Gao Shiqi also saw that the person on the boat was Chen Huang, standing in the crowd and staring at him from afar. The little paddle rose and fell in the whirlpool of the rapids, dripping and circling, Chen Huang pitched, his feet were just nailed to the boat, and after a while, he put Ruozhi on the bow of the boat and propped it up near the shore. Gao Shiqi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, turned to Kangxi and said, "Master Long, I know who Chen Hebo is." He shouted-" Because he saw Kangxi stunned and dazed, he didn't say anything more.

"Tell Wu Dan," Kangxi ignored Gao Shiqi's words, left the crowd, and said to Gao Shiqi slowly: "Those few people in the river berth station were handed over to the magistrate for strict disposal - Ruo Zhiruo, who was rescued, is still alive and brought to my boat, and I have something to ask her." So saying, he walked away. Wu Dan ordered the little guards to do what they were told, and Gao Shiqi hurriedly followed.

Kangxi came back sullenly, and saw Jin Fu kneeling beside the side of the boat from afar, and only nodded slightly before lifting the curtain and entering the cabin. Gao Shiqi hurriedly stepped forward to meet Jin Fu, and said in a low voice: "Gong Jin is okay?" Are you so quick to get my notebook? Jin Fu hurriedly got up and returned the salute, and whispered: "This is the river worker, I naturally came, I didn't see your notebook, I received a message from the governor of Anhui and knew that the holy driver came...... Why don't you like it? ”

Gao Shiqi nodded, listened carefully, heard the sound of washing in the cabin, coughed lightly, and said: "The slave Gao Shiqi respectfully pays the order to the master!" After a while, I heard Kangxi say: "Come in, Jin Fu will come in too." Jin Fu and Gao Shiqi entered the cabin with their waists bent.

"Jin Fu," Kangxi's face was no longer so gloomy, he only looked a little tired, and when Jin Fu saluted, he half-leaned back on the chair and said, "You came just in time." I looked at the Yellow River today, it was a cauliflower flood, did Yu Kaizhong River hinder it? How effective is your recital? I'm always a little unsure! ”

"Back to the emperor." Jin Fu kowtowed and replied, "Several servants of the imperial history have already read it, and I really don't dare to agree." The master understands everything this time. From this place to the south, through Suqian, Taoyuan, to the mouth of the Qingjiang River, one hundred and eighty miles and a half, all of them are transported by Huang instead of Huang. The river is deep and tortuous, and the waves are surging, which is really a dangerous road. Diverting the water of the Yellow River into the middle river, not only can the boat be exempted from the danger of wind and waves for several days, but also after the diversion, the water level of the Yellow River drops, and the Luoma Lake is also free from the risk of backfilling...... "This is the most expensive project to control the river and the Cao, and it has been criticized by the courtiers, so Jin Fu said very carefully, hand than finger painting, Kan Kan, and said in detail the effectiveness of the Yellow River control project for several years, the cost of money and grain, and finally said: "Some people say that the minister is happy and makes trouble for no reason." The Lord has seen with his own eyes that if this section of the river is not controlled, the downstream transportation is very worrying. The emperor's dragon boat is still congested and blocked, not to mention the small boat? Pray for the master's insight! ”

While listening, Kangxi confirmed the impression of inspecting all the way, and so far he was in a gloomy color, nodded and smiled: "I'm really tired of you." Official, you have to ask others to speak, and I haven't condemned you! Along the way, I was very relieved and happy. But I can't help but wonder, do you Jin Fu have this talent? I see that you must be assisted by people who are knowledgeable about the past and the present, right? Gao Shiqi smiled and said: "This time, you can't hide it anymore, the master has seen your Hebo Chen Tianyi by the river today." "Chen Tianyi!" Kangxi suddenly realized that it was the one he saw in Tieniu Town! At the moment, he smiled and nodded.

"Chen Tian is a Chen Huang, Tianyi is his character." Jin Fu hurriedly said, "In fact, the master has already seen it in the excerpt of playing the minion, the slave is the 'tiger', and he is 'acting for the tiger' - for fear of implicating him, the slave has not dared to ask for credit for him...... How dare a slave bully the master? Pioneering projects such as reducing dams, opening the middle river, and repairing remote embankments are all his plans......"

Kangxi laughed: "This is a genius in river governance!" It's not in vain to call it 'Hebo' - planting trees in the upper reaches of Ganshan and Shaanxi to protect the soil, presumably it was also his suggestion? This matter has not been effective, and there are a lot of slanders! As he was talking, Mingzhu and Suo Etu rushed in one after the other, and Mingzhu smiled: "The master loves us, I really slept well today, and my head is not dizzy, but I am tired of Shiqi - the head of the post outside has four gentry and a girl, Wu Dan asked me to ask for orders, do you want to see them?" Kangxi then remembered that he had a purpose ahead of him, so he smiled and said: "Tell Yicheng to go back, I may not stay with him tonight, maybe I won't even take this boat, and it's also interesting to go south along the river by land - call the rest in." After saying that, he ordered Jin Fu to get up and wait.

The four squires chosen by this post were all about seventy years old, all with a long gait and dizzy old eyes, and they all wore new black satin gowns, and came in cautiously. Gao Shiqi almost didn't laugh, where did he find such a few living treasures? But Kangxi seemed to ignore it, ordered to be exempt from courtesy, and asked for warmth cordially. also inquired about the local customs and crops, and even gave them all seats, enjoyed tea and food, chatted casually, Hong Ruozhi also changed into new clothes, and stood aside shyly. After a tiring journey for many days, Kangxi was very happy to meet these hillbillies. A few gentry were speechless and were talking lively, and Kangxi suddenly asked:

"Do you know how many ministers there are around me?"

"Back to the Emperor," said a gentleman, leaning over, "the villain knows." The emperor and Lord Suo, Lord Ming, Lord Xiong, Lord Gao, as well as Tang Bin and Lord Li Guangdi, are all extremely talented and learned! ”

Kangxi turned around, pointed at Suo, Ming and the others and asked the old man with a smile: "They are all here now." Tell me, are there any traitors among them? ”

This question startled everyone, and their faces suddenly changed color. Even Jin Fu's heart was pounding. Seeing that the bad old man put on reading glasses, examining the three prime ministers one by one, as if he was watching the clay sculpture in the temple, everyone was worried, and they were really afraid that he would say who was a traitor. Although it is a joke, Jing was a folk word of mouth when he was a child, how can he afford it?

The old gentleman looked at everyone very seriously with his glasses, shook his head, and said, "Emperor Cheng asked." Looking at the few people around the emperor, none of them are traitors! When everyone heard this, Fang each breathed a sigh of relief, but listened to Kangxi and asked, "How can you see it?" ”

"The little old man is seventy-four years old." The old man replied solemnly, "When I beat the former Mingshen Grandmaster, I followed my grandfather to watch the play, and the traitors were all pink and white, with bee eyes and scorpion noses, or roe head and rat eyes, and they did not look the same. These people are all blessed with a full and round chin in the heavenly court, and their faces are full of red light, where can they be traitors? ”

Before the words were finished, everyone in the cabin was already laughing. One by one, they bent their backs and stroked their chests on the chairs, and even Ruozhi "poofed" and blushed and snickered. Gao Shiqi then understood: a few old men were sloppy on their faces, and they were not confused in their hearts. Kangxi held his stomach with a smile and said: "Well said, I died of laughter - Gao Shiqi wrote to Xiong Cixu, saying that I laughed so much, so happy......"

After a long time, Kangxi Fang turned his face and asked Ruozhi: "You are Hong Chengchou's granddaughter?" Ruozhi hurriedly lowered her head and replied: "Yes......" Kangxi's eyes flickered, sighed and asked: "Isn't your home in Jinling?" How did you get here? ”

"If you go back to Banzai." Ruozhi's eyes were red, she couldn't help it, and said with tears in her eyes: "The family was originally on the shore of Mochou Lake in Nanjing, but it fell ten years ago. Cause...... Because the official family requisitioned the homestead land, they were all scattered. After my father died of illness, I left Jinling with my mother begging for food. People who don't want to be here also recognize us as members of the Hong family. The pain here is indescribable......" he whimpered as he spoke.

In fact, Ruozhi has already made the truth clear: Hong Chengchou has no popularity among the Han people, the trees are scattered, no one does not come to practice, and the homestead has also been forcibly expropriated from the cultivation palace. After chasing the roots, the court didn't treat him as a person. Kangxi pondered for a moment and said: "The wall is down and everyone pushes it, and it is human nature that the world is hot and cold. I revised the "Biography of the Second Minister" to warn future generations, and not to embarrass the courtiers who had been officials in the previous Ming Dynasty. Hong Hengjiu is different from Wu Sangui, he did not serve Li Zicheng, and he has no merit in this dynasty, so it is a bit too much to treat a eunuch like this, right? As he spoke, his eyes flashed, he stared at a few squires, and said, "The Qing Dynasty was obtained from Li Zicheng, and Hong led the heavenly soldiers into the customs to avenge the Ming, and he was not a traitor of the former Ming Dynasty - don't you say?" ”

"What the emperor said is extremely true!" A squire hurriedly bowed down and replied, "The little old men don't know this reason, and they have always failed to respond, so they ask the emperor to punish them." ”

"It's good to know, what I mean is to be loyal and forgiving. This Ruozhi endures humiliation of her mother, and I see her as a filial daughter. Kangxi thought as he spoke, turned his face and asked Mingzhu, "Who else is an official in the Hong clan?" Mingzhu hurriedly said: "Hong Shiqin, the fourth son of Chengchou, was originally the Shaoqing of Taichang Temple. In the seventh year of Kangxi, Ye Pingqiu, the governor of Jiangnan, impeached him for mourning and mourning, and seized the official position and was idle at home. "What is not mourning!" Kangxi sneered, "Bullying people." You send a letter to the Ministry of Officials, and Hong Shiqin will be reinstated immediately. Gao Shiqi smiled beside him: "Ruozhi, you are very fierce. I have to think about breaking it a little bit - the wife dies and crushes the street, and the old man dies and no one carries it - when is it not like this! Why bother looking for short-sightedness at every turn? ”

Kangxi pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Ruozhi, have you ever promised someone?" ”

"No......" Ruozhi blushed.

Kangxi turned his face and asked Mingzhu: "Remember that you have two children, how old are you?" Mingzhu knew what he meant when he heard it, and was about to answer, Gao Shiqi clapped his hand and said with a smile: "Wonderful!" The slave was about to be a matchmaker, but the master said first, Nalan Xingde and her are not a match made in heaven! Kangxi stilted his legs, nodded and smiled: "That's it." This kid looks very good, and he has talent to learn, so tell him to make up for the guards! ”

The son is promoted to the position of "guard", and the son of heaven is married, where can he expect such a good thing? Mingzhu was so happy that she couldn't close her mouth and said: "The eldest son of the slave was blessed as a guard the year before last, and the slave himself is also a guard, and now the family is the master's guard - and he has been given marriage, and the slave is double happy!" Because he untied the gold and jade pendant around his waist and handed it to Ruozhidao, "This right is a dowry, and you can take it, child." Tomorrow, I will send someone to send your mother and daughter to Beijing for settlement. ”

When he said that the time was moved, Kangxi Fang told everyone to disperse, and when he heard that the merchant ships had been avoided, he ordered Wudan to send people to lead the fleet from the waterway to Suqian to wait, and he wanted to travel by land. Because he was fortunate to be at Han Liu's house in the evening, he instructed Jin Fu to do his own errands. Then he lay down to rest—he was really tired.

Jin Fu got off the boat along the board, and Suo Etu followed him out of the cabin, because he saw that it was not yet dark, he walked a few steps to catch up, patted Jin Fu on the shoulder and asked, "Where is the home of Han Liu's son, do you know?" Jin Fusu knew that this person didn't have a good impression of him, but he couldn't afford to provoke him, so he hurriedly smiled: "I didn't know before, but I came here with Chen Huang to survey the terrain last year and met Han Chunhe." He opened a Maosheng warehouse by the lake in the west of Luoma Town, specializing in porcelain and tea exchange and trading, and Huchen and their customs also often walked around, I heard that the imperial merchant was ...... in the Ministry of Internal Affairs" Suo Etu smiled: "I'm not checking you, what do you say so carefully?" Wait here, I'll go back to the boat and change into civilian clothes, and let's go to his house together—the emperor will be a guest at his house in the evening!" Jin Fu was stunned when he heard this, and then thought that he must have gone to Han's house to fight first, nodded with a smile, and waited under the willow shade on the shore. When Suo Etu returned, he came in Jin Fu's double official sedan chair.

Han Chunhe's Maosheng Warehouse is adjacent to Luoma Lake in the west, along the Yellow River in the east, sitting in the southeast corner of Luoma Town in the south and north, facing the water on three sides, and going out is the wharf, which is very convenient. There is a hanging brick door along the street, and there is a large car door to the west of the pink wall, and inside is the stock warehouse. From a distance, there is a stone building in the courtyard, probably to avoid theft. Jin Fu looked at it from afar, smiled and pointed at Suo Etu: "That's it." This Han Chunhe's shrewdness is no worse than his mother, and his business is doing well, and he has built a burglar avoidance building! Suo Etu seemed to have something on his mind, nodded, and said with a smile: "In the past, eight people carried one of you, but now the emperor is here, and four people carry two of us." Now that you have arrived, you should come down early, so as not to call these dogs to scream and curse in your heart. After a pause, the sedan chair immediately stopped.

Han Liu was talking to Chen Huang at length in the back, and his son Han Chunhe and daughter-in-law Han Zhou were having fun on the side. Hearing that Jin Fu and Suo Etu had already entered the mansion, they hurriedly got up to greet them, and said with a smile in their mouths: "Good my Shentian Buddha!" Lord Jin is a frequent visitor, needless to say, which gust of wind blew Suo Sanye to our house? Gee! Hurry, please! As he spoke, he introduced them one by one.

"Say hello to Suo Xiang!" Chen Huang seemed to bow a little reluctantly. Hearing that Han Liu was back, he hurried over to inquire about Ah Xiu's situation. And Han Liu talked about Fengtian Longhua Town, and his eyebrows fluttered and he talked about how Ah Xiu is favored and honored now, but somehow, a faint sorrow and melancholy gradually struck, and it weighed more and more heavily on Chen Huang's heart. After several years of walking around on the river work, working hard, the feelings and encounters of the past were almost left behind, but once it was mentioned, it was burning his heart like a resurgence, burning him in a trance, and he sat down and bowed his head silently.

Suo Etu saw that he looked arrogant, and his heart was naturally unhappy, but after a few years of training, he had already learned the art of Tao Hui, and after a pause, he said with a smile: "I have never met Mr. Chen, but I have been friends for a long time!" Long live today and praise you for being a genius in river governance, and the promotion is just a matter of time! Since you are here, very good, long live the drive for a while, and then you will be introduced to you - Lao Jin, what do you say? Jin Fu hurriedly smiled: "Of course you have to rely on the middle hall - Tianyi, don't thank Suo Xiang soon!" ”

"God, is the master really coming?" Han Liu slapped his face, "I thought the master was talking about fun!" The resourceful old woman suddenly panicked. Hurriedly stood up and said: "He'er, you and your daughter-in-law are standing in the rules here, and someone will call a troupe of operas to invite the best cooks here to wait!" What can I do about this matter of prevention? ”

Han Chunhe hurriedly got up and agreed, and said, "It's okay, now that the world is peaceful, what are you afraid of?" Son, this yard is built in imitation of your house in Huangliang Dream. Where is there so bad luck that there are thieves? As he spoke, he went out with the Zhou family, and the hundred and ten people in the house immediately became busy. Here, Suo Etu and the other three people only sat and ate snacks and chatted. It wasn't until it was about to break dark that Jin Fu resigned and went back to the boat to guide Kangxi. The rest of the people were busy waiting in the front room.

For a while, he heard the horse's hooves outside, and Kangxi said that the laughter was getting closer and closer: "Jin Fu, how far do I think it is, such a little road, how good it is to be a car, and get these horses!" And all the people came out and knelt down to receive them. Kangxi waved his hand and stepped into the courtyard, and said with a smile: "I heard that Chen Hebo is also here, it's very good!" Call here, I'll take a look! Chen Huang heard Kangxi say this, his brain "boomed", the blood in his whole body surged all of a sudden, and his face immediately turned red, and when Kangxi sat down, he hurriedly stepped forward and knelt down:

"Chen Huang, a scholar in cloth, knocks on the face of the sky, may my emperor live long!"

"Good!" Kangxi looked Chen Huang up and down, with a smile on his face, "It's not our first meeting, do you remember me?" ”

Chen Huang was stunned for a moment, thought for a long time, kowtowed and said: "Long live forgiveness, Chen Huang really can't remember when he has seen the holy face......" Gao Shiqi, who was following Kangxi, took the teacup served by Han Liu, and held it in front of Kangxi, while saying with a smile: "Tianyi, you have seen the emperor, why don't you write to tell me?" Seeing that Chen Huang was stunned and speechless, Kangxi laughed and said: "That year, I inspected Kaifeng, met along the Yellow River in Tieniu Town, and ate under a shed. The Wu Dan at the door scolded you for 'wearing a straw hat without a top' - remember? I've eaten all the food and drinks! As he spoke, he took a sip of tea.

"Oh......" Chen Huang remembered all of a sudden, and kowtowed again and again, "The minister has eyes but doesn't know the face of the sky, and his words are offensive...... The emperor's statement is really embarrassing for the ministers......"

"Get up, sit and talk." Kangxi said. Seeing that Gao Shiqi knew Chen Huang, he said: "Gao Jiangcun, it turns out that you have known Chen Huang and Han Liu for a long time?" Gao Shiqi told about the adventure with Chen Huang and Han Liu when he entered Beijing, but he hid the plot between Chen Huang and A Xiu, which caused everyone to laugh. Han Liuyin leaned in front of Mingzhu and whispered, "The master only brought a few of you?" The situation in this place is not familiar, and there should be a few more people to ......" Mingzhu said: "The master doesn't want to call back and forth to attract attention. You don't know his temperament yet? Besides, this is not a few years ago, where will something happen? Han Liu was not at ease in the end, so he hurriedly came out and ordered people to go out and watch the wind around the house.

After gossiping for a while, Kangxi saw that Han Liu was busy drinking and singing, so he stopped and said: "I came to your house to have a leisure, look at the days of the small family, you want to toss, I will go." He also called Han Chunhe, asked about the wins and losses of the sale, and the harvest of local crops, and at the end of the year, he twisted his beard and said: "At the beginning of my pro-government, there were three major things in my heart, one was to withdraw the feudal domain; the second is river affairs; The third is Cao Yun. I didn't want to cause so much trouble by withdrawing the feudal domain, so I spent so much money and delayed the transportation of the river for several years. Now that these three things have finally come to a good end, I am very happy in my heart. I opened the sea ban, and Wei Dongting did this in Nanjing. Han Chunhe, it's not bad that you become an imperial merchant, but don't think about only earning Chinese's money, porcelain, tea, rhubarb, angelica these things, charge more, pay some taxes to the customs, and ship a ship out of a foreign country, which can be exchanged for half a boat of silver, such a good thing, why not do it? Don't despise business, Shinong industry and commerce, business is among the four people, and Fan Li, a giant businessman, was also the prime minister in the Spring and Autumn Period! Sichuan Ba widow has the skill to gather wealth, Zulong and her meet each other peacefully, Zheng Guoxian is also a businessman, not the same meritorious society? ”

Kangxi said that it was very cordial as if it were homely. Han Chunhe secretly admired it in his heart when he heard it, and agreed again and again. Han Liu originally wanted to ask for a background for his son, but he also swallowed it back. A group of people were laughing and laughing, and Ma Guiyu, the housekeeper in front, hurriedly broke in and said loudly: "Old lady, Liu ...... Liu Tiecheng ...... They rushed into town to borrow ...... Here comes the borrowed grain! Several shops on South Street were on fire, and the horse team was ...... It's coming to our house! ”