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Chapter 31 Money clears the way

Chapter 31 Money clears the way

Less than a hundred miles north from Nanchang along the Gan River, you enter Penglize, which is later known as Poyang Lake.

Yuzhang County is in Jiangxi Province, with many mountains and hills. Only there is a plain around Nanchang, which is called the Poyang Lake Basin and is the main grain producing area in Jiangxi.

However, the degree of development in the south during the Han Dynasty was far lower than that in the north. This was because productivity in the south was low, and both farming techniques and agricultural tools were much worse than those in the north. As a result, most areas in the south are now very backward.

Therefore, the area south of the Yangtze River, including later Guangdong and Guangxi, Jiangxi, Fujian, Hainan and other places, is still in a wilderness. The slightly more developed places are Hunan and northeastern Zhejiang.

The situation in Yuzhang County can only be said to be a little better than that in Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and Hainan, but not much better. Shen Chen stood on the deck, protected by his elder brother Shen Zhong, and looked at the scenery on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

You can see the trees on both sides of the bank blocking out the sky and the sun. The Poyang Lake Basin in later generations is now covered by dense virgin forests. In the distance, mountains overlap, and apes and tigers roar constantly.

You can even occasionally see Asian elephants and crocodiles playing in the swamps on the shore, just like a primitive and wilderness era.

In fact, Asian elephants and crocodiles are now distinguished in the areas south of the Yangtze River. Rhinos, finless porpoises, peacocks, etc. are everywhere around Poyang Lake in Ganshui. There are very few villages on both sides of the river. In later generations, Duchang County is now a small fishing village.

The fleet was mighty and mighty, moving forward slowly amid the waves of the river. From afternoon to evening, the Poyang Lake, as wide as the ocean, whipped up a roaring wind, sending the fleet forward at high speed.

Chaisang County later became Jiujiang City, about 120 kilometers away from Nanchang. With the help of the wind, the fleet set off the day before and arrived at Chaisang Wharf the next morning.

There are dozens of huge cargo ships parked on the dock. These ships are the goods that the big merchant wants to transport back to Sichuan.

After the ship stopped at Chaisang, Deng Hong took Shen Chen ashore to meet the businessman.

When the two came to the annex, to their surprise, they were not the fat-bellied men wearing gold and silver as they had imagined, but several young people in their twenties and thirties, all wearing simple coarse robes and looking elegant. demeanor.

At this time, they were resting in the annex. When they learned that Deng Hong was coming, they came out to greet him.

The leader's surname was Zhou, and his name was Zhou Lin. He was about twenty-four or five years old, with a thin face and good looks. After meeting Deng Hong, he smiled and said: "Brother Deng is very lucky. We happen to have a ship in Jiangdong." The time hit a rock and it was delayed for half a month. Otherwise, I'm afraid we would have been in Gangneung by now."

Shen Chen on the side said in surprise: "Does it take half a month to go to Jiangling by boat from Jiangdong?"

"It depends on luck."

Zhou Lin said: "When there is a favorable wind, the ship can travel four hundred miles a day, and it will arrive in four or five days. If there is a headwind, the ship can travel one to two hundred miles, which takes eight or nine days. If you are particularly unlucky and there is a heavy rain, it will take half a month. "It is still easy to navigate between Jiangdong and Jingzhou. The most difficult thing is to enter Shu, which may take two or three months."

"Why is this?"

Shen Chen asked curiously.

Seeing a child asking for details, Zhou Lin also explained patiently: "Because the terrain on both sides of the upper reaches of the river is narrow and the river is fast, the boat speed will be very slow. As the saying goes, it is easy to get out of Shu and difficult to get into Shu, and there are often heavy rains in the Jiangzhou area. I was unlucky and there was a big flood, and there were a lot of shipwrecks and fatalities."

"That's it. Thank you sir for clarifying my doubts."

Shen Chen silently kept this information in his heart, maybe he would stay in Sichuan like Zhuge Liang for the rest of his life.

Zhou Lin said: "Now that everyone has arrived, we are ready to set off tomorrow. What does Brother Deng think?"

Deng Hong replied: "It all depends on my wise brother."

The two exchanged some pleasantries and then left the villa. On the way back, Shen Chen asked Deng Hong for details about Zhou Lin.

Deng Hong told him that he did not know the specific situation. He only knew that this merchant ship was a fleet united by five large families in Yizhou, so there were five people in charge. Among them, the Zhou family contributed the most, so Zhou Lin was the main one in foreign affairs.

Shen Chen knew that this was a partner shareholder of the company. For example, a commercial transaction spanning three thousand kilometers between Jiangdong and Sichuan and Sichuan could earn more than hundreds of millions in one trip. Naturally, not one family could take advantage of it.

Therefore, it is normal for multiple aristocratic families to join together.

There shouldn't be many such examples, after all, these are troubled times.

Going out seems to be very profitable, but due to the exploitation of princes and the risks of natural and man-made disasters, even rich people like Mi Zhu may not be able to afford it, and only the top families in Yizhou, Jingzhou, and Yangzhou can afford it. strength.

The fleet finally set off the next day.

Because it is already early winter, there is drizzle in the sky, and the northwest wind blows in the Jiangdong area in winter instead of the southeast wind. Except for the rare case of the Battle of Chibi, most of the time when sailing to Jingzhou in winter, it is against the wind.

However, businessmen never care about this. As long as they can make a profit, they will dare to trade even if the sword comes from the sky.

Otherwise, if merchants do not travel in winter and Lu Meng pretends to be a merchant and crosses the river in white clothes to launch a winter offensive against Jingzhou, Guan Yu cannot fail to notice.

The fleet sailed hard in the wind and waves. The river surface in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River was wide and flat, which was convenient for ships to move. Therefore, although they were traveling against the wind, under the urging of human oars, they arrived in Shaxian County in about five days.

This speed is not fast, because Shaxian County is the city of Wuhan in later generations. They started from Chaisang, which is equivalent to going from Jiujiang City to Wuhan City. The whole journey is more than 200 kilometers. It took five days to walk, and they moved forward every day. The speed is 40 to 50 kilometers, which is relatively slow.

Mr. Huangmenting got off the boat at Shaxian. If Zhou Lin and the others wanted to return to Sichuan, they would definitely go along the Yangtze River waterway. Although they could also go to Yiling with them. The distance from Yiling to Xiangyang is very close, only more than 200 kilometers.

The problem is that if they continue to follow the Yangtze River waterway, they will have to go around Dongting Lake. It will take half a month to walk from Shaxian to Yiling. It is better to get off the boat in Shaxian and take the land route, even if it only takes 20 miles a day. kilometers and ten days to reach Xiangyang.

Shaxian County is one of the fourteen counties in Jiangxia. Tracing back to its history, it was established by Xiong Liangfu, King Xuan of Chu during the Warring States Period. The city is located on the west bank of the Yangtze River and on the south bank of Miokou, guarding the intersection of the Yangtze River and the Han River.

Shen Chen took a quick look and saw that the terrain here was dangerous. There were high mountains and cliffs beside the city. There were watchtowers, high oar towers, walls and other defensive equipment on the top of the cliff. It could be said that it was easy to defend but difficult to attack.

No wonder Sun Quan's many subsequent attacks on Jingzhou were defeated and sinking in Shaxian. It was precisely because of the terrain and environment here that even Sun Quan's Jiangxia navy, which was stronger than Huang Zu, was repeatedly beaten due to terrain problems and could not break the city.

Huangmenting Township Lao disembarked at the pier outside Shaxian County. As the intersection of the Han River and the Yangtze River, this is an important transportation thoroughfare. When there is no war, it can handle commercial activities from south to north.

Therefore, it is normal for caravans to come and go, but it does not happen often that people move with their families, old and young.

Soldiers outside the city discovered that more than a thousand migratory troops appeared at Shaxian Pier and came to inquire.

Deng Hong followed what Shen Chen had told him before and told the other party that they were the Deng family of Xinye and their ancestor was the founding general Deng Yu. He hoped to meet Huang Zu, the prefect of Jiangxia.

After Huang Zu learned about this, he hesitated for a while and decided to meet him.

Because the Deng family has been in decline so far, there are almost no officials in the court, and its influence has also dropped a lot.

In the early years of the Queen Mother Deng's reign, the Deng family declined for the first time, and the clan moved in large numbers. Even the ancestral land could not be preserved, and a large number of Deng family members fled.

During the reign of Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty, the situation of the Deng family was slightly better, and a queen, Deng Mengnu, was born.

As a result, Deng Mengnu offended Liu Zhi and was deposed as queen, which led to the second great decline of the Deng family and the complete loss of the family's status.

Although Huang Zu was not from a noble family, he was the governor of Jiangxia. According to the "Three Mutual Laws", he was definitely not a member of the Huang clan of Jiangxia.

The problem is that he is a prefect, a high official with a salary of two thousand stones. Although you, Deng, are from a famous family, you are now lonely and no longer qualified to stand in front of them.

So Huang Zu didn't really want to talk to him at first.

But after thinking about it, since they came to visit me, let's see what they want to do. Anyway, there is nothing much to do today, and it won't waste much time to meet.

So Deng Hong and Shen Chen, led by soldiers, entered the city and went to Huang Zu's mansion.

After entering from the front yard, we arrived at the middle hall. The structure of the houses of wealthy families in the Han Dynasty was basically like this. There was a front yard, and after the front yard was the atrium. At the end of the atrium was a large house called the middle hall, which was the place for receiving guests and living. It's in the backyard.

Huang Zu was already waiting for them in the middle hall. He was sitting on the main seat and frowned slightly when he saw Deng Hong bringing a child to visit.

Because family members are generally not brought for official visits, and only after they have become familiar with each other, they will be brought. Although it is not rude to bring children when they meet for the first time, Huang Zu does not feel that he is very familiar with Deng Hong.

"Deng Hong has met the prince of the palace, and a small courtesy is not enough to show respect."

After Deng Hong entered the hall, he first bowed his hands and saluted, and then handed a small wooden box he carried with him to the soldier next to him.

The soldier brought the wooden box up, opened a corner slightly, and saw a few luminous pearls and some pearls, gold things inside. Huang Zu's frown suddenly relaxed, and he laughed and said: "It turns out that she is a queen from a famous family. Sit down quickly, sit down quickly."

"Thank you, Mr. Fu."

Deng Hong took Shen Chen and sat at a table aside.

After they sat down, Huang Zu asked, "I wonder what's the matter with you coming here?"

Deng Hong said: "Master Fu, my ancestor was the Deng clan of Xinye. Later, because the clan was reprimanded by the court, he had to leave his hometown and go to Xuzhou. Now the world is in chaos, but Jingzhou is peaceful, so my clan members plan to return to Xinye to avoid trouble."

"I see."

Huang Zu tapped his chin and probably understood what Deng Hong wanted to do.

Deng Hong continued: "I just returned home hastily. I don't know what my hometown is like, so I asked to see Mr. Fu. I hope Mr. Fu can put in a few good words for me in front of Liu Jingzhou so that I can find a way out."

"This is it"

Huang Zu glanced at the wooden box, shook his head and said: "Liu Shijun is very thirsty for talents now. If you are talented and learned, introduction is just a trivial matter, so I'm afraid."

Deng Hong laughed: "You don't need to worry about this. Although the Deng family in Xinye has declined, we were originally descendants of the main line. We brought a lot of books with us when we left our hometown. However, we were unable to serve as officials due to the suppression of the imperial court. If you want to take the exam, It should be no problem.”

"Well"

Huang Zu thought for a moment and said, "Well, I will write a letter and recommend it to you."

"Thank you, Mr. Fu."

Deng Hong and Shen Chen looked at each other, and things were going smoothly.

(End of chapter)


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