This sudden kick made the few men who almost turned around and ran away completely dumbfounded, and even their turning movements couldn't help but pause.
Then, in their almost dull eyes, a young man in Chinese clothes who kept coughing jumped out of the carriage.
The young man landed on the ground, swayed a few times at first, and then when he stood firm, his big feet immediately greeted the "evil slave" driving the car as if he didn't want any money!
"Damn it! Who told you to brake so quickly?! I just picked up a cup and wanted to drink some water. Good guy, I didn't waste a glass of water at all. I poured it all into my fucking nostrils! I almost choked to death, you know? What?!"
"Ouch...I don't know!"
"Don't know? Ahem...I'll let you know today!"
The men just now were all dumbfounded as they watched Xiao Han chasing and beating Xiaodong in front of them! My brain just can’t turn around! What is going on?
Fortunately, there was a shrewd person among the few people. He heard the word "Master Hou" keenly from Xiaodong's words, and he was immediately shocked: "Master Hou?! Could it be that this is the Xiao Hou that the butler said? ?”
Thinking of this, the man quickly looked at Xiao Han's dress, then looked up at the gorgeous carriage in front of him, and the Jiayi and others following the carriage!
Then, his legs immediately became weak and he couldn't even stand up. He quickly pulled the two people beside him and bowed to him so profusely that his head almost hit the ground.
"I've seen the Marquis!" The man yelled at the top of his lungs, almost startling Xiao Han, and he couldn't help but stop chasing Xiaodong.
"Huh... you are the boatmen that the steward said? Why are there only three of you?"
Turning around, Xiao Han frowned at these people who looked more like beggars than boat owners. Then he looked around again and didn't see as many boats as Butler Lu said.
"Reply to Mr. Hou!" The man who just spoke carefully raised his head and glanced at Xiao Han, then quickly lowered his head and said in a low voice: "Now that it is spring plowing season, everyone else has gone back to do farm work, leaving only the three of us here. At your disposal.”
"Oh? Are you busy with farming? Do you still have land at home?" Xiao Han frowned slightly when he heard this, looked at the person who spoke and asked.
When he thought about it, these people should have been boatmen!
Carrying passengers, pulling goods, and fishing are all possible! But there is no option to farm!
After all, with the current cumbersome farming process, there is absolutely no time to spare from spring to autumn!
It’s not so busy in winter, but the river is also frozen, so how about rowing a woolen boat?
Maybe Xiao Han's appearance was too kind, and the way he "punished the evil servant" just now made the boatman somewhat fond of him. After hearing what he said, he had the courage to answer Xiao Han with his hands raised: "In response to the Marquis, my family has several acres of thin farmland."
Xiao Han looked at the speaker and asked: "So you are both farming and sailing, how busy are you here?"
The man who spoke hurriedly waved his hand and said: "Come here if you are busy! There is very little work on the boat. We only occasionally ferry people across the river or catch a few fish. It will not delay the farm work!"
"Crossing the river? Fishing?" Xiao Han touched his chin and asked uncertainly: "Why is it just such a small job? Is there nothing to do like transporting goods? Guarding such a big river, you can't even change clothes. Can’t even make any money?”
This is what Xiao Han had in mind. As the saying goes: rely on the mountain to eat the mountain, rely on the water to eat the water!
Have you never seen in future generations, any road can be densely packed with shops on both sides? With such a big canal in front of them, and these people still have boats, how could they be so miserable!
Xiao Han was just confused and asked casually, but he didn't expect that the boatman's face changed drastically after hearing this! Then he knelt down on the ground with a plop, lowered his head and said tremblingly: "Master Hou! I don't dare!"
"Don't you dare? Why don't you dare? Why did you kneel down?"
Xiao Han was startled by the sudden action of the boatman. When he saw the other two people kneeling on the ground together, he couldn't help but be confused! Just when he was about to ask again, he felt someone beside him gently tugging at the corner of his clothes.
"Master Hou, I am in Chang'an, and I seem to have heard a little bit about this matter..."
The person who pulled Xiao Han's clothes was Jia San. Seeing Xiao Han turning back to look at him, Jia San quickly explained to him in a low voice.
It turned out that this matter was not as simple as Xiao Han thought.
Guangtong Canal is fundamentally different from other natural rivers because it was completely excavated and constructed by the imperial court!
Moreover, the original purpose of Yang Guang's excavation was to transport grain from Jiangsu to Chang'an! So its function and purpose are very clear!
As a result, the Sui court specifically issued a document prohibiting the operation of all private ships in this Guangtong Canal!
If not for the sudden collapse of the Sui Dynasty and the continuous war in the past two years! People near this river don't even talk about sailing, they probably don't even dare to hold a wooden basin in the water!
After listening carefully to Jia San's explanation of these reasons, Xiao Han's expression gradually softened.
No wonder he didn't see the Thousand Material Ship that Steward Lu mentioned!
No wonder there are only three people left here!
No wonder these guys shouted so loudly just now. It turned out that they were afraid that they were here to settle old scores!
Needless to say, there are definitely people from them around here, ready to wait and see how things develop.
"Okay, get up! Those things were all matters of the previous dynasty. Your Majesty has never said anything about not allowing others to make a living in this river! You can do it without any prohibition by law! So you don't have to worry that I will come to you. trouble!"
After thinking about this clearly, Xiao Han waved to these people irritably, signaling them to get up.
"Thank...Thank you, Lord Marquis..." The three boat bosses stood up tremblingly, but a few of them still stood by the river, showing no intention of getting closer.
Xiao Han noticed this, but he just smiled and said nothing more.
After all, it was just the first time that I met them today, so it was completely normal for them not to trust me!
If they obey his words, then Xiao Han needs to seriously consider whether there is anything else going on here.
"Are these your boats?" Xiao Han pretended not to see the anxious looks of the people, and asked, pointing to three small boats on the water that were only about one foot tall.
"Returning to the words of the Marquis, these are the boats of villains." Seeing that Xiao Han no longer pursued those matters, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief, and the person who spoke at the beginning answered with his hands.
"How big is the largest boat on this river?" Xiao Han asked again.
"The biggest boat?" The three people looked at each other and said uncertainly: "The biggest boat I have ever seen in this river is the grain transport boat of the previous dynasty. It may be more than ten feet long! But it was a long time. It happened before.”
"A long time ago? So now the river is abandoned?"
"That's not true. A few days ago, we saw a fleet heading downstream from Chang'an, but the ship was not too big."
