After September, the rain was much less than before, especially in the northern part of the Central Plains, which had been sunny for more than half a month, and only drizzled for a while on the 20th day, but it was just a drop in the bucket, resulting in a shortage of water in the fields, and even the water levels of those rivers fell sharply.

As a result, it became more and more difficult to sail on various rivers. Even if it was smooth sailing, the speed was nearly half slower than in the first half of the year. On the river channel from the capital to Huguang, dozens of large and small ships almost had to be squeezed into a ball, but they could only patiently and move forward slowly.

On this sunny and autumn breeze afternoon, Li Ling leisurely lay on the chair, holding a scroll of Southwest Geographical Chronicles in his hand, but his eyes swept from time to time on the boats of the same speed on both sides, with his mouth slightly raised, and he seemed to be smiling.

It has been seven or eight days since he left the capital. Although the trip was not fast, Li Ling did not mean too impatient. It seemed that for him, this time he came out to travel around, rather than having important matters, so time was not a problem for him.

However, the Yang brothers next to him obviously didn't look that much. After glanced at Li Ling who was reading again, Yang Zhen pulled his brother and turned to a corner: "This is not true. If you delay this on the river, when will you arrive in southern Yunnan and complete your errands? Brother, do you think this Lord Li is reliable?"

"Why, do you have any doubts about him?" Yang Chen glanced at Li Ling not far away. Seeing that he didn't care about this, he lowered his voice a little, "Don't forget, Lord Lu had instructed us before coming, not only to ensure his safety along the way, but also to follow his orders."

"I'm really wondering, why did Lord Lu attach so much importance to such a small official who has just entered the officialdom, and even asked us to follow him and protect him. Although our Imperial City Office has not had much power over the years, there is no need to please such a small person, right?" Yang Zhen was indeed full of confusion. At this moment, he complained.

Yang Chen patted his shoulder: "Don't complain too much. Since this is what Lord Lu means, you can't be wrong. I have heard of a view that not only Lord Lu is very fond of him, but Eunuch Wei is also optimistic about this young official. Do you think our brothers' eyesight is stronger than the two of them?"

Yang Zhen was slightly stunned and muttered in a low voice: "Is that so? Why can't I see anything unusual about him? I'm just a young scholar who has not experienced the storm. I see that these few days have passed, and he may not even notice that someone has followed him."

Speaking of this, Yang Chen's face suddenly became serious. He turned his head and looked at the more than ten large and small ships behind him: "Did you look carefully at the ferry yesterday? How many people are there? Can you tell their origin?"

"There are five people on the boat. Judging from their behavior, they are all people with martial arts skills, but they are not like people in the army, but they are more like people in the martial arts world. How about it? But do you have to take a look at their weight and find out why they always follow us?" Yang Zhen also had a serious face and a little eager to suggest. After walking on the water for the past few days, he was so bored that his bones were itchy. He just wanted to fight with others and loosen his muscles and bones.

Yang Chen immediately stopped him: "No, it's too reckless. Besides, this is on the water, and you and I may not be able to get any advantage. Let's take a look, or report it to Lord Li and let him decide."

"Let him decide? Then you're scared him? Forget it, let's bear it. Once you get ashore, find a chance to take them quietly." Yang Zhen curled his lips again.

Yang Chen nodded: "Now that I have entered the Huguang territory. I think it's time to slow down. In five or six days, we should leave the water and go ashore. Then the speed will be faster. However, once we really get ashore, there will be more dangers than on the water. We must cheer up, so don't let Lord Li be really frightened."

Speaking of this, his face suddenly changed and he changed into a smile: "Brother Li, why are you here?" Yang Zhen then realized that Li Moyun had come over with a smile, and quickly greeted him with a smile, unable to tell his dissatisfaction with Li Ling just now.

Li Moyun smiled at the two of them and said, "It was the young master who asked me to call you over, saying that there was something to discuss with you."

The two brothers looked at each other, then nodded and turned around. At this time, Li Ling was still holding the book and watching it with relish, as if he wanted to imprint all the contents of the book into his mind.

In fact, he has read this book no less than three times, but he still read it carefully because he knows that the content on it is related to the success or failure of his trip.

Although it is just a volume of southwest geography, it doesn't seem very eye-catching, but in fact it is a secret of the government, which is impossible for ordinary people to get in touch with. At this time, unlike later generations, all information can be found through a developed Internet search, especially the content about mountains, rivers and geography, which is a top secret that is exclusively monopolized by the government and court.

Wherever the mountains have their characteristics, wherever the rivers are flat and can be hiked, wherever there are trails to surround the passes... These geographical knowledge can only be regarded as reference materials for travelers in later generations, but in ancient times hundreds of years ago, it was the key to using troops to fight against the enemy. Once these internal stories are truly spread, they will inevitably bring great trouble to the Central Plains.

Therefore, these geography and other books have always been strictly controlled by the court, and only a few yamen can read them. Li Ling relied on the relationship between the Imperial City Department to get such a volume of southwest geography, so he naturally had to fully master it.

It was not until the Yang brothers came to him and greeted him that Li Ling took the book back into his sleeve and said with a smile: "Xian Kunzhong is a little bored when he is trapped on the boat recently. He probably didn't blame me behind his back?"

"I dare not." The two of them suddenly felt nervous, and they hurriedly clasped their fists and said, "Sir..."

"After everyone leaves Beijing, don't call me an adult or something. You have to learn from Mo Yun to call me a young master, so that it won't attract attention." Li Ling interrupted and reminded.

The two of them nodded embarrassedly and remembered his previous instructions, but because they looked down on him, they didn't say much to their hearts: "Since my brother was ordered to protect the safety of the young master, he naturally dared not complain."

"It's nothing to complain. As long as everyone is familiar with you, you will know that I'm very easy to get along with in the future. And this time, since we are together, it's better to be familiar with each other. If you have any ideas, it's better to keep them in mind if you have them."

Yang Chen hurriedly clasped his fists again: "What the young master said is that our brothers are all rough people, so if you have any inappropriate offense in the future, I hope you don't blame me."

"It's easy to say. By the way, I asked you to come over but not to say this, but about the next itinerary. I've seen it and moved forward at this speed. I'm afraid I'll have to soak in the water for more than half a month before I get ashore. This won't be enough. Why not go ashore earlier and we will change to land."

His statement made the two brothers feel refreshed: "What the young master said is that we think so too. I just discussed whether to propose to you."

"Haha, this means that we both are quite in tune with each other, right?" Li Ling also smiled, but then his expression changed again. "But before that, I'll solve a problem first."

"Trouble?" The two of them frowned slightly, as if they were puzzled.

Li Ling looked at them and said, "You must have noticed it long ago. Since we left the capital, there have been people behind us. They are really brave. They have followed them all the way, obviously they are enemies, not friends."

"Young Master... you knew someone was following us?" Yang Zhen couldn't help asking. He just said that Li Ling could not know that there was such a thing.

Li Ling nodded slightly: "At first, I just felt that the boat was a bit strange when I walked with us all the way, but I thought maybe it was just a coincidence, so I didn't think much about it. However, just the day before yesterday, I asked the boat to stay at the ferry for half a day, but the boat actually stopped for half a day, which proves that they were indeed coming to us."

The expressions of the Yang brothers changed again. In fact, Li Ling asked the ship to dock for half a day that day, Yang Zhen had complained in private, but he didn't expect that Li Ling did it deliberately. Moreover, it was also at that time that Yang Chen discovered that the ship had only problems... Now he realized that this was all in Li Ling's quiet calculation.

At this moment, the two of them looked at Li Ling with a different look. They no longer had the perfunctory manner before, and there was a little more respect.

Li Ling seemed to have never noticed it and still smiled: "I'm not afraid to tell you something, but I have indeed created many enemies in the capital. They may want to take revenge and found my whereabouts from some channels, so this arrangement is made. So if you feel that you have any concerns, it's still time to leave now."

"Young Master is too underestimating our brothers. Since we have taken on the job, we have no chance of giving up."

"Young Master, please feel free to use our brothers. To be honest, even in Luoyang City, we are not afraid of anyone, let alone the capital."

Seeing the two of them looking ready to rub their hands, Li Ling nodded with satisfaction: "Since that's the case, then when we stop the boat tonight, we will get rid of the problems and then go ashore and rush to southern Yunnan by land."

His understatement made the two of them slightly stunned. They thought Li Ling was planning to use some tricks to get rid of each other, but unexpectedly, he, a scholar, acted more recklessly than them, and he had to take the initiative.

But then, Yang Chen said in a difficult situation again: "Young Master, this matter is not easy to deal with. We brothers can only protect themselves..."

Unlike Li Ling, he slapped his shoulder with his hand: "Don't worry, you don't have to do this time, just watch it."
Chapter completed!