Lin Fu was not in a hurry to go back to the forest to transport new tea, but Gu Wuchen asked him to assist with Xia Cao. After Gu Wuchen and Wang Xueshan negotiated the terms, Jiangning Mansion's Xia Cao was officially put into operation, and other prefectures would also take notice, so he
It is difficult to escape and leave Jiangning. I can only seize the time and go back to Shanglinli first. It will only take five or six days and will not delay things here.
In addition to the Dongyang thousand-stone ship, ten Wupeng cannons with a capacity of 200 stone are still needed to transport new tea. There will be nearly a hundred cannons in Xihe that are empty and unable to receive work. Ten ships can be mobilized almost at any time.
Lin Fu hopes that Xihe Club can send more manpower. This is the first time in the past ten years that the Gu family has bypassed other tea merchants in Shiliang County and transported new tea directly to Jiangning for sale through Jiyunshe. Not everyone may take Jiyunshe seriously.
, to prevent them from doing tricks secretly. In short, the Xihe Society sent ships and people, and the Jiyun Society paid the commission by dividing the head and the ship, and paid half of the silver to the Xihe Society in advance.
It only took the Xihe Club two days to prepare oil paper cloth, partitions, moisture-proof quicklime and other materials as required. The ten ships selected were also the best Wupeng canoes of the Xihe Club. After all,
A ship of new tea is worth thousands of taels of silver. Not to mention being soaked in water, the quality of the tea will be greatly reduced if it is damp. This trip is not a big deal for Xihe Club. On the one hand, if the goods are damaged, Xihe Club will have to bear the physical damage.
On the other hand, Xihehui also wanted to curry favor with Lin Fu, but they did not dare to be careless. Sun Jingtang personally led the team back to Shanglin with Lin Fu.
On April 20th, Jiangning had entered the rainy season, which was very rainy. The sky was covered in drizzle. Although the construction of houses and roads at the mouth of the river was greatly delayed, it did not hinder the sailing northward.
There was mist in the distance, and the southeast wind was strong that day. Lin Fu changed into a green shirt and a raincoat, and stood with Sun Jingtang on the deck of the Dongyang, watching the big loach commanding the boatmen and sailors to raise the sail and turn around.
He turned the rudder, adjusted the direction of the sail according to the wind, and sailed towards the mouth of the branch where the Shiliang River merges into Chaotiandang.
The ten Wupeng cannons of the Xihehui were all tied behind the Dongyang with cable ropes. Before the sails were set, they felt the strong drag force coming from the Dongyang after the sails were raised. Sun Jingtang walked to the stern deck of the Dongyang.
Looking at the tight hemp rope and the huge white waves that the boat launched into the water, I estimated the speed of the fleet. As long as the wind direction and speed remained unchanged, they would be able to enter Shiliang County before nightfall. In Shiliang
We anchored at Yerendu in the south of the county and rested for the night, then we could arrive at Shanglinli in the afternoon of the next day.
Sun Jingtang secretly sighed in his heart, such a solid fast-sailing ship is really enviable, but it is just envy. The thousand-stone ship is filled with rice and grain and has a deep draft. It may be impossible to pass through the siltation of some section of the Cao River waterway; this kind of
Strong ships can also withstand offshore wind and waves, and it is faster to transport food by sea. However, it is too dangerous for only three or five ships to travel by sea. They may be robbed by pirates at any time. Sun Jingtang sighed secretly: At this time, the situation is under control
, Such a big ship is really difficult to use. He can see that Lin Fubu's defensive strength on the ship is definitely not just the ten armored and sharp military guards on the surface, but raising more warriors privately requires stronger financial resources.
, like Jiang Ning and others, each of their hometowns raised private soldiers, and invested no less than twenty taels of silver in each private soldier every year. When many members of the congregation were hungry, the Xihe Society did not have such extra financial resources.
This time, Lin Fu asked Zhou Pu to stay on Prison Island to train new soldiers and guards, and asked Zhao Hu to follow him back to the upper forest. He also asked Zhao Hu to go home and marry the daughter of the Guo family in the lower forest.
Gu Tianqiao, as the owner of the tea shop and a son of the Gu family, naturally followed him back to Shanglin. In addition, the great Loach Master Ge Cunxin led ten military guards and sixteen boatmen who were actually elite combat forces hidden on the ship.
, the sailors and the twenty Changshan Islanders who were Kuroto boatmen and refused to get off the ship.
Lin Fu asked the Xihe Congregation to send more people. The Xihe Congregation led by Chen Jingtang also had more than a hundred people.
The waterway from the mouth of the Jinchuan River to Shanglinli is only over 300 miles. This kind of short-distance freight transportation has 11 ships and 156 people on board. It can be said that there is strength in numbers.
The ten armed guards on the Dongyang were all wearing armor and armed with integrity. In addition, there were more than forty auxiliary armors hidden in case of encountering the enemy. They could be called a small elite group. The river gang forces were ordered to strictly prohibit them.
These river gangs carry weapons privately. These river gangs do not have the extra financial resources to buy sophisticated armor and train their members. However, river gangs are not particularly honest owners. The boats are equipped with bamboo guns, bamboo spears, waist knives, hunting bows and homemade skins.
There are also a lot of shields and other items. After all, they are traveling in the world, and there are also many members who have practiced martial arts since childhood. At least with the force prepared by the Xihe Association, there is no big problem in dealing with the small group of bandits and water thieves. When the robbery in Baisha County occurred
, nearly twenty boatmen from the Xihe Club were ultimately unable to defend themselves against the enemy and were slaughtered, but no one jumped into the water to escape first. This is where Lin Fu and Su Mei felt guilty about the Xihe Club.
It was also raining heavily in Dongyang. Without delaying the voyage, we arrived at Yerendu in the southern border of Shiliang County before nightfall.
There is a highway to the east of Yerendu that leads directly to Weiyangfu City. It is considered an important pass on the Shiliang River. There is a tax department, with tax collectors and tax men stationed there. There are also checkpoints stationed by Yongyang Prefecture, with sentry houses and sentinels stationed on the shore.
There are also restaurants, teahouses, and inns. Although the buildings are simple, they can accommodate overnight business travelers.
The boat stopped at the ferry. Sun Jingtang came over and invited Lin Fu to go ashore to the ferry to find a restaurant for a drink. Lin Fu couldn't refuse, so he went ashore with Zhao Hu and Gu Tianqiao with several guards. The stacks up to the ferry were very muddy.
The restaurant opposite had its lights on in the dim rain, but I couldn't find a good way to get there.
"If this is not the case, I will go and tell the restaurant to cook the food and wine and send them to the boat?" Sun Jingtang said.
"No need to go to such trouble." Lin Fu was not a hypocritical person and walked towards the restaurant through muddy puddles.
The restaurant is a courtyard with earthen walls. There are more than a dozen mules and horses tied up in a shed at the west end of the courtyard. They are crowded together and fighting for food in the stone trough, making endless neighing noises. The window paper of the restaurant has been broken by the continuous rain.
The store owner hasn't had time to cover the new paper yet, so he can see the faint figures of people in the room, and there are quite a few customers.
Lin Fu and the others walked in. There were eight people in total including the guards. Except for Gu Tianqiao, the other seven had knives tied to their waists. The four guards even wore thick armor under their plain clothes. They walked in from the door, which naturally aroused the attention of the customers in the store.
Attention.
Lin Fu walked in, stood at the door and glanced inside. The outside of the restaurant looked shabby, but the hall was not small. There were seven or eight tables, and a few large candles were lit in the corners, beeping and peeling.
There was a loud noise, and the aroma of rosin came out. A large, smooth and black jujube wood wine cabinet lay on the left. A thin middle-aged man, still wearing a felt hat, stood behind the wine cabinet and saw Lin Fu and the others.
I walked in and didn't come out to say hello. I just spread my hands to indicate that there were no seats. Several tables were full and it was impossible to share a table with others.
"Brother Lin..."
Hearing someone calling him, Lin Fu looked over and saw Liu Xilin and three men sitting in the corner, blocked by the wooden pillar in the middle of the hall. Lin Fu also knew two of the three men. They were led by Liu Xilin last year.
Two of the cavalrymen who escorted Gu Wuchen to Jiangning did not expect to meet their old friends at Yerendu. Lin Fu happily walked over and asked, "Are you going to Jiangning?"
"Yes, many things in Dongyang were delayed. I packed up the day before yesterday before setting off. I was afraid of getting scolded by Mr. Gu," Liu Xilin said, "Are you going to Shanglinli?"
"Well, I planned to stay at Yerendu for one night before going on the road, but I didn't expect to meet Brother Liu," Lin Fu said. Liu Xilin's transfer order was issued at the end of March, but the situation in Xianji, a fisherman's village in Hongzepu in the north of Dongyang, was critical, and Liu Xilin also
Unable to withdraw when he wanted to, but it only lasted twenty days, it was not a big deal. Lin Fu asked Liu Xilin, "The situation in Hongzepu has stabilized, and the fishermen are no longer causing trouble?"
When Lin Fu said this, the men at the two tables next to him all looked at Lin Fu warily, then quickly lowered their heads and went to eat and drink separately. Although these men were all dressed in coarse cloth and dressed like farm men, if there were only one or two of them, they wouldn't be special.
To attract attention, but with such a large number of people, all dressed in the same way, it would be difficult for Lin Fu not to notice. When will the farm men from Dongyang Prefecture be able to come to the restaurant to eat meat and drink wine in a big bowl? Lin Fu was surprised in his heart.
I wonder: What relationship do they have with the fishermen of Hongzeppo, or are they rogue bandits from somewhere else?
Lin Fu glanced at the hall again, and when he looked again, except for Liu Xilin and the four other guests, the other guests did not look like ordinary business travelers. He said to Liu Xilin: "Our boat is parked at the ferry, and there are also other guests here.
There’s no room for so many of us, so I think it’s better this way. Let’s buy some food and wine and go back to the ship to eat, and have a good time catching up on old friendships today…”
"Okay..." Liu Xilin said excitedly. He was transferred to Jiangning as Dongcheng Lieutenant. It can be said that he was promoted to three levels in a row. After all, he was not familiar with the situation in Jiangning. He needed to ask Lin Fu for advice, although it was not enough in the past few days.
, but it is undoubtedly the best to meet him on the road to avoid making mistakes when he first arrives in Jiangning.
Sun Jingtang immediately ordered the restaurant to buy a new sumptuous banquet and send it to the Dongyang where the ferry was docked. Lin Fu and Liu Xilin walked out, and then asked Liu Xilin: "Who are those people in the restaurant, Brother Liu?"
Are you aware?"
"We had a dinner in silence and quietness, as if we were planning something big. I accidentally asked the restaurant owner that these people were doing business at the ferry. They didn't look like they were doing business at all, and they weren't in a hurry to go anywhere. They were already on guard.
We have been here for three or four days, and we can't figure out their origins at the moment; we just have a drink and rest, and we can't pay attention to them," Liu Xilin said, "If they are rogue bandits sneaking over, could there be some big business for them on the Shiliang River?
?”
"Tea thieves?" Sun Jingtang asked subconsciously. Dongyang produces tea. Every year when new tea comes on the market, tea thieves sneak into Dongyang County. In fact, many tea thieves are disguised as tea farmers who cannot make ends meet. In previous years, Dongyang Prefecture entered the territory after April.
There are also many more rogues than usual.
"This is Sun Jingtang, the shopkeeper of Xihe Hui," Lin Fu introduced Sun Jingtang to Liu Xilin. He said, "In addition to new tea, it is not that there are no other temptations - Qin Xibo's ancestral home is Zhongli (today's Fengyang), Qin
After Xibo leaves office, he will probably go to Shilianghe and Hongzepu to return to Zhongli, Guangzong Yaozu..."