Chapter 780: Lao Jun asks about the Three Mountains from afar
While Zhao Xin was busy bickering with the Spaniards, in the early morning of November 8, 1794, thousands of miles away in Liaodong Bay, a flat-bottomed sailing ship with a load of about 700 stone, sailed through the sky in the fine snow.
Slowly sailed into Matigou Port, thirty-five miles southeast of Jinzhou City.
It is located at the mouth of the Xiaoling River. It was one of the four most important commercial ports in Liaodong Bay in the mid-Qing Dynasty. The other three ports are the Tianqiao Factory Port, which is seventy miles southwest of Jinzhou City and is known as the "West Sea Coast".
; The other two places are Mogouying and Genglongtun, which are located across the bay and belong to Niuzhuang.
In the late nineteenth century in another time and space, with the rise of Yingkou Port and the opening of the Beijing-Fenghuang Railway, the two seaports in Jinzhou also declined.
Because the two seaports are not far apart, starting from the Kangxi era, in order to facilitate management, the Qing government required merchant ships from Fujian, Guangdong, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang to dock at Tianqiao Factory, while Matigou was the docking place for merchant ships from Zhili and Shandong.
In addition, the two ports also differ in the types of goods input and output. The imported goods of Tianqiao Factory are mainly medicinal materials and tea from the south, while the export goods are soybeans and melon seeds; because Matigou only docks northern merchant ships, the imported goods are mainly
It's wheat, and the exports are cereals produced in western Liaoning.
On the deck, the bowman Zha Laoliu gave a few loud instructions to the helmsman, and then hurriedly walked into the lower cabin, came to the door of a cabin, and knocked rhythmically on the door panel a few times.
With a "squeak" sound, the door opened a gap inward. Standing behind the door was a strong man with broad shoulders and a round waist. When he saw that the person coming was the bow of a ship, he ducked to let him in.
In the fairly spacious cabin, there is an Eight Immortals table and three square stools placed close to the left bulkhead. In addition to the tea set, there is also a kerosene horse lantern produced in Beihai Town on the table. The bright lights make the room very bright.
Beyond the Eight Immortals table, there are two camphor wood boxes containing clothes and luggage. On the right side of the room, there is a carved elm wood Arhat bed against the wall, with bedding piled randomly on it.
Beside the Eight Immortals table, a middle-aged man in his thirties was holding a white copper dry pipe commonly known as "Jing Ba Cun" and smoking. When he saw the bow of the boat coming in, he asked calmly: "What's going on?
?”
This person has a long and thin face, high cheekbones, a mustache, a six-in-one hat on his head, a maroon-colored Beijing-style high-collar robe, an azure Batulu waistcoat, and a belt.
There are also beautifully embroidered purses and sachets hanging on it, and she wears a pair of black cloth shoes with thousand-layer soles.
After entering the door, Zha Laoliu was about to bow to the middle-aged man, when he saw the man wave his hand and said in a hoarse voice: "No need, I have something to say."
Zha Laoliu bowed and said with concern: "Mr. Zhang, we are about to dock. According to the new regulations here, the Beihai soldiers will first board the ship to inspect the people and goods, and then we can disembark after this is done."
"Well. There won't be any surprises, right?"
"Don't worry. I've already made three trips after the August Festival. When you do the interrogation later, don't stuff money into the Beihai soldiers. Someone has done this before, and they were caught and imprisoned for two days before being released.
come out."
"I've noted it down. Go ahead and go ahead." The middle-aged man named Zhang nodded.
Half an hour later, when the ship entered the berth and had just lowered the mooring rope and set up the gangplank, two Beijun soldiers with revolvers on their waists and a guy wearing a gray cotton robe and a leather hat walked onto the deck from the Narcissus Gate.
With a smile on his face, Zha Laoliu stepped forward and bowed to the three of them, saying, "I'm sorry to trouble you, sir."
The two Beijun soldiers didn't say anything. The guy in the leather hat raised his hand in a perfunctory manner and said, "Zha Laoliu, your grain business is doing well. This is the fourth time since the August Festival.
Alright?"
Zha Laoliu explained: "Mr. Ma, the price of food on the market in Tianjin is almost the same every two days, and the number of homeless people begging outside the city is almost over 5,000. Our boss wants to buy another boat of sorghum before the sea freezes.
Alas! This winter is not going to be easy. How many people may starve to death..."
It is said that Tianjin has been sparsely populated since the late Ming Dynasty. Because of the large amount of saline-alkali land, even in good harvest years there was not enough food for the people. Therefore, starting from the Kangxi period, after the merchants pleaded, the imperial court issued dragon tickets to allow local merchants to sail to Liaodong to buy
Sorghum, millet and other miscellaneous grains.
After the Northern Navy launched the Liaodong Offensive, the government and the public were shaken. Jiaqing, who had just succeeded to the throne, hurriedly transferred the Beijing Camp and the Eight Banners to Zhili. The Green Camp from Shanxi went to Shanhaiguan to garrison, and then transferred the Green Camp from Henan and Jiangsu to Shandong to ensure water transportation. Such a large-scale military operation
, it is natural to purchase grain locally on a large scale, which also caused the price of grain to skyrocket in Zhili and Western Shandong.
Although the Qing government has repeatedly ordered the coastal provinces to ban maritime trade and Beihai town trade in recent years, the degree of corruption in officialdom in various places within the customs has become very serious.
With the help of many years of "hard work" by Mr. He, the Manchu officialdom in the late Qianlong period was filled with incompetent and mediocre people. Corruption and bribery, and bending the law for personal gain were everywhere. Especially in the face of the situation where the building was about to collapse, from the capital to the
The local officialdom is all profit-seeking, even to the point of blatantly. The newly arrived local officials are like hungry tigers emerging from the forest, impatient to wait. Therefore, as long as there is enough oil and water, officials from coastal provinces, prefectures, prefectures, and counties will be very careful about the behavior of maritime merchants.
It means turning a blind eye.
Chuanfou Cha Laoliu is such a character. His owner is a famous wealthy family in Tianjin - the Shuixi Cha family.
The Cha family started out as a salt dealer and became a wealthy man in the capital during the Ming Dynasty. They were prominent for a while. During the Yongzheng period, Cha Siting was convicted by Yongzheng for participating in Longkodo's clique. The Cha family in Tianjin and the Cha family in Haining were convicted.
They were of the same origin and also suffered great disasters. However, they continued to operate the salt industry after the incident and their wealth did not decrease.
The Manchu Qing Dynasty had strict management of the salt industry. Not only did they set up salt affairs yamen, but the affiliated salt merchant organizations were also well-established. The salt merchant organizations in each district had different names for the people involved. Guangdong, Guangxi, and Huaihe were called "General Merchant", and Shandong was called "Gangtou"
", the Zhili people are called "General Manager Gang", and the Cha family is the General Manager of Changlu area.
As the spokesperson for the regional salt merchants, the government-run water vessels of the salt merchants' yamen will be managed and operated by him. With the qualification to sail, you will naturally have the confidence to participate in maritime trade. In recent years, the price of grain in the north has soared, and the Cha family's
The ship also had a great time running between Jinzhou and Tianjin, making a lot of money. Even though the Beihai Navy occupied Jinzhou, the Cha family's ship still had the courage to secretly run in both directions.
By the way, like the descendants of salt merchants in Yangzhou, the descendants of the Cha family are also highly educated and keen on building gardens. In "Suiyuan Poems", Yuan Mei compared the Cha family's Shuixi Villa with Yangzhou Xiaolinglong Villa, Hangzhou
Xiaoshan Hall is also known as "the three major private gardens of the Qing Dynasty".
However, Zha Laoliu came to Jinzhou this time to buy grain, but in fact he had an important mission.
Eight days ago, the head of the Cha family, Cha Shanchang, summoned him to Yangliuqing's mansion, introduced Mr. Zhang in person, and asked him to go to Jinzhou again, in the name of buying grain, to deliver Mr. Zhang safely ashore, and then bring him back.
Return to Tianjin Port.
Zha Shanchang did not tell the identity of the person named Zhang, but Zha Laoliu could see that Zha Shanchang was very polite and respectful to Mr. Zhang. In addition, the other party spoke Beijing Mandarin and dressed in a fashionable manner, so he guessed that he might be from Beijing.
A relative or housekeeper of a high-ranking official went to Jinzhou to establish relations with Beihai Town and do business.
In order to fulfill the owner's instructions, Zha Laoliu not only gave up his cabin to Master Zhang, but also asked the cook to prepare meals for him alone. However, Master Zhang's focus was obviously not on living and eating. During the past few days at sea,
Apart from inquiring about some matters about Matigou Customs, he spent the rest of his time either sleeping soundly in the cabin or going up to the deck to enjoy the breeze and smoke, often frowning and looking very worried.
The shore inspection was over in less than a stick of incense. After all, the Cha family's ship had been here many times, and both the personnel and the ship had already been registered, and there had never been any prohibited records.
Mr. Zhang and his men were also said by Cha Laoliu to be the new accountant of the Cha family responsible for the maritime trade business, and they successfully passed the inspection. Even so, if they want to go ashore, they must first go to the customs to apply for temporary identity cards, otherwise
Not to mention going to Jinzhou City, there is no chance of even staying in an inn on the pier.
However, when Zha Laoliu had arranged things on the ship and then took Mr. Zhang and his servants to Matigou Customs to apply for identity cards, an accident happened. Zhang just walked into the customs yard and learned from Zha Laoliu that
After finding the official office of the customs officer, he actually walked towards it.
Zha Laoliu wanted to dissuade him, but the strong man following Mr. Zhang raised his hand and stopped him. He was so anxious that he didn't know what to do.
The person in charge of Matigou Customs, whose surname is Ma, used to be a small supervisor of the Ministry of Trade in Anping Port; according to the new civil service system of Beihai Town, he belongs to the fifteenth level. After the establishment of the Jinzhou Military Control Commission, he was transferred here to prepare and manage the local
Customs, collects import and export taxes.
Although Mr. Zhang broke in forcefully, he did not dare to break in outside the official room door. He stood at the bottom of the two steps and pricked up his ears. He heard someone talking inside the room, so he straightened his clothes slightly and held up his hat.
, took two deep breaths, bowed politely and said: "Zhang Yonghe, a native of the capital, has been entrusted by someone to see the government official for something important!"
With his loud roll call, the whispers in the room came to an abrupt end. After an excruciating ten seconds, the half door of the office room suddenly opened inwards, revealing a middle-aged man in his thirties.
A man came out. This man was the director of Matigou Customs.
"What's the matter with you?" Chief Ma is from Yangzhou, and his accent is mixed with a Yangzhou accent.
Zhang Yonghe raised his head and saw that the other party was wearing a grass-green "coat" divided into upper and lower pieces, and the coat had four pockets. Based on his limited understanding of Beihai Town, he knew that all officials wore coats with four pockets, so
He bowed and paid homage again: "I am Zhang Yonghe, a native of the capital city. I came to Jinzhou this time because I was entrusted by an important person in the court to deliver a letter to the Master Zhangyin of your army in Jinzhou."
After saying these words in one breath, a layer of white sweat appeared on Zhang Yonghe's forehead and neck, and his heart was beating loudly. There was nothing he could do about the reason why he was in trouble this time.
Because I had an important mission, time was tight, and I didn’t know anyone here in Beihai Town, so when I was on the ship, I kept thinking about what to do after landing.
Originally, he thought of doing this after going to Jinzhou City, but he was worried that the military control in Beihai Town would be as strict as the court's Yamen. If he was kicked out by then, he would miss important events, and he couldn't afford to waste time. Think about it.
Go and make a decision.
The middle-aged man on the steps looked at Zhang Yonghe and blinked. It took him a while to realize what "Lord Palm Print" meant, and he felt dumbfounded. Just as he was about to ask someone to kick Zhang Yonghe out, he heard someone in the room behind him.
Someone said loudly: "It's a coincidence that I'm here today. Lao Ma, please let him in."
Chief Ma Guan slapped his forehead and said to himself: How could I have forgotten this great god? This matter is under his control!
Zhang Yonghe carefully crossed the threshold and walked into the official room. Because it was snowing outside, a bright lantern was lit on the table in the room, illuminating everything around him. Only then did he notice what he had said before
The man was actually a young man in his twenties.
This man was of medium build, with long and delicate eyebrows, but his complexion was a bit dark. He wore a dark blue robe and a gray buttoned mandarin jacket. He had a slight beard under his chin, and his head was also smooth. He looked like
A young master from a wealthy family.
Zhang Yonghe looked at the young man blankly, feeling that he looked familiar, but could not remember where he had seen him before. In the midst of doubts, he heard Chief Ma say to the young man: "You guys talk, I'll go to the port to transfer."
Circle. If something happens, just shout. People outside the yard can hear you."
The young man laughed and said: "Old Ma, what do you think I am? Besides, Lao Zhang is here."
Zhang Yonghe turned his head following the young man's gaze and saw a lean man sitting behind the desk in the corner of the office room. He was wearing a bun and sitting upright with his sleeves on his hands, but his eyes were staring at him like an eagle. He couldn't help but
Shivered.
After Chief Ma went out, he closed the door. The young man did not sit down, but took a clean bowl and tea cup from the table, grabbed some tea leaves from the tea box, and then carefully picked up the steam from the cast iron stove.
He took the steaming kettle and made a cup of tea. Then he placed the tea cup on the Eight Immortals table, and then motioned to Zhang Yonghe to sit down.
Zhang Yonghe saw that the other party was making tea with ease, and thought to himself that if this young man changed his clothes and put a white towel on his arm, he would look like a waiter in a teahouse.
Wait a minute, waiter... that's right! At Tianhuixuan in the southeast corner of the Back Gate Bridge, there is a waiter from Yangzhou who looks exactly like him! At the beginning of spring, he has been in the teahouse every day since early morning. The two of them would chat with each other until late at night. Later, He Shen defected and the capital was under martial law. They haven't seen each other since. The shopkeeper said that his relatives in the capital found other jobs.
Seeing the sudden change in Zhang Yonghe's expression, the young man smiled slightly, looked into his eyes and said, "Master Yong, we haven't seen each other for a while. What's wrong? Why are you here in Jinzhou instead of going to Tianhuixuan to drink tea and talk about the mountains?" "
"Zhang Yonghe" looked at the young man in disbelief, and after a moment he said in surprise: "Are you... Guisheng?"
The young man nodded slightly and said, "Okay! Mr. Yong, you haven't forgotten it yet."
"Why are you here? Ah! I know!" Yonghe reacted instantly, his mouth wide open enough to stuff a steamed bun. Don't tell me, the other person must be from Beihai Town.
This young man is none other than Shen Guisheng, who was the young boy of Shen Jingdan's family and later became Zhao Xin's little follower! It's just that Baiyun Canggu, the jumping little follower back then, is now an intelligence officer of the Northern Navy. The person in charge of the bureau's front line in Jinzhou.
The reason why Guisheng lurked in the Tianhuixuan Teahouse a few days ago was to get an extremely important account book from Li Qiucheng. Although Dong Xinchen, the shopkeeper of "Huang Shengtai" on Qianmenwai Street, could collect and deliver it on his behalf, the Intelligence Bureau was worried that there would be more There was an added risk if he was passed on through other layers, so Guisheng worked as a waiter in Tianhuixuan through other channels and contacted Li Qiucheng directly.
"I have been working for Beihai Town, is there anything strange about it?" Shen Guisheng ignored the other party's surprised expression, but said with a half-smile: "How come you, Mr. Yong, chose a Han surname to deceive others? Tell me. Well, who were you entrusted by and what letter did you send?"
When Yong He was about to speak, Shen Guisheng suddenly raised his hand to stop him and said, "Well, let me guess first to see if what I said is right. Don't mind if I am wrong.
Your mother was Prince Jia Yongyan's wet nurse. From this point of view, Mr. Yong Er, you can be regarded as his wet nurse. Now that Prince Jia has succeeded to the throne, your family's status is naturally different and will definitely rise.
You said outside just now that you were entrusted by an adult in the court to deliver a message. Well... you can make the emperor's nanny come to Jinzhou in the snow. Not to mention the Manchu and Han ministers, even the prince is not qualified. So, you are helping Jiaqing deliver the letter, right?"
Guisheng has been following Zhao Xin for several years. He has learned nothing else but Zhao Xin's tone and demeanor.
"Who are you?" Yonghe's eyes suddenly widened, as if he had seen a ghost, and the other party had guessed right. In fear, more sweat broke out on his forehead.
"Don't be nervous, Second Master Yong." Shen Guisheng said calmly: "I forgot to introduce myself. Shen Guisheng worked for Prince Zhao ten years ago. Before that, he went to Beijing to perform a mission, so he got to know Master Yong. , I am really lucky for three lifetimes. Hahaha~~"