Chapter 72: The Smooth Sailing Ship
Officials have been trying to find a solution to the issue of Refugee Street.
It has been about seventy years since the emergence of Refugee Street. During this period, several Kaifeng prefects have been troubled by it and have made many efforts.
There was an effect. Otherwise, after seventy years, the number of refugees in the streets would not have been just 100,000, but probably 200,000 or 300,000.
Once that number is reached, supplies will become even more scarce, and the number of people who die every winter could be a terrifying number.
Therefore, the efforts of several Kaifeng prefects were not in vain.
"Master Lu, are you here this time just to speak up for the people in Refugee Street?" Bao Zheng closed the document in his hand and asked in a gentle but powerful official tone , "Or is it something else?"
"Prefect Bao should also know that the Three Commissioners are going to form a fleet soon." Lu Sen said slowly, "It's a large fleet. I think we can let some of the people in the refugee street go out to sea with the fleet and live and reproduce in the Spice Islands."
"Even the fields in the territory of our Song Dynasty are just a little far from the city of Bianjing, but they are unwilling to go there." Bao Zheng thought this was unlikely: "It's a long way away, will they be willing to go there?"
"Most likely they won't." Lu Sen chuckled and said, "But if you can take as many as you can, take as many as you can. It's not a good thing to have a bunch of hungry people piled up in the refugee street."
"As long as they don't use force or send them to their deaths, Master Lu can take as many people as he can."
Lu Sen stood up and said, "Please rest assured, Governor Bao. I just want them to have more options for survival."
Seeing that Lu Sen looked serious and did not seem to be lying, Bao Zheng nodded without comment.
Then Lu Sen said goodbye.
After a few more days of leisure, Luo Zhao, the Third Envoy, took the initiative to find Lu Sen after retiring from court one day.
"Master Lu, in two months and fifteen days, the fleet will gather in Hangzhou." Luo Zhao bowed and said, "Master Lu has not forgotten to build a large immortal ship. It's time to set off."
"Thank you, Minister Luo Ji, for coming all the way to remind me." Lu Sen clasped his fists and said with a smile, "I will make some preparations and leave in about two days."
"Please trouble Master Lu for everything."
Afterwards, Lu Sen went to the Prince of Runan's Mansion.
Finally, the King of Runan looked better and better, and his spirits became more and more full. Because of his age, he had not made his wives and concubines pregnant for five years, but now, he made a concubine pregnant again.
The credit for this, of course, went to the vegetables and fruits produced by Lu Sen's family, which helped to keep the Prince of Runan in good health.
"Taishan, I am going to Hangzhou and will take Jinhua and Bilian with me. I heard that you have some expert boat operators here. Can you lend me some of them?"
"Don't be polite, just take it." The Prince of Runan waved his hand generously.
He was personally extremely satisfied with his son-in-law Lu Sen. Not only was he capable, but he was also very good to his daughter.
In the Northern Song Dynasty, literati were respected. Although he was a prince, it was not easy for him to marry his daughter to a literati.
Talented scholars do not look down upon ladies from royal families because it will affect their future.
In many cases, the performance appraisal of official promotions not only looks at the official’s political achievements, but also takes other factors into consideration.
However, if he marries a daughter of the royal family, it will affect his promotion. No matter whether it is the emperor or ordinary important officials, they do not want to see a minister who uses the royal relatives to rise to the top.
Of course, there were exceptions for the royal family, such as the Eighth Wise Kings and the Prince of Runan.
Then Lu Sen was also an exception.
Besides, the woman he married, Zhao Bilian, had no royal status at all!
So in this situation, most of the noble ladies of the royal family would not be interested in scholars and would generally marry wealthy merchants, which was considered as marrying down.
As a cultivator, Lu Sen not only married Bilian, but also doted on her very much.
The fact that Bilian could receive such treatment was completely beyond the expectations of the Prince of Runan.
Therefore, this time I want to take Bilian out to relax, so borrowing a few servants is nothing!
"Also, when my son-in-law goes to Hangzhou and builds the big ship, Taishan had better send someone he can trust to take it over. I don't really want to hand over the control of the ship to the Three Envoys."
The Prince of Runan snorted, "Of course we can't leave it to them. If we really let them take charge, the ship will probably be theirs when it returns from the Spice Islands. If you argue with him, he might cry, make a scene, or even commit suicide."
Lu Sen was amused when he heard this: "Luo Jixiang wouldn't be so disgraceful."
"Hey, my dear son-in-law, you haven't seen it. A few years ago, in order to collect more taxes, Luo Jixiang persuaded the government to change some laws. When he didn't get approval, he dared to roll around and make a scene in the court." The Prince of Runan sneered: "The most hateful thing is that Luo Jixiang is old and is very good at taking advantage of his age."
"Let's not talk about Luo Jixiang for now." Lu Sen thought for a moment and said, "As for the big ship, I can build it first, but it's better for Taishan to have someone prepare the canvas and the long oars in advance."
"I see."
Afterwards, Lu Sen stayed in the Prince of Runan's Mansion for a while and then returned home.
When he told them that the whole family was going to Hangzhou to relax, Jinhua and Bilian jumped for joy on the spot.
When they heard that Lu Sen was going to Hangzhou to build a large ship, they wanted to go with him.
But they couldn't speak .
Although women in the Northern Song Dynasty had a relatively high status, there was a ceiling to their status.
Under normal circumstances, when the husband goes on a journey, no matter what the reason, his wife usually has to stay at home.
But now that Lu Sen is willing to take them with him, this in itself is an extremely happy thing for them.
In order to build a big ship, Lu Sen took everyone in his family and started cutting down the six acres of eucalyptus forest that he had been cultivating for more than a year.
With the help of the home system, these eucalyptus trees grow very fast. Although each tree is only a year and a half old, it has the height and circumference of a ten-year-old eucalyptus tree.
Almost all of the six acres of eucalyptus trees were cut down, leaving only the outermost belt of trees to block other people's view.
After cutting down the tree, Lu Sen began to pack his luggage. In fact, he didn't need to pack much, just put everything in the system backpack.
Yang Jinhua went out and came back soon.
On the third day, white snow began to fall.
The weather is freezing cold, and the closer it gets to spring, the colder it gets.
Fortunately, the flow of the Bianshui River is quite fast and it has not frozen.
There were no people or boats on the dock at this time, but there was an old man fishing by the river. He was wearing a straw hat and a raincoat, and swinging his rod from time to time in the snow.
Occasionally a grass carp would be thrown up and caught into his fish basket.
On the dock, there was a young woman holding a white paper umbrella and wearing a bright red cloak, and she was accompanied by two servants.
And when Lu Sen brought his family to the dock, she took the initiative to greet them.
"Greetings, Master Lu." The girl handed the white paper umbrella to the servant and bowed to Lu Sen.
At this time, Zhao Bilian rushed over, hugged her and jumped happily: "Mei'er, why are you here too?"
"Golden Flower asked me to come."
Jinhua went out yesterday to meet Pang Meir.
At this time, Yang Jinhua turned to Lu Sen and said, "Mei'er is planning to go to her grandmother's house in Hangzhou. I heard that her grandmother is seriously ill and has been bedridden for some time. She wants to go over to take care of her, but it's freezing cold and it's inconvenient to travel. We are going to Hangzhou, so we thought of giving her a ride."
Pang Meier bowed again and said, "Thank you for troubling Master Lu."
"polite."
Lu Sen waved his hand indifferently.
It really doesn’t matter if the other person is a girl.
If it was a man...if he was Yang Jinhua's relative, it would be easy to deal with, but if not, then the attitude would be different.
At this moment, everyone's eyes were on Lu Sen, including the dozen or so servants sent by the Prince of Runan.
They were waiting for Lu Sen's "magic technique" to appear.
Lu Sen didn't let them wait long. He walked to the boat walkway at the ferry and extended his hand.
Countless golden lights poured out from his palms, fell on the river surface, and turned into stacks of "parts".
These parts were quickly combined into one piece, and soon became the flat-bottomed keel of a large river boat.
The golden light continued to gush out, and soon a waterproof cabin appeared on the keel, followed by a bottom cabin, and then the hull... Finally, a golden wooden boat that was 20 meters long, 4 meters wide, with two floors and about 6 meters high appeared in front of everyone.
"It is indeed miraculous and extraordinary."
Seeing this magical miracle with their own eyes, everyone held their breath, and only after the ship appeared completely did they exhale a long breath.
Then, a dozen servants who had been following Lu Sen and others rushed onto the boat with things in their arms and quickly loaded up the sails, oars and other things.
Then they turned back and moved bedding and other daily necessities from several wooden cargo carts.
These people specialize in river boat operation, so they know exactly what is needed for a comfortable large ship.
In less than half an hour, the entire ship was decorated.
The middle-aged man in the lead bowed and said, "We are ready. Please come aboard, my lord, the princess, and all the nobles."
These people did not call Lu Sen "real man", but directly called him son-in-law, which was enough to prove their status in the Prince of Runan's Mansion. They were probably die-hard fans or family generals.
And now, people in the Prince of Runan's Mansion have begun to call Bilian "Princess", even though she does not have the title of Princess.
Because she married Lu Sen, even if she was just a concubine, she was still a woman of divine character.
The wives and concubines of the Prince of Runan, who had not been very fond of Bilian, had now begun to treat Bilian very well. Every time Bilian returned to the Prince of Runan's mansion to visit her father, carrying lettuce or fruit, these people were particularly enthusiastic.
Even all the servants dared not ignore Zhao Bilian anymore.
Lu Sen was the first to step onto the newly built wooden boat. The completely new wooden boat exuded a faint plant fragrance.
Yang Jinhua, Bilian and others came in and couldn't help but exclaimed when they saw the spacious environment inside.
The middle-aged man with wrinkles all over his face asked cautiously, "Sir, shall we set off now?"
"certainly."
"Then please take a seat, sir."
Then several people raised the sail and rowed.
The boat moved, very steadily and quickly.
Of course, this 'fast' is relative to other ships of the same size.
The boatmen in charge of operating the boat felt the boat's extraordinaryness as soon as they got on board.
Everyone looked surprised and excited.
Inside the cabin, Yang Jinhua and Bilian were leaning against the windows and looking out, their faces full of curiosity.
Neither of them had ever left the city of Bianjing since they were young, so this was their first time taking a boat.
Pang Meir often traveled between Bian Jing and Hangzhou, so she was already used to taking a boat. Now she was just curious... This boat was made of small wooden blocks stacked together, and it seemed that there were no gaps between them, and it wouldn't even let in water.
This is so bizarre, no wonder it is called a magic technique.
This time the boat was rowed very fast because it was very light and had the sail as auxiliary power. When the wind direction was right, it actually felt like a racing sailboat.
Boats were coming and going on the canal. In the heavy snow, this uniquely shaped light golden wooden boat aroused the curiosity of many people.
Some people wanted to come over and chat, but they were all sent away by the middle-aged boatman with a strange remark.
Along the way, Yang Jinhua and Bilian were both quite excited.
The two of them didn't get seasick on their first boat ride, but Kurozuya vomited all over the place, and Ringo vomited for several days.
Fortunately, after seven days, the two gradually got used to it.
Although this ship is quite large, you stay on it every day and you will see people everywhere, so strangers will soon become familiar with it.
Lu Sen soon had a very pleasant chat with the boatman and his companions, and at the same time he became familiar with Pang Meir.
As the most favored granddaughter of the Pang family, Pang Meir brought two servants with her this time, who were actually martial artists. They were later recruited by the Pang family and trained to become extremely loyal warriors.
These two people usually hardly talk and are cold to other people, but in front of Lu Sen, they will put on a respectful look.
"We've actually passed Suzhou." Pang Mei'er leaned over the boat window, looking at the snowy scene by the river. "It's only been less than ten days. This boat is going too fast."
Yang Jinhua laughed and said, "My husband is amazing, isn't he?"
"Great, great." Pang Meier couldn't stand Yang Jinhua's boasting: "You are becoming more and more like Bilian now."
In the past, it was Bilian who liked to show off, but now Yang Jinhua has learned it too.
During the ten days of living on the boat, Pang Meir felt very happy, but also a little depressed.
When she was chatting with Yang Jinhua and Zhao Bilian, the latter two would always show off their husbands in various ways and stuff dog food into her mouth... The ancients did not know the "ambiguous meanings" of the words "single dog" and "dog food", but they could understand similar feelings.
This made Pang Meir very unhappy, and she became more determined to find the most perfect husband.
On the boat, three women and a young girl, Ringo, were chattering non-stop.
Lu Sen spends most of his time practicing internal energy.
On the fifteenth day, the ship finally arrived in Hangzhou.
Compared to the last time which took nearly a month by boat, this time the journey was much faster.
The golden wooden boat stopped at the ferry outside the city, and its strange shape quickly attracted a large crowd of onlookers.
The boat was guarded by a middle-aged boatman and others, while Lu Sen took Yang Jinhua and others and went directly into the city to stay in a hotel.
After being on the boat for a long time, I wanted to have a good meal.
As a result, before they finished their meal, Suzhou Governor Ouyang Xiu came to the hotel in person.
Just two months ago, Ouyang Xiu requested to be transferred to other places on the grounds of poor health, and was then sent to Suzhou by the government.
Of course, he told the outside world that he was not feeling well, but in fact, he came to Hangzhou to take charge.
Anyone who is not too stupid can see this.
"Master Lu, long time no see." Ouyang Xiu asked with a smile, "How are you these days?"
"Not bad." Lu Sen looked at Ouyang Xiu, stood up, and asked, "Governor Ouyang, would you like to eat something with us?"
"I'm not in the mood to eat right now." Ouyang Xiu said helplessly, "I just wanted to ask when Master Lu will start building the ship and when the fleet will set out!"
Lu Sen was a little surprised: "Why, is it urgent?"
"How can this not be urgent?" Ouyang Xiu took Lu Sen's hand, walked to the window, pushed it open, and pointed outside and said, "Look..."
Outside the mouth of the Qiantang River, countless ships are crowded together.
Unlike the previous situation where the majority of merchant ships were from the Semites, this time the styles of the ships outside Haikou were all merchant ships from the Song Dynasty.
Not only is Haikou blocked, but there is no end in sight.
"There are too many merchants coming here. Those lowly people are hoarding goods in the city in batches, regardless of whether they are raw or refrigerated. Now the prices in Hangzhou are rising rapidly, and the people are suffering."
