Chapter 432 Lawlessness
In order to be on the safe side and avoid alerting the enemy, Li Nai followed He Xi's instructions and did not make any adjustments to the personnel on the merchant ship today, and only used people who did not know the inside story. Under Li Qingyang's active inquiry, the captain enthusiastically introduced them to his employer and the situation of their trip to Qiongzhou.
The company that hired Li Qingyang was called "Fusheng", which was actually one of the branches of "Fu Ruifeng" and specialized in foreign trade commodities such as tea, silk, and porcelain. In the past, these goods were mainly sold to Westerners and needed to be transported across the sea to distant Manila or Batavia for trading. Although the profits were huge, the risks of long-distance voyages were not small. If you were not careful, you could lose both your life and money. However, since the emergence of Victory Port, a zero-tariff free trade port, the trading location of these foreign trade goods has gradually moved to Qiongzhou Island. "Fusheng" has four cargo ships traveling regularly between Guangzhou and Victory Port every month, and similar There are at least thirty or forty commercial firms with the scale of "Fusheng" in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, and almost all of them involved in maritime trade have a relationship with Haihan.
Li Qingyang comes from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas with convenient water transportation, and he can probably figure out how much trade volume so many trading houses will bring. However, the relevant information was not mentioned at all in the previous report delivered to Nanzhen Fusi. It seems like this There are indeed some problems with the Jinyiwei organization in Qiongzhou. Either they are blind or they have been bribed by the Haihan people. However, what Li Qingyang found strange was that the ship departed from the Pearl River Pier almost empty. Apart from the necessary supplies, there was almost no cargo on board. He couldn't help but ask the captain this question.
The captain didn't doubt him, so he explained the trick to him. Since trading houses like "Fusheng" only deal in pure export business, the return journey is almost empty. In order to collect taxes, the government often charges based on the value of the goods on the ship before it leaves the port.
Now some trading houses have found a way to bypass this taxation method, which is to transport the goods by land to Panyu first, leave empty ships from Guangzhou, and then load them at the local dock in Panyu and go out to sea. Although this is a bit troublesome, deducting the land freight for dozens of miles for one shipment can save at least two to three hundred taels of silver, which is a considerable amount over time. Correspondingly, goods shipped into Guangdong from outside are also handled in the same way. They are first unloaded at Lijiazhuang and then transported to various parts of Guangdong by land. Adding up all the incoming and outgoing goods, the taxes evaded by goods smuggled in and out through Lijiazhuang must be calculated in at least ten thousand taels of silver.
Of course, not all commercial banks have the conditions to do this. In fact, only "Furuifeng" and several related commercial banks can adopt this method of tax evasion. Because the only large-scale cargo terminal in Panyu County that leads directly to the Pearl River is within Lijiazhuang's sphere of influence, and since the battle of Lijiazhuang last year, the local militia has designated a ten-mile radius as Lijiazhuang's private territory and controls all transportation arteries. Even people from the Panyu County government office have to say hello first if they want to go in to do business. Naturally, there will be no tax collectors going to the dock next to Lijiazhuang to collect trade taxes.
When Li Qingyang heard this, he couldn't help but interrupt and asked: "Don't the government care? Even if the county government can't take care of it, the state government can take charge of it, right? Panyu is only forty miles away from Guangzhou City, do the big men in the city turn a blind eye to this kind of thing? ”
The captain smiled and said: "You are not a local, how can you know how powerful the big boss of Lijiazhuang is! Last year, the bandit leader Liao Dabi led five to six thousand people to besiege Lijiazhuang. The defenders in Guangzhou City did not dare to dispatch easily, and the Panyu County Government also paid attention to this matter. They ignored them, and as a result, the Haihan people fought with the militiamen on Zhuangzi for two days, beating the bandits to death and fleeing. Now there are hundreds of militiamen stationed on Zhuangzi. Which one is not good? Do you dare to provoke them easily? Besides, the officials in charge of the yamen always receive red envelopes to pay tribute during the holidays. They have a lot of money in their pockets, so they don't care whether they can collect the taxes. "
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"They are really just worms!" Li Qingyang clenched his fists, and this thought passed through his mind silently. Although Dongchang Fanzi should be responsible for the corruption and perversion of the law by the detective officials, he has decided to file a lawsuit against these local officials who did not act when he submits a report to Nanzhen Fusi afterwards! There is no doubt that this part of the tax revenue that should have entered the national treasury ended up in the pockets of Ming profiteers, Haihans and corrupt officials. He really could not sit back and watch this illegal behavior become a legitimate existence in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions.
Although he knew that the captain was not his boss, Li Qingyang still couldn't help but said: "As a citizen of the Ming Dynasty, it is enough not to report it to the government for such an illegal thing. Why are we still involved? Then the Haihan people colluded with unscrupulous businessmen to evade taxes." Fu, it’s really hateful!”
"Illegal? Hey, young man, you don't know how people who abide by the law can die!" the captain said with a hint of ridicule: "Do you know how many people died in various states and counties due to famine and civil unrest in Guangdong in the past few years? The government could not provide food for relief, and it did not allow people to flee, and it was unable to quell the banditry. At that time, the people who died of starvation, illness and were killed by bandits were all good and law-abiding citizens! ”
"The number of victims is so large that it is difficult for the government to take care of everything at the moment. It is inevitable..." From the perspective of Jin Yiwei, Li Qingyang naturally wanted to speak for the government. The disaster situation in Guangdong in recent years is not a secret. The Guangzhou government has sent a lot of official documents to Nanjing requesting food, grass and monetary assistance. However, as to the specific casualties among the people, the numbers on the official documents cannot be taken seriously. It is what the captain said. The situation is more believable.
"The government couldn't save him, but the Haihan people did!" The captain interrupted Li Qingyang and said, "I, Song San, escaped from Zhaoqing Prefecture last year. If I hadn't encountered a relief center run by the Haihan people on the way, There are probably thousands of people like me who have survived by relying on the help of the Haihan people. I don’t know if they did anything illegal, but I will definitely remember that my life belongs to them. Saved!”
"In that case, why didn't you join the Haihan people as immigrants?" Li Qingyang continued to ask.
"I had a fever at that time. The Haihan people said it was easy to infect others. Although they gave me medicine, they refused to accept me as an immigrant." Song San laughed at himself: "After I recovered from the illness, I joined my current employer. After I went to Sanya with the ship, , only then did I realize that I was really unlucky... This was because I had a bad fate and I couldn’t blame others.”
"Haihan people have recruited so many immigrants from Guangdong and Guangxi, are they all settled in Yazhou?" Li Qingyang asked with a frown. He previously thought the Haihan people might be trafficking immigrants overseas to be sold as labor force, but that doesn't seem to be the case now.
Song Sandao: "That's not true. The territory controlled by the Haihan people is no longer limited to Yazhou. It's just that the people settled in Sanya are the most concentrated. According to my observation, there are at least 30,000 to 50,000 people there."
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Li Qingyang asked: "I heard that there are only a few hundred people in Haihan. How can they feed such a large number of people? If they don't have enough to eat or wear or keep warm after they go, how is it any different from being a disaster victim in Guangdong?"
"The situation in Guangdong cannot be compared with Sanya." Song San shook his head disdainfully and said: "The two seaports under the rule of the Haihan people are more prosperous than Guangzhou, and there are no idle people in the area. As long as those who can move, they can You can find things to do locally, and the income is much higher than in Guangzhou.”
"Better prosperous than Guangzhou?" This was the first time Li Qingyang heard such a specific evaluation from someone who had been to Sanya, and he immediately became interested: "Song Sange, can you tell me in detail how Sanya can prosper?"
Song Sandao: "There are two seaports in Sanya, one is Shengli Port and the other is Sanya Port. Shengli Port specializes in all kinds of exquisite utensils and specialties produced by Haihan, while Sanya Port is the local trading place for foreign merchants. Haihan people are very interested in There is no transaction tax on goods shipped by foreign merchants, so many merchants use Sanya as a cargo distribution center. Both ports have wide waters and deep water, which can accommodate hundreds of large ships. The docks are equipped with various cargo shipping facilities for loading and unloading goods locally. At least twice as fast as the Pearl River Pier! Haihan people are honest and trustworthy in doing business, and they have sufficient capital, and there is no need to carry cash to the local area. You can exchange the banknotes in Guangzhou, and then exchange them for cash when you return to Guangzhou. It’s so convenient, and which commercial bank wouldn’t like to deal with them?” Song San took out a stack of circulation coupons from his arms and handed them to Li Qingyang: “I don’t have any large banknotes, but these circulation coupons are still worth it. Some. This circulation certificate is issued by Haihan Bank. One yuan can be exchanged for one tael of official silver, so there is no need to carry cumbersome money when going out. "
"What if someone refuses to accept it?" Li Qingyang took the two and looked at them carefully. He had heard similar rumors when he was communicating with the local person in charge the day before, but he did not expect that this rumor was true.
"You can only use circulation coupons in Sanya, and no one accepts cash!" Song San smiled and said: "There is no need to worry about this thing becoming invalid. Even if you return to Guangzhou, you can exchange it for silver at the Haihan Office in Guangzhou."< br>
"Issuing treasure banknotes privately is equivalent to casting private money, which is a capital crime!" Li Qingyang added another crime to the Haihan people in his heart.
Of course, Li Qingyang only said this in his heart, and would not say it to a guy like Song San, whose political attitude was obviously leaning towards the Haihan people. Who knows if there is any reason for his words, and it would be troublesome if it leaked out.
"Haihan people are issuing this kind of...this kind of circulation coupons locally, and the Yazhou government doesn't care?" Although he knew that there might be some problems with the local government in Yazhou, Li Qingyang still wanted to confirm it from an insider. once.
"Yazhou government?" Song San sneered and said: "Yazhou government also depends on the faces of the Haihan people. The officials in Yacheng are all supported by the Haihan people. Who wouldn't know how to promote this? What happened? All their money is stored in Haihan Bank!”
"Sure enough, they are colluding with the Haihan people!" Song San's words have undoubtedly confirmed Li Qingyang's previous suspicions, and the situation seems to be more serious than he expected. The local government has gone beyond cooperating with the Haihan people and directly obeys orders. For the other party! Although this kind of thing sounds incredible, based on the various information obtained now, Li Qingyang believes that the possibility of what Song San said is true is still very high.
"Since there is no one to control the Haihan people in the area, wouldn't the area become lawless?" Li Qingyang continued to ask.
Song San shook his head and said: "Then you are just wrong! The laws enacted by the Haihan people are far stricter than those in the Ming Dynasty! If you commit an offense in the Ming Dynasty, you still have the opportunity to file a lawsuit. If you commit an offense in Sanya, as long as there is confirmed evidence, you will be prosecuted. You will be arrested and sent to hard labor immediately! Under Haihan’s rule, no one dares to commit crimes easily!”
"What? They actually legislated on their own and set up private courts? This is simply..." Li Qingyang was shocked and speechless for a moment, not knowing how to evaluate the Haihan people's behavior that exceeded the rules.
Li Qingyang found that from what he had learned so far, the Haihan people had done almost all other illegal things except raising flags to rebel, sealing off borders and tearing apart the land. Illegal organization of population migration, issuing private currency to set up banks, evading taxes and smuggling goods, buying off officials to feed the common people, and setting up private courts in disregard of the king's laws... Li Qingyang didn't even need to use his brain. With the information he now had, he could easily give The Haihan people listed ten or eight major sins.
Of course, Li Qingyang is not a newbie. He also understands that the rules of this world are to see who has a big fist and whether or not he violates the law. This matter is not the one he, a small member of the Royal Guards, has the final say on. Even if he is finally convicted, Whether these rampant Haihan people can be punished is not something he can control. Since they have the ability to control a state and even extend their power to Guangzhou, it means that this group of people is by no means easy to deal with. Going to Sanya, I am afraid that the difficulties to complete the task will be much more than expected.
Fortunately, the first step was taken safely, and he chose such an appropriate way to hide his identity, and met such a talkative captain again. Li Qingyang secretly made up his mind to take advantage of these days on the road to get some useful information from Song San. After I have lived in Sanya for a few months and collected comprehensive information, I will try to report it to the court and ask for troops to wipe out these Hai-Han rebellious parties.
Li Qingyang was silently planning his next course of action when he suddenly noticed that the boat had slowed down and slowly turned towards a fork in the river. Li Qingyang asked in astonishment: "Brother Song, why do you want to stop the boat here?"
"Loading!" Song San pointed to the dock on the river in front and said: "That's the Lijiazhuang dock. Our ship will load the goods here before going to Sanya."
Only then did Li Qingyang come to his senses. Song San had indeed mentioned this before. After the empty ship departed from Guangzhou and loaded in Panyu, it could avoid the court's tax collection. Thinking of this, Li Qingyang couldn't help but walk to the side of the ship and looked at the cargo terminal that was said to be built by the Haihan people.
(End of chapter)