An old lady's life

Entering December, the various departments are making year-end summaries, and they are extremely busy. Inquiring about the news of the ship, Jia Amnesty handed over the full authority to Lao Zhou and his subordinates.

Lao Zhou had just left Zhaojun Prince's Mansion. Compared with Rongyang Hou's Mansion, the royal family must have great power, not to mention that Zhaojun King is a prince and a prince with real power, so his influence should not be underestimated.

Wang Minglang told him that it's all over now, Dafeng's inland river is basically closed to navigation, and the sea transport is afraid to go, I'm afraid that Zhou Chao and others' sea boat will be stuck on the sea, and the capital is thousands of miles away, they can't help busy.

The cold wind was howling, and the snow was blowing heavily. Lao Zhou felt as heavy as the weather. He had only Zhou Chao, his only son. If his son had an accident, how could he bear to be asked to send a white-haired man to a black-haired man?But back then he took the initiative to hand over his son to the master, and sailing itself was extremely risky. Isn't he mentally prepared to take the risk?

It would be mid-afternoon, there were few pedestrians on the street, Lao Zhou clenched his fists tightly, his feet sizzling in the snow, he quickened his pace, and headed towards Rongfu.

Someone behind seemed to be calling him loudly?Lao Zhou looked back and saw that it was a servant of Zhaojun Wangfu.

"But what else does the lord have to order?" Lao Zhou stabilized his mind and returned a salute with his hands clasped.

The young fellow was running in the snow and almost fell down. When he ran to Lao Zhou, he was still out of breath. He stabilized his body and said, "Boss Zhou, Mr. Lu asked me to tell you With a sound, the son and his party appeared at Donglu Wharf..."

Before the boy could finish his sentence, Lao Zhou grabbed his arms suddenly, "Really?"

The boy nodded repeatedly, grinning and baring his teeth, "Take it easy, take it easy, Manager Zhou."

Old Zhou let go awkwardly, but the boy didn't mind and said: "Really, it's at Donglu Wharf, but the water near the shore is completely frozen, so it's not easy for the boat to dock!"

The servant gave a few more instructions, and Lao Zhou thanked him, then turned around and ran to the Rong Mansion like lightning, the servant curled his lips, rubbed his hands, and then ran back quickly to the palace.

When Lao Zhou returned to Rongfu, Jia Amnesty and Jia Zheng had not yet returned, so he left a message to Butler Lin, asking him to tell the master that Lao Zhou personally took a group of people out of the city to Donglu Wharf in the wind and snow.Donglu Wharf is located in Donglu County, a county close to the capital to the east. It is said to be a county seat, but it is actually more prosperous than the provincial capitals in remote areas.

When Jia She came back from work, Steward Lin came forward to report immediately. Jia She was a little surprised. It was already December. You must know that Zhou Chao and the others set off in February. They originally planned for October. Come back when it's not so cold, now it's December, and the shipping is basically closed... But it's good that they are back.

Butler Lin only knew a thing or two. Jia Amnesty wandered around the room for a few times, then turned around and said, "If you have any news, please let me know in time." He turned and walked through the front hall, returned to Rongxi Hall to change his official uniform, and went to Rong'an Hall find mother.

Hongye already knew in advance that the river was frozen, and it would take a lot of effort for Zhou Chao and the others to come ashore.

On the side of Donglu Wharf, Lao Zhou and his boat have /water/very/deep, and the river falls in winter, so they can’t reach the shore. Lao Zhou and the others sent people to investigate on the pier, knowing that it’s very close to the capital, and it’s safe to get on Don't worry, I put down a worry in my heart.I was planning to continue to detour to the pier outside the capital, and was stopped by someone.

As soon as he heard that it was someone from the King Zhaojun's mansion, Lao Zhou immediately called the people from the King Zhaojun who went out to sea with them. After getting their confirmation, the boat stopped on the water and waited for the notification from above.

When Lao Zhou's group felt Donglu Wharf, it was completely dark, and the water was covered with darkness. Fifteen boats were close together, and lights were shining in the lanterns.

Zhou Chao didn't expect his father to come so fast, and both father and son were very excited for a while, and a dozen people from Zhou Chao also boarded the boat. In the middle of the night, everyone chatted in the cabin, and heard his son say that fighting with pirates was still a big deal. There was a storm at sea, etc. Lao Zhou and the others were afraid for a while, especially since many of their people died.

After dawn, someone from Zhaojun Palace also came and told everyone to continue sailing in the direction of the capital to a pier that could be docked. Of course, this pier was found by Zhaojun Palace. Not all passing merchant ships can stop. It's for military use, it's a bit hidden, and of course it's not an absolute secret. There is a low rocky cliff, the water is/very/deep, and the boat can dock on the rocky cliff.

Lao Zhou sent someone to send the news back to the mansion. It was noon at that time. After Hongye knew about it, he asked Lao Zhou and the others to do things cheaply.

Seven days later, Lao Zhou, Zhou Chao and a group of people came back. In the middle of the afternoon, Hongye saw the group of people who had gone out to sea with Zhou Chao. There were twenty people at that time, but now there are only twelve people.Of course, not only eight people were sacrificed, but also other people. Hongye and Jia She had never seen them before. These were Hongye and the others.

"Who are the eight people who died?" Hongye looked at the twelve young men. After time, they are already solid men, and they are no longer as young as they were a few years ago.

"Where are their bodies?"

Zhou Chao stood in a row of twelve people, and Zhou Chao explained in detail that when they went out this time, those who died and those who recovered their bodies were cremated and brought back their ashes. Those who could not find their bodies could only use the old clothes of the person on the boat. Bring it back to make a burial mound.

There were twenty of them, except for Zhou Chao, who was the only son, and everyone else had several brothers and sisters in the family. Their parents had other brothers and sisters to comfort them, and they would leave in grief after all.

At first, Zhou Chao and the others agreed to go to sea, and they all knew that they might die at sea one day. They still recognized the pension clauses provided by Rongfu. Receive pensions from the family until the parents and wives grow old and the children grow up.

In the past, Zhou Chao and the others told about their journey and what they had seen and heard.At first they set off from Haicheng and headed towards the western islands, as before, but this time they went a little farther. There are many countries over there, and they stopped in various countries along the way, exchanging various things with the locals. A novelty item.

Hongye listened carefully, and from the analysis of the route, she knew that although Zhou Chao and the others traveled farther this time, they did not go out of the northern hemisphere. They basically passed through Malaysia, passed through the Arabian Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and then circled around Russia from Norway. After a circle, we passed through the Bering Strait, entered the Pacific Ocean, and returned to Dafeng.

"Old lady, I didn't know how big it is until I went out this time. There are so many countries. I just heard about it from foreigners before. It's unimaginable without seeing it with my own eyes." Zhou Chao said seriously, like a frog in a well.

They just understand the situation of foreigners so that they can do business in the future, but according to Zhou Chao's understanding, the people sent by King Zhaojun are not simple.Every time they go to a place, they will stay there for a few days. Yang Gang will find the local people to understand the situation, and Yang Gang is very gifted in language. In just ten and a half months, he can communicate verbally with the local people, which really amazes everyone. .

Lao Zhou looked at his son proudly. The twelve young people, all with beaming expressions, looked more stable and smart than before.

Hong Ye nodded: "Of course we can't be arrogant, but I think the emperor will understand clearly."

The starting point of any father is to love his children. Although the relationship between the royal family is a bit complicated, but after the accident between the crown prince and King Su, King Xiangjun and King Gong couldn't make waves. King Zhaojun is still young, and they don't have more strength. Fighting against the emperor, even if Emperor Changping is too suspicious at this time, he has a bit of paternal love for King Zhaojun and other young princes, not to mention that Emperor Changping is not yet suspicious, so he will let King Zhaojun and Lin Hai let him go From the perspective of the reform of the salt administration, he is also laissez-faire and tolerant of the son of King Zhaojun.

Now Zhaojun Wang's people have traveled all over Asia and Europe, and they want to have a more intuitive understanding of the world. Dafeng must not take it lightly if he wants to become a kingdom of Heaven/Chaoshang.

Zhou Chao scratched his head, and took out a long piece of cloth from his sleeve. On it was a map they drew themselves when they were bored on the boat. From the sea area of ​​Dafeng, how they traveled, every place they stayed, It's all painted on it.

Hongye was not surprised at all, sailors would naturally draw the path they traveled, she asked the maid to spread it out, put it on the long table, and looked carefully, the place names on it were written very clearly.

Just now, Yuanyang, Amber, Vanilla and others were fascinated by listening to it. This will allow them to see the various countries on the map more intuitively. Everyone opened their eyes wide and watched with gusto.

Hongye browsed carefully. The general direction is correct, but some place names or country names are very different from those of later generations. Of course, the heaven/dynasty will become a big phoenix, so there is no need to care about some details.However, Zhou Chao and others still did not discover North America, which is on the other side of the Bering Strait, and they missed it.

Moreover, Hongye felt a little strange. She analyzed the information from Zhou Chao and the others. Although Dafeng's sea ships had arrived in Malaysia and other places, it seemed that they had not reached Australia. There was no information about Australia. Malaysia It's not far from Australia on the map.

While talking happily, Jia Amnesty came back. He deliberately came back from get off work early just to meet Zhou Chao and others. Hongye already knew what he wanted to know, so he took everyone away and took them to the front hall to talk.

In the evening, Jia She stayed with Zhou Chao and the others for dinner, and continued to discuss the harvest of this voyage. Everything on the ship should be transferred to the warehouse in the capital. Sell ​​some during the month, after all, every household has to make arrangements for the New Year.

After it got dark, the ground was a vast expanse of whiteness, the sky was still blowing a cold wind, and large flakes of snowflakes fell to the ground.King Zhaojun entered the palace with two subordinates, and Emperor Changping summoned them in the imperial study.

Seeing Yang Gang, who was only about forty years old but looked older than him, Emperor Changping sighed silently in his heart. He felt that his seven sons were "wronged" by Lin Hai and Jia She. Since Concubine Shu After his death, he was young and mature, and the older he grew, the more mature he became, but only his warm heart showed that he was a young man full of energy.

King Zhaojun didn't talk nonsense and asked Yang Gang to tell about their voyage trip. However, due to time constraints, he could only talk about the countries they had visited.After it was over, King Zhaojun took out the long cloth map. Since Yang Gang was more professional than Zhou Chao, the map was drawn in more detail than Zhou Chao and the others. When Emperor Changping saw it, his expression froze.

The author has something to say: sorry for the lateness, good night~