Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 470 Human nature is sinister

Just when the pirates didn't know what happened, there was a series of roaring sounds, one after another shells exploded in the water, and the blasted water jets shocked Mo Guanfu.

According to his experience, whether it is the Xishan Army, the barbarian boats, or the water battalion in Daiqing, the shells used are solid iron bullets or chain bullets. He had never even heard of exploding shells.

Mo Guanfu walked to the port side of the bow, raised the binoculars and saw that the barbarian ship a few miles away was advancing obliquely from northwest to southeast, and puffs of white smoke could be faintly seen on the starboard side of the other party. .Immediately afterwards, there was the sound of rumbling guns and the continuous explosion of water jets in his own fleet.

"Damn your old mother! When did the Zheng family hook up with Yang Yi?" Mo Guan yelled angrily.

As soon as the words fell, the pirates on each ship only heard a loud "boom", and under the eyes of everyone searching around, they saw a ball of fire suddenly rising from the bow of a black boat belonging to the belly of the cannon, flying in all directions. The sawdust turned into a deadly weapon, and there were seven or eight more corpses on the front deck.

"What kind of cannon is this? It can hit so far!" The pirates were stunned at each other. The Yangyi ship was four miles away from their side.

Guo Xuexian didn't intend to have a cough with these pirates, there were only dozens of black boats, and they were not full Qing sailing battleships.Although Beihai No. [-] is currently on the downwind, there is still half a tank of oil on board, which is enough for the time being.

So he decided to take the "zigzag" line, insert it obliquely, and use a few rounds of artillery fire to completely overwhelm the opponent and quickly resolve the battle.As for whether he wants to kill Mo Guanfu's old lair, we will talk about it later.

When Beihai No. 75 was less than two kilometers away from the pirates, the artillery positions on the starboard side fired in turn.The Beihai Navy's 30mm guns fired extremely fast, even the D[-] could not match it in this time and space. Fifteen guns fired three rounds in the blink of an eye.

At this time, the ocean surface where the pirate fleet was located seemed to be boiling. Several large and small ships were hit by bombs one after another. The most serious explosion directly blew a big gap under the bow of a black boat, and the sea water poured in instantly. Watertight compartment under the bow.

"Send the signal, we can't win this battle, withdraw quickly!" Mo Guanfu has already seen that the opponent's cannons are firing fast and densely, and they are all "bombers". , I'm afraid I have to explain everything.

The minions on the boat were terrified by the fright, and they had already made preparations, just waiting for him to speak.When the front and rear sails of the black boat were lowered halfway, the helmsmen and co-pilots who heard the order immediately pulled the tiller with all their strength.The eight hundred stone wooden boat began to turn around slowly on the sea.

However, the biggest disadvantage of Chinese hard sailing boats is their lack of speed.Although the thin hull made it easy to turn around, the square bow greatly affected the speed.Although the separate watertight cabin has good sinkability, it does not have dense ribs and thickened hull plates, and its damage resistance is far inferior to that of a sailing ship.

Mo Guanfu and the others wanted to run away, but it was already too late.

Beihai No. [-] passed Zheng Wenxian and his Guangzhou Fleet as it headed southeast.Standing on the deck, Zheng Lianchang was full of anxiety, holding the binoculars given by Guo Xuexian in his hand, and went back and forth to search for his son on the five Guangzhou boats.

Zheng Wenxian and Lin Daosheng, who survived the catastrophe, saw the flag of the Beihai Navy flying on the sailing ship and the whale statue on the bow through the binoculars, and the big stone in their hearts finally fell to the ground.Too hanging!In half a day at most, he will definitely be overtaken by Mo Guanfu.

"Ah Yi! Ah Yi!" Zheng Lianchang suddenly saw his son and Lin Daosheng waving their arms on the side of the boat, so he also waved his arms and shouted.However, at this moment, the cannon was rumbling, and he couldn't hear it even if he shouted out of his throat.

Guo Xuexian also saw Zheng Wenxian through the binoculars, and then stepped forward to Zheng Lianchang with a smile and said loudly: "Uncle, should you feel at ease now?"

Zheng Lianchang put down the binoculars and said loudly with a smile on his face: "Thank you, mother-in-law!"

"Uncle, hold on tight, the boat is about to turn around!"

After Guo Podai instructed Zheng Lianchang, she immediately issued an order, the motor slowed down, and the white sails of the main and mizzen masts were quickly retracted upwards under the drive of the winch. The hull began to turn.

At this time, half of the ships in the pirate fleet had just turned around, and Mo Guanfu heard his subordinates yelling: "Boss, look!"

Hearing the sound, he looked north, and saw that the "barbarian boat" was turning so fast, which made Mo Guanfu feel bad, he shouted to raise the sails and speed up, only regretting that he didn't have two wings on board.

It's too late.

When Beihai No. [-] got closer and closer to the pirates, those fleeing pirates finally saw the four Chinese characters written on the bow of the "Yi Chuan".

"Boss, look quickly, there are words on it!"

Hearing the yelling of his subordinates, Da Pao built a tent with his hands, squinted his eyes for a moment, and then cursed: "Putting the street! I can only recognize the word 'two'!"

As soon as the words fell, all the pirates saw the gun ports on the port side of the other party open one after another, revealing more than a dozen dark gun barrels.At this moment, the faces of the pirates on each ship changed drastically, and they didn't care about the distance, they panicked and shouted to fire.

However, the range of the front-mounted iron guns of several hundred kilograms erected on the stern and side of the ship is really impressive. Even if the muzzle is raised higher, it can shoot more than a mile at most, and the iron ball the size of an egg falls into the sea and disappears in a blink of an eye. trace.

When Beihai No. [-] was one kilometer away from the pirate fleet, Guo Xuexian immediately ordered to open fire.

In an instant, the sea water boiled and gunpowder smoke filled the air. Beihai No. [-] was like a sea monster that kept spitting fire, throwing fireballs into the fleet of Xishan pirates.Explosions and screams rang out, the pirates suffered heavy casualties, and those who abandoned ship and dived were like dumplings.

Mo Guanfu, who fled to the south, lay on the side of the boat, looking at the horrible scene behind him, he was frightened out of his wits.Mo Guanfu couldn't figure out why that terrifying "barbarian boat" would help the Zheng family.After working hard for half a year, before the liberation in a blink of an eye, more than 30 boats and 2000 people are all over!
In this battle, Beihai No. 27 sank a total of 300 large and small black boats, killed and wounded thousands of pirates, and captured more than [-] people.

The pirate leader Da Pao was shot dead, Liang Wengeng was seriously injured and fell into the water, and his whereabouts are unknown; Mo Guanfu was the fastest escaper, and the ship behind him was backed by him, so the ship he was on was only slightly injured and escaped hastily.

The luckiest ones were brothers Wu Shi Da and Wu Shi Er. They were left behind because they surrounded the two ships of the Red Flag Gang.So when they saw Mo Guanfu urinating from the hunted butt from a distance, they immediately turned around and ran away.

After the Xishan Pirates lost their vitality after this battle, after the group returned to Jiangping Harbor in Annan, Chen Tian, ​​who learned the inside story, was so angry that he almost fought Mo Guanfu.Ruan Hui was furious when she learned about it, and sent someone to reprimand Chen Tianbao severely.

As far as Guo Xuexian is concerned, if the diesel oil on Beihai No. [-] has not run out, he would dare to chase him all the way to Annan.Afterwards, Beihai No. [-] escorted nine Guangzhou ships back north, preparing to send them to the Macau shipyard for repairs.

After this catastrophe, the Zheng family was in an endless situation with the Xishan pirates. Zheng Lianchang finally realized that he had to leave.

In Yangzhou in April, spring and scenery are bright, pink and willows are green, and the Slender West Lake outside the city is also a time when catkins are like smoke and flowers are blooming.Whether it is a literati or a salt merchant, at this time they must come to a painting boat and go boating on the lake.

Those who pay attention to elegance generally just post to invite friends, recite poems and write essays, and do some sightseeing.Ordinarily, you will invite a few friends to book a boat on the small Qinhuai River, enjoying the scenery and watching the wind and moon.As the saying goes, "Invite friends to visit the brothel without losing your eyes, and get on the lake boat together."

However, in the hustle and bustle of this spring day, an anonymous report letter was suddenly received in the Yamen of Yangzhou Prefecture on the east side of Tongsi Bridge, which shocked Ma Huiyu, the prefect who had just been transferred here.Once the facts in the report letter are confirmed, not only countless people will be killed in Yangzhou City, but also the entire Jiangnan literary world will change. He may also be implicated and affect his official career.

Ma Zhifu is a member of the Zhenghuang Banner of the Han Army. He was a Jinshi in the 36th year of Qianlong. He stayed in the capital for more than ten years and was finally released the year before last.First, I served as the magistrate of Zhenjiang for two years, and this year I spent money on trustees, so I changed to Yangzhou as the magistrate.

To make a digression, in the history of another time and space, Liu Zhixie, the leader of the Sanyang Sect, was captured by Ma Huiyu, who was then the governor of Henan Province, in the fifth year of Jiaqing.

The report letter was found on the ground in the backyard of the government office.Because there was nothing written on the envelope, the housekeeper asked around first, but no one knew where the letter came from.However, when he opened the thick envelope curiously, he was taken aback when he saw the contents inside, and hurried to report to Ma Huiyu.

When Ma Zhifu saw the contents of the letter, he was also inexplicably shocked.Although he just came to Yangzhou not long ago, everyone mentioned in the credible is a well-known literati. Among them, the scholar named Jiao Xun, his wife is also the cousin of Ruan Yuan of Xinke Hanlin.

In this report letter, the complainant claimed that Jiangdu scholars Jiao Xun, Jiang Fan, Huang Chengji, Zhong Huai and others had colluded with the imperial court to rebel against the North Sea pirates, intending to rebel.

"What should I do?" Ma Huiyu didn't send a complaint to the governor's office immediately, nor did he seek the general judge in charge of the lawsuit, because the location of the case involved his back house, so he consulted with his staff first.

The staff member's name is Fang Jingzhai, over fifty years old, and he is a tried and tested Juren in Suzhou. He and Ma Huiyu have known each other since they were in the capital, and they have known each other for more than ten years.After Ma Huiyu was released, he was invited to come over to assist the curtain, and the work was very safe.

After Fang Jingzhai read the report letter carefully, he was also stunned, and then suggested to Ma Huiyu not to alarm outsiders, and quietly find out the person who sent the letter, and check his mind to distinguish the authenticity.If it is false, then the believer will be severely punished; if it is true, it will not be too late to report to the governor.

So Ma Zhifu ordered Fang Jingzhai to find out the anonymous whistleblower within a two-day deadline.

This kind of thing is actually not difficult to investigate, just ask the entry and exit records of the back door of the government office, and then call people to interrogate one by one.In the evening, a porter responsible for daily food delivery showed his flaws during interrogation, and finally admitted that he secretly threw the letter into the backyard while the kitchen servants were unaware.

"What a fool!" Fang Jingzhai sneered and said, "Which bastard told you to bring the letter into the government office? Quickly and honestly! If you dare to talk nonsense, I will let you taste the power of a stick!"

"Master, please spare me! The villain will do everything! The villain will do everything! Master Jiao asked the villain to do it!"

Fang Jingzhai said: "Which Master Jiao? Tell me your name!"

"It seems, it seems that Jiao Yingyuan is called Jiao Yingyuan. He is called Mr. Jiao on weekdays. He is a supervisor and lives outside the gate of Guangchu."

At this time, the book office in charge of recording couldn't help being stunned. Fang Jingzhai ignored it after seeing it, and continued to ask: "How much benefit did he give you to make you do such a stupid thing?"

The porter murmured, "Five, fifty dollars."

Then Fang Jingzhai asked where Jiao Yingyuan's family lived, how he gave the money, how he confessed, when, etc., and then ordered the porter to be taken into custody.

It was getting late at this time, and Ma Huiyu had already returned to the back house to rest, so he could only report tomorrow if he had anything to do.The secretary in charge of recording showed the confession to Fang Jingzhai, and was about to step back when he heard the other party ask: "Your Excellency just now looked different, do you know that Jiao Yingyuan?"

The secretary clasped his hands and said, "Mr. Fang, the incident at that Jiao Jiansheng's family has been going on since the year before last, and many people in Jiangdu know about it. You and Mr. Fu have only been here recently, so naturally you don't know about it."

"Oh? Tell me about it."

Whether it is the county magistrate or the magistrate, they don't care about the small things in the place after they go to any place, unless there is a big treason or a heinous case.Although the aides have to make preparations in advance so that their superiors can provide advice when they need it, they pay more attention to the officials, wealthy businessmen, and the relationship networks behind officials at all levels, which is the so-called "only the top, not the bottom."

"Jiao Jiansheng, I really can't talk about him." The secretary recalled a little, and then told Fang Jingzhai from the beginning.

Jiao Yingyuan, a native of Jiangdu County, lives outside Guangchumen.Among his relatives, the most famous scholar is Jiao Xun, who is Jiao Yingyuan's cousin according to his seniority.

There are four direct brothers in the Jiao family.The other brothers were able to earn their own food and clothing, but Jiao Yingyuan was idle on weekdays and liked to gamble. After a few years, he used up all the production and sales of the allotted land, and then repeatedly borrowed money from his brothers and cousins. Words of resentment.

In the 53rd year of Qianlong's reign, several creditors pressed Jiao Yingyuan together for a total of 300 taels of silver.Jiao Yingyuan couldn't pay back the money, so after the China Securities Regulatory Commission's public discussion, he valued his rural grain house at 500 taels of silver, and handed it over to several creditors to sell it off to pay off the debt.

Unexpectedly, Jiao Yingyuan was full of resentment, so he discussed with his good friend Huang Neng, who was the Secretary of the Jiangdu County Government Office, and Huang Neng wrote the complaint on his behalf. The Yamen accused several creditors of "causing gambling to occupy property" - that is, setting up a game to lure Jiao Yingyuan to participate in gambling, and then cheating together to make him lose his fortune.

It is said that the reason why Jiao Yingyuan did not sue in his own name was because the supervising students would be punished by the local academic administration for participating in gambling.

Unexpectedly, when Jiao's mother, Wang, found out about this, she assigned her second son to the county government office with the documents, saying that she did not write the complaint herself, but that it was an impostor.The county government reprimanded Jiao Yingyuan heavily and dismissed the case.

At the beginning of Qianlong's 54th year, Jiao Yingyuan borrowed 300 taels of silver from his cousin Jiao Xun to gamble. After Jiao Xun learned about it, he reprimanded him very angrily.In the end, Jiao Yingyuan went to discuss with Huang Neng again, planning to sue Jiao Xun for embezzling the family's money and food.

Unexpectedly, this time it was his mother Wang who stood up again, told the Yamen the whole story, and dismissed the case.The Yamen also ruled that Jiao Yingyuan must immediately find a way to repay the silver owed to Jiao Xun.

Unexpectedly, Jiao Yingyuan's fourth brother supported Jiao Xun in the conflict. In April last year, Jiao Yingyuan sued the fourth brother to Yangzhou Tongzhi Yamen.The reason is that the adopted son brought back by the fourth brother is not eligible to inherit the property of the Jiao family and should be expelled back to his hometown.

Then, his mother Wang came out again, first scolding Jiao Yingyuan for revenge, and then asked the fourth son and the patriarch to go to the Yamen to testify.Not surprisingly, Jiao Yingyuan lost the lawsuit again, and was "dismissed from school" again.

Later, Jiao Xun went north for several months, and did not return until years ago.And his wife, Ruan Shi, is kind-hearted and knowledgeable. She usually only serves her mother-in-law at home and never cares about outside affairs, so she didn't urge Jiao Yingyuan to pay back the money.

The book office finally sighed: "Huang Jue Town Jiao's family, that is a scholarly family for generations. Jiao Litang is well-known for his talents and learning, and he is very filial to his mother. How could he have such a relative!"

Fang Jingzhai nodded after listening, and asked the book office to go back to rest.Early the next morning, he reported the situation to Ma Huiyu, and Magistrate Ma was also angry when he heard it.At this time, he also estimated that Jiao Yingyuan might have made a false accusation.However, the matter involved treason and treason, so it is impossible to dismiss the case hastily.

"Fu Zun, give me another two days for this matter. I want to inquire about Jiao Yingyuan's neighbors."

Ma Zhifu thought about it and agreed to Fang Jingzhai's request.

(End of this chapter)