This time, Yang Ling had brought along three hundred personal guards, all of whom were brave and skilled in battle from his personal barracks. Each of them was equipped with a podao and a dagger. The three hundred men were divided into three teams, each equipped with a repeating crossbow, a short gun, and a longbow. Unless there was an armed rebellion, these three hundred men would not be able to harm a single hair on Yang Ling's head.
These guards were personally selected by the head of the inner factory, Wu Jie. Yang Ling was the soul of the inner factory, and the future of thousands of people depended on Yang Ling. How could Wu Jie dare to be careless?
If it weren't for the fact that Yang Ling felt that it would be too much of a ruckus, Wu Jie really wanted to equip his ship with a thousand men and horses, as well as a few cannons.
Two large ships were enough to carry the three hundred people, but this third ship was actually carrying the goods of the capital's wealthy families to the south. There were as many princes and nobles in the capital as there were hairs on a cow. These large families had at least a few hundred people, and at most a thousand people. How much land outside of Beijing could support them? These families had long been secretly engaged in commercial trade, and they often used their family's influence to hitch a ride on the official's ship.
Two days before Yang Ling's departure, Zhu Heyi, the son of Duke Cheng and Zhu Gang, and Xue Huan, the Emperor's son-in-law, came looking for him, asking him to hitch a ride on the goods. When the goods arrived, they would be received by the family of Duke Cheng Province. Duke Cheng had helped Yang Ling greatly, so he was reassured to send his son, thinking that Yang Ling would definitely sell him this little bit of face.
Ever since Xue Huan's female official from Princess Ning Qing's Residence was beaten to death, the new female official had learned a lesson and did not dare to make things difficult for the couple. The couple interrogated the servants in the residence and found out that Yang Ling was biased towards them. They were extremely grateful to him, so they hitched a ride with him to gain benefits. Their main purpose was to express their gratitude and build up a relationship.
Yang Ling naturally agreed. Inspired by this, he thought of his plan to win over the nobles in the capital. Yang Ling took the initiative to hint to the officials in the capital that he could help them carry the goods. Even the Marquis Of Shouning and the Marquis of Jianchang brothers coveted the huge profits that could be brought by a southern tour, and shamelessly sent five carts of northern specialties that were in short supply in the south.
Yang Ling did not make things difficult for them in the slightest and accepted all of them. The Zhang brothers saw that he did not care about the past and were very grateful to him. Of course, Yang Ling had his own selfish motives. The more people's interests were tied to his, the more beneficial it would be for his future plans. These people could also become his protective umbrella. It would be of great benefit to him to build a relationship with these relatives of the Emperor and officials.
Right now, the Imperial Censors at the Imperial Envoy Platform seemed to have collectively gone into hibernation. There was no movement all day, but Yang Ling did not let his guard down because of this. He had already reported this matter to the Emperor of Zhengde and said that he had also transported some goods and that the money he earned would be used to bring some rare southern items to the Emperor to show his sincerity.
Zhengde did not know that Yang Ling would be so 'sinister'. After hearing his sincerity, he was naturally very happy. By pulling the Emperor into the water and making him the head of the smuggling ring, Yang Ling himself felt more at ease. This way, he would not have to worry that someone would stab him in the back when he left the capital.
Yang Ling's banner was that he had just taken charge of the Department of Revenue and had been ordered to inspect Southern Zhili. The officials of the court did not know much about the corruption of the three tax officials of Jiangnan, but Yang Ling had already guessed that someone had tipped off the three guarding eunuchs. Once he left, these three eunuchs, who were like local emperors, would probably be waiting for him. As for how to deal with them, Yang Ling, who knew nothing about the details, had no idea.
The journey to Jiangnan was even more complicated than the struggle in the court in the capital. He had been there for a long time, and the three eunuchs had guarded Jiangnan for many years. They would certainly have many ears and eyes, and their power would be intertwined. Yang Ling had not forgotten how a grand princess had been toyed around in the palm of the hand by a minor female official bribed all the servants of her estate.
Thus, he did not dare to wait until he arrived so that the three eunuchs would be prepared. As a result, the secret agents he had dispatched had already traveled day and night to Jiangnan to monitor the movements of the three guarding eunuchs.
Gao Wenxin stood at the side and quietly observed Yang Ling, who was deep in thought. He had a straight nose, well-defined lips, handsome eyebrows, and a well-proportioned body. When he was deep in thought, there was a depth in his eyes that did not match his age. It made one's heart beat faster just by looking at him.
He had a temperament and eyes that were different from those of his age, but when she thought of how she had performed acupuncture on him and how embarrassed and red Yang Ling's face had been, Gao Wenxin couldn't help but smile. Yang Ling's embarrassment had swept away all her uneasiness. Now, acupuncture had become a daily tradition for her to enjoy the embarrassed expression of the Governor of the Inner Works.
With the speed of the giant boat, thirty li of water could be reached in a short while. Standing at the bow of the boat, Yang Ling could already see the palace pier in the distance. There were also a few smaller boats slowly departing from the pier. Not far up the stone steps of the pier was a beautiful and dazzling palace.
Along the canal, a temporary palace had to be built every day for the emperor to stay when he left the capital for his inspection tour of Nanjing. When the Son of Heaven went on an inspection tour, he naturally could not just find a random house to stay in.
But although the construction of these temporary palaces was not cheap, requiring the garrison of soldiers, the care of servants, and the annual maintenance costs, it was of no use at all.
Other than Emperor Yongle, who had once lived here, all subsequent emperors had been bound by the system they had devised to display the majesty of the Son of Heaven. They had committed suicide, living their entire lives in the Forbidden City like a canary.
It was often said that the land of the ruler was not the land of the king, but this king had no right to inspect his country. The temporary palace had been left empty, built, repaired, and repaired for more than one hundred years. Not far from the temporary palace, there were several guest houses built. The royal family, the various kings' mansions, the imperial envoys, and the ministers all used the pier here to stop and rest.
Yang Ling turned around. When Gao Wenxin saw him, the smile on her lips immediately disappeared, and she humbly lowered her elegant swan-like neck. Yang Ling's eyes were sharp, and he had long seen the smile on her lips. In the past, this young lady had never dared to joke around with him, but ever since he asked her to treat his illness, the reverence and respect in her eyes when they first met had gradually disappeared.
How sad, he missed the old days. Yang Ling always felt that the smile she looked at him with was a little different from the past, but he could not do anything about it. Women, if they were too far away, they would be inferior, and if they were too close, they would be disrespectful. Exposing his butt all day for others to touch, how could he still have the dignity to pretend to be a master?
Yang Ling secretly snorted, and said to Gao Wenxin, "Go, pack your belongings, and prepare to disembark."
"Yes, Master!" Gao Wenxin complied, and just as she was about to turn around, there was a 'bang' sound, the ship shook violently, Gao Wenxin cried out and fell into Yang Ling's arms. Yang Ling could not stand steadily, and when she threw herself at him, the two of them immediately fell into a heap.
Many of the foreigners on the ship were not paying attention and fell to the ground, but as soon as their bodies hit the ground, they immediately jumped up, and with a 'keng' sound, they pulled out their shining podaos and rushed to the side of the ship, shouting, "Who dares to attack the Factory Supervisor's ship?"
At this time, five or six foreigners also held their podaos on their backs, using them as meat shields to surround Yang Ling and Gao Wenxin in the middle, cautiously looking around. Yang Ling was secretly alarmed, "Could it be that Dongchang sent people to ambush me?" He nervously shouted loudly, "Don't panic, quickly look, what happened?"
Gao Wenxin threw herself into Yang Ling's arms, and was shocked to find that Yang Ling's hand was pressing on her perky breasts, she couldn't help but feel angry and embarrassed. She opened her eyes to look, and saw that Yang Ling was facing the sky, displaying his authority as a Factory Supervisor, not only did he not have the slightest reaction to her throwing herself at him, it seemed like he did not even realize that his hand was pressing on the girl's plump breasts. For no reason, Gao Wenxin's heart suddenly felt a sense of pride.
She had suffered for nothing, Gao Wenxin was so angry that her teeth itched, but she did not dare to make a sound, and hurriedly climbed up from his body. By this time, the big ship had stabilized, and a baihu stood on the observation deck and saw the situation below. His nervousness disappeared, and then he sternly shouted, "Are you blind dog, why don't you give way? Why don't you look at who is on the ship, and disturb the master, I want your head. "
As soon as the official's voice faded away, a voice twice as loud as his could be heard shouting in Shandong dialect, "F * ck your mother, I've scratched the bottom of the boat and it hurts so much that I'm crying out. How can you open the bottom of the boat with your blind eyes? Yeah! F * ck my mother, where is the Taoist Master? Where did the Taoist master Zhang fall to? "
His voice was really loud, and Yang Ling could hear it clearly. As soon as he heard the three words "Taoist master Zhang", he was shocked. He quickly climbed up, ran to the side of the ship, and looked down. He saw that the stern of a two-masted ship, which was two sizes smaller, had been smashed to pieces, and the water was pouring into the cabin. The back of the ship had already begun to sink, and the front of the ship was tilted up.
A few boatmen, who looked like black iron towers, were running around the ship in panic, looking for something, and for a moment, they could not tell who was cursing. They saw a thin, well-dressed scholar holding onto the mast, shouting, "Stop looking, the Taoist Master fell into the river, quickly go down and get him!"
One of the boatmen, who seemed to be the leader, slapped his thigh hard and shouted, "Old fart, hurry up and get out of here!" Several big men, not even bothering to take off their clothes, went into the water with a splash.
The few boatmen had entered the water from the back of the boat, so they could not find anything from the high bow of the boat. Yang Ling could see clearly from the bow of the boat. He saw a strand of hair floating on the surface of the water at the bow of the boat. He hurriedly shouted, "It's at the bow, it's at the bow! Go down and save him! "
Although the foreigners on the ship were northerners, some of them were good swimmers, so they quickly threw away their podaos and jumped into the water. Not long after, two good swimmers carried a person up. Yang Ling said happily, "You found the Taoist Master?"
The person was wearing a green Taoist robe, and his Taoist crown was nowhere to be seen. His long hair was loose, covering his face, and he seemed to have fainted. The two foreigners stepped on the water, one on the left and one on the right, to support him, but he did not move. One of the foreigners wiped the water off his face, "Your Excellency, this person is a woman, not a Taoist Master."
When Yang Ling heard this, his heart skipped a beat. In the past, he heard that there were evil Taoist priests who used women as cauldrons to cultivate yin and yang. Was the great Taoist master Zhang also such a person?
When a few good swimmers heard the call, they all swam over and dove into the water. After a while, three feet away, one of the boatmen finally dragged a person in a green robe out, and shouted, "In the mud, in the mud!"
Yang Ling didn't have time to think, and he quickly ordered his men to lower the ropes. He first tied the unconscious Celestial Master Zhang and the female Taoist priest up, then pulled the rest of the people up. At that moment, Commander Liu of the State Guard, who was far away at the pier, also saw the two ships colliding, and he hurriedly rode his ship to the rescue.
Knowing that the Taoist Tong next to the Taoist master Zhang was a woman, it was naturally inconvenient to save her in front of others. Gao Wenxin quickly asked people to carry her into the cabin, and she helped her.
When Commander Liu arrived on Yang Ling's ship, he did not need to greet Yang Ling, and the two of them surrounded the pale and unconscious Taoist master Zhang. Legend had it that the Taoist master Zhang was omnipotent, and had great supernatural power. He was even ranked in the Immortal Palace. Unexpectedly, the River Dragon King did not give him face, and forced him to drink until he was full. Yang Ling and Commander Liu squatted at the side and watched the foreigners squeeze his abdomen, and streams of water kept flowing out of his mouth.
After a long while, the Taoist priest Zhixu, Jing Chengxian, Hong Zhan, and Zhang Yanshuo slowly woke up. When Yang Ling and Commander Liu saw this, they could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.
The little Taoist opened his eyes, and seemed to feel that it was a little embarrassing for the Taoist master to fall into the water, and that a few boatmen had to press and press to save him. He had not seen the person in front of him clearly, and laughed, "I have long predicted that there would be a disaster in the water in the ninth month, but it should be today, hahaha …"
Yang Ling touched his nose, and secretly cursed in his heart, "This swindler!"
He suddenly remembered that there was a pretty Taoist aunt named Fu Bao in the cabin, and could not help but add, "This swindler!"
* * *
When the night was waning, Baihu Zheng walked into the cabin and saw that the factory supervisor was playing chess with the Taoist master Zhang. He quickly stood aside, bowed, and waited. Yang Ling frowned, and stared at the chessboard in front of him. He was silent for a long time, as if he could not make up his mind.
Baihu Zheng stole a glance, and suddenly realized that the factory supervisor's tall and beautiful maid was standing behind the factory supervisor. She was slightly leaning forward, and seemed to be looking at the chessboard with great interest, but her slender jade-like hands were quietly scribbling on the back of the factory supervisor.
Gao Wenxin's slender fingers were scribbling on Yang Ling's back at a slow pace, and there were not many strokes, so Baihu Zheng could clearly see that it was "Pao Two Flat One". When the girl finished, he saw the factory supervisor's eyebrows twitch, and as if he had just thought of a good move, he picked up the pao and slammed it down. His move was decisive and neat, and he had a card up his sleeve.
Baihu Zheng secretly sweated, and quickly turned his eyes to avoid embarrassing himself. Unexpectedly, when he turned his eyes, he saw the short and skinny middle-aged scholar in his thirties standing beside the Taoist master Zhang with a smile, and one of his hands was also scribbling on the back of the Taoist master. Baihu Zheng could not help but look at Yang Ling and the Taoist master Zhang in astonishment, not understanding why these two puppets were so serious.
Every time Gao Wenxin beat Yang Ling in a game of chess, she would be happy for half a day, as if she had made Yang Ling concede defeat in something, and was very proud of it. If she had to deliberately lose to Yang Ling to make him happy, she would not have done so. But as she watched Yang Ling repeatedly lose to the hands of the Taoist master Zhang, this young lady's heart was very uncomfortable. It was as if she had beaten her own child, and what right did an outsider have to do so? Thus, he decided to help Great Master Yang cheat.
Taoist master Zhang, who had been beaten to a pulp for the past few days, learned from his painful experience and improved his chess skills by leaps and bounds. Gao Wenxin guessed that Steward Liao, who was next to him, was secretly helping him, so she began to compete with him. It turned into an open fight between Yang Ling and the Taoist master Zhang, while the little handmaiden and Steward Liao fought in the dark.
When Gao Wenxin saw her opponent's move, she immediately wrote on Yang Ling's back, "Horse two, retreat four", and a smile appeared on her face. "Two horses drinking spring"! Her sneak attack was a success, and with three consecutive moves, she would definitely be able to kill her opponent. The Taoist master Zhang's army was suppressed by the cannons, and could not retreat.
Steward Liao stared at her for a long time, then looked at Gao Wenxin and sighed, and did not say another word. Taoist master Zhang understood, and chuckled. "I've lost!"
Yang Ling glanced at Gao Wenxin, and Gao Wenxin blinked. Yang Ling chuckled, then turned to Official Zheng and asked, "What's the matter?"
Official Zheng pretended not to see the exchange between his master and the pretty handmaiden. He bowed and said, "Milord, the ship has arrived at the town of Shanghai. Should we stop here tonight?"
"Oh? We've arrived at Shanghai? " Yang Ling was surprised, and hurriedly pulled open the cabin's curtain to look outside. All he saw was a sky full of stars above, and a desolate land below. There were a few inns scattered along the river, but there were only a few houses in the distance. It was completely different from the city he remembered. Yang Ling couldn't help but be disappointed. "This is Shanghai?"
Steward Liao thought that the Factory Supervisor found this place to be shabby, and smiled. "Milord, although this town looks a little desolate, the food and wine have a unique flavor. Why don't we stop the ship and take a walk to relieve our fatigue?"
Yang Ling said, "Alright, let's get off the ship and take a walk." He looked around, then said to Taoist master Zhang, "Where's your sister? Let's invite her to have some food and wine with us."
Taoist master Zhang shook his head. "She said she wasn't feeling well today. Don't worry about her. I'll bring her some food when we return."
After the Emperor's wedding, this Taoist master Zhang stayed in the capital to visit friends and relatives. Duke Cheng's family had so many friends and relatives that it took more than half a month for each family to attend a banquet. In addition, it was rare for the Taoist master to come to the capital, so these friends and relatives had to ask him to take a look at fengshui and physiognomy. This took almost two months.
Wu Jiyuan, the wealthy man from Wuzhong, had sent his steward to accompany him long before he came to the capital. He earnestly asked the Taoist master to go to Suzhou after his trip to the capital to pray for the Old Master of the Wu family. Although the Wu family was far from Mount Longhu, they had always been devout. More than a hundred years ago, when Zhu Yuanzhang's suppression of Buddhism was at its most severe, the incense on Mount Longhu was dim, and it was difficult to survive. The Wu family secretly sent people to donate money to help the hundreds of disciples of Mount Longhu survive. They could be said to be the great benefactor of the Taoist master.
This mountain and this mansion had such a deep relationship in the past. It was difficult for the young Taoist master to refuse his kindness, so he followed him. He didn't expect that the ship would be damaged by Yang Ling's big ship as soon as it left the Dezhou palace pier. Yang Ling felt very guilty and simply invited them to take the official ship with them.
The foreigners called for the boatmen to stop by the shore and put down the steps. The few of them got off the ship and chose a small inn. This inn was indeed unique. The inn was actually a small wine boat moored by the river and gently swayed with the waves.
At this place, at this time, to taste the local flavor, of course, was to eat crab. Steward Liao asked the attentive boatwoman to warm up two pots of wine. He smiled and said, "The west wind is blowing and the crab's legs are itching. Now that autumn is clear and crisp, it's the season to eat crab. Mr Yang, Taoist master, please have a taste of the local flavor."
Female crabs were eaten in September and male crabs were eaten in October. The boatwoman only served large plates of female crabs. In the past, when Yang Ling ate crabs, he always chopped them up and randomly picked them up with a chopstick. How could he know how to cook them? Seeing the Taoist master Zhang and Steward Liao eating the whole crab in an orderly manner, he couldn't help but feel a little hesitant.
Gao Wenxin was a meticulous person. When she saw the strange expression on her master's face, she obediently took a crab, opened the crab's container, broke off a crab's leg, and deftly picked out the crab's sac and gills. Then, she used the crab's tip to scrape out the hexagonal heart and foreintestines. She then scooped the white and fresh crab meat into a bowl and presented it to Yang Ling. She said, "Master, this thing doesn't need to be dipped in ginger vinegar. The original taste is even more rich and mellow. Please have a taste, Master."
Steward Liao looked at such a knowledgeable and tactful young girl and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "A beautiful night with flowers, a quiet night with wine. Milord is truly a master of samadhi!"
Although Steward Liao's words were a compliment, he made Gao Wenxin's identity a little more ambiguous. When Gao Wenxin heard this, she felt that it was a little frivolous. She couldn't help but blush and feel a little angry.
Seeing this, Yang Ling quickly changed the topic and said, "I was playing chess just now and forgot to drink tea. I'm quite thirsty now. Boatwoman, brew a pot of tea?"
Hearing this, Gao Wenxin softly said, "Master, although this crab is delicious, it's a cold food. In a while, I'll ask the boatwoman to bring a bowl of brown sugar ginger soup. It can quench your thirst and nourish your body. It's better not to drink tea."
Steward Liao smiled and said, "Milord is a northerner. You don't like wine but like tea? There's no harm in drinking a little. "As he said this, he carefully took out a cloth bag from his bosom and said with a smile," This lowly one invites milord to taste this top quality tea. Just this bag of tea doesn't even cost one tael, yet it costs four taels of silver. I had to beg many times before I could get my hands on it. Heh heh, this is good stuff that has a price but no market! "
As he said this, he called over the boatwoman and asked her to bring over a cup. He pinched a handful of tea leaves and put them into the cup.
One tael of silver was enough for a farmer's family to live off for a year. This one tael of tea actually cost four taels of silver. Furthermore, it was obtained through connections. How much money would it normally cost? Hearing this, Yang Ling was moved. He couldn't help but ask, "What kind of tea is this? How can it be so expensive?"
Steward Liao said, "This is Longjing tea from the main mountain of West Lake. To be honest, milord, this lowly one has saved up some money while working at the Wu household. However, even if this lowly one is willing to spend money, this type of top quality tea is still hard to come by."
Yang Ling remembered that in his previous life, Longjing tea could be found all over the streets. Could it be that it was so expensive because of the imbalance between supply and demand? Influenced by Yu Yong, he was now a businessman. As soon as he heard that there was an industry that could make huge profits, he immediately paid attention.
Yang Ling immediately beamed with joy and said, "Is it because there are too few of these planted, or is it difficult to plant them? Steward Liao is a local from Suzhou and Hangzhou, yet it's difficult to buy it? "
Steward Liao said with a smile, "Even the local rich merchants of Hangzhou would be more than happy to buy it. Heh heh, Mo Qinghe, Mo Gonggong, has sent people to guard the tea garden every day. Not a single tael of tea leaves is allowed to leave. Anyone who steals tea leaves will be publicly shackled for three days. Think about it, who would be able to drink it? "
Mo Qinghe? Mo Gonggong, who was in charge of rice, grain, and tea taxes? Wasn't this one of the three eunuchs that he had come to investigate? He was only in charge of taxes. Even if this tea was tribute tea, it should be supervised by the prefectural magistrate of Hangzhou. Why did he overstep the others and directly send people to take over the tea garden?
Yang Ling was suspicious, but his expression did not change. He pretended to not care and asked, "Shouldn't the Hangzhou prefectural magistrate be in charge of Longjing tea? So … Gonggong Mo also has the right to supervise. "
Steward Liao said proudly, "Longjing tea is a tea garden that produces tea from the mountains. It's produced in Xianrenchong, Huangxijian, Wumeijian, and Mengduwan. It's only a dozen or so acres of mountainous land, and it can't produce three to four hundred catties a year. It's not even enough to be used as a tribute. The Longjing tea on the market is produced in the counties near Hangzhou. If it's passed off as Longjing tea from the mountains, the taste will be much worse.
Gonggong Mo is worried that someone will privately sell the tea for a huge profit, so he sent his people to supervise these tea gardens. Even the prefectural magistrate of Hangzhou is not allowed to touch it. Now, every year, all the top-grade Longjing tea is offered to the capital and a few princes according to the imperial decree. Only the tea produced after the eighth of April is allowed to be sold by the prefectural magistrate of Hangzhou for tax. My nephew is a trusted steward under Gonggong Mo. He knows that I like to drink tea, so he asked Gonggong Mo for some. Gonggong Mo only took out a little. Although it's not the top-grade Emperor's Tip, it's not far from it. Daren, please have a taste. "
Yang Ling smiled faintly, not minding at all. Listening to him speak so mysteriously, it's as if it's hard to find in this world. In the Palace of Heavenly Purity's East Warm Pavilion, I've drunk quite a bit of top-grade Emperor's Tip tea. It's even better than this tea. However, there's no need to show off to Steward Liao. He casually took a cup of tea and opened the lid. Under the light of the lamp, he saw that the water was clear and emerald green. There were a few tea leaves floating inside, and a faint fragrance floated out, penetrating straight to the heart and spleen. The fragrance was simple and elegant at first, but it seemed endless. Although it wasn't strong, it was like the fragrance of flowers and plants in the Three Spring Plains, lingering for a long time.
Although the color of the tea leaves in this coarse cup was exactly the same as the top-grade Sparrow's Tongue in the palace, the fragrance was completely incomparable. Yang Ling held the teacup in his hand, unconsciously standing there in a daze.
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