"Your Majesty, the war between Sichuan and Chu is only temporary, but the canal and water management is the foundation of our Qing Dynasty." Dai Quheng said: "What Qingzhongtang said is indeed reasonable, but there are so many thieves now, and one of the reasons is that the government

Officials, sailors along the canal, who are dependent on the income of the imperial court, have become increasingly difficult in recent years, and those with evil intentions will take desperate risks and collude with bandits. If the sailors are well paid and dealt with strictly, I believe that sailors up and down the canal will be

Being able to control oneself, traitors will not be able to profit from it, and it is actually beneficial and harmless to the court to prevent thieves. As for expenses, although the war is tense at the moment, there is still a need for expenses, but if the war is calmed down in the coming year or the year after, the court will not

Is there any extra annual income that can be paid to the flag sailors? In my opinion, it is better to reduce the non-urgent affairs in the past two years and save some expenses to support them. When the war is calmed down, the deficit will be made up. This is too much

With the expenditure of one hundred thousand taels, it won’t be a problem.”

"What Dai Quheng said makes sense. Since the imperial court's deficit is increasing, I naturally cannot use other expenses. In the past two years, according to Emperor Gaozong's old rules, it is not appropriate for me to visit the Old Summer Palace or go to the Summer Resort. So these two expenses can be saved.

, it is enough for temporary use." Jiaqing considered the pros and cons, and finally agreed to Dai Quheng's suggestion. But even so, Jiaqing had other ideas, and said: "It is decreed that starting from the fifth year of Jiaqing, sailors along the canal will have their own rights.

Those who transport grain from Hangzhou to the capital will be given three taels of silver per person, and the number of pilots will be increased according to the regulations. In other areas, the amount will be reduced according to the water distance. Those with the smallest water distance will be given no less than two taels of silver. No copper coins will be used, and all will be paid in cash.

Yin. If this is the case, the shortcomings in Jiangsu and Zhejiang's water affairs should have been improved. You can wait and draft the decree."

Jiaqing's idea is to increase the sailors' salary. Even if Ruan Yuan makes a suggestion, the final plan and the specific amount of money must be decided by himself. This can ensure that Tian'en has the best intentions and prevent his subordinates from taking credit for bribery.

People's hearts. As for the amount of salary increase, it was roughly around 100,000 taels. Qinggui and Dai Quheng had previously made suggestions, but when they saw that Jiaqing had made a compromise decision and had no other opinions, they knelt down and drafted the decree. The water affairs were improved.

, which is naturally good news for Ruan Yuan.

It's just that the southeast coast at this time is by no means a peaceful place. If you have lived along the coast for a long time, you will not have no idea that in the upcoming fifth year of Jiaqing, a real storm will sweep across Zhejiang.

It was already the twelfth lunar month, but the South China Sea was still full of warmth. Dozens of large ships were standing quietly in the waves beside the calm Dongsha. It was more than a hundred miles away from the mainland of Guangdong, although

It also belonged to the Qing Dynasty, but it was almost uninhabited. Over time, many smugglers and even pirates were willing to regard these desolate islands as their winter habitat. When the south wind picked up in spring, they would ride the wind northward and plunder the southeast.

Provincial and maritime areas.

It was the second watch that night, and there was no movement on the sea except for the sound of wind and waves. Suddenly, on the eastern coastline, there were more than ten large ships approaching the fleet. The leading large ship was more than ten feet long and had a two-story building.

Xu Gao entered the fleet here one after another. The fleet seemed to have already greeted the incoming ships and did not stop them. Soon, several incoming ships put down their boats, and more than 20 people came forward and backward, from several incoming ships.

Jumping into the small boats from the big ship, they all moved closer to the big ship in the middle of the fleet.

The large ship in the middle was nearly twenty feet long, with a towering bow, half a floor higher than several incoming ships. It was already late at night, and the sails had been taken down, leaving only three lonely masts standing tall.

In the night, everything on the ship was extremely messy. Canvases, ropes, and weapons were all thrown on the ground. In the corner on the starboard side, there were more than a dozen cannons lying in a mess. It took a lot of effort for everyone to get over.

I saw a figure standing at the stern of the ship for a long time. When he saw these visitors, he just clasped his fists and introduced everyone into the cabin without saying much.

Once inside the cabin, it was a new world. I could hear loud shouts from more than half of the surrounding cabins. If I looked carefully, I found that most of them were the sounds of playing cards, and there were quite a few of them.

It was accusing the other party of cheating, and was even accompanied by the sound of the bowl breaking and the sound of heavy objects falling to the ground. It seemed that some pirates had lost money in gambling, so they refused to admit defeat and actually started fighting with each other. Pirates made a living on the ship.

It is common for people to become rich overnight, so they no longer hold back on the friendship between brothers and friends. They just do whatever they want and have fun. In some other cabins, there are sporadic cries and cries.

It seemed that the pirates had robbed the people on the shore and were committing violence, but among the cries, many were the voices of young men. This group of people had long regarded all kinds of things at sea as commonplace, so they turned a deaf ear and just walked towards the end of the cabin.

At the end, there was another ladder leading to the next level, and several people walked down one after another.

After walking more than ten steps on the lower floor, the leader stopped in front of a door, knocked on the door lightly and said: "Master Hou, people from the Fujian Fengwei Gang, the Shui'ao Gang, and the Ruohuang Gang in Eastern Zhejiang are all here.

Let them in?"

"Okay, come in first." A gloomy and hoarse voice came from the door. It was naturally the voice of "Master Hou". The man opened the door and walked in. Under the dim oil lamp,

A figure was sitting aside, drinking. The man was in his forties, with a thin build, disheveled hair, and no braids. His clothes were loose and did not look like those of the Qing Dynasty. He had a pointed face and a hooked nose.

, there was a cold air of calmness and authority in his eyes, even if the light was dim, he could still see clearly. "Master Hou" looked at the visitor, called him to come closer, and said: "Huang Kui, that person in Hue

How about the side? Are the French willing to sell us their cannons?" He said it in Chinese.

"Master Marquis, the French seem to have some difficulties. They say they can sell us eagle cannons, but heavy cannons over three thousand kilograms are out of stock. Even if we buy them, we will only be able to buy three heavy cannons at most."

The man named Huang Kui replied.

"Where are they? They just look down on us! They don't want to sell us the best cannon!" After hearing this, the "Marquis" became furious, threw the wine bowl in his hand to the ground, and said

: "These French people bully the weak and fear the strong! They don't have any heavy artillery. They have clearly sold their best artillery to Zheng Yi and Wu Shier. Of course, they only have three left for us! His grandma's

, I have to fight a few good battles before they realize that they are blind after selling heavy artillery to those bastards!" He said that the first name of Zheng was Zheng Wenxian, and the second name of Wushi was Mai Youjin, both of whom were famous for their nicknames.

At this time, the most powerful pirate leader on the sea in Guangdong. It seemed that although he was a "Marquis", he could only succumb to him. The so-called "Eagle Cannon" was a light artillery at that time, which was easy to carry but not powerful enough.

Therefore, the pirates' desire for Western heavy artillery was even much higher than that of the Qing government.

"Master Marquis, the situation in Hue is not peaceful at the moment. The Emperor's troops are about to lose their hold. It seems that the French don't dare to stay in Hue anymore," Huang Kui said.

"Then wouldn't it be more convenient for them to sell the cannon to me?!"

Huang Kui had no choice but to reply: "Master Marquis, this... although they said they can only sell us three heavy artillery pieces, they are still willing to sell the best marbles. This time they brought a brand new marble from the West

, it is said that after detonating, half of the bullets will fly out. If the imperial court fights with us again, we can directly break their masts with one shot. Lord Marquis, the villain thought, since there are not many cannons, we can either buy

It's more than enough to come back with some marbles and fight against the wastes of the imperial court. I heard that the imperial officers and soldiers don't have these things."

"Okay, you can figure it out. By the way, have the people from Shui'ao and Fengwei gangs promised to us arrived?" "Master Hou" asked again.

"They are all here. We discussed important matters today and they will go to the boat tomorrow. I heard that there are several young people among them this time, and they are all quite handsome." Huang Kui said.

"Okay! Tell them that after we have finished discussing things here, we will go to the boat! By the way, take a closer look at those young people. You must have a look at them. They haven't been ashore for a month, so it's time to find a few people... Hehe...

...Let them in!" "Master Hou" said happily.

After Huang Kui heard this, he walked back to the cabin door and called a group of people behind him to come in. About twelve or three people from the group came in in response, while the others stood guard outside. After entering the cabin, they sat down in three groups.

The "Marquis" said: "Today is a good day. The three major gangs of Fujian and Zhejiang have formed an alliance with our Da Nan. In the coming year, we will go hand in hand. The countless treasures of silk and satin in Zhejiang will be in our hands."

Wu! Leader Lin of the Shui'ao Gang, I heard that you have a lot more boats this year? How about it, Zhejiang is no longer a problem, right?"

A strong man on the left responded: "Master Hou, although the number of boats I got off has been a bit more this year, how can I dare to compare with you, Mr. Hou? Of course Mr. Hou will eat the meat then, and we brothers will,

Everyone is full after taking a few mouthfuls of soup. The Marquis is right. The number of officers and soldiers in Zhejiang who can board the ship is only three to four thousand. If we join forces, we will be two against one, or even three against one.

The momentum! Lord Marquis, if this business is completed in the coming year, let me see, even Zheng Yi and Wushi Er will have to give up to us!"

"Okay! If I make a fortune during this trip next year, your share from the Shui'ao Gang will be indispensable! Leader of the Fengwei Gang, how are you doing there?" "Master Hou" asked again.

"Master Marquis, since our Fengwei Gang has decided to work with Danan, we should naturally go through fire and water on this business in the coming year without hesitation." A man on the right said. Although this man looked a bit fierce, he was

Much calmer than the previous gang leader Lin.

"Well, now that we have formed an alliance, there is no need for you to report good news or bad news. I heard that two months ago, the Mao Mao Gang had a meeting with the Zhejiang government. The situation was not good, right? Gang Leader Jiang

, your Ruohuang Gang is in Zhejiang, have you heard about this matter?" "Master Hou" was by no means an arrogant person, and asked to the back of his left head.

"It's not a big deal. The kittens can't help more than a dozen boats, so what did the government do to them? They sank one boat and all the others came back. So as I say, next year, let's take advantage of the south wind.
Chapter completed!