The storm didn't pass until the next morning. At this time, the big boat that Zhao Xiu and the others were sitting on docked at Liao Jiaozui, and finally escaped the second half of the storm, except for some water in the cabin and a mess on the deck, there was not much damage. Even the bilge cargo was not soaked in seawater, which is a blessing.

Gwyneth wiped her sweat and secretly rejoiced, so she ordered someone to quickly replenish the water on the shore, and when the weather outside was better, she set sail again. Zhao Xiu had already said that they had to go north this time, and they had to be fast.

The next trip was very smooth, although they did not have a tailwind along the way, but they did not encounter a headwind, until they drove to the Shandong area, they did not encounter a storm again, only two light rains, all of which passed in an hour, and they didn't even need to dock to dodge. So they hastened their journey, landing only once every five or six days to replenish their water, and the rest of the time they were moving at full speed. Their ship, which was accustomed to ocean voyages, was the best in the Wells fleet, had been launched for less than three years, had been sailed with the latest English shipbuilding technology, and had two navigators who knew the route well, and had not carried much cargo, so it was faster than ever. However, in about 20 days, it has already passed Dengzhou Mansion and entered the Bohai Sea.

The Bohai Sea is an inland sea, and when you get here, you can already breathe a sigh of relief. After asking the two pilots what they meant, Gwyneth consulted with the captain and decided to go straight to the port of Tianjin, and not stop at other ports to replenish the water.

Zhao Xiu ran for two days, helping to convey the wishes of both parties and interpreting for them. From time to time, I have to go to the prince to report a letter, so that he knows how things are going, and I am quite tired. But I see that this sea trip is finally coming to an end. The prince was about to return to the capital, and she was secretly relieved in her heart, and her face was also filled with joy.

Gao Zhen has been silently by her side, acting as a guard, seeing her in winter, the sea breeze outside is sassy, she can run out of a hot sweat. It was really hard, and he was embarrassed to say what he cared about, so he poured her a cup of tea.

Zhao Xiu smiled brightly and thanked him. I took the tea and drank it in one gulp, only to feel that my throat was much more comfortable. She smiled and said to the prince and Gao Zhen: "I have quietly asked the pilot in private, and they said that with the current weather conditions. It can take up to two days. We'll be able to get to the port of Tianjin. This is much faster than we originally expected, it can be seen that God is beautiful, and God is also looking forward to the prince returning to the capital as soon as possible. ”

These words are actually to please the prince, although the prince knows it in his heart, but he is still very happy to listen to it. At the beginning, the Zhao family mentioned that he would take the sea route, and he also had a lot of ups and downs in his heart, because the sea was stormy and rough, maybe it would be more dangerous; Second, take the sea route. It may not be faster than taking the canal, thousands of miles down. It will take a month to wait for leisure; The fastest way to enter Beijing is actually to ride a fast horse and take the land route, which will take half a month at most, but the road is harder, and it is also possible to encounter Hong Wencheng's minions to block the road.

But he thought twice at the time, and still accepted the arrangement of the Zhao family, so he took a foreigner's boat to the sea, and turned around Nanjing halfway and then went out of the Yangtze River estuary, making a long detour, and it has been almost a month so far. For such a long time, the situation in Beijing has changed greatly, and he still doesn't know if his father is okay and what about his other brothers. But after thinking about it, his journey could not have been safer and smoother, at most, he encountered a storm, who would stop him? Hurt him? He could even sit in the cabin leisurely, carefully considering what he would do when he returned to the capital, and even the forces of all sides and the positions they might take in this turmoil, he had thought clearly, and now even if he entered the capital immediately, he had a plan, and he did not panic at all. If he rode a fast horse into Beijing, he would have to suffer along the way, not to mention, and he would have to be on guard against the eyes and ears of the enemy at all times, where would he have such comfort? Thinking about it this way, even if the days in the cabin were a little more boring, he didn't feel so uncomfortable.

The prince smiled and said to Zhao Xiu: "Sister Chengxiu's auspicious words, since it is God's will, Lone must also fight for strength, so as to live up to the good will of God." ”

Zhao Wei ti: "When I arrived at Tianjin Port, the people on the ship would act like ordinary foreign merchants, and go about their business, and I would first go ashore to the prefect's yamen to find out the news. If Lord Jiang is as usual, I will visit the door in the name of the Zhao family, and then inform His Highness of his whereabouts. What token does Your Highness have? At that time, I will be able to win the trust of Lord Chiang. ”

The prince thought about it, took a pen and paper and wrote a letter himself, and handed it to Zhao Wei: "Lone wrote a thing in the letter that only the mother concubine, Lone and his uncle know, and when he reads the letter, he will know whether you are true or false, and he will naturally know what to do when the time comes." ”

Zhao Wei solemnly accepted the letter: "Your Highness, rest assured, I will definitely do this errand well!" ”

This matter is not only related to the safety of the crown prince, and whether he can sit firmly in the throne and ascend the throne as the emperor in the future, but also related to the life and death of the second room of the Zhao family, Zhao Wei is very cautious. As soon as the ship arrived at Tianjin Port and docked at the wharf, Gwyneth sent a navigator to take the captain to hand over the ship guidance to the officials on duty at the wharf, and Zhao Wei changed into a low-key decent silk dress and went ashore with Mingzhang. He claimed to the people on the wharf that he was the son of an official eunuch who traveled north on a merchant ship, borrowed the name of a cousin in the clan, and added a few pieces of broken silver as a reward, without arousing anyone's suspicion, and Shun Shun Lìli left the wharf, went straight to Tianjin City, and found the Tianjin prefect's yamen.

Lord Jiang, the prefect of Tianjin, is the brother of Concubine Jiang Shu, the two are siblings, and Lord Jiang is the younger brother, and he has had a very good relationship with his eldest sister since he was a child. He was born in a big family, he has been familiar with poetry and books since he was a child, he is a serious imperial examination, he has been in the official office for less than ten years, and he has achieved the prefect of the fourth grade, or in a rich place like Tianjin, which is very close to the capital, it can be said to be smooth sailing. The two successive princes have been replaced, and the candidates are all from Concubine Jiang Shu, which has no impact on Lord Jiang's maternal uncle. As long as he does not make a big mistake in his office, in another ten or eight years, he will accumulate enough qualifications, and when he returns to Beijing, he will be able to join the Sixth Ministry as a court official, and for a few more years, it will be okay to enter the cabinet and pay respects to the prime minister. For a scholarly family like the Jiang family, it is certainly beautiful for his grandson to become a prince and emperor. But the most beautiful thing is that the descendants of the Jiang family are on the right path to be extremely popular ministers, and that is the true glory of the ancestors.

It's just that Master Jiang has been in a bit of trouble lately. The news of the prince's accident has already spread to Tianjin, although it is rumored that the prince is not dead, but he was seriously injured, but the previous prince lost his position because of his injury, and now he doesn't know how injured he is. If even this one loses his position due to serious injuries, Concubine Jiang Shu will not have a third son to be the crown prince. What worries Mr. Jiang even more is that the letter came from his family a few years ago. mentioned that the situation in Beijing was not good, so that he could stay in office for the New Year with peace of mind, even if the yamen sealed the yamen and put pen to paper. Don't go back to Kyori either. He had some ominous premonitions in his heart, worried about whether something would happen at home?

Just when Lord Jiang was in turmoil and wondered if someone had taken the opportunity to be unfavorable to the Jiang family and Concubine Shu, Zhao Wei came to visit. Master Jiang had no intention of meeting guests at this time. But I saw that the post of the back house was written with the payment of the grandson of Zhao Jungong. He remembered that Zhao Jungong had tried his best to protect his current storage position in the past, and his nephew King Guangping was friendly with his children and grandchildren, so he had the idea that it was indispensable, and asked Zhao Wei to come in to see the tea, thinking that he would just say a few words of greetings and deal with the etiquette, but he never expected that Zhao Wei would bring him a huge surprise.

It was not easy for Master Jiang to stay calm. Without laughing out loud, he grabbed Zhao Wei's hand and asked, "Your Highness is okay?" Where has he been these days? Since there is nothing to do. Why didn't you report to Kyori earlier? ”

Zhao Wei said: "This matter is a long story, His Royal Highness was plotted by someone, the people accompanying him were unreliable, and even the head of the palace was bribed." At that time, His Royal Highness was only the prince of Guangping, and he didn't know which local officials were reliable, so he didn't dare to show his face lightly. Our family met His Royal Highness by chance, and when he saw that His Highness was in trouble, he quietly let His Highness hide in a familiar merchant ship with the prince, and went north along the coastal road to Tianjin, which is also the meaning of avoiding people's ears. Fortunately, the journey was very smooth, and now His Royal Highness is still on the ship, wanting to go back to Beijing as much as possible, but he doesn't plan to alarm others. Is there a way for adults? ”

Master Jiang thought for a while: "It's the first month of the year, and the New Year's gift has already been sent to Beijing, so I can't use this as an excuse to cover up for His Highness." However, my eldest son has always been favored by his mother, so I said that I couldn't go home for the New Year this year, worried about my parents, and ordered my eldest son to return to Beijing to do my filial piety, and I could also make it clear that I would let the child come back after the Lantern Festival. This is reasonable, a child is on the road alone, and it is understandable to send more followers around him, but he has to be wronged by His Highness. ”

Zhao Wei listened to it and felt that this method was not bad, so he got up and said: "This is very good, I hope that the adults will prepare early, and besides, Your Highness still wants to know what the situation is in Beijing, what has happened in the past month, why don't you go and see Your Highness?" ”

Master Jiang wanted to see the prince, so naturally he would not refuse, he changed into a simple robe, dressed as a middle-aged scholar, and only brought two cronies and servants of the family, and Zhao Wei came out of the back door of the mansion, walked around the street, and went out of the city and went straight to the dock. However, he did not directly find the ship of the Wells family, but went to the vicinity of the dock, and asked his cronies to find the house that the foreign merchants were used to renting, rented a small courtyard, and checked it inside and out, and asked people to guard the door, so that Zhao Wei went back and brought the prince's uncle and nephew over to meet.

When the uncle and nephew see each other, they naturally have to hug their heads and cry. After crying, the prince pulled Master Jiang to sit down before asking, "What happened to Jingzhong?" Is my father okay? Is the mother okay? ”

Lord Jiang sighed and said: "The news that His Royal Highness was in danger and injured in Shanghai came, about ten days ago, the prefect of Shanghai and the head of the Jiading Palace both said that His Royal Highness was seriously injured, and no one in Beijing knew the truth, and they all believed it...... As soon as I heard the news, I fainted, and although I woke up fine, I was also very sad. Fortunately, His Royal Highness is safe and sound, and when he returns to Beijing, the emperor and Niangniang will definitely be pleasantly surprised. ”

As for the situation in the capital, the news brought by Lord Jiang was not good. Because the prince was in distress and "seriously injured", when the news reached the capital, it had been delayed for several days, and the messenger also spread the news intentionally or unintentionally, according to them, the prince's injury was only afraid that it could not be healed, just a hard time, and naturally he could no longer be the prince, and then which prince could be the new prince, and it would be discussed again, before the New Year, the court had been arguing endlessly, and there was no way to stop in the New Year.

Among the several princes in the extant Zài world, the oldest is the second prince, King Yanling, who was born by Chang De Concubine, who has always been mediocre and unusable. But less than two days after the news of the re-establishment of the prince came out, King Yanling was exposed as anti-minded, and he also asked someone to search out the dragon robe from his courtyard on the outskirts of Beijing. The emperor was furious and wanted to ask the eldest son for the crime, and ordered him to be detained in the Zongren Mansion, and the King of Yanling cried and defended that he had not been to the other courtyard for two years, and he didn't know when such a thing as a dragon robe would appear there, but unfortunately the emperor did not believe it, and seemed to believe that he was going to rebel, he was frightened, and committed suicide in the Zongren Mansion that night.

The next three princes, King Guangping, lost his position because of blindness, so he naturally couldn't stand again.

The fourth is the current prince, who can no longer be the prince.

The fifth prince, King Jinyang, was born by Concubine Wang Xian, and although his biological mother was born in everyone, she fell out of favor for a long time and died early. However, King Jinyang has been smart and capable since he was a child, and if he hadn't had a perverse temperament, he would have been one of the popular candidates for the crown prince. But somehow, some time ago, he behaved in the palace again, was scolded by the emperor, and said that he would succeed him. If he is expelled from the inheritance clan, he will no longer be a prince, let alone a prince.

So who else can be expected to be on the throne next? There is only one young prince left, one person. (To be continued......)

PS: (The background is pumped, and I can't post it all the time, I'm almost out of temper...... ）