On the mighty canal, there is an endless stream of ships coming and going from the south to the north. The most common are those tankers used to transport goods, also known as flat-bottomed shallow ships. According to the custom, the bottom of the shallow ship is five feet two feet long, the bow and stern are each nine feet five inches long, and the bottom is nine feet five inches wide, and each ship can carry 2,000 stone grain.

These ships carried a steady stream of rice from the south of the Yangtze River to the north along the canal, supplying the emperor and officials in the capital, as well as the soldiers at the border gates in the north. On their way back, they tend to carry some coal and other goods from the north and transport them to the south. In the days before the advent of railways, canals were the main arteries connecting the north and south of China.

Among these tankers, there is also a kind of passenger ship that has been transformed from the foundation of the tanker, these passenger ships have spacious cabins, and the doors and windows are carved dragons and phoenixes, which are beautiful. Some boats also have a balcony, and the guests on the ship can sit on the balcony to drink and watch the scenery, turning the boring journey into a luxurious enjoyment.

In the early winter of the 18th year of Wanli, an ordinary passenger ship left Zhangjiawan in Tongzhou and sailed south along the canal. In Zhangjiawan, there are many ships arriving and leaving the port every day, and the departure of this passenger ship will naturally not attract anyone's attention.

In the cabin, Su Hao was lighting a small charcoal stove and drinking wine with the veteran Xu Guangzu. To be exact, it was mainly Xu Guangzu who was drinking, and Su Hao was drinking tea. Xu Guangzu drank a few glasses of wine, and began to nag on his lips:

"Su Gaizhi, Su Gaizhi, you said that you were relegated to Huai'an to repair the river embankment, you did it yourself, what do you have to do with the little old man and me on your back?"

Su Hao smiled and said, "Uncle Xu, I was kind enough to pull you out of Beijing to relax, why did I let you pad your back?" This Huai'an Mansion is well-known all over the world, especially the exquisite Huaiyang cuisine, I invite you to Huai'an, it is for you to enjoy the blessings, you must not misunderstand. ”

"Pull it down, what a blessing!" Xu Guangzu said disdainfully, "Don't think that I don't know your Su Gaizhi's kindness, you are worried that after you arrive in Huai'an, you won't be able to get along with the officers and soldiers of Huai'anwei and the General Military Mansion, so you pull my old Xu to block the arrow for you, tell me yourself, do you have this bad intention?" ”

Su Hao said: "Uncle Xu Shengming." However, this arrow is too emotionally hurtful. Anyway, my survey battalion is also a Ming officer and soldier, how can I have any arrows to stop? ”

Xu Guangzu said: "I have heard a long time ago, it was the emperor who opened Chrysostom, saying that your survey camp does not listen to the dispatch of Huai Anwei, and everything is up to you Su Gaizhi." The commander of this Huai Anwei ...... Let me think about it, it seems to be Li Shida, it's no wonder if he can be happy. ”

Su Hao said: "Uncle Xu, it seems that I invited your old man to go out of the mountain, and I found the right person." You can name any of the commanders of the guard, and I don't think even Wang Shangshu can do it. ”

"That's nature." Xu Guangzu said proudly, "These generals below came to the capital to do business, and they were all sent by my old Xu, who else is more familiar with them than me?" ”

"That's that, Uncle Xu's veteran will come out, a top one. Whether the little nephew can stand in Huai'an this time depends on Uncle Xu. Su Hao desperately put a high hat on Xu Guangzu, which made Xu Guangzu more and more proud.

"Su Hao, if you want me to help you, you have to give me an official title, right? Your survey camp is now a thousand households, what kind of position do you give Uncle Xu? Xu Guangzu asked.

Su Hao said solemnly: "Consultant! Uncle Xu, you will be my advisor in the future. ”

"Advisor, what do you mean?" Xu Guangzu was surprised.

Su Hao said: "What about this grace, that is, you don't usually have to take any responsibility, just ask when you can take care of it." When you can't take care of it, you can ignore it. What do you think of this position? ”

"That sounds interesting." Xu Guangzu said, "Then how many products is this?" ”

"It's hard to say." Su Hao said, "If you want to determine the grade, then you have to report to you by the Wuxuan Division." If you want to take this confession, you have to take the exam first, what are the four books and five classics or something, can you get it? We don't have a definite rank for this consultant, but you only need to know one thing, and that is that this position is the largest in the survey camp, bigger than mine. ”

"Haha, that's it." Xu Guangzu laughed, of course he knew that Su Hao was talking nonsense, but this kind of nonsense was quite bad for him. At Xu Guangzu's age, he is indifferent to power and profit, and he cares more about whether he can be respected by others. Although Su Hao has been promoted to a thousand households, he can still be a junior in front of him, and this alone is enough to satisfy Xu Guangzu.

"Uncle Xu, you first slowly drink this (20) year old daughter red, the stamina is very strong, after you drink too much, don't go to the side of the boat, remember to call someone to accompany you when you go in and out, okay?" After chatting for a while, Su Hao stood up and instructed Xu Guangzu.

"Where are you going?" Xu Guangzu pointed at Su Hao with a wine glass and asked.

Su Hao said: "I'll go find Ma Yu and them and talk to them about river governance." ”

"What's the hurry, this river has been treated for hundreds of years, and it's still too much time for you?" Xu Guangzu muttered, but he didn't say a few words, his upper and lower eyelids had already begun to fight, and after a while, he fell to the ground and fell asleep.

Su Hao stepped forward, pulled a quilt over Xu Guangzu, called another soldier and asked him to stay by Xu Guangzu's side, and then walked towards the back cabin of the boat.

This boat carried more than 60 people, including more than 50 soldiers of the Kandian Battalion who entered Beijing with Su Hao, as well as five embroiderers who were responsible for embroidering pictures, in addition to Xu Guangzu, Chen Guanyu and Ma Yujiang Yida and others, these people were the right-hand men that Su Hao took to Huai'an Mansion.

Su Hao went to Huai'an Mansion here, to paraphrase a later generation, called the coexistence of challenges and opportunities, from the perspective of opportunities, this is after all to give him a platform to do things, so that he can display his talents. In terms of challenges, that is, he has to face various forces such as Huai'an Mansion, Huai'an Wei, the Governor of the River, the Governor of the River, the Yamen of the Governor of Xiaochaoyun, etc., each of which is much stronger than him, and it is still unclear from friend and foe, and the situation that Su Hao will face in the future is very complicated.

In this case, Su Hao naturally couldn't take his mother Yang Gen and sister Lu Xiu'er Shitong to Huai'an, for this, both mother and daughter were a little sad, but there was no way. In those days, it was natural for men to go out to do things and for women to stay at home. What's more, Su Hao now has quite a bit of a family business in the capital, and he needs to be taken care of by his own caring people, and Lu Xiuer is such a character.

There were no people who could go to Huai'an Mansion with Su Hao, as well as Hao Qing, Luo Yuqing and Xu Guangqi, the three of them are now the heads of the industrial park, and it is impossible for them to leave. According to Su Hao's calculations, if the industrial park is completed, with a few products such as high-manganese steel waist knives and vanity mirrors, he will be able to get tens of thousands of taels of silver in a year, which is crucial for Su Hao to carry out his own business.

Ma Yu and the others did not undertake the specific project of the industrial park, so after Su Hao was appointed to go to Huai'an Mansion to be the head of the river, he graciously invited these people to go with him. Ma Yu and the others had already been convinced of Su Hao, otherwise they would not have rushed all the way from Jiangxi to the capital because of Su Hao's letter.

Now, when they heard that Su Hao was going to Huai'an Mansion to govern the river, they naturally had the duty to go with them.

Su Haotuo asked Wang Xijue to bring a message and asked for Ma Yu and the others to have a name. This is of course an extremely simple request for a cabinet assistant. Not long after Su Hao was appointed as the head of the Ministry of Works, Ma Yu and others were also appointed by the Ministry of Officials. Among them, Ma Yu served as the head of the river camp and was the seventh product: Jiang Yida and another student, Tan Qi, served as the deputy of the station, and was the eighth product.

According to the normal procedure, it can sometimes take decades for a Xiucai to pass the imperial examination and get mixed into an official position of the seventh grade. Ma Yu and the others were undoubtedly extremely lucky to ascend to the sky in one step just because they kept up with Su Hao and had a chance to appear in front of the second assistant of the cabinet. Thinking of these benefits, they naturally became more respectful to Su Hao.

While Su Hao was drinking with Xu Guangzu, Ma Yu and the others stayed in the back cabin and concentrated on studying the information on Huai'an Mansion and the Yellow River and the Huai River. Seeing Su Hao come in, several people stood up and saluted, "Master Su is here." ”

"Stop, stop!" Su Hao waved his hand again and again, "You don't welcome me here, you don't have to disgust me like this, right?" ”

"Why do you say that?" Ma Yu asked in surprise, he had previously called Su Hao's official position with everyone, but when Su Hao interrupted him, he subconsciously shouted Su Hao's words again.

Su Hao smiled: "That's right, you usually call the little brother's cousin, why did you suddenly become polite and call the official name?" ”

Tan Qi said: "Master Su, you are now our Shangguan, this necessary etiquette, we still have to do it." ”

Su Hao said: "What kind of official or lower official, maybe in a few days, I, the sixth-grade master, will be dismissed, and which of you may be promoted to the sixth or fifth grade because of his outstanding merits." Who can tell you about this officialdom? I only know one thing, no matter who is Jipin, a few of us are students who took the exam in the same year, and we will still be called brothers in the future, unless you don't want to recognize me Su Hao, a brother. ”

"Haha, Xu Zhi is really a person in temperament, I said it earlier, he will be angry if he changes his official title." Jiang Yida laughed and said to everyone.

Su Hao asked, "Who did you come up with the idea to call me an official?" ”

The three of them glanced at each other, waved their hands at the same time, and said: "Don't mention this matter, just blame me for being a villain's heart and saving the belly of the gentleman of the brother of the change." ”

"If you want to talk about villains, I must be the youngest." Su Hao said, "Okay, what can the three brothers gain from studying the information of Huai'an Mansion in the past few days, can they teach the younger brother?" (To be continued)