The money has been obtained, and it would be suspicious to keep it any longer. In the past month, Su Ren would go to the Huainan Prince's Mansion in a few days to urge him. Even if he couldn't see the Huainan Prince, he still had to do it. When the moon disappeared completely
, when it was invisible no matter night or day, King Huainan finally formally received Su Ren in his palace. Since he was an envoy, he could not go anywhere else, and the main hall was the best place to go.
Today's ceremony was grand, with all the civil and military personnel gathered together, even the chancellor and lieutenants who seldom appeared. Su Ren held a staff in one hand, wore a long robe and a hair crown, and took off his shoes outside the door.
He raised his head and entered the Yinluan Palace of Huainan Kingdom. It was different from what he thought. It was a little dark inside. The moment he entered, he couldn't even see the faces clearly, let alone Liu An sitting in the back.
.
Bow slightly, this is etiquette. King Hengshan is the younger brother of King Huainan, and both of them are princes. Su Ren represents King Hengshan. When visiting Liu An, he can only use the courtesy of brothers and equals. If he kneels down to King Hengshan
He would punish Su Ren for a serious crime that tarnished his reputation. Not even the emperor could save him.
Liu An said solemnly: "The envoy is exempt from the courtesy. I have been informed about the invitation by the King of Hengshan to Chang'an for an audience. I will wait for a few days before I can set off. The envoy can stay for a few days after his hard work!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I wonder when your Majesty will set off?"
"Where is the ceremonial officer? Is there any good luck in the near future?"
An old man with a gray head stood up quickly: "Report to the king, it will be an auspicious day in five days!"
"Very good, what does the messenger think about it in five days?"
"Promise, I will report back to my king immediately. I will only wait for my king to set off in five days. My king will be waiting in Lu'an."
This is just for show, also called etiquette. Since the Zhou rites, everyone in the world has respected the Zhou rites for everything, from sitting, lying, walking, to offering sacrifices to heaven and earth. Detailed examples can be found in the Zhou rites. I don’t know that Duke Zhou
What is Dan's intention to regulate the world? Maybe he thinks that when everything is reasonable and can be followed, the world will be peaceful, but he has forgotten that no matter how moral a person is, there is a dirty side deep in his heart. It's just that
It’s just whether or not anyone discovered it.
Su Ren didn't like this kind of face-saving technique, but he had to follow it. Even if he learned it well now, he was still regarded as an alien by others. If he continued to go his own way, he would be beheaded one day because of etiquette issues.
Not surprisingly.
When he returned to the other courtyard, he took off his outer robe as soon as he entered the gate. The thing made of linen and silk was thick and heavy, and had been washed with starch. It was put on the body more like armor, and no wind could get through, so he put it on.
I kept sweating all day long. I threw off my clothes, grabbed the teapot on the table and drank for a while. Only after I drank half the teapot did I feel better.
Manniu took a cattail leaf fan made from banana leaves a few days ago, stood behind Su Ren and fanned for a while, which made Su Ren feel much more comfortable. He stretched his legs, shook his arms, and lay lazily on the chair.
Looking at the yew tree in the yard.
It is summer in the Jianghuai area in early March. The bright sun is scorching the earth, as if it is drying out everything on the ground. It has rained since the Spring Festival, but it is not very heavy. It can barely wipe out the corn.
If you plant it, you will encounter a severe drought for two months, which is not a good sign. However, there is no shortage of water in the Yangtze River and Huaihe River. The Huaihe River in the north and the river in the south never dry up all year round. There are also large and small lakes dotted around. As long as you work hard, you can't divert water for irrigation.
The problem is, it's just not so good outside Jianghuai.
Su Ren was in Shouchun, and the world's affairs could be heard more or less through the mouths of merchants. This drought affected a wide area. It is said that Chang'an and Luoyi were also affected by drought, and many water storage systems were built.
You can see the bottom of the dam. The emperor has sent people to pray for rain. Instead of rain, the drought has become worse.
Han Qing also had sweat on his face. When Su Ren went out in the morning, he didn't see Han Qing. He didn't know where he went. Now when he came back, he found that he was covered in dust. He must have traveled a lot. Han Qing, like Su Ren, walked in the door.
He began to take off his robe, grabbed the remaining half bottle of water from Su Ren, raised his head and drank it all.
"Where have you gone? I haven't seen anyone since early in the morning."
After Han Qing drank the water, he took a long breath, took the cattail leaf fan from Man Niu's hand, and fanned himself quickly: "On a trip out of the city, I received a report of timely rain last night. Han Yan has been ignored by the King of Huainan for so long, and he is ready to return.
Chang'an, my subordinates went to take a look."
"Oh? He also wants to go back to Chang'an?"
"Yes!" Han Qing nodded: "We have already set off. Although we are walking quietly, we have a lot of things with us. It's a full ten cars. Liu An sent a group of people to escort them. They must be good things. I planned to
…”
"Robbing him?" Su Ren waved his hands repeatedly: "No way, let alone Liu An sending people to protect him, Han Yan has grown up with the emperor. He can be tortured in any way openly, or secretly, the emperor is the first to do it.
No agreement."
Han Qing smiled: "So my subordinate came back to see what he meant. Those ten carts of goods were worth at least 10,000 gold. They were all given by King Huainan to the powerful ministers and wealthy families in Chang'an. King Huainan had already started preparations before he left.
.”
"This is reasonable. When Duan Hong left, he even loaded up a boat! Liu An's such generosity just proves that he has evil intentions. The emperor must have known about it, but I was a little surprised that he asked Han Yan to do it for him!" Su
Ren took a sip of water and continued: "Han Yan is an outsider after all, and he is not a good person. If Han Yan takes those things home directly, even the King of Huainan will not want to come back! I just don't know if Han Yan has this.
Courage."
"I think he has no courage. Ten thousand gold is not small money. Liu An also has the princess Liu Ling in Chang'an, and this woman is very capable. How can Han dare to do anything wrong? Killing him will be easy."
"So even if Han Yan doesn't dare, we'd better stay put and wait until we get to Chang'an to find a way to defraud the money."
Speaking of money, Su Ren's spirit immediately improved. He analyzed the key points one by one for Han Qing and cited various examples to prove that it was not too difficult for him to get the ten thousand gold sent by Liu An to Chang'an. Han Qing was also a good audience.
, listened silently, with a smile on his face, and added a word or two at the right time to make Su Ren speak happily.
After discussing Han Yan, they began to discuss their departure. Although the court had decreed that Su Ren should return to Chang'an, it was not clear who would entrust Su Ren's current responsibility. There was a master Fu Yan in Kuaiji who spoke to Han, and Zhao Wen presided over the progress.
Things went quite smoothly. The new city has been built, most of the buildings inside have been completed, and many Yue people have moved in.
After the stragglers who originally belonged to the Yue people had been struggling in the woods for a while, they were summoned to surrender by Zhao Wen outside and attacked by Li Danghu, Wei Qing, and Gongsun He inside. After weighing the left and right, they all came out to surrender, and those who were unwilling to surrender fled away.
Further south, I no longer dare to step into Lingnan. The imperial court has stationed officials, and the Yue who are willing to go back live together with the Han people who have migrated. The various places are recovering, and it will not be long before this place becomes the land of the Han Dynasty.
"With Yan's help, there won't be much trouble in Kuaiji and Lingnan. The only problem is Jiangsu City. Jiangsu City has a special geographical location. As soon as we go, there is Huainan Kingdom in the east and Hengshan Kingdom in the west. We are sandwiched between the two families.
If the manpower left behind is not suitable, the city of Jiangsu may be destroyed."
Han Qing nodded: "It is exactly what you said, one person must be left to guard Jiangsu City, not seeking merit, but seeking no faults. This place will be very important to you in the future."
The two of them pondered for a long time, and Su Ren suddenly asked: "What do you think of Hou Yong?"
"General Hou?" Han Qing immediately widened his eyes: "General Hou is loyal to you, sir. If General Hou is stationed in Jiangsu, with Cang Lang and Liu Kui as assistants, the defense should not be a big problem. Although Jiangsu City is dangerous,
The King of Hengshan and the King of Huainan don't dare to bully them too much, so nothing big will happen."
"Then let's do it this way. It's better to leave construction matters to the Chamber of Commerce. This kind of thing is still suitable for merchants. It's better to separate the military and political affairs and take care of their own affairs! In addition, the men and horses trained by Hawking and the others should be ready for use, so we will use five thousand as the basis.
Those Yue people who are brave and fierce can turn into soldiers at any time, so I don’t think there will be a big problem.”
"Hahaha..." Han Qing smiled: "Sir, are you afraid that your kidnapping of King Huainan's gold will be revealed, and King Huainan will settle the score with you, right?"
"It means something." Su Ren did not hide it: "However, the Huainan Kingdom is really rich. In the past two months, it has collected 50,000 gold. Fifty thousand gold, if all of it is used to buy food, it can be piled up.
As high as Mount Huo!"
The matter was basically settled, and they would set off in a few days. Su Ren sent someone to notify the people in Kuaiji to pack up and wait in Lu'an. He specially called Hou Yong, Cang Lang, and Liu Kui to express their thoughts. All three people
There was no objection and he happily accepted the task of stationing in Jiangsu. Everything was arranged and he was just waiting for Liu An to speak.
Five days later, it was an auspicious day on the zodiac. It was a good day to travel and have an audience. It was a good day. Under the cheers and support of the officials of Huainan Kingdom, the King of Huainan's chariot came out of the palace. While accepting the kneeling of the people, he slowly
Heading towards the city gate. The first stop is Lu'an, so we can't take a boat and can only take the official road.
Su Ren waited at the city gate with his men. This was the first time he saw princes and kings traveling. The style was much more powerful than the emperor's envoys. There were soldiers and horses in front of them opening the way, and there were servants gathering behind them. They were walking or riding in cars.
Centered on the Huainan King's chariot, there was no one around within a few feet. Liu Qian was driving, Liu Hong was holding the reins, and even Liu Buhai, who rarely appeared, was beside the chariot. The three brothers had a look in their eyes.
Tears, I don’t know if they are real tears or fake tears. What makes Su Ren think the most ridiculous is that there are white flowers tied on both sides of the chariot, and they are played to the slow and nondescript music. It is more like a funeral procession, only there are people holding it.
The portrait walks ahead.
The etiquette of traveling is too long, comforting the world, worshiping ancestors, and all the gods from all directions are indispensable. Liu An's queen and concubines said goodbye one by one, and everyone kowtowed to his son and daughter. When everything was ready to go on the road, lunch time had passed. (Unfinished)