Chen Qing's fleet sailed across the river outside Zhenjiang Prefecture. There were only scattered fishing boats on the river, and occasionally a merchant fleet would appear, but there were no more imperial warships, patrol boats, or patrol boats of the Western Army.
It also did not appear on the river. This was also to avoid irritating the court, maintain a peaceful atmosphere, or create an illusion of peace, so that the south bank of the Yangtze River would not feel threatened, and naturally there would be no pressure to build ships.
and motivation.
Chen Qing's fleet turned north again and slowly entered the canal. More than an hour later, the fleet arrived in Yangzhou.
At this time, Zhang Jiayun, the commander of the Western Army stationed in Yangzhou, and Luo Ji, the prefect of Yangzhou, rushed to the dock to welcome King Yong. Chen Qing would rest in Yangzhou for two days, inspect Yangzhou by the way, and then continue north to Haizhou.
After greeting everyone, accompanied by officials, Chen Qing rode a carriage into the city.
"Your Majesty, this city is very prosperous!"
Through the car window, Yao Mei saw the bustling traffic and people on the street outside, and the sounds of hawkers coming and going, making it a steamy scene.
Chen Qing smiled slightly and said: "This city was also devastated in the past, but now it is gradually recovering. This is the frontier of Jiangnan, and commercial transit is very prosperous. Many businessmen have opened stores here, and transit at the same time. If there is demand, it will develop quickly."
"Has the prince been here before?" Yao Mei turned around and asked with a smile.
Chen Qing shook his head, "Actually, this is also my first time here."
"Can we go for a walk?" Yao Mei asked expectantly.
Chen Qing apologized: "Walking on the street is the same as now. Sitting in a carriage, you have to wait for the guards to go in and deploy and inspect which store you want to go to to ensure safety before you can enter!"
"forget about it!"
Yao Mei was very smart. She knew that going to the street would cause a lot of trouble to the guards, so she gave up.
Seeing a hint of disappointment flash in her eyes, Chen Qing smiled slightly and said: "Take a rest! It's actually quite tiring after taking such a long boat ride. I'll ask a few female guards to accompany you for a walk later and buy some makeup or something."
, if I don’t follow, there won’t be so much trouble.”
Yao Mei was overjoyed, "That's great! I'll go out with Sister Zhang and the others."
Chen Qing's residence is in the VIP Hotel. It is currently unoccupied. The soldiers have packed up. Yao Mei took two female guards to go shopping. Chen Qing was about to go out. At this time, the soldiers came to report, "Lin'an "Beijing News" Wang Guan
Lord, please see me!”
It turned out that Wang Mu was here. Chen Qing smiled and said, "Ask him to wait in the living room!"
Wang Mu went to Beijing the year before last, and Chen Qing met him. In the past two years, Hu Yun and Wang Mu had done a good job in fighting the court with their wits and courage, which was highly appreciated by Chen Qing. Chen Qing had already listed Hu Yun as a backup.
As a counselor, of course Wang Mu is also good, and he can fully handle the situation on his own.
When Chen Qing came to the living room, Wang Mu quickly stepped forward and saluted, "See you, Your Highness!"
"Why is Master Wang in Yangzhou?"
Wang Mu smiled bitterly and said: "Something happened in Lin'an. I am here to contact Yangzhou for papers."
"Sit down and talk!"
Chen Qing asked Wang Mu to sit down and asked with concern: "What happened in Lin'an?"
"After we published His Highness's crusade against Hebei, it aroused strong reactions from Lin'an and even from all over Jiangnan. People came to the newspaper and donated 330,000 yuan. However, this aroused the jealousy of the imperial court. They did not dare to attack the newspaper, so they
They set fire to our largest paper supply workshop, the paper mill in Xiaoshan, in an attempt to cut off the raw materials for newspapers. This move is really cruel, and our paper supplier in Lin'an is gone."
"There is such a thing!"
Chen Qing said displeased: "Then how should Hu Yun respond?"
"Hu Yun arranged for intelligence spies to burn down the Emperor's Palace by the West Lake the next night. It is said that it was burned to a white ground. He also threw a skin of kerosene on the scene and told them clearly that it was us who burned it."
"Then what?"
"I don't know what happened next, Beizhi. He left Lin'an to look for paper!"
"did you find it?"
"Beizhi first found a batch of paper in Pingjiang Prefecture, which was enough for us for five days. With our inventory, we can last for about twelve days. Then Beizhi came to Yangzhou. There are several large paper-making workshops here. Consider
From now on, I will buy paper from Yangzhou and Pingjiangfu."
Chen Qing nodded, "Has the paper been solved?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, we have basically solved the problem. The total paper supply from Pingjiang Prefecture in Yangzhou can increase the daily printing volume of our newspaper by another 30%. However, we will consider printing and selling this 30% in Pingjiang Prefecture and Yangzhou."
Chen Qing said calmly: "Yangzhou can be spared, with priority given to Changzhou, Zhenjiang Prefecture and Jiangning Prefecture."
"I understand the humble position!"
Chen Qing added: "You go back and tell Hu Yun that the imperial court cannot pay salaries, which has a great impact. Ask him to pay attention to those officials and civil servants who are living in distress and help them. Many times, it is not that they don't want to come to Jingzhao to seek employment, but that they have
Don’t discriminate against them despite all kinds of difficulties, but help them when they are in trouble.”
"I remember my humble position and will definitely tell Hu Yun!"
"In addition, you can use the 300,000 yuan donated by the people to give back to the people of Lin'an. I suggest that you build a few porridge shacks in Lin'an and other cities to help the old, weak and orphans. These things are small things, but they will subtly change people.
thought of."
"I'll definitely do what I do when I'm humble!"
Wang Mu then stood up and said goodbye and left.
After resting for two days, Chen Qing's fleet set off again and continued northward, taking the New Yellow River from Chuzhou to the sea, and then heading north to Donghai Island.
The original function of Donghai Island was a springboard for attacking the Shandong Peninsula by sea. Now that the Shandong Peninsula has been captured, the role of Donghai Island has also changed. Its current function is a transit supply station. Sea ships heading north from Quanzhou and Guangzhou cannot
After receiving supplies in Mingzhou and Lin'an Prefecture, they can only continue to go north to resupply at Donghai Island. Many sea ships will unload the goods at Donghai Island for diversion, and then other ships will transport them to Shandong Road and from the New Yellow River to the Central Plains.
Or take the Yangtze River to transport it to the hinterland.
Chen Qing only stayed at Donghai Island for half a day. After inspecting Donghai Island, he continued northward. Five days later, the fleet arrived at the end of the trip - Penglai County, Dengzhou.
Penglai County in Dengzhou was an extremely important external port during the Tang and Song dynasties. Both envoys sent to the Sui Dynasty and envoys sent to the Tang Dynasty landed in Penglai County and headed to Guanzhong Chang'an. The commercially developed Song Dynasty maritime merchants also set out from Penglai to do business with Korea and Japan.
.
Just last month, Zheng Tongquan and the Ryukyu envoy Chao Kun led thirty thousand-stone ships loaded with pig iron and soldiers to Japan for silver trade, also starting from Penglai Port.
Now, Penglai Port has become a naval base again, with hundreds of warships and 30,000 naval troops gathered here, preparing to launch an offensive against Hejian Prefecture.
Chen Qing's trip was to inspect the navy's combat readiness, and then go to Licheng County, Jinan Prefecture. The royal tent to attack Hebei this time was set up in Jinan Prefecture. General Chen Qing led an army of 200,000 to contain the 80,000 troops of Daming Prefecture.
