met free Page 991
Page 991
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We ate something at Wanghailou Restaurant.
After eating something to fill my stomach,
Zhao Yuan and his men then set off.
They returned to the small courtyard that Ruan Xiaowu and his group had bought.
This courtyard is secluded.
Distance from Wanghailou
It's not too far.
They are all located on the shore of Moon Lake.
Zhao Yuan and the others followed behind Ruan Xiaowu.
Walking along the lakeside path,
Enjoy the beautiful scenery before you, so different from Liangshan Marsh.
"Brother, do you know that Moon Lake is very famous in Mingzhou?"
Ruan Xiaowu boasted,
"There's another saying, I think, 'You haven't truly been to Mingzhou if you haven't been to Moon Lake!'"
"This Moon Lake is indeed exceptionally beautiful,"
Zhao Yuan sighed.
"And our Liangshan Marsh,"
"They look like completely different things."
During the casual conversation,
All that could be seen was the lake shore ahead.
It is situated in a large courtyard.
The courtyard has a rather unique design.
And the other courtyards around it,
The architectural style looks...
They are the same.
Yet it also possesses a touch of exotic charm.
And at the entrance of that courtyard,
There were also several government offices that had to handle official business.
He stood there listlessly guarding the gate.
"Whose residence is this?"
Zhao Yuan asked curiously.
“Brother, this isn’t a residence for an official in the Song Dynasty,”
Ruan Xiaowu explained,
"This courtyard is the residence of the Goryeo envoy,"
"It used to be outside Mingzhou City,"
"But recently, because there are more and more bandits in the forest,"
"Then the Goryeo envoy bribed the county magistrate of Mingzhou,"
"They moved their guesthouse into the city."
Ha ha,
It turned out to be the embassy that received the South Koreans.
Zhao Yuan shook his head in annoyance.
He walked straight past the guesthouse.
Then Ruan Xiaoer asked curiously.
"Logically speaking, wouldn't it be closer to Goryeo if we went out to sea from Dengzhou in Shandong?"
"Why is this Korean-style residence?"
"Instead of being located in Shandong, it's been placed in Mingzhou?"
"Actually, in the past, there were ports in Shandong that could connect to the Liao and Goryeo dynasties,"
Zhao Yuan replied,
"However, later, the emperor of that Song Dynasty,"
"They felt that the ports in Shandong were too close to the Liao Dynasty,"
"They were afraid that the Liao people would figure out the waterways and geography,"
"Attack from Shandong by boat!"
"So they sealed off all the seaports in Shandong!"
"The original port was used to receive these foreign envoys,"
"They were also moved from Shandong to Mingzhou."
"So that's how it was,"
Ruan Xiaoer pouted and said,
"This emperor is truly a pathetic loser."
"How could he only know that the Liao people might attack us by water?"
"Can't we figure out the waterway?"
"Then we'll take the waterway to attack the Liao Dynasty?"
"If Emperor Song Tingde really had that kind of guts,"
Zhang Shun sneered.
"And they won't be defeated by the Liao and Western Xia,"
"They've been bullied for years and forced to pay tribute for so many years."
This area,
This should be a place where the Song court specifically received foreign envoys.
Beyond the Korean pavilion lies the Persian pavilion.
Further on,
There are also various small countries' embassies.
The group passed by these inns along the way,
They walked another fifteen minutes.
Ahead lay a secluded alley.
And the courtyard that Ruan Xiaowu bought,
Right here in this alley.
The yard is quite large.
It has two entrances, one in front and one behind.
As Ruan Xiaowu walked,
He introduced it to everyone,
"The original owners of this courtyard were also in dire straits."
"They were originally considered one of the wealthiest families in Mingzhou."
"It was only because the magistrate of Mingzhou had taken a fancy to their family's hundred acres of paddy fields by the lake,"
"So we reported their family's possession of a rare stone,"
"Let their family go to Bianliang (Kaifeng) to present their treasure..."
Chapter 1221 Modern Seaships
"But where did this family get the rare stones to offer as a tribute?"
Ruan Xiaowu sighed.
"Then the county magistrate pinned a crime on them,"
"They claimed they were hoarding rare stones and refused to present them, thus showing disloyalty to the emperor,"
"The entire family was imprisoned by the authorities."
"Not long after, the male homeowner died in prison,"
"The rest of the people were also exiled to various places by the government."
"The county magistrate embezzled all of their family's hundred acres of prime paddy fields."
"The remaining mansion fell into the hands of the registrar."
"We spent nearly three hundred strings of cash back then,"
"That's why I bought this courtyard."
His words,
This caused everyone to fall silent.
No one expected that,
It's just a clean little courtyard.
Behind each of them lies a tragic story.
The group walked silently into the backyard.
Then Ye Chun was seen sitting at the stone table in the courtyard.
He is drawing something on the paper with a charcoal pencil.
Even when Zhao Yuan and the others entered the courtyard,
He didn't even notice.
Zhao Yuan raised his hand, signaling Zhang Shun and the others to be quiet.
Then he slowed his pace.
He walked behind Ye Chunde.
Look toward the stone table.
On the white paper on the table,
The painting depicts a deep-sea ship with high sails.
At this time,
Ruan Xiaoer accidentally bumped into a wooden pole placed in the corner of the courtyard.
This immediately startled Ye Chun, who was completely absorbed in his work.
"Master Zhao, you've arrived?"
Ye Chun quickly cupped his hands in greeting.
"I have been focused on drawing,"