Late April in Beijing is the beginning of spring with bright sunshine and colorful flowers.

Young Master Zhao was at the manor outside the city, playing ball with the old man.

This manor named "Qilizhuang" was the gift from the godmother the year before. At that time, the princess rewarded her godmother with twelve shops, three manors, and countless gold, silver, antiques, calligraphy and paintings.

All the manors that the princess offered were excellent properties with excellent locations and fertile land. This was especially true of Qili Manor.

In the northwest suburbs of Beijing, there is a remnant of Yanshan Mountain named Wengshan Mountain, and there is a lake at the foot of the mountain called Wengshan Lake. In the past, Wanyan Liang, the ruler of the Jin Dynasty, once built the Jinshan Palace here.

After the Yuan Dynasty established its capital in Beijing, Guo Shoujing diverted water from upstream into the lake, increasing the water level of Wengshan Lake and turning it into a reservoir to ensure water supply for the palace and to support grain transport.

Qili Village is located on the shore of Wengshan Lake, adjacent to the imperial garden "Haoshan Garden" built by Emperor Wuzong. The village is surrounded by mountains and water, with 2,000 acres of paddy fields and 150 households of farmhands.

The manor of Qili Village is located by the lake. It is a bit exaggerated to call it a farm. The manor is surrounded by a stone wall about ten feet high, and a two-meter-high wall made of blue bricks is added to the stone wall. There are also arrow towers and beacons. Most of the farmhands are also good at brandishing swords and guns. Once there is an alarm, they can immediately defend themselves in the manor.

The emperor of the Ming Dynasty was not joking about guarding the national border. The Tartars invaded the capital from time to time and reached the outskirts of Beijing many times. Such strict vigilance was very necessary.

The front of the manor is a tall gate with a canopy, which is more than enough for cars and sedan chairs to enter and exit. After entering, there are pools, warehouses, threshing grounds, mangers, pens, etc., which make it look like a farm.

A stone-paved east-west corridor was laid in the center of the manor, and carriages could go directly to the inner courtyard where the owner lived.

The inner courtyard is much more luxurious, with a loft, patio, garden, stage and even a separate small pier where the owner can go boating on Wengshan Lake.

But at this moment, the father and son were not in the manor, but on the green hillside facing the lake behind the manor.

Oh, yes, Wengshan Lake is the Kunming Lake of later generations. But since Mr. Zhao occupied this place, the Summer Palace may never appear again.

"Originally this was Liu Jin's manor." The old man wore a big hat, big sunglasses, and a short golf suit. He swung the club in his hand and hit the small ball made of horn bone on the ground. The ball drew a beautiful arc and landed on the green on the hillside... Oh no, next to the ball hole.

"When he built the garden for Emperor Zhengde, he built this manor next to it so that he could serve the emperor conveniently." Zhao Liben handed the golf club to Zhao Hao, who was acting as a caddy nearby, and said, "Even this golf course was built by him back then."

Zhao Hao took the club and looked at the holes with colorful flags in the distance. He felt confused. What's the difference between this and playing golf? The rules and the gameplay are exactly the same, right? Even the pretentiousness is the same!

However, this is definitely not golf, but the "Chui Wan" sport that was invented in our country hundreds of years ago.

Chui Wan evolved from the horseless version of polo in the Tang Dynasty, "Bu Da Qiu". In the Song Dynasty, it evolved into a non-confrontational game in which players took turns to hit the ball. The goal was changed to the ball hole, and the name also changed to "Chui Wan" or "Bu Ji".

During the Song and Yuan dynasties, Chui Wan was very popular, and people of all walks of life, old and young, enjoyed it. However, in this dynasty, as Chui Wan became more and more regulated, it became a game for the nobility... From the rules of the game to the key points of swinging, from the manufacture of the club to the maintenance of the field, the level of professionalism and sophistication was almost as good as golf in later generations, so naturally only scholars and officials could afford to play it.

For example, the golf course requires a wide garden with convex and concave, steep and steep, obstructed and blocked, facing inside and outside, and flat. For another example, there are ten kinds of golf clubs, such as scoop stick, pounce stick, single-handed, and eagle beak, to suit different situations in the game. There are also professional companions as caddies, carrying a long leather bag and following behind.

The rules of the two are almost the same. Zhao Hao never played golf in his previous life, but he can make up for his regret in this life.

However, he was no match for the old man in the traditional games of Chui Wan and Shooting Willow. In addition, the topic the two of them were talking about was too explosive, and even the trusted guards were not suitable to be around, so Young Master Zhao obediently became his grandfather's caddy.

~~

"Eunuch Liu really knows how to enjoy himself." Zhao Hao looked at the golf course with mountains and the vast expanse of Wengshan Lake and couldn't help but sigh. The powerful people of this era really do whatever they want.

Uh, no, this kind of thinking is very dangerous. This kind of corrupt life should be firmly criticized! Bah, this big tiger!

"Back then, Liu Jin was extremely powerful and coveted the fat piece of meat from the canal transport industry. He wanted to get it for himself, but he ran into a soft nail and had to retreat." Young Master Zhao was just thinking about it when he heard the old man say calmly, "How are you compared to Liu Jin? With one hand."

"Uh..." Zhao Hao was stunned for a moment, then quickly took out the thinnest baseball bat from his leather bag and handed it to Zhao Liben.

Then he smiled bitterly and said, "Grandpa, you always compare me to a eunuch. Isn't that inappropriate?"

"I get the point." Zhao Liben smiled, stood sideways, pushed the golf club lightly with one hand, and hit the ball neatly into the hole.

Zhao Hao certainly understood what his grandfather meant. The content of the meeting at the Huai'an Canal Transport Commander's Mansion three days ago was placed in front of Mr. Zhao who was far away in Beijing early this morning.

Although this large-scale alliance can boost morale, there are too many people involved, making it almost impossible to keep it secret.

Mr. Zhao knew very well how powerful the interest groups in the canal transport were, so he would of course step up his surveillance of them. Given the current strength of the shipping group, it would be easy for them to drag a few traitors into the water and find out the content of their meeting.

Of course, the reverse is also true.

To be honest, the fierce reaction of the Caoyun Group was somewhat beyond his expectations.

After all, Mr. Zhao did not intend to push them to a dead end, but humbly expressed his willingness to be a backup for the canal transportation and help the court in an emergency. Moreover, after the canal is opened, the Jiangnan Group can retreat to the position of good friends and will never compete with the canal transportation for a share.

According to the preliminary judgment of the Strategic Decision Committee, although the conflict between the two sides is inevitable, at the current stage, the Caoyun Group is likely to take a wait-and-see attitude for the time being, and the conflict is likely to break out only after the canal resumes navigation.

This is not because Zhao Hao and Xu Wei are blindly optimistic, but because this is the best choice for the Caoyun Group.

At present, the canal is cut off, 800 grain ships have capsized, 100,000 shi of imperial grain have been lost, and the governor of the grain transport is already guilty. At this time, shouldn't we first clean up the mess, stabilize our position, and wait for the opportunity to act?

The house is in a mess, but you are rushing back to attack the enemy who is well prepared. Are you trying to live?

Do I look like such a pure and harmless little puppy?

Young Master Zhao found it incomprehensible. Where did the Caoyun Group get its confidence from? They actually chose to attack instead of defend at a time like this. Aren’t they afraid of losing even their underwear?

Now, Grandpa used Liu Jin's story to tell him that the confidence of the Caoyun Group came from their vital role, powerful influence, and the erosion of filial piety to the ministers in the court year after year.

These factors are intertwined to create an interest group that is too big to fail.

Therefore, they are extremely arrogant.

Unfortunately, in the long history that Mr. Zhao knows, all interest groups that hold such ideas have been crushed by the wheels of history and turned into another piece of "arrogant" history in the pile of old papers.

~~

After returning to the base and rearranging the ball for Grandpa, Zhao Hao stood up, patted the loose dirt on his hands and said:

"The proposal of Jiaolai Canal is pure nonsense. Jiangnan Group has done a thorough research beforehand. The canal is still there, but the water is very shallow. It is 268 miles long, which seems not long. But the lack of water and the blockage of floating sand at the mouths of Jiaolai are two unsolvable problems. Unless the watershed is completely dug, but that would be a huge project and would cost millions of taels. Who can afford it?"

"How could they not know this? They are just using it as an excuse to fight for dominance in shipping." Zhao Liben said calmly while changing his golf clubs, "Don't look down on the Jiaolai River. In the eyes of many people in the court, it is much better than pure shipping."

"What's your strength?"

"If you can take less sea route, it means it's safer."

"Hahaha!" Zhao Hao laughed so hard that tears were about to fall. "In order to save 800 miles of sea route, they are willing to dig a nearly 300-mile canal. This is a severe fear of the sea. It needs treatment!"

"The Ming court is not short of extremely ignorant but self-righteous fools." Zhao Liben sneered and said, "The court's talent selection ceremony has produced such a fool. Sooner or later, the Ming Dynasty will be finished!"

Young Master Zhao rolled his eyes helplessly, thinking: Here it comes again...

"Anyway, let me tell you this. Once the Jiaolai River issue comes out, your idea of ​​cutting the Gordian knot will definitely go down the drain." Zhao Liben squatted down, looking at the distance and terrain between the ball base and the next hole, while calculating how to play the club, he gloated: "Who made you so greedy that you want to do two things at once?"

"My grandson wants to do it one by one, but is it easy to open the sea alone? We can't find a breakthrough, let alone make any efforts." Zhao Hao said with a depressed face: "The key is that even if we open the sea with all our strength, there is no reason to exceed the standard of Yuegang - the annual limit of 44 ships in the East and West Oceans is simply a drop in the bucket!"

"You are just like your father, too honest! The Fujian people are not as disciplined as you. I heard that they have played around with the tow boats." Zhao Liben snorted and said, "After going out to sea, the ship owner sells the ship and the goods to the sea merchants, and then returns in a small boat, claiming that the ship hit a reef and sank, so that the tow boat can be used on the new ship. As for those who have connections with the government, there is no need to go through so much trouble. One tow boat can make ten trips!"

"The Fujian bastards are still the best. As for the Guangdong barbarians, the government directly arranges their smuggling. Why do those sea lords surrender and rebel? It's all because of the uneven distribution of spoils!" Zhao Liben hit a birdie with a heavy shot and said, "They never take the imperial court seriously, but they still make a lot of money!"

"My grandson is just that kind of person. There's nothing I can do about it." Zhao Hao touched his nose with a wry smile. The Ming Dynasty had cultivated officials like his grandfather, so it would be doomed sooner or later.