The West China Sea Canal was temporarily closed.
This can be said to be extremely exciting news.
The West Sea Canal directly connects the Red Sea and the Great Qin Sea, and then connects the two oceans, the Little Western Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, and finally connects the two worlds of China and Thailand.
The West Sea Canal is one of the most important maritime transportation arteries in the world today.
Most of the merchant ships between China and Thailand will pass through this canal.
Not only because it is much closer than taking the Western Cape, but also because this channel is safer and there is no need to go to the storm-ravaged Southern Ocean.
The West Sea Canal is also the core channel for the Ming Dynasty to control the internal areas of the Great Qin Sea.
Throughout the world wars, the Ming Dynasty worked hard to keep the canal open, although only its own people were allowed to pass through.
But today, in an era of regional peace in the Old Continent, the canal was suddenly and temporarily shut down.
Even ships that have entered the canal cannot directly continue to move forward and leave the canal.
All were asked to stop at several anchorages in the middle and at both ends of the canal for inspection.
The slave ship of Gu Rui, the slave trader of the Ming Dynasty, is here.
Gu Rui, together with the British slave trader Lu Furay and the Ming Dynasty Yinzhou immigrant merchant Huang Xin, made a fortune in the United States by selling Tianzhu female slaves to the southern United States.
But after this, the United States immediately tightened its slave trade policy, and the War of Independence soon broke out in Yinzhou.
After the situation in Yinzhou became chaotic, the price of slaves could not be maintained.
Therefore, Gu Rui only did the business of selling Tianzhu female slaves to Yinzhou once.
But this time, the net worth of Gu Rui, Lu Frei, and Huang Xin skyrocketed.
After Gu Rui and Lu Frei returned to the Old Continent, they continued to sell Tianzhu slaves between Tianzhu, Dashi Country and Mozhou.
Gu Rui sent the girl from Tianzhu to the Great Food Country to work as a wife or concubine for the people of the Great Food Country, or to engage in special services.
Lufrey sent Tianzhu young men to Mozhou to contribute to the Mozhou New England of Tianzhu people.
Gu Rui has been operating in this business for more than two years. Following the trend of development and construction of the big food country, his wealth has continued to increase several times.
And it has established a stable cooperative relationship with the civil affairs agencies of the big food country.
There are basically no immigrants in Liusha City now, and Gu Rui's delivery destination has shifted to Beimo Continent and the area around Daqinhai.
In the last month of the second year of Ankang, Gu Rui specially prepared a batch of Tianzhu Orchid.
Either the ears are dry, and the appearance and figure are above average.
Either she has fat ears, but her appearance and figure are both top-notch.
All in all, it can be regarded as a high-quality product, rather than an everyday product.
Gu Rui planned to send them to several Ming Dynasty immigration areas in Beimozhou before the New Year.
As the immigration and development of the Great Food Country has entered a stable period, the official government of the Great Food Country no longer fully controls the orchid trade.
After fairly strict price controls and industry regulations were instituted, licensed slave traders were allowed to sell on their own.
That’s why Gu Rui wanted to create high-quality products to sell, instead of continuing to increase sales as he did in the early days.
In order to make this shipment look better, Gu Rui used two 15,000-ton ships to transport a total of more than 3,000 orchids.
These Orchids are not crammed into a narrow cabin like ordinary slaves, and their living space is equivalent to an ordinary dormitory.
Gu Rui also prepared relatively decent clothes for them and asked them to bathe regularly in the collective bathhouse. They could tell their quality without having to tidy them up.
As Gu Rui's wealth increased and the size of the ship he controlled became larger and larger, Gu Rui's lifestyle also changed.
I prepared a dedicated room for myself on the ship, with a separate place to bathe and change clothes.
Even if you travel long distances with a boat, you can always stay clean and decent.
As a slave trader, every time he travels on a ship, he will choose one or two high-quality female slaves to accompany him. Life can be described as enjoyable.
This time the slave ship set out from Tianzhu, crossed the Little Western Ocean and entered the Red Sea. After paying the money, it entered the Western Sea Canal and prepared to sell around the Great Qin Sea.
Everything was going smoothly, but when they were about to leave the canal, a patrol boat suddenly came from the front in the opposite direction.
The electric horn on the patrol boat loudly broadcast to the pilot boat and Gu Rui's slave ship:
“His Royal Highness Prince Dashi, Governor-General of Dashi, Daqinhai, and Minister of Military and Foreign Affairs of the Mozhou Region, ordered that the canal be temporarily closed.
"All ships south of the northern end of the canal will stop at the nearest anchorage and undergo inspection by the Right Army Governor's Office.
"All ships are prohibited from continuing sailing. Those who refuse to stop for investigation will be deemed as treasonous rebels!"
The pilot boat listened to the orders first and clearly, and didn't care what was going on. There was no thought of questioning at all.
If you want to question something, wait until the boat has stopped and you see someone, otherwise the other party may shoot you directly.
Directly guide Gu Rui's slave ship to stop at the anchorage.
As the broadcast got closer and closer, the crew members on Gu Rui's ship gradually understood it.
They did not dare to disobey the order and immediately followed the pilot ship into the anchorage, preparing to stop the ship for the so-called inspection.
The energy of Ming's army and court, as well as the deterrent effect of perceived rebellion, were too strong.
But this doesn't stop them from complaining to each other.
"Stop the ship for inspection? What are you inspecting?"
"What happened? The canal must be shut down directly..."
"If the canal stops, how much money will be lost..."
"If our New Year's goods are not delivered in time for the year before, we will lose money on this business!"
At the same time, a crew member immediately went to Gu Rui's cabin to report the news outside to Gu Rui.
Gu Rui, who felt that the journey was long and boring, was going to exercise with Hu Ji who was accompanying him, but when he heard the news, he lost all interest.
Gu Rui immediately tidied up his clothes, asked about the specific situation, then quickly ran onto the deck and summoned all the crew members:
"Don't worry about what the Governor's Office is investigating! Just be f*cking honest!"
"Is there any contraband on the ship? Has anyone brought anything they shouldn't have privately?"
"Destroy whatever you can, and throw it into the water if you can't!"
"If anyone affects my serious business, if the court doesn't kill you, I will kill you when I get back!"
"Immediately, immediately, everyone goes to deal with their own things!"
After Gu Rui gave a lecture, he immediately disbanded the team.
At the same time, a fleet of the Right Army Dudu's Navy blocked the exit of the West China Sea Canal.
A large number of navy and army soldiers entered the canal in traffic boats and patrol boats, and boarded the boats parked in the canal for inspection.
Soon soldiers came to Gu Rui's slave ship.
A flag general, when he saw Gu Rui approaching, he subconsciously laughed:
"I didn't expect that this boat actually belongs to Shopkeeper Gu..."
Gu Rui often sent orchid to various parts of the food country, and later he was able to sell orchid on his own.
Later, he obtained a permit and invested in several brothels dedicated to Orchid in the country of food.
He has the first-hand source of goods and does not engage in vain literary and artistic cover-ups. The main reason is that he does not have the ability.
Just pursue a product that is high quality, low price, simple and crude, so it is very popular among ordinary soldiers and workers.
Many officers and soldiers were far away from home and often took care of Gu Rui's business during their holidays, so they became familiar with it.
Gu Rui immediately smiled and cupped his hands and said:
"It seems that this military master is also a regular customer... The items I sent you this time are all high-quality products. Do you want to keep one with you?"
The flag manager immediately smiled and shook his head and said:
"Of course I want to, but it really doesn't work. Brothers, we have to get down to business quickly. There will be opportunities for other things in the future.
"His Royal Highness Prince Dashi personally gave the order this time. Shopkeeper Gu, don't blame the soldiers for being merciless."
Gu Rui was also a little surprised this time:
"What happened to the king? What happened? Who made the king angry? He actually ordered the canal to be closed for ship inspection?"
Mr. Qi chuckled dryly and said:
"Smuggling, our Highness is a great inventor, holding a bunch of patents and secret recipes in his hand.
“The things that are made are very profitable, so smuggling and reselling are constantly prohibited.
“Once or twice is nothing, but over time and too many times, Your Highness will get bored.
"So this time we gave a ruthless order, and the two cruisers from the Governor's Office came out to seize the smuggling."
Gu Rui understood what was going on, but still had a lot of confusion:
"Smuggling...reselling His Highness's patented products is indeed something that should be investigated.
"But my ship is going from Tianzhu to the country of Dashi to sell orchids.
“There is nothing Tianzhu can smuggle into the Big Food Country.
"If I want to smuggle goods from the Great Food Country, I have to take them with me on my way back..."
Mr. Qi also seemed a little helpless:
"I understand what the shopkeeper means, but this errand must be done.
“But foreign ships like yours, which are not involved in smuggling departures and destinations, can be inspected faster.
"I really don't want to be nagging you anymore. It's a waste of time. I have to start working quickly.
"Shopkeeper Gu, please bring out the registration information of your ship and the list of goods carried on the ship.
"Let all personnel on the ship go on deck, and we will confirm the identities of the personnel in turn."
Gu Rui didn't dare to delay and immediately asked someone to get the certificate.
Although he is a slave trader, Gu Rui has complete procedures and is a legal and serious businessman.
Then during this waiting time, Gu Rui asked a new question with a little confusion:
"Well... Master Jun, does the Hu Ji I trafficked on the ship count as a member of the ship?"
"There are more than 3,000 people on the two ships, and they are all locked up now. They are all called to the deck for fear of being difficult to control."
Mr. Qi was also obviously stunned. There were not many people on ordinary freighters.
Even ordinary passenger ships of the same tonnage would not be able to accommodate so many passengers. This was a characteristic of slave ships.
Whether the orchid being trafficked is considered cargo or people on the ship, this is indeed a small problem.
However, Mr. Qi was also knowledgeable and made a decision quickly:
"Since they are imprisoned, let's treat them as live animals. We will go to the scene to check..."
With treatment standards in place, inspections can begin quickly.
The crew of Gu Rui's ship were gathered on the deck again.
The soldiers first took the official registration information they received and compared it with the registration information carried on the ship provided by Gu Rui.
Confirm that the information on both parties is consistent, confirm that the other party's documents are authentic, and then confirm whether the personnel and the list are consistent.
Finally, the soldiers were asked to follow and monitor the crew, and entered the cabin to begin a comprehensive inspection.
Search for possible hidden persons and illegal items that may be contained.
There were more teams, large and small, boarding other passenger and cargo ships for inspection.
Gu Rui's fleet itself did not involve Meng County, nor did it even dock in the mainland of Dashi Country, so the degree of suspicion itself was very low.
The soldiers walked around the ship and looked at all the rooms. If no obvious problems were found directly, they announced that the inspection was completed.
The in-depth level of inspection is obviously determined by the possibility of smuggling goods from the food country.
For example, the ships of Ming Dynasty between Meng County and Liusha City, and the ships of Ming Dynasty between Meng County and Meng County.
These ships do not involve the West, and it is unlikely that they will carry domestic products from China. Even if they do, they are not the focus of processing for the time being.
But other ships are not so simple.
Ships coming from Dashi Country and Meng County are strictly inspected.
Ships passing through Meng County and Dashi Country are strictly inspected.
Ships from the mainland of Ming Dynasty to Taixi and Yinzhou are strictly inspected.
Any ship heading to Taixi and Yinzhou will be strictly inspected.
All personnel must confirm one by one, and not only look at all cabins, but also unpack and open cabinets.
All rooms including warehouses, fuel tanks, containers, and boiler rooms must be inspected and thoroughly inspected.
A ship can take several days to inspect.
The former military governor's office of the Ming Dynasty was responsible for the Mozhou area south of the Sahara and the nearby sea areas.
The Right Army Governor's Mansion is responsible for the areas around the Great Qin Sea and the Great Shi Country and its surrounding areas.
After the end of the World War, the armies of the two governorates continued to fight intermittently.
Mainly to conquer and clean up the indigenous political power in the interior of Mozhou.
The navies of the two governor's offices, especially the naval fleet of the former military governor's office, are basically only responsible for patrol and escort.
The indigenous people can only have a "lake army", but it is basically impossible to have a navy.
After the end of the World War, the navies of various countries in Europe and America began to shrink.
Although the Ming Dynasty's navy has not directly shrunk, but is replacing old ships with new ones, the navy still has a certain sense of crisis.
Mainly because I wanted to find something to do, and just patrolling and escorting was a bit unsettling.
Prince Dashi was his clear commander, and the orders he issued were reasonable and reasonable, so he acted decisively and on a large scale.
Most of the fleet, including the armored cruisers of the two governor's offices, were dispersed.
In this sea area, the two governor's offices originally controlled sea power and routes, and now they are directly increasing their efforts.
However, even if the two governor's offices sent more warships to investigate, it was still compared to the usual patrols.
The eastern coastline of Mozhou is not a major waterway in the world, and there are not many merchant ships passing by here.
However, even if there are relatively few merchant ships on this line, it is still compared to the merchant ships on the main channel.
Generally speaking, there are still a large number of merchant ships and a small number of warships.
A cruiser or large destroyer is responsible for the inspection of several ships.
For those in the canal, let the merchant ships stop directly at the anchorage and wait for them to inspect them in turn.
On the open sea, these cruisers will make a circle first and gather several nearby ships on board.
Let these ships reduce their speed to the lowest level, float slowly on the sea together, and get on board one by one for inspection.
The entire route is completely blocked, and I don’t know when all inspections will be completed.
Many people are missing their scheduled delivery deadlines.
Some of the bolder captains of Ming Dynasty went to the officers to inquire and question.
The officers of the Dudu Mansion are not very good at perfunctory matters. They can only say that it is an order from above and they are just executing it.
Ask the other party to wait patiently, and then continue the step-by-step inspection. No matter what you say, the inspection cannot stop without orders from above.
For merchant ships other than the Ming Dynasty, it is even more simple and crude.
The warships came directly up, and their large and small naval guns directly fired at the merchant ships.
As long as there is any disobedience, the opponent may first shoot with machine guns, and if they are disobedient, they will directly attack with naval guns.
The navy directly intercepts and inspects all passing merchant ships on the waterway. This is actually a very rough operation.
Without special orders, under normal circumstances, neither the army nor the Imperial Guards are qualified to do such a thing.
The key point is that without accurate intelligence and predetermined targets, and without knowing in advance that a certain ship is carrying a large amount of illegal and smuggled items, it is difficult to have practical results by investigating all the crossings on board the ship in turn.
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A ship with a displacement of tens of thousands of tons may have dozens, hundreds or even thousands of various spaces.
There were a large number of people and luggage on passenger ships and slave ships, and a large amount of supplies on cargo ships.
If these ships are not directly transporting a large amount of illegal materials, but are carrying tens or even hundreds of kilograms of things with the participation of management personnel, or only a few stowaways, it will be really difficult to search them out in a short time.
Especially the most smuggled items in the Dashi Country, those pantyhose.
The weight is light, the total quantity may not be much, and the size should not be large, so it is easy to hide.
If it is absolutely necessary and you want to destroy it, just throw it into the boiler and burn it, and it will be gone.
However, after the large-scale sudden interception and inspection operations began, many problems were discovered during the boarding inspection.
"The manifest you declared is for three hundred taels of bicycles. How come the actual number is three hundred and twenty?"
"Why did you take off the nameplate of this gasoline engine? What model and power is it?"
"Why are these three boxes of bearings not registered? They are all treated as smuggling!"
"Why do you people have no identity information? Where are you coming from? Where are you going?"
"These boxes of penicillin are not on your list of items. This quantity seriously exceeds the standard allowed to be carried on a passenger ship."
"This can be used as an amplifier and electric speaker for broadcasting throughout the square. You said you use it to listen to music at home?"
"This much tobacco is enough to smoke you to death! This wine is enough to drown you!"
"You said you like shooting guns, so you brought two containers of eight-millimeter machine gun bullets back to use?"
"These guns are enough to arm five hundred fucking infantrymen! Take them all!"
"Mother Ren, why are the obsolete secondary gun tubes on our ship in your cabin!"
The anti-smuggling operations of the two governor's offices soon yielded considerable results.
But it basically has nothing to do with Zhu Jingyuan’s Mengxian Industrial Zone.
Most of them smuggled various industrial products, luxury goods, daily necessities, and even military supplies from the Ming Dynasty to the West.
Normal inspections are not strong enough, so many small-scale smuggling operations are hidden.
The intensive investigation launched by Zhu Jingyuan uncovered most of these people.
This kind of "unexpected" gain allows high-intensity anti-smuggling operations to continue and silences interested opponents.
