In August of the first year of the Great Song Dynasty, there were no clouds and the sky was as blue as a wash. On the Wuzhang River, which leads from Bianliang to the Daimyo's Mansion, several large ships loaded with grain are cleaving the waves and heading north.

The Yongji Canal can only carry ships and goods below 300 stones, and the goods transported by these ships are more than 1,000 stones, and they can only enter Hebei by the Wuzhang River.

At the bow of the front ship, a middle-aged man in his forties, thin and dark-faced, was standing on the deck, standing with his hands in his hands, as if thinking about something, completely ignoring the summer heat.

"But the king of the world, won the name before and after his death, and it happened in vain."

He shook his head and muttered to himself: "Wang Ponu, do you only think about the king's heart, clean yourself, and be a loyal and filial son, but I don't believe it."

"Daddy, on such a hot day, are you coming out again?"

A young girl in the cabin ran out, quickly picked up an umbrella, and covered her father's head.

The girl is as warm as jade, graceful, like a spring breeze, but glamorous and vulgar, at first glance she is from a famous family, and she has a bookish atmosphere, which makes her a little charm.

The girl looked at the banks of the canal, frowned slightly, and said in a low voice: "Daddy, I still don't understand, why do you have to come to the Daimyo's Mansion?" After crossing the Wuzhang River and heading north, the road is not smooth, if you meet the Jurchens, won't it add a lot of danger?"

From Fujian to Jiangning, and then from Jiangning to Jianghuai, it was not easy to arrive at Bianliang City, but it was carrying these tens of thousands of taels of silver grain, and came to the land of Hebei where the Song and Jin were at war.

Huang Shishun looked at his daughter, shook his head and said, "My daughter doesn't know, now that the Huang family has lost power, it is difficult to do business at sea." Our father and daughter are going to find another way. ”

The girl snorted lightly in her nostrils, a trace of disdain appeared on her face, and she said loudly: "Cai's father and son have plagued the world, making the Great Song Dynasty almost lose the country, the crime is extremely evil, and there is more than enough to die." As a Fujianese, my daughter also feels ashamed. ”

Huang Shishun said helplessly: "Having said that, over the years, our family's maritime business has more or less relied on the Cai family's aftermath. Although we are not the same family, we are in-laws, and we will always have the old. ”

The middle-aged man Huang Shishun standing at the bow of the boat is a maritime merchant from Quanzhou, Fujian, and the girl next to him is his only daughter Huang Xin.

Song Qinzong Zhao Huan ascended the throne, and Cai Jing, Tong Guan and other six thieves were either degraded or died. Cai Jing and his seventh son, Cai Jing died of illness, the eldest son Cai You, and the third son Cai Yu died. The seventh son, Cai Xuan, died of a violent illness in the first year of Jingkang.

The fourth son, Cai Juan, was exiled to Baizhou. The concubines of the fifth son, Cai Ying, and Emperor Maode, Zhao Fujin, have now also been relegated to Guangzhou Mansion.

Although Zhao Ji re-ascended the throne and Cai Jing's two grandsons were still officials in the court, Caimen had already sunset and the glory was no longer there. In Putian, Fujian, the Cai family can no longer get up.

Cai Jing fell, and the Cai family was suppressed. The favor of the imperial court is gone, the care of the local government is no longer there, and all kinds of constraints follow, as the in-laws of the Cai family, the various industries of the Huang family have been hit hard, and they are also struggling.

With the southward relocation of the imperial court, the main division of the Nanwai sect moved to Quanzhou, and the dignitaries and royal clan personnel participated in overseas trade, and the lawlessness was rampant with their privileges, which made Huang Shishun, who was mainly engaged in maritime trade, bitter and helpless.

In the past, the pacification of the two Zhejiang provinces enabled Ye Mengde to take care of the Huang family's business, but with Ye Mengde's relocation to the head of the household department, the Huang family's business plummeted and struggled.

This time he went north, but he tried to start an inland river business, transporting a batch of southern rice to Bianliang City, and then transporting some porcelain from the Northern Geomagnetic State back.

Who knew that when he arrived in Bianliang City, Hebei had been ceded to the Jin people. In this way, he can only return empty-handed.

During his stay in Bianliang City, he heard Wang Song's story for the first time, and he knew that this person was attacking the city in Hebei and was overwhelming.

Huang Shishun, who has been in business for many years, is naturally very sensitive to the current situation. After much deliberation, he decided to make a trip north to meet the legendary miraculous figure.

For this reason, he pulled several boatloads of grain north, and the speculative psychology in it is self-evident.

In troubled times, if you don't have a backer, I'm afraid that sooner or later you will be empty, and even your life will be lost. The loyal and righteous army is strong and strong, and can repeatedly defeat the Jurchen army, such a strong army is only afraid that it is unparalleled in the world.

Huang Xin looked at the Wuzhang River that was going away, and whispered in her mouth: "A group of people are jealous." Scattered into mud and dust, only fragrant as before. Wang Song, what kind of man are you, and how can you have such a clean sentiment?"

Hearing his daughter's muttering, Huang Shishun couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, and then pondered.

The daughter is twenty-eight years old, young and beautiful, knowledgeable and courteous, and she is calm and thoughtful, far-sighted, and her family's business is thanks to her.

It's just that her daughter thinks very highly of herself, and she is already a twenty-eight beauty in a flash, but she can only be in the boudoir.

I heard that Wang Song is in his early twenties and has not married yet, and his statement is good, if it is......

Suddenly the river was wide, and it turned out that the boat arrived at the confluence of the Yongji Canal and the Wuzhang River, and the boat entered the Yongji Canal, and then rowed to the east, less than ten miles was the Beijing Daimyo's Mansion.

The boats were heavy and slowly entered the canal. After passing Huanshui Town, after traveling less than ten miles, I saw a huge ferry next to it, which seemed to be being newly repaired, but there were no boats.

"Father, this seems to be a military ferry, it seems that this prince is ambitious and is going to build a naval army."

Huang Shishun nodded silently, what his daughter said was reasonable. This young man surnamed Wang is in Hebei, but he is already thinking about Jianghuai, and the plan is big, which seems to be a good investment.

The ship slowly moved along the south bank, and the tall walls loomed in the distance. The dock in front was full of boats of all sizes, bustling with people coming and going, and countless dock coolies were busy moving goods off the ship.

Huang Shishun ordered the boatmen to slow down, and under the guidance of the officials on the river, they slowly leaned against a bay at the wharf. A team of ironclad soldiers immediately went aboard the ship to inspect it.

The soldiers were expressionless, but they were well-behaved, and there were no rude movements, no bad words, and no extortion. It was only after confirming that the cargo on board was in order and that there were no problems that the sergeant left the ship.

Huang Shishun handed over a piece of silver, but was sternly rejected by the guards led by him.

"Seeing that you are a newcomer to this place, you are the first offender, and I will not punish you this time. If there is a next time, I will sue you for the crime of bribing a sergeant. ”

A guard next to him even said loudly: "If we accept your bribe, we will be punished by military law, do you want me to lose my head?"

Cai's father and daughter glanced at each other, looked at each other, and were speechless in surprise.

"Are these still officials and sergeants of the Great Song Dynasty?"

After a while, Huang Shishun retracted his surprise!

"Daddy, this Wang Song really has some meaning, no wonder he can compete with the Jurchens. If the officials of the imperial court are so incorruptible, how can my Great Song Dynasty fall to such a point!"

Huang Xin's face turned red, obviously she didn't expect that before she got off the boat, it had already opened her eyes.

Huang Shishun hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Brothers, here are merchants from Fujian, and they want to see Wang Song and Wang Xianggong, please let me know."

The sergeant at the head looked at the Huang father and daughter, and saw that the two of them, a man and a woman, an old man and a young man, were not extremely vicious, plus Huang Xin was young and beautiful, beautiful and delicious, and in the summer heat, the sergeant's mood was inexplicably better.

"Big officials, if you want to see the prince Wang, you must have someone from the Military Police Department to take you there, otherwise it will be difficult to see you. The Gendarmerie Department patrolled the ferry every day, wearing it on his arm

The armband of the "gendarmerie" is written in red on white cloth. You have a sip of tea and so on, and they may be there in a moment. ”

"Brother Jun, what is the "gendarme" for? ”

Huang Xin stepped forward and asked.

The sergeant at the head stopped his steps, smelled the faint fragrance on Huang Xin's body, couldn't help but blush, and replied loudly: "Little lady, the gendarmes are the military discipline officers who manage our officers and soldiers. All non-commissioned officers in the army, whether they have violated military discipline and military regulations, whether they have disturbed the people, and so on, are all under the supervision of these military police. Not only us, but also the brothers in the army, they are also very afraid of them!"

Huang Xin nodded and said, "Brother Jun, then you have to be careful, if you make a mistake and are caught by them, you will be miserable."

The sergeant at the head did not dare to stop, and hurriedly left with his subordinate sergeants to check the ships below. It's just that he walked far, so he turned around and looked quietly.

"Zhang Dutou, don't think nonsense. That little lady is a fairy-like character, and she has something to do with Wang Xianggong, so you will die. ”

The soldier next to him saw that Shangguan's face was red, and he looked back from time to time, and began to tease.

"No matter how beautiful the little lady is, she is not worthy of our father-in-law!"

Zhang Dutou replied dissatisfiedly, with a hint of arrogance in his tone.

"As long as Xianggong doesn't look down on him, why can't I think about it? I am wise and martial, young and golden, in the city of the famous mansion, I don't know how many little ladies favor me, am I afraid that I can't find the Hun family!"

The subordinates laughed together, and Zhang Kaishan immediately sank his face, stopped everyone's laughter, and said loudly: "Don't mess around, hurry up and check the ships below." If the members of the gendarmerie department see that they have misbehaved in broad daylight, they will be punished. ”

One by one, the soldiers got up and walked to the next ship to be inspected.

The Gendarmerie Department has a lot of powers, and the salary is quite rich, and there are many wounded veterans in it. Therefore, it is also a department that is the envy of the sergeants. It is no wonder that these soldiers cherish their position.

The sergeants left, and the Huang father and daughter got off the boat, entered a tea shed by the ferry, found a clean table, and began to drink tea.

At the ferry, topless coolies were busy unloading and loading the same goods. Carts and wheelbarrows are busy transporting goods to the city.

From time to time, you can see the public servants and sergeants of the government, and the pedestrians on the road, including coolies, merchants, and hawkers at the ferry, although they do not look very wealthy, but everyone is in good spirits.

"Daddy, I'...... Want to go to the toilet?"

Huang Xin said with a red face. After holding back on the boat for so long, it's no wonder that when she got off the boat, she wanted to find a place to go to the toilet quickly.

Huang Shishun hurriedly asked the people at the tea stall about the location of the toilet. The subordinate took Huang Xin to go and soon found a place to go to the toilet.

The word "public toilet" is written on the outside of the toilet wall, and a large black font "female" is clearly visible. There was a middle-aged woman sitting at the door, with a stack of coarse paper on the table, and the small sign on the table clearly wrote the signs "Xiaojie Free" and "Three Toilet Papers for a Penny".

The walls of the public toilets and the urinal inside are made of earth and concrete. Several pumping trucks are erected by the canal, and the pumped water is continuously sent down the ditch into the toilet, washing away the yellow and white things inside at any time.

From time to time, people go in, carrying iron buckets, mopping the floor with a slender wooden stick as a handle and a strip of cloth as a ball, and go in to sweep.

When Huang Xin came out, she couldn't help but take a few more glances at the "public toilet", thinking that such facilities, including the "mop", could be promoted in the wealthy south, and I believe that there are not a few people who use them.

On the other side of the official road, some people who look like public men and a group of farmers are busy paving roads and canals. One of the knots has been slabbed and looks like it's made of the same material as the toilet wall.