Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 249 Attack on the Canal
Watching Dai Quan and a group of eunuchs go away.

Zhang Jinyu couldn't figure it out for a moment. Could it be that something happened to Jiangnan, but he hadn't heard of anything wrong with Jiangnan.

Glancing at Yongbyon beside him, he asked;
"Ningbian, is there any information about Jiangnan from the dark guard?"

"Back to Lord Marquis, not at all. The hidden guards left behind are all in the capital and the north. There are hardly many eyeliners in the south. Some were sent later. It is difficult to collect useful information."

Ningbian is also ashamed, the Jiangnan side's dark guards are blind, the time is too short to be effective.

"Well, let's go, we will know when we enter the mansion."

Zhang Jinyu stopped being entangled and led people directly into the Hou's mansion.

Upon entering the door,

I saw that in the courtyard of the mansion, the carriages were parked there one after another, and then the maids and servants were busy carrying things.

Big boxes and small boxes, Zhang Jinyu frowned, and went directly to Dongyun Tower without asking.

In the attic, it is also a busy scene.

Zhang Jinyu knew that the matter was settled at this time, so she explained,
"Ningbian, immediately send someone to the pier to clean up the two large boats, throw away all the mess, open the windows to ventilate, the things that need to be purchased must be bought today, and then go to Daying to inform Duan Hong, Send all the crossbows and bows and arrows of the camp to Duan Hong to watch over."

"Yes, Lord Hou."

Yongbyon also felt that the matter was urgent, so he cupped his fists and left.

Zhang Jinyu nodded, and walked into the attic, where she saw her mother sitting peacefully drinking tea on the main seat in the attic hall.

So I walked over with confidence and asked for peace;
"My son greets his mother."

Mrs. Wang raised her eyes and glanced at it, and said with a smile;

"It's almost noon now, please sit down and talk about something."

Zhang Jinyu grinned, walked over and took two sweet-scented osmanthus cakes to fill his mouth.

As soon as she sat down, seeing her son's appearance, Mrs. Wang felt a little distressed. She must have been in a hurry in the morning and didn't eat well, so she took the plate of pastries and put it on the table in front of Zhang Jinyu, and then said;

"Eat slowly and drink some water."

Zhang Jinyu took the tea bowl and drank it all in one gulp, put down the tea bowl and asked;
"Mother, what's going on, something happened in the palace, and I need you to tell it. Could it be that Jia's family went to mourn."

Seeing such absurd question from his son, he also stared at him and said in a low voice;

"Keep your voice down, what nonsense, this time the Holy Majesty wants you to go to Jiangnan to help that inspector named Lin Ruhai. It seems that the imperial salt administration is in big trouble in Jiangnan."

While talking, he took the teapot and filled the empty teacup with tea.

Suddenly hearing the words Lin Ruhai, Zhang Jinyu was stunned. Sister Lin's father, how could it be him? It may not be long before an accident happened in Yangzhou, so Jia Min doesn't know if he is still alive.

Speaking of which, Lin Ruhai's ancestors can be regarded as the family of scholarly eunuchs, but in Lin Ruhai's generation, they can no longer enjoy the glory of their ancestors, so they were born in the imperial examination and passed the examination. The imperial court gift moved him to be the doctor of Lantai Temple.

Now he is the confidant of Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong. After the implementation of the Jiangnan Salt Administration, he is very talented as the Jiangnan Salt Patrol Censor. He has been in the court for several years and has invested a lot of money for the emperor's internal funds. However, the population is thin and the direct line What's more, there is no descendant, I am afraid that he will be killed in the fifth life, how sad.

In Dream of the Red Chamber, Lin Daiyu shed tears again, and died desolately, which is so sad.

Thinking of Jin Yu's uncertain face, it seems that the place in the south of the Yangtze River is difficult, so the officials of the imperial court will be harmed as soon as they say it, and the place has become so big.

"Does Jinyu know Lin Ruhai?"

Mrs. Wang saw her son staring blankly there with a gloomy face, she must know this person, so she asked;

"Jinyu knows that this inspector, the censor, should be from the emperor's side. The inner minister who came today is in a hurry."

"My son has also heard about it, but I don't know the details. Since he came in person, he must have some explanations. What is there to do in Jiangnan?"

Zhang Jinyu also didn't care about it, there was no use in going around and just making excuses to come back, if it's really impossible to do something false outside the customs, you can get rid of it no matter what.

"That's true. The palace asked you to take all the subordinates of the capital, and the eunuch Zhao Si, the eunuch in charge of the imperial horse supervisor, will lead the troops of the imperial city department. Salt merchants and rich families can be manipulated as you like, and the Jiangnan camp and the accompanying capital are left behind by the Four Guards for your control."

Mrs. Wang said all the conditions for the nephew's release, and Zhang Jinyu spoke;
"Mother, this is just an excuse for me to go, but it's okay, it's up to me whether it's horizontal or vertical, it depends on whether they know it or not. I heard that Jinghu Lake is beautiful, but I don't know what's around my grandfather's old house. No matter how big the place is, wouldn’t it be beautiful to occupy it all and build a summer resort.”

When talking about the old house, Mrs. Wang couldn't help but miss her, her eyes were a little excited and sighed.

"It's all about the past, but now my home is outside the customs."

Seeing her mother's insincere words, Zhang Jinyu also felt ruthless in her heart, and she must vent her anger when she arrives in the south of the Yangtze River.

A few days ago,
A guard of 1000 troops led by Si Ji Qianhu of the imperial city went down the river on a building ship and warship dispatched by the Governor of Water Transport from the guards at the capital wharf.

They didn't dare to stop all the way, entered Anshui and drove straight to the canal.

At the bow of the ship, the flags of the Imperial City Department and the Governor's Mansion of Water Transport were set up, and Xiaoxiao and passing ships on the canal consciously gave way.

Although the cold winter has not yet passed, the spring on both sides of the canal has come, especially the city of Fuling County, which is full of flowers and greenery.

Passing through Fuling County City, going south along the canal, passing through Dongling County City, you will arrive at Xihe County.

Ji Qianhu stood at the bow of the boat and looked at the two banks, feeling vaguely that something was wrong. Today, the fog was rising, the visibility was not high, and the surroundings were dead silent.

The two sides of the key bank are deserted, and there is no boat on the river. Realizing that something is wrong, I hurriedly shouted;

"Sentinel, be alert."

The watchman on the mast heard the sound of the horn directly.

"Ohh Ohh ohh."

The melancholy sound of the trumpet echoed on the calm river.

The guards of the entire Louchuan and the people of the Imperial City Division all came to the deck with weapons and a large number of crossbows. There are 500 people in the first school of the Louchuan Guards and 1000 in the Imperial City Division, which still only account for the transportation capacity of the Louchuan. There is also a lot of free space, so Ji Qianhu brought more bows and arrows when he came.

Deputy Qianhu Feng Gu put on his armor and immediately came up to inquire.

"My lord, but what happened?"

Qianhu Ji Yunhui asked while staring at the surrounding water;

"Deputy Feng Qianhu, don't you think this place is too quiet? You haven't even seen a boat in such a busy river."

Feng Qianhu also looked around, and sure enough, that's not right, did he go to the wrong river.

"My lord, there are quite a lot of waterways here, could I go wrong?"

"This……"

Ji Yunhui is also a little uncertain, he has never been to Jiangnan, and he has never walked the canal, so he doesn't know how to get there.

Standing on the bow of the boat and looking out again, the surrounding scenery is the same in Ji Yunhui's eyes no matter how he looks at it, and he even gets a little dizzy after looking at it too much, and can't tell the difference between southeast and north.

For a while, several commanders of the Imperial City Department looked a little embarrassed. They glanced at the guards behind them, and Feng Qianhu whispered,
"My lord, there is nothing we can do. We have to rely on the guards. It depends on how they use the building and boats. We are all landlubbers."

Ji Yunhui nodded, so he called Wei Jun Xiaowei Anfeng and asked;
"Lieutenant An, did the ship go the wrong way? Why is there no sign of a ship?"

"My lord, it's absolutely impossible. I have been running on the river for many years, and I can't go wrong. Maybe because of the fog, many boats stopped at the pier to rest."

Captain An shook his head again and again, saying that he was right. As for the absence of ships, he could only attribute it to the bad weather.

"Deputy Feng Qianhu, what do you think?"

Feng Gu took his people and ran all over the ship, but the surrounding fog was too thick and the visibility was not high, so he couldn't see why, so he gave up and went back to the bow.

Hearing Ji Qianhu's inquiry, he felt a little uneasy in his heart, so he replied;

"My lord, I just took people to the back of the ship. I didn't find anything after a closer look, but I can't be sure that there is nothing wrong. It's too strange that there is no ship. Of course, it doesn't rule out the fog that Captain An said. Stopped at the pier and did not sail."

How can Ji Qianhu believe it? Since the road is not wrong, there are ghosts on the river. As for the bad weather and heavy fog, then he is still floating on the river and sailing as usual.

The more you think about it, the more wrong it is,

"Deputy Feng Qianhu, be alert."

Following Ji Yunhui's shout,
From the mist around the river,

suddenly,

There was a "swish" sound of bows and arrows.

In the mist in all directions, bows and arrows shot towards the building boat, and it was impossible to tell where the bows and arrows came from for a while, and the building boat was in a panic.

"Don't mess around, hide first, anyone who dares to disobey the military order, beheaded!"

Ji Yunhui immediately shouted.

The people from the Imperial City Department reacted quickly and hid nearby, while the guards reacted a little slower. Many people fell to the ground after being shot, and there was a sound of wailing in an instant.

Of course, the arrows came and went quickly, and after a while, there were no more arrows coming. Seeing this, Ji Yunhui immediately got on the bow of the boat and looked out at the river, only to see faint black shadows disappearing on both sides of the front. .

The speed of the ship was very fast, and it disappeared into the mist. When I turned around, I saw the mess on the deck of the building ship, and cursed fiercely;
"Son of a bitch, sneak attack, hit and run."

Captain An Feng of Lou Chuan was so frightened that he hid behind the wall of the ship and only showed up after confirming that the attacking ship was far away, and then whispered;
"My lord, these are not ordinary water bandits, they may be the Jiangbei gangsters on the canal row."

Ji Yunhui was also a little angry, but there was nothing he could do on the river.

Deputy Feng Qianhu came over and squatted down, carefully inspected the arrows shot on the deck, and pulled out an arrow, only to see that the arrow was a triangular arrowhead, made of iron, and it was the standard crossbow arrow in the imperial army.

"My lord, could these people be members of the army? Look at these arrows, they are all standard arrows in the army, and it is difficult for ordinary people to imitate."

Ji Yunhui took it with a livid face and saw that it was indeed the case. Such a large-scale arrow must be a thing in the army. The people in the dark are so rampant. It must be because of their great strength and no scruples.

Looking at the misty river outside, Ji Qianhu secretly thought that this trip to the south of the Yangtze River might be difficult, and he could only hope that the governor would send reinforcements over soon, or that the imperial envoy of the capital would leave earlier.

(End of this chapter)