Shi Gongsi was wearing a hat, looking forty-four or five years old, his face was already furrowed, and his bronzed skin was as bright as if he had been smeared with tung oil. At this moment, he is leisurely holding the rudder, letting the hull of the ship go down the river as smoothly as possible, running the boat for many years, this year should be the most relaxed.

The two families on their own ships are more people and less goods, and they seem to have an identity when they talk and behave, and the people on the wharf talk about a lot of Sichuan money, and the guests are also happy.

The guests are kind and generous, and they sail on the Chishui River all the year round, and Shi Gongsi has not met such a patron for a long time.

The local natives, whether Han people or minor, are very rude, and the merchants who travel to and from Sichuan and Guizhou rarely take this waterway, and it is not unprofitable to pay the boat fare. What's more, this trip is not as short as before, the two groups of guests do not change boats, and they are about to go straight to Hejiang, and they can come back with a boatload of salt goods, such a business is the first time in half a year.

The shipping of the rivers in the south of the country is mostly subdivided into sections, and the ships that come and go in the water network regardless of the distance and proximity, only go to the same day and return on the same day, and when they arrive at a place, they will make the guests change boats and go on the next journey, but also because this place is deserted, and there is no town wharf for dozens of miles. The Shi family's boat is not too big, and the two groups of guests plus his two sons and his own mother-in-law are also a little narrower, and the business has been bleak over the years.

Wang Xingping was suffocating in the back cabin, so he left Xiao Liu and Liao Si to eat and drink inside, and he changed into light short clothes and came out of the back of the cabin.

When I looked up, I happened to bump into Shi Gongsi's son, the youngest son of the Shi family is less than seventeen this year, and he is clumsy in doing things, and he is learning from his father to operate the rudder and tail.

Seeing the guests coming, Lao Er immediately put on a smiling face.

"Childe doesn't want to rest? Now that the sun is blazing, it is better to be comfortable in the cabin. ”

"No, it's stuffy in the cabin, so it's better to look at the scenery outside."

Shi Lao'er thought to himself, what is there to see about the cliffs and cliffs on both sides of the river? The rich man's mind is really not easy to figure out, but he wants to rest in the cabin, but others are the customers who give money, and he is the shipper who takes the money to serve, but this is not easy to say, and he still has to flatter.

Shi Gongsi said: "But the wine and food are not to the taste of the son?" ”

When it comes to a wharf, Shi Lao'er always sends his mother-in-law to buy some wine, vegetables, fish and vegetables, but if he wants to make money, he will not pick up the good ones to buy, presumably because the guests are not eating well?

"When you go out, how can you pay attention to it, and the taste is not bad."

In fact, the wine is all salted fish, there are wild fish in the Chishui River, but there are not many, at this time to eat fish or rely on farming, but even if you buy it, fresh fish goods on the boat is not easy to cook. Fortunately, there was rice and vegetables, but he couldn't go hungry.

Sitting on the side of the boat, looking at the flowing water beside him, his body swaying with the hull board, Wang Xingping looked into the distance and suddenly asked.

"In the west, there is Lin Zhou City, right?"

Shi Gongsi was bored, and when he saw that the guests still had something to ask, he came to his senses again.

"It's still a long way to get to Linzhou City, and you usually have to walk for another day or two to get ashore."

"I don't see that there is a wharf here, so where can the merchant traveler who takes the waterway to Linzhou City get off the boat?"

"Disembark?"

After hearing this, I saw Shi Lao'er repeating Wang Xingping's question while laughing.

"It's the first time Childe has walked on this Chishui River, right?"

"How does Uncle Shi know?"

Wang Xingping was not surprised and asked, observing words and colors is a necessity for life outside, and it is not surprising that the boatman can see it.

"Childe, don't you see Xiao Lao'er, all the way to the east?"

"But I found out, but I don't know what the mystery is."

"Cheng Gongzi looks high, where to get what mystery."

Listening to the praise of the readers, Shi Gongsi was used in his heart and showed off his knowledge.

"From Yongzhenyi, to the north to Hejiang County, hundreds of miles of waterways can be uneasy."

"Take this Chishui River as an example, the east belongs to Banzhou, and the west is under the jurisdiction of the Yongning Xuanwei Division."

Wang Xingping listened to it and said, "Remember that this paragraph seems to be in the territory of Zunyi Mansion?" ”

"The young master is well-informed, but it is one thing to demarcate the boundaries of the imperial court, and it is another thing to go to the place, not to mention that the people of Yongning Division have always been very domineering."

"Does Yongning Division still dare to change the boundaries privately?"

"There is no private reform, but the natives do not listen to the jurisdiction, and the west bank has always been very chaotic, because our sailors never dock on the west side, and Lin Zhou is also poor, and no one goes there to do business."

"I see."

Yongning Division is a mixed place here, it is not a peaceful realm, and even the son of the Xuanfu envoy has a head to rob the house, but in the eyes of the imperial court, as long as it does not harass the surrounding places, the affairs of the place of restraint will not be taken care of.

I heard the old boatman continue: "If you want to stop the boat, you can only stop at Erlang Dam on the east bank, which is the pier that passed by in the morning. ”

"Then you won't be on the shore tomorrow or tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow will also be on the boat, but the day after tomorrow is fine, according to the water distance, how can you get to Renhuai County."

Wang Xingping of Renhuai County knows that at the beginning of Hongwu, the Ming army entered Sichuan and assigned Renhuaili to Banzhou, and after the 29th year of Wanli, the land was changed and returned to the stream, and Renhuai County was set up in Renhuaili, Longmenli, Shangchishuili, Dingshanli, Xiaoxili, etc., which were subordinate to the Zunyi Military and Civil Government. Renhuai County is not famous, but its later name Chishui City is very famous, in 1935, the Chinese Workers and Peasants Red Army is from here to open the prelude to the 'four crossings of Chishui'. At this time, this place was still a county seat under the jurisdiction of the imperial court for less than 20 years.

Wang Xingping thought about it and said: "Renhuai is still more than fifty miles away from Hejiang. ”

The old man laughed and said: "It's only the first time that Daoxiu has gone out, and I didn't even think that I could even inquire about the distance and distance." ”

"My father often did business in Sichuan, so he knew something."

"Then it's no wonder."

"After Renhuai, it's in Luzhou, right?"

"The young master remembers correctly, after Renhuai, it is Anle Creek, just listen to this name, you will know that it will gradually become a densely populated place along the way."

Wang Xingping suddenly asked again: "Then Renhuai County is also considered peaceful?" ”

Shi Gongsi thought for a while and said, "If you want to say that compared to Yongning Division, it is also peaceful, but after all, it is not as good as your Guizhou." ”

"Oh?" Wang Xingping laughed and asked, "Why does Guizhou have to be looked at twice by the old man?" ”

Shi Gongsi didn't flatter him, he just said it truthfully.

"When Guo Fujun was still there, the weather in Guizhou was different from Sichuan."

Wang Xingping knew that Guo Fujun in Shi Gongsi's mouth was talking about the predecessor of Qianfu Guo Zizhang, this official was the governor of Guizhou in the past as the right deputy capital of the imperial history, and concurrently controlled the military of Shu and Chu, and he made a lot of efforts in the battle of Pingbo. In the southwest, the people are also admired, so that the people are still nostalgic, so they nodded while continuing to listen to the old man's nagging.

"Although Guo Fujun is only patrolling Guizhou, since the southwest, even the barbarians in Shu have also converged a lot."

"Now although Master Guo has returned to the old Linquan, the newcomer Zhang Butang is also very good, and he knows the great victory of Yongzhenyi several times in a row."

Zhang Butang is naturally talking about Zhang Heming, at the beginning of his tenure he advocated a stern and barbaric attitude is also widely known among the people, coupled with the recent several great victories, it is the time when the prestige is rising, the southwest officialdom, is also a first-class red member, before Qianfu, once served as the head of the Nanjing Military Department, although not a hall official, but the people say that more to raise the level, so it is also called a ministry.

Wang Xingping naturally knew that not long ago, Guizhou was vigorously publicizing the victory of the twelve horseheads in Hongbian, and the messenger who reported the victory had a record, and if there were people who went to Chengdu, most of them would go this way.

I saw Shi Gongsi think about it for a while, and then said: "Last year, the Shuixian family crossed the border to Sichuan and burned for a while, and the officials in this province didn't let a fart go, if it was changed to Guizhou, could these barbarians be so arrogant?" ”

Regarding the treatment of the young people, although the imperial court had certain rules, the southwestern provinces were different. Wang Xingping thinks that in fact, it is still in a good word, Shuzhong is rich, so for the few people to make trouble, it is mostly to settle things, as long as it does not hurt the root of taxation, it can be 'no big deal'. Guizhou is poor and remote, and it is necessary to look up to the outside road, so naturally there will be no more perfunctory things for the local people, so the use of troops in recent years has been the appearance of the Guizhou army.

The Shuixi family mentioned by the boat family, because the head of the family was newly mourned, and the family competed for the seal of the imperial court, so last year the army went to Sichuan to fight for a while, and finally the matter was over. If this incident really happened in Guizhou, it is difficult to say last year, at least judging from the current situation, Zhang Fujun has to wash and suppress Wusa Road.

Wang Xingping said with a haha, "The local officials are cruel and easy to kill, but fortunately, this Renhuai has already returned." ”

Shi Lao'er disagreed, "In fact, out of the county, it's not much better." ”

"Oh? What do you mean by that? ”

"Gongzi may know that the return of Renhuai County is also a matter after the 26th year of Wanli Rebellion, and it has not been 20 years now."

Wang Xingping nodded yes, although he had heard this section, he still patiently listened to the boatman's words.

"I was only eighteen at the time, and I hadn't yet married."

Wang Xingping was stunned when he heard this, and the honor of Shi Lao'er was actually less than forty now, but he didn't press the table and continued to listen.

"At that time, Cao Xianzun was still in office, and because the county government had long been abandoned after the chaos, he had to start building a new city."

"This new city in Renhuai County was originally to be built in the middle of the Wudu, and later it was rebuilt to the Liyuan Dam downstream."

"Why is that?"

Shi Gongsi sighed: "It's not for the local people's surname, if you want to say that this Renhuai County border, although it is densely populated, as long as it does not cross the Luzhou border for a day, it is not very stable after all, and the son and his family must also bring some goods, so they must be careful." ”

After listening to the boatman's reminder, Wang Xingping owed a lot of money and thanked: "Thank you Uncle Shi for the reminder." ”

It's just that Wang Xingping suddenly remembered something again, "It's okay for us to go down the river all the way, but it's not easy to go on the boat back." ”

When Shi Gongsi heard this, he laughed, "Don't worry too much, although there are fewer people walking on this waterway now, the third master has also mixed the food on the water for many years, and he has his own familiar economy, and he only pulls fiber on the east coast when he comes back." ”

"There are many large quantities of salt goods transported back from Hejiang, and behind them are rich families in the state, and it is safe to form a fleet to come back."

Wang Xingping was overjoyed when he heard this: "Don't hide it from my father-in-law, I will go to Hejiang to make salt this time, but I have to bother my father-in-law to introduce a reliable economy." ”

Shi Gongsi was also overjoyed when he heard it, and promised with a mouthful of promises: "Don't worry, Son, this matter will be wrapped up in Xiao Lao'er." ”

talked about Hejiang Salt City again, and the topic returned to the purpose of the day after tomorrow.

Wang Xingping said: "Although the time of Renhuai County's return to exile is not long, and it has gone through several generations of officials, I don't want to be still a local people. ”

"It's always the incompetence of the officials......"

"I don't know who the current county lord is?"

Shi Gongsi was still thinking about it, so he heard a young man in front of him say loudly: "Wu Jiyao of Renhuaizhi County, I heard that it is Huguang's annual tribute. ”