Two days later, when Tusab took Chen Xinhuai who hurried to Guangzhou City to meet with Sun Shiyi, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi was already thinking about how to use force to expel him, and had sent his cronies to look for experts everywhere to destroy the big iron ship demon.
legal means.
When Chen Xinhuai reported to Sun Shiyi, he categorically said that Zhao Ni was on the boat, which surprised Sun Shiyi. He did not expect that Zhao Ni would dare to come by boat in person. Later, Chen Xinhuai mentioned that Zhao Ni was brazen and could destroy the enemy with five cannons.
At the Humen Fort, two cannons destroyed the Guangzhou city wall, which made Sun Shiyi even more angry. After hearing from Chen Xinhuai that there were only a hundred or so people on board the Thor, he became more determined to use force to solve the problem.
If he could defeat the opponent's magic, seize the ship, and even capture Zhao Xin, not to mention being promoted to a higher position, this great achievement would be enough to bring glory to his ancestors! Even though Sun Shiyi is already sixty-five this year, he is nearly seventy years old, but he always wants to climb the ladder.
Higher energy can make a difference.
If you want to be promoted quickly, the most important thing is military merit!
Since you want to take action, you must first calculate the strength of the troops. Sun Shiyi's own 3rd Battalion has a total of 2,700 troops, and the Zhaoqing Navy Battalion has more than 800 troops. In Tusab's place, the 5th Battalion in Guangzhou has more than 4,000 troops, and in Guangzhou General Cuntai's place
, less than 3,000 people. And these cannot be moved.
So this unfortunate and glorious task fell on the head of the deputy general of Xiangshan Association. After receiving the summons from Sun Shiyi, the deputy general rushed to Guangzhou non-stop. He was briefed by the governor in person, and then took a man from Guangzhou with him.
The Taoist priests invited by Yuangong returned to their base in Xiangshan County.
The reason why this task falls on the Xiangshan Association is because of the patrol sentry system in Guangdong's outer seas. The Xiangshan Association is responsible for the outer sea patrol in the second half of the year. As the saying goes, who will go if you don't go?
But when the lieutenant-general summoned his battalions and announced the military order of the governor-general, a military general who came to attend the meeting raised objections. When the lieutenant-general saw it, he thought to himself, who is it? It turned out to be this guy. This guy from the right battalion
The guard was none other than Li Dagang, who had failed to escape from prison many times at the Beihai Town Labor Camp!
After Li Dagang was released at the beginning of the year, he stayed in Beijing for a few months. During this period, he spent money and trusted people, and tried every means to run his official position. He thought to himself that I had to stay away from those monsters.
He was originally a second-class guard of the fourth rank. After being released, it was impossible for him to become a fourth-rank officer, so the Ministry of War issued an order and asked him to come to Xiangshan to serve as a guard of the right camp of the fifth rank.
Although Li Dagang was a little discouraged, his family was in Dongguan, so he could go home often. As a result, he made all kinds of plans and plans, but he didn't expect that Zhao Ni would come to Guangdong by boat again. A few days ago, he heard that Tanzi
A big ship came to the island. After asking about it carefully, I almost cried, "God of Plague, why don't you let me go wherever you go?!"
"Sir, I know something about those monsters. If you want to take action this time, you need to plan carefully."
After listening to Li Dagang's words, Lord Shi, the deputy general of the Xiangshan Association, curled his lips and sneered: "Sun Zhitai had already made a plan and specially invited Master Ma from Sanyuan Palace. Before starting, we will set up a large formation around Zhao Ni's ship.
Break his sorcery! Then each battalion will attack and board the ship to defeat the enemy!"
"Big formation?" Li Dagang was stunned, and then he raised his hands and said, "I wonder what kind of formation it is?"
The lieutenant general glanced at the people in the hall and said with a smile: "I'd like to invite Taoist Master Ma."
As soon as he finished speaking, a Taoist priest with a celestial spirit, a kind face, and white beard and hair walked in.
"My lords, at the beginning of this period, the fifteenth generation descendant of Longmen Sect in Luofu Mountain is currently stationed in Sanyuan Palace in Xi."
At this time, everyone only listened to the deputy general: "Taoist Master Ma was specially invited from Sanyuan Palace by Sun Zhitai. It is Taoist Master Ma who is responsible for breaking the enemy's evil spells."
Li Dagang's eyes almost popped out of his head, and he thought, is this a joke? He has stayed in Beihai Town for nearly two years, and he knows some of the details. What is sorcery? It is all mechanical power.
It is said that when digging for gold in Soulengji Island, a sand pump in the mine broke down, and Zhao Liang came over by boat to repair it. Li Dagang could see clearly at the time that the sand pump was full of gears and other metal parts. There is no evil spirit. But this is the reason why he is more and more afraid. He thinks that one of these machines in Beihai Town can withstand the power of a hundred people. If the court wants to win, it will only need at least a hundred thousand troops, both land and water!
"Sir! I think that for this sneak attack, we need to prepare more gunpowder ships, sneak up to one side of the pirate ship, and then light the gunpowder. Our army will take advantage of the enemy's panic and board the ship with ropes from the other side. In this way. , then you have the strength to fight!"
"What a joke! Sun Zhitai once visited the pirate ship and observed it with his own eyes before formulating the following strategy. It's your turn to question it!"
Li Dagang made his last effort and said: "My lord! The artillery on Zhao Ni's bow is as fast as lightning. Without a sneak attack, it will be extremely difficult for us to get close. Please tell me!"
The deputy general said with a sneer and a proud look on his face: "Sun Zhitai has already made a plan for this matter. In addition to the way Chief Ma opened the altar, I have notified the Xiangshan County Government and ordered it to summon all the brothels in the city. The above old prostitutes, when the time comes, they will set up a huge array of vaginas, and any quick cannons will be turned into fire sticks!"
As soon as these words came out, all the generals in the room burst out laughing and praised, "Congratulations, sir! This is a great move, sir!"
The lieutenant general waved his hand and said: "I don't have any advice. This is all the advice of Master Tai, coupled with Taoist Master Ma's magic."
Ma Benchu, Taoist Master Ma humbly said: "Infinite Heavenly Lord, what Sun Zhitai said is very consistent with the principle of yin and yang. The so-called old yin can defeat yang, nothing better than this. The poor Taoist's meager Taoism is really unworthy! I will fight hard when the time comes. I have to live my life to prevent the traitor's sorcery from succeeding. I thought the emperor and Sun Zhitai would share their worries."
Li Dagang looked at the room full of laughing and proud generals, but his heart felt extremely weird and desolate. How could a group of people like this defeat a thief?
At the end of the military meeting, the deputy general conveyed Sun Shiyi's order to the garrison officers of each battalion. In the early morning three days later, when the Yang Qi was not strong, a large formation was set up outside the enemy ships on Tanzai Island, and then an attack was launched, striving to annihilate them all. Zhao Ni led his troops and captured the large ship.
When Li Dagang heard this, he thought to himself that early in the morning is when people are at their weakest and their defenses are at their lowest, so it seemed like there was still a chance.
After returning to camp that afternoon, Li Dagang ordered his men to make flags of various styles according to Ma Benzhu's requirements. At the same time, he ordered his cronies to collect small fishing boats and sampans and prepare to fill them with gunpowder packets. He still felt that his method was the safest. A fishing boat filled with gunpowder, even if it can't sink Zhao Ni's big iron ship, it can at least blast a big hole!
So starting from the second day, there was a lot of chaos inside and outside Xiangshan County. More than 100 madams, madams, and teachers from various brothels, women over 25 years old, were locked up with ropes by the county government officers. He was taken to the teaching ground in Xiangshan City and was on standby.
At the same time, the Taoist priest named Ma Benchu also set up an altar on the beach, put on a robe and started practicing. Before going to Sanyuan Palace, this man had been practicing at Chongxu Temple in Huizhou; and there was a very famous person in Chongxu Temple.
The god of heaven - the Nine Heavens Yingyuan Thunder Universal Transformation Heavenly Lord, is also the Taoist Thunder Patriarch.
Sun Shiyi thought very carefully. Since Zhao Ni's big ship is called the Thunder God, he asked Taoist Lei Zu to come down to earth and restrain the opponent.
Na Ma Benchu let his hair down, burned a sacrificial inscription, bit the tip of his tongue, sprayed a mouthful of blood on the mahogany sword, and muttered words. The deputy general of Xiangshan Association, the county magistrate of Xiangshan County, Haiphong Tongzhi Yamen Chen Xinhuai and others stood aside.
"The ceremony of surrendering one's mind to one's destiny. The Supreme Jade King in the Nine Heavens should be in the Yuan Mansion. He takes the form and fills the ten directions. He talks about the Tao and rides the Nine Phoenix Tai to the star. He is constantly adapting to changes. He drives away evil spirits and charms, protects his life and body. His wisdom is clear and pure.
The mind is at peace. The three souls are eternal, and the soul is not lost. The urgency is like the law!"
Everyone waited for more than an hour, when suddenly the sea surface was covered with clouds, rumbling thunder sounded, and soon it started pouring rain. Everyone present completely forgot that it was the typhoon season in July and August, and the coast of Guangdong was already rainy.
They were all overjoyed and shouted, "Your Majesty, the Emperor is wise, there is hope for defeating the thieves!"
Chen Xinhuai stood under the umbrella, bowed respectfully to the north, twirled his beard and said with a smile: "Lei Zu broke the God of Thunder, huh, Zhao Thief, let's see how long you can be proud of it!"
The heavy rain lasted for a whole day and night, during which there was lightning and thunder. Long purple lightning streaked across the sky, which made people feel nervous. However, the morale of the Qing soldiers and generals of Xiangshan Association was greatly boosted, and they were gearing up to fight.
Prepare; except Li Dagang.
Two days later in the evening, a lucky boat departing from Quanzhou arrived at the entrance of Lei Yue Mun Strait on Hong Kong Island. On board the boat was Shen Jingdan and his party.
It is said that in the Qing Dynasty, there were eight major entrances to Guangzhou from the outer sea. Foreign merchant ships used Humen, and passenger ships used Hutiaomen. Humen is in the northeast of Macau, and Hutiaomen is in the west of Macau.
Shen Jingdan and the others arrived in Quanzhou on July 16th. Thanks to his many years of traveling to Nagasaki, he got to know many businessmen from Zhejiang and Fujian. After the group arrived in Quanzhou, they found a bus to Guangzhou at the Zhejiang Guild Hall the next day.
Boat. Most of the experts who went south with Lu Shoushan this time were from Shandong. When they sat down on the boat, they gritted their teeth and carried it hard. As a result, two fell ill as soon as they arrived in Quanzhou. Lu Shoushan had no choice but to carry it again.
Leave two people behind and ask the doctor to take care of their companions.
After the Fuchuan sailed from Quanzhou, it quickly arrived at Nan'ao Island, which is affiliated with Shantou. However, due to a heavy rain, it had to stay at Nan'ao Island for a day and did not enter the waters of Xiangshan County until today.
When we got here, it was not far from Guangzhou. Shen Jingdan and the others were all anxious to get angry. At this time, everyone's eyes were red and their mouths were smelly. Even Chen Jishan, a martial arts practitioner who has been practicing martial arts all year round, was so exhausted that he could not even speak.
No strength at all.
At this time, the bow of the boat went down to the cabin and told Shen Jingdan and others. "Everyone, Lei Yue Mun is twenty miles ahead. This area is the territory of the Zheng family. When the time comes, I will go to the shore to offer incense at Thean Hou Temple.
You just stay in the cabin. If anyone else gets on the boat later, be sure not to make a sound or go on the deck. I will handle it."
"Oh, okay, thank you." Although Shen Jingdan had been to Guangdong before, he always took the land route, but he had also heard people say that there were pirates in the Pearl River Estuary.
After hearing this, Lu Shoushan and others agreed with a dull face. As soon as the bow of the ship left, Lu Shoushan and several of his men took out their revolvers and started checking them. A dozen other masters also took out short knives from the luggage and put them in In arms.
In the corner, Chen Jishan's sister Chen Erya was holding a wooden bucket and kept retching; Shen Xuan was stroking Chen Erya's back. She originally brought Chen Erya here to let her take care of Shen. Damn it, who would have thought that since leaving Quanzhou, Chen Erya would become more and more seasick, vomiting at every turn, and it would end up being Shen Xuan who took care of her all the way.
In later generations, Lei Yue Mun Strait was the outlet of the east coast of Victoria Harbor and belonged to Kwun Tong, Kowloon. The waterway here is less than one kilometer wide and connected with mountains on both sides. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, it had become an important military area outside the Pearl River Estuary. According to folklore, Carp Leap Once you pass this place, you will transform into Kowloon.
When Zheng Yi's grandfather Zheng Jian came here, he saw that the mountain was steep and difficult to defend and difficult to attack, so he occupied Chaguoling in the north as his nest. However, since the arrival of the Zheng family, Chaguoling has been called "Devil Mountain" by fishermen.
The Tin Hau Temple on the waterfront at the foot of the mountain is close to the Lei Yue Mun Strait. This is the outpost of the Cheng family to guard the sea here. On weekdays, the Cheng family's men are stationed here to monitor passing ships. All incoming ships must stop and go ashore. In the name of offering incense, we ask for water diversion fees.
Sure enough, when the lucky boat entered the entrance of Lei Yue Mun, a small boat came over, with two pirates from the Red Flag Gang sitting on it.
The bow of the boat traveled from Quanzhou to Guangzhou several times every year, and it was familiar to the people of the Hongqi Gang. At this time, Fuchuan furled the sails and carefully docked according to the guidance of the boat.
The bow of the boat walked across the gangplank and just arrived at the entrance of Tianhou Palace. He bowed his hands to several Hongqi gang members who came out of the temple and said with an apologetic smile: "Master Li, all of you are here today. I'm going to burn incense first. talk to you later."
A strong man at the head came over, tilted his head and looked at the lucky boat, and said to the bow: "Old Hu, it's unlucky for you to come today. Even if you leave Liyumen, you can't reach Guangzhou."
The boatman known as Lao Hu asked strangely: "Master Li, why is this?"
The strong man said: "The Xiangshan Associated Navy Battalion sent out a patrol boat and blocked the waterway to Tanzai Island, saying that no passage would be allowed for three days."
Upon hearing this, Hu Chuantou hurriedly asked: "Oh, what happened? Are the Western ghosts causing trouble?"
Another lean man with his arms exposed said: "They are not Western ghosts at all, and I don't dare to borrow their courage. A few days ago, a big ship came from Tanzi Island and caused a lot of trouble, even for us. The Red Flag Gang has all been involved. There was originally no movement from the government, but yesterday they blocked the waterway and probably sent troops to drive them away. Who dares to negotiate terms with the officers and soldiers at this time? I advise you to wait on the boat for two days without any worries. Let’s go again.”
The strong man patted Hu Chuantou on the shoulder and sighed: "Our young master is also on that boat, damn! This is going to be a big trouble. Brother Chang is so anxious that he wants to go to the house now."
After Hu Chuantou offered incense at the Tin Hau Temple, went back to the ship and took out fifty taels of silver to pay for the water diversion, he then went to the cabin and explained the situation to Shen Jingdan and others. As a result, Shen Jingdan and the others almost almost heard it. I jumped up and found nowhere, but the Thor was actually nearby!
"Lao Hu, do us a favor and send us to Tanzai Island. The thousand taels will be cashed upon sight, and they will all be yours."
Hu Chuantou was shocked and said: "Mr. Shen, why is this?"
Shen Jingdan said: "To be honest, we came here just to find the ship. Now that we have the news, we have to go there immediately!"
"Young man, you really don't dare!" It would be strange for Hu Chuantou not to be tempted by a thousand taels of silver, but he really doesn't dare.
"Two thousand taels!" Shen Jingdan reached into his arms, took out another brown paper bag, and slapped it on the table.
A pile of banknotes was placed on the table in front of him. Hu Chuantou hesitated and thought for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth and said: "It's okay to leave, but we have to exit from here. Let's go south, from Dangan Island, Zhuxie Island, Che Ao area to the west, and then north to Shishimen. Mr. Shen, tell me in advance that I will send you to Tanzi Island and then leave. If you really get sued, you will be in trouble."
When Shen Jingdan and others heard that he could leave, they were all overjoyed and thanked Hu Chuantou one after another.
So Captain Hu hurriedly returned to the deck and ordered the sailors to raise the sail and hoist the anchor. Seeing that Old Hu was leaving, the Zheng family guarding the Tin Hau Temple hurriedly inquired. Old Hu stood on the bow and just said that he would return to Nanao and wait, but he did not Make other explanations. The Zheng family also follows rules. They said that if you come back within a few days, you will not be charged for water diversion.
On the Leishen at this time, Zhao Xin and the others knew nothing about the Qing army's arrangements. Except for those on duty in the cabin, the group of people had been either sitting on the deck blowing the wind in the past few days, or staying in the cabin, waiting boredly. News of Shen Jingdan's arrival. During this period, Zhao Xin, Zheng Yi and others also chatted about things on the Pearl River, and learned more about the situation of this era.
At this time, the days were almost over. Liu Zheng communicated with the ship by telegram every day, but there was not even a trace of anyone on the Guangzhou side, and Zhao Xin couldn't help but worry.