The swaying fleet of ships moved down the Qingjiang River. The first and last ships carried the escort, and in the middle was the Beiliang official ship. On board were students from afar.
The young talents who can accompany the imperial envoys to other countries for exchanges are not from poor family backgrounds. Even if they are from a humble background, reaching this position is indispensable for the appreciation of noble people.
A trip to Wei Dynasty would take at least three or four months. If you don't bring servants, bookboys, bodyguards, etc., your daily life may be a problem. For this reason, everyone is surrounded by more or less accompanying followers and even elders.
There are not many young talents from all walks of life in total, but including the entourage and officials from the Beiliang court, the entire fleet looks quite large, followed by a large number of Beiliang caravans, looking around.
Not to the end of the fleet.
It was still dark, and most of the people on the ship were resting. Only a few Beiliang soldiers were doing routine inspections on each ship.
On the official ship in the center, Li Si, the Minister of Rites, walked out of the ship building alone, stood on the deck and looked at the river bank, with a touch of envy in his eyes.
People who have lived in Yunzhou all year round do not think this place is very special, but Li Si is on the opposite side, but he understands how domineering this place is.
The Yunze Plain is almost surrounded by mountains on three sides. No matter which direction you attack, it is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The only flaw is in the south. However, the geographical environment of Tiannan is too poor to cause waves at all. Moreover, there is no shortage of rain on the plain, and the land
It is fertile and can be self-sufficient without relying on other states. It can be said that as long as there are no internal problems, it cannot be attacked from the outside by enemy countries.
The depth of the Northern Liang was greater than that of the Southern Dynasty, but the terrain was too good. Most of the area was a flat plain. Once the Wei cavalry rushed in, they could only fight and retreat, and defend the city.
For this reason, the north has always been more anxious than the south in history, especially when a fierce man from the sky suddenly appeared in the Southern Dynasties.
As a descendant of the Beiliang clan, Li Si knew very well how terrifying the Night Terror Hall would be if it grew up. Putting aside personal martial arts or grudges, just twisting the tribes of Xihai into one rope again was enough to make Beiliang's scalp numb.
After all, after the northwest royal court was rebuilt, it had to expand in order to fill its stomach. It made no sense to go south to the Liangzhou Shazhou, which could only harvest birds that did not lay eggs.
As for fighting to the east, after passing Tianlang Lake, we will reach Hudong Road, which is the land of plenty in Beiliang. The Northwest Wang Ting has a normal mind and knows where to fight.
Li Si knew that he must get rid of the Night Terror Hall, but he had no idea how to get rid of it. Just as he was blowing the cold wind and secretly thinking about countermeasures, the water on the river trembled slightly.
Bobo~
A figure came from the riverside, silently jumped onto the boat, landed not far away, and said with cupped hands:
"Master Li."
Li Si turned around and saw that it was Jia Shengzi who was wearing a bamboo hat and dressing up in the world. He asked:
"But there is news?"
Jia Shengzi had a high status in King Zuo Xian's account, and was treated as an errand boy by Li Si. He was quite dissatisfied, but he didn't say anything, and just took out a piece of paper:
"My men have gathered some information in the past two days and came over to show it to Mr. Li."
Li Si respected King Zuo Xian very much, but he didn't have much affection for these people who spent money to support Jianghu, just like the Minister of Household Affairs in the Wei Dynasty. Looking at the group of gold-eating beasts in Hei Yamen, he really didn't like them much, let alone treating them as one of his own.
Li Si raised his hand to take the paper and looked at it briefly. It could be seen that what was written on the paper was news about Yun'an City.
For example, Ye Jingtang is granted the title of Duke and is designated as a minister for this reception; in the afternoon, he will go to the foreign embassy for a banquet, and may take a car to pass by Zhuji Street, etc.
The content on the paper is very detailed, and there are speculations on the schedule of the Night Jing Hall in the past two days. It can be seen between the lines that the person who inquired about the information is very familiar with the streets and alleys of Yun'an City, and even the official opening and closing times.
Seeing this, Li Si thought highly of Jia Shengzi and others, but the team had not arrived yet, and he could not verify the news or falsify it, so he just nodded and said:
"Yes, continue to inquire. If this matter is completed, I will definitely ask for a reward on behalf of Mr. Jia and even his subordinates."
Jia Shengzi didn't say much when he saw this. He bowed his hands and flew away.
At this time, the sky also lit up fish belly white, and the outline of Yutan Mountain appeared at the end of the field of vision.
Li Si turned around and said, "We've arrived. Let everyone get up and pack their things and prepare to disembark."
"Here."
…
——
Thousands of sails gathered at the main port outside the city, and there were already crowds of people as soon as the sky dawned. The white mist exhaled by pedestrians, mules and horses could be seen everywhere.
"steamed stuffed bun……"
"Selling coal..."
The noise of the dock market came into the tea house from the cold wind in the early morning.
Ye Jingtang stood at the window on the second floor, dressed as a knight errant, holding two big meat buns in his hands; the sleepy bird bird was eating the stuffed buns with his eyes closed. More than ten people from the black yamen also dressed up in disguise
The merchants and lackeys were walking back and forth from various places on the dock, and they were all already in place.
Yesterday morning I went to Prince Jing's Mansion. I was supposed to make some arrangements, but for some reason, I ended up chatting about poetry and calligraphy. I hugged Da Benben for a whole day, and then I sent the information to the parking lot after I finished my business.
It was already late at night when the corpse was left in the morgue.
Judging from the speed of the Beiliang fleet, it will reach Yun'an this morning.
Ye Jingtang didn't have to go to the reception, he only had to attend today's dinner, but knowing that Hua Ling and other masters might be lurking in there to assassinate him, he couldn't sleep peacefully. At around four o'clock in the morning, he got up from Sanniang's arms and changed his clothes.
, go to the black office to order some manpower, come to Xicheng Port and wait.
The purpose of this trip was to observe in secret to see if we could identify suspicious targets in advance from the incoming team.
Xicheng Port is the main port of Yun'an. Most of the people who come here are official ships or water transport fleets. The empress's luxurious treasure ships are moored in the port, and there are also naval guards patrolling.
Because it had to receive people from Beiliang, the imperial court naturally had to show off the heritage of a great country. The dock was completely new. Not only were the ships moored in an orderly manner, but the streets were also wiped clean, and the dragon flag of the Wei Dynasty was hung along the coast.
Niaoniao was rocked up to go to work before she woke up. She looked very wilted. She was squatting on her arms, eating steamed stuffed buns, and kept muttering. She must have been hanging out in the Nightmare Hall and went back.
After all, in previous years in Honghe Town, as soon as the roads were blocked by heavy snowfall in winter, the annual vacation would begin, and we would sleep until midnight every day, and would not start work again until spring. How is it like now, when the rocking bed is rocked until midnight, and the weather is not good in the middle of winter?
Get up at dawn and work.
Ye Jingtang carefully watched the fleet approaching the shore and did not pay attention to what the birds were complaining about. After waiting for a while, he saw Chen Hezhi, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, appearing at the port with officials and uniformed imperial troops.
The ships from Beiliang also sailed into Xicheng Port one after another. Countless faces of men, women, and children appeared on the ship's deck, and a group of people wearing official robes appeared on the central treasure ship.
When the foreign envoys of the two dynasties go to the other side's capital, the first priority is to show the image of a great country and not to make the other side look down on them; whether it is the selection of escorts, ships, armor, etc., they are all at the level of the Empress' Guard of Honor, and they look very spectacular.
For this reason, many people from Yun'an City came to watch the excitement, and the riverside was almost overcrowded.
Because there were so many people, the scene was a bit complicated. After watching it for a long time, Ye Jingtang didn't find any suspicious person in the envoy team. Instead, he saw a Taoist figure appearing on the street below the teahouse.
The figure was wearing a snow-white skirt, a curtain hat on her head, and carrying a snow-white sword. She was strolling among the crowd, looking at the windows on both sides from time to time, obviously looking for someone.
Birds and birds also saw it, but turned their backs and didn't want to pay attention.
Ye Jingtang was stunned for a moment, and put Niao Niao in the window to keep an eye on him. He quickly went downstairs and called at the door:
"Fairy Lu, why are you here?"
In the small street, Master Xuanji hung a vermilion wine gourd on his waist. He was also looking at the boats on the river from a distance. Hearing the sound, he slowly came to the tea house:
"I am the emperor's master. You can come here to guard against thieves sneaking in secretly, but I can't?"
Ye Jingtang felt that Shui'er was unhappy again, so he came to him and walked with him:
"For this kind of chore, the Yamen agent and I can come over quickly. So what... I'm really busy these two days..."
Master Xuanji didn't think Ye Jingtang could be busy enough. After snatching her panties, he didn't even have time to visit her in one day or two nights.
"You can't keep your word. Do you still remember what you said the night before yesterday?"
Ye Jingtang blinked: "Practice your calligraphy well? I studied it carefully yesterday..."
Master Xuanji raised his right hand to stop talking and snorted lightly:
"Young Master Ye is quite forgetful. You said the night before yesterday that you stained my clothes, so you went to buy me a new one as an apology yesterday. I was waiting all day yesterday, where are the things?"
?
Ye Jingtang's expression froze, and he secretly thought something was wrong - he was pointed at by Shui'er with a sword, and in order to save the little fabric, he said something hastily, and then there were too many things going on, and he really forgot to ask Sanniang to buy it...
Night Terror Hall knows that it is in the wrong and sincerely apologizes:
"It was my negligence, alas...I will buy two new ones for Fairy Lu when I go back later..."
Master Xuanji was not so easy to coax, she tilted her head slightly and looked towards the river:
"I'll keep an eye on it for you, go buy it now."
"Now?"
"Yes, you promised to buy it, so you must keep your word. You are not allowed to tell the maid or Sanniang. I will only wear what you bought with your own hands. If I can't buy it back, I will go back to Yuxu Mountain. See you next year."
"Well……"
Ye Jingtang's expression was slightly stiff - go and buy it with your own hands? He is a grown man, a contemporary Wu Kuai and Wu An Gong. He personally went to Fan's shop and asked Fan Jiuniang's daughter to buy such sexy panties...
Isn't this enough to ruin your reputation?
Ye Jingtang didn't want to make a mistake, but this matter was more difficult to handle than asking him to provoke Fengguan City. At the moment, he could only say politely:
"I am a big man..."
Master Xuanji stretched out his right hand and hooked:
"Give me back the old one."
"..."
It seems harder to accept returning the souvenirs than buying new ones with your own hands...
Ye Jingtang opened his mouth and said pleasantly again:
"I don't know what style Lu Xianzi likes. What good things can a grown man buy? Otherwise, I will accompany Lu Xianzi there later, you can choose whatever you want, and I will pay the money after you finish the selection. How about that?"
Master Xuanji came out for this trip because Qinghe needed to prepare for war and needed to buy some herbs to prepare various antidotes, so he asked her to come with him.
She remembered what happened the night before yesterday, so she volunteered to take over the errands, and came to the Ye Jing Hall to go shopping together. How could a grown man from the Ye Jing Hall really go shopping for underwear?
Seeing what Ye Jingtang said, Master Xuanji naturally nodded in agreement, and then asked:
"Night Terror Hall, what did you do with my clothes?"
Ye Jingtang was slightly confused: "What to do?"
Master Xuanji glanced at the righteous Night Terror Hall through the gauze curtain:
"Just put it on your face, smell it, and giggle, just like a street gangster stealing a widow's bellyband. Uh-huh~ Do you have it?"
?!
Ye Jingtang stood up a little straighter and said seriously:
"How could I possibly do such a thing?"
"You won't tell anyone if you do it, right?"
Ye Jingtang really couldn't resist Shuishui, so he raised his hand slightly and said:
"I'm just teasing you. Take it back and keep it safe. I really haven't done anything else."
Master Xuanji didn't believe it at all, but he stopped teasing him and instead crossed his arms across his chest and hugged the Acacia Sword:
"It won't happen next time. The Queen Mother suddenly came to save you the day before yesterday. You are lucky. If you do anything wrong to my teacher again, I have a hundred ways to make you regret it."
Ye Jingtang knew that Fairy Lu had this ability. Although he had no complaints or regrets, he still nodded:
"Understood, I will try my best to be careful in the future."
"snort……"
Master Xuanji chatted along the way, teaching the juniors with evil intentions, while looking at the crowd at the dock.
It's a pity that ordinary martial artists can tell with the naked eye whether they are practicing martial arts, but when they reach the level of a grandmaster and deliberately hide their appearance, it is difficult to tell how deep they are hidden just by looking at their appearance.
The two of them watched from early morning until noon, until all the envoys left the port, and the leading team had entered the capital, but there was still no trace of Hua Ling and other top experts.
Ye Jingtang had to go to the dinner party in the evening, and had to go back to pack up in the afternoon and go to the yamen of the Ministry of Rites to meet with the officials. He did not delay any longer and told the black yamen agent to follow the envoy, and then returned to Yun'an City with Master Xuanji...
…
——
Gululu~
The swaying motorcade drove from Dongzheng Street to Xicheng.
There were people watching on both sides of the street, mostly scholars and ladies. After all, the envoys were followed by contemporary figures from Beiliang, some of whom were famous in the Wei Dynasty. The scene was like a night terror hall suddenly bringing envoys with them.
When the team goes to Yanjing, the young people in Yanjing must come to see what it is like.
There are not many female students among the accompanying students, only about thirty. Although the atmosphere in the Northern and Southern Dynasties is relatively open, the daughter's family is more reserved after all. They all sit in cars and sedans, and their faces are rarely seen, while the scholar is riding a horse.
The sword is on the outside.
The carriages of the Beiliang officials were at the front, and some of the leading students were behind. There were two carriages with the emblem of Wanbao Tower hanging on them, and there were two horseback guards beside them.
In order to keep a low profile, all the pearls and jade originally used to decorate the carriage were removed. Apart from its spaciousness, it did not look special. At this time, the curtains were raised a little, revealing the cheeks of a maid with a strong book smell, looking curiously at the cloth shop on the street:
"Hua Ning, what's going on with this cloth village?"
Outside the carriage, Hua Ning was quite tall, but he was dressed like an ordinary servant. Hearing this, he glanced at the cloth village. It can be seen that most of the cloth village was intact, but the stone lion had its head knocked off and a hole was punched through the pillar.
, deliberately left unpatched, and next to the traces was written - Daokui's original handwriting.
These marks were left by Ye Jingtang accidentally smashing the cloth shop when he was beating Xu Bailin.
After the owner of Buzhuang received the compensation, he thought he was unlucky and repaired it himself, but he never expected that Night Terror Hall would soar into the sky and become a famous hero in the Wei Dynasty.
Such a good gimmick should not be used in vain, so the owner of Buzhuang picked up the broken stone lion from the garbage dump and put it on display at the door.
It must be said that this method is extremely effective. As Night Terror Hall becomes more and more famous, the boss of Buzhuang is almost overstepped.
Hua Ning was a master in Taishi Hua's family and had good eyesight. He looked at it for a few moments and then explained:
"The Night Terror Hall of the Southern Dynasties has had conflicts with masters here before and deliberately left traces. However, it seems that the Night Terror Hall's skills are not as invincible as the rumors say..."
The maid said to this: "With such a great reputation, there is no false scholar. With such a great reputation, it shouldn't be too bad. I heard that Ye Jingtang is very handsome. Is he in Yun'an City? Can we see him this time?"
A soft voice came from the carriage:
"Ye Jingtang is a martial artist. It is rumored that he is ruthless and ambitious. He and I, Daliang, have a grudge against the destruction of the country. If he is here, you must not come close to disturb the eyes. He may not dare to kill the foreign envoy, but if you humiliate him in private, you can
There is no way.”
"I know, miss, I'm just telling you."
The maid put away her thoughts angrily, looked around the street a few more times, and asked:
"Hua Ning, go and find out where Dr. Wang lives. I heard that Dr. Wang is very arrogant and all the students from the Tai Hospital will run away in a few days. He must be busy. We'd better go there and visit early."
Hua Ning didn't say much after hearing this. He stepped forward to report to the officials' team, then left the team and merged into the market...
————
It’s going to be less today, and I’ll see if I can go back to my schedule or 2!