Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1563 Changes in Southern China

It was already the golden autumn season of the harvest in 1669. In the sea near Ningbo, several small boats were struggling to the shore in the wind and waves.

Judging from the shape of the ship, it is obvious that this is a Chinese-style hard sailing ship, and it also has a scull. The tonnage is not large, probably ranging from tens to hundreds of tons.It is especially difficult to sail in this season when the southeast and north winds begin to alternate, but it is clear that the south wind is still strong.

However, no matter how difficult it is, people's desire to make a fortune cannot be stopped!In the past few years when the Dongguo people in Ningbo Prefecture have repeatedly raised the purchase price of grain, the grain smuggling trade between the neighboring Songjiang, Jiaxing, Hangzhou, and Shaoxing prefectures of the Qing Dynasty and Ningbo has been booming.Stimulated by the profit of rice as high as 7-8 yuan per stone, there is nothing to stop the smuggling merchants: Qing Dynasty merchants in Shaoxing prefecture used the mountain roads to sell grain at the beginning, but later the scale of smuggling gradually increased. These merchants and gentry openly bribed the front-line defenders and officials of the Qing Dynasty, so that the food transport team would be transported out of Yuyao County in a grandiose way, and then transported to Yin County under the control of the east bank by tunnel or waterway. The low-priced salt produced (compared to the price of salt in the areas controlled by the Qing Dynasty) should not be too arrogant.

Shaoxing Mansion, which is close to the control area on the east coast, is so smuggled, but merchants from Hangzhou, Jiaxing, and Songjiang Prefectures, which are not bordered by Ningbo Mansion, also have their own means, that is, they approach the sea by water to reach Cixi and Dinghai in the control area on the east bank. Two counties, and then carry out delivery with the local East Coast Grain Depot. On the return journey, do not forget to bring some Nanyang specialties such as salt, sandalwood, ambergris (resold by the Dutch East India Company), and make sure not to leave the ship empty.

According to the statistics of the Southern Pioneering Team, the total amount of such trade by sea has exceeded the land trade by several times, bringing a large amount of much-needed grain to Ningbo and effectively alleviating the grain shortage in Shandong. The gunboats of the East Coast Navy, which firmly controls the command of the sea in Hangzhou Bay, not only did not intercept these fishing boats and small cargo ships of the Qing Dynasty, but also provided necessary assistance to allow them to reach their destinations as soon as possible. Not only did the smuggling ships of the Qing Dynasty not impose tariffs, but they also allocated some rare products that could be sold in the Qing Dynasty to increase their enthusiasm for transporting grain to trade.

There are many kinds of these rare items, including ivory products, clocks, whale oil candles, ambergris, sandalwood, black pearls, ginseng, high-grade fur, deer antler and so on.Although the sales volume of each item is not very large, Songjiang, Jiaxing, Hangzhou, Shaoxing and other places are densely populated and have always been rich. There are still many people who are able to consume these luxuries. An extra reward, of course, is also a small benefit to the East Bank itself, which can slightly reduce the speed at which precious metals flow into the territory of the Qing Dynasty.

Of course, the Manchu court was not unaware of the existence of these smugglers. It was just that at the beginning, the East Bank and Manchu had just ceased fighting, and the bilateral relations were in a state of relaxation. After deliberation, the Qing court finally decided to turn a blind eye. , let him go.However, the four disasters of floods, droughts, locusts, and earthquakes occurred frequently in Shandong, and the situation was chaotic. People from the east bank took the opportunity to seize some prefectures and counties in Laizhou Prefecture. trading.

However, the policy of the Qing government is one thing. When it comes to local implementation, many local military and government officials, local gentry and businessmen are colluding with each other because of the high premium priced grain purchases on the east coast, and they jointly carried out large-scale production. Large-scale smuggling to obtain huge profits is completely indifferent to the policies of the Qing court.

Faced with this kind of blatant slap in the face, the Beijing court was naturally extremely angry. In addition, people from the east bank began to make trouble on the right bank of the Yalu River in Liaodong, and the Qing court began to crack down on food smuggling in Songjiang, Hangzhou and other four prefectures. The merchants killed a group of them very much, which can be regarded as initially deterring these lawless guys.

Of course, this kind of campaign-style purge has always only worked for a while, and after the news passes, everything will often go back to business as usual.There is an old saying in later generations that when there is 100% profit, capitalists can sell the rope to hang themselves. This saying applies to businessmen in the Qing Dynasty, which is really very appropriate.After the news passed, officials from all over the country—even including many Manchu officials—began to hint to the following that the smugglers were human beings, and they immediately understood, and the grain smuggling trade began to flourish again.

People took out their hidden fishing boats and cargo ships, crossed Hangzhou Bay full of grain, and arrived at the east coast control area for trade. Everyone made a lot of profits (of course, the precious metals on the east coast flowed into the Qing Dynasty quickly).Their success has become an example for later generations. Countless businessmen, big and small, who dreamed of getting rich followed their footsteps, and finally this kind of grain smuggling trade got out of hand.

The few Chinese-style hard sailboats that arrived in Dinghai County today came from Songjiang Mansion on the opposite side of Hangzhou Bay, and they brought a total of [-] shi of rice. It is said that all of them came from a local landlord named Fan He.This person took over the family business at a young age, and under the circumstances that everyone was not optimistic about the family business, the family business was flourishing, and it was widely spread for a while.What's even more rare is that this person is open-minded and has a strong ability to accept new things. He once sent his confidants and family members across the sea to Dinghai to observe the scenery while doing business, and bought some exquisite things back through the channel of business partners.

An open-minded gentry from the Qing Dynasty like Landlord Fan has always been a key development target of the intelligence agencies on the east coast.So, after getting in touch with each other for a period of time, the two hit it off and started a cooperation.That is to say, people from the east bank gave Fan the convenience of doing business in Ningbo (at the same time, they presented some gifts such as high-magnification lenses, binoculars, clocks, pistols inlaid with ivory and precious stones, etc.), and Fan gave cover to intelligence personnel on the east bank in Songjiang Prefecture. Both sides take what they need.

Therefore, this time, there were also two agents of the State Intelligence Bureau who still had braids on the Fan's grain ship that arrived in Dinghai County.After they stayed on the pier for a while to avoid some eyes and ears, they were transported by a well-shielded four-wheeled carriage to the office of the General Intelligence Bureau by the river to report to their superiors.And it just so happened that Jiang Zhiqing, a member of the Southern Exploration Team, was here today to inspect the work. After hearing about it, he summoned the two of them directly and asked him what he wanted to know.

"From last year until the middle of this year, the Songjiang Prefecture has been transferring grain to the outside world. It is said that it is exported to the Shandong area. It can be seen that the Grand Canal has been used again by the people of the country. The Qingjiangpu ship lock that was blown up and destroyed by us back then should be It has been repaired and the silted river has been dredged..."

"The cotton cloth industry in Songjiang Prefecture has shrunk significantly. It seems that Manchurians are naturally unfavorable to industry and commerce. It is said that the commercial exchanges between provinces and regions are far less than the previous year. The decline of the cotton cloth industry and the extreme thirst for food in Ningbo Prefecture have stimulated The gentry and farmers in many prefectures and counties, including Songjiang Prefecture, began to re-plant food, because it is obviously more profitable than growing cotton..."

"The Dutch East India Company has repeatedly breached the contract and frequently conducts trade with the Qing Dynasty. The scope involved is very wide, that is, the trade of both civilian products and military products. The Green Camp of the Qing Army in Songjiang Prefecture is equipped with several doors that are said to be produced in the Qing Dynasty. The Dutch army artillery (in fact, most of them are British-made iron guns resold by the Dutch) has been practiced very frequently. Please pay attention to the superiors. The combat effectiveness of the Qing army has been steadily improving..."

"According to what Mr. Fan (referring to Fan He) heard from friends in the government, Xichuan Wu Sangui has already taken action. It is reported that Wu Sangui has a total of 6 soldiers this time, and more than [-] of them are stationed in Kuizhou along the way. Together with the local defenders, they guarded against the surprise attack of the Shun army's left battalion; while the main force of [-] people, under the leadership of the old thief Wu, went southward and went straight to Yunnan and Guizhou provinces. It is said that they have won two battles , This can be seen from the official newspapers copied from various places in the Qing Dynasty, but the real situation is still unknown, because the Qing military has always had a history of concealing defeat into victory and bragging..."

There will be some other information to follow, but Jiang Zhiqing is not in the mood to listen to it. He waved his hand and asked the secretary to bring over what he just recorded for him to read over again, and then fell into long contemplation .

Looking at it now, Wu Sangui still couldn't sit still after all, and wanted to move a bit.It's just that he chose the weak Nanming as his target, instead of attacking Shunjun Zuoying together with the Xiangyang camp of the Qing army, and connecting Sichuan and Huguang. The content of this is also quite interesting-according to the previous According to the news from the left camp of the Shun Army, Wu Sangui's grand strategy should be to unify the three provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan in the southwest, and then rely on it as the basis, challenge the Shun Army, and bargain with the Qing court. This is completely a separatist routine. At that time, even if the Qing court no longer wants to give Wu Sangui the title of King Pingxi, he, Wu, will already be the de facto King of the Southwest, and he will rise to one of the most powerful people in China today, provided that he is old. The soldiers under Wu's command can clean up those "remnants and defeated generals" in the West Camp in his eyes!

"This Wu Sangui has such an obvious desire to separate himself from the regime, the Qing court should be worried about him and win him over!" Thinking of this, Jiang Zhiqing couldn't help deducing possible changes in the situation in southern China in the future: "This old thief Wu Sangui One move suddenly disrupted the situation. Is this guy thinking that he is old and may not have a few years to live, so he wants to earn a family fortune for future generations before kicking his legs? Hmph, It’s a good idea, it depends on your ability and luck, the 1 Shaanxi-Gansu Green Battalion and more than [-] Manchu Eight Banners stationed in Guangyuan and Hanzhong by the Tazi court are the curse on your head!”

"Is there any news about Shunjun Zuoying?" Thinking of this, Jiang Zhiqing turned to ask the intelligence officer at the side.

"Yes, the Shun Army Zuoying sent people to Dinghai on our naval gunboat a few days ago, and asked our army to quickly send back a batch of repaired armor, guns, gun carriages, binoculars and four-wheeled freight wagons. For this reason, they came from the mountains. I brought some furs, medicinal materials, bristles, etc., to cover the maintenance cost of military funds, and also requested our army to temporarily allocate [-] carburized iron spearheads and [-] strong bows. The expenses are temporarily owed on credit, and will be paid next year "The intelligence officer immediately took out several documents from the file cabinet, and handed them to Jiang Zhiqing one by one, and briefly said some summary of the situation.

Jiang Zhiqing frowned when he heard this, what is Liu Zhonggui going to do?Is there going to be a war?Could it be to attack the Kuizhou Mansion under Wu Sangui to support the Xiying troops from Nanming?After much deliberation, this is only possible, otherwise, why would they want so many ordnance in such a hurry?For example, the repaired ordnance has been sitting in the warehouse for some time because the maintenance cost was not paid in time. This time their people actually brought some gold and silver, tea, fur, medicinal materials and other things to pay the bill. Regardless of whether the amount of the account is right or not, at least this gesture is unprecedented. This also shows from the side that Zuo Ying may be preparing for a battle now, otherwise he would not be so eager.

Thinking of this, Jiang Zhiqing had already agreed in his heart to the allocation of these materials. Even if the money and goods brought by the Zuoying envoys were not enough to pay for all the money, they would be shipped first.After all, the situation is important. Since the old thief Wu Sangui has already started to attack the southwest, the situation in South China will undergo major changes. The Wanda army is undoubtedly one of the main tools for the people on the east coast to correct.

"Send the goods to Liu Zhonggui's people in Zuoying as soon as possible, don't discount, try to meet their requirements, but the accounts must be clear, and you still have to ask them for the money in the future. In addition, ask them if they allow us to send a field tour group, If possible, select outstanding members from various ministries to go there, this is a good opportunity to observe the inside story of Wu Sangui and Liu Zhonggui at close range, and it should not be missed." After talking so much, Jiang Zhiqing also sighed softly, and turned to his side Everyone smiled helplessly and said: "China is too big, with too many people and troops, so there are big variables. As for ourselves, limited by policies and many other factors, our strength and influence are not very enough. Therefore, the situation in China seems to be getting more and more out of our influence and control. It is difficult for us to know where it will go and what changes it will take in the future. What we have to do now is to do our best. A day is a day."

"Of course, we are not helpless in this matter. The new military system reform and tax reform are the most important tasks we will do in the next few years. When these two tasks are successfully completed, I believe we will be able to face the changes in China. It should be more calm." Jiang Zhiqing added at last.

(End of this chapter)