Chapter 13 Itinerary

It takes two days to travel by carriage from Beijing to Tianjin, and you have to rest overnight at the post station in between. On the second day, we entered the city of Tianjin. Tianjin is now called Tianjin Wei, in the early years of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di, the king of Yan, sent troops to the capital to seize the throne, and set up a ferry in Tianjin, so he took the name Tianjin, which means the place where the Son of Heaven crossed the river. Later, the guard station was set up, which was originally called Tianjin Wei.

On the evening of the third day, Tom and the two officers who were in charge of monitoring him arrived at the Tianjin Guard. They were to stay overnight at the post next to the guard station, and then sail south early tomorrow morning. Tom was extremely anxious about So-yun's delay in appearing. In fact, Shuyun was in Tom's carriage, and before the capital set off, Shuyun sneaked into Tom's carriage quietly, but because Shuyun was hiding in the space, Tom couldn't see it. But Shuyun can clearly see and hear the situation outside, which is another powerful function of space.

Because of the accurate calculation and grasp of the itinerary, Shuyun did not rush out to meet Tom. It wasn't until late at night that they arrived at the guard house that Shuyun used the cover of space to sneak into Tom's room. It was past time for Tom to paced anxiously around the room before he had fallen asleep. In the center of the room was the wooden box that was intended for So-yun to hide. Seeing Sook-yun suddenly appear, Tom let out a sigh of relief.

Two steps over, hugged Shuyun, "Oh, thank God, you're finally here." You didn't show up for a long time, I thought something was wrong, you couldn't come. ”

Shuyun patted Tom comfortingly, "Don't worry, there's nothing, I've been following you." It's just that I'm afraid of being discovered, so I don't dare to show up too early. ”

And made a grimace as if jokingly: "You have to believe in Yunyun's wisdom." ”

The two chatted for a while. They worked together to hide the stones in the box under the bed in the room. Shuyun took advantage of Tom's sleep to put the stone into the space and completely erase the traces.

In the third year of Kangxi (1664 AD), on the morning of October 1, the genius was bright. Tom was sent to escort the two officers who were actually watching him aboard.

Originally, it was going to go directly by sea, but I don't know what the reason is, the imperial court temporarily changed the plan. When they arrived in Tianjin, they received a notice asking them to take the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and then change ships to go to Macao by sea after arriving in Hangzhou.

Shuyun guessed that the imperial court might be wary of Tom and other foreigners, and out of the secrecy of the route, he would rather make more effort. The route is changed only on a temporary basis. Otherwise, you have to take the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and you can get on the boat in Tongzhou, why do you want to come to Tianjin Wei from near and far. But what makes Shuyun wonder is when the Qing Dynasty became so secretive. It's weird.

Shuyun and his party set off from Tianjin Wei by boat, passing through Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces, and replenished food and water in Jining along the way, but Tom was asked to stay on the boat and not to get off the boat.

Six days later, we arrived in Hangzhou in the afternoon. So-yun was afraid of being discovered, so she kept hiding in the cabin. The scenery along the way was seen by Tom and then sketched to Shuyun. The day before arriving in Hangzhou, Shuyun and Tom discussed the next itinerary.

"Tom, you know, given the influence of the trade winds on navigation, we won't be able to leave Macau until December at the earliest. In this case, we will have to stay in Macau for at least 50 days or so. Sook-yun said to Tom.

"Hehe, Yunyun, you're right, but don't worry, we can stay at St. Paul's Church in Macau, and by the way, we can wait for news from Priest Tang." Tom replied with a smile.

"I'm not worrying about where to live, I'm trying to say that since you're going to have to wait so long, and it's not good to be told that you're not good with a child, it's suspicious. So I want to separate from you in Hangzhou and go to my master to say goodbye to him by the way. I'll be looking for you at St. Paul's Church by early December at the latest. Sook-yun explained to Tom.

Tom immediately exclaimed, "Then what's the matter, you're in danger alone." ”

"It's okay, my master has a lot of friends in Hangzhou, and I will ask them to find someone to escort me." So-yun couldn't reassure Tom and had to lie to him.

"Well, well, be careful." Tom is still very easy to fool!

"Mmmm, don't worry, Zhilu said."

And so Sook-yun and Tom were separated.

On the morning of October 7, the next day, Tom took a boat at the mouth of the Qiantang River in Hangzhou, and arrived in Guangzhou 15 days later.

Shuyun hurriedly inquired about the prices of silk, porcelain, and embroidery in Hangzhou, and secretly sneaked onto the deck of a cargo ship that was ready to sell goods to Zigong and bring back some well salt. Shuyun then dodged into the space. Space will move forward with the cargo ship.

From Hangzhou to Zigong, you have to take the Yangtze River waterway. Along the way, Shuyun looked out through the space, and finally realized the depiction in Li Bai's "Early White Emperor City", "The apes on both sides of the strait can't stop crying, and the light boat has passed over the ten thousand mountains." Artistic conception. The two sides of the river are full of steep mountain walls, it is already golden autumn and October, and it is still full of peaks and mountains, lush greenery, the river is sometimes wide and sometimes narrow, and the water flow is sometimes calm and sometimes turbulent. Although in her previous life, Shuyun had swam across the Yangtze River more than once, whether before or after the start of the Three Gorges Project. But at that time, after all, there were more traces of modernization and artificial axes, and the artistic conception was a grade worse than now.

went all the way fast, of course, compared with the later generations, it was a turtle speed. The boat line arrived in Zigong in nine days, and it only took half a day from Zigong to Yibin. On the afternoon of October 17, Shuyun arrived in Yibin and found Xu's house according to the address. Taking advantage of the fact that there was no one in the alley, Shuyun summoned out the two boxes of gold that she got from the space. The 40 taels for Juan were removed, and Shuyun left another 160 taels for future living expenses, making a total of 3,800 taels. Cover with straw.

Shuyun hid in the space again, patiently waiting for Xu Dongxue or Old Man Xu to go out, the reason why this is so is because there are many people, so Shuyun is not willing to let the people of the Xu Mansion see her. Fortunately, Shuyun only waited for less than half an hour before she saw Dongxue's little fat girl running out of the room.

Shuyun took advantage of the moment she turned around and flashed out of the space. Then he was discovered by Dong Xue, who rubbed his eyes, blinked, and rubbed them again with his fat hands full of nests. In the next moment, he jumped up on the spot, cheered and rushed towards Shuyun.

Alas! This fat girl is still the same lively and heartless.

The two young ladies simply talked about their parting feelings, and Shuyun asked Dongxue not to alarm the others, quietly invited Old Man Xu out, and described its importance. The little fat girl accepted this "sacred and great" task, clenched her little fist, lowered her head heavily, and turned back to the house with a majestic look.

After a while, the little fat girl pulled Grandpa Xu out. The old man was also very excited to see Shuyun, and sent away Xu Dongxue, who pouted in protest.

Then the old man asked worriedly, "Shuyun, why are you here?" What happened? ”

"Grandpa is like this, Tang Ruowang and Nan Huairen and other missionaries were denounced by Yang Guangxian, and Ao Bai then sent a cadre to prison on three charges including conspiracy to rebel. With the exception of Tom, the court asked him to return to the Holy See with documents refusing to allow Western missionaries to come to Qing. So I had to change my plan and go to Europe with Tom now. ”

"And how did you get here?" The old man then asked.

"I don't know how long it will take to come back, so I want to see your old man again, and say goodbye by the way. Second, there is one more thing that you need to ask for. Shuyun explained.

"If you say anything, as long as grandpa can do it, he will definitely help you."

"That's right, according to Tom, for our silk and porcelain in the Qing Dynasty, Westerners are eager to go, anyway, they have to take a boat trip, it is better to carry some to Europe to sell, and by the way to earn some living expenses. It's just that the imperial court explicitly forbade it in this regard, and it was inconvenient for the foreigners in Macao and their subordinates to come forward directly. We also don't have anyone we can trust to help. So I want to ask grandpa to send a reliable family member to help with the procurement. Here are 3,800 taels of gold. Shuyun said as she lifted the straw-covered box.

The old man was a little surprised that Shuyun could come up with so much money, but he didn't ask too much, just said, "Okay, don't worry, I will send a housekeeper." ”

"Very well, Grandpa. You only need to arrange for the housekeeper to go to Suzhou and Hangzhou to buy some fine silk, embroidered handkerchiefs, purses and porcelain. Then rent a warehouse at the dock in Hangzhou, and the lease period can be half a month. Don't worry about the rest, Tom will arrange someone to pick up the goods when he arrives in Macau. There is also no need for the square housekeeper and the person sent to connect. Store the goods in the warehouse and come back. This will also save you from getting in trouble. "Shuyun doesn't want to expose the secrets of the space, so she can only lie to the old man. In fact, Shuyun didn't feel good either.

"With so many things, can foreigners trust them?" The old man was still a little worried.

"Don't worry, it's fine. Tom would find some devout people who were controlled by the church. Shuyun comforted.

"Okay, I'll arrange for someone to carry the box in. Let Cher open the back door for you. There are a few people in the palace who have come from the capital to know you. It's better not to let them see you. ”

"I still don't want it, anyway, I'm running away without permission, in case I accidentally get seen by a talkative person, it will cause you trouble. Besides, if it is discovered, it will not be good for my plan. I heard that the Rumi Temple in Niutou Mountain is very famous and has the reputation of "the first temple in southern Sichuan". I'd like to go there and borrow a two-day rest and then go and meet Tom. You can help me say goodbye to everyone. Also, this is a gift for you and Cher. Shuyun untied the burden on her back and handed it to Old Man Xu.

"I'll send someone to send you, I'm not at ease if you're alone."

"Don't worry, grandpa, Tom sent someone to escort me, otherwise how could I have traveled all the way with such a heavy amount of gold, but I was afraid of causing you trouble, so I sent him to wait for me elsewhere."

Then he knelt down and seriously kowtowed to the old man three times. He said, "Master, take care, the apprentice will definitely come back to see you." You must wait! "After. Turning around, he kept walking into the distance without looking back. Shuyun's heart was unusually sour, and she no longer had the courage to look at the old man's kind face.