Dagon Shwe Ya - Storm of Life Blizzard

That day, " Julian Gogol" was very surprised by his fate. He was taken prisoner by a smuggler on a French ketch across the English Channel from his native England to France, without any expectation.

The surprise was that a few hours ago he had never dreamed that his life would change so suddenly. That beautiful evening, when he had happily gone out into the woods, a hunting rifle tucked under his arm, shooting rabbits.

He was an Englishman, and at a time when England and France were at war, any Frenchman would consider him an enemy. Moreover, the smugglers who had captured him would surely hand him over to the French authorities, and he would be a prisoner without guilt.

In fact, smugglers are not inherently violent. They had only captured him because they were too weak. If they wanted to kill him, they could have killed him at any time on the boat now.

At that time, France and England were not at war, but they were on opposite sides of the same coin. They were making a small profit by smuggling goods that were scarce in one country and forbidden in the other.

Julian Watts accidentally stumbled upon this clandestine smuggling gang. He unexpectedly found a secret base where the smugglers' goods were stored and where they were smuggled out. That's why the smugglers didn't let him go and brought him back to France. If Julian was released, the whole gang would be in trouble. "The events above had completely changed his life. His thoughts seemed to be miles away. His sudden disappearance from England meant that he would never be able to return to his homeland. He would never be able to explain a murder he had not committed. This fact haunted him like a ghost. He would never see Stephen, the handsome young man he had fallen in love with a week ago. Every time Julian thought about the above, his life became unbearable and he felt depressed.

Before this turmoil, the Julian family had not been politically involved. It was not without its ups and downs. Julian was only 22 years old. Stephen was 21, and Julian's brother, Frank, was only 19. Their brother lived in Weymouth with his aunt and legal guardian, Mrs. Trobert. At the time, Stephen was a neighbor of hers.

Julian's father , Colonel Watt, died when they were young, leaving them enough money to live on as equals. His mother, Mrs. Watt , died in a fire after giving birth to Frank.

“When Frank turned 19, he had already applied for a political position in the army. Until then, Julian had no job, no future, and only dreamed of farming, which was his passion. However, he was worried about the need to use his father’s accumulated inheritance as capital to buy a garden, so he waited for the right opportunity and spent his time dreaming of working with his beloved Stephen.

At that time, the best place to get rare goods from one country to another was along the southern coast of England. The main place was ' Dorset ' . The smugglers formed gangs and sailed in and out of the country every night in large boats. The smugglers' gangs were so angry that they could not stand the constant beatings they were given. The coast, which stretched from north to south, was a great opportunity for smugglers. Thus, the smugglers were almost unstoppable. Captain 'Downing', who was in charge of searching for and arresting smuggled goods, even said that he would gladly give his year's salary to anyone who could close the English Channel.

Thus, even though he had received accurate information about when and where a group of smugglers would leave, it was too late for him. So Captain Downing said:

"About half the people who live along this coast of England are always in league with the smugglers. So the news I get is always wrong. When I get accurate news, it's always late. The people in Weymouth themselves are in league with the smugglers and do business with them, so they always protect the smugglers. So they lie to us," he often said.

The long war between England and France had left England with a severe shortage of French wines, jewels, and silks. England banned the import of these goods, and only allowed the import of non-essential goods under extremely high tariffs. Even the wealthy Englishmen bought the duty-free goods at bargain prices.

In this way, smugglers would gather and talk about how they had beaten their captors. Julian was one of these friends. However, he did not associate directly with the smugglers, but only with the fishermen who helped them. The fishermen helped the smugglers in various ways and received money.

A fisherman told of his adventures, and Julian was a very adventurous young man. The fisherman's job was to pretend to be a smuggler's boat and signal his captors with a light. Then, when one of the smugglers' boats thought it was a light, the customs officers chased it in their motorboats and found that it was a fishing boat. It was difficult to catch them, so they let them go. During that time, the smugglers could easily get away from the shore.

Julian: "That's a really cool trick. I love these kinds of adventures too. I'd like to join them one day."

- Fisherman. . “Then I can contact my friend, a smuggler, with a boat. If I support you, they will accept you easily. Work is not every day, and every day is Sunday. No matter how much we can deceive them, if they are in their power, we will be in trouble. Captain Daw is very clever at his job. In such a situation, the smugglers will resist. In the event of a fight, you may even sacrifice your own life.”

"I want to take a risk. I won't change my mind." Then the fisherman continued -

"On an average, there are always three smugglers out at night. Two of them are English and one is French. The crews are a mixture of English and French. Usually, they are only accepted on board if they are good at fighting. If they are in danger, they must fight. They are fully armed. But they do not fight unless they are in a fight with the government. They know that if they are caught, they will be hanged. If the French sailors are caught, they will be imprisoned for many years. The English sailors swear allegiance to the king and serve on English ships."

"I agree, Billy."

Julian called the fisherman by his name for the first time.

"Just let me know which Kakule you're going to go out with next time. I'd like to take the risk with you too."

"Then I must warn you about someone you should know. The one we smugglers fear the most is Judge ' Fakna ' . "

Billy then went on to say that while the judges in the coastal towns of England were not interested in smuggling, Judge Faulkner was as interested as the arresting officer, Captain Downing. When he asked Judge Faulkner about his identity, Julian said that he knew him, but had only seen him once and was not familiar with him.

“This man is rich and powerful. He has a large fortune. Four years ago, a group of smugglers tried to break into his house. When they attacked, two of his guards were killed and three of his smugglers were killed. Two of them were arrested. The smugglers who were arrested were hanged for murder. From that time on, he and the smugglers became world enemies. He tortured those he could, but he was very afraid of being killed. He never left his house in the evening. But if he heard the sound of a smuggler’s boat, he would come to that place. He also always carried a pistol. Most judges would let him go, but he never let any of the accused go. He threw them all in jail. He was right. Mark my words. This little guy will be killed one day.

Then Julian spent three or four more times with Billy, getting a glimpse into the life of the smugglers.

Billy's friends were mostly fishermen, so it was unusual for him to be in the company of such a wealthy man. Since Waymouth was not far from the beach, Julian and Billy often went together.

At that time, some people were seen carrying unknown goods in carts. In fact, there were not many fishermen who helped smugglers. Relatives and friends also helped carry the goods that arrived by sea to the mainland. For fear of being caught by the government, they usually carried them at night without lighting a lamp, and they received a small fee.

The items to be carried were also very heavy, as the wine was packed in barrels, and it was not easy to carry. The roads were very rough, and in some places they had to be lowered down steep hills. Sometimes they had to be lifted back up again.

"Smuggling and transportation are more valuable than wages because they cost their lives. But when they are freed, the carriers are satisfied because they earn even more than the merchants."

Billy took him to the valley where the smugglers were traveling. Whenever he went to explore those places, Julian would wear the rough clothes that fishermen wore. At that time, some people would start to close the door.

I saw them carrying large bundles and barrels of wine up the mountainside along the mountain path. They were stealthy and quick.

Then they had to descend again through the mountain ridge. When they reached the plain, they were loaded onto the horses that were waiting for them and carried to their destination. Here the porters' duty was over.

Julian and Billy had to help load the packages onto the carts to avoid suspicion. This way, they were only recognized as spies.

The first time Billy took him there -

"It's best if you don't say a word until someone speaks to you. Because while they're committing crimes, good people like you are sleeping in your own homes. They're working in the dark, with their faces covered, and they often don't know each other."

"But they have learned the sound. It's not easy if it's not the sound they have learned. You always have to be careful of the sound they give each other. If you hear that sound, you run away. That's the sound that tells you that the people who are going to arrest you are coming. I'm going to run too. Only the people who have invested in the business will fight back," Billy recalled, remembering the words he had said.

When he was caught, he had no time to dodge or escape. One dark night, he and Billy went out into the valley where the smugglers gathered. By the time they arrived, the contraband had already been loaded onto carts and horses. They had already given Captain Dowling and his party a week to travel from this Swanage region to another, so they were working quietly.

However, some of the goods were still half-finished. The surroundings were quiet, but unexpectedly, a deep voice sounded.