Daming 1805

Chapter 301 Discovery of anti-smuggling operations

The West Sea Canal was temporarily closed.

This can be said to be an exceptionally explosive news.

The Xihai Canal directly connects the Red Sea and the Great Qin Sea, and then connects the two oceans of the Little Atlantic Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, and finally connects the two worlds of Shenzhou and Taixi.

The Xihai Canal is one of the most important maritime traffic arteries in the world today.

Most of the merchant ships between Shenzhou and Taixi will pass through this canal.

Not only because it is much shorter to go here than to go to the Cape of the West, but also because this channel is safer, and there is no need to go to the storm-ravaged Southern Ocean.

The Xihai Canal is also the core passage for Ming to control the interior of the Great Qinhai.

During the entire World War, Ming Dynasty worked hard to keep the canal unobstructed, although only his own people were allowed to pass through.

But today, in the era of regional peace in the overall situation of the Old Continent, the canal was suddenly and temporarily closed.

Even ships that have already entered the canal cannot continue to leave the canal directly.

All were required to stop at several anchorages in the middle and at both ends of the canal for inspection.

The slave ship of Daming's slave trader Gu Rui is inside.

Gu Rui, together with Lu Frey, a British slave trader, and Huang Xin, an immigrant businessman from Yinzhou in Ming Dynasty, made a fortune in the United States by selling Tianzhu female slaves to the south of the United States.

But after that, the United States immediately tightened its slave trade policy, and soon the War of Independence broke out in Yinzhou.

After the situation in Yinzhou became chaotic, the price of slaves could no longer be maintained.

So Gu Rui only went to Yinzhou to sell Tianzhu female slaves once.

But this time, the net worth of Gu Rui, Lu Fuli, and Huang Xin skyrocketed.

After Gu Rui and Lu Frey returned to the Old Continent, they continued to sell Tianzhu slaves between Tianzhu, Dashi Kingdom and Mozhou.

Gu Rui sent Tianzhu girls to the Great Food Country to be wives and concubines for the people of the Great Food Country, or to engage in special service industries.

Lu Frey sent young men from Tianzhu to Mozhou to contribute to the New England of Mozhou of the Tianzhu people.

Gu Rui has been in this business for more than two years, following the wave of development and construction of the Great Food Kingdom, his wealth has continued to increase several times.

Moreover, it has established a stable cooperative relationship with the civil affairs agency of the Great Food Country.

Quicksand City basically doesn't want to immigrate now, and Gu Rui's delivery destination has shifted to Beimozhou and the surrounding areas of Daqinhai.

In the last month of the second year of Ankang, Gu Rui specially prepared a batch of Tianzhu orchids.

Either the ears are dry, and at the same time, the appearance and body are above the middle level.

Either the ears are oily, but the appearance and figure are all top-grade.

All in all, it can be regarded as a boutique orchid, not a daily impulse product.

Gu Rui plans to send them to several Ming immigrant areas in Beimozhou before the new year.

With the immigrant development of the Great Food Kingdom entering a stable period, the official court of the Great Food Kingdom no longer completely controls the orchid trade.

After quite strict price controls and industry regulations were instituted, licensed slave traders were allowed to sell on their own.

That's why Gu Rui thought about selling high-quality goods instead of continuing to sell them like in the early days.

In order to make the goods look better, Gu Rui used two 3000-ton ships to transport a total of more than [-] orchids.

These orchids are not crammed into narrow cabins like ordinary slaves, and the living space is equivalent to ordinary collective dormitories.

Gu Rui also prepared decent clothes for them, and asked them to bathe regularly in the collective bathhouse, so that you can tell the grade without having to tidy them up.

As Gu Rui's net worth rises, the scale of the boat under his control becomes larger and larger, and Gu Rui's lifestyle also changes.

Prepare a dedicated room for yourself on the boat, with an independent place for bathing and changing clothes.

Even if you go on a long-distance trip with a boat, you can keep it clean and decent at all times.

As a slave trader, every time he travels with a boat, he will choose one or two high-quality female slaves to accompany him. Life can be said to be very interesting.

This time, the slave ship departed from Tianzhu, crossed the Little Western Ocean and entered the Red Sea, paid the money to enter the West Sea Canal, and prepared to sell around the Daqin Sea.

Everything was going well, but when it was about to leave the canal, a patrol boat suddenly came from the front in the opposite direction.

The electric horn on the patrol boat broadcast loudly to the pilot ship and Gu Rui's slave ship:

"Governor Dashi, Daqinhai, Minister of Military Affairs and Foreign Affairs of the Mozhou region His Royal Highness Prince Dashi ordered that the canal be temporarily closed.

"All the ships south of the northern end of the canal will go to the nearest anchorage to stop and accept the inspection of the Governor's Office of the Right Army.

"All ships are not allowed to continue sailing, and those who refuse to stop for investigation will be regarded as rebels!"

The leading boat first listened to the order most clearly, and didn't care what was going on, and didn't have any thoughts of questioning it at all.

If you want to question it, wait until you stop the ship and see someone, otherwise the other party may shoot directly.

Directly guide Gu Rui's slave ship to stop at the anchorage.

As the broadcast got closer, the crew on Gu Rui's ship gradually understood it.

They did not dare to disobey the order, and immediately followed the pilot ship into the anchorage, preparing to stop the ship for the so-called inspection.

The power of Ming's army and court, as well as the deterrence of rebellion are too strong.

However, this does not prevent them from complaining to each other.

"Stop the ship for inspection? What are you inspecting?"

"This is what happened, the canal is to be shut down directly..."

"If the canal is stopped, how much money will be lost..."

"If our New Year's goods can't be delivered in time for the year before, this business will be a loss!"

At the same time, some crew members went to Gu Rui's cabin immediately to report the outside news to Gu Rui.

Gu Rui, who felt that the journey was long and boring, was about to exercise with Hu Ji, who was with him, when he heard the news, he lost all interest.

Gu Rui immediately tidied up his clothes, asked about the specific situation, then ran up the deck quickly, and called all the crew members:
"Don't worry about what the Governor's Mansion is investigating! Fuck me, be honest!"

"Is there any contraband on board? Has anyone brought something they shouldn't have in private?"

"Destroy what can be destroyed, and put it in the water if it can't be destroyed!"

"If anyone interferes with my serious business, the court will kill you, and I will kill you when I go back!"

"Immediately, immediately, go and deal with your own things!"

After Gu Rui gave a lecture, he immediately disbanded the team.

At the same time, a fleet of the Navy of the Governor's Mansion of the Right Army blocked the exit of the Xihai Canal.

A large number of soldiers from the navy and army entered the canal in traffic boats and patrol boats, and boarded the boats parked in the canal one by one to check.

Soon soldiers came to Gu Rui's slave ship.

A banner chief, seeing Gu Rui approaching from here, subconsciously laughed:
"I didn't expect this boat to belong to Shopkeeper Gu..."

Gu Rui often sent orchids to various parts of the Dashi country, and later he was able to sell orchids by himself.

Later, he got permission to invest in several brothels exclusively for orchids in Dashiguo.

Mastering the first-hand source of goods, not engaging in vain literary cover-ups, the main reason is that they do not have the ability.

Just pursue a cheap, simple and rude, so it is very popular among ordinary soldiers and workers.

Many officers and soldiers are far away from home, and they often go to take care of Gu Rui's business during the holidays, so they are familiar with him.

Gu Rui immediately cupped his hands with a smile and said:
"It seems that this military master is also a regular customer... This time I sent you all high-quality goods, do you want to keep one with you?"

Chief Banner immediately smiled, shook his head and waved his hands, saying:
"Of course I want to, but it really can't, brothers have to get the business done quickly, and the rest will have a chance in the future.

"This time, His Royal Highness Prince Dashi gave the order personally. Shopkeeper Gu, don't blame the soldiers for being merciless."

Gu Rui was also a little surprised this time:

"What's the matter with the king? What's the matter? Who angered the king? He even ordered the canal to be closed for inspection?"

President Qi laughed dryly and said:
"Smuggling, our Highness is a great inventor, holding a bunch of patents and secret recipes in his hand.

"The things made are very profitable, so smuggling, reselling and so on have been banned repeatedly.

"Once or twice is nothing, after a long time and more times, His Highness will get annoyed.

"So this time, a ruthless order was issued, and the cruisers of the two governor's mansions came out to fight smuggling."

Gu Rui understood what was going on, but still had a lot of puzzles:
"Smuggling...reselling His Highness's patented products is something that should be investigated.

"However, my boat is from Tianzhu to Dashi Kingdom to sell orchids.

"There is nothing in Tianzhu that can be smuggled into the Great Food Country.

"If I want to smuggle goods from the Great Food Kingdom, I have to take them with me when I return..."

Mr. Qi seemed a little helpless:

"I understand the meaning of the shopkeeper, but this errand has to be done.

"However, foreign ships like yours, which do not involve smuggling and destinations, can be inspected faster.

"I really don't want to talk to you anymore, it's a waste of time, so I have to start working quickly.

"Gu shopkeeper, take out the registration information of your ship and the list of goods carried on the ship.

"Let all the people on board go to the deck, and we need to confirm the identity of the people in turn."

Gu Rui didn't dare to procrastinate, so he immediately asked someone to get the documents.

Although he is a slave trader, Gu Rui's procedures are complete and he is a legal and serious businessman.

Then during this waiting time, Gu Rui asked a new question in a little confusion:

"That...Mr. Jun, the Orchid I trafficked on this ship is considered a person on the ship?

"There are more than 3000 people on the two ships, and they are all closed now. They are all called to the deck for fear of being difficult to control."

This flag is always obviously taken aback, there are not many people on the general freighter.

Even ordinary passenger ships of the same tonnage will not be packed with so many guests, which is a characteristic of slave ships.

Trafficked orchids are considered goods, or people on board, this is indeed a big problem.

However, this flag is always insightful, and quickly made a decision:
"Since it's being held in captivity, let's treat it as a live animal. Let's go to the scene to check one by one..."

With processing standards in place, inspections began quickly.

The crew on Gu Rui's ship was gathered on the deck again.

The soldiers first took the official registration information they had received and compared it with the registration information carried on the ship provided by Gu Rui.

Confirm that the information of both parties is consistent, confirm that the certificates of the other party are true, and then confirm whether the personnel are consistent with the list in turn.

Finally, let the soldiers follow and monitor the crew, and enter the cabin to start a comprehensive inspection.

Search for possible hidden persons and illegal items that may be carried.

There are also more teams, large and small, boarding other passenger ships and cargo ships in turn for inspection.

Gu Rui's fleet itself does not involve Meng County, nor does it even stop in Dashi Country, so the degree of suspiciousness itself is very low.

The soldiers walked around the ship, looked at all the rooms, and declared that the inspection was completed without seeing any obvious problems.

The level of in-depth inspection is obviously determined according to the possibility of smuggling goods from the Great Food Country.

For example, the ship between Da Ming mainland and Meng County and Liusha City, and the own ship between Dashi mainland and Meng County.

These ships do not involve Taixi, and it is unlikely that they will carry products from the Dashi country. Even if there are, it is not the focus of treatment for the time being.

But other ships are not so simple.

Ships from Dashi Country and Meng County will be strictly investigated.

Ships that passed through Meng County and Dashi Country's mainland were strictly investigated.

Ships from Daming mainland to Taixi and Yinzhou will be strictly investigated.

Any ship going to Taixi and Yinzhou will be strictly investigated.

All personnel must confirm one by one, all cabins not only need to be inspected, but also need to be unpacked and opened for inspection.

Cargo warehouses, fuel tanks, containers, boiler rooms, and all rooms must be inspected, and a comprehensive inspection of boxes and cabinets must be carried out.

It takes several days to check a ship.

The former military governor's office of the Ming Dynasty is in charge of the Mozhou area south of the Sahara and the nearby sea areas.

The Governor's Mansion of the Right Army is in charge of the surrounding areas of the Great Qinhai Sea and the Great Food Kingdom and its surrounding areas.

After the end of the World War, the armies of the two capitals were still fighting intermittently.

It is mainly the indigenous regime that conquered and cleared the interior of Mozhou.

The navies of the two governor's mansions, especially the naval fleet of the former military governor's mansion, are basically only responsible for patrol and escort.

At most, the aboriginals have a "lake army", and it is basically impossible to have a navy.

After the end of the World War, the size of the navies of the Thai and Western countries began to shrink.

Although the Ming Navy did not shrink directly, but was replacing old ships with new ones, the navy still had a certain sense of crisis.

The main reason is to find something to do, and I feel a little uneasy about patrolling and escorting.

Prince Dashi was his clear chief official, and the orders he issued were also reasonable, so he acted decisively and on a large scale.

Below the armored cruisers of the two capitals, most of the fleet was scattered.

This sea area was originally controlled by the two governor's mansions to control the sea rights and routes, and now they are directly increasing their efforts.

However, even if there are more warships sent by the two capitals to investigate, it is still relatively normal patrols.

The area near the eastern coastline of Mozhou is not the current main waterway in the world, and there are not many merchant ships passing by here.

But even if there are relatively few merchant ships on this line, that is compared to the merchant ships on the main channel.

Generally speaking, there are still a large number of merchant ships and a small number of warships.

A cruiser or a large destroyer is responsible for the inspection of several ships.

For those in the canal, let the merchant ships go directly to the anchorage and stop, waiting for them to check in turn.

On the open sea, these cruisers will run around first, and gather the nearby ships together.

Let these ships reduce the speed to the minimum, float slowly on the sea together, and board the ship one by one to check.

The entire route is completely stuck, and I don't know when all the inspections will be completed.

Many people are going to miss the scheduled delivery deadline.

Some of the more daring captains of Daming approached the officers for questioning and questioning.

The officers of the Dudu Mansion are not very perfunctory, they can only say that it is an order from above, and they are just executing it.

Let the other party wait patiently, and then continue to check step by step. No matter what you say, the check cannot be stopped without the order from above.

For merchant ships other than Ming Dynasty, it is even more simple and rude.

The warships approached directly, and the large and small naval guns directly attacked the merchant ships.

As long as there is any disobedience, the opponent may shoot with machine guns first, and if they are not obedient, they will directly attack with naval guns.

The navy directly intercepted all passing merchant ships on the waterway for inspection. This is actually a very rough operation.

Without a special order, under normal circumstances, neither the army nor the Jin Yiwei are qualified to do such a thing.

The point is, if there is no accurate information and predetermined targets, and it is not known in advance that a certain ship is carrying a large number of illegal and smuggled items, it is difficult to have practical results by investigating all passing ships in turn.

A ship with a displacement of tens of thousands of tons may have dozens, hundreds or even thousands of various spaces.

There are a lot of people and luggage on passenger ships and slave ships, and there are a lot of materials on cargo ships.

If these ships did not directly transport a large amount of illegal materials, but carried tens or even hundreds of kilograms of things with the participation of management personnel, or only a few stowaways, it would be really difficult to search them out in a short time.

Especially the most smuggled items in Dashi Kingdom, those pantyhose.

Light in weight, the total number may not be large, and the volume should not be large, so it is easy to hide.

If it is a last resort and you want to destroy it, just throw it in the boiler and burn it, and it will be gone.

However, after the start of the large-scale sudden interception and inspection operation, many problems were discovered one after another during the boarding inspection process.

"The cargo list you declared is 300 bicycles. Why is the actual number 320?"

"Why did you deduct the nameplate from this gasoline engine? What model and power is this?"

"Why haven't these three boxes of bearings been registered? All of them will be handled as smuggling!"

"Why do you people have no identity information? Where did you come from? Where are you going?"

"These boxes of penicillin are not on your list of goods, and the amount of this cargo has seriously exceeded the standard allowed by passenger ships."

"This can be used as an amplifier and electric speaker for broadcasting to the whole square. You said you are using it to listen to music at home?"

"So many tobacco leaves are enough to smoke you to death! These wines are enough to drown you to death!"

"You said you like shooting guns, so you brought two containers of [-]mm machine gun bullets back for use?"

"These guns are enough to equip [-] infantry! Take them all down!"

"Mother, why are the secondary gun tubes that were eliminated from our ship in your cabin!"

The anti-smuggling operations of the two Dudu's mansions soon yielded considerable results.

But basically it has nothing to do with Zhu Jingyuan's Meng County Industrial Zone.

Most of them are smuggling various industrial products, luxury goods, daily necessities, and even military supplies from the mainland of Daming to Taixi.

The usual inspections are not strong enough, so many small-scale smuggling operations have been hidden.

The high-intensity investigation initiated by Zhu Jingyuan uncovered most of these people.

This kind of "unexpected" harvest allows the high-intensity anti-smuggling operations to continue and block the mouths of interested opponents.

(End of this chapter)