"But what should we do?" Han Kuang was a little worried.
"Captain Guard, let's just rush over. Our six ships are all sixteen-oared fast ships. When the signal is given, thousands of oars are racing against each other. Their thrust is so powerful, how can they catch up with us?"
The speaker was one of Han Kuang's subordinates, also named Han, known as "Xiao Han". He was a member of Han Kuang's tribe. He had practiced sword fighting with him since he was a child, and he had gained martial prowess.
But as soon as he finished speaking, he was stopped by another man wearing a green turban:
"Xiao Han's words are wrong. Yesterday, water bandits attacked us. Although we were not seriously damaged, the strength of several other tribute ships was greatly damaged. This ship may not be able to move fast. Moreover, our tribute ship has a heavy draft, even if it is at full strength
Come on, I guess I can't run away."
Xiao Hanhua was robbed and became angry and scolded:
"You cuckold bitch, how dare you underestimate me? How dare you say that someone's sword is not good for you? Get out of here."
The young man is also a member of the Guards, but he has always been despised by the people in the Guards because of his humble status as a subordinate.
He kindly suggested something, but was humiliated by Xiao Han, and his face turned pale for a while.
Xiao Han did not even look at the green man, but continued to Han Kuang:
"Chief Guardsman, our young master, don't we still have two canoes? We'll fetch people here. Isn't this enough manpower?"
Besides, since the draft was so heavy, the two canoes were simply sunk in the river. If such a big boat could not catch up, the small fighting boat would not be able to help them.
Do it, Captain!"
Han Kuang remained silent, stroking his beard and thinking. Thinking of that unruly figure, he made a decision:
"Okay, let's do it then. You are responsible for this. You and Yang Mao go together, each leading a team and responsible for a ship. When we get to Chengshi, I will go down and deal with them first. You guys hurry up and make it more beautiful."
In this way, without knowing it, Sun Tingchang and others became victims of the conflict between eunuchs and party members.
Poor, deplorable.
————————————————————————
Around the next evening, the fleet arrived at Chengshi.
Zhang Chong and the others had already eaten two rounds of rice, but Sun Tingzhang was still spinning around anxiously.
I kept talking about why the Taoist gods I worshiped while traveling were not effective at all, why I had nightmares at night when I went out, and why my old wife’s loom was broken.
All in all, the idea was that he regretted coming here.
Zhang Chong didn't feel good either. He originally wanted to take advantage of this trip to get to know a few more people and see more.
But who could have expected that he would encounter water pirates. Now he doesn't know what will happen next?
It feels really bad to not have control over your destiny.
There is another person who has been trembling since the boat sailed, and that is Ding Sheng, who is a conceited ranger.
Ever since he saw Li Jin, he had this kind of virtue, and no one knew why.
Zhang Dan asked, but he didn't answer. He just looked at Zhang Chong, which made Zhang Chong look bad.
He grabbed Ding Sheng and shouted:
"Why are you acting like a girl? If you have something to say, please tell me immediately."
Zhang Chong's roar brought Ding Sheng back to his senses.
He saw that the fleet had arrived at Chengshi, and each ship was preparing to drop anchor one by one.
He immediately accelerated his tone and whispered to Zhang Chong:
"Then the King of Jibei has a grudge against the Li family. I think there will be a fight when we get to the shore. What do you think we should do?"
Zhang Chong was shocked when he heard this. He did not ask Ding Sheng why he came to this conclusion.
Because, he himself vaguely felt something was wrong.
He found that the four tribute ships of King Jibei had surrounded two of their Jinan state's canal ships, and the warriors on board were still staring at him and others.
He knew something must be going on, but he didn't expect that the two groups of people would have enmity.
As for the grudge, he didn't care, he had to find a way to deal with it quickly.
He found Chief Sun Ting and briefly explained the situation. However, Chief Sun did not panic anymore. He pondered for a while and then called Zhang Dan to run to another boat to call Chief Zhou Ting, who was leading the team.
Let's discuss it together.
After a while, Pavilion Chief Zhou came walking on the hanging board.
This week, the pavilion chief is much neater than Lao Sun. He is in his thirties and also strong.
After he arrived, he chatted with Lao Sun for a while and talked directly about the matter.
"Old Sun, I know you. You have always been quick at finding your wits. I heard that you were also the most alert in the army.
If you hadn't reminded me this time, I wouldn't have known there would be such a big disaster? What do you think we should do next?"
Sun Xun waved his hand, indicating that there was no need to say more. He first asked:
"How many people do you have left? Can the boat speed up?"
Zhou Tingchang's face darkened:
"When we set out, there were fifty-three people including the boatmen. After last night, only fourteen of them were still able to move. Twelve were left with minor or serious injuries, and the rest were gone. Oh, this damn world.
"
Sun Xun was shocked when he heard this. He never expected that their loss rate was so high.
Fortunately, there are enough people to sail the boat.
He thought for a while:
"Lao Zhou, that's what I think. As soon as we reach the shore, let's disembark first. No matter what happens to the man named Han, let's disembark honestly.
After all, it’s a tanker, and those inspections don’t dare to do anything to us. The most they can do is delay it for a while. We can make less money this time, and go straight to Xingyang without stopping. I guess we still have enough time.
Don't be dissatisfied. Compared with those who died last night, we are still alive after all.
I have figured it out, nothing is more important than returning home safely. Do you think this is true?"
"Yes, yes, your method is safe. When the boy came here before, he couldn't explain clearly. He said that King Jiyang's people are going to fight with the Li family, so we need to make preparations in advance.
The words made me feel frightened.
Who are we, unfashionable petty officials, to get involved in this matter? What can we prepare?
Your old grandson is right, so let’s go first, and then we can do whatever we are asked to do. After all, we are all public servants, so what can we do?”
As he said this, Lao Zhou gave Lao Sun a good show.
The matter was thus settled, regardless of King Jiyang's tribute ship, it would be disembarked first when it arrived.
Zhang Chong and the others didn't have any good ideas. They couldn't escape alone, so they had to adapt to circumstances.
In this way, under the guidance of Li Jin, the fleet arrived at a port.
Everyone followed Lao Sun's wishes and got off the boat first.
Li Jin and the others were stunned by the cooperation of the boat, but they didn't think much and arranged for someone to lead them.
But Lao Sun's move directly put Han Kuang and the others at bay.
They didn't dare to do it. If they tried to run, they would be short of manpower and wouldn't be able to run.
Especially Xiao Han, who kept dragging Han Kuang:
"Chief Guard, this is obviously a military port. Then Li Jin brought us here directly instead of going to the county office. It is obviously for the sake of showing off. We cannot get off this ship."
"Then Li Jin is the river patrol leader. If he didn't bring us here, where else could he take us. I think Xiao Han is just scared and suspicious." The same green man said in a leisurely voice.
Xiao Han was so angry that he pulled out the knife and was about to chop him, but was stopped by everyone.
Until now, Han Kuang could only sigh:
"That's it, let's get off the boat. How dare this man surnamed Li draw his sword in front of me, a man of 400 stone." After saying that, he got off the boat with his guards.
Only Xiao Han stamped his feet bitterly, looked at the green man with hatred, and finally got off the boat helplessly.
Zhang Dan followed Sun Xun, Zhang Chong and others and filed into Li Jin's village.
This is a typical rural inspection water village. The place is not big, but the stables, pastures, barracks and lumber are all complete. Zhang Chong looked east and west along the way.
I kept seeing soldiers wrapped in turbans cutting horse grass from nearby swamps and then returning to camp under the sunset.
Zhang Chong, Sun Xun and the captains of several other ships were led into a large tent alone, while the others were arranged to another place, where they would soon have large barrels of wheat rice to eat.
Zhang Chong secretly hinted to Duman and his little dad, asking them to pay more attention. He always felt a little uneasy.
Duman and the others nodded seriously, and then Zhang Chong followed them into the tent.
In the big tent, huge tallow candles had already been lit, and soldiers were constantly passing by, carrying drinks or carrying fat pigs.
All in all, it looked like a big banquet.
At this moment, Han Kuang and the others were also brought in.
There were twenty people in their group, and they were all warriors on the tribute ship. They were different from what Zhang Chong saw on the ship.
At this time, Han Kuang was dressed as an elite warrior, wearing a plain scarf, two crotch armor, and a fighting sword in his hand, looking down on everyone like a mediocre slave.
The warriors behind him were also wearing leather armor and carried their swords on their right shoulders. Although the swords were not unsheathed, they were filled with murderous intent.
They first looked at Li Jin, who was sitting on Hu's bed.
He still looked as sickly as ever. He had a brazier in front of his feet and was wrapped in that big cloak. He looked completely sick.
Although Li Dian and other tribesmen and guests also held sap in their hands and hung knives on their waists, and looked like warriors, compared with Han Kuang and others, they were not even half as good.
Seeing Li Jin's useless behavior, Xiao Han in Han Kuang's team couldn't help but "chi".
Li Jin ignored him. He used his sword to stir the brazier to make the flames bigger. Then he looked around and saw that everyone was almost there, and said casually:
"You all have the important responsibility of transporting grain and tribute, and you shouldn't just stay here.
But after all, the robbery last night needs to be clarified. Otherwise, if anyone asks, I, the river patrol leader, will not be able to explain it.
Therefore, I have no choice but to keep you all here.
But don’t worry, although I, Chengshi Li, am not a domestic hero, I still have a certain way of doing things. Friends, when you come, of course there will be drinks, and I hope you don’t mind the farmhouse dregs.”
After speaking, he clapped his hands and motioned for everyone to take their seats.
Sun Xun, Lao Zhou and others naturally took their seats obediently and knelt on the straw mat, trembling with fear.
However, Han Kuang and others did not move and looked at each other.
The same Xiao Han stepped forward and said contemptuously:
"Li, don't do this with your grandpas. Even if you want to serve this drink, it's up to your grandpas to drink it."
Stop talking nonsense and use whatever tricks come your way. I would also like to see how this tiger in Jishui turned into a sick cat."
With a "bang", a bartender hit Xiao Han in the corner of his eye, causing blood to flow from his eyes.
After Li Jin shook off the wine prince, he spat on the ground and scolded:
"What kind of castration? I thought it was eggless, but I didn't expect it to be pickled stuff, smelly fish and rotten shrimp."
Seeing that Han Kuang and the others had drawn knives in their hands, he said disdainfully:
"I've always been kind-hearted, and I can't help but feel sorry for people by myself. So I had to watch it with everyone."
As he spoke, he clapped his hands.
Then there were two parts: a bloody man with disheveled hair was dragged out from behind the screen and led all the way to Li Jin's bed.
Han Kuang and others were shocked when they saw this man.