Songzhou, which governs Songcheng, has a large number of dredging boats on this section of the Bianhe River, going down the river to dredge the canal.
With the money and food in place, the on-site survey was completed, and Wang Pu made a plan and strategy and reported it. After the court discussion, the court officially issued an edict to correct the shortcomings of the Bianhe River, with Wang Pu supervising the affairs and taking charge of the overall situation.
The prefectures and counties along the river each recruited river workers and laborers, and on the basis of managing their respective river sections, Wang Pu uniformly deployed them and sent assistants to guide and supervise them. From Kaifeng, through the Song Dynasty and Bo, to Suzhou, the waterways of more than 500 miles were silted up to varying degrees, but for the Han Dynasty, this was indeed a big project. Moreover, the direction of this dredging route is very obvious.
Dredging work requires hard work, with boats dragging away the silt. The cast iron claw is tied to the stern of the boat and sinks to the bottom. The pole worker holds the pole and pulls it up quickly. Although it is carried down by the flowing water, the boat tracker still needs to pull it on the table. Such turbulence has made the Bianhe River turbid...
A fleet of ships came up the water from the southeast. They were all large ships with thousands of materials. The ships had a large draft. Judging from the flags they flew, they were public official ships. This is Tao Gu and Wang Pu who returned from an envoy in the Southern Tang Dynasty. It can be seen from the fleet of boats that were heavy in the river that the trip to the Tang Dynasty was very fruitful.
Midsummer is approaching, and the weather is getting hotter. The clothes of the attendants, soldiers, boatmen, etc. on the ship have become thin early, and the coolies are even more sweaty. On the first boat, Tao Gu and Wang Pu were also wearing light summer shirts. They stood on the side of the boat and looked into the distance. Their sleeves and robes were fluttering in the wind. They looked like celebrities.
"Although the scenery in the south of the Yangtze River is pleasant, I still prefer the scenery in the north! At least it is not as hot and humid as the south, which makes people uncomfortable." Tao Gu stood on the side of the boat and watched the scenery of the canal passing by, feeling very emotional.
Tao Gu is from Pizhou, and in Guanzhong, there is a lot of work to be done. Tao Gu's emotions were inspired by the situation. Of course, when he said this, there was still a little bit of emotion in his expression, as if he was still wandering in the beautiful memories of Jinling.
The women from the south of the Yangtze River are as elegant as water. On the Qinhuai River, in the brothel and Chu Pavilion, he can secretly enjoy it and have endless aftertaste. When he was sent to Jiangnan as an envoy, Tao Gu obviously let himself go. He was far less "cautious" and "humble" than when he was in the Han Dynasty. Of course, his prudence and humility were always reserved for the emperor Liu Chengyou.
As the deputy envoy, Wang Pu looked down on Tao Gu very much after this experience of working together, and he felt very contemptuous in his heart. I just feel that this person has an empty reputation, but has low moral character, is arrogant and rude, is greedy for profit and greedy, and does not know how to keep himself clean...
The conduct of the envoy to Jinling this time was really sanctimonious. If the emperor and ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty had not had no intention of causing trouble, they would have completely lost the dignity and face of the envoys of a great power and made their generosity laughable.
But Tao Gu seemed unaware, even complacent.
Although he felt contempt in his heart, Wang Pu did not show it on his face. He just casually echoed in a serious tone: "What Mr. Tao said is true! Since ancient times, the land south of the Yangtze River has been humid and hot, and my northern soldiers have If you are not used to the southern soil, you need to be careful if you use troops in the future. If you are not prepared in time, you may suffer a heavy setback. Even the climate in Huainan is somewhat different from that in the north. After returning to the court, you need to tell your majesty... .”
Tao Gu just wanted to have a chat with Wang Pu to relieve the boredom of sailing. Unexpectedly, his sigh would lead to such a serious military and political discussion from this young man, which made him feel a little depressed.
Glancing at Wang Pu's serious performance, Tao Gu felt displeased. He felt that this junior was putting on airs in front of him. He then thought about how Wang Pu had made a big splash with his intelligence during his time in Jinling, and how he had been favored by the emperor when he was in Tokyo. ...
Tao Gu's narrow-mindedness made Tao Gu feel uncomfortable. All kinds of emotions came to him at once, and he said with a smile: "Everything we talk about is for the country and the king. No wonder he is so appreciated by your majesty."
Tao Gu's strange yin and yang aura did not have any impact on Wang Pu. He only saw him facing the north, bowing his hands in the distance, and said seriously: "Since you have earned the emperor's salary and received your majesty's trust, I should repay you wholeheartedly for my lack of talents. "
"Haha..." Tao Gu smiled again, his eyes flashed a few times, he narrowed slightly, and said casually: "This time, Tang was able to negotiate peace, not only to find out the true and false, but also to return with a full load. Think about it, After returning to the capital, Your Majesty will definitely reward you. Qi Wu has a bright future... The future generations are to be feared!"
The words were kind, but Tao Gu's tone was not that friendly. If it had been someone else, such as Wang Pu, with his fierceness, he would probably have scorned him directly, or even scolded him outright.
But Wang Pu, although there was displeasure in his brows, he still maintained his demeanor: "Serving the country, but only seeking merit, why should I care about His Majesty's praise?"
After Wang Pu said this, Tao Gu didn't look very good. He glanced sideways at Wang Pu, hummed twice, and walked away with a flick of his sleeves.
Wang Pu did not care about Tao Gu and did not speculate. He was not only elegant, but also young and energetic.
Looking at the dredging boats giving way to the fleet in the canal, Wang Pu knew what was going on. He had a high opinion of the imperial court's execution of river control and dredging, and felt Liu Chengyou's determination.
Caressing the side of the ship, his body swayed with the movement of the ship. Feeling the difficulty of the ship heading north, Wang Pu felt at ease. What was carried on the ship was the sincerity of the peace negotiation expressed by the Tang Dynasty Lord Li Jing, including thirty thousand shi of grain and twenty thousand yuan of money.
Compared with the initial lion's big mouth, it is naturally nothing. Even with this little money and food, Tao Gu and Wang Pu talked about it until their mouths were dry, their skin was worn out, they were moved with emotion, understood with reason, and showed it with Only then did the Southern Tang Dynasty relent.
Today's Southern Tang Dynasty is in its "heyday". Since the founding of the country, it has the largest territory, the largest population, and the richest finances. It was not so easy to blackmail, that is, the Tang leader Li Jing was "magnificent", and Wang Pu cleverly took advantage of the party struggle in the Southern Tang Dynasty to benefit.
Generally speaking, the peace negotiation between the Tang Dynasty and Tang Dynasty was relatively smooth, and the willingness of both parties to negotiate peace was relatively sufficient. As for why it took a full month and a half, Tao Gu and Wang Pu deliberately delayed and stayed in Jinling.
They have Liu Chengyou's mission and spying on information about the Southern Tang Dynasty is the most important thing. The saying "know yourself and your enemy" will never go out of style.
During the month and a half in the Southern Tang Dynasty, we closely observed its military affairs; observed its civil affairs directly; and inquired about its political affairs, but the situation was too optimistic...
As for the money and grain that he insisted on extorting, it was just a little extra. Of course, this little extra was enough to make the Han court emperors and ministers who were not wealthy feel happy.
Staring at the broken waves of the Bianhe River, the waves reflecting the sun's rays were a bit dazzling. Wang Pu's eyes were clear and he looked sober. He carefully recalled the experience and gains of this visit to the Tang Dynasty, and his understanding of the Southern Tang Dynasty. , the language is already organized in my mind, how to report to Liu Chengyou, and what suggestions do you have...
