Tomorrow is the Gate Closure Festival, and there must be a lot of ships passing through the gate today.

This shows the benefits of the gate official, who to let and who not to pass, it is all he Zhao Xiong who has the final say, and it is a bit of the nature of an earth overlord.

Although it is true that the ships with background can coerce the gate officials to let them go, they often carry goods in violation of the law and resell them in the north and south for a profit.

In order not to get into trouble, they often pay considerable "help" money to the sluice and dam officials, ranging from one or two to dozens of taels.

Ships of urgent business and dignitaries passing through the locks and dams still have priority.

However, the imperial court has regulations that if you encounter a person who does not know how to be a person or wants to make trouble, you can also refuse to let it go.

The imperial court was required to switch to overland routes because of the shallow water, and if the dignitaries used the strong, they could also be punished.

Therefore, bribes are generally paid to those who manage the sluice gates.

However, for most of the lock officials on the Grand Canal, whether the gate was opened in accordance with the regulations was due to the supervision of the officials of the Canal Department from time to time.

For non-time, there is still some fear of opening and closing, afraid of losing office.

But the lowest-level gatekeepers were unscrupulous and formed:

"And there are gatekeepers who open the board and the gatekeepers don't know."

Secretly collect money and release the boat out of the lock, regardless of the lower water level in order to reap the benefits.

Therefore, the gatekeeper was very disgusted with this kind of thing.

Once it is found that there is a sluice man who started the board without permission, he will hit 20 boards and rush home, and he will never be hired in his section of the river.

Zhao Xiong put on his official uniform and was about to go to the gate official yamen to take office, when Liu Tongxun knocked on the door and came in, whispering in his ear:

"That Ande Sea has come ashore, but his fleet is still at the gate 50 miles away, and it is estimated that it will not be there tomorrow."

An Dehai, the eunuch in the private room on the third floor of the Dafeng Restaurant in Hanzhuang Town, put aside the sand boat sailing against the current, and arrived at Hanzhuang Town in one step.

His sand boats will either arrive tomorrow afternoon or the day after tomorrow.

Anyway, I can't get there before the gate closure festival.

He wrote a letter and sent it back to the capital in an expedited manner to let his godfather know that the closure festival was related to the shipping of the Grand Canal next year, and he estimated that his godfather would not be able to think of anything.

After the letter was written, it was sent out, and it was none of his business in the short term, and the day after tomorrow arrived, the shipment was completely stranded in Hanzhuang!

At this moment, people from all walks of life around the Hanzhuang Canal are coming to Hanzhuang Town, and Hanzhuang Wharf is also lively.

Hanzhuang Town is a key traffic point and a place where goods from all directions converge.

The county government of Yixian County, where it is located, designated this place as a bazaar, which is regarded as a bulk goods distribution center.

The Yixian County Taxation Division, together with the people of the tax factory in Taierzhuang, wanted to set up a yard in the northwest corner of the wharf, and set up a new tax to collect it, and all goods entering the market and trading had to be taxed.

The chief official of the tax department is the ambassador, and the inspection department and the gate official of the gate official are all from the ninth grade official, and they are also the only civil officials of the rank in this Hanzhuang except for the gate officials.

Zhang Guo, the ambassador of the Department of Taxation, is in his forties and has an obscene appearance.

was originally poor and destitute, and he was also a talented talent, but his wife died two years ago, and he had nothing to worry about in his life.

An ugly woman of a Hui merchant cares about him very much, and he goes back and forth until the raw rice is mature, and he has no choice but to marry an ugly woman.

But the ugly woman may have helped him transfer, brought a large dowry, and he was very free when he had money.

Once the problem of food and clothing was solved, Zhang Xiucai began to think crankily.

Zhang Xiucai thought about it and must be an official, he found the old man of the Hui merchant and said that he wanted to be an official, and the old man immediately agreed.

The wharves of the Grand Canal have always been a place where the dragon and the tiger are hidden, and historians say that capitalism has sprouted in the southern coastal areas of the south and along the canal.

This is the accumulation of trade surplus capital over more than 100 years, which lays the foundation for the operation of commerce.

During this period, there were regional group merchants all over the country, among which the Suzhou merchants, the Hui merchants and the Guangdong merchants were more mature in the later development.

The creation of merchant gangs made it possible for a large amount of capital to circulate in the same field.

It also makes them have a more concentrated force to influence the political situation, talents and public opinion, in this case, the improvement of the status of businessmen has become inevitable.

That Hui merchant still has some ability.

entrusted to the relationship, spent countless taels of silver, and finally donated a small ambassador of the Yixian County Tax Department, although he was a donor official, but he was also an official.

That's the light gate!

It is said that his father-in-law set up a feast in their village for seven days, which was very beautiful.

Zhang Xiucai sat in the sedan chair and lifted the curtains, and saw Zhao Xiong riding on a big flower mule, looking around there.

Zhang Guo prepared his speech.

Seeing Zhao Xiong looking over, he hurriedly arched his hand in the sedan chair and said, "Lord Zhao is going to the yamen!" ”

Zhao Xiong, who was riding on the mule, also bowed his hand and said: "Yes, Master Zhang, don't come unharmed, Wuliangye on the red sun that day is okay!" ”

"It's just right, it's just right, I'll take it back, my lady likes it very much!"

Both of them are Jiupin miscellaneous jobs, and their status is really quite can't be more comparable, and their words are becoming more and more speculative.

went all the way, and after a while, the two became familiar with each other as brothers.

I only heard Zhang Guozhang Dadao: "In the future, the town will be an official, and you will have to walk around closely. ”

Zhao Xiong snorted and said: "Lord Zhang, Hanzhuang is my Zhao Xiong's land, how can you let your brother spend money, say okay, I will be the east tomorrow night, and I won't get drunk and won't return!" ”

In fact, from Zhao Xiong's memory three years ago, he was very disgusted with the people in the Yixian County Tax Division.

It's good to say that they are just a bunch of waste, it's not okay to fight, and to bully ordinary people.

Zhao Xiong's gate official is located on the Hanzhuang Dam five or six hundred meters west of the wharf, and the gate official office is one circle smaller than the gate official office in Taierzhuang.

However, the number of personnel is not necessarily less, and even more than the gate office.

Zhao Xiong led the three gates, Zhangzhuang Gate, Desheng Gate, and Hanzhuang Gate, and the 30-mile jurisdiction is not only in charge of the affairs of the gates and dams, but also has certain responsibilities for the social security of the place.

From the perspective of the functions of the government, in addition to the opening and closing of the locks and dams, the locks and dams also have the responsibility to protect the safety of the locks and dams, especially the locks and dams on the waterways.

He was also responsible for the order of the waterway, inspected the passage of the waterway, supervised the construction of locks and dams, and, if necessary, assisted the government in the custody and delivery of prisoners.

It is also necessary to assist river officials in rectifying the order of the river, transferring the husbands and servants under their own jurisdiction, and coordinating other engineering projects.

In the case of a robbery and homicide or other major case in the jurisdiction, it is responsible for guarding the scene and assisting the magistrate in arresting the criminal.

Therefore, don't look at it as a Jiupin sluice and dam official, since he is an official, he must perform the duties of an official.

Zhao Xiong, with Liu Tongxun, Zuo Liangyu, Liu Sheng, and Zhao Xiaodonkey, got off the big flower mule at the gate of the gate of the gate of the gate.

Later, Liu Er's eldest son, Liu Huan, commanded a group of dam husbands, slippers, slender men, shallow husbands, Xingfu, and miscellaneous heads, arranged them in order according to their positions and identities, waiting for the door sealing ceremony to begin.

Zhao Xiong was speechless to see that at this time, many stools brought by the people of Hanzhuang sat under the arcade, and the inner and outer three floors were surrounded in a circle, which was not lively.

Zhao Xiaodonkey beat the drum three links at the gate, and Liu Huan, the head of the gate, lit a long set of firecrackers, and after the smoke of gunpowder rose everywhere, the sealing ceremony officially began.