Jiangyang County is a small affiliated county in Yangzhou, dozens of miles away from Yangzhou. It is actually the entrance to the Yangtze River from Yangzhou.

The most common warehouses in Jiangyang County are warehouses, with huge warehouses elusive at a glance. Materials from the north and south are stocked here, including rice, salt, oil, tea, cloth and other bulk goods. Nearly 20% of the wealth of the Tang Dynasty are stocked here. Therefore, although Jiangyang County is small, it plays an important role in Yangzhou.

This is also the real reason why Wu Zetian sent Li Zhen to accompany Wu Yizong to Yangzhou. She was quite jealous of being a mouse and did not want Li Yuanjia to rebel publicly and completely destroy Yangzhou.

The same is true for this reason. Before feeling that danger came, Li Yuanjia chose Jiangyang, which was rich in material resources, rather than Jiangdu, where merchants blocked the road.

Li Yuanjia is the first veteran of the Li royal family because he was the eleventh son of Emperor Gaozu of Tang and was born in the fourth year of Wude. Although he is 76 years old this year, he has excellent maintenance, his hair and beard are white, and his voice is like a bell. He belongs to the Li Xian faction in the Xingtang Association. Because Li Xian was under house arrest in Fangzhou, Li Yuanjia became the de facto leader of the Xingtang Association.

Just as night fell, the courtyard of the Mingzhu Building of Guangling Prince Mansion where Li Yuanjia lived was brightly lit. Li Yuanjia was having a big banquet for guests, and the guests were filled with guests during the banquet, and the crowd was full of guests, and the noise was bustling.

Dozens of scholars who depended on Li Yuanjia sat around him and kept raising their glasses toasting. Li Yuanjia had a very good alcohol tolerance and almost got to the cup. A concubine next to him kept pouring wine for him.

Li Yuanjia hugged his concubine with one hand, raised his glass and laughed: "Today everyone comes to hold my place. I am in a very happy mood. I will toast everyone this glass. If you have wine, you will be drunk first, and you will be beautiful first. Try to enjoy this moment."

Everyone laughed together and raised their glasses to drink. Li Yuanjia drank the wine and said with emotion: "I learned calligraphy at the age of five, painted at the age of eight, and started collecting books at the age of ten. If Wu Ni had not usurped the throne, I would still be obsessed with calligraphy and painting today and immersed in my collection. Unfortunately, the country was about to be destroyed. How could my country change the color of my Li Tang Dynasty? I have abandoned the pen of calligraphy and painting and disdained the collection of books. The old horse was in the stable. I picked up the sword in my old age. I want Wu Ni to know that the country of Tang Dynasty is still the world of my Li family."

Everyone was so scared that their faces changed drastically when they heard his rebellious words. They shrank their necks and did not dare to say anything. Li Yuanjia's eldest son Li Xun丨 stepped forward and whispered: "Father, go and change clothes."

"Go away"

Li Yuanjia pushed his son away and shouted, "Give me a sword."

A family member walked out of the lobby with a sword in his hand, but Li Yuanjia's fourth son Li Chen walked over quickly and stopped the family member who was sending the sword. He whispered a few words in his father's ear. Li Yuanjia was stunned and nodded and said, "Take him to the inner hall first, I'll come soon."

Li Yuanjia smiled again and said, "Everyone, drink slowly, I'll go to change my clothes and I'll go back soon."

He helped the concubine stand up and headed towards the inner hall. As soon as Li Yuanjia left, everyone stood up one after another, saying that there was something to do at home, so he took a step first. In a blink of an eye, most of the guests dispersed.

Li Yuanjia came to the inner hall, and the prefect Lin Qing was already waiting for him here. He hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, "See the Prince."

Although Li Yuanjia drank a little too much, his mind was still very clear. He sat down slowly, glanced at Lin Qing and asked, "Envoy Lin would go to the inner hall to see me. Is there anything important?"

Lin Qing hurriedly bowed and whispered: "I have important news to tell the prince."

"What news?"

Lin Qing glanced at Li Xunhe who was standing aside! Li Chen, the two brothers understood each other and stepped down together. Then Lin Qing whispered: "Wu Yizong is here, and his boat is parked in Yanzhen not far from the north of Yangzhou."

Li Yuanjia stroked his beard and said proudly: "I know he is coming, isn't he just proclaiming the imperial edict to me for Wu? I welcome him very much. I just missed a three-person sacrifice to the flag, and his head was just right."

Lin Qing sighed secretly and said, "Do you know that he was stabbed?"

Li Yuanjia was stunned, "Who did it?"

"I don't know the specifics. The leader of the inner guard who was guarding him is now looking for the assassination murderer in Yangzhou City. I'm afraid he will come to Jiangyang City."

"Hmph, a small leader of the inner guard, wants to threaten me? I have to take a look. He has a few heads and dares to point me out? In fact, even if I assassinate you, I just wish I didn't seize this opportunity, otherwise I would cut off the heads of these two little thieves and sacrifice to our military flag."

When Lin Qing heard his nonsense, he felt that he was really drunk, so he had to get up and say goodbye, "I am here to deliver a letter to the prince. I hope the prince will be ready early."

Li Yuanjia waved his hand, "I know what you think."

Lin Qing hurriedly left. At this time, the two sons walked in quickly. Both of them heard the conversation between their father and Prefect Lin at the door. The eldest son Li Xun丨 said worriedly: "Father, the female emperor sent Wu Yizong to come. I'm afraid he was polite first and then soldiers. Actually, I think it's possible to negotiate."

"Bad negotiations" Li Chen rudely interrupted his brother's words. His words and behaviors were not as elegant as the royal family, but like a butcher in the city. Moreover, like his father Li Yuanjia, he had a bad temper and great ambitions, and he was determined to raise an army.

He glared at his brother fiercely and said to his father Li Yuanjia: "Father, the female emperor sent the Wu clan to come here in order to humiliate his father and force his father to surrender. We have been preparing for it for many years, how could we scare our pants at the last moment?"

At this moment, Li Yuanjia's drunkenness had woken up seven or eight minutes. He also knew that it was important and he would not be able to make a decision in a short while. He waved his hand, "Don't argue anymore, let me think about it again. I'll think about what to do?"

In a private house in Jiangyang County, Zhang Ran reported to Li Zhen about the situation in Jiangyang County. "Although we have not discovered any unknown army activities in the county town for the time being, many fishermen have also confirmed the existence of this army to us. We infer that this army should be stationed on Yangzi Island in the Yangtze River."

Li Zhen found Yangzi Island on the map, which is an island with active land, larger than Jiangyang County. There seemed to be only a few small fishing villages on it. He pondered for a moment and asked again: "Are there any unknown military ships on Jiangyang Wharf?"

"We went to Shang Wharf, and no abnormal military ships were found there, but Guan Wharf was on guard and no outsiders were allowed to enter. We suspected that Li Yuanjia's warship was on Guan Wharf."

"Although you can't get in, you should see it from the river."

"Maybe, but Bei Zhi hasn't tried it yet."

Li Zhen thought for a while and said, "Help me find a boat, I want to go to Yangzi Island to take a look."

Zhang Ran did not disappoint him. In the afternoon, Li Zhen and Di Yan boarded a fishing boat. The fishing boat was controlled by the father and son. The surname was Wang, and they were both honest and honest. Li Zhen and Di Yan hid in the cabin and looked at the river with the help of a small window.

The wind and waves on the river surface made the fishing boat shaking violently. Di Yan said to Li Zhen in surprise: "It's so strange, why are you not seasick? Many northerners can't take a boat at all, let alone such a big storm."

Li Zhen smiled and said, "Actually, we have been soaking in the water every day since we were young. There is also a river in Dunhuang City. When summer comes, all the children jump into the river. I am no exception. The old fat man almost drowned. It is probably that he learned how to practice water quality at that time."

"Impossible," Di Yan said half-believingly: "How can a small river in the north be compared to the Yangtze River? My brothers are like you. They have been soaked in the river since they were young, but they are still very dizzy when crossing the Yangtze River. I guess you are not seasick by nature."

"Maybe I have a different talent." Li Zhen said with a smile.

"Go" Di Yan gave him a blank look, "If you praise you, you will go to heaven."

At this time, Li Zhen gently put his hand around her slim waist and whispered in her ear: "You are not allowed to take the risk to the island today."

Di Yan was thinking about how to go to the island at this time. Li Zhen's words disappointed her slightly, but when she thought of his concern, a trace of sweetness surged in her heart, and she deliberately pretended not to notice that he was hugging her.

"I can put on makeup to be a little fisherman, and if there is danger, I will dive into the water and escape."

"No," Li Zhen decisively rejected her.

"Ignore you." Di Yan pulled off his hand that was holding his waist, and pouted unhappily.

"Young Master, there is Yangzi Island in front of you." The fisherman's shout came from outside the cabin.

Di Yan hurriedly approached the window and looked out. Li Zhen also approached. The two of them leaned their heads together and looked up from the small window towards the river. Sure enough, a large island appeared two miles away, with lush woods. More than a dozen small fishing boats were vaguely seen anchoring on the water.

At this moment, an exclaim came from outside the ship, "Oh no, they are here."

Li Zhen was startled and immediately approached the small window on the other side. Two fast boats were sailing towards their fishing boats. There were more than a dozen men in black holding swords standing on the bow of the boat. Li Zhen felt that they saw him and hurriedly pulled up the window.

“Hey, no fishing is allowed here”

Fortunately, the other party saw that they were just a fishing boat and did not make any difficulties. The fisherman hurriedly said, "Let's go now."

The father and son quickly rode the boat to the north shore, and the person on the ship shouted again: "This time is a warning, and the next time I will destroy the boat and catch people, get out of here."

The fishing boat gradually sailed away. At this time, Li Zhen came out of the cabin and smiled and said, "It seems they are not too much."

The young fisherman bit the official words and said with a smile: "Young master doesn't know that we are locals. Of course they should be polite. If they pass by the merchant ship here, they will not have such a good tone and will definitely be captured on the island."

"Will the route be cut off?"

"This is not the case. It's okay as long as we stay away from Yangzi Island, we're all too close to us just now, and it's less than one mile."

Di Yan also came out of the cabin and said to Li Zhen: "I can travel ten miles in the Wei River, so let me go and take a look."

Li Zhen really wanted to go to the island to see it. He thought about it and said with a smile: "Why don't I go together."

"If it doesn't work, you can't swim the Yangtze River at all, it will only cause me trouble."

At this time, the young fisherman smiled again and said, "If it was night, we could park at the temple island west, which was only one mile from Yangzi Island, and they could not find it

Li Zhen felt that the problem was not big, and the island was densely shaded, and Di Yan's skills were indeed feasible, so he nodded and agreed, "Then let's talk about it later."

The fishing boats slowly sailed westward. Soon, night gradually fell. Under the cover of night, the fishing boats approached the Temple Island. The so-called Temple Island is actually a small Shazhou covering an area of ​​two or three acres. It was originally part of the Yangtze Island. It was flooded by river water in the middle and became an isolated island. There is an abandoned River Temple on the island, so the locals called it Temple Island.

There was no guard post on the temple island, and the fishing boat hid behind a reef. At this time, Di Yan had already changed into a tight water lining. She turned around and smiled at Li Zhen, jumped into the river, and soon disappeared.
Chapter completed!