Jiangzhou Lie. I'm also in the maritime trade business. I've been here for twelve years."

At this point, Jiangzhou Lie narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Brother Sanyuan, I don't know you. I wonder which merchant family you are from?

Jiang is considered a local boss in Hakata. I know almost all the businesses that came from the Song Dynasty."

Yang Yuan said calmly: "This is my first time here, it's normal that Brother Jiang doesn't recognize me. I am considered... a member of 'Yaki Shoji', Brother Jiang, have you heard of it?"

Jiangzhou Lie was stunned and asked in surprise: "'Yaki Shoji'?"

He looked at Yang Yuan warily and said, "Jiang is from Yaqi Trading Company. It seems that the Cao family is the only shareholder of Yaqi Trading Company in the Song Dynasty."

In Japan, shares are called "株", so one share is called "一株", and shareholders are called "株東".

Although Yang Yuan didn't quite understand this point, when he thought of "Co., Ltd." and connected it with the previous and next sentences, he naturally understood what he meant.

Yang Yuan smiled slightly and said, "The Cao family you are talking about is Cao Yong, right? Cao Yong has already sold his shares to me."

"Sigh~"

When Jiangzhou Lie heard this, he couldn't help but cry out in surprise.

Cao Yong only holds 4% of the shares in Yaki Shoji, but considering that Yaki Shoji has a total of thirteen shareholders, his share is quite a lot.

Jiangzhou Hunter, as the largest Hakata gang leader here, only holds 6% of the shares in "Yaki Shoji".

Moreover, they all have to participate in management and operations, except Cao Yong.

Cao Yong invested in the company when he was working as a transport envoy. Being able to join the largest maritime trading group in Hakata Port was like picking up money for free. Others couldn't get in even if they had money.

Cao Yong was able to be recruited because he could use his position to provide many conveniences to Japanese maritime merchants.

When he became the prefect of Lin'an, his role became even greater.

"Yaki Shoji" pays him a dividend of 1.6 million kan every year, but the profits he earns by using his connections are more than ten times that.

And such a chicken that lays golden eggs was actually sold by Cao Yong to Yang Sanyuan. What is the identity of Yang Sanyuan?
Jiangzhou Lie was suddenly in awe of Yang Yuan, and said happily: "I see, so from now on we are partners.

Brother Yang, you already have a place to live in Bodo. If you haven't found a place yet, come live at my house and we can get close to each other."

Yang Yuan said: "This... is too presumptuous to disturb you, isn't it?"

Jiangzhou Lie said: "Hey, we are from the same merchant group, not outsiders. My business is mainly with the Song Dynasty, so I will have to trouble you in the future.

Come on, let's go to my house. Uh... do you need to explain what happened on the ship?"

Yang Yuan smiled and said, "No need, I have people on board who are well versed in business and will make arrangements."

Jiangzhou Lie laughed and said, "Okay, let's go."

Yang Yuan ordered someone to go back to the boat and tell Gai Huochang that he only brought a thin old servant, Lao Gou Shu, and a Japanese samurai, Mikami Chiya.

Jiangzhou Lie saw that Yang Sanyuan's follower was actually a Japanese warrior who looked extraordinary, and he looked up to him. Not only could this man make Cao Yong give up a golden rooster, but he also had a samurai recruited from Japan as his follower, so his family background must be extraordinary.

This is not to say that Japanese samurai's martial arts skills must be very high, but the "absolute loyalty", "absolute obedience" and "absolute tenacity" they emphasize make them the best and most reliable thugs once they recognize their master.

As the most prestigious leader of Hakata Port, Jiangzhou Lie's residence is the largest and most luxurious in the entire Tangfang area.

As soon as they entered the hall, four petite and pretty maids came up to them, knelt on the floor, and took off the shoes for Jiangzhou Lie and Yang Yuan.

Yang Yuan took a look, fortunately, the girls did not paint their faces as white as ghosts, nor did they have red paper-like lips, nor did they paint their teeth a scary black. They all had the standard Japanese girl temperament of being delicate, gentle, elegant and docile.

It’s just that they are not very old and their bodies are too petite, so they look two years younger than Qingtang.

Jiangzhou Lie invited Yang Yuan to sit down, and then a pretty maid came in to serve tea.

It was still the Tang style of making tea, and she made tea for the two of them gracefully.

The shoji door was open, the flowers and plants in the courtyard were fragrant, and the ancient green pines and white gravel paths were extremely elegant.

They used the Tang style kneeling posture, but lacked the "heel support" used by the Tang people.

Yang Yuan couldn't sit on his knees like this as it would hurt his knees and his legs would be numb, so he just sat cross-legged on the stack of compresses.

Jiangzhou Lie laughed and said, "I am too proud to call you my dear brother. Brother Sanyuan, you are here to change the name and transfer the ownership of the merchant group, right?"

The main purpose of Yang Yuan's trip was to find Ono Mingxi, but of course he couldn't ask so directly.

Yang Yuan said, "That's right. I met Brother Jiang now and I need your introduction. I'm completely clueless in Bodo."

"Hahaha, no problem, no problem. But...why did Lord Cao Yong transfer the shares to you, my brother Sanyuan?
Please also let me know the identity of Brother Sanyuan, so that I can greet the partners of the business group first."

"I used to be in the tea business. Brother Jiang, you probably don't know this yet? The tea-making method is now popular in Song.

I seized the opportunity and was the first to switch to high-end roasted tea, so I made a lot of money.

There is a Mr. Wang in Lin'an Longshan Warehouse. I wonder if Brother Jiang has heard of him. The Wang family also wants to expand their business.

We hit it off immediately, so we bought the shares from Cao Yong and started to do maritime trade."

Jiangzhou Lie's eyes flickered slightly, and he asked, "The trade in Bodo Port is very prosperous. Lord Cao doesn't have to do anything every year and can take away 1.6 million strings of Song coins as dividends.

He... is willing to sell such a cash cow to you?"

Yang Yuan smiled and said, "Cao Yong got into trouble and was nearly beheaded by the government. Why would he be reluctant to sell his shares? He needs cash to smooth things over in order to survive."

Jiangzhou Lie was shocked and asked in a lost voice: "What did you say? Something happened to Lord Cao?"

Yang Yuan said: "That's right. Cao Yong made a big mistake..."

Yang Yuan told the Jiangzhou Hunter everything about how Cao Yong was involved in smuggling, which involved the theft of military weapons, thus angering the emperor and nearly getting him executed.

Jiangzhou Lie listened and asked questions, and not only found out the cause of Cao Yong's accident, but also found out Yang Sanyuan's background.

Yang Sanyuan, the cousin of Mrs. Li, a big tea merchant in Lin'an, although his family was originally well-off, he was still a typical example of a "poor man who suddenly became rich".

He took advantage of the opportunity and made a fortune with the help of Madam Li. However, he was not satisfied with the income from the tea business because the majority of the profits would be taken by Madam Li.

At this time, Cao Yong got into trouble and urgently needed money to bribe people. Yang Sanyuan and another nouveau riche Wang Yuanwai in Longshan Warehouse teamed up to take over Cao Yong's shares.

What they took over was not only Cao Yong’s shares, but also the “license” for maritime trade.

You know, it is very difficult to get a maritime trade license now.

Therefore, Yang Sanyuan excitedly went to Hakata, Japan to change the name and transfer the shares and collect this year's dividends.

As for the two large ships at the dock, they were actually carrying goods for Suzuki Taro, who was building a family temple for Taira no Kiyomori's family. Only one of the ships belonged to Yang Sanyuan.

The reasons why he came here on the ship this time were, first, to transfer stocks, second, to collect dividends, and third, to understand the situation here and buy a batch of Japanese luxury goods when he returns.

After hearing this, Jiangzhou Lie lost interest in Yang Yuan.

He thought that if Yang Yuan could snatch this cash cow from Cao Yong, he must have a more powerful background than Cao Yong.

"Yaki Shoji" is now under constant pressure from Taira no Kiyomori, but the powerful people of Song State still have great weight in Taira no Kiyomori's eyes.

Perhaps they could use Yang Sanyuan, a shareholder with a powerful background in the Song Dynasty, to make Taira no Kiyomori wary.

As a result, Yang Sanyuan is just an ordinary businessman? He does not participate in the operation of the business group, does not bear the risks of the business group, and just collects dividends once and for all?
Jiangzhou's enthusiasm for hunting suddenly disappeared, and he even felt disgusted.

However, in just a moment, Jiangzhou Lie came up with an idea.

Yang Sanyuan's background was not enough to make Taira no Kiyomori feel apprehensive, but... his identity as a Song Dynasty man and his life might not be useless...

(End of this chapter)