In Qin's laws, there is a kind of "criminal punishment", which is the exile and border garrison in later generations.
Generally speaking, those who broke the law in the Qin Dynasty would be exiled to Shuofang in Guanzhong, or to the newly opened deserts of the Western Regions. Those south of Huaihan would most likely go to the poisonous areas in Lingnan, and those in Hebei would be exiled to the desert.
It corresponds to the bitter cold land of Liaodong.
But for people in Qidi, there are two places for Sikou Xing to go: Haidong, or some unknown island in the sea.
Shamen Island (Changdao County, Shandong Province) is a natural place of exile. It is located between Liaodong and Jiaodong, in the Shaohai Sea, dozens of miles northwest of the Jiaodong coast. There is fresh water and some wild animals on it, and some crops can even be grown.
Several natural harbors suitable for anchoring.
In the past, the Qi State carried goods from Jiubari, and when traveling from Jiaodong to Liaodong, Korean ships would anchor here to take shelter from the wind. Over time, a small fishing port was formed, and some people who were avoiding taxes lived here. The number was less than a hundred. After the fall of the Qi State, the fields
Heng and others occupied this place and fought against the imperial court for seven or eight years.
When Heifu was the governor of Jiaodong, he put down the rebellion in Zhutian and eliminated the bandits on the island. The island was not abandoned, but a trading post was built to serve as a transit point for merchant ships heading to Liaodong and Haidong.
, and at the suggestion of Chen Ping, began to accept mainland criminals and let them work as coolies here.
But starting from May, Salmon Island was completely cut off from Jiaodong County due to the "convict riot". Because the imperial envoys changed the government of Heifu, merchants from Qi were strictly prohibited from entering the sea, and ships from the mainland also stopped coming...
But on the first day of July, with the east wind blowing, a merchant ship that deliberately sailed in the open sea ignored the government ban and sailed openly on the blue sponge. It gradually approached Salmon Island from the east, pulled its hard sail, and skillfully sailed around
Reef, sail into the bay, and slowly raise a flag.
"Tube!"
But he is the largest merchant in Langya County and a descendant of Qi Prime Minister Guan Zhong, the Guan family.
"Just let the son do this. There is no need for the father to come in person."
Guan Tong is the eldest son of the family. He is in his thirties. After running at sea for several years, he has become a lot more capable. He comes to his father's side. The head of the Guan family, Guan Yan, who is over fifty years old, is standing on the side of the ship worriedly.
.
Guan Tong put a seawater-proof cloak on Guan Yan, and Guan Yan sighed:
"The survival of the Guan family is at stake, how can I not come in person?"
Guan Yan knew very well that the merchants of the Qin Dynasty were the most despicable, ranking with the sons-in-law. Once there was a corvee or war, the merchants were always the first to be expropriated. The Qin army even stipulated clearly that there was no need to pity the lives of merchants and their descendants, no matter what dirty work it was.
, send them to do all the tiring and dangerous work!
When Qin Shihuang visited the east, he even engraved "Shang Nong and eliminate Momo" on Langye Platform as a national policy and announced it to the world!
The centuries-old prosperity of merchants in Qi was interrupted. In the first ten years of Qin's rule, their social status plummeted: merchants were prohibited from wearing clothes and riding cars, merchants and their descendants were not allowed to be officials, and had to pay double property taxes. Many industries were
The government forced annexation.
Not only that, but they also have to be on tenterhooks, fearing that they will be arrested and moved to a distant place if they are found guilty of any crime.
Fortunately, under the protection of Governor Heifu, he managed to hold up a stronghold in Jiaodong and persuaded the First Emperor of Qin to relax his policy and allow the restoration of the commodity and colonial trade in Qi based on local conditions. He also recruited thirteen businessmen from Qi to establish the Haidong Trading Company.
In this way, Guan could regain a lot of wealth by selling brown sugar, contracting salt works, assisting in mining, and colonizing Haidong.
Guan Yan cherished it very much. As the elected leader of Haidong Trading Company, he often taught his son: "Of the forty-eight counties in the world, Jiaodong is the only one that treats merchants so kindly. Even Langya and Linzi are a little worse."
Although Heifu left Jiaodong three years ago, he retained Chen Ping as the county magistrate and persuaded the new county governor to continue Heifu's policies.
But just when Guan's business was booming, drastic changes happened...
At first, no one knew what happened. Only officials from the imperial court came to Jiaodong with the edict of Qin Shihuang to arrest the county magistrate Chen Ping...
But before the envoy passed through Weishui, Chen Ping received the news. He did not panic. After arranging all government affairs, he quietly left. By the time the envoy rushed into Jimo City, he had already disappeared.
After further searching for Chen Ping's family, I found out that as early as spring, Chen Ping heard that something big had happened in Xianyang, that the emperor was assassinated, and that Fu Su had run away. He sent his wife and son back on the pretext that his wife's family, the Zhang family, was in mourning.
This person's sensitivity to the smell of danger is unparalleled in the world.
The emperor's envoys were furious and began to investigate the "black parties" in Jiaodong. They strengthened some of the officials promoted by Heifu and dismissed them all. When Cao Shen, who was training in Huang County, was withdrawn, Cao Shen ran away in anger.
.
As a result, most of the middle-level officials were dismissed, Jiaodong County was almost paralyzed, and the people were panicked...
A few years ago, Heifu destroyed the fields and distributed the land to the landless lüzuo. Now the lüzuo people are worried all day long whether the government will refuse to acknowledge the debt and take back the land they finally cultivated.
The life of the merchants was not easy either. Haidong Trading Co., Ltd. was established under Heifu's initiative. The envoy was a traditional Qin people from Guanzhong. He was used to merchants wearing rags and being humble, but he had never seen Jiaodong merchants so generous. So he and Jiaodong Shou
After discussion, they said that this was the chaos of gangsters. Starting from May, Haidong Trading Company will be dissolved! Commercial activities are completely banned! A sea ban is also implemented, and no piece of board is allowed to go into the sea!
As for the salt fields and mines contracted by Heifu to merchants in Jiaodong, the government no longer recognizes them.
This made the thirteen merchants extremely anxious. Guan Yan initially thought that it was Heifu who had offended the emperor and brought trouble to Jiaodong. However, no matter whether the merchants handed over money or kowtowed to plead for mercy, the government remained indifferent.
At that time, the news of the death of the First Emperor spread wildly in Qi. Not only that, starting from June, rebellions broke out in Taishan, Yimeng and other places. Bandits besieged the county town, and under the banner of Zhutian, they attacked Qi
There will be chaos again...
The rich are most afraid of chaos. Just when everyone in the thirteen merchants was in danger, Dao Jian, who was mainly engaged in the Lichen trade, secretly sent them a message:
"The chaos is not just for the land, but for the whole world!"
Only then did the merchants learn that Heifu had raised troops in Wuchang, occupied Jiangling, and gathered hundreds of thousands of people to launch the Northern Expedition...
Incidents such as the Chu bandits in Donghai County and Jingju from Pengcheng in Sishui County claiming to be the King of Chu were also reported one after another. The merchants in Qi suddenly felt chilly in their hearts.
The escape route was dead and the future was uncertain. Just when the Thirteen families were in a panic, another message came from Dao Jian:
"Second and Third Sons, a great chaos is coming. We cannot sit back and wait for death. On the first day of July, everyone from the Haidong Trading Company will gather on Shamen Island in Jiaodong to discuss the big plan!"
This was the reason why Guan Yan came in person. Langya County was close to Donghai County and only separated from the Chu bandits by Tan City. How could he not be in a hurry? After receiving the news, Guan Yan personally took his eldest son with him and hurried to Shamen.
Island - When he set out, he didn't know that the commander of Donghai County had been defeated and Tancheng had fallen.
Thanks to the sailing skills accumulated by going to Haidong in the past few years, Qidi merchant ships now dare to sail more than ten miles away from the ocean to avoid government spies.
While the father and son were talking, Salmon Island had arrived, and the mountains covered with weeds could be vaguely seen in front of them. Off the coast below, there was the "Wangfu Reef" that looked like a woman holding a baby in her arms and looking out at the sea. The ships that had arrived first were lined up on the pier.
Masts stood like spears, and flat-bottomed cargo ships were docked in the deep water. Servants from each family, armed with weapons, bows and arrows, guarded the ship's side vigilantly.
Before reaching the shore, Guan Tong's sharp eyes began to count the familiar flags:
"Dao, Pan, Wu, Lu, Ye, Pang, Fan...Father, almost everyone else from the trading company is here."
The main business directions of each company are different. For example, the Guan family relies on contracting salt works, supplemented by Haidong leather goods. The Dao family relies on selling Koreans to Jiaodong to serve as concubines, and also opens female concubines for Haidong and Liaodong garrison.
They provide special services, and others such as fishing and medicine sellers. With the support of policies, the rich have accumulated thousands of gold, and the poorest have hundreds of gold.
"I see that there are still soldiers on the island and order is in order. Why are there rumors that it is a prisoner riot?"
When the ship docked, Guan Tong saw other merchants waiting on the shore. Daojian was in the center, as if he were the head of the crowd, so he lowered his voice and said, "Is it Daojian's fault? I heard that he secretly raised thousands of people in Haidong.
The Yi people were subordinated to their ministers, given weapons, and taught how to attack and fight day and night."
"Does Dao Jian have the guts to gather a crowd to rebel?"
Guan Yan glanced at his son and thought that he was right to come. His son still has not figured out who the "big man" was who gave Dao Jian gold, ordered him to train the barbarians, and secretly provided weapons, crossbows and other forbidden items.
who!
This meeting on Salmon Island was probably arranged by that person.
After saying that, he didn’t explain much to his son and just said:
"Put out a boat, I want to go ashore."
After the boat docked, Tobirama, who had grown a thick beard but still couldn't conceal his deer-headed and rat-eyed appearance, personally came to help him.
"Guan Jun, why is it so late?"
Guan Yan said with a smile: "I am different from other gentlemen, but coming from Langya, I have to avoid the government's spies. I also encountered a storm on the way and almost lost my life."
Behind Dao Jian, Pang's merchant, who made his fortune by fishing, muttered: "It is better to die in the sea than to be grounded and wait on land to be plundered by bandits."
Pan, who was doing fur goods business in Haidong, also shouted loudly: "I heard that the Chu region is getting more and more chaotic, and the Qi region is not much better. There are giant bandits in Linzi, Langya, and Jibei who are causing trouble and fighting with the government."
They formed a group, and all the trading stations my family set up over there were closed down. If it hadn't been for Daojian's invitation, I would still be thinking about taking my whole family and fleeing to Haidong or Liaodong to avoid the chaos..."
Everyone nodded, which was why they were willing to come here to discuss things together.
Although the oppression by the government is hateful, what these people fear most is chaos in order. Bandits with open arms will break into the house and take away everything that generations of people have worked hard to accumulate...
They all looked at Dao Jian: "Master Dao, if you have any ideas, just tell me!"
Dao Jian shook his head: "I am just a small slave trader, how can I have any ideas?"
Fan, a druggist who was digging ginseng in Liaodong, was worried: "You have no idea. Why did you trick everyone here just to entertain us?"
Without waiting for Daojian to answer, Guan Yan, who had guessed everything, burst into laughter: "Second and third sons, don't worry, the real master is here!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the steward's finger, and saw three recent ships approaching Salmon Island. Different from the flat-bottomed and wide-bellied merchant ships, the ships were well-protected sterns, with a newly-fluttered flag hanging on the mast.
.
"It's a warship..."
Those with keen eyes could clearly see the flags flying on the three ships.
"Wu...Wu Zhong?"
To everyone's surprise, the ship had docked, and a group of soldiers came down from it, lined up in a row, holding spears. They were obviously well-trained county soldiers. There were people on the ship slowly climbing down from the rope ladder, and they were actually dressed as scribes...
"Meet Chen Juncheng!"
Dao Jian was the first to bow down, followed closely by Guan Yan. The other eleven merchants looked at each other with surprise in their eyes, but they still prostrated themselves on the beach one after another, and then raised their heads to peek at their thin but handsome faces and drooping beards.
, and a pair of eyes that seem to be able to see through people's hearts...
Isn’t it Chen Ping who is rumored to be “dead”!
"it's me."
Chen Ping stopped, glanced at everyone, and smiled: "Gentlemen, it's been a long time!"
