Chapter 782 Jia Heng: From the Xue family? Which Xue family?
Jia Heng sent away General Wu Shou of Guangdong, returned to the back hall, and continued to read the resume files of relevant officials in Guangdong.
The resumes of the officials in the two divisions of Guangdong Bu and Yin are all officials from other provinces according to the standing system of not serving as supervisory officials in other places. There is nothing surprising in their resumes. Most of them were Jinshi in the first division of science and technology.
Later, the detectives of Jinyi Mansion recorded the words, deeds and official voices of some officials, which were quite satisfactory.
Wu Tao, the general of the Guangdong Navy, was quite honest. Perhaps he knew that he could not hide it, but what he said was basically true. He had a navy of thirty-five thousand, not to mention combat power. At least he was still young. He just had to look after the captain. With hundreds of miles of coastline, it is inevitable that it will be stretched thin.
but--
"The Wu family trades with Southeast Asian countries through navy ships, and the navy generals participate in making money." Jia Heng's eyes flashed across the written text, raised his eyes to the sky outside, and whispered: "The army does business. , armed smuggling.”
This is a confidential record of the Jinyi Mansion. As the eyes and ears of the imperial court, Detective Jinyi is only responsible for recording and archiving the records locally. Only particularly bad words and deeds will be reported to the central government in a timely manner. Of course, whether to report it or not depends on the Jinyi Mansion. The relationship between generals and local officials.
Jinyi Mansion is not a government office that is insulated from the local government. The higher the mountain and the distance from the emperor, the more so.
Jia Heng looked at Jiao Ke, who was standing respectfully at the side, and asked: "Jiao Qianhu, what is the reputation of the Wu family in Guangzhou? Are any of the family members doing anything illegal in Guangzhou City?"
Jiao Qianhu cupped his hands and said: "Back to the governor, the Wu family was originally a famous family in Guangzhou City, and no one dared to offend them. Most of the family members are engaged in maritime trade with Southeast Asian countries, and they pay attention to harmony to make money, but they have not heard of it. What kind of outrageous thing will happen?"
When Jia Heng heard this, his eyes were dark and he had a look of thought on his face.
He simply asked a few questions. As for using this opportunity to attack the officialdom in Guangdong Province, this trip... should not cause extraneous matters.
He never thought that just bringing two hundred cavalry to Guangzhou could shake the foundation of the local military and political officials, and the purpose of his coming here was not to change the political ecology of Guangdong.
If the water is clear, there will be no fish.
As long as the military and political circles in Guangdong actively cooperate with him to solve the Haojing problem and then introduce some firearms technology, then it is not appropriate to cause unnecessary problems for the time being.
"In the land of Haojing, are there any guards from the Jinyi Mansion hanging around and staring at you?" Jia Heng pondered for a moment, looked at Jiao Ke aggressively, and asked.
Jiao Ke whispered: "There are some informants, but not many. After Zhao Qianhu from Nanzhen Fusi led people to Haojing, the detective helped collect intelligence and coordinate, and found some information for Hongyi in Haojing. .”
Jia Heng nodded and said thoughtfully: "Send some more people to keep an eye on Hongyi."
The cronies around Aodu Bugalu in the land of Hao Jing must be all red barbarians. Of course, it is not accurate to say red barbarians, because not all Portuguese people have red hair. The Dutch and Portuguese are collectively called the Red Barbarians without distinction, and the latter are also called the Francois.
Jia Heng thought about this and waved his hand to let Jiao Ke leave. He looked at Chen Xiao who was not far away. The girl had just taken a bath and had her beautiful green hair tied around her waist with a green rope. She didn't know where she got it. A plate of crystal clear grapes. After cleaning, there are still water drops on them.
"Xiaoxiao, are there people from the White Lotus Sect in Haojing?" Jia Heng put down the book in his hand, looked at Chen Xiao with a slight smile, and asked.
Chen Xiaoyu's face was cold, and she simply said one word: "Yes."
Then, the girl picked up a plate of juicy grapes and put it on the small table, picked a bite, peeled it gently, and put it in her mouth.
Jia Heng looked at the girl who was moving slowly and said softly: "Let's see if we can get someone to help deliver the news and observe the Hongyi Navy's movements, troop composition and deployment."
According to Fang Jun, the former commander of the Guangdong capital, Hongyi only had 2,000 naval troops, but in time of war, the Australian governor might recruit some fishermen and pirates from Haojing to join the navy.
Chen Xiao nodded and said, "I'll ask someone to keep an eye on it for you."
The girl said, sitting aside, frowning and said: "When you arrive in Guangzhou, Hongyi should have received the news."
Jia Heng muttered: "I will sit firmly on Diaoyutai now and wait for them to send envoys over."
No matter what, the Han people are numerous and have geographical advantages. Neither Portugal nor the Netherlands can continue to fight in foreign lands thousands of miles away from their own countries.
"You have to be careful. If you push too hard, they will join forces with Duduo, and then they will sell the red barbarian cannons and firearms manufacturing skills to the Jurchens. The entire land of Fujian and Guangdong will never have peace again." Chen Xiao reminded.
Jia Heng picked up a grape and put it into his mouth. The sour and sweet juice overflowed in his mouth and said softly: "No, I have sense. Besides, the Jurchens are still in the north. Water from far away cannot quench their thirst. If Hongyi knows In current affairs, you can only choose to cooperate with me, a big man."
Chen Xiao sat down, peeled the grapes, and said softly: "What are you going to do with the rental Haojing?"
Jia Heng took a look at the slender catkins that had broken grapes with bare hands, and said: "The lease can be renewed, it is still signed every fifteen years, but the money owed for the past twenty or thirty years should be returned to the court, and of course it can also be used The silver was converted into Hongyi cannons and firecrackers to repay."
Since the Haojing was leased to the Portuguese during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Chen Han Dynasty, Portugal has sent governors and guards to manage its overseas residents and resist the Dutch invasion.
Of course, according to the lease agreement established by the Taizong Dynasty, Portugal had to pay the Chief Secretary of Guangdong 50,000 taels of silver as rent every year, no more, no less.
But in recent years, after Portugal defeated the invading Dutch during the Longzhi period, they squandered the money on the grounds that the lease had expired and had not been renewed. After the defeat of Chen, Han and Liaodong, internal political turmoil continued. , local officials in Guangdong were worried about causing a war, so for twenty years they were angry but dared not speak out.
Haojing, Governor's Mansion
On the afternoon of the second day when Jia Heng came to Guangzhou Mansion, at this moment, behind the official residence was a garden and a building surrounded by white railings and stone pillars.
Aodu Bugalu is in his early forties, tall, with curly light red hair, a hooked nose, high eyebrows, sunken eye sockets, and deep gaze.
The governor has served as governor of Australia for five years and is highly trusted by the King of Braganza Dynasty in Portugal. Next to him is his wife Hailey, a woman in her thirties with a plump figure, a soft and serene oval face, and a bridged nose. She is tall and tall, with flaming red lips. She is wearing a lily-colored dress with a beautifully woven and embroidered skirt. It looks like a plump full moon is about to burst out of the clothes.
The youngest daughter Nona on the side is about 13 or 14 years old, with a fair face, a straight nose, slightly thin pink lips, because she has a quarter of Nordic ancestry, and deep eye sockets under the curved eyelashes. They are a pair of sapphire blue eyes, watery and sparkling.
A family of three was drinking coffee and enjoying the quiet afternoon. The waiter not far away seemed to be playing a drum and flute, and melodious tunes were floating in the air, making it cheerful and comfortable.
At this moment, a young man with short light chestnut hair and a military uniform went to the garden, bowed, and handed over a letter, saying: "Honorable Sir, this is a secret message sent by an official of the Guangzhou Governor's Yamen. Letter."鸱
Bugalu put down the coffee he was holding, turned around, stared sharply at the young man, who was also the captain of the guard, and asked: "What did the letter say?"
This Australian governor was born in a Portuguese nobleman and spent several years in Haojing. He actually knew a lot about Chinese culture and could speak fluent Chinese.
"Jia Heng, the Earl of Han, has arrived in Guangzhou and said that he wants local officials in Guangzhou to train the navy and be ready for war." The young man read Jia Heng's name and narrated the contents of the letter.
Bujialu frowned and whispered: "Aren't the two Han officials in the post house going to buy cannons and muskets from us? Are they going to fight us with the cannons they bought?"
Haili, who was not far away, was listening to her husband's discussion, with a look of thought in her deep eyes.
Nona also put down the music score in her hand and looked at her father with blue eyes like a clear spring.
"Sir, this may be the Han people showing off their strength." The young man stood up, his eyes shining like stars.
Bugalu nodded and said coldly: "This is an opportunity to renew the contract. I want to turn this place into a bridgehead for our country in Han!"
The captain of the guard nodded heavily.
Bujialu thought for a moment and then ordered: "When you go to Guangzhou City, tell me that I want to meet the Count of Han at Haojing."
When he ordered the captain of the bodyguard to go to Guangzhou City on Bujia Road, he was in an inn opened by Han people in Haojing.
Zhao Yi, from Jinyi South Town Fusi Jinyi Qianhu, entered the wing room and looked at the weapons supervisor Xu Tingye who was sitting on the table under the window and was concentrating on studying fire guns.
"Old Xu, it's time to eat." Zhao Yi smiled, placed several plates of dishes on the tables from the food box, and couldn't help but sigh: "It's not easy to prepare these dishes, let the brothers run away. A few streets.”
Xu Tingye put down the fire gun in his hand, with a look of wonder in his eyes. He turned over and stroked the fire gun and said, "The firearms of the Hongyi people are indeed unique. Look, the barrel of this gun is as smooth as a woman's hand." Both."
Zhao Yi's face darkened and he couldn't help but laugh: "Old Xu, what kind of metaphor are you talking about? You've been out for a long time, do you miss a woman?"
The two of them came to Haojing from Shenjing City for more than half a year, and they have gradually become familiar with each other, and they usually joke with each other.
Xu Tingye sighed and said with emotion: "Back then, our Han Shenji Battalion took the method from Hongyi and built French cannons and other firecrackers. After a hundred years, people have used match ropes to light fires and changed them to flints. It's just that This kind of blunderbuss tube is difficult to cast, and it is also difficult to produce suitable bullets in large quantities."
In the late Ming Dynasty, firearms research expert Bi Maokang produced a flintlock musket. It was now the fifteenth year of Chongping, which was the mid-seventeenth century, and flintlock muskets had been widely installed in the French army.
Some of these firearms were also assembled for the Portuguese.
Zhao Yi picked up the chopsticks and asked curiously: "Can our Han country make such a firecracker?"
Xu Tingye shook his head and said: "The bullets are actually easy to say, but the craftsmanship of gun tubes is different between skilled and unfamiliar craftsmen. It is difficult to form a certain art of gun tubes. Even ordinary Lumi guns and bird guns, the tubes often burst." Worry."
This is the disadvantage of firearms in this era. They are not stable enough for combat. Even in the Qing Dynasty, firearms were used to supplement bow shooting.
Zhao Yi said: "Our huge country can't even make a blunderbuss?"
Xu Tingye sighed and said nothing.
On the other side, after Jia Heng rested for a while at Qianhu Station in Jinyi Mansion, Guangzhou, he followed the Guangdong Navy general Wu Tao to Panyu to defend the port where the Guangdong Navy was located.
There is a water village built here, and the boat navy is anchored in the entire port of the water village. Jia Heng inspects the boat navy and the infantry stationed in the water village, and meets a number of generals.
Wu Tao, the general of Guangdong Province, said: "Uncle Yongning, the navy is in a bit of a difficult situation now. There are about 25,000 sailors, and not all of them are in Hong Kong."
Jia Heng glanced at Wu Tao and thought to himself, these sailors are helping your Wu family and the wealthy businessmen in Guangzhou with their smuggling business, right?
"The spirit is not bad. I wonder how the combat level will be after equipping ordnance." Jia Heng said.
Wu Tao said: "To be honest, apart from some pirates wreaking havoc, there has never been a major war in the Guangdong Sea."
Jia Heng's face was like water, and he asked without comment, "It's noon, let's go to the county town first."
After hearing this, General Wu Tao of Guangdong Province secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then led a large number of officials to accompany Jia Heng to Panyu County.
As soon as I entered the county town, I passed by a row of official buildings built against the port, and suddenly I heard a noise coming from not far away.
"Why are you detaining our cargo ship?" A middle-aged man who looked like a steward, accompanied by several young servants, shouted loudly.
"The imperial court strictly inspects smuggling, and all incoming ships are caught and detained together with the cargo ships. Didn't I tell you, why are you still coming?" The clerk lowered his voice, ordered several officers, and scolded: "Go back quickly. ."owl
"Please explain to us clearly which law stipulates that a man cannot bring gifts back from overseas." This was the voice of a girl, with a hint of natural waxiness in her cuteness.
"This is the edict issued in the 29th year of Longzhi. This is what the court stipulated. Either you pay five hundred taels of silver to redeem the ship, or the ship and cargo will be confiscated. Go quickly, go quickly." The clerk saw some brocade clothes in the distance. The generals and soldiers came around, and they panicked for a moment, and said to the confrontational officers around them: "Hurry and drive them away."
The Lord Registrar mentioned earlier that a big shot in the capital was going to inspect the coastal defense camp recently. Navy officers, soldiers, and port officials were not allowed to cause trouble.
However, Jia Heng looked at Wu Tao expressionlessly, and then said to Chen Xiao, who was wearing a flying fish suit and an embroidered spring knife at his waist, "Go and take a look."
Chen Xiao nodded, walked quickly towards the girl who was arguing, and asked about the situation.
The girl's cheeks are as fair as pear pistils, her eyebrows are picturesque, her red lips are like rose petals, and her eyebrows are vaguely similar to Baochai's. She does not have any exotic features, but her skin is white and greasy, and she is slightly fat, so she looks like a giant. No. porcelain doll.
Xue Baoqin and his steward Ning Bo asked the clerk: "How can we be considered as smugglers? They are all old things given to relatives. There are not many in the first place, and they are not sold for profit. How can we be treated as smuggling?"
The clerk was clearly an officer of the Guangdong Navy in charge of anti-smuggling. Seeing the girl's reluctance, he threatened: "That won't work either, this is the rule of the court! It's useless for you to tell me this, hurry up and leave later. The adults are here, and I will punish you for smuggling and trade."
Xue Baoqin frowned slightly, and said with annoyance in his soft starry eyes, "You are still being unreasonable."
This young girl has followed her father to travel to various countries in Southeast Asia since she was a child. She has a gentle and generous temperament. Now she is arguing with the scribe, and she is not shy like a girl from the Central Plains.
Here, Wu Tao saw that Jia Heng's face was not very good, so he cursed in his heart and said to an accompanying general: "What's going on? Go and have a look."
In fact, Wu Tao didn't know either. Otherwise, given the relationship between the Wu family and the Jia family, if he had known that this was the cargo ship of the Xue family of the four major families of King Jia Shi, Xue, he would have had the ship released long ago.
After a while, Chen Xiao left and came back again, his eyes clear and bright, and he said, "I just asked, he is from the Xue family."
Jia Heng frowned, with a hint of doubt in his eyes, and asked: "A member of the Xue family? Which Xue family?"
"It's the Xue family in Jinling. Now they have gone to the capital and live in Rongguo Mansion." Chen Xiao replied with cold eyes.
A bright light suddenly flashed in Jia Heng's heart, and he secretly thought: "It's really the Xue family."
Could it be that Xue Baoqin and his father traveled to various countries in Southeast Asia?
After saying that, he walked away quickly and saw a girl and several clerks gathered together. Their faces as white as snow pouted angrily and they looked angrily at the clerk not far away.
At this time, the clerk's expression paused slightly, and he looked at the several important figures gathered not far away. His expression suddenly changed, and then he was startled.
"I have seen you in this humble position, sir." The scribe led several officials and officials, quickly stepped forward and saluted General Wu Tao of Guangdong Province.
Wu Tao's face was as gloomy as ice, and he asked: "What's going on?"
The clerk's heart tightened and he said: "Your Majesty, our naval patrol boats are patrolling the seaport, boarding and inspecting passenger ships, and seizing the incense cargo carried by the ships that docked."
"Nonsense!" Wu Tao shouted, his eyes filled with evil spirits.
What time is this? He even mentioned it a few days ago and said several times that it’s hard to do anything bad recently. There are big people in Beijing patrolling south. Are these people stuffed with donkey hairs in their ears?
When the scribe heard this, he shivered with fright, and cold sweat broke out on his back. He said in a trembling voice: "Sir, I..."
"Let's release the cargo ship quickly." Wu Tao said coldly.
Jia Heng looked indifferent and asked: "General Wu, what's going on with the navy patrolling the boats to check for smuggling?"
There was a smile on Wu Tao's chubby face and he said: "Uncle Yongning doesn't know something. This is according to the edict issued in the 29th year of Longzhi. Passenger ships from Guangdong and other places are not allowed to carry incense goods from Southeast Asian countries when they dock. The lighter ones will have to pay A fine of silver or, in severe cases, the cargo ship may be detained."
Jia Heng frowned and asked: "Since the Taizong Dynasty, the central government has issued many edicts on the ban on trade at sea, which are contradictory and contradictory. As far as I know, in the third year of Chongping, due to tribute from the Southeast Asian countries, It was proposed that passenger ships could travel freely across the South China Sea and the Guangdong Sea. The imperial edict at that time allowed it. At that time, there was no mention of carrying a small amount of incense and treating it as smuggling. What anti-smuggling order does the Guangdong Navy have now?"
Since he intended to open up the sea to promote commerce, he had previously studied Chen Han's edicts from the Taizong Dynasty, Longzhi Dynasty, and Chongping Dynasty. Cargo ships and passenger ships were not the same. The latter was because Chen Han had cultural exchanges with the Southeast Asian countries.
Those civil servants called it enlightenment with Chinese etiquette.
Wu Tao pondered for a moment and said: "This..."
Jia Heng said: "Since Chongping, the imperial court's policy on sea ban has never said that after banning cargo ships, ransom can be guaranteed. Is this a money-making scheme for the Guangdong Sea? According to my official review of the Jinyi secret files, the Guangdong Sea Sea There are often some officers and soldiers in the division who use this to extort passing passenger ships. General Wu, with such bad rules, has no orders to follow, and destroys military discipline. I really don’t know what the Guangdong side will do?"
In addition to the tribute system in Southeast Asia, in order to win over friendly countries, Chen Han still did not prohibit the ferry travel of monks and tourists, but there was still some covert ban on smuggling.
The edicts of different periods were confusing and deformed, and the government orders were complicated. Moreover, the Guangdong governor's office also issued relevant orders, which made people confused as to what to do. Guangdong was clearly waiting for an opportunity to blackmail.
Moreover, the Guangdong generals and the local gentry and high-ranking officials in Guangdong, in addition to paying tribute, also engaged in maritime trade business to evade city taxes.
Some officials even reported to the court: "There are many islands and reefs in the Guangdong sea area, and people who are close to the sea often trade incense and goods privately to lure barbarians into stealing."
In other words, this kind of maritime ban, which has been abolished but has become popular, just gave some gentry convenience, because they did not have to pay taxes, and the local gentry families in Guangdong had their own smuggling channels. The Guangzhou Boti Jusi was gradually abolished, but the country was lost.
tax money.
In fact, it is not without insightful people in North Korea and China who have noticed that the maritime ban was sometimes relaxed for a period, but this policy did not have long-term effects.