the river is long and tempestuous, it was like a hero.
At dusk, Chunxiang was on the ferry looking at the outline of the city on the other side, his eyes narrowed. This was the first time he saw the Yangtze River and felt the momentum of the big waves washing the sand. It was also the first time he came to Nanjing, but he felt as if a stone was weighing down his chest. Don't be angry.
Before he came, Chang Yu had repeatedly told him to keep a low profile and not be public because the water in Nanjing was too deep and too muddy.
This is what Chunxiang told his subordinates. Fanzi, his subordinate, frowned and said, "We in the East Factory are all walking sideways in Beijing. Is it possible that we have to put our tails between our legs when we get to Nanjing?"
"Today is different from the past." Chunxiang thought of Chang Yu's words. The sky is high and the emperor is far away. In recent years, the court has been busy suppressing bandits and fighting and has failed to control the Jiangnan area. Although there is a small court in Nanjing, it is just a decoration, and there are dozens or hundreds of people in the city. Your Excellency, these people are no longer under the emperor's feet. They are no longer intimidating. They are all very arrogant. The city of Nanjing has long been stirred up by them. Although there are guard eunuchs watching here, they have long been turned into decorations. Fish in deep water can become spirits, not to mention humans. .
"Gao Wencai has been here for a few months. He must have a solid foundation. There is no need to be too low-key and careful." Youfanzi still disagrees.
After Chang Yu took over the Dongchang, he began to recruit people from Jinyiwei like crazy. Others were poaching for foundations, but he also dug the foundations. In one fell swoop, he recruited all the Jinyiwei commanders, including Wang Guoxing, his fellow commander Li Ruogui, and Qianhu Gao Wencai. The two directly mobilized Shanxi to help him raid the homes of those collaborators and profiteers, while Gao Wencai was ordered to go south to make arrangements.
He went all the way south from Beijing and deployed manpower to establish information channels in Baoding, Jinan, Xuzhou and other places. He was a member of Jinyiwei and knew this aspect well.
"Remember, our Dongchang is here to collect intelligence, not to show off our power," Chunxiang scolded, "and there is a lot of dirty work to do, why do we do it so publicly?"
Fanzi, his subordinate, nodded after hearing this: "It's just based on your orders."
Turning his head to look at the setting sun in the west, Chunxiang said softly: "After entering the city, keep an eye on a few people. Duke Xu Hongji of Wei, Marquis of Funing Zhu Guobi, Xincheng Bo Zhao Zhilong, and a man named Ruan Dacheng."
The fans wrote them down one by one and frowned: "Who is this Ruan Dacheng? Why haven't you heard of him?"
Chunxiang shook his head: "My family has never heard of it, but he is the person named by the governor. Do you understand?"
The fans were shocked. They naturally understood this. Being named by Chang Yu was equivalent to being included in the book of life and death of the Lord of Hell. They just gave a personal name, so it would be difficult to find out.
"It's not difficult at all. Gao Wencai must have his information and maybe he has been found. Let's just work when we get to the field."
Chunxiang and his party crossed the Yangtze River. The sun had already set and night was beginning to fall. Fortunately, it was summer and the sky didn't get completely dark all at once. They paid some silver and led their horses to the shore. They looked back at the sunset over the Yangtze River and then got on their horses and ran southeast. And go.
It was getting dark now, and the city gate was closed. There was no way to enter the city today, but Chunxiang no longer wanted to sleep in the open air. He could tolerate everything else, but the mosquito infestation was unbearable, so he wanted to find an inn, which was near the ferry. Although it was bustling with people, I didn't see any decent inns, so I reached out and stopped a girl selling snacks: "May I ask, is there a big inn nearby?"
The little girl was not shy. She raised her head and looked at Chunxiang and his party: "How big do you want it to be?" She raised her hand and pointed at the Qinhuai River beside her: "Follow the river toward the city. There are many, not only inns but also restaurants and gambling houses. There are many flower boats in the river, but the big ones are all in the city. You can’t get in at this time..." He turned around and left.
"Hey, it looks like the Nanjing dialect is so nice." A fan called to the little girl and threw some broken silver over her: "Man, I'm happy today, so I'll reward you."
"Thank you, Master Jun." The little girl was so happy that she couldn't help but Chunxiang raised his eyebrows: "Can you tell we are Master Jun?" They changed into casual clothes in order to keep a low profile, but they didn't expect to be recognized by a little girl right away.
"If you carry a knife, then you are either a military master or a robber." The little girl looked at the silver in her hand: "It's really rare that a robber will reward you with silver!"
Chunxiang and others slapped their heads for asking such a stupid question.
The Qinhuai River is the soul of Nanjing. It connects to the Yangtze River estuary in the north, not far from the ferry where Chunxiang disembarks. There are countless boats parked in the river, including passenger ships and cargo ships, but the most numerous ones are flower boats, large and small. The various hanging lanterns are really beautiful. From time to time, the sound of silk and bamboo pipa can be heard inside, which makes people feel distracted.
I have heard about the beautiful name of the Qinhuai River for a long time, but now I see that it is well-deserved. If you know that this is a section near the ferry outside the city, the city will be even more dazzling. Chunxiang's subordinates had already begun to swallow their saliva, and it was obvious that they were winking at each other. After all, many of them were not eunuchs.
Chunxiang didn't have the same thoughts as them. Firstly, he was too tired from traveling, and secondly, there were a few wounded people around him who needed to be taken care of, so he said he should find an inn to stay first. Everyone nodded and walked south along the Qinhuai River, enjoying the view of the river. landscape.
After walking less than a mile, we arrived at Nanjing's Waiguo City. When we looked up, even those who had been out of the capital and had seen big scenes couldn't help but be surprised. Nanjing City is too big!
Nanjing is not only huge, it is by far the longest and largest city in the world.
Not only is it large, it also has four floors. The outermost layer is the Waiguo City that Chunxiang and his party saw. It is a defensive city wall built using the hilly terrain around Nanjing. Wherever the walls are flat, walls and openings are built, all the way to the Yangtze River. It wraps up the entire city of Nanjing, with a circumference of sixty miles! Sixty miles! Sixty miles!
Inside the outer city wall is the capital city, with a circumference of thirty-five miles! Thirty-five miles! Thirty-five miles!
To the east of the capital is the Imperial City, and beyond the Imperial City is the Palace City!
Zhu Yuanzhang spent twenty-eight years and used 280,000 migrant workers and about 350 million bricks to build the largest and most complete city defense wall in the world. However, he never dreamed of more than two hundred years after his death, when the Qing army came to the city. , those damn gang actually abandoned it and just left the city and surrendered!
The Nanjing city wall has neither a large perimeter nor a square shape like other city walls, but irregular shape. Except for the imperial city, the capital city and the outer city wall all follow the terrain of the mountains and rivers. The outer city wall has eighteen gates and the capital city has thirteen gates. There is only one in the entire Ming Dynasty.
There are two water passes at the entrance of the Qinhuai River into and out of the city, the east water pass and the west water pass.
At this time, Chunxiang and his party were standing on the riverside outside Xishui Pass, looking at the three-story building. The upper two floors housed soldiers and reserve supplies, the bottom floor was used to regulate the water level of the inland river and prevent floods, and the iron fence in the middle was to prevent enemy sneak attacks.
Xishui Pass is the outlet of the Qinhuai River connected to the Yangtze River. It has a dock and a ferry, which is the entrance and exit throat of Nanjing City. It is extremely busy and prosperous with people coming and going no matter day or night.
Chunxiang and his party found an inn near Xishui Pass. The scenery along the river was beautiful. When the innkeeper saw that they were carrying weapons with them, he knew that they were members of the public and did not dare to ask anything in detail. He only said that if they could enter the outer city in the past, they would usually go outside at this time. The fence gates on the side of the city near the Yangtze River Estuary are open. However, due to the recent instability, the outer city has been closed at night, and the identity of anyone entering the city during the day must be strictly checked.
Chunxiang frowned upon hearing this: "But is the bandit army close?"
"I heard that Wuhu was conquered!" The shopkeeper sighed and shook his head: "When will the world be more peaceful?"
I don’t know when the world will be at peace, but when big brother comes, Nanjing will be at peace! Chunxiang thought silently in his mind and asked the store owner to get some water to wash up. He re-bandaged the wounds of his men and ordered a table of food and drinks. It was quite pleasant to watch the night view of the Qinhuai River.
The river breeze was blowing, and Chunxiang was a little drunk. He was lying on the chair and fell asleep. His subordinates were even more distraught and couldn't sit still. They all made insinuations and hints. Chunxiang was helpless. He had fallen into the gentle country before entering the city, so how could he do anything.
"Sir, brothers, if you don't quell the fire after holding it in all this time, you won't be able to concentrate on your work when you enter the city, right?"
Chunxiang was helpless and waved his hand: "I must come back tomorrow morning (from 7 to 9 a.m.)." Everyone was overjoyed and left with fists in their hands, but three people were seriously injured and stayed in the inn to chat with Chun Xiang.
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