Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 603 Locking the river plan, the navy goes east
"Guanzi Xiaokuang": "Scholars, farmers, businessmen and four people are the stones (pillars) of the country and the people." State differences are due to the fact that farmers and farmers speak forcefully, scholars speak and act with scholars, workers speak cleverly with workers, and merchants talk about numbers.”

The Four People of the Scholars, Farmers, Industry and Commerce, appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period when a hundred schools of thought were contending. The earliest meaning was roughly that the Four People were equally important to the country, and there was no meaning of praise or criticism.

This can also be seen from the characters at that time, such as Fan Li and Lu Buwei.

Scholars, peasants, businessmen, and ancient Chinese society were actually composed of a small number of elite scholars and most of the peasants. The gentry were often merchants who also knew craftsmen.

Since then, the rulers of successive dynasties have gradually formed a suppression of merchants for various reasons, and Venetian merchants in the West are also the objects of ridicule in various literary works.

Before the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, although there were already four high and low levels in the folk culture, there was no too strict hierarchy. Each class could be converted, but it was not solidified. Business and industry are classified as cheap.

Scholars, farmers, businessmen, scholars are the backbone of the country, agriculture is the foundation of the country, industry is the skill of the country, business is the blood of the country, the four are equally important to the country.

The rulers of past dynasties were afraid of the liquidity and instability of merchants. In addition, merchants were often backed by scholars. The nobles had land and food, and they were doing business through side branches to obtain a lot of money. The imperial power was naturally afraid, and the status of merchants was bound to be lowered.

Although the status of merchants is not high, its importance to the country is self-evident.

In the east city of Yangzhou, near the inner side of the city wall, there is a row of huge wooden houses. This is the warehouse built by the eight imperial merchants. It is close to the water gate, and various materials can be transported in and out through the moat linking the Grand Canal.

Yangzhou is a land of good geomantic omens, close to the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal, where supplies from south to north gather and disperse.

The eight firms are now the blood flowing within the Qing court. Their political investment in the Manchus was very successful. With the Manchus going south, the eight firms have also been rewarded, and their assets have more than doubled by more than a hundred times.

The firm closely followed the footsteps of the Qing soldiers, trampling down the salt merchants in Lianghuai, the maritime merchants in eastern Zhejiang, and the Jiangnan gentry group that once manipulated the Ming Dynasty.

Yangzhou is now the base camp of the eight companies in the south of the Yangtze River. The copper and iron mines in Chizhou Prefecture, the silver mines in Taizhou, the gold mines in Suichang, the salt in the east of the Huaihe River, and the rice grains in the south of the Yangtze River are all transferred here.

On the edge of the Grand Canal, a big treasurer of the Qing Yongchang Company was standing by the pier and waiting. After a while, dozens of flat-bottomed boats came out of the water gate.

Large ships could not enter the moat, and could not directly enter Yangzhou. They could only dock by the canal, and then these flat-bottomed boats came in and out to transport grain, grass and other materials into the warehouse.

The chief treasurer is Fan Yongdou's confidant, named Yan Congnian, whose parents and family died in the second year of Chongzhen when he became a slave and invaded the bandits. He was later accepted by Fan Yongdou as a firm apprentice and trained to become one of Qing Yongchang's great treasurers.

Fan Yongdou colluded with Manqing for a long time. Yan Congnian and Manqing had a deep blood feud, but he was scared out of his wits by Manqing. The chief sent a large amount of salt and iron.

Yan Congnian stood on the edge of the wharf, watching the workers on the Fuzhou ship carry down the bags of rice grains. On the other side, a flat-bottomed boat approached the Dafu ship. Dozens of people on the Fuchuan immediately worked together, and slowly pulled the rope net weighing thousands of kilograms onto the big boat with a tackle.

"Boss, this is the last batch of rough iron in the warehouse. If you want it from Governor Hong, you can only transfer it from the warehouses in Henan and Shanxi." An accountant walked slowly to Yan Congnian with the account book and said. .

"My boss told me that Prince Yu and Governor Hong want refined iron to cast cannons and make weapons, and the firm must ship 600 million catties of pig iron there in the near future." Yan Congnian said in a deep voice, "There are not enough warehouses, so let's transfer them from the north. Ship this batch to Jiangning, and then go to the Chizhou mine to have a look, and you should also receive a batch."

"Don't worry, shopkeeper, I'll arrange it when I get back." The accountant said quickly.

Yan Congnian nodded, and ordered: "You can ask someone to transfer some sea salt, and transport it to the store in Jiangning for storage."

"Boss, has something major happened recently? The supplies are dispatched so frequently that the company's ships are too busy."

Yan Congnian nodded and explained: "In August, the pirates directly entered the Yangtze River. I am afraid that the imperial court was outraged. Moreover, news came from Huguang that the puppet dynasty's Duke of Chu, Wang Yan, was mobilizing troops in Hubei. Supplies are being hoarded in the Wuchang area, and I am afraid they are preparing for a big fight."

This ethnic rivalry is related to the rise and fall of the ethnic group, but it has nothing to do with Yan Congnian and the people who worked for the eight imperial merchants. They don't care about these, they only care about their own money and food, and they can live better than others. As for whether the Han people will die or not, the Ming Dynasty will die or not, it has nothing to do with them.

The accountant heard this, but he was a little worried: "Master, the last time the pirate ship came and burned more than 800 salt ships of our company in Zhenjiang, will they enter the Yangtze River again? You have to be careful when sailing on board."

Yan Congnian smiled. He witnessed Manchu's development step by step from the bitterly cold land in Liaodong. He had seen the Manchurian Eight Banners invincible, and he had also seen the Ming Dynasty collapsed and vulnerable. In his eyes, Manqing was powerful. Incomparably, the Ming Dynasty will come to an end sooner or later.

Yan Congnian shook his head and said with a smile: "The imperial navy is guarding Zhenjiang, and the pirates are now overseas in Chongming, so they cannot go deep into the waterway of the Yangtze River. I will go to Chizhou this time, and there will be no problem. You hurry up and follow my instructions. Bring the pig iron over, and it will be even safer when Governor Hong builds the cannon and releases it by the river."

At that moment, Yan Congnian ordered the deployment of some supplies. After waiting for more than an hour, the hired worker on the ship finally shouted: "Boss, the goods are all loaded."

"Well, hoist the sails and set off immediately."

In Huguang, Man Dazhuang won Wang Yan's general order, took the rations and equipment, led the Dongting Navy, sailed eastward, and directly killed the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

The water network in the south of the Yangtze River is crisscrossed, which is where the navy can use it. However, although the Qing soldiers occupied the south of the Yangtze River, they did not develop a strong navy.

This is also because the situation reversed too quickly. Before the Ming army was too late to defend, it was impossible to threaten Jiangnan. Naturally, the Qing court had no need to maintain a navy, and the Manchus did not understand naval training.

Now that the situation has changed, the Qing army in the south of the Yangtze River did not have a navy to ensure the safety of the waterway. Only nearly 3 green battalions gathered in the Jiangning area. .

At this time, the Yangtze River was relatively deserted, with only a few fishing boats and merchant ships occasionally appearing, while the Qing army's warships were completely invisible.

The Dongting navy, with one hundred large ships and two hundred small boats, lined up and sailed mightily on the river. The scene was very spectacular. The people on the fishing boats were amazed to see the huge fleet approaching, and rowed their boats to the shore one after another.

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(End of this chapter)