After the fifteenth, the first month passed halfway.

According to the emperor's imperial edict, Wang Henian, who had shaved his head, packed his bags and officially set off for Changsha.

Just like before going to Wuchang, he prepared a complete set of fake identity information such as certificates.

This is also impossible.

In the Qingzhan District, except for monks and Taoists, all men must keep the money and rat tail.

Wang Henian felt disgusted, so he could only choose one among monks and Taoist priests.

In fact, he wanted to choose a Taoist priest more. Unfortunately, he had never read a single Taoist classic, and even if he wanted to pretend, he couldn't. Because his parents believed in Buddhism, Wang Henian had been influenced by him since childhood and had read several Buddhist scriptures.

If you really talk to others, at least Wang Henian won’t be exposed immediately.

He went to Changsha to spy on information, so he naturally had to take root and stay as long as possible.

The smoothest route from Wuchang to Changsha is to follow the Yangtze River to Baling first, then head south to take a ferry through the Miluo River and reach the boundary of Changsha Prefecture.

The Yuezhou Prefecture where Baling is located is still in the control of the Ming army. The Miluo River is a natural dividing line, clearly separating Yuezhou Prefecture and Changsha Prefecture.

Wang Henian's travel was neither fast nor slow. He took him ten days to reach the Miluo River Ferry and spent a wallet to cross the river with a ferry.

This was once the place where Qu Yuan, the Sanlu doctor, jumped into the river. Wang Henian highly praised Qu Yuan. He was moved by the scene and wanted to recite poems and essays. But considering his current status as a monk, he had to give up.

The two foolish monarchs of King Huai of Chu, King Xiang of Chu, made loyal ministers like Qu Yuan unsuccessful. After being captured by Qin general Bai Qi in Yingdu, Qu Yuan angrily jumped into the river.

Wang Henian could understand Qu Yuan's feeling of depression and unsuccessfulness very well.

In his early years, Wang Henian was exactly the same as Qu Yuan. He curled up with the Sichuan Governor of the Qing court like the merchants of the Chongqing Chamber of Commerce. Although he knew that he was waiting for the opportunity, he still felt bad.

Fortunately, Wang Henian waited for the opportunity and waited for the heroic emperor Yongli to attack Chongqing.

At that moment, Wang Henian knew clearly what he was going to do.

Should we live on and flatter the Donglu as a slave for life or fight back to find a way out for ourselves and their descendants?

Wang Henian chose the latter.

Wang Henian saw the emperor's appearance with his own eyes. The kind of courage to look down on the world was by no means pretended.

Later, the emperor fought all the way east to restore the northern part of Huguang, and defeated Wuchang to calm the hearts of the people.

At that moment, Wang Henian was very grateful for the choice he made.

In his opinion, when Zi is a powerful lord like Emperor Guangwu of Han, he will definitely be able to revive the Ming Dynasty.

"Boatman, has the Miluo River been so depressed in the past?"

Wang Henian saw that there were almost no houses on both sides of the Miluo River, and weeds were growing everywhere, so he asked.

This boatman is about sixty years old and has been ferrying on the Miluo River for more than 40 years.

He sighed and said, "I'm not to hide it from this master. I urinated and followed my father to ferry on the Miluo River. It was the 40th year of Wanli. There were villages on both sides of the Miluo River, and there were fishermen and merchants who were traveling. Although it was not as prosperous as Changsha Prefecture, it was also a first-class existence in the countryside. It was great at that time, there were many great masters who taught Buddhism like you. When I was free, I followed my friends to listen to the monks' lectures. I was tired of listening to buy some mung bean cakes at the market. This day was so annoying." (Note 1)

Wang Henian said in surprise: "Is there such a big change in the past forty years?"

The boatman sighed and said, "I think the master is only in his thirties? You may not have seen the scene during the Wanli period. It is so prosperous and peaceful. If Emperor Shenzong died a few years later, there would probably be so many things."

Although he was vague, Wang Henian still understood it.

The people here are also dissatisfied with the rule of the Eastern Barbarians!

As long as people’s hearts are available!

After all, it has only been more than ten years since the invasion of the Eastern Gang, and many people are still thinking about the good things of the Ming Dynasty.

Although Emperor Chongzhen may not be very popular, the prosperous era of Wanli still left many beautiful memories for the people.

"But everything was different in the Chongzhen Dynasty. I clearly remember that bandits were everywhere on both sides of the Miluo River. The bandits and bandits robbed everywhere, which scared the merchants not to come here to do business again. Gradually, the market declined."

"Does the government ignore it?"

Wang Henian was still a little surprised.

"How can the government manage it? The bandits can stand by occupying a mountain. When the officers and soldiers come, they go into the deep mountains. When the officers and soldiers leave, they will come out swaying and eat and drink."

The boatman shook his head helplessly and said, "Besides, there were not many officials who really wanted to do things at that time. It would be better to make more money if you had the time to suppress bandits. There was basically no good thing for those officials."

The atmosphere on the boat was a little awkward for a moment, and Wang Henian coughed twice and said, "Then the Miluo River became like this?"

"That's not the case. No matter what, the Chongzhen Dynasty was stronger than the Shunzhi Dynasty. During the Chongzhen Dynasty, you could still see people here, but now? I wonder if the monk has noticed that there are graves everywhere along the river, and there are so many lonely ghosts. Sometimes when the young old man wanders alone on the river, he feels panicked!"

"Are there basically no people living here?"

"Yes, there are no homeless wasteland everywhere. Even if someone is brave, he will be scared away."

The boatman stammered his neck and said, "I've lived for more than 60 years, and I'm already half buried in the soil. I'm not afraid of telling the truth. No matter how the Tartars are, they are outsiders, and they don't treat the people as human beings. What's the difference between us and livestock? Although Emperor Chongzhen also had some problems, he at least treated us as people. After the Tartars came, the people in the Miluo River were empty, and then they became what they are today."

Wang Henian didn't expect that the boatman would dare to speak so hard, so he was shocked.

"Boatman, do you say the same thing when you meet someone else?"

"That's not the case. The old man still knows this. I think you are kind-hearted and monks should not get involved in such worldly affairs. So I will say a few more words to you."

The boatman swallowed and spitted.

"Good, good, God has the virtue of living a life, it is really sad that Miluo River has become like this now. Namo Amitabha..."

Wang Henian quickly clasped his hands together and said.

The boatman paddled and said, "The mage took a boat to cross the Miluo River, are he going to Changsha, right?"

Wang Henian nodded and said, "I want to go there to teach Buddhism."

The boatman swallowed and said, "There is a saying that the old man must remind the mage that he heard that the north was captured by the Ming army. Therefore, the atmosphere in Changsha Prefecture has been very tense recently, so it is best for the mage not to go."

Wang Henian smiled and said, "It's okay, the little monk is a wandering monk, wherever he goes."

Seeing that Wang He Nian's attitude was so firm, the boatman stopped persuading him.

...

...

Note 1: The meaning of comfort in Changsha dialect.
Chapter completed!