There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 126 Merchant Spy
In the vast Hunan province, only Yongshun, Chenzhou and Yuanzhou prefectures were barely still under the control of the Qing court. The rest of the prefectures were either occupied by rebels or were causing trouble for them.

The envoy that Nie Yu sent to the Miao tribe in western Hunan was none other than the smuggler Pang Wencai, who had been accidentally rescued by the Han army and who later informed the Han army that Fu Kang'an had passed away due to illness.

Pang Wencai made his fortune from smuggling and had his own set of smuggling channels to and from Xiangxi. There was no more suitable candidate than him.

As for how the Han army persuaded him to become a spy for the Han army?

It’s very simple, a bag of Han salt is enough.

Merchants pursued huge profits and even dared to engage in smuggling business, and even took advantage of both the Miao people and the Qing army.

As long as there is enough profit, what's the big deal if I become a spy for the rebels?
Pang Wencai led his own smuggling caravan, but before they could cross the border of Mayang County, they were stuck in the middle and had to wait in line to pay to pass through.

Yes, you have to pay to pass the test, you can pass the test by paying!

This checkpoint was obviously not reported to the court and had no permission from the court. It was obviously set up privately by local officials or Qing army generals, or perhaps both.

In name, it is certainly to investigate Miao spies and raise money and food to fight against the Miao. As to whether it can be put into practice, only God knows.

There is no way around it. This phenomenon was too common in the Qianlong and Jiaqing periods of the Qing Dynasty. The Ten-Perfect Man took the lead in making money, and the Manchu and Han ministers and local governors and officials naturally followed suit.

Civil officials are greedy for money, and military generals also want to make money.

Take the deceased Fukang'an for example. Although his military record was good, he actually used the excuse of fighting to extort gold and silver from local people while fighting during his lifetime. The stolen goods were everywhere, and he was extravagant and had no restraint.

In history, to what extent was Fukang'an extravagant and greedy?
This incident was recorded in both official and unofficial history.

Even his son De Lin inherited the "excellent bloodline". When he brought back Fu Kang'an's coffin, he demanded more than 40,000 taels of silver from the places he passed through.

This data is too specific and too insignificant compared to Fu Kang'an's family wealth, so it is most likely true rather than slander.

When Fukang'an was still in power, he set up many checkpoints in western Hunan, and any merchant who smuggled had to pay a fine.

Now that Fukangan is dead, Helin took over these things. They are all trying to make money, so who doesn't make money?

Fukangan can act as a protective umbrella and cover up the matter, so Helin can naturally do the same.

"General, this is the silver for entering the pass!"

"What do you mean by customs silver? The higher-ups said it's now called customs duty, and it's the money we have to collect to raise money for the Miao pacification."

"Huh? Oh, tariffs, tariffs."

"Haha, paying back the customs duties? If you ask me, this new Marshal He is really not as good as the deceased Marshal Fu. Not only does he charge more, but he doesn't even dare to collect the money openly and honestly."

"Shh, keep your voice down. Do you want these bastards to hear you?"

"..."

Pang Wencai had been listening carefully to the discussions of the merchants around him, and he roughly figured out that the rules for smuggling through customs had not changed much in the months since he was away, except that the customs clearance price had become higher.

The commander-in-chief of the Qing army has been replaced, so the price must be different.

It doesn’t matter. As long as the smuggling channel is still there, the business can continue.

After waiting for half a day, it was finally Pang Wencai's turn to pass.

Before passing the customs, Pang Wencai thought that as long as the smuggling channel was still there, he could still do business. But after paying the "tax silver" to pass the customs, he found out that it was really shady!
"Helin is even more greedy than Fukangan."

Pang Wencai spat and cursed. He was not only worried about the money, but also about his goods.

They wanted to collect "tariffs", and the "tariffs" were very high, but he endured it all. After the deed was done, the officers and soldiers also wanted to take a cut, and they took 10% of the goods from him.

This is only 10% of the goods. He only brought this much with him on this trip. He still has to make connections after the trip. He hopes to make a profit by smuggling these goods to make back the money he spent.

This is a 10% commission on the goods. The key point is that this is only the commission before entering the checkpoints. Once you enter the territory of Phoenix Hall, there may be other checkpoints, or even no checkpoints at all. The officers and soldiers will come to extort money at random according to their mood.

It may not kill them, but heavy bleeding is certain.

No wonder when he was queuing up in front, he always felt that there were fewer smugglers than a few months ago. Now he knew where the problem lay.

"Hunan is probably finished!"

Pang Wencai sighed inwardly, cursing He Lin's entire family for the loss he'd suffered. Actually, Pang Wencai had wrongly blamed He Lin. The "tariff" was a ten percent tax on goods, so at most, it was the "tariff" that had anything to do with him.

Moreover, all He Lin did was change the name. The customs fee collected for passing the customs is definitely not as nice as "customs duties". If it is discovered by the court, there will be a reason to shirk responsibility and explain it.

As for why the “tariffs” are so high?

He Lin should have known this, but he could only accept it because his control over the army was not as strong as Fu Kang'an's. This was because his status and position were not as good as Fu Kang'an's, and he was not as legitimate as Fu Kang'an when leading the army.

Then the only way is to bribe the military generals through benefits.

He Lin really didn't know that the goods at the back were being charged a tenth of the tariff. It was simply because the generals below felt that the little money from the "tariff" was not enough to satisfy their appetite, so they simply killed the chicken to get the eggs and forcibly charged a tenth of the tariff to seize the goods of the smugglers.

Anyway, they are all guest soldiers from other provinces, so any money they can make is a good one. If there were not local soldiers from Huguang provinces in the army, it would be difficult to make things look too embarrassing. I'm afraid that every dog ​​passing by the checkpoint would have to leave a few pounds of fat.

When we arrived at Lehao ​​Town, which belonged to Fenghuang Hall, it was considered the territory of the Miao people's rebel army. However, most of the place had been captured by the Qing army, and only in the remote mountains and hills were the remaining Miao troops struggling to resist.

Pang Wencai entered the only tavern in town to rest, and immediately a waiter came up to greet him: "Sir, what can I do for you?"

"What's there?" Pang Wencai asked familiarly.

The waiter said, "This shop is in a remote area, and we don't have much in stock. We just have some braised meat and some wine."

Pang Wencai waved his hand and said, "Come up first! Do you have any dry food or biscuits? I'll buy some and take them with me on the way."

"to make!"

The guy responded.

It didn't take long before the braised meat was cut and served, along with some pancakes and steamed buns, and a pot of wine.

The wine doesn’t taste very mellow, it is indeed a light wine, but the braised meat tastes good, as Hunan braised food is very famous.

The tavern didn't seem to be busy. While cleaning, the waiter took the initiative to chat with Pang Wencai who was eating, "From my perspective, you look like an outsider who came here to do business! Things have been uneasy here lately. If you are not really in a desperate situation, you'd better find a new job as soon as possible."

Pang Wencai took the steamed bun and ate it while asking, "Why is this?"

"Hmm! Things are getting chaotic again." The guy put down the rag and shook his head.

Pang Wencai laughed and said, "Even if the Miao people start to cause chaos, aren't there still soldiers there? I'm just a businessman, coming here to do business. At worst, I can just avoid the Miao people's strongholds. It shouldn't be that dangerous, right?"

The waiter said, "Sir, when I say chaos, I don't mean just any chaos. This is... I'm telling you this in private, so please don't tell anyone else about it."

When Pang Wencai heard this, he was also a little surprised and walked forward to listen.

"Sir, you should know our Helin and Marshal here, right?"

"Well, this is the younger brother of Heshen and Zhongtang in the imperial court, who doesn't know him?"

"he died!"

"..."

"what?"

Pang Wencai almost thought he had misheard, and his voice, which had been whispering, unconsciously became much higher.

Fortunately, the tavern was empty at the time, so the waiter quickly lowered his voice and said, "We heard it from hearsay. I heard that just half a month ago, the Marshal personally led a large army to Pinglong, intending to completely wipe out the Miao people who had returned and capture that Miao King Wu Tingli alive. In the end, they were defeated by the Miao people instead."

"During this time, some people said that Marshal Zhehe was seriously injured and would not live long. Others said that Marshal Zhehe had died in Pinglong. Still others said that Marshal Zhehe had suffered a defeat in Pinglong and contracted malaria, and was afraid that he would not live long..."

It seemed that this was not the first time that the guy told Pang Wencai all the news, which was mixed with a lot of hearsay. Even the shocking statement "He Lin is dead" at the beginning had multiple versions.

Pang Wencai secretly wrote down all of it. After finishing his meal, he stayed in this tavern for the time being. Then, he quickly sent his followers to gather information around the town.

After asking around, it seemed that what the guy said was no longer a secret. People in the town knew something about it, and the versions were even more complicated than what the guy said.

There was no other choice, Pang Wencai could only head north. The Miao people in the Phoenix Hall were said to have been eliminated, so he went to Yongsui to see the situation.

(End of this chapter)