Return to the Qing Dynasty(86)

The Emperor went on a tour to the south, and not only brought out the Queen Mother and the Queen, but also all the princes. Those left behind in the capital were the Thirteenth Master, Prince Li, Prince Zhi, and the Fourteenth Master.

With these four people here, for the fourth master, it means that he can wander outside with peace of mind, and there is no need to worry at home.

Those who stay at home may feel that this is a heavy responsibility, but those who follow us out, who can really travel around?

The ninth master was transferred to support the seventh master, and the tenth master and the eighth master handled the daily affairs of the trip. As for safety issues, everything that could be seen was left in Hongwang's hands.

The eighth master hesitated to speak to Hongwang several times, and Hongwang just pretended not to see him. Now in this situation, the closer he is to a father and son, the more taboo he has to avoid.

The fleet did not move very fast. They would often stop along the coast to summon officials and accept the people's kneeling worship. Anyway, they walked like a Bodhisattva. They asked people to burn incense sticks and that was it.

Sometimes there are three stops a day.

Fourth Master always told Hongwang not to be nervous, but how could Hongwang not be nervous? He knew that something was going to happen, but he didn't know what would happen, so he became even more anxious.

Hong Zhou had some errands, but when Hong Wang kept staring at him like this, the hairs on his back stood up.

Why are you staring at me! What can I do? I'm not that stupid or that courageous.

Why don't you just keep an eye on the person you should keep an eye on?

As soon as their eyes met, they exploded in the air.

Hongwangxin said, how do you know I'm not staring? But I shouldn't be staring. I don't know what I'm busy with all day long. When the boat stops, there are always three or five eunuchs getting up and down.

You're so sneaky that you don't know what you're doing. These are all your orders. The one you should keep an eye on is that you're in the cabin twelve hours a day, ten hours a day.

In the remaining two hours, I was either playing cards with the Queen Mother, playing chess with my third brother, or sitting on the deck fishing alone, very leisurely.

Thinking of this, he looked away from Hong Zhou and aimed his gaze at the stern of the boat. Hong Li was holding a book in one hand and tea in the other. The fishing rod was hanging on the side, as if waiting for the stupid fish to take the bait.

have to.

Perhaps because the line of sight here was more direct, Hongli raised his head and glanced sideways, and smiled slightly. He raised his cup and gestured to Hongwang, as if to invite: Do you want to come over for a cup of tea?

The autumn sunshine hit his face, making him look like a handsome young man from a troubled world.

Hongwang looked away, only to feel that this guy was really dark-hearted and thick-skinned. Everyone knew that there was something wrong with him, but he just sat still. Sometimes he wanted to rush in and tell the emperor, no matter what, let's get rid of this first.

The loyal, unfilial and unhuman beasts were caught and talked about, but the words came to his lips several times, but they could not be said out. He had been with Long Live Master for a long time, and he also knew what this fourth uncle was like. He seemed cold-hearted.

The person in front of me is actually a fire inside. He is also the person who values ​​the most affection.

If you were betrayed by your own son, you might feel uncomfortable. Now in this situation, what should I say? It can be said that I will not die until I reach the Yellow River.

While Lin Yutong was building blocks for several small children, he said to Fourth Master: "Hongwang is still young and a little out of control."

The fourth master glanced outside and then looked away. Now that he was competing with Lao Ba, he was actually quite upset himself. He couldn't help but think about how Lao Ba was secretly seeing the joke.

He whispered to Lin Yutong in a low voice. Lin Yutong laughed at him: "What's the matter? There are sons who are thieves, and there are daughters who are prostitutes. Who can say for sure what will happen in the future? One family may not be the same."

This is also true.

Seeing that he was silent, Lin Yutong changed the subject and asked, "Is there any news in the capital?"

The Fourth Master showed a somewhat sarcastic smile, and he had to say that he was not very smart as a thief.

Yu Jia had just left the capital, but the Toyotomi Tavern was closed, and a sign not accepting guests was posted on the door. However, Yun Gu, who had a very close connection with Twelve, really disappeared.

Lao Qi blamed himself for this incident and felt that it was a dereliction of duty to throw someone away like this.

But Ji Jiyungu didn't have this ability, so how could she dare to go to Beijing directly? She jumped up and down for such a long time, and the people working underneath were so confused that they couldn't catch this woman's tail.

But there is no rush. Hongli has already handed over his painting of Yangzhou under the mist and rain, and I hope he will show up in Yangzhou.

Yangzhou is the intersection of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and the Yangtze River. From the capital, you can get on the boat and go south on the waterway to reach the prosperous city of Yangzhou.

Historically, due to its unique geographical location and superior natural environment, Yangzhou has experienced almost historical prosperity from the Han Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, accompanied by the prosperity of culture.

When approaching Yangzhou, Fourth Master explained to Lin Yutong: "... Yangzhou had three economic heydays. The first time was in the middle of the Western Han Dynasty; the second time was from the Sui and Tang Dynasties to the Zhao and Song Dynasties; and the third time was during the Sui and Tang Dynasties to the Zhao and Song Dynasties.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, in general, the prosperity of Yangzhou city always coincided with the prosperity of the entire country. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, from the Ming Dynasty to the present, Yangzhou had a high concentration of wealth and capital. It can be regarded as the area with the most concentrated capital in the entire China and even East Asia.

In the words of later generations, it is now the largest financial center there. In terms of its prosperity and role, it is similar to London and Hong Kong in later generations..."

Just listening to it makes people feel excited.

Lin Yutong approached Yangzhou with this mood all the way. When he arrived at the place, he abandoned the ship and landed ashore. Lin Yutong was somewhat disappointed. The emperor was traveling in his car, and the entire river was under martial law. No other ships could be seen at all. The shipping dock felt like

It's a complete shutdown.

This is definitely not the Fourth Master’s original intention, but it is certainly an unavoidable phenomenon.

Three warnings and four instructions said that you must not disturb the people, but in fact, no one dared to joke about it. This is not a problem of insufficient flattery, but that no one dares to take this risk with their wealth, life, and family.

Therefore, the Fourth Master looked calm and did not show anything. Speaking of consideration, the Fourth Master was considered a very considerate person towards his subjects.

She couldn't help but think of that weird TV series. She remembered that there was a paragraph where the singer Xia Yingying met Emperor Qianlong by chance because she went to the lake to sing songs late at night. Well, now that Lin Yutong was thinking about it, she felt that if someone hadn't deliberately put it in

, I really can’t imagine how they managed to travel calmly under heavy guards.

How should I put it? Maybe I was a little scared after being tormented by the White Lotus Sect during this period. No matter what I thought, it always had a hint of conspiracy.

The fourth master’s original plan was to go ashore without abandoning the ship. There was everything on the ship, and he could just keep all his work and rest on the ship. He would not go ashore and cause trouble to others. Before, there was no place like a palace for pick-up.

.

But now that the river is sealed, there is no other boat to even think about.

Then this is absolutely not possible on a ship. As a major artery for north-south transportation, a delay of one day will delay many things. For merchants, this loss is not small, and for the lower-level people who rely on this river for their meals,

This is simply a disaster. For example, the tracker, for example, does a day's work and earns one day's money. If there is no work, it means no money. Without money, the whole family will probably go hungry. More

There are those small merchants and hawkers, carrying baskets and bags, hawking on the dock. They are doing business with merchants. They rely on this to maintain a normal life for the family. You said that the docks are under martial law, and their business is not the same.

Who will do it.

Therefore, the officials below said that the most indispensable thing in Yangzhou is gardens. Which big businessman does not have a decent garden? They are all well organized and neatly tidied, and they are all looking forward to the emperor living in them.

Fourth Master did not hesitate and immediately agreed. The first thing after landing was to lift martial law and restore normal order.

As for where to live, listen to Lin Yutong.

Lin Yutong took the brochures sent one by one and ordered two families. Both of them were salt merchants. When Li Wei was in the salt administration, he mentioned these two families in a letter. Compared with other families, they were law-abiding.

Yes. She was the first one to dare to respond to Li Wei and open a salt farm on the island. As a reward, she ordered these two.

He, the fourth master, the queen mother and the princes lived in one house, and the clan members were settled in one place. As for the accompanying officials, it would be good to have a room. Of course, there must be a lot of people who are flattering, and one person can live in the same garden.

. But for them, they still have to be close to the fourth master. It is really best to have a room for rest next to the fourth master’s office.

Lin Yutong only needs to choose the place, but as for how to arrange it, that is not her thing to worry about.

After getting off the boat, we went directly to the dragon chariot. Along the way, there was no waving hands to greet the cheers of the people on both sides like what was shown on TV. Except at the dock, the government specially selected some local celebrities and gentry to make a show.

Besides, there are no ordinary people.

This is actually not much different from the greetings of leaders in later generations. Those who go there are all scheduled in advance. Even if others want to watch, they can only listen to the live broadcast across several roads. With good eyes,

What I saw was just carriages one after another. What I could brag about was just talking about the royal style, nothing more.

Lin Yutong felt sorry for the fourth master, "I might as well have gone out last time." He dressed lightly and hid his whereabouts, and could see whatever he wanted and how he wanted.

Fourth Master smiled: "Let's go out like this tomorrow?"

Really?

In fact, Fourth Master was not joking. He said he wanted to go out by himself, so he was really wearing a blue shirt and long robe and planned to go out incognito.

I haven’t seen much of this garden since I moved in. In fact, it’s always the same view. If it’s on the list of posts prepared for Fourth Master, then this yard naturally has many unique features. Ask someone to accompany the Queen Mother in the garden.

Look, he really took Lin Yutong out of the back door.

Hongwang was responsible for the safety of the garden. When the Fourth Master said he wanted to go out, Hongwang made all the arrangements so that no one was alarmed.

After the martial law was lifted in large areas, Yangzhou's market has indeed returned to prosperity.

Sit in a teahouse and listen to what the people have to say. The most popular in the past two days are the teahouses with storytellers. There are storytellers who can interpret things and tell them things that no one has seen.

It seems true. One said that the Fourth Master was eight feet tall, burly and handsome, and the other said that the Fourth Master was nine feet tall and had a long beard. Anyway, no matter what I heard, it didn’t sound like a real person.

It is the god enshrined in the temple.

After hearing the two stories, the two of them exited and walked around the street to take a look.

If it is not unusual to see foreigners in the capital, then it is even less unusual to see foreigners in Yangzhou. Wearing all kinds of dresses, blond, blue-eyed, or with different skin colors, speaking broken Chinese, they are seen on every street.

On the street, you can always meet one or two. The locals are not surprised, few people stare at them.

Seeing the confidence on the faces of those small businessmen and hawkers, they had no ambiguity in doing business with foreigners. Lin Yutong's eyes were a little complicated. Thinking of that once poor and weak country, when the people met foreigners, either

Either fearful or flattering. When walking on the road, when you see a foreigner, you have to give way first.

Nothing like this...so...so good!

Lin Yutong held the fourth master's hand tightly, and all these years of hard work were finally not in vain.

The fourth master patted Lin Yutong, put away the moisture in his eyes, turned his face and told Su Peisheng to stand at the door of a small restaurant, and pulled Lin Yutong over.

Su Peisheng laughed along with him: "Sir, even though this store is not big, it is still a time-honored one. Made with crab powder and lion's head, it is considered unique in Yangzhou."

Then go and try it.
To be continued...