Emperor Que Shaohua

When Zheng Tong woke up from a sound sleep, he heard the sound of raindrops hitting the canopy densely, and looked out from the window of the small cabin where he was lying down, and the sky was getting bright.

Zheng Tong rubbed his eyes and got up abruptly.For a boatman like him who is used to life on the water, the turbulence of the fine waves on the river and the intermittent rain are almost as normal as breathing, but he is not as comfortable on land as on the river.

Zheng Tong is going to take over the helm of his younger brother at the stern of the ship. This small passenger ship was bought by his father a year ago. He sold the two dilapidated small cargo ships and took out the hard-earned money he had saved from running on the water for decades. Gritting his teeth and borrowing a sum of money, the whole family valued it more than their lives.Zheng Tong and his younger brother Zheng Yang have been sailing with their father since they were seven years old, but this is the first time the two brothers have taken over the trip alone. The waterway from Huai'an to Jinling is long, and they must be cautious everywhere.

There was smoke rising from the stern of the boat, mixed with the fragrance of rice, Zheng Tong knew that it was his younger sister Zheng Li who had already got up to cook breakfast.After sailing for more than ten days, Zheng Li didn't show much in front of the guests on board, but she cooked with extra care and attention. Sometimes she got a compliment or two, and then she would hide in the back warehouse blushing and be happy for a long time.

Zheng Tong felt that he could not blame his sister, and he himself was not much better.That day when we were picking up passengers at Huai'an Wharf, a young man hurriedly came to charter a boat. He was not in his thirties, and his clothes were not very luxurious, but he had a calm and capable demeanor.He ignored the enthusiastic greetings and inquiries from big and small boatmen, and looked at several boats in a row, until he turned around on Zheng Tong's boat before saying: "It's rare that it's clean, and your boatman is honest, so it's you." Said So, without mentioning the purpose, he directly took out an ingot of 20 taels of silver as a deposit.

Zheng Tong was full of joy and awe, no matter where he was going, after running this trip, the family's debt might be paid off, this guest must be an extraordinary big man.

He took his younger siblings to clean the whole boat from the inside to the outside, and a group of ten people came the next morning. What Zheng Tong didn't expect was that the big man in his heart had restrained his aura from yesterday and attracted everyone. The way he boarded the ship was somewhat respectful no matter how he looked at it, and others called him "Director Yang".

It is hard for Zheng Tong to forget the surprise and shock when he saw these guests for the first time. Except for a manager Shen who was older, about 35 six, smiling and friendly, and two little book boys with beautiful features, the rest were all familiar to him at a glance. In his twenties, he may be stern or gentle, each with his own style, especially the younger Mr. Lu, who is even more handsome than the one painted, while the other Mr. Jiang is even more, more... He couldn't think of a suitable one. It's a good description, but I have traveled from Jiangnan to Jiangbei for many years, and the outstanding people I have seen combined are not more than half of what I see.

After a few days, Zheng Tong felt more and more mysterious about this group of guests. He could see that they had a good relationship with each other, and couldn't help talking and laughing, but in their demeanor, everyone seemed to have a natural respect for Jiang Lu, especially the quiet Jiang Lu. Young master, he doesn't talk much, his face is often a little sickly pale, it seems that he is not in good health, but every time he speaks, everyone will immediately calm down and faintly respect him as the leader.

The more Zheng Tong looked at it, the more confused he became. He didn't look like a friend at all, nor did he look like a master-slave.Sometimes Mr. Jiang asked him to come to him and ask about the customs along the canal. He heard several people who were elegant and knowledgeable.He is more dignified than the Jianghu Shaoxia, and he is said to be a son of an official family, but he seems to know the rules of water and land; two days ago, there was a storm on the water, and he went to deliver the anti-dizziness tea made by Zheng Li, and saw the handsome Mr. Tang With a calm look on his face, he was feeling the pulse of Mr. Jiang... He had no choice but to think about it, and spent every day sailing the boat from the Huai River through the canal, and finally entered the Yangtze River last night.

Walking to the side of the boat, he suddenly saw a slender figure in Tsing Yi. Somebody was standing there at some point, holding his hand on the side of the boat and looking at the river.

"Mr. Jiang," he couldn't help but stop, "You got up so early. Don't stand on the side to blow the wind, you'd better go into the warehouse to avoid the rain!"

There is a reason for daring to remind you. All the guests on this boat seem to be very concerned about Mr. Jiang's health. Whenever related issues are involved, Mr. Jiang's position as the leader will be useless, and he will soon be talked about or restrained.

Sure enough, before he had time to say something, the rear warehouse door opened, Mr. Lu came out with a cloak in his hand, and said reproachfully, "Emperor...Brother Jiang, don't forget to add a piece of clothing when you come out. What about the cold?"

Seeing Mr. Jiang turning his head, Zheng Tong glanced at himself first, then his eyes fell on Mr. Lu, with a slight smile on his lips.He couldn't help shrinking his neck, and hurried towards the stern.Although separated by several bulkheads and a certain distance, Mr. Lu should not have been alarmed by his own sound, but when he met Mr. Jiang's quiet eyes, he still felt a sense of overreach for an instant, and his heart missed several beats.

"Brother Emperor," Luo Pingyuan put the cloak on King Jing and said in a low voice, "Did you get up so early, didn't you sleep well last night?"

"But woke up A Yuan?" Luo Yanhua heard the complaint in his younger brother's tone, smiled slightly, and then turned his head to look at the vast and mighty river in the morning light.The river wind blows the drizzle, and it is no longer the coldness on Luoshui, but the dampness unique to the southern country. Years ago."

Luo Pingyuan's face blushed, not long after he left Luocheng and headed south, Langhuan's subordinates rushed to the south of the Yangtze River in batches to help stabilize the situation in Huaibizhuang; but as an imperial envoy, the slow and noticeable large ship was moving, He simply left all the accompanying officials and guards, and only brought Shen Ling, and King Jing and his party hired another boat in Huai'an, and went down the Huai River.Since boarding this ship, he resumed using his early pseudonym Lu Yuan, and Brother Huang has always called himself "A Yuan".Perhaps because he secretly cared about King Yun's "Ayun", every time he was called that, he was always a little embarrassed, as if the little awkwardness in his heart had been seen through by the emperor.

He then turned his gaze to the river where the water and the sky are the same color, and looking as far as the eye can see, there are dots of sails around the front and back, appearing and disappearing in the milky white morning mist.

"Thirteen or fourteen years ago, was it the time when Your Majesty and Your Majesty went on a tour of Yangzhou?" He asked softly.

"That's right, it's also by water, but at night sometimes we sleep in the Li Palace by the river. Everywhere we go, the ostentation of being picked up by the state capital along the way, even I saw that it was too expensive. After several months in the south of the Yangtze River, it seems The flowers are blooming, but the complaints are growing. Later, when His Majesty wanted to leave the capital for a tour, the empress advised him to cherish the power of the people, and it is better to be still than to move." Jing Wang said, a little lost in thought, "But that time, I followed the empress. I visited many martial arts families, including the Bai family in Gusu, and the Mu family in Jinling, and it was also at that time that I first met Shaoqing, but unfortunately I didn’t have time to go to Xiao’s family in Dongting.”

Luo Pingyuan was silent, and when he mentioned Mu Shaoqing who had never met, he was a little displeased.Along the way, there were contacts from Langhuan, Wanjian Villa's martial arts posts were distributed everywhere, and the words were extremely fierce. The shock caused in Jiangnan martial arts far away from the capital was even worse than the three kingdoms martial arts competition in Luocheng.Mingjian Master Wulin is the strongest and most famous branch of the Langhuan Twelve Orders, and now openly set up a separate sect to oppose Suzerain Jianghua, which is tantamount to announcing that the newly revived Langhuan is facing disintegration again.Those remarks against King Jing were even more harsh. The hustle and bustle was rising day by day, greedy for glory, and selling the rings in exchange for wealth. Even he felt unbearable to hear it.

"I heard that Mu Shaoqing's swordsmanship is excellent, and it's rare to meet an opponent with a cold water sword across the south of the Yangtze River. I would like to meet him for a while." He said lightly.

Luo Yanhua sighed in his heart, he didn't want Mu Shaoqing to confront the emperor's younger brother, and he mentioned it casually just now, but he made a slip of the tongue.He turned to say: "It takes half a day to pass Yangzhou Mansion. We will go upstream to Jinling. The speed will be slower, but we will arrive in two or three days."

Luo Pingyuan nodded, and then remembered the purpose of coming out to find King Jing: "Brother, it's not good if the river wind blows too much. Master Xi Gu told you not to catch a cold or overwork. He got angry and everyone It's bad luck, let's go back to the warehouse, and we will have breakfast soon."

Xi Minghua did not board the ship together in Huai'an. He stayed in Beijing for more than half a year and needed to go back to Mengxian Valley first. He agreed to meet up in Jiangnan in two or three months. of Tang Yu.King Jing felt helpless, so he had to follow Luo Pingyuan into the warehouse to avoid the rain.Master Xi Gu's people are not in front of him, Yu Wei is more prosperous than when he was there, even Gu Yu and Bailu have learned to pull his sleeves and say, Master Xi does not respect the doctor's orders, Dr. Xi will definitely be angry in the future.

At noon, the passenger ship passed Yangzhou Mansion.Since the destination was Jinling, only Yang Yue and Guan Ling went ashore to buy some items.

The rain gradually became less and less, but the river became lively. Everywhere you looked, there were ships of all sizes shuttling back and forth on the endless river. For a time, hundreds of boats competed and thousands of sails raced across the river. The prosperity and prosperity of Yangzhou can be seen.

"Shen Guanshi, I didn't expect that there are so many tank boats waiting to go at the ferry." After lunch, a few people sat in the cabin and drank tea. Luo Pingyuan saw tank boats full of grain and rice passing by slowly. Thinking of the crowded scene at the dock just now, he casually said, "It is said that the Cao Gang is in strict order and the transportation is well-regulated, but there are too many grain ships crowded at the Huaiyang Ferry, and I think half of them have already been loaded. , why still stop without anchoring, is there any special rule on the Yangtze River?"

Before Shen Ling joined Jingyuwei, he was the helmsman of the Cao Gang, so he knew the situation best. Hearing this, he smiled wryly and said, "Young Master, you don't know something. It doesn't count if you say it's the rules on the Yangtze River, but from Jiangling Xiaoxiang to Yangzhou Yuhang , as long as the grain is transported, there are local rules, but I didn't expect the situation to be so serious in just a few years."

Water transportation transports the grain from the land of fish and rice to various places in the north through the canal. After a long time, when farmers pay grain, they are often willing to hand it over directly to Caokou, and then the Cao Gang will count it to the state capital on their behalf. Although some small profits are required in the process, they can Avoid layers of exploitation when the government collects taxes.It's just that the state government is unwilling to let go of the distribution of grain collection from top to bottom, and has set up various checkpoints for the Cao Gang at the docks and rivers, trying to scrape back the lost benefits.

"If my subordinates are not mistaken, the tank boat at the ferry should have been detained for an excuse. If the deadline for arrival is delayed, the responsibility will be entirely on the bucket gang." Shen Ling shook his head and sighed, "Everywhere you want to search or immediately It's so powerful, there are so many troubles. The officials and gentry just left, and the local ruffians and bullies came again. If they don't form gangs, no one will survive..."

Luo Pingyuan frowned, and traveled all the way by boat. He had seen tax cards set up privately in the canal, asking for money from merchant ships, but he didn't expect that even tank ships would encounter various obstacles.

At this moment, Zheng Yang brought in the boiling water for tea refills, Shen Ling lowered his voice, he only vaguely heard the words "Cao Gang" and "Gang Gang", and said with a smile, "These young masters saw the water boats on the Yangtze River. How much, have you become more interested? Those of us who sail for a living have long been used to it, and everyone is working hard haha." He put down the copper pot and pointed to the ships near and far, "The boat with the bean green flying tiger flag is Those with a full load heading for the capital, and those with the apricot and yellow double bird flags are those who unloaded grain and returned empty. Although there are many water boats in the river, they cannot be separated from these two types. It is rare to have a crimson frightening flag, that is, there is a helmsman. On board."

Following his gestures, the people present saw that the flags of the nearest tank boats were either bean green or apricot yellow.Everyone then looked at Shen Ling, smiling without realizing it, thinking that back then when the captain Shen sailed up and down the river, wherever the flag went, it should be very exciting.

Fan Yin smiled and said: "In that case, my little brother, do you know what color and pattern the banner of the leader of the Cao Gang is?"

Zheng Yang scratched his head, thought for a while, and then said: "As for their leader, it is said that they used a purple and gold dragon flag, but let alone the younger brothers, my father has never encountered such a flag in the water for decades. It's eye-catching."

Shen Ling nodded slightly, indicating that although Zheng Yang's description was not perfect, it was not far off.

Fan Yin laughed and said: "The Cao Gang dominates the rivers and waterways, and there are more than thousands of people. If I were the leader of the gang, I would definitely not want to leave such a majestic banner empty-handed. I would have to go on a cruise in the Yangtze River every day, waiting for the ships to come and see. It’s not in vain to sit in this position.”

Shen Ling shook his head again: "It's really not easy for Gang Leader Xun to make a living for the brothers all day long, so there's no time for leisure."

While talking, Luo Pingyuan thought of Wei Wuze's two hidden chess pieces in the south of the Yangtze River. One was at Wanjian Villa, and the other was at the main rudder of Cao Gang's Taihu Lake.I heard that when the capital was in turmoil some time ago, the Cao Gang also experienced an accident. Fortunately, the leader of the Gang, Xun, was vigilant in advance and stabilized the situation without any danger.Brother Huang should be thinking about how to solve the chaos in the south of the Yangtze River, but he doesn't know if Cao Gang is considered in it.He glanced at King Jing, Luo Yanhua looked demure, smiling and listening to the others talking, Zhen Shituan was on his lap, just dawdling and acting coquettishly.

At this moment, the two attendants who were lying on the side of the window looking at the boats let out a small exclamation, turned around, and Bai Lu said, "My lord, there are several tank boats coming up ahead, with red flags hanging on them. It seems to be a wild goose!" As he spoke, he looked at Zheng Yang suspiciously, didn't he mean that this kind of flag should be rare to see?

Everyone stared together, but saw several tank boats coming slowly in the thin mist. The hulls of the boats were either far or near, the flagpoles were higher than ordinary tank boats, and the tops were painted in different colors. On the red flag, the shape of a swan goose is looming.

"It's really Jinghongqi. The four helmsmen have arrived on the river at the same time." Shen Ling recognized it clearly, and couldn't help changing his face, and said in a voice, "What happened?"

There was a moment of silence in the cabin, only Gu Yu whispered: "It seems that we are getting closer and closer."

Luo Pingyuan's heart moved, seeing King Jing frowned slightly, as if thinking of something, so he got up and said: "Brother Jiang, we have sat for a long time, do you want to go outside and have a look?"

Luo Yanhua had no objection, everyone left the warehouse together, only the little fox Zhenshi was very afraid of water, reluctantly broke away from King Jing's hand, and stayed where she was.

In the rustling wind of the river, the ships flying the scarlet flag gradually became clear, and the four ships were already lined up neatly, showing a tendency to move forward side by side.Shen Ling was a little excited when he saw the long-lost Jinghong flag, and was worried about the safety of the two princes. At this moment, he looked at it calmly, and immediately heaved a sigh of relief. The meaning of welcoming guests is to welcome distinguished guests from afar. The hall... cough cough, young master, I am afraid that the Cao Gang has not put up such a grand formation for many years. Look at the marks on the top of the flagpole, it is Yangzhou, Jinling, Yuhang , Gusu and several rudders have arrived."

The four rudders and the main ship approached a certain distance, separated to the two sides, and the sails behind were flying, and a large ship slowly approached from the rear. On the flagpole more than ten feet high, a purple gold Panlong flag about ten feet long fluttered unfurled in the wind of the river.

Zheng Tong and Zheng Yang were completely stunned, and it was Yang Yue who said it several times before they dropped the anchor in a hurry.After a while, a small boat was put down from the big boat and sailed a few zhang away. There was a person on it who was wearing clothes against the wind, and bowed his hands to salute from a distance, and said loudly: "I don't know if the Sect Master of Langhuan River and Young Master Lu of Hanshan are on the boat, the two noblemen are far away. Come to Laoton, our Cao Gang is far away to welcome you. Ye Qiusheng, as the head of the gang, is the head of the gang, and worships on behalf of the gang leader Xun. Please come on board and have a chat with the gang leader, let us talk about the friendship of the landlord."

Opening the first volume, because there are still some things I haven't finished recently, the first few chapters have to be updated weekly, and it should be updated normally in August.Heshi, I hope that this story that often lingers in my heart can be successfully completed.