Chapter 27 Monopoly on the canal transport

Since the second year of Daye and the construction of Tongji Canal, this water transport artery connecting the north and south has become the focus of attention of the Sui Dynasty. It was responsible for the supply of materials for the entire capital. After the autumn, it transported large amounts of materials such as grain, cloth, salt, oil, wood, tea, satin, porcelain, etc. to the densely populated north from trough ships organized by various southern counties.

The completion of Tongji Canal not only allowed materials to be circulated, but also brought a large number of northern farmers the opportunity to make money and make a living. Due to the death of a large number of civilians when the Tongji Canal was built, there was a shortage of laborers along the Tongji Canal. After the autumn harvest every year, hundreds of thousands of northern farmers flocked to various docks along the Tongji Canal to transport and drive boats, and earn meager hard money. I only hope that during the Chinese New Year, I could bring hundreds of dollars back home.

Most of these northern civil servants gathered with fellow villagers. Hundreds of people in a county or township gathered to work together and elected prestigious people as leaders. On the one hand, they can support each other, and on the other hand, they can unite to prevent local people or bosses from bullying.

The Qi County Wharf in Pengcheng County is an important material transfer site for Tongji Canal. The wharf is five or six miles away from the county town. A cargo yard covering an area of ​​100 acres has been built nearby, and hundreds of large warehouses stand, mainly storing grain and cloth.

There are thousands of workers on the dock in Qi County, mainly from two places, one is Zhangqiu County, Qi County and the other is Bocheng County, Lu County. Thousands of workers gather in several villages near the warehouse. They have been going on for two consecutive years, and they are in peace with the locals.

That night, a fleet of more than a dozen flat-bottomed ships secretly sailed into Tongji Canal from a nearby small river bay. This flat-bottomed ship has the same appearance as a canal ship. If it is placed together with a real canal ship, there is no difference. However, this fleet is still obviously problematic. Generally, the canal ship fleet is connected with hundreds of ships. If it is an official ship, it will be under the banner of each county. If it is a private ship, there will be a private ship banner.

But on the Tongji Canal, there are only two private fleets, one called Wanjia Chuanxing and the other Qianji Chuanxing. These two ships each have thousands of ships transported, which monopolized the private transport of the Tongji Canal. All merchants must find them to transport goods and bear high freight. If they dare to find other private ships to transport goods, once they are discovered by the two ships, they will often suffer the bad luck of ship destruction and collection of goods.

Although the two companies were extremely domineering in their boats, there were still small fleets of ships taking risks to carry cargo for short-distance transportation. At this time, the dozen small ships that appeared on the water of Qi County were a black fleet carrying hundreds of loads of oil. The owner of the cargo was named Zhao, who was over thirty years old. He was a small businessman from Zhangqiu, Qi County, and was preparing to transport the oil to Qi County for sale before the New Year.

As the saying goes, "Rely on your parents at home and on your fellow villagers outside." Zhao Shangren got the help of fellow villagers in Qi County to find this private black fleet to help him transport oil. Although there are many rivers in the Central Plains, cargo transportation must be carried by the canal. Once caught by the government, he will be in jail for suing. Moreover, the drought last year has not been fully restored. Except for the canal, no other small rivers can still be shipped.

The boss of the ship was named Tong, who was a native of Qi County. In the darkness, the boss of the ship was watching vigilantly around and chatting with merchant Zhao, "Zhao Dong's family, this time it was for Boss Du that we took the risk of transporting this cargo for you. Usually, from this time to before the New Year, both ships were investigated very strictly, and even the government used it. Once caught, the consequences would be unimaginable."

Mr. Zhao said tremblingly: "What is the background of these two ships? Even the government obeyed them."

"I heard that they are all senior officials in the capital, and they occupy a lot of business! Not only the canal transportation, but they take care of the bulk goods entering Beijing. Other merchants either take over land or ask them to buy goods. If you are the oil, you can't enter Beijing."

Mr. Zhao sighed, "It was originally a small business. I wouldn't make much money by transporting this batch of oil to Qijun. If I use their canal transportation, the freight rate will be so scary that it will be a loss at all. I can only ask you for help."

The boat boss sighed, "Hey! At most, I can only help you transport it to Yongcheng County. When you go there, you can find a way!"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a loud sound of horse hooves coming from the shore. The boss of the boat changed drastically, "It's broken, they're hitting me!"

Mr. Zhao was so scared that he was out of control, "Boss Boss, what should I do?"

The boss of the ship smiled bitterly, "I guess the goods cannot be saved anymore, so you should just sacrifice your money to save your life!"

Shangren Zhao was stunned. This was his capital for more than ten years!

"Stop the boat!"

A stern shout came from the shore: "Go to the dock immediately!"

The shouting was extremely fierce. The boss of the ship had a sharp look and found that there was a yamen runner on the shore. He knew that there was nothing he could do, so he had to smile bitterly and slowly dock the boat. He was slightly closer to the shore. Several long hooked poles immediately stretched out from the shore and hooked the boat.

More than a dozen burly men rushed onto the ship, and the leader hit the boss with a punch, then waved his hand, "All the goods are confiscated, the ship sinks!"

Merchant Zhao knelt in front of him and begged, "Let me let my goods go! I am willing to give the freight fee and let you transport it!"

"It's too late!"

The big man cursed angrily and kicked him away, "Take the goods ashore!"

"The head is all oil, and there are hundreds of loads of them, so we can't carry them."

"Then throw them all into the river!"

The big man shouted, and more than a dozen people started to work together and threw a load of oil into the river. Seeing that his ten-year hard work had been ruined, Mr. Zhao couldn't help crying loudly. He suddenly hugged the leg of the leader's man like crazy, and bit it. The man led by man screamed in pain and tried his best to pull Mr. Zhao's hair. Mr. Zhao refused to let go. He was brave and pulled Mr. Zhao and cut off Mr. Zhao's head.

The boss of the boat was so shocked that he broke his heart. He jumped into the river and fled when the people were unprepared. Several yamen runners on the shore cursed: "Chen Shun'er, why did you kill someone? It's hard to explain the life of someone!"

"I'm afraid of it, so I have the will to ask them to go to Wanjiachuan."

The leader cursed and kicked Mr. Zhao's body into the river. He ordered his subordinates to sank all the ships and drove them away. Then he got ashore and rode his horse towards the county town.

Nearly a quarter of an hour later, a boat boss appeared in a pile of water plants on the shore. He cried a few times in the river, turned around and ran westward.

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An hour later, the boss of the ship was led into a small courtyard by several dock workers, "Brother Du, it seems something happened!"

In the yard, there was a fire, and a sword-shaped iron bar was burning red. A strong man in his thirties was swinging a hammer to hit the iron. He was extremely burly and had a pair of leopard-like eyes. Beside him was a young man in his early twenties who was helping with the help of the bellows. He was an eleven or twelve-year-old boy who looked quite like a strong man. They should be a father and son.

The strong man was named Du Sheng, from Zhangqiu County, Qi County. He was good at farming, could make iron, and had great martial arts skills and chivalrous spirit. He was also the leader of the laborers in Zhangqiu County on the dock.

He glanced at the boss of the boat and was stunned, "Why is it you, Master Zhao?"

The boss of the boat fell to the ground and couldn't help crying loudly, "We were discovered by the people from Wanji Ship, and Zhao Dongzhu was killed by them."

"What!"

Du Sheng said furiously: "Why should they kill people?"

"Zhao Dongzhu begged them to let go of the goods, but they threw them all into the river. Zhao Dongzhu was extremely angry and held the leader and took a bite. The villain cut off Zhao Dongzhu's head."

Du Sheng's fists were pinched and his knuckles turned white. Zhao Dongzhu was a very good person and often helped them make a living outside. This time he took the initiative to help everyone bring their family letters. Now that something happened to Zhao Dongzhu, Du Sheng couldn't ignore it!

"Are they the Wanji Ship in the county?"

"Yes, I have seen the person who is the leader. He is named Chen Shuner, who is the head of the Wanji Ship in the county."

Du Sheng turned around and said to his apprentice Ling, who was over 20 years old, "Fu Gongyou, go and find several family leaders, and then I will ask them to have a meeting."

Fu Gongyan agreed, ran out of the yard and ran towards the village.

"father!"

The boy jumped up with excitement on his face, drew out a sword and danced two moves, "If there is a fight, I will go with you too."

"Fu Wei!"

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 is Du Fuwei, and he is only eleven years old this year. He has practiced martial arts with his father since he was a child and has learned a lot of martial arts. He is also a bold and arrogant person and does not understand what fear is. However, he is most afraid of his mother. When his mother scolds him angrily, he dares not say anything.

At this time, Fu Gongyou ran back and said, "Master, everyone is in the meeting hall, please come over!"

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

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

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Qi County is a central county. There are more than 2,000 families in the city. The city is not big and the circumference is only a dozen miles away. There are two city gates from east to west. There is a big shop near the street not far from the East City Gate. This is the branch of Wanji Boat Tour in Qi County. In fact, there is only a group of Boat Tours. If there is any cargo that needs to be transported, there is no need to discuss here. You must go to Jiangdu to entrust a boat tour.

At this time, five or six hundred dock workers suddenly appeared at the city gate, holding torches and sticks, rushed into the city, and came towards Wanji Ship in full force.

Du Sheng walked in the front, behind his apprentice, Gong Yuan, and his son Du Fuwei followed the team quietly with a sword, preventing his father from discovering himself.

The angry workers quickly surrounded the Wanji boat trip. They came to seek justice for their fellow villagers, severely punish the murderer, and compensate for the goods. Dozens of young young people rushed up and knocked open the door. The shop was not big, there were only three or four houses, all of which were sleeping places, and there was no one in it.

At this time, a neighbor said to Du Sheng: "You are one step late. Those little thieves have just fled to the county government. I guess the county magistrate will shelter them."

Du Sheng turned around and whispered to the workers: "It is natural to kill people and repay their lives, and to pay their debts. Even if we have the protection of the government, we are not afraid. We ask them for someone!"

"I want someone to go!"

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

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Chapter completed!