This time he went to the capital, and Zhong Xiuwen also went with him.
Xu Hanliang naturally did not refuse as he was a native of Tokyo and knew Tokyo fairly well.
According to Zhong Xiuwen, this time he just returned to Tokyo to see acquaintances and did not go home.
After staying for a while, you will return to Changshu.
Xiaocui originally wanted to go back with Zhong Xiuwen, but was rejected by Zhong Xiuwen.
But Xiaocui was also interesting. She secretly found Xu Hanliang and asked Xu Hanliang to watch Zhong Xiuwen.
The relationship between these two people is not like a master and servant, but more like a husband and wife.
Xu Hanliang just nodded repeatedly and said that he would definitely be optimistic about Zhong Xiuwen, which made Zhong Xiuwen roll his eyes.
After Xu Hanliang left for a month, the one who was most reluctant to leave was naturally Zhongniang.
He also spent a lot of effort to coax the young lady into good condition.
From Changshu to Tokyo, taking the water route is actually the fastest, and can be reached in less than three days.
But if you go by land, it will probably take seven or eight days.
Xu Hanliang finally chose the land route. Only the land route could be the closest to the customs and customs of the Song Dynasty.
The carriage was still rented from the coachman, and after Li Zhongwen learned the news, he also wanted to go with him to take part in the imperial examination.
During this period, Li Zhongwen visited Xu Hanliang twice, both with the purpose of asking Xu Hanliang to attend banquets and poetry gatherings.
Xu Hanliang really couldn't spare the time, and he didn't really like banquets among literati, so he naturally refused.
Anyway, Li Zhongwen didn't do much serious work during the period after the provincial examination, let alone study.
According to him, the family has already found a job for him, and he will be able to take up the post in two months.
Although he was talking about the imperial examination now, Xu Hanliang also knew that he just wanted to see the prosperity of Tokyo and take a break with the young lady.
Li Zhongwen knew how much he weighed, but he didn't even think about becoming a Jinshi.
Xu Hanliang envied people like Li Zhongwen who could just spend the whole day traveling around the mountains and rivers, unlike himself who was exhausted every day.
Early the next morning, Xu Hanliang got up early in the morning.
Clothes, bedding and other things had already been packed up and placed on the carriage.
In addition, Xu Hanliang also brought another two hundred silver. If he wanted to meet Lao Xu, he would definitely need some arrangements.
Officials in the capital are no better than local officials.
Among the officials in the capital, unless they are in a high and powerful position, they are far inferior to local officials in terms of making money.
Because of this, many officials in the capital also stretch their hands very long.
Just like Cai Jing last time, Xu Hanliang was already sure that he did it.
But it was just a confirmation, but it had no effect at all. No one would offend the powerful Cai Jing because of his confirmation.
After saying goodbye to the two girls, Xu Hanliang boarded the carriage.
The ancient horse-drawn carriages were really uncomfortable to sit on. No matter how smooth the road was, it was still bumpy.
In addition, in addition to the luggage, there are still two spare wooden wheels in the carriage.
The wheels of the carriage are made of wood, so the frequency of replacement is extremely high.
Basically, after arriving at a place, you need to repair the wheels.
If Xu Hanliang didn't really know how rubber is made, he would have to make a wheel.
The carriage driver is called Lao Gao, and he has almost become Xu Hanliang's royal carriage driver during this period.
Basically, whenever Xu Hanliang had something to do, he would ask Lao Gao to come over. Naturally, the two of them were already very familiar with each other.
The speed of the carriage is not very fast. It is a blessing to be able to cover a hundred miles in a day.
It is more than 500 miles from Changshu to Kaifeng, which is indeed a long way.
Xu Han's conscience couldn't help but miss modern means of transportation. It only takes two hours at most to get from Changshu to Kaifeng.
Fortunately, the weather is still very good now, neither too cold nor too hot. In late spring in March, the grass grows and orioles fly, and there are lively scenes everywhere outside the window.
Changshu is a place where north and south meet. It only takes less than a day to reach Changzhou.
Unlike modern times where there is a unified language, although the Northern Song Dynasty had Mandarin, ordinary people still spoke dialects.
Moreover, the spread rate of ancient Mandarin and the current rate of spread of Mandarin are not at the same level at all.
So after traveling more than a hundred miles, Xu Hanliang could no longer understand what others were saying.
Xu Hanliang got out of the car and wanted to talk to the farmers here, but basically it was you talking about chickens and I talking about ducks, and they were indifferent to each other.
In addition, in fact, the regional discrimination in this era is no less than in my own era.
Especially among the literati and officials, the northerners have always regarded the south as a lower country, while the southerners have regarded the northerners as cowards.
It happened to be spring now, so Xu Hanliang didn't see any refugees along the way.
But the number of beggars is still beyond Xu Hanliang's imagination.
After traveling like this for three to five days, they arrived in Xuzhou.
Throughout its long history, Xuzhou has always been a battleground for military strategists who remain standing.
And Xu Hanliang is also planning to rest here for two days. The fatigue of traveling and traveling these days is indeed a bit of a headache.
In addition to this reason, another reason is that Mr. Han knew that he was on the way, so he asked him to bring a letter to his old friend.
As for the old friend's name, Mr. Han did not mention it, only saying that his surname was Su.
Xu Hanliang didn't think too much and settled the two of them in the inn first.
Then he walked over to Su Mansion according to what Mr. Han said.
The Su family seems to be a big family in Xuzhou. When you walk to Zhong Street, you can see a Su mansion standing there.
This Su Mansion is not too big. Compared with other wealthy families, it is still a little behind.
Xu Hanliang walked to the door and another servant came to ask questions.
Perhaps because he looked well-dressed and bookish, the servant's attitude was also very good: "I am the junior descendant of Mr. Su's old friend. If it is convenient, please tell me that it is a letter from Mr. Han."
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The servant nodded after hearing this, and then entered the mansion with the letter in Xu Hanliang's hand.
It didn't take long for the servant to walk out of the door.
"Sir, our master will let you in."
After the servant saw Xu Hanliang, he said politely.
"Let me in?"
Hearing this, Xu Hanliang was a little confused.
After all, he was just a messenger, and he didn't know why this servant wanted to find him.
"Wait a minute, what's your master's name?"
Just when Xu Hanliang was about to go in, he stopped again.