Red Mansion Soldiers

Chapter 32 Canals and Water Workers

If the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is a magnificent history book that records the hard work of the Han family, then Liaocheng must be the thickest chapter and length of it.The confluence of the Yellow River and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal gave birth to the "Pearl of Two Rivers" in Liaocheng.

"There are Suzhou and Hangzhou in the south, and Linzhang in the north." There is no need to mention Suzhou and Hangzhou, but Linzhang is Linqing and Zhangqiu under the jurisdiction of Liaocheng.

In the previous dynasties, at the end of the Yu Dynasty, the envoy of Lulong Jiedu descended to the Yuan Dynasty, and Mengwu went south, fighting all the way to the Yangtze River. Du Chong, who was in charge of the affairs of Zhongshumen at that time, ordered the Yellow River to be dug open.

The Yuan people were cut off from the rear, and the whole army was wiped out.But the big river overflowed and was out of control. It roared for nearly ten years, and finally opened the 30-year chaotic times at the end of Yu and the beginning of Liang.

Eight years after the embankment burst, the Yellow River took over the Huaihe River and entered the sea.

The newly established Great Liang lacks the whole of North China. It is congenitally deficient, and because of the flooding of the Yellow River, Guozuo has been competing with the Yellow River for more than two hundred years, and is always facing the invasion of the grassland. Settle the prairie.

But she left wide and smooth canals and canals for the emerging Daqi.

This Grand Canal, which started from Hangzhou and went straight to the front line of the Anti-Yuan Dynasty, is the best among them.

In the early years of the founding of the People's Republic of China, because of the preparations for the Northern Expedition, the capacity of the Grand Canal, which originally ended in Liaocheng, seemed insufficient.

Especially when trying to transport by sea, but was repeatedly harassed by Wang's Koryo, Remnant Yuan Navy, coastal anti-king remnants and Japanese pirates, it suffered heavy losses.

The nascent dynasty, which had already done its best for the Northern Expedition, naturally had no spare energy to build a navy. The navy of the Wang family in Dongping County had already done their best just to defend the southeast coast.

In order to maintain the food supply in the north, and to maintain the order of the Yellow River Flooding Area, it solves the survival problems of the remaining Cao Gang and the people along the canal.

Emperor Taizu ordered to use labor instead of relief to extend the Grand Canal, and the canal from Liaocheng to Yanjing in the north came into being. This Grand Canal starts from Hangzhou in the south and ends in Yanjing in the north. It is called the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

Since then, millions of waterworkers have been tied to this canal for food and clothing, and their loyalty to the imperial court has reached its peak.

It was not until Taizong's time that the country formally established a navy to wipe out pirates in Linhai, and conquered the shogunate in the east to kill General Genji, which shocked the world.

Since then, sea transportation and water transportation have been developed simultaneously, and together constitute Daqi's south-to-north grain transportation system.

. . . . . .

It has been five days since Luoyang went down the river.

The fleet has arrived in Zhangqiu, and everyone will replenish here, and then head north to Linqing.

Before disembarking the boat, I felt the enthusiasm of the water workers just entering the canal wharf.

In the meantime, the wharf was crowded with people, and the big customers who were treated warmly on weekdays are now like stepmothers, being squeezed by the water workers in the corners.

A few big businessmen who were used to it wanted to argue, but they were beaten up by the coolies who kept nodding and bowing to them, and they were hung on the crane.

Hanging for two hours, it wasn't until the emperor's dragon boat arrived that they understood why the gang of mud legs dared to beat them.

The big backer of millions of waterworkers, my family is here!

Of course, due to the fact that most of the water workers have turned into soldiers of the Qi army, and the existence of sea transportation, the number of water workers is no longer the same as it was in the past. Now there are only more than 30 people. The so-called million water workers are just a habit Sexual name.

The dragon boat slowly docked, and a figure wearing apricot-yellow tuanlong uniform appeared in front of the water workers.

The sound disappeared instantly, and the emperor slowly raised his right hand and swung it forward.

Cheers that were louder than before spread to all directions like a volcanic eruption.

The emperor didn't wait for his guards, and stepped off the boat without hesitation. Fortunately, the water transport yamen had long been used to it, and skillfully dispatched water soldiers to stop the crazy crowd, but was still squeezed by the crowd to face the emperor.

The emperor looked up to the sky with a long smile, shook hands on the left side, and chatted on the right side. Only on the banks of the canal, the emperors of Qi would touch the crowd without hesitation.

Jia She and his son, who had already arrived on the dragon boat in a small boat, and the accompanying nobles also got off the boat.

It was the first time for Jia Hun to watch his father smile so sincerely.

"Oh! Brother Enhou, this is the Eldest Young Master. He is worthy of being a member of the Cao Gang. He is beautiful in war!" A bearded member took Jia Hun's hand and shouted excitedly at Jia She.

"Hahaha, isn't it my seed? Come on, my son, let me introduce you for my father. This is Xia He, the vice president of the Liaocheng Waterworks Union. You can call him Uncle Xia!" Jia Amnesty patted Jia Hui on the arm. .

"Oh, I don't dare to call the general uncle..."

"Hey, that's wrong. You and I are brothers who grew up wearing crotch pants. What's wrong with calling you uncle?" Jia She refused.

"My nephew, Jia Hun, has met Uncle Xia." Jia Hun didn't make it difficult for Xia He, and didn't use very formal etiquette.

"This...then I, Xia He, will take it easy and agree."

"That's right, hahaha!" Jia She laughed loudly with his whiskers.

Taizu and Jia Shi's families both came from the Cao Gang, and the team that made their fortune also took over part of the remnants of the Cao Gang, so their feelings towards the Cao Gang are the most complicated.

It can be said that Daqi's army was formed with the Cao Gang as the backbone.

After the founding of the country, Taizu felt the chaos, violence and disorder of the Cao Gang, and decreed to ban the Cao Gang, established the Cao Trade Union, was responsible for managing millions of water workers, and personally appointed all the candidates for the chairman.

Every official of the Cao Labor Union has the two labels of "Founding Father" and "Origin of the Cao Gang". It can be said that in Daqi, even if you are a founder of the country, you are not from the Cao Gang. Not fit to join the Cao Gang, even if only the mother clan is from the Cao Gang.

It is also because of this that this group of water workers dared to break into the water transport yamen every single day and hang the governor of the water transport every two days.

It's really because of someone's backing.

The errand of the Water Transport Yamen has also become a reminder in the court, and has become the most unpopular errand.

Other errands will ruin his future at most, but this Water Transport Yamen is terrible.

Of course, they will not make it difficult for their patriarch, the emperor.

If the Governor of Water Transport hadn't done too much - such as corrupting [-]% of the wages of ink, they would not have done the bloodbath of the Water Transport Yamen.

The Qi emperors of all dynasties really trusted them unconditionally, and the water workers also offered endless loyalty to the Qi emperor, and they participated in every foreign expedition.

And the Xiahe in front of him is the founder of the Hongmiaozheng Cao Gang. His grandfather was the first member of the Cao Gang who followed the Taizu to raise troops, but he was not very capable, so he was named a Viscount.

When it came to his father, he was demoted to the third-class general because of his involvement in the smuggling case.

In his generation, he was only a fourth-class general.

But he was still very upbeat, and went to learn about water transportation, and was finally elected to the water trade union. Now, he is the president of the branch of an important node of the Grand Canal.

After shivering a few more words, several people also knew that this was not a place to talk, so they hurriedly walked towards the palace.

When Jia She and his son entered the palace, the emperor was the first to chat with a group of old men with white beards and hair.

"Hey, isn't this the eldest grandson of Second Brother Jia? Quick, come here and let the old man take a look!" A shabby old man saw Jia She came in, and waved to Jia She happily.

"Grandson Jia She pays respects to the old man, the old man is as blessed as the East China Sea, and his life is longer than Nanshan!" Jia She's eyes turned red all of a sudden, and with a plop, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed to the old man, and Jia Hun also knelt down.

"Huh?" The old man finally noticed Jia Hun next to him.

"Little Xie'er, this is... Look at this, could it be the great-grandson of Second Brother Jia?" The old man's eyes widened.

"Isn't he Xiao She'er's eldest son? Come on, Brother Hun, call him Patriarch! Papa is 110 years old now!" Jia She wiped his tears with his sleeve, and turned his head to let Jia Hun call him.

"Great-grandson Jia Hun pays respects to the ancestor!" Jia Hun knelt down and kowtowed, not looking at anything else, just at this age, he had to kowtow to be blessed.

"Hehehe, good, good, great grandson, Second Brother Jia is blessed!" The old man smiled with his mouth open with only two teeth left, and grabbed Jia Hun's hand and kept rubbing it.

"Hey hey..." Jia Hun, who was not good at dealing with elders in two lifetimes, didn't know what to say, and just kept giggling.

Jia She and his son took their seats.

The old man talked to the emperor and others again.

"Father, who is this old man?"

"Ah, this is the old man of the Liu family. He was with your grandfather and others back then, but he didn't go to Shandong with the great ancestor, and stayed in the south.

Later, when Taizu went south, he helped to integrate the Cao Gang, escorted materials and made contributions, and was granted the title of Huai'an Bo, the founder of the country. Later, when Taizong was promoted to Xu Guogong, he is now the last living founding official, and he is the ancestor recognized by all the nobles. . "

He turned his head and greeted a few people he knew before continuing.

"The old man is full of loyalty. My two uncles from the Liu family died in battle in Mobei. Three of their five sons died in battle, one died young, and one died of smallpox. The old man stayed in the world alone..." Jia She sighed.

"Back then, the Mongol invaded and killed all the people in the old man's village. He was the only one left to crawl out of the dead. If he hadn't met your great-grandfather all the way to the canal, I guess..."

Xia He, who was sitting next to him, elbowed Jia She, but Jia She didn't say the rest.

"Since the founding of the country, the old man has been in charge of the water transportation. He has properly adjusted the canal and the water transportation, supported the seventeen northern expeditions since the founding of the country, and called on the water workers to join the army. Even your expedition to the desert this time, what to eat Those candy sticks were sent by the old man out of his own pocket!"

"Hiss—" Jia Hun took a breath.

In this case, Old Master Liu can indeed be regarded as the ancestor of all the nobles.

Even those upstarts in Northwest China who had no contact with the old man fought on the candy bars sent by the old man.

It was Zhang Qiu who arrived in the evening, and it soon fell into the night.

The emperor entertained the old relatives of the Cao Gang and various nobles, and the guests and hosts had a good time accompanied by the songs sung by the water workers.

The old man is getting older, and his energy is getting weaker and weaker. He didn't even eat a few mouthfuls of his favorite crab roe tofu.

Everyone saw the old man's performance and had some guesses in their hearts. For a while, the atmosphere in the palace became a little depressing.

"Why should you be sad? Birth, old age, sickness and death are common things. This old man is over 110 years old. He has drunk the strongest wine, ridden the strongest horse, fought the toughest battle, and played with the strongest girl.

The three-foot sword is played, and the world's merits are also established.

I have experienced all the ups and downs in the world, even at the end of life, there are still children and grandchildren around me, what is there to be dissatisfied with?
Alright, don't mention those unpleasant things anymore, come on, let's drink, boys outside, let's sing! "

After finishing speaking, the old man drank the rice wine in the glass in one gulp, curled his lips in disgust, this wine is not strong enough!

However, for the sake of the children who are worried about themselves, let's just drink it.

After all, the old man was old, and he was a little drunk before taking a few sips.

Fortunately, everyone had already filled their stomachs, and the emperor simply announced that the banquet was over.

"Come on, the old man's two great-grandsons, help the grandfather go home!"

The old man who wanted to be strong all his life refused to go home in a walking chariot, and waved behind him, asking Jia Hun and Chen Jingyuan to help him home.

"If there is anything wrong with the old man, you two will jump into the river and feed the bastard!"

The emperor severely warned the two young men.

Two little young chickens nodded like pecking rice.

. . . . . .

The crowd had already dispersed, and everyone went back to their houses for dinner. There were only idlers on the street who came out for a stroll after eating. When they saw the old man in person, they hurried over to say hello.

The old man responded one by one.

It was still a little cold in the first month, and a gust of cold wind blew by. Jia Hun quickly took off his cloak and wrapped it up for the old man.

Chen Jingyuan took a step back, and glared at the triumphant Jia Hun.

"Hehe, boy of the Chen family, I heard people say that you are back from training?" The old man looked at the two boys with a cheerful look, and when he was about to make a move, the old man made a sound.

"Back to the old man, Xiao Ke just came down from the plateau, look, I'm sun-dried," Chen Jingyuan stretched his neck, his dark face was in stark contrast to his fair neck under his clothes.

"That's right, my lord, before you left Yumen, you were all Han Chinese, and when you came down from the plateau, you all looked like Huns!" Jia Hun rolled up his sleeves, and the contrast between black hands and white arms was very pleasing.

"Hehe, it's good to bask in the sun, a big man with delicate skin and tender flesh..." The old man pouted and shook his head.

Mr. Liu, who has been working under the sun all year round, always thinks that a man who is tanned is a good man.

"Chen family boy, after this experience, we are about to open a mansion. What kind of king are you?"

"Prince of Valor!"

"Prince?" The old man raised his eyebrows.

"Prince, it seems that your grandpa and your father are very optimistic about you."

"Hey, I don't know if I like it or not, but I will definitely have troubles in the future." Chen Jingyuan laughed.

"It's just troublesome, and the tone is not small."

"That's not true, I have a brother who has died!"

"No, it's up to him whether the job will be good or not for the rest of my life." Jia Hun interjected.

"Hehehe, it's so good, it's so good." The old man murmured, thinking of his old brothers who had passed away, he fell silent.

The two young men also noticed that the old man's eye circles were red, so they stopped talking and just walked quietly while supporting the old man...

. . . . . .

The next day, after saying goodbye to the old man with the emperor, he boarded the ship again and headed north.

They were all their own people, and no one used the guard of honor, nor did the emperor. The guard of honor did not even unload the boat, and the belongings of the rest of the people were also moved from the large river boat to the canal boat last night.

In recent years, the climate has been generally warm and humid, and the canal has not frozen over.

The emperor's dragon boat is narrower than the big river boat, but it can barely navigate the canal.

Dragon boats still take the lead, followed by civil and military honors.

After Linqing is the North Canal. Compared with the South Canal, which has been built for a long time, the newly built North Canal is wider, has less silt, and the water is deeper.

The speed is much faster.

Half a month has passed since the stop and go, and finally, the journey that lasted nearly a month since starting on the [-]th day of the first lunar month is over.

Jia Hun, who was about to vomit on the boat, finally returned to the place where he grew up.

Yanjing.

. . . . . .

Tongzhou Wharf.

The two brothers Jia Zhen and Jia Lian had been sitting in the tea house by the pier and waiting for more than an hour.

Yesterday a messenger came to report that Jia She and his son and his party were about to arrive in Tongzhou. Early this morning, Jia Zhen dragged Jia Lian to Tongzhou Wharf to wait.

As the elders of Jia Amnesty, they are going to welcome them, Jia Zhu is preparing for the exam, Jia Cong and Jia Huan are still too young, so Jia Zhen and Jia Lian, who are old enough and idle, are sent here.

Jia Lian was very excited. His father, whom he hadn’t seen for several months, and his elder brother, who had been apart for four years, came back. He was so excited that he didn’t sleep all night. It was almost dawn when he finally fell asleep. Woke up and rushed to Tongzhou.

Jia Zhen was also very excited. He already knew the news that Jia Hun was conferred the title of Great General Sima and Marquis of Wuwei County. Since the old masters of the East and West prefectures passed away successively, Jia Zhen finally ushered in a new backer.

He, a third-rank general, sounds like a bluff, but in fact, throwing a brick in the city can kill a whole third-rank official, which is not as useful as his status as the patriarch of the Jia clan.

But Jia Hun was different. Even throwing away all his identities, even his terrifying force was enough to shock the capital.

"Brother Zhen, come here, I saw Tuanlongqi!"

Jia Lian, who was lying on the window and staring at the pier, shouted excitedly.

"It's finally here, come on, third child, go downstairs with brother and wait!"

Jia Zhen seemed more excited than Jia Lian's own son and brother, grabbed Jia Lian and rushed downstairs.

"Wait, wait, brother Zhen, the royal guard of honor and the duke's guard of honor have to leave first, then it's the master's turn!" Jia Lian hurriedly pulled Jia Zhen back.

"Ah, yes, I almost forgot about this, so let's continue to wait. If you want to eat something, let's eat something first. Depending on the situation, it will probably be in the afternoon." Jia Zhen finally came to her senses.

He only thought about Brother Hun, but forgot that he had to send two groups of people down first.

The emperor lined up a guard of honor, and walked towards the capital in a mighty manner. Several piers in Tongzhou Wharf were guards of honor for the emperor. People from several piers came down together, and they were arranged in the corresponding positions in an orderly manner. Alright team.

Immediately afterwards, the prince's guard of honor unloaded two more boats, followed by the Duke of the State and the Duke of the County...

After another two hours of tossing from noon, the boat with the Jia family's cloud patterns finally landed.

Jia Zhen and Jia Lian hurried up to meet them.

"My nephew paid a visit to my uncle, ah, I met Brother Hui, you have worked hard all the way!"

"Baby Jia Lian pays respects to the master and elder brother!" The two hurriedly greeted each other.

"No courtesy, no courtesy, have you waited for a long time?"

"It didn't take long, we just arrived!"

"Brother Jia Hui has seen Big Brother Zhen, oh, brother Lian, he has grown up so much!" Jia Lian threw himself at Jia Hui, who quickly caught Jia Lian.

"Brother, I miss you so much!" Jia Lian choked up.

"Haha, didn't I come back? I will face you when you stay at home in the future. I promise you will see me if you don't want to see me again!"

Jia Hun patted Jia Lian on the back.

"Oh, by the way, I heard that your kid is engaged?"

Jia Hun smiled narrowly, and whispered every word in Jia Lian's ear.

Jia Lian froze, scratched the back of his head, and kept shy.

"Okay, don't get stuck here, we'll talk about it on the way." Jia Amnesty reminded.

Jia She and Jia Zhen got into the carriage, and Jia Hun and Jia Lian rode on the horses brought by the servants.

Jia Amnesty's concubine and Yue Liduo followed them in the car.

All the way west.

(End of this chapter)