There are huge cypress trees, turbid waves rolling, and rivers roaring and rushing.
The shore of Jubaidu was covered with rocks. At this moment, dozens of ferry boats were stranded. The boatmen were beating their chests and feet and complaining.
General Yi Cheng led Lu Dongzan to the ferry, and the boatmen swarmed up. They did not recognize Lu Dongzan, but they knew this Yi Cheng who had made them wait here last night. They surrounded Yi Cheng one after another and shouted seven mouths at each other.
Ba Tongue is noisy.
"We are afraid that the water will rise in the middle of the night, so we want to come here early this morning. Yi Cheng, you are absolutely unwilling. Now it's up to you what to do."
"What else can we do? He insisted on waiting here in the middle of the night. Now that the boat is leaking, he will naturally have to compensate us!"
"Yicheng, it's not just us who are causing the trouble, but the whole family is counting on the ferry to survive. Now all the boats are leaking. You have to give us an explanation, right?"
…
Lu Dongzan only felt a "buzzing" in his ears, as if there were countless flies squawking, and the noise made his head hurt. He quickly pressed down his hands to signal the boatmen to calm down, and asked: "What on earth happened?"
Someone wondered: "Who are you?"
Ludong praised: "I am the Tibetan envoy. This time I hired your boats to ferry across the river."
"Hey, it turns out it's you!"
"I was worried that I couldn't find the rightful owner, but here he is!"
"Stop talking nonsense, since you hired us, now all our boats are leaking, and you have to compensate!"
…
When everyone saw Lu Dongzan, they immediately gathered around him. One or two of them looked evil and demanded compensation from Lu Dongzan.
Lu Dongzan was depressed, I don’t know what happened, so why should I pay compensation?
It took him a long time to finally figure out that these boatmen had gathered here at midnight yesterday at his request. As a result, for some unknown reason, all the boats were leaking in the early morning, making it impossible to ferry them. Naturally, their source of livelihood was cut off.
You have to ask for compensation.
Ludong praised that it was understandable that one boat would leak when two boats collided with each other. How could so many boats leak?
There must be something weird.
He comforted him and said, "Please be patient and let my followers investigate and understand the situation before we make any calculations."
But the boatmen refused: "What do you care about? You hired us, and you had to let us come to the ferry last night to wait. Now, no matter what the reason for the leakage of the boat, you have to compensate! Is that right, everyone?"
"That's right, no matter what the reason is, it's all caused by you, and you have to compensate!"
…
The Tubo military attache was angry. He had encountered such strange things many times along the way. He could no longer hold back the fire in his heart. At this moment, he shouted angrily: "How outrageous! We are the Tubo envoys. If the responsibility for the leakage of the boat is not ours,
Of course there is no need to compensate. How dare you, the unscrupulous people in the countryside, to rob me?"
When I heard that this group of people were envoys from Tibet, no wonder they were all dressed in strange clothes.
The boatmen are all a bit tired, as the relations between the two countries are at stake. Even the boatmen who are illiterate know that once a dispute occurs, no one can settle it.
But if you just forget it and feel unconvinced, after all, the boats are what everyone eats. Now that the boats are leaking, what should we do?
The Yi Cheng stood up, pointed at the boatmen and scolded: "The Tibetan envoys came to Beijing to see His Majesty. This is a matter of diplomatic relations between the two countries. It is not a trivial matter. You can't control others, but whoever dares to cause trouble will be severely punished!"
When the thoughtful boatman heard this, he immediately shouted: "We are just ordinary people in the mountains, how dare we make trouble with foreign missions? We don't dare to fight or rob. We can't afford to provoke, so we can always hide, right?"
If compensation is not given and our boat cannot be repaired, then of course we will not be able to ferry across the river. Messenger, then you can swim across the river yourself!"
"You're right! No compensation? Then I won't serve you anymore!"
"The Tubo people are amazing, we can't afford to offend them. I'll see how you can cross the river!"
…
The crowd was furious.
Yi Cheng said angrily: "What's wrong with you? If you don't cross the river, is there no other ferry for this Jubai Ferry? At worst, I will put in some effort and find another group of boatmen!"
Jubaidu is the only choke point for transportation between the north and the south. The only way to cross the river from north to south is by boat ferry. Therefore, most people nearby make a living on this. There are many ferry boats, and these people are unwilling to do so.
Yes, there are many people willing to do it.
One of the boatmen, a thin man with a dark face, sneered and said slowly: "There are indeed many boats ferrying on Jubaidu, but it rained heavily today and the weather turned cold. Everyone begged for food on the river and was in the water all day long.
Rolling in the waves, you can't protect everyone from catching a cold or a fever, or even... even if everyone is infected with the cold, that's not possible."
The postmaster was furious: "Zhang Laosan, how dare you deceive the boatman and refuse to ferry the Tibetan envoy across the river?"
The boatman chuckled and rolled his eyes: "Yi Cheng, please don't charge us with chaos. It's common for everyone to get sick and have a fever. What does it have to do with me?"
Yi Cheng had no choice but to say to Lu Dongzan in a low voice: "This man's name is Zhang Laosan. He is the leader of the boatmen near Jubaidu. Everyone looks up to him. If this man persuades the boatmen to complain collectively and refuse to ferry
When you cross the river, I can’t do anything about it, so I can’t prevent people from getting sick, right?”
Lu Dongzan's face was as dark as water, and he had already realized that the matter was unusual and probably no coincidence.
He made a decision immediately and said loudly: "I can agree to your request. However, I must first let my followers check the cause of the leakage of the ship before making any calculations."
After hearing that compensation could be offered, the boatmen naturally stopped making trouble and took the Tibetan military attachés and soldiers aboard the stranded ship to take a closer look.
After a long while, the military attache returned to Lu Dongzan to report back.
"Prime Minister, the bottoms of all ships are leaking, and there are obvious signs of punctures. This is by no means an accident, but someone did it deliberately."
Lu Dongzan stroked his beard, his small eyes twinkling.
First, the horses had inexplicable diarrhea, and now the boat was damaged. It seemed that someone wanted to delay their arrival in Beijing...
Thinking about it this way, I became more and more impatient.
According to the calculation of the distance, he handed over his credentials as soon as he arrived in Songzhou. Even if the post station rushed to Chang'an, it was impossible for Chang'an to respond so quickly. So the person who delayed his formation must have guessed from the current situation in the Western Regions.
Tubo will definitely take advantage of the situation, so we made arrangements in advance.
It was precisely because of the confusing situation in the Western Regions that the man did not dare to kill himself without permission, which caused Tubo to start a war with the Tang Dynasty and became wary of his actions. Therefore, he resorted to such despicable means to continuously delay his trip. If he could
He held off, and by the time he arrived at Chang'an, the overall situation in the Western Region had been decided. No matter how many plans he had, it would be in vain.
Lu Dongzan had always admired the Tang Dynasty, and had never doubted the wisdom of the big bosses in the Tang Dynasty. Fang Jun alone could throw out highland barley wine, which he knew was a trap, but had to step into it.
Strategies, not to mention those ministers who followed His Majesty Li Er to strategize and conquer this beautiful country?
Therefore, the more they want to delay themselves, the more they want to arrive in Chang'an as soon as possible!
Lu Dongzan made a decision immediately and stopped worrying about the truth about the leaking of the boat. Even if he found out, what would be the use? People could just use the excuse of river bandits to evade it completely.
The most urgent task is to cross the river!
He immediately ordered: "All ships will be repaired at the expense of the mission and must be repaired in the shortest possible time. At the same time, Yi Cheng is also asked to help contact nearby boats. We must cross the river as soon as possible."
Regarding the diplomatic relations between the two countries, any means can only be carried out behind the scenes. It can be delayed, but it must not be caught by oneself.
Tubo did not dare to aggressively accuse the Tang Dynasty of conspiracy. How could the Tang Dynasty be willing to rashly anger Tubo and start a war when the situation in the Western Region was tense?
Both countries are trying to maintain restraint, and Datang keeps his tricks under the table without leaving any clues.
Yi Cheng said happily: "Don't worry, envoy, I will gather enough boats here as quickly as possible!"
The fastest speed?
Lu Dongzan looked gloomy.
They would definitely gather enough boats, and they would definitely cross the river themselves. No one would dare to stop a Tibetan envoy from going to Chang'an to submit his credentials.
But when to cross the river, only God knows...
*****
The weather is gradually cooling down, and the grains all over the mountains and plains are about to mature. The mountains and fields are all golden.
There has been abundant rain this year, and there are sufficient water conservancy facilities to ensure water supply at critical moments such as germination, heading, and maturity of crops. The people of Qinchuan, which are 800 miles away, are full of joy. The grain in the granaries is piled up, and another bumper harvest is ushering in.