It took Zhang Jianxiu nearly half an hour to explain the matter of the Huya Mountain Bandit clearly, and it is difficult to elaborate on his general narrative based on history, so he has to explain it briefly.

Different from the wide and gentle middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the Yangtze River is particularly steep in the Sichuan River and Jingjiang River stages, which are two completely different feelings for boats traveling on the Three Gorges since ancient times.

One is the exhilaration. It is "the white emperor of the court, between the clouds, thousands of miles of Jiangling in one day." The apes on both sides of the strait can't stop crying, and the light boat has passed the ten thousand mountains", and the "like a thousand miles" is "that is, from the Ba Gorge through the Wu Gorge, then go down to Xiangyang to Luoyang" relaxed and free.

The other is just the opposite, it can be imagined that since it is so fast going down the river, what a turbulent current it must be, under such water, paddling or something is purely a dream, that is to take one step and three steps back, and can only rely on the slender men on both sides of the strait to pull the boat little by little.

However, the terrain on both sides of the Three Gorges is changeable, and the slender man can get off the boat to pull the fiber in the tidal flats, while there are many sections of the river where the banks are steep cliffs, so the only way to do so is to do so. For example, there are many sturdy poles on the ship, and the long poles have iron hooks at one end, and they are hooked through the cracks in the cliffs by the slender men on the ship.

If it is a tailwind, you can also borrow some wind power, if it is not a tailwind, it will be a turtle completely.

It is a waterway that has been flowing from the river to the river for one day since ancient times, and if it is changed to a waterway from the river to the river, it is likely that it will not be able to reach it for ten days.

So this has created a large number of slender men around this section of the Yangtze River, these slender men live by pulling fibers, not only extremely difficult, but also very dangerous, although they usually have excellent water properties, but the water flow of the Three Gorges is not only rapid, but whirlpools, undercurrents are everywhere, no matter how good the water nature can not guarantee that they will not die.

"Thousands of miles of the Yangtze River, the danger is in the Jingjiang River", these are the circumstances.

The difficult survival environment is always the best way to exercise the ability of human cooperation, and the slender men on both sides of the Three Gorges of the Ming Dynasty gradually formed some kind of organization, which was later called the Slender Man Gang, also known as the Fiber Gang.

In the 39th year of Jiajing, exactly 20 years ago, there was a major flood in the Yangtze River basin, the Sichuanjiang, Hanjiang, and Jiujiang rivers rose at the same time, the water flooding of the three rivers was abnormal, the counties and counties along the rivers were wiped out, and there was no one or two survivors of the embankments.

Since then, the two lakes plain has risen at the same time in summer and autumn, and there is no peace. Every year, 10,000 taels of silver were used to repair the embankment, and the people in this area began to fall into endless labor to repair the embankment and fight the flood, but they still inevitably suffered from drifting and drowning.

The life of the slender men has become more difficult. As a result, the fiber gang, which originally existed only to facilitate everyone to take over business together and unify pricing, was split.

Some people usually show themselves as slender men, but on the days when there is no business, or when they can't support their families even if they have work, they begin to rob houses and houses in various places on both sides of the strait.

The group of slender men was originally composed of people who were extremely able to endure hardships and stand hard work, and there were many strong people, and they were extremely organized and cooperative

Needless to say, the local government and guard sent troops to exterminate it, and if there were fewer troops, it was to deliver food, and if there were more troops, the people would have long been reduced to zero, and they could not find the main owner at all. However, it is impossible to kill all the slender men, otherwise this main waterway will be abandoned

Therefore, in the past 20 years, the Huya Mountain and Water Bandits split from the Fiber Gang have become more and more powerful, but they are unable to suppress them, and the local government is at a loss.

Recently, it was the autumn flood, and the slender men were also in the off-season of business, and the Huya mountain bandits naturally began to move out again and loot everywhere, and Zhang Jianxiu's warning came from this.

However, Zhang Jianxiu also said that he didn't know how many bandits there were in Huyashan, these people were not simple bandits, they were usually the worst survivors on both sides of the river, maybe there were only two or three thousand people in total, but maybe there were twenty or thirty thousand people guarding this Yangtze River waterway to eat, let alone 100,000 people on both sides of the river

Gao pragmatic listened to it, there is no way, this kind of thing, even if his family has a fortune of millions, it can't be solved, unless he orders to transfer all the mine guards and manufacturers in Henan, gather two or three thousand people to walk directly along the river 6 roads, and fight the turtle-like progress into Sichuan, in order to ensure absolute safety, after all, the fiber gang is just asking for money, if two or three thousand armed people do not bring a lot of wealth, they will definitely not provoke.

But how can this be time-consuming and laborious, not to mention, the price of tofu has risen to the price of meat.

Gao pragmatic smiled bitterly, "In this way, I really have to take a detour."

Liu Xin frowned and asked, "Since they are just seeking money, and I have brought two hundred families along the way, I shouldn't be regarded as a target by them."

Zhang Jianxiu thought for a while and said, "During the autumn flood period, it is more difficult to sail against the current than usual, large ships cannot go, at most they can only take medium-sized boats, and Miss Liu has two hundred families, which requires at least three boats, if you hire a slender man, it will almost cost more than a hundred people, and you can even hire two hundred people to be safe." ”

Gao Pragmatic and Liu Xin glanced at each other, a little unsure of what Zhang Jianxiu meant.

Zhang Jianxiu also saw their doubts, and explained, "Two hundred slender men is not much for the fiber gang, but it is also a big deal, in fact, the fiber gang is usually honest, and only when they are really desperate will they take risks." If Miss Liu is willing to hire so many slender men, the Fiber Gang may be willing to give you a scorn rope, which is the sign of the Fiber Gang, and if you hang the scorn rope, you will not be attacked by Huya Mountain bandits. ”

At this moment, Gao Pragmatic understood it, and slapped his thigh: "Fourth Brother Zhang said this earlier, isn't it over, isn't this still a matter of money, how to buy this contempt rope, how much deal is it, they are willing to hang the contempt rope?"

Zhang Jianxiu shook his head a little embarrassed and said, "This, I don't know much about the brother who is too specific, I have to go to Jingnan Water Station to ask." ”

"Jingnan Water Station" Gao Pragmatic was slightly stunned, "Isn't this the official post of the imperial court?"

Zhang Jianxiu nodded and said, "Yes, it is an official post of the imperial court." From Jingzhou to Sichuan, if only from Jingzhou to Kuizhou this waterway, to go out from Jingnan Water Station, through Zhijiang County Liudian Water Station, Yiling Prefecture Fenglou Water Station, Huangniu Water Station, Guizhou Jianping Water Station, Badong County Bashan Water Station, and then arrive at Kuizhou Yongning Water Station. ”

"The slender men of these fiber gangs are all working near these water stations, and the slender men will not walk thousands of miles, they are all a water post and a section of the road, and each section of the road is counted separately, so if you want to ask the price, you have to go to the water station."

Now Gao pragmatic understands that the slender men are in the Three Gorges against the trend, which is also a relay race, otherwise the labor intensity is too high, and they must die of exhaustion on the way. However, the water post is really just a gathering place for slender men, I'm afraid it's not likely.

Gao pragmatically estimated that these water stations must have something to do with the Fiber Gang, and they are likely to benefit allies.

But he doesn't plan to take care of this matter, otherwise the Huguang officialdom will have to regard him as an enemy.

At the insistence of Gao Pragmatic, Zhang Jianxiu personally took Gao Pragmatic and Liu Xin and others to Jingnan Water Station to talk about things.

When Zhang Juzheng fell, he was "dismissed from his own position, returned to his hometown to live idlely, and was not allowed to stay", and that period must have been the most vulnerable period for Zhangfu in Jingzhou.

However, because Gao Pragmatic sent a family member to escort Zhang Juzheng back to his hometown, this move caused many speculative people to misunderstand, thinking that Zhang Juzheng's downfall had nothing to do with Gao Gong, and even Gao Gong may still be very nostalgic. So the Zhang family was not suppressed too much.

Later, the three sons of the Zhang family won the Jinshi or the same Jinshi, and the status of the Zhang family was established again, to a certain extent, it was better than the original history of "its rise is also vigorous, and its death is also sudden".

When the Yicheng and others of Jingnan Water Station heard that the fourth master of the Zhang family came in person, they were taken aback, and hurriedly came out to greet them, and heard that there was also a Guangxi patrol who came with them, and they hurriedly came out to greet the top and bottom of the Water Station.

Gao Pragmatic came to the water post to take a look, only to know that this southern water post is really not comparable to the northern water station.

This Jingnan Water Station is not in the city, but outside the southeast of Jingzhou City, only about five or six miles away from the city. It is said that the water post is actually not only a large yard like a horse post, which can accommodate four or five hundred people, but also a rather small wharf that can even be regarded as a river port.

Jingnan Water Post is located in Jingzhou, which is the main road of the Yangtze River waterway, and should be equipped with "20 boats" as a rule, but there are at least 30 medium-sized ships in the river port owned by this water post, and there are even six large inland river ships.

The horses of the Ming Dynasty lacked horses for many years, until after I answered the tribute, the Jinghua Chamber of Commerce purchased a large number of horses from the right-wing Mongolia, which allowed the horses of the northern post station to gradually reach the original amount, but the south is still lacking, but what I didn't expect is that the horse post lacks horses, and the water post is not short of boats at all, and the ships of the Jingnan water post are even marked

Gao pragmatic was amazed in his heart, why is this

This question didn't last long before it was answered, because after listening to Zhang Jianxiu talk about Gao Pragmatic and Liu Xin and others, he actually patted his chest and made a package ticket, "As long as the price is negotiated, the rope is hanged, and the Three Gorges is not in danger" and then introduced the price on his side with a smile, including boats, slender men, safety and security, travel food supply, etc., all have different standards and different prices, and even said that you can also include entertainment activities, listen to music and watch plays, or Sister Yao, everything you should have, everything, Even the rabbit and them can

Gao Pragmatic was dumbfounded when he heard it, while Liu Xin secretly took a sip and went out under the pretext.

Only Zhang Jianxiu's face was naturally surprised, and he waved his hand and said, "Don't talk nonsense, Gao Zhizhi is not going to enter Sichuan, it is Miss Liu who is going to enter Sichuan just now." Miss Liu's identity is not simple, Qianchuan Shuai Liu Weiming Liu Zongrong is her father saw the two hundred families outside, that is the strongest Japanese Emperor under Liu Zongrong, don't say I didn't tell you clearly, if someone from Huya Mountain made a mistake, I'm afraid I don't know how to die. ”

Although the Yicheng was taken aback, his face remained unchanged, and he said again and again, "Master Zhang Si, look at what you said, what kind of person is the smallest, don't you know that the most honest small businessman is just a small businessman, how can you rest assured, a character like Miss Liu, and such a big deal, from Jingnan Shuiyi to Kuizhou, the whole line is small to help you all three of you talk, a total of 1,200 taels, what do you think?"

Gao Pragmatic had almost no concept of the money below 10,000 taels, and his face remained unchanged when he heard the words, but Zhang Jianxiu's face turned dark, and he scolded, "Open your dog's eyes and see clearly, your fourth master is not from Jingzhou, you dare to rip off customers like this"