Chapter 504: Guangzhou students' route to Beijing for the exam
Guangzhou is nearly 3000 kilometers away from Beijing. In the previous life, it would have been possible to reach there in three hours.
And at this moment, you have to travel a long way to get there.
There are two routes to choose from when leaving Guangzhou and reaching Beijing.
The first is to go by sea.
The journey was quicker and simpler by taking a ship from Guangzhou, passing through the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea, and the Bohai Sea (passing through Songjiang Prefecture - today's Shanghai) to Tianjin, and then taking a carriage or walking to Beijing.
However, since Daqian was in a semi-sea-forbidden state, Japanese pirates were rampant along the southeastern coast at that time, burning, killing and looting everywhere. In addition, the marine environment was harsh, with severe weather such as wind and waves, heavy rain, and typhoons occurring from time to time, and the ship technology could not be guaranteed.
99% of Guangnan students will not choose to travel by sea.
Of course, there will be one or two independent-minded students who are determined to take the sea route. After all, there are quite a few weird scholars.
The second is to take the inland river route.
The inland waterway is divided into two routes.
One route is the route that Sun Shan took to Yuelu Academy, passing through Changsha and arriving in Hankou.
One is to go east from Hankou along the Yangtze River to Yangzhou, and then reach the capital via the Grand Canal.
Or you can go north from Hankou, through Nanyang and Luoyang, to reach the capital.
Another route is to start from Guangzhou, go north along the Beijiang River, pass Zhangzhou Prefecture and reach Nanxiong Prefecture. After getting off the boat in Nanxiong, walk over Dayuling Mountain and arrive at Yuzhang.
Enter the Ganjiang River Basin, go north all the way to Poyang Lake, enter the Yangtze River, turn to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in Yangzhou and go north to the capital.
This time, Sun Shan took the second inland river route.
Instead of taking the Xijing Ancient Road to Changsha Prefecture, we took the Meigang Ancient Road, crossed the Meiling Mountain, and entered the territory of Yuzhang.
If you go to Hunan, you will take the Yuelu Academy route, and if you go to Jiangxi, you will take the Meiguan Pass route.
The reason why this time we didn’t take the Changsha route that Sun Shan was familiar with.
One reason is that the Chenzhou section of Zhangzhou Prefecture is all mountainous, with only a pitiful path. The road is really difficult to walk on, and there are many bandits and road bullies. If the destination was not Changsha last time, Sun Shan would definitely not take this road.
The second is to go from Zhangzhou Prefecture to Nanxiong Prefecture through Meiguan. This is the north-south trade route. There are soldiers guarding along the way. There are many post stations and main roads. It is relatively prosperous and safety can basically be guaranteed.
Sun Shan's route to the capital (red arrow)
It would take two months at the fastest to travel from Guangzhou to the capital, and three to four months at the slowest.
If it is slow, it will take indefinitely. After all, if it is slow, there must be some accident on the way, so it is definitely unknown when we will arrive in the capital.
Sun Shan got a headache when he thought about having to travel for several months.
Although the distance we walked was not long, it was very tiring to take the boat northward. It was painful to think about being on the road for several months in a row.
Before daybreak, Su hurriedly asked Sun Shan to get up.
Sun Shan rubbed his eyes. It was still dark outside. He was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses.
When Sun Shan saw Su's red eyes, he was shocked: "Mother, what's wrong with you?"
How come after not seeing each other for one night, Su's eyes looked as if they had been stung by a bee?
Su shook her head, sniffed a few times, her nose seemed blocked, and said sadly: "Mother is fine, don't worry. Alas, mother is worried about you. This road is too long, you have never been so far away. I am afraid I will have to wait until next year to see you."
Sun Shan understood Su's worries and said comfortingly, "Don't worry, mother. There are many people traveling this time, so it will be safer than the last time when we went alone. We will take a boat all the way, so we won't be tired."
Su was just about to say that taking a boat was dangerous, but then she thought of Sun Shan who was about to take a boat, and she didn't dare to say anything.
Just like people at sea cannot flip over fish, Sun Shan cannot say anything unlucky when he is out.
Su took out a bundle of things from her pocket. Sun Shan looked at it and was very upset.
It turned out to be various kinds of amulets, and no one knew when Su had asked for them.
Su handed it to Sun Shan and said, "I got these talismans from a fortune teller. They can bless you with a safe journey. Shanzi, remember, after the exam, whether you pass or fail, you must return home quickly. Mother and father are waiting for you at home."
After that, he took out a red envelope from his pocket and handed it to Sun Shan, muttering, "Red envelope, red envelope, safe journey."
Sun Boming had diarrhea from time to time the day before yesterday afternoon and yesterday. He is much better today, but he is still not fully recovered, so he dare not go near Sunshan.
I waited outside the window for Su to come out, but after waiting for a long time, she still didn't come out.
He shouted impatiently, "Shanzi's mother, are you done yet? Tell Shanzi to wash up and have breakfast. It would be embarrassing to keep the He family waiting. Let's get ready early and wait for them."
Su agreed inside and sent Sun Shan to wash his face.
When we walked into the living room, the village chief, Aunt Sun, Uncle He, He Shuyu and his brothers, Ming Ge'er and others were also there.
Sun Shan was the last to arrive.
Looking outside, it was still dark. Sun Shan was sure that they had arrived early and he was not late.
The village chief ordered: "Shanzi, have breakfast quickly."
Then he said to Su, Sun Dingnan, Gui Ge'er, and Sun Dali, "Check the luggage again to see if it is complete. Don't leave anything behind."
He turned around and said to Sun Shan, "Shanzi, you must keep your documents safe. If you forget to bring them with you when you get to the capital, your trip will be in vain."
The village chief didn’t know whether he could get a replacement in Beijing, but he would definitely not lose it if possible. He was most afraid that he would not be able to get a replacement and all his efforts would be wasted.
After Sun Shan had breakfast, it was just getting light.
The house was quiet. The luggage had been packed yesterday, and now I was just checking it again, fearing that I had forgotten to bring the necessities. As for the unimportant things, Aunt Sun also suggested that you take them with you. If you really can't take them with you, you can just throw them away on the way.
The village chief, Aunt Sun, Uncle He and other people older than Sun Shan all gave Sun Shan red envelopes, hoping that he would be safe and have a smooth journey.
Sun Shan accepted the heavy blessing, nodded and said, "Grandpa, I will be careful on the road, don't worry."
Aunt Sun warned her repeatedly, "Don't cause trouble on the way. It's best not to do anything and don't walk around. Once you get to the capital, your cousin will be there to take care of you."
Sun Shan quickly agreed.
He Shuyu, He Shuhan, and He Shusheng covered their mouths and laughed.
He Shuyu whispered, "Shanzi, when my eldest brother first came to the capital, my mother didn't tell him this. Haha, my mother treats you like a three-year-old child. She treats you like a young boy."
Sun Shan said confidently: "Second cousin, I am a child and I am not married yet."
In Cantonese, no matter whether a boy or girl is three or thirty years old, as long as he or she is not married, he or she is considered a little girl or a little boy in the eyes of his or her parents.
Not only do you not have to give out red envelopes during the Chinese New Year, you can also receive red envelopes.
No wonder Aunt Sun treated Sun Shan as a child.
First of all, Sun Shan is not very old, either in stature or age.
Secondly, Sun Shan has not yet married and is a single widower.
When my eldest cousin He Shujin went to Beijing to take the imperial examination, he was already the child's father, so Aunt Sun was naturally more relieved.
Sun Bomin sat in the yard and didn't dare to go into the living room to talk to Sun Shan.
He reminded from a distance: "Shanzi, go check the documents again to see if they are all complete."
Sun Shan had no choice but to check again.
The village chief gave such instructions, Mrs. Su gave such instructions, so did Aunt Sun and Uncle He, and even He Dalang and He Dasao who came to see them off gave such instructions.
It seems that they are really worried about Sun Shan.
It's no wonder that everyone looks at Sun Shan this way. After all, he is not a man with a beard.