This time, I directly got the appointment letter of the third-rank military general in the military department, and I was secretly taken care of by Wang Zhuoqing, the right attendant, and I must have been quite smooth.

Luo Chong was named the general of the Zheng Sanpin, Ma Hanzi was named the ranger general of the Zheng Sipin, and Yue Hu and several people also became generals from the fourth rank, but they were all Luo Chong's subordinates and were not transferred elsewhere.

Obviously, Emperor Jingyu is expressing his trust in Luo Chong in this way, but it is not certain how long this trust can be maintained.

After another three days, Luo Chong took Princess Yongning's convoy on the way home, but this time it was not an escort, but an accompaniment.

The journey was not just over 300 miles, but a 2,000-mile journey across two provinces.

Her Royal Highness's carriage has been changed, and it has been changed to a carriage more suitable for long journeys, and the luxury and comfort dù will definitely be reduced, and there are no marks on the carriage that represent the royal family, of course, because they don't want to disturb the local officials all the way.

She thought that only three carriages would be enough, so as not to add too much burden to Luo Chong, but Luo Chong said: For me, there is no difference between three and five, but for you, it is better to be as comfortable as possible.

Seeing that he cared so much about himself, Yongning was relieved, at least it could show that he didn't hate himself......

Get on the road and go home!

A few days ago, Yongning's mood was still full of anticipation, quite happy, although the scenery along the way was not much different from when he went to Muyang County, but the main thing was that the mood was different, this time not only with him, but also a kind of relaxation and excitement in the sky, as if the birds in the cage had finally been freed.

But then, once you walk out of the border of the capital, from time to time you can see the people who have been sacked by the Qingyuan cavalry and become homeless, in groups, in rags, many people are walking barefoot on the official road, and there is no vitality and hope in their confused eyes......

Yongning's mood gradually sank.

The bird-like joy is gone, Luo Chong can guess her mood change, and she also knows what she wants to hear what she wants to say the most, but unfortunately, those promises can't be given to her, if this country wants to fundamentally change, it must be fundamentally overturned, and the direction she is working towards will only be in vain.

The further down she goes, the more miserable pictures she can see, especially the once-in-a-century famine in Jinzhou, with countless refugees and all kinds of misery, Luo Chong decided to change to the waterway in advance, there is no need for her to see those again.

She can't change anything anyway.

Sure enough, the scenery on both sides of the canal can indeed change a person's mood, Luo Chong hired a big boat, and there were only a dozen personal soldiers on board, as well as Princess Yongning's personal attendants and a few guards.

The cavalry team handed over Ma Hanzi and asked him to escort more than 2,000 war horses and a large amount of property back to Guangling by land, which was expected to be three or four days later than Luo Chong and them.

The canal is an artificial river, basically there is no wind and waves, the boat is stable, most people will not get seasick, and the journey south is smooth.

However, smooth sailing refers to natural factors, and man-made accidents are not included in this list, and the second day of the boat ride will be in trouble.

On this morning, Yongning was enjoying the scenery on the foredeck, with tables and chairs and a set of tea sets placed around him.

In the words of the personal maid: His Royal Highness has learned from him, how can you drink tea with such a strong wind on the river, you will catch a cold if you stand for a long time.

After a while, two clippers chased up from the side and rear, Yongning couldn't understand that they waved the flag, anyway, our ship began to slow down until it came to a stop close to the shore.

What's going on?

Yongning recognized that those two ships were painted with the logo of the Canal Salt Division, and they did have the right to inspect passing ships, but didn't they only inspect cargo ships, how could they even intercept passenger ships like us?

At the stern of the ship, the inspectors of the Salt Division had already made contact with the boss of the ship, shouting: routine inspection, passenger ships are not included!

"Official, what is there to check about the passenger ship, there are distinguished guests on board, don't disturb the nobles. ”

The captain of the boat sneered and gestured with some kind of gesture, implying that he was willing to give a little money and not make things difficult for no reason.

The boss of the ship didn't know the specific identities of Luo Chong and Yongning, but he still had the most basic eyesight, and he knew at a glance: so many guards accompanied him must be the identity of the housekeeper.

Recently, there have been quite a few cases of using passenger ships to smuggle smuggled salt.

The inspection captain of the Salt Division may be the deputy of the sixth grade, with a mixed face, a fierce appearance, and the demeanor and tone when he speaks are not like an official, but a mountain king who blocks the road and robs.

"How dare you, how dare you. ”

The boat boss waved his hand even together, and the sin of thousands of loads of illegal salt was too great, and it was light to raid his family and exile.

There are two kinds of people who sell smuggled salt, one is specialized in this business, and for many years, the relationship between the top and bottom of the salt department in various places has been opened, although more than half of the money earned every year has to be used for bribes, but relatively speaking, the food is also a stable meal.

The second type is the occasional adventurer, who basically has no special relationship with the salt division, and is purely a gambling act, and if he loses, he will go bankrupt and become a windfall.

The inspection force of the Salt Division is the second type of person.

It is said that in this case, as long as Luo Chong reveals his third-grade official position, the other party will not be able and dare not make difficulties, and will definitely be released immediately.

However, a personal soldier went to the side of the deputy and whispered a few words, but in exchange for the other party's cold ridicule: "What are the three military generals, those smuggler salt dealers just let a village girl and throw it in the cabin, with a veil on their faces, they dare to pretend to be the daughter of the prime minister's family." This kind of talk has been heard a lot by this official. ”

Well, he doesn't believe it yet.

Of course, there are ways to make him believe, but Luo Chong is unwilling to do anything more, just so that Yongning can see with his own eyes how corrupt the current officialdom is.

"Search!"

The deputy raised his hand and waved his hand, and more than a dozen of his subordinates also set up the board of the ship and jumped onto the plywood of the ship, all of them were hanging waist knives, and there were people on the two clippers who were holding bows and crossbows.

Since Luo Chong's personal soldiers and Yongning's guards were all dressed in civilian clothes, not military uniforms, and there were no flags representing any official positions on the ship, the deputy was mistakenly thinking that this was a foreign passenger ship hired by a large family, so he had those thoughts of making a false accusation.

This guy has been messing around the canal for a short time, and it can be seen at a glance that this is not like a passenger ship smuggling smuggled salt, but it doesn't matter, it is still a good target for extortion.

There is a way that the rich do not fight with the officials, and the rich businessmen in other places often spend money to eliminate disasters when they encounter this kind of thing, and there is no place to redress their grievances later, because the unspoken rule of today's officialdom is that officials protect each other, and those who are officials make a fortune together, and no one will offend their colleagues for this kind of thing.

How to extort it?

It's very simple, there are a few sacks of private salt on the two fast boats, and when the time comes, throw them on Luo Chong's boat, and say that they are stolen goods, what can you do.

If you don't want to cause trouble, throw down one hundred and eighty taels of silver, and even if this matter is over, how good it would be to spend a little money to eliminate the disaster, otherwise, hum......

In the cabin, Luo Chong told Yongning these inside stories in the simplest words, and she asked: "Are there many such cases? Why do those rich businessmen from other places still take a boat and are willing to be blackmailed?"

"It's much better than encountering bandits on land, and you don't always have to save your life. ”

Luo Chong replied: "Now this world is even more chaotic than you think, and it is much stricter. The rich exploit the poor, the officials exploit the rich and the poor, and your royal family exploits everyone. One by one, all like red-eyed mad dogs......"

In this way, Yongning is speechless.

Bang bang......

At the stern of the ship, the men of the salt division had blatantly carried a few sacks of salt and threw them on the deck of the ship, and the sacks were all broken, scattering ash and a few coarse salt mixed with a lot of sand.

planted for extortion, and they were reluctant to order high-grade stolen goods, which shows how mad these people are.

"Official, you can't be so neat. ”

The boss of the boat is still trying his best to dissuade: "There are really nobles on the ship, this time you are really blind, and you may make things out of control." ”

"Tell me, what's going to happen that can't be managed?"

The deputy raised a gloomy sneer, and said in his heart that if your ship really had an officialdom background, it should know the rules on the canal, and the flags, official documents and other supporting materials should have been taken out a long time ago, in that case, everyone respects each other, and I can't do this.

Yongning saw this scene through the half-open porthole in the top cabin, and was already angry and angry, and his delicate body trembled slightly. It is said that it is better to see than to hear, and I have only heard about it before, but today I have witnessed this kind of thing, and I know how sad and helpless it is to live in this kind of world as a flat-headed people.

Dealing with wealthy businessmen from other places who can afford to hire such a large ship, they dare to blatantly extort money, so how can ordinary people who have little ability to resist be bullied at will?

It is no wonder that people from all over the country have come out to rebel at every turn, and they can also respond to every call, and they can form a scale in a very short time......

"Ministers of the Dead Country!"

The extremely gloomy mood made her voice hoarse for a while, and she said in a low voice like talking to herself: "If the whole country is a minister of the dead country, no matter how wise the monarch is, he will inevitably become the king of the dead country." ”

"It's not what it is, it's what it is. ”

Luo Chong couldn't bear to hit her, but he still had to wake her up: "This tree in the Jin Dynasty has rotted from the roots, it is impossible to save it, and it is too late to save it in time, the best way is to knock it down by the roots and plant a new healthy sapling." ”

Then he said to her: "If you are not willing to be a royal family, it is a big deal, I will support you and establish a new dynasty in another name, and you will be the founding queen of the eternal country." However, this is a later story, and it ...... for now."

Saying such astonishing words, no matter how she reacted, she looked at the stern deck and said lightly: "These guys have blackmailed us, so we have to clean them up anyway." ”