The first thing Zhao Yan did was to rectify the military affairs of Denglai. When he was promoted to General Denglai, the chief officers of various garrisons also visited him and even presented him with a meeting gift.

The defense in the land of Denglai was very bad at this moment. When Zhao Yan inspected the various garrisons, he saw some unclothed military households, mostly old, weak and disabled soldiers, and his weapons were uneven.

Of course, there are also some so-called elite servants. These servants have a small number, and even the elite ones will be of no use.

When Zhao Yan visited the Fushan Zuo Station, he was surprised to find that the situation here was much better than that of other garrisons. The military households here had reclaimed a lot of land and all the food was planted in the fields, which was not like the desolate situation of other garrisons.

Moreover, the soldiers were much better than other garrisons. Although there were not many soldiers and armor, there were not many vacant quotas and were mostly young and strong, but they were still a group of mobs.

"How can such soldiers fight? You are so defending the country?" Zhao Yan cursed at Mr. Qian on the spot.

"Sir... the world is like this, and there is nothing to do with humble positions." Qian Chang was a middle-aged man, scolded by a general who was much younger than him, and did not dare to refute him. Although he did much better than Qian Chang in other garrisons, he was much worse than the general.

Not only did they organize refugees to farm, but their troops were also neatly armed, which was far from comparable to his small family.

"This is the world!" Zhao Yan sighed, his expression became much gentler, and asked Mr. Qian: "What's your name?"

"The villain Yan Shiliang." As General Qian replied, Liu Heng beside Zhao Yan asked in surprise: "Are you Yan Shiliang who has served as a general under Yuan Keli?"

"Yes." Yan Shiliang replied.

"Since he is a general, why has he become a small family?" Zhao Yan asked strangely. Yan Shiliang frowned and sighed for a while, saying, "The past is unbearable to look back on. When he was a humble position, he was young and energetic. After Yuan Junmen left, he was excluded by his colleagues."

"Haha! Mr. Yan Qian was appointed as a general under Yuan Junmen, and he must have some ability." Liu Heng smiled from the side. Yuan Keli was the most capable of governor of Denglai. Most of the governors of Denglai who took office later had mediocre abilities. Although Sun Yuanhua advocated Western learning and was working hard to train troops and build artillery, he was too indecisive in his work, so that Kong Youde took advantage of loopholes.

"Yeah!" Zhao Yan nodded and asked Yan Shiliang: "Are you willing to do things under my hands?"

"I'd like to die for the Lord." Yan Shiliang is not a fool either. Zhao Yan was his boss. When asked, this must have other meanings. A huge opportunity was right in front of him. How could he let it go, and expressed his opinion to Zhao Yan on the spot.

"Okay, what is missing in the defence station can be reported to Staff Liu. In a few days, I will send someone to the defence station for training." Zhao Yan said with great satisfaction.

Originally, the Fushan Left Guardian was specially for finding faults, but before he wanted to transfer the Qianzong of the Fushan Left Guardian and then occupied the place. However, the situation of the Fushan Left Guardian was different from that of other garrisons, and it was rare to find a talent.

The Fushan Zuohou’s headquarters is located next to the port in Qingdao. Zhao Yan’s purpose of visiting Fushan Zuohou this time is naturally to open a port here.

Qingdao Port is located in Jiaozhou Bay on the south bank of the Shandong Peninsula. The waters in the port are wide and deep, and are navigable all seasons. The port mouth is small and has a large belly. It is a famous excellent port. It is mainly composed of Dagang, Zhonggang and Huangdao Port.

...On the third day, people immediately rushed from Zhaojiabao to Fushan Zuosu, and began to recruit migrant workers in the local area, and began to build a dock in full swing.

Then, ships came to Qingdao Port one after another. These ships were only big and small, and they were all transport ships.

On the fifth day, the newly built navy also appeared in Qingdao Port at noon that day. Four tall blessed ships were equipped with artillery. The naval officers and soldiers on it were also wearing uniforms. The uniforms were designed from later generations, which were very suitable for navigation. There was also a flame pattern on the chest of the white military uniform, representing the fire virtues of the Ming Dynasty.

Above the lucky ship, the Ming Dynasty's moon flag is hung.

Zhao Yan also specifically told the crew about the special meaning of the Yueyue Banner:

The symbol and meaning of the moon flag: This flag is called the yellow in the middle of the moon flag. The light behind the moon symbolizes the sun's purple blue sky symbolizes the open Ming Dynasty.

The meaning of overlapping the moon (called the moon is behind, and the moon is in front). The moon is the sharpness of the Ming Dynasty towards all directions, symbolizing "the sky and the earth are everywhere, and it also expresses etiquette, righteousness, integrity and shame. The four dimensions of the country are the moral norms that the Ming Dynasty has followed for generations.

"Red" and "yellow" symbolize the noblest meaning in China, while blue represents the dawn of reform in the Ming Dynasty.

The flag consists of overlapping patterns of red and yellow moons and blue bottoms. The blue bottom represents the blue sky and symbolizes the open and noble personality and ambition of our Han nation.

The overlapping moon means the character "Ming", which represents the Ming Dynasty and is located in the middle of the flag, which means that China is located in the four directions.

The yellow color in the center of the flag also represents the skin color of the Han people, symbolizing that the Ming Dynasty was a country established and ruled by the Han people, and always safeguarding the interests of the Han people.

The red light is the light of the sun, and it also symbolizes that the Ming Dynasty belongs to the virtue of fire. The twelve rays of light refer to twelve hours a day and twelve months a year. The light lies above the blue sky, indicating that the bright light is shining everywhere at all times.

Perhaps the people who designed the Yuyue Banner in history did not have so many meanings, but they were designed according to the word "Ming", but Zhao Yan instilled in the crew.

At present, the Navy has been initially established, and the four Fu Ships are equipped with heavy artillery. The bottom layer is equipped with a 165-mm cannon weighing 2,000 kilograms. The effective range is 1,600 meters and a maximum range of 3,000 meters. There are 24 doors, including 2 doors on the bow and stern of the ship, and 11 doors on both sides.

The second layer is equipped with a 1300-jin 125mm cannon, with an effective range of 1,100 meters and a maximum range of 2,000 meters. There are 22 doors in total, and 11 doors on both sides.

The top deck is equipped with a 75mm cannon, with an effective range of 600 meters and a maximum range of 1,200 meters.

What the navy lacks is just lack of combat experience. There is not too lack of navigation experience, because there are crew members recruited from Fujian in the fleet. The navy appeared in Qingdao Port this time to carry out an escort mission.

In the port, each load of salt was loading onto the ship, and some migrant workers were loading yarn onto the ship. There were not many of these ships, only forty or fifty ships, and the tonnage was not large.

Those salt-carrying ships were owned by those private salt traffickers. Zhao Yan did not interfere in the foreign salt trafficking. Except for Shandong merchants who could come to him to buy salt, foreign merchants could also come to him to buy salt.

Most of the private salt trafficking in Shandong is concentrated in the ports of Jiaozhou Bay, and private salt dealers appear here on sea boats all year round.

These people also became Zhao Yan's main customers. Some of the sea salt produced in Laizhou Bay was bought by Shandong merchants, some were transported by land, and some went north from Longkou Port to Zhili Province.

Another part of them is Jiaozhou Bay to the south. There are also salt dealers from other places from Jiaozhou Bay, so sea salt produced in Laizhou Bay is constantly transporting to Qingdao Port.

The Shandong Salt Transport Department was stuffed with silver by Zhao Yan. So far, no one talked too much. The salt transport yamen in various counties in Denglai also shut up one by one, regardless of Zhao Yan's behavior.

Most of the 300,000 taels of silver that Zhao Yan had budgeted to bribe officials was spent here, and as for other officials, they only gave them some more or less.

"Brother, why are there only one salt sellers left here?" A private salt merchant had just arrived in Laizhou Bay and searched for a long time but only found one salt sellers.

The bustling private salt market has now become only one. A huge storefront stands by the port, and is filled with salt.

"Haha! You don't know! This is the shop run by General Denglai. Now the sea salt in Denglai can only be sold to him. I heard that he still opened a very large salt field in the north bay. Other salt dealers had been driven out of Denglai by him." A private salt merchant smiled and pointed to a team of soldiers patrolling in the distance and said, "Did you see it? That is the big-headed soldiers sent by General Denglai. If they find someone selling private salt in Denglai, they will be arrested for labor reform."

"What is labor reform?" the businessman asked in confusion.

"It's just to get mining and build roads."

"Oh! So that's it, no one cares about that?"

"Why do you have to worry about it? The officials are in contact with each other and have strong soldiers in their hands. Last year, Zhao Yan cut off tens of thousands of thieves' heads in Fengyang. Wouldn't he be seeking death if he cares about it?"

"What is the price of salt now?"

"Two taels and five cents per tumble is fair, and it is high-quality sea salt without sand. The price is lower than Huai salt. It is more affordable to come to Shandong to buy salt than Lianghuai. If there is a lack of manpower escort, you can hire escorts from General Denglai as long as you spend some money. Where will you sell me to?" the merchant asked as he said.

"I want to transport it to Zhejiang, I have a way in Wenzhou." said the merchant.

"Then load the ship quickly! I saw that the four lucky ships were not there, but they were all equipped with cannons. The day after tomorrow, the four warships would escort the sea ship to Songjiang, and merchants who bought salt could accompany them."

"Really?" said the businessman from Wenzhou.

"Of course, although Zhao Yan didn't blink when he went to the battle to kill the enemy, he liked to give people benefits when doing business. However, he was one of the big merchants in Shandong and had absolutely no problem with credit."

"That's great. I'm also worried that I'll be robbed by water bandits on the way! I'll be driving the boat the day after tomorrow, and time is a bit tight! It seems that I can't be delayed." The merchant from Wenzhou said hello and ran directly to the salt shop at the port.

Wenzhou merchants came to the salt shop, and the shop's friend enthusiastically gave him a cup of good tea, and then asked, "How much sea salt is the guest?"

"Can there be eight thousand dan?" Wenzhou merchant asked. He had bought sea salt in Laizhou before, but he didn't buy much. He had no way to buy salt in Lianghuai. Huai salt was monopolized by fixed salt merchants, and foreign merchants like him could not get in at all.

"Yes, you just need 100,000 dans." The guy said enthusiastically.

"How much is a leap of silver?"

"Two taels and five cents per tumble." The mate said: "Our rule is to buy 10,000 tumbles and give a 10% discount. If you buy 50,000 tumbles, you will get a 20% discount. If you buy 100,000 tumbles and a 300,000 tumbles and a 60% discount. If the customer brings enough money, he can buy 2,000 tumbles and get a 10% discount."

When Wenzhou merchant heard this rule, he thought secretly. He saved 200% off for each 20% off, and bought an extra 2,000 dan, so he said, "Okay, add another 2,000 dan."

"Okay, there are 22,500 taels in total."

...On May 28th, on a mild morning, fifty or sixty sailboats sailed out of the port in groups of Laizhou Bay. Each cargo ship was well-dressed. People who knew about it could tell at a glance that they were full of cargo.

Two warships transformed from four lucky ships are in front, two are distributed on the left and right wings. Under the escort of these four warships, they sail towards the south.

Su Buheng stood at the bow of the Fu Ship, holding a telescope in his hand, looking at the sea and sky in the distance. Although he was driving against the wind with side sails, the Fu Ship was traveling quite smoothly.

"I wonder if I will encounter a water bandit who is not eyed on the road. If I encounter it, haha! These naval guns will be opened." Su Buheng thought in his heart, and a ferocious smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

(To be continued)
Chapter completed!