Chizhou and Jiangzhou are four hundred miles apart by water. As a rule, traveling by day and night, it will take about four days after leaving Chizhou to see the city of Jiangzhou on the south bank of the river.
When sailing, especially when the wind is against the side, it is difficult to control the deflection of the hull, and it is difficult to control strong winds. This makes sailing at night quite dangerous even in large rivers with relatively open water. Moreover, the boatmen cannot bear the hard work day and night.
The stars and moon were in the sky, and the river banks on both sides could only be vaguely discerned. Han Qian released three sky lanterns into the sky, signaling to Guo Nuer and the others that they would change the itinerary and increase the speed of the ship. However, they filled the sails and sailed against the wind and the current.
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Ji Fu, who had previously been full of opinions about Han Qian, was full of praise after that night. He didn't expect that installing simple water boards on both sides of the ship's side and inserting them into the water would be such a great benefit.
Overcoming the shortcomings of the hull being moved laterally by crosswinds, in addition to increasing the speed by 30 to 40%, the route also becomes more stable, and the boatman saves a lot of hard work.
Han Qian asked Fan Xicheng, Zhao Kuo and other family soldiers to also learn to control the sails, rudders, and take turns with the boatmen. When daylight came, they had already entered Wangjiang County, Shuzhou, and were already two hundred meters away from Chizhou.
It's fifty miles away. If they don't rest and continue to swim upstream, they should be able to see Jiangzhou City when it gets dark.
However, Han Qian did not let Ji Fu and others continue to sail westward, and discussed with his father Han Daoxun to sail the ship to a sandbank in the middle of the river.
The sandbar is not big, only a few miles deep.
Of course, it is early summer now. The spring water has surged, and a large number of low-silt areas on the sandbanks have been submerged by the river water. You can also see many trees being submerged by the turbid river water.
The boat followed a branch of the river and sailed into a forest of trees on the sandbank. It lowered the mat sail with an ambitious goal. From both sides, it was impossible to see that there was a boat hidden in the sandbank.
After the boat stopped, Han Qian tied up his robe, leather armor, and saber with oilcloth and put them on a simple floating raft made of oxen bladders. Then he prepared to say goodbye to his father and the others and cross the river alone to swim.
Go to the south bank to meet Zhao Wuji and the others.
The river is very windy and the four to five miles wide river is very physically demanding and not just anyone can cross it; Han Qian's water quality can only be said to be average, otherwise he would be used as a simple floating charm; Zhao Kuo needs to bring it with him
One person escorted him to the south bank.
Han Qian glanced at Zhao Kuo and said: "If An Ning Palace wants to harm my father, it will drive the bandits up the river. There must be no less people on the boat."
Han Qian didn't trust Zhao Kuo, who was always mysterious, and didn't want him to have the opportunity to see with his own eyes the operation of Secret Cao Zuosi he had established.
Besides, even if Li Mingting's deployment of soldiers and horses is not considered, banditry along the river to the west of Chizhou is serious, seriously hindering the development of commerce. If my father and the others are hiding here, they may still encounter scattered bandits on the river, and Han Qian cannot reduce the cost on board.
It's a limited security force.
Seeing that everyone was relieved that he would go alone to meet Guo Nuer and the others, Han Qian finally took Ji Xiyao, the son of Ji Fu, who was very good at water and was good at boxing, to escort him, and together they sneaked to the south bank to prevent accidents.
Han Qian now found that the older generation, whether they were civil servants, generals, soldiers, servants, or even craftsmen, were somewhat rigid in their thinking and extremely cautious, and were far less ambitious than the younger generation and had the courage to adapt to new things.
There is no doubt that Ji Fu was once a master craftsman, but he was approached by Han Qian to discuss how to build a fast sailing ship. On the surface, he was respectful and did not dare to disobey him in the slightest, but in his heart he did not take him seriously. In comparison, although Ji Xiyao did not say much
, Han Qian could see that he was truly interested.
To build a new ship, Ji Fu would use it, but Han Qian would use someone like Nian Xiyao.
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On the other side of Wangjiang County in Shuzhou is Zhide County, the westernmost part of Chizhou. In addition to the river and the beach with long aquatic plants, the territory is more undulating with mountains. There is an ancient road passing through the low hills. Although it is very old,
It was in disrepair, but many business travelers passed by. Han Qian and Ji Xiyao walked to a small market town and stopped, found a rather simple tea shed, walked in and sat down.
It was not until the afternoon that Han Qian saw Lin Zongjing leading a green-skinned mule and hunching the newly recruited scout Tiancheng, who was looking sick, past the tea shed.
Even if the epidemic is controlled, the vast majority of patients infected with the water cup epidemic will not die as long as they are not in the advanced stage. However, no matter how slow the onset is, it will have more or less effects on the body. At the same time, there are no specific drugs for complete treatment.
Although cured, it is difficult to avoid that the condition will gradually worsen in the end.
When Secret Cao Zuosi's barracks recruits new scouts, he still tries his best to avoid selecting people infected with the epidemic, but Tian Cheng is an exception.
Tiancheng was originally from Xiangzhou. His ancestors were quite wealthy and owned a farm with thousands of acres of good land. Xiangzhou was completely crippled by the wars in the past few decades. It is currently the buffer zone of the western boundary of Liang and Chu. The mountains and forests
There were rogue bandits everywhere. Tian Cheng could not return to his hometown, so he lived in the Jianghuai River with his father and brother since he was a child. He also learned boxing and literacy with his father and brother, and later joined Zhou Zhong, the governor of Xuanshe. His other father and brother had served in Xuanshe's army.
Holding the posts of Du Yuhou, Deputy Du Yuhou and other mid-to-high-level general positions, Tian Cheng is not well-known and mainly leads the soldiers beside his father and brother.
After Zhou Zhong, the governor of Xuanshe, was defeated by Emperor Tianyou, Tian Cheng's father and brother were both killed in battle. Tian Cheng did not want to be loyal to the Chu State, so he took more than ten members of his family to live in the rivers and lakes. First, his old mother contracted Shuigu plague, and Tian Cheng could not bear to abandon her.
He and his family could only live on the river beach and eat raw snails and crabs to satisfy their hunger. Unfortunately, he, his wife, and his nephew were also infected with the plague.
After being incorporated into the military household in the camp, Tian Cheng's mother died of illness a year ago, and the epidemic conditions of the others were generally under control.
Han Qian was reluctant to recruit people infected with the epidemic into Secret Cao Zuosi, but there were not many people with Tian Cheng's experience among the hungry people, and there was no room for Han Qian to be picky.
As long as there were such people left behind by the Dragon Bird Army, he would recruit them into Secret Cao Zuosi.
Tian Cheng, who is in his early thirties, has a sallow complexion and is very thin. He does not need to pretend. He rides a green leather mule and looks very sick. Passersby look at him and Lin Zongjing and subconsciously assume that they are entering the town.
The father and son who sought medical treatment stayed away from each other.
After waiting for Lin Zongjing and Tian Cheng to walk over for a while, Han Qian took out four coins and put them on the corner of the table, and took Ji Xiyao to the market town. Before entering the town, he turned into a path submerged by long weeds and followed the path left by Lin Zongjing.
traces and walked into a dilapidated nunnery.
Tian Cheng and another newly recruited scout from Zuo Si were guarding the courtyard wall. When they saw Han Qian walking in, they hurriedly came over and saluted, "I've met you, sir."
Han Qian looked at Tian Cheng and another newly recruited scout, and wondered if he had decisively ordered to hack four people to death a few days ago. A person like Tian Cheng would not have behaved submissively so easily, and asked:
"Besides Zong Jing, who else came here early?"
"Young Master, we are here too," Guo Nuer, Zhao Wuji, and Lin Zongjing walked out of it and said happily, "Young Master, your boat is running so fast. We were in the east of Zhide County in the early morning.
Jiangtan waited for a long time, but did not see you, Young Master, passing by, and then realized that we still underestimated your ability, Young Master."
"We arrived at Jiangxinzhou in the west of Zhide County in the early morning. I have been waiting for you at the tea shed for a long time." Han Qian did not expect that Zhao Wuji, Lin Jinghai and the others would also misjudge their ship's speed, so they waited in vain for half a day in the east of Zhide County. , he walked into the house, where three groups of people were sitting crowded against the wall. He signaled everyone not to get up to salute, and looked at the furnishings in the house, although they were simple and old, but not dusty. This was obviously not an abandoned nunnery, and asked, " Where is the owner of this nunnery?"
"We came in with masks on, tied up the three old nuns inside and locked them up in the firewood shed. They thought we were robbing them, but one old nun peed on his crotch, got angry, and neglected the Buddha." Lin Zongjing laughed happily.
Han Qian smiled and saw that they had dealt with everything properly, so he stopped asking further questions and sent one person to the yard to keep an eye on the movement outside. Tian Cheng came in to discuss the next step.
"The enemy thinks that your boat can only travel a hundred miles at the fastest in a night. Then after they lose the whereabouts of your boat, they may search from the mouth of Qiuxia River to the river beach to the east. They may mistakenly think Your Excellency and your Excellency may have abandoned their boat and landed somewhere east of the mouth of Qiuxia River, and may have taken the land route to Xuzhou to take up their posts.”
Lin Zongjing took a branch, drew a simple topographic map from Chizhou City to Zhide County on the dirt, and suggested,
"We should also sneak to the east of the Qiuxia River mouth. As long as we can see through the secret rooms of the opponent and catch him, it will be much easier."
Han Qian nodded slightly.
Lin Zongjing was still an arrogant son of a soldier a year ago, but now he can direct specific and detailed action plans, even if it is not the most reasonable, it is already quite extraordinary.
From Chizhou City to Zhide County, it is located on the south bank of the Yangtze River. Counties along the river are connected by Chidao, and business travel is constant. However, Guo Nuer and the others are not locals. They have to hide themselves and not expose their flaws. They cannot stay casually along the way. Don't just ask around aimlessly.
Under so many restrictions, it is very difficult for Guo Nuer and the others to see through each other's hidden secrets.
The number of manpower Han Qian could mobilize was limited, but no matter how powerful Zhao Mingting and Zifang Si were, they would not dare to announce the plans of Anning Palace to the world. The secret agents assigned to them must be direct relatives that they could absolutely trust, and they would not dare to disturb the place.
The terrain of the river beaches along the Yangtze River is complex, and many places are unobstructed. If the other party wants to hide their whereabouts, they cannot directly stick to the river beaches and follow their ships westward. Instead, they pick a few fixed ones along the way. Keep watch to see if their ship passes.
In this case, if their ship can sail far beyond the other party's estimated range overnight, the other party will mistakenly think that their ship is still downstream and has not come up; after waiting for a long time, the other party's secret room will Spies may lose patience and actively search downstream.
Lin Zongjing took this opportunity to find the whereabouts of several secret rooms of the other party and captured them.
"Who has better suggestions?" Han Qian did not rush to ask Guo Nuer or Zhao Wuji for his opinion, but looked at the newly recruited scouts from Tiancheng.
He had ruthlessly ordered to kill the slack recruit scouts before, in order to establish absolute authority. Zuo Si was planning the establishment in a hurry and could not tolerate any slack, but he did not want these carefully selected recruit scouts to shut up. .
