Remember in one second to provide you with wonderful novels to read. Chen Hongyi became more and more confused about the origin of the person in front of him: Lin Baihu treated him respectfully on this official ship with the lanterns of "Jinyiwei Foshan Baihusuo"; although the cabin furnishings were very simple, he could see the ingenuity everywhere. The layout and the large glass skylight on the ceiling were not affordable for ordinary people; and when he got on the ship just now, he saw the food boxes piled on the front deck... He couldn't help but be a little more careful.
"You don't have to be nervous." Thorpe couldn't help but smile when he saw that the other party had a frightened look on his face and his butt could only sit on half of the chair. "I heard from Mr. Lin that you are a boat owner on the Xijiang River."
"Yes, yes, I have been a boat owner on the river for generations since I was a child. I got on the boat at the age of fourteen."
Thorpe stared at him: "I don't know, Gui Geng, the shopkeeper of Chen Da?"
"I'm already fifty-six years old." Chen Hongyi shook his head and smiled, "I'm old and useless. When the weather changes, my whole body hurts!"
"I think Shopkeeper Chen's body is still strong, but his hair is all white. This business must be a lot of work."
"Yes, yes, it is indeed not easy to eat from this bowl of water." Chen Hongyi sighed. This sentence immediately aroused his thoughts, "Finally, thanks to your care, I can eat peacefully today!" He saw the other party. He speaks calmly and has a graceful and free temperament, which relaxes his originally tense mood.
Thorpe then asked about shipping on the Xijiang River. Chen Hongyi thought that this was not a military secret. Since this noble man wanted to hear it, just say it. Let’s briefly talk about the waterway from Sanshui to Nanning.
"If you want to talk about the convenience of sailing, there is nothing more convenient than the Xijiang River." Chen Hongyi stroked his knees, "The river is wide and the water is deep. Below Wuzhou, when the water rises in summer, the water is fifty or sixty feet deep. You can board a thousand-stone ship. In some places , like Sanrong Gorge and Antelope Gorge, it is simply bottomless. A rope of hundreds of feet can be lowered without touching the bottom..."
"What about when the water is dry?" Thorpe asked.
"It is also thirty or forty feet deep, but the water depth at Wuzhou Pier will drop to only ten feet." Chen Hongyi said, "There is a shoal less than a hundred miles downstream from Wuzhou called Xintan. When the water is low, The water depth is only four or five feet. Large ships cannot cross. Therefore, although the water in the Xijiang River is deep, it is inconvenient to use large ships. Most boat owners like to use small boats - unless it is a year of severe drought, you can sail from Wuzhou to various places in Guangzhou all year round. .It saves a lot of effort in loading and unloading barges.”
"Although small boats are convenient, you ship owners transport goods. Sometimes they only go as far as Wuzhou, so why not use big boats?"
Chen Hongyi smiled and said: "Sir, you come from a wealthy family and don't know the hardships of people on the water. Although you can use big boats to get to Wuzhou from here, you have to sail against the current: boats going east can be sailed along the way, while boats going west have to rely on props. Hao lifted the oar, set up the oar and raised the sail. The big ship was cumbersome and inconvenient. It's not like you can wait for the weather every day, so you have to rely on the boatman to rock the oar - that's it. When you reach the canyon shoal, you have to go ashore to pull fiber. Let's talk about this. There are Antelope Gorge and Sanrong Gorge on the border of Zhaoqing Prefecture. They are both high mountains and steep slopes, close to the river bank. The steep slopes on both sides are steep and dangerous, and the boatmen have to climb the mountain. The water flow in the canyon is rapid and the water is whirlpool. If you lose your footing, you will lose your life. ――I don’t know how many people die every year...”
Thorpe nodded and sighed: "It's really hard to make a living." Seeing him swallowing hard. Knowing that his tongue was burning, he said, "I forgot, serve tea!"
There are no servants on this ship, so no one can remember the rules of serving tea. Lin Ming saw Thorpe speaking. He was the most clever person. Seeing that there were no servants here, he quickly went out to find tea.
There was tea, but it was just a big pot of coarse tea, thick and dark - it was what they used to make dry food during lunch. Lin Ming thought that he really couldn't take out this tea. Just when he was helpless, he saw that Xie Peng had already taken out a glass bottle. Lin Ming recognized this thing. It was kvass, the most popular drink in Lingao. It was also sold at Ziji Store in Guangzhou.
Lin Ming quickly poured kvass into the teacup. Sent in,
Chen Hongyi had less saliva in his mouth due to his old age, and his mouth became dry after talking a lot. When he saw Lin Baihu personally bringing tea, he was so frightened that he stood up quickly and said: "I don't dare to take it. I don't take it."
"Why, people are so lazy. This is Australian water. It is the most refreshing and thirst-quenching..." Lin Ming was so polite that Shopkeeper Chen was not used to it, and he became increasingly confused about Thorpe's background.
Chen Hongyi took the tea cup and saw a glass of crystal clear and slightly yellow water inside. There were many small bubbles attached to the white glaze, exuding a fresh aroma. Take a sip, it's sweet and slightly tingling, and the taste is very refreshing.
"This is Australian water." He suddenly remembered that a few days ago, his eldest son specially got this thing from Guangzhou: it was in a glass bottle and was very valuable.
"Exactly." Thorp was secretly surprised. He didn't expect that this kind of drink, which is considered a luxury product in Guangzhou, would also be known to people in Sanshui!
No wonder this little beast went out of his way to buy it. The taste is indeed very peculiar. It is the best for relieving summer heat and quenching thirst. House ↘] Chen Hongyi secretly scolded the Australians for making all kinds of weird and cunning gadgets all the time, which made several of his children want to buy "Australian gadgets" all the time. It was a waste of money!
He drank half the cup before continuing: "It's just that it's difficult to cross the beach with fiber optics, but there are many bad guys on the river. If it's a small thing, the toubobs will stop the boat and extort money for crossing the water; if it's a big thing, they will just board the boat and rob it." There is nothing you can do without killing people and stealing goods." Especially along the Xijiang River in the Zhaoqing area, because it is mostly mountainous, it is a haven for water bandits. Water bandits are very active in this area. Among them, water bandits surnamed Xu, Zheng, Shi and Ma from the Dan family were the most rampant. They not only operated in Xijiang, but also went deep into Beijiang to commit robberies.
When he said this, he suddenly felt that he had made a mistake, because there was a Lin Baihu sitting here, saying that "bandits are rampant", it would not be a disgrace to him, and he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.
"I didn't expect the water bandits to be so rampant." Thorp noticed an uncomfortable expression on his face, and glanced at Lin Ming furtively. With a little guessing, he knew what Shopkeeper Chen was thinking, "The government cannot be blamed."
Sweat dripped from Chen Hongyi's forehead. Fortunately, this distinguished guest was a genuine member of the Jinyiwei Baihu Ship, otherwise he would have stood up and left immediately - he didn't want to be guilty of his careless words.
I heard Lin Ming also echoed: "It's true, it's true. The government is lazy and waits for the thieves to grow bigger. It's just a disaster for the merchants and people along the river."
"Since water bandits are rampant, how does Shopkeeper Chen make a living on the water?"
Chen Hongyi fell silent, and Lin Ming said: "Don't hide it, no one knows this. This Master Suo is... is... from the capital, just say it."
After hearing this, Chen Hongyi continued: "Speaking of it, this is the same as traveling in a escort agency. You have to make friends first. The big gangster huts all have good prices. Once you make friends and set a regular fee, the boat will be able to travel. More stable. But this is not necessarily the case. Some small groups under the big gangs may not buy it, and they can only admit that they are unlucky when they encounter it. As for the small groups of water bandits and toubobs who are interested in making money, they have to ask the official The master on board took action: If you can get through that dangerous place, ask officers and soldiers to patrol the boat for protection. Furthermore, and the most important thing is that the fellow villagers unite and unite with one voice."
The first two are to spend money to buy peace, but neither officials nor bandits can be trusted. Only this hometown association has a great effect. Every boat owner, no matter how big or small, would travel together with multiple boats through dangerous areas when going on and off the water; they would jointly pay for the hiring of brave men to protect the boats; and they would deal with the government through the local gentry.
"A chat with you is worth ten years of reading." Thorpe exclaimed. The man in front of him is simply a living dictionary of Xijiang Shipping. What he talks about is first-hand information, which is extremely precious.
"The master is overly complimentary." Chen Hongyi saw him asking questions about geography and people's sentiments, as if he were an official paying a private visit incognito. He also saw Lin Ming saying that he was "from the capital" and treated him with great respect. He secretly wondered if he had met " Imperial envoy"? But the other party's age is too young...
Just as I was thinking wildly, I heard Master Suo asking again:
"I wonder if Shopkeeper Chen's ship has ever been to Guangxi?"
"Been there, been there." Chen Hongyi nodded, "The ship has passed Wuzhou and it is Guangxi. Although it is not as wide as the Xijiang River and the water is deep, it can still carry a big ship. A big salt ship like this one can't survive when the water rises in summer. We can carry it directly to Nanning Prefecture." He said with excitement, "If we talk about the Xijiang River, it is only as deep as the river in Guangdong. It is not until we enter Guangxi that it is a God-given thoroughfare: extending in all directions and reaching everywhere."
He said that if you go up from Wuzhou and go north to the Guijiang River, you can reach Guilin Prefecture; if you go west from Wuzhou, go up the Xunjiang River, cross Guiping, enter the Qianjiang River, and go north to the Liujiang River, you can reach Liuzhou; if you don't enter the Qianjiang River and go all the way west, you can reach Liuzhou. Direct access to Nanning Prefecture.
"... From Nanning, Guilin, and Liuzhou, there are also waterways that can lead directly to Yunnan-Guizhou River. However, ordinary people have not passed it."
It seems that the water transportation conditions in Guangxi are no worse than those in Guangdong. Thorpe knows that Guangxi has always given people the impression of being a poor province. However, although Guangxi has vast mountainous areas such as 100,000 mountains and 80,000 mountains, it also has many rich agricultural basins, and it is not a land of poverty and poverty. Since there are such convenient water transportation conditions, it is very suitable for the control policy formulated by the General Staff based on water transportation lines.
Taking Guangxi is not too troublesome. Thorpe thought that it had a good geographical foundation. As long as it established a firm foothold in Guangdong, it would be a matter of course to win Guangxi.
"What kind of cargo does it carry?"
"The main items shipped to Guangdong are grains, and the bulk to Guangxi is salt." Chen Hongyi said that the market for salt is huge. Through the waterways of the Xijiang River, Guangdong's salt can reach Guizhou, Yunnan and other places. And the local products from these places can also be transported to Guangdong along the waters of the Xijiang River. (To be continued.).
