Smuggling Daming

The new year passed quickly, Zhou Zhong finally bid farewell to his family and left Shuangyu Port, and returned to Ningbo Port again, but this time he will not stay in Ningbo for too long, because in the next In a few months, he will slowly transfer the jurisdiction of the Four Seas Admiral's Mansion to Shuangyu Port.

The first is the army. Although Ningbo Port is an excellent seaport, with the sea ban, Ningbo Port has become much more depressed than before. On the contrary, Shuangyu Port has become very prosperous due to the prosperity of smuggling. It is ready to bring Shuangyu Port under the jurisdiction of the Admiral's Mansion.

However, it is not an easy task to govern Shuangyu Port. Although Zhou Zhong’s Nanyang Chamber of Commerce has extended its influence to the entire Shuangyu Port before, it only binds the interests of most people together. Shi Zhouzhong can use his influence to call for everyone to unite, but this call is not mandatory, and even when there is a conflict of internal interests, it may cause some troubles, especially when the smugglers in Shuangyu Port originally It's just a group of lawless people. Zhou Zhong was almost killed by Shangquan Honger last time.

It is precisely because he knows the situation of Shuangyu Port clearly that Zhou Zhong is planning to transfer two naval forces to station near Shuangyu Port. With the threat of the army, he will take over Shuangyu Port in the name of the admiral's office. Still dare to object?

The mobilization of the army is simple and easy, and it is troublesome. It is simple because as long as Zhou Zhong gives an order, two naval divisions can rush from Ningbo to Shuangyu Port immediately. He is troublesome because the army moved to the new After the barracks, future supplies such as food and weapons will be much more troublesome.In addition, the construction of new barracks, all of which have to be taken care of.

But no matter how troublesome it is, Zhou Zhong decided to relocate the navy. After all, Shuangyu Port has now become the largest and most prosperous sea trade port in Daming. Only here can he collect enough taxes. With these taxes, he To feed the army, after all, he is not a philanthropist.It is impossible to support the army for Daming with the money he earned all the time.

After Zhou Zhong returned to Ningbo Port, he immediately began to prepare for the relocation of the army. He had already discussed this matter with Shenying and others years ago, and he had made a lot of preparations in advance, so he did not encounter it. What a big problem, and the guard work of Ningbo Port has also been handed over to other guards.Although the soldiers in these guards are uneven and their combat effectiveness is poor, it is no problem to do some security work. Besides, the new station of the Navy is not far from Ningbo Port. If there is any emergency, the Navy can always Back to Ningbo port.

Soon at the end of the first month.Under the command of Zhou Zhong and a group of generals, the entire navy left Ningbo Port by boat, and then came to Liuheng Island where Shuangyu Port is located.Then they docked at the Qidong'ao area on the east side of Beigang District. Zhou Zhong sent people to simply build a port where ships can dock. Although it is very simple, it can meet the needs of warships.

It is also worth mentioning that the original empress of Dinghai was stationed in the Guoju area not far from Shuangyu Port, which is also an excellent military port and is across the sea from Shuangyu Port.Geographic location is very important, so Zhou Zhong did not give up.Instead, a part of the troops were stationed. In this way, Guo Jugang and Qidongao Port completely blocked the external route of Shuangyu Port. If an enemy invaded, the navy was fully capable of preventing the enemy from entering Shuangyu. port.

The sudden entry of the army caused panic among many smugglers at the beginning. After all, they were doing illegal business, and the imperial court had every reason to suppress them.However, it was soon announced through the Admiral's Office of the Four Seas and the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce that the imperial court has decided to include Shuangyu Port in the scope of the country's territory. As long as the merchants here pay a certain amount of taxes to the imperial court, the imperial court will not stop them from conducting sea trade. Even the navy of Ming Dynasty will protect their safety.

If someone else announced this matter in the name of carrying it out, the effect would probably be very limited, but Zhou Zhong was different, because he was originally the biggest smuggler in Shuangyu Port. Although he is now an official, it is impossible for him to The biggest source of income was cut off, so many smugglers gradually calmed down from the panic after receiving Zhou Zhong's guarantee, and continued to conduct their own business as usual every day, and at the same time, they also had a psychological preparation for the court to levy taxes.

After the army was settled, after a period of preparation, the Shibo Division finally came out of Ningbo Port. After Yang Tong took over the original tax office, he quickly recruited a large number of tax officials. Under the order, the official office of the Shibo Department was moved from Ningbo to Shuangyu Port in one fell swoop.

Of course, the tax office in Ningbo has not been abolished, and there are still officials from the Shibo Department collecting taxes there, but Shuangyu Port and Ningbo Port implement a single tax system, that is to say, if the same batch of goods has been taxed in Ningbo Port Finally, after the goods arrive at Shuangyu Port, they will not have to pay taxes with the tax bills, thus avoiding double taxation.

It is also worth mentioning that because of the limited number of sailors in Zhou Zhong's hands, the scope of patrols is temporarily limited to the area outside Ningbo. As for the taxation of Guangzhou, he is temporarily unable to intervene.However, after defeating the Portuguese in the future, he will expand the jurisdiction of Admiral Yamen of the Four Seas. At that time, not only will Guangzhou be included in the jurisdiction, but even if possible, he will also want to open up a few more foreign ports. The name is still there, but it can actually break the influence of the sea ban on Daming.

While Zhou Zhong was busy rectifying the affairs of the admiral's yamen, Qi Yanming, whose pseudonym was Wenwu, had fully recovered after a period of recuperation in the slum area at the Sanchakou of Shuangyu Port, and he also joined the Among this group of coolies, he carries a package of work on the pier every day. After all, he can't always eat for nothing.

Speaking of which, since he fled to Shuangyu Port, Qi Yanming felt a kind of complete relief and relaxation. After all, when he was in Daming territory, he had to worry about the pursuit of the government all the time, and he might lose his life if he was not careful. I was also in a state of tension for a long time, even when I was sleeping, I would turn a blind eye and close my eyes, and I didn't dare to talk to others casually.

However, Shuangyu Port no longer belongs to Daming’s territory, so Qi Yanming doesn’t have to worry about being chased after him. Although he can only do some rough work to make ends meet, he eats well and sleeps well every day. It can be said that since more than ten years After he became a horse thief, he never felt as comfortable as he is now.Even Qi Yanming sometimes thought that he might as well just stay in Shuangyu Port like this. With his ability, it would not be difficult to earn a fortune, and he might as well live here for the rest of his life.

But as the saying goes, "unsatisfactory things in life are the best out of ten", just after Qi Yanming got used to the comfortable life in Shuangyu Port, Zhou Zhong started the plan to merge Shuangyu Port into the territory of Ming Dynasty. The army was stationed nearby, and there were more people from the Shibo Department on the port. Even in order to maintain law and order, the original Nanyang Town Jinyiwei Thousand Household Office also began to expand, mobilizing a group of Jinyiwei from Ningbo Prefecture to settle in Shuangyu Port. Dagang District.

With the arrival of these Jinyiwei, the law and order in Shuangyu Port has indeed become much more orderly. At least the robberies and thefts that often occurred in the past have been significantly reduced.What makes Qi Yanming even more disturbed is that two days ago, Jin Yiwei actually caught several criminals who had been on the run for many years. Still failed to escape Daming's pursuit.

It was also the above things that caused Qi Yanming, who had just settled down, to feel uneasy again. The sense of crisis that he felt when he was being hunted down enveloped him again, and he even began to think about what he should do?

That night, Qi Yanming and Zhu Jiu returned to their residence after finishing work, and they talked about what happened today as they walked.There are more than 50 of them in this group, and they work separately. After all, few people will hire so many people at once, so they are all scattered around the port when they are working. Usually, if there is any trouble in the port, They are the first to know, and can be said to be the most well-informed people on the port.

"Ninth brother, I heard that there is a small fleet of five ships going to North Korea, but it is said that North Korea is currently at war, and the coastal areas are not very peaceful. This fleet lacks guards, so it is now making a list on the pier To recruit guards, as long as they are brave enough to fight, I heard that you can earn 15 taels of silver in one trip, which is almost enough to build a house in Nanyang Town." At this time, I only heard that the nickname was Lu Xiucai The young man said, his face full of longing.

But as soon as Lu Xiucai's words fell, someone in the crowd laughed and said: "Lu Xiucai, although the 15 taels of silver make people drool, but with a small body like you, I'm afraid they won't want you if they go, at least they won't want you." Only strong men like me and brother Jiu can be recruited!"

"Who said people don't want me? Fighting a war is not like fighting with us. You can't rely on strength alone. You have to fight and fight hard. I won't lose to anyone in this regard!" Lu Xiu said very unconvinced at this time.He is thin in stature, and he is really a bit out of tune among a group of burly Shandong men, so he is often teased by his companions. However, although Lu Xiucai looks thin and weak, he is notoriously desperate when fighting. When others were fighting for a place to live, Lu Xiucai's head was broken, but he still gritted his teeth and brought down a strong man on the other side, which also won the respect of his companions.

At this moment, Zhu Jiu finally smiled and said, "Lu Xiucai is right. Fighting a war is different from our usual fights. Martial arts and strength come second. The key is whether you have the guts to kill someone. With Lu Xiucai's ferocity in fighting, it may be too late." He is braver than any of us on the battlefield, but I advise everyone not to take that risk, after all, we don't need to earn that money!"

Most of the people nodded to Zhu Jiu's words. After all, they all have small families, and the money they earn now is enough to support their families, so there is no need to risk their lives as guards.However, Qi Yanming, who was following Zhu Jiu, had a flash of light in his eyes, and a smile hung on the corner of his mouth. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)