Since the second year of the Great Cause, after the Tongji Canal was repaired, this water transport artery connecting the north and south has become the focus of attention of the Great Sui Dynasty, it is responsible for the supply of materials for the entire capital, and after autumn, the trough ships organized by the southern counties will transport grain, cloth, salt, oil, timber, tea, silk, porcelain and other bulk materials to the densely populated north.

The completion of the Tongji Canal not only makes the materials circulate, but also brings the opportunity to make money and make a living to a large number of northern peasants, because a large number of people died when the Tongji Canal is built, so that there is a shortage of laborers along the Tongji Canal, after the autumn harvest every year, there are hundreds of thousands of northern peasants flock to the various wharves along the Tongji Canal, carrying, driving boats, earning meager hard money, only hoping that during the New Year, they can bring a few hundred money back home.

Most of these northern folks gather together as fellow villagers, and hundreds of people in a county or township gather to work together, and elect a person of prestige as the leader, so that they can support each other on the one hand, and unite on the other hand, to prevent the local people or the proprietor from bullying.

The Qixian wharf in Pengcheng County is an important material transit place in Tongji Canal, the wharf is still five or six miles away from the county seat, and a freight yard covering an area of 100 acres has been built nearby, and hundreds of large warehouses are erected, mainly storing grain and cloth.

There are thousands of laborers on the wharf of Qixian County, mainly from two places, one is Zhangqiu County, Qi County, and the other is Bocheng County, Lu County, thousands of laborers are gathered in several villages near the warehouse, autumn and winter, it has been two consecutive years, and the locals are also safe.

That night, a fleet of more than a dozen flat-bottomed boats secretly sailed into the Tongji Canal from a nearby small river bay, this kind of flat-bottomed boats and boats have the same shape, if they are put together with the real boats, there is no difference, but this fleet is still obviously problematic, generally the fleet is hundreds of ships connected together, if it is an official ship, there will be the flag of each county, if it is a private ship, there will be a private ship flag.

But on the Tongji Canal, there are only two private fleets, one is called Wanjia Ship, one is Qianji Ship, these two ships each have thousands of ships, monopolizing the private transport of Tongji Canal, all the merchants must find them to transport goods, bear the high freight, if they dare to find other private ships to transport goods, once found by the two ships, they will often suffer the bad luck of ship destruction and cargo collection.

Although the two ships are extremely domineering, there is still a small fleet of boats to take the risk of carrying goods, short-distance transportation, at this time appeared on the water surface of Qi County, these dozen small boats, is a black fleet, carrying hundreds of loads of oil, the owner of the goods surnamed Zhao, more than 30 years old, is a small businessman from Zhangqiu, Qi County, ready to transport oil to Qi County before the New Year to sell.

As the saying goes, 'rely on your parents at home, rely on your fellow villagers outside', Zhao businessman was helped by his fellow villagers in Qi County, found this private black fleet, and helped him transport oil, although there are many rivers in the Central Plains, but the transportation of goods must go through the canal, once caught by the government, you will go to jail to eat lawsuits, and last year's drought, so far has not been fully recovered, except for the canal, other small rivers can not be boated.

The boat boss surnamed Tong, is a native of Qi County, in the dark, the boat boss looked around vigilantly, while chatting with Zhao Shang, "Zhao Dongjia, this time is for the sake of Boss Du, we will take the risk of transporting this trip for you, generally from this time to the New Year, the two ship lines are particularly strict, even the government has used it, once it is caught, the consequences are unimaginable." ”

Zhao Shangshang trembled and said, "What is the background of these two ship companies?" Even the government listened to them. ”

"I heard that they are all high-ranking officials in the capital, and they occupy a lot of livelihood! Not only Caoyun, but also the bulk goods into Beijing are all taken care of, other merchants either take the land route, or ask them to buy goods, like your oil, you will not be able to enter Beijing. ”

Merchant Zhao sighed, "It's a small business, and I can't make much money by transporting this batch of oil to Qi County, if you use their luck, that freight rate scares people to death, it's a loss at all, so I can only ask you for help." ”

The boat boss sighed, "Hey! At most, I can only help you transport it to Yongcheng County, and when you get there, you can find a way! ”

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a noisy sound of horses' hooves from the shore, and the face of the boat boss changed greatly, "It's broken, I was hit by them!" ”

Merchant Zhao was so frightened that he couldn't possess his body, "Ship boss, what should I do?" ”

The captain smiled bitterly, "It is estimated that the goods cannot be saved, so you should sacrifice your wealth to save your life!" ”

Zhao Shangshang was stunned, this is his capital for more than ten years!

"Stop the boat!"

There was a shout from the shore: "Immediately dock!" ”

The shouting and scolding were fierce and abnormal, the boat boss had a keen eye, and found that there was a figure of a servant on the shore, he knew that there was no way, so he had to smile bitterly, and slowly put the boat ashore, a little closer to the shore, and immediately stretched out a few long hooked rods on the shore to hook the boat.

More than a dozen big men rushed to the ship, and the leader of the big man punched the boss of the ship, and then waved his hand, "All the goods are confiscated, and the ship is scuttled!" ”

Merchant Zhao knelt in front of him and begged, "Let my goods go!" I'm willing to give the freight, let you ship! ”

"It's late!"

The big man scolded angrily and kicked him away, "Move the goods ashore!" ”

"The head is all oil, there are hundreds of loads, we can't lift it."

"Then throw them all into the river!"

The big man shouted the order, more than a dozen people started together, threw a load of oil into the river, Zhao businessman saw that his more than ten years of hard work were ruined, he couldn't help crying, he suddenly went crazy and hugged the leg of the head of the big man, bit down, the head of the big man screamed in pain, desperately pulled Zhao businessman's hair, but Zhao businessman refused to let go, he was bold, pulled out a knife and cut it down, and actually cut off the head of Zhao businessman.

The boat boss was so frightened that his heart was broken, and he jumped into the river and fled while he was unprepared, and several officials on the shore scolded: "Chen Shun'er, why did you kill someone, it's hard to explain if someone dies!" ”

"I'm afraid of a fart, there is a kind of letting them go to Wanjiaship."

The leader scolded and cursed, kicked the body of Zhao Shang into the river, and ordered his subordinates to sink all the boats and drive the crew away, and then went ashore and rode towards the direction of the county seat.

After nearly a quarter of an hour, the boat boss appeared in a pile of weeds on the shore, and he cried a few times into the river, then turned and ran westward.

……

An hour later, the boat boss was led into a small courtyard by several dock laborers, "Brother Du, it seems that something has happened!" ”

In the courtyard, the fire is blazing, a sword-shaped iron bar has been burned red, a sturdy man in his thirties is hammering iron, he is unusually burly, a pair of leopard-like eyes are blazing, next to him is a young man in his early twenties who is doing helpers, and the person in charge of pulling the bellows is an eleven or twelve-year-old boy, who looks quite similar to a strong man, they should be a father and son.

The strong man's name is Du Sheng, a native of Zhangqiu County, Qi County, who can farm, can strike iron, and has strong martial arts, chivalrous and courageous, and he is also the leader of the laborers of Zhangqiu County on the dock.

He glanced at the boat boss and couldn't help but be stunned, "Why are you, Zhao Dongzhu?" ”

The boat boss knelt on the ground and couldn't help crying loudly, "We were discovered by the people of Wanji Boat Company, and Zhao Dongzhu was killed by them. ”

"What!"

Du Sheng was furious and said, "Why do they kill people? ”

"Zhao Dongzhu begged them to let go of the goods, but they threw all the goods into the river, Zhao Dongzhu hated it very much, and took a bite of the person who led him, and the villain cut off the head of Zhao Dongzhu."

Du Sheng's fists were pinched so that his knuckles turned white, Zhao Dongzhu is a very good person, and often helps those who make a living outside, and this time he also took the initiative to help everyone bring family letters, and now that Zhao Dongzhu has an accident, Du Sheng can't ignore it!

"Are they the county's Wanji boat company?"

"Yes, I have seen the person at the head, his name is Chen Shun'er, and he is the head of the courtyard of Wanji Boat Company in the county."

Du Sheng turned around and ordered his apprentice in his twenties: "Fu Gongyi, go and find a few family leaders, and say that I will have a meeting with them." ”

Fu Gongqi agreed, ran out of the courtyard gate, and ran towards the village.

"Daddy!"

The young man jumped up with excitement on his face, pulled out a sword and danced twice, "If there is a fight, I will go with you." ”

"Vowe!"

Du Sheng's wife walked out of the room and glared at her son, "You are not allowed to mess around." ”

Du Sheng's son's name is Du Fuwei, only eleven years old this year, he has practiced martial arts with his father since he was a child, and he has learned a great martial arts, he is also a bold person, he doesn't know what it means to be afraid, but he is most afraid of his mother, his mother scolded angrily, and he didn't dare to say anything.

At this time, Fu Gong Yi rushed back and said, "Master, everyone is in the council hall, please come over!" ”

Du Sheng turned around to leave, but his wife walked up worriedly and asked, "Du Lang, do you have to go?" ”

Du Sheng nodded, picked up a knife, and walked quickly to the door, but Du Fuwei took advantage of his mother's unpreparedness and climbed over the wall.

……

Qi County is a middle county, there are more than 2,000 households in the city, the city is not big, the circumference is not more than ten miles, there are two city gates in the east and west, in the street not far from the east city gate, there is a big store, here is the branch of Wanji Boat Company in Qi County, in fact, there is only a group of boat thugs, if there is any goods that need to be transported, there is no need to talk about here, you must go to Jiangdu to entrust the ship line.

At this time, five or six hundred dock laborers, armed with torches and sticks, suddenly appeared at the city gate, rushing into the city and marching towards the Wanji boats.

Du Sheng walked in the front, followed by his apprentice Fu Gongyi, and his son Du Fuwei quietly followed the team with a sword, preventing his father from discovering him.

The angry laborers quickly surrounded Wan Ji Ship, they came to seek justice for their fellow villagers, severely punish the murderers, and compensate for the goods, dozens of young students had already rushed up and smashed open the door, the shop was not large, only three or four rooms, all sleeping places, it was empty, and there was no one inside.

At this time, a neighbor said to Du Sheng: "You guys are one step late, those thieves have just escaped to the county office, and it is estimated that the county master will shelter them." ”

Du Sheng turned back to the laborers and shouted: "Killing people to pay for their lives, debts to pay back, this is a matter of course, even if there is the protection of the government, we are not afraid, look for them to ask for someone to go!" ”

"Someone to go!"

Five or six hundred people roared angrily and marched towards the county government in the north of the city.

……

(To be continued)