The grape trellis in front of the high-arched main hall is already full of bunches of green grapes, which make people drool just by looking at them.

Lord Gao was still dressed like an old farmer, sitting there fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan and drinking tea from a large porcelain bowl. He did not change at all because he was about to make a comeback.

At this moment, besides worrying about the country, Gao Ge Lao was only worried about his brother. As for whether the Zhao family's grandparents would leave or not, he didn't care at all.

Just as Zhao Liben said, Zhao Hao's trip was just a formality. How could he return empty-handed after coming all the way here? So everything was settled when he left Beijing. When Gao Ge Lao got the news of his departure, he was already overjoyed...

When we actually met, it felt a bit boring.

It would be incredible if an old man in his sixties could get along well with a boy of only sixteen and become their close friends.

So when Zhao Hao asked to leave, he only tried to keep him symbolically, and then went with the flow and let the grandson go.

What's more, if Zhao Liben stayed in his farm any longer, he was afraid that he would not be able to control himself and would castrate that bitch.

"Then I won't go back to the capital for now." Zhao Hao didn't have a good impression of this Henan guy who spoke so unpleasantly. But he still said what he had to say. "Let me wish Mr. Xuan a comeback and great success."

"Thank you for your good words." Gao Gong did not say those hypocritical words. On the first day of next month, the court will promote it. If the four provinces of Henan, Shanxi, Huguang and Jiangnan work together, even a pig can be sent to the sky.

After a pause, he continued, "Don't worry, the first thing I will do when I arrive in the capital is to renegotiate the grain transport by sea. It would be best if you were still in the capital by then."

"Junior will do his best." Zhao Hao nodded, stood up and was about to say goodbye, but suddenly he heard a commotion outside the door.

Gao Gong looked up unhappily, and saw his elder brother walking in with a heroic and proud look, wearing golden armor, a silver helmet, leather boots, and a scarlet cloak fluttering behind him.

Gao Ge Lao twitched his lips twice, thinking that his elder brother really enjoyed doing this. Whenever a new guest came, he would dress up and make a shining appearance.

But Gao Jie didn't come for the guests. He bowed to Gao Gong and said, "Xiao San'er, I'm here to say goodbye to you!"

"Puff..." Gao Gong spat out a mouthful of tea and coughed, "What are you doing? Where are you going, big brother?"

"I am going to lead my army to go on an expedition across the ocean!" Gao Jie patted his chest and said, "My navy commander Zhao Gongxin has discovered the pirates' lair. I will catch up with them and kill them all!"

"Zhao's salary?" Gao Gong was stunned for a moment. Fortunately, in Henan dialect, "gongzi" means "salary". He understood immediately and glared at Zhao Hao and said, "What are you doing? I wonder if my brother is mentally ill!"

"Xiao San'er, what are you talking about?" Gao Jie slapped Gao Gong on the head. Although he was nearly seventy years old, he was not good at using the Guandao for nothing. He almost slapped Gao Gong's head onto the teapot. "You are the one with a brain disease."

"Okay, I'm sick in the head." It's true that one thing conquers another. Gao Gong has no way to deal with his crazy elder brother. He can only stare at Zhao Hao fiercely, meaning that if you don't settle this matter, I will never let you go.

"Please calm down, Mr. Xuan. This is indeed my fault." Zhao Hao said with a wry smile, "Since I came to Gaojiazhuang, I have been forced to be a soldier by the Minister of Justice."

"Aren't you joining the army voluntarily?" Gao Jie also glared, and this time all four eyes were staring at poor Master Zhao.

"I volunteered to join the army." Zhao Hao quickly changed his words and said to Gao Gong, "I said goodbye to the Minister today, but he kept me, so I had to... make up this lame excuse..."

"Did you hear that, Zhongcheng?" Gao Gong immediately perked up and said to Gao Jie with a smile, "This guy lied about military intelligence. I will punish him severely. Zhongcheng, please go back to the camp and rest first, so as not to get covered in blood."

"Nonsense, who are you trying to fool?" Gao Jie was not easy to fool this time. He sneered and said, "You just threatened my general. Do you think I didn't see it? He was forced to lie!"

"Brother, stop messing around!" Gao Gong had a very short temper. Hearing this, he could not help but say a little stiffly, "The Japanese pirates have all been wiped out by Qi's army. There are no more Japanese pirates in the Ming Dynasty!"

"There are pirates on the sea, and there are more on the sea! Qi Jiguang didn't defeat Japan. If you don't root out the pirates, they will grow again in the spring breeze!" Gao Jie was stubborn and said, "I don't care. I will go to sea and fight the pirates!"

"Brother, please withdraw your troops. You are too old to go to the battlefield." Gao Gong stood up helplessly, bowed deeply to Gao Jie, and spoke in a pleading tone.

"Zhongcheng, let's just forget it." Zhao Hao also advised from the side.

"Shut up!" Gao Jie glared at him first, then said to Gao Gong: "Xiao San'er, get up. If you don't let me go, don't go anywhere else. Let's live together in this village for the rest of our lives!"

"Ah?" Gao Gong looked up in surprise when he heard this, but saw that his elder brother was still in a daze, but what he said was unusually clear.

"A real man should die on the battlefield. Even if I die, I will die on the battlefield!"

"Brother..." Gao Gong felt a lump in his throat when he heard that and he almost burst into tears.

"Mr. Xuan, why don't you let Zhongcheng come back with me to Jiangnan?" Zhao Hao sighed and advised, "We have famous doctors of the time such as Wan Mi Zhai, Li Shizhen, and Li Lunming in our Jiangnan Hospital. They have advanced facilities and superb medical skills. They even saved Zhongcheng Lin who had been in a coma for several months. Lord Hai's wife is even pregnant again. Anyway, Zhongcheng is already like this, why not give it a try at Jiangnan Hospital?"

"This..." Gao Gong couldn't help but be moved. Hai Rui seemed to be only one year younger than him.

Bah, bah, no way!

He was worried about what would happen to his elder brother after he came to Beijing. When his elder brother got sick, he was the only one who could comfort him, and no one else could communicate with him. He had heard of Jiangnan doctors, and the names of Wan Mi Zhai and Li Shizhen were even more well-known to him.

Not to mention curing the eldest brother, as long as he can be taken good care of and have fewer attacks, Lord Gao will be grateful to God and the young master.

Moreover, Jiangnan has people to support him, and the Jiangnan Group and the kid named Zhao need his help, so it would be a good place for the eldest brother.

But everything has its pros and cons. His elder brother is in someone else's hands, and when everyone has a good relationship, it will naturally be good for me and him.

But the political situation is ever-changing. Who can say how long this fragile partnership can last? If one day they fall out, my brother will be a hostage in their hands!

Gao Ge Lao was well-read in history books, so he naturally knew that in the pre-Qin period, when two countries formed an alliance, both sides had to send hostages to each other. It was hard to say whether the boy surnamed Zhao had such experience.

For a moment, Gao Gong almost blurted out "Why don't you let your grandfather stay and accompany me fishing?", but his physical aversion to Zhao Liben prevented him from saying it.

Besides, he was going to be the Prime Minister after his comeback, so he could only control Jiangnan, but Jiangnan could not control him, so there was no need to hold a hostage in his hand. It was unnecessary and would only make people laugh.

After thinking it over, Gao Gong finally nodded with difficulty, looked at Zhao Hao deeply and said, "Take good care of my brother."

"Mr. Xuan, just rest assured. Jiangnan Group and I will do our best to help Zhongcheng recover as soon as possible." Zhao Hao promised Gao Gong.

~~

As a result, the next day, when the Zhao family left Gaojiazhuang, there was indeed an old general in the team.

It was a hot day, but Gao Jie insisted on wearing his armor, not afraid of getting a heat stroke...

Gao Gong saw them off again and again, and only turned back reluctantly after walking twenty miles. Of course, he was not there to see the Zhao family's grandson off, but he was just worried about his own eldest brother.

Fortunately, the old butler Gao Fuhui accompanied them all the way, and Shao Fang's father-in-law and son-in-law also set off together. Only then did Lord Gao barely stop worrying.

On the return journey, even if we didn't take the Grand Canal, it would still be much faster than the way there.

Zhao Hao and his party drove northward and stayed at the Yellow River ferry that night. The next day, they took a ferry across the river and traveled for another two days before arriving in Xinxiang County.

The Wei River in Xinxiang directly reaches Tianjin. The predecessor of the Wei River was the Yongji Canal. Although it has been renamed several times over the past thousand years, this great canal dug by Emperor Yang of Sui has always been an important channel connecting Henan and the capital. All grain entering Tianjin and reed salt entering Bian usually go through this canal.

The guards who arrived a day earlier had already booked enough covered boats. After a night's rest in Xinxiang, they boarded six covered boats and sailed down the river the next morning. Five days later, they arrived in Tianjin.

Everyone went their separate ways in Tianjin. Shao Daxia and his son-in-law were going to Beijing to prepare for the imperial election. Zhao Liben was also going to Beijing to take charge. With the old man around, Zhao Hao could feel at ease to wander around outside.

Master Zhao, with Gao Jie in high spirits, continued to go downstream towards Dagukou.

The next day, the fleet arrived at Dagukou Port.

Compared to when I first arrived in March, Dagukou Harbor has completely changed. Not only has a long breakwater been built, but the original wooden pier has also been converted into a permanent dock. The dock is not yet completed, but the workers are working hard, working overtime to build a safe harbor for the huge fleet before the storm arrives.

"The workers are very motivated." Zhao Hao said with a smile to Cao Ke, the Tianjin military governor who came to greet him after hearing the news.

"Hahaha, this is Tianjin's century-long plan!" Cao Ke smiled warmly at the God of Wealth of Tianjin people, "When the common people heard that this would become the end point for the sea transportation of grain, they were very motivated and brought their own dry food to help. I'm just afraid that your group can't feel the sincerity of us Tianjin people!"

"How can I not feel it?" Zhao Hao also laughed and said, "It seems that if this thing can't be done, I will not only let down the people of Jiangnan, but also be ashamed to see the people of Tianjin!"

"Hahaha, how can it not be done!" Cao Ke had obviously heard about Master Zhao going to Henan to meet Gao Gong.

He naturally knew that with Mr. Zhao's current status, how could he bring humiliation upon himself without complete certainty and sufficient guarantees?

However, Cao Bingxian was a smart man and did not ask him about the result of his trip. He just wanted to take him to the dock for a visit.

But how could the High Chancellor agree to this and could no longer hold back the big Guandao in his hand?

Seeing that Gao Jie was about to lose his temper, Mr. Zhao had no choice but to apologize, "Wait until I come back, and we'll talk about it."

Then he lowered his voice and explained to Cao Ke: "This is Gao Ge Lao's elder brother, the Senior Chancellor, who is in a hurry to go out to sea."

"Oh, I see. I am being nosy. Please go away now." Cao Ke suddenly realized.

ps. Please give me monthly votes for Chapter 3!