Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 781: The Long Snowy Black Mountain Station

The plains of western Liaoning in early winter are desolate.Although it is still early winter, the early winter outside the pass is as domineering as the deep winter inside the pass.Under the howling of the cold wind, people can't feel any warmth.

Two consecutive days of heavy snow have covered the mountains, rivers and land in western Liaoning with a layer of silver. At this moment, scattered snowflakes are still floating in the sky.The curls of white smoke rising from villages far and near on both sides of the post road, as well as the occasional birds flying through the air, became the only embellishments of this silvery world.

Yonghe, who was sitting in the back seat by the window, curiously looked at everything outside.These scenes, which were commonplace in the northern winter, were now presented to him from a unique perspective.

The Shengjing area is located in the western Liaoning Plain, with flat terrain. In addition, the post roads here are well maintained by the Qing government, making it more suitable for vehicles.So after the Liaodong Campaign ended, the Northern Navy Logistics Department deployed more than [-] vehicles by land and sea. In addition to facilitating the movement of personnel between Shengjing and the Jinzhou front line, it could also ensure the rapid transfer of materials.

Since the car started on the road, Yonghe and his companion named Fuchashan have been sweating from their foreheads to the back of their spines, and they also feel a little uncomfortable in their stomachs.Even so, he kept his eyes wide open and carefully observed every detail in the car, trying to figure out why it could run without cows and horses.However, after watching it for a long time, I felt even more dizzy.

The length of the post road from Guangning City to Shengjing City is 340 miles, and there are six post stations along the way.If you are riding a horse, excluding meals and accommodation, the rest of the time, even if you are riding fast, it will take three days at the earliest.

Of course, the imperial court's six-hundred-mile express service could be guaranteed to arrive in one day, but that was just a rush of a courier changing horses without changing people, and there were five of them sitting in a car.

So when the jeep was racing on the post road at a speed of fifty kilometers per hour, Yonghe felt that his cognition was completely subverted.

He has lived for almost 40 years, and has ridden on Ujumqin horses that can travel hundreds of miles a day. He has also ridden in fast mule carts, but he never expected that there are carts in the world that do not use horses or mules.We have driven more than 20 miles since we set off, running like lightning and not slowing down at all. Those magic weapons from the fairy tales in storytelling books are nothing more than this!
There has been a rumor among the Eight Banners soldiers in the capital over the years that Zhao Xin and his men are good at using magic and manipulating all kinds of evil weapons; whether they are fast guns or cannons, or those that run in the rivers or fly in the sky , all of which make people feel incredible.

All the leading soldiers and generals have tried various methods to crack it. However, whether it is inviting Taoist priests and monks to hold a magic meeting before the war, setting up a stage on the battlefield to hold an altar, or even soaking blunderbuss and shells in black dog blood, it is a big show. The Yin Gate Formation has no effect.

Later, Qianlong issued an edict prohibiting the use of gods and ghosts in front of the military formations.You must know that the more useless these efforts are, the more the soldiers will feel that Zhao Xin is a god descending to earth, and their morale will be low.

The breath from his mouth sprayed on the window glass of the back seat, forming a small cloud of white mist.Yonghe carefully wiped it with his sleeve, and in a blink of an eye it was crystal clear again.

In recent years, Beihai Trading Company's flat glass shipment price at Anping Port has been much lower than that of imported goods in Guangzhou, and sales have been good. However, due to the cost of sea and land transportation, ordinary middle-class families still cannot afford it.A piece of flat glass as large as the front and rear windshields of a jeep sells for no less than 100 taels of silver in the capital and Jiangnan areas.

Yonghe is a guard of the sixth rank, and his annual salary is 60 taels of silver and 24 shi of rice, plus the harvest of 60 acres of banner fields, 600 taels of horse feed money, the reward money in the palace on festivals, and the income of two shops, [-] The two are dead.

With a lot of income, there are also a lot of expenses; money is needed for food, clothing, and human relations, and there is not much left throughout the year.Not to mention 100 taels, he would not be willing to part with ten taels of silver to buy a piece of glass.

Because it was a snowy day and he came out early, there were no pedestrians or carriages on the post road, so Guisheng asked the driver to increase the speed appropriately.However, this move made Yonghe and Fuchashan's motion sickness symptoms worse. Their chests became more and more stuffy, their stomachs began to churn, and sour water kept pouring into their throats.

It is said that no matter how smooth the post roads of this era are, they cannot be compared with the county-level roads of later generations, or even worse than the township-level roads.

For example, the road that Guisheng and the others are taking now to Shengjing can be called the most important traffic artery in the northeastern region of the Qing Dynasty; it is 20 meters wide at its widest point and only three meters at its narrowest point.Even though this road was as smooth as a threshing floor during the emperor's eastward tour, it would just be that way if the emperor didn't come.The puddles left after heavy summer rains and the deep ruts made by passing carriages made the people inside the cars feel bumpy.

"Stop the car! They both seem to be vomiting." The one who spoke was Lao Zhang, who was sitting in the middle of the back seat.This person is the person who was sitting in the corner when Yonghe saw Guisheng yesterday.

From the first moment Yonghe met Lao Zhang, he knew that he was a practicing master.When we got in the car and sat next to each other today, I was even more certain that this was a master who was proficient in internal martial arts.Such a person sits between himself and Fuchashan, and his purpose is self-evident.

The man's eyebrows were very high, the muscles on his cheekbones were slightly bulging, and his temples on both sides were bulging outwards.Although there are no calluses visible on the back of the hands, the palms are thick and rosy.Furthermore, the peaks of the joint bones on the back of ordinary people's hands are concave, but this person's are flat.All these are in line with the characteristics of an internal boxing master.

When Guisheng heard what Lao Zhang said, he turned around and took a look, then asked the driver to slow down and pull over.Unexpectedly, the jeep happened to encounter an icy road. When it braked, the wheels began to slip. The rear of the car swung to the left. The whole car immediately made a ninety-degree turn and landed on the side of the post road. A piece of the low loess wall collapsed.

At this moment, Yonghe and Fuchashan in the car could no longer control themselves and squirted.

After a while, Guisheng and the other five finally got out of the messy car. Almost everyone's clothes were stained with vomit, let alone the car.

The frightened driver got out of the car and hurriedly checked the situation at the front of the car. Although it was not serious, he felt very regretful.Before coming out, he felt that the snow on the ground was not serious, so he did not install snow chains.If it weren't for the earth wall blocking us, we would have to rush downhill and hit a tree.

By the way, in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were usually two one-foot-high earthen walls on both sides of the post roads in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, especially Guanma Avenue. There were posts on them to mark the mileage, and they also served as guardrails.

Guisheng on the other side of the car was also speechless. It was a bad day to go out!He turned around and glanced at Yonghe and Fuchashan who were squatting outside the car door and vomiting. They thought to themselves: How can people who can ride boats and ride fast horses get motion sickness?

Among the five people, only Lao Zhang seemed to be okay. He first asked the driver about the situation and learned that the problem was not serious and he could still drive. Then he ran to a road sign and took a look. When he came back, he suggested to Guisheng: "There are still things ahead. We’ll reach Xiaoheishan Station in five miles. Let’s pack up the car first, get some water when we get there, wipe the car clean, and then hit the road.”

Guisheng nodded and said to Yonghe who was out of breath from vomiting: "Second Master Yong, you and your companions must hold it back and stop vomiting."

Yonghe didn't speak, but rolled his eyes, thinking what evil had I done. If I had known this would happen, I would rather ride a horse!
After a simple tidying up, the group of people hit the road again. This time the driver drove very slowly, and the windows on both sides of the car were lowered. The whistling northwest wind mixed with the fine snow rushed around in the car, blowing away the unpleasant smell. A lot was taken away.

After driving for more than 20 minutes, a group of buildings that looked like villages and towns appeared in front of everyone.

Xiaoheishan Station is not so much a station as it is a large village with more than 300 households.In the Ming Dynasty, this was an important military location. Zhenyuan Fort, which was attached to the Great Wall Middle Road in Liaodong Town, became an important node on the post road from Shanhaiguan to Shengjing in the Qing Dynasty, with dozens of people stationed there.

The core of the post station is a square earth city, with walls on each side nearly 300 meters long and eight meters high, with two gates in the north and south.There is a post office in the city, as well as supporting official rooms, small rooms, stables, straw sheds, material warehouses, etc.

This place used to be the location of the "Luji Yamen", which took charge of the villages around the post road south of Shengjing and north of Jinzhou.The Yamen was located next to the Yi Cheng Office, with a fifth-grade defense official serving as the official, commanding two hundred soldiers with red and white flags.

In addition, because the post stations in the Qing Dynasty only provided food, accommodation and rest for court officials and were not open to the people, some people started a carriage and horse shop business outside the inns.

The inns, Luji Yamen, flag soldiers, station men, gang men, and Yu men, together with their family members and servants, formed a condensed small society.After the Northern Marine Brigade landed at Tianqiaochang a few months ago, in order to prevent the Qing army in Jinzhou from escaping, Tashan in the south and Xiaoheishan Station in the north had to be captured in advance.The Marine Brigade dispatched a battalion and attacked overnight. As a result, not one of the two hundred Eight Banners soldiers and dozens of postmen who were stationed ran away, and they were all taken as prisoners.

When Guisheng and the others were still one mile away from Xiaoheishan Post, they were discovered by the sentry on guard in Tucheng.The other party first waved to them excitedly, then ran down the city to report to the platoon leader.

At this moment, a few teenagers who were playing on the roadside also saw the slowly approaching jeep.As a result, the house sparrows just caught in the dustpan under my feet didn't care. They all looked at them blankly and let their noses flow down.

In the carriage shop on the roadside outside the south gate of the inn, a young shop assistant carrying a bucket filled with dirty water had just arrived at the entrance of the courtyard, when a jeep happened to pass by him.

"Bang!" The barrel fell to the ground, splashing sewage all over the store clerk.

"Kuanzi! What are you doing? Throw the good bucket to the ground! Watch out and I'll slap you back." Hearing the noise, the shopkeeper opened the door curtain and walked out of the house. Before he could finish his scolding, he hiccupped. He swallowed it again, walked out of the door quickly, and looked around.

When the jeep arrived at the four-meter-wide city gate, a gun-wielding North Korean ran out of it, saluted and asked to check his ID.Well, although no one outside the customs has a car except the Beihai Navy, this soldier still strictly enforces discipline.

At this time, more than 20 men, women, and children had gathered outside the south gate of Tucheng. No one dared to approach, and they formed a semicircle about ten meters away to watch.Someone with sharp eyes noticed that a hand stretched out from inside the jeep and handed the soldier something as big as a palm.

The soldier took it, looked at it carefully, handed it in again, and then saluted.Then everyone only heard a roar, and the jeep slowly entered the city gate.The children who had caught the bird before saw this and chased after him with curiosity and excitement.

The shopkeeper of the carriage and horse shop did not chase after him, but walked back to the door of his home three times, and said to a merchant standing at the door: "Boss Liu, you have traveled extensively. Dare you ask me what that thing is?"

The businessman twirled his beard and said with an inscrutable expression: "I saw this thing outside Shengjing City a few days ago, but it was different in shape from the one just now. The one I saw was taller and bigger than this one, and there was another one behind it. A carriage for loading things. I heard the soldiers call it a 'gas carriage'."

"A gas car?" the shopkeeper asked in confusion: "You can still call a car without an ox or a horse?"

The waiter on the side interjected: "Do you think you can just blow your breath and walk away? That's not Sun Monkey's Somersault Cloud! If you ask me, it's a monster! Haven't you heard that all Beihai soldiers are good at using magic? .”

The shopkeeper shouted: "Kuanzi, you are talking nonsense, be careful that the Beihai soldiers hear this and come to arrest you!"

The businessman shook his head and said: "How can there be monsters in the bright day? People say that, and there must be some truth in it. I also heard from the soldiers that there are many such vehicles in the east of Jilin City, and they can hold more goods than horse carriages. More than twice as much!”

The owner of the carriage and horse shop was shocked when he heard this. He couldn't help but look back at the horses that were grazing in the stable, and the idea of ​​changing his career inexplicably arose in his mind.

In fact, these people don't know that in the middle of the night just over two months ago, seven or eight vehicles, including this jeep, passed through here headed for Guangning, loaded with supplies.It was just that the Liaodong Campaign had just ended at that time, and people everywhere were panicked. The local residents were mainly bannermen and were so afraid of the prestigious Beihai Navy that they closed their doors tightly as soon as it got dark and did not dare to show their faces if there was any movement.

On the other side, after parking the car, Guisheng and the others also met the platoon leader of the local garrison.This man's name is Sun Yuan, a native of Shangqiu, Henan, and he has been in the army for five years.

The two sides met, saluted and exchanged greetings. After learning of the situation, Platoon Leader Sun warmly welcomed them into the post station for a sip of hot tea. He also called a postman who was clearing the snow and asked him to tell the kitchen to boil a large pot of hot water to clean the car.The postman wore a cotton coat and trousers that were full of patches and oil stains. He quickly stood up and said yes, turned around and ran towards the kitchen with a broom under his arm.

Everyone followed Sun Yuan to the official office of Yi Cheng Office. Lao Zhang, the driver, Yong He, and Fu Chashan sat in the outer room, while Guisheng and Sun Yuan entered the inner room. As soon as they entered, he asked: "I remember 20 days ago , the regiment headquarters has sent two cartloads of new cotton-padded clothes to you, why was the postman still wearing old clothes just now?"

While pouring water into the teapot, Sun Yuan explained: "I can't bear to part with it! I have a wife and children at home. I took it back and changed it. It's enough for three people."

Guisheng frowned and said, "How poor are you?"

Sun Yuan took out his cigarette case and gestured to Guisheng. Seeing the latter shaking his head, he lit one and took a deep breath before saying: "There must be hundreds of households, all of them are armored soldiers from Luji Yamen. I can’t open the pot anymore. I’m planning to send people to Guangning City tomorrow to ask the battalion headquarters to transfer two trucks of sorghum. We can’t just watch a whole family starve to death!”

Guisheng was transferred here not long ago and did not understand the people's sentiments in the Shengjing area. He was surprised and said: "So many! I remember there are only about three hundred households here, right? Besides, don't the banner people all have land? Can the harvest still feed them?”

"327 households." Sun Yuan showed a look of resentment on his face and explained: "Mr. Shen didn't know that these bannermen got together to make money when they had nothing to do, and many of them went bankrupt. I heard from the postmen here. , and now [-]% of the flag fields in Xiaoheishanyi have been given to the pawnshops in Guangning City. According to me, just arrest all these money makers and send them to the Songhua River reservoir construction site!"

Guisheng said: "Don't be anxious, take your time. Find out the situation clearly before taking action. Besides, it's useless to just catch the gamblers. If you want to catch the gamblers, you have to catch the bankers."

Since the middle period of Qianlong's reign, gambling has flourished in the Shengjing area, even though the Qing government banned it many times to no avail.The bannermen of this era were too naive to compete with the Han Chinese who ran casinos. Not only did they lose nine times out of ten, they became more and more addicted to gambling. After losing all their money, they sold their houses and land, leading to many bankruptcies.

In fact, there are also gamblers under the rule of Beihai Town. However, because the land ownership in Beihai Town is nominally controlled by Zhao Xin, the people only have the right to use it, so it is impossible to sell houses and land. At most, they will lose all their money, and then Go borrow it again.Once these guys are caught by the security police, they will be punished with different punishments such as verbal admonishment, community work, and sentencing to serve in other places based on the amount of gambling money.

Guisheng was not Sun Yuan's direct superior, so he just listened to pass the time, packed up the car and hit the road quickly.

Unexpectedly, while the two were chatting, someone outside the office called for a report.When the other person came in, Guisheng realized that this person was a squad leader under Sun Yuan.

"Platoon leader, a flagman told us that the Bagua cultivator is going to open a altar in Kaoshantun tonight to preach."

When Guisheng heard the words "Bagua Cult", his heart suddenly went off alarm.

He worked as an orderly for Zhao Xin for three years. He was influenced by what he heard and saw, and his perspective and perspective on problems were naturally different from others.Later, Zhao Xin sent him to the Intelligence Bureau, and from then on he followed Xu Dayong around the country. He met many people under the banner of "Silent Mother".

He knows all too well the dangers of these sects!
　After Huang Taiji succeeded to the throne, in order to deal with several new problems such as the residence and farming of banner people in the Northeast region and the mixed accommodation of banner people in the same village, the local flag offices divided the villages in the garrison into several boundaries according to region. Select the assistant commanders, defense and secular Yunqi lieutenants, etc., and appoint them as "boundary officials" to be responsible for managing various errands such as public security and civil affairs in the boundary.Basically, everything is regulated except not collecting taxes.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)