Chen Qing's ship entered Qiantang Bay at dawn. His decision to come to Qiantang River was of course a carefully considered decision. This was actually a kind of critical oppression. It can be said to be a kind of psychological warfare, just like coming to challenge the enemy camp single-handedly.
, but the enemy was helpless and did not dare to act rashly. Ten large ships arrived at Lin'an City, but the imperial court did not dare to fight. This would completely tear off the imperial court's fig leaf and greatly affect the morale of the army and the imperial court.
There was mist on the sea, and the fleet hung large lanterns. They kept a distance from each other and sailed extremely slowly on the sea with a little bit of wind.
Chen Qing and Zhou Kuan stood on the bow of the boat. At this time, the fog had gradually dissipated, and the outline of the land in the distance was vaguely visible. Zhou Kuan asked with a smile: "Does Your Highness think the imperial court will ambush an army to ambush us on the shore?"
Chen Qing shook his head and said: "Zhao Gou may have this idea, and may even want to send someone to assassinate me, but I believe that his subordinate Xiang Guo will suppress this stupid idea of his."
Zhou Kuan nodded, "This idea is indeed stupid. Whether he sends troops to ambush or assassinate us, it is equivalent to declaring war on us. The consequences of this are very clear to the other side, both the monarch and ministers, but they will definitely prevent the people from coming, such as closing the
The city gate is used to intimidate the people. It is foreseeable that there will not be too many people on the shore, so Your Highness must be mentally prepared."
Chen Qing smiled slightly and said: "It doesn't matter whether the people come or not. The key is that we have been here. As long as we have been here, it is like passing through no one's land, then our goal has been achieved. If the court is smarter, it should be more widespread
Propaganda that we are only here to replenish fresh water, stop to repair damaged ships, etc., and do not take our stop seriously at all, can minimize the impact of our visit. On the contrary, blindly blocking and intimidating will only show
To express their inner fears, this is also what I hope for."
Zhou Kuan chuckled, "I'm afraid the imperial court is not so wise!"
The ship gradually approached the mouth of the Qiantang River. Countless people appeared on the southern shore, waving and shouting to the fleet. That was Xiaoshan County. Xiaoshan County did not stop them. Almost all the people in the county left the city.
At this time, Lin'an City was in chaos. Tens of thousands of people were blocked in front of the east city gate. The city gate was closed tightly and the city was filled with soldiers.
"Open the door! Open the door!"
"You are all cowards and cowards!"
The angry shouts became louder and louder. The people below the city were so loud that their heads were piled up. The anger spread among the crowd. Many people found rocks and rotten eggs and threw them at the soldiers at the top of the city like raindrops. The soldiers
They squatted down one after another to take cover. Many soldiers were hit by rotten eggs and were in a state of panic.
At this time, someone came and shouted, "You can leave the city at Yongjinmen!"
The people turned around one after another and ran towards Yongjinmen like a tide.
There is no city wall in the Yongjinmen area, not even a city gate, and it leads directly to the West Lake outside the city. This section is not because the court has no money to build the city wall, but the result of pressure from various dignitaries. Almost the busiest areas near the West Lake are occupied by the powerful.
They occupied it and built restaurants, teahouses, and brothels. The night business was very good. In order not to affect the business, the dignitaries collectively put pressure on the court, so that the city walls and gates of Yongjinmen have not been built so far.
Thousands of soldiers intercepted Yongjinmen. The soldiers used sand and soil bags to pile up a mud wall and set up roadblocks. But they faced more than 100,000 angry people. Although the soldiers were armed with bows and arrows, no one
Dare to draw the bow and release the arrow.
Led by thousands of university students, the angry people threw stones at the soldiers, as densely as hailstones. More than a thousand soldiers could not resist it even with their shields, and they were thrown away. The angry people swarmed forward, overthrowing the roadblocks and mud
The sand wall rushed out of the city gate like a wave breaking through a dike.
The news that Yongjinmen could leave the city spread like wildfire, and hundreds of thousands of people came from all directions with great momentum.
The arrival of King Yong Chen Qing was like a fuse, igniting the long-suppressed anger of the people in Lin'an. The meager income, high prices and rents, and huge taxes made the people at the bottom breathless.
On one side, the common people lived in hardship and poverty, while on the other side, the powerful spent money and were extravagant. Hundreds of thousands of people went out of the city to meet King Yong. It was not so much their love for King Yong as their anger and resistance to the Southern Song Dynasty court.
Qin Hui and Wan Qixi were waiting for news at the Meridian Gate. There was an angry atmosphere everywhere in the city. They did not dare to go into the city for fear of being injured by the mob.
Wan Qixi said anxiously: "Xiangong Qin, it seems that the atmosphere in the city is not right. It is contrary to the effect of our persuasion. I heard that basically no one is at home and everyone has come out."
Qin Hui said calmly: "It means that the people are dissatisfied with the imperial court. If I don't allow them to do anything, they will do the opposite. I have thought of it a long time ago. It is completely within my expectation."
Wan Qixi curled his lips secretly. It was obvious that he had not thought carefully, but now he said that he had expected it. This person was so thick-skinned that it was rare in the world.
At this time, a follower came running to report, "To report to Prime Minister Qin, to Prime Minister Wanqi, Yongjin Gate failed to stop the people, and a large number of people left the city through Yongjin Gate."
Wan Qixi took a breath of air and looked at Qin Hui, but Qin Hui's face was expressionless, as if he had expected it.
Wan Qixi said cautiously: "Mr. Qin, do you want to report it to the officials?"
Qin Hui glanced at him sharply, laughed and said: "I still have important government affairs to deal with, so I will leave this to Mr. Wanqi."
He turned around and walked away, leaving a pile of mess to Wan Qixi.
Wan Qixi scolded, and then he woke up. He deceived the superiors and concealed the inferiors. He took the good things for himself and pushed the bad things to others. This was the secret of Qin Hui's persistence. Qin Hui didn't want to report to the emperor, so why did he bother to be such a bad person? This kind of thing
Whoever reports the incident will be in trouble.
Wan Qixi also found an excuse and hurried away.
The fleet sailed into the Qiantang River in a mighty manner, rowing against the current. There were trackers pulling fiber on the south bank. The south bank was an endless field with undulating mountains in the distance. There were no people, but the north bank was full of people, stretching for more than ten miles, with hundreds of thousands of people.
Breaking through the obstacles, we arrived at the Qiantang River. On the bank, gongs and drums were beating, colorful flags were flying, and cheers could be heard one after another.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on the huge 100,000-stone ship. Chen Qing stood on the bow and waved to the people. The cheers were even more deafening and soared into the sky.
At this time, a 100-stone boat was slowly lowered from the big ship. Four iron chains pulled the boat. Three soldiers took off the big iron hook and rowed the boat towards the north bank. A dozen old men were helped out of the boat.
These were all representatives arranged by Lu Gang in advance. They were all elders over sixty years old. Some were scholars, some came from aristocratic families, some came from poor families. The dozen or so people represented almost all walks of life.
Under the attention of everyone, a dozen old men boarded the boat and drove to the front of the big ship. Together with the small boat, they were pulled onto the huge ship by iron chains. The design was very good. There were also two ropes passing through the side of the ship, holding the small ship close to each other.
The ship wall did not sway, and hundreds of thousands of people on the shore cheered.
A group of old men saluted Chen Qing, who asked them to sit down as close to the side of the ship as possible so that the people on the shore could see them.
Chen Qing said with a smile: "I haven't been to Lin'an for a long time, but I have always been thinking about the folks in Lin'an. Taking this opportunity today, I would like to hear about everyone's difficulties and do everything I can to help them."