King Xiang took a closer look and found that the water hook was a black triangular iron hook with a thick iron chain attached to the bottom.

The iron hook was not sharp. Because it had been soaked in water for a long time, the hook and the iron chain were covered with rust. There were still a few strands of algae hanging on the hook. The sailor threw it on the deck with a dull sound.

"Is this thing in the water? What is it used for?" King Xiang asked in confusion.

The boss of the ship looked ugly: "This is a thing used to block ships, it's a dirty thing!"

King Xiang became more and more puzzled: "What do you mean?"

He looked at the water hook again: "This thing doesn't look sharp, and it's so heavy. It can't hurt anyone, right?"

"Your Majesty... Young Master, you don't know something."

The official who had changed his face before said with a grimace: "This kind of iron hook hidden in the water is not used to deal with people, but to deal with ships!

Hide the iron hook underwater, or tie it to a stone on the bottom of the water, with the hook head facing up, two or three meters away from the water surface.

It's hard to see with the human eye.

But once a ship passes by and hits the iron hook, the hook will get stuck deeply into the bottom of the ship, making it impossible for the ship to move forward smoothly!

If people on board cannot respond in time, stop the ship for inspection.

Under the power of the ship, the iron hook is very likely to scratch the bottom of the ship, causing the ship to leak or even sink!"

King Xiang gasped: "Can a hook sink a ship?"

The boss of the boat smiled bitterly and said: "Of course one water hook is not enough, but these things often appear in groups. If you find one, you have to stop the boat quickly and check the bottom of the boat and the nearby waters. Otherwise, who knows how many are hidden in the water?"

"..."

When King Xiang heard this, he looked up unconsciously.

It was already dark now, the boat was parked in the center of the river, and the river was flowing in all directions.

There were torches placed all around the deck, which were blown by the river wind and were not enough to illuminate the surrounding water.

Looking around, Prince Xiang could only see a deep and shallow wave of water. There were many shadows under the water. The sound of crashing water came one after another. It was impossible to see what was hidden under the water.

King Xiang frowned: "Who would hide a hook in a river like this? Is it aimed at our ship?"

"Uh..." The household official and the ship boss looked at each other.

Xiao Lingyue said: "It may not be aimed at us."

King Xiang looked at her.

Xiao Lingyue: "Using water hooks to intercept waterways is a very common behavior, just like setting up checkpoints on official roads to intercept passing pedestrians and carriages. Generally, only two types of people do this.

The first is the imperial court, which sets up water hook nets to block waterways when necessary."

The Ministry of Revenue official responded: "If it was done by the imperial court, the young master should have received the news in advance."

When King Xiang heard this, he glanced at Zhan Beihan calmly.

Zhan Beihan shook his head very lightly.

This means that he has not received any news that North Korea and China are cutting off the waterway.

Xiao Lingyue said slowly: "If it's not the imperial court, then it's just the water bandits!"

"There are still water bandits on the Canglan River?!" Prince Xiang had an eye-opening expression on his face.

Xiao Lingyue found it funny: "There can be bandits in the mountains near the capital. The Canglan River is such a big river and there are so many merchant ships going back and forth. Why can't there be water bandits?"

King Xiang, official of the Ministry of Household Affairs: "..."

Can't refute.

The boat boss smiled bitterly and said: "These adults are all from the capital, so I'm afraid they don't understand this. This young man is absolutely right. There have always been water bandits on the Canglan River, and there are quite a lot of them!"
Chapter completed!