There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 335 Smuggling by Sea
Emperor Jiaqing was about to send the famous Solon troops into the pass, but Prince Nie Yu of Han, who was in Jingzhou, was unaware of this.

It doesn't matter if we know; the era of the Solon soldiers is long gone.

Under the relentless oppression of the puppet Qing dynasty, the remaining population of the Solon tribe is estimated to be as small as 50,000.

Moreover, in order to ensure the fighting capacity of the Solon soldiers, the puppet Qing dynasty forced the Solon people to live in the harsh and cold land of the Changbai Mountains and the Heilongjiang River, allowing them to eat raw meat and drink blood, and forbidding them from farming, thus obtaining a stable living environment.

By the way, during the Yongzheng era, the advancement of firearms technology was recognized, so the Solon soldiers were also armed with firearms, and advanced Solon dragon cavalry (firearm cavalry) were trained, which was enough to compete with the Dzungar dragon cavalry.

Then, during a martial arts exercise and hunting event held during the Qianlong era, the Qianlong Emperor saw that the Solon people were actually using firearms, which immediately made him very wary.

He first sent men to confiscate the Solon people's muskets, and then issued an edict rebuking the Solon tribe for forgetting their ancestors and their horsemanship and archery skills.

In other words, Emperor Jiaqing had high hopes for this 2000 Solon soldiers who entered the pass, and they were likely indeed brave and capable in battle.

However, in terms of actual combat effectiveness, they might not even be as good as ordinary Qing soldiers for the Han Dynasty.

Because this was a purely melee-weapon unit, they didn't carry a single musket, and relied solely on their flesh and blood to fight against the Han army's rifled guns and mortars.

Jingzhou, the Prince of Han's Palace.

Nie Yu was meeting with his two cousins, Wang Xingyao and Wang Xingye. The Huizhou merchants had "voluntarily" disbanded their merchant guild a month ago under the threat of Yang Fang's force.

The merchant guild has disbanded, but the Huizhou merchants need to know what the future holds.

As representatives of the merchant guild, Wang Xingyao and Wang Xingye took the initiative to come to Jingzhou to meet with the King of Han and inquire about the future plans of the Han Dynasty.
Hui merchants always needed to figure out the general trend and see what businesses were viable and what businesses were not.

Wang Xingyao had visited Dahan many times, so he was quite comfortable with himself.

Wang Xingye, however, was quite reserved. After all, they were being received by the Prince of Han, the de facto ruler of the Han Dynasty, essentially the "emperor" of the new dynasty. To meet the "emperor" without having to pay homage was simply unbelievable!
After the two exchanged greetings, Nie Yu had someone bring chairs for them to sit on.

After the two men sat down somewhat awkwardly, Nie Yu said, "It's fortunate that you two came, saving me the trouble of issuing an edict to the Huizhou merchants in Huizhou Prefecture. Let's get straight to the point! I don't like to waste words. What do the Huizhou merchants in Huizhou want to know?"

Nie Yu's polite and easy-going manner surprised Wang Xingye. After carefully confirming that it was not a pretense, he boldly asked, "This humble subject... this humble subject only wishes to ask the King of Han, how should merchants of the future Han Dynasty conduct themselves? I have read the articles in the 'Great Han Laws' concerning the management of merchants' business. The various explicit rules therein are indeed very good, but they do not fully express the Han Dynasty's stance and attitude towards us merchants who are engaged in business. Before the Huizhou merchants were disbanded, many members of the merchant guilds were quite worried about this. We hope that Your Majesty can give us a definite answer."

Upon hearing this, Nie Yu immediately laughed and said, "I know what you want to ask. You probably want to ask about smuggling and the opening of the sea, right?"

Smuggling and the opening of the sea were the key questions Wang Xingye wanted to ask, and also the things that Huizhou merchants were most concerned about at the moment.

Merchants don't necessarily have to smuggle or make a living at sea. But to become a top-tier tycoon, and even to become the richest person in the country in this era, smuggling and maritime routes are inevitably intertwined.

The laws of the Han Dynasty prohibit merchants from smuggling!

Anyone caught will be severely punished, regardless of whether they are smuggling merchants or checkpoints that deliberately allow smuggling.

Wang Xingye, having been exposed, was quite frank: "It is precisely because of smuggling and the opening of the sea that the King of Han is aware. We Huizhou merchants are just commoners without official positions or titles. If we can really do business legitimately without smuggling, then naturally no one would be unwilling."

The implication is that the Huizhou merchants did not oppose banning smuggling, but their concern was that if smuggling were banned, they would still have to pay taxes and bribe officials even if they continued to do business normally.

This is the root cause of the rampant smuggling. Doesn't smuggling cost money?

Bribing officials and cultivating connections before and after smuggling might cost them more money than they would have to pay in taxes, but they still decided to smuggle.

Because with smuggling, you only have to pay one of the two sums of money, which is better than being ripped off twice in a normal business.

Nie Yu nodded: "I understand what you Huizhou merchants mean. This is also my idea. Smuggling must be banned. As for opening the seas, I can give you a definite answer. As long as my army reaches Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and Zhejiang, I will immediately open the seas for trade and no longer follow the closed-door policy of the pseudo-Qing dynasty."

"Closed-door policy cannot contain the world. Take this harmful opium poppy, for example. It is just some kind of aphrodisiac drug that foreign merchant ships bring in through customs every year."

"Furthermore, to tell you the truth, I have already met with the envoys of the British East India Company and have confirmed the future maritime trade permits between our two countries. So you don't need to do this smuggling anymore. Although I haven't arrived in Guangdong yet, I am already building warships for the coastal navy. Once Guangdong is taken, these warships will be responsible for combating coastal smuggling. Similarly, I will set up anti-corruption agencies along the coast to investigate the officials of the coastal customs."

"You don't need to worry about officials asking you for bribes. As long as you're doing legitimate business, you can report any officials who try to solicit bribes to the authorities..."

Nie Yu spoke at length, mostly empty talk about business, or things he would only do after conquering Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, and Zhejiang in the future, but it still impressed Wang Xingye.

He felt that the King of Han was not just making empty promises, but genuinely intended to open up the seas for trade in the future, as well as to crack down on smuggling and maintain normal overseas trade.

Most importantly, this Han king also made contact with the English East India Company and even established trade relations between the two countries.

Many mainland merchants were unaware of England or the East India Company, but he was the former chief of the Anhui merchants and knew far more than the average merchant.

According to what he knew, the British East India Company wielded immense power in Southeast Asia. Even the Portuguese and the Germans had to temporarily avoid a confrontation with this newly emerging nation.

In fact, Wang Xingye's information was somewhat outdated. He was unaware that the "red devils" of that time had already been turned into puppets by the French four years earlier, and their colonies in the Far East had also become colonies of the French Republic.

This year has indeed been an important one for the world. First, US President Washington passed away, and then the French Republic ushered in its final year.

Napoleon will launch the Coup of 18 Brumaire at the end of this year, overthrow the Republican government, and establish a ruling military government.

Four years later, Napoleon was crowned "Emperor of the French" (note: not the emperor of France).

The First French Empire was established!
These are all things that happened later. Right now, Wang Xingye has basically come to believe in Nie Yu's plan. He has no choice but to believe it, since the Huizhou merchants can't really fight the Han army head-on with knives.

There's no way to force the issue; the only option is to obey and believe.

Wang Xingye solemnly declared, "If the Prince of Han decides to ban smuggling, open the seas for trade, and protect normal commercial exchanges, we Huizhou merchants are willing to do our utmost for the Prince of Han!"

Nie Yu smiled and waved his hand: "There's no need for that. I don't lack your Huizhou merchants' money, and besides, your money probably wouldn't be enough to support my army."

Good heavens, this is the first time that a Huizhou merchant has been called poor, and Wang Xingye can't even get angry.

He had personally inspected the Han army's equipment and food standards, and could only describe them as "outrageous."

With an army raised to this standard, it's no wonder their fighting strength is so formidable. If the Qing army had been of this standard, even the Han army might not have been able to conquer Huguang!

Of course, how could that be possible?
What the Qing army was reluctant to part with, the Qing court was also reluctant to part with.

Having learned what they wanted to know, Wang Xingye and Wang Xingyao decided not to linger and took their leave.

Nie Yu did not handle government affairs, and then met with Wang Cong'er.

This extraordinary woman in the history of the White Lotus Rebellion led tens of thousands of White Lotus disciples in an anti-Qing uprising, fighting across four provinces: Henan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Shaanxi. She was supposed to have jumped off a cliff in Sanchahe, Yunxi last year when she had nowhere else to go, choosing death over surrender.

Now, it was Nie Yu's arrival that triggered a butterfly effect. The Han army relieved too much of the Qing army's pressure, which meant that Wang Cong'er's rebel army was not defeated too badly and instead managed to survive.

This year, having exhausted all other options, he led his remaining troops back to Hubei and surrendered to the Han Dynasty.

Wang Cong'er came alone; her followers had already been scattered, and the extent of their evil deeds was no longer worth noting. Since it was impossible to determine the exact number, they were all simply conscripted as laborers and sent to Anhui and Jiangxi for immigration.

Once there, those who were willing to farm and not cause trouble were given land, while those who were not were incorporated into the local patrol soldiers.

The regular troops of the Han army were too busy fighting to deal with the various bandits and thieves that emerged in the chaos of the times. This was a good opportunity to let these veteran White Lotus Sect soldiers, who had fought for many years, deal with them.

Wang Cong'er, dressed in a plain white dress, said: "This humble woman greets the King of Han."

Nie Yu carefully examined her for a moment. Her appearance wasn't stunning, but she was very pretty, with a heroic air about her. She was also very young, even younger than himself. "Hmm, no wonder she is the Mulan of Xiangyang, a remarkable woman from our vast land of Hubei!"

Nie Yu was generous with his praise, and Wang Cong'er hurriedly said, "Your Majesty is too kind. I was merely avenging my husband. I am truly unworthy of the reputation of the Mulan of Xiangyang!"

Nie Yu laughed and said, "It's alright. Our Great Han will always reward those who have rendered meritorious service. Now that you have led the White Lotus Rebel Army to surrender to the Han, is there any reward you would like?"

Wang Cong'er parted her lips slightly: "I don't seek wealth and glory, I only ask for a secluded courtyard to live a peaceful life."

Nie Yu nodded: "Alright, there are a few vacant houses in the east of Jingzhou City. I will give you a house and two hundred taels of silver to furnish it."

To be honest, it was fortunate that the other party made a request; otherwise, Nie Yu really wouldn't know how to deal with this person.

The fact that she is a widowed young woman, coupled with her status as the leader of the White Lotus Rebellion in Xiangyang, makes it seem like any arrangement would cause people to have concerns and overthink things.

Fortunately, the other party offered to provide a house so they could live a peaceful life.

Two hundred taels of silver for an empty house seems a bit stingy, but Nie Yu couldn't possibly give too much.

The White Lotus Sect is ultimately an evil cult, and Nie Yuzhen giving too much would only attract criticism.

Besides, two hundred taels of silver is quite a lot, and there isn't much corruption in the Han Dynasty.

Two hundred taels of silver had strong purchasing power, enough to ensure the basic needs of an ordinary family.

(End of this chapter)