As the ship shook slightly, the ship that Yan Liqiang and his crew were on had already docked at the pier in Huizhou City. The passengers in the cabin squeezed onto the deck, and the scene was a bit noisy...
"Our ship has arrived at Huizhou Wharf. Passengers in the cabin, please pack your bags and personal belongings and prepare to disembark. There is snow on the deck, be careful of the slippery..." Several sailors on the ship shouted loudly on the deck, holding hands to maintain order for disembarkation. "Although the river water has not frozen yet, it is still terribly cold. If you really fall into the water, you will lose half your life even if you are fished out. Be careful..."
"Also, don't leave the dock directly after getting off the boat. Go to the gate of the Caoyunsi government office next door to get a pass. When you leave in two days, you must exchange the pass you got today for a government pass. Otherwise, you'll be in big trouble if you get checked on the way to the ancient ferry..."
The sailor's voice was rough and loud. After he shouted several times in a row, almost everyone on the boat heard it, got off the boat, and went to get a pass.
"Brother Gu, I'm leaving now. If you have time to come to Suzhou, remember to come find me and have a good drink. This is fate. I didn't expect to meet Brother Gu on this boat ride, hahahaha..."
In front of the escort agency's men and other people on the ship, An Shidao loudly called out Yan Liqiang's alias and said goodbye to Yan Liqiang on the deck.
"Brother An, please take care of yourself. If you come to Ganzhou in the future, I will give you plenty of good wine..."
"Okay, I remember. Brothers, let's go..." An Shidao was also a generous person. After saying goodbye for a few words, he waved his hand and got off the boat from the deck with a few bodyguards under his command, carrying a few boxes of medium size. Finally, he waved to Yan Liqiang at the dock and disappeared into the crowd at the dock in the blink of an eye.
Yan Liqiang carried his bag and followed the crowd, almost being the last one to get off the boat.
The wharf in Huizhou city is very large, with boats parked on both sides. Although it is still snowing, the wharf is still busy because the Huichun River has not frozen yet.
If possible, Yan Liqiang would rather see a deserted pier with few people than see a pier that is bustling in the evening on a cold day. This bustling scene makes Yan Liqiang feel inexplicably heavy.
The atmosphere at the dock seemed similar to that when Yan Liqiang came last time, but upon closer inspection, there were some differences, as if there was a hint of tension. There were many more people patrolling the dock in the uniforms of officers from the Grain Transport Bureau than last time, and there were also more people who looked like patrolmen. The coolies at the dock used to gather at the edge of the warehouse, but they were not as casual and free as before. The coolies sat anywhere, looking at the passengers getting off the ship with an inexplicable look in their eyes. Several runners from the Grain Transport Bureau were wandering around them, shouting loudly.
On a bulletin board at the place where he got off the boat, there were wanted posters for the White Lotus sect. Yan Liqiang took a look and saw that the posters were painted in a horrible way. After getting off the boat, Yan Liqiang did not make any trouble. Instead, he followed the other passengers to the gate of the Caoyunsi government office not far away and lined up to get some damn pass. This pass was also a new thing. In the past, he could come and go freely in Huizhou City and there was no need for a pass.
After a short while, it was Yan Liqiang's turn. The person who processed the pass was a skinny middle-aged scholar. Yan Liqiang walked to the table. The man raised his eyes, just glanced at Yan Liqiang, lowered his head, picked up a pen and quickly wrote a line of words on a piece of paper - male, about eighteen years old, about five feet six inches tall, handsome face, a red mole on the left earlobe, arriving at Huizhou City Pier on December 22nd!
After writing this, the man who looked like a scholar picked up the red seal next to him and stamped a red mark on the road permit.
"Okay, here's your pass. Pay twenty copper coins over there and press a fingerprint with your right thumb here..." The scholar pushed the paper in front of Yan Liqiang and shouted again, "Next one, hurry up..."
Yan Liqiang paid twenty copper coins and left a fingerprint on the pass for comparison. He then put away the pass and left the gate of the Caoyunsi yamen.
When Yan Liqiang was leaving, a passenger who had just disembarked started a scene at the entrance of the Caoyunsi Yamen, shouting, "A ticket like this only costs twenty copper coins, why is it so expensive..."
"It's okay if you don't want to apply for a pass, but if you're caught as a bandit or refugee when you leave, don't cry. Besides, the capital has been arresting members of the White Lotus these days. Those members of the White Lotus don't have a pass, so if they're caught, they'll chop off their heads. It's up to you whether to apply for one or not..."
After hearing what the people from the Caoyunsi Yamen said, the person who was shouting just now suddenly became quieter...
Walking out of Huizhou Wharf and onto the street outside the wharf, it was getting dark, the snow seemed to be even heavier, and the pedestrians and vehicles on the street were all in a hurry.
"Big brother, do you want to read a newspaper? The Han Empire Times that came out yesterday..." A little boy about eleven or twelve years old, wearing a shitty hat and gloves, saw Yan Liqiang coming out of the dock, and immediately ran to Yan Liqiang, waving a newspaper in front of him.
"Okay, give me one..." Yan Liqiang took out a small piece of silver without thinking, handed it to the little boy selling newspapers, and then took a copy of the "Han Empire Times"...
"Well... Big brother, do you have any coins? I can't change the silver I have on me..." The little boy selling newspapers looked at Yan Liqiang with difficulty.
"No need to change, the extra money is a reward for you. It's getting dark, go home early and don't keep your family waiting..." Yan Liqiang patted the little newspaper boy's face which was as cold as an apple.
The little boy selling newspapers was overjoyed and quickly bowed to Yan Liqiang, "Ah, thank you, brother, thank you, brother..."
"Don't thank me, just go back..."
"Okay, okay..." The little newspaper boy grinned, revealing his white teeth, then carefully put the silver into his clothes, and then trotted away and disappeared around the corner of the street...
Yan Liqiang retracted his gaze and fell on the latest issue of the "Han Empire Times" newspaper...
The headline of this issue of the Han Empire Times is "The appearance of the stone turtle in Ling'an River is a fake, the mastermind has been arrested and confessed" -
Just seeing the headline of the news, Yan Liqiang frowned all of a sudden. Then he looked at the content below the headline. It said that the experts from the Imperial Capital City Criminal Department captured a few gangsters in the west of the Imperial Capital City a few days ago. After interrogation, the gangsters confessed that the stone turtle in the Ling'an River in March this year was carved by someone and thrown into the river. The words on the back of the stone turtle were made up by them. They didn't expect it to cause such a big commotion...
The second piece of news below this headline is "Auspicious snow fell in Zhuzhou, a bumper harvest is in sight next year"...
Turning the page, another piece of news that occupied the second page was "The Imperial Astronomical Observatory of the Han Empire Confirmed: The Solar Eclipse in Liuzhou in May was Actually Caused by Dark Clouds Covering the Sun"
Just by taking a look at the two news items in the newspaper, Yan Liqiang was certain that Fang Beidou and his men must have been in trouble. Otherwise, the "Han Empire Times" would not have been so shameless as to publish such an article that distorted the truth and fooled the people. Most ordinary people in this era were isolated from the news and had no other sources of information. The articles in the "Han Empire Times" could not fool smart people, but they were enough to fool the people...
"Fuck you..." Looking at the newspaper, even if Yan Liqiang usually had a good temper, he felt a roar of anger rushing to his head at this moment, and couldn't help but tear the "Han Empire Times" he founded personally into pieces...
(End of this chapter)