Time flies and it enters mid-June. During this time, the Intelligence Bureau and the Public Security Police Department also became increasingly strict in scrutinizing immigrants from Zhili and Sichuan.
Almost at the same time that Duan Wenjing and other followers of the Bagua Sect were arrested, a group of Hunyuan Sect and Hongyang Sect believers from eastern Sichuan were also detected. More importantly, more than 20 members of the Qing Dynasty Military Department and Zhili Governor's Yamen were subsequently seized. Several of the spies sent out were even assigned to the steel plant project in Khabarovsk.
However, no matter how big the net is, it cannot catch all the fish. The long border between Beihai Town and Manchuria determines this reality. The problem is that during the review process, due to the eagerness of some reviewers and security police to perform meritorious services, some immigrant families were beaten into prison and suffered unjust injustice, and were eventually sent to the coal mines in Ezochi.
This made some people's longing for future life just ignite, and then extinguished with the deprivation of personal freedom. It cannot be regarded as the most ironic tragedy in the development process of Beihai Town.
As a follow-up effect of the large-scale censorship, Beihai Town began to expel Russian businessmen from Eastern Siberia in a targeted manner, with the five major families of Baiber City bearing the brunt.
Liu Sheng's southern expedition to Mongolia is imminent, and the movement of a large number of Northern naval forces southward is likely to cause instability in the Lake Baikal region again. So under the instruction of Zhao Xin, Zhang Jingxuan, the governor of Belber Province, and with the cooperation of Liu Sheng, mobilized the garrison troops from various places to quickly arrest Siberiakov, Milenkov, Basnin, Dudorovsky, and Sulei The five major businessmen Doves and their minions seized various real estate properties.
The superficial reason for Beihai Town - the reason why it can be widely advertised to calm public opinion is that the five major families have taken advantage of the opportunity of doing business with Tsarist Russia in recent years to regularly pass on information about Beihai Town to Tsarist Russian officials. To catch thieves and seize stolen goods, the public security police have accumulated a lot of evidence, including both witnesses and physical evidence.
The underlying reason is that the five major families have no commercial value to Beihai Town, and because they control a large amount of land around the town, they have become the biggest obstacle to the development of the Baibai area.
The Jewish groups in the Tulum Jewish Autonomous County can completely replace them and are more loyal to Beihai Town. Zhao Xin planned to take advantage of this opportunity to nationalize the entire Eastern Siberian fur, tea, rhubarb, and textile trade, give shares to the Jews, and let them work for him.
Large private businessmen with industry monopoly characteristics will never appear under the rule of Beihai Town! Even if there is, it can only be Zhao Xin himself.
After the five families were arrested, the court, with Governor Zhang as judge, completed the trial in just two days. Faced with a large amount of evidence, Siberiakov and others knew that the situation was over, and it was useless to say anything. Beihai Town just wanted to deal with them this time.
Zhang Jingxuan then announced that all the real estate of the five families would be confiscated as punishment to warn those businessmen who were flirting with Tsarist Russian officials. However, in view of the efforts made by the Five Families in East-West trade and the construction of Baibai City in the past two years, Beihai Town allows a group of prisoners from the Five Families and their families to keep their personal gold and silver property, but they will be escorted to Chiyan City. deport.
On the third day after the trial, more than 300 sighing, cursing, and crying men and women boarded a dozen closed four-wheeled carriages, escorted by 2,000 heavily armed Cossack servants, and built along the path of Tsarist Russian prisoners of war. The broad road heads west.
In late June, Hong Liangji and Liu Taigong, who had studied at Beihai Town Administrative School for more than half a year, suddenly received appointments in civil affairs. Liu Taigong will go to Ningguta and serve as Cao Peng's deputy as the deputy commissioner of the Ningguta District Administrative Office. Hong Liangji was sent to Hunchun, and his identity was also the deputy commissioner of the Ningguta District Administrative Office, but his task was to deal with the immigrants from the Li Dynasty, and he was also responsible for negotiating with officials from the Li Dynasty on this issue.
In the past six months, more than 2,000 people from six towns in North Hamgyong Province of the Lee Dynasty have secretly crossed the Tumen River and settled in the jurisdiction of Beihai Town. What's more, they shuttle between the two sides of the Tumen River, farming in Beihai Town during the day, and rowing back at night. The reason for this is because of the more than 10,000 Qing troops stationed in North Hamgyong Province.
Originally, because of the emergence of Beihai Town, the Li Dynasty had second thoughts about the Manchus, but Zhao Xin was not interested in the Li Dynasty's surrender, so he proposed the territory of North Hamgyong Province. After repeated negotiations, the monarchs and ministers of the Li Dynasty were so angry that they had no choice but to resort to the drag-and-drop strategy. As long as the Manchu and Qing Dynasties still bordered on themselves, they would continue to waste time with Beihai Town.
In fact, the emperor and ministers of the Li Dynasty saw that Beihai Town was becoming more and more powerful, and they had already started to build their mentality, that is, they would try their best to squeeze the six towns before Beihai Town drove the Manchus out of the customs. Anyway, I can't save it in the end. How many more bites can I take now?
After the Battle of Hunchun, Na Chi Tai led 5,000 people into North Hamgyong Province. Later, the Qing government sent another 5,000 green battalions. The arrival of more than 10,000 Qing troops made the lives of the people in the six towns even worse.
Originally, the food and salary expenses for Na Qitai and others were borne by the Qing court, which would not put much pressure on the Li Dynasty's government and people. Qianlong even asked the Lifan Yuan to inform the Li Dynasty's envoys, and offered many rewards. But the problem was that Lord Li Zou and his ministers had already planned to exploit North Hamgyong Province, so the officials of the six towns took advantage of the presence of Manchu soldiers and horses to fabricate various excuses to exploit the area, making it even more difficult for the people who could still barely make ends meet.
The land in the northern part of the peninsula is already barren, with more mountains and fewer plains. The land is strewn with rocks, and the people have to perform military service. Therefore, the large fertile wilderness on the north side of the Tumen River is very important to the many farmers struggling in poverty living on the southeast side of the boundary river. It became a huge temptation.
For Beihai Town, it is okay for Koreans to become naturalized, but not now. Nowadays, the Qing army has deployed a large number of troops in North Hamgyong Province. Faced with the behavior of North Koreans who cross the river by boat to farm during the day and call it a day and go home at night, who knows if there are spies among these people.
Previously, Cao Peng also asked Mi Shilang stationed in Hunchun to send people to negotiate with the Li Dynasty officials. In order to prevent the loss of tax personnel, the Li Dynasty set up dozens of outposts on the south bank of the Tumen River, blocked the border, and issued a cross-river announcement. Prohibition, punishable by death for offenders.
However, when the people of the Li Dynasty were oppressed by the officials and their lives became increasingly poor, neither the wide river nor the harsh punishments could stop their desire to live. Farmers began to cross the Tumen River in groups and enter the Beihai. town territory.
At dusk, a flat-bottomed ferry arrived from the north of the river to the south bank. A family of seven got off the boat, including a gray-haired old man and children of all sizes. I saw that each of them was carrying a pocket and the corner of a hoe was exposed. They were obviously farmers who went to Jiangbei to farm. One of them, a middle-aged man in his forties, carried the old lady on his back.
The last person to get off the boat was a woman. She put down the baby on her back and held it in her arms. Then she opened her clothes and prepared to feed the baby. Suddenly, she screamed in surprise.
"Huh?" The woman shook the child in her arms and exclaimed: "His father!"
"Ah?" The man turned around.
"This child..." The woman was about to cry and looked at her husband eagerly.
The man held the old man behind his back with both hands, lowered his head and looked around, his eyes suddenly widened. He stretched out a hand with great effort and touched the child's forehead, then put his hand under the child's nose, and his face immediately darkened.
"Ouch..." The woman couldn't bear it any longer and cried loudly. The originally quiet ferry was soon drowned out by the cries of the family.
The captain with a beard sighed and said: "I have been ferrying here for eight years. I have seen people die on boats crossing the river dozens of times at least."
A young man on the same boat asked sadly: "How did they die?"
"Some died of hunger, some died of illness, almost all of them were old people." There was infinite sadness in the boatman's voice.
At this time, a leaf floated from upstream, brushed the side of the ship, and then drifted downwards along the current. Where will that leaf settle?
"How's the business lately?" The young man has been leading the donkey by boat between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait every month for the past year, so he is already very familiar with the boatman.
"We are running errands for our boss. We have no control over the quality of the business. We will take back whatever they give us."
"Oh, that's right."
When the young man landed outside Huining Town, it was already late at night and the stars were twinkling in the sky. He came to the door of an inn, where a pretty young woman was still sitting in the room, as if waiting for someone.
"Ah, Yongba is here. I also said, counting the days, it should be here today. Before it gets dark, Mr. Jinshi will send someone to ask you."
"Lady boss, I'm starving to death, please get some food quickly!"
"We've been preparing it for a long time!" The landlady immediately got up and went to the kitchen to bring food and wine.
Yongba unloaded the roe deer skin, deer skin, mink skin and deer antlers carried on the donkey's back, and then found a table to sit down. He is a Korean, but he is actually a secret agent who delivers information to the Qing army, but Yongba himself does not know it.
Since two years ago, he has been running errands for Cui Jinshi's family in the city to do business between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. At the same time, he is also passing on information about Beihai Town submitted by Hunchun City. Every time he returned to Huining Town, he stayed in this inn, handed the goods directly to Cui Jinshi, and then took the goods given to him back to Hunchun. As for every secret message contained in the cargo, Cui Jinshi would directly deliver it to a Manchu military attaché in Huining Town.
The next morning, Cui Jinshi, wearing a black bamboo hat, came in a hurry, but he looked very worried. Before the goods were handed over, Cui Jinshi pulled Yongba into the inn and whispered: "Yongba, I have something to see you for."
"Master, please give your orders."
"Can you stay one more night and leave tomorrow?"
"Why?"
"Some people are going to the other side tomorrow. It's their first time and they're not familiar with the road. You go with them."
"If this is the case, what can be done? No problem. But can't we leave today?"
"They are not ready yet, so I'm afraid it won't work today. You used to stay for two or three days, but this time it's better to stay for one more day."
"Master, you have said it, then I will stay one more day."
"However, you must set off before dawn tomorrow. And when you hand over the goods later, just pretend it's nothing. Don't mention it to the people sent by Lord Zuoling when you go."
"Master Cui, what are you doing..."
"Keep it first." After saying that, Cui Jinshi took something out of his arms and put it into Yongba's hand. Yongba's hands sank, and he immediately knew that this was the fifth level. He was a little confused. Five taels of silver was not a small amount. He was just taking people to the other side and not being a guide. Why should he be given so much money? Judging from Cui Jinshi's behavior, there may be something unspeakable.
Not long after, Cui Jinshi came with another Qing man. He came every time and he knew Yongba. There was no nonsense between the two parties, they handed over the goods to each other and then bowed and said goodbye.
Early the next morning, Yongba stood at the intersection and waited for a long time before vaguely seeing a few figures walking from a distance. It was Cui Jinshi and the others.
Yongba stared at the people following Cui Jinshi with wide eyes. Because he felt very puzzled, who were they, and why did they leave quietly in the early morning when others were still sleeping, like criminals on the run?
The two people following Cui Jinshi seemed to be from two different classes. One was a middle-aged man in his fifties, wearing a black hat and white robe, with a good appearance; the other was a slim and beautiful girl. Her skin is like cream, her face is like a peach blossom, and she is very neatly dressed, with a piece of clothing on her head.
"Book of Rites" says that when a woman goes out, she must cover her face. North Korean aristocratic women usually ride in sedans when going out. If they don't ride in sedans, they need to cover their heads with clothes to prevent others from prying at them.
Yongba hurriedly greeted Cui Jinshi and said, "Master Cui, are they them?"
"Yes, you have to take good care of them along the way!"
"Where do I have to send them? Is that all I need to do if I send them across the river?"
"To be honest, these two have no clear destination yet. You just need to take them into Hunchun City and find an inn to stay. Don't bother."
Hearing Cui Jinshi's words, Yongba was a little frightened: "Master Cui, what you said makes me really ashamed. Since you have given orders, I must have done it properly."
"I heard your name is Yongba?" Master Lin, who had been standing by silently, spoke up.
"yes."
"Cui Jinshi said that although you are young, you are kind-hearted, honest and trustworthy, so we, the old and the young, plan to go with you. Do you understand?"
