The fleet left Pujin Ferry, went all the way north, and entered the Fenshui River at Fenkou Town. At this time, the ships were traveling against the current, and the two sides of the bank needed to be stretched. Hundreds of people and animals pulled the two-thousand-stone building boat slowly toward the north. This time Yang Yuanqing did not go by land, but by water. He wanted to personally inspect the shipping value of Fenshui.
Yang Yuanqing has always had an idea to connect Fengzhou and Taiyuan through waterways. The current method is to transport grain to the Yellow River Ferry in Lishi County and then use animal power to transport it to Taiyuan. To this end, a huge grain was built next to the Lishi County Ferry. The material warehouse group, including the granary, is heavily guarded. He has not yet finished transporting the hundreds of thousands of stones of grain he accumulated in Fengzhou.
He also considered digging an artificial canal from Lishi County to Xihe County to connect the Yellow River and Fenshui River. However, the continuous and majestic Luliang Mountains in the middle made it impossible to realize his idea. Last month, the Fengzhou River Channel The transshipment envoy Meng Zhuyuan tried to transport 10,000 shi of grain from Fengzhou to Hejin, and then went north along the Fen River from Hejin, and finally arrived in Taiyuan successfully.
This incident caused a sensation. Although it took more than a thousand miles to travel, it was still a bold attempt. However, this plan was also cumbersome. The reason was that Longmen Hukou required boating on dry land and re-unloading and loading. But compared with It is much more convenient to cross the Luliang Mountains and travel hundreds of miles to Taiyuan with animal power, but the journey is longer and takes more than half a month.
This plan requires multiple transportations and cannot be approved until the conditions are fully mature. However, this plan gave Yang Yuanqing a huge revelation, that is, the Fen River can also be used for boating, so in the future, his troops and supplies can march into the Central Plains. From the Fen River to the Yellow River, there is no need to spend tens of millions of animal power to transport it. The Autumn Jin Dynasty prospered because of it. Today, Yang Yuanqing deliberately walked north through the Fen River because he wanted to personally try this golden waterway in the middle of Jinzhong. The old proverb goes, "The Fen River is clear." , Jinzhongxing', refers to the prosperity of water transportation, which can drive the entire Hedong economy.
A few days later, the fleet entered Zhaoyuze, also called Jiuze, which is a large lake between Pingyao, Jiexiu, Wenshui, and Qixian County. A southwesterly wind blew on the lake in this area. The ships set up their sails one after another, and the boats The sails were inflated and the ship sailed on the lake.
Yang Fangxin stood alone on the bow of the boat. Under her long eyelashes, her eyes like deep pools stared at the vast and sparkling lake. After nearly ten days of sailing, her mood had completely calmed down and she gradually accepted the reality. Although the Northern Sui Dynasty did not It is not the Sui Dynasty in the complete sense, but after all, it is closer to the Sui Dynasty than any other regime.
She is like a lonely swan, she always likes to be alone, thinking, and sometimes she doesn't say a word for a whole day.
"What are you thinking about?" At some point, Yang Yuanqing appeared next to her, also looking at the lake with a soft smile on his face.
In the past few days, when Yang Yuanqing appeared next to her, she would turn around and leave silently, giving him indifference and indifference, but today she did not leave, her eyes looked particularly hazy in the shadow of the bamboo hat, and her expression made her laugh. It's hard to guess. Today for the first time, she didn't wear a gauze covering.
Yang Yuanqing also saw her true face for the first time. What he saw from the side was a face of exquisite beauty, with skin as crystal clear as jade, long eyelashes that were gently closed, and a kind of beauty in her big eyes like deep pools. She has a dreamlike expression, a straight and small nose bridge, and round red lips that outline a beautiful arc. This is a stunningly beautiful girl, although she is still a little green, but she has grown into a peerless beauty.
"I'm thinking, what will this lake look like in thousands of years? Will it still be as clear and blue as it is today?"
Yang Fangxin's voice was very calm, as calm as if there was no trace of human fireworks or any emotion. She was trying her best to put a layer of protection on herself and not let anyone see through her mind. She had gradually changed from protecting her appearance to protecting her soul.
.
"I know that after a thousand years, this lake has disappeared and turned into a mulberry field."
Yang Yuanqing smiled slightly and looked back at her. Yang Fangxin also happened to look back. She finally did not hide the surprise in her heart. It showed in her beautiful eyes, as if she was asking Yang Yuanqing, how did you know?
"This is like a tear on the earth, it will dry up one day." Yang Yuanqing said lightly.
"A tear on the earth", Yang Fangxin recited it twice in a low voice, her eyes became more hazy, this sentence made her feel a kind of desolate beauty.
"When you return to Taiyuan, would you rather live in Jinyang Palace or in my house?" Yang Yuanqing asked her softly again.
"I don't know either!"
Yang Fangxin sighed softly. She didn't want to live in a deep palace anymore, but she also didn't want to live in Yang Yuanqing's house, but she was very smart. She knew that although Yang Yuanqing came to ask her, he had actually made his decision.
"I can't help myself, it's up to you!"
Yang Yuanqing nodded, "Then you will live in my house and your sister will take care of you."
"My sister?"
Yang Fangxin was stunned. She looked at Yang Yuanqing doubtfully, "Who are you talking about?"
"Do you still remember the former Princess Yicheng?"
Yang Fangxin was shocked, her big eyes widened, and she looked at Yang Yuanqing in disbelief, "Didn't Father say she was dead?"
"Princess Yicheng is dead, but Yang Peihua is not. She has changed her name to Jiang Peihua. You will see her when you return to Taiyuan."
Yang Yuanqing smiled and said to her with concern: "It's very windy on the lake, go back to the cabin!"
He turned around and walked towards his cabin. Yang Fangxin turned back and watched Yang Yuanqing's back walking away. She suddenly discovered that his heart was not only filled with iron and blood, but also with warmth and tears.
After another three days, the fleet finally arrived in Taiyuan. The newly built Fenshui Pier outside Taiyuan City was already crowded with people. Except for Du Ruhui, who had also arranged to receive the families of the soldiers in Hedong County, the other four prime ministers all came to the pier to greet them.
In addition to officials, there were also family members of soldiers who went to war. They all rushed to the dock to welcome their relatives back.
"Coming! Coming!"
Someone saw the fleet of black-eyed boats approaching from afar and shouted loudly. The crowd suddenly became excited, and the drummers who had been prepared began to beat gongs and drums, singing and dancing.
Amidst the lively and cheerful sounds of gongs and drums, the first building ship slowly docked, ropes were tied to iron piles, and the shipboards were set up on the pier. Two teams of soldiers first stepped off the ship. They lined up on the pier to clear the obstacles. Yang Yuanqing was standing by hundreds of people.
Under the protection of a personal soldier, he also stepped off the ship. At this time, four prime ministers, Pei Ju, Su Wei, Cui Junsu and Wang Xu, came up to greet him.
"Welcome to the victorious return of the steward!"
"Thank you for your hard work, manager."
Yang Yuanqing also handed over his hands to the four prime ministers and returned the greeting with a smile: "Fighting in the front also requires stability at the rear. The prime ministers can stabilize the situation and support logistics, so that the soldiers in the front can win. This is the credit of everyone."
Su Wei stroked his beard and said with a smile: "The imperial court has also accumulated a lot of important military and state affairs, waiting for the general manager to come back and approve them. We have been looking forward to it every day, and finally we are back."
Yang Yuanqing laughed and said, "I understand what Su Xiangguo means. He just doesn't allow me to rest. I have to go to court to work tomorrow."
Everyone laughed, and Pei Ju said: "How can we not give the manager a rest? But it can't be too long, at most three days, we have figured it out. The manager came back by boat all the way, and he was originally resting. He was on the boat for ten days, plus
Three days of rest, ten days in total, is enough."
"When did Pei Xiangguo change his profession to become a businessman?"
Yang Yuanqing's humor once again aroused laughter. Yang Yuanqing asked again: "How are you preparing for the autumn examination?" Yang Yuanqing plans to advance the imperial examination to be held in Taiyuan this autumn.
This autumn examination was jointly held by the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites. Cui Junsu, Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, quickly stepped forward and said: "All preparations for the autumn examination have been completed. We will wait for the general manager to come back and start the examination."
Yang Yuanqing nodded, "Then it will be held in three days."
At this time, Danyang Princess Yang Fangxin came down from the boat. Pei Ju and Su Wei both knew her. They were so excited that they burst into tears. They knelt down together and said, "Old minister Pei Ju and Su Wei, please see your Royal Highness the Princess!"
Yang Fangxin met the old ministers whom her father had trusted. Tears welled up in her eyes. She returned the greetings to everyone and said with a choked voice: "Everyone, ministers, please stand up. Danyang cannot bear the heavy gifts from everyone."
"Your Majesty has passed away. Please take care of your Royal Highness the princess. Taiyuan is your Royal Highness's home. This is still the Sui Dynasty. Please stay here with peace of mind. With our old ministers here, no one can harm Your Highness the Princess."
"Danyang, thank you all ministers for your love and care!"
Pei Ju quietly pulled Yang Yuanqing aside and asked in a low voice: "Does Her Royal Highness the Princess also live in Jinyang Palace?"
Yang Yuanqing shook his head, "Jinyang Palace is too deserted and she will be sad. I am going to adopt her in my house and leave her to the care of the princess and Concubine Jiang. I will treat her as my younger sister. This is better for her."
In fact, Pei Ju also knew that Yang Yuanqing's concubine was the former Princess Yicheng, and several ministers also knew it, but everyone was pretending to be confused. This was fine. Jiang Concubine was the sister of Princess Danyang, so it was most appropriate for her to take care of her.
"Then when will she go to see the Holy One?"
"I will take her to my house to settle down first. Tomorrow morning, I will personally take her to see the Holy One."
"Okay! I will go to the other prime ministers and tell them that the princess will not go to Jinyang Palace today."
The meeting with the officials on the pier took half an hour. As the ministers left, Yang Yuanqing finally had the opportunity to see his family. Several carriages were parked at the corner of the pier, and they were also guarded by soldiers.
In a large carriage were Princess Chu Princess Pei Minqiu and her concubine Jiang Peihua. Yang Yuanqing had written a letter in advance, and Pei Minqiu specially arranged for Jiang Peihua to come with her.
Although Yang Yuanqing was named the King of Chu, his wives and concubines were named internal officials according to the etiquette of the East Palace. Pei Minqiu was named the Crown Prince and the Concubine, and the two concubines, Zhang Chuchen and Jiang Peihua, were named the Third Grade Liangdi.
Ashina Siduo was granted the title of Liangyuan of the fourth rank, while the others were granted the title of Chenghui of the fifth rank. The eldest son Yang Ning was granted the title of Prince of Mayi County, the eldest daughter Yang Bing was granted the title of Princess of Xihe County, and the other children were all
He was named the county king and princess.
Yang Yuanqing brought Yang Fangxin to the carriage. Yang Fangxin looked at Jiang Peihua blankly. She finally recognized that this was the former Princess Yicheng. The last time she saw her, she was only six years old. She still had a vague impression of her eyes.
She turned red, moved her lips, and called out: "Sister!"
Jiang Peihua's eyes also turned red, and she stretched out her arms to her. Yang Fangxin could no longer suppress her inner feelings, tears burst into her eyes, "Sister!" She shouted and threw herself into her arms. The two sisters held their heads.