Chapter 2 In the turbulent Dongting Lake, Yang Zaifu rescued the platoon alone

On the afternoon of the second day when Zeng Linshu prayed silently, a passenger ship from Chenglingji moored under Yueyang Tower. .I will stop here today and sail tomorrow morning. It’s still early in the morning. Would you like to go ashore to relax?" The master dressed up in the cabin nodded, then stepped out of the cabin, stepped on the gangway, and the servant followed closely behind.The master walking in front was about forty-one or twelve years old, with a medium build, broad shoulders and thick back, wearing a black gauze scarf, a wide forehead with several deep wrinkles on it, a thin and long face, and a thick broom under his eyebrows. They are two long, triangular eyes, two sharp and cold rays of light projected from the bright hazel eyes, straight and slightly flat nose, long and deep wings, wide mouth and thin lips, long beard, thick and slightly It is yellow, blown by the lake wind, and flutters on the chest.He was wearing a black cloth robe with a hemp rope around his waist, coarse white socks, and a pair of brand-new multi-eared hemp shoes. He walked up the stone steps with slow and steady steps.This person is the eldest son of Zeng Linshu who is anxiously looking forward to returning. Earlier, Zeng Guofan was the right servant of the Ministry of Rites and the left servant of the Ministry of Officials.More than a month ago, Zeng Guofan left Beijing to go to Jiangxi by order to serve as the chief examiner of the Jiangxi Provincial Examination.Arriving at Xiaochi Station in Taihe, Anhui, he suddenly received the news of his mother's death from Jianggui, so he immediately changed his route and went home. He quickly traveled by water from Jiangxi to Hubei, and from Hubei to Hunan yesterday.The servant following behind is called Wang Jingqi, who is nearly thirty years old and has a smart life.

"My lord." Wang Jingqi called softly. "Forgot again!" Zeng Guofan interrupted him majestically, "I am no longer a servant, but a commoner who has returned to his hometown, understand?" "Yes!" Jing Qi panicked, and quickly changed her words, "Master, the Yueyang Tower is in front of you, why don't you go up and have something to eat! You haven't had a good meal these days." Zeng Guofan didn't make a sound, just nodded slightly.Ever since seeing Jiang Gui, Zeng Guofan has been in extreme grief.After the boat entered Dongting Lake yesterday, my mood began to calm down.But when he looked up at the Yueyang Tower, known as the "Tianxialou", he couldn't help frowning again.The last time I traveled was in the early winter of the 19th year of Daoguang.How majestic and magnificent the Yueyang Tower was at that time!Going upstairs for sightseeing, in the restaurant hangs Fan Zhongyan's "Yueyang Tower" that has been passed down through the ages, and downstairs is the vast Dongting of eight hundred miles.The 29-year-old Hanlin Zeng Guofan, who left the museum and went to Beijing, repeatedly chanted the aphorism "worry about the world's worries first, and enjoy the world's joy later", full of pride and ambition: I must follow Fan Wenzheng as an example in this life, Do a great cause that is vigorous and famous in history!However, the paint on Yueyang Tower is peeling off, the corners of the eaves are covered with grass, it is gloomy, and there are few visitors. It is not as prosperous and prosperous as it used to be.Zeng Guofan felt strange.He thought to himself, maybe today's mood is very different from before!

Zeng Guofan went up to the second floor and sat down on a clean seat near the lake, Jing Qi sat opposite.As soon as he was seated, the bartender came over with a smile on his face, and while wiping the table, asked politely: "Guest officer, what do you want?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "There are freshly slaughtered young yellow cattle in the small building. The live carp in the lake, the golden tortoise from Junshan, the bastard from Luoshan, and the extremely strong and fragrant "Lu Xianzui" in the pond. Li Taibai drank this wine in the past and wrote a poem praising it in the small building: "Baling is infinite. Okay, let’s kill Dong Tingqiu drunk.'..." The bartender was talking happily, Jing Qi waved his hands impatiently: "What tongue are you chewing! Look at this." After finishing speaking, she raised her hand and tied it around her waist twine.

The bartender looked at it, and immediately put away his smile: "I don't know, offend, offend!" Then he said, "Guests don't eat meat, and the small building also has good vegetarian dishes: dried tofu from Hengshan, tied chicken from Changde, magnolia slices from Xiangxi , golden needles from Baoqing, white fungus from Guzhang, Xianglian from Hengzhou, and mushrooms from Mount Jiuyi.” Zeng Guofan felt very comfortable hearing the names of these dishes.Living in Beijing for more than ten years, I often think of the local products in my hometown.He said to the bartender: "Choose four plates of fresh and tender stir-fried ones, and make another catty of water wine."

"Okay!" The bartender agreed loudly, and walked downstairs excitedly.Four plates were quickly served: a plate of braised shallot and white tofu in oil, a plate of fried magnolia slices with red pepper, a plate of shredded watermelon and chicken strips, and a plate of new baby vegetables, plus golden needle fungus mushroom soup.Red, white, green and fragrant are placed on the table.Zeng Guofan drank water and wine, and ate vegetarian dishes very sweetly.After drinking, the bartender brought two bowls of crystal clear rice, which Zeng Guofan ate with great taste.Not only these days, he seemed to feel that since he left Hunan, he had never had such a good meal. "It's still my hometown!" Zeng Guofan put down his chopsticks and said with emotion.As soon as he put down the bowl, the bartender brought over two steaming bowls of tea, and said: "It seems that the guest came from a long way away. To tell you the truth, this tea is brewed with authentic Junshan Maojian." Seeing Zeng Guofan smiling Looking at himself, the bartender felt complacent, "The guest officer doesn't know, there are five 300-year-old tea trees on Junshan Mountain. One of them is a tribute tea for the emperor, and the two on the left and right are for Lord Futai and the magistrate." Gifts for relatives and friends. The second tree on the left is privately used by the owner of the tea farm, and the second tree on the right is owned by Xiaolou for generations. It’s not a small bragging, this bowl of tea is in the capital, I’m afraid I can buy it for a hundred yuan No, according to the rules of the small building, each guest officer will be given a bowl of authentic Junshan tea after finishing their meal." The bartender said while tidying up the bowls and chopsticks, wiped the table and went downstairs.

Zeng Guofan took a sip of tea, although it was not as good as the top-quality Maojian bought by the capital, it was indeed refreshing.He didn't expect that there would be such good food and eloquent bartenders in the dilapidated Yueyang Tower, and he would feel much more at ease.He picked up the teacup and looked out the window at the lake.The sun shines on the lake, giving off a little golden light.In the distance, patches of white sails are cruising.In the extreme eye, there is a faint black shadow.Zeng Guofan knew that it was Junshan.Nearby, rafts are moored one after another along the shore of the lake.Most of these timbers come from the mountainous area of ​​southern Hunan. They are bundled into rows and drift along the Xiangjiang River, cross Dongting Lake, enter the Yangtze River, and then drift far away in Wuchang, Jiangning, Shanghai and other places.The person who releases the row is called the rower.The platoons float on the water all year round and make their homes on the platoons.Fir bark was used to build small sheds in the row, and the family lived in them.Zeng Guofan was watching with great interest the lives of the families downstairs, when suddenly a wind blew up on the lake, and the sky was full of dark clouds, as if it was about to rain.The surface of the lake, which was still as calm as a mirror just now, suddenly turned into waves.The wind is getting stronger and stronger, and the waves are rolling higher and higher. The rafts on the lake are undulating up and down with the waves, and several rafts not far from the shore are quickly moving closer to the lake.The heavy rain was rushing down, the rain was fierce and the wind was fierce, and the docile Dongting Lake suddenly turned into a raging dragon.Zeng Guofan sat upstairs, feeling chilly all over.He was a little worried, would this thousand-year-old building be destroyed by this storm?

When he was thinking wildly, he saw a small platoon on the lake about a hundred feet away from the shore, which was shaken from side to side by the wind and waves, but could not move forward.One man was holding on to the rear tiller tightly, while the other man ran from side to side in a hurry.Suddenly a big wave hit, the low fir bark house on the raft collapsed, and a wooden box was washed into the lake by the water.The men running on both sides jumped into the water to grab the wooden box.On the wooden raft, a ten-year-old girl squatted on the row in fright, clutching a cable tightly.A woman in her forties hurried back and forth in the row.Another big wave came and the little girl was swept into the lake. "It's terrible!" Zeng Guofan yelled, put down his tea bowl, and stood up abruptly.Jing Qi also quickly stood up, nervously leaning against the window and watching.At this critical moment, a young man jumped off the wooden raft by the lake and swam into the lake in the rain and against the waves.I saw the young man plunge into the bottom of the water, and just at the edge of the row, his head came out again.He swam briskly to the flailing little girl, lifted her high out of the water, and swam to the edge of the row.Only then did Zeng Guofan heave a sigh of relief.The young man got on the raft and pointed with his fingers. The man on the raft brought a large bundle of thick rope.The young man took the rope, went to the head of the platoon, tied one end of the rope to the platoon and the other to his waist, jumped into the lake again, and pulled the platoon in the water in front of him with his own strength.The wooden raft moved forward with the young man, and the people watching by the lake applauded.Zeng Guofan was stunned by the scene in front of him.The wooden raft moved slowly towards the shore and arrived at the foot of Yueyang Tower safely.The two men in the row came ashore, supported the young man, and bowed down.

Zeng Guofan was deeply moved by the young man's courageous character and rare divine power, and said to Jing Qi: "Go and invite that strong man, I want to see him." After a while, Jing Qi brought someone along.Zeng Guofan was very happy when he saw that the visitor was wearing a set of coarse clothes, with a black cloth wrapped around his head, a square face, thick black eyebrows, big and energetic eyes, a straight nose bridge, and plump cheeks.He stood up, pointed to the opposite seat and said, "Sit down, strong man!" "I don't know the master before, how dare I take the liberty."

"The action of the strong man to save people and save the platoon just now is a heroic deed. I admire you very much. You are welcome to the strong man. Sit down and talk." After the young man sat down, Zeng Guofan ordered Jing Qi: "Ask the bartender to bring you some meat dishes quickly, plus a catty of 'Lu Xianzui'. Then serve a plate of vegetarian dishes and half a catty of water wine." After a while, the bartender brought the food and drinks.Zeng Guofan asked Jing Qi to pour a full glass of wine for the guests, then raised the glass himself, and said: "Because of my filial piety, I can't use strong alcohol or meat. Let me use this water, wine and vegetables to have a drink with a strong man."

The young man was not too humble, and drank the wine in his glass in one gulp. "Okay! A strong man is really a hero." Zeng Guofan also called Jing Qisaijiu, and asked, "May I ask the strong man's name, where is his birth name? How youthful?" "My surname is Yang, my name is Zaifu, and my style name is Hou'an. I am from Changsha County. I am 30 years old this year." Zeng Guofan nodded frequently, and without waiting for Yang Zaifu to ask questions, he reported his name and said: "I teach my son to study in the tutor of an official in Wuchang. My mother passed away unfortunately last month. Now I am going back to Xiangxiang to take care of my mother's funeral."

"It turned out to be a well-learned gentleman, Zaifu is disrespectful." Yang Zaifu said, stood up and saluted again. Zeng Guofan quickly told him to sit down and persuaded him to drink a glass of wine. "Yang Zhuangshi sacrificed himself to save others. His moral character is noble and his strength is great. I have never seen another person before. I am very grateful for the honor of being invited by the strong man. May I ask the strong man, how did you develop such supernatural power?" "Mr. Cheng's praise, I really dare not take it." Yang Zaifu put down his cup and chopsticks, and replied respectfully, "Zaifu was born in a family where he was exiled. My father ran a row business all his life, but because he was born to donate money, the family did not have any savings. When Zaifu was young, My father once hired a gentleman to teach me how to read and write. But I was not lucky enough to make progress. What I love is horse racing, archery, and gun sticking. My father thought that I would have to hire martial arts bodyguards all year round. Invite masters of martial arts from the north and south to teach me martial arts. Under the guidance of the masters, I have made some progress. At the age of eighteen, I started to travel with my father. He put it away by himself." While listening to Yang Zaifu's speech, Zeng Guofan looked at him carefully.Seeing that his eyes are black and shiny, it corresponds to what is said in the photo book, "He who is as black as a spot of paint, but glows with light, is a sign of wealth and honor." Wealthy after middle age".Regarding the photo book, Zeng Guofan believed it but didn't believe it completely.He likes dating. On the one hand, he puts other people's appearance on the photo book, on the other hand, he also values ​​the person's spirit, complexion, conversation and behavior, especially his behavior.Combine the two aspects to judge the good and bad of people.This Yang Zaifu in front of him, with his many years of experience and experience in dating, both indicates a great future, but it is a pity that he is buried in the crowd and has no chance to stand out.He should be pointed out.After Yang Zaifu finished speaking, Zeng Guofan asked: "Now that the war has started, the country is looking for such talents as strong men. I don't know if strong men are willing to be willing to join the army?" Yang Zaifu replied: "My father said to Zaifu since he was a child: learn literary and martial arts, and be a good at the emperor's family. I also often think that if this ability can be appreciated by the incumbent and serve the country, I will get a job in the future. I can also comfort my father's spirit in heaven." it is good!Ambitious! Zeng Guofan said happily, "My humble acquaintance with the governor of Hunan, I will write a letter of recommendation for you. Are you willing to go to Changsha to join Mr. Luo?" " "Yes!" Yang Zaifu stood up and replied straightforwardly, "Although Changmao is besieging Changsha, others say Changmao is powerful, but Zaifu doesn't believe it, and I want to enter Changsha under artillery fire." Jing Qi borrowed a pen and paper from the bartender, and Zeng Guofan wrote a few words, sealed it in an envelope, and handed it to Yang Zaifu.Yang Zaifu took the letter solemnly, hid it in his close-fitting pocket, and then bowed to Zeng Guofan: "The old man is here, and I will be blessed by Zaifu. If there is a day in this life, I will never forget the old man's great kindness." De. Zaifu will go to the queue to take care of it, and within three to five days, he will go to Changsha to join Mr. Luo." After that, he went downstairs with his head held high.Zeng Guofan immediately ordered Jing Qi to settle the account with the bartender, and then left Yueyang Tower.