Grain Gang, also known as the ship grain Gang, or the grain Gang!

When Kangxi was in power, he wrote three major events: "Three Feudal Affairs, River Affairs, and Water Transportation" under the main hall of the Ganqing Palace. Later, the "Three Feudal Affairs" was resolved, and the "Salt Class" was replaced. This also formed the three major policies of the Qing court.

The grain transportation is the policy of grain transportation. It collects the rented rice from eight provinces in the southern and central regions, and then transports it to Beijing to support the palace members and nobles of the capital, and stores it in the warehouse for the north. This collection and transportation system has its own competent department, which is parallel to the formal provincial official system and overlaps with the river governor's office. The supervisor is called the "grape governor" and the yamen is located in Huai'an, Jiangsu Province. Under the grain transportation governor, the provincial level grain officials are set up, and each province responsible for grain rice has one person. These grain officials are directly responsible to the grain transportation governor, not to the governor of the province he is stationed in. The grain officials are responsible for supervising the collection of grain rice, and then transporting the grain north. Most of the grain transport personnel are composed of hereditary ship owners "Qians" who live on the canal, and these people are also called "Transport Army".

Throughout the ages, the grain transport was related to the national fortune, and Emperor Yang of Sui would not have ordered the excavation of the Grand Canal just to think of visiting Jiangdu. Although the Qing court's grain transport was mostly responsible for the "flagman", that is, official ships, as the grain transport became more and more busy, some grain ships owned by the people were temporarily hired to transport grain. The owners and boatmen of this kind of grain ship supported each other, and landed to form a gang, which became a "grain gang" with the strength of the countryside.

However, due to the inconsistent types of people in the canal ships, they fought for power and profit, were brave and cruel, and often caused trouble; even in order to fight for gates, rivers, abandoned the canal ships, and went ashore to fight, which was a common occurrence. This caused a headache for all the previous canal transport officials. Later, three people with some skills, Weng Yan, Qian Jian and Pan Qing, began to organize the helmsmen and sailors of the canal ships, establish formal gangs, set up gang rules, and restrict the people in the canal ships, which greatly improved the situation.

Later, there were "128" grain gangs in the eight provinces. Although Anhui was a poor province, it was a total of 28 grain gangs because it guarded the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River route. In addition, Jiangsu was a heavy grain gang, with 30 grain gangs, Zhejiang had 21, Jiangxi, Shandong, Henan, and Hunan and Hubei. There were 16 grain gangs in all provinces. At the same time, these gangs were the first general gang. Therefore, the Anqing Gang became the alias of the grain ship gang, abbreviated as the Qing Gang. Qing was the Qing Gang, which was misled as the "Qing Gang", which was the "Qing Gang" in later generations. (There is another saying about the origin of the Qing Gang)

The grain gangs in the eight provinces range from dozens to hundreds of people, with a total of tens of thousands, which has a great influence on the transportation of the canal and is a force that cannot be ignored.

When Ma De first took office, Feng Zhiren pointed out five major problems in Anhui's "workers, farmers, commerce, and 'soldiers'" to him. After he took office, he also tried to win over or suppress various forces, and at the same time started to deal with various matters, but he did not encounter any major trouble, but he just missed a grain gang.

So, after hearing Zhang Kai's report, Ma De immediately felt a little regretful. The Grain Gang's gang rules are very strict and he claims to be loyal. If he can establish a good relationship with these people in advance, as Anqing Gang's ranks number one among the 128 Grain Gangs, at least it will eliminate a lot of trouble. However, now is not the time to regret it. What we need to do now is to figure out what is going on.

"Sir, the grain gang has sent gangs and contacted some people from the four prefectures along the Yangtze River to buy salt at a low price. Although their people don't buy much at every time, because they have a large number of people and a large number of people, the salt prices in the four prefectures along the coast have risen again." Zhang Kai looked at Ma De, Lu Longqi and others inquiring, and immediately told his investigation results.

"Mr. Zhang, you're doing a good job." Ma De nodded and praised Zhang Kai, signaled his subordinates to hand him a cup of tea, and asked everyone: "Why did the Grain Gang suddenly help those salt merchants? Aren't they afraid that I will settle the score with them?"

"Sir, the Grain Gang is difficult to deal with. It's not that they are so powerful that they are not as powerful as the Guan Jun. However, they have a part of the grain transport. Therefore, we have to be afraid of them. Because if there is a problem with the grain transport, it will inevitably cause turmoil in the capital and the northern provinces. At that time, there is no need to wait for us to find the Grain Gang to settle the accounts, and the court will cause trouble first." Zhang Kai said again.

"Yeah!" Ma De certainly understood what the canal transportation meant to the Qing court. Not to mention other provinces in the north, Beijing alone would be enough to make any official not dare to do anything indiscriminately. Let those people in Beijing not have enough food? Then it would be better to go home and hang yourself first, at least you can leave a whole body.

"Sir, what should we do? Should we ask the leaders of the Anqing Gang?" Shi Shilun asked. He was familiar with these things in the world.

"Anqing Gang?..." Ma De hesitated for a moment, "Mr. Shi, who are the well-known Anhui Grain Gang now? I just need to keep my word!"

"Sir, the twenty-eight grain gangs in Anhui, generally speaking, they will listen to the words of the Anqing gang leader, namely the head of the grain gang, Wan Yanfang. There are also a few more prominent ones, but I think it is hard to say who is behind the scenes this time." Without waiting for Shi Shilun to answer, Liu Yingxia said first. He is a grain gang and is familiar with the people of the grain gang.

"Why? Since Wan Yanfang is the chief leader of the Grain Gang, he can't not know these things, right?" Ma De asked.

"Sir, know, but whether to interfere or not is a different matter. If other grain gangs want to do this, they must not forget Wan Yanfang, because he is the chief leader. If you do this, you must report to him no matter what. Otherwise, if you offend the government and cause a big disaster to the grain gang, you may be labeled as "destroying the master and destroying the ancestors". As Wan Yanfang, as the chief leader, whether he interferes or does not interfere, it is entirely up to his own will." Shi Shilun explained.

"I understand." The one who is in charge is freedom. Made held his hands behind his back, thinking about how to deal with this "gangster".

"Sir, why not go to Beizhi to find Wan Yanfang and ask him what he wanted to do." Zhang Kai felt that he was "volunteering".

"Mr. Zhang has never had much interaction with the people from the Grain Gang, so it's better to be a humble position." Liu Yingxia immediately "recommends himself" when he saw Zhang Kai coming forward. A little spark was sparked in the eyes of the two of them. Their thoughts were the same...Ma De was highly valued by Kangxi. Now anyone knows this. No matter what happens this time, there will definitely be a bright future in the future. If he curses, he can also get promoted and make a fortune in the future.

"Hmph! If I have to send you two fourth-rank officials to come forward against a group of small gangs of gangsters, where will you put this face in the future?" Ma De snorted softly, shook his head and said.

"What are you going to do, sir?" Xing Ming asked.

"What should I do?" Ma De sneered and asked Shi Shilun again: "Mr. Shi, I remember that the people from the Grain Gang have never been honest, right?"

"That's true. Although the Grain Gang also helps the government to handle the water transportation, it often causes some trouble because it is a Jianghu Gang!" Shi Shilun replied.

"Okay. A group of gangsters in the world who don't make a good meal, but they dare to intervene and stab me in the back with the salt merchants in Lianghuai. Since that's the case, I don't have to be polite to them. They are foolish, and I will use a few tricks to provoke me. If I dare to mess with me, I will use their heads to play with them! Give them a "official office"."

*******

Ma De was provoked by the Grain Gang, and the Grain Gang was not very at ease.

Wan Yanfang now regrets it a little.

The consequences of challenging the government with a Jianghu Gang are unpredictable. Although he claims to be the chief leader of the 128 Grain Gangs, what is he worth when it comes to it? But this time he got into the governor of a province.

"Brother Huaizhi, you have caused me a lot this time!"

Wan Yanfang was directly in charge of the Anqing Grain Gang. The place where he lived was also in Anqing. The house was not big, it was south of Anqing Prefecture City and was relatively close to the Yangtze River. This is also the headquarter of the Anqing Grain Gang.

"Brother, what are you afraid of? Didn't I tell you all? Then Made can't move you!" The person who talked to Wan Yanfang was a short and thin man named Wang Huaizhi. As mentioned earlier, the Grain Gang has a general gang in every province, and this Wang Huaizhi is the leader of the Jiangsu General gang. There are 30 grain gangs in Jiangsu, and the General gang is not in Yangzhou, Nanjing, and even less in Suzhou, but in Jiaxing, called the "Jiabai Gang".

"Everything is calculated in advance, but it may not be necessary when it comes time!" Wan Yanfang sighed.

"Brother Wan, aren't you suddenly wanting to take the medicine for regret now? Hahaha..." Wang Huaizhi asked. After asking, he burst into laughter.

"I want to eat because I want to eat, but it's too late." Wan Yanfang sat on his tiger-skin chair and said with frowning.

"You, you... I said, brother, you're so boring. Since you did it, why do you still regret it?" Wang Huaizhi shouted.

"Haha... Wang Dangjia is right, why is Wandazhu so unwilling? You are the head of our 128 grain gang. With the order, the grain transportation in the eight provinces will have problems. Then Ma De is just the governor of one province. How dare he do you casually?" After Wang Huaizhi finished speaking, a chuckle continued. The source of the voice was a woman opposite Wang Huaizhi.

"Boss Chen, don't make fun of you. You are very good at hand. From the powerful people of the six departments in Beijing to dozens of grain gangs in Jiangsu, everyone sells your face. Although I, Wan, have the title of the head of the grain gang, who is the old man in front of you?" Wan Yanfang looked at the woman and said with a wry smile.

"Wanda Wang is joking. How could Chen Gu'er be that powerful?" the woman smiled slightly and said.

Chen Guer!?

Three years ago, she met Ma De in Yuanyang County, Henan Province. At that time, she was reselling people with a group of human traffickers in official uniforms. She was lucky and fell into Ma De's hands. However, it was obvious that she was not hurt by the crime, but on the contrary, she was still very comfortable. This can be seen from her current expression.

"Boss Chen, don't be modest. Who doesn't know how powerful you are? But, Mr. Wan doesn't understand. You have nothing to do with this matter, so why would you think about intervening in?" Wan Yanfang asked Chen Guer.

"It's nothing. I just made an appointment with a gentleman. This time I was moved and wanted to come to the appointment." Chen Gu'er said with a smile.

"Go to the appointment? When will Boss Chen come out to welcome guests?" Wang Huaizhi laughed after hearing Chen Guer's words. Chen Guer is very wealthy and operates nearly twenty pleasure boats on the Qinhuai River. That's not all. She also operates pawn shops, restaurants, and embroidery shops. She can almost get into a slap shop because of the relationship she has made with her. Her annual income is said to be hundreds of thousands of taels. She is even more powerful than ordinary salt merchants. And a person of level like Wang Huaizhi doesn't think about having any relationship with Chen Guer. This time, when Chen Guer comes to Anhui together, Chen Guer also ignores him, which makes him very unhappy. So, now when he hears this, he can't help but take the opportunity to sarcastically. However, because Chen Guer's relationship network is too powerful, he still dares to say "receive customers", but instead changes it to "welcome customers".

"The Chief Wang said it was wrong. I didn't come out to welcome guests. This time I just wanted to meet an old acquaintance so that I wouldn't keep my word." Hearing Wang Huaizhi's words, Chen Gu'er smiled charmingly and stared at him. However, although Chen Gu'er smiled charmingly, Wang Huaizhi still felt a little chill and did not dare to talk nonsense at the moment. Although he was the chief of the Jiangsu Grain Gang, Chen Gu'er also indirectly controlled the nine major grain gangs in Songjiang. In terms of power, he was only bigger than him, not smaller than him.

"Who is Boss Chen's old acquaintance?" Wan Yanfang asked.

"You don't have to worry about this Wanda Master." Chen Gu'er stood up, bowed slightly to Wan Yanfang, and said, "I have some things to do in my family, so I'll leave first." After that, he stopped caring about Wan Yanfang and Wang Huaizhi, and turned around and left.

...

"Hmph, stinky girl!" As soon as Chen Gu'er left, Wang Huaizhi spat on the ground.

"Brother Huaizhi, why did you get along with this woman? This is a poisonous snake! Humph, the Nine Gangs of Songjiang heard about Zhu Biquan and Zhu, but unfortunately, Brother Zhu was so hurt to leave the country because of her sex with her, and could not even save his food gang!" Wan Yanfang said.

"Bah. Who is hooking up with this madam? If Boss Ji hadn't come forward to invite me this time, I wouldn't have come. Those who didn't come would have bad luck." Wang Huaizhi replied.

"That's good." Wan Yanfang looked at Wang Huaizhi's face and knew that this guy, who was known as the "half-tile iron tower", was just saying this. This guy is rich and lustful. Chen Gu'er is alone, good-looking and rich. It would be strange if he is not moved. As for his background, huh, Wang Huaizhi was originally a gangster from Jiangning Mansion, and he still paid attention to that? Now, three of his seven wives are from brothels.

...

Time passed three more days.

In the past three days, the salt price in Anqing Mansion has been rising. Although the increase is not very large, it is indeed rising.

Originally, the Grain Gang was a food gang with water transportation and reached eight provinces, so naturally they had a very small relationship with the salt merchants in Lianghuai. Among them, the 30 Grain Gangs in Jiangsu were the most important. This time, Wang Huaizhi was entrusted by Ji Cangwei of Taixing and brought more than one million taels of silver from Ji Cangwei to buy the leaders of the 28 grain gangs in Anhui. The purpose was to play a trick of "black tigers' heart-wrenching" and "using Anhui salt to smash the head of Anhui."

Originally, Wan Yanfang didn't want to agree to Wang Huaizhi. However, Wang Huaizhi's words moved him. Wang Huaizhi said that Ma De had cut off the salt transportation of the Yangtze River without authorization. Although he was competing with the salt merchants in Lianghuai, it was equivalent to kicking the Grain Gang for no reason, because this reduced the business of the Grain Gang. Therefore, it was not wrong to help the salt merchants a little, and it was not a mistake to fight back against Ma De. Moreover, the plan for this operation was to let the Grain Gang members come forward to buy salt together. Everyone just bought a little, and the government had nothing to say. Could the government officials do it?

Can the Anhui Grain Gang be arrested with tens of thousands of people? So, there is no need to be afraid at all. As for catching him, Wan Yanfang, it is even more impossible, because that will only paralyze the water transport in Anhui. If Ma De is not stupid, he will not do anything at this moment. Moreover, the people of the Grain Gang are all ordinary people. They buy salt, but the amount is not large, and the government may not be able to find it for the time being. As long as the Anhui government cannot find a corresponding solution during this period, even if the salt merchants in the two Huaihuai win a game, the Grain Gang can still make a huge profit.

So, after collecting 30,000 taels of silver, Wan Yanfang finally agreed to Wang Huaizhi's request. With this response, the other 27 grain gangs in Anhui responded to Wang Huaizhi. Then, the Anhui grain gang members went out to buy salt, each with a smaller one, bought a few more times, and accumulated a lot of salt prices in the four prefectures along the Yangtze River began to rise.

However, three days passed, and Wan Yanfang and Wang Huaizhi did not find out what the various yamen in Anqing had reacted to the current situation, as if this incident did not attract the attention of these people. Both of them had a strange feeling about this.

"I just said that the government can't think of a way to deal with us." Although he was a little uneasy, Wang Huaizhi still didn't care.

"What's wrong, I always feel that the government is using some tricks to deal with us." Wan Yanfang is not as "free and easy" as Wang Huaizhi. After all, this time he took action was his 28 grain gangs in Anhui, not Jiangsu grain gangs. Wang Huaizhi is not his business, so he can't do it.

"Brother Wan, look at you, you're always worried. Look at me..." Wang Huaizhi patted his thin breasts, which were no longer a few pieces of meat. He was about to continue talking, but he saw a gang from the Grain Gang outside running towards this side as if he was running. While running, he shouted: "The big boss, Gu, Guan, Guo, Han, and Liu, He, Sun, Luzhou, Zhao, and Hu were here together."

"What?" Wan Yanfang's heart thumped when he heard the gang member's shouting and screamed. The gang member was the leader of other grain gangs in Anhui. Although it was not complete, something must have happened to so many people come here together.

...

"Brother Wan, this time it's a big trouble. The government suddenly issued a notice saying that the pier along the river used to be messy and rectified. All those who live on the pier must register and make a book for management." Wan Yanfang's feeling was correct. When the nine grain gang leaders saw him, they began to complain.

“Register?”

"That's right, it's just registering and booking. The government also said that if the book is unknown, you are not allowed to go to the dock!... They only gave us seven days, saying that we must explain it within seven days. Brother, we brothers don't know what to do, so after thinking about it, we had to come to you. What do you think we should do?" said Liu Yujian, the head of the grain gang in Chizhou Prefecture.

"Hmph, register and make a book? From now on, the government will not like our grain gang. Isn't it just a matter of arresting people one by one according to the list? Damn, everyone must not agree." Wang Huaizhi said from the side.

"No, Brother Wan, you must not create a book. Which of our gangs doesn't have any secret responsibilities? If you really hand over the list, if the government doesn't like one of us, then catch a few brothers and ask, where can we run? There is no place to hide." A head of Hu from Luzhou agreed with Wang Huaizhi.

"Of course it's not OK to hand over the roster of brothers. But this time the government obviously wants to take revenge on us. Do you have any ideas to deal with it?" Wan Yanfang said.

"Everyone joins together, but they don't want to hand over. As long as we dominate the dock, no one dares to steal the business. But you have to nod your head in this matter. Otherwise, if our twenty-eight grain gangs are not together, they will be defeated by others!" said another leader.

"Well. Just do that! I'll send someone to send letters to other brothers from each other later. However, everyone must make it clear to the brothers below, don't be too irritated by the officials, so as not to make them angry." Wan Yanfang said with a calm face. The government's actions would not be so simple, but he couldn't think of any other tricks that the other party would have, so he had to use this method to deal with it temporarily.

...

"The boss, someone from the government is here."

While Wan Yanfang and the leaders of the Dried Food Gang were discussing, their subordinates came to report.

"Who is the official?...?" Wang Huaizhi asked hurriedly. After him, Wan Yanfang and the heads of the other nine grain gangs also turned their eyes and looked anxiously at the gang member.

"Yes... it's a patrol inspector." The gang member replied timidly as he looked at the head of the Grain Gang.

"Inspector?!"

...
Chapter completed!