Chapter 343 Tour of Jiangnan

Author: There are dragons in Nanshan

Chapter 343 Tour of Jiangnan

Nanjing City, railway station.

The steam train made a whimpering roar and slowly stood by.

When King Ning received the imperial edict from the emperor on a tour, he ran over from Chengdu Prefecture early and led the officials of Yingtian Prefecture to welcome him at the station.

The train stopped, and the first team of Jinyiwei was to get off.

Yuan Bin looked around and confirmed that there was no danger. He turned around and knocked on the door of the carriage.

The car door opened, and Zhu Qizhen walked out of the train accompanied by Fan Zhong and others.

It took about two thousand miles from Beijing to Nanjing. In later generations, it took less than half a day to take the high-speed rail.

The most primitive steam train had a speed of only about fifty kilometers per hour, and it ran for two days and two nights.

For Zhu Qizhen, it was simply speed and too much torment.

However, others were quite excited, as if they had discovered a new world.

Because the train does not need to rest, as long as the stations along the way are replenished with coal, you can continue to run and tirelessly.

Moreover, the train carries people to transport goods. Just imagine, if a war occurs, a cart of troops, weapons, equipment, food and supplies will be transported to the front line continuously, and the other party will surrender before the fight can be started.

War is not only about the number of people and equipment, but more importantly, the supply.

When Emperor Taizong attacked Mongolia in the north and Annan in the south, he needed more than half a year to prepare for each war.

Before the troops move, food and grass will come first. Before the army set out, a vanguard team will be needed to explore the way and open a food route.

This grain route will be related to the trend of the entire battle. In the Battle of Tumu Fort, the Ming army's grain route was cut off by the Oirat, resulting in the siege of the army. If Zhu Qizhen had not burned his boats and fought with his back, the history of the emperor who called the sect would have been repeated.

But with railways and trains, everything changed.

No matter when and where the war broke out, the imperial court's troops arrived day by night, and the supplies were continuously flowing. How could the opponent fight?

King Ning stepped forward and said respectfully: "I welcome the emperor on a tour!"

Zhu Qizhen walked out of the train, breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "I'm so exhausted after I sat there for two days and two nights!"

This is not his pretentiousness, it is really... The trains of this era do not consider comfort at all. Even the most luxurious A-shaped carriages are just gorgeously decorated and have more spacious seats.

The whole car is like a huge iron can. I won’t mention the noise. The key is that the air circulation is extremely poor. Moreover, because the car is in front of the car, the coal smoke from the locomotive steam engine keeps pouring in. Over time, it makes people feel nauseous.

Zhu Qizhen walked out of the station with everyone's company. It was late spring and early summer, and there was a charm of "the sunrise, the flowers in the river are redder than fire, and the river waters in the river are green as blue."

King Ning couldn't help but laugh and said, "Thank you for your hard work, I have prepared a banquet to welcome the emperor."

"Forget the banquet, extravagance and waste are not advisable!"

Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said with a smile: "I appreciate the feelings of your family. Let's do the important things first. Looking back, I still want to walk around Jiangnan for a longer time and take a look!"

King Ning was a man who was good at attacking his heart. When he heard this, he immediately started to wonder in his heart.

The so-called serious business is just patrolling the railway. To be honest, letting the emperor come here mainly to go through a formality.

He didn't even expect that the emperor would come here in person.

However, it’s good that it’s coming. Railways and new policies are all about people’s livelihood. When the emperor comes, he seems to be important.

In this way, the railway bureau's stocks will rise even more!

Therefore, when he learned that the emperor was on a tour, he was excited for three days and three nights and did not fall asleep.

This is not the emperor, it is clearly a golden dragon. Passing through the railway, it has the super power of turning iron into gold!

But... I'll take a look at it more in Jiangnan. What does it mean?

Where to go and what to see?

Then I thought about it again, what can Jiangnan have?

Beautiful girl!

The emperor is in his twenties now, and he is in his prime. He comes to Jiangnan and does not go to the Qinhuai River to see the beautiful women, so why not go to see the scenery?

But if the empress and concubines in the harem find out...

Forget it, I don’t think about it anymore. At that time, as the emperor’s uncle, I will just take the blame in person!

"The emperor is exhausted all the way. I suggest that I should go to the palace to rest first and go to inspect the railway tomorrow. Then, I will accompany the emperor around, wondering what the emperor wants?"

Zhu Qizhen looked at the sky. It was already evening and said, "Okay, my family will make arrangements. I will go to the railway bureau tomorrow and I will visit everyone in person."

King Ning hurriedly nodded: "I obey the order!"

Zhu Qizhen returned to the palace to rest, but King Ning did not dare to neglect it. He first ordered the railway bureau to prepare to welcome the emperor, and then went to the bank of Qinhuai River.

Although the singers on the Qinhuai River are famous all over the world, this is the emperor after all. He wants to choose a few beautiful ones himself, so as not to let those vulgar powders wipe out the emperor's elegance.

At this time, the Qinhuai River was the moment when the thin horses were popular. At one glance, eight out of the ten women were thin, and two were pale and thin... hungry!

Raising a thin horse is a synonym for a deformed aesthetic in this era. Rich people will buy back the beautiful girls in poor families and then practice them, teach them singing, dancing, piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and after they grow up, they sell them as concubines with rich people or enter the Qinlou Chu Pavilion to make profits. Because poor girls are mostly thin, the name "slim horse" comes from this.

In "Yanyu Congkao Raising a Thin Horse", literary master Zhao Yi said: "The people of Yangzhou raise virgins and sell people as concubines, which is commonly called raising a thin horse. The meaning is unknown. Baixiangshan's poem says: Don't raise a thin horse, don't teach a little prostitute. The funeral is here, and I don't believe you remember: The horse is fat and fast, and the prostitute can sing and dance. In three or five years, I have heard of another master. Song Mantang introduces it, thinking that the saying of raising a thin horse is based on this."

For some reason, those high-ranking officials like to be thin, and the thinner the better. Therefore, the thinness of a thin horse is both due to its natural weakness and is also deliberately hungry.

King Ning came to the riverside and directly found the largest painting boat.

This ship was modified from a treasure ship, with three stories high, carved beams and painted roofs, which are extremely luxurious.

The person who went out to welcome the guests was a middle-aged woman. Seeing King Ning's extraordinary demeanor, her face was full of a flattering smile.

"Uncle, you haven't been here for a long time!"

King Ning was stunned for a moment and thought to himself when did I come?

Then he realized that this set of rhetoric was just a skill of the madam attracting guests, and he would say this when he met him.

He nodded quietly and said, "I heard from others that you are the storefront of the Qinhuai River, how do you say it?"

"Oh, uncle, you're talking about it. Our pleasure boat is modified by the official boat, how can it be compared with those small fishing boats?"

"Who asked you about the boat?"

King Ning looked a little unhappy. I came to you to take a boat?

The madam hurriedly smiled: "What the uncle said is that the girls here are all beautiful, especially the sweet girl, who are the courtesans of this year. There are countless famous students who come to visit every day..."

This person was very noisy. King Ning didn't listen much to what he said next, only knew that there was a courtesan named Miss Lianxiang.

It’s not so good to hear this name. It’s so merciful and rude!

"Then call out and let me... cough cough..."

King Ning almost let out a word and quickly pretended to cough.

Fortunately, the madam kept talking about how good and beautiful their sweet-loving girl was, and how proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. Then she changed the subject: "The uncle doesn't know anything. There are so many people who ask for the sweet-loving girl every day. If you are interested, you need to make an appointment."

King Ning frowned. Seeing that the emperor had never made an appointment, I came here and even wanted to make an appointment?

"I'm just a singer, do I need to make an appointment?"

"I'm really sorry, the people who made the appointment have been queued for ten days later, look..."

Upon hearing this, King Ning was about to turn against him on the spot, but then he thought that he was here to have fun for the emperor. If something happened at this critical moment and it would be unpleasant to say.

Forget it, don't be as knowledgeable as these people.

Bang!

He took out a stack of silver notes from his arms, all of which were 100 taels of denominations, and he threw them directly on the table beside him.

The madam's eyes were straight and she hurriedly shut up.

Ning Wang said lightly: "Do you still need to make an appointment?"

"No, no need..."

The madam carefully put away the silver notes. Seeing that the other party was disdainful, she thought to herself that she had met the God of Wealth this time.

"Please go upstairs!"

The madam personally led the way, and King Ning followed her upstairs and came to a door of a room.

"Girl, there are distinguished guests!"

After King Ning entered the door, the madam left tactfully, but after only about a cup of tea, King Ning came out.

The madam was a little surprised. In such a short time, she didn’t finish a song, so why did she come out?

Miss Lianxiang is born with a beautiful and beautiful country. Could it be that this person...can't do it?

She couldn't hide her strange look in her eyes. When she looked at this person again, she thought to herself, she looked like she was not old, and she was only about thirty years old, so why couldn't she do it?

Should I take this opportunity to recommend some secret recipes for ancestral inheritance to him...

"Come here!"
To be continued...