Chapter 365: The prince blocked the road, the warship dragon flag
No words for a night.
The next morning, when the rooster crowed, the sound of washing could be heard in the small courtyard where Zhao Duan lived.
Then, Xu Zhenguan, who was neatly dressed, stepped out and declined Eugene's invitation to have breakfast at the house. With the courtesy of the Zhao family, he took a chariot to welcome Dongfang Yubaibai and returned to the palace.
"Brother." At the door of the Zhao Mansion, a girl wearing a coat raised her face with dark circles under her eyes, with a complicated expression: "Did you and His Majesty last night..."
You Jinhua pursed her lips and raised her ears high.
"..." Zhao Duan scalped her in a state of laughter and tears, and scolded her with a smile:
"You are so young, what are you thinking about? Go back to the house."
He Yawning, ready to go back and catch up on some sleep
——After returning from Houhu last night, Xu Zhenguan stayed in the guest room next door, while Zhao Duan stayed alone in the konggui, and did not fall asleep until late at night due to nervous excitement. .
The mother and daughter went back angrily.
......
On this day, there was an uproar in the capital, and the details of yesterday's meeting in the Plum Garden finally spread.
The news that Mr. Zhengyang surrendered to "King Zhao of Hell" is really shocking, and as expected, it triggered a series of conspiracy theories.
A group of people firmly believed that it was the imperial hawks and dogs who secretly threatened and forced Zhengyang to surrender.
Another group of people who pay attention to "Xin Xue" speculate that "Xin Xue" may have been written by a certain Confucian master and was expressed through the mouth of Zhao Duan.
But there is no evidence.
Zhao Duan had no intention of plagiarizing Yangming's knowledge, so he should just let the outside world speculate and ignore it.
On the other hand, plainclothes officers were sent out to the streets to record those who slandered Mr. Zhao on the list. It was conceivable that a secret arrest would be inevitable later.
In the turmoil caused by this battle, the saying "His Majesty stayed overnight in Zhao Mansion" spread in the official circles of the court, which attracted hundreds of officials to look at him and discuss secretly.
It was a different story again.
The turmoil lasted for about a week, and then gradually subsided as Mr. Zhengyang led his disciples to leave the capital and return to the original route.
Xu Zudi, the eldest son of Prince Heng, also left the capital with Mrs. Xiao at a similar time.
This disappointed many people who were looking forward to another conflict between Xu Zudi and Zhao Duan.
The capital once again gained a rare calm, but as winter progressed, the topic of Huting’s opening of the market gradually heated up, becoming the focus of attention both inside and outside the government.
On the day when Dayu officially ushered in the "beginning of winter" and entered winter, an official ship set sail and rode the biting north wind towards the lake pavilion.
……
……
Huahua——
The official ship cut through the waves, and the sails were vigorously pumping.
In the cabin, which was decorated like an ordinary room, Zhao Duan sat cross-legged on a wool mat that was a tribute from the Western Regions, with his hands clasped and his eyes closed.
A beast-shaped incense burner was placed on the floor in front of him, emitting curls of green smoke.
“Hoo!”
Suddenly, green smoke gently stirred in the windless cabin. Zhao Duan took a deep breath and returned to reality from his meditation practice.
When he opened his eyelids, a dazzling golden light faintly flashed through the black pupils.
“Finally advanced to the middle level of the divine chapter!”
Zhao Duan couldn’t hide his joy. After this period of “digestion”, with the help of the soul power brought by the self-destruction of the bewitched master, , he finally entered the middle level of the divine chapter smoothly.
Buddhism and Taoism were fighting in the early autumn. At that time, I stepped into the divine chapter. Now, only three months have passed, and I have stepped into a small realm.
"At this rate, wouldn't I be able to reach high level a year ago and enter the 'worldly' realm next year? Reach the minimum threshold for dual cultivation with Zhenbao? Well... The premise is that there is a second bewitching master to give I’ll give you the experience.”
Zhao Duan couldn’t help but daydream.
There are no particularly big changes in the breakthrough of the small realm. Apart from the filling of the sea of qi, the more obvious ability is that he has the prototype of "spiritual mind".
“Now, even if I close my eyes, I can vaguely ‘see’ the outside world through my perception. Although it is still blurry and the distance is limited, it is still amazing.”
“And , my reaction speed, memory, and even energy have all improved. No wonder Zhenbao can review the memorials continuously and not show signs of fatigue from high-intensity work. The sublimation of life level brought about by practice is indeed impressive."
Zhao Duan's ears suddenly moved while sighing, and he heard footsteps approaching outside the door.
He looked through the door panel, and suddenly a vague picture of what happened after going out was sketched in his mind.
It was as if my eyes had been opened and I "saw" a pair of long legs in cowhide boots approaching from behind the door, accompanied by trembling black ponytails.
"Sea Division, please come in." Zhao Duan raised the corners of his mouth.
The next second the cabin door opened, revealing a heroic face with tear marks on the corners of his eyes.
Haitang was dressed in a brocade official robe, with a bulging bag full of flying knives at his waist. She looked at him with confusion in her eyes: "How did you know it was me?"
Zhao Du An smiled and said nothing.
Haitang's eyes widened and she said in disbelief: "You are in the top grade?"
Seeing that the latter did not refute, the Narcissus Hall Master held his breath, his expression was extremely complicated, but ripples appeared in his heart:
< br>She recalled that when Zhao Duan entered Zhao Yamen, he was still the weakest among the nine halls. Now, only a few months later, he has already reached the forefront.
"Is something wrong?" Zhao Duan said with a smile, silently enjoying the admiration of his female colleagues.
Haitang gathered his thoughts and said with a straight face: "We will arrive at Huting soon, Hai Zongfeng will call you."
"Have we finally arrived?" Zhao Duan perked up and followed the former out. Cabin, onto the deck.
On this trip, he was ordered by the empress to come to Huting to supervise the opening of the market. It was a long and arduous journey, and he finally arrived after floating on the Grand Canal for several days.
......
Zhao Duan climbed onto the deck, facing the wind blowing from the river, and his vision suddenly became clear.
On the vast river, ships of various sizes sailed on the river in the distance. There were both official ships and merchant ships, keeping their distance from each other.
The winter wind is not warm, even if everyone goes all the way south.
The sails on the ship's mast have been lowered by half, reducing the wind speed. The outline of the mountains can be seen in the distance, and the city dock is vaguely discernible.
"Sir!"
As soon as he appeared, the Pear Blossom Hall officials accompanying him on the deck greeted each other one after another. This time, two of the "four pear blossoms" were dispatched, Qian Kerou and Zheng Laojiu stayed behind. Beijing.
Two rough guys, Hou Renmeng and Shen Juan, led a team of Jinyi to follow, and there was also a team of forbidden troops on the ship to protect them.
Haitang was seconded as an additional deputy to Zhao Duan.
“Out?”
On the deck, the eunuch Ouchi standing by the railing turned around with a smile.
This head of worship, whose real name is "Hai Chunlin", escorted Zhao Duan south this time.
The Ouchi eunuch, who is more than a hundred years old, does not wear the extremely ostentatious bright red python robe. He only has a cotton robe. Although he is old, his wrinkled face is flushed. I don't know if it's because of the strong blood or the cold wind.
"Eh? You... have entered the middle grade?"
Eunuch Hai narrowed his eyes and carefully looked at the gorgeous clothes. Zhao Duan, who was also not wearing official robes, was slightly surprised.
"Haha, I can't hide it from my father-in-law." Zhao Duan said with a smile.
The old worshipper smacked his lips, suddenly glanced at Haitang, and sighed:
"It's a pity that your majesty took action first, otherwise father-in-law, I would have really thought of accepting a disciple." Haitang had no expression on his face. , and glared at him angrily: "If the father-in-law said that, just talk about him, what do you want me to do?"
Hai Chunlin smiled, not annoyed at all.
How many people in the entire court dare to talk to the old worshipper like this? But people around him were already used to it.
“You don’t have to be so serious.” Zhao Duan said with a smile, “If I had known earlier that you, Haitang, were a relative of Haitang, we two cousins would have been closer by now.”
When Eunuch Hai entered the palace, there were still people at home.
At that time, he was from a small family, so he was willing to send his children to the palace to be eunuchs.
After Hai Chunlin became a worshiper, the "Hai family" outside was also taken care of. Although it was not a wealthy family, it still ensured the family's success for a hundred years.
In terms of seniority, Haitang’s great-great-grandfather was Hai Chunlin’s brother, and he was truly a close relative.
She is also the second person in the Hai family in the past hundred years, besides Hai Chunlin, to have a good talent in cultivation. She is also a careful mind and handles things properly, so she can work in the imperial office.
Eunuch Hai also loved his great-great-granddaughter very much, but Haitang was someone who did not want to rely on her background, so only a few people knew about the connection between the two.
“Oh, you don’t have to have such a great background, but you have to work hard on your own. Are the children of wealthy families with good backgrounds so mentally ill?”
Zhao Duan learned that his grandfather and grandson were two After having a relationship with someone, he complained crazily in his heart. He used to think that this kind of thing only happened in TV series, but he didn't expect that there was one beside him.
"Mr. Zhao, please call me your official position when working."
Haitang rolled his eyes, refused, and said in a slightly sarcastic tone:
"Mr. Zhao, if you care about your subordinates, you can Go take care of the two over there.”
Zhao Duan had no choice but to follow her gaze to the corner of the official ship's deck.
There were two other expert guards assigned to him by Zhenbao.
Lang Shiba and Ji Yue.
At this moment, the swordsman named Lang Shiba was sitting cross-legged in the corner of the deck, with his long hair covering one eye.
The coarse cloth and green shirt were thin. He placed a knife across his knees. Next to him was the extremely huge green-skinned gourd. The gourd's mouth was open, letting out the aroma of strong liquor.
Lang Shiba held a broken pottery bowl in his hand, staring blankly in his eyes, occasionally taking a sip of the strong wine in the bowl.
If you drink it all, take another bowl from the big wine gourd.
He is a "drunkard"...
Five steps away, there is a warlock "Jiyue" dressed in red, with most of the whites in his pupils like a female ghost.
Her body is always damp, and the chains on her wrists and ankles that originally imprisoned her are gone, replaced by scars caused by wear and tear from long-term confinement.
Jiyue lowered her head, avoiding everyone's eyes and rarely spoke.
Based on Zhao Duan’s observations along the way, it is determined that she is a deep social fear...
“Father-in-law, I have always wanted to ask, what is the origin of these two people arranged by your Majesty? ?”
Zhao Duan sighed and asked for advice softly, “It always seems unreliable.”
The old priest put his hands behind his back and smiled kindly like an elder in the village. :
"Didn't I tell you about it? One is from the north and the other is from the east."
I don't want to listen to nonsense... Zhao Duan sighed softly and said:< br>
"I have observed these days that although Lang Shiba looks drunk and like an uninhibited wanderer, he has an indelible spirit of martial arts, but it is not strong. I am afraid he was also a strong man in the army. ? Northland? To the north of the capital is Tieguan Road, the territory of King Yanshan...
But it has nothing to do with King Yanshan, and such a master should not be unknown. It is the imperial court in Tieguan A person from Daotunbing who refuses to be in Beicheng? "
"As for Ji Yue, she is afraid of being afraid of others...well, she is afraid of being in contact with others. Her accent is a bit weird, not like that. Qingzhou is not like Binhai Road...it doesn't look as tanned as the one in Lingnan, and occasionally speaks in a gibberish dialect. Could it be that he is from the Thousand Islands in the East China Sea and not from the Yu Dynasty?"
< br>
Eunuch Hai's smile did not change: "Didn't you guess a lot?"
Zhao Duan smiled bitterly and said: "I want to know more details, otherwise I won't be at ease in using it."
>Eunuch Hai laughed and said:
"Why don't you worry about what your Majesty gives you? Just feel at ease. Before you die, make sure these two die before you."
The swordsman and the drunkard seem to be He didn't hear the discussion here and continued to drink by himself blankly.
The white-eyed female ghost quickly glanced this way. After meeting Zhao Duan's gaze, she turned back and silently looked at the wet toes of the embroidered shoes on her feet.
"Okay..." Zhao Duan sighed. The old man was so bad that he didn't want to reveal anything, but there was nothing he could do.
He held on to the railing, looked at the port and city ahead, and said:
“Lake Pavilion... I heard in Beijing that there is such a place at the junction of Linfeng and Huai River. It was first built as a berthing wharf during the construction of the Grand Canal by the previous dynasty. It later gradually developed.
It is still just a "town" in the six books, but it is already larger than the county seat. If there are too many, it is nothing more than an isolated site, a port where merchant ships pass through the canal, and goods are exchanged. It cannot become a county without enough villages and towns under its jurisdiction.
But the sight of buildings on the shore and thousands of sailboats racing across the river is not surprising for a city like Taicang. "
After a pause, Zhao Duan continued:
"It is said that the word "Lake" in the name Huting comes from the "Smoke Lock Lake" from the flood discharge here. , and there is a huge statue of a god carved on the mountain cliff by the lake? It is also a place of historical interest. Many scholars from Jiangnan wrote poems about it and made it famous.
Princess Xu Junling seems to have written several poems here. Well, after all, this is the territory of the Huaihe River. What percentage of the entire Huting is occupied by the shops and merchant ships of the Huai'an Prince's Palace? "
Hai Chunlin stood on the deck and looked into the distance like him, and said with a smile:
"Our family doesn't understand the disputes between the government and the public. We only care about your life, but we also listen. I don’t know what you want to say. The market in Huting is about to open. King Huai’an and King Jing are close to here. The shadow guard’s intelligence said that they have arrived many days before us.
The other princes have also sent their confidants here, and now they are all rooted in this city... I dare say that there are countless pairs of eyes in the whole city staring at you now. "
Zhao Duan sighed: "You want to kill me, right? "
Suddenly, a large ship in front of the field of vision approached rapidly from far to near, attracting the attention of everyone on the deck.
"Sir, the ship in front seems to be coming towards us! ”
Hou Ren frowned fiercely and held the handle of the knife.
Haitang, who has a more delicate mind and is good at solving crimes, raised his eyebrows and his face changed slightly:
"This is not an ordinary ship, it is a warship! There is no war at this time, who is driving the warship? On the river? "
The appearance of warships on the river attracted everyone's attention.
I saw a huge thing breaking through the waves approaching on the river.
It has a third floor, six feet high, painted with red paint, wrapped in iron armor, and equipped with a horse stable. The arrow holes on the female wall are so densely packed that it is shocking to look at them.
Zhao Duan held on to the handrails of the ship with both hands, narrowed his eyes, and stared coldly at the behemoth that was two or three times larger than the ship under his feet.
Clench your palms slightly.
Although they are still far apart, it seems that they can vaguely hear the sound of silk and bamboo strings. There seem to be many men and women playing and playing on the warship.
The one at the top is not the Huai River Navy, but a black and yellow flag hunting in the wind, with a four-clawed golden dragon vaguely drawn on the flag.
"The flag of Prince Jing's Mansion!" Haitang's expression changed slightly.
Eunuch Hai looked at a certain figure on the deck of the warship, suddenly looked at Zhao Duan, and said meaningfully:
"Your love rival is here."
Love rival ?
Zhao Duan was startled, then remembered a certain rumor, and blurted out:
"Prince Jing? Xu Jinglong?"
Far away.
On the third floor of the behemoth "ironclad ship", Xu Jinglong put his hands behind his back and looked down at the low official ship in front, with no expression on his face.
……
Today’s update, typos will be corrected first and then
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(End of this chapter)