Chapter 291 The Fleet Returns

People from the Maritime Trade Office and the garrison were the first to notice this unfamiliar fleet and immediately went out to meet it to collect taxes, but soon, some sharp-eyed individuals noticed something was wrong.

"Catapults, ballistae... Squad Leader, these don't look like merchant ships..."

Seeing a fleet with such heavy armament for the first time, the soldiers immediately cried out in alarm, instantly putting the entire port on edge.

However, someone else soon noticed that the tattered cloth fluttering at the bow looked familiar and hurriedly shouted out.

"Look at the bow! It looks like our Southern Yue royal flag!"

"Those ships look like Treasure Ships too; they must be our own people."

Hearing that they were Treasure Ships and were flying the Southern Yue royal flag, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, though the Colonel guarding the docks soon frowned.

"Wait, if they are our Treasure Ships, how did they end up in this state? This is bad..."

His first reaction was that the fleet had encountered pirates or a storm, and he immediately became tense.

"Quick, quick, quick! Go check it out immediately!"

At his command, a dozen soldiers jumped into a small boat and rowed swiftly toward the Treasure Ships, which were slowly coming to a halt.

Chu Weiguo also received the news quickly and rushed to the docks with his men, his heart filled with anxiety as he watched the Treasure Ships anchoring in the distance.

Since taking office, he had put great effort into establishing the Southern Yue Navy, clearing out the nearby river bandits and pirates, which allowed maritime trade to enter a phase of rapid development and brought exceptionally high tax revenue to the Maritime Trade Office.

So, having just finished breakfast today and hearing that a fleet of battered Treasure Ships had arrived at Jingzhou Port, how could he possibly sit still?

If pirates capable of attacking and severely damaging the Southern Yue Navy had truly appeared nearby, it would be a major crisis that would undoubtedly have a massive impact on maritime trade.

The busy docks seemed to have been hit by a pause button as everyone's attention turned toward the fleet, and the nearby tea stalls were suddenly filled with spectators.

Soon, the small boat that went to investigate returned rapidly, bringing heartening news.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, this fleet is led by General Cao Xing, and they have returned fully laden after completing their mission."

If not for the need to maintain his image, Chu Weiguo would have jumped for joy; he knew exactly what his son-in-law's fleet had gone to find.

Since they had returned fully laden, it meant those dozen or so Treasure Ships must be filled with various spices, which were as valuable as gold in this era.

Calming his mind, Chu Weiguo began to give orders calmly.

"Immediately send someone to Panyu to inform the Prince of Nanyue and the Duke of Yue. Also, send wine, meat, and fruit to the ships to reward the officers and soldiers, and tell them to wait until tonight to dock and unload the cargo."

"Understood!"

After all, wealth stirs the heart; with a dozen ships full of spices, it was inevitable that some would get greedy, especially since Jingzhou only had a thousand soldiers stationed there.

Soon, news of the return of Cao Xing's fleet spread throughout Jingzhou, and everyone was curious about what those fully laden ships contained that made Chu Weiguo so cautious.

Curious people immediately began to investigate, especially after hearing that Chu Weiguo had not only rushed to finish unloading last night but had also sent two squads of soldiers to guard the warehouse.

People are often like that; the more strictly you guard something, the more curious they become and the more they want to find out the truth.

Everyone began to use all their connections and resources, either through favors or money, trying to find out what precious items were in the warehouse that deserved such attention from Chu Weiguo.

Soon, with the arrival of Gao Yuan, this curiosity intensified because the Duke of Yue, Gao Yuan, had actually come in person and brought the Baier Soldiers with him.

Seeing Gao Yuan's arrival, Cao Xing dropped the roasted chicken carcass in his hand and threw himself before Gao Yuan, tears and snot flowing as he knelt.

"Lord, This humble general has returned!"

Seeing the disheveled and emaciated Cao Xing, Gao Yuan hurriedly helped him up and patted his shoulder firmly.

"You've worked hard, truly. How did it go?"

"Fortunately, I did not fail my mission. This humble general found the Spice Island my Lord spoke of after two months at sea."

Seeing Gao Yuan unable to help but frown, Cao Xing quickly explained.

"It was all due to This humble general's greed to bring back more, so I had the men dry all the spices there, thinking we could carry more back that way..."

"Hahaha!"

Gao Yuan finally laughed with relief, patting Cao Xing's shoulder.

"Good, good, very good!"

In high spirits, Gao Yuan waved his hand and rewarded every soldier with a hundred strings of cash and ten mu of personal share land. Cao Xing was promoted to Admiral of the Southern Yue Navy and rewarded with five beauties and two thousand strings of cash.

Gao Yuan spending over a hundred thousand strings of cash in one go could only mean one thing: the value of the goods brought back by these soldiers far exceeded that amount.

Whether these merchants were from Powerful Families and great clans or ordinary merchant families, they were naturally extremely sensitive to anything that could make money, especially big money.

The actions of these people quickly reached Gao Yuan's ears through the Secret Guards.

"Xiao Yuan, should I send someone to warn these people?"

Gao Yuan raised his wine cup to clink with Chu Weiguo's and said with a smile.

"Dad, don't forget, our original goal was to attract these people to explore the ocean..."

Chu Weiguo slapped his forehead.

"Right, right, right, I completely forgot. Then should we leak some information?"

Gao Yuan shook his head.

"No need for such trouble. I've seen those spices; they're all dried and can be sold directly. I think we should start selling them in Jingzhou tomorrow."

"Currently, besides our local merchants, there are also merchants from other countries in Jingzhou. Aren't you afraid..."

Gao Yuan chuckled.

"I don't care which merchant ship from which family or country it is; as long as they pass through our port, they have to pay their taxes honestly."

"Hahaha, now that's what I call truly plucking feathers from every passing goose!"

The father-in-law and son-in-law plotted together and settled on their strategy. That night, many merchants felt cold sweat in their sleep, as if they were being watched by something foul.

On the fifth day after the fleet returned to port, which was the fifteenth day of the twelfth month in the second year of the Jian'an era of Great Qian, the shops of the Jingzhou Maritime Trade Office suddenly put a large batch of spices on sale.

These spices were not only of superior quality but also offered at great prices. If these spices were transported back, they would yield at least five times the profit.

Upon hearing this news, the merchants staying in Jingzhou went wild, holding their Southern Yue Bank vouchers and clamoring to buy spices.

A dozen ships were packed to the brim with spices. Gao Yuan made a rough estimate: each ship held at least six to seven hundred tons, roughly ten thousand shi, so twelve ships held about one hundred and fifty thousand shi.

To avoid affecting prices, Gao Yuan discussed with Chu Weiguo and decided to release only twenty thousand shi of various spices this time, which were sold out in just one day.

Many people even chose to spend the New Year in Jingzhou just to wait for the second batch of spices to go on sale.

In Great Qian, the retail price for a catty of dried Pepper was about fifty strings of cash, but Gao Yuan offered a wholesale price of five strings per catty. Items like agarwood were even more valuable than gold.

In just two days, Gao Yuan raked in over ten million strings of cash. This single source of income exceeded the entire Nanyue Kingdom's tax revenue from the previous year. Even after deducting other expenses, the net profit exceeded ten million strings.

Ten million strings of cash—this figure made everyone's jaws drop.

As the news was leaked by those with ulterior motives, the entire Nanyue Kingdom, and even the entire Great Qian, went into a frenzy.