Volume 11: Xijiangyue
The fifth day of the third month of the third year of Daxia.
The ice and snow in Jinling have melted, and tender yellow buds have sprouted on the willow branches along the Qinhuai River, telling the tourists along the river that spring has arrived.
The peach blossoms in the Yan Mansion in Jinling City have already bloomed.
Although there were only three or two flowers, in Yan Beixi's eyes, it felt like the bright spring scenery.
He carried a hoe and came to the field in the backyard. He looked at the wild weeds that were growing wildly, picked up the hoe and started digging the ground.
After turning over this patch of land, he wanted to plant some peppers. During the Chinese New Year, his son Yan Shidao and grandson Yan Xiwen were both in Guanyun City for a meeting and had not returned, but his second son Yan Qiuping and third son Yan Haochu had returned, as had his grandson Yan Linqiu.
After His Majesty unified the five kingdoms and established Great Xia, he replanned the administrative regions. Yan Linqiu originally served as the governor of the Yellow River North Road, and was later transferred to the Beixiao Road - that place was in the north of the former Wu Dynasty, quite far from Nanjing.
On New Year's Eve, the Yan family had hot pot. It was a bit spicy, but it tasted very comfortable in this winter. The two most important seasonings were Sichuan pepper and chili pepper.
Of course, nowadays in Guanyun City, not only peppercorns and chili peppers can be bought, but even seafood that you have never heard of before can be bought.
Planting this thing is just because it is easy to plant.
Although the land is small, it cannot be left idle to grow weeds, right?
Yan Linqiu came back this time and said that the Daxia Scientific Research Institute in Siyang County, Beixiaodao, had developed the second-generation steam locomotive and had already produced it in the train factory in Siyang County... I had seen this thing in the Daxia Weekly, and even earlier, how early was it?
I'm old and my memory isn't very good... Now I think about it, he said it two years ago when he was traveling with His Majesty.
He said that trains can travel 800 miles a day and don't stop at night.
He also said that once the research on the train is completed and the tracks are laid throughout Daxia, the 2,000-mile distance from Guanyun City to Jinling will only take three to five days.
This is faster than taking a boat!
Qin Bingzhong and Jia Nanxing had also traveled with His Majesty. They had originally agreed to wait and see the train together and ride it together, but Jia Nanxing had already left.
He could no longer see.
At the beginning of this year, Daxia established a Ministry of Transportation. The first minister was Zhuo Liuyun. This guy is capable and can take on this important task.
Railway tracks are now being laid all over Daxia. In fact, the laying began two years ago, but it was not as eye-catching as it is today.
By the way, the railway in Jinling is also being laid. It is said that the railway station is built at the foot of Tengxi Mountain two miles outside the city. It is extremely large, like a palace. I have to find time to go and see it.
Thinking of this, he cleared the weeds in the field completely. The soil he turned over had a rotten smell that was not very pleasant.
Yan Beixi walked out, put down his hoe, rubbed his sore back, then sat in the pavilion. He was about to make a pot of tea when he saw Duan Yunchou walk in.
He still carried the big knife on his back, but the years had carved deeper marks on his face.
Duan Yunchou stood in front of Yan Beixi and bowed: "Master, long time no see!"
Yan Beixi laughed and looked carefully at the dusty Duan Yunchou. "When did you come back?"
"Just arrived."
"Come, sit down and have a cup of tea!"
"Thank you, Patriarch!"
Duan Yunchou had been with him for many years, but since the eldest princess Yu Shurong left Jinling, he asked Duan Yunchou to leave the Yan Mansion.
There was no other reason but to follow the eldest princess Yu Shurong to see if she would do anything.
Now that Duan Yunchou is back, what has Yu Shurong been doing outside all these years?
"I followed the princess to the Far East."
"Originally, the eldest princess was very quiet. She expressed great admiration and praise for Your Majesty. She seemed to have forgotten the pain of the demise of the Yu Dynasty and the people and events of the Yu Dynasty royal family."
"But last summer, she left the Far East Dao... Patriarch, the eldest princess can disguise herself! Her technique is exactly the same as that used by the Moon Worshiping Cult!"
"If it weren't for the secret fragrance I put on her, even I would have been deceived by her."
Yan Beixi was startled and frowned suddenly, "Are you saying that there is a fake princess in the Far East?"
Duan Yunchou nodded, "Yes, she really did disguise herself as an old lady."
"Where did she go?"
"She went to the White Horse Temple in Fan State and met the current leader of the Buddhist Sect, Ku Chan. Then Ku Chan left Fan State and went to the Peacock Kingdom where Your Majesty was leading the Northern Expedition."
Yan Beixi's brows furrowed even more tightly. He recalled an incident from the past that he had originally thought was just a rumor. Could it be true?
Princess Yu Shurong never married in her life, but when she was fifteen or sixteen years old, she stayed in the Nanshan Villa outside the city of Jinling for a year!
There are rumors that she gave birth to a child, and the father of this child is Fan Wuxiang, the leader of the Buddhist sect!
This memory was a bit old, and Yan Beixi couldn't figure it out clearly even after thinking about it for a long time. He vaguely remembered that the eldest princess Yu Shurong accompanied Emperor Xuan to the former Fan State that year.
Since she took such a huge risk to go to Fan State to see Ku Chan, this rumor has a certain credibility, but...
"Why did she go to see Kuchan?"
Duan Yunchou shook his head. "Ku Chan's Kung Fu is first-rate. I didn't dare get too close. I vaguely heard the princess persuade Ku Chan to go to Peacock Kingdom."
"Then what?"
"Then she went to Chi Le Chuan, seemingly intending to meet someone, but she seemed to give up and then went to the Western Xia Autonomous Region to meet Yu Wentian, the Grand Marshal of the Western Xia Autonomous Region."
Yan Beixi suddenly became nervous. Yu Wentian controlled 200,000 troops of Daxia!
Among them is Guan Xiaoxi’s troops from the First Army of the Great Xia Army!
In addition, there is Zhao Jue’s troops of the Eighth Army of the Great Xia Army!
"What did they talk about?"
"The military camp was heavily guarded, and I didn't dare approach. But they came out arguing later. I'm afraid the princess wanted to tell Yu Wendao something, but Yu Wendao refused."
"Where is she now?"
"I lost her on the way back to Jinling. The subtle fragrance dissipated, and I never found her again."
"This crazy woman... Oh, by the way, how much gold and silver did she take with her when she left Jinling?"
“I don’t know exactly, but it’s a full boat!”
Yan Beixi took a deep breath. "I was careless. I thought it was really inconvenient for her to stay in the palace with the title of the eldest princess. She said that all the gold and silver were earned over the years, and she wanted to take them to find a place where no one knew about her and settle down... This was originally a good thing, but now it seems that she still has some ulterior motives."
"Master, what should we do now?"
"Wait a moment, I'll send a letter to His Majesty."
"There's no need to be overly nervous. Great Xia is peaceful right now. Besides, Yu Wentian is highly valued by His Majesty. He understands reason... Even if he didn't, he couldn't command those two armies to point their guns at Great Xia."
"So, what she did was actually meaningless. Daxia is too powerful, and His Majesty's cohesion is unparalleled. How could she have a chance to turn the tables?"
Duan Yunchou thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "What if Your Majesty passes away?"
Yan Beixi was suddenly shocked. It was not easy for His Majesty to pass away, but His Majesty had already intended to leave!
Once His Majesty leaves, or after Daxia has gone through a hundred years and all the ministers and generals who were loyal to His Majesty and Daxia have passed away...
This kind of thing must not be allowed to happen!
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