Dali Temple Conspiracy Records

Chapter 94

Stirring rocks and clouds whirling, waves overflowing with fury, within a hundred and twenty miles, there are nineteen beaches in danger, which have been a major disaster for boats and ships since ancient times, and they are said to be the three natural dangers of the canyon in the west of Henan.

"The tomb of the ancient Wumen craftsman is said to have drowned." This proverb is the lamentation of the fate of the waterworkers in the Sanmenxia River section.The boatmen in water transportation include boatmen, doorsmiths and trackers, and the doorsmiths are pole workers.According to official statistics, almost half of the boats in the Sui Cao passed the pillars and sank. The hardships of the water workers can be imagined.The suspect in this case, Yu Si, was a farmer who transported grain, while his eldest brother, Yu Ping, was a tracker who died in a shipwreck accident in April.

Early in the morning, Li Guan rented a horse and took Bai Sanxiu to Sanmenxia, ​​but he didn't go down to the river, but looked down from the cliff on the bank.Although there is still a distance, the danger of the three gates and six peaks, the anger of the pillars and the torrents, still make people feel agitated.But seeing those trackers who are struggling to pull the boat makes people feel heavy and uncomfortable.

Bai Sanxiu asked: "Sizhi wants to investigate the accident where the fourth brother Yu died?"

Li Quan looked at it for a while, then sighed: "It's common to capsize a ship, so we may not be able to find out anything, let's try first."

The two found a place where the trackers lived nearby, and claimed to travel here, begging for a drink.Today Li Quan didn't wear that Taoist robe anymore, he only wore an ordinary cloth shirt, looking like a scholar.

A tracker's wife received them.Seeing Li Quan's gentle and elegant appearance, Aunt Song wondered, "It's rare to see a young master like you come to our place!"

Li Quan smiled: "I'm not a young master. I just read books for a few years, and I saw the magnificent Dazhao Mountains and Rivers described in the books, so I wanted to come out and have a look."

"Oh, after all, you are a scholar, but your speech is different."

"This year's rain has reduced the harvest, and the price of grain in Chang'an is much higher. It is really hard work for you to send the grain."

"Are you from Chang'an?"

"I'm from Yongzhou, from a county near Chang'an."

"Oh! Don't talk about your capital, the price of grain in our Pinglu has also risen, this year it is really expensive! Don't look at us trackers pulling a boat full of grain every day, this is almost unaffordable."

"I heard that many ships have sunk recently?"

"That's not it. Let's not talk about it. Just this month, two more ships sank. One hit the reef, the rope of the other broke, and several died. The son of the family to the east of my house just disappeared. When this matter was mentioned, Aunt Song's expression remained the same, without any change.Maybe it's a little numb from getting used to it, or maybe it's normal because of helplessness, after all, life has to go on, and we can't cry every day.

"The rope is broken?" Bai Sanxiu couldn't help but ask.

"Little lady should have seen it, the job of the tracker is to use the rope to pull the boat upstream."

Bai Sanxiu nodded.

"Once the leash is broken, people are all dragged into the water, and they can't even be fished out."

"But how did it break? I mean... since it's so dangerous, the rope should be very strong. Did you lose your hand?"

Aunt Song shook her head, "I can't take it off my hands. The rope is tied around the shoulders with a white cloth. The rope has been soaked in medicine and boiled, so it is very durable, but if it is rubbed against the mountain wall, it will break after a long time."

"Then don't you check it before using it?"

"I will check and check, but accidents are inevitable. But the little lady asked this," Aunt Song thought for a while, "It seems that the rope is broken more often this year, and it is not so frequent in previous years."

Hearing this, Li Quan said: "I think the scenery of Sanmen Gorge is very spectacular. I want to stay for two more days to see it. Is it convenient for you? Of course, I won't stay for nothing."

Aunt Song was originally a warm and cheerful person, and when she heard that the money was returned, she smiled even more, and agreed, "No problem!"

(End of this chapter)