I am Li Shen and Li Shimin, the free kings of the Tang Dynasty

Li Shen came out with a total of five large ships this time, responsible for transporting supplies, carriages, and two thousand guards.

Because Li Shen's five large boats were relatively wide, they occupied most of the river. When other passing boats saw the flags displayed on the boats, they all pulled over to avoid them.

But some places are narrow, so we have to stagger the progress.

"Your Majesty, we have entered Bohai County and will reach the seaport soon." A boatman came over to report.

They are all the fleet under the palace, and they are responsible for the water and land transportation from the north to the south of the palace.

"Yeah." Li Shen nodded as he sat on the deck. Now that Li Shen was blowing in the wind on the deck, he wouldn't be so seasick anymore.

But you have to lie down when you enter the cabin, otherwise you will vomit.

Li Shen turned to Xue Rengui and said:

"Send flags to the ships ahead and behind you, pack your bags and get ready."

"Yes." Xue Rengui agreed.

In the evening, Li Shen's fleet began to slow down. It was too dangerous to sail at night. It was so dark that it was easy to get hit if they encountered a turn.

If you are not in a hurry, you will generally not sail at night.

Li Shen's team slowly moved closer to the river, getting out of the way and avoiding being hit, and moved forward little by little.

It's not dark yet, just prepare in advance. Unlike on land, you can't just stop.

"Your Majesty, there is news from the front, it seems something happened." At this time, a messenger ran over.

"Something happened? Are there river bandits? Get ready to fight."

After hearing this, Li Shen immediately gave the order. It is not unusual for river bandits to exist on the Yellow River. But there are no points.

"Prince Qi, it seems that they are not river bandits. The front line is already investigating the specific matter." the messenger replied.

"It's not a river bandit? What else could happen if it's not a river bandit? Is it possible that a boat could capsize?" Li Shen couldn't help laughing.

Soon the news came back from the front.

"Your Majesty, there is a big ship running aground ahead of us."

"Stranded? Are you kidding me? You can still be stranded in such a wide river. Could it be that you opened the bank?"

Li Shen was really baffled after hearing this.

"My lord, it is indeed stranded. It seems that it ran aground when two large ships crossed each other.

And there was news from the front that the river channel in front seemed to be relatively shallow, with only the middle being deeper. "

The messenger explained to Li Shen.

Li Shen frowned after hearing this. Such a wide river can accommodate at least two boats. Two boats staggered and one was stranded. That was where there was only one boat.

Doesn't that mean...

"Come here, get off the boat. I want to go ahead and take a look."

Li Shen immediately gave an order. Anyway, he would definitely stay here tonight, and he wouldn't be able to leave tomorrow unless the matter was resolved.

Although it is said to be a small boat, it is actually not small and can seat more than 20 people.

Li Shen, along with Xue Rengui and other guards, drove the boat forward slowly.

After crossing my two large boats, I saw a boat jam in front of me.

Li Shen asked people to move the boat along the river bank to prevent the big boat from knocking him over without being seen.

It didn't take long for Li Shen to see the stranded ship. There should be something underneath on the left side, and the ship's hull tilted to the right.

The stranded place is still quite some distance from the river bank and belongs to the normal waterway.

Now because it veers to the right, ships dare not pass it for fear of being crushed.

When Li Shen saw this situation, he not only frowned, but also his expression turned bad.

It may not be able to pass tomorrow. This will definitely require hiring a fiber puller to pull the boat back to deep water.

But it can only be pulled upstream, not horizontally, otherwise the boat will capsize.

This is a big project. The ship is so far from the shore and it takes a long time to tie the rope.

"Go back." Li Shen said to the boatman.

After returning to his ship, Li Shen ordered the ship to pull over and anchor.

Then Xue Rengui was recruited.

"Rengui, it seems that I may not be able to pass tomorrow." Li Shen said to Xue Rengui.

"What does the prince mean..." Xue Rengui asked.

"Rengui, do you think this matter is as simple as the ship running aground?" Li Shen suddenly asked.

"Is there any hidden secret? Could it be that someone did it on purpose?" Xue Rengui did not understand what Li Shen meant.

"Haha, Rengui, although you are a general, familiar with military books, and know how to organize troops, you still don't have a deep enough understanding of this worldly matter.

The stranding of ships means that the river channels have not been cleaned up. Did you know that the court spends a large amount of money on cleaning up the river channels every year?

Usually it's winter, but now it's close to March, spring is about to come, and it's too late to clean up.

In other words, the governor here did not clean up the river, so where did the court's money go? "

Li Shen laughed and said to Xue Rengui.

Xue Rengui suddenly realized after hearing this, but Xue Rengui asked doubtfully.

"Your Majesty, what if the imperial court did not allocate funds last year?"

"No, I heard Wang Xuance say that the court's tax revenue has been increasing in recent years.

Although the imperial court does not collect commercial taxes, it does collect customs duties. In recent years, businessmen have been coming and going frequently, and there have been a lot of customs duties.

In addition, the grain output has more than doubled in the past few years, plus silk, linen, etc.,

And there is also labor. I think there must be something wrong with it.

Send someone to check which state or county this place belongs to. "

Although Li Shen is a dandy, he is still a prince after all. He has established a household registration book and is considered the head of the household.

You can't always be blind to what's going on outside the window, so sometimes Wang Xuance will tell Li Shen some things in the court.

Xue Rengui came back not long after,

"Your Majesty, this is Bohai County, under the jurisdiction of Cangzhou Prefecture."

"Cangzhou, Cangzhou." Li Shen read the name. After thinking about it, he said to Xue Rengui,

"Take the people ashore with me first. The fleet will wait until the front is clear and then dock at the port. The guards will go to Cangzhou Mansion.

Send someone to Dengzhou to notify Lou Chuan to come, and we will leave directly after finishing our business in Cangzhou. "

In fact, Li Shen could have reported this matter to the court, but Li Shen was very angry about blocking his own road and delaying his trip.

There are a lot of corrupt officials in the world, how could Li Shen take care of so many?

But if you delay my business, you will be unlucky, and you may not be able to clear it for a day.

Dredging the river was a major matter for the imperial court. Li Shen wanted to see what background this person had. Could he be a member of an aristocratic family?

Soon Li Shen led his people to find a shore and get ashore.

With one hundred personal guards and two hundred guards, the rest stayed on the ship, waiting for the ship to pass, and landed at the port. At that time, they would meet up with Li Shen's team in Cangzhou Mansion.

Li Shen rode a horse and headed east along the mainland with a group of bodyguards, preparing to find a place to ask where Cangzhou Mansion was.

Moreover, it was already getting dark, and he needed to find a place to camp.