In the afternoon, when Shen Jingdan, Lao Huang and others went to the island to meet Zhao Xin, Zhao Xin asked Shen Jingdan: "Boss Shen, do you know anything about Flower and Bird Island?"
"I know a thing or two. In fact, I have been here several times."
"Oh? Then why are there so many empty houses on this island but not many people?"
After Shen Jingdan's explanation, Zhao Xincai understood the whole story of this place.
In the past few years, Flower and Bird Island was a black market trading base for many overseas cargo ships, and the business was very prosperous. Various shipping companies have built wooden houses on the island as temporary business halls; some pirates from Fujian and Zhejiang occasionally come here to sell their stolen goods. Shen Jingdan once bought some stolen raw silk and white sugar here and shipped them to Nagasaki.
In the forty-eighth year of Qianlong's reign, a vicious robbery and murder occurred in Chongming. Thirteen pirates including the robber Gong Boss robbed a Nantongzhou merchant ship offshore Chenjiahe. The group encountered a storm when they were preparing to move the goods, so they waited on the victim's boat for two days. During these two days, no one knew what happened on the ship.
Two days later, this group of robbers not only removed all the clothing, goods and money from the merchant ship, but also pushed all 25 people on the ship, including the owner, sailors, women, and children, into the sea and drowned, and finally burned the merchant ship to nothing.
This incident led to Qianlong personally ordering a strict investigation. Susong Town Navy sent a large team of troops to search inside and outside Chongming Island, and finally captured eleven robbery and murderers on Flower and Bird Island. At this time, all the boat shops, wine shops and even brothels on the island were driven away by the officers and soldiers, and the huge Flower and Bird Island soon became deserted.
After listening to Shen Jingdan's introduction, Zhao Xin pondered for a while and then said: "Boss Shen, you are more familiar with the island conditions in Jiangsu and Zhejiang than I am. Do you think it is appropriate for us to use this as a cargo transfer station?"
Shen Jingdan stroked his beard and thought for a while and said: "The location alone is appropriate. But the navy in Susong Town, Mr. Zhao, how are you going to deal with it? If it is just a killing and the court is alarmed, then not only Su In Songzhen, even the Mining and Zhejiang navy will be alarmed, I'm afraid it will be difficult to handle."
Lao Huang added on the side: "Mr. Zhao, you don't know something. The imperial government's patrol system here is still very strict. There was an incident here last year. If you have fewer people, I'm afraid you won't be able to retain them."
Zhao Xindao: "How do you say this?"
Old Huang said: "This matter is too detailed. I can't explain it. I'd better let Brother Shen explain it."
It turns out that forty-six years after the Qianlong reign, the number of cruises in and out of Chongming was changed from four cruises a year in the spring and autumn to one every three months, with patrols going out according to the four seasons. The four battalions of Susong Town, namely the middle, left, right and odd battalions, dispatched 11 officers and 288 land and sea soldiers and nine sentry boats, sampans and other ships in rotation every quarter to patrol the ocean and cooperate with the right battalion and Sichuan battalion of Langshan Town. Patrol officers and soldiers such as Shaying and Wusongying met on the ocean side at Banyangsha and other places.
Shen Jingdan finally concluded: "The purpose of the imperial court is to 'responsibility should be assigned to the designated one' to prevent the Luying Navy from all kinds of blame-shifting and malpractice. The so-called 'regular meeting sentry, repeated shifts for dedicated patrol, and always divided into different areas' The address is important.'
In this way, each water camp has its own responsibilities by demarcating boundaries and demarcating the areas under its respective jurisdiction on the inner and outer oceans. Above the sub-inspection there is the general inspection; above the general inspection there is the general inspection. The ships and boats of each camp were sent to and fro, and the patrols were carried out on the basis of the arrows passed by the sentry post, and the documents collected by the meeting hall were used as the basis. "
Shen Jingdan said while Zhao Xin took notes with a pen. This group of sub-inspections, general inspections, and people from this battalion and that battalion made Zhao Xin dizzy.
It's hard for Shen Jingdan, a maritime businessman, to explain it in such detail. After recording, Zhao Xin praised: "Boss Shen has a really good memory and can explain such complicated things in a clear and coherent manner."
Shen Jingdan said with a smile: "Those of us who are engaged in sea trade, if we can't remember these clearly, how can we manage everything?"
Zhao Xin suddenly asked out of curiosity: "Excuse me, Boss Shen, how much money do you spend on this a year?"
Shen Jingdan said nonchalantly: "There is always ten thousand taels."
Zhao Xin was surprised: "Ah?! So many!"
Shen Jingdan clapped his fingers and said: "The governor of Liangjiang, the governor of Jiangsu, the naval admiral of Susong Town, and the Wusong camp, all have filial piety."
"Isn't the Governor of Liangjiang in Nanjing? Isn't he also required to give it there?"
"The imperial governor of Liangjiang has sixteen battalions, and the admiral of Jiangnan has five battalions. These are all responsible for river defense. You also have to pay a fee when you come out of Shanghai Daguan Wharf."
Although Shen and Huang explained so much, Zhao Xin still didn't want to give up the island. He thought for a while and then said: "Boss Shen and Boss Huang, I think it will be difficult for you two to go to Nagasaki in the future. Next time you purchase goods, why not arrange it here. Let's agree on a time, for example, two months For the first phase, the Thor will send the goods here to meet you. This will save you a long sea journey. If you want to go to Beihai Town, just take our ship."
Shen and Huang looked at each other with joy on their faces. Zhao Xin's suggestion is so trouble-free!
The two of them also knew a little about the cargo capacity of the Thor, and the load capacity of tens of thousands of stones was not a problem. It only takes one run, which can take the two of them to Nagasaki ten times. So the two agreed happily.
The three of them chatted until it was time for dinner, and Wu Siyu also completed the preliminary interrogation of Xu Dayong and others. So Zhao Xin looked at the ingredients while drinking fish soup.
Xu Dayong was born in Chongming, Jiangsu.
In mid-June of the 46th year of Qianlong's reign, a storm occurred in Chongming County. The water in Guanxiang (near the main street outside the city gate) reached a depth of four to five feet, destroying more than 18,000 houses and drowning more than 12,000 men and women. . Seven of Xu Dayong's family of eight died in the disaster; several acres of land they shared were also washed away by the flood. Desperate, he took Wang Changsheng and a dozen other landless tenants from the same village and began robbing passing merchant ships.
Strictly speaking, Xu Dayong and his group are not pirates, they can only be regarded as a group of thieves. These people also use rented sand boats to transport goods on weekdays; or they travel between islands off the coast of Chongming and do small-scale smuggling business. And every time during the peak season of sea trade freight, they would gather in groups and go overseas to grab a handful.
Since Xu Dayong and his group rarely kill people, their reputation in Chongming is not that bad. When ordinary merchant ships meet them, they can say a few nice words, make some friendships, and give them a few dozen taels of silver.
Since the beginning of this spring, the freight business of Xu Dayong and his group has suffered repeated setbacks. First, he was discovered by Su Song Navy for trafficking in private goods and sank a sand ship; later, he encountered a storm at sea and lost a lot of goods. Unable to explain to the owner of the goods, a group of people thought of coming to Flower and Bird Island to avoid the limelight.
Xu Dayong, who had lost a large amount of goods, originally wanted to find an opportunity to make some extra money, so he asked the second boss Wang Changsheng to lead someone out to grab a handful. In the end, he only got a dozen taels of silver and more than 7,000 kilograms of fish, and then he Zhao Xin and others were "beaten to death" on the beach by the "unexpected visit".
Throughout the history of the Qing Dynasty, apart from the early Zheng Group, the three largest pirate groups on the southeast coast were Cai Qian and Zhu Xin's group in Fujian in the early Jiaqing period, Zhang Baozai in Guangdong, and the Banner Gang headed by Zheng Yisao Shi. Pirates, nothing else.
After reading the interrogation records, Zhao Xin decided that he still could not let Xu Dayong and his group go. First, the news about the Thor cannot be leaked, and second, these guys are considered strong laborers, so it would be perfect to bring them back to Beihai Town to work with the prisoners of the Qing Dynasty for labor reform.
As a result, Xu Dayong's remaining sand boat, which contained more than 7,000 kilograms of catch, became Zhao Xin's trophy.
The cargo capacity of the sand ships in the Qing Dynasty was not small. The large ones could carry 120 tons, and the small ones could carry 60 tons (the larger ones could carry three thousand shi of official dendrobium, and the small ones could carry 1,560 shi.) Although the speed of the sand ships was Slower, but after adding water boards, water logs and a safety basket, the sailing stability is very outstanding and it can resist large winds and waves.
As for the name of Shachuan, there have always been different opinions. "Tiangong Kaiwu" says that there are many shoals in the Beiyang sea, with ditches crisscrossing them, and sand ships can freely travel among them, hence the name.
According to Shen Jingdan's introduction, Zhao Xin learned that the number of sand ships that enter the Huangpu River from Wusongkou to berth and unload cargo is as high as more than 3,000 every year. The annual cargo volume of sand ships accounts for almost half of the freight throughput of the entire Susong area.
Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng discussed it and decided to move part of the catch into the cold storage in the kitchen on the ship, and most of the rest would be given to Shen Jingdan and Lao Huang.
Shen Jingdan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He and Lao Huang were not fishmongers, so what was the use of having so many yellow croakers. Moreover, this boat was rented by Xu Dayong. Once it enters Wusongkou, it will definitely be recognized. Not only is the origin of the catch on the boat unclear, but it can also cause trouble. When Zhao Xin heard this, he gave it up and could only take the sand boat back.
So Xu Dayong and a group of prisoners began a miserable life of hard labor from the early morning of the next day; every day, they would disembowel the yellow croaker on the deck of the Thor, clean it, pickle it, and then lay it flat on the cargo hold cover to dry repeatedly. . The group of foodies headed by Zhao Xin began to feast. They started cooking fish every day in the kitchen, frying, frying, steaming, and eating in different ways; they ate all the way from Flower and Bird Island back to Beihai Town.
Speaking of the sea outside Jiangsu, Wu Siyu wanted to find a chance to go ashore and have a look. Zhao Xin and others also wanted to see Shanghai County in this era. But Shen Jingdan's words dispersed their thoughts.
"My lords, you don't have braids!"
Different from what is known in later movies and TV shows, the braids of Chinese people in the late Qianlong period were still the typical money rat tail. It was not until the middle Jiaqing period that the area of hair growth began to be expanded, and it was not until the late Daoguang period that it transformed into half bald and half full hair. image.
It's okay to ask Zhao Xin and others to shave their heads, but they can't find the props for wigs and braids right now!
Liu Sheng waved his hand and said, "Why do you need braids?! Can't we just pretend to be a monk?"
Shen Jingdan shook his head and said, "You can't even pretend to be monks."
"Why?" Liu Sheng looked unhappy. He thought Shen Jingdan just didn't want to help him.
When Shen Jingdan saw that Liu Sheng and others looked wrong, he quickly explained: "Master Liu, my pregnant concubine and daughter are in Beihai Town. Why don't I help? It's because pretending to be a monk will cause big trouble. ! Just listen to my explanation."
It turns out that in the middle and late Qianlong reign, although the system of paying ultimatums was gradually abolished, and it seemed that anyone could pretend to be a monk, it was replaced by a strict Baojia system for wandering monks. Through the strict review of the four pillar lists of monks and Taoists in various places, the management of grassroots monks and Taoists is realized.
For example, in Baojia, the audits for ordinary people of each family are quarterly or semi-annually, while the audits for monks and Taoists are once a month. At the end of each month, the abbot of each temple must write in the "circulation book" how many people actually live in the temple (nunnery, temple, courtyard), their appearance and characteristics, where the monks are from, and when they come. Go; after writing these, you need to submit the booklet to the local monastic association secretary. The monastic association secretary will send the circulating booklet to the county government for verification on the second day of the next month. The county government office will return the booklet after review and continue next month.
Of course, if you can bribe the temple abbot and the people in the government office in advance, it's not impossible to go ashore for a month or two. But the heights of Zhao Xin and his gang are too scary!
In the Jiangnan area, where people are generally 1.65 meters tall, if a few monks with a height of 1.8 meters and round waists suddenly appear, can something happen? Let’s take Liu Sheng, a big man of 1.85 meters. If he were to put on a cassock, he would look like Yihua monk Lu Zhishen! People will definitely notice you if you go ashore, and it will be difficult not to reveal your secret.
Therefore, Shen Jingdan and Lao Huang suggested that they should make some preparations first, such as wigs, clothes, etc., so that they can go ashore next time.
When Liu Sheng and others heard that what they said was reasonable, they gave up in frustration and could only talk about it next time.
Zhao Xin rolled his eyes and asked Shen Jingdan: "Boss Shen, can you help me buy a courtyard in each of these four places: Shanghai, Yangzhou, Suzhou, and Nanjing? The heads of households can be in the names of two people."
Lao Huang on the side asked at this time: "This is easy. My family has shops in these places. I just don't know what Mr. Zhao's requirements are for the location and the size of the yard?"
Zhao Xindao: "As for the location, it can be in a secluded place outside the city. As for the size, a small courtyard with two or three entrances will do. The key is not to attract anyone's attention."
Lao Huang nodded and said: "Leave this matter to me, I'm sure it will be done properly!"
Seeing that Lao Huang readily agreed, Zhao Xin immediately wanted to give him money. Lao Huanglian said no, he would have made a lot of money just from the half-shipload of leather goods that Zhao Xin sent him this time. Two thousand taels of silver is a lot of money to buy four sets of courtyards, and there is no need to use so much.
Since sailors from the island country could not enter the Qing territory, that night, Zhao Xin and Wu Siyu, with a dozen soldiers, took Shen Jingdan to Chongming Island in a patrol boat at night.
Shen Jingdan has a warehouse outside Chongming County. In the past, most of the goods he purchased were sent here, and it was very convenient to find help.
Two days later, Shen Jingdan took a rented sand boat and took more than forty sailors to board two Benzai boats on the west side of Flower and Bird Island.
At this point, the escort mission of Zhao Xin and others has been completely completed. Next time, Shen Jingdan and Lao Huang will come directly to Flower and Bird Island to meet with the Thor to purchase goods.
On the deck, Xu Dayong and others who were busy drying fish could not help but shed tears when they saw the Flower and Bird Island gradually disappearing.
"Brother, can we come back?" Wang Changsheng, the former second in charge, kowtowed three times in the direction of Chongming Island and asked quietly.
"Damn it. It's not a living anywhere! I don't think these gentlemen are bad. At least they have enough rice and can eat as much fish as they want." Xu Da wiped his nose with his raised hand.
Wang Changsheng said: "But, brother, that fish, the fish was originally ours. Oops!"
Xu Da kicked Wang Changsheng's calf angrily. "Damn it, if you don't speak, no one will think you are mute!"
"What are you two doing! Work quickly!" Yaichiro, who was on guard duty on the deck, shouted at the two of them with a gun in hand.
"Yes, yes! Master." Xu Dayong lowered his head and continued to salt the fish, while cursing in his heart: "What a arrogant Japanese people! If I get a blunderbuss someday, I won't be able to beat you to death!"
(End of chapter)
