The boat passed Xiakou and Red Cliff, and there were lakes and swamps along the coast.
This is not only the ancient battlefield where the three kingdoms of Wu, Shu and Wei fought for supremacy at the end of the Han Dynasty, but it is also the northern area of Yunmengze, the eternal lake.
Affected by the erosion of the Yangtze River and the Han River, as well as a large amount of siltation, the northern part of Yunmengze has been gradually silted out over the past few hundred years, and a large number of connected sandbars have appeared. However, the Jianghan Plain, which will be the land of fish and rice a thousand years later, has not yet completely
of forming.
In the south of Yunmeng Ze, west of Yuezhou, it gradually formed the vast 800-mile Dongting Lake (including green grass, red sand and other lakes).
After two twists and turns, it finally stopped. Han Qian marched westward from Ezhou to Yuezhou. It was still peaceful, and there were no more gangsters and bandits who were ready to move out and attack.
Yuezhou was the territory of Ma Yin, the governor of Tanzhou.
Ma Yin, the governor of Tanzhou, not only directly took charge of the state, that is, the military and political power of Tanzhou, but also controlled the two states of Yue and Lang. It can be said that the essence of the eight hundred miles of Dongting Lake is under Ma Yin's control.
middle.
As soon as Han Qian and others arrived at Yuezhou, they saw more than 20 Shuiying warships from a distance, led by three tower ships, stationed in the river in an array, waiting for them to come; flags were hunting.
"The Ma family's Five Tooth Army is really majestic." Eight or nine miles away, Han Qian took a monocular and saw the flags of the opposing fleet in front of his eyes. There were more than thirty water camp warships, mainly galleys.
The three leading ships are extra majestic.
Each ship is more than ten feet long, and has three cabins, all with parapets and fighting grids. The hull is more than five feet above the water, and there are more than forty pairs of large oars on both sides to drive the boat. It is roughly estimated that each
The ship had at least five hundred soldiers.
Although such heavy main battleships cannot be compared with the real five-tooth battleships of the previous dynasty, there are only a few of them among the elite naval forces directly controlled by the guards of Da Chu.
Ma Yin's Tanzhou Prefecture Army was divided into two divisions, the Infantry Army and the Navy, each with 9,000 soldiers. Their strength was far beyond that of ordinary state camps in prefectures and counties. The fleet in front of him actually had 3,000 soldiers and nearly three medium and large warships.
It is really majestic to line up and park on the river.
"May I ask if the incoming ship is the ship of Mr. Han Daoxun, the governor of Xuzhou?" A paddle boat rowed down the river, and a military academy member asked in a loud voice.
"We are Lord Han's subordinates, and I dare to ask the military master for advice." Fan Xicheng stood on the bow of the ship and responded in a loud voice.
"The bandits are raging in Jiangxiang and Hunan. My lord is worried that Mr. Han will encounter setbacks on his way to Xuzhou, so he specially dispatches my eldest son, Marquis of Yu, Wuyadu, Ma Xun, to lead a navy warship to escort Mr. Han across the border. My eldest son specially invites Mr. Han to board the ship.
"Xu." The military academy shouted.
"They said that I felt cold at night and was not feeling well, so I should not meet guests." Han Daoxun told Fan Xicheng, and then turned around and walked back to the cabin.
Even though Ma Yin, the military governor of Tanzhou, was very powerful and powerful, Han Daoxun, as the governor of Xuzhou, was directly under the jurisdiction of Jinling and there was no reason to visit him.
As the son of Ma Yin, Ma Xun only came to pay homage. It was absolutely impossible for Han Daoxun to board the ship to pay homage to Ma Xun.
"The Ma family wants to be the local leader and displays a show of force. The governor of the prefecture and county who wants to cross the border lowers his head and doesn't show his teeth to him. How big a deal can this be?" Han Qian smiled and ordered Fan Xicheng
He said, "Tell the military academy that my father is unwell, so I will board the ship with a gift to see Prince Ma."
Fan Xicheng was slightly startled, wondering when the young master became so easy to talk to?
Han Qian thought to himself that if he had an elite navy with a strength of three to four thousand men, he could point his finger at Ma Xun's nose and scold him until he cried for his father. But if he lowered his head now, the Xuzhou Merchant Fleet would be safe in the future.
It is worthwhile to go through Tanzhou.
Fan Xicheng turned around and saw that the master of the family had paused for a while, but did not turn around to stop Han Qian from going to see Ma Xun, the prince of Tanzhou Jiedushi, so he followed Han Qian's wishes and responded to the military academy sent by Ma Xun to talk.
"What kind of gifts are there under the cabin?" Han Qian asked Fan Xicheng in a low voice as he watched the oar boat row back.
"The two hundred pieces of silk that the young master purchased from Jinling are worth a lot. How about taking twenty pieces as a meeting gift?" Fan Xicheng asked.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Han Qian cursed repeatedly.
Fan Xicheng thought that Han Qian was unwilling to bow his head, but he didn't know that Han Qian really felt sorry for the money spent to buy these two hundred pieces of silk. He had expected that these silks could make up for some losses.
"Put the two hundred pieces of silk on the ship, and you will follow me to meet the Ma family's heir." Han Qian said through his teeth.
"Two hundred bolts of silk, transported to Xuzhou, can be sold for at least 40,000 to 50,000 yuan." Fan Xicheng said with some reluctance, thinking that even if the family head was appointed as the governor of Xuzhou, his annual official salary would only be 40,000 to 50,000 yuan.
Thousands of dollars were given away as a meeting gift in one fell swoop. How could someone be so prodigal?
In his opinion, giving twenty pieces of silk is already very generous.
"..." Han Qian glared at Fan Xicheng and told him to stop talking and get ready.
Han Qian's power is getting stronger, and Fan Xicheng can only murmur a few words in a low voice. Seeing that the head of the family has no other expression, he can only regretfully order people to move the Lingluo in the bilge to another paddle boat, and prepare to meet Ma
follow.
While Fan Xicheng was preparing these, Han Qian stood at the hatchway and talked to his father: "Ma Yin wants to be the local king. The more chaotic the situation in Jinling, the more he wants to see. Therefore, the Ma family also wants to see his father go to Xuzhou."
And I don’t want to.”
Han Daoxun stood in the cabin aisle, looking at the majestic ship array opposite, and he could naturally understand what Han Qian said.
The situation in Jinling is stable. Even if the prince is unfaithful and allows his relative Xu to take over the power after he succeeds to the throne, the Ma family will not have a good life in Tanzhou. Therefore, the rivalry among the princes will stir up chaos in Jinling, and the more the Ma family will be in trouble.
expected.
The third prince is the weakest in power and is only showing signs of trying to catch up. He is also the most afraid of being hit.
In this mentality, the third prince finally won the enclave of Xuzhou and got some resources to support the overt and covert struggle in Jinling. The Ma family should take good care of it and let the seedling of the third prince continue to grow strong.
The qualifications have made the situation in Jinling even more confusing and chaotic.
On the other hand, even if the Ma family does not dare to extend their hands to Jiang'e and other states to the east at this time, they probably do not want Chen, Xu, Shao, Heng and other states to the south of Tanzhou to become firmly controlled by the third prince.
territory, so that the Ma family's power was completely contained in the three states of Tanlangyue, and the depth to the south was lost.
Han Daoxun also understood that this would be the most difficult and complicated situation he would face when he took office in Xuzhou.
The Anning Palace wants him to die, while the Ma family wants him to be soft and weak.
If he is too weak, let alone the implementation of the New Deal, he may not be able to make county officials and subordinates obey orders. If he is too strong and wants to do something, the Ma family will inevitably be the first to jump out and suppress him.
Although the Ma family's sphere of influence is limited to the three states of Yue, Lang, and Tan, this is superficial. The Ma family has been operating in the Xianghu area for three generations. How could it not extend its tentacles to the Chen, Xu, Shao, and Heng states in the south?
?
Besides, if he really wants to suppress powerful people in Xuzhou, the powerful families in Xuzhou will most likely turn to the Ma family and fight against him.
Han Daoxun understood that his son Han Qian wanted him to show respect to the Ma family and do it slowly, but he couldn't help but think, did he really have time to do it slowly?
"Is father worried that it will be too difficult to accomplish things after arriving in Xuzhou?" Han Qian asked, seeing his father's gloomy expression.
"No matter how difficult things are, someone has to do it." Han Daoxun breathed a sigh of relief and said.
"It's not like he can't accomplish anything when he comes to Xuzhou. It just depends on whether he is willing to bear the name of extortionate taxation..." Han Qian said.
"Yes, the Ma family is not afraid that I will go to Xuzhou to live in poverty, nor is it afraid that the third prince will use me to collect wealth from Xuzhou. They are just afraid that I will win people's hearts." Han Daoxun has been in local politics for many years.
The subtleties are naturally not difficult to figure out, he said with a wry smile.
"If father wants to accomplish something, he must attack powerful men with powerful surnames. This must be done at the same time as collecting wealth, so that it can be concealed from others and not disturb the Ma family." Han Qian knew that his father still had no intention of getting involved in the fight for heirs, so he patiently advised.
Han Daoxun sighed, the situation in Xuzhou was too complicated.
The old name of Xuzhou is Wuzhou. It is named after Wushan and Wushui, the main tributary of Yuanshui, which is "there used to be no water in the sea, but no clouds except Wushan". It was only in the middle and late period of the previous dynasty that it was renamed Xuzhou because it was close to Xupu County, which Chenzhou belongs to.
.
As the old land of Wuxi Barbarians, it is also the deepest place of Wuxi Barbarians. It has three counties and a total population of more than 12,000 households. Among them, the main households accounting for more than 60% of the total population are Wuxi Barbarians.
The remaining people still maintain a more traditional tribal system.
In order to avoid unrest in the area belonging to the old Wuling County, and at the request of Ma Yin, the governor of Tanzhou, the county and township officials in Chenzhou, Xuzhou and other places were mainly hereditary chiefs from the tribes in these areas, and the system of neighbors did not exist at all.
Establish.
In addition to the main customers, refugees who migrated south along the Yuan River due to wars and famines in the past dynasties settled in Xuzhou, forming a customer base of nearly 5,000 households.
The local conflicts between natives and guests are extremely serious, mainly reflected in the competition for land; in comparison, the oppression of ordinary people by chiefs with common surnames and powerful clients are temporarily hidden under the conflicts between natives and guests.
Now coupled with the factors of the Ma family, the situation he will face after taking office in Xuzhou will become more complicated. An ordinary official would not dare to touch anything at all, and would just wait for the end of his term.
Just find a way to transfer to a better place or serve in the government.
It is no wonder that so many officials regard serving as an official in these places as a daunting prospect.
He wants to accomplish something, attacking the powerful and establishing prestige is the first step, but this will inevitably arouse the Ma family's vigilance.
And as his son Han Qian said, he will attack the interests squeezed out by the powerful, without rescuing the plight of ordinary people, without winning over people's hearts, but will transfer them to Jinling in time and transfer them to the hands of the third prince.
If he has a reputation for excessive taxation in the local area, he will also face violent backlash from the local powerful people, but at the same time, there is no need to worry about the Ma family being wary of him and forcefully intervening to disrupt the situation.
This eliminates the biggest resistance and makes things seem a little easier.
Of course, the more far-reaching consequence is that he may sink deeper and deeper into the quagmire of fighting for heirs.
Han Daoxun looked up at Han Qian and asked, "Have you had such an idea for a long time?"
"The key depends on what my father thinks. Maybe when I go to Xuzhou, I can still show off the majesty of the second generation ancestor for a few days." Han Qian said with a smile.
"..." Han Daoxun shook his head and smiled bitterly. At this time, Fan Xicheng came over and reported that he was ready, and said to Han Qian, "You go and see Ma Xun."
Yang Qin had just boarded the boat with Tian Cheng and Gao Shao to report on the situation on both sides of the river, but he has not yet left.
The cabin was small and there was no place for them to escape even if they wanted to, so they listened to what Han Daoxun and Han Qian said.
Even if they don't understand Han Daoxun's intention not to be involved in the fight for the heir and Han Daoxun's true ambition, they can still understand that Han Daoxun's reputation in the past is by no means as simple as it seems on the surface. Just like this time when he went to Xuzhou to take office.
Even before he arrived in Xuzhou, Han Daoxun was already prepared to bear the reputation of exorbitant taxation. In fact, there was a very deep plan behind it.
They could also hear that Han Qian was the most direct promoter of these plans.
Yang Qin, Tian Cheng, and Gao Shao looked at each other in confusion. At this moment, they listened to Han Qian's call and walked out of the cabin. They went to see Ma Xun, the prince of Tanzhou Jiedushi...
