Chinese New Year

Chapter 426 Crossing the River
After October, Heyang South Bridge entered an intense reconstruction phase.

Yang Bao, the captain of the Ministry of Revenue, pulled 150,000 hu of grain to the south bank to unload it. The carts and carriages were immediately filled with grain and transported to the north bank via a temporary floating bridge. This floating bridge was destroyed twice and was finally rebuilt for the third time. It was not used until the last stage of the war, but now it finally found its place.

The imperial guards also sent thousands of soldiers to set up camp near the southern city of Heyang.

As for whether they can ensure the smooth completion of the bridge construction, only God knows. Anyway, after a month of reorganization, this force seems to be doing well on the surface.

On the fifth day of October, Wei Fu arrived at the southern city of Heyang and stayed overnight at the ferry, preparing to take a boat to Zhongyu City the next day and then reach Zhamati via the Heyang North Bridge.

The accommodation conditions are pretty good. I heard that the Shao Ting (thief) planned to build a large post station here, divided into two parts, north and south, for messengers, generals, and officials to rest, eat, and change horses. This should be it.

If there are travelers or merchants who want to stay at the post station, that’s fine; they just have to pay.

Having a wall, postmen and food, isn't it better than sleeping in the wild?
After dinner, Wei Fu strolled around, looked at the bricks and tiles piled in the corner, picked up a piece and took a look.

This is a rope-patterned tile with excellent texture and a stamp of "Nanzhen official tile" on it.

Wow, they are actually bricks and tiles produced by the official kiln.

Zhenguanshu was a government office. Simply put, its biggest business was operating the official kiln and firing bricks and tiles.

In addition, stone slabs, stone carvings, and clay utensils are also made.

There are also funeral services, such as inscriptions on the steles in front of luxurious tombs, stone beasts guarding tombs, etc. There is nothing that the Zhen office does not do.

The yamen was located in the southeast of Luoyang, hence the words "Nanzhen official tiles".

After walking around, I found it was too noisy outside, with the sounds of sawing wood and carriages everywhere, so I went back to the courtyard and happened to meet another guest.

After the two men greeted each other, they found that they were both officials, one was the Minister of Agriculture of Nanyang State (Wei Fu), and the other was the former retainer of Princess Xiangcheng and current Magistrate of Heyang (Cheng Yuantan), so they sat down and chatted.

When they sat down, both of them subconsciously tightened the letters in their sleeves, fearing that they would be seen.

In Wei Fu's hand was a letter written by Nanyang Concubine Liu to Shao Xun.

In Cheng Yuantan's hand was a letter written by Princess Xiangcheng Sima Xiuwei to Shao Xun.

Wei and Cheng are both careful people, so they will naturally not let the other party discover this little secret.

"I heard that the Xiongnu cavalry marched south in large numbers and herded their horses in Henei, but I don't know what happened to them." Cheng Yuantan brought up the topic first.

"I don't know as much as Mr. Cheng." Wei Fu said with a wry smile, "I only heard on the road that the ships transported food and military supplies to the north bank day and night, and brought back a lot of soldiers on the return journey."

"Mr. Chen actually thinks there are too many soldiers on the north bank?" Cheng Yuantan asked in surprise, "Then why did he recruit troops from all the families?"

"Oh? The troops that Mr. Cheng brought with him..." Wei Fu asked.

"That's right." Cheng Yuantan nodded and said, "There are a total of 47 cavalrymen, they are the princess's family soldiers, all of them will be handed over to Lord Chen to strengthen his military strength."

"Are there any other troops?"

"I don't know much about the rest. I only know that Wang Guojiu's concubine Jing sent her brother Jing Cheng to lead 30 cavalrymen to join the army." Cheng Yuantan said, "Well, Yin Xi of the Yin family in Changping led his own 100 cavalrymen to join the army. I just heard it from others, so I can't be sure. There may be errors."

Wei Fu thought to himself, it would be fine for other people, but the Yin family of Changping could not be faked.

This is a local aristocratic family in Yingchuan. There are women in the family who serve as concubines in Mr. Chen's mansion, so it is not surprising that they joined the army.

Since the wedding ceremony at the beginning of the year, the Yingchuan gentry no longer hesitated and started to spend a lot of money.

"The hometown of Huaiying Tuqi is indeed extraordinary." Wei Fu said with emotion: "Today, I saw dozens of cavalrymen heading north on the road. When I asked, they turned out to be the descendants of Runan Tuqimen, riding donkeys and mules to the north to join the army."

The descendants of the Huaiying Tuqi are mainly distributed in Yingchuan, Runan and Nanyang areas.

Especially in Runan, which is famous for its mountains and rivers and rich in donkeys and mules, many people have some basic knowledge of riding and warfare - even if they have really forgotten their ancestors' skills, they have more or less practiced riding, which has shortened the training time.

"Mr. Chen won the battle of Zhamadi, but the cavalry must have suffered heavy losses." Cheng Yuantan added, "Conscripting the private knights of the noble families was also a helpless move. After Yingchuan and Runan were plundered, there were fewer young men riding horses and hunting in the countryside."

Wei Fu nodded slightly.

In fact, one of his missions in this trip north was to meet Mr. Chen and obey his orders. As for what the mission was, it was generally clear: one was to buy horses, and the other was to recruit soldiers.

Chang'an has been recovered, and you can reach Lantian via Wuguan.

With the name of the Nanyang Palace, the identity of the Jingzhao Wei family, and the protection of more than a thousand soldiers, after some negotiations, it should not be difficult for him. After all, Mr. Chen is a loyal minister of the Jin Dynasty, and the governors and governors of Guanzhong have no need to embarrass him.

In addition to buying horses and recruiting soldiers, there are other tasks, such as contacting Nanyang Wang Bao in Qinzhou.

This matter can be done together with buying horses and recruiting soldiers, which is very convenient.

Of course, this kind of thing is not without danger.

Guanzhong was newly restored and in a mess. Do the provincial governors and governors have strong control over the local areas? Not at all.

The Qiang, Di and other Hu tribes they summoned robbed and killed many people everywhere. The people in Guanzhong were also very annoyed with them and even fought with them, thinking that they were no better than the Xiongnu. The refugees talked a lot about these things, and Wei Fu had heard about them a long time ago.

Can a thousand soldiers effectively protect them, especially when they are carrying valuables?

It’s really hard to say.

However, Wei Fu was willing to make this trip for one simple reason: he saw Mr. Chen's ambition.

After the great victory, he did not become arrogant or look down on others, but instead made preparations for a rainy day and recruited more soldiers and horses. This is how one should do great things.

Moreover, he vaguely felt that Mr. Chen had been keeping an eye on Guanzhong and thinking hard about how to intervene in Guanzhong. This made him admire him even more and he became very motivated and wanted to do something in the hope of achieving success.

The two of them then talked about poetry and music for a while, and then went back to their rooms to rest.

The next day, Wei Fu left early in the morning.

He took more than a dozen followers, boarded a ship carrying supplies, and headed north.

The river was foggy and nothing could be seen.

The old boatman also perked up and steered the boat carefully towards the north shore.

The Heyang South Bridge, which once spanned the north and south, has been burned down, and craftsmen and laborers are trying to rebuild it.

Wei Fu stared for a long time, and only saw a ship returning from the north shore. There were more than 20 soldiers on it. They had no armor and their equipment was not very complete.

Obviously, these are Chen Gong's farming troops. Most of them are from Yuzhou, so they should be allowed to go home.

Out of boredom, he looked at the cargo in the cabin again, which turned out to be pickles, winter melon and turnips.

"This turnip is good." Wei Fu picked up a juicy turnip and said with a smile, "Does anyone in Luoyang grow this vegetable?"

"Sir, you don't know that these vegetables are grown in the Chuanshe." The boatman replied, "The Chuanshe has thirty acres of vegetable fields, planted with winter melon and turnips. They are all from Xiangcheng, and they brought the seeds with them. I don't know much about them."

A post station is a post station.

Post stations usually have fields where they grow grain, forage, fruits and vegetables to cover the expenses of the post station. It is not uncommon for a large post station to have hundreds of acres of fields.

"Are all the Jianbu people in the relay station from Xiangcheng?" Wei Fu was a little surprised.

"Sir, you stayed at the inn last night, don't you know?" The boatman was surprised and said, "There are more than ten strong soldiers in the South City inn, all of them are soldiers of the garrison army. Most of the managers are old soldiers of the Silver Spear Army. They were injured and can't fight anymore, so they work in the inn."

"Receive salary in the residence?" Wei Fu asked.

To be honest, due to the endless wars over the past decade, the travel agencies in various places have long been destroyed.

There are generally two ways to deliver official letters and messages in the imperial court.

One is to have a special person deliver the letter, who will change horses but not people at the relay station until the letter is delivered.

One is the circulating mail delivery, that is, the mail delivery person only goes back and forth between two fixed relay stations, and the speed is relatively slow.

Nowadays, letters are basically delivered by special people, and they have to be equipped with guards and carry more horses. They may not even have a place to stay at night, so it is still quite dangerous.

"No salary." The boatman said, "Mr. Chen gave the Nancheng Inn several hundred acres of land, including fields, pastures, orchards, and vegetable plots. There are rules for what the messengers and officers who come and go on official business eat and drink. Anything beyond that has to be paid for by themselves. Merchants and travelers also have to pay for their food and accommodation."

"I'm afraid there aren't many business travelers right now." Wei Fu said with a smile.

"You are right, sir." The boatman said, "I heard that Mr. Chen gives me some rewards from time to time. At the beginning of the month, I stopped by the inn to rest, and I saw an official delivering ten rolls of silk. If it is a peaceful year, this inn will be very valuable. If I can pass it on to my descendants, I will be willing to die for it. It will be enough to ensure the prosperity of my family."

"Yes, if it was a peaceful year, what would the three cities of Heyang be like..." Wei Fu sighed.

After sighing, he chuckled and said to himself, "Mr. Chen is really good at treating the old man who follows him to fight. He lets people have no worries and just fight to the death."

The oars made a splashing sound as they crossed the river. Soon, Zhongyu City emerged from the mist.

On the river bank, some people were picking vegetables, some were cutting grass, and some were slaughtering pigs and sheep. They were busy yet leisurely.

It seems that they are not too worried about the battle situation on the north shore.

Some ships stop here to unload cargo and load passengers.

Their ship continued to head north until the fog cleared and they arrived at Hepu Wharf.

The sun gradually rose, illuminating the north shore with brilliant light.

Wei Fu climbed up the long embankment, overlooking the north, and was immediately stunned by the grand scene.

(End of this chapter)