..om Jiangnan Canal, once called Jiangnan River and the western Zhejiang Canal, is the southern section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal. It starts from Zhenjiang, Jiangsu and Yangzhou in the north, goes around the east bank of Taihu Lake to Suzhou in Jiangsu, and ends at Hangzhou in Zhejiang in the south. As early as the chunqiu Warring States period, due to the low terrain between the Yangtze River and Qiantang River and dense rivers and lakes, canals connecting rivers and lakes have appeared. Later, after digging and dredging in the era, the Jiangnan Canal began to take shape. In the sixth year of Emperor Yang of Sui, the ancient canal road south of the Yangtze River was re-divide and broadened, forming the current Jiangnan Canal.

People in the south of the Yangtze River commonly call the Jiangnan Canal "Guanhe" or "Guantang". The canal starts from Zhenyang in the north, passes through Danyang, Changzhou, Wuxi, Suzhou, Jiaxing, Tongxiang to Hangzhou. The canal connects the Yangtze River in the north, Qiantang River in the south, and is connected to the Jindan Licao River, Wuyi Caohe, Xicheng Canal, Wangyu River, Liuhe, Wusong River, Taipu River, Wuxingtang, Pinghutang, Huatingtang, Hangzhou-Ningbo Canal and other canals. It is the main road of the Jiangnan River Transportation.

In the water towns in Jiangnan, it is another feature of it. In ancient times, there was almost no road, just a water slum. Boats were the main means of transportation. There were two types of connection tools between land and land: the moving one was the boat, the fixed one was the bridge. When it was near, it was the bridge; when it was far away, or if it was transporting cargo, it was by boat. Therefore, Jiangnan was the world of ships and bridges. There were more than 5,000 bridges in Shaoxing, and a small new town had 72 bridges, which was far better than Venice, the water city.

Many bridges mean that waterways are developed. In the not too far past, every family here has a boat. This is true in big cities and villages. At that time, the popularity of boats was just like that of later generations, like many families with bicycles. The river is a road, a road is a river, and a river is a road in the south of the Yangtze River.

As the saying goes, relying on the mountains to eat, and relying on the water to eat. Many people in the south of the Yangtze River make a living by taking the water. The poorer people even don’t even have their own houses. The family is crowded in a black-sailed boat. This is their home, and the water house is their collective name.

The crisscrossing waterways also brought a headache for the people. In ancient times, there were three harms to the people. The dragons were actually Yangtze crocodiles. There were dense water networks in the south of the Yangtze River. In ancient times, there were a lot of crocodiles and often ate people. As the population in the south of the Yangtze River reproduction, the living space of crocodiles was gradually squeezed by humans. Since the Southern Song Dynasty, crocodiles were rarely seen in the waters near Taihu Lake in Suzhou. After the Qing Dynasty, crocodiles were gradually squeezed out of the densely populated water network area, and their habitats became larger water areas such as the Yangtze River and Taihu Lake. The disappearance of crocodiles was less harmful, but the dense water networks near Suzhou, Hangzhou and Shanghai, and the water channels, crocodiles and floods never stopped.

The water bandits have been active in the Suzhou, Hangzhou and Wuzhong since the Chunqiu Warring States Period. During the Three Kingdoms period, many generals of the Wu Kingdom were born as water bandits. Although the courts in all dynasties repeatedly launched a series of suppression, they did not achieve much effect. The water bandits were like weeds in the ground, and after being cut, they grew one after another.

In the early years of Xianfeng, taking advantage of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's uprising, another group of water bandits emerged at the junction of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The leader was in his thirties and had a right eye blind, known as one-eyed Zhao Qi, a native of Suzhou. This man was originally a tenant farmer outside Suzhou City in his early years. Due to natural disasters, the government and landlords exploited him very much. He accidentally beat the grain official who came to urge grain and was forced to join as a water bandit.

Zhao Qi, a tenant farmer in his early years, knew that life was not easy for the poor, so he gathered a group of water bandits. He specialized in robbing official ships and merchant ships coming and going, which made merchants far and near frightened, calling this area a river of death. Zhao Qi and others pretended to be coolies who were ferrying to cargo in Pingri. When there was a deal, they gathered together to start a fight. Therefore, the government failed to fight over the years and could not find them.

Since the Taiping Army advanced into southern Jiangsu, Zhao Qi and others have restrained a lot. They will let go of any ship under the banner of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Tang Zhengcai, the general of the Taiping Army Navy, led a Taiping Army Navy to Suzhou. Tang Zhengcai admired Zhao Qi's name and wanted to meet Zhao Qi for incorporation. However, the war was tight, and Zhao Qi and others were in a state of waiting for the victory or defeat of the Taiping Army, and this matter was temporarily put on hold. However, the two sides still reached a tacit understanding that the Taiping Army would not offend Zhao Qi, and Zhao Qi would not rob the Taiping Army of the ship.

On the morning of that day, a brother of his subordinates reported to Zhao Qi that there was a suspicious whereabouts of a large ship. The ship had a deep drip, as if it had pulled valuable goods. There were many officers and soldiers wearing Qing army robes, but they did not knock down the flags of the government. It was like an official ship, which had arrived in Jinniu Tang. Pingri encountered a large brigade of official ships or the Qing army's inland water division. Zhao Qi, the group of water bandits, dared not act rashly, but it had not opened for three months. He heard that there was only one big ship. Zhao Qi immediately slapped the table and ordered his subordinates to summon brothers and ships to prepare for robbery.

At noon, a large boat came slowly towards the Suzhou waterway and drove into the Wusong River. The Wusong River is still called Wusong River here, but when it reaches the boundary of Shanghai, it is called Suzhou River. The Wusong River is only one or two miles wide, with reeds and water plants on both sides, and there are many port forks. Zhao Qi and others had long been ambushed in several port forks on the Wusong River.

Seeing the ship arrive, the boat was indeed very dripping. Zhao Qi looked at it with his left eye and was overjoyed. He suddenly whistled. Several small boats shoveled out of the port fork at the same time, moving towards the big ship like flying.

Zhao Qi flew onto the boat with a steel knife in his hand. There were seven or eight men wearing Qing army robes on the deck of the bow. They were stunned by the sudden appearance of Zhao Qi and hurriedly pulled out their waist knife to fight. But these people seemed not familiar with water wars. Zhao Qi and others collided with the boat, and the hull was shaken, and the few people immediately stood unsteadily.

Zhao Qi rubbed his body and immediately chopped down the two of them, and then several people were killed by the bandits who had boarded the ship one after another.

Fighting and screams from the bow of the ship sounded, and more than ten Qing army people were immediately snatched out of the ship and the stern, and more than ten water bandits including Zhao Qi immediately fought with these water bandits. After a while, these Qing soldiers were not familiar with water wars and gradually became seriously injured.

At this moment, a Qing army general was snatched from the ship, wearing the third-rank military officer uniform of the Qing army. He shouted sternly: "Stop!" After his silence, several Qing soldiers gradually retreated, and the water bandits robbed ships were divided into civil and military. As long as the other party did not fight to the death, they would not kill him. Seeing the enemy retreating, Zhao Qi also called his subordinates to retreat temporarily.

"Are you the ship owner?" Zhao Qi shook his steel knife and said, "Save the valuable things quickly and jump into the river yourself to spare your life!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the group of Qing soldiers shouted loudly. The Qing general, who was in charge, took a step forward and faced the water bandits calmly. Then he pointed at Zhao Qi and shouted loudly: "You bandit, you dare to rob the official ship in broad daylight. Are you not afraid of the king's law?"

Zhao Qi laughed and said, "You dog official is about to die and still dare to show off. Come on, kill them all!"

"Slow down!" Na Qing on the bow of the boat said hurriedly: "I have something to say!"

Zhao Qi asked with his left eye slanted, "What else do you have to say?"

"I am the official appointed by the court." The Qing general replied calmly: "If you are suppressing the long-haired thieves in Suzhou, you will rush to Shanghai for important official duties. If this brother can let us go, I will thank you very much."

Zhao Qi spat: "You dog official! We have robbed countless official ships in the past five years, all of which are corrupt officials! For an official like you, I will take your head and ask for rewards from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!"

"Do you really refuse to give me a way?" said the Qing general Yinyin: "If you are willing to release me, I can recommend you to be an official in the court and follow me to enjoy the most delicious food."

Zhao Qi glanced at the Qing general and said coldly: "Dog official, how could I be a hawk in the court? I will spread it and insult my name! Kill me!"

The water bandits rushed up again. After a moment of fighting, most of the more than 30 Qing soldiers on the boat were killed. The Qing general had good martial arts skills, but he was also unaccustomed to water battles. He was stabbed by Zhao Qi with one knife and finally held down.

Finally, together with the Qing general, seven Qing soldiers were captured, and a row was tied to the bow of the ship. "Stop talking nonsense!" Zhao Qi sneered: "This leading official stayed, and later tied the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom camp and asked for rewards, and the rest chopped to sacrifice to the river god!"

Just as the water bandits were about to kill the prisoners, the water bandits who were looking at the wind on the bow suddenly shouted loudly: "There is a ship coming to the east! Look at the flag of Taiping!"

Zhao Qi smiled and said, "It's time to come. Brothers, please give the people to the people of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and please give them rewards!"

When the Qing general heard this, he changed his mind and hurriedly said, "Brother, if you have something to say, as long as you let me go, I will have a large sum of silver in Shanghai. I can offer 100,000 taels of silver with both hands!"

Zhao Qi snorted and laughed: "Dog official, do you think I am a three-year-old child? Where can I go to Shanghai to ask for money? At that time, you will be afraid that you will turn against me and take me as a thief and seek credit. Say less nonsense, and say one more thing to you and I will kill you!"

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom ships came from the Suzhou River, with three large ships and more than ten small boats escorted them. Seeing this large ship from afar, the Taiping Navy divided several small boats to come first. Zhao Qi and others caught the Taiping Army's boat and told the story. The Taiping Army's boat turned around and reported to the main general on the ship. After a while, a large ship of the Taiping Army approached, and the two ships mounted wooden boards after the boarding. Zhao Qi and others escorted seven Qing prisoners to the Taiping Army's boat.

It was strange on the Taiping Army's large ship. In addition to the Taiping Army wrapped in a red turban, there were also many foreigners dressed in colorful clothes. Zhao Qi and others had never seen foreigners. Curiously, Zhao Qi and others watched it.

A general from the Taiping Army came forward and clasped his fists and said, "I am the general who is the dangerous official in the West Hall under the command of the Western King of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom."

Zhao Qi replied, "I'm here Zhao Qi, a casual man who wants to eat on the Wusong River." After a greeting, Yao Yuan had heard of Zhao Qi's name and accepted it now.

After the greetings, Zhao Qiyi waved his hand and pushed several Qing army prisoners forward and said, "General Yao, these people are the dog officials of the Qing court. They are taken by us and presented them to the general's rank."

Yao Yuan was overjoyed and immediately asked about the identity of the Qing general, but the few people refused to say anything. Finally, Zhao Qi's subordinates found the Qing general's guard seal on the Qing army ship and presented it. Yao Yuan was overjoyed when he saw it: "Zhang Guoliang! You dog thief is Zhang Guoliang's demon head!" (To be continued. Please search for astronomy, the novel is better and faster!·.
Chapter completed!