The accompanying ministers shook their heads.
Chongzhen looked at Huang Daozhou: "Huang Aiqing, at present, your second couplet is the best. I just said that whoever is right the best will be rewarded. Tell me, what reward do you want?"
"Your Majesty is serious. This couplet is not neat, it is just a coincidence!"
Listening to Huang Daozhou's words, Chongzhen was speechless.
Many civil servants in ancient times were like this. They were very aloof and noble. They would give rewards to them but would not say anything for fear of insulting their gentleness.
If I were a person from later generations, as long as you dare to give it, I would dare to ask for it. If you don’t give it, I will ask for it!
His words have already been spoken, and you have no words to say. If you don't give them, you will lose your authority.
Thinking of this, Chongzhen glanced around. When he saw the archway of the water transport terminal, he immediately had an idea.
Pointing to the archway, he said: "Everyone, this archway only has the words "Caoyun Wharf". It would be elegant to engrave the couplets of me and Huang Aiqing here. What do you think?"
"What a great idea. This couplet fully explains the role of the canal. Engraving it here also expresses His Majesty's emphasis on water transportation. Excellent!"
"Yes, His Majesty's approval will boost the morale of the people who make a living on the canal!"
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
…
"Your Majesty, this couplet is not neat. This..."
"It's okay. Didn't you just say that there are more than ten piers up and down? This is a gathering place for literati from the north and the south. Let the supervisory censor here post a notice so that everyone who comes and goes can meet a pair.
When the time comes, we will select a few pictures and engrave them on other docks. I will reward you but you don’t want them. That’s it! "
"Li Ruolian, arrange for someone to notify the Supervising Censor. We will set off in a quarter of an hour!"
After Li Ruolian responded, he summoned a Jinyi guard to say a few words, and then followed him onto the yellow boat.
Untying the rope, the yellow boat slowly left the dock.
The people who had been secretly paying attention to the movement of the yellow boat stopped what they were doing when they saw the yellow boat moving.
The man who rocked the boat stopped rocking the oar, and the man who carried the sack threw the sack directly to the ground. The vendors threw down their stalls, and the merchants stopped getting on the boat and ran to the shore one after another.
"Long live my emperor!"
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
"The Ming Dynasty is mighty!"
…
The people on the shore cheered, and they cheered sincerely.
After the emperor ascended the throne, he allocated millions of taels of silver to canal transportation, which benefited the people along the river. It was also much more convenient and faster for merchants to repair the canal.
The most important thing is that starting last year, the emperor sent a large army down the canal to clean up all thieves, bandits, etc. within a fifty-mile radius of the canal. The robbers killed fled and the safety of merchants was greatly improved. .
Listening to the cheers, Chongzhen stood on the bow of the ship and waved to the people frequently. This made Li Ruolian and Cao Bianjiao anxious, and they whispered to the emperor to go back to the cabin.
The Fang family and others were tensed up and stared around, fearing that a cold arrow would be shot from somewhere.
A quarter of an hour later, the yellow boat had left the dock behind, and then several Haicang boats, red dragon boats, net shuttle boats, etc. merged into the fleet and went down the river. These were the water escorts.
The official line on both sides of the Taiwan Strait is the Tengxiang Left Guard led by Cao Wenzhao, who is responsible for the security of both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
As for the warrior camp, it had already broken into pieces and sneaked hundreds of miles away.
On the yellow boat, Chongzhen stood on the bow with his hands behind his hands, feeling the slightly steamy breeze and looking at the dark green willow trees on both sides of the canal, feeling relaxed and happy.
In the cabin, several people in the harem also looked out the window, hearing bursts of laughter.
Although the scenery inside the palace is strange and diverse, it is not as beautiful as the natural scenery outside.
After looking at the scenery for a while, Chongzhen summoned Li Ruolian and Cao Bianjiao.
"Li Aiqing, I will leave Luan Jia tomorrow morning and rush to the land south of the Yangtze River. How long do you estimate it will take?"
Li Ruolian was prepared and took out a map of the canal's water system and spread it on the table: "Your Majesty, the water trend of the entire Grand Canal is very complex, connecting the five major water systems of the Haihe River, Yellow River, Huaihe River, Yangtze River and Qiantang River.
The water here is borrowed from various rivers here and there.
From Tongzhou to Tianjin, the Haihe River section, the Lunan Canal, the Zhongyun Canal, and the Li Canal, the river flows southward;
The river flows north from the Haihe River to Shandong's Nanwangdong Pinghu section, and from the Yangtze River to Danyang;
In the Nanliu River section, we can take a boat, mainly using manpower and supplemented by sails. Now it is bright early and dark late, and we can travel at least about two hundred miles a day.
The Beiliu River section is against the current and requires trackers along the coast to pull it, and the speed is slow. In this section, we can go overland and drive in horse-drawn carriages, changing horses without changing people, and we can travel at least more than a hundred miles in a day.
Based on this calculation, we can arrive in Nanjing probably before July 15th.
I have prepared the speedboat and carriage and can set off at any time, but I will have to aggrieve Your Majesty! "
"It doesn't matter, let's set off at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning."
When Chongzhen said this, he looked at Huang Daozhou again: "Huang Aiqing, you also follow the yellow boat and show your face from time to time to confuse the eyes of the major forces.
Whatever happens on the way, you and Cao Wenzhao, the commander of Tengxiang Zuowei, can negotiate and resolve it! "
"I understand!"
"Let's all get ready!"
Huang Daozhou was a disciple of Yuan Keli. Jin Yiwei had investigated and believed him, which is why he did not bring anyone from the cabinet or the six ministries, but a minister from the Ministry of Industry.
The reason was to let Huang Daozhou check the specific situation of the canal. Although it was an excuse, it was also Chongzhen's plan.
He has not forgotten that when the Xi'an government returned the land to the people last year, the gentry and wealthy merchants in the south of the Yangtze River fought back against him and caused a shipwreck in the Hangou section, which blocked water transportation.
Water transportation is related to the needs of the north and must not be messed up. Of course, when the Ming Dynasty is stable, it will be time to start shipping.
After thinking for a while, Chongzhen entered the cabin, poured a cup of tea and moistened his throat.
Looking at Queen Zhou: "Queen, I will leave with you tomorrow. You can go along with the yellow boat and enjoy the scenery on both sides of the strait!
It's a rare trip, so don't worry, I'll meet you again after I've finished processing it!
The time it takes for the yellow ship to reach Jining is controlled at more than twenty days. Give me time. You have to grasp this! Huang Daozhou and Cao Wenzhao will stay here. "
"Commander Cao will accompany the yellow boat?"
Queen Zhou exclaimed: "Your Majesty, what about your safety?"
"Last year, Shangyu was captured by Japanese pirates. I sent the Yanshan Guards of the Forbidden Army to kill them. They are still stationed there, as well as the Warrior Battalion and the Jinyi Guards who went down early.
Even if the land south of the Yangtze River is a dragon's pond and a tiger's den, I can still go back and forth several times, don't worry! "
"I understand!"
Empress Zhou breathed a sigh of relief, responded softly, and then saluted gently: "Your Majesty, take care of your dragon body, I wish your Majesty a great victory!"
