My father Zhu Gaoxu

Chapter 223 Liu Jiagang

"New food is in the warehouse~"

When Zhang Fu left the million barn, Wu Cangtou's shouts continued to be heard from behind him. He was drunk and was going crazy with the barn.

Compared with the casual Wu Cangtou, Zhang Fu felt terribly aggrieved.

Both of his parents died when he was young, and his uncle brought him up with his own hands, and taught him to study and practice martial arts. It can be said that in his heart, his uncle is his father.

Shipping by sea is Uncle Zhang He's greatest achievement. The grain and grass transported to the north from here supports the supplies of the northern army of the Ming Dynasty.

Emperor Taizu’s Northern Expedition to destroy the Yuan Dynasty required food and grass to be transported by sea. Today, His Majesty’s several Northern Expeditions, most of the food and grass supplies have also been transported by sea.

However, shipping was abolished last year. Zhang Fuming knew that there was no major problem with shipping. It was mainly due to his cousin's misconduct that caused the shortage of shipping, but there was nothing he could do about it. After all, he was his cousin and he could never enter Beijing. Go sue his cousin?
Thinking of this, Zhang Fu also let out a long sigh. Uncle's life's painstaking effort was ruined, but it was still ruined in the hands of his own son. Could this be fate?
With a stomach full of worries, Zhang Fei rode to Liujiagang, also known as Taicang Port.

This is the largest port on the south bank of the Yangtze River. Whether it is shipping or sailing to the West, it will stop here. In addition, overseas envoys will also rest in Liujiagang when they enter Beijing, so this is also known as the number one port in the world.

When Zhang Fu came to the port, since the fleet sailing to the west left, the whole port seemed much deserted, and in a corner of the port, there were hundreds of seagoing ships docked. These were grain ships used for sea transportation.

Compared with the treasure ships sailing to the West, these grain ships looked much "rounder", each of them had a big belly, looked short and fat, and had a relatively shallow draft when they were not loaded with grain.

These grain ships are all specially made, mainly used for loading grain, and they are relatively stable to drive, but the speed is relatively slow, and there is no way to change them into warships, so they are all idle in the port now.

Zhang Fu got off his horse and walked to the sea ships transporting grain. He saw that these ships were tall, and each of them was like a hill.

But when you get closer, you will find that the wood on the hull has aged a bit, and the position of the draft is covered with algae.

These ships have been parked in the port for a whole year. Due to the lack of manpower to take care of them, these ships are rapidly aging. It is estimated that these ships will be completely unusable within three to five years.

Zhang Fu stretched out his hand and patted the solid hull, then let out a long sigh.

These boats are like houses. If there are people living in them, no matter how broken the house is, at least it looks popular, and the damage is relatively slow, but as long as there are no people living in it, no matter how new the house is, it will deteriorate in a short period of time. Desolate and dilapidated.

"Dong Dong~ Dong Dong~"

At this moment, Zhang Fu suddenly heard a strange sound not far away, as if someone was knocking on something?
This made Zhang Fu also frown, thinking that someone was going to steal the things on the ship. Although the ship was empty, the wood on the ship was quite valuable.

So Zhang Fu stepped forward and quickly found the ship that made the sound, so he stepped onto the ship, only to see a gray-haired figure repairing a broken deck with a hammer in his hand.

"Brother Liu?"

Seeing that this figure looked familiar, Zhang Fu called out tentatively.

The gray-haired old man turned his head when he heard the words, and when he saw Zhang Fu, he also smiled in surprise: "Why are you here, Major General?"

"It's really you!"

Zhang Fei was very surprised.

The old brother Liu in front of me used to be his uncle's personal soldier, and he followed the Marquis of Navigation many times to transport grain to the north. Zhang Fu grew up with the Marquis of Navigation since he was a child. This old brother Liu also taught him martial arts, because he is the nephew of the Marquis of Navigation. , so people like Brother Liu have always called him the Major General.

"Didn't you go to the West, why are you here?"

Seeing Brother Liu, Zhang Fu asked in surprise again.

When sailing to the West before, various nobles also organized a fleet to recruit people who have traveled to the sea. It happened that the sea transportation stopped, so these people who participated in the sea transportation have all become sweets. Even if you are a military member, as long as you nod , those nobles with great powers can still poach you away.

And as far as Zhang Fu knows, the old brothers who used to ship were almost all divided up by the nobles of various families, so he was so surprised when he saw Brother Liu. The team will definitely get a sky-high reward.

"I asked my boss to go. I am an old man, so I won't join in the excitement of going to the West. After all, we old guys are still parked at the port, so we have to be taken care of."

Brother Liu stood up, limped over and smiled.

His leg was injured a few years ago, so he retired from the army a few years ago and was replaced by the eldest son in the family.

"you……"

Zhang Fei also had a sore nose when he heard this.

Don't look at Brother Liu's bad legs and feet, but he has gone to sea many times and has rich sailing experience. If he is willing to go to the West, he will definitely earn more than his son, but he would rather stay with these grain ships instead of going. I hate these old guys.

"Major General, can we still go to sea in the future?"

Brother Liu hesitated for a moment, and finally asked with some hope.

The reason why he stayed was actually to wait for the court to reopen the sea transportation. After all, he had been working with the old sailor all his life. For him, this sea route was equivalent to his own life.

"No...it's hard to say, there is no news from the imperial court yet!"

Zhang Fu originally wanted to say "impossible", but he changed his mind when the words came to his lips, because he really couldn't bear to let Brother Liu down.

Old brother Liu is not stupid either, he could guess something from Zhang Fu's expression, but he didn't ask any more, and forced a laugh and said: "Young general, let's not talk about these unhappy things today, Not only am I here, there are also a few old brothers like me who stay here to take care of the ship, how about we have a few drinks together?"

"Anyone else?"

Zhang Fu was even more surprised when he heard the words, and then Old Brother Liu took him off the boat and came to several other boats, calling seven or eight old soldiers, all of whom were old brothers who went to sea back then, and they were all very happy to see Zhang Fu.

So Zhang Fu acted as the host, and brought these old brothers to a tavern in the port, ordered a few hard dishes, and a group of people drank and chatted about the scenery when they went to sea.

Looking at this group of grey-haired old brothers, Zhang Fu also felt that his eyes were hot, and the sea transportation stopped, leaving only those unwanted grain ships at the port, and these old brothers who missed the past.

Thinking of this, Zhang Fu also let go and toasted with a group of old brothers. He hadn't drank so openly for a long time.

But when Zhang Fu got drunk, he suddenly saw a soldier rushing to report: "Commander, someone from the capital wants you to return to Zhenhaiwei as soon as possible!"

(End of this chapter)