Kai Fu Han

Chapter 182 The Trip to Hangzhou
Zhu Lang was one of the five Dengzhou naval households who directly followed Gao Yuan in the uprising. After joining the Xinghan League, he showed his ability to be higher than ordinary people and was promoted along the way. Now he is the adjutant of the First Fleet and Dengzhou The deputy captain of the ship, with the rank of lieutenant, possesses a three-star general card.

There are two waterways from Hangzhou to Yangzhou. One is from the Qiantang River to the sea, then on the back, then into the Yangtze River, and upstream along the Yangtze River to Yangzhou.

The other is through the canal, starting from Hangzhou, passing through Chongde, Xiuzhou, Wujiang, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Danyang, Dantu, and finally crossing the Yangtze River to Yangzhou.

Going around the sea to Yangzhou will be longer than going along the canal, but the boat going around the sea will be faster, so Zhao Liang estimates that no matter which of the two waterways you take, the time required to reach Yangzhou should be about the same. big.

I have traveled by sea several times, but never by canal.

Zhao Liang chose to go to Yangzhou from the canal.

Reasons for choosing this waterway:
On the one hand, if you are familiar with this waterway, you will be more familiar with it when you run again in the future.

On the other hand, you should also get familiar with the customs, customs and development of the situation along the coast.

Because he had to go through the canal, Zhao Liang gave up driving the Dengzhou. The Dengzhou was a lucky boat and required high wading depth. Half of the inland river boats were flat-bottomed boats.

The last ships chosen to go to Yangzhou were the Zizhou (sand ship) and Yizhou (sand ship). During the three days that Zhao Liang and others went to Dadi Mountain, all the cargo on the ship had been unloaded from the ship and stored at the station. in the warehouse.

On August [-], the Zizhou and Yizhou departed from the port of Jiubao Town and entered the canal. As soon as they entered the canal, they encountered a checkpoint. The gatekeepers boarded the ship for inspection. However, it was finally discovered that they were basically two empty ships. ship, but the tax is still collected according to the "standard" of passenger ships.

Zhao Liang could not refute the tax collector's characterization. After all, Zhao Liang could not say that the people on board were not human beings...

Along the way, both sides of the canal are relatively prosperous, with many ports, most of which are business stores.

Even in later generations, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal will be the longest and largest canal in the world. It is a great project created by the Chinese working people.The canal has greatly promoted the economic and cultural development and exchanges between the north and the south of China, especially the development of the industrial and agricultural economy in the areas along the canal.

There are so many ships on the canal that even if there are enough powerful oars on the two sand boats, the speed will not increase. The "ship jam" limits the maximum speed of all ships sailing on the canal.

"In the future, I will never come to this canal to join in the fun unless necessary." Zhao Liang looked at the slow speed of the boat, his tone full of helplessness.

"I'm really going to lose my mind if I don't leave the vast sea and the Yangtze River."

"You are not a prophet, you can predict the future." Zhou Xinyuan said.

"At this rate, how many days will it take us to reach Yangzhou?" Zhao Liang wailed helplessly.

"I think it will take five or six days anyway." Zhou Xinyuan guessed.

"It's impossible. It can take seven or eight days at the fastest, or more than ten days at the slowest time." Xu Han clarified everyone's doubts. He took a canal boat to the capital, so he knew the speed of boats on the canal.

……

At the beginning, seeing the scenery on both sides of the strait was quite fresh. After several days of continuous viewing, I really saw enough. If it weren’t for the need to draw a simple topographic map of the two sides of the strait according to the drawing standards of the Xinghan League, Zhao Liang probably wouldn’t know how to do it. On deck.

In addition to the slow speed of the ship, compared with sea transportation, the canal really has too many checkpoints along the way.Zhao Liang roughly estimated that if there are the same number of checkpoints on the canal in the north as on the canal in the south, then if a ship of grain is transported from Hangzhou to the north along the canal, the "tax" collected by the checkpoints alone can increase the price of grain. Twice the cost, plus other expenses, it is more than double the cost of sea transportation.

"Does the court not care about these people?" Zhao Liang asked Xu Han.

"The relationship is complicated and the interests involved are huge. You can't control it even if you don't want to," Xu Han replied.

"Then there's nothing we can do?" Zhao Liang asked again.

"Some high-ranking officials, big families, and gun-hungry gangs on the canal will put their own flags on the boats, and then the tax collectors, river pirates, etc. who are well-prepared, invincible, and weak in power will not cause trouble, and the boat will sail smoothly. It will be much smoother." Xu Han replied.

"I can buy a flag like this and put it up. Can I get through?" Zhao Liang was curious.

"This flag is really available, but you can only buy it from the owner. I heard it's expensive." Xu Han explained.

"This business (selling flags) is really overbearing." Zhao Liang yearned: "When will our Xinghan Alliance navy become powerful all over the world, then we will also sell flags and sell them at sea."

……

On August [-], the two ships of the first fleet of the Xinghan League finally arrived in Yangzhou. Zhao Liang, who was used to shipping, felt a sense of relief after staying at sea for more than ten days.

The ship exited the canal from Dantukou in Runzhou, Liangzhe Road, entered the Yangtze River, and then entered the canal in the north of the Yangtze River from Guazhou Town. After continuing for thirty miles, it finally arrived at Zhenjiang, Guofu County, Yangzhou.

When they arrived outside Yangzhou City, it was already dark. Everyone had an early rest before entering the city the next day.

On August 21, only Zhao Liang, Zhou Xinyuan and Xu Han entered Yangzhou City. Xu Han's servants, officers and soldiers of the fleet, and Wanyan Zongjun all stayed on the ship to wait for news.

Following Xu Han into Yangzhou City, he began to visit one house after another. Some of the visited houses did not allow the three of them to enter. The servants came out to shirk the absence of the master and sent the three of them away. Some of them sent the three of them away. He was welcomed into the door, but the conversation was limited to politeness, and there was no in-depth communication with Xu Han.

Only a few households agreed to Xu Han's invitation and went to a restaurant by the canal for dinner at noon.

At noon, there was a private room on the second floor of Baifu Building by the canal. One of the five people who had promised to come to the banquet brought his family to tell Xu Han that something suddenly happened at home and they could not come. In the end, only four of them actually entered the private room. Door.

"It's really a waste of time. Only four brothers think highly of me, Xu. I'd like to thank you here." Xu Han raised his glass to thank the four people who were invited to the banquet, and drank the wine in the glass first. To show sincerity.

"Brother Xu, you're welcome. In the past, you took great care of us and gave us many suggestions. We have always been grateful. Now that Brother Xu is invited, it is of course our duty to do so." someone replied.

"That's right, we know how to repay kindness, but wherever Brother Xu is useful, I will do my best."

...The four of them replied one after another.

"Thank you all. Come! Let's treat everyone to a drink. Let's have a drink first. This is the fairy wine that I finally found. You can see the color of this wine, crystal clear; smell the wine, and the fragrance is overflowing. Ever since I drank this wine, I can no longer swallow any other wine." Xu Han introduced.

(End of this chapter)