After only a burst of guns, seeing Tan Ye being beaten into a sieve on the spot, the smugglers behind couldn't help but be timid, and the steps of rushing forward to kill were paused, and they were about to collapse.

"Everyone! Their bird guns are useless. Suddenly, one of the smugglers roared, and the other smugglers woke up from a dream, holding various weapons and continuing to rush forward.

Trafficking in illicit salt is a capital offense, and there is no way to survive surrendering. Escaping may not be able to run away, but if you can fight your way out, then this time you will definitely make a profit.

The most important thing is that the bird guns of the officers and soldiers have been reduced to burning sticks after a round.

Driven by profit and desperation, these illicit salt dealers are not at all deadly.

After the musketeers fired in a row, they did turn into burning sticks, because the two sides were a little close. However, just when those smugglers thought that they could kill the officers and soldiers by virtue of their courage as long as they rushed closer. Suddenly, a group of soldiers from the Beijing camp took a few steps back, and three small guns were revealed.

Artillery!

When the smugglers who rushed to the front saw these three black guns, their faces turned pale with fright on the spot, and they couldn't help but run away, but they couldn't stop under their feet.

The gunners of the Beijing battalion had already lit the fuse with the torches.

Boom Boom Boom ......

When the fire burst out, dense iron sand flew out.

"Ah~!"

A row of smugglers fell to the ground screaming, and one by one they rolled wildly on the ground. I saw one of the smugglers with blood all over his face, and he didn't know how much iron sand hit his face.

These iron sands are small, only the size of a grain of rice. Under the fire of these pound guns, the range of these iron sand was not very far. can be shot on the face. That's no joke at all. Grains of iron sand form a dense barrage. The smugglers who rushed to the front barely ran, and they were all beaten up.

However, these iron sand hit their bodies, and they will not be able to die for a while, but the trauma caused is painful.

It's so miserable, so miserable that people can't bear to look at it.

"Spearmen, forward." The Beijing officer drew his steel knife and pointed forward, and the pikemen rushed out like a wolf. Under the cover of each other, the smugglers who are still fighting are ruthlessly strangled.

"Run!"

"Don't kill me, don't kill me."

A group of smugglers were completely robbed of their courage and fled in panic, but a group of pikemen chased them directly into the surrounding fields.

When a smuggler who had lost his weapon and hid under his car was dragged out, he looked at his accomplices who were still screaming and rolling in tears, and couldn't believe what was happening in front of him.

As for it?

Even artillery was used to catch a smuggler, is that so?

In the dark. It's still been run away a lot, but it doesn't matter anymore. But the smuggled salt was intercepted.

The same scene also happened on the Cao Canal Road. These rivers are easier to check, as long as you set up a card, basically you don't run.

Under the moonlight, boats heading south were driving on the river. Li Debin was one of the boat owners, and he took three boats to the south, carrying goods, but he ran into a checkpoint in the middle of the night, and all the officers and men were fully armed.

To Wang Debin's surprise, today's Caoyun checkpoint actually began to check for smuggled salt. There was an unlucky ghost in front, apparently carrying a ship full of illicit salt, and he was found out on the spot. Cao Ding above was in a hurry, and he jumped directly to run. As a result, the officers and soldiers actually opened fire, and after a while, a corpse floated up from the bottom of the water, which made people's scalps tingle to see.

"Stop, routine checks."

"Stop the ship, stop the ship." Wang Debin hurriedly shouted, this time he went south to run the boat, Wang Debin did not smuggle illegal salt, so he was not afraid of inspection.

However, Wang Debin was frightened and secretly lucky.

If it weren't for the fact that the Tianjin government suddenly inspected the private salt this time, resulting in not so much private salt to be transported, and there are indeed a lot of goods in Beizhili that can be transported south, I am afraid that this time will be over.

"What's on board?" The inspecting yamen official asked Wang Debin.

"Official, it's mainly copper coins, as well as iron pots, steel nails, and some glass." Wang Debin hurriedly replied, while actively cooperating with the inspection.

Lifting the cloth, the cargo inside the ship was indeed copper coins and steel products.

In the past, when the boats went south and returned, there was nothing to transport, so they could only transport a large amount of illicit salt. However, recently, there are more and more products that can be sold in the south. The first is the copper coins and copper dollars minted by the Royal Bank, because of the abundant materials and exquisite appearance, there is a great demand in the south. Because of the large amount of copper coins, many ships turned to transport copper coins south. As for the silver dollar, it was generally the standard company that was responsible for the special transportation, and it was not their turn to transport it.

At the same time, because of the technological breakthrough in steel smelting in Beizhili, the price of steel products has become very low. Although there is still some gap between the types of steel products in Beizhili and the south, the quality is very good, and the quality of the iron pots that Wang Debin entered this time is no worse than the iron pots produced in the south.

The most important thing is that the steel products of Beizhili, because the quality of the steel is better than that of the south, such things are obviously extremely popular in the south.

As for the types of steel products, it is obvious that the Beizhili area is also developing rapidly. A large number of private businessmen saw the business opportunities and bought high-quality steel from Royal Iron and Steel to create various products.

"Have all these things been declared?" The clerk asked.

"It's been reported, it's reported, this is a customs clearance paperwork." Wang Debin hurriedly showed the customs clearance documents, and the so-called customs declaration is to pay import and export duties.

The clerk took the paperwork, checked the seal, date, and registration of the goods, and checked them one by one.

"Alright, pay the river management fee!" The clerk returned the paperwork, and then said to Wang Debin, who hurriedly took out 20 silver dollars and handed them over.

After Ye Xianggao served as the governor of Caoyun, Caoyun was divided into three sections: northern, central and southern, and the Caoyun checkpoints were both fixed and unfixed. During the entire Caoyun journey, there were at least twenty or thirty checkpoints. But fortunately, as long as you pay the 'Cao Yun Management Fee' once, you can clear the whole process.

The management fee is 20 yuan, which is still acceptable.

What is really powerful is the tariff of Beizhili. It is charged according to the proportion of goods, and there is already a greater risk of many goods being transported directly to the north, and many Caoyun merchants have lost their money. However, after knowing that the tariff process is very regular, many Caoyun merchants have adapted to this rhythm. There are also some merchants who have started the idea of smuggling. When it was transported to the border of Beizhili, it was smuggled into Beizhili by land.

The intensity of this inspection is obviously beyond anyone's imagination.

The main people responsible for this inspection are Gao Bangzuo, the governor of Tianjin, Ye Xianggao, the governor of Caoyun, and Wei Zhongxian, the governor of the Taxation Bureau.

Gao Bangzuo cracked down on Tianjin's smuggled salt, and Ye Xianggao struck down on smuggling salt and official ships. Wei Zhongxian cracked down on smuggling on the border of Beizhili.

The three sides cracked down on smuggling, and all of them dispatched the Beijing camp to cooperate.

For a time, it can be said that there are many checkpoints, so that smugglers are unable to guard against it. However, the benefits of smuggling salt, and the huge smuggling benefits arising from the tariff system, are destined to be impossible to extinguish easily.

Illicit salt production is still rampant along the coast of Tianjin, as is the trafficking of illicit salt.

It is not only the powerful and businessmen who are involved in trafficking, but also ordinary people who are heavily involved. Especially for ordinary people, the goal is small, and a person can go on the road with a bag of private salt, and it is not easy for the government to investigate.

It can really be said that the people's hearts are like iron. (To be continued......)

PS: The second update arrives, ask for a monthly pass.