A few days later, Zhang Yanling and his party set off back to Beijing.
This time, we returned home with a full load. Six Franco machine guns, one large, medium and small, were all mounted on the cart. In addition, there were a large number of precious properties seized from Mr. Lu's manor, as well as items seized from the houses of Li Siming and other officials.
of large amounts of property.
Of course, Zhang Yanling would not hand over all these things. Some of them were registered and turned over, some were used for pensions, and some were used for the repair of warships. The most valuable part was naturally put into his own pocket.
Money was second, but the most important thing was to get the Fo Lang machine gun. Zhang Yanling planned to hand over three of them to the Ministry of War, and the remaining three were naturally given to Xu Gao for research and imitation. Not only did he take the Fo Lang machine gun with him, but he also took the Fo Lang machine gun with him.
A large number of artillery shells were also found on the robot's gunboats and castles, totaling more than a hundred solid and explosive shells. This was equally important for imitating and improving artillery.
Originally, Zhang Yanling wanted to take the first step and let Wang Hong lead the soldiers and horses to escort the prisoners of Fo Langji and Li Siming and other prisoners to follow. However, Zhang Yanling had been busy cleaning up and ransacking the house for many days, and it actually took many days to finish.
Under this situation, Wang Hong asked Zhang Yanling for permission to take the prisoners and take the first step. After all, a large number of prisoners and prisoners, escorted by large groups of soldiers and horses, were huge. They had to walk or take a boat to go north.
It must also be extremely slow on the road.
Leaving early does not necessarily mean arriving early, because Zhang Yanling and others have horses and rent a dozen large carts to travel much faster. So it will take at least two months for them to get to the capital.
Zhang Yanling thinks he is right. Considering that it is already October. In more than a month, in the middle of winter, the waterway to the north will be blocked, and the canals and the Yellow River will freeze. Once there is snow on land, it will be even worse.
It was difficult. So I might be able to arrive in Beijing a few days in advance before it snowed and froze in the north. So I agreed to him.
Five days after Wang Hong and his party of more than 200 soldiers escorted the prisoners, Zhang Yanling and his party of dozens of people rented more than a dozen large trucks loaded with goods and left Guangzhou for the north.
In addition to the dozen or so cavalrymen who accompanied him, there were also more than a dozen young men such as Huo Shijian. Among them was Huo Shijian's cousin Tian Dongxin.
These dozen young people were all recruited by Huo Shijian. They are all young people in their early twenties who are good at swimming and honest. They have never been out of Guangzhou in their lives. They heard that they can go to the capital and join the capital camp to serve as soldiers with Lord Zhang.
, everyone is looking forward to it and excited.
Tian Dongxin's parents originally didn't want their son to go to the capital, but Huo Shijian thought this was a perfect opportunity.
"Go to the capital and enter the capital camp. Not only will you get good military pay and treatment, but you may also be able to have a successful career. Many people are struggling to get there, and you still don't agree." Huo Shijian advised.
Tian Dongxin himself was willing in every possible way and asked his parents for permission. The old couple discussed it all night and felt that they could not delay their son's future. The son could only work as a waiter if he stayed in Guangzhou, but he could not do it in the capital.
It's good to be able to look like a human being.
Besides, Shijian was also going, so the two brothers could take care of each other, so there was no need to worry too much. So he gritted his teeth and agreed. The next day, he personally sent Tian Dongxin to see Zhang Yanling, kowtow to beg Mr. Ken to take care of Yunyun.
On the way back, Zhang Yanling made some changes. He passed through the south of Jiangxi Province when he came here, and also passed through Nanchang Prefecture. However, he must not go back the same way. Because the matter here involves Prince Ning of Nanchang Prefecture, and Zhang Yanling does not want to mess with him.
Trouble, go within his sphere of influence.
So everyone left Guangzhou Mansion and walked northeast, borrowing the road from Fujian to go north. Although this took some distance, Zhang Yanling thought it was a wise move. Zhang Yanling knew exactly what Prince Ning was. This time he
If you cut off his wealth, spoil his good deeds, and pass through his door, you will definitely be in trouble. Maybe Prince Ning Zhu Chenhao is waiting for him in Nanchang Mansion.
In fact, Zhang Yanling did not want to have a grudge with Prince Ning. Zhang Yanling did not even ask Lu Zhengfang and Li Siming a word about Prince Ning when they were interrogated. Zhang Yanling just wanted to attribute this matter to a collusion between local officials and merchants for smuggling.
I don’t want to implicate Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao. For one thing, the evidence is actually insufficient. Just relying on Lu Zhengfang’s confession is of no use to Zhu Chenhao. Lu Zhengfang is just Zhu Chenhao’s white glove, but he has not openly participated in the peace.
Any smuggling business.
Furthermore, even if the evidence is conclusive, it is just Zhu Chenhao smuggling sea goods. A Ming prince only made some money from smuggling, what can be done to him? Besides, Zhu Chenhao should be in charge of all officials in the court.
He was very obedient and everyone said he was good. When he sneaked into Lu Zhengfang's manor warehouse that night, he could hear it clearly under the small dock. Zhu Chenhao was most likely to have a secret connection with Liu Jin.
of.
In this matter, Zhang Yanling knew that he could not be impulsive and must act cautiously. He could not think of making a big deal out of it. Not only did he have to distance himself from Zhu Chenhao's involvement, he even had to pretend to be something even if the prisoner came to the capital and confessed.
I don’t even know. I might have to excuse myself. Otherwise, I might get into trouble.
Zhang Yanling is not timid and afraid of things, let alone Prince Ning. It's just that this time he came to Guangdong, he has already done things he shouldn't have done.
They gathered together the chief officials of the Third Division of Guangdong, the prefects and co-prefects of Guangzhou Prefecture. These were all high-ranking officials of the Mu Shou side, and they were all high-ranking officials of the third and fourth grades. Not only that, they also led troops and Folangji people.
There was a battle.
All these actions were not carried out according to orders. He came to examine the possibility of establishing a sea ban and opening up maritime trade routes. The reason why Zhu Houzhao agreed to come by himself was just to see whether the sea ban was feasible.
Zhang Yanling actually came to Guangdong in a private capacity and did not receive any public instructions from the court or the emperor.
Of course, this was what Zhang Yanling requested. Because Zhang Yanling didn't want to cause trouble and didn't want to give Liu Jin and others the opportunity to secretly work against her.
But when things got to this point, seriously speaking, all Zhang Yanling's actions were taken on his own initiative. Even if there was such a secret decree on his own life, the secret decree did not allow him to investigate smuggling and arrest local gangsters as an imperial envoy.
member's.
The reason why Zhang Yanling dared to do this was because he secretly kidnapped the people of the Ming Dynasty and used them as human traffickers to murder the people. This was the reason why Zhang Yanling could act confidently.
This reason is completely tenable. With the support of a large amount of evidence and prisoners, no one dares to say that Zhang Yanling did something wrong. Even mobilizing local soldiers and horses to fight against the Folangji people is completely fine.
But if there is a big fight against the so-called smuggling, or even Zhu Chenhao is involved, that is another matter.
Therefore, Zhang Yanling had already thought clearly. This time when he returned to Beijing, the focus was on the fact that local officials were indifferent and allowed the Folangji people to occupy the territory of the Ming Dynasty and harm the people. At most, they said that they colluded with the merchants and the Folangji people.
People smuggled, greedy for profit, and ignored the common people and the Ming Dynasty.
The focus is not on whether King Ning was the mastermind behind the smuggling, nor on the relationship between King Ning and Li Siming and others. Do not investigate whether Lu Zhengfang was the person sent by King Ning, etc.
If you are involved too much, you are likely to be bitten back and attacked for acting without authorization or exceeding your authority.
…
Starting from Guangzhou Prefecture and heading east through Huizhou and Chaozhou Prefecture, Zhang Yanling and his party entered the boundaries of Tingzhou Prefecture in Fujian Province four days later.
Tingzhou Prefecture is located in the southwest of Fujian and has entered the boundary of Tingzhou. Zhang Yanling and his party immediately understood why the saying goes that Fujian means "eight mountains, one water and one field". After traveling north for less than half a day, they entered Manmu
It is a land of rugged mountains and wild fields. On the west side is a distant mountain range that stretches from north to south, towering, steep and continuous.
Not long after, Zhang Yanling learned that it was the famous Wuyi Mountain. The official road that everyone walked on was the only official road going north at the eastern foot of Wuyi Mountain.
Originally, Zhang Yanling planned to go further east, farther away from Jiangxi. However, with Wuyi Mountain lying across the border of Fujian and Jiangxi, Zhang Yanling felt that this was not necessary.
The high mountains block it, so it's no big deal. Besides, if we take a detour to the east, we will be delayed for many days. It's already the end of early October, and there are still thousands of miles to the capital, so we can't delay.
They walked for two days and headed north across Tingshui. They arrived at a small county called Qingxi on the evening of the ninth day of October. The county was named after a small river called Qingxi. It is said to be a small river.
In fact, it is several feet wide. Cars and horses carrying a large amount of heavy supplies cannot cross the river. They can only take a detour to a small town called Tieshiji in the east of the county to cross the river because there is a stone bridge here. It is only seven or eight miles away from the county seat.
place.
After arriving, it was already dark. There were only twenty or thirty households in the Qiaotou town of Tieshiji. The town was located on a hilly slope next to the Qingxi River. It was a suitable place to camp and rest.
So Zhang Yanling ordered the carriages and horses to rest in the town. Crossing the bridge to the north early the next morning, you can reach the boundary of Tingzhou and enter the boundary of Yanping Prefecture. Further north is Jianning Prefecture, and then north is Zhejiang.
Zhang Yanling’s calculation was that he must arrive in Zhejiang within five days. After arriving in Hangzhou, the worst possible solution was to see if there were any big ships in Hangzhou. He could rent two big ships and go straight north along the canal from the waterway, which would save him the hardship of traveling all the way.
.
After dinner, Zhang Yanling and Chen Shiyi discussed the itinerary and asked Wang Hong about their location.
Wang Hong and the others were not slow on their journey. Yesterday I received news from them that they had arrived at Guihua County, the northernmost part of Tingzhou Prefecture. This means that Wang Hong and the others were going directly north, entering the boundary of Shaowu Prefecture and entering Jianhua County.
Route to Ningfu.
It seems that they chose the straightest road, which went straight through the mountains to the north. But they were all walking alone, and there were only a dozen prison cars pulling people. The load was not heavy, so they could continue walking on the mountain road. But
My own team of chariots and horses loaded with cannons could not pass on such a mountain road. You must know that the heavy-duty Fo Lang machine cannon weighed a thousand kilograms, and a large cart could only pull one cannon.
In this way, in the past two days, because the official road in the mountains was difficult, I had to stop and push the cart many times because it was really impossible to walk. This is why Zhang Yanling decided to walk from Yanping Mansion after crossing the bridge tomorrow.
But no matter what, the two routes reach the same destination by different routes, and they will eventually gather in Jianning Mansion. When the time comes, they will merge together and travel together, and there is no harm in going to Hangzhou together by waterway.
Because she was tired from the journey, Zhang Yanling went to bed very early at night and slept soundly. However, in the middle of the night, Zhang Yanling was woken up by Chen Shiyi's urgent voice.
"Master Hou, wake up quickly, something is wrong. There seems to be a suspicious person outside the town."