Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 787: There is still room for a tiger lying on the road

"I heard that Hardman's taxes have increased again?"

"Who says it's not the case! At noon, I delivered two hundred kilograms of tobacco leaves to Lao Yufeng's shop in Gulou. When I passed the city gate and paid the tax, the shopkeeper's face looked ugly. Guess what? Five cents for five cents, an increase of three cents. Divide the money!" The drunkard who spoke took two mouthfuls of noodles, then picked up the wine bowl and took a sip.

A guest at the next table couldn't help but said: "The increase in cigarettes is nothing. The wine tax, cloth tax, silk, satin, and leather have all increased! From today on, every hundred kilograms of wine will be levied seven coins of silver."

All the drinkers in the room were stunned for a moment when they heard this. Some people were surprised and asked: "Is this true?"

The man from before said: "The notices at the city gate are all out. When I passed by in the afternoon, many people gathered around to look at them and also listened."

Everyone was in an uproar when they heard this.A few of them, who had some knowledge of the current situation, had a remark in their minds, grasshoppers after autumn.

The current situation is like lice on a bald man's head. The Northern Navy has captured Shengjing and Jinzhou, and is approaching Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan; Shandong has already reached Wuding Prefecture, and even crossed the Majia River in the north and occupied Qingyun. county seat.

At this time, someone said to the middle-aged man at the counter who was settling accounts: "Shopkeeper, won't the price of our wine also increase tomorrow?"

Shopkeeper Guan, who was picking at the abacus beads, smiled bitterly and explained: "Guan doesn't want to, but if all the eighteen wine merchants in Chongwenmen go up, we, a small business with small profits, will have no choice but to follow the increase."

"I can't afford to drink wine or smoke tobacco. What do you think this is?"

Shopkeeper Guan was picking up the abacus beads while listening to everyone's discussion. He knew that the Manchu Qing government was clearly trying to plunder the people's wealth again before withdrawing to the west.It just hurts the people at the bottom right now. Tariffs are added one after another, and they will eventually fall on them.

At this time, a waiter from the kitchen came over and whispered: "Shopkeeper, Wang Yongye is back."

"Oh? Where is the person?" Shopkeeper Guan raised his eyebrows, knowing that he should have some clues about what he was asked to investigate.

"He said there were many people here and he went back to the courtyard."

"Then you keep an eye on this side, and I'll go back."

Shopkeeper Guan came out of the back door of the front room of "Changfa Hao", walked east through an alley, then walked along the first alley on the left, and finally came to a single-family two-entry courtyard at the end of the alley. , this is his residence.

He just knocked on the door knocker twice, and the door opened halfway with a clang.The person inside was holding a lantern. When he saw it was him, he quickly stepped aside and let in.When he quickly arrived in front of the main room, a thin man in his 30s was waiting there.

"Shopkeeper, someone found it."

"Come in and talk."

The two of them entered the room and sat down, and the man said: "I went to Xidan Archway in the morning, then went to Sanli River at noon, and went to Shuncheng Gate in the afternoon to find out everything."

Shopkeeper Guan calmly lit a cigarette for himself and said, "Let's talk about it."

"That person lives in Daxing. He worked as an apprentice at Xijiurutang Pharmacy at the south end of Xidan Archway a few years ago. After completing his apprenticeship, he went to work as a clerk at a pharmacy called Guangshuntang in Sanlihe. According to the people at the pharmacy, , that man often went to prostitutes outside to earn money. Within half a year, he contracted a heart disease and developed malignant sores on his body. The drug store was a serious business, and the owner could not keep such a person, so he was kicked out of the drug store two months ago. He has lost his livelihood and is still sick, so he dare not go home for the time being, and is currently doing watch on the street outside Shunchengmen."

"It's not easy to find out so many in one day." Shopkeeper Guan thought for a while and then ordered: "This way, you have to work hard for a few more days. Starting from tomorrow, keep an eye on him for three days to see what he does with him on weekdays. human contact.”

"Look at what you said, can this be called hard work? Don't worry."

Having said that, the subordinate named Wang Yongye really couldn't understand why the superiors were interested in a watchman named Lin Qing.But what he didn't know was that the boss in front of him was actually full of questions.

Of course, Wang Changsheng, the boss of the Northern Navy Intelligence Bureau, would never explain to them that this order actually came from Zhao Xin, who was thousands of miles away.

For Zhao Xin, he didn't want to let Lin Qing grow bigger, and then one day there would be an "attack on Beijing City".Just like he forced the Manchus to hand over the refugees in eastern Sichuan to him, the roots of the White Lotus Sect must be dug up, and the roots of the Tianli Sect must be dug up.And not only Lin Qing, but also people like Li Wencheng, Feng Keshan, and Liu Zhixie must be found, and then packed up and sent to Alaska!
On October 59, the 28th year of Qianlong's reign, Yonghe, who had finished his journey to Liaodong, returned to Tianjin with his companion Fu Chashan, carrying a reply letter from the Beihai Navy.

After the two landed at Zhigu Pier, they used their guard badges to order two fast horses from the inn and headed straight to the capital.When they saw the gray city walls of Beijing, it was already the last day of October.

Originally, everything went smoothly on this trip, but unexpectedly, when we arrived at the door of our house, something happened when we were passing through Chaoyang Gate.

Many people in later generations are familiar with the Chongwenmen tax gate that He Shen was in charge of. However, they did not know that during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, all nine gates of the capital had tax gates.Not to mention carrying goods and luggage, you have to pay a tax of two cents when selling vegetables in the city.During the Kangxi era, Zha Siyi once wrote a poem to satirize: Nine gates tax and one specializes, and the traces of horses and carriages are connected to each other.The envoys at home collect flowers and pay taxes, and go to court to plunder two coins from their temples.

The taxation agencies in the capital city during the Qing Dynasty were roughly divided into three areas. One was the Chongwenmen State Taxation Administration. In addition to Chongwenmen, its tax offices also included Marco Polo Bridge, Dongba, Haidian, Mujiayu, Shixi, Banbidian, and Zhangjiakou. There are eight in total; the second is the left-wing tax bureau, which is responsible for the taxation of Anding, Dongzhi, Chaoyang, Dongbian, Guangqu, and Zuo'an in the east; and the right-wing tax bureau is responsible for the taxation of Desheng, Xizhi, and Fu in the west. Taxation of the seven gates of Cheng, Xibian, Guang'an, You'an and Yongding.

As a bannerman who lives in the capital, Yonghe certainly knew that there was a tax on bringing luggage into the city. He thought that with the guard badge, half a drop of money would be enough, so he took the money from the horse bag.But when he was taking the money, the tax collector at the city gate saw that his and Fu Chashan's saddlebags were both bulging. He then carefully looked at their clothes and horses, and he became suspicious, so he waited until the two came to the gate. , it takes five taels per person to open your mouth.

Yonghe and Fuchashan didn't bother to argue, so they showed their guard badges with Manchu and Chinese characters on them, and scolded: "Do you know who I am? Keep your dog eyes wide open to see clearly!"

The tax collector took one look at it and felt a thump in his heart.But there is no reason to take back the water that has been thrown out by speaking out.Besides, as long as there is no imperial order, let alone sixth-grade guards, even Prince Baylor and first-grade officers will have to pay taxes when they bring their luggage into the city.

He bowed respectfully first, and said with caution in his tone: "I didn't say that the two adults were going to the city, but the court has a system. Starting from the day before yesterday, the tax code and the amount of silver levied in the nine gates of the capital have increased. The notice is here It's posted over there, and the two adults can take a look. The villain is also on an errand, so please don't embarrass me."

"This"

Yonghe was speechless. He had no intention of reading the notice and did not dare to let the other party check it.You must know that there are not only more than thirty mink skins in the two men's mattresses, but also several boxes of first-class ginseng from Changbai Mountain, which they bought at the Beihai Trading Company in Shengjing City.

Speaking of which, since the Qing Dynasty lost Heilongjiang and Jilin, the prices of leather goods and ginseng in the pass have skyrocketed.Although the Qing court adopted a tacit attitude towards maritime merchants going to Anping Port for trade, as long as they were not sold to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the tax collected was very heavy.Nowadays, the price of a good sable skin in the capital is as high as 20 taels of silver, and it is doubled in Jiangnan.And rare items like first-class ginseng cost up to 500 taels per kilogram.When Yonghe and Fuchashan saw mink fur and ginseng in the newly opened Beihai Trading Company in Shengjing, they were surprised. They never expected that items that could only be enjoyed by the royal family and ministers in the past were openly displayed on the shelves for sale. Anyone with money could buy them. Can buy.Especially when they asked about the price, they were all tempted, thinking that if they bought some back to Beijing and then resold them, they would definitely make a fortune.

As a result, the two of them bought ginseng and mink fur with their travel expenses and the 500 taels that the Cha family paid for their filial piety. Now they only have less than 20 taels left.

Yonghe was still hesitating, but Fuchashan next to him became anxious and cursed: "You bastard! Even if you have to pay taxes, why do you need ten taels?"

The tax collector said in a low voice: "If you think it's too much, let me let the villain inspect the goods in the horse bag."

"How outrageous! Why don't you let me test it?" Fu Chashan raised the whip in his hand as he spoke. When the people behind him who were waiting to pass the customs saw it, they all backed away in fright.

Unexpectedly, the tax collector frowned and said: "There is a seventy-year-old mother in the house of a villain, and a baby waiting for feeding at the bottom. The whole family is pointing out the villain's errand. If he goes to the city without inspecting the goods and paying taxes, the villain will lose his job. If we don’t say anything, the whole family will have to beg for food.”

Fu Chashan's face was livid with anger, but he didn't dare to actually slap him.

"Forget it, forget it. I'll give you ten taels."

Yonghe didn't want to make a big deal out of the matter, so he turned around and took out two silver ingots from his horse sack and stuffed them into the tax collector's hand.The tax collector also knew that the guards in the palace were not easy to mess with, so he let them go after collecting the money.

The two entered the city and rode west along Chaonei Street. When they reached Dongdan Archway, they turned north and passed through Dengshikou to Dong'anmen Street.By the time we arrived outside Donghua Gate, it was already past noon.After showing his waist badge to the guard on duty at the door, after waiting for more than half an hour, he saw a eunuch hurriedly came to the door and said that the emperor had summoned the two of them to the Yangxin Hall for an audience.

When the two followed the eunuch to the Dongnuan Pavilion of the Yangxin Hall, they found that the Minister of Military Aircraft Dong Gao was also there.

"Slave Yonghe (Fuchashan), come to see the emperor!"

"Without courtesy, I will give you a seat. Master Dong will also sit down."

Jiaqing was very excited when he saw that his nanny brother had returned safely. He winked at Zhang Jinzhong, the eunuch in charge.The latter understood, and after the two eunuchs brought the tuna to Yonghe and his wife, he asked all the eunuchs in the palace to retreat, while he stood guard outside the gate of Yangxin Palace.

Seeing that all the eunuchs were leaving, Jiaqing finally couldn't stand it any longer and asked anxiously: "Will this trip go smoothly? Are the tombs of Taizu and Taizong safe?"

Yonghe replied: "Thanks to the Emperor Hongfu, everything is fine. However, only the Khan's Palace and the Shengjing Palace were damaged, and most of the residential buildings in the city were destroyed."

"I am so ashamed of my ancestors!" Jiaqing looked a little depressed and his eyes were red.He had already learned about this from the spy's report, but now that Yonghe and Yonghe had confirmed it, he still felt sad.

As soon as he said these words, the three of them, whose buttocks had not yet warmed up, hurriedly knelt down on the ground along the length of their legs and kowtowed.As the saying goes, "The Lord worries about his ministers' labor, and the Lord humiliates them to death." Jiaqing had just inherited such a mess after taking the throne, and no one would feel better if he replaced him.

Dong Gao choked with tears and said: "I ask the emperor to take a closer look at the dragon body. There is still something that can be done, there is still something that can be done!"

Jiaqing sighed, picked up the handkerchief on the kang table, wiped the corners of his eyes, and said: "Master Dong, there is no need to comfort me. I know what the situation is now, you know it, and the civil and military officials of the dynasty also know it. I just can't understand it. In just ten years, In [-], our Qing Dynasty has reached such a stage that we can no longer even defend the land of our ancestors. You all should get up and sit down. Yonghe and Fuchashan, please tell me about your journey and who you met."

"Hey! I will give it a brief summary first. If there are any deficiencies, please ask Fu Cha to fill them in."

The two of them had discussed the matter in advance. When Yonghe saw Jiaqing nodding, he began to tell: "The slave and Fu Chashan arrived in Jinzhou by boat on the eighth day of October and landed from Matigou. The slave first saw Zhao Ni. The official was a young man named Shen. On the night of the ninth day of October, the servants followed the man named Shen to Shengjing. The servants waited at the inn for two days before seeing anyone, but it was not Zhao Ni's general Deng Fei, but A man named Li Rui. This man was the chief of staff and was the third-ranking figure of the North Sea pirates responsible for commanding the troops in Liaodong. The servants showed him the letter written by Lord Dong, and he asked the servants to go back and wait for a reply. After that After waiting for another four days, Li Rui asked the two slaves to visit the Khan's Palace and the Shengjing Palace, and then to three imperial tombs. On the fifth day, Li Rui gave the slaves a reply. , saying that the reply is all written in it. Because the matter is confidential, I dare not open it privately."

After Yonghe said that, he took out the letter from his arms and presented it with both hands. Dong Gao on the side stepped forward to take it, pinched it with his fingers and made sure there was no other foreign matter inside, and then placed it on the Kang table.

However, Jiaqing did not read the letter immediately, but asked in an unbelievable tone: "You said that you arrived in Jinzhou on the eighth day of October, arrived in Guangning that night, and then set off for Shengjing the next morning, arriving that night?"

"Yes. The man surnamed Shen and his two servants took a strange car. The car had four wheels and no oxen or horses. It was driven by a driver holding a ring of discs. The sound of the car was like a rumbling sound. It was like thunder. The slave couldn't figure out what sorcery the Northern Pirates used. The man surnamed Shen said that he used some kind of machinery to replace the oxen and horses. The car ran very fast after getting on, and the slave and Fu Chashan were very dizzy. If it weren't for The road was slippery in the snow and we were delayed for an hour at Xiaoheishan Station. I'm afraid we won't be able to reach Shengjing before dark."

Jiaqing thought for a while and asked: "Master Dong, did the Ministry of War mention this kind of strange car in the previous report?"

Dong Gao pondered for a moment and replied: "It was mentioned in two memorials. Three years ago, when Zhang Jiagong led his army to fight against Zhao Ni in Ladolandai, he encountered a strange green-skinned and iron-shelled chariot. It is said that It can run on its own without using oxen and horses, and can fire cannons while moving. However, I have never heard of such ridiculous things, so I just thought it was because the general leading the team was confused and guessed that there must be someone pushing it."

"So how many strange cars like this does Zhao Ni have?"

"I beg your Majesty to forgive me!" Dong Gao kowtowed and said to himself, "I don't know!"Even Fu Kang'an and Agui couldn't understand it, and he, a Neo-Confucian scholar, couldn't understand it even more.

"This matter has nothing to do with Master Dong. Get up." After Jiaqing finished speaking, he pondered outside the window for a long time and said: "There was something I couldn't figure out before, but now I understand it. No wonder every time the Beihai Pirates conquer a place, the first thing they do is Widen and level the post road. With that kind of car, you can reach 350 miles in half a day. Alas! No wonder."

Dong Gao instantly understood what Jiaqing meant, which was why the military supplies of the Beihai Navy could always be guaranteed.If you can cover 350 miles in half a day, then you can cover [-] miles in one day.This is too scary. With such logistical supplies and the power of the Northern Navy's weapons, let alone Fukang'an and Agui, it would be useless even if Fukang'an's father was alive.

"There is no wiser person than your Majesty. However, I believe that Zhao Ni's car is only suitable for use in vast plains. It may not be of much use in rugged mountainous areas or places with crisscrossed rivers."

Jiaqing's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he nodded approvingly and said, "That's right. Master Dong, please help me see what the North Sea Pirates wrote in the letter."

Dong Gao stood up quickly, picked up the letter from the Kang table, carefully tore open the envelope, took out the letter, opened it and glanced at it twice to make sure that there was no insulting words in the content, and then he read in a deep voice:
"Mr. Zhuolin Junjian, we have tentatively agreed to the matters mentioned in your letter. It is appropriate for the negotiation location to be in Jinzhou Prefecture, which is convenient for everyone. The time is set before the end of the twelfth twelfth lunar month. If it is late, it will be invalid. I hope you will make preparations in advance. , inform the negotiators in advance of their identity, number of entourage, and arrival date to facilitate arrangements. Chief of Staff of the Northern Navy’s Eastern Front Command, Li Rui. Xuanyuan Four Thousand Four Thousand Years, October 490th, [-]."

　39. Shunchengmen is Xuanwumen, and this title has been around since the Yuan Dynasty.Although the name was changed as early as the fourth year of Zhengtong in the former Ming Dynasty to take the meaning of "martial propaganda", the people in the capital still used this title.Just like Chongwenmen, known as "Hadmen" and Chaoyangmen, known as "Qihuamen", historically many residents of old Beijing still called it this way until the early days of liberation.99. It was mentioned in a novel about the Qing Dynasty that the Manchu Qing Dynasty asked people to shave their heads and grow pig tails, but the emperor's portrait had sideburns.After reading Zha Siwei's poem, you should understand that even when the hair shaving order was the most stringent, sideburns were allowed. If they grow long, they can be combed from behind the ears together with the hair on the back of the head, but no hair can be left behind the ears. So-called This is what "having sideburns but not ears" means.Zha Siyu is the younger brother of Zha Shenxing. He was born in the ninth year of Shunzhi and was a Jinshi in the [-]th year of Kangxi.[-]. The title of this chapter comes from the interpretation of [-] of "Lu Zu Ling Lotus".

　　
　
(End of this chapter)