Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

At the bustling and noisy Tongzhou grain transport wharf, dozens of grain ships that arrived in Beijing today were lined up end to end and moored on two earth and stone dams. Military grain brokers, dressed in silk shirts and full of style, were taking their loaders, porters, and helpers on board one by one to inspect the grain.

The porters, like ants, sweated profusely and carried the loaded grain ashore with great effort. The transporters who passed the inspection cheered and called their friends to look for delicious food and beautiful women at the bustling Tongzhou Wharf.

When the grain was transported by the can, it was counted in a long tone, which was called "singing the cane". The sound of "singing the cane" on the canal boats, the calls of stopping and starting the ferry in the canal, and the almost wailing breathing of the boat trackers formed a bustling and lively world.

Jia Cong, dressed in plain clothes, was flanked by Cheng Lingsu, Zhuang Qing and Wang Fei. Under the secret protection of many disguised personal soldiers and Jinyi captains, he once again came to Tongzhou Wharf.

"I have been to Tongzhou several times, but I never paid attention to these grain ships in the past." Jia Cong closed the folding fan in his hand and said, "Today I want to see what mystery this grain transport has."

Wang Fei said hurriedly: "My eyes are sharp as a torch, and I can see through everything. No trick can be hidden from my eyes."

Jia Cong laughed and said, "Call your people and take me to have a look."

"We've been waiting for you." Wang Fei waved his hand, and two young men in coarse cloth shorts came over.

"These two have been stationed here for a long time and are familiar with everything going on at the dock."

"Greetings to the master." The two spies had guessed Jia Cong's identity and nodded and bowed hurriedly.

"Go and see how the military grain brokers collect grain." Jia Cong said.

"Okay, please come this way, sir. This ship is collecting grain." The two men hurriedly led Jia Cong to the dock.

But a middle-aged man in a silk shirt walked up to the bow, flashed his fan, and asked, "Where are you from, which gang are you from, and which ship is it?"

Yunding said hurriedly, "We are from Jiangxi, the third gang of Ganzhou, ship number 37."

In the canal transportation that depended on the weather, in order to make a living together, the transport troops and canal boats, which were mixed with "temporary workers" from all over the country, were divided into different "gangs" according to the camps and guards in the area they belonged to.

The number of grain ships owned by each gang varied, with some having as many as seventy or eighty and some as few as twenty.

"Yes, that's right." The military ration broker nodded, went into the warehouse to take a look, and randomly picked a sack.

The transporter hurriedly brought out the bag of grain and pointed to the slightly dim red seal on the bag, saying, "Look, sir, the seal of the Jiangxi grain transport official is still there."

The military rations agent sneered, "I don't recognize that. Besides, I don't know your tricks of changing the sky to the sky. Stop talking nonsense and open it."

Yun Ding opened the bag as he was told and said with a wry smile, "Please be so kind." Then he handed over a purse.

The military rations agent took it, weighed it, and his expression softened. He said, "Let's take a look." He rolled up his sleeves, reached his hand into the ration bag, and immediately frowned slightly.

"Your rations are too wet." The ration broker said with a sidelong glance.

"Master, please bear with me. We encountered wind and rain on the road. There is really nothing we can do. Just let it dry in the sun for two days." Yun Ding explained hurriedly.

The military grain agent smiled and took back his hand, having already grabbed a handful of grain in the middle, and said, "I grew up eating grain from the imperial court, and have been working at the dock since I was eight years old. I can tell whether the grain is good or not just by looking at it, I can tell by just touching it.

Your grain is not enough, and you were afraid of being discovered, so you watered it on the way and lit torches in the warehouse to steam it, so that the grain would swell and make up the amount.

"Look at the color. You guys have replaced this year's new rice with old rice? Can you fool me with this trick?"

Yun Ding hurriedly presented another bag of silver, and said with a smile: "Sir, you have a keen eye, and we admire you. Please be merciful and be more accommodating. We have elderly parents and young children to take care of, and we also earn some hard-earned money."

"Well, I know how hard you work. Let me measure it." The ration broker smiled and threw the rations in his hand back into the bag.

The bucket carrier had already carried a large bucket, and two porters carried the grain bags and poured them into the bucket, but it was only eighty percent full.

The military rations agent glared at the transporters and said, "Look, look, a bag of rations should weigh 160 kilograms, look how much is missing.

I haven't even started yet. Although it's hard work for you to transport the grain, at least you can give the brothers at the dock and the masters in the warehouse a bite to eat."

"Yes, yes, yes. Thank you for your patience." The leading transporter wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and presented another bag of silver.

"Forget it. Since you know the rules and are reasonable, I won't go into it. I have to take some responsibility for the warehouse, but as long as everyone can get by, it's fine."

The military rations agent accepted it with a smile, and said to the two heapers, "Don't kick the heaps, and don't get wet. Let the brothers earn some."

Yun Ding was overjoyed and said hurriedly, "Thank you for your care, sir. Take care."

Jia Cong watched coldly from the shore and asked, "What does it mean to kick the hu and linjian?"

"My lord, look at that hu. It is the standard large hu issued by the Ministry of Revenue. One hu can hold exactly 120 jin of grain. If you kick it with your feet when collecting the grain, the originally full hu will collapse immediately, and can hold an additional 10 to 30 jin or 40 jin. Originally, a ship could hold 400 hu of grain, but if measured like this, there might only be 350 hu left. The shortfall needs to be made up by the transporters. This is called kicking the hu," the spy explained.

Jia Cong nodded and said, "What is Linjian?"

"Sir, please look at the board in the hand of the hectic worker. When the hectic is full, he must use the board to level it to show fairness. However, the board used by the broker is not a straight board, but a crescent-shaped board.

If the transporters do not mark the grain, the crescent will face upwards when scraping the grain, and the grain surface will be pointed, so they will have to pay more grain. If the transporters mark the grain, the crescent will face downwards, and the grain surface will be concave, so they will have to pay less grain.

Don’t underestimate the Tihu Linjian. The value of this shipload of grain can fluctuate by dozens or even hundreds of tons in the hands of the broker.”

"It's interesting." Jia Cong said.

"Oh, brother, you are so interested in our business. Do you also want to make a living from it?" The military supply broker at the bow had heard what the two said and glanced at Jia Cong.

As soon as he spoke, four or five young men came over and tried to drive Jia Cong and the others away.

Zhuang Qing said coldly: "My young master is out to relax, if you don't want to die, get out!"

The young men were intimidated by his aura, and seeing that Jia Cong was wearing a golden crown, fine clothes and shoes, and must be rich or noble, they did not dare to act rashly for a moment and all looked at the military supply broker.

The military ration brokers were all shrewd people who had seen countless people. They knew they could not afford to offend Jia Cong, so they politely bowed and said, "The dock is full of the stench of sweat and people are coming and going. I am afraid that my filthiness will offend you, my nobleman.

If you want to relax, the Daxing Building over there is a great place. Not only are the drinks and dishes good, but you can also enjoy the view of the pier." Although the words were polite, the intention to drive the guest away was clearly revealed.

Jia Cong glanced at the fan sheath on his waist and waved his hand, saying, "Forget it, let's go sit upstairs."

"Yes."

When they reached the top floor of Daxing Building, they found a private room by the window and sat down. As expected, they could see the entire dock scene. Jia Cong asked, "Have you found out about Yang Shen's husband?"

Wang Fei hurriedly said, "I found out. This person's name is Yang Qingsheng. He has been a military rations broker for generations. He is at the dock today."

"bring."

"Yes."

Soon, a man in his early thirties wearing a brocade robe was brought up by the secret agent. Seeing Jia Cong sitting in the middle with several people standing beside him, he bowed and said, "I am Yang Qingsheng, your Excellency."

"Get up." Jia Cong saw that he had an ordinary appearance and rough, dark skin, and he probably had been exposed to the wind and sun at the dock for a long time. However, his eyes were bright and his temperament was calm, so it was obvious that he was not an ordinary person.

"I heard that you are the 'one of the best' among military grain brokers, so I came to you to get some information." Jia Cong said calmly.

Yang Qingsheng was shocked. Only the closest people around him knew his true identity. Even the other military ration brokers who had been with him for a long time only knew his code name, not his real name. How did he know? That's it! It must have been that bitch who told it out.

"Please ask for your information, sir." Although Yang Qingsheng did not know Jia Cong's identity, the spy who sent him there had already displayed the badge of the Jinyiwei. Since he was summoned by an official from the factory guards, he would never dare to play tricks.

"Where is your secret fan?" Jia Cong asked.

"Your Excellency, I am not supposed to collect grain today. I gave the talisman fan to the agent on duty to collect the grain. Please return it to me after the grain is collected today." Yang Qingsheng said.

"How do you guys rotate this shift?"

"Every morning a lot is drawn to decide who will take which boat."

"Well, you said there was another shadow secret fan on the dock?" Jia Cong said.

Yang Qingsheng was shocked and broke out in a cold sweat, "Whore! How dare you say such a thing? Do you want to kill me?"
He hurriedly said, "I have never heard of this. There is only one secret talisman fan in the world. How can there be more?"

Jia Cong laughed, drank his tea and ignored him.

Zhuang Qing shouted at the right moment: "How dare you! Your wife has confessed, and you still want to deny it? Do I have to ask you to go to the prison before you tell the truth?"

Yang Qingsheng's heart trembled, and he hurriedly said, "Sir, please calm down. I confess. I told that whore unintentionally when I was drunk.

As for the Shadow Secret Talisman Fan, I have never seen it with my own eyes. It is only because I hold the Tongzhou Talisman that I am familiar with all the military grain brokers in the capital. I have met some unfamiliar faces many times and have been suspicious when collecting grain at the dock. "

Jia Cong asked curiously, "What is the 'Tongzhou' symbol? What are you confused about?"

"My Lord, there are one hundred military ration brokers in the capital, and each of them has a unique set of secret symbols and code names, all of which are painted on both sides of the secret symbol fan.

Every time the broker inspected a bag of grain, he would draw his own secret symbol on the grain bag for future reference. The villain's code name was "Tongzhou", which was also the code name of the fan holder. "

Yang Qingsheng said: "Because there is an iron rule for collecting grain at the dock, that is, they only recognize the fan and not the person. No matter who it is, even if it is the current Prince Jing, if you don't have the secret fan, you can't expect to receive a grain of grain.

Therefore, I suspect there is another secret talisman fan, but the matter is of great importance, so I dare not speak rashly. "

Jia Cong nodded and said, "Your suspicion is reasonable. When did the so-called strangers start collecting grain?"

Yang Qingsheng thought for a moment and said, "It's been several years."

"Hmph! Why don't you report to the authorities? If someone else took the grain, what would you collect? What would you hand over to the government warehouse?" Jia Cong snorted coldly.

"Please calm down, my lord. I am a lowly person with little influence. How dare I say such nonsense? If there is really someone who can make another secret talisman fan, how can we afford to offend this person?

If it gets broken, I'm afraid my whole family will be thrown into the canal that day."

Yang Qingsheng glanced at Jia Cong and continued cautiously, "As for the matter of collecting grain and delivering it to the warehouse, we have the boat tickets from the Canal Transport Office to determine which ships arrive in Beijing every day. We don't just collect whichever ships we want. As long as we collect the grain according to the boat tickets and hand it in in full, the Grain Office will naturally not cause any trouble."

Jia Cong glanced at him and asked, "Have you handed in all the money?"

Yang Qingsheng said, "Sir, we have always delivered grain according to the 'rules' of the grain transport system and would never do anything reckless."

Jia Cong sneered, "What rules? Rules for taking advantage of others and enriching oneself at the expense of the public?"

Yang Qingsheng hurriedly said, "Sir, if the water is too clear, there will be no fish. Even if the military ration brokers do not take a cent and deliver all the food to the warehouse, they will not be able to complete their mission.

Because the quantity and quality of the goods transported are not right, we can only go around in circles. In this way, the porters can earn some hard-earned money, and the positions in the granary or warehouse officials can get benefits. We also have the porters, boatmen, and helpers at the dock who can have something to eat.

Besides, the biggest loss of grain after it arrives in Beijing is not at the docks..."

"Where is it?" Jia Cong asked.

"In the warehouse." Yang Qingsheng said honestly, "The quality of the grain transported to the warehouse from the dock may not be right, but the quantity is almost the same. After all, it is clearly 400 dan. If it was only 200 dan, wouldn't it be obvious at a glance?
The warehouse officer would not worry about this. If the quality is not right, he can say it is due to the wind, waves and rain on the way. "

Jia Cong asked, "How much money can you military ration brokers make in a year?"

Yang Qingsheng said, "My Lord, although being a military grain broker seems glamorous, it actually has many difficulties. For example, if you work at the dock, you have to deal with the transport officers, escort officers, Qing gang leaders, sailors, porters, flower dealers, cart owners, porters, and all kinds of people who eat the grain transport like locusts. It's all about money.

In addition, they also have to pay the grain office, warehouse, etc. for the regular silver, meal silver, tea and fruit silver, carriage silver, drying silver, storage silver, lamp oil and fire consumption silver, etc. The silver that can fall into the hands of the broker is about one thousand taels. In the year with more grain, they can earn about two thousand taels. "

"Stop talking nonsense. If there is another secret fan on the dock, where will the collected grain be transported to?" Jia Cong said.

Yang Qingsheng said with a bitter face: "Sir, this... How would I know? I only know that the grain collected by the military grain brokers is either transported to Tongcang or Jingcang. If someone secretly collects grain, it will cost him his life, and he can't tell me, right?"

Jia Cong thought the same thing, and looked sideways at the gradually sparse grain boats on the dock, and said, "I think the grain boats below are almost gone. Go get the secret talisman fan for me to see."

"Yes, I'll go right away." Yang Qingsheng bowed deeply and went downstairs under the supervision of two captains.

"Lao Zhuang, according to Yang Qingsheng, if there is fraud in grain transport, the government warehouse cannot be separated from the responsibility." Jia Cong said.

Zhuang Qing said, "Your Highness is right. The rules of brokers have been passed down for many years. They are similar to the money collected by yamen runners for executions, labor fees, and door fees. If we talk about the real corrupt officials, I think they are the officials above."

Jia Cong nodded and said, "Do you know about the empty warehouse case investigated a few years ago?"

"Your Highness, I was a 100-householder at the time, and I happened to handle this case, so I was promoted to deputy 100-householder for my meritorious service." Zhuang Qing said. (End of this chapter)