Go to ancient times to catch fast

Wickingham summoned them to talk to understand the situation of that section of waterway.This is also the reason why Wei Jinghan sent Fang Lingfeng to Fangchuan County later.

The Pingjiang River basin is very wide, mainly running east-west, but the tributary in Fangchuan is running north-south, and the narrowest point is only a few dozen miles away from another big river that can go north and go straight to the capital.If the two rivers can be connected, it can save a lot of time and cost of shipping northward.In this way, not only can business and trade achieve great economic benefits on weekdays, but if Dacheng goes to war with the Hu people, the war preparation materials can be continuously transported from the south to the capital and transported to the front line.The benefits of this are far from being measurable in money.

However, Dacheng now has to accumulate national power on the one hand, and on the other hand, the domestic struggle between imperial power and royal power has not yet ended, so it cannot spare time to complete the huge project of opening up the two major water systems.But Wei Jingham had already taken a step forward, so he acted in this case.

While speaking, Wei Jinghan had already taken out two maps.One is a map of the waters of the Pingjiang River, and the other is a map of the Dacheng area, and we will discuss it with you.

After hearing Wei Jinghan's inquiry, and looking at the map on the case table, Yu He looked around anxiously: "My lord, I'm a commoner, so it's hard for me to know the secrets of the yamen."

Wei Jinghan said with a smile: "You went with Xiaoyun this time, and you also know something about the water area. Besides, this matter is also related to the case. If you discovered the identity of the corpse at the first time, you should treat it as a case. Back then You can also give some opinions, and it’s okay to listen to it.”

Yu He stayed behind.

Chu Xiaoyun described the scenes in the waterway one by one, and pointed to a location on the map of the Pingjiang waters: "According to this map, the mountain should be at this location, climb over this mountain, and then go for more than ten miles , is another tributary of water washing. According to the picture, it is indeed very close. It’s just that no one knows where this waterway flows after it enters the mountain and becomes a hidden river.”

Wei Jinghan frowned and looked at the mountain range Chu Xiaoyun pointed at, and couldn't help sighing: "It's too close. If this waterway can be opened up, it will be of great help to the north-south freight."

On the map of Dacheng, he gestured the distance between Fangchuan Waterway and the capital, and also gestured the distance between the capital and the border gates, his eyes were full of excitement that could not be concealed.

Chu Xiaoyun nodded and shook his head: "In addition to this mountain, there is also that reed marsh. The water area here is extremely wide, no less than a lake, because the small continents formed by reeds divide it, and the water potential in it is extremely complicated. In addition, for some unknown reason, the compass is completely useless when the boat travels to this place, forming a maze, and it is impossible to pass through.”

As he spoke, Chu Xiaoyun frowned.Naturally, he didn't believe in such nonsense as ghosts hitting walls, or else he couldn't find a way out by relying on Fang Lingfeng's method of using fire to lead the way. There must be some secret hidden in it, which they haven't thought of yet.

When they talked about this, Fang Lingfeng interjected: "The subordinates have already left manpower to detect the situation of the waterways around the Reed Marsh and find out the cause of the failure of the compass."

Wickingham nodded.

Suddenly Chu Xiaoyun remembered the physical principles learned in his previous life: "Could it be that there is a large amount of magnetite buried under the water or on the shore around the reeds, forming a strong magnetic field, which makes the compass around the reeds unable to point?"

Speaking of which, Chu Xiaoyun looked at Wei Jinghan: "My lord, is it possible that the maze pattern in the reed marsh was artificially created, or was it arranged by someone with the help of natural forms?"

Wei Jinghan did not answer his question, but was attracted by a few words he did not understand: "Magnetite? Magnetic field? What do you mean?"

"This..." Chu Xiaoyun didn't know how to explain it. He couldn't say that he had traveled through time, so he had to make up nonsense, saying that he had seen such a statement in some strange news record, so he used the principle of magnets according to this era. The human understanding explained a pass.

The rest of the people had no idea what Chu Xiaoyun said. Only Wei Jinghan looked at Chu Xiaoyun with great interest, but he didn't question anything. He just asked, "But it's the same principle as the compass?"

It was only then that Chu Xiaoyun suddenly realized that there was a compass in ancient times, or Si Nan, and the ancients had already applied their wisdom to minerals such as magnets, so it seemed a bit ridiculous to show off just now.However, in view of the cognition of magnets in this era, this aspect is not yet popular.Thinking of this, the embarrassment in Chu Xiaoyun's heart was eliminated by half.

After Chu Xiaoyun finished speaking, Fang Lingfeng reported: "I have left my manpower to find out the reason for the formation of the maze around the reed marsh, and see if there is a way to solve it. Now that Chu Butou has a new theory, I don't know if your lord can come up with it. Da Tianting, ask the imperial court to find capable people in this area, to find a way to crack it? Needless to say, man-made reasons, natural reasons should also have a way to crack it.”

Wei Jinghan looked at Chu Xiaoyun: "I don't know if there is a way to decipher it in the "Strange Records" that Xiaoyun saw?"

Chu Xiaoyun kept his mind steady and considered his words: "If it's man-made, just find the magnets buried in the ground. To make the compass fail, how many magnets must be buried? Personally, I still think this possibility is relatively weak; if it's natural factors , you need to ascertain the distribution of magnetite ore or iron ore. Iron ore is pig iron. If the reason is the latter, it will be another great fortune for me. But judging from the fact that the other party can walk freely, I personally tend to be natural Causes combined with human causes."

Wei Jinghan nodded: "Since it's related to pig iron, it's not that complicated. Since my Dacheng can find a huge pig iron ore in Yunling, it's not surprising that we can also find it in Fangchuan."

Only then did Chu Xiaoyun belatedly recall that the nearby Yunling County is where pig iron mines are frequently discovered, and the Hu people's rampant activities in this area are aimed at Yunling's pig iron.

After talking about the waterway, let's talk about the dead body of the bun shop peddler.After all, Chu Xiaoyun went to Fangchuan County on business this time for the peddler's corpse.

"What do you two think about the corpse of the peddler at the steamed stuffed bun shop?" These words were naturally addressed to Chu Xiaoyun and Yu He.

Chu Xiaoyun glanced at Yu He: "We both agree that although we can't be completely sure where the steamed stuffed bun hawker was killed, the scene where the body was first dumped must be in the reeds, and then it was taken to the fisherman's salvage place through the water."

"So we have an idea that the water in that channel is not completely static as the rumors or what we have seen. It should also be flowing, and the place where it meets the Pingjiang River is the downstream, the mountains, That is to say, the direction of the dark river is upstream. It’s just that the water flow is hidden under the water, and the depth of the water channel gives people such an illusion. The peddler’s body was under the water, and was brought out of the reeds by the water and floated to Fisherman's Salvage."

Yu He also said: "I think the peddler had a conflict with the person who helped him escape, so the other party killed him and threw his body away."

Chu Xiaoyun said: "In this way, there is a problem here. The interests of the steamed stuffed bun vendor and the person who helped him escape should not be completely consistent. In such a tight organization like theirs, there is no situation where the interests are not completely consistent. Unless The peddler at Baozipu rebelled, but if the peddler had rebelled, he would not have escaped at the beginning, he would have just reported it to the Yamen. Then what is the source of their conflict? Could this problem be the reason why they blamed Yu He in the first place?"

Wei Jinghan smiled and said: "Xiaoyun's thinking is always so quick. You are right, their interests are not exactly the same, because the bun shop vendor is from Xitian."

Everyone present was shocked, and Chu Xiaoyun asked in surprise, "How did your lord know?"

Wei Jinghan said: "Naturally, Princess Dongling told me during the secret conversation with Princess Tangling before. The peddler at the steamed stuffed bun shop was originally from his Dongling tribe. It's not surprising that there are divisions within the Dongling tribe."

As Wei Jinghan spoke, his eyes shifted to Yu He: "It is precisely because of your previous slander case involving Xianleguo that she came to Dacheng together with you."

"I didn't expect to find out the whereabouts of their Tangling royal family's Xianleguo expert when I came here. It's a pity that they are already dead. The Dongling princess has repeatedly assured me that their Dongling clan will never do anything in my Dacheng. This guarantee Just listen to it. There are factional disputes in one country, not to mention two countries. But one thing should be believed, this steamed stuffed bun vendor is cooperating with the Hu people without authorization, and has nothing to do with the Dongling tribe. After all, the Dongling tribe is in Xitian Their position is also very embarrassing, they want to get rid of the control of the Xitian royal power over them, and they are mainly bordered by Dacheng, the center of the royal city is far away from the Hu people, and it will do them more harm than good to turn to the Hu people."

"Then, in this way, the person who helped him escape is undoubtedly a barbarian?" Chu Xiaoyun asked.

"This should still be believable." Wei Jinghan said, "Dongling County Lord thinks that the peddler at the steamed stuffed bun shop was silenced only after he discovered a major secret. This secret must involve the entire deployment of the barbarians in my Dacheng. At least someone important is involved."

"Why do you see that?" Chu Xiaoyun was surprised.He didn't expect that Wei Jinghan had already done so much work in places he didn't understand.

"Because that bun shop peddler has a high status in Dongling, in other words, she is also a member of her Tangling royal family. Xitian and Dongling are the places where my Dacheng competed with the barbarians. Inside Dongling, my Dacheng has already occupied Under the favorable circumstances, if the fact that the Hu people killed a Tangling royal family is publicized, as the organizers of the Hu people, they are fully aware of the consequences it will have on bilateral relations. Their actions will undoubtedly bring closer Their influence pushed me towards Dacheng. Even so, they killed the member of the Tangling royal family without considering the consequences at that time, which must have involved a major secret inside the Hu people. This secret is even bigger than the relationship between Dongling and the Hu people. Wei Jinghan's tone was slow, and what he was talking about was all about the core competition between countries.

"That's why after they killed the peddler, they were particularly afraid that his death would be known by the world, so they tied such a heavy stone slab and sank it in the reeds, just to make his death a secret forever." Chu Xiaoyun suddenly realized. .

"Yeah, it's just that the sky didn't fulfill their wishes. The stone slab that bound the peddler broke for some reason and fell off from the man's body, allowing his body to float downstream and be picked up by my Dacheng fishermen. This is also God's blessing to me. In this case, those pro-Hu forces in the Dongling clan will be hit hard, and even affect Xitian's pro-Hu forces. This will be of great benefit to me." When Wei Jinghan said this, his tone was quite Excited, "Just now I have reached a preliminary agreement with Princess Dongling. She is willing to go to the Imperial Hospital in the capital to help Dacheng eliminate the pain caused by Xian Leguo to the people of Dacheng."

After pausing for a while, Chu Xiaoyun heard Wei Jinghan say again: "This was originally a crime made by their clan."

It seems that Wei Jinghan holds a grudge against the cooperation between the Xitian people and the Hu people to use Xianleguo on the people of Dacheng.

After drinking two sips of tea, Wei Jinghan said again: "Xiao Yun, after two days of rest, you will escort Princess Dongling to the capital. Aren't Su Wen and Xiao Shuyu also in the capital? You can go and see them."

When Yu He heard that Wei Jinghan asked Chu Xiaoyun to escort Dongling Hanyue to the capital, he was a little anxious: "Then what about me?"

Wei Jinghan said with a smile: "You are free, so naturally you want to go wherever you want. But as an official, we must send someone to escort, to show my demeanor of becoming a state of etiquette."

Yu He understood.

If he wants to go, he can just go along with him, and the government can't control where he goes now.