At dawn the next day, Jiang Shuo got up and walked to the top of the boat. He saw Yu Lanzhu pruning branches and watering the trees in the nursery. He approached and said, "Sister Yu, you are here to take care of the flowers and plants so early."
Yu Lanchu said: "Yes, if you water it when the sun comes out, you will die. Young Master Jiang, you got up very early. Isn't the mattress soft enough?"
Jiang Shuo said sheepishly: "No, it's too comfortable. I've been sleeping on the hard floor for two years, but suddenly I'm not used to sleeping on this soft bed, so I can't sleep."
Yu Lanchu thought to himself: Yes, he has peerless martial arts at a young age, and he must have put in a lot of hard work. I heard that some people practice internal martial arts by lying on a stone slab, in order to let the true energy in the body resist the cold air underground. It was running continuously, so that even if she fell asleep, she was still practicing continuously. She said: "But Shi Niang was negligent. Today, I asked the maids to make another hard bed."
Jiang Shuo said hurriedly: "No need. How did Yu Lanchu know that Jiang Shuo had not been lying on the floor for two years just to practice martial arts? It was because there was no furniture in Juqu Cave."
Jiang Shuo asked Yu Lanchu again: "Sister, why do you do a nursery on the ship?"
Yu Lanchu said: "Many of the children of boat families have no place to live on land and spend their whole lives on boats. They live and die and get married. I have dreamed of building a big boat since I was a child. There are many big boats on land. You can also grow flowers and vegetables, raise chickens and ducks, and the boat people living on this big ship are no different from living on land."
Jiang Shuo said: "Sister, you have already done it."
Yu Lanchu said: "This small garden is not included. These flowers and plants are cultivated on the land and brought to the boat. The soil must be replaced regularly from the land. The boat is too small. The boat I want to build can A large ship carrying ten thousand stones must have a garden that can grow fruit trees.”
Jiang Shuo stuck out his tongue and said, "That's too big. I've never seen such a big ship."
Yu Lanzhu smiled slightly and said, "What is a dream if you haven't seen it before?"
While they were talking, Hun Weiming and others also got on the boat. Hun Weiming crossed his hands to Jiang Shuo and said, "Young Master, look, the boat has left the Cornus Pass and entered the main channel of Shanyangdu."
Jiang Shuo then looked out, and saw that the waterway was straight and open, with a clear blue sky, and willows planted on both sides. It was already the end of March, but he still saw groups of catkins flying, which was very spectacular. Jiang Shuo praised: "What Mr. Taibai said "Fireworks descending Yangzhou in March" turns out to be this scene."
Hun Weiming said: "The southeast wind blows in spring. We set sail to ride on the wind. We can go up to Hongze without trackers. When we get to Hongze, we go to Donglu by land, but the boat can't go to Bianqu. Brothers, you have to replace brothers Pei. It’s time to stop and support the river boat.”
Xiao Dayou said with a smile: "Old Xiao has said it before, the Bian boat is not as elegant and comfortable as Yu Shiniang's painting boat. In the past few days, everyone should eat, drink, and enjoy the scenery. If you go to the Bian River, you will have to live a hard life. La." Everyone laughed together when they heard this.
Yu Lanchu directed the boatmen on the boat to raise the sail, steer the steering, and row the oars. The big ship began to slowly move up the canal. Jiang Shuo saw that all the boatmen on the boat were women, but under the control of Yu Lanchu, their hands and feet were nimble and methodical, and they were no worse than men.
Boating on the river is different from traveling on land. Both people and horses need to rest when traveling by land. However, the crew members who travel by water can work shifts. They can move forward uninterrupted twelve hours a day. Since the east wind is strong these days, it only takes five days. After traveling three hundred miles by water, we arrived at Shanyang. From Shanyang we turned into the Huai River, and after another day's journey we arrived at Hongze.
During the Sui Dynasty, Hongze Lake was originally a series of small lakes on the Huaihe River such as Fuling Lake, Pofujian Lake, and Nidun Lake. The Grand Canal was opened in the Sui Dynasty, and the Bian Canal flowed into Pofujian Lake, and the waters gradually became one. Twelve years after the great cause, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty took a dragon boat trip from Luoyang to Jiangdu. He encountered a drought all the way and passed by this lake. Suddenly there was heavy rain. Emperor Yang named the place Hongzepu on a whim. In the Tang Dynasty, the lakes were connected to form a large lake, and it was renamed Hongze Lake.
It was already evening when the painting boat entered Hongze. The mist was rising on the lake, and many large and small boats berthed by the lake were already carrying lights. Jiang Shuo leaned on the railing and saw that the sails and rafters on the lake were sparse. Compared with Guazhoudu and Zhuyukou, The lively scene is much worse.
Xiao Dayou suddenly said: "Strange, strange..."
Jiang Shuo asked him: "Brother Xiao, what's so strange?"
Xiao Dayou said: "It is almost summer time now, and our boats on Bianshui River should have already gathered in Hongze, ready to go south. Today, the lake is vast, but there are not many boats."
Jiang Shuo asked: "Could it be that Brother Xiao's men got the news that water transportation will start in stages this year, so they haven't gone south yet."
Xiao Dayou shook his head and said: "Even if we don't go south, we should dock in Hongze and wait for transshipment."
At this time, he saw a ship approaching slowly in the distance, with a long string of lanterns hanging on the bow, which were constantly rising and falling. Jiang Shuo saw that the number of lanterns rising each time was different, so he asked Xiao Dayou: "Brother Xiao, what does the rising and falling of the lantern on the bow mean?"
Xiao Dayou said: "It's the lantern language." He knew it at a glance and said: "It's one of our own." He then asked Yu Lanchu: "Shi Niang, is there a lantern language on the boat?"
Yu Lanchu said: "Of course, please write down the number, Brother Xiao." It turns out that ship navigation is not as convenient as horse racing on land. Ships far apart on the water must communicate with each other through "lantern language", which means "lantern language". The words are compiled into pre-agreed numbers, and then string lights are hung on the bow. The other party gets a set of numbers based on the number of lanterns, and the message can be transmitted by comparing them with the code. However, the four groups of lanterns have different languages, so Yu Lanchu Ask Xiao Dayou to write down a few strings of secret codes.
Xiao Dayou said that there is no need for such trouble. I went to the bow of the ship to inform him. Yu Lanzhu ordered the maid to take Xiao Dayou to the bow of the ship to light a lantern. Jiang Shuo was in the room in the middle of the boat. He could not see the bow of the ship, but he could see the water surface. The changes in the darkness revealed that the bow of the ship was lighting up the lanterns, and the incoming ship was also raising and lowering its lanterns in reply. After a while, the strings of lanterns on both ships no longer rose, but the other ship was moving towards the painting boat with its oars and oars swaying in unison. .
Xiao Dayou came back and said to Jiang Shuo: "Young Master, these are my brothers Xu from Qudong. I asked them to come and pay homage to Young Master."
The ship came so fast, and soon it was leaning against the side of Huafang. The incoming ship was much shorter than Huafang. The leader of the ship was standing on the forecastle, but he was only three stories taller than Huafang. But this ship But it is extremely wide. The painted boat is originally long and wide, but the incoming boat is almost twice as wide as the painted boat. It must be a unique river boat on the Bianhe River.
The leader of the boat was a short and fat middle-aged man. He was not tall but was very fat. His figure was longer than the vertical one. He was almost similar to a boat on the river. Everyone laughed secretly when they saw it. The man crossed his arms. He bowed and said: "Xu Lai from Qudong Gang Heze comes to pay homage to Chief Xiao and to pay homage to the Young Gang Leader."
Xiao Dayou scolded: "Now that the four gangs have merged into one, from now on there will only be Cao Gang in the world, and there will be no Qudong Gang!"
Xu Lai hurriedly crossed his hands and said, "It's a small slip of the tongue, so I'll take care of it, young master."
Jiang Shuo said hurriedly: "It's okay, it's okay. Brother Xu comes up and speaks."
Xu Lai sang, his feet touched the deck, and he jumped up to a height of about ten feet. He used some force on the cornice of the fourth floor of the boat, and then jumped up again, waist-high in the air, like a meat ball coming out of the window. Roll in, and as soon as he hits the ground, he immediately rolls over and falls to his knees.
Jiang Shuo saw that his body was bloated but he was very good at making himself lighter. He couldn't help but cheered and hurriedly stepped forward to help him. When Xu Lai saw that Jiang Shuo was so young, he couldn't help but murmur to himself. When he saw Jiang Shuo coming to help him, he secretly tried Jiang Shuo's Kung Fu with a Thousand Jin Drop Kung Fu, but Jiang Shuo was supported by his hands as if nothing had happened. He lifted him up directly.
Xu Lai is a native of Heze, Caozhou. Heze has been the hometown of martial arts since the Qin and Han Dynasties. There is a saying that Qi people are better than Heze in martial arts. He has some basic skills in martial arts, and his body is fat and heavy. It is expected that even if Jiang Shuo can lift him up, it will take a lot of effort. , Unexpectedly, Jiang Shuo was unconscious and effortlessly helped him up with a gentle push. His heart was trembling as much as if he had been beaten ten or eight times. He quickly crossed his hands and said, "Young master, Xu Lai admires your magical skills."
Xiao Dayou went up and kicked him on the butt, saying: "Young Master's magical power, do you want a thief like you to weigh it? Come on, why did Hong Ze get to these ships?"
Xu Lai said: "I don't know what I'm doing. This year, the river has been seriously flooded with sand, which has completely blocked the entrance of the Bian Canal. Now the navigation between Heyin and Bianzhou is blocked, and all the brothers are trapped in the canal."
Jiang Shuo asked in confusion: "Brother Xu, what is Xiasha?"
Xu Lai said: "Young master, I know that the river water is sandy, but the water in Bian Canal is clear. The bottom of the river has accumulated sediment over the years. The river bed is much higher than Bian Canal. Every year during the Peach Blossom Flood, a large amount of sediment is washed into Bian Canal, which is called lower sand." , The sand is especially heavy this year, and dredging is not enough, and the entire 100-mile river channel between Bianhe and Bian has been silted up."
Xiao Dayou said anxiously: "There are less than two months before the summer transportation. If the dredging is not done enough and the court blames it, tens of thousands of boatmen in Bianqu will suffer."
Lu Yuxuan said: "It's not just the waterworks of the Bian Canal. There is only one road for water transportation in the canal, and every one is blocked. Wouldn't we in Heluo also be in trouble?"
The two said: "The gang leader can only go to Donglu. We must go north as soon as possible and unite the two gangs to dredge together."
Jiang Shuo said: "What did the two eldest brothers say? Since I am respected by all the brothers, I am the leader of the Cao Gang. Now that the Cao Gang is encountering such a big event, how can I just walk away? Naturally, I will go with you." Heyin.”
Hun Wei said clearly: "But, young master, this matter of going to Beihai..."
Jiang Shuo said: "Brother Hun, it involves tens of thousands of brothers in the Cao Gang. You can only put it aside for now, because I'm afraid I won't be able to help."
Xiao Dayou said: "Great, why can't I help? If there is a gang leader in charge, we will have a backbone!"
Lu Yuxuan also said: "The Cao Gang is newly established. This dredging of the Bian Canal requires the two major gangs to cooperate and help each other. It is best to have the gang leader in the middle to coordinate!"
Xie Yanchang said: "Why are there two major gangs? Since the Cao Gang is one family, I, the Guanzhong boatman, will naturally come to help us."
Hearing this, Hun Weiming also became generous and said, "Of course Zhenze will also participate. I will immediately send people to go north to help the two brothers."
Nan Jiyun clapped his hands and laughed: "Haha, who would have thought that the four major gangs who were fighting each other to the death ten days ago would now be hostile at the same time! If you are sincere like this, why worry about not accomplishing anything!" Then he said to Jiang Shuo: "There is no need to worry about Mr. Li, Nan Ba is not a member of the Cao Gang. I will go to Beihai to set up an outpost for the young master first."
