Chapter 690 Where is the hidden ship

From the map, the distance between Hangzhou and Poyang Lake, that is, Pengli Lake, is just a small map, but it is not easy to get there when you really walk.

They rode horses and used fast carriages. They had been on the road for eight days. Zhang Xiaobao and others were still two days away from the purpose of this trip. The main reason was that they needed to walk on the plank road when they encountered the mountains, and they couldn't get faster even if they wanted to.

Fortunately, the important water systems of the Tang Dynasty were increasingly valued under the strong push of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, so the roads along the coast were well built.

The imperial court now costs less than tens of millions of yuan per year for maintenance and repair, and the amount is very large, accounting for 16 and 17 of the fiscal revenue.

And it still increases year by year, and repairs are not enough to use this money. Most of them are invested in to improve the fields around each water system.

Without such a large investment, it is impossible to have so much fiscal revenue. When land transportation speed is not good, waterways account for a large proportion of logistics applications, especially when going with the flow, even if you are going with the wind and sail down, even if you are running on the shore, you are not as good as a ship running in the water.

When the horse is exhausted, the boat does not need to rest, and the technology of shipbuilding is now more advanced.

Therefore, Zhang Xiaobao and others' carriages are only half a day away from Duchang, which is to be visited. The road along the river is relatively wide enough, and each passes is five meters away.

All are paved with soil and gravel, and then flattened with large stone gravels. Next to it is a road paved with gravel for people to walk. It is not wide, but there is absolutely no problem for people to walk.

The reason why the horse walks is not cement is because of the horse's hoof problem. Zhang Xiaobao has tried it. Even if the horse is put on the horse's shoes, he still cannot run on the cement road. It is worn too much, and the heat generated during the friction can easily hurt the horse.

When it comes to rain, the road along the river is not easy to walk. There are muddy places. When horses and other livestock pass by, every hoof falls, a small hole will be left on the road surface. When the rain enters, it will not work for a long time.

Now Zhang Xiaobao and the other two encountered this trouble. When they were nearly half a day away from Duchang, a moderate rain fell. In less than half an hour, the road flattened by stone slabs moistened the rain. The horse's hooves fell, and each time they brought some soil.

At this moment, the person who drove the car was replaced by Zhang Xiaobao to Zhang Yu. Zhang Xiaobao disguised himself for fear of being beaten by the rain. Even if there is grease in the things used for disguising, it will easily be washed down.

"It's almost thirty miles? Go to the pavilion in front to take a break. Look at the sky, it's probably not too long." Wang Juan picked up the curtain of the car, looked at the rain outside, and said to Zhang Yu, who was sitting in front to drive the car.

"I saw the pavilion." Zhang Yu, wearing a straw hat, looked through the not-so-thick rain curtain, saw the pavilion in front, and replied to the person in the car.

The pavilions along the river are dedicated to people to rest. There is one for every thirty miles, similar to those in Sanshui County. It is much better than before. Not to mention pavilions specially built before, even if a village with a little more people is next to it, it is difficult to find a place for rest alone.

When people traveled in the past, if they didn’t dare to take a boat or couldn’t afford it, they could only walk with their feet. If they were tired, they would find a place nearby. If they could meet a village, it would be a good idea.

When you encounter a crowded place, you may have a simple shed for pedestrians to rest and eat, which is basically not profitable. Walking people don’t have much money at all, and they also bring food from home, including dried cakes and fried rice. Of course, the noodles are not pure white noodles.

When you arrive at a resting place, if you don’t want money and tea, you can only ask for a bowl of cold water to drink and eat with something. It’s better if you are not hungry, and you will naturally sleep next to the shed when you sleep, otherwise you will easily encounter wild animals.

Nowadays, it is much more convenient to have a pavilion. One is thirty miles away, and one is 20 miles away. People from nearby villages are allowed to use hunting bows, hunting animals, etc. to sell them for money or eat them yourself.

A few minutes later, the carriage arrived at the pavilion. At this time, there were already many passers-by waiting in the pavilion. Some people also burned fire in the pavilion. The kettle on it was steaming, so people could drink hot water at any time.

Speaking of the pavilion, it is not actually the kind that is airtight on all sides, but a two-story building with a floor of cement and bricks below, which is three meters high, and a pavilion built with wood on the roof of the cement-built house.

The house below was built together when the river embankment was built. There was no pavilion above, but the locals thought that the house was solid and not good-looking, so they went from the mountain to wood and built another pavilion on the top, which was beautiful now.

With the appearance of the first pavilion, there was a second one. As a result, all the pavilions on both sides of the Yangtze River had their own characteristics, and some even hung wind chimes in the corners of the pavilion.

The pavilion where Zhang Xiaobao and others stayed was very beautiful. It had four corners on it. People used paint to apply beauty. Some edges had not been painted yet. The black and yellow wood inside was drawn, and it was not enough.

There was a circle of fences around the pavilion, made of wood, three feet high, and there were seats there. Three people who came to the pavilion to shelter from the rain, feeling the coolness of the rain from outside. It was estimated that when the rain stopped, the clothes on the three of them were all wet.

The rest of the people were not in the mood and stayed below. Some people came early and had seats, so they sat there. Those who came late either squat or stood, holding tea or wine in their hands, eating what they brought with them. Those who had a lot of spare money and were willing to pay for money, so they bought other food from the hands of the people guarding the pavilion.

There were two people guarding the pavilion, one in his fifties and the other in his thirties. Judging from his appearance, they should be father and son.

The older one has wrinkles on his face, but in his thirties, he has a tui that is slightly inconvenient. He walks smaller than normal people and cannot use up his strength. Perhaps he has been injured.

Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan didn't realize that the other party had polio, but Tui was not very comfortable, and there was no problem elsewhere.

There were also a spear and a longbow hanging on the wall for hunting. Although the roads are well built now, there are still many wild animals. Military guns cannot be given to ordinary people.

Knowledge hunting bows are allowed to be used by the people. Occasionally, a wild boar, a wolf, a tiger, or something from the mountains. This was something that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan didn’t have to think about at that time. If you want to see such animals, in addition to the place where you specialize in Mén breeding is the zoo.

And the control of swords and spears is even more relaxed. Not to mention the people, even a literati, no one cares about a sword. Self-defense things are indispensable.

While Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were looking at the pavilion, the people in the room also looked at five of them. The carriage was parked not far from Mén. There were rain gears on the backs of the horses. The people in the room could clearly see the three horses.

After seeing this, I realized that the five people coming in were not ordinary people. Horses are good. Even those who don’t know how to look at horses can feel that three horses are much better than those used to cultivate the land.

This is Jiangnan. There are few horses on the farmland. The horses transported from other places are usually carts. Now they are basically cattle. The horses from Turks and Tubos, as well as extra military horses, were all used in the north.

The main reason is that the horses are not very good at plowing the paddy fields and are not as good as cows, but in dry fields, cows are far inferior to horses.

These three horses can be seen as eliminated military horses. When riding on the war, they don’t know how effective it is, but there is absolutely no problem with pulling a cart. Even if a short sprint is not required, the speed of this horse is faster than that of a special horse that pulls a cart, and its endurance depends on where the horse is.

If a horse that was eliminated by a border army and used for long-distance raids, there is absolutely no need to say about its endurance, but if it is replaced by a horse that is used to fight a key counterattack assault in the city, it requires not endurance, but a short-term sprint speed. After the fight, it will come back and not chase people too far.

The three horses in front of me didn't know which one they belong to, but if you guess, you thought they could run long distances, otherwise it would be better than a mule if you pull a cart.

There was a guess in my heart, and the quick-talking person asked, and asked Zhang Xiaobao: "The horse is good, how much did I buy it?"

He talked to Zhang Xiaobao because he knew that Zhang Xiaobao was the leader of the other four people at a glance. Ning Tian looked like he was not a very close person, and he could not tell the difference between Zhang Xiaobao and Ning Tian at all.

His figure and face shape are very similar, which is why Zhang Xiaobao insisted on talking to Ning Tian more. At the beginning, he just wanted to talk to him. After meeting Ning Tian, ​​Zhang Xiaobao had other ideas temporarily, so he asked Wang Juan to draw more pictures.

If Ning Tian cuts a short flat head and shaved his beard, then Zhang Xiaobao will be in trouble. He will be exhausted and he will not be able to show off his current costume. Usually, this is the reason for shaving prisoners. In addition to hygiene, it is more easy to identify.

When Zhang Xiaobao heard someone ask, in the voice of Ning Tian imitating, he said to the person sitting there drinking: "It's not much money, it's not expensive, it's not expensive, it's bought by a family on the road."

Others naturally didn't believe his words after hearing them, but they just felt that he didn't want to say them in depth, so no one insisted on saying them, and everyone was not familiar with them.

At this time, the people who were not very convenient to see the five people coming in, and their eyes lit up. From the clothes on the five people, they could tell that they were richer.

You can make more money if you have money. The function of the pavilion is to provide convenience to passers-by. Even if they don’t have money, those who stay in the pavilion are not allowed to drive people away. At the same time, hot water is also free.

The only way to make money is that someone is willing to spend more money on other things. The pavilion is built by the river, and the fish in the river is indispensable, as well as wine and tea. The other food prepared by every person guarding the pavilion.

Of course, even without any extra income, it is nothing. Anyone who guards the pavilion will receive subsidies from the government. For example, people with inconvenience will be arranged in. They are not allowed to leave casually, and they are not allowed to go out to hunt and play.

If a pavilion encounters trouble, such as a wolves siege, then when the people guarding the pavilion cannot be beaten, they hide in the pavilion and send a signal, which is to release smoke and wolf smoke, and someone will come to help.

As for the fact that someone hurts the people guarding the pavilion in the pavilion, it is impossible to happen now. Now that the people of the Tang Dynasty have a better life, who has the time to harm people?

If someone really dares to say that you are the king of the mountain, and then rob passers-by, such as running to Liangshan, 800 miles of water, you can raise the banner today, and tomorrow the cannon will flatten the mountain you are occupying.

Not to mention that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had developed the Tang Dynasty for such a long time, even if they did not come to develop, there were not many death row prisoners in the Tang Dynasty during this period.

If you have the ability, it is better to find a way to do more work that can make more money. The road to robbery is not easy to walk, and once you find it, you will inevitably be arrested.

Therefore, the people guarding the pavilion do not make much money, but their lives are stable, so they will not be able to be anybody. The heroes of the Green Forest have long disappeared, and there are no big gangs. This is an organization composed of children of smaller wealthy families.

They are considered gangsters, but they dare not hurt people. Generally speaking, they go up the mountain to hunt, or stroll on the streets, keep a dog or fight. Even if they want to collect protection fees, they will directly capture them.

The business of the Zhang and Wang families was spread all over the Tang Dynasty. Once a branch found such a thing, someone would come to check it immediately, and it would definitely be cleaned up after finding it.

In stability, the people guarding the pavilion wanted to make more money, but the people with inconvenient feet came over deliberately with a tray and said to Zhang Xiaobao: "Brother, are you hungry?"

"Hungry." Zhang Xiaobao is actually not hungry, but if he wants to make money, he has to help others. If you don't buy them, how can they make money? They will give it to others directly. They will definitely not want it unless they show their identity and say that they are Zhang Xiaobao. In that case, throw it out with a handful of money and they can accept it, and then take it home to serve as a talisman for their relatives at home.

The person guarding the pavilion didn't know what Zhang Xiaobao was thinking. When he heard the other party say he was hungry, he couldn't help but smile and asked, "What are you going to eat?"

"Whatever you have, you can eat, and you can't finish serving for five people." Zhang Xiaobao said, looking around and looking for a seat.

Before he could figure out what to do to get someone to come out, the older man had already taken out a folded table from the room next to him, squeezed out an empty space, put the table in place, and there were five wooden stools, which were not as backrests.

"Old man Qi, why don't you take out the table when we come? Do you think we usually eat less money?" Seeing the table, someone joked to the old man.

"With NV in the house, it's not good to let the NV baby stand." The old man surnamed Qi didn't care about the other party's words at all, so he found a reason casually.

Zhang Yu was clever and smiled at the surroundings, showing the kindness he deserved. He quickly went over to wipe the table, and rubbed the stool with his sleeves and rubbed it again and again, looking like a servant.

Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan sat down without hesitation, and the dishes were immediately put on the table. There were no hot dishes, all of them were cold. The only hot things were boiled tea eggs and normal salty eggs. There were many of them. This thing tasted so hungry and was easy to carry and was not easy to break. It could still be eaten after being kept for three or five days.

The dishes on the table include dried fish, braised ji, and a plate of mixed vegetables, plus smoked animals.

Zhang Xiaobao is not worried about others poisoning him unless the person guarding the pavilion is better than him, knows how to dress up and hide, and knows his identity, and only harms him.

He stretched out his chopsticks and picked up a slice of cut smoked rou, put it in his mouth to chew it, nodded with satisfaction, and said to Wang Juan: "Yes, the wild boar rou is just biting hard, and the taste is good."

When they heard that it was a wild boar, Wang Gang and the other two also moved their chopsticks. They were busy doing things and couldn't eat them at all unless they had no tasks. They returned to their branch and then gave them a report to eat what they wanted to eat.

Especially Wang Gang, the intelligence personnel affiliated with the Zhang and Wang families, have the best benefits. Generally, the quantity is not particularly scarce. He can eat it by applying, including chili, potatoes and tomatoes.

"Old man Qi, I came back to work yesterday and asked if there are any wild boars. Why did you tell me? I said that I had eaten them all, and I had them today?"

The person who was joking just now said to the old man again.

"You boy knows that eating is expensive, saving you money. When you go home, you don't want to give it to your wife. If you really give it to you every day, all the money you earn from working will be gone. Be careful that your wife will not let you in and the old man glared at the other person and said.

"She dares, I will use her two courages. If there is no wild boar, there will be Hu Dou? I really didn't have a plate of salted beans. I went back after drinking. It seems that I can't continue working today."

Before he could finish his wine, a plate of smoked jirou was eaten.

Zhang Xiaobao gave Wang Gang a look. Wang Gang stood up, got out of the car and took back a large oil paper bag in a short while, opened it and found out what was inside.

The rou is even darker than the smoked wild boar. Zhang Xiaobao is prepared and brought out to eat on the road. The braised donkeys are not eaten by ordinary people. They are similar to cows and are laborers. Each household needs to register with the government. Even if you get sick, you have to tell them, don’t look at the animals that belong to you.

"When I came here, I brought some donkeys. At that time, the donkey from my family had just died accidentally. I bought a piece and tasted them all. I ate them all along the way, and I got tired of eating them."

As Wang Gang spoke, he began to distribute donkeys to others, one piece of them, and they were also cut, which he had just cut in the car.

When they heard that it was a donkey and it was a food for someone, the people in the house expressed their gratitude and became more talkative.

There was a little left in the end. Wang Gangquan gave to the person who joked about the old man just now, and said with a smile: "Is it difficult to live on rainy days? Is your surname?"

"Don't Gui, the surname is Liu, and the name is a long character. You have been traveling for a long time, right?" The other party became more enthusiastic when he saw that he gave him more donkeys.

"It turned out to be Brother Liu. We have walked for many days and it is easier to walk on the road. The old man said that if we wanted to walk the same distance, we would have to at least three times more time."

Wang Gang didn't use other excuses to perfunctory, and directly said that he was coming from a distance and was gossiping, and he looked very emotional.

"That's right, ten years ago, let alone three times the time, five times the time was him. At that time, the riverside road was not easy to walk, and there were only cliffs and forests next to it. Walking inside was worried. It was easy to say during the day, but it was too common to lose your life at night.

You were still young at that time and shouldn't have walked by. Those years and months were no longer as good as now. You had to plan on how far you walk every day and where you rest, but you didn't dare to walk casually. Don't go in when you encounter a forest. There is a snake or insect inside, which will kill people.

Now, I’m not afraid anymore. I’ll build the road along the riverside and build it a little wider every day. After a few years, it will become what I see. If you want to rush out, come out at any time. If you don’t worry, you will find a pavilion to rest when you are tired. You can’t eat the wind and you won’t be hungry.

Even if you don’t have a penny on your body, you still have food that doesn’t cost money when you arrive in the pavilion, but the taste is not very good. You can eat the thick corn at will. Even if you walk all the way from here to the capital, you don’t need to beg for food unless you are exhausted to death.”
To be continued...