Zheng Sen stayed with Qian Qianyi for a few days, then said goodbye to him and set off for Tongcheng. The pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info still take a boat up the river to Nanjing, and then continue westward, to Tongling landing, and then north to Tongcheng.

However, this time Zheng Sen took not a rented river boat, but the Zheng family's own river warship. Now the river warships have been tested in the Yangtze River under the banner of merchant ships, of course, there are no cannons on board. When Zheng Sen arrived in Songjiang, the river warship on trial had already gone to Anqing and was returning home. At that time, Zheng Cai proposed that Zheng Sen could take this boat to Nanjing and Tongling, and now that Zheng Sen has been in Changshu for so long, this experimental river warship has also gone down the river near Changshu. Zheng Sen got on the boat and headed for Nanjing.

The captain of the river warship called "Anjiang", Xin Cha'an, was originally a river bandit on the Yangtze River, good at using a pair of copper hammers, and was also a well-known hero in the rivers and lakes. Later, the bandits were suppressed by the official army, and the heroes in the gang were also cut off by the officials and soldiers and taken back for silver, only he jumped into the water, leaned on a reed pipe, and hid under the water for most of the day, which was regarded as an escape, and then followed Zheng Zhihu to become a pirate. When Zheng Sen began to build inland river warships, he asked who in his family was more familiar with the water conditions of the Yangtze River, and Zheng Zhihu recommended this person to Zheng Sen.

On the boat, Zheng Sen found that the captain had cleaned up a good room for him. It can be seen that this Jiang bandit is actually very meticulous.

"Captain Cha, what do you think of this ship?" Zheng Sen asked.

"Major General, this ship is good, although it is not as fast as a sea ship, but it can be regarded as a first-class fast in the Yangtze River. In particular, this baleen sail is much lighter and larger than ordinary sails, and as long as there is wind, even if it is sailing against the current, it is not slow. I've run a lot of boats on the Yangtze River before, and nothing can be faster than this. Captain Cha hurriedly replied.

"Hurry back, this ship is handy?" Zheng Sen asked again.

"Major General, after all, this ship is so big, and it is also a rare big ship in the river, plus it will be loaded with cannons in the future, this is convenient, if you only use sails and oars, then you can only say that it is okay. But if you use an oar, it's a lot easier. Although it can't be compared to those small boats, there is absolutely no more flexible in such a large ship. Our ship is good! ”

Zheng Sen listened and nodded. This performance basically made him more satisfied. He remembered that in the original history, Zheng Chenggong attacked the Yangtze River and besieged Nanjing. In the eyes of later generations, that action was almost the best situation against the Qing Dynasty and the restoration of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Chenggong defeated the Qing army in Zhenjiang, and the Qing army troops that could fight in the entire Jiangnan were almost swept away, and then if Zheng Chenggong could drive straight into Nanjing, the Ming Dynasty Zhongxing, maybe there would really be hope. As a result, Zheng Chenggong's fleet of seagoing ships went up the river, because they were not familiar with the hydrology, and the draft of the ships was deep, because they were afraid of running aground, they did not dare to raise their sails in the river, and as a result, they could only rely on the slender man to pull them up the river, and as a result, the distance from Zhenjiang to Nanjing, the fleet walked for more than ten days, although the final defeat of this battle, there were more reasons, but the fleet marched slowly, and the loss of maneuverability in the river was definitely one of the important reasons. Now that he has such a warship specially designed for inland river operations, Zheng Sen feels that such a thing as the defeat of Nanjing should not happen to him again.

"How's the hydrological mapping going along the way?" Zheng Sen asked again. This is also one of the things that Zheng Sen is most concerned about. In water warfare, the knowledge of hydrology is as important as the understanding of terrain in land warfare.

"It's Kim who they're doing. I see they've written down a big stack of things. However, the situation of the Yangtze River changes every year in many places, so it is not possible to use it for a long time after this investigation. I'm afraid I'll have to probe it again every few years. Captain Cha replied that he had not read much, so he could not interfere much in these matters, but he still knew that the situation of the Yangtze River channel often changed.

……

The speed of the "Anjiang" is indeed not slow, and the captain of the inspection is willing to show a hand, the ship was driven like an arrow, along the way, only to see a ship on the water was easily caught up, and then was left behind, and finally disappeared into the skyline. For safety reasons, the "Anjiang" did not sail at night on this route, but it only took five days to arrive in Nanjing. Compared with the original history, Zheng Chenggong's speed in the Battle of Nanjing was twice as fast. If you also go at night, it is estimated that you can drive from Zhenjiang to Nanjing in about three or four days.

When he arrived in Nanjing, Zheng Sen suddenly remembered something and asked, "This boat may be able to enter the Qinhuai River?" ”

"Major General, the draft of this boat is actually very shallow, you must go in, it is estimated that you can get in, but on the Qinhuai River, there are too many boats, and our boat is too big, which is very inconvenient." Captain Cha replied.

"Oh, let's go to Swallow Rock then." Zheng Sen said, and then turned to a few followers behind him and said, "You help me remember it, so that I don't forget." In addition to the hydrology of the Yangtze River, the hydrology of the main tributaries along the Yangtze River, such as the Qinhuai River, the Grand Canal, the Gan River, the Ruan River, the Han River, and even the Min River, it is also necessary to send someone to investigate. ”

One of the attendants immediately took out a charcoal pen and swiped it in a notebook to write it down.

Although Zheng Sen has not lived in Nanjing for a long time, his small courtyard in Nanjing has always been taken care of, and the Zheng family also has business in Nanjing, so when Zheng Sen's ship docked at Yanziji, there was already a carriage waiting on the dock. Zheng Sen got into the carriage and still went to live in the original courtyard, planning to go to Guozijian early tomorrow morning, and ask for a long vacation by the way.

Early the next morning, Zheng Sen went to Guozijian to handle the matter of continuing to ask for leave. If it is true that the inmates of the whole country, including those who spend money to buy, all come to class honestly, and the Guozijian may not be able to squeeze in. In addition, Zheng Sen has not returned to the country in these years, but he has been giving generous gifts for the New Year's holidays, so naturally there is no problem.

After finishing this, Zheng Sen left the Guozijian and returned to his carriage, but saw Zheng Fu who was following him coming over and said, "Young Master, there is a little boy who sent such a note, saying that it was for the son, and I don't understand what words are written. Well, what about the kid waiting over there? ”

As he spoke, Zheng Fu handed over a note.

Zheng Sen took the note, this is a pale green Xue Tao note, unfolded it, and saw that these four words were written in Juanxiu's handwriting: "Qingqing Zipei".

Zheng Sen smiled, of course he knew the origin of these four words, and he also knew that the meaning of the person who wrote the note was actually "I think about it" and "Even if I don't go, Zining won't come?" So, of course, he also knew who wrote the note. put away the note and said to Zheng Fu: "Let the carriage go back first, you and Hai'an follow me." Where's that little boy? ”

Zheng Fu hurriedly pointed with his hand and said, "It's over there." ”

Zheng Sen looked over and saw a young man dressed in cyan clothes looking this way. Zheng Sen went over, and when the little boy saw Zheng Sen coming, he greeted him with a smile on his face.

"Huan'er, where is your young lady?" Zheng Sen asked.

"Childe, you're coming out." Huan'er said happily, "Miss is on the boat over there." I'll take my son over. ”

So Huan'er took Zheng Sen and others through two lanes, and arrived at a wharf, where a painting boat was leaning against the shore.

"Huan'er, how long has your girl been waiting there? It's not easy to keep the boat there and occupy the pier on this lot. Zheng Sen smiled at Huan'er.

"It's good to know it's not easy. We're ...... Forget it, don't talk about that. Huan'er replied.

A few people got on the boat, and the boatman untied the cable and used a long pole to the shore, and the boat floated out quietly.

Zheng Sen entered the painting boat, only to see Li Xiangjun greet him, and said to Zheng Sen Yingying: "The little girl has seen the son." ”

Zheng Sen stepped forward, held her hand directly and said, "Xiangjun, I haven't seen you for a long time, but you have been reduced." ”

Li Xiangjun struggled for a while, as if he wanted to pull his hand out, but Zheng Sen held it a little tightly, and he couldn't pull it out, and it was not good to really exert himself, so he had to lower his head and whispered: "Childe, everyone is watching." ”

Zheng Sen smiled, but he didn't let go, but he also lowered his head and said in Li Xiangjun's ear: "Didn't Xiangjun invite me upstairs to drink a cup of tea?" ”

Li Xiangjun was silent, and after a while, he smiled and said, "Over the years, except for those sisters, other stinky men, I have never let him go upstairs." But a villain like Childe, the little woman just doesn't let Childe go up, can she still stop Childe? ”

Zheng Sen smiled: "This makes sense. Li Xiangjun went to the second floor of the painting boat, and as for Zheng Fu and Hai'an, they naturally continued to stay below.

The two went upstairs, sat down at the side of a few cases, and Huan'er brought tea. Zheng Sen asked about Li Xiangjun's recent situation. Li Xiangjun said: "What else, it's just a person who is bored upstairs painting or going to play with a few sisters...... By the way, Master Su Kunsheng and Master Liu Jingting are here with you now, okay? ”

Su Kunsheng and Liu Jingting were both hired by Li Xiangjun to help hire them to Taiwan.

"Didn't they write to you?" Zheng Sen said, "Now they rely on the model army to build a theater troupe, which is dedicated to acting for soldiers. Extremely popular, but a while ago, Master Liu was a little injured - he didn't mention it to you in the letter? ”

Seeing what Zheng Sen said solemnly, Li Xiangjun was also taken aback and said, "How did he get hurt?" Does it matter? ”

"Master Liu wrote a play by himself, which tells the story of Shi Jingtang of the Later Jin Dynasty who ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun to the Liao State in order to become the emperor, and worshiped Yelu Deguang, the lord of the Liao State who was ten years younger than himself, as his father emperor and called himself the emperor. And Master Liu also played Shi Jingtang on stage by himself. When Shi Jingtang took the Liao people into the Central Plains and arrested the wives and children of the Han people in the Central Plains and gave them to the Liao State as slaves, there was a soldier who watched the play below and was so ruthless that he couldn't stand it, so he threw the small stool he made and beat Master Liu, but fortunately, the injury was not serious. When I went to see him, he was quite proud of it, and felt that this hit showed that he acted well and acted like him. ”