(ps: I wish my brothers and sisters a happy New Year and a happy family...)
The end of March is the warmest and most comfortable season in Xuzhou. The rainy season has not yet come. The Ruan River is vast and clear. The weather is bright. Wearing a thin shirt, you can see green mountains and green mountains. The breeze is blowing on your face, which is full of warmth.
If it starts to rain lightly and the misty rain covers the rivers and green mountains, it will feel even more sparse. It is most pleasant to sit in the house and read and write, or go into a restaurant and choose a table by the window to sip and drink slowly.
Although the state government was moved to Chenzhong, Qianyang City has inherited hundreds of years of heritage and is still the most prosperous city in Xuzhou.
Most of the boats traveling down the river from central Guizhou or upstream from Yuelang choose to stop in Qianyang. The restart of the Xuefeng Mountain Post Road has enabled business travelers from Shaoheng and other places to take a shorter route.
Qianyang went to Qianzhong.
Based on this, Qianyang's status is far from being replaced by Chenzhong, which is located in the upper reaches of Chenshui River. Not to mention that Qianyang is still the center of the eastern part of Xuzhou. If the villagers of the surrounding four counties and more than 40 townships
If you want to catch a big market, you will come to Qianyang City even if your legs are strong enough.
Travelers traveling from north to south and a wide variety of goods are unloaded in front of the pier, and hundreds of boats of all sizes dock in front of the pier.
Such a grand occasion can only be seen in a few big cities in the Jianghuai land.
As the Guanyue Tower built in the city for a hundred years, the private wine shop was taught the secret method by the governor to brew Yandangchun for sale. At the same time, it is famous in Xuzhou for its Hundred Duck Banquet. In the season of drizzle, it is full of customers.
"It is said that Emperor Yanyou raised his troops at the gate of Jinling City. Hundreds of cyclone cannons were lined up in a row. All the stone tablets within a hundred miles were transported to the city and ground into stone bullets. They blasted them at the city wall day and night. The stone bullets were so dense that they could destroy them.
The sun was blocked, and when they all hit the city wall, it caused a mountain to collapse and the ground to crack, and ghosts howled. Although Jinling City was strong, it could not withstand this mass of attacks. The city wall collapsed, and the generals guarding the wall were
We are also great athletes, but our flesh and blood bodies were hit hard by stone bullets weighing hundreds of kilograms or even hundreds of kilograms or thousands of kilograms, and everything they hit was smashed into a ball of flesh.
Not to mention the collapse of Pei, there were red and white objects everywhere. This blast of stone bombs killed and injured more than 10,000 defenders. Emperor Yanyou attacked too fiercely with his troops, and the thief later found out that he could not resist and captured Zhenyuan.
Hou Yangjian's wife and children ordered Zhenyuanhou to take the boat, which was even taller than our Guanyue Tower, to cover their hasty escape across the river to join Xu Mingzhen, the governor of Shouzhou. In fact, Zhenyuanhou Yangjian's thoughts had always been
In Emperor Yanyou's case, his wife, children, and children were all controlled by the thief and had to be threatened by the thief and become the enemy of Emperor Yanyou. However, when he saw that the thief wanted to flee to Jiangbei, Zhenyuan Marquis Yang Jian finally remembered that he was a member of the clan.
The general, entrusted by the late emperor, repented, and finally raised his sword to kill himself. He led his general Fan Xiang and led his troops to help Emperor Yan You kill the rebels. In recent years, our Da Chu has been competing with the Liang army for victory, and the Liang army has been hiring horses and soldiers everywhere.
The enemy, but when we go to the land of the rivers, Huaihe lakes and swamps of Chu, we have a headache when we see our naval warships. The Lou Chuanjun is the strongest navy of our Chu, even if Yang Jian, the Marquis of Zhenyuan, commits suicide, even if General Fan Xiang
He led his troops to surrender to Emperor Yanyou, but there were still many naval troops who were stubborn and followed the thieves with iron hearts. During the water battle, the surface of the river was dyed red, and hundreds of warships sank to the bottom of the river. It was really killing.
The sky is dark and the earth is dark, and no chickens or dogs are left..."
At the end of February and the beginning of March, Yueyang soldiers and horses captured Jinling, and only the remnants of Anning Palace fled to the north of the Yangtze River. The third prince Yang Yuanpu succeeded to the throne in Jinling and named it Yanyou Zhushi. In mid-March, it had spread to Xuzhou with business travelers.
The second floor of Guanyue Building was packed with people at this time. In the middle of the hall sat a fat businessman, wearing a brocade robe, and his accent sounded like someone from Jiang'e and other places. When others saw that he spoke vividly, they just laughed at him.
hearsay.
"...You don't know this, right? In order to attack Jinling, Emperor Yanyou mobilized supplies from Jiang and E to fill hundreds of large and small ships. It's true that I am from Ezhou, but I was escorted by the ship years ago.
I arrived in Jinling and stayed in Jinling until the end of February. However, I saw with my own eyes the stone bullets flying against the city. I also saw hundreds of warships ramming and fighting on the river. The bandits threatened hundreds of thousands of people.
Withdrew to Jinling, but the big boats were for the pirate soldiers to take. The coerced civilians and the rebel soldiers' families were in small and broken boats. I don't know how many ships sank. There were drowned people everywhere on the river beach downstream.
The floating corpse is enough to fill the river with fish and crabs." When the fat-faced merchant heard someone questioning him, he spoke even more passionately about the bloody scene of the Jinling water battle.
"..." There is a table in the corner of the hall, and sitting there is a middle-aged man in a blue shirt. It is said that a middle-aged man has a face that does not look old, has no beard, and has smooth lips and cheeks, but his temples are already gray. Listening to that
The fat-faced merchant spoke passionately about the Jinling War, with the corner of his mouth slightly raised, showing disdain.
Although the guest in green shirt said his robes were old and had made two puddings, occupying a corner of the table, he had a small plate of dried incense and a small plate of Jiangqin for the food and drink, but only half a bowl of turbid wine, and he drank there slowly.
He looks shabby, but his behavior is extraordinary.
The hall was full of people. Everyone was sitting at the same table. Sitting opposite the guest in green shirt was a young man. He was listening to the fat-faced merchant talking about the Jinling War with great interest. When he saw the guest in green shirt opposite the table showing such an expression, he was moved and asked.
: "Could it be that my father-in-law knows something different from what that person said?"
The guest in green shirt glanced at the young man across from him and took a sip of wine from the pottery bowl with a corner missing, but didn't want to pay any attention to it.
The Qingshan guest's behavior aroused the interest of the young man. He saw that the Qingshan guest was quite shabby. He didn't know if he was in trouble. He sipped half a bowl of wine for a long time and still didn't drink it. It seemed that he didn't have much money to buy wine.
, he pushed the pot of aged wine in front of him forward and said, "If you have anything interesting to tell me, my husband, this pot of wine will be my treat for you today."
The man in green shirt picked up the wine pot and shook it. There was still more than half of the pot of aged wine in it. He glanced at the fat-faced businessman who was talking heartily there and said, "Although I haven't arrived in Jinling yet, I know Yang Jian, the Marquis of Zhenyuan."
I still heard a little bit about it. After his death, except for Fan Xiang, the general who had the closest relationship with Yueyang, surrendered to Emperor Yanyou, the other generals followed An Ning Palace to fight to the death. Then we can know that Zhenyuan Hou Yang Jian did not die by suicide.
It's as simple as that, but due to various reasons, the true cause of his death was not made public."
"Then what is the reason why it must be said that Marquis Zhenyuan died of suicide?" the young man asked.
"I'm in Qianyang, and I don't know how to make clever calculations. How can I know these details?" The man in green shirt drank all the wine in his pottery bowl, poured half of the wine into the jug, and then pushed the jug back to the young man.
It's worth half a bowl of wine to show him.
"The water battle in Jinling was fierce, and Prince Yang Yuanwo's boat almost capsized, but the boat did not capsize. Prince Yang Yuanwo, who was standing on the bow of the ship watching the battle, fell into the water and was shot by random arrows. He was already dead when he was rescued...
..." The fat-faced merchant looked at the crowd gathered around him and told the details of the follow-up to the Jinling Water Battle in an increasingly emotional tone.
"This is also false,"
After drinking, the guest in green shirt felt that he should fulfill his duty of explanation and said to the young man across the table,
"Prince Yang Yuanwo has already ascended the throne in Jinling. If he evacuates to the north bank, he will inevitably be together with the Prince and the ministers from Anning Palace and be protected at the core of the fleet. If the fleet formation is once penetrated by the Yueyang Navy,
The prince Yang Yuanwo fell into the water and died with an arrow. Doesn't that mean that the naval forces in Anning Palace have been defeated long ago? How many remnants of the defeated generals are left to escape to the north bank? How could Emperor Yanyou not take advantage of this?
Victory in pursuit and annihilate the Anning Palace rebels in one fell swoop? Prince Yang Yuanwo was not in good health. In my opinion, he was probably too frightened and died of illness before withdrawing from Jinling City. Anning Palace now insists that the prince fell into the water and died from an arrow.
It’s just to make Emperor Yanyou bear the bad reputation of killing his brother and usurping the throne. Think about it, before Emperor Yanyou ascended the throne, he said that the Anning Palace had killed his husband and usurped the throne, and the Palace of Anning in turn said that Emperor Yanyou had killed his brother and usurped the throne. Wouldn’t it all be true?
Made a mistake?"
"Although I am not in Jinling at this time, what I said is quite reasonable. I must have been extraordinary when I was in Jinling, right?" The young man asked respectfully.
"What's extraordinary? I'm just a guest from heaven and earth, and a sand gull in the lake and sea." The guest in green shirt smiled, drank the remaining wine in the pottery bowl, and held his hand towards the young man to express his gratitude for the gift of wine.
, lifted up the tattered robe, picked up a few thin books on the corner of the table, and stood up to leave.
"Master Guo is really self-effacing." A drinker at the table next door turned around and said to the guest in green shirt.
Only then did Guo Rong clearly see that the person sitting at the table with several porters was actually the newly appointed Magistrate of Chenzhong County, Governor of Syria Shi Feng Liao. He did not expect that he would be sitting at the table next to him. He was slightly startled, and his eyes couldn't help but search elsewhere in the hall.
.
"Your Excellency was drinking in the wing room on the third floor. When he saw Lord Guo here, he asked Feng Liao to come over and invite Lord Guo to come with him to have two glasses of wine and reminisce about the past. Feng Liao couldn't help but hear this merchant say that the Jinling Water Battle was very interesting.
I sat down and listened for a while." Feng Liao said with a smile.
Guo Rong didn't like Feng Liao very much, and he could guess that Feng Liao must have deliberately sat there with him behind his back, just to observe his reaction to the fall of Jinling. At that moment, he just said lightly: "Master Han, can you
If you let me live in Qianyang, I won't dare to ask him to spend money on drinks anymore."
Regardless of the conflict between Han Qian and Yang Yuanpu who succeeded to the throne after conquering Jinling, since Han Qian has returned to Xuzhou, he is the lord of Xuzhou. Guo Rong knows that he is a remnant of Anning Palace, and Han Qian is forgiving if he does not kill him.
, why did he go to Han Qian to find unhappy?
"Master Guo will not ask Feng Liao to fail in front of the master, right?" Feng Liao's face sank slightly. He was not that easy to talk to. He looked at Guo Rong calmly, but he would not let him go like this.
Seeing two strong and strong men standing up as Feng Liao's expression changed, Guo Rong felt a little annoyed. He stared at Feng Liao and asked: "I'm living under someone else's roof. I can't stand this wine if I don't drink it today."
?”
"Of course." Feng Liao pointed to the stairs and motioned for Guo Rong to go first.
The young man who accidentally wanted to ask some interesting stories was a little stunned when he saw this scene. He didn't know who the guest in green shirt and the young man in gray robe at the next table were.
Guo Rong climbed up the stairs to the third floor and found that there were no other drinkers upstairs. Several guards were guarding the stairs. There was no noise. The door of the wing opposite the stairs was open. He seemed to be listening to the discussion downstairs.
He couldn't help but wonder, what would Han Qian think in his heart when he learned that Yang Yuanpu had successfully captured Jinling and succeeded to the throne?
Guo Rong walked into the side room and saw Han Qian sitting casually in the corner. He was also wearing a green shirt, but it was much newer than the tattered shirt he was wearing. But in Qianyang City, where business travelers are everywhere,
It's also ordinary.
The two girls Zhao Ting'er and Xi Lin were stunningly beautiful. Guo Rong thought that Han Qian, Feng Liao, and Tian Cheng could lead the guards upstairs quietly. He might not have noticed it with his back to the stairs, but if Zhao Ting'er and Xi Lin passed by the stairs, they would definitely attract attention.
Everyone is paying attention, so it seems that Han Qian was actually sitting here before he came over to drink.
So, Han Qian didn't invite him upstairs just because he saw him accidentally, but he arranged for someone to keep an eye on him all the time?
Guo Rong couldn't help but wonder what Han Qian's intention was in asking him to go upstairs to meet him. Could it be that he was thinking of using his relationship with Anning Palace to do something?
Kong Xirong and Xi Faer were sitting at the bottom of the table. When they saw Feng Liao and Guo Rong coming in, they sat up and gave up their seats to them.
"I haven't seen you for a while. Is Mr. Guo okay now?" Han Qian motioned for Guo Rong to take a seat.
"What's good? If Mr. Han doesn't drive me away, my life in Qianyang will be quite peaceful. When Mr. Han calls Guo Rong over, doesn't he mean that there will be no place for Guo Rong in Qianyang in the future?" Guo
Rong took a seat on the side next to the door of the compartment without any courtesy.
"I was able to escape from Shu smoothly only because of Lord Guo's help. This also made it impossible for Lord Guo to return to Anning Palace. How could Han Qian be an ungrateful person?" Han Qian smiled slightly and glanced at the bag in Guo Rong's hand.
He looked at several books and asked, "These books were compiled in my spare time and sold in bookstores. Can Mr. Guo give me some advice?"
"I just have nothing to do. I just spend my time buying things while I still have some money left. How can I be qualified to give advice? Mr. Han is really kidding." Guo Rong said.
Seeing Guo Rong's cold attitude, Feng Liao sat down and said to Han Qian: "Master Guo guessed that Yang Yuanwo's death was caused by an arrow in drowning!"
"Oh?" Han Qian thought to himself that Guo Rong was a direct descendant of Anning Palace earlier, and he knew Yang Yuanwo's physical condition much better than outsiders. It was not surprising that he could guess this, so he asked with interest, "
Guo Master, guess why I asked you to go upstairs to talk?"
"He returned to Xuzhou before completing the competition. Is Mr. Han worried about running out of tools, or does he have the ambition to conquer the world? Guo Rong is dazzled and can't see clearly. How can he guess Mr. Han's thoughts?"
Guo Rong said, "But Emperor Yanyou failed to annihilate the Anning Palace rebels on the river. Instead, his water camp was severely damaged, and he also suffered a lot in the attack on Jinling City. When he ascended the throne, he was infamous for killing his brother and usurping the throne.
It can’t be said to be perfect, but I can make a guess about his thoughts. He may think that Mr. Han is unkind and ungrateful. However, Emperor Yanyou was taught by Mr. Han. In the end, he chose to be forbearing and fight with others.
Will Mr. Han reiterate the friendship between teachers and students, or will he block and restrict Xuzhou? I can’t guess..."
Feng Liao was secretly frightened. Guo Rong was arranged by Anning Palace to be with Yang Yuanpu so that Anning Palace could monitor Yang Yuanpu's every move at any time. However, Guo Rong was deceived by Han Qian and Shen Yang at first, until Long Que Only when the army gained momentum did we see clearly the reality of Taowu gathering people infected with the epidemic and starvation.
This means that Feng Liao underestimated Guo Rong more or less, but he did not expect that Guo Rong was living in Qianyang, Guizhou, and could judge so many key contents from just a few words during business trips in the past.
After Yang Yuanpu captured Jinling, he held a grand ceremony as soon as possible. He couldn't wait to succeed to the throne and changed his name to Yanyou. Naturally, Feng Liao and others got the news a few days earlier than Shang Lu. What they were most worried about now was Yang Yuanpu's dialogue after he succeeded to the throne. state attitude.
Did Yang Yuanpu realize the seriousness of internal and external troubles and continue to ease the relationship with Xuzhou and Han Qian, or did he first make Xuzhou the primary target of suppression and impose various restrictions?
Yang Yuanpu's different stance will also determine Xuzhou's different responses.
Feng Liao and others have more confidential and front-line intelligence information. It is not surprising that they would make such a judgment. It is not easy for Guo Rong to see this.
Feng Liao thought to himself that before, Guo Rong fell into the hands of Han Qian and was even regarded as incompetent by Anning Palace and was alienated. Perhaps all of this was because Han Qian was too powerful and made Guo Rong seem slow and stupid, but Guo Rong was actually You're not any worse than others, right?
Han Qian had no intention of continuing to play riddles with Guo Rong. In fact, he had long seen that although Guo Rong was an old man from the Guangling Jiedushi Mansion, he did not fully agree with many of the practices of Anning Palace, and sometimes he could not help himself.
Before Yang Yuanpu left the palace to live in the palace, Guo Rong had a lot of contacts with his father. Regardless of the fact that Anning Palace had a relationship with his father through Guo Rong, it can be said that Guo Rong agreed or admired his father to a certain extent. of people and political opinions.
This should be the key to Guo Rong's slow response to matters related to the Dragon Bird Army. After all, he served beside Yang Yuanpu, and he did not show too much desire to restrict Yang Yuanpu's actions on behalf of Anning Palace.
When he was sent to Shu as an envoy, he learned of the dramatic changes in Jinling. Guo Rong helped him kidnap Princess Qingyang and return to Chu. It can be said that he had completely "betrayed" Anning Palace. After returning to Chu, Guo Rong himself had no one in the world except Xuzhou. A place of shelter.
Han Qian didn't want to be confused with Guo Rong, and said: "No matter what the new emperor thinks of me, I have no intention of causing trouble to the world. However, the former emperor and his majesty both made it clear that Xuzhou will be given to me Han Qian. I will retreat to Xuzhou." As for running it, no one in the world can say anything wrong about me - I invited Mr. Guo to come over and meet me, I really want to ask Mr. Guo to help me!"
"..." Guo Rong remained silent.
Han Qian continued: "Master Guo must want to ask, since I want to ask Master Guo for help, why did I wait until today to see Master Guo? To be honest, the reason why I mentioned this matter now is that Master Guo has someone in Anning Palace. There are so many old things, no matter how rebellious the thief Xu Hui and others are, most of the other people are just coerced and have no choice. I think Mr. Guo is a sentimental and righteous person, and he will not think about the old things. He promised to serve in Xuzhou—but Mr. Guo shouldn’t have this worry now, right?”
Guo Rong pondered, still unable to guess what Han Qian wanted to do when he saw him.
Han Qian's words are true on the surface.
In the past, Xuzhou and Yueyang were one. If he really agreed to serve in Xuzhou, his old life in the palace would not be easy.
However, no matter how slow Empress Xu was at this time, she should have known that Xuzhou and Emperor Yanyou Yang Yuanpu were at odds with each other, and Empress Xu's enemy at this time was Emperor Yanyou Yang Yuanpu, so if he was serving in Xuzhou, he would not
What a violent reaction it provoked.
It's just that Han Qian chose this time to ask him to take up a position in Xuzhou. Is it really as simple as what he said?
Seeing Guo Rong's hesitation, Han Qian could guess what he was thinking and said: "When Mr. Guo met my late father, I was still naughty, and I didn't meet Mr. Guo much, but the letters left by my late father
Many people admire Mr. Guo for his knowledge of the world and his intention to apply it to the world. However, being trapped in a cage of intrigues is not what Mr. Guo wants. I ask Mr. Guo to help me, not because I want to take advantage of Mr. Guo and others.
No matter what your majesty thinks of me, Xuzhou will never hold back when it comes to annihilating the remnants of An Ning Palace, let alone secretly communicate with An Ning Palace. Otherwise, I
How can I feel at ease?"
"No matter what, I am a remnant of Anning Palace. If you want to use me, what will the world think of you?" Guo Rong asked.
"It's impossible for me to completely ignore the eyes of everyone in the world, but I want peace of mind -" Han Qian said.
"If you really want to use me for something, do I have a choice?" Guo Rong asked.
"Master Guo, please speak." Han Qian said.
"If you use me, I can assist in the matter of acting as an official. Of course, there are many contents in these books, which I can't understand, and these books are related to the war weapons, ships, fine iron, and cloth made by Xuzhou.
What's the connection between them? It's even harder for me to get a clue. Can Mr. Han teach it to me?" Guo Rong put several volumes in his hand that were almost torn and filled with annotations on the table, stared at Han Qian and asked.
.
At present, the books sold by bookstores in Qianyang and other cities mainly popularize the basic knowledge of arithmetic and physics, but do not involve specific applications.
And the part that combines arithmetic, physics, and craftsmanship is the core secret that Xuzhou really keeps secret.
Unexpectedly, the condition proposed by Guo Rong was to have immediate access to the core secrets of Xuzhou.
Feng Liao narrowed his eyes and looked at Guo Rong. He guessed that Guo Rong made such a request to see if Xuzhou really trusted him, but the question was, was Guo Rong really trustworthy?
"What's wrong with this?" Han Qian said with a smile, regardless of what Feng Liao and the others thought, "This is a happy decision for us!"
Ji Xiyao, Chen Jitang and even Zhao Ting'er all have to take charge of a lot of things. Han Qian and he are now eager to have people with first-class knowledge like Guo Rong to join in the organization, research and promotion of new arithmetic and geophysics!
