In early September, the water level of the Yangtze River finally slowly dropped.
As the rainy season in the middle and upper reaches has passed, the turbid river has become clear again.
A fleet consisting of two galleys and a dozen warehouse ships, after passing through the Yangtze River section of Chizhou, adjusted its sails, deviated from the southern shoreline, and sailed towards the mouth of Yuxi River in the north.
Wearing leather armor all the way, Zhao Ting'er tried her best to appear strong in front of the generals. On the last day of the half-month-long journey, Zhao Ting'er specially put on a light green skirt, lightly applied a thin layer of daisy on her delicate and flawless face, and even
Showing the increasingly mature beauty.
She stood at the bow of the ship, looking eagerly at the desolate and sparsely populated beach on the north shore, feeling both expectant and indescribably nervous.
"Mother, you and grandpa both said that daddy is a great hero, can you kill a big insect with one punch?" A young child with a beautiful face came out of the cabin, held Zhao Ting'er's hand, and made a babyish sound.
asked.
"..." Zhao Ting'er smiled hoarsely, held the child in his arms, and asked, "Who told you that you can be considered a great hero by killing a big, colorful insect with one punch?"
"My mother has always told Xin'er that she must learn real skills so that when she grows up, she can get rid of the big bugs that harm the villagers in Huayang Ridge. If dad is a hero, he must be more capable than Xin'er when he grows up?
"Young|Tong Nai asked in a milky voice.
"As long as you have the heart to eliminate pests for the people, you are a great hero. Besides, the giant insects that harm the villagers are easy to get rid of, but it is not just the giant insects that really harm the villagers. There are many pests that are much more serious than the giant insects. We need to
Only those who can get rid of these scourges are truly capable and a great hero." Zhao Ting'er said with a smile.
"..." The young child looked at his mother in bewilderment, unable to understand that there could be a more serious scourge than giant insects.
"The wind in the river is so strong, and you carried Wenxin out of the cabin. If you caught a cold, how were you going to tell Han Qian?" Zhao Laoguan got out of the cabin and saw his daughter holding her grandson at the bow of the boat, blowing the cool breeze.
complained.
Zhao Ting'er always felt that her father doted on Xin'er too much, which may not be good for his growth, but now she would not go against his father's wishes and would hand over Xin'er to his father and carry him back to the cabin.
"Mrs. Ting, it seems that your Excellency and General Wuji are already waiting in front of the river beach with their people?" Du Yiming held a retractable bronze telescope at this time, climbed down from the top of the mast several feet high, and followed excitedly
Zhao Ting'er leaked the news.
"Really?" Zhao Ting'er couldn't suppress the excitement and took the looking glass from Du Yiming's hand, stretched it out, and looked towards the river beach at the mouth of the river seven or eight miles away. At this time, from the looking glass, she could clearly see the large areas of
Behind the reed grass, I saw a group of cavalry parked on the river beach. The leader was wearing a blue robe and the two people behind were wearing black armor. Who could they be if they weren't my husband Han Qian and his younger brother Zhao Wuji?
In September, the water level of Chaohu Lake had not yet completely dropped. It was also the time when the Yuxi River was fast and the banks were wide. The fleet did not lower the sails and slow down. After burning incense, it stopped at the mouth of the river. Han Qian and Zhao Wuji boarded the big boat in a small boat.
ship.
Han Qian held the timid Xin'er in his arms, and pricked his pink face several times with his chin, which was covered with stubble and had been busy with work for the past two days.
Zhao Ting'er screamed and struggled, and it took a while to put down Xin'er, who was full of grievances, and then hit Zhao Ting'er hard
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He pulled her into his arms and asked, "Can you bear the wind and waves along the way?"
"You are serious, so many people are watching..." Zhao Ting'er said in a sweet voice as she struggled out of Han Qian's arms in embarrassment.
"Then I'll tell them to turn their backs," Han Qian said.
"Why are you talking nonsense better than Xin'er?" Zhao Ting'er said angrily.
Han Qian laughed heartily and then greeted Mr. Zhao and thanked them for their hard work along the way.
At this time, a young girl timidly walked out of the cabin with Zhao Laoguan's wife, bent over and saluted Han Qian: "Rong'er, I have met you, sir." When she saluted Zhao Wuji, her pink face turned red, like
It felt like it was burning, and he stammered, "I've seen General Wuji..."
The girl is Xi Rong, the younger sister of Xi Xunqiao, who is just twenty-eight years old. She is the wife hired by Mr. Zhao for Zhao Wuji. They proposed marriage last year, had a horoscope, and set a wedding date. However, the Great Chu Navy destroyed Hongzepu.
, the situation in Jianghuai suddenly changed again. Han Qian transferred Zhao Wuji and a large number of Xuzhou generals to Tangyi to fight. Many things disrupted the rhythm.
However, Mr. Zhao didn't want to miss the selected wedding date. When the day came, he followed the custom of Xuzhou and had Xi Rong hold a rooster and go to the wedding hall to get married. This was regarded as bringing his daughter-in-law into the Zhao family's home. This time, he brought his daughter-in-law who had already entered the house.
The daughter-in-law of six months has consummated her marriage with Zhao Wuji.
After Xi Rong got married, she usually helped Zhao Ting'er take care of things without any discomfort. But when she saw her husband Zhao Wuji, she was so panicked that she didn't even know where to move her hands and feet.
When he was in Xuzhou, Zhao Wuji spent most of his time stationed in Nanliao Village, presiding over the military affairs of Quyang County, responsible for collecting and subduing the people in the upper reaches of the Quyang River, expanding the number of Ding households in Xuzhou, and proposing marriages.
Mr. Zhao worked hard to mobilize.
He even only briefly met Xi Rong when he returned to Chenzhong City during the marriage proposal, and had no contact with her since.
As a representative native of Xuzhou, Xi Xunqiao won the trust of Han Qian. After Han Qian took control of Tangyi, he succeeded Feng Xiao as the governor of Xuzhou, and Qiao Weiyan, who was also the leader of the army and the magistrate of Chenzhong County.
As well as Du Yijun, who was in charge of the Industrial and Manufacturing Bureau and the Official Money Bureau, they jointly assisted Zhao Ting'er in handling Xuzhou's government affairs.
As the younger sister of Xi Xunqiao, Xi Rong was beautiful. She also followed her brother to learn Chinese etiquette and customs from a young age, and was familiar with poetry and calligraphy. She was also proficient in riding and shooting. She obeyed her parents' orders in matters of marriage and was a matchmaker.
In Yan's time, Zhao Wuji had no reason to reject the marriage, but at this time, he was completely unfamiliar with the girl in front of him who could not hide his panic, and for a moment he didn't know how to get close to her.
However, Zhao Ting'er seemed to understand the embarrassment between her younger brother and his sister-in-law. She broke away from Han Qian's arms, pulled her younger brother and scolded him for almost a year after leaving Xuzhou, and why he didn't have a few letters home to send back.
Zhao Wuji wiped away another looming beauty in his mind without leaving a trace. Facing his sister's questioning, he smiled and said: "The soldiers in the army are very stubborn. Even if they have leisure, they are still tired. But when I think of all the things here, my brother-in-law will do it."
I told my sister nothing in detail in the letter, so I didn't bother to write a letter home."
"You know how to be lazy." Zhao Ting'er glared at him angrily and said, "You are now a leader of an army, how can you still be lazy like a child?"
"Sister also knows that I am now the leader of the army, so she can no longer train me mercilessly." Zhao Wuji said.
"Are you getting more prestigious now?" Zhao Ting'er scolded.
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Han Qian smiled and said: "It's okay, I will dismiss Wuji from his post as General of Seven Days now, leaving you to take care of him."
"Do you have nothing to say now?" Zhao Ting'er stretched out her hand to pull his ear.
"You two siblings are so grown up that you are not afraid of making the people below laugh at you." Mr. Zhao still protected his son and blocked Zhao Ting'er's hand.
Han Qian signaled Han Donghu to lead the cavalry guards to accompany him along the coast. He accompanied Zhao Ting'er by boat to the north of the river. After arriving at Dongguan Town, he disembarked, changed to a carriage and rushed to the East Lake Camp.
Zhao Ting'er nestled in Han Qian's arms, looked at the autumn colors of Ruxu Mountain, and talked about the current situation in Xuzhou.
At present, the government affairs are in charge of Xi Xunqiao, Qiao Weiyan, and Du Yijun. The state soldiers are led by Xi Chang, Wei Xu and a group of military attachés loyal to Han Qian and Xuzhou. Chen Jitang is in charge of the supervision and development of armor and weapons, and Zhao Jicheng
, Han Dong, Du Qiniang and other people each take care of their own affairs. The support of Tan Yuliang in Wuchuan County is also quite stable. The Chenzhou Xi family, Yezhou Tian family and Sizhou Yang family cannot see it for the time being.
Something unusual.
In Xuzhou, in addition to the Xixunqiao lineage, the Xiang family and the Yang family, under the guidance of Han Qian, were directly involved in Xuzhou's foreign trade at the beginning of their return. In recent years, they have also been deeply involved in Xuzhou's cotton weaving and other industries.
development of.
In the case of Xuzhou's shipping industry and the cotton textile industry's development, which are deeply dependent on exports to the hinterland of Sichuan, Sichuan and Dachu, the Xi family, the Yang family, and the Xiang family have actually been reborn from the previously closed and conservative native surnames. They are now
Shi was even more unwilling to return Xuzhou to its previous closed and conservative state.
In addition to the marriage between the Xi family and the Zhao family, hundreds of children from the three surnames also entered Tangyi this time, either serving as military attaches in the army or serving as subordinate officials in prefectures and counties.
At this point in the integration of native and guest registration, as long as Han Qian does not suffer irreparable damage in Tangyi, nothing will happen to Xuzhou.
No matter how wary the Chenzhou Xi clan, Yezhou Tian clan, and Sizhou Yang clan are about Xuzhou, within their territory, not to mention the large guest households, there are also quite a few small and medium-sized local native surnames who know how to take advantage of
If you grow cotton on the land in your hand, you can make a lot of profit by selling the seed cotton, so you are more willing to choose to cooperate with Xuzhou.
Tan Yuliang's governance in Wuchuan County remained stable, and the Chishan Society also recruited shipwrights and sailors in Qianyang and Chenzhong, and took root.
"Why did you think of picking me and Xin'er up to live in Tangyi this time?" Zhao Ting'er snuggled into Han Qian's arms, couldn't help but reach out and gently touch his slightly stinging chin, and asked softly.
"Don't I miss you too much?" Han Qian said with a smile.
"Only a ghost can believe what you say." Zhao Ting'er glanced at Han Qian, but she snuggled closer into his arms and asked quietly, "Your father's mourning period has passed, and there are ministers in the court who are making trouble with your marriage.
Alright?"
"..." Han Qian lowered his head to look at Zhao Ting'er's smooth and jade-like forehead. The long eyelashes left sparse shadows on the beautiful eyes like deep springs. The straight bridge of the nose was covered with attractive red lips. He folded his arms.
He hugged her tighter and said with a smile, "You are so smart, who dares to marry me and let you bully me?"
"Is it Wang Jun?" Zhao Ting'er asked.
"..." Han Qian was slightly startled. At this time, he had something to say but didn't know where to start.
"I just want to be an ordinary woman that you don't care about. You won't be so cautious about me..." Zhao Ting'er raised her head and glanced at Han Qian, then hugged him tighter.