Not long after the fleet left Divine Arm City, they encountered the messenger clipper sent back by Yu Zhu. Yu Zhu told Ouyang Xuan in the letter that after the Pili Army arrived in Ezhou, they immediately went to report in front of Lu Wende's tent. Lu Wende received the deed of 5,000 acres of land and saw that the soldiers of the Thunderbolt Army had sharp swords and armor, so he was naturally overjoyed. On the one hand, he felt that Ouyang Xuan was well-behaved, but on the other hand, he felt that the Pili Army had come from a thousand miles away, and they obviously admired his prestige. Happy, he agreed to Yu Zhu's request to go to Yangzhou and Zhoushan to buy goods and sell them back to Shu. Before Yu Zhu arrived, the Mongolian army had withdrawn to the north bank under the leadership of Kublai Khan. The Song and Mongolia faced each other across the river and did not engage in battle. Jia Sidao, who was in charge of the Jingxiang war, told the troops coming from behind to return on their own on the grounds that it would cost money and food to gather a large army. Yu Zhu then went to Lu Wende to obtain official documents and led his army to the coast. Although this is not in line with military practice, with the official documents from the Sichuan Production and Construction Department, it can be called a military transfer. Therefore, Yu Zhu led his army to go overseas, and the journey was smooth.
The messenger brought the news that Yu Zhu had a smooth journey, which swept away the depression in Ouyang Xuan's heart after talking with Liu Zhen. At this time, Lu Dezhi, who was ill, also fully recovered, which made him feel even better. Two days later, the fleet arrived in Fucheng, Chongqing, and Ouyang Xuan ordered the fleet to dock. On the one hand, everyone is already tired after sailing for many days and needs to go ashore to stretch their muscles. On the other hand, I bought some fresh vegetables, fish and shrimp. Among the many cities in Sichuan, only a few cities such as Chongqing have not been conquered by the Mongols. Although they are no longer prosperous in the past, the level of business prosperity is not comparable to other cities. Zhu Tiaozi and other caravan members who were accompanying him happened to take a closer look.
Although Lu Wende was far away in Jingchu, Ouyang Xuan still led his team to Sichuan to set up a yamen, visited many left-behind officials, and presented gifts. The so-called "officials with flowing water and official officials with iron foundation", although the Zhizhi envoy is the chief of the Zhishi department, these officials cannot be despised. As the saying goes, "The king of hell is easy to meet, but the devil is difficult to deal with." Although these petty officials are not capable of getting things done, it is easy for them to secretly destroy something. In recent years, Sichuan's Zhizhi envoys have changed frequently. After Yu Jie was Yu Hui, then Pu Zezhi and Lu Wende. According to the information that Liuqiu Company found in Lin'an, Lu Wende's appointment as Sichuan envoy was a temporary move. Once the war situation stabilized, the court would replace him again.
After staying in Chongqing for three days to rest, the fleet continued downstream to Fuzhou. Before arriving in Fuzhou, Bozhou had already sent a clipper to guide them. Therefore, Ouyang Xuan decided not to stop at Fuzhou, but to go up the Fu River to Bozhou City. As the fleet got closer to Bangshu, the river began to gradually narrow. However, the ships along the way saw the "Yang" flag on the guiding ship and began to avoid the fleet from a distance, and the group went quite smoothly. Ran Zhong didn't mind the avoidance of these civilian ships, but it surprised everyone in the Pili Army. Under the rule of the Perak Army, the government did not have any privileges. As long as it was not an emergency operation such as military or disaster relief, civilian ships did not avoid official ships.
When the fleet was still two miles away from Bozhou City, Ouyang Xuan saw a group of people gathering at the dock from a distance. When they were about to approach the pier, Lu Dezhi, who was standing next to him, happily told Ouyang Xuan that Yang Wen was also among the people greeting him, and the man in the purple robe surrounded by everyone was him. At this time, Ouyang Xuan had already spotted Yang Yan's daughter-in-law, Cui'er, in the crowd, but did not find Yang Yan. After hearing Lu Dezhi's words, he turned his attention to Yang Wen. The full name of Bozhou in the imperial court is Bozhou Xuanfu Division, and the Bozhou Army was also named the "Imperial Majesty Army". Yang Wen, the head of the Yang family, was a high-ranking official in the court who held important military and political positions, both in terms of actual power and rank. Xuan is a lot, not to mention he is his father-in-law. Now he came to the dock to greet him in person, which surprised and delighted Lu Dezhi and Ouyang Xuan.
Ran Zhong took three steps at a time and rushed up to the dock, leading Ouyang Xuan and Lu Dezhi to Yang Wen. When the two came closer, he introduced: "Master Ouyang, this is the head of my family, the imperial envoy to Bozhou, the mighty military commander in front of the emperor..." Ouyang Xuan waited for Ran Zhong to finish reading the long list of official titles, and then bowed and kowtowed. Said: "My son-in-law pays homage to my father-in-law." This caused the smile on Lu De's face to freeze. Ordinarily, after getting engaged, it was perfectly appropriate for Ouyang Xuan to call her this in private. But on the one hand, this is an official occasion, and on the other hand, the marriage has not yet been consummated, so it is not appropriate to call it this way.
Yang Wen didn't take it seriously and helped Ouyang Xuan up with a smile. Before the engagement, he had heard many legends about the Pili Army and Ouyang Xuan, and also learned a lot about Ouyang Xuan from his daughter. After the engagement, the contacts between the Bozhou Army and the Pili Army increased, and more information about Ouyang Xuan was obtained from others. Now when I saw him, he was as tall and tall as everyone said, and he had the resoluteness of a man of power at a young age. I also saw that he didn't have a trace of the pedantry and arrogance of the Southern Song Dynasty officialdom, and I was very happy. Although the Yang family is also Han Chinese, they have been in a place where Miao people have been alienated for a long time. The atmosphere is not restrictive, but very open.
Ouyang Xuan had just stood up and before he could stand still, someone from the crowd suddenly threw himself into his arms, his body soft and fragrant. He took a closer look and saw that it was Yang Yan, a girl with tears on her face. Ouyang Xuan wanted to reach out to wipe away her tears, but suddenly he thought that he was in public, so he stopped. His face turned red for a moment and he became helpless. Yang Yan's sudden commotion made Lu Dezhi and other accompanying Pili Army personnel stunned, but Yang Wen laughed. By the way, Bozhou also wanted to laugh but didn't dare. Ru Ranzhong suppressed it until his face turned red and he looked as lively as a hen that had just laid an egg.
The awkward atmosphere was broken by Qian Yanmei'er, who gently pulled Yang Yan, who was immersed in happiness, out of Ouyang Xuan's arms. Yang Yan looked at her with wide eyes, then turned around and looked around. Seeing that everyone around her was staring at her intently, her face couldn't help but turn red. Ouyang Xuan chuckled when he saw her embarrassment, and then everyone started laughing too. This made Yang Yan feel embarrassed and annoyed. With a squeak, she took Qian Yimei's hand and rushed out of the crowd, each of them turning over. The horse disappeared in the blink of an eye. It is said that Miao women dare to love and hate, and they often fall in love with each other, but it is rare to be as bold as Yang Yan.
After experiencing this episode, the relationship between the two parties has become much closer. Lu Dezhi and Yang Wenwen had similar temperaments, and now they were like old friends, calling each other brothers and sisters, talking and laughing freely. As soon as Yang Yan left, Ouyang Xuan's heart seemed empty. At this time, he saw Ran Zhong's anxious face and looked at the sky from time to time, so he asked him what was going on. Ouyang Xuan took the initiative to come over and ask questions, which made Ran Zhong overjoyed. It turns out that although the Yang family also has many large houses in Bozhou City, most of these houses are used for temporary rest. As distinguished guests, the Pili Army members naturally have to live in Longyan New City where Yang Mansion is located - also called Hailongtun. It’s safer there and is where weddings take place. However, Hailongtun is still about fifty miles away from Bozhou City.
Although the road from Bozhou City to Hailongtun is wide and flat, it is already past afternoon. If we don't hurry up, we may not be able to reach Hailongtun before dark. It's just that the master and Lu Dezhi were having a lively conversation, and he didn't dare to remind them for fear of disturbing their interest. Now that Yang Yan has gone to Hailongtun, Ouyang Xuan can use the reason that Ouyang Xuan wants to go to Hailongtun to meet Yang Yan early to remind Yang Wen to leave early.
Ouyang Xuan will naturally agree to Ran Zhong's request. At that moment, he Luoluo told Yang Wen that he hoped to go to Hailongtun to meet Yang Yan as soon as possible. Yang Wen laughed loudly and naturally agreed. At that moment, everyone rode horses or took carriages, and headed towards Hailongtun under the mighty escort. As for the firearms and cargo on the dock, there will naturally be someone to handle them.
