Guangzhou in April is the season when flowers are blooming, grass grows, warblers fly. On both sides of the Pearl River, recovering from last year's fighting, farmers in several villages are leading oxen and carrying plough sticks ready to plough their fields.

Along the Pearl River to the city of Guangzhou, on the Tianzi wharf, a group of officials from all over Guangdong Province gathered here.

It can be seen from the animal patterns on the robes and uniforms of the officials that these civil and military officials in Guangdong Province have grades ranging from Qipin Zhixian to Sanpin generals, and they are standing on the dock one by one with their heads down, and the soldiers, families, and servants behind them are also wilted and slumped, and there is no life at all, which is very different from the vigorous scene of this great spring.

A burst of drumming came, and a team of honor guards and flags came like a rainbow.

"Be in good spirits! Li Dashuai and Master Jiang are here! ”

The officials reminded each other and tried to make a smile to greet their immediate boss, Li Shouhan, and Jiang Yihong, the political envoy of the two Guangbu. Soon after the rebellion of the British Yi disturbing Humen, the imperial court had a decree to send Zhang Jingxin, the governor of Liangguang, to Beijing to wait for impeachment. Although this is better than asking Jinyi Banner School to go to Beijing and go to prison, it is also a great punishment. However, the guards were up and down, and several bigwigs in the cabinet and several decent eunuchs in the palace were stuffed with countless benefits, and in the end, Governor Zhang's council was removed and he was allowed to return to his hometown for glory.

However, the position of the governor of Liangguang has not been sent again, but it has always been acted by Lord Jiang Yihong.

This is tantamount to admitting Li Shouhan's control of Liangguang in disguise.

The first step after guarding the Han Dynasty and controlling Guangdong was to arrange for officials from the two provinces to visit Nanzhong in phases and batches. These officials were worried that they would go to the legendary land of smoke and plague, and there would be no return. That's why I'm crying and crying here, and I'm depressed. But if you don't go. Guangxi is still suppressing the rebellion of Tusi and bandits everywhere, if you offend Lord Li, a military order comes down, and you are ordered to go to suppress the bandits, and die under the knife of the bandits, it is better to say, if you are plundered by the bandits, I am afraid that there will be no more money for the court.

"Colleagues, please."

Jiang Yihong, the political envoy of the two Guangbu, was full of red face. He waved his hands and gestured to the Cantonese officials who saluted him.

"Jiang is not talented, a few days ago, at the invitation of the governor, he went to Nanzhong for a trip. There are a few unwritten verses here. Please give your comments and advice. ”

Jiang Yihong began to recite the poems he had written when he went to Hue and other places in February to purchase food and weapons.

"As soon as I entered Nanzhong, my eyes opened, and this body was suspected of entering Penglai. If you bring Liu Ruan here, you will mistakenly believe that Taoyuan will not return. ”

There is no shortage of battles, metaphors, phrases, and allusions, and this poem by Master Jiang is well done. It calmed down everyone's hearts a little.

"Rank colleagues. Since Li invited everyone to travel to Nanzhong. Naturally, it is necessary to do the landlord's will. I was supposed to accompany you personally. However, the military affairs are entangled, and the holy order cannot be violated. I had to ask the dog Huayu to accompany everyone to Nanzhong. The governor has ordered someone to arrange the affairs of this trip. Your diet, daily life, clothing, food, housing and transportation, you can rest assured. Although Nanzhong is remote and wild, there are also some scenery to enjoy. ”

"The roads are as smooth as a rock, the cars and horses are galloping, and the houses are as high as six or seven stories. The smoke of the workshops is bursting into the forest, and the towns are burning after nightfall. Ladies and gentlemen, that's a lot! ”

Jiang Yihong was very sensational there, and the officials reluctantly dispelled the love of life and death, and greeted Li Huayu and others, who were representatives of the Nanzhong Army, with a smile. When I learned that the young man in front of me who was like a jade tree in a golden crown and brocade robe had just done a great job in Fusang not long ago, killing Fusang corpses and a sea of blood, and hundreds of thousands of people became laborers and slaves, everyone couldn't help but respect them one by one, and a chill ran down my back.

A mere young man is so ruthless, if Master Li himself makes a move, what kind of scene will it be? Several officials couldn't help but speculate in their hearts.

There was a commotion on the river, and more than a dozen ships transporting grain and unloading hurriedly followed the shouts of the people on the wharf to adjust the moving position of the sails, and the two grain ships that had just finished unloading grain and rice hurriedly put away their gangplanks and anchored to make way for several naval warships that were going upriver from the mouth of the Pearl River in the distance without waiting for the porters to stand firm on the wharf.

The battleship at the head was none other than the Fubo, the seat ship of Shouhan.

This huge ship, which is about 20 zhang long at the head and tail, has always been a symbol of the force and deterrence of the Nanzhong Army in the minds of Guangdong military and political officials, not only because it is Li Shouhan's own ship, but also because the flagship of the Nanzhong Army's naval division is the ship itself, with its thousands of drafts, many sails, dozens of large and small doors of various calibers, and the power that a single salvo can turn a town into a sea of fire and ruins, all of which make the officials respect and fear this ship.

"Please take a trip to Nanzhong, naturally it is more appropriate to go by boat, the ship passes through the waters of Qiongzhou, that is, it enters the military jurisdiction of Nanzhong, lands from Ha Jing, takes a look at the workshop, mine and shipyard there in Ha Jing, and then goes south along the way to Hue, Chai stick area, you adults can observe the customs of Nanzhong. Then he boarded the boat from Cam Ranh Bay and turned back, and after a short rest in Qiongzhou, he returned to Guangzhou. What do you think of the ranking? ”

Li Huayu, as the head of the accompanying group, explained the itinerary slowly and clearly, and everyone was drunk and fascinated.

"Because we want to transport grain to Guangdong and Guangxi, first, to provide relief to the victims and tide over the spring famine, and second, to ensure the military rations of the anti-bandit troops. It is also necessary to escort the captives of Fusang back to build the road between Guangdong and Guangxi, and there is a lot of shortage of ships, and my father has no ability to scatter beans into soldiers, so I have no choice but to wronged you and take the gunboat of my father and my Nanzhong Army Naval Division. ”

There was an official who was good at figuring out his intentions and immediately turned his clever brain and read several layers of meaning from Li Huayu's meaning: First, we have economic strength! During the spring famine season in March and April, we have surplus grain to supply the military and civilian food of the two Guangxi provinces, so as to ensure the social order and price stability of the two Guangxi provinces. Second, we have military strength, don't believe it, go and see the prisoners who are being transported from Fuso by boat! Third, we have the economic strength to build roads and bridges between the mountains and rivers of Liangguang! Fourth, we treat you as our own. Otherwise, how could a weapon of the country like the commander's ship be allowed to go up and ride casually?

Li Huayu's words were said to appease the relatives of those officials who were or flowery officials' daughters in a group of officials' families, and Yan Mei'er and Li Muhua's eyes couldn't help but burst into tears.

There is that official who has already begun to write the beginning of the Nanzhong Travelogue, how to use the most gorgeous rhetoric and the most beautiful chapter to render the lord's kindness.

From the ship came a crisp and crisp command sound, and the Fubo was decorated. Under the concerted action of the sailors. A few technical actions were steadily moored next to the trestle of Tianzi Wharf.

Amid the sound of drums, the officials boarded the Fubo battleship and began to look around with curious eyes about the battleship, which had never been so close to each other, and the people began to recover from their panic. In place is curiosity. Look at the huge cannon on the gun emplacement. The officials couldn't help but be arrogant. "With such a strong ship and a sharp cannon, why can't the lord be in a foreign land? Turning the tide? ”

Several cannons sounded, and the six ships led by the Fubo slowly left the Tianzi Wharf. Draw a beautiful arc on the Pearl River and sail towards the mouth of the Pearl River.

Looking at the shadows of the sails in the distance, there was another sobbing sound on the dock. Yan Mei'er, Li Muhua and others had to comfort these female relatives again, "Don't be sad, I'll be back in a month or two." Wouldn't it be a good thing to bring back a few pieces of jewelry for Tianzhu and Dashi when the time comes? ”

"That is, don't be sad, Long Shengxing in the city has opened two new stores, specializing in selling some fine gemstones and jewelry, I just ordered someone to tell the shopkeeper, and today it is temporarily closed to the public, and I am waiting for me."

The temptation of jewelry for women is huge, and when they heard such good news, the ladies slowly stopped crying, and got into the sedan chair and followed Yan Mei'er's honor guard and left.

"Arrogant what?!"

Li Muhua, who was sitting in his car, looked at the honor guard of Yan Mei'er in the distance, and couldn't help but feel a burst of pantothenic acid in his heart, and then a burst of pride, "My son is the eldest son, and now he has started to do things again, who will have the final say in this family business in the future, it is not certain!" ”

"Master Jiang, you and I are going back to run errands." Seeing that the dock was gradually restored to its original state, Shouhan greeted Jiang Yihong with a smile.

"That's how it should be, Governor, please!"

In the blink of an eye, there was a busy and chaotic scene on the wharf, and countless porters rushed to the few grain ships that had just arrived at the port, ready to regain the losses lost in the past half a day, and turn the rested bodies into bamboo skewers, which can be exchanged for Tongbao when they get off work.

The busy scene on the wharf goes without saying, only that the fleet left the waters of Guangzhou, riding a sail of the south wind, slowly raising the sails, the sails began to speed up when the wind was full, and the officials on board the boat shouted loudly.

What is the galloping wind, what is the galloping horse, is not enough to describe the speed of this ship.

"Slow down! Slow down! ”

Some officials couldn't bear it, and they couldn't stop crying out to the sailors on the ship, praying that they could slow down the speed.

"It's slow. This Fubo can travel more than 90 miles every hour at the earliest, and it is less than 40 miles at the moment, if it weren't for waiting for those few small boats, we should have left the Pearl River Estuary at this moment! ”

Looking at the towns and villages, the shepherd boys, the ploughing cows, the farmers, and the fishing boats flying backwards, this scenery that could have made the officials poetry and chant some good sentences, but it became a scene that made the hearts of this group of well-educated people tremble.

"You can travel more than 90 miles of waterway in one hour, and you can reach Hejing in three days, at most, three days. Loaded with grain, and then trafficked north, from the mouth of the Pearl River to the mouth of the Minjiang River in five days, half a month can go back and forth. ”

Guan Lianglangzhong, who is good at calculating financial endowments, grabbed the railing of the ship while constantly calculating in his heart how to combine this trip to Nanzhong with his own business.

After deciding to go to Nanzhong, many people have relatives in their families who come to the door and ask to go together, regardless of life or death, as long as they can go together. In order to be able to obtain grain, salt, fine sugar, cloth, all kinds of ironware, and wrought iron produced in Nanzhong, they were transported to Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan and other places for sale.

"Brother-in-law, I won't tell you anything, the people on my side have dealings with the Zheng family, as long as we can purchase grain from Nanzhong, we don't have to worry about it, directly in a few ports in Nanzhong, we can transfer the contract to his Zheng family's business, and the price will be increased by 30%. This is a good deal with no money! ”

"Thirty percent more? Brother, don't bully your brother-in-law for being a scholar. I don't know how to do business. The lady on the side couldn't stand the greed of her brother.

"One stone of japonica rice even the freight to Guangdong is only three cents of silver at most, and the lowest price of Jiangnan July rice is five coins of silver and one stone! The price of this rice has increased tenfold and it is only three coins of silver and one stone, but you say that the price will be increased by 30%? Do you really slaughter your brother-in-law and me like sheep?! ”

"Besides, isn't his Zheng family very close to the Li family? Why don't you go out and buy food yourself? Instead, do this kind of chicken and dog thief at the bottom? There must be a shady way to make a fortune, and the Li family can't know about it. If this is not able to have dozens of times the profit, his Zheng family's silver is floating in the sea? The wind is blowing?! ”

was picked up by his sister with a gun and a stick, and his brother-in-law was defeated. had to admit defeat.

"Good my sister! Indeed, as you said, the Zheng family is to increase the interest of several times to receive these contracts, but brother, I also need some money to pass on! ”

After some haggling. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law reached an agreement. The brother-in-law will share 10% of the profits as the carriage fee, and the other 10% will be shared to a group of idlers who run errands for the brother-in-law.

Going to Nanzhong with this is the view of life and death, yin and yang, and the people who come to Nanzhong with a rake with money account for half of each. However, there are also outliers.

The anomaly was standing at the bow of the ship. Warm breeze with a slightly salty and wet smell. The officers and sailors on the same ship used a Nanzhili official dialect to talk about it.

The. It is Jiangyin Xu Hongzu, who we have seen before who once sighed for the low prices of Guangdong when he traveled in Guangdong. This time, he happened to travel to Guangzhou at the invitation of his fellow villagers, and heard that there was such an opportunity to visit Nanzhong. Immediately drill the mountain to make a hole and ask for a dead face to go to Nanzhong together to enjoy such an opportunity to travel at public expense.

When the ships passed through the ocean of Neilingding Island and Da Chan Island, and were about to enter the mouth of the Pearl River, far away, two ships flew like cleaving the waves.

"Yikes! So fast! Don't get hit by it! ”

Xu Hongzu shouted loudly, trying to warn the sailors to pay attention.

"Whose ship?"

"Look at the flag is Li Er's shopkeeper's ship, such a fierce south wind, and it is full of sails, what is the urgency?"

"Hey! The south wind rose. It is also the spring famine season, which is a good season to traffic grain to the north and the interior. It's no wonder that Li Er's shopkeeper is not in a hurry! ”

Several sailors were talking as they touched the fire ropes in their hands towards the ignitions of the two large Buddha machines in the bow of the ship, and fired their cannons at the ships coming from afar. In the same way, two small puffs of white smoke rose from the opposite ship, and then there was a faint sound of cannons.

"The second uncle doesn't know what kind of big business it is, so much?" In his cabin, Li Huayu, who was talking and drinking tea with several prefects and generals, watched Li Peiting's ship pass by like two flying fish from the porthole, without the slightest intention of slowing down, and couldn't help but feel a little strange in his heart.

However, Nahan is only fleeting, and Huayu still has to muster up 120,000 spirits to deal with these civil and military officials in Guangdong in front of him.

Out of the Pearl River estuary, the fleet continued south along the coast of Guangdong, and all the sails were raised to the top of the mast, and with the help of the wind, the movement became faster and faster. Xu Hongzu watched the scenery of the ship speeding by from the side of the ship, and couldn't help but chant aloud, "Riding the wind and waves will sometimes hang straight to the clouds and sails to the sea". There was a sound of vomiting and seasickness in the cabin behind him.

With the help of a telescope borrowed from the signal soldiers, Xu Hongzu carefully looked at the countless heads of people who were landing along the coastline like ants along the coast.

"What is that, sir?"

Regarding Xu Hongzu's honorific title, the deck gun captain who was asked was very happy. Looking in the direction of his finger, the shoreline was crowded with people in the dark.

"It should be the labor prisoner that the young marshal got from Fusang this time. These people should have been assigned to Gaozhou, Qinzhou, and Lianzhou to build roads. ”

Xu Hongzu also knew a thing or two about the large-scale construction of roads in Liangguang, but mobilizing the people was a big thing, and officials from all over the country planned to make a good profit in this matter. I don't want the Li family's father and son to stand out, and they actually use the coolies in Fusang Country who can work for six hours a day and see the sun as long as they take care of food to build roads? !

It can be seen from the clusters of people that these people are at least more than 10,000 people, and there are so many people in the Qinzhou area of Gaozhou alone to build roads here, so the roads on both sides of the Pearl River, which is known as the essence of Guangdong, from the provincial capital to Bao'an, from the provincial capital to Chaozhou, must have more people to build roads.

"That's nature! The lord asked that the road to Bao'an should be opened to traffic before the Dragon Boat Festival, so naturally he had to send more people to work day and night. ”

The artillery commander replied to Xu Hongzu very proudly, "Once this road is passed, don't plan to change the price of rice, cloth, oil and salt in the provincial capital." ”

The sky soon darkened in this galloping march, and the sky slowly fell like a black veil, and soon the heavens and the earth were darkened. The fleet originally planned to pass through the Qiongzhou Strait at night, but seeing that these old men on the ship were vomiting one by one and dying of energy, if they continued to sail, I was afraid that some people would not even vomit bile. Hua Yu had to order the ship to anchor in Xuwen County, so that this group of old men could rest for a while and recuperate. (To be continued......)