When Yu Youfu escorted the young master of the Gu family to Beijing, he walked by water, just like Han Xiufeng came to Jiangsu to take office, and he had seen those flagmen and sailors on the Cao boat who were even more hateful than the "Copper Heavenly King".

The people on the boat go along the river and wade the river, the sun and rain, experience the cold and heat, and can not rest all year round, and they encounter retrograde, stranding, crossing the gate, crossing the dam, and even have to use a fiber rope to drag the boat full of rice, which is very hard. In the event of a flood season or sudden change in weather, there is still a considerable risk of sailing, and it is not known how many shipwrights and sailors will die in the belly of the fish in a year.

They were all miserable people, but there were few good people among them.

Originally, Caoyun was all flags, and they organized boat gangs in various places, and each gang had a dozen to dozens of boats. Later, due to the lack of flagmen, it was difficult to maintain the transportation, so the boat gang hired sailors privately, and then hired more and more sailors, and the imperial court explicitly ordered that only two flagmen should be left on each ship to escort them, and the rest of the dozen sailors were all recruited.

The people who can get along will never abandon their families and children and run away from the boat, and all the recruits are some unemployed vagrants who have no nationality and no coherence, most of them are singles, called Hanako, desperate ruffians and even bandits wanted by the imperial court.

They walk with the gang, gather and scatter impermanence, a lot of people are naturally indispensable to fight, often because of the fight for the position of "head penny" and "head fiber", gradually in order to take care of each other, the wind of apprenticeship and apprenticeship is flourishing, gangs, and party come into being. The internal hierarchy is strict, and only the orders of the head of the sect are to obey, and those who do not obey are indiscriminately tortured such as chopping off fingers, amputating limbs, and gouging out eyes.

They are reckless and aggressive, not only fighting between gangs, but also harassing the merchants and people along the river, and even burning, killing and looting!

On the way from the capital to Jiangning, I witnessed how they set traps for extortion, or deliberately sabotage the boats and collided with civilian ships, and extorted money in the name of destroying official ships; or design to dump the rice on civilian ships, and then blackmail and distribute fertilizer in the name of stealing official rice; Either they use the excuse of bargeing grain on the shallow waterway and wantonly occupy civilian ships, and the civilian ships are not allowed to get out without money. What's more, blocking the river with boats and demanding "money for ferries" and "money for helping people" and even official boats are like cutting the path.

As Han Xiufeng said, if Xu Lequn and the people behind him really kept to themselves, it was too late to hide from the people on the boat, how could they take them in, wouldn't they be worried about luring wolves into the house?

Yu Youfu realized that the next thing he had to deal with was all ruthless outlaws, and said worriedly: "Master Zhang will not live long if he is sick like that, Second Young Master Zhang should not miss this opportunity to make a fortune." It's just that even if Second Young Master Zhang can be transferred to the army and can catch up, I don't know the whereabouts of Xu Lequn's group of private tyrants, where will Second Master Zhang go to catch him when the time comes? ”

"Looking for the chief of the Baozheng Jia, and let the chief of the village near the Kushiba River and the Yunyan River help us keep an eye on it?" Pan Er asked subconsciously.

"No way?" Han Xiufeng said without thinking.

"Why not?" Pan Er asked puzzledly: "Fourth brother, five days ago, they may not be willing. But it's not five days ago, not to mention those Baozheng Jiachang, just Dean Gu and Master Wang's gentry are very convinced, I think they should be able to help. ”

Han Xiufeng motioned for him to polish the ink while explaining, "They will probably help keep an eye on it, but it is easy to leak the news in this way." Compared with what Xu Lequn said, Xu Lequn and those people behind him are difficult to deal with, although they are outsiders like us, but how long they have lived here, they must have a lot of eyes and ears, and the news will definitely be better than us. ”

"Either find a reliable person to go to the river and keep an eye on him, doesn't he have men, or keep an eye on his men."

"No, what if the grass startles the snake?"

"This doesn't work, that doesn't work, you can't guess!"

Han Xiufeng got up and walked to the desk, spread out a piece of paper, and picked up the pen: "The people often say that the white way is the underworld, we are now officials, and it is naturally the white way, but in this place of Hai'an, the local gentry and even the ruffians who are locked up in the class room are all white ways, and those related to salt are the underworld." Naturally, we have to find someone who has collusion with the underworld to investigate, and there happens to be such a person in the yamen. ”

"Who?" Pan Er couldn't help but ask.

"Li Xiucai!" Without waiting for Han Xiufeng to speak, Yu Youfu blurted out: "The surnamed Xu wants to tie us up to his thief ship with two lives, and even plans to help them kill Li Xiucai, why can't we let Li Xiucai deal with him?" If you want to say that you are familiar with Hai'an and Fu'an, can their salt merchants who live by the sea still have people living in Fu'an in Hai'an, and Li Xiucai, who also makes money by colluding with private tyrants? ”

"That's what I thought, and when I write the letter, I'll invite him over to talk."

……

Li Xiucai has been very aggrieved these days, and even if he didn't do anything when the Chinese New Year was approaching, he could still collect three or five hundred taels of silver while sitting in the yamen. But now the gang of smuggled salt sellers not only dare not come to the town, but even think that it is useless to give him silver.

In the afternoon, the two came directly from Taizhou and did not stop on the way. If you stop at Baimi or Qutang and go around the shore, you will definitely turn around and go back when you hear the news that the new patrol has captured hundreds of ruffians.

He lay on the bunk and tossed and turned, he didn't fall asleep at all, and for a while he thought that corrupt officials were easy to deal with, and the Qing officials surnamed Han who said that they would not collect money if they didn't collect money were not easy to deal with. For a while, I was worried that the two smugglers would be happy to promise in the afternoon, but they would not necessarily help with the errand......

Just as he was thinking wildly, Yu Youfu's voice came from outside.

"Mr. Li, Mr. Li."

"Here, Yu Bantou, you haven't rested yet?"

"No," Yu Youfu coughed dryly and said with a smile: "Mr. Li, my young master asked me to ask if you have sobered up, and if you do, please go to the second hall to discuss the matter." ”

"I didn't drink too much, Yu Bantou, please go back to Master Han, I'll put on my clothes and go."

"Okay, I'll go back."

Li Xiucai was a thief, secretly wondering if something had happened to the two smugglers, the more he thought about it, the more scared he became, but he didn't dare not go, so he put on a padded jacket for a while and pretended to be calm and walked into the signing room on the left side of the second hall.

"Master Han, you are looking for a late ...... so late"

"Sit, sit down." Han Xiufeng stuffed a letter into the envelope, handed it to Zhang Shiheng, asked Zhang Shiheng to put it away, and immediately beckoned him to sit opposite, looked at him with a smile and asked, "Mr. Li, do you know why I went to lock up those ruffians as soon as I took office?" ”

"Master Han is purging the atmosphere and giving the people a good place."

"Yes and no."

"Master Han, forgive the late birth for being stupid......"

"Be your own, don't be born late." Han Xiufeng waited for Zhang Shiheng to walk out of the signing room, stared at him with serious eyes, and said very seriously: "Mr. Li, I don't hide it, I lock up those ruffians who are doing evil and rampant in the township, not only to clean up the atmosphere but also to investigate smuggled salt!" ”

"Investigate smuggled salt?" Li Xiucai was taken aback.

"Mr. Li, others don't know that you must have heard of it, although I, Han Xiufeng, am a donor, but I am not a nobody in the DPRK. If you just want to be an official, the prefect of the prefecture can't do it, but it's not difficult to be the main hall of a county. ”

"I believe it." Li Xiucai inquired, and he knew very well that the person in front of him had a background, and he could even talk to Futai, otherwise Fang Shimei would not have been involved for more than four months and then left.

"It's okay if you don't believe it, you'll know sooner or later anyway." Han Xiufeng paused, and then said: "When I went to the provincial sales officer, when I met with the master of the Taiwan system, the master of the Taiwan system gave the opportunity to give a face-to-face lecture and assigned an errand. Let the official gather the young and strong after he arrives, investigate the smuggled salt, and plug the leak! ”

When the new official arrives in the province, he must go to see the governor of Liangjiang, if he does not knock to see him, if he does not agree to meet the governor of Liangjiang, even if he is a jinshi, he should not expect to be able to take office. And the governor of Liangjiang is also the governor of Lianghuai Salt, and the governor makes it normal for the governor to investigate and seize smuggled salt.

Li Xiucai believed it, pretended to be very embarrassed, and said: "Master Han, even if the master of Taiwan does not have a face-to-face teaching, you have the responsibility of investigating and arresting private criminals as a maritime security inspector, but the illegal salt is not so easy to investigate." You didn't know it before you took office, but you must know it now, Hai'an has a dense water network, many ports, and the inspection department yamen has a total of only two soaps and ten flood soldiers, not to mention that it is difficult to find out the news of the private lord, even if you can find out, you can't deal with these few people alone! ”

"The official has the news of the private tyrant, and the person who deals with the private tyrant has the same thing."

"News of a private tyrant?" Li Xiucai chuckled in his heart, thinking that he had said that the two smugglers who would come to give him a New Year's gift in the afternoon.

Han Xiufeng took a sip of tea from his cup, and said with a gloomy face: "As the saying goes, if people don't know, they can't do anything unless they do, it's ridiculous that those bold people think that they are acting secretly, and they don't know that they have been accused of being sent to the Yamen of the Taiwan Production. Knowing the law and breaking the law, the crime is added to the first degree, see how the official gives them personal stolen goods, and now everything is ready, only the east wind is owed! ”

Li Xiucai didn't think that his small role could alarm the governor of Liangjiang, so he breathed a sigh of relief, and after thinking about it, he couldn't help but ask: "Master Han, how are you going to investigate?" Is there something you want to tell the late students to do? ”

"Exactly, and this matter can only rely on Mr. Li."

"Master Han, what are you talking about, if you have anything to say, just tell me."

"Let's put it this way, after the official took office, he first hired you as a Xixi, and then asked you to bring in the family, just to paralyze those lawbreakers who dared to traffic in illicit salt. Let them think that the official doesn't believe you, and let them think that Mr. Li, you are already an insignificant person. ”

"Master Han, I ......"

"Don't worry, listen to what the official has to say." Han Xiufeng beckoned him to drink tea, and said with a smile: "I asked Changsheng to go out to inquire in the morning, and the gentry and people in the town all thought that Mr. Li couldn't take care of your affairs, and some people couldn't even think of you. But this is a good thing, what the official wants is that they can't remember, and only in this way can you help the official do a big thing! ”

"What's the matter?"

"You must know Bao Daijie of Fu'an Field, as a businessman, he actually failed the emperor's grace, knew the law and broke the law, and wantonly trafficked illicit salt! Mr. Li, you are not only the official's friend, but also a member of the imperial court, in Hai'an, the official only believes in you, and can only ask you to go to Fu'an to help the official keep an eye on Bao Daijie! ”

Cleaning up the business, Li Xiucai is happy to fall into this well and this stone.

He was about to speak, when Han Xiufeng said again: "Mr. Li, this matter is not trivial, if this errand is messed up, this official really can't explain it to the master of Taiwan." But if it is done, if you can give Bao Daijie a personal seizure, not only will you have a share of the seized merit salt, but also Mr. Li will definitely have your name in the official document submitted to the Yamen of the Taiwan Establishment. The two Huai salt affairs are erosive, and the imperial court is at the time of employing people, Mr. Li has made this great achievement, and the people in Taiwan are happy, and it is not impossible to promote Mr. Li to be an ambassador of the salt department. ”