The squad leader originally wanted to chase the water bandits, but when he saw the passenger ship starting to sink, he quickly shouted to another lifeboat.
The two lifeboats immediately approached the passenger ship as quickly as possible.
"Where's the boatman? Quick, bring the boat over and save people!"
Guan Zhuzhu was so anxious that he stamped his feet.
The boatman was nearby. When he heard what Guan Zhuzhu said, he quickly directed the boatman to approach the passenger ship.
But the cargo ship is too big, the things it pulls are heavy, its movements are too cumbersome, and its approach speed is very slow.
"damn it!"
On the cargo ship, Lao Zhou slammed the railing and shouted coldly: "Aim at them, don't miss even one of them!"
"yes!"
Several heavy crossbows on the deck all turned around, preparing to fire when the water bandits were farther away from the passenger ship.
But now the river entered a bend, and the current suddenly became more rapid.
The cargo ship also became unstable and only hit two water bandits' boats, while the remaining water bandits fled away.
On the passenger ship, the crew members rushed out of the cabins and crowded onto the deck.
Even the Ninth Princess, who had always been calm, now looked very ugly.
In fact, when the boatman told her to take care of water bandits along the way, Princess Ninth realized something was wrong.
But before she could confirm, or even have time to alert the guard captain, the water bandits had already arrived.
When using the mast still failed to drive away the bandits, the Ninth Princess knew that this time it might be over.
But at this moment, she discovered the Zhenyuan Escort's cargo ship.
It must be said that Zhenyuan Escort acted very quickly. She sent the distress letter to the ship with her front legs, and the escort launched the rescue operation a moment later.
It's a pity that it still didn't come in time.
According to the speed at which the river water pours in, the passenger ship will sink completely in the time it takes at most a cup of tea.
"Your Highness, the boat from Zhenyuan Escort Agency is here!"
Qin'er pointed to the river and said, "Your Highness, prepare to board the ship."
The Ninth Princess looked back at the cabin and sighed helplessly.
In the cabin, there are many gifts prepared for this trip to Tubo.
However, the Ninth Princess also knew that now was not the time to worry about this. At most, she would send someone to salvage it afterwards.
He reached out and touched his arms to confirm that the marriage certificate was OK, and then, under Qin'er's protection, he rushed to the edge of the deck.
Guards, boatmen, servants...
There were people everywhere on the deck at this time.
Everyone has a desire to survive, and their lives are almost gone. The boatmen can't care about the princess at this time, and they all swarm to the side where the lifeboat is.
The scene suddenly became chaotic.
"Protect Your Highness!"
The captain of the guard was quite competent and immediately led the guard team to separate the ninth princess from the boatman.
When the squad leader controlled the boat to approach the passenger ship, most of the passenger ship had sunk.
"Who is Miss Mu Lan's cousin? Please get on the boat quickly!"
The squad leader raised his head and shouted to the passenger ship.
"here!"
Qin'er led the Ninth Princess to the lifeboat: "Didn't you see Her Royal Highness Princess Xiapei?"
"your Highness?"
The squad leader couldn't help but be stunned.
In fact, he had already seen the Ninth Princess. After all, the Ninth Princess's clothes were so gorgeous that she stood out among a group of servants and guards.
But the squad leader didn't even know a single Chinese character, so how could he tell the identity of the ninth princess from her clothes?
Forget about him, Guan Zhuzhu and others on the cargo ship only knew that Wuyang was Qing Mulan's cousin, and they didn't know that she was still a princess!
"Yes, this is Her Royal Highness the Ninth Princess of this dynasty!"
Qin'er held her head high and said, "Why don't you bring the boat over quickly and welcome His Highness aboard!"
Unexpectedly, as soon as she finished speaking, she saw the squad leader push against the wall of the big ship, and the lifeboat immediately floated away a few meters away.
"I'm sorry, Miss Mu Lan's cousin didn't get on the boat, so no one can get on first!"
The squad leader squeaked and shouted.
The mountains are high and the emperor is far away. In the eyes of mountain people like the squad leader, although the imperial power still has a strong deterrent effect, it is not the first priority.
In the heart of the squad leader, the most important person is Jin Feng, because Jin Feng pays him wages and allows him to support his family.
As for the emperor, besides collecting taxes from him, what else did he do for him?
Therefore, in the eyes of the squad leader, Qing Mulan's cousin, who is close to Jin Feng, is much more important than a ninth princess whom he has never heard of.
Because the Ninth Princess knew this, she wrote to Guan Zhuzhu asking for help. She only said that she was the cousin of Qing Mulan and Qing Huai, and that she was going to Xihewan to visit Jin Feng, but she did not mention the identity of the princess at all.
"This strong man, I am the cousin of Sister Mulan and Brother Qinghuai."
The Ninth Princess stepped forward and said, "The letter just now was also written by me myself."
"Then you should have told me earlier!"
The squad leader quickly moved the lifeboat over again.
"Your Highness, this slave has offended me!"
Qin'er was afraid that the squad leader would cause trouble again, so she jumped off the passenger ship with Princess Ninth in her arms and landed smoothly on the lifeboat.
At this time, everyone else was also crowding to the edge of the deck.
The guards have done their duty well and are still blocking the boatmen to prevent them from colliding with the lifeboats.
This kind of discipline is rare in the Dakang army.
"Zhu'er, Cui'er, you guys come up too! Captain Qin, take three more people to another lifeboat!"
Ninth Princess raised her head and said.
The passenger ship was about to sink, but the cargo ship was still far away. There were already five escorts on each of the two lifeboats, and they could be filled with at most three or four people.
The captain of the guards, Qin Ming, is the third son of the commander of the Royal Forest Army. The Qin family has always been a staunch supporter of the royal family, so the other guards and slaves can be ignored, but Qin Ming must be saved.
As for Zhu'er, Cui'er, like Qin'er, is the personal maid of the Ninth Princess, and is also a master trained by the royal family since childhood.
Zhu Er Cui Er heard this and jumped into the boat.
But Qin Ming didn't move.
The water surface of the passenger ship was less than two feet from the deck, and most of the guards could not swim and were wearing heavy armor. They were destined to sink to the bottom of the river with the passenger ship.
Qin Ming was considered a qualified soldier and could not abandon his men and escape alone.
"Why, Captain Qin won't listen to what I say when I'm not in the capital?"
Princess Ninth's voice became louder: "Captain Qin, take three people on another boat right now!"
"yes!"
The education Qin Ming received from an early age was that he must obey the royal orders.
He cupped his fists at the guards with a ashamed look on his face: "Brothers..."
"Captain, stop talking. Everyone knows what kind of person you are!"
One of the guards laughed and said: "We will be brothers in the next life!"
"Be brothers again in the next life!"
The other guards also shouted in unison!
"Be brothers again in the next life!"
Qin Ming also shouted at the top of his lungs and jumped onto the lifeboat: "Zhong Kuiyong, Liang Tongji, Yan Chi, get on board!"
"Be brothers again in the next life!"
The other three guards also shouted and jumped into the lifeboat.
All three of them were burly and wearing heavy armor, and they almost overturned the lifeboat.
"They are all good men, but their brains are not very good!"
The first squad leader was also infected by the atmosphere of the guards and shouted: "It's already this time, why are you still wearing heavy armor, are you afraid that it won't sink fast enough?"