I don't know what Shadow promised Fan Xian, let him accept the compensation for that "accident" incident, and happily left Shazhou City the next day. On that day, there was a cold winter rain, and it was so cold and mesmerizing. As if by magic, Fan Tisi and his party, who were sneaking into the south of the Yangtze River, just disappeared in the winter forest on the hills outside Shazhou City.
That night, a few officials in full-body raincoats entered the Shahu Lake in the dark, and boarded the large Kyoto ship at the Jiangnan Navy Wharf. They didn't even see the true faces of those people.
At this time, Su Wenmao, who was in charge of all affairs on the big ship, looked at his colleagues who boarded the ship in the rain, and asked in surprise: "You are all here, what should you do, my lord? How many people must be left in the Qi Nian team?"
An official said with a sad face: "Your Excellency said that you must act more realistically. If you leave all the members of the Qi Nian team on the boat, and we come back with your face covered, the navy will believe that you are on the boat. If the news is released, it will always be true." Lied to a few people."
Su Wenmao was dumbfounded: "Your Excellency, this is playing hard, and now you have found traces in Shazhou, and you are hiding..." He swallowed the dirty words, coughed twice, and said: "It's okay, tomorrow Get on the boat and hurry to Jiangnan Road."
"The third day of March." The official of the New Year Team said seriously: "The ship arrived in Suzhou on the third day of March, and the adults gave this date."
Su Wenmao was anxious: "Why can the boat go so slowly?" He stood up and waved his hand, and said angrily, "No matter how I go on the river, I can't stay in this sandy lake any longer. I have to leave the port tomorrow."
The official frowned and asked, "My lord, what's the matter?"
Su Wenmao looked sad, and said: "Entered the camp of the Jiangnan navy... The chief minister and the third prince still refused to disembark. You said that the generals in the navy, who are not whispering in their hearts? These two days, I don't know how many guards and commanders are running to the ship every day, everyone knows that they are looking for an opportunity to curry favor with the two nobles. But the lord is not on the ship, how dare I let them come up?"
The more he talked, the more annoyed he became, and he was about to get angry because he was blocked by people on the boat these two days: "...I can still block officials at these levels. But I heard that the admiral of the Navy will be here tomorrow afternoon. Hurrying over, he is a first-rank super official, even if Master Tisi is here, he has to salute obediently, even the third prince is not easy to get a pie. How can this be stopped?"
The official who was talking to him was also shocked. The identity of the admiral of the navy is no better than those shrimp officials. When the lord comes, the lie will be exposed naturally. In the last secret rehearsal, I expressed my anger at being teased to the emperor, but people like myself have to be punching bags!
"Go, leave early tomorrow morning!"
The Qi Nian team who stayed on the ship immediately reached a very solid consensus, and began to prepare the sailors under the cabin for sailing, and at the same time notified the Tiger Guard and the three Sixth Division swordsmen on board.
"My lord said, he sent another person to watch the meeting in Hangzhou, so you don't have to go." The official looked at Su Wenmao and said, and then asked curiously: "These two days... I guess the navy should send it away." A lot of gifts."
Su Wenmao turned to the back and pursed his lips: "Let's put them in the back. Those who command soldiers are really rich, and they really deserve to be able to protect the water bandits."
The official suddenly had an idea, and said: "Didn't you worry about how to delay the time until the third day of March? My subordinates have a plan, how about..."
He whispered in Su Wenmao's ear.
"Good idea! Mr. Tisi doesn't mind such trivial matters. We are not allowed to collect money from court officials, but it is right to collect money on behalf of his old man." Su Wenmao was happy, and thought of something, and urged: "By the way, the back room The box of silver is good. Master Tisi issued a death order, and now no one is allowed to touch that box."
The official responded, but murmured in his heart, although the box contained tens of thousands of taels of silver, but the rich family of Mr. Tisi is worth staring at like a family heirloom
In the early morning of the second day, just as the fog on the sand lake cleared, the probably new big ship in Kyoto slowly left the pier under the "reluctant" eyes of the generals of the Jiangnan navy, crossed the waterway, and left the sand lake. , slowly and happily entered the waters of the river.
Watching the big ship disappear at the mouth of the lake, the three navy ships that guarded it also went out. After leaving, I felt a little heartache when I thought that the gifts I gave these days seemed to be in vain.
As for the big ship that the prince and the commissioner were on, they encountered bandits in the naval defense area - of course there needs to be a scapegoat, and all the generals looked pitifully at Shen Shoubing. We have to wait for the admiral to return to camp in the afternoon.
Actually... Su Wenmao guessed wrong, and the generals of the Jiangnan Navy waited until the next day for the Admiral.
The most powerful figure in the military in the south of the Yangtze River, Admiral Shi of the Jiangnan Navy, was not in a hurry to come, just worried not to come too fast.
This admiral was a first-rank official, and was a former student of the old Qin family in Kyoto, so naturally he wouldn't be afraid of Fan Xian, but this veteran also knew that if he really rushed to the water village to meet Fan Xian, To the third prince and that rumor, I always have to lower my figure and say something - how can I put my old face on a child who has no hair on his mouth and no hair on his bird at all!
So while Lao Shi sent someone to send a message, saying that he was on business somewhere, and was rushing to invite the third prince, on the other hand, he was walking towards the navy in a carriage with his most beloved fan in his arms. Hate the journey is too short...
In the end, Admiral Shi finally managed to beat the time difference. When he arrived, the ship had already gone like a yellow crane.
On the other hand, Su Wenmao sailed down the river in a big boat in high spirits, carried out Fan Tisi’s instructions, and accepted the suggestion of the official under him. The riverside is just a small county town with thousands of people living, anyway, it's a stop and go, a park every day, it's a lot of trouble.
This boat moved strangely, but it disturbed the entire officialdom on Jiangnan Road!
Now everyone knows that Fan Tisi and the third prince of the Overwatch Council may be on the ship from Kyoto. In this case, wherever the ship is berthed, the local officials will go to pay their respects, and prepare For a good feast, there is no shortage of gifts at hand. At this juncture, who dares to be careless
The states and counties in the upper reaches sent emeralds, but the states and counties in the downstream couldn't compare, at least they got a bag of cat's eyes, didn't they? Is our state poor? How many ginseng can be planed? No money in our county? The famous pine needles and cypress wood golden bacon should also be mentioned. What if the two big men on board are used to delicacies from mountains and seas, and they like our local flavors
What? Nothing produced in the city? Hurry up and send workers... to pull the boat for the adults!
For more than a month, although the officials along the river have not seen the high-ranking nobles, they are trying their best to curry favor.
The big ship went all the way south and stopped when it met Zhouzhou County. No matter how small the place is, the Jiangnan officials are happy to have this rare opportunity to give gifts, but at the same time, they can't help but complain in their hearts. Fan Tisi and the third prince... have great appetites! Even those poor counties with little production will not be spared!
"Don't you understand? No matter how small a mosquito is, it's still meat." A master in a certain mansion in Suzhou narrowed his eyes and said, "It seems that Master Fan has really inherited the style of Master Shangshu, and he is very meticulous in his calculations."
Another master shook his head and sighed: "Guan Sheng! Guan Sheng! These young nobles don't even bother to show their faces!" Then he suddenly said contemptuously: "Besides, that little Mr. Fan is not Mr. Fan. of… "
"Shut up! How dare you talk about such things! Before the Overwatch Council cuts you, I will hang you!"
The high-ranking official sitting in the middle scolded loudly. After calming down, he raised his teacup and took a sip, and said, "Don't gossip about people behind their backs. As long as you are willing to accept money, everything in Jiangnan is lacking, just There is no shortage of silver."
The official closed his eyes and meditated for a while, then said with a little worry: "I'm afraid it's just the smoke released by Mr. Tisi, who knows? Besides, who knows whether he is still on that ship or not? According to the gentleman who went south, Master Fan's motorcade is still going to Danzhou, and there is no shortage of money along the way."
On the official road in the Central Plains, the team with the largest number of people, under the leadership of "Fake Fan Xian", carried a group of guards and shopkeepers of Qingyu Hall to Danzhou.
On the big river, Su Wenmao was driving a big boat, happily going on a gilding trip, but he didn't know that he would be scolded by Fan Xian in the future.
Several pieces of information were mixed together, which confused the Jiangnan officials. They didn't know where that Fan Tisi was. Even if some smart people guessed that Fan Xian might have other plans, they couldn't grasp any useful information. People from the Second Division of the Overwatch Council are covering the true whereabouts of Fan Xian and his party in the south of the Yangtze River.
※※※
The weather in early February, spring has not yet come, winter has not gone, the chill dominates the fields and roads on both sides of the river, refusing any trace of spring. However, the area in the south of the Yangtze River is close to the sea, so it is warmer than other places, so there is no snow these days, but the mud marks that have been dug up on the official road have been blown dry and hard by the winter wind for several months, making it difficult to walk on it. The convoy bumped up and down, and the people in the car were a little miserable.
Fan Xian couldn't bear the hardship, so he lifted the curtain and called to stop the convoy, jumped out of the car and rode on horseback, which made him a little more comfortable. He stretched his waist, breathed in the slightly cold wind blowing towards his face, looked at the gutters on both sides of the official road, and narrowed his eyes involuntarily. I saw that the ditch responsible for irrigation had run out of water for a long time, and it was dry. If it was because of the dryness in winter, it would be fine. The problem is that there are still grasses as tall as a person growing in the ditch. The ditches stretched forward, looking barren, with no end in sight.
He was a little puzzled, thinking that he would only have this appearance if he worked for several years. Stepping on both feet, the whole person stood up, looking from above, he couldn't help but gasped, and found that most of the ditches around the official road looked like this, and the long grass in the ditch had long been frozen to death However, it is still standing firmly, stubbornly, piercing towards the sky... How can such a ditch be irrigated? What about spring planting
When Fan Xian returned from the Northern Qi Dynasty, he saw that the water conservancy and irrigation system of the Qing Kingdom was relatively complete. This land in the south of the Yangtze River is the richest country in the world, so how come there is no money to repair the ditches? Don't those lands need to be planted
The four officials of the Overwatch Council who came out with him from the capital, saw the hesitation on the face of the chief minister, and clapped their hands to explain: "That's why this area is a bit deserted, it's definitely not like that in Suzhou and Hangzhou."
Fan Xian frowned and said, "Of course there is no shortage of food in the south of the Yangtze River. The main reason for this area is that the land is thin and the labor force has been demanded too much." He had no choice but to smile bitterly and did not continue talking.
Everyone walked silently along the ditch overgrown with wild grass. It had been a few days since they came out of Shazhou, and they were shaking slowly all the way, but they were almost approaching Hangzhou. The group was a little tired, and Fan Xian didn't have much time to play and supervise the way. , Weibo private interview drama.
"The car behind is following up!"
The fourth officer's surname was Wu and his name was Mai. Since Su Wenmao stayed on the ship, the logistical arrangements and the work of the whole team were handed over to him.
He saw that the chief was in a bad mood and didn't want to talk too much, so he had to order the people behind to follow closely. There are a lot of masters in these humble carriages, but the problem is that the six swordsmen and the tiger guards are not living their lives. My master, solo assassins are veterans. It is no problem to ask them to get into the long grass in the ditch and rush to Hangzhou without food or drink, but it seems a bit dull to ask them to travel with no tour fee.
Especially in a place more than 70 miles outside Shazhou City, a small group of people bought four or five little girls at the foot of a mountain, and they seemed more and more procrastinated, like traveling Rich team.
Speaking of that purchase, it was also an encounter that surprised Fan Xian. Now that the Qing Kingdom is known as the prosperous age, he never imagined that there would be people in the south of the Yangtze River who wanted to sell their children because they were about to starve to death. The thing is, even though those poor people came here as exiles from Jiangbei, Fan Xian was still a little depressed.
The group of them sneaked to Hangzhou secretly, it was not easy to take these people along, and Fan Xian himself was also a person with a cold personality, in the end it was the third prince who couldn't bear to speak, and Sisi happily took more than a dozen taels of silver , bought five little girls, and the parents of the girls were very grateful. After leaving in tears, Fan Xian was acquiesced to this fact.
This group of people is too conspicuous, a handsome noble son, a poor scholar, an arrogant child with upturned nostrils, a decent and generous maid, and more than a dozen powerful guards. Anyone who is interested can always guess Fan Xian's identity, and now there are many of them. A few little girls can be regarded as a small disguise, Fan Xian persuaded himself in this way.
A few days later, the official road was as smooth as a mirror, and the winter trees on both sides of the road were standing out. The bustling scene suddenly came in front of this group of people. Looking at the bustling road, the bright clothes of the pedestrians, and the faintly visible green city wall in the distance Only then did everyone realize that it turned out that Hangzhou had arrived so easily.
Fan Xian sat on the horse, waved his whip, and said in high spirits, "When we enter the city, let's find Mrs. Song!"