Late Qing Dynasty Executioner

Chapter 119 Chishui River

After Bian Shichun left, Chen Ju returned to the backyard, found Wu Qing'er and asked, "Do you have anything suitable for a gift at home?"

Whether it was the last time they intercepted and killed Addis or this time they attacked Jiangjin County, a large amount of spoils were captured. This time, Yunhua also brought back several carriages of things from the Jiangjin County government office.

However, Chen Gu did not take the spoils on his own initiative, but gave them all to Zhang Haomin to sort out and then store in the public treasury.

Chen Gu hoped to set an example by himself so that everyone would form a habit of attributing the spoils first and then redistributing them.

At this time, Chen Gu wanted to bring some things to visit the sour scholar, so he planned to ask Wu Qing'er first. If she didn't have anything, he could only go to the public treasury to pick a few items.

"Yes, Manager Zhang sent some valuable items over earlier, and some more two days ago. I put them all in the secret compartment in the main room!" Wu Qing'er said.

Chen Gu thought for a moment and said, "Sir, you have two brothers who are married, and a younger sister who is still unmarried. The two brothers have three children, so there are ten people in the family. Pick a gift for each of them!"

"What is it like roughly?" Wu Qing'er asked.

Chen Gu himself didn't know what it was like. After all, he knew that he had to give gifts when visiting other people's homes, but he had never given gifts in his two lifetimes.

"That's about right. I used to give food as gifts." Chen Gu thought for a moment and then said, "By the way, prepare a gift for everyone in Senior Brother Wang Wu's family!"

Wu Qing'er and Qin Ling went in to choose some things. Chen Gu didn't care what they chose. Seeing that there were quite a lot of big and small bags of things, he pushed a wheelbarrow in to load the things, and took the two women to the warehouse.

After all, the conditions in the mountains are simple, and there is no place to buy many things even if you have money. For example, all kinds of furniture are made by ourselves. Although there are many craftsmen, because there are so many people, in order to ensure that everyone has something to use, they are all made of bamboo.

A lot of things like beds, tables, chairs, benches, mats, curtains, etc. are stored. By moving some of them in, you can quickly build a home. In fact, things made of bamboo are not bad. As long as you take good care of them, there is no problem using them for ten or eight years.

When Chen Gu arrived, Suan Xiucai and his family had already settled down.

"Uncle Master!"

Chen Ermei, who was playing with her brother at the door, saw Chen Gu and immediately ran over, hugged Chen Gu's thighs and rubbed her face against him. Chen Ermei missed this uncle who always brought delicious food to her home.

Chen Gu picked up Chen Ermei, looked at Chen Xuan beside him and asked, "Where's Grandpa?"

"Uncle Master, Grandpa is talking to Uncle Wang in the room!" Chen Xuan replied like a little adult.

The Uncle Wang that Chen Xuan mentioned should be Wang Wu. Others may not know the relationship between Wang Wu and Liu Er, but the sour scholar must know it.

"Take your sister out to play, don't run too far!" Chen Gu put his second sister down and walked in with Wu Qing'er and Qin Ling.

Not only Suan Xiucai and Wang Wu were in the room, but Chen Tao and Chen Qi were also there. Chen Gu bowed to them one by one, and then introduced Wu Qing'er and Qin Ling.

The two women followed Chen Gu and called for people, with joy on their faces. They followed Chen Gu without any status or ceremony, and now that Chen Gu could bring them to meet these close people, it was more or less a recognition of them.

Although this is just an unofficial recognition, it is enough. After all, they were born in poor families and dare not ask for too much. Such recognition can at least ensure that their future children will also be recognized by people like Suan Xiucai.

The sour scholar glanced at the two girls, sighed, and said, "Go next door to talk to your master's wife and two sisters-in-law, and then have a meal here!" "Thank you, sir!" The two girls bowed and went next door.

Chen Gu took out a large bag of gifts and gave it to Wang Wu, saying, "This is for my senior brother and his family."

Wang Wu smiled and didn't mind Chen Gu's stiff gift-giving style. He took the package and said, "Thank you. It's not easy to receive a gift from you!"

"Isn't it some food again?" Chen Qi teased.

Both Suan Xiucai and Chen Tao couldn't help laughing.

Chen Tao smiled and said, "Junior brother, you are not picky about small matters. It's good that you can think of giving me a gift."

Chen Gu smiled and asked Chen Qi, "What can Second Senior Brother gain from going to Renhuai?"

"Of course there are harvests. The refined iron, coal and other things there are not only of better quality, but also two or three levels cheaper than here. The only problem is that transportation is inconvenient, but the quantity is sufficient!" said Chen Qi.

Chen Gu frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "Isn't it possible to sail from Renhuai to Hejiang?"

"It is indeed possible to sail, but the goods need to be transported numerous times. Not to mention above Renhuai, even when it reaches Chishui, it has to be transported continuously. The section at Xinglongtan has to be transported for more than ten miles by people, horses, and camels.

In addition to the exploitation of the guards along the way, if the supply was not sufficient and our demand was not great, there would be no need to make the trip." Chen Qi explained.

Jiangjin and Hejiang are bordering each other, so Chen Gu knows something about Hejiang next door.

Hejiang County is named after the confluence of the Chishui River and the Yangtze River. Even in the 1980s and 1990s, Sichuan's salt, silk, fertilizer, and various industrial products were still being transported from the Chishui River to Guizhou in exchange for various agricultural products, coal, and iron.

The Chishui River is not accessible to large ships, but small wooden boats weighing more than ten tons can sail all the way to Renhuai during the flood season.

I didn't expect that in this era it would take dozens of transfers to transport it out.

The sour scholar glanced at Chen Jue and said, "Luzhou is a direct-controlled prefecture. The reason why it was a direct-controlled prefecture was because of the Chishui River. There are many garrisons along the river, and the total military force is even greater than that of Chongqing Prefecture. In addition, the local big families are intertwined, and a single move could affect the entire system. It is very likely that we will face tens of thousands of troops!"

Chen Gu couldn't help but smile awkwardly. He did have the idea of ​​attacking the Chishui River. After all, it was an important waterway connecting the two provinces. The profits involved in salt and iron in this era were too huge.

However, with Chen Gu's current strength, it is definitely not enough to control the Chishui River. Looting is harmless, but if he wants to control the Chishui River, the consequences will be even greater than occupying Jiangjin County.

After all, it involves the exchange of materials between the two provinces. By that time, not to mention the imperial court, the officials and big families in the two provinces will go crazy.

Compared with the imperial court which was far away, Chen Gu was actually more afraid of the local powerful families. After all, whatever the imperial court wanted to do, it had to rely on the cooperation of the local people, otherwise many things would be difficult to handle.

As for the local big families, they are not only familiar with the local terrain, climate, and personal connections, but this is also the foundation of their survival. If you want to encroach on their interests, they will definitely fight you to the death.

Rifles and cannons are not omnipotent. If you want to conquer a place, you must ultimately conquer its hearts.

(End of this chapter)